Chap 24 I own nothing.

Daniel was still sleeping when Kate got back into her apartment. It was nearly 6 and she knew she was going to have to wake him up soon so she could get his diaper and clothes changed. She was excited to go out with her two friends even if it meant she had to load up Daniels load of things. She walked back into the kitchen. She was surprised just earlier by Callie's dad. She knew that Arizona had told her one time that her parents were not as excited about their daughter dating women as Kate and Arizona's parents, well their dad, had been. Not that Kate felt her parents were "excited" to say the least but they were supportive no matter what. It was 6 now and Kate decided to go wake up her sleeping son. He had taken the longest nap he'd ever taken. When she opened the door Daniel jumped at the noise and opened his eyes looking at his mother. He smiled a toothless smile at Kate, already showing signs of having the Robbins' dimples.

"Hey, how did my baby boy's nap go?" Kate walked over to the crib and rubbed Daniel's tummy. She picked him up and carried him to his changing table. As she did this she looked around the room. The room was painted a dark baby blue and all the furniture in it was black, compliments of Callie and Cristina. The pair had painted the room and then begged to go with Kate as she went baby shopping the day after Daniel had come back to her. Kate had been reluctant toget the black furniture at the time, wanting a more traditional look, but gave in and was now glad she did. The furniture looked awesome against the blue walls. Kate changed Daniel's diaper and then went to the closet to pull out some clothes for him to wear. She knew it was cold out so she bulled out a sweater and little baby jeans. She then grabbed the pair of Timberlands Avery had bought him and the black leather jacket that Callie had gotten.

In a few minutes the pair were set so Kate carried Daniel into the living room and put him on the floor under this toy that Avery had bought him.

"Ok Danny, you play while Mommy picks up the kitchen." But as soon as the words were out of Kate's mouth there was a knock at the door. Kate went over and looked through the peep hole seeing April standing outside. She quickly opened the door.

"Hey April!" The pair hugged.

"Hey Kate, Lexie just got out of surgery but she is on her way. Oh, is that Daniel? Dr. Robbins showed me a picture of him before you guys went on your trip. He is adorable. How are you and Jackson? He always seems like he is in a good mood lately and he is never at home we just figured he had moved in with you." April was rambling.

"April slow down! Jackson and I are great, no he does not live her and yes he does seem to be in a good mood all the time now." Kate laughed at her friend.

"Did Dr. Torres get Daniel that leather jacket? It looks like something she would get him. When are her and Arizona going to have kids?"

"April… stop rambling! You just keep on and on and on… what has gotten into you?"

"I uh… I don't know…"

"Liar, I can tell when you are lying and when you are hiding something… and you are doing both." Kate said. "So you wanna try again?" Kate asked walking over to Daniel and picking him up.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Really…" April answered.

"Are you sure?" Kate said patting Daniel's back.

"Yes Kate, I am sure. So when do you go back to work?"

"In a week… I'll be ready to be back." Kate said smiling

"Really? You don't like being a stay at home mom?"

"I love the mom part… I hate the stay at home part. But good thing is Jackson said he wanted to keep him on his days off and on days we both work we figured we'd take him to the day care." Kate said.

Both of the women turned at the sound of the front door opening. It was Lexie.

"Hey, I'm so sorry. Stupid surgery went on forever! Awe, Kate, he looks adorable! You guys ready? I left my car running so it would be war when Daniel got in."

Kate put Daniel's leather jacket on and bundled him up in a blanket and put him in his car seat. She then grabbed her own coat and the three women were out the door. When the got to the car Kate made sure Daniel was loaded in the back seat before she got in herself. Once they were all four in they headed to the restaurant.

Once they were seated and had drinks ordered they began small talk.

"Jackson was so excited you came and had lunch with him today. He couldn't stop talking about how happy he was and how big Daniel is getting. I would have never pegged him to be the father type." Lexie told Kate who smiled at the thought of Jackson.

"He was so upset that he had to work the next two days… he loves spending time with Daniel and I love seeing him with Daniel." Kate said with a smile. "Last night, he ended up going to sleep later than he planned because he wanted to feed Daniel… it was adorable."

"Does he change diapers and everything?" April asked taking a sip of her drink.

"Well he used to not… and it did take him a week or two but he does now." Kate smiled. "So off of my life for a second, how is work? I miss it. Is that sad? I've been thinking, the hospital is in need of money for certain divisions in medicine right?"

Both Lexie and April nodded.

"Well I've been talking to Arizona and Callie and they said the same thing, and I know that Callie is going to be started back up on her cartilage research hard and heavy when she gets back… anyway I was going to try and propose different ways of raising some of the budgets… you know, especially for the research because I really think that state of the art research will put Seattle Grace-Mercy West on the map, well more than it already is." Kate said excitedly. "I mean I'm no doctor but I minored in pre-med in college before finally settling on business and finance as my graduate, and we give amazing health care and have some of the top interns around not to mention our residents are amazing, and I think that with a little more money to spread around you guys could do great things."

"But what divisions would you propose to give the money to?" April asked, curious of what Kate had in mind.

"Well, I was going to suggest ortho, and not just because Callie is basically my sister-in-law, but I've seen her and the other staff members there, they work hard and she has shown me her notes and progress she has made on the cartilage and it is remarkable the work she has done thus far and I think with a little bit more funding she can really grow… no pun intended. My next proposal would be for General Surgery. Dr. Bailey is amazing at what she does, and so many people come in with just minor or general things that need to be done that I think the money would be put to great use there." Kate said. The other two women could tell she was excited about her idea.

"Anyone else?" Lexie asked.

"Of course. I have a few others in mind… I'd really like to talk to Shepard and Sloan. I know plastics are usually elective but I've looked at some of his patients charts… the tree guy? Remarkable and I think that we could maybe move him away from the "elective" part and help him move into more plastics where they are needed."

"I think that that is an awesome idea Kate." April said.

"Yeah it is, I had no idea you were so passionate about medicine."

"Well, I finished a four year college in two years because I took a ridiculous amount of hours during the traditional semesters and every summer school session I could take hours in I did the same… on top of that, I took a lot of medical classes for the hell of it. I honestly think I missed my calling." Kate laughed.

"I don't. Kate I've seen you working and I've heard a few of the other CEO's talking you are one of the best at what you do. And the Chief, I've heard him talking to Bailey, he loves you and he has been really impressed by what you have done so far. I mean, they were wanting to shut the clinic down which would have killed a lot of our interns because we get to see a lot of everyday things that start out small and turn into big deals there… without the clinic we would have missed out on a lot. would have never gotten the bonus without you. You really showed." April explained. "He said that he was glad we had a CEO member who cared about the patients and the well fare of the hospital as much as the doctors and nurses do."

"He said that?" Kate asked shocked.

"Yeah he did. I wouldn't lie. You're pretty much the Erin Brockavich of the hospital. You fight for the doctors and nurses and patients." April said with a laugh.

"Great, I'll probably get fired because I care too much… I'm possibly the first CEO in the history of the hospital who would rather get money to the different divisions of medicine than keep it for myself, which is crazy, I mean I have a baby to take care of now." Kate laughed and looked at Daniel who was still asleep in his car seat.

April and Lexie both laughed.

"Lexie, what's the deal with Mark and you… he loves you. You know that right?" Kate took a sip of her water.

"Yeah, I know… but he is ready for a family and all that… I'm not." Lexie explained.

"If Jackson Avery can be the father he is, to a baby that isn't even his… there is always hope." Kate said.

"It's goes deeper than that though… I just, I don't know if I want him back. Ya know? I like not having to answer to anyone and not worrying about me making anyone happy… I like it being me." Lexie explained.

"I could see that…" Kate said.

Once the food came the three women ate and continued their small talk well into the night. Daniel woke up and Lexie and April both oohed and awed over him until it was finally time to go.