"Apparently, we go on walks now."
Scar barks playfully while bounding about the millions of puddles created by Seattle's rainy weather. I carefully step through the mud while my father walks ahead.
"Dad, aren't we gonna talk about this?" A short huff leaves my lips. "You can't ignore me forever, you know."
"I'll take my chances." He barely looks back.
I narrow my brows in frustration towards him. "You never explained why you told Derek to break up with me."
"You never asked."
"I never asked? Are you kidding me?"
He straps Scar back to the leash so we can head back to the apartment.
"I love him. And he loves me." There's a crack in my voice that adds to the moment. "Why can't you be happy for me?"
The aging man finally stops walking, his head dropped gently as he speaks.
"Because he reminds me. . .of myself. When I first met your mother."
With a heavy sigh, he turns around and faces me.
"If he's anything like me. . .he's not good for you, darling. The same way I wasn't good for your mother."
"She left us, Dad."
"I must have had some influence over her leaving."
"But she told me herself. When. . ."
But how can I bring up the fact the my dead mother and I had a conversation when I was on the verge of dying from the drowning incident?
And so I keep my mouth shut.
When he continues walking, I take it as a sign that he's finished discussing the matter for now. So the three of us take the long way back home, before another long shift at the hospital.
"Two weeks, and he's finally talking to me." I lightly sip a double-shot of espresso. "Would you say that's progress?"
Meredith shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. "How would I know? I'm estranged from my dad."
"Parents are overrated." Cristina rolls her eyes. "I say screw it. And it's not like he's gonna change his will anytime soon."
"Cristina."
"No, she's right. The bastard's still leaving me with everything. Typical."
"McAlert, McAlert."
As if on cue, Derek walks past the front desk. He slips his hand into mine and delicately pulls me alongside him. I simply wave towards the two before turning to him.
"How are the daddy issues playing out?" His voice drops to a low whisper.
"When did you turn into Mark Sloan?" I inquire in a teasing tone.
"Thought I'd try it out." He mimics my smirk. "But really, how did it go?"
I press my cheek against his shoulder. "We went out for a walk today, which was nice. And he said more than one word to me."
"Anything else?"
"And that you remind him of himself, he thinks he forced my mom out of the house, and he's afraid you'll do the same."
This entices a private conversation between the two of us, so we move to our meeting spot for activities other than sex: the stairwell.
"Run that by me again."
"Dad said you remind him of himself. . ."
"Uh-huh."
"He thinks he's the reason my mom left. . ."
"Okay."
"And he's afraid you're going to be my reason to leave. . .some metaphorical house."
"Alright." He claps his hands together. "So what you're saying is I have no possible chance of dating you without upsetting your dad."
". . .I thought he already made that clear by ignoring us for two weeks after catching us in my apartment." The tip of my tongue presses against the inside of my cheek.
"Be grateful I found you worth the trouble." He taunts with a peck to the cheek.
"You're the answer to my prayers, Shepherd." I hum lightly.
Before we can continue with our discussion, the two of us are paged down the E.R.. . .when Bailey's son is brought in.
The six interns from last year gather to receive our assignments from the Chief. The four women stand in the C.T. computer room while Bailey and her husband stand with their son.
"Can you imagine how horrible this is for her?" Meredith crosses her legs on the chair.
"This is why people should not have kids." Cristina mutters.
"What's the matter with you?" Izzie scolds her. "That's Bailey's baby in there."
She turns away from the glass window. "No, see, it's a trauma case. If we are gonna be at all effective in saving that kid's life, it can't be Bailey's baby. He's a blunt trauma case."
"Talk about being a teacher's pet." I twiddle my thumbs. "Hahn's the teacher, and —"
"We get it."
"Tough crowd."
Once the films are prepared and printed, we move into the x-ray viewing room to examine the damage done.
"What's that shadow? And where's his heart?"
"You can't see it."
"Poor kid's stomach is currently in his chest."
"There's visceral herniation, a positive collar sign. It's a ruptured diaphragm."
"Which indicates a diaphragmatic hernia."
The four of us look back to the fifth voice, finding Bailey standing at the doorway with her eyes glued to the film.
"Which is the least of his problems. . ." She steps closer to the screen. "Because the force of the trauma injured his thoracic aorta."
Her fingers graze the edge of the slip.
"You see this, in the chest cavity next to the stomach? That's the colon. And around the colon is fluid, which could mean the colon is ruptured and there's fecal matter floating around that could infect the aortic repair, and that. . ."
A tight gasp strains against her choked throat.
"Complications could be fatal."
We remain silent as she takes a moment to let the news of her son's injuries sink in.
"What are y'all standing around for? Page Hahn and the chief. Book an O.R.."
Leave it to Bailey to still be. . .Bailey, even when she doesn't know if her infant son will make it out of this.
Outside the nurse's station, I watch Bailey mutter to herself with her head in her hands. Derek enters the room quietly, only making his presence known when she tosses aside a cup of pencils. As she screams and blames herself, he holds her wrists taut and hugs her comfortingly.
To reassure her that she's not alone.
"Hey." My dad approaches me with a more gentle demeanor than before. "I heard about Miranda and Tucker. Is he alright?"
"He's still in surgery with Hahn and Webber. But he'll be okay. . .hopefully." I nod my head slowly, my gaze still trained on Derek.
"Leven, all I want to do is protect you." He hugs me into his side, touching his chin to the top of my head. "And if that means stopping you from seeing —"
I pinch the back of my neck between two fingers. "I had six years to learn how to protect myself."
"But Leven —"
"Long before I thought about even befriending Derek. . .he suggested I see Dr. Barrinski."
"Well, only because I —"
"Derek risked his own life to save me from the waters."
"I see your point, but —"
"Dad, I am more than prepared to disregard your blessing and continue my relationship with him." I stare up at him. "The only reason I've been begging you to listen for the last two weeks is because I want you involved in my life. And vice-versa."
And with that, I walk away from him.