♤Season 9, Episode 7♤
Angela yawns, staring longingly at the cup of coffee in April's hand as Owen drones on and on in their morning attending's meeting, "Check the OR board for any changes. I have one last thing to say, some of you, uh, may run into Arizona Robbins today. It's her first day back," They cheer and clap, "So if you see her, just make her feel welcome."
"Or maybe..." Callie starts, "Maybe just don't make a big deal at all. It might be better."
"Noted, thank you," Owen nods before drawing their attention back when they all start to stand, "Oh, oh, hold on. I just want to address one more thing. Um, most of you are aware that a group of our doctors have filed a lawsuit against our hospital. Some of you may be wondering what this all means and how it's gonna affect our staff. I'd like to be clear. It doesn't...at all. Let's just let the lawyers worry about that. That's their job. Our job is to continue to work together and support each other in giving the great standard of care that we have always given. Let's not let something like this get in the way of that. Thank you."
Jackson whiffs his coffee under Angela's nose, "Is that enough to keep you awake for the next few hours."
"No," She pouts, "But I already had my one allotted coffee for the day. I promised Alex that I wasn't going to drink more than one cup a day."
"Do you want another sip?" Jackson holds his cup out to her, holding back a laugh when she stares at it, "Take a sip. I won't tell anyone."
Angela purses her lips in thought before taking the cup and another sip, "Thank you. Now I've gotta go meet Bailey's liver/heart patient."
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Sitting on the bench, Angela soaks up some sun as Edwards and Ross watch her. Bailey comes up to the group, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I've just been inside a lot lately and needed some sun. Plus, baby boy is loving the warmth and is kicking up a storm," She sighs, pressing on her belly where he just kicked.
"I'm glad your little boy is happy and healthy in there, but did you check the history of the heart valve like I asked?" Bailey questions the more senior attending.
"Edwards?"
She steps forward, "Yes, and based on the history, we've chosen a pericardial bioprosthesis. I made sure the OR has it ready."
Bailey nods, looking back at Angela as she continues to smile and soak up the sun, "Okay, and, Dr. Ross, you took care of our room situation?"
"East-facing window like he likes. It's also private."
An ambulance pulls up, drawing all their attention, "Good. Okay."
Standing up, Angela stands beside Bailey as the patient is unloaded, "Hey. We've arrived! Dr. Bailey. How does the liver look? Is it a good one?"
"The best. Dr. Ross spent the last 24 hours on the phone with UNOS to make sure it didn't go anywhere else," Dr. Bailey smiles, greeting him.
"They were threatening to send it to Portland, but I went all 'Dr. Bailey' on them," Ross jokes.
"That's my man," The patient laughs.
His husband, Hank, starts handing gift bags to the doctors, "A little thank you for all your hard work."
Angela accepts, "Thank you. Aw!"
He smiles, "For you I slipped in a couple of binkies and toys for your baby. Congratulations."
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Angela stands next to Edwards as Ross presents, "Graham Cunningham, 65, presented with cirrhosis approximately seven years ago. He's now in end-stage liver disease and has subsequently also developed valvular heart disease."
Graham smiles at the intern, "Well done, Dr. Ross."
"I've been practicing."
"He's modest too," Angela comments, warning clear in her voice, "Why didn't we treat the valve disease ear-"
Edwards interrupts her, knowing the question, "Right away? Because the valve replacement surgery would've caused his liver to fail. But the liver transplant would've caused his heart to fail. That's why we'll do both surgeries today. First the valve replacement, then the liver transplant."
Angela gives her an impressed look, "Good. Do well in surgery and you might just make it onto my service consistently."
She perks up as Bailey gives her a smile before Graham's husband asks, "Dr. B, you're confident this liver's the one? We're not gonna get halfway to the OR and have to turn around like last time?"
"All signs point to this being the one," Bailey says, looking at Ross for confirmation, "We just had to date a bunch of others to find it."
Graham looks at his husband, "Kind of like you. Kissing all those frogs before you met me," They all chuckle.
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Angela stands next to Edwards, watching her practice, "That's it. Good job. Avoid twisting the cables too tightly or you'll cut the sternum."
Bailey's voice is heard, yelling at Angela, "What is this I hear about you letting your intern do a procedure on my patient?"
"You tattled on me?" Edwards asks Ross.
He shrugs, "I didn't spend the last three months on liver watch so you could kill this guy."
"And I didn't spend 10 years in the army to be talked down to by an intern and third year attending. No one is killing anyone. She's good. Best intern of this class. Maybe even the Yang of this class," Angela tells them, noticing Edwards starting to gloat, "No gloating."
"Karev," Bailey gestures for her to come to her, "Do you know how long this man's waited for a liver? So long he was married to a woman the first time he came in here. Now he's come out. He's met the man he's meant to spend the rest of his life with. This is not the man we let an intern practice on."
Angela shakes her head, "Every patient has a story or a history like that. You can not make one mean more than the other when it comes to the future of medicine. The moment it even looks like Edwards is about to make a mistake, I'll jump in. Now, remember your place or I'll take you in front of Chief Hunt. And trust me, he'll be on my side."
She turns around, clearly dismissing Bailey and Ross.
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Watching as Edwards performs a scan on Graham, Angela listens to Edwards diagnosis, "It looks like...there's some calcification of the aortic annulus here?"
Angela raises an eyebrow, "Is that a statement or a question?"
"I...will check again," When she can't answer.
Ross comes in, Graham pointing, "Oh, no. Look at that. He comes bearing bad news."
"It's gonna be fine. The plane taking the transplant team got delayed by rain. We'll know more in an hour," Ross tells them.
Hank sighs, "We've heard that before."
Graham shakes his head, "You don't know. Maybe this is a good thing. Like maybe the plane has to be late so the transport ambulance doesn't crash into an 18-wheeler. Things happen for a reason."
"Here we go."
"Well, they do. I always say, I would never have met Hank if my ex- Carol- hadn't forced us to move to Seattle to be closer to her family."
Hank points out, "You wasted 30 years in that marriage."
Graham argues, "No, it wasn't a waste. It got me here. I met you."
"30 years too late."
"Better late than never," Graham keeps pushing.
"Things don't always happen for a reason, Graham. I was alone all that time, and you were scared. And I don't believe that that's the way things were supposed to be. We were supposed to be together, have our entire lives together. So I can't just sit back and be okay with you losing the one thing that can get me my 30 years with you."
Graham apologizes, resting a hand on Hank's cheek, "I'm sorry. He's just a little scared."
Hank nods, "You're damn right I am," He points at the doctors, "You don't screw this up."
Angela shakes her head, "We won't. Dr. Ross will make sure that the liver gets here."
"If I have to drive to Oregon and pick it up myself," He agrees.
Graham points at him, "See? Maybe that's why I had to say things happen for a reason, so you'd tell at them."
Angela smiles at them, patting Graham's leg, "Sometimes being scared with the person you love is more powerful and important than being strong for them."
"See. She's a smart one," Graham points at Angela.
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Angela finds Jackson sitting in an exam room by himself and holding a vial of blood, "Are you a vampire now? What's with the blood?"
Jackson jumps, "Geez! Do we need to put bells on you or something?"
She stands there, looking at the vial, "What's with the blood?"
He runs a hand over his head, "Uh, eh, um, April thinks she's pregnant."
"Oh," Angela nods in surprise, "Well, um, take it from me. Not knowing is both scary and safe. Teddy had to read the results for me because I was so scared. Just, be prepared for a flurry of emotions from both of you no matter the results."
"Yeah. That's...yeah," Jackson sighs.
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Stepping into the OR of Graham, Angela gets Bailey's attention, "Dr. Bailey."
"Hey. We're almost ready for you. After this bile duct, we'll be just about done," Bailey tells them.
A nurse calls out from near the phone, "Dr. Bailey, Dr. Warren's calling the front desk.He was wondering what time your surgery would be done."
She snarks, "Yeah, I bet he is. He probably found another inspiration picture in a bride magazine he wants to discuss. Do we do silver bells or snowflakes on our invitation? Garland or poinsettias on the centerpiece? Psh. Uh, suction."
Angela sighs, "Bailey, just do the wedding."
"Please, I thought you, Miss. Don't-Do-Love, would be on my side."
"That was before Mark," Bailey slightly deflates, "I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with him. One moment, I'm finding out I'm pregnant and I can't wait to tell him. The next, he's laying in a hospital bed, going through the surge. Then, I was at his funeral. Just do the wedding that he wants because you two love each other and want to treasure each other. Do the stupid wedding for those of us who will never get that."
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After a little bit, Angela and Edwards gets scrubbed in and gowned, "Dr. Karev, I'm almost finished here. You can get ready to close the sternum."
Edwards looks at BokHee, "BokHee, I think Dr. Yang prefers sternal cables, not monofilament wire."
Angela smiles, deciding that since she made the decision to do the surgery herself, to let Edwards have something, "Dr. Edwards, how would you like to close for me today?"
"Uh, no, you heard me. No interns closing up this patient."
"And you heard me. I don't take directions from you. She's been practicing for days and can close a patient. This is my service and she is my intern," Angela says.
Bailey decides not to argue, "Fine. Let her close."
Edwards walks towards the table, "Prepare the sternal cable, please, BokHee."
Ross speaks up from looking in the field, "Dr. Bailey, should there be this much bleeding?"
She looks down, "Oh, he's not clotting. Uh, let's get some FFP and factor five up here. Get in there with some lap pads. We need to apply pressure quick."
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"How's the bleeding?" Angela asks, staying back.
"Still won't stop."
Ross puts in his suggestion, "Can we try more RRC's?"
Bailey shakes her head, "No. That'll just overload him. What's his lactate level?"
"It's gone from 9 to 17 in the last 30 minutes."
"No," Bailey sighs before looking down again, "Oh, come on. No. No. Oh, damn it."
She stops, causing Ross confusion, "Why'd you stop?"
Bailey runs a finger over the liver, "See how the liver's patchy?" Angela sighs, hanging her head.
"He's rejecting it?" Ross asks.
"Does this mean I don't get to close?" Edwards asks.
"Wow. You really are the Cristina of your class. No tact," Angela says, rolling her eyes.
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Angela stands back by the interns as Bailey tells Graham and Hank the news, "You said it was a perfect match."
"It was," She nods, "Just...sometimes for reasons we don't always understand, the body doesn't want to accept the new organ."
Hank asks, "So what now? You-you...you put him back on the transplant list?"
Bailey nods, "Yeah. We made calls. But given Graham's condition..."
"He needs this. Look at him. You can't tell me there are sicker people out there," Hank argues.
"That's the point, bug. I'm sick," Graham figures out, "Better they give it to someone who could make it last. How long do I have?"
Bailey thinks, trying to keep a happy tone, "Mm...a week? Maybe."
"That's good. It's not 30 years. But it's better than nothing."
Angela sniffs, wiping tears away as Ross cries as well and goes to excuse himself, "I'm sorry."
Graham calls after him, "Hey, you don't get to leave. Come back here. I'm old. And I've had a good life. I found people to love who loved me back. Save your tears for someone who needs them. I mean it. You did good. We've got this week...and we're gonna make it count," He starts to cry.
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Angela and Bailey leave the room, Angela pats Ross' back as he walks away, "Bailey."
"What?"
"Next time you question me about letting an intern work, remember that mistakes and bad things can happen to anyone. Interns, nurses, residents, attendings, chiefs, anyone. But how we respond to fix it is the important thing. They won't know how to respond unless we help them operate. It's easy to want to control everything, but we can't. So stop telling me how to run my service."
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AN: can I just say that seeing Pruitt Herrera's actor in Grey's as not Pruitt was weird.
I probably will be having Angela favor Edwards is the route I'll take because I love her.
QoC: what nickname would you give Angela?
Thanks for all of the votes and reads and comments!!!!