After walking back to the living room, still able to hear muffled yelling from behind the shut bedroom door, rolling his eyes, sitting back down at the kitchen table, Tripp put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. He'd only been here a matter of hours, but it already felt like days, and he knew in his gut things would only get worse before they got better.
Looking at Steve's phone that he'd left on the table, he thumbed it to life and swallowed back a lump in his throat, looking at the background photo. A lump that got worse when a text came in from Stephanie and Joe. "Leaving office now. Be there in twenty."
Pushing the phone away from him, he started flipping through one of the notebooks but tried and failed to absorb any information and slammed it shut. Deciding that maybe new information would register in his brain better, he took his phone out of his pocket and called the hospital, asking to speak with the lab.
"You've got to be kidding, right?" he spat after ten minutes of hold time and two minutes speaking with a frightened-sounding lab tech named Brad.
"Dr. Johnson, I'm sorry but the results for Dr. Brady-Johnson aren't pulling in our system."
"Well, then unplug your system and plug it back in again!" Tripp snapped.
"Dr. Johnson-"
"No, there's no way that lab work for the Chief of Staff hasn't been processed yet. No way in hell. What about the other-"
"The results for Dr. Evans and Kate Brady aren't showing up either, sir."
"Well, unless you want me showing up there in about ten minutes to rearrange-"
His threat met with static and muffled voices, frowning; Tripp took his phone off the speaker. Only to hear a familiar voice on the other end.
"Rearrange what, Dr. Johnson? Because if it's my fellow lab tech's face, you can come down here and go through me, first."
"Sarah?"
"You know, my MD didn't go away because the acting Chief gets his kicks confining me to the lab."
"Sorry, Dr. Horton, I didn't-"
"It's alright," Sarah sighed. "I know you're worried about Kayla. We are, too. But chewing out Brad for her results inexplicably not being here won't help her, or you."
"That doesn't make any sense, though. Why wouldn't her labs be on high priority rush and processed in our own damn-"
"You think I'm not asking myself the same thing?" she asked. "I'm in the system right now though and there's nothing coming up for her, Kate or Marlena."
About to respond right before his phone beeped, Tripp bit his lip, his thumb hovering over the decline call button before he thought better of it.
"Okay. Just let me know if anything changes or if they miraculously come through."
"Of course. And if anything changes with-"
"You'll be the first to know when we head to the hospital," he assured.
After thanking Sarah, then bracing himself, Tripp took the incoming call, declining the FaceTime option in favor of a phone call.
"Hi, sorry, I'm in the middle of something. Is it cool if we just talk over the phone?"
"Sure, it's cool. I'm cool," Ava shrugged, forcing a smile and hoping she was managing to sound at least somewhat cool with it.
"I just wanted to say hi. Make sure you got back from that camping trip of yours okay."
"Yeah, I hit some traffic but nothing crazy," Tripp shrugged, running his free hand over his face.
"I am a little wiped though, Mom. Is it okay if I call-"
"You sound more than a little wiped, baby."
"Mom, I swear. I'm fine, I just-"
"Hey, don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Swear to something when it's not close to being true. That's not like you."
"Why, because it's too much like you?" Tripp snapped, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. Running his hand over his face again, he sighed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"Oh, I think you did," Ava laughed mirthlessly. "And you have a right."
"No, you're my mom, Mom. Talking to you like that is just, not-"
"Look, you want to make it up to me? Tell me what's going on."
"It's hard to explain."
"Well, it sounds like you're either coming off a fight or looking to start one," Ava noted. "Am I getting warm?"
"I'm just waiting for some important test results for a patient and there's some kind of issue at the lab. A backlog with processing or something."
"So go down there and give them hell."
"I can't," Tripp sighed. "I mean, I would but I can't leave right now. I'm at Dad and Kayla's."
"And you're on the phone with me?" Ava frowned. "I'm sure neither of them are thrilled about that."
"Well, I-"
"Look, I'll let you go but do me a favor. Tell your dad, and Kayla, for Christmas….and I'm not trying to compete, as if I could with whatever Martha Stewart level Brady- Johnson brunch Kayla's probably prepping for as we speak, but Christmas Eve, I was thinking you could stop by?"
"Mom, I-"
"No, I talked Angelo into finally giving me his cuccidati recipe. They're these fig cookies that my mom used to make and I thought maybe we could try and make them together, start a tradition that's just-"
"Sure, Mom," Tripp interrupted. "I'll ask but I'm sure it'll be fine."
"You sure about that?" Ava scoffed.
"Mom-"
"No, it sounds like you're trying to pick a fight with me, now and-"
"I'm not!" Tripp shouted before he let out a slow breath. "I'm not. There's just-"
"What?"
"There's just a lot going on, Mom," he said in a much smaller voice.
"Well…" Ava said after a beat. "Lucky for you, baby, I've got a lot of time."