DINNER & DIATRIBES. . . JACKSON AVERY!

chapter five: invest in love

"Here you go, dickwad." Briar sighs out, handing Alex the coffee she bought him. He drains it in one go while Briar watches him with raised eyebrows, her annoyance fading when she sees how tired he is.

"I tried waking you." He tells her when he's done drinking, leaning into her side. She just hums.

"Not hard enough. Whatever, I'm over it. How's the baby?"

"Well, she had a stroke and some complications, but she's in the NICU. I'll keep checking on her." Alex runs his hand down his face, and Briar watches him with sympathy. She knows how hard pediatric cases are, and she knows how caring and dedicated he gets with his patients. He's going to have a rough day.

"If you need anything, page me." She tells him firmly, waiting to walk away until she gets a nod from him, squeezing his arm as she leaves.

She walks with Cristina, who is completely silent for once, to find Arizona. She's once again on her service: she's been on peds more lately, which she's happy about, seeing as she thinks it might just become her specialty. It's more draining than any other service, but it has its perks too.

They're joined by Callie, Hunt, Avery, and Weasley, and Briar already knows this isn't going to be as fun as when it's just her. She really wishes Alex was there, but he's back to checking in on the baby and her mother, so Briar really can't be upset at his absence.

"Okay, I know this is the first time on a peds rotation for some of you–not for others." Cristina looks away at the look she receives from Arizona, Briar snorting as she remembers the chaos that was Cristina Yang in peds. Maybe she was wrong before; this could be fun.

"I wanted you to understand that I run my peds unit a little differently than you may be used to." Arizona starts her speech, Briar smiling to herself. It doesn't matter how many times she hears it, it still hasn't gotten old. "This is not general surgery in miniature. These are the tiny humans. These are children. They believe in magic, they play pretend. There is fairy dust in their I.V. bags. They hope and they cross their fingers and they make wishes and that makes them more resilient than adults. They recover faster, survive worse. They believe. In peds, we have miracles and magic. In peds, anything is possible."

When she finishes, it's with a smile on her face, and Briar beams back at her. Arizona is the reason for her interest in peds, and she doesn't care what anyone has to say: it's the most hardcore service.

Cristina is the first one in the door behind Arizona, making them laugh as she mimes gagging.

"Never change, Cristina Yang." Briar whispers to herself, getting a smile out of Hunt. She smiles back, although it grows when she enters the room to see Wallace on rounds with them, shoving her way to the front. Weasley huffs when she elbows him out of the way, and Avery rolls his eyes at her even as he steps to the side before she can make him.

"Morning, Dr. Robbins. Dr. Sinclair." He adds her name once she's at the front, Briar grinning back at him. She scans the bed he's next to, seeing that it's a patient she doesn't know.

"Good morning Dr. Wallace," She and Arizona respond, Briar watching in amusement as the other resident's give each other looks. Cristina seems to be the most shocked. Arizona continues talking, a perfect show of professionalism. "I see that you've already introduced yourself to Mr. and Mrs. Boyd."

The girl's parents smile over at them from beside her bed, Briar giving them a nod. They seem delighted with Wallace, which Briar understands all too well.

"Yes, reminds me of Hillary at that age." Mrs. Boyd answers with a grin, "Such an overachiever."

Hillary certainly is an overachiever, judging by the amount of bones she's broken. Briar is impressed.