Season 10, episode 5
Helena groaned as her alarm went off, the small girl's arm shooting out to turn it off. Letting her head flop back down on her pillow, she looked out of her window, as the sun was beginning to raise.
With a sigh, she sat up, pressing a kiss to Mark's forehead, as she muttered. "Good morning."
"Morning." Mark accepted, letting his own eyes flutter open. "God, I need coffee."
"Coffee's on!" Callie called out from the hallway, as Helena shot him a look.
"You get Alice while I make breakfast?" Helena suggested, as he nodded.
——
The three adults swirled around the kitchen, Helena finishing up her eating her toast, as Mark filled two bowls with cereal. As for Callie, the woman was still in her pijamas, packing up the toddlers' bags.
"Ali, dada's gonna drop you and Sofia off at daycare because mama needs to go to work. Then auntie Callie is going to pick you up from daycare, and mama is gonna try to get home in time for us to play astronauts, ok?" She talked to her daughter, putting on her jacket, as she pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Ok." The girl agreed, her characteristic little dimples coming out, as she smiled.
"Ok, ladies, here's breakfast." Mark handed the girls their cereal.
"I love you, have a good day." Helena told her husband, pressing a kiss to his lips.
"We're getting good at this." The man pointed out, referring to their newfound rhythm, with Callie and Sofia.
As the short woman circled the kitchen island, Callie called out, running to the girl. "Oh, your phone!"
"Thank you, have a good day." She wished.
Then, almost instinctively, the two women shared a quick peck on the lips. When Helena realized what had just happened, already turning away, she froze, a confused look on her face.
As the short brunette slowly turned around, she shared a look with Callie, who let out. "Maybe we're too good at this?"
At Mark's amused expression, Helena lifted her hand, warning. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sloan."
"Hey, I didn't say anything!" He defended, his voice higher pitched.
"Oh, but you were about to." Helena nodded, the man shrugging.
"Yeah, I was."
——
"Good morning, Dr. Kepner, Dr. Campos." Leah Murphy greeted, before turning to Arizona. "Dr. Robbins. Coffee? I thought you could use it before surgery."
"Oh." Arizona smiled. "That's... nice." As the intern walked away, the blond's eyes widened. "What did I do?"
"Something nice, apparently. We didn't get coffee." April shrugged.
"Oh, no, Keps. That's not 'thank you' coffee. It's 'I'm hitting on my coworker' coffee." Helena nodded. "I know because Mark used to bring me it and it took me centuries to realize."
Looking down to the cup, Arizona gasped. "No, no. I think I actually did something really, really bad. I think that I brought her back to my apartment the night of the gala."
"You think?!" Both other girls let out.
"I don't know. I was drunk. I barely remember even getting home, and then I have a vague memory of her in my kitchen. And now she's being really friendly. Did I flirt with her that night?" The attending tilted her head.
"All I know is that Mark brought me home and put you two in a cab." The small girl shrugged. "See, this is why I don't really drink. Now I could have flirted with someone and I wouldn't know."
"All I remember is waking up in my bathtub with my spanx still on." The redhead told them.
"Oh, well, at least we know you two are good." Arizona told them.
——
As Helena and Cristina walked down the hallway, Meredith approached them. "Hey! I heard you two are doing a heart liver on one of Lena's kids?"
"Yeah! How cool is that?" The small girl let out.
"Let me take the liver." She requested.
"Really?" Cristina asked.
"Yeah, really! Why didn't you think of me in the first place?" The blond chuckled.
"I guess we thought you were easing back in?" Helena explained.
"I don't ease back in, I jump in the deep end. I swim." She replied.
"Alright. Have you read the Cleveland article on simultaneous heart liver transplant under CPB?" The curly haired doctor questioned.
"I have not, is it different from a regular heart liver?" The general surgeon tilted her head.
"Uh, yeah." Helena chuckled at the blond's cluelessness. "I think I still have a copy in my cubby, you know how I am with articles. I'll give it to you."
——
"So I need someone to pick Zola up." Meredith sighed.
"Maybe I can ask Callie to take her to my place with Ali and Sofia, and you can go pick her up after? They could all have your... princess tea party." Helena suggested.
"Oh, oh! The recovery team texted, two minutes until they open the donor." Cristina announced.
"Hey, Ross? Could you run down to the ER and ask Torres if she can pick up my kid, today, bring her to Helena's?" Meredith called out.
"Sure, but I have to get this blood to the lab-"
"And remind her about the princess tea party." The woman interrupted.
"Well, that's pretty cool." Cristina let out.
"The tea party? Yeah. I mean, it's just apple juice and cookies, but she's excited about this." The blond smiled.
"Not the tea party, Mer." Helena giggled.
"The three of us, doing ground breaking surgery. That was the idea when we started." Cristina smiled at them.
"The Twisted Sisters, kicking surgical ass." The short girl chuckled.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool."
"Do you need to go pump?" Cristina asked.
"No, I'm fine."
"You're holding your boobs. You need to go pump." Helena pointed out.
"But we're having a moment. I don't wanna spoil it." The blond tilted her head.
"Mer, your boobs are exploding. Go pump."
"Thank you!" The blond ran off.
——
Meredith had had to go be with Zola, as the toddler had cut her forehead open. As such, Cristina had decided that it'd probably be best to call Bailey, as the blond would inevitably be distracted.
"Whew! I'm here." Meredith let out, entering the scrub room, as Helena put on her pigeons scrub cap. "What's she doing here?"
"She's doing the liver." Cristina told her person, making Helena bite the inside of her cheek.
"I'm doing the liver." The blond affirmed. "She needed two staples, I actually left her in the hands of Jenna, that nurse that-"
"I don't care about Zola." Cristina snapped. "I'm thinking about the patient."
"Whoa, dial it back for a second." Meredith urged.
"Does she have a concussion?" Helena spoke up, attempting to break up the tension.
"No, she's fine." The blond shook her head.
"Are you?" Cristina tried. "Because you are going to be worried about that and 100 other things, besides Lena's patient and liver."
"Well, she's my patient, too."
"Did you finish reading the article, Mer? The one about simultaneous transplants completely under CPB?" The short girl muttered, softly. At Meredith silence, Cristina spoke up.
"Dr. Bailey knows the procedure, Dr. Bailey is scrubbing in."
"I'm sorry." Helena muttered, as Cristina and Bailey entered the OR. "It's not personal, Mer. It's just... she's one of my kids. You know I have to advocate for them first, for what is best for them, above anything else. I'm sorry."
——
"How'd it go?" Meredith asked, harshly, as Helena and Cristina left the OR.
"Her initial labs look good. She's, uh, headed down to the pediatric ICU." Helena explained. "I'm sorry."
"I really wish you could have been in there with us." Cristina agreed.
"I worked my ass off to do that surgery with you, and you kicked me out of it! That was low-"
"Meredith. You were unprepared, you were unfocused, and you were late." Cristina argued.
Softly, Helena added. "Mer, she's my kid. My responsibility. You know I couldn't in good conscience have you scrub in when I felt you h-hadn't read the material o-or researched the procedure. And I know you tried, I know it wasn't your fault-"
"You stole the surgery from me!" Meredith yelled.
"It wasn't your surgery, Meredith." The short girl shook her head, rubbing at her forehead. "It was my surgery. I brought Cristina on and you, too. But it was my surgery."
"And if anything we rescued that surgery from you. Because you couldn't do it!" Cristina had a much more confrontational tone.
"Oh, I understand that you believe you are God's gift in medicine, Cristina, but I am every bit as talented and competent as you are!" Meredith argued back.
"No one's saying that you aren't, I am saying that-" Helena tried to intervene.
"No, you're not." Cristina let out, making Helena's eyes widen. "I'm sorry, but you're not. And that's... that's ok. You have different priorities now."
"Cristina, that's not fair, don't-" The peds surgeon tried, to no avail.
"You cut back on clinical hours, you log less time in the OR. I mean, you don't do research. And I get it. I mean, you have Zola and Baby Bailey, and you want to be a good mom." The Korean woman explained, as the short girl furrowed her brows.
"Let's not make this about more than it is, guys..." Helena pleaded, knowing her two people could sometimes have fights that got blown out of proportion.
"I don't believe you! You are saying that I can't be a good surgeon and a mom." Meredith argued.
"Of course not!" Cristina let out. "Helena's a mom, and she was brilliant in the OR. Bailey's a mom, and she was fantastic in there today, too."
"Then what are you saying?!" Meredith yelled.
"I'm saying... I'm- ok. Baby Einstein never let up." Cristina shrugged.
"Uh, ok. Meredith, I'm sorry we couldn't key you scrub in. Cristina, Meredith is an amazing surgeon, she gets a less than prefect day. Just... don't put me in the middle of this." Helena pleaded.
"But it's true! Mark took some time off, he's already more advanced in his career. He worked less, in the beginning. Her kid does sleep overs at Callie and Arizona's all the time, and vice versa. But Helena had Alice in our residency and she still did two boards at once." The other brunette pointed out. "She does research, and logs OR hours, and reads more articles that I ever could, because when she's not with her family, she's here. She never stops. When she's with her family, she doesn't think of work. And that also means that when she's here, she's not thinking about her family. She never let up. Bailey never let up. Ok? She, like, lives here. Callie and Arizona never let up. Ellis Grey never let up. And I know you don't want to be your mother. I'm saying... I'm saying the three of us started running down the same road, at the same time, and at a certain point, you let up. You slowed down. And don't say that I don't support that, because I do. You made your choices, and they are valid choices. But don't pretend they don't affect your skills. You... are a very good surgeon. It's... we're in different places now. And that's ok." She finished, walking out.
"Are you ok?" Helena muttered, softly.
At the lack of an answer, she simply put her arms around her friend, who hugged her tightly. "You're a good surgeon, Mer. You know why I had to kick you out. And it's ok. You just had a baby. And you are a superwoman for juggling it all. No one's taking that away from you."
——
"And, I mean, maybe Cristina was right that Meredith wasn't ready, I mean, I didn't let her be in the OR for a reason. A-and they're my patients, my kids, they're vulnerable on the table, I had to. But she definitely wasn't right by saying what she said. I mean, Mer is a kickass surgeon and no one can tell me otherwise." Helena ranted, as she opened her side of the bed, after having helped Callie move out. "And, look, maybe I have been able to juggle it well, but it's thanks to you, too. I've learned to make the most of my time, and it is true that the genius intellect helps. I read quick, I work quick and I learn quick. It doesn't take me as much times as it should, there's a reason I finished school so young. So it's not fair that she brought me into that, o-or compared me to Mer! It's not fair to me, and it's not fair to her, even if Mer made such a big deal when she was the one that wasn't prepared."
As she finished, with a huff, the girl got into bed, turning to her husband. "Right?"
"R-right, sweetheart. Absolutely, whatever you say." He nodded, at a bit of a loss. After all these years, he still struggled to keep up right Lee's rapid ranting.
——
Season 10, episode 6
"What? Why did you turn that down? I mean, it seems like such a good research project." Mark questioned, after his wife told him about a clinical trial she passed onto a colleague.
"Well, you have taken so much time off already, for our family." Helena shrugged.
"Honey, I don't-"
"And I know, I know that you don't mind, and that you aren't as big on doing research as I am, and that you enjoy they routine stuff... I know all that." She reassured. "But it's only fair. We're trying to have another little one, and I don't always want you to have to sacrifice surgery. This isn't a decisive year for me, first years attendings usually take more routine stuff on either way. Next year is. So I'll take it easier this year. And you have the freedom of exploring more, if you want." She smiled, as she took a bite of her morning toast. "And, next year, we'll switch."
At that, Mark smiled, smitten. "Thank you, Lee. I love you."
"I love you, too." Helena nodded.
——
Season 10, episode 7
"Good morning, Taryn." Helena smiled at a patient in the ER, having been paged by Jo. "I'm doctor Campos, but you can call me Dr. C, if you'd like. I'll be your doctor for today. I hear you have a stomach ache?"
"Yeah." The girl, dressed up as a wizard for Halloween, admitted.
"We had some candy last night during the movie and she got sick... a few times." The father informed.
"Ok." Helena nodded, as she palpated the girl's abdomen. "Well, candy for dinner is never great. Since she has some guarding and a fever, I'm guessing it's probably not the candy, though. We'll do some further testing."
"I still get to trick-or-treat, right?" The girl pouted.
"Oh, the best trick-or-treating is right here in the peds floor. We all go around with these huge pillowcases, and everyone hands out as much candy as you can carry. It's super awesome." Helena smiled brightly.
——
"Maggots. In her wound." Stephanie told Callie, Meredith and Helena.
"Gross." Callie chuckled.
"Writhing and pulsing." She continued.
"We know what maggots are." Meredith interrupted.
"Yes, please do save us the details." Helena shook her head.
"At first they were a little bit blurry, because my eyes- I just had eye surgery-" The intern explained.
"What? What are you doing here?" Callie let out.
"You shouldn't be seeing patients." Meredith agreed.
"Oh, no, you shouldn't even be reading or anything. You need to rest you eyesight. I read some stuff on those surgeries and the results are much better if you do rest." Helena agreed.
"But I wanna be helpful." The intern justified. "Also, why are you reading about ophthalmological surgery?"
"I like to keep up with other specialties." She shrugged. "Keeps you're mind sharp, helps you think of the patient with a more holistic approach, helps in emergencies..."
"Well, if you're staying, then you can go to the store and buy some Halloween candy. Name brands. None of those smarties or candy corns." Meredith encouraged.
"Did Alex not buy any?" Helena looked to her person.
"No."
"But I'm not supposed to drive." Stephanie justified.
"Luckily, someone invented the bus pass." The blond tried.
"Uh, what, no! She's supposed to be resting. As in, at home, Edwards." Helena reprimanded, her motherly nature coming out to play.
"Respectfully, Dr. C, I wanna work." The intern argued.
"Come on, Grey. We're not gonna make her take the bus." Callie seemed to agree.
"Thank you, Dr. Campos, Dr. Torres." The intern smiled.
"There's a shop just up the street. You can walk." The ortho surgeon explained.
As Stephanie tried to look to Helena for help, the short girl shrugged. "Hey, I'd rather having you going to the store than seeing patients, strains your eyes less."
——
After asking Helena to help scrub in on the surgery, Callie commented. "Wow, there's is barely any necrotic tissue here, the maggots might have actually saved her leg."
"Well, remind them to send them flowers." Meredith joked. "We might actually make trick-or-treating tonight."
"Yeah, about that- I'm uh- I'm bowing out, tonight. Arizona and I can't be in the same room for more than five minutes before everything devolves into gunfire and screaming." Callie sighed. "Sofia's been so excited for Halloween, I'm not about to let her mommies' bickering ruin it. So... taking one for the team."
"Oh, really?" Helena almost pouted. "It's gonna be my first time trick-or-treating o-or even doing a proper Halloween!"
"And there's gonna be a piñata! And pin the head on the skeleton." Meredith added.
"Damn it! They're so cute when they're blindfolded." Callie groaned.
"And bobbing for apples!" Helena added.
"Aw! They're even cuter when they bob!" The ortho surgeon melted.
"I'll take pictures." Helena volunteered.
"Dr. Campos?" A nurse called out. "Dr. Wilson paged you, she said it is urgent."
"Crap." Helena let out, Meredith taking over her as she stepped out.
"Mark will take pictures?" Callie let out, hopeful.
——
"Adrenal glands are enlarged, coupled with high potassium, low glucose, adrenal insufficiency..." Jo read out, as Helena repeatedly pressed the elevator button, in a hurry.
"Her body's not producing enough adrenaline." Helena concluded.
"But there's no tumor. Unless it's an infection, maybe blastomycosis... oh, god. Her dad mentioned they just went to Brazil." The intern realized.
"And you didn't put that in the chart?" Helena's voice was higher pitched, as she started a jog to the ER, Jo behind her.
However, as they reached it, the child was nowhere to be found, her bed empty and her father on the phone.
"Sir? Where's your daughter?" Helena questioned, her voice harsh.
"She was just here. She was asking about trick or treating around the hospital and I just stepped out to change my flight..." He shrugged.
"Sir, Taryn's body isn't producing adrenaline. It's what keeps our organs from going into shock o-or shutting down when we get hurt or scared." Helena explained.
"You said she started feeling sick last night, watching a scary movie?" The younger woman questioned.
"She wanted to watch it!" He argued.
"She's wandering through the hospital on Halloween. I-if something frightens her, she could go into shock..." Helena exhaled. "We have to go find her."
——
Child safely returned to her father and operated on, the surgeons were now at Alex's, at the daycare's Halloween party.
"Oh, you are so adorable, pequenina!" Helena let out, kissing her toddler cheek, the small girl dressed up as a bat. "Can you tell daddy what I taught you how to say?"
"Morcego!" The toddler let out, with a smile, sitting with her family on Alex's couch.
"Yeah, morcego." Helena chuckled. "That means bat."
"Hey, you made it!" Derek let out, as Meredith walked through the door.
"The party is great." Arizona smiled.
"Our girls are champion apple-bobbers." Mark agreed. "And so is Lee."
At that, the short girl hit his arm, the man bent over to play with Cristina. "Hey, I've never had a proper Halloween. I was too old when I came here and I never really had an excuse to. Let me be excited."
"Hey." Callie walked into the living room with Sofia, wearing an astronaut suit and a princess tiara. "Look at the little space princess!"
As Sofia walked over to her blond mother, Meredith approached Callie, near Helena.
"I don't hear any gunfire." The blond let out.
"Yeah, well, we'll only get about ten of these before she starts wanting to wear slutty costumes and run off with her friends." The ortho surgeon shrugged. "I'm not about to cut that number in half. It's the first thing Arizona and I have agreed on in months."
"You didn't invite Cristina?" Helena whispered to her person.
"I did, but I don't know if she's coming." The blond sighed.
"What? You still haven't made up?" The younger girl pouted. "You two need to make up, I don't like being in the middle of it."
"Ok, time to go trick or treating." Arizona announced, making Helena excitedly get up, picking up Alice.
——
Word count: 3543
AN:
Lots of emotion in this chapter. First cuteness, cause Lena got so excited for Halloween and Ali was a bat, and it's funny how Callie fit into the family.
Also, kind of a bit of angst, with the Twisted Sisters' fight. Do you think Lena handled it well? Whose "side" were you on, between Mer and Cristina?