S7 EP20
MARK OPENED THE DOOR to their apartment after it was being knocked repeatedly near midnight. He raised a brow at Timothy, who let himself in, kicking off his shoes before heading to the couch.
"What's up with the hair?"
Timothy winced as he pulled off the rubber elastic hair ties from his hair. "Arizona's work. Turns out, Sofia loves it when my hair is like-what I dub-a unicorn," he grimaced, tossing the pink curled up hair tie on the coffee table.
Mark fought back the urge to laugh at the younger man while the latter struggled to get the elastic hair ties out of his hair. "So, how was dinner with the families?"
"Carlos and Colonel were fucking glaring at me like I'm a human meat pie," Timothy grunted out as he got the last of the hair ties off his hair, "That's two fathers-call me frightened, because I am."
"Colonel?" Mark quirked a brow.
"Arizona's father calls himself that," Timothy sighed, sinking onto the couch after a highly tense dinner with both his daughter's grandparents. "I have a whole fucking week with them. I think I might die."
Mark snorted and handed him one of the beers before slumping on the other end of the couch. "You know, you have no idea how glad am I that your dad isn't involved in your lives."
Timothy let out an irritated and envious grunt before taking a swing off his beer.
Norah walked out of the room after a bath, seeing her boyfriend and her brother. They were both chatting and laughing while drinking in the living room. She narrowed her eyes at them with a small pit of jealousy inside of her.
Tim's stealing my boyfriend from me, and Mark's stealing my brother from me.
Gits.
❦ ❦ ❦
"ARE YOU OKAY TO BE walking?" Derek inquired the resident who shot him a scowl while they walked down the hallway.
"If anyone asks me that again..." Norah took a deep breath and shook her head, "I'll kick your arse, Shepherd. Literally. I'm pumped with energy right now." Alex snickered next to her, holding the chart in his hand.
"Please don't," the neurosurgeon smiled back at her grimly, "Mark will kick me again for making you kick me."
The three surgeons entered the patient room in the Pediatrics Wing, where Alex's African kids' program had launched. They were greeted by the loud wailing sound from a baby; Derek's smile grew while Norah touched her bump slightly.
"Makena? Hi, I'm Dr Shepherd. You know Dr Karev, and this is Dr Lawrence," he introduced, "We're here to take a look at Zola today." Makena passed the baby over to Derek, who adjusted the position of his carrying. "Uh, sometimes babies with spina bifida can develop Chiari malformation."
"It causes fluid build-up in the brain," Norah explained when she saw the confused look on Makena's face, "It could be pretty uncomfortable for the baby, but sometimes, if you adjust her head position..."
"It helps relieve the pressure," Derek finished her sentence, and Zola's cries had faltered. Her small hand reached up to touch the attending's face, and he was grinning brightly back at her. "Let me see this," he cooed, "Let me see this face."
"Are you gonna cry soon?" Alex whispered to Norah, who nudged him hard in the ribs; the former yelped in pain.
"We've had her at the orphanage since she was two months old," Makena shared, referring to the baby that was getting cradled in the attending's arms. "This is the first time she's stopped crying since I can remember."
Derek shone a light in Zola's eyes for a quick check before turning to the residents. "Let's just run an MRI and check to see if she has a Chiari malformation or hydrocephalus," he instructed, "If it's positive, we're gonna have to do a shunt, drain the fluid. It's gonna postpone the spinal surgery, but I think it's gonna be worth it."
"I think she likes you," Alex pointed out, and Norah nodded in agreement.
Derek laughed softly when Zola put his penlight in her mouth. "She can keep that," he grinned, "I have plenty."
Norah narrowed her eyes at the attending who lingered in the room, staring at the baby with whom he had obviously formed an immediate connection. She had to physically pull him out of the room with a laugh, shaking her head. "You're staring too long. Makena's starting to look weirded out."
"Wow, Mark wasn't wrong about you-you are stronger," he exhaled and took the chart from Alex. The resident was still rubbing the spot that he got nudged a bit ago, as he went off to order the scans.
"Zola's cute, isn't she?" Derek spoke up, his eyes glimmering.
She hid a smile to herself, knowing that look on his face. "Oh, Derek..."
❦ ❦ ❦
MARK STOOD IN THE ROOM with his arms crossed, his foot tapping nervously against the floor. Norah quirked a brow at him as the OB smeared the cool gel on her stomach. They both had their eyes fixed at the monitor next to the bed while the transducer probe rolled around her stomach.
The nervous feelings always crept up on them whenever the screen lit up; then, they would exhale in relief when the heartbeat filled the room. The strong rhythm of the little life growing inside on her was one thing that never stopped fascinating her during her every check-up.
"How's his size?" Mark queried, and Norah shot him a glare.
The OB chuckled at his attempt. "Don't worry, you aren't the first to use this trick," she mentioned, "Its size is within the norm."
Mark let out a silent curse at his-yet again-failed attempt; he finally lost his patience. "Alright, come on, Norah, you wanna know their gender!" he tried convincing, but Norah would not budge.
"We agreed that we'll have a surprise!" she retorted.
"You hate surprises. Also, we had not agreed... yet, technically, because you fell asleep mid-discussion." Narrowing his eyes, he let out a frustrated groan, "Also, I don't know what colours to paint the walls!"
There was a long silence before she lifted her hand for him to take. He stood next to her while she grabbed his hand-then squeezed it tightly, causing him to grunt loudly at the sudden stinging pain.
"Now, now, love. Shh..." she smirked slyly at him, "I'm carrying our Sloan Offspring, and I've got nicknamed a 'Human Incubator'-"
"Well, that's kinda true-ow!"
"-so me and your kid both get a vote each," she deadpanned, "And we vote to wait. So, it's 2 to 1; you're outvoted. Suck it up."
Mark let out a soft whimper and nodded, hissing at the pain in his hand.
"And paint the walls something neutral."
The OB had an impressed smile while she cleaned the gel off the pregnant woman's stomach, giving Norah a thumbs-up.
❦ ❦ ❦
1 DAY LATER
NORAH SAT AT THEIR apartment, switching between the news channel and the cooking channel; the latter was making her hungry and knowing that Mark was a bad cook, she switched off the TV with a sigh.
Hell, she missed having Timothy around.
Sadly, her brother was stuck with Callie and Arizona's wedding plans and mini rehearsals, which from what she heard, was spooking him.
The door opened, and Mark entered with his eyebrows furrowed and a troubled look on his face. He had just gone down the hall to inform Callie that her minister could not make it to their wedding due to an unfortunate accident.
"How did she take it?" Norah asked.
He tossed the keys into the bowl, shaking his head. "Torres says she isn't getting married, and Tim's trying to comfort her," he passed along the information, sitting down on the couch next to her. "What can we do?"
"We'll call Bailey," she suggested, and he stared back at her curiously. "I mean-it's Bailey, the same person who was close to beating the crap out of you when she found out about our kid?"
He nodded in agreement at the recollection of memory, already fishing out his phone. But, she snatched it away and put it aside. "Phone call can wait," she stated, pressing a kiss on his lips, "I called in sick today."
"A-Are you not feeling well?" he asked concernedly, "I mean, do we-"
"Shush. I just need a day off. See, Derek has no Alzheimer's patient these two days, I'm pregnant, tired like crap, my legs cramp, I'm hungry all the time because this child of ours eats like a champ," she shot him a glare when he started to laugh, "And I'm high as hell."
"You're what?"
"Hormones, Mark! My sex drive is high as hell!"
He cocked a head aside with a suggestive smirk when she shut her eyes to rest. He draped an arm over her shoulder before leaning in to kiss her neck, feeling her melt under his contact. It drove her into madness.
She snapped her head to him before he could fully wet her neck with kisses. To say that he got taken aback when her tongue instantly penetrated his mouth would be an understatement. He held onto the couch to not entirely fall on his back; she was already fumbling with the zip of his jeans.
"Whoa, okay-damn, Laurie. You are high as hell-"
"Mark, shut up before I make you."
❦ ❦ ❦
BAILEY HAD MANAGED TO convince Callie out of her intruding mindset, and the wedding was still on. The event was finishing its set up, and the people in the hospital were starting to get off from work.
Mark was helping with Callie while Norah was with Arizona in the latter's apartment. The brunette thanked the babysitter when she arrived and pointed out all the required supplies and things for Sofia while the baby napped soundly in her crib.
Norah stepped out of the room after leaving the babysitter to the baby and walked over to the other bedroom.
"Hey, Arizona, the babysitter's here," she knocked on the door, "Sofia's asleep, and I told the sitter about her feeding schedule, too. Mark's with Callie because she is, well, nervous-nothing you need to worry about."
There was no response from inside the room, other than the shower that had just turned off.
"Uh... I'm coming in," Norah informed before slowly opening the door. Arizona stepped out of the bathroom wearing a robe, and her hair was wet; her expression filled with pain and mourning. "Hey, um... you okay?"
The blonde shook her head with a sniff. "When I came out to my brother, he asked me if that meant that I was gonna marry a chick," she prefaced, "And when I said yes, he got this b-big smile, and he said, 'I'm gonna dance so hard at your wedding.'
"My dreams are coming true-dreams I didn't even know that I had. But my brother's not here. He's missing it. And I know that I'm late, I know it, I know it..." Arizona's voice was shaky and on the verge of breaking.
Norah instantly felt her nose stinging and silently cursed herself; the woman's feelings were not relatable, but she could never imagine her brother gone.
"But why do you think that my dad schedules every minute of every day? If every minute is accounted for, then there's no time to slow down and just..." the blonde choked on a sob and lowered her head, "I just... I need a minute to miss my brother."
"Then you'll have your minute." Norah shut the door behind her, allowing the other woman to let out her feelings. She sat them down on the bed and wrapped her arms around the crying woman. "You know, your brother isn't missing it, he'll be there... in the form of a butterfly, or the brightest star in the sky, or-I don't know, a lyric of a song?"
Arizona slowly lifted her head to the brunette sitting next to her. "Are... Are you treating me as a Peds case right now?"
"You're a Pediatric surgeon. Deal with it," Norah grinned back at her, "You know, it's kinda funny how both our brothers' names are Timothy."
Arizona sniffed back a tear and smiled at the brunette. "We'll be telling Sofia that her Dad and Uncle's names are both Timothy..."
"Oh, wow... Have fun with that."
❦ ❦ ❦
THE NIGHT OF THE WEDDING was packed with people dominating the dance floor, as well as food that made Norah-or maybe the fetus-hungry almost every minute.
A thing she disliked the most, other than random people coming up to touch her baby bump, was the fact that she could not have any alcohol.
She watched her friends whom she shared a table with drinking wines and champagnes; even Mark had a glass of scotch in his hand. When he brought the drink up for a sip, she eyed the glass of alcohol like it was a traitor.
"We gotta make a pact," she voiced out, "If I can't have alcohol while carrying this child, you can't have any either."
Mark widened his eyes at his girlfriend, realising that she was, in fact, dead-serious. He quickly finished his scotch and leaned forward to place his empty glass on the table. "Alright," he caved with a small sigh.
She elbowed him hard when she heard a small whimper coming from him from saying farewell to his favourite drink for a while.
Timothy was smirking opposite the round table while he locked eyes with his sister, taking a long sip of whisky with a grin on his face. Norah rolled her eyes at him and directed her gaze to the grilled kebab on Cristina's plate.
April nudged her on the arm, and Cristina turned to Norah briefly. Narrowing her eyes, she moved her plate away from the pregnant woman, causing April to stare at her in disbelief.
Jackson laughed at their interaction, but his smile instantly wiped off when Mark reached over to his plate and stole his kebab skewer.
Norah sighed as she chewed on the food. "This kid eats like a horse," she mumbled, "I haven't stopped eating since I've sat down here."
"Maybe your Sloan Offspring is a horse," Cristina suggested; everyone at the table chuckled, except the two parents-to-be.
Mark raised a brow at her, and Norah grumbled. "You gotta learn how to love this kid, 'cause you're gonna be Aunt Cristina who's gonna teach 'em how to be a shark."
"You mean, how to be a cold-blooded bitch?" Jackson offered instead.
"A mean one," Cristina snorted before turning to the brunette, "Sweetheart, I'll love your kid... as long as it isn't a replica of its dad."
Mark took personal offense at her statement, which made Norah cackle. "T-That isn't very reassuring at all, Yang."
"You knocked up one of my best friends," Cristina shrugged nonchalantly, "Now her child's gonna be all Sloan-y. Don't get me wrong-you have good genes, but... Sloan-y."
Norah laughed at the disturbing look on Mark's face. She leaned forward and tossed the finished skewer aside. "Hey, Tim, how's the betting pool going?"
"Er..."
"What betting pool?" Mark queried.
"Baby gender."
"Fuck, what is it again...?"
"39 votes on a boy and 52 votes on a girl, there were 12 votes in twins that are already out, and the bets are getting bigger day by day," Lexie spoke when Timothy failed to reply, "He only collects the money, he's clueless."
He quirked a brow at her. "Uh, no. To be fair, Lex, I'm drowned in baby duties. Hence, clueless."
Everyone at the table could sense the heavy tension growing. Jackson eyed Lexie and Timothy curiously while the latter's gaze stayed on his drink; she cleared her throat and returned a smile.
"Yup... Sounds like my brother," Norah broke the silence awkwardly.
Mark kissed her on the neck before sighing. "I still wanna know the gender," he whispered.
"You don't get to charm your way into this one," she snapped back, "Besides, let the pool grow. I'm interested in that."
She reached forward to get the juice on the table, where Cristina was kind enough to bring it to her. "I'll be Auntie Cristina who teaches your Offspring how to drink when he or she is around like..." she thought for a moment, "ten?"
"Oh my god, Cristina-not ten!" April hissed at her, and a laugh broke at the table.
"Oh, please. If it's Auntie Mer, the baby will be drinking tequila in its baby bottle. Be grateful for Auntie Cristina."
Norah had the same worried look on her face as April and Lexie; Mark was laughing along with the other men at the table. The brunette shook her head and sipped on the juice that was slightly too sweet for her liking.
She placed a hand on her stomach and sighed, "You know, I am starting to get concerned for this child."
He nodded with a sigh, "I still wanna know their gender."
❦ ❦ ❦
S7 EP21
"NORAH, YOU REALLY should slow down a bit," Mark frowned at his girlfriend, who was pacing around the apartment, gathering files and papers.
"No, no, no," Norah shook her head, "I have a meeting with Hunt for the Chief Resident position later." She hurried from behind the couch to the kitchen, halting at the island to catch her breath.
"Laurie, you're the best resident in your year," he stated while walking up to her, "Hunt's a fool if he doesn't choose you."
"Yeah, but I'm at a disadvantage," she ranted, "You know the other residents are already seeing me as not their competition? That's ridiculous! And I hate it! I'm already off their stupid list for, and I quote, 'Who wants a Chief Resident who'll be gone most of the time?' Those bloody jerks are gonna get scalpel-ed by me!"
"Screw them," he stated firmly, walking up to her, "I'll personally make sure that the rest of their residency is a living hell if I hear a word of it. How 'bout that?"
She stared up at him as he rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "Sounds... brilliant. And that's why I love you so much."
"And I love you more," he grinned, "Come here." He held his arms wide and engulfed her in a hug. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the heartbeat that slowly calmed her jitters.
"I just feel panic and anxious all the time now that I'm off my antidepressants," she sighed, sitting on the kitchen stool, "And I'm really trying not to freak out every day, Mark, I'm currently stressed out. And I'm hungry."
He chuckled and nodded. "Alright, food first," he stated and took the pre-made jar of fruits and meal out of the fridge. He passed it to her, along with a metal spoon. Her eyes lit up at once after taking a spoonful of it, a grin growing on her face.
Mark bent down in front of her bump. "Hey, little one, your Mom is really stressed right now, so could you maybe... try not to be hungry all day?" he whispered, and she furrowed her brows at him, "Because your Mom gets all cranky, and your Dad doesn't want to get punched-"
"Hey, you can't just ask our kid to not eat!" she objected and knocked his head with the end of the spoon.
He yelped before grinning brightly at her, resting his face on her bump; she could not help but smile at the sight. "Maybe I can, you'll never kn-"
He snapped his head up to her; her eyes widened at the fluttery feeling she had just felt.
With his mouth hung open, he placed his hand on top of the part where he had just felt the movement. "Did... Is that a kick?"
"I-I think so," she blinked at him; the grins on both their faces were brightening by the second.
"Oh my god!" he gasped in awe before pressing a kiss on her stomach.
"Mark, our kid just kicked you in the face."
"I know! Holy-"
"I swear to god, if you faint-"
❦ ❦ ❦
"DR LAWRENCE, I WOULD like to ask something... that I must admit, will be taken account to my decision," Owen stated as he clasped his hand above the table.
Norah exhaled heavily, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Well, Dr Hunt, I am aware that I'll be having nearly half of my pregnancy in my fifth year, then I'll be on maternity leave, but I believe that I can juggle my responsibilities well. This child is not a burden, alright?"
"Okay-whoa-I never said it was," he quickly affirmed, and the resident bit back a smirk. "You've prepared a very detailed suggestions for the teaching program in our hospital. And I must admit, it's very impressive."
"Thanks."
"I have a question about this, um..." he turned to a page and looked for the line. "You stated here that 'Residents can form a better connection with their interns if they know each other outside of the hospital'," he read, "I personally, don't think that is nece-"
"Respectfully, I'm gonna stop you right there," she cleared her throat, "That line you're reading is an example under what I believe is 'Surgeons should know their co-workers in order for surgical efficiency', and yes, I remember that word for word because I re-typed that thing thrice.
"Look, do you know my interns, Dr Kirian Rook, Dr Nina Lee, and... Dr Jace Thompson?"
"Yes, I know them."
"Do you agree that they are... or were the best in their year?" she asked again, and Owen nodded. "See, I have a strong relationship with them-I'm not saying that everyone has to, but it is healthy to get to know them as persons. And personally, I believe my relationship with them contributed to their current strive.
"Remember when the interns were going around suturing each other and cutting out their appendixes? My interns were not involved, except Lee, who was present in the room. They knew about the 'cult', yes, but they knew better than to get themselves in trouble for it, because they knew to come to me to learn. They trust me to provide them with their best education.
"We are surgeons, Dr Hunt, and surgery is a team effort. Communication and trust are the keys to teamwork, and how can you have either of them without getting to know the other person? Don't we also communicate with our patients in order to know their needs? I believe that it should be applied to us caregivers as well."
She could tell that Owen was impressed by her words, and she fought to hide a smug look on her face.
If she were to be entirely honest, she knew she would not be his top pick, but seeing the stunned look on his face was worth it, nevertheless.
❦ ❦ ❦
TIMOTHY WAS SITTING IN the radiology room with Sofia in his arms. He watched as her eyes flutter to sleep, a hand holding his thumb.
The door opened, and he lifted his head to see Lexie walking in with a file in her hand, not noticing his presence.
"Please don't on the lights, Lex," he voiced out, and she startled a little, turning to look at him. "Sofia will only fall asleep here. Turns out, radiology is that fucking boring, huh?"
"You really shouldn't cuss in front of her," she suggested, and he chuckled in response.
"Yeah... I've been working on that," he muttered before standing up, "You need the room? I can find someplace else."
"No, no, no. You stay," she insisted, placing the files aside before walking up to him. "Besides, I, uh, I haven't really seen her up close yet."
He moved closer to her while she stood next to him as she watched Sofia in her sleep; the baby cooing in his arms made him grin. "Wow... She's so much bigger than the last time I saw her."
"Yeah, growing faster than I can keep track," he mumbled with a nod, "Wanna hold her?"
"Oh, no, no. No, it's okay," she insisted with a light chuckle, "I mean, I'll... I'll just wake her, and then she'll cry, and then you'll hate me. Besides, she, uh, doesn't look like she really wants to move."
"You know I can't possibly hate you..."
Lexie lifted her eyes from the baby to him, only to find Timothy already staring back at her. The elated and gleeful look behind his eyes made her feel happy for him; at the same time, it made her heart sink, knowing he was happy without her.
"Uh, I should go," she muttered, and he lowered his head again. She stopped at the door momentarily, turning her head back to him. "I, uh... I am really happy for you," she stated, "You seem happy."
He smiled with a soft nod. "Many things make me happy... I just fail to hold them close to myself."