flatline [m.s]

lviii.

"someone who's got a hypercritical surgeon for a mom," meredith defends jackson. "i get it."

"is your mom ambidextrous? i bet you she is," cristina asks jackson. "lia is. all the best surgeons are. why do you think i am in love with her? i wouldn't ship her out of state if she was my girlfriend."

"wait a second," jackson pauses, frowning at and ignoring cristina, before turning to april. "how often do you talk to my mom?"

"we're facebook friends," april explains, smiling.

"you're... you and my mother?" jackson furrows his brow with confusion.

"she's a brilliant surgeon and woman. she's a trailblazer," april defends herself.

"and she's got a stalker," cristina adds, earning a chuckle from everyone else except april and jackson, who shoot her a look.

"hey, you know what? just meet her. you'll see it," april informs the other residents.

■ ■ ■

"so nice to see you again, too, really," catherine smiles, interacting with several doctors, following her presentation. "thank you. thank you,"

"gotta make a big show out of everything," jackson says, approaching his mother.

"there's my baby boy. come here," she beams, wrapping him in a hug as the group of doctors disperse. "ohh. you look skinny. you're not sleeping."

"okay," jackson says, pushing her off him. "i'm fine, mom."

"which one is she?" catherine asks, looking round the busy corridor of surgeons. "she's a brunette, right?"

"we're not doing this today, okay?" he rolls his eyes.

"oh, maybe the real question is, what kind of name is lia?" she raises her her brow at her son.

"i never told you her name," jackson shakes his head.

"i have my ways," she informs him with a smug grin. "where is she?"

"she's not here. she's out of town," he attempts to brush her off.

"i come into town, and you smuggle her across state lines?" catherine frowns at jackson. "are you always ashamed of her?"

"dr. avery," mark says, approaching the two doctors. "sorry to interrupt."

"oh, interrupt, please," jackson pleads.

"oh, mark sloan, plastics," catherine greets, playfully mocking his interruption of her presentation, earlier. "the man who doubts."

"listen, i'm all for standing up for the johnson, but this is a transplant, and transplant patients reject organs," mark explains. "now i see a twenty eight year old guy who could have pretty good life with a reconstrued organ that my boy here and i could make tomorrow."

"excuse me. you're working with jackson?" she raises her brow in shock.

"i'm mentoring him. he didn't mention it?" mark explains.