"Erin," Addison shook Erin awake. Erin's eyes fluttered open and she uncurled from the chair she'd slept on at Archer's bedside. Addison had had to go and fill forms in with the chief and Derek all night so Erin had taken on the duty of watching Archer overnight. She'd fallen asleep accidentally but Archer was still stable so it was fine.
"Addie?" Erin mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Addison whispered.
"Your brother is sick. Thought you might need someone to lean on," Erin sat up, wincing as she stretched her neck. She stood up and Addison pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you," she whispered. Erin nodded, rubbing her back.
"I'm here," she said.
"Erin?" Jesse said into the phone.
"Jess? You okay?" Erin said. Addison looked away from Archer, Naomi looking over curiously.
"Uh, I need a favour and this is gonna freak you out because we're going slow but you're good with kids and I need a favour," he said.
"What's wrong? Is someone sick?" Erin stood up and hurried out of the room quickly, putting her other hand over her ear to block out the noise.
"It's Pippa," he said. Pippa was his niece with downs syndrome. "I took her last night when Michelle had to go away for a business trip and I've got to go to a board meeting for the firm and I can't take Pippa but the rest of my sisters are out of town and my mom is in Iowa visiting my grandma. So, what I'm asking, really, is will you please take Pippa for a few hours while I do this meeting?" he said.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. I'll come and get her. Uh, where are you?" Erin asked.
"In the lobby. I really have to go," he said.
"Oh, shit. I'll be down, now," Erin ended the call and started running towards the elevator.
"Erin?" the chief called after her.
"I've got to babysit Pippa," she said.
"Pippa?" he asked.
"Jesse's niece. Nobody else can take her," Erin said.
"You can take a few hours until he gets back," he nodded.
"Thank you," Erin said, spamming the close button on the elevator door.
"You're amazing," Jesse sighed as Erin ran over to them. He had Pippa in his arms, the two year old grinning with her teeth at Erin. Erin's heart stopped at the sight of him with Pippa. He looked so good with kids.
"Erin," she babbled. Erin smiled widely.
"Hi, Pips. You gonna come and play with me today?" she asked. Pippa nodded and Erin scooped her into her arms, putting her on her hip.
"Here is her bag. I'll be two hours, minimum, four max," Jesse kissed Erin quickly, handing over the diaper bag.
"We're gonna be fine, aren't we?" Erin bounced Pippa.
"Yeah," Pippa giggled. Erin smiled at Jesse.
"Go," she said. He nodded.
"Be good, Pippa," he said, hurrying out of the hospital. Erin smiled at Pippa.
"Shall we go and see some friends?" she said. Pippa nodded and Erin headed back towards the elevator. "So, this is the hospital where I work. It's called Seattle Grace. It's very big and there are a lot of doctors here, doctors like me. We fix people to make them better," Erin said. Pippa giggled and Erin laughed. "We're gonna be okay, right?" she said. Pippa nodded. "Right," Erin said.
Erin carried a sleeping Pippa into the chapel, seeing Addison sat on one of the pews with Callie. Erin sat on the other side of Addison, fixing Pippa's head so she wasn't suffocating in Erin's neck.
"She's so gorgeous," Callie cooed, making heart eyes at Pippa. Erin smiled widely.
"She is. Makes me broody," Erin said.
"Is she yours?" Addison asked with wide eyes.
"God no," Erin shook her head. "That wouldn't even work, Adds. This is Jesse's niece, Pippa. I am babysitting while he's at a board meeting," Erin said.
"Jesse?" Addison asked.
"Her boyfriend," Callie said.
"You have a boyfriend? You didn't tell me," Addison frowned at Erin.
"Because he's not my boyfriend," Erin said, glaring at Callie.
"He's gonna be your boyfriend soon enough. You two have been hooking up for months. Friends and sex has turned into dates and it'll turn into love and babies like this little cutie," Callie said, stroking Pippa's cheek.
"Please do not freak me out with that. He is not my boyfriend, we are not in love or having babies, as cute as babies are," Erin said. She looked at Callie and then at Addison. "It's not the time for this," she said.
"Archer has eight cysts. Derek said he can't operate," Addison said. Erin sighed and stroked Pippa's hair out of her face.
"It's Derek. Give him some time. He'll do what he can," Erin said.
"That's not enough," Addison stood up. "It's not enough to save Archer," she said, leaving the chapel. Erin watched her leave and then slapped Callie's arm.
"I wasn't going to tell her about Jesse until it was serious and you bring it up when her brother is half dead in a bed upstairs," she hissed.
"I thought she knew! You guys are like, close," Callie said.
"We are close but we've both been busy and I didn't think it was worth mentioning unless it went somewhere. I was going to tell her if he asked me out," Erin said.
"Sorry," Callie said. Erin shook her head.
"Don't be," she said.
"Arizona kissed me. She's your friend, right?" Callie said.
"Yeah. She kissed you?" Erin asked, frowning slightly at the news. She wasn't exactly delighted to be hearing it, but she had no idea why.
"Yeah," Callie nodded. Erin hummed.
"You two would be cute together. But promise me now that you will not make me pick sides if anything goes wrong. I love you both equally," Erin said. Callie chuckled and nodded.
"We won't. I don't know if anything will happen with it but I thought I should tell you," she said.
"Thank you," Erin said.
Callie kissed her head and left the chapel, leaving Erin alone there.
Erin frowned down at Pippa.
"Why am I not very happy about that?" she whispered. She sighed and stood up, carrying Pippa out of the chapel so she could sleep somewhere comfortable instead.
Erin sighed as she rocked a sleeping Pippa. Jesse's meeting had ran long and he'd text to say he'd be as quick as he could an hour ago. Erin had got the girl some food and then rocked her to sleep, standing with her in the gallery as she watched Derek operate on Archer's brain.
"Dr. Grey," Sofia appeared at her side, Jesse behind her.
"Hey. I'm so sorry," Jesse whispered, smiling when he saw Pippa was asleep.
"It's okay. She was an angel. We can go in a minute. They're almost done," Erin whispered. He nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. She leaned back into him, watching as Derek looked up at them. He nodded and Erin nodded back in encouragement.
"What are they doing?" Jesse whispered.
"Removing parasitic worms from Addie's brother's brain. Eight of them," Erin whispered. Jesse breathed out slowly.
"Shit," he said. Erin nodded. Shit indeed.
"And we're done," Derek announced. Erin smiled and looked up at Jesse.
"We can go," she said. "We got Pips tonight?"
"Michelle should be back first thing in the morning. You don't have to stay with her," he said.
"I have to do a few charts but I can stay if you give me like, half an hour," Erin said.
"We'll wait with you," he said. Erin smiled.
"Let's go do some charts," she said, leading him out of the viewing room.
"So then I had one last question and I won and now I get to hold the doomsday sucker," Lexie told Jesse and Erin as Erin filled in charts. Jesse was holding Pippa now, who was still asleep, and Lexie was sat on the spinny chair behind the desk, spinning as she used extravagant hand motions to follow her story.
"Sounds really fun. Izzie did a good job, then?" Erin said.
"Yeah. It was fun. A lot better than being on probation," Lexie said.
"Well, you know what they say. Cut out your friend's appendix, pay the price," Erin smirked at her.
"Who's paying what price?" Mark said, walking over to join them. Erin looked between him and Lexie, eyeing the way that they stared at each other. They liked each other.
"You're paying a price," Erin said.
"For what?" Mark and Lexie asked.
"For violating my big sister," Erin smiled sweetly at him.
"You told her?" Mark and Lexie asked each other. "No, I didn't," they said. "You did," they said.
"You didn't need to tell me. I know these things. The way you look at each other, it's the same way Meredith and Derek do. It's obvious," Erin said.
"It is obvious," Jesse agreed.
"Addison," Mark said. Erin looked up from the chart, seeing Addison and Naomi walking over.
"Addie, Naomi, this is Jesse, Pippa and my sister, Lexie Grey," Erin said.
"You gave her a chance, then?" Naomi smiled.
"You weren't gonna give me a chance?" Lexie asked.
"No, but I did, and I'm glad. Even if I'm gonna have grey hairs because of you and Sadie," Erin said. Lexie laughed. "This is Addison Montgomery and Naomi Bennett. Addie is a neonatal surgeon and Naomi is a fertility specialist," Erin said.
"It's nice to meet you both," Jesse said, holding his hand out as he shifted Pippa against his chest. They each shook it.
"How long have you and Erin been together?" Naomi smiled. Jesse looked at Erin.
"We're dating. We've known each other for a few months, though," Erin said. "I met him just after LA," she said.
"Oh, that's cool," Naomi smiled. Erin closed the chart over and handed it to Lexie.
"I'll check Archer tomorrow morning with rounds. Lex, you at home or Mark's tonight?" she asked.
"Probably home," Lexie said.
"I'll be at Jesse's so if you see Meredith before I do, tell her where I am," Erin said.
"Will do," Lexie smiled.
"Thank you," Erin kissed her cheek and grabbed her jacket and bag from behind the desk. She pulled the jacket on and Jesse took her bag, letting Erin take Pippa again. "See you guys tomorrow," she said.
"See you," Addison said, watching as Jesse, Erin and Pippa walked away.
"They look good together," Naomi said.
"Does he make her happy?" Addison looked at Mark.
"He does," Mark nodded. Addison nodded slowly.
"Good," she said.
"So," Jesse climbed into bed beside Erin, who was typing on her phone to tell Meredith where she was staying. She sent the message and put her phone on charge, turning onto her side to look at him. "Addison and Naomi seem nice," he said.
"They are," Erin smiled.
"Was Pippa good?" he asked.
"She's an angel, Jess. Don't worry," Erin said.
"Okay," he nodded. They lay in silence for a minute. "When you said slow, how slow is slow? Like, if I asked you to be my girlfriend now, would you run away or would that be cool?" he asked. Erin laughed and rolled on top of him, kissing him gently.
"I don't run for anyone. The best you'd get is a jog. But I'm not jogging away. I'm staying here, with you," Erin whispered. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a deeper kiss.
"Good," he mumbled.
"So, you didn't tell me about Jesse. Is there a reason why?" Addison asked Erin as they looked over Derek's pregnant patient's files. She was experiencing seizures and high blood pressure following Derek nicking her aneurysm so Addison had sent Archer home with Naomi and Sam and had stayed on Derek's request to help with the baby.
"What?" Erin asked, looking up at her. "Sorry, I was trying to remember the stats," Erin said.
"You didn't tell me about Jesse," Addison said. Erin looked back at the chart and shrugged.
"I was going to when it was serious but we've barely spoke since LA. It wasn't something I was just going to phone you to talk about," Erin said.
"I thought we were friends," Addison frowned.
"We are," Erin looked back up at her.
"Then why would you wait until it was serious?" Addison asked.
"Because, honestly," Erin sighed. "Okay, so, we haven't really spoken since LA. I wasn't sure it was going to turn into anything. It wasn't worth mentioning yet," Erin said.
"Well, it must be worth mentioning now if you're serious," Addison said.
"Why are you mad at me?" Erin scoffed.
"Because you didn't tell me," Addison closed the file over. "Either we aren't as close as I thought we were or you're not really serious about Jesse. I think I'd rather it be the first one, 'cause Mark said you're happy, and that makes me happy," Addison said.
"We haven't talked since LA. I didn't tell you about Jesse because you didn't tell me about Kevin or you and Sam purging Naomi out of the practice. You didn't tell me and I didn't tell you. We're adults. We have our own lives. We aren't sixteen and gossiping about what's going on in high school," Erin said.
"I know that and I'm sorry for not telling you," Addison said.
"Then why are we fighting?" Erin asked.
"Because Kevin and I weren't serious," Addison frowned. Erin raised her eyebrows.
"Me and Jesse weren't serious until I decided to give him a serious chance. That was two months ago. You and Kevin were actually official. Jesse and I weren't," Erin said. "Look, I'm not gonna fight with you. You've had a shitty few days, Derek is giving you a run for your money with this patient and you're stressed. I'm gonna forget we had this fight and pretend everything is okay," Erin said. Addison raised her eyebrows and Erin shrugged. "I know me being mature is strange but I'm growing up, Addie. Maybe you should try it, too," Erin said.
She picked the chart up and walked down the hallway, ponytail swinging as she disappeared around the corner.
"She called me a baby," Callie sat down beside Erin with a glare. Erin looked up from her dinner with wide eyes.
"Who did?" Erin asked.
"Arizona. I asked her on a date and she called me a newborn," Callie said. Erin stared at her for a minute and then snorted.
"You are a baby gay," she said. "Or a baby bi. I'm bi. We could be bi babies together. Only, I've got a baby complex and you're a baby gay," Erin shrugged. "It's not a bad thing," Erin said.
"Then why is she treating it like it is?" Callie said.
"I don't know. Do you want me to talk to her?" Erin said.
"No, 'cause she'll know I told you and that makes me look like a whiny baby," Callie muttered. Erin took a bite of her pasta.
"Well, it won't. It'll show her that we're close and I care about how her life is going," Erin said. Callie shook her head.
"I just wanted to rant," she said.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I know a few girls who aren't opposed to babies. If you wanted to get more experience, that is," Erin said. Callie shook her head.
"No. Thank you, though," she said.
"Baby Grey!" someone called. Erin looked up, seeing Arizona waving at her. "I've got a case for you if you want in," she said.
"What is it?" Erin asked.
"Pancreas transplant," Arizona said.
"What about Addison's patient?" Erin asked.
"She said it's cool if you jump onto this because she can't take you and Karev into the OR with her," Arizona shrugged. Erin nodded and stood up.
"See you, Cal," she said.
"Have fun," Callie smiled.
"Thanks," Erin kissed her cheek and grabbed her tray to get rid of her lunch. She put it on the side and met Arizona at the doors.
"Hey," Arizona said happily.
"You called her a baby?" Erin smirked.
"She is a baby," Arizona said.
"Babies aren't bad things. I'm a baby," Erin rolled her eyes. Arizona laughed.
"You're my favourite baby. And, besides, it's true. It's not a bad thing. It's just not my thing," Arizona said.
"Not even for me?" Erin teased. Arizona wrapped her arm around Erin's shoulders and kissed her cheek loudly.
"Only for you, loser. C'mon. We have a life to save," she said, leading Erin down the hallway with a beaming grin.
Erin walked across the bridge past Derek, who Mark was talking to. She's heard from Meredith about how Derek had lost his patient because of the damage on her brain and the baby had needed to be delivered. She was going to tell Mark to leave him alone.
Derek swung at Mark and Mark groaned, clutching his face.
"Derek," Erin gasped.
"Okay, I might've deserved that but I really like her. It's more than just sex-" Mark tried again. Derek jumped at him and Erin gasped again.
"Stop fighting, you idiots!" she said. She ran forward, grabbing Derek's lab coat and trying to pull him off of Mark. She was too weak, however, and he shook her off easily. "Derek, stop it!" she shouted.
Mark managed to get to his feet and the two started fighting again. Erin could see blood on their faces and knuckles and she felt her stomach drop. This was how things were with Rob, violent and horrible.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Erin shouted, running forward again. Derek launched Mark away from him and Mark fell backwards. Erin caught him and pushed him to the side, stepping in front of Derek. "Hey!" she shouted. He looked down at her and she saw something in his eyes change. He snapped out of his daze.
"Erin," he said, face draining as he saw how scared she looked. She pushed him back.
"Go," she said. He turned and Meredith grabbed his arm.
"You okay?" Meredith asked.
"Yeah," Erin nodded. Meredith nodded, leading Derek away with a sad look at Erin. Addison grabbed Mark and led him away, leaving the chief, Bailey and Owen to stare at Erin.
"What the hell happened?" Bailey asked.
"Mark's dating Lexie and he told Derek, I'm guessing, but Derek lost his patient. Emotions are high," Erin said. The chief marched off quickly.
"Are you okay?" Owen asked. Erin shook her head and rubbed her face.
"I need a cigarette and I'll be fine," she said.
"Go and take an hour break. Page me if you need me," Bailey said. Erin nodded.
"Thank you," she said. She turned and walked off the bridge, heading outside to Quinn's bench to have a cigarette and breathe.
Erin and Jesse walked into Joe's bar, Jesse's arms wrapped around Erin's waist.
"You grab a table and I'll get our drinks," Erin said. He kissed her temple and walked to find them a table. Erin walked to the bar. "Hey, Joe," she said.
"Hey, Erin. What can I get you?" Joe smiled.
"Uh, I'll have two beers, please," she said. He handed them over and she paid. "Thanks," she said. She turned to take them to the table but saw Callie and Arizona talking, Arizona's date stood watching them. "Oh, shit," she whispered. She grabbed the drinks and hurried over. "Hey, guys! Callie, I need to talk to you. Really urgently. Really, really urgently. It's, it's bad," Erin said.
"Are you okay?" Callie and Arizona chorused. Erin forced a nod.
"Yeah, it's just, uh, bone problems," Erin said. They both gave her a look, one that clearly said they knew she was trying to help but it wasn't really working out.
"Bone problems?" Arizona's date asked.
"Yeah. Big bone problems," Erin muttered, feeling a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Come on, you idiot," she grabbed Callie's arm and dragged her away.
"See you two around," Arizona laughed after them.
"I'd thank you for saving me but big bone problems? Really?" Callie muttered.
"Okay, listen, I panic under pressure when it comes to social situations. I have also had sex with Arizona's date so that was very awkward. We're not gonna mention that part to Jesse," Erin whispered. Callie laughed and nodded.
"Okay," she said.
"What did you say to Arizona, then?" Erin asked.
"Just that I have experience to give. And that she's the baby for not giving me a try," Callie said. Erin put the beers down in front of Jesse and sat down beside him.
"Hey, Callie," Jesse smiled.
"Next time, maybe don't have a few drinks and then go and tell Arizona how you feel. Maybe do it sober. Or let me do it. I'll follow a script. I'm good at acting," Erin said. Callie sighed and chugged her drink.
"I think I'm just gonna go and die in bed," Callie said.
"Have fun. I'll see you at work tomorrow?" Erin asked.
"Yeah. Thank you," Callie kissed Erin's cheek and waved at Jesse, leaving the bar.
"What was that about?" Jesse asked.
"Callie has recently come to terms with liking women. Arizona is a long-time lesbian. Arizona kissed Callie and then when Callie asked her out, Arizona said no because she found out that Callie is a baby gay and Callie has just told Arizona she has experience to give, while Arizona happens to be on a date. So, you know, awkward," Erin took a sip of her beer.
"Wow," Jesse mumbled. "Girls are complicated," he said.
"You have no idea," Erin snorted.