flatline [m.s]

xlii.

"a boy alien or girl?" sloan asks, but lia is unresponsive, furrowing her brow at the screen. "dude, does not have a thing, or not?"

"i- i'm not looking at the sex, uh, i don't..." lia mumbles. "you, uh, i- i'm new at this, i'm not very good. um, why don't we, uh, go upstairs? there's a better machine upstairs. uh, maybe we'll have someone else take a look. an o.b, not a, um, cardio thoracic."

■ ■ ■

"did you tell sloan to move out?" mark asks, walking up to lia who is stood outside whilst sloan is getting an ultrasound.

"no," she screws her face with annoyance. "not that it's a bad idea... but-"

"you're making her feel like crap," he says, cutting her off, angrily. "she said you wouldn't even be alone in a room with her."

"no, that's..." she shakes her head.

"then why do i have to chaperone the ultrasound?" he asks, cutting her off again.

"because there's something wrong with the baby," she replies, annoyed at the way he is being with her at the moment, before leading him into the ultrasound room. "see right there on the left thigh?"

"yeah," the o.b nods. "on his other ankle too."

"wait, it's a boy?" sloan asks.

"i hadn't gotten that far," lia explains before turning back to the ultrasound. "there's a lot of swelling on the right foot, it's very constricted."

"what the hell are you talking about?" sloan frowns.

"well, the baby's got strands of amniotic fluid tissue, wrapped around it's legs. they're called amniotic bands," mark softly explains.

"there's a danger of them compromising one of his limbs," lia explains.

"so, what, like one of his legs is gonna like fall off?" sloan asks.

"well, that's the worst case scenario," the o.b attempts to reassure her.

"he's gonna have stumps?" sloan begins to panic.

"we don't know what we're dealing with yet," mark tries to comfort her. "whatever it is, we're gonna take care of it."

"i can't have a stumpy baby," sloan shakes her head. "can't you fix it?"

"um, i don't know," the o.b admits.

"i have an idea," mark turns to the o.b. "how about we don't answer any patient questions with 'um, i don't know'? we're gonna fix it. uh, let's get a fetal m.r.i."

"i'm not sure that's what i'd reccomend-" the o.b begins as lia nods.

"i wasn't talking to you. you're done," he tells her, before turning back to sloan whilst lia stands looking shocked. "i'll be right back."

mark exits the room and pulls his phone out of his pocket, dialling a number.

"get me addison montgomery."

■ ■ ■

"as the legs grow, the bands will cut off his circulation," addison explains, looking at the ultrasound. "if we wait, it could cause severe damage to the left leg, possible loss of the right entirely. but if we operate, twenty two weeks, it's- it's still risky."

"but if you don't operate you're not gonna kill the baby," arizona points out. "we can rehabilitate the rest of his leg after he's been born, and we can fit him with a prosthesis."

"oh my god," sloan shakes her head, clearly overwhelmed.

"it's okay," mark soothes. "we've got options here. if we operate, dr. montgomery can remove the bands and he'll be just fine. or we can wait a few weeks, 'til he's bigger... and stronger... and we know the surgery is less risky."

"which one of you did he sleep with?" sloan turns to both doctors.

"ooh, not me," arizona shakes her head.

"you told her?" addison says in confusion.

"she's my kid, we were bonding," mark looks up at her.

"that is not how you bond with children," she shakes her head in disbelief.

"i'm still getting the hang of it," he admits.

"so, you're sure he didn't like knock you up and leave you with a child to raise on your own or something?" sloan asks her. "like you're not really pissed, and trying to get revenge?"

"no," addison scowls, then nervously laughs. "it was a long time ago, okay? the fact is, mark, your father is a good guy, and i think you're a good kid... and i'm gonna do everything i can to help you with your baby."

"okay, well let's just get these things off his legs right now," sloan shrugs.

"i'll book an o.r."

- - -
we will cut right through it, go inside, find out the secrets underneath. it takes delicacy and sensitivity. no matter how thick skinned we try to be, there's millions of electrifying nerve endings in there.
- - -

"let's move down so i can take a look at the second," addison instructs lia who is assisting with sloan's surgery. "good. okay... why can't i grab his leg?"

"problem?" mark asks.

"no, it's just that one of the bands is holding the leg in place," she explains. "it's making it a little difficult to get around."

"are you sure you have enough room? those arteries are huge," mark asks, observing the monitor.

"that's why i'm going to be very careful," addison explains.

"what happens if you nick them?" he asks, and she rolls her eyes.

"she could bleed out," lia informs him. "they both could."

"i don't like it," mark shakes his head. "it's too dangerous."

"mark, i have assessed the risk factors, i am ninety five percent confident i can get around the arteries," addison tells him. "i am choosing to continue my surgery."

"i don't like the other five percent," mark argues. "you hit any one of those and she bleeds out, right on this table. i'm a surgeon, and i'm looking at a time bomb in a uterine. shut it down. now, addison!"

"let's close her up."

- - -
open and exposed and feeling way too much. try as we might to keep from feeling pain, sometimes it's just unavoidable. sometimes that's the only thing left - just feeling.
- - -