A/N: Thank for your feedback on the last chapter! This one has more ensemble scenes than the last two chapters. I wanted to make it feel like an episode with a case and all that other good stuff. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three

The first date was a success. Dave proved to be even more amusing than their first encounter had suggested. They had an easy rapport and she found herself disarmingly at ease with him. He laughed at her jokes and found her ramblings endearing. It almost made her forget about Jackson and their San Francisco hookup.

Almost.

During the day she was able to gloss over the memories with her attention divided between eight different conflicts, because if Seattle Grace was short on anything, it wasn't problems. Even after work, she could distract herself. There was always something to be done, and many evenings were spent in Dave's company where she had little difficulty ridding her mind of thoughts of all other men.

It was at night, though, when she waited for sleep to find her that she thought of him. The softness of the sheets reminds her of the feeling of his body pressed against hers. The creaking of the bed as she turns brings back memories of the sound of rustling sheets and his breath against her ear. It was a miracle she fell asleep at all.

"How was your date last night?" Lexie asked excitedly, slipping into the seat beside her in the cafeteria. She had no memory of telling little Grey about her date, but Lexie filled the gap when she added, "Arizona told me about it!"

April quickly connected the dots. She told Callie, who told Arizona, who then told Lexie. This hospital was worse than a beauty shop for gossip.

"It was nice," April said. "He took me to this little Italian restaurant that he said had the best tiramisu."

"That sounds so nice," Lexie said with a grin. "Was he right about the tiramisu?"

"No," April admitted. "But I didn't tell him that. I told him it was the best I'd ever tasted."

"Well played, Kepner," Lexie said with an appreciative nod.

"What's well played?" Jackson asked, slipping into the seat in front of the two women. April directed her gaze toward her tray as Lexie said, "I was just asking April about her date last night."

"Another?" Jackson asked. She looked up from her tray and replied, "Yes, Jackson, another. That's what you do when you're dating someone. You go on dates."

"Well, you've gone on a lot of dates," he returned. "You guys seem to be getting serious."

"He's nice," she said with a shrug. "Opens doors. Pulls out my chair. All that good stuff."

"Oh, well if he pulls your chair out, then you know he's a keeper."

Lexie looked at Jackson oddly, recognizing an undercurrent to his voice that there had been about Mark when they dated. She glanced at April, noticing the fire in the redhead's eyes.

"Good sandwiches today," Lexie blurted out, taking a large bite. With a mouthful she added, "Who doesn't love turkey?"

April and Jackson stared at her.

"The patient is Janet Monroe, a female 13 year with nausea and diarrhea," Bailey read from the chart, bringing Meredith and Alex into the patient's room. "She was in here two days ago with the same symptoms, but they've persisted."

Janet's mother looked up when they entered the roof, face drawn. The residents looked at Janet, noticing the yellow pallor of her skin.

"How long has her skin been like this?" Bailey asked, looking through the chart.

"Just this morning," Mrs. Monroe said, running a shaky hand through her hair. "And the nausea has gotten even worse. She could barely get out of bed."

"And the stomach pain?" Bailey asked.

"It's worse, right?" Mrs. Monroe asked her daughter. Janet nodded her head, wincing slightly.

"Yeah. It's worse."

"Alright, we're just going to check your stomach for any tenderness," Bailey explained in a measured voice, gesturing for Meredith to check the stomach. Meredith stepped forward and began methodically pressing on the stomach, asking if Janet had any pain. She halted for a moment when she felt the hardness of the girl's belly.

"Is your stomach always like this?" Meredith asked, pressing down on a hardened portion of the belly. Janet shook her head.

"I would recommend an x-ray of the abdomen," Meredith said, glancing at Bailey who nodded slightly. "Just to make sure this isn't anything more serious than the flu."

"Alright, whatever you need to do," Mrs. Monroe said. "Just make her better. Please."

"We'll come back with a few forms for you to sign," Meredith said. "And then we'll take her for the x-ray."

The doctors left the room, and Karev said, "Distended abdomen and jaundice. Is it just me, or did that look like liver disease?"

Bailey pressed her lips into a frown. She had the same diagnosis, but hoped it was wrong. The girl was only thirteen.

"Let's wait for the x-rays before we jump to conclusions."

"And the plastic posse succeeds again," Sloan said happily, putting the finishing touches on a skin graft. He admired his handy-work with an accomplished smile. "Look at that. It's beautiful."

Jackson smirked. "Yeah, it is."

"People give plastics a bad rap. They think we only do nose and boob jobs. But look at this. We can take a burn victim and give them back their self-esteem. Their life."

"Trying to talk yourself up before the butt implant later today?" Jackson joked.

"No, Avery. Believe it or not, it's not my first."

"Oh, I believe it. People are crazy."

Sloan chuckled. "So, speaking of crazy, you never told me why I had to corral half the hospital into going to Kepner's apartment this weekend. I believe I was promised an explanation."

"Not much to explain. She hosted a party for the end of the boards, and no one came. I felt bad so…"

"You like her or something?"

"No," Jackson said immediately. "I mean, she's my friend. We have that whole Mercy West bond."

"You could do a lot worse, Avery," Sloan said, pushing back from the table. "She's nice. Not too hard on the eyes. Sometimes a little chatty, but there are easy ways to deal with that."

"I just don't think about her that way," he said. It was a blatant lie, and Sloan was far from convinced. He didn't push the issue, though. Clearly, his protégé was in denial and he wasn't about to drop some great truth on him. At least not yet.

"Alright," Sloan said easily. "Fair enough.

"I was right," Karev said triumphantly when he first looked at the girl's x-ray. When the realization settled as to what this actually meant, his tone changed mercurially and he repeated, "I was right."

"Look at that," Bailey marveled darkly. "Nearly her entire liver is shot. How is this even possible?"

"Drinking?" Karev suggested, studying the x-ray more closely.

"She's thirteen, Karev."

"Hey, I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was that age."

"Yeah, but probably not enough to damage this much of your liver," Bailey said, shaking her head. "This isn't alcohol."

"Then what is it?"

"Nutmeg," Janet said, sheepishly staring at her hands as she explained what her and her friends had been doing after school. "We smoke nutmeg."

"Nutmeg?" Bailey asked, trying to keep her voice level. "You smoke nutmeg? The spice?"

Janet nodded, wringing her hands nervously in her lap.

"We put some in cigarette wrappers. Roll it up-"

"Why would you do that?" her mother demanded, voice hoarse. "Janet, this isn't like you! It's those new kids you've been hanging out with, isn't it? I knew they weren't good for you-"

"Don't talk about my friends like that!" Janet shot back heatedly. "At least they listen to me. All you do is argue with Dad on the phone!"

Mrs. Monroe frowned tightly and turned toward Bailey.

"Is this what's making her sick?"

Bailey took a deep inhale before explaining what they had found on the x-ray. Mrs. Monroe quickly brought a hand to her mouth, eyes filling with tears.

"The liver damage is extensive," Bailey said. "We will try to treat it with medication first, but transplantation might be necessary."

"She was smoking nutmeg?" Cristina said incredulously, bursting into laughter. The residents gathered in one of the hallways between procedures, squeezing in an afternoon snack, and Alex had filled them in on his strange case.

"Do you think it even does anything?" Lexie mused. "I've never read anything about it before."

"I Google-ed it," Alex said, finishing off his granola bar. "Apparently it creates a pretty sweet high. And hallucinations."

"Who would've known," Meredith said.

"How do you even get to smoking nutmeg?" Cristina said, pulling one leg up to her chest. "Was someone just like, 'Hey, let's try smoking some of this stuff. It tastes good with pumpkin pie'."

Alex snorted.

"Wish I knew about this before," he said. "It would have made holidays a lot more bearable."

"Light up a nutmeg doobie in the back?" Meredith joked.

"Hey guys," April said, joining them on one of the hospital cots. "What did I miss?"

"Alex's patient was getting high off of nutmeg which led to a nearly shot liver," Cristina said, taking a bite of her apple.

"Oh, she was smoking it? I've heard of that before."

They all stared at her.

"What?" she said self-consciously.

"You knew about this?" Cristina said in disbelief.

"I read about it," April answered defensively. "What's the big deal?"

"So maybe it's not that out there," Alex said, leaning his head against the wall. "But, seriously, nutmeg?"

Bailey rushed toward Janet Monroe's room. Dread settled uncomfortably when she saw the 911 page, quickly replaced with alarm. When she reached the room, Janet was thrashing in her bed, two attendants doing their best to hold her down while a third injected something into her arm.

"What's happening?" her mother implored, eyes wide with terror. "She just started screaming! She was fine, and then…"

"Tell me what happened," Bailey quickly asked one of the attendants.

"She became disoriented," he told her. "She was yelling out that she didn't know where she was and tried to leave her bed. When we went to help her, she began to thrash violently, yelling that we were trying to hurt her."

"You need to call the transplant center," Bailey said, glancing warily at the patient.

"The transplant center? But-"

"I have strong reason to believe this patient has just gone into liver failure," Bailey said in a tone that allowed no challenge. "Call the transplant center."

Jackson stopped short when he saw him. He was standing in the pit, looking acutely out of place among the lab coats and scrubs. Something about him being in the hospital felt unsettling. This was his place, and April's guy of the moment showing up unexpected grated on him. He went to turn back to his work when April walked into the pit, eyebrows knotting in confusion when she saw Dave. Jackson opened the chart in his hands, and pretended to read through it as he watched them.

"Dave," April said, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the area. Thought I'd stop by and say hi."

"I can't really talk," she said, gesturing back toward the hospital. "I have work to do."

"It's fine. I figured you wouldn't be able to talk for long."

"Well, it's nice to see you, anyway" April told him. "How did you swing coming here at…" she glanced at her watch, "two o'clock? Don't you accountants work?"

He chuckled. "I had a business lunch down the street."

"How convenient."

"I thought so. Alright, I won't keep you from your work anymore. You have lives to save."

"More like schedules to sort out," she told him. "The perks of being chief resident. Less time with a scalpel, and more with excel spreadsheets."

"Hey, that sounds like my job," he said with a grin. "So, I'll see you tonight for dinner?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

He gave her a quick peck on the lips, and then headed back out toward her car. She watched him walk away with a content grin before turning back toward the pit. She had a few things she had to pick up, but found herself becoming further distracted by Jackson.

"I see Dave stopped in for a visit," Jackson noted.

"Not a word," she said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You told me to live a little, and that is exactly what I am doing. I am living a little and enjoying a lot. All you are allowed to say is 'I'm happy for you'. Got it?"

He couldn't help the small grin that pulled at his mouth. Nothing amused him quite like a good Kepner rambling.

"Okay. I'm happy for you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Once more with feeling, buddy."

"I am very happy for you," he said. "A jig is forthcoming."

"Good," she said tersely, lightening it with a bright smile. "Now, I have some surgeries to move around."

"Don't have too much fun over there!" he called after her as she grabbed a large binder from the desk and moved to one of the conference rooms. He thought to himself that he meant that in more way than one.

"It's so stupid," Bailey said, shaking her head as she worked on removing the girl's liver. "Smoking nutmeg for some stupid high. And look what happens."

"I would have never thought nutmeg could cause this much damage," Meredith said, holding the suction in the cavity beside the liver. "Who knew?"

Bailey shook her head again.

"If I found out Tuck was ever doing something like this…"

"Isn't Tucker four?"

"Well, if they start at thirteen, what's to say they wouldn't start earlier."

Mereidth smirked. "Does he even know what nutmeg is?"

Bailey gave her a look over the young girl's open abdomen and said, "My point, Grey, is that kids do some stupid stuff. And if my son ever gets this stupid, he's going to get a talking to. And a whoopin'."

"I'm sure Tucker will have better sense," Meredith said. "Besides, it looks like there were some serious personal issues going on here. You heard them arguing. Kids don't act out for no good reason. There's always something else."

"You're starting to really sound like a mother," Bailey noted, eyes warming above the surgical mask.

Meredith thought of Zola, and how she was finally hers and Derek's. "It's about time."

A/N: If you are reading this, please leave feedback. The reviews dropped significantly from the first chapter and I want to know who's reading! Next chapter is all written and it has lots of fun and incredibly awkward Jackson-April-Dave scenes. Believe me, you will love this next one :D