Chapter Sixteen: Much Too Much
"Another sleepless night in Seattle." George muttered.
"I don't want to hear it." I glared at him. "Your room isn't right next door to hers."
"Who was it this time?" Izzie asked, ignoring me. "Hairy back guy?"
"You know who I miss?" George shook his head. "Inappropriate facial hair guy. You know he did his own dishes?"
"Tattooed ass guy made coffee." Izzie pointed out.
"Yeah, he was a keeper." George agreed as he pulled on some socks. At his words Izzie and I both looked up at his, surprised. "What? Meredith? I am over her."
"I miss her not getting any so I was able to get a good night of sleep, not having to worry about Joel hearing anything." I commented.
"Ahem." Izzie sighed as she sat down at the table with George and I.
"Although, is she trying to set some kind of record?" George asked us.
"At least she has a goal." Izzie said as we heard someone hurrying down the stairs. We all craned our necks to see an unfamiliar face hurrying out the front door.
"Oh, he's new." George commented.
"And I shall name him running guy." Izzie deemed.
"Creative." I scoffed.
"You know who I heard Alex come home with last night?" George asked. "You."
"I don't want to talk about it." Izzie shook her head. "Actually, I really do want to talk about it. But he doesn't want to talk about it because there were... technical difficulties."
"What?" George frowned.
"You know, he didn't- He- It was..." Izzie stumbled over her own words.
"No." George and I both laughed.
"Stop it. Both of you." Izzie warned us. "You guys can't say anything."
"I'm gonna at least think about making fun of him next time I see him." George shook his head.
"He said it never happened before." Izzie told us.
"Oh, that's what we all say." George said before realizing his mistake. "And I mean they. That's what they all say."
"I don't know." Izzie rested her head in her hand. "Maybe this relationship just isn't meant to be. I mean, I just...just need some sex, George. You know? I need sex now. You know what I mean?"
"I do." I assured her.
"How long has it been for you?" Izzie asked me.
"Six and a half years." I informed them, making both of their eyes widen.
"Wait, you haven't had sex since Joel was born?" George asked.
"More like conceived." I corrected him. "Hey, not many people want to sleep with a pregnant woman. And, after he was born, I've had to be careful about who I bring around him."
"Oh, you so need sex." Izzie shook her head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Dorie, this is Dr. Stevens and Dr. Watley." Addison introduced Izzie and I to her patient, having requested for us to be on her service today. "They'll be working with us on this case."
"The more the merrier." Dorie waved to us.
"Apparently." Izzie chuckled, referring to the fact that Dorie was pregnant with quintuplets. "How far along are you?"
"Thirty-two weeks." Dorie told us.
"And how long is a normal gestation period?" Addison quizzed us.
"Forty weeks." I answered. "But with twins, thirty-six weeks is considered full term so with quints, thirty-four weeks is considered extremely successful."
"I plan on going thirty-six weeks." Dorie said. "No one's leaving this uterus until I say so."
"The power of positive thinking, huh?" Addison smiled.
"Well, that, bed rest and all the medical care you can give me." Dorie shrugged.
"Uh, Adam's got a fever." Dorie's husband told her as he came into the room. "Which means soon they'll all have a fever. I don't think me mom's gonna make it through lunch."
"We have four year old boys at home- Adam, Oliver, and Graham." Dorie informed Izzie and I.
"Triplets?" Issue's eyes widened. "You already have triplets? Oh, I guess when you take those fertility pills, you should read the fine print."
"Dr. Stevens." Addison warned her.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Izzie quickly apologized. "I just, I meant it as a-"
"It's okay. I'm used to it." Dorie waved it off. "I just really wanted a girl."
"Yeah, we just didn't bank on five girls." Her husband said.
"But think of all the clothes and all that punk cuteness." Dorie smiled at him.
"Honey, that's your happy place, remember." He chuckled before leaning down and kissing her.
"Try not to say everything that poops into your brain." Addison muttered to Izzie.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"How's it look?" Dorie asked Izzie and I as we checked up on her later in the morning.
"Not bad." Izzie said.
"Not bad?" Dorie frowned.
"Not bad is pretty good when you have five babies in your uterus." I assured her. Dorie only nodded before letting out a small groan, making Izzie and I look back at her once more.
"It's Kate." She told us. "She kicks me so hard. It's like a belly burn every time."
"You've named them already?" Izzie asked.
"I know you both think I'm crazy." Dorie shook her head. "Or maybe just a little stupid?"
"I don't think either of those things." I promised her.
"Mrs. Russell, I'm sorry if I've done something to offend you." Izzie apologized.
"The only thing that will offend me is if you pretend that you haven't been judging me since the minute we met." Dorie said, giving Izzie and I both looks. "We're gonna be spending a lot of time together, so we all may as well be honest, right?"
"If you had reduced the fetuses even by two, the other three could've been carried longer, been more developed and born healthier." Izzie was honest with her.
"And you're about the sixteenth doctor who's told me that." Dorie nodded. Izzie only glanced at her feet as Dorie reached over and took her hand, bringing it to rest on her stomach. "This one up here, this is Charlotte. She's the stubborn one. Lodged into my rib cage, won't budge. And over here, Lucy. She's a bad ass. She gets kicked, she kicks back. Emily, she has the hiccups almost every day. And over here is Julie. She's pretty mellow. Every once in awhile, she just turns over. Which brings us back to, Kate."
"Who gives you belly burn." Izzie smiled.
"Every time she kicks." Dorie nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Uh, I feel like a beached whale." Dorie groaned as I helped her back into bed.
"Well, you're a very beautiful one." I told her as Addison made her way into the room, Derek following right behind her.
"Dorie, this is Dr. Shepherd. He's our head of neurosurgery." Addison introduced them to one another.
"Oh, another Dr. Shepherd." Dorie smiled.
"He's my husband, actually." Addison informed her.
"Seriously?" Dorie raised a brow. "Wow. Look at you two. Everybody must hate you."
"Oh, you have no idea." Derek and Addison both said.
"Anyway, Dorie, Dr. Shepherd wants to talk to you about baby C." Addison told her, getting us back on track.
"Lucy." Dorie correct her.
"Yes, Lucy has a condition called hydrocephalus." Derek told her. "It is a buildup of cerebral spinal fluid on the brain."
"Okay, and that means...." Dorie trailed off, not understanding the medical speech.
"Excess fluid builds up and it puts pressure on the baby's brain, which could result in brain damage." Derek explained to her. "Here's the good news. We caught it early enough. We can take care of it very quickly."
"How?" Dorie asked.
"I'm going to install a shut to drain the fluid." Derek told her, sitting down on the edge of her bed as he spoke. "Barring any complications, you're looking at a full recovery. No brain damage."
"Okay, really, couldn't you have led with that?" Dorie shook her head in relief.
"Good point." He nodded as the rest of us chuckled.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Where have you been?" Addison asked Izzie when she finally rejoined us in Dorie's room.
"I- I just- The nurse was here." Izzie stuttered.
"I've loaded her up with magnesium." Addison filled her in as she continued with the ultrasound. "Start monitoring her for toxicity."
"Oh, it's too soon." Dorie groaned as she held her stomach. "They can't come yet."
"Mom says Graham started puking." Mr. Russell informed Dorie as he came back into the room but his eyes widened when he saw us all there around his wife. "What is it? What's going on?"
"Dorie's having contractions." I informed him.
"The babies' vital signs are stable, but your placenta's laying low." Addison told them. "We're going to have to keep a close eye on that. We want to keep them in there as long as possible."
"How are we keeping them in there if she's having contractions?" Mr. Russell asked.
"It's all right, Hon. They can stop them." Dorie assured her husband. "You're gonna trendelenberg me, right?"
"Yes, I am." Addison nodded. "You've done your reading, Dorie."
"They did it with the triplets." Dorie told us. "Gravity, remember, Tom? It worked fine then, and it'll be fine now."
"Hang in there, Tom" Addison offered him a smile. "There's no time for second thoughts now."
"We didn't think we'd survive the first week with the boys, and we did, and we'll be the same with the girls." Dorie reminded Tom. "We're ready."
"Well, that's all we can do for now." Addison told them. "Dr. Stevens, Dr. Watley, are you two on call tonight?"
"No." Izzie and I shook our heads.
"You both are now." Addison said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Dorie, Tom." Addison smiled at the couple when she came back that afternoon with Burke and George. "This is Dr. Burke. He's the head of cardiothoracic surgery and Dr. O'Malley who will be assisting him. Dr. Burke wanted to talk to you about Emily's heart surgery."
"Emily needs heart surgery?" Tom asked.
"Yes." Burke nodded. "Your daughter has a condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The surgery will be extensive. And the odds are that-"
"We don't believe in odds." Dorie cut him off.
"Good, neither do I." Burke smiled at her. "But it is important that you both understand medically what's going on with your girls."
"After she's born, there won't be much time to ask questions." Addison added.
"Okay." Dorie nodded. "We're listening."
"What's wrong with Emily's heart?" Tome asked, his hand resting on his wife's stomach.
"The chambers of the left side are underdeveloped." Burke explained to them. "In addition, the mitral valve, which connects these two chambers, is abnormally narrow."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey." I greeted Alex that night when I found him sitting in the back hall going over charts. I walked over and sat down next to him, glancing at the chart in his hands. "Tumor, nice."
"Maybe, if the guy it came with weren't such an asshole." He shook his head. "How's the quintets?"
"Okay," I sighed. "Well, as okay as they can be. I feel so bad for that couple, all they wanted was a daughter and now they have to face all of this. At least three of those babies have serious problems, it's just not right."
"Hey, at least they've got some of the best surgeons here." He reminded me. "So, where's Joel tonight since you're here?"
"With Ashely, I called her and told her I had to work tonight." I said, taking a sip of my coffee. "She's just staying the night at the house rather than taking him back to her place."
"What is Ashely?" He asked. "Is she a babysitter? A nanny?"
"Somewhere in-between, I guess." I shrugged. "She watches him during the week since he has kindergarten and then I just bring him here to daycare when I have to work on the weekends. I'll probably take him to daycare during the summer too, give Ashley a break."
"So, she's not your girlfriend?" He checked, causing me to hit him in the arm.
"I'm not gay." I told him before changing the subject. "How are things between you and Izzie?"
"We're fine." He told me. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because, you're both my friends." I reminded him. "I just want to make sure that you're both doing all right, is that wrong?"
"You do realize that I don't talk about feelings, right?" He reminded me.
"Oh, shut up." I rolled my eyes. "I'm your Meredith."
"What?" He raised a brow at me.
"I'm your Meredith." I repeated myself. "You're Cristina and I'm Meredith, I'll be there for you."
"You're weird." He shook his head, chuckling.
"Never said I wasn't." I shrugged.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Addison wants us to put you guys on notice." Izzie informed Alex and Meredith when we caught up with them at the coffee cart in the morning. "When the quints are born, we're gonna need everyone available. There's gonna be five babies, at lease three of them need surgeries. We're gonna need all the hands we can get."
"Okay." Meredith nodded.
"Fine." Alex agreed.
"So, we'll just page you guys when we need you." I told them both. They both only nodded before heading over to an empty table, with me following behind them.
"I was studying. What's your excuse?" Alex asked Meredith.
"I was staring at the ceiling in abject horror." Meredith told him. "My one night stand is a neurosurgical case."
"Running guy?" I could feel my eyes widen at this news. "Running guy is McDreamy's patient?"
"Yep." She nodded.
"I heard you broke his penis." Alex smirked at her. "Nice."
"So I'm having a lot of sex. What's wrong with that?" Meredith asked us.
"Nothing wrong with that at all." Alex assured her.
"As long as you keep the noise down." I added.
"It only gets problematic when you start to care." Meredith shook her head. "When you let your emotions get in the way, you know?"
"Yeah, right." Alex nodded before he started walking over to Izzie, but his pager went off, causing him to go the other way.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What's going on?" Addison asked Izzie and I when she found us in Dorie's room.
"There's fetal distress." Izzie told her.
"My contractions are really hurting! I think my water broke!" Dorie groaned as Addison pulled up her blanket, revealing blood staining her hospital gown and sheets.
"Her placenta's tearing." I frowned at the sight of the blood.
"Okay, Dorie, we can't wait any longer." Addison told the woman. "The babies have to come out now."
"It's okay." Izzie walked over to Dorie's side, taking her hand. "We're gonna take really good care of you. Just keep breathing."
"Uh, Dorie, the OR's prepped and ready to go." Addison told her s nurses came in, beginning to get Dorie ready to move upstairs. "Where's Tom?"
"He's at home with the boys." Dorie cried out in pain.
"No, I called Tom. He's on his way." Izzie shook her head.
"Beth, go ahead and page everyone on Dorie's team." Addison instructed me. "The list is posted at the nurse's station. I only nodded before hurrying out of the room to page everyone.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Everyone answered their page except for Dr. Karev." I told Addison as we all took Dorie to the OR.
"Where is he? We need everyone!" Addison asked.
"I don't know." I shook my head.
"He was on call last night." Izzie pointed out. "He might be asleep."
"Go find him!" Addison sent Izzie back down the hall in search of Alex while we continued towards the OR.