❝𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃❞ ɢʀᴇʏ·s ᴀɴᴀᴛᴏᴍʏ

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

"You know, I thought M&Ms would be fun. A bunch of doctors in a room investigating a case, the residents and attendings taking all the hits that we interns cause. But I didn't expect it to turn into a war camp against Bailey," Maddox confesses, putting her hands in her scrub coat pockets, and Alex just gives her a brief sideways glance.

"Yeah, well, I guess they're fun when the patient they're treating isn't the one you've killed yourself," is all he mumbles, but for some reason, to Maddox it doesn't seem aggressive, but guilty. The brunette remembers how Alex has jumped to the resident's defense, and though the resident has asked him to stay out of it while answering questions, Maddox feels a little more comforted knowing that, even if Alex doesn't show it too much, he's capable of having the back of one of his own.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Maddox admits in equally hushed tones. "Do you think Bailey will get in trouble for us? I've been itching to throw one of the chairs at that guy who's taken to questioning her hormone levels."

Alex shrugs, looking ahead slyly. A few feet ahead of the two interns, Bailey and Sloan head toward one of the rooms, with Alex and Maddox as their interns for the day. Maddox still finds it hard to look Bailey in the eye, and since she knows she's going to need some time to get used to having let her down —no matter how much the resident repeats that she knows she was off the case— Maddox seeks refuge with Alex.

"You and I haven't done anything. If they want to be mad at anyone, let them be mad at the other four. I don't plan on missing any surgeries for something I didn't even do," Maddox sighs to herself as she now does see Alex's aggressive tone, and the only conclusion she comes to is that he's still upset about the Denny thing. Maddox doesn't blame him, but at least he's still alive.

"Karev, Easton, am I holding you?" Bailey turns and opens her mouth, waiting for an answer. Neither of them gives it, and they hurry forward to catch up. "The patient's name is Diana Niles. She's having a mastectomy, found a lump on her breast recently due to breastfeeding. I still have a little bitty hope in the both of you, don't waste it. Understood?"

Bailey's look is so menacing that Maddox feels like choking on her own saliva. "Yes, ma'am."

Beside her, Mark laughs so softly that Maddox thinks she's imagined it. "Come on. You can take Addison but can't take Bailey? Lady in the streets, freak on the sheets," and his tone is so mocking that her skin reddens slightly, so she knows she hasn't imagined it. Maddox gives him a brief look, short enough to let Mark know not to touch that ground, at least at work, and the plastic surgeon's gaze changes so dramatically when they enter the room that Maddox still wonders if she's imagined it. "Good morning, Diana. These are Dr. Easton and Dr. Karev, and they will be assisting me today. I brought some of the implants for you to check which ones would fit you best. If you go ahead with the mastectomy, there are several reconstructive options. Saline implants are used the most, but silicone has a more natural looking feel."

The patient looks distraught, overwhelmed with the situation, and Maddox tries to understand her. Her own mother sat in that same situation years ago, so she understands the overwhelm and helplessness Diana must be feeling. And if we add to that her baby crying in her husband's arms, Maddox also thinks she would want to rest. "I can't deal with this right now."

"Diana, come on, it'll take two seconds, huh?"

"You're the one who has to feel them, so you decide."

"I don't care."

"Dude," Alex interrupts. "Believe me, you'll care."


"Dr. Karev," Bailey warns.

"He's right," Mark intercedes for him. "You'll care."