Through Love Alone

39: Satan Returns

"And who's to say I don't take offense?" I smirked back.

"Oh don't go all hard ass on me," he smiled. "You've got a kid now."

"I do," I smiled. "And you?"

"I've got a wife," he replied.

"Alex Karev, married and settled. Who would've thought? Who's the lovely lady?" I asked.

"Jo Wilson. She works here as a resident," he answered.

"Oh!" I replied. "I'm meeting her here soon. She's on my case!"

"Oh, so you're here for the sacrococcygeal teratoma case? She's been freakin out about that all week! She actually just got back from a medical conference in Tampa so she hasn't been able to meet the patient yet," he laughed.

"Oh, she's been freaking out, has she?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She's excited!" He corrected. "She's excited."

"I'm messing with you Alex" I sighed, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm happy for you. I'm sure she's great."

"Thanks," he replied.

"Now, I've gotta get going. I'm going to be late for rounds!"

***

Clara POV:

Mom left early this morning to fly out to Seattle, so Auntie Amy spent the night in the guest room so both her and Mer would be there when I woke up. It was particularly hard for me to get to sleep last night, as I worried about Mom leaving. She stayed in my room until I got to sleep, playing with my hair and humming to me softly.

I felt bad for keeping her up so late, as I knew she had to get up early. I tried to remember what Violet told me about advocating for myself. I really needed her last night, so I figured it would be good to have her close.

I still had to go to school this morning, so I woke up at about 8:00 to Mer slowly tapping my shoulders.

"Hey honey, time to get up for school. You slept in late today," she smiled as I fluttered my eyes open.

"Yea," I yawned. "I couldn't sleep well last night."

"Addie told me," she replied.

"Was she upset?" I asked.

"Of course not. She feels just as nervous leaving you. She doesn't like leaving you," she replied. "Now, how does blueberry waffles for breakfast sound?"

"Good," I replied, smiling softly. "Can I have some strawberries too?"

"Of course," she answered, leaving the room so that I could get dressed.

I quickly pulled on some jeans, as well as my blue sweatshirt. I braided my hair back, as Mom had taught me how to do it all on my own. I headed down the stairs with my backpack right as Clara was leaving with Amy.

"Hey Clara bug," Cora greeted, pulling me into a quick hug.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"Have a good day," Amy added. "I'll pick you up from school today, okay?"

"Okay," I smiled, saying goodbye and walking over to the breakfast table with Meredith. "Guess what?" I said, sitting down at the table.

"What?" Mer smiled.

"Nooo you have to guess," I laughed.

"Uhhhh- you have a boyfriend?"

"No!" I laughed.

"I don't know," she laughed back.

"I talked to my teacher yesterday, and I have 3 A's and 3 B's," I smiled.

"Oh, that's great sweetie!" Mer said, giving me a hug. "I'm so proud of you. You've been working really hard!"

"Thank you," I blushed. "Report cards are coming out today and I think I'm gonna give it to Mama as a surprise when she gets home."

"She'll love that," she smiled.

"Today we have our animal presentations for the last day of the quarter. I did mine on sea turtles. The baby ones all hatch on the beach and walk to the water together. One day, I really want to see them in person," I said.

"Me too!" Mer replied. "Here, we can watch some videos real quick before we leave," she added, pulling out her phone to find multiple YouTube videos of turtles hatching from their eggs and heading to the water.

"They look like you," Mer joked. "Always running straight for the water."

"So does Amy!" I replied.

***

The rest of Friday went as planned, and I slept much more soundly than the night before. Today was Saturday, which usually meant my day spent with Mom. However, she said that she could set up a FaceTime call around 9:00 this morning, so I woke up excited to hear about her time so far. I was also looking forward to the day I had planned with Mer, Amy, and Cora. We were going to go downtown to paint pottery: something I had never done before.

"Can we call Mommy yet?" I asked, happily sliding down the stairs to greet Auntie Mer and Amy who sat eating their breakfast at the island.

"Well good morning to you too lovebug," Amy laughed.

"Oh, sorry," I blushed.

"It's okay," Amy laughed. "And we can try! It's only 8:40 but I'm sure she'll be as eager as you are to talk. She texted Mer last night to say how much she missed you."

The three of us moved to the couch, as Cora joined us from upstairs. I got settled on Amy's lap as Mer pulled out her phone to dial Mom.

"Hi my lovelies!" Mama answered after just 2 rings.

"Hi Mommy!" I smiled.

"Hi Addie," Mer said.

"How's it goin in Seattle?" Amy asked.

"It's going really well," she replied.

I was happy, of course, that she was having a good time, but that nervous feeling came back in the pit of my stomach.

"I'm performing the surgery with Bailey and Deluca tomorrow, and then I should be home Monday," she smiled.

"I can't wait to hear all the details," Mer added.

"Don't worry, I'll share."

"I miss you Mommy," I said.

"Oh I miss you so much baby," she replied. "I miss all of you. I miss Cora, and Amy, and Mer, and Callie," she listed.

"We'll see you soon though," Cora smiled.

"Definitely," she answered.

The five of us talked a while more before Mom had to go. Once we hung up the phone, I stayed snuggled into Amy for a bit longer.

"Hey snuggle monster," she said, breaking the silence. "Let's go get our clothes on. We have a big day ahead!"

A/N: Hey everyone! Next chapter will be up very soon with more of their growing family! Love y'all <3