A/N: So, it's been a while. The new Grey's episodes have inspired me, though. Hope you enjoy this!

Chapter Twenty-Six

"So, that makes three women Mark knocked up," Cristina said, walking alongside Meredith and Jackson on their way to rounds. The news of Lexie's pregnancy had spread around the hospital fast, just as most gossip did at Seattle Grace.

"Three that we know of," Jackson added. "Something tells me that guy's swimmers are resilient little bastards."

Cristina snorted while Meredith shook her head and said, "You do realize you two are talking about the father of my niece."

"Yeah," Cristina said. "And we're also talking about Mark Sloan: Resident Manwhore."

"Not since Lexie," Meredith said. "I think both members of the Dirty Mistresses Club have officially retired."

Cristina laughed and said, "Dirty Mistresses Club. I totally forgot about that."

"I haven't," Meredith said. "Dirty mistresses never do."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jackson asked, looking between the two women. Cristina flitted his question away with a flick of her hand and said, "It was before your time. So, does this mean she's going to cry a lot? Because she already cries enough."

"She'll probably be hormonal," Meredith said. "That doesn't necessarily translate into crying."

"Hey, at least she can stress eat without shame," Jackson added. "She can just say it's all for the baby."

"That's what I miss about not getting pregnant," Meredith said. "All the extra eating you get to do. I didn't get extra eating with Zola. In fact, I don't even have time to eat."

"Stop your complaining," Cristina said. "There's nothing worth eating in your house, anyway. Believe me, I went through your cabinets and you have the worst taste in cereal. I mean, you had bran flakes."

"Derek likes healthy things," Meredith said. "And besides, you have your own house with your own cereal."

"Yeah, thank God for that."

"So, were you guys thinking of doing anything for April?" Jackson asked, pushing his hands in his pockets. He was met with silence. "Come on, we have to do something."

"You need to do something. We have no such obligation."

"We have to plan something," Jackson continued. "A party?"

"To celebrate her being pushed out of Seattle Grace?" Cristina asked. "Doesn't really seem like something to celebrate."

"If I plan a dinner will you guys come?" Jackson asked.

"I never turn down food," Cristina said.

Meredith followed with, "Yeah, Derek and I'll go."

"Yeah," Cristina piped in, grinning wide. "We can reminisce about the days when April was totally in love with your husband."

"Alright, so dinner sometime this week," Jackson said, ignoring Cristina's comment. "Spread the word."

"So, I hear congratulations are in order," Derek said, falling into step beside Mark. Mark grinned wide, dimples pressing deeply into his cheeks.

"It's pretty great, isn't it?" he said. "Lex and I having a kid. I-I can hardly believe it."

"This means I'm going to be an uncle, right?"

Mark laughed. "Yeah, that's right. Uncle Derek. Has a nice ring to it."

"It does."

"You do realize I'm going to expect you to be one of those doting uncles. Gifts every week and all that."

"I think the kid'll have enough spoiling from you."

Mark nodded. "Good point. God knows I spoil Sofia."

"So, when' the first check-up?"

"This afternoon," Mark said. "Arizona made a spot in her schedule the minute she found out."

"Well, let me know how it goes," Derek said and walked into his patient's room.

"Slow day," Cristina complained, sitting in the doctor's lounge with her feet propped up on the coffee table. She chomped on an apple, irregular bite marks circling the fruit. Izzie grabbed a lemon yogurt from the refrigerator and settled beside her.

"So, I was asked on a date today," Izzie said, pulling the cover off the yogurt.

Cristina glanced over at her and said, "Uh, congratulations?"

"I know you're not really the type to talk to this about, but I'm sort of having a moment, so just…pretend you're the type that people talks about this stuff with?"

Cristina hesitated for a moment and shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like anything else is going on."

"Okay," Izzie said, taking a deep breath. "It's one of the oncology residents."

"Ballsy," Cristina said, taking another bite of her apple.

"He's nice. Not the best conversationalist, but I don't know if you can really judge that based on little chats between rounds. I mean, can you really judge it off of that?"

"No idea."

"Anyway, we're supposed to have dinner tonight but-"

"Hey, you should bring him to April's going away party," Cristina suggested.

"April's having a going away party? She was let go."

"Yeah, we all tried to tell Jackson that but…whatever. Anyway, you should bring this resident guy. You kill two birds with one stone."

"Who else is going?"

"Uh, right now it's Mer, Derek, Owen and me. Jackson and April, obviously."

"And Alex?" Izzie asked in what she hoped was an innocent voice.

Cristina laughed, turning toward Izzie. "Oh, I get it now. You're worried about evil spawn finding out."

"No, I just…well…yeah. Yeah, that's basically it. I don't know how things work with an ex-husband. I've never had one before."

"Do what you want," Cristina said. "It's not like he's been keeping it in his pants this past year."

Izzie winced. "Wow. Thanks for the visual."

"Bring him to the dinner," Cristina said. "If anything, it'll liven things up."

"You're just panning for some entertainment, aren't you?"

Cristina shrugged. "Doesn't mean it's not good advice." Her beeper went off and she glanced down, eyes brightening when she saw Burke flashing on the tiny screen. "Finally, some action. I will see you and the ballsy intern tonight."

Izzie sent her off with a wave of her spoon.

"What do we have?" Cristina asked, catching up to Burke in the corridor on the way toward he emergency room.

"A consult from Bailey," Burke said, glancing down at her. They walked into the room and he said, "Let's see what we have here."

"Dr. Burke, Dr. Yang," Bailey greeted, stepping forward. She pulled an x-ray out of the chart and handed it to Burke. "The patient had shortness of breath and palpitations. I ordered an echocardiography."

Burke held up the x-ray, peering at the image. Cristina saw the issue almost immediately. Burke glanced at her and said, "See the mitral valve?"

"It's completely ruptured," Cristina said.

"Well, we'll have to repair it," Burke said, handing Bailey back the x-ray. "Let's get the patient prepped for surgery. We want to get in there as soon as possible."

Bailey nodded. "I'll have the nurses set up an OR."

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey."

Burke walked from the room and as Cristina turned to follow him, Bailey said, "Dr. Yang, would you stay for a minute?"

Cristina turned around and said, "Sure. Do you need me for something?"

"You should find your husband."

"Why?"

Bailey handed the chart to her and said, "The patient is his mother."

Jackson stepped into the doctor's lounge between rounds and called April. She answered on the second ring and said, "So, you want to hear about my productive day?"

Jackson grinned. "Sure, why not?"

"Well, I cleaned the entire kitchen. Vacuumed every room and already did three loads of laundry. Who needs surgery when I can be a domestic goddess?"

"Unless you plan on opening a maid service, I'd say the lack of pay would be a factor."

"Hm, a maid service," April said. "Now that's a career path I've never considered. I am pretty good at vacuuming. I get in all the nooks and crannies."

"And changing the subject," Jackson said. "I've made reservations for dinner tonight at Carmen's. They're for 8:00 and your presence is required."

"Tuesday date night, huh?" April said. "Maybe this being laid-off thing isn't too bad. Usually it'd just be hamburger helper."

"8:00," Jackson reminded her.

"I'll be there. Anything else exciting going on here?"

"Yeah, actually. Lexie's pregnant."

"She is! That's fantastic," April enthused. "Wait – it is fantastic, right? You're not-"

"No," Jackson interrupted. "It is fantastic. She's glowing and Sloan walks around looking like he won the lottery."

"I'm happy for them." April said. She could just imagine the two of them were their genetically blessed child.

Jackson's pager went off and he glanced down at the screen. "April, I have to go."

"Yes, go save lives. I'll see you tonight."

He grinned. "Yeah, see you then."

Owen and Cristina were similar in their coping mechanisms. When the going got tough, they threw themselves into their work and pretended that it wasn't. When Cristina found him, he was in the thick of reorganizing the board. Shifting surgeries and reassigning residents. She knew it was only something to take his mind off of what was happening. The board was fine. The assignments were fine. But he wasn't.

Neither was she. The surgery was scheduled for the next hour, and all she could see was Burke's hand trembling as he reached for that sandwich the other day. She had been meaning to bring it up to Owen. Once she knew more. When she saw that it wasn't just an aberration – and she was hoping and praying it was only aberration – but now it was Owen's mother on the table. This wasn't a random patient that he would be operating on. She had to say something. She had to tell someone.

But she couldn't. He had enough to worry about. He had an entire hospital to run and his mother was getting surgery. She could handle this on her own.

She laid a hand on his arm and said, "Hey."

He glanced down at her and she could see all the stress – all the worry and pain- clearly in his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be prepping with Burke?"

She shook her head and said, "I'm where I need to be now."

"This board is a mess," he said, turning away from her.

"Uh, yeah, because you keep messing with it." She took a hold of his arm. "Come on."

"But-"

"We're getting you coffee," she said. "No arguing."

He gave in easier than she thought he would, allowing her to pull him from the board and toward the cafeteria. He was silent all the while, no doubt thinking through all the complications that could arise during the surgery. After the surgery. Before, even.

She grabbed him a cup of coffee and handed it over before filling one for herself, as well. She led him toward a table in the back of the cafeteria and sat across from him. He was silent for a few moments before the questions started.

"Are you using a mechanical or bioprosthetic replacement valve?" he asked.

"Burke usually goes with bioprosthetic." Owen nodded blankly, taking a sip of his coffee. "We can look into mechanical if you-"

"No, it's fine." He took a deep breath, dragging his fingers through his hair. "If Burke uses bioprosthetics, it's for a good reason. He's the best, right?"

Cristina's stomach twisted uncomfortably as she said, "Right."

"Dinner tonight," Jackson said, coming up to Alex in the cafeteria. "You're coming, right?

"What dinner?"

"Aprils' going-away-dinner," Jackson said for what felt like the eighth time that day. What did the others not get about spreading the word?

"They have that for people who get fired?"

"She was let go, not fired," Jackson said.

"Whatever. Where is it?"

"Carmen's."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there."

"Great. Thanks man. I know it'll mean a lot for all of you guys to be there."

Alex nodded again, digging his fork into the small container of pasta salad. He looked up at Jackson, who was still standing there, and said, "You don't have to hover. I said I'll be there."

"You, uh, you won't be an ass, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well, the fired comment and-"

"Look, I'm not some misbehaving kid," Alex said. "I can control myself."

"Really?"

"One more word and I'm not going," Alex warned.

"Alright, okay. I'll catch you later."

Cristina and Burke stood across from each other in the OR, working silently as the surgery progressed. Everything was advancing as it should. Burke made an incision vertically through the sternum and they cracked open the chest. She placed the canulae to reroute the blood and he made an incision in the left atrium. The damage to the mitral valve was even worse than the scans had shown and Burke shook his head.

"She got here just in time," Burke murmured. "Any later and we wouldn't have been able to do anything."

The nurse came forward with the replacement valve and Cristina carefully lifted it from the container. She saw Burke reach forward to take it from her and her gaze drifted to his hand. This was the delicate part of the procedure. One bad moment, one tremor and the patient would bleed out.

"Can I do it?" she asked gingerly, hoping that her trademark gunner tendencies would cover the true reason for her asking. It worked as she hoped and he said, "Alright. Let's begin, then."

Mark sat with Lexie, holding her hand while Arizona squirted some ultrasound gel on Lexie's stomach. Lexie squeezed his hand as she murmured, "Wow, that stuff is cold."

"Yeah, sorry, I probably should have warned you," Arizona said.

"No, I knew it would be cold," Lexie said, laughing a bit. "I just didn't know it would be that cold."

Arizona grinned. "Now, obviously we won't be able to see much at this stage. It's still pretty early."

Lexie nodded. "I know. We just want to make sure everything is okay."

Arizona moved the ultrasound tool over Lexie's stomach, working to get a clear image. She stopped the movement and pointed toward the monitor. "Ah, there it is. Do you see that spot right there?"

"That's our kid," Mark said softly, holding Lexie's hand tighter. Already Lexie had fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned her head toward Mark wordlessly and he leaned in and kissed her softly.

Cristina came out into the pit and saw Owen sitting by himself in the corner. He was hunched forward, his arms resting on his thighs. His shoulders were tense and she was sure when she got closer that she would see his hands balled into fists. She approached him carefully, not wanting to startle him.

"Owen?"

He turned around, eyes scanning her face for some clue before she spoke. She gave him a moment before she said, "The surgery went well. We were able to replace the valve and successfully weaned her off of heart-lung machine. She's in the ICU now. There still is the recovery to get through, but-"

He was up from his chair in a moment, his arms around her. She felt his chest heave against hers and it was then that she realized he was crying. It was only for a moment, but she felt something in her stomach pull. He could be crying for a different reason. Burke could have slipped up, and she would be comforting her husband at the loss of his mother.

But that didn't happen.

She reminded herself of this as he pulled away, wiping at his eyes with his mouth pulled into a wide grin. Everything had turned out fine. Everything was fine.

Jackson was pleased with the turn out. He heard about Owen's mom, so obviously him and Cristina weren't there, but he still had Meredith, Derek, Alex, Izzie and some resident whose name Izzie told him but he couldn't remember. He'd talked to Mark before he left, and him and Lexie were supposed to come later.

April walked in and he watched her eyes widen at all the people at the table. Izzie had even managed to pick up a bouquet of flowers that sat at April's empty spot.

Jackson got up from his seat and walked over to her, grinning as he took her hand and brought her to the table.

"What is all of this?" she asked.

"This is your going away party," Jackson said, squeezing her hand. "You really thought we'd let you go without one?"

"You didn't have to do this," she said. As she sat down she looked around and said, "Really guys."

"We did nothing," Alex said. "So, there you go."

Meredith added, "Jackson orchestrated all of this. We merely showed up when we were told to."

"You even got me flowers?" April said, her eyes filling with tears.

"I can't take credit for those," Jackson said.

"It seemed like an occasion for flowers," Izzie said simply.

"Well, thank you again. All of you." April glanced around the table, her eyes landing on the sandy blonde beside Izzie. Smile dimming slightly, she asked, "And, who are you? I don't know you." Thinking that might be a bit rude, she hastily added, "Not that I mind you being here. I'm happy that you're here. Really. It's great. I-"

"I'm Rick," the guy said. Silently Jackson went, Rick. Rick. Why can't I remember that?

April noticed Alex shift uncomfortably and found herself having a momentary pang of disappointment that she would miss all the scuttle about this the next day between rounds.

"Well, thank you for coming. Considering that you have no idea who I am and all that."

"So, what are your plans now?" Derek asked jovially.

"I have an interview with a local clinic," April said. Jackson looked at her in surprise, not having heard any of this before. She touched his leg beneath the table and said, "I just talked with them this afternoon. They're looking for help and could care less that I bombed the boards. So…"

"It sounds like a great option," Derek said.

"It'll keep me busy for a while," April said. "That's all I can really ask for at this point."

"That's really great, April," Meredith said. "Really."

"Thank you," April said, cheeks flushing. "Alright, enough talk about me. Let's order some food. That's why you're all really here anyway, right?"

Alex flipped open his menu and said, "Amen to that."

Jackson interlaced his fingers with hers beneath the table and rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand.

A/N: Lots happened here and lots was set in motion for future chapters. I know there haven't been many updates but this story is still alive and thriving. I'd love to hear your thoughts :D