Happily Ever After

99: Ouch!

2041

Sarah (33), Lucia (26), Maya (52) and Carina (57).

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Sarah was curled up on the couch with a textbook in her hands. 

This wasn't an uncommon sight; she'd always been a bookworm and spent a significant chunk of her free time reading. Her son, Matteo was laying in her arms, drifting off to sleep while in the backyard, her daughter Grace playing with Sarah's childhood best friend, Melanie and the brunette's son, Miles.

Hearing her little girl laughing was something that always brought a smile to the redhead's face. As much as she wished she could be outside joining in on the playtime, Sarah had a big surgery to study for. 

It was one of the most massive, important surgeries of her entire career. She'd never done anything like it; right now, conjoined twins laid in the pediatric ward, and were being closely monitored. 

The Halls had come to Grey-Sloan a couple of months ago; when mom Tanya had been close to giving birth. Ever since the infants' arrival, the goal had been to separate them, which was easier said than done.

Alex was in Canada for a writing seminar, and this week, Sarah was taking care of the kids herself. Although, she wasn't really by herself. Her moms were with her, and she knew they always would be.

Just after Matteo was born, and the redhead was still hospitalized, Maya admitted to her eldest that both moms had been thinking. "I can smell it," Sarah croaked, still weak from the dramatics of the day.

"Very funny, you. What mom is trying to say is that we want you and your famiglia to stay. To keep living with us," Carina explained, and Sarah blinked heavily, trying to process things. 

"... What?"

"I know it's a lot to think about, but hear me out, sunshine. I don't think it would be weird at all. I know it's not really a common thing in the United States, but both you and Alex are working full time, which is fine of course, and you both have made it clear how mamma and I are allowed to be involved... With everything that the family has been through, we don't want to waste a second of our time with you, and our grandbabies," Maya stated.

"I like that plan. I agree," Alex agreed, coming into the room with several jellos in hand.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, and Carina smiled. "Won't you be sick of living with your mothers-in-law?" she teased, but the look on Alex's face was sincere.

"No, not for a second. You two have been nothing but welcoming to me. Something I've learned over the years is just how important family is. Both of you are so valuable to us as well as our kids, so yes. Sarah, I'm in if you are," Alex concluded.

"Then, yes. Moms, we're in!" Sarah giggled.

It would be an understatement to say that their unique situation had been tremendously helpful. Both bambini loved staying with their nonna and gram, and on the days where Alex and Sarah were working late, the kids were still being surrounded by love. As unconventional as the arrangement was, it worked. 

And all parties were incredibly happy to be constantly together.   

Sarah shook herself out of her head. This case was a complex one, and she needed to focus. The twins, Beth and Lola, were fused at the head, causing a whirlwind of complications, but all the departments had someone working on this case. Sarah, being an attending in the paediatric department, was helping spearhead the operation. 

Technology had truly come so far, proving to be an asset on their behalf; with 3D printing, models of the girls' skulls, and with virtual reality goggles, technicians could upload programs of the brain's blood vessels, so surgeons could have a clear map and they could train for the surgery.