run, baby, run
season 9 ep 9
🎵About You-The 1975🎵
"there was something 'bout you that now i can't remember"
~~~~~
Madelyn and April have yet to have a proper conversation since the day April's parents were supposed to stay over. Since then the redhead has moved out of Maddy's apartment, despite this the brunette had yet to move back in. She tries to convince herself it's because she wants to be around Zola more, and as much a that's true the real reason has something to do with April. Madelyn had gotten so used to the redhead being around that it honestly felt like she lived with her. She often thinks about how she wishes it wasn't her apartment but theirs, their home. This is where her mind wonders to as she takes a seat next to Jackson who's sat opposite Lizzie as he explains how they plan on operating
"Now once I remove the sural nerve from your leg, Dr. Torres will graft it on to Dr. Shepherd's median nerve. You'll likely experience some discomfort in your leg for a few weeks..."
Jackson is interrupted by Derek who corrects the man "Months. Months. And when he says "discomfort," it's gonna hurt like hell" he says to Lizzie
Lizzie smiles sarcastically at her brother "Well, you're a bag of sunshine, aren't you?"
"I don't want to hear six months from now that you can't move and that the ibuprofen hurts your stomach" Derek says still not onboard with the plan
Lizzie rolls her eyes "He makes me sound like I'm a 90-year-old man. Have you noticed that?" she directs to Jackson who smiles awkwardly
"Because I've heard for decades how I ruined your life..." Derek tries responding but is met with another remark of Lizzie's
"Because you did" she says over Derek who continues
"...And that mom doesn't love you"
This time Madelyn responds "Because she doesn't" she mutters earning a cheeky grin from Lizzie, as much as there is an underlying truth to that statement they only ever mention it to annoy their brother
"I think what you're trying to say is "Thank you, Lizzie," "for cutting off a leg and giving it to me." Lizzie exaggerates
"Ah. Here it is. This is how it's gonna go down in history. It is a nerve. It is not the entire leg" Derek replies
Meredith interrupts the bickering siblings "Okay. Let's focus. Jackson" she says edging the man to continue
Jackson clears his throat "Um, I think Dr. Shepherd's right. If you're unsure, we..."
Lizzie scoffs "Oh, come on. I'm just winding him up because it is so easy. Just give me the form" she says, Jackson passes it to her and she signs it "Okay. Now can I go hang out with Zola in day care?" she asks
"Oh, I'm sorry. They don't let the adults come and go because it's harder on the kids" Meredith says
Both Madelyn and Derek see Lizzie's face drop "I will bring her to you later" Derek says pressing a kiss on Lizzie's head and then Madelyn's as he makes his way out of the room
Madelyn stands up promising to get coffee later with Liz before leaving with Meredith
As the two girls catch up walking along the hallway they stop when they hear their names "Shepherd, Grey" they both look into the room where the voice comes from "Uh, when you get to the wedding tomorrow, don't sit down" Bailey says
Mer and Mads quickly look at each other before sending Bailey a nod in response and continuing their previous conversation
~~~~~
"Lizzie's calves are a little shorter than we anticipated" Jackson explains
"Tall girl, short calves" Callie says
"So is that gonna be a problem?" Mer asks
"No, not if we just get a little more nerve from the other leg" Callie suggests
"Are you saying to..." But Madelyn is cut off by Derek
"No"
"Derek" Meredith says
"Absolutely not. No, I never liked this idea in the first place. We find another donor or we don't do it"
Mer looks at her husband "Well, we couldn't find another donor. That's why we..."
Derek stops her "Well, then we're out of luck"
Madelyn looks at her brother "Can't we just..."
"No, we can't. We're not gonna talk about this. We're not gonna float this past Lizzie. We're not cutting both her legs to remove pieces. Cancel the procedure" he demands walking out
~~~~~
Madelyn thanks the barista who passes the Shepherd girl her 5th coffee of the day, this time as she wraps her hand around the cup she notices a neatly folded piece of paper taped onto the side, she rips it off and unfolds it, taking a sip of her coffee a she does. That's before her eyes scan the writing and she chokes slightly on her drink.
The note reads;
Call me ;) -Lucy
Followed by a number and several hearts.
She freezes for a moment. Before April, Madelyn would've strolled back over to the barista and spent the rest of her break flirting with the woman, but honestly she's never had another woman on her mind since the redhead had caught her eye. So naturally she's taken back and struggles to find an appropriate response.
Madelyn is now a good distance away from the coffee cart so she's caught off guard when she looks back over at the barista who's eyes are glued to her. She smiles quickly raising a brow at the cute blonde and slips the note into her pocket.
~~~~~
As Madelyn's mind contemplates calling the number her thoughts her interrupted by a voice "I think you should bring a date to Dr. Bailey's wedding. That way we will focus on our dates and not on each other"
Madelyn looks up at April who clearly realises how close she's standing to Madelyn as she takes a couple steps back
"Or we could just be focused on the happy couple" Madelyn replies confused by April's request
April moves closer to Madelyn again and lowers her voice "I am wearing a strapless dress. From here up, I'm completely naked" she says
Madelyn feels her breath hitch at the thought of April in her dress "Just... wear a different dress" she concludes
"I don't have a different dress. I work long hours. I don't shop. I have... I have one dressy dress" April complains
Madelyn rolls her eyes "How are we supposed to find a date with one day's notice?" she asks but then remembers she has a number she could call "Actually, scrap that. I have someone"
April raises her brow "You do?" she asks bitterly
"Yeah" Madelyn replies turning away from April and seeing Shane walk by, a smirk appears on her face when she comes up with an idea "Ross, Hey. Um, would you like to go to Dr. Bailey's wedding?"
"Oh, what?" April says thinking Madelyn is asking for herself
"Dr. Kepner would love for you to go with her. She thinks that you'd be embarrassed, But you're not embarrassed, are you?" Madelyn asks the interns
"Of course he's embarrassed" April mutters
"He'll get over it" Madelyn shrugs
April sighs "I will pick you up at 1:00 tomorrow in the locker room" she says hesitantly
Madelyn smiles not missing Shane whispering to himself "What just happened?" as he walks away
"Who are you taking?" April asks
Madelyn closes her patients file "You'll see" she smirks walking away
~~~~~
Madelyn and Lizzie have decided to both find Derek together in an attempt to convince him to change his mind again
"We're not doing the procedure" is the fist thing Derek says when he sees his sisters
Lizzie rolls her eyes "Of course we're doing it. You know what happened when I said I'd do this? Mom called me three times in one day. It just brings tears to my eyes" Lizzie sighs "Come on. You're the golden child. The rest of us are just scrapping for second position, and I just put a lock on it for life. You think I'm giving that up just 'cause you have to cut into two legs instead of one?"
"Lizzie..." he attempts to protests
"No Derek" Madelyn says "We're not here to discuss it"
"Mads is right okay, I've decided. Get back on the horse, Derek" Lizzie says
"Oh, okay. So you think I'm using this as an excuse, that I'm too scared to try and operate again?" Derek says getting defensive
"No, of course not. Nothing scares you" Lizzie says with a hint of sarcasm
"What if it doesn't work? Hmm? What if we go through all of this and nothing comes of it?" Derek says
Lizzie smiles at her older brother "Well, then at least we tried. We're doing it. Have some faith in Madelyn-"
"Actually, you're family so i'm not allowed to operate, but you've got Torres, everything I know I learnt from her, she's good, she's really good. So don't worry" Madelyn says backing out of the room with a confident smile on her face when in reality she felt sick to her stomach, riddled with anxiety.
~~~~~
Madelyn lets out a shaky breath as she sits on a gurney outside of the OR gallery, as she places her head in her hands she feels a weight beside her followed by a sweet voice
"Hey, are you okay?" April asks placing hand on Madelyn's shoulder
Madelyn lifts her head and sighs "I'm worried" is all she says
"About Derek and Lizzie?" April asks
"Yeah"
"Torres is good, really good" April says
"I know" she whispers "I just wish I could be in there, you know so I could have some-"
"Control?" April finishes for her earning a nod from Madelyn "I understand" she says softly
Madelyn's heart flutters at the redheads words, as she meets Aprils eyes she remembers their conversation earlier and how she'd yet to ask the barista and how right now she wants nothing more than to pull April in and kiss her. She lets out another deep sigh "I have to go" she says standing up "I'll see you tomorrow?" she says almost unsure
"Yeah" April replies with a soft smile
~~~~~
Madelyn walks out of the hospital and pulls out her phone ready to dial the barista's number when someone walks over to her
"Hi" they say
Madelyn looks up only to be met with "Lucy right?" she asks
"Yeah" the blonde says "Madelyn?" Lucy asks although she already knew
"Yeah, or Maddy, either works" she shrugs "I was just about to call you" Madelyn smirks
"Oh so you did get my note" the girl says
"Yeah, actually I was wondering if you'd join me as my date to a friends wedding tomorrow?" she asks confidently
Lucy smiles at her "I'd love too"
"Great, perfect, uhhh the theme is uh Christmas? So uh, dress accordingly" she says
"Will do"
"I'll pick you up at 1, main lobby" Madelyn says
"Perfect" Lucy smiles "See you at 1...Maddy" she says sweetly as she starts walking away not without offering a small wave to Madelyn as a goodbye
The Shepherd girl smiles softly back at her, when Lucy turns around Madelyn finds herself checking the woman out.
Maybe tomorrow will be better than she'd thought.
~~~~~
"Callie said it could not have gone better" Madelyn says to Derek as she stands in his doorway
"Mm" he hums
"Do you have any pain?" she asks
"No. How's Lizzie?"
"Uh, she's doing well. She was still sleeping last time I checked. I'll swing by on my way out" Madelyn reassures as she turns to leave
"Hey" Derek says softly making his sister turn back around "It may have worked" he says with a smile
Madelyn just smiles at her brother, she was happy for him. She'd always felt bad that she'd been able to recover and get back to work while he suffered, but now, it may have worked and she couldn't be happier
~~~~~
Alex, Jackson, Meredith, Madelyn and April are getting ready for the wedding in the attendings' lounge, Madelyn mentally curses herself every time she glances over at April who looks breathtaking in her dress, her strapless dress.
Unknown to Madelyn, April was doing and thinking the same. It was definitely going to be hard for them to stay away from each other, even with dates.
~~~~~
"Everything went smoothly. Your vitals look great. And Derek is awake, and he's in good shape" Madelyn says to Lizzie
"Meredith, told me she's having another baby" Lizzie says
"She did?" Madelyn says surprised
"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are" Lizzie laughs
Madelyn smiles at her sister "I have to now, but um please call me if you need anything and I mean anything" she says sternly
Lizzie laughs "I will, now go, go have fun" she says dismissing her baby sister
Madelyn blows Lizzie a kiss as she rushes down to the main lobby ready to meet Lucy
"Hi" Madelyn says making her way over to the blonde who's hugged tightly in a beautiful red...strapless dress shaping her body perfectly
"Hey" Lucy says admiring Madelyn
"You ready" Madelyn asks offering Lucy her arm who takes it instantly
"Yeah" she smiles
"You look beautiful" Madelyn says as they make their way to her car
"Thank you" Lucy says blushing "You're- perfect" Lucy says through a nervous laugh
Madelyn smirks "Thank you" she says opening the car door for Lucy and closing it softly behind the blonde
As Madelyn makes her way round the car she lets out a deep breath, all she knows is she's definitely not going to be able to keep herself together, whether that's because of April or Lucy, either way tonight was going to be impossible.
~~~~~
Madelyn was grateful Lucy was such a confident person because that meant she didn't feel guilty leaving her to chat with some of her colleagues while Madelyn finds the other bridesmaids Callie, Arizona and Meredith who are trying to figure out where Bailey was
"Oh, straight to voice mail" Madelyn whines as she tries calling Bailey for what felt like the 100th time
Callie clears her throat "Um, it's possible that I may have, by mistake, said that if she had any doubts, she should flee"
"What? Why?" Mer asks confused as Madelyn and Arizona look at each other wide eyed
Callie sighs "Well, I kind of said that marriage is like a dance of death and that leaving him at the altar would be a painful but efficient out"
"Oh, that's nice" Arizona scoffs
"I was joking..."
"Ohh" Arizona complains
"And she was nervous, okay? And she wasn't sure if it was the wedding or the whole thing"
"The marriage?" Madelyn questions
"She was nervous" Callie says again
Suddenly a voice can be heard from outside the room "How nervous? How nervous was she, Callie?" Ben asks with worried look on his face
"Oh lord" Madelyn mutters under her breath