season 4 episode 11 & 12
veronica woke up with lexie still in her bed from the night before. she got ready, only waking lexie when she was done and the bathroom was free. she was still half asleep as she walked around the kitchen, derek and meredith discussing some house he was building. meredith stopped her, putting a plate in front of her.
veronica glanced at it, blinking, "what the fuck is this?"
"i made breakfast," meredith explained.
"no, you tried to make breakfast," veronica exclaimed, poking the meal with her fork.
alex and lexie walked in as meredith began plating up lexie's food.
"dude, what the hell is that?" alex asked.
"meredith cooked. she wanted to do something nice for lexie," derek answered.
lexie's eyes widened as she sat, "you cooked for me?"
"it's no big deal. just... eggs and avocado and whatever cheese that was in the fridge," meredith dismissed.
"aren't you alle-"
"oh, i love, um, avocados," lexie interrupted before taking a mouthful.
"is it okay?"
both derek and lexie agreed.
veronica took a bite, grabbing a napkin and spitting it out, "did you season this?"
"it's got cheese and avocado in it," meredith answered.
veronica sighed, "oh meredith, you sweet, dumb beautiful woman."
"what?"
---
callie found veronica while she was charting, rambling on about how george's mum was in the hospital and though they were still together. she also shoved an armful of baby clothes into her arms.
"wow, these are..."
"horrible, ronnie, they are horrible," callie ranted.
veronica nodded, "yeah, here." she placed them back into callie's arms. "maybe tell george this, he's the one that needs to sort out the mess he's made."
---
veronica was not expecting to be the one paged to help with dr bailey's son. he would not stop crying, and bailey was not meant to be on his case. she ignored bailey and her husband arguing as she tried to listen to his chest.
she was ordered afterwards to stay with bailey throughout, after all she was the baby's mother. bailey tried to argue but failed. she was in next to cristina and izzie, who were by the computer screen in the mri. bailey and tucker were with their son in the mri room.
veronica rolled her eyes as izzie and cristina argued about bailey's son being considered only a blunt trauma case and how izzie wasn't into cardio anymore.
she ignored them, watching bailey and tucker argue as their son lay in the mri.
she sighed, eyes falling down to the screen to give them some sort of privacy.
---
once they got the scans back they saw his stomach was in his chest. bailey interrupted them, going up to the images, explaining them in further detail as if it wasn't her son's scans up there. she was so detached from the situation at that point.
veronica was in surgery, giving bailey regular updates before the woman stormed into the surgery, wanting to stay with her son. however, hahn wouldn't let her stay and wouldn't proceed with her in the room. that was until cristina offered to hold tuck's hand instead. bailey eventually agreed, leaving the room. there was no way she wasn't confronting hahn later, bailey would never let that slide.
veronica smiled under her mask, glad cristina was proving people wrong when they said she was a robot.
---
veronica needed to take a minute, after the surgery with tuck, and seeing a baby in so much pain. she just needed a second away from everyone.
"hey, sweetheart," mark greeted.
she smiled up at him, "hey."
"i heard-"
"not right now. i just need to- seeing bailey, one of the strongest women i know like that. seeing her baby, the baby i looked after and helped and who would stop shitting, who-" veronica too a breath. "i really wish i didn't feel so much sometimes."
"don't say that, ronnie. it's part of what makes you such a great surgeon. if you didn't care or feel, you wouldn't try," mark comforted, taking strides towards her. he knelt down in front of her.
"but it sucks."
"yeah."
veronica smiled at him, "thanks. we should head back to tuck, make sure he's okay."
---
the pair joined everyone else, watching the heart patient, who had allegedly healed people earlier that day, stand over tuck, bailey and her husband holding hands.
mark glanced at veronica, seeing her staring ahead, watching the interaction. she felt eyes on her, her gaze falling to him. she sent him a sad, small smile. he returned it.
he waited for her while she watched. bailey eventually came out to tell them to go before tucker, her husband, came out to tell them he was choking. her, cristina, and meredith rushed in, helping to remove the intubation.
"oh thank god," bailey exclaimed.
tucker frowned, "what are you talking about?"
veronica glanced up, "it's good. he's fighting the tube. it means he can breathe on his own."
---
six weeks later and meredith, izzie, alex, cristina and veronica were all competing against one another in a contest with an unknown prize.
veronica woke up in the hospital to her pager going off, making her shoot up and basically tun to where she was called to, cristina, meredith and izzie all joining her, trying to keep up.
they only stopped when they saye derek and rose together.
"she's wretched... and mean," cristina started.
"no, she's not," meredith replied.
veronica spoke up, "you know i heard one of the nurses saying they've only been on five dates."
"because derek knows she's wretched," cristina added.
"yeah and mean," izzie finished.
george joined the, staring at izzie, "what did you do to your hair?"
"you guys, i know you're trying to make me feel better but i have to tell you this pausing to talk about rose and derek just means... i'm going to win," meredith told, racing away.
"you bitch!" veronica yelled, running after her.
george was staring and pulling at izzie's hair, following beside her.
"keeping it clean was getting in the way of the contest, so i chopped it off last night. it just makes me faster and sleeker, like a cheetah," she explained.
veronica snorted.
"you chopped off all of your hot hair for a stupid contest?" george questioned.
"not stupid. rock star contest. best contest ever. you should try living in the hospital for two straight weeks, george. it's amazing," izzie retorted. "besides, look at veronica's hair-"
"i have curly hair, it's harder to treat, izzie," veronica bit back.
"this contest is for residents only," cristina called over shoulder to george.
"yes! i know that," george responded, irritated.
"doesn't mean he can't still live here. i feel juiced and alive, and my brain is clicking and running. i have never been more on my game," izzie rambled.
veronica glanced at her, "i think living in the hospital has made her a bit crazy. kinda like she's drunk nothing but energy drinks for two weeks."
"that was you, sunshine," cristina told.
"i'm kinda sad the contest ends tonight," meredith told.
cristina glanced to meredith beside her, "i'm not. i want that prize."
george, distracted by the women, walked into a patient, "what prize?"
izzie slowed down slightly so george could catch up, "bailey won't tell us. but i want it. i want it bad."
veronica smiled at her, "too bad you're never gonna get it. my parents only loved me when i achieved. i was bred for competition bitch."
"i am so on my game," izzie exclaimed as veronica sped ahead of others.
---
alex ran in late, annoyed they hadn't woken him, as if they would while competiting against him.
veronica ignored them as they argued over the fact yang was winning, saying he needed to recount. veronica knew she hadn't added all of her points up because she was above yang, with a few extra points.
once izzie left with what they had been paged for, she went to leave before a car came speeding in, with a man who had been mauled by a bear. cristina helped one of them out, his intestines falling into her hands.
veronica was on the brother, who had touched a bear and who had holes in his hand from the bear cub latching on.
it wasn't until she was getting his signature, and he called his newly wed wide, a rebound girl and had married her after ten days, that she though something was wrong. then the wife, jennifer, spoke about how there was no way a man like that, like phillip, marries someone like her.
veronica noticed blood coming from under hat, requesting to check it. jennifer reassured her that she had only scratched it on a branch while they were running from the bear, but once she pulled her hat, veronica saw part of her scalp hanging off.
"that's not a branch scratch, but come with me, we'll get this fixed."
---
she got mark and derek, making them do some scans and tests, and making mark fix her scalp. he cleaned the scalp but left veronica to do the sutures. she gave them to george, discussing the fact that she though phillip might have a tumour and he was getting practice in. it was safe to say he thought she was crazy and doing unnecessary procedures to win the contest.
veronica ignored him and left to do a workup on phillip because he was squinting at his paperwork, his handwriting was illegible, he married his rebound girl and he poked a bear.
she was sure he had a tumour
"is he d- or are we done here? we could both use some rest," jennifer asked.
"humour me for one more second," she spoke, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "okay, look straight ahead. tell me when you see my fingers."
she placed both her hands behind his head and began moving them forward. she continued on, moving further away from the back of his head, only for him to see them way beyond the normal point.
"i see them."
"tumour," she exclaimed. "sorry."
she explained the situation, trying to get him to do an mri.
"this is nice of you, really. dreaming up some brain tumour to make me feel better about the fact that i made a bear mad. ever cross your mind i may just be the type of guy who's dumb enough to pet a bear?" phillip asked.
"jennifer, is he that type of guy?" she quizzed.
"well, don't ask me. i've only known him a few months," she answered.
"phillip, you knew better. you touched the cub anyway. that, along with your other symptoms-" veronica tried.
"what symptoms? my vision's going bad. so i get glasses, right?" phillip reasoned.
"but it's not just your vision. brain tumours have been known to impede judgement, prompt spontaneity, impulsivity," she explained. she glanced to jennifer, hoping she would agree since he did touch a bear, but she took the glance the wrong way.
jennifer's face dropped, "he married a trashy waitress, right? i mean that's what you mean, that he married a girl like me, a rebound girl."
"i mean that he poked a bear. i'm just saying, i would like him to have an mri, just to be sure," veronica defended.
phillip looked at jennifer, seeing how she had taken veronica's comment and took her hand, in an attempt to comfort her, "well, the answer's no."
"do the mri-" jennifer began.
"honey, i don't need-"
"phillip, do the damn mri, because you're wrong," she said, her eyes trained on veronica. "he loves me. he loves me."
veronica smiled sadly, "i don't doubt that but i don't think he would have married you so quickly, that doesn't effect his feelings, just the certificate that comes with it."
---
veronica sat staring at the computer of the mri machine. she watched the image start to appear. she was right. he had a tumour. she paged george.
"you paged me?" he questioned as he walked in.
veronica clicked on one of the images, "i thought you might like to see this."
george leaned against the table, "is that bear attack guy?"
"that's bear attach guy, and that's his big ol' brain tumour. and i'm not requiring an apology, george. i'm not requiring an apology because the fact that i may have potentially saved a life today is reward enough for me. just don't doubt me again. i want to win but not enough to put someone though unnecessary procedures," she replied.
"you're calling me in to gloat?"
"no, i just thought you should see and that you might wanna come with to present this to derek?"
---
veronica presented her findings to derek before she went with the chief to tell phillip about his brother's death and the news of his tumour. he began laughing at the news of his brother. veronica and the chief waited a few seconds before they continued, realising his laughter wasn't dying down anytime soon.
"there's more," the chief informed.
veronica looked at jennifer, "the neurosurgeon is going to come in and talk to you."
jennifer shook her head, as she cradled phillip's, "no. no. i need to know... please."
veronica sighed, "i'm sorry. i was right about the tumour. you have something called a malignant glioma. this kind of tumour causes, uh, behavioural... it can cause this kind of inappropriate effect."
the laughter hadn't stopped.
"can you operate?"
"no, it's too invasive. it's been growing a long time," she told. the laughter began to die down. "i'm so sorry."
phillip stopped laughing and looked at them for the first time since they had told him of his brother's death, "i... good. good, i deserve that. i killed my brother, so i don't deserve to survive."
veronica didn't know what to say as jennifer looked at her, pleading with her eyes for her to say anything.
veronica glanced between them but nothing came to mind. soon she left, walking away from the room, only for jennifer to follow.
"um, doctor?" veronica turned around. she waited for jennifer to reach her. "i'm a symptom, right? i mean, i'm... i'm like the bear cub. i'm just a symptom of this tumour. that's what we're saying here, right? just so i'm clear."
veronica shrugged, "i don't know. i don't know that. you're the only one who could know that for sure."
---
veronica was with the others, waiting for bailey to count up their scores. she was in the back, not really paying attention. her mind was on her 'medical mystery'. she may win the competition because of it, but go, she wished it wasn't real. she offloaded all of this onto meredith when the woman found her hitting the vending machine that stole her money and chocolate bar. she explained the case, telling her all about the tumour. it had given her an idea that clouded her mind as they waited.
"what are you doing here? you spent the last three hours watching a surgery, that's three points," alex spoke up as cristina joined them.
"i'm trusting you guys screwed up enough that it won't matter," she defended.
"i could still win. i could. i did get a lot of points today," izzie voiced.
"what's the matter with you? where's the trach talk, charles barkley?" alex asked, turning to ronnie and meredith.
"she knows i'm the best," cristina announced before they rushed to the doorway bailey was coming out of, tuck in her arms.
"who won?"
bailey looked at her notepad, "congratulations..."
izzie grew impatient as bailey elongated her vowels, "who won?"
"jennings. the guy from the bear attach had a brain tumour, and jennings caught it. eighty points for solving a medical mystery. that's what put her way above all of you. she won by a landslide."
"i could've found a tumour," cristina argued.
"but you didn't. you chose to scrub in with hahn and watch for three little points. now congratulate dr jennings."
there were a few dejected congratulations. veronica turned to leave.
"hey, don't you want you prize?" bailey called, holding up a glittery pager.
izzie's eyes widened as she watched the pager while bailey walked towards veronica, "a shiny pager."
"a sparkle pager," bailey corrected.
"what's so great about a glitter pager?" cristina sought.
"a sparkle pager... it is special. it is surgery's holy grial. it's been passed down from resident to resident, and now it belongs to dr jennings. for the next three months, whenever you all get a surgery, you have to page this pager, and if jennings wants your surgery, she has the right to take it from you," bailey announced.
there were some arguments from the others as veronica took the pager.
"enjoy the power, dr jennings." she turned to the others. "now may i recommend you all go home? you smell, you greasy, you need to bathe, and i'm sick of looking at you. even my one-year-old here is sick of looking at you. isn't that right bug? sick of looking at your little, ugly faces."
bailey walked away.
veronica looked down at the pager, "somehow i thought i would enjoy this more."
the others, bar meredith tried to get it off of her but veronica held it close before walking away. merdith soon caught up with her.
"what's going on in your head?" meredith questioned.
veronica frowned, "what?"
"that's your idea face."
veronica smiled, "i'll let you in on it. because you noticed. and because i like you."
so veronica told her about a study she remembered reading, one that could potentially save people like phillip. it was untested in humans and she needed a neurosurgeon plus she was missing something. meredith agreed to help her, even if it meant working with derek. she agreed to help with the research. veronica was ecstatic.
---
after veronica showered she found herself at mark's.
"i diagnosed a medical mystery today," she told as he began setting out the room service he had ordered. he poured two glasses of wine.
mark sat next to her on the bed, "i heard. congratulations on the sparkle pager."
veronica smiled up at him, taking her wine, "thank you. i wish i was enjoying it more. the guys gonna die."
mark kissed her head, "but you've prepared them for it."
"i guess." she took a sip of wine. "how long do you think we have before the food gets cold?"
"i don't know, why?"
"well, being a genius makes me horny," she quipped, leaning up to kiss him. she placed her wine on the bedside table before she climbed onto his lap.
a/n i may have accidentally deleted this part, idk how, but here it is republished. almost cried when i did it. luckily i managed to get the deleted version up but not as a draft. i did have to rewrite it because it wouldn't let me copy and paste though. so, it's a couple hours after i actually published it but enjoy. it is unedited because if i go through this again i may actually cry. hope you like it and sorry for the lack of updates, i'm trying to start updating more.
on another note, i may or may not have written an extra (spicy) chapter set way back when veronica and mark first got together and wondered if anyone wanted that? i'd put it after the initial chapter but it would be named as extra chapter and everything so it wouldn't be hard to find.