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Izzie Stevens had gotten up before the sun, preparing for one of her favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. She had invited her Joe and his boyfriend, Alex, Cristina, Alex, Eddie, and Eddie's best friend, Eli, who was flying in for two days to see her at Thanksgiving.
And, this time was the first time Izzie was hosting. Usually, growing up she and her mother would eat at the diner she worked at, since it served a Thanksgiving Dinner Special, or she always went to a boyfriend's or friends house while in medical school. But this was the first time she was cooking and hosting Thanksgiving dinner.
Eddie promised to come over for a while to help her prep and cook, along with brining some dishes premade over to help Izzie prep before she went to the airport to pick up Eli. Which Izzie needed all the help she could get. While she baked and was a pretty decent chef, she had never made a Thanksgiving Dinner before.
Izzie dumped a frozen turkey into the kitchen sink to thaw. And, then she gathers recipes and books out in preparation for cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
Over the past few days, Eddie helped her come up with a game plan that would make the prep and cooking of the dinner go smoothly. With that list already on the counter, Izzie felt ready, despite the fear she might mess this up.
She prepped and ready to go. Time to start.
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Gratitude, appreciation, giving thanks. No matter what words you use, it all means the same thing. Happy.
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Meredith is dressed to go out sneaking down the stairs. She sneaks past the kitchen peeking quickly to see if Izzie is there.
She had agreed to work Thanksgiving at the hospital. She wasn't big on Thanksgiving. There wasn't much for her to be thankful for this year: mom has Alzheimer's and she was getting worse and worse, Derek chose Addison, whom cheated on him, and she had her heart broken.
Plus, she had the possibility of getting into some surgeries. That sounded better than small talk and food pretending she was thankful.
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We're supposed to be happy. Grateful for friends, family, happy just to be alive...
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"Hey." Izzie said, catching Meredith half-way through the foyer.
Meredith stops in her tracks instantly and spins around. She saw Izzie is standing right behind her with a recipe book.
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Whether we like it or not.
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"What do you think you're doing?" Izzie asked Meredith noting that she didn't look ready to help her make dinner. In fact, it looked like she was trying to sneak out.
The doorbell rings.
Saved by the bell. Meredith thought.
"Uh ... answering the door." Meredith answered with slight hesitation.
Izzie looks at what Meredith's carrying; yep she was trying to sneak out to the hospital.
"You're going to the hospital?" Izzie asked her fellow intern.
"Yes but after ..." Meredith tried to explain.
"Meredith everyone is supposed to be in the kitchen by nine am to help me make dinner. It's Thanksgiving." Izzie scolds.
"I'm really not in the mood." Meredith informed her Suzy Homemaker possessed roommate.
"But it's like a family ..." Izzie complained.
Izzie is interrupted by the doorbell again.
"Doorbell." Meredith said.
She makes her way over to the door. She opens the door confused on seeing an older man and two men in their mid twenties to early thirties. They were dressed in hunting camouflage standing there.
"Is this where Georgie lives?" The older man, Mr. O'Malley, George's father asked.
"Georgie?" Meredith repeated confused.
"O'Malley." Mr. O'Malley yelled. Then more calmly asked, "Where is he, upstairs?"
It suddenly dawned on Meredith that this must be George's father and the two men with him were George's older brothers: Ronny and Jerry.
"Oh George. Yeah." Meredith said as she stepped aside and let the three men into the home.
"O'Malley!" The three men chant as they run up the stairs, continuing the chant "O-Mall-ey, O-Mall-ey."
"Should I call the police?" Izzie asked, as she watched the scene.
"What did I walk into?" Eddie asked as she came inside carrying a few trays and tub-a-ware containers, resting them on her stomach.
Izzie turns her gaze back up to the stairs. Meredith takes the opportunity to sneak out saying a quick and quiet "Hi Ed, By Ed." to her person and closes the door.
Izzie hears the sound and calls out; "Meredith I'm serious! You need to back here for dinner at Six! I mean it!"
Then she noticed Eddie's full arms and quickly rushed to relieve the items for her. With a scolding look.
"You don't need to carry that much weight." Izzie said.
"Izzie, it doesn't weigh that much." Eddie said, but with Izzie's look she amended slightly. "I won't carry that many again."
She didn't need crazy planning mode Izzie on her.
"Good, I'll take these to the kitchen." Izzie said as she carries the items into the kitchen and Eddie follows her.
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George is lying in his bed. He has his eyes closed and arms stretched out in the air. Using his fingers he's counting down softly. As he heard his father and brother's O'Malley chants getting louder.
The door opens and his dad and brothers yell, "Happy Thanksgiving!"
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Thanksgiving used to be one of Derek's favorite time of year. He loved his family traditions, spending time with his numerous nieces and nephews, playing touch football with Mark, his brothers-in-laws, and his nephews, and his mother's typical fair. He missed her famous stuffing and pecan pie.
But, this year, he decided not to go home. Especially since his mom and sisters, well except maybe Nancy, and Mark were not happy he had gotten back together with Addison. They accepted that Derek was willing to try, but, they had not forgiven her. And, to be honest, Derek wasn't sure he had either.
And, Addison decided to stay in town to, because her family was never big on Thanksgiving and her love of the holiday was from Derek and Mark, ever since they met. And, she had adopted the Thanksgiving traditions the Shepherd family had started. And, she knew while she would be welcomed into the home, she knew that her mother-in-law and the majority of her in-laws would not be happy to have her there and it would be very tense. And, she knew for curtain Mark wouldn't be please. He had been very vocal about his displeasure, and she wouldn't put it past him to stir the pot.
Mark had clearly chosen Derek's side and Addison would have to work and try and gain the close friendship she had once had with him as well.
She knew she was the reason why Derek didn't come back. No one told her, but it was very easy to figure out.
"Hey, you. I saw you from the window and...looked like you could use a wake up call." Addison said as she came up to Derek with some coffee.
"I thought you moved to a hotel closer to the hospital. You still at the Inn at Bainbridge?" Derek asked his wife as she hands him the coffee. "Thank You."
"Mm-hmm. Yeah, I had a thing for ferryboats." Addison said wistfully knowing that Derek's love of ferryboats rubbed off on her slightly.
"Always, you know, what the mocking." Derek said as he took a sip of coffee.
"So um ... I was thinking that we could ... have sex tonight." Addison finally said.
Derek had a short laugh, and didn't know how to respond to Addison's request.
"Look I know we're both gonna feel weird about it. It's the first time ..." Addison started to say.
"Since Nicholas." Derek added for her.
"And Meredith. ... I have the day off. Do you have the day off?" Addison asked her husband with interest.
"Just stop by the hospital. I have patients I need to check on. You have the day off what are you doing here?" Derek asked her.
"Was thinking we could have sex tonight." Addison said with a shrug.
Then she decided to add, "Come on I made a reservation at noon. I figured we could do the Thanksgiving thing you know and then ... I dunno, just rip the stitches. Get it over with." Addison said.
"No anesthesia?" Derek asked her.
"Right. ... What do you think?" Addison asked him.
"Remember med school? We spent Thanksgiving studying for exams and eating really bad Chinese food instead of turkey." Derek asked her, reminiscing on their happier times.
"Yeah, too busy and too tired to even think about cooking." Addison said.
"We never had to schedule sex. Not once." Derek reminded her.
"Derek, I wanna get through this. I do. I want things to be normal again, like it used to be. So will you meet me at noon?" Addison all but begged.
"Yeah, ok. I'll see you at noon." Derek said, no anesthesia.
He needed to try. Try and be the Addison and Derek they once were. Though, he wasn't sure they could ever be them again.
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Meredith is by herself getting ready in the intern locker room tying up her shoe laces. When Bailey comes in.
"Grey. We're working with a temp attending today. Dr. Kent. He's subbing in from Mercy West. We need to get him orientated." Bailey informed her intern.
Bailey turns to leave, but turns back to look at her intern.
"And thanking you for volunteering to come in. Saving me from having to choose an intern to torture." Bailey said thankful.
Meredith had offered to work both Thanksgiving and Christmas before she had even had to think which intern she would make work.
Bailey starts walking out once again and Meredith gets up and starts walking with her.
"Happy to be tortured." Meredith told her resident.
"Not a fan of Thanksgiving?" Bailey asked her.
"Not a whole hell of a lot to be thankful for." Meredith informed her resident seriously.
Bailey nods slightly.
"I like Thanksgiving. Day people spend with their families." Bailey informed her resident as they made their way down the hall. "Too much family time triggers depression, repressed childhood rage, bitter disputes over the remote and way too much alcohol."
They stop at the elevator and Bailey pressed the call button.
"People get stupid. People get violent. People get hurt." Bailey continued why she loved Thanksgiving.
"And that's a good thing because?" Meredith asked her resident, as the elevator doors open and people walk off the elevator and they entered.
"Surgeries Grey! Lots and lots of surgeries." Bailey informed her intern as if it should be obvious.
"I never thought of that." Meredith said with a smirk.
"The stupidity of the human race, Grey. Be thankful for that." Bailey said seriously.
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Derek found Richard by the surgical OR board, he like Derek was dressed in his street clothes.
"You're supposed to be at home." Derek informed his mentor, boss, and friend.
"So are you." Webber replied.
Burke comes into the hall dressed in his blue scrubs.
"Ah best maze procedure I've ever done. Under an hour." Burke informed his boss and fellow attending with a smirk.
"I thought you had the day off." Derek said to the other attending, who was becoming something akin to a friend.
" I did. I do. I'm leaving. I simply like to start my day cutting. Gives me a rush." Burke informed them seriously.
He starts walking off. He needed to get dressed and ready to pick up Cristina before they made their way over to Meredith, George, and Izzie's house.
"Yeah admit it you can't function ten feet away from the hospital." Derek called back.
Burke stops walking, turning to face them.
"Uh I notice you're both here." Burke pointed out.
"Well I'm here for an hour." Derek said.
"I'm on my way home." Richard told them both, though they both knew that he didn't mean it.
"Ah, say it like you mean it." Burke said with a laugh as he turned and left.
"I swore, both of you had the day off." Conrad said as he saw both Richard and Derek by the board as he came out of the OR.
"I do." Both Webber and Derek said.
Conrad was the only one supposed to be at Seattle Grace today. He had originally agreed to work Thanksgiving months ago when he first started knowing how short staffed they were, and being the new guy, he figured he'd get some good will, and he planned to fly out to Chicago the next day, to still see his family, which was quickly accepted having the next two days after Thanksgiving off.
They had gone to Chicago since their dad started to work there. But, this year, after Henry had officially met his daughter, his brothers and sister-in-law, and nieces and nephews wanted to meet Eddie (who was also going to bring her best friend who was in town) to. So, they were flying out tonight and it will be the first meeting between the whole family and Eddie, who also had the day off.
"Sure," Conrad said with a laugh as his pager went off. "Have a good holiday, though, I think I'll be seeing you both soon."
He swaggered off in the direction of the pit.
"I know how to have a life outside this hospital." Richard said before both he and Derek head off in different directions.
"Yeah damn right you do." Derek said with a chuckle.
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Dr. Kent, the guest attending from Mercy West is standing in the middle of the hallway looking over some patient files when Bailey and Meredith walk up to him.
"Dr. Kent?" Bailey asked as he starts to walk off and Meredith and Bailey follow him.
"Yes?"
"Uh I'm the surgical resident assisting you today. I know you're subbing in from Mercy West so if there's anything I can do to help ..." Bailey started to offer.
"Look, I'm here for one day. I don't need my ass kissed. All I need is to tell you what to do and you do it. And I don't like mistakes." Dr. Kent interrupts.
Oh boy. Meredith thought as she glanced to see what Bailey's reaction would be to that.
"I don't make mistakes." Bailey said put off.
"Whatever. There's only one resident I want in my OR. Guy they call the Nazi. Do you know him?" Dr. Kent asked, oh another strike. Meredith thought.
Bailey and Meredith glance at each other.
"The, the Nazi?" Bailey asked with mock confusion in her voice.
"He gets great word of mouth. Stellar rep. Balls the size of Texas?" Dr. Kent said, describing Bailey...to Bailey.
"That big?" Bailey continued with mock amazement. Meredith looks at Bailey trying not to smile, this was going to be a good day. Just because of Bailey putting the man in his place through making him look like an idiot.
"Sounds like an impressively talented man this Nazi." Bailey said.
"Do you know him or not?" Dr. Kent asked impatiently.
"Never heard of him." Bailey lied as Meredith smiles. "But I'll be sure to keep an eye out."
"For now you can work on smaller cases. A guy just came into curtain 3. Page me if you get confused." Dr. Kent said condescendingly as he walks out.
"I'll be sure to do that." Bailey called after him.
She then turned to Meredith with a smirk.
"Like I said, the stupidity of the human race." Bailey said.
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"Hurry up Georgie! There's a turkey out there with your name on it." Mr. O'Malley said as he rushes his son downstairs excitedly, followed by his sons.
George walks past the kitchen where Izzie is getting out utensils to start cooking, while Eddie was gathering the ingredients. They both see George being whisked away by his family with a clear "help me" look on his face.
"Whoa, hey!" Izzie said as she runs into the main foyer entrance.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Izzie asked as she grabs George by his jacket to stop him from leaving. "Hey, where are you going?"
George's family stops by the door, while Eddie comes out of the kitchen.
"Every year, my father, my brothers and I hunt, shoot and kill a helpless slow moving turkey." George informed his two friends, and then sarcastically adds. "Isn't that great?"
"O'Malley!" George's dad and brothers said as one.
Ronny and Mr. O'Malley head out the door. While Jerry comes forward, grabbing George to go with them.
"Okay but what about dinner?" Izzie asked him.
"Oh we'll have him back as soon as he kills his first bird. Right this year Georgie becomes a man, right Georgie?" Jerry asked his brother teasingly.
"It's George! Come on." George said, resigning to his fate.
He moves to close the front door behind him.
"Okay, wait, wait! You were supposed to help us!" Izzie said annoyed that both her roommates were leaving her and Eddie alone to prep and cook.
"Who's going to help me?" George hisses as Jerry runs back and grabs George to go with them.
The door slams shut.
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Cristina and Burke were walking up to the frat house, both dressed nicely for Thanksgiving. While, one the way here, Cristina was briefing Burke about things he should know before walking into the frat house.
"Don't mention Shepherd. Or Montgomery-Shepherd." Cristina informed him.
"Ok." Burke said.
"Or the fact that Shepherd is with Montgomery-Shepherd." Cristina added.
"Ok."
"Or anything having to do with syphilis." Cristina tacked onto her list.
" I've been in social situations before." Burke said as he rang the doorbell.
" Yeah well not with me." Cristina said.
"Well, why are we here?" Burke asked.
"Just be nice or something." Cristina said as Izzie opened the door wearing an apron.
Izzie doesn't see Burke who is not standing in front of the door directly. And, her glare was firmly planted on Cristina.
"It's half past ten! You're late! Eddie and I've had to try to do all ..." Izzie started, but stops instantly when she sees Burke peering past the corner of the house and puts on an awkward fake smile.
"Oh hi Dr. Burke. Hello." Izzie said as he gives her a half-wave.
Izzie moves to the side so Cristina and Burke can enter through the door.
As Cristina is walking by Izzie, Izzie grabs her arm and pulls to talk closely with her. Burke walks in past them and looks around the foyer of the house.
"Oh hi Cristina...Dr. Burke!" Eddie greeted as she came out of the kitchen with an apron on as well, a bit of flower smudged across her cheek.
"Hello Dr. Sousa." Burke said with a smile. "It's nice to see you."
"You as well." Eddie said with a smile.
"What was I supposed to do? Blow off my boyfriend for Thanksgiving?" Cristina whispered to Izzie as she gives her a look. "I tried to. He wouldn't blow. He's like something sticky that won't blow off."
"Ok, he's gonna ruin Thanksgiving. Now what am I supposed to talk to Dr. Burke about?" Izzie said, both Burke and Eddie heard this.
"People who are shocked when I show up uninvited to their homes call me Preston." Burke informed the girls.
"Well, if we're calling you Preston, please call me Eddie." Eddie said with a grin.
Burke nods in acceptance with a smile.
"Nobody calls you Preston." Cristina said.
"You don't call me Preston." Preston said and then turned to Izzie. "Nice house."
"Yeah."
"It's pretty great," Eddie agreed with a smile. "I need to go to the bathroom, again, excuse me."
One thing she hated about pregnancy. The constant need to pee as her baby played with her bladder.
Burke goes back to exploring. Izzie gets a cordless phone from her apron pocket and dials a number
"Izzie why is it so quiet in here?" Cristina asked.
"Uh Meredith went to the hospital and George is off shooting things with his family." Izzie informed her.
"So it's just me, you, Eddie, and" Cristina started and then she whispers, "Preston?"
"And Alex when he shows up." Izzie said.
"Oh great." Cristina said.
" Hey Alex it's me, where are you? Ok. Call me back." Izzie said as she left a message for her sort-of-boyfriend before she hung up.
"Is something burning?" Burke asked them.
"Oh god yes!" Izzie exclaimed as she runs off to the kitchen.
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The O'Malley men were all dressed in their camo and were making their way through the forrest with coolers and guns. Mr. O'Malley and the eldest two O'Malley brothers were excited about this barbaric (in George's opinion) tradition.
"'65 GTO." Ronny said.
"'57 Bel-air convertible. Two-door." Jerry said.
"The GT 500. Now that was a car. Georgie pick a car. Come on." Mr. O'Malley encouraged his son.
"You do you realize that you can buy a turkey? At the market? They've got hundreds of them. You know all wrapped. They're ready to go. No ammo required." George said instead of picking a car. He hated hunting.
"You'll be the one to shoot the turkey today. I can feel it." Mr. O'Malley informed his son happily.
"See that's the thing. I don't wanna shoot the turkey." George said honestly.
"You say that every year!" Jerry exclaimed.
"Well and every year I don't shoot the turkey." George said.
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In Meredith's kitchen Burke, Izzie, and Cristina were standing there. Izzie was on the phone, while Burke was looking at what was in the pan.
"What is that?" burke asked.
"It was supposed to be my marinade." Izzie informed him as she speaks into the phone. "Alex it's me again. Just wondering where you're at."
She hangs up.
"You've never made a Thanksgiving dinner before." Burke stated while Izzie nodded.
"You can't cook! Izzie!" Cristina said affronted.
"Well I'm a baker! I bake. But I've seen my grandmother cook a million times. Plus, Eddie is a cook. She was doing most of the work. I was supposed to be watching it." Izzie said.
Burke shrugs off his coat and puts it in a nearby chair.
"Okay that's it. If there's no food I'm going home." Cristina said as Eddie came in and saw the burnt mess.
"Cristina, Cristina, I have this." Burke said, as he turned to Izzie and Eddie. "What are you using as a reference text?"
"A lot of it are my family recipes and unless you read Portuguese or Polish, you're a bit out of luck, but I'll handle those. But Izzie has 'The joy of cooking'. She also printed up some recipes from the internet but they all seem to contradict one another for what she is working on." Eddie said as she wandered over to the sink.
"I've got the turkey and I can't figure out which side of the turkey is up and which is the bottom." Izzie said.
Burke nods, understanding Eddie's version of divide on conquer. He quickly washed his hands.
"Ok. Ok. Um. I'm gonna need the basing brush, a bowl, uh a clove of garlic" Burke said as Izzie starts looking madly for the stuff. "And ah do you have any fennel?"
"Uh yeah right here." Izzie said as she brings the fennel to the sink. Burke rolls and cracks his neck. Izzie smiles excitedly, this reminded her of surgery.
"Ah ok, well let's get this turkey up and running Stevens. Garlic." Burke said as he holds out his hand.
"Garlic." Izzie said handing him the garlic.
She grins broadly. She looks back at Cristina who looks anything but amused by this.
"I'm gonna need liquor. Lots and lots of liquor." Cristina said.
"Oh Cris," Eddie said, "in the black and white check container I made your favorite peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. If you're hungry."
Cristina looked gratefully at her friend and snatched the container.
While Izzie and Burke worked on the turkey, Eddie was working on her grandma's famous pierogies that Izzie said she wanted as a side dish as well as her grandpa's tomato rice, and per Cristina and Meredith's request her baked potato soup.
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Bailey is scrubbing her hands at a sink of a scrub room of the OR she was just about to enter. Dr. Kent comes up striding towards her looking peeved.
"What are you doing up here? Get down to the pit. We're backed up." Dr. Kent ordered her.
"No can do sir. The Nazi has me on this surgery." Bailey said, enjoying jerking this condescending man's chain.
"We've got a line out the door for sutures. Everybody's an amateur chef until they get a knife in their hands." Dr. Kent said.
"Knives can be tricky." Bailey agreed as she entered the OR.
Bailey is getting gloves put on by one of the scrub nurses. Richard was already in there, scrubbed in, standing next to the patient laying on the operating table, who had a very large knife sticking out of his back.
"Your wife know you're working today?" Bailey asked Richard knowing Adele would not be pleased.
"I'm going home. I just wanted to watch a little bit." Webber informed her.
"Yeah well don't stay here to long. Could end up like him." Bailey said looking pointedly at the patient. "Wife stabbed him. Said she didn't like the way he was carving the turkey."
"Ouch." Richard said.
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As Eddie's phone rang, she stepped out of the kitchen to answer.
"What's up Georgie?" Eddie asked checking her caller id, wondering why George was calling her when he was with his dad and brothers hunting.
"You have to save me Eddie!" George cried into the phone. "There is shotguns...and liquor...and car talk! I'm in hell, and Cristina wouldn't come get me."
"No can do Georgie." Eddie said. "I have a lot to do before I need to go to the airport to pick up Eli."
"Come on Eddie!" George begged his friend.
"You'll survive George, as long as you're on time for dinner, or Izzie will be the one killing you." Eddie said.
George groaned.
"I know turkey hunting isn't your thing, but kidnapping you isn't the answer." Eddie said seriously.
"I know." George said sadly, as they said their goodbyes and Eddie made her way back into the kitchen.
"Sorry about that." Eddie said to the other two chefs in the kitchen.
"No problem," Burke said brushing it off. "O'Malley okay?"
"He is hunting...so I'm going with no." Eddie said as the other two laughed.
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Cristina opened the front door of the frat house to see Joe and a handsome Asian man.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Joe said.
"Joe thank god!" Cristina said, as much as she loved Eddie's cookies and her appetizers she had been bringing out, she needed alcohol.
"Hey, this is my boyfriend Walter." Joe introduced his companion.
Walter raised his hand to say hi.
"Whatever. Tell me you brought liquor." Cristina begged.
"I brought pie. Pumpkin." Joe said holding out the pie.
"You're a bartender!" Cristina cried.
"Did you bring scalpels?" Joe asked, as Cristina motions her frustration and grabs the pie off Joe.
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"What time do you need to get to the airport?" Izzie asked the other intern as Cristina was sitting with Joe and Walter who had greeted them briefly.
"Soon, the plane should arrive in an hour." Eddie said as she checked the time on the clock.
"Your family coming into town Eddie?" Burke asked.
He knew, like the rest of the hospital that she recently learned about her paternal side, but he never heard about her maternal side.
"Well, the Quinn side will be here sometime later tonight. But, no, I am not close to my mom and her family, they always have this big catered Thanksgiving for clients. It's my best friend who lives in New York is flying out for a few days." Eddie said.
"Ah." Burke said. "What does your mother do?" Burke asked.
"Oh, she's an interior designer and my Step-Stan...sorry, stepfather is a realtor on the Upper East side, and other pretentious places like that." Eddie explained. "So holidays like this aren't about family. Sure, my sisters will be there, but they care about wining and dining their clients."
Burke nodded.
"But, Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays. When I was in college and med school, I spent a lot of the time with my friend's family."
"I do too." Burke said with a smile.
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George along with his dad and brothers are crouching down near a tree. George is using a tool to make a turkey bird noise.
"Come on, pick a car." Mr. O'Malley said as he poked his son.
"I don't wanna pick a car." George said irritated.
"He doesn't know jack about cars." Ronny said.
"I know plenty I just don't wanna pick one." George muttered as Jerry rolled his eyes.
"Georgie's just tired. They working you too hard at the hospital?" Mr. O'Malley asked his youngest son, before turning to Ronny. "You know he works forty-eight hour shifts?"
"Forty-eight hours and you enjoy it?" Ronny asked shocked.
"Yeah I enjoy it." George said honestly. It was a lot of hard work and long hours, but god, was it worth it.
"Like what do you do?" Jerry asked.
"You know, medical stuff." George said as Jerry rolled his eyes once more.
"Come on." Mr. O'Malley said.
"They're not gonna get it." George said.
"Make your brothers jealous. Tell them what it's like to be a big time surgeon. Come on." Mr. O'Malley encouraged.
"Okay." George said perking up a little. "Last night this was pretty cool. I assisted on a truncal vagotomy and we ah inflated this ..."
"Assisted? ... Wait what do you mean?" Jerry interpreted.
"I helped a surgeon. Anyway we inflated this guy's abdomen ..." George tried to continue explaining the surgery he assisted Bailey with.
"Whoa, wait, you helped the surgeon?" Jerry asked.
"I'm a surgical intern. The resident or the attending, they perform the surgery." George explained.
"So you don't actually cut anybody open? I mean, by yourself?" Jerry pressed his brother.
"No." George said defensively.
"Do you hand the surgeon stuff that he needs? Scalpels?" Jerry asked.
"That's a scrub nurse."
"Georgie does that thing with the gas that puts the patient to sleep." Mr. O'Malley said.
"No, Dad. Dad, that's the anesthesiologist." George said.
"Well what? Do you like take the patient to surgery?" Ronny asked him.
"Um...orderly. No, like the point of being of an intern is that you're learning. We watch the surgeries and the attending asks us questions and we have to answer them. It's not easy. I have to be on top of my game 100% of the time. It's incredibly difficult." George said honestly. It took a lot of work, and his brothers always made him feel...inadequate.
"So you don't actually do anything." Jerry stated.
George gives him a look to which Jerry raises his eyebrows.
"Yes I do." George said, he gets to assist. He is learning how to do the procedures and assist with whatever the attending or resident needs them to do. In this last surgery, he got to remove an ulcer.
"You just stand there." Ronny asked.
"No! I assist ..." George said getting frustrated.
"Watching while the real doctors work." Ronny taunted.
"No! I uh! I'm a real doctor! What? Dad!" George said.
"What? You just stand there, so you don't do anything." Ronny continues.
"No! I didn't ... no you said I didn't do anything!" George informed his brother angry.
"Real doctors save lives Georgie. I mean if you're just standing there ..." Jerry said.
"Oh for god's ... !!!"
Jerry and Ronny break out into laughter. Mr. O'Malley whacks Ronny.
"What?" Ronny asked shocked.
George sits stiffly looking upset and starts making the turkey calls again.
"I wanna go home." George said.
"Just as soon as you shoot your turkey." Mr. O'Malley encouraged.
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"Hmm. You have to cut the celery into finer pieces Stevens." Burke told Izzie as she corrected it.
"Uh huh. Like that?" Izzie asked.
"That'll do. Put them in with the onions." Burke said.
Izzie grabs the chopped pieces and places them with a bowl of chopped onions.
"Now, what should you be concerned about?" Burke asked, as the door bell rang.
"I'll get it." Eddie said, she had been watching Izzie and Burke while finishing up her soup, which could be left to simmer on the stove top.
She made her way to the door, as she nodded at Joe, Walter, and Cristina. Her eyes winded in shock when she saw Eli standing there with a handsome grin on his face.
"Eli!" Eddie almost squealed, "what are you doing here? I was supposed to pick you up...and how did you know..."
"Meredith gave me the address." Eli said with a smile. "My flight was moved up and I wanted to surprise you. I got a cab here, my things are already in your car."
Eddie laughed as she launched herself at him, and gave him as much of a hug as she could with her belly.
"Wow! Look at you!" Eli said as he took in his friend's bump. "You're beautiful."
"Liar, but I'll take it. Come on in." Eddie said with a grin.
"I'm not lying, you look fantastic." Eli said seriously, as he entered Meredith's home.
Eddie smiled as she linked arms with him and lead him towards the table where the three non-cookers were.
"Eli, this is Cristina Yang, we're both interns and work together. And this is Joe and his boyfriend Walter. Joe owns the best bar in the city we visit all the time, it's right across from the hospital." Eddie said introducing them. "Guys, this is my best friend, Eli Rosenberg-Grant."
"Nice to meet you." Eli said charmingly.
"You as well." Cristina said, as she looked happy at the sight of wine in Eli's hand.
"You brought wine." Cristina said relieved.
"Yeah, it is rude to show up without bringing anything." Eli said, "it's cheap, but I thought it would work. Not much left and I didn't have a lot of options near the airport."
"It'll do." Cristina said as she took the wine from Eli who looked at his friend concerned.
"She's not a fan of the holidays." Eddie said simply as Eli nodded.
"ten bucks says she dries out the turkey." Joe said watching Izzie and Burke work with the turkey.
"Twenty says she pulls it off." Walter said with a smile.
"Seventy five says I don't care." Cristina said grabbing a glass and pouring some wine into it.
They watched Izzie open the oven and pulled out the turkey in its tray out a bit.
"Hmm. Okay Stevens, let's see what you can do." Burke said.
Izzie puts in the meat thermometer.
"All right. More pressure. Turkey has a tough shell. Dig in." Burke coached.
Izzie pushes the thermometer in further.
"I'm in." Izzie said happily
"Damn she got it in." Joe said sadly.
"Told you she was going to pull it off." Walter said.
"Good, not bad. Now all you have to do is get the thermometer deep enough to get a temp. But be careful not too ..." Burke instructed.
"Oh!" They both said.
"You hit the bone! The pan is filling with juice and you're losing moisture. What do you do?" Burke asked the former model.
"Uh ... um..." Izzie panics.
"Think!"
Cristina grabs her stuff.
"That's it. I'm out of here." Cristina said as she gets up and starts walking down the hallway to the door. Burke followed after her.
"Hey what's the problem?" Burke asked concerned.
"You're operating on a turkey and ... and, and you're making friends with my friends." Cristina said.
"Shh. You told me to be nice." Burke said.
"It will be nice. You know I'm just gonna go to the store and ah get some more liquor. Can I have the keys please?" Cristina asked.
Burke hands her the keys confused.
"I'll be back." Cristina said as she left.
The others watched the scene with interest.
"Dr. Burke!" Izzie called.
"Suction! Use the baster for suction!"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
After the turkey issue was solved Eddie introduced Eli to Dr. Burke and Izzie.
"Iz, this is my best friend Eli Rosenberg-Grant. Eli, this is Izzie Stevens, she is also an intern with me. And, this is Preston Burke, the head of Cardiothorastic Surgery at Seattle Grace." Eddie introduced.
"Nice to meet you both." Eli said with a grin.
"Do you need any help? I know my way around a kitchen." Eli said.
"You can help me Eli." Eddie said with a grin. "I am going to make your mom's chocolate cake."
"Amazing!" Eli said as he and Eddie started to work.
"So," Izzie asked the two watching them with a critical eye. "How long have you two known each other?"
"Oh since we were kids." Eddie said.
"We grew up together. I'm a few years older than her, but that didn't make a difference for us. We also went to Yale together. Though, I didn't go to medical school." Eli said.
"Yep." Eli said. "She is the little sister I always wanted."
Eddie hummed in agreement.
"So, what do you do Eli?" Burke asked.
"Oh I am an assistant district attorney for Brooklyn." Eli said, "I'm still very green. I've been out of law school since June. So, I am working on smaller cases."
"That is impressive." Burke said impressed.
"He's amazing." Eddie said with a smile. "He was top of his class at Yale Law. I watched him during mock trials, other teams cried going up against him. A few called him El tiburón."
"The shark." Eli said, for Izzie who didn't speak Spanish.
"Never try to get into an argument with him..I've tried." Eddie said, "the last argument I lost with him, I ended up having a one night stand."
"You're welcome." Eli said with a grin. "My goddaughter is an amazing gift."
"Yes she is." Eddie said rolling her eyes.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
George is still sitting with his dad and brother at the same tree waiting for a turkey to come by.
"GT 500 was a Shelby. He also made the viper, you know that?" Mr. O'Malley said.
"Yes, we do know." George said.
"The Shelby 500 is a good car." Ronny agreed.
"Yeah." Jerry agreed.
"And the other car he made is ..." Mr. O'Malley started to say.
He stops talking when he sees a turkey all of a sudden appear a few meters away. Jerry instantly lifts up his gun to shoot it but George grabs it stopping him.
"Turkey. Turkey. Jerry, we came out here so I could shoot a turkey. Dad said we're not leaving until I shoot a turkey. I am shooting this turkey!" George said, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
He hated this and he hated that his father refused to leave until he killed something.
He wasn't Ronny or Jerry who enjoyed this. George always hated shooting turkeys or other animals. He was a healer damnit.
Jerry puts his gun down annoyed and George lifts up his rifle taking aim at the bird.
"When you're sure you've got it, squeeze ..." Mr. O'Malley whispers.
"Don't worry about it. He's not gonna do it. He's gonna chicken out and you ..." Jerry whispered to Ronny.
All of sudden George fires his gun. Jerry and Ronny get shocked looks on their faces.
"Yahoo!" Mr. O'Malley said as they all stand up to look at the bird.
"He got it." Ronny said stunned.
"I got it?" George asked.
"You got it Georgie!" Mr. O'Malley said.
"Let's go home!" George said happily.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Can I have that spatula please? Thank you." Izzie said as she starts tossing some onions around that are chopped in a pan.
Burke places something on an oven tray and looks over Izzie's shoulder.
"You want the butter to melt, not to boil." Burke reminded Izzie.
Izzie stops with her onions and picks up a wooden spoon and starts mixing the butter in another pan.
"Preston, how did you learn to cook like this?" Eddie asked curious. Her learning came from her grandmother and Esther. But, cooking wasn't a skill she thought Burke would have.
Burke starts mixing the onions next to Izzie.
"My mother owns a restaurant in Alabama." Burke informed them.
"Seriously?" Izzie asked.
"Seriously." Burke said with a smile.
"Does Cristina know that?" Izzie asked.
"No. Actually, she doesn't." Burke said.
"She doesn't ask a lot of personal questions. She's kinda hard to get to know." Izzie said.
"Yeah, she is, but once she is it is worth it." Eddie said as she slapped Eli's hand away from the bacon glazed Brussel sprouts.
"Yes, she is. ... Karev didn't show?" Burke asked Izzie.
"No he didn't." Izzie said sadly.
"Is that okay?" Eddie asked.
"No, it's not." Izzie said.
Joe comes up to the kitchen doorway holding an empty wine glass.
"Do you know that there's absolutely no liquor in this house?" Joe asked. "The wine is already gone."
"Ah yeah Cristina went to get some." Burke said.
"Over an hour ago. Where is she?" Izzie asked.
Eddie had a feeling she was at the hospital. Not as a patient but to prowl for surgeries.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
George finished packing up the Ute and slams the back shut once he was done.
"Car's loaded!" George said.
He turns to Jerry and Ronny who are sitting on the drinking coolers nearby.
"Guys! Coolers! Come on. Get up, get up, get up!" George said, hoping to get out of here sooner rather than later.
They get up and he grabs the coolers and places them in the back as well.
"Dad, come on!" George called out to his father.
Mr. O'Malley comes up to George holding the dead turkey wrapped up and places it in the back as well.
"Hold on Georgie. We've gotta blood you." Mr. O'Malley said, almost forgetting.
He reaches his hand into the wrapped up turkey.
"Oh no. No." George said, trying to move away, but he was too late. His father smears two blood finger streaks on both of George's cheeks.
"Now there you go. Now you're officially an O'Malley man." Mr. O'Malley said proudly.
"O'Malley!" George's brothers yell together.
"I uh left my hat." Mr. O'Malley said as he walks a bit up the road while Jerry and Ronny smother George in a hug.
"O'Malley!" They yell.
"Guys! Just get in the car." George said with a laugh.
"O'Malley!" Ronny cries.
"O'Malley!" Jerry cheers.
"Twenty-one gun salute for Georgie!" Ronny said as the two boys, who were a bit drink, draw up their guns to shoot.
"That's not the best idea guys. I'm serious, don't!" George said worriedly.
Ronny's gun accidentally goes off. A horrible moan of pain is heard from Mr. O'Malley. Ronny looks stunned. Jerry looks up and is also shocked. George upset turns to Ronny.
"You shot Dad in the ass! Are you happy now?" George yells at his brother as he rushes to his dad's side.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
George had brought his dad and brother's to Seattle Grace Hospital and Conrad had allowed him to use one of the trauma rooms. And, allowed George to treat his father. Mr. O'Malley was laying on his stomach on the hospital gurney, dressed in a hospital gown. Ronny and Jerry are also there playing with the equipment.
"It's like laser tag." Jerry said pointing the light at his brother.
"Not in the eyes." Ronny said.
"Guys! This is the trauma room, what are you doing?" George asked as he puts on his glovesand gestures to Ronny who is holding a piece of hospital equipment.
"Put it down. Dad I'm gonna inject you with something to numb the area." George informed his father as he prepped the needle.
"Ahh ah I'm fine. I don't need anything. It doesn't even hurt that bad." Mr. O'Malley said.
"Dad you have a bird shot embedded in your," George stops himself from using the word ass. "... gluteus maximus. When I start removing it believe me it's gonna hurt very bad."
"Hey, the '65 GTO." Jerry said.
George gets a very frustrated and annoyed look on his face at the conversation. He hated this game.
"That's a V8 tweaker." Ronny said.
Mr. O'Malley smiles.
" You don't want that. What you want is the Bel Air." Jerry said and then turned to his father. "But it's gotta be the two tone right?"
"Right." Mr. O'Malley said as they all chuckle, except for George. "Pick a car Georgie."
"No thanks." George said.
"Come on Georgie. Pick a car." Jerry begged.
"I told you he doesn't know jack about cars." Ronny said.
"He doesn't know jack about jack." Jerry agreed.
"Jerry. First you say the GTO. Ronny counters with the Bel Air which never fails to make Dad say the GT 500." George said in controlled anger, but his anger was starting to build and his brothers get quiet looks on their faces. "The cobra, the Chieftan. Then someone names a German car which invariably starts the American versus foreign debate that usually ends when one of you brings up the DeVille. And that always, always leads to the unbelievably long discussion on the merits of the '57 thunderbird."
"So how about I just jump to the end and name the thunderbird now so that once in our lives we can stop picking cars!!!" He said, now yelling as he takes off his gloves angrily. "And my name is George!!"
He leaves the room angrily.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Joe and Walter have got the table set up in the living room. How's our bird?" Izzie asked Burke.
"He needs a few more hours." Burke said. "But, everyone seems tied over with the appetizers Eddie made."
Eddie had been tired, and decided to take a bit of a nap on the couch as Eli talked with Joe and Walter.
Izzie sighs and grabs a few plates from a cupboard.
"Why did you plan this big dinner if you knew you couldn't cook?" Burke asked the blonde intern.
"I just like Thanksgiving, Dr. Burke." Izzie said.
"Preston." Burke corrected.
"Preston."
"You just like Thanksgiving?" Burke asked.
"Doctor-patient confidentiality?" Izzie asked the older man.
"Doctor-patient confidentiality." Burke agreed.
"Okay. We work eighteen hours a day, six days a week, fifty weeks a year. We don't really have any time for our families. We don't have friends that aren't doctors, but we have this one day, where we don't have to cut anyone open. One day where we get to be like everybody else. One day to be normal. A day where nobody lives and nobody dies on our watch. It's like a gift. So I just thought we should appreciate it. That's all." Izzie said as she grabs the plates and shrugs. "Gotta set the table."
Izzie leaves the kitchen. Burke slowly nods and smiles.
"A day without surgery."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Bailey is operating on the guy who swallowed the wishbone. She holds up the said wishbone she has just removed eye-level. Cristina is also in there by her side, having instead gone to the hospital when she got Burke's keys instead of the liquor store.
"Now who swallows a wishbone whole?" Bailey asked.
"Dr. Bailey, why are you working on Thanksgiving?" Cristina asked.
"You work the extra shifts and get the extra practice. Trying to get in all the practice I can ... before the baby comes" Bailey admits as Cristina looks up at this. She hadn't known Bailey was pregnant as well. It made sense why she was making sure Eddie took care of herself too. "And I have to take time off. My husband isn't thrilled I'm working Thanksgiving but he isn't a surgeon so he doesn't get it."
"Oh."
"You and Dr. Burke?" Bailey asked her intern.
"Yeah."
"He would've made a good father." Bailey informed Cristina and before she could say anything Dr. Kent opens the OR door.
"They said the Nazi was in here." Dr. Kent said.
"He was, but he left. I think he went down to the pit." Bailey lied, enjoying this a bit to much.
He leaves and Cristina gives Bailey a look.
"Don't ask." Bailey told her intern.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
George walked back into the trauma room, calmed down, to find only his father and his brothers no where to be seen.
"I thought you'd forgotten about me." Mr. O'Malley said.
"No." George denied, then asked loudly, "Where are Ronny and Jerry?"
"Nurse told them that the cafeteria was open." Mr.O'Malley said.
"Oh."
George starts prepping again to remove the bullet.
"You didn't have fun today." Mr. O'Malley said sadly and knowingly.
"It's not that ... " George said as he shakes his head. Then after a moment he decided to tell his father the truth. "No. No I didn't have fun."
"You hurt your brothers' feelings." Mr. O'Malley said.
"Dad!"
"You did." Mr. O'Malley said.
"They talk to me like I'm stupid. They call me Georgie. They've never treated me like I'm one of them." George informed his father.
"George, Jerry is a dry cleaner. Ronny works in a post office. I drive a truck. You're a surgeon. You're not one of us. I know it and they know it. You make sure we know it." Mr. O'Malley said.
George starts removing the bullet.
"Dad."
" I'm, I'm not blaming you. It makes me proud that you're so smart. Like I did something right. It's just ... we try! We try to include you but, you don't like the stuff that we like. And we don't know how to talk about the stuff that you want to talk about. You're not one of us but, damn it we don't treat you like you're stupid. You treat us like we're stupid. And maybe we are but we're your family. Give us an inch, Georgie. Every once in a while, pick a car." Mr. O'Malley said.
The room was silent for a moment.
" I saved a guy's life on an elevator last month. I helped my friend Eddie, perform open heart surgery on him right there." George said.
"By yourself?" Mr. O'Malley asked amazed.
"By myself. Just like a real doctor." George said.
"Hmm." Mr. O'Malley said amazed. "Hm! That's something. That's really something."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Meredith is sitting by herself in the staff locker room. She looks up when she sees Cristina walking by.
"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked her friend, she thought she was at the frat house.
George walks into the locker room and does a double take when he sees Cristina. He then spots Meredith.
"Oh. This is beyond bad." George said seriously.
Cristina looks away slightly ashamed.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Eddie and Izzie are sitting at the head of the table with Eli and Burke. Joe and Walter walk in. Joe walks up to the girls and gives them each a kiss on the forehead
"Sorry, Izzie it's after 8. Gotta get to the bar." Joe apologized.
"On Thanksgiving?" Izzie asked.
"It's one of our busiest days of the year. People need a safe haven from the bitterness, loneliness, quality family time. I'm their important store. See you later?" Joe said.
"Yeah."
"Night Doc. Eli." Joe said.
"Night Joe." Burke said as Eli nods at him.
"Bye Walter. Thanks for coming." Eddie called as they wave and leave the house.
"You can leave too if you want." Izzie offered.
"I'm not leaving the table until the hostess does." Burke said honestly.
"Neither are we." Eddie said disappointed in her friends for not showing up. They had all promised to be here. Even if they didn't want to be here.
"They're not coming." Izzie said.
"Even so." Burke said.
Izzie smiles glad that three people seemed to care. Suddenly there's the sound of the key turning the door lock. George and Cristina enter the house and walk into the living room where the table is set. Cristina sits down near Burke. George approaches Izzie before sitting down.
"Today I committed bird murder and I was forced to touch my Dad's ass. I get extra points for showing up at all." George whispers to Izzie and Eddie.
Cristina reaches into her bag and places some bottles on the table.
"I brought booze." Cristina said, as Eddie introduced Eli and George.
Izzie stands up as if to say something mad but changes her mind and smiles.
"Let's just eat." She said as she sit back down.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Meredith is standing outside on the porch of the frat house looking in at Cristina, Burke, Eddie, the man she assumed was Eli, George, and Izzie all talking and laughing having dinner.
"Hey." Alex greeted, she turned around and Alex is standing behind her, watching the scene as well.
"Hey." Meredith greets.
"You going inside?" Alex asked.
"Nah you go ahead." Meredith said.
"You sure?" Alex asked as Meredith nods.
"Yeah. Go make her happy." Meredith said seriously.
"Yeah."
He opens the front door and walks in. Meredith turns back to watch and sees Alex walk in and hug Izzie.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Maybe being grateful is recognizing what you have for what it is.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Bailey, sees Richard still at the hospital hours after he was supposed to be home, loitering around the OR board.
"You're a surgical junkie! Go home!" Bailey ordered as she made her way over to Richard with a stern look on her face.
"Adele's already mad. I'm in trouble no matter what. And there's a Whipple happening in OR 2." Webber said as he looked at the board, but Bailey wasn't having that.
"Go home right now!" Bailey ordered as she walks off to the nearby elevator which dings open.
Dr. Kent gets off as she gets on.
"This kinda treatment is why they call you the Nazi!!" Webber called after Bailey who resisted the urge to smile at the gobsmacked look on Dr. Kent's face.
Dr. Kent had stopped at the comment shocked and had turned around to look at Bailey. She stands smugly.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Appreciate small victories.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Happy Thanksgiving." Bailey said to the shocked Dr. Kent as the elevator closed.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Burke and Cristina are sitting in his car outside the frat house after dinner.
"I was nice." Burke said honestly, and he hand enjoyed spending time with Cristina's friends.
"Yeah. I noticed." Cristina said.
"You don't ask a lot of personal questions and you're very hard to get to know." Burke said honestly.
"Yes." Cristina agreed.
"My mother owns a restaurant in Alabama." Burke informed her.
"I scrubbed in on a foreign body removal this afternoon. A guy swallowed a wishbone whole." Cristina informed him.
Burke chuckles and starts the car.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
It was down pouring when Derek pulls his car to stop in front of his trailer where Addison sits waiting on the porch. He gets out and walks through the rain and stops in front of her.
"You didn't show." Addison said as Derek nods. "So, um...I bought Chinese food. And I waited. It was good. Now it's lukewarm and old. Which makes it just like the food we used to have in medical school. So..."
Derek looks down, not knowing what to do or say.
"Derek, are you done? Hurting me back? I mean cause I need to know. Cause if not ... I gotta special order a thicker skin or something." Addison asked her husband.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Derek sits down next to her and looks at her.
"No anesthesia in sight." Derek said.
Addison looks at him hopefully as he starts leaning in.
"Here we go." Derek said as they share a kiss.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
And maybe we're thankful for things we'll never know.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Instead of dinner, Meredith made her way to the Emerald City Bar. Meredith was sitting at the bar by herself reading a book with a drink. A good looking guy walks up to her. He reminded her a bit of Derek.
"Is this seat taken?" The man asked.
Meredith looks up and then glances at Joe who awaits her answer. She looks back at the guy.
"Do you work at the hospital?" Meredith asked the man, who smiles.
"No." He replies.
"You're not a brain surgeon or a doctor of any kind?" Meredith asked.
"No."
Meredith looks back at Joe who smiles and then looks back at the guy.
"Then this seat isn't taken." Meredith said as the guy sits down.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing ...
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Do you want to buy me a drink?" Meredith asked.
"Actually I do." The man said as Meredith smiles.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
... is reason enough to celebrate.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The next day, Eddie and Eli were making their way to the restaurant that Henry had thought would be good for a brunch meet up. It was a nice family-friendly restaurant that Eddie had heard good things about. And, after brunch, Henry asked her if she would be up for it, the kids wanted to go to the aquarium and wanted her to join them to, and Eddie was a sucker for things like the aquarium and the zoo and agreed. And, so did Eli.
"Eddie!" She heard Conrad call, as she and Eli got out of her car.
She hadn't seen her brother getting out of his own car with their eldest brother, Alec following him and Conrad pointing her out.
Eddie turned to see Conrad walking with a man with dark hair and bright blue eyes. Eddie recognized him. Alec Quinn.
"Hey Conrad." Eddie greeted.
The two share a hug as Eli and Alec watched them.
"Eddie, I'd like you to meet Alec, our oldest brother. Alec, this is our little sister Eddie." Conrad introduced his siblings.
Alec took in his little sister. She was absolutely gorgeous. She looked a lot more like Conrad, who took after his dad when he was younger, while he and Ben took after their mom in coloring. But, Conrad and Eddie along with Ben had their grandmother's brown eyes. He could see they shared the same smile. He couldn't help but feel protective of her.
Hell. He had been protective of her when she had no idea they existed. He always wanted a younger sister and now that he had one, well, it was hard not to act on those. And, when his dad and brother told them they met Eddie and she was willing to start trying to form a familial relationship with all of them, Alec was ecstatic.
He felt immensely proud of the fact his little sister, despite not knowing who her paternal family was, chose to go into medicine and focus on surgery. She was the youngest intern accepted into Seattle Grace's program. She was a genius, that much he knew already, but smarts only get you so far. She had the drive and determination to go after what she wanted.
Of course he was shocked when his father told him that she was pregnant, she was only twenty, she had just recently turned twenty-one in early October. He had been shocked. But, he wasn't disappointed, instead, he was excited about the fact he was once again going to be an uncle.
And, the days leading up to Thanksgiving he had nervous about meeting her. What if something went wrong? What if she hated them? All these crazy fears rattled around in his mind. And, now that he was here. Talking to her, all those fears were gone.
"It's nice of you." Eddie said as she didn't know if she should hug or not.
Alec, smile and hugged her briefly, making the decision for her.
What? The Quinn's were huggers, at least to family and close friends.
"It's nice to meet you too Eddie." Alec said with a smile.
Eddie grinned. "Oh, this is my best friend since as long as I can remember, Eli Rosenberg-Grant. Eli, these are two of my brothers, Conrad and Alec Quinn."
"Nice to meet you." Conrad said, "I've heard a lot about you."
"I've heard a lot about you as well." Eli said with a grin as he shook both of their hands.
"Thanks for allowing me to come." Eli said.
"Hey, from what Eddie tells me you're her family, that makes you our family." Conrad said as Alec agreed with a nod.
"What the party starting early?" A male voice asked.
They turned to see a handsome male with curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
"Hey Ben!" Alec greeted.
Ben, her second eldest brother. Eddie couldn't help but notice that good looks really did run in the Quinn line. Her brothers were all very handsome men.
"Alec, Con." Ben said as he hugged his two brothers briefly, before his eyes focused on Eddie and an unknown male, he assumed was her best friend
"And, you must be Eddie," Ben said with a grin. "I'm Ben..."
"My other elder brother." Eddie said with a smile as Ben nodded and the two hugged briefly.
"It's great to finally meet you." Ben said honestly.
"You as well," Eddie said with a smile. "This is my best friend Eli Rosenberg-Grant."
"Hey, nice to meet you." Eli said in the same charming tone he used when there was a cute guy or girl around that peaked his interest.
"You as well." Ben said as they shook hands.
"Where are dad, Dan, Katie, and the kids?" Alec asked his younger brother, knowing he was staying at the Archerfield with them.
Alec had decided to stay with Conrad who had the extra guest room instead.
"Dad said they'd be here soon, and that we should go on in." Ben said. "They should be here in about ten."
"Sounds good," Conrad said "lets' go."
When they entered the restaurant, the hostess, a young girl in her early twenties, not much older than Eddie, was staring wide-eyed at the handsome men Eddie was with.
"Hi, welcome in. How many?" She managed to squeak out.
"Hi, we have a reservation should be under Henry Quinn." Alec said with a charming grin.
"Oh yes! Of course!" The hostess said, "please follow me."
She lead the group to a back room, which Henry must have rented out that had a few tables for everyone to spread out if they wanted to, as well as some privacy. Eddie didn't know if it was over kill or not. But, she did appreciate the privacy.
"A server should be in soon." The hostess said, "if you would like any alcoholic drinks, you can ask the bar to make it for you." She motioned to the bar they could see to the right that served the restaurant.
Then she disappeared to go back to her post. The group sat at the larger table. Eddie ended up between Conrad and Eli while Ben and Alec sat on the opposite side of them.
"So, Eddie, are you enjoying your residency?" Alec asked his sister.
"Oh, I really am." Eddie said. "I have learned so much, and assisted in some cool surgeries."
"Really? Like what?" Ben asked interested.
"Ben, she did open heart surgery by herself with only two other interns helping while they were trapped elevator, under the guide of our head of cardiothorastic surgery." Conrad said with a grin knowing his sister wouldn't brag about what she did.
"Seriously?" Ben asked shocked, he was a caridothorastic surgeon and he wouldn't have even imagined trying to do that his intern year. Yes, he was a fantastic surgeon, but as cocky as he was about it, didn't mean he was that confident when he first started.
"Yeah, we had no other choice." Eddie said, "he was going to die and by the time firefighters got there, we had already had to cut into him...but it was really cool."
"It is amazing." Ben said seriously. "Are you interested in going into cardio?"
"While it's in interesting specialty, and I've learned a lot under Burke, but, I've actually been enjoying my times in Peds, Neonatal, and neuro. But, I am not quite sure what I want to specialize in...though, Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd thinks I have a good path in Neonatal. She's been asking for me a lot on her service."
"She's the most requested intern." Conrad said proudly. "There is often a fight on who gets her."
"I heard Addie was in Seattle." Alec said, "we went through the same residency program in New York." He explained to his sister.
"If she see potential in you and is taking you under her wing, you show a talent for it." Alec said as Eddie grinned brightly.
"She's a great teacher." Eddie agreed.
Just then the excited chatter of kids came closer, Eddie turned to see Henry, ever the doting grandfather, carrying her two youngest nieces she assumed, while the boys raced ahead followed by her eldest niece, and her brother and sister-in-law, who were carrying a few gift bags in each hand.
"Hello everyone!" Henry greeted with a wide smile, as he placed the the older of the two girls he was carrying onto the floor as she wiggled and said;
"Uncle Connie!"
Conrad scooped the girl up and set her on his lap in one fluid motion.
"Manda!" Conrad said in the same excited tone as his niece hugged him tightly.
"Hello sweetheart." Henry greeted his daughter, as he leans down and kisses her cheek.
"Hey Henry." Eddie greeted with a smile giving him a brief, slightly awkward hug around his shoulders before letting him go.
"Are you our Auntie Eddie?" The oldest girl asked, now sitting on Ben's lap happily playing with his hand. Her big brown eyes on her.
"Yes I am. Are you Rosie?" Eddie asked as the little girl grinned widely and nodded.
"I am!!!" She said. "We got presents for our baby cousin!"
"That we did," Katie agreed as she made her way over to Eddie, putting the bags on the empty table. "Hi, I'm Katie. It's nice to finally meet you."
"You as well." Eddie said as the two women hugged.
"Sorry about the commotion." Dan said, finally corralling his excited sons to sit next to Alec who was keeping them busy. And made his way over to his sister. "I'm Daniel. It's great to finally meet you Eddie."
"You as well." Eddie said as she hugged Daniel. "And, don't worry about it."
Daniel grinned.
Eddie was introduced to her nephews; Adam and Jeremy who looked like they should be identical twins with how closely they resemble each other except Adam wore glasses and his hair a bit longer, while Jermey kept his hair short. She was then introduce to Amanda and Elsie. And, she had introduced everyone to Eli.
And, Eli quickly won over the kids, especially Rosie and Amanda who were almost smitten with the man. The boys quickly liked him because he liked baseball and football, which meant that he was good in their books. And, Eddie quickly got along with her sister-in-law.
Katie, unlike her husband and in-laws wasn't in the medical field. She taught first grade at a private school in Chicago. She had met Daniel when was an intern going through his own residency, when her grandmother had to go through heart surgery, and it was love at first sight. And, they had been together ever since.
They settled into what Eddie always assumed a family dinner would be like. The food was great, and the conversation flowed freely. Eddie never really had dinner with her mom, Step-Stan, and her sisters. They weren't family dinner type people. Her mom and step-Stan were either wining and dining clients or eating at the hot-spots in New York, wanting to be seen. While, the cooks or Eddie, make food for the Sousa-Elliot children, and when they got older, her half-sisters liked hanging out with friends for dinner, and Eddie was often out of the house as well.
And, when they did have family dinners it was either with clients who were family-centric or it was cold silence, at least for Eddie, since they tended to ignore her, or if she was talked to, it was to be knit-picking her.
"Auntie Eddie! Open your presents!" Rosie said excitedly, after they finished dessert, and the family was just sitting and talking.
"You really didn't need too..." Eddie started.
"Yes we did!" Katie said with a grin. "The kids wanted to get a few things for their new cousin. And we all wanted to get something for Baby Sousa."
Eddie nodded, feeling a bit better that the presents were for Peanut and not for her.
Jeremy happily made his way over to the gift bags and grabbed one that had cartoon characters on it and made his way to Eddie.
"Mine first!" He said excitedly.
"No fair, I wanted...." Rosie started.
"Rose, let Jeremy go first." Katie said, "you can go next."
Rosie nodded with a pout as Eddie excepted the gift and opened the bag removing the pink tissue paper to show a cute pack of little cloth dolls with happy cheery faces dressed as different princesses.
"I picked them out!" Jeremy said excitedly.
"They are great. I am sure Peanut will love them." Eddie said as Jermey grinned as she gave him a hug he happily gave.
"My turn!" Rosie said with a sing-song tone and gave her a pink gift bag.
This time there were a few outfits. From what Eddie had learned from Conrad and from meeting Rosie, the little girl loved fashion. And, Eddie found cute girly outfits at various sizes.
"Thank you Rosie."
"You're welcome!" Rosie said happily.
Then Amanda had gotten the baby a few classic children's books, claiming when she sees the baby, she'd read them to her. She had just learned how to. Adam had gotten the baby a stuffed animal, a little elephant with a white bow with pastel pink, green, yellow, and blue polka-dots. Elsie's gift had been tied with her parents, which was a beautiful soft minky lilac purple blanket. She then got some necessities like pacifiers, bottles, and diapers from the rest of her family.
After the presents were done, they packed up and left the restaurant and Eddie with the help of Conrad and Eli packed her car with the gifts and then, they decided to walk the few blocks to the aquarium. Eddie had spent the time talking with her niece, Amanda, who was asking her a million questions about her favorites, but she couldn't help but notice her best friend talking--flirting--with her brother, Ben, who seemed to be reciprocating it.
And Alec, whom was also walking with her and Amanda, noticed it as well. And smirked.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the aquarium and other touristy spots around Seattle. After they went their separate ways, Eli and Eddie settled into her bed and had a movie marathon.
This was probably one of the best holidays Eddie had. And, she was looking forwards to many more like it.
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So you met the rest of the Quinn family! :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and had a great rest of the holiday season! I am so happy that you've been enjoying this story!
-kellyann0007 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️