- - -
we teach residents when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. it means that the most obvious answer is usually right. it keeps doctors from heading down the wrong path. it helps us stick to the truth. it helps us save lives. it's part of what makes me a good surgeon.
- - -
"you've found a seven point five centimeter triple-a on your eighty five year old patient," lia tells meredith as the two of them are walking through the park. "go."
"get an angio, assess his pulmonary and cardiac function, and see if he's a candidate for an endovascular repair," meredith confidently answers.
"nope," lia says, popping the 'p'.
"why not?" meredith raises a brow.
"because the patient's dead," lia informs her. "you killed him. he's dead."
"i didn't kill him," meredith shakes her head. "i did a stent graft and now he's living without the threat of a rupture, which is not dead."
"mm," lia hums, unconvinced. "i think you should buy him flowers, 'cause he dead."
"he is not dead. i saved him the complications of an open procedure with a minimally invasive technique. he's... not dead," meredith insists, as lia stops walking. "why are we stopping?"
"because we're done," lia turns to her and smiles.
"because i killed him?" meredith asks, confused. "i told you, i did not kill him."
"i know, and so do you, even when i try to psych you out of it, which means... you're ready for the boards," lia nods. "the webber method is inside you. so i'm gonna go and visit my mom because i am sick of walking around this park every morning at the butt crack of dawn. and i- uh, you're free, mer. go do whatever it is you do."
"uh-oh. ooh, okay," meredith furrows her brow, but chuckles slightly as lia leaves.
■ ■ ■
"here we go," richard smiles, returning to where lia and adele are sat. "i snagged the last croissant, and i only had to elbow one orderly out of the way to get it."
"i got a secret," adele giggles like a school girl to lia, clearly mistaking her for a friend rather than her daughter.
"oh, really?" lia raises a brow.
"if i tell you, you can't tell anybody," adele warns her. "you promise?"
"i promise," lia nods.
"i'm in love," adele reveals.
"okay," lia simply responds, uncertain of how to react.
"with, uh... with whom?" richard interjects.
adele giggles, and points to a man sat across the room who waves at her, and she waves back as lia sits there with wide eyes.
■ ■ ■
"no distractions," alex frowns as he's stood with april, jackson and meredith at the nurses station, attempting to study. "kepner, hit me again."
"okay, a- a woman with dysuria, incomplete voiding, and a palpable suburethral mass. urethral carcinoma" april reads off a flash card.
"damn it. i had one of those last year. um, uh, we did, uh, radiation and surgical excision," alex attempts to remember the correct answer. "no! would it be, uh, chemo?"
"an ectopic ureter, or it could be," jackson tells him. "i mean, i scrubbed in on one of those, but i don't remember the technique the urologist used."
"damn it," alex groans.
"sounds like urethral diverticulum," meredith adds her input. "and if it's proximal, i would do a partial ablation because it's much less likely to result in a fistula."
"you don't even need to know advanced urology for the boards," alex scoffs.
"but i do, because the webber method is in me," meredith smugly grins.
"hgh! total crap. you get to study with alivia webber while the rest of us get to sink like rocks," alex scowls. "i hope you're happy when you're alone in the o.r and the rest of us are working the free clinic at the mall."
"of course she gets to study with lia," jackson rolls his eyes. "she's got that sister edge."
"well, you could have had the boyfriend edge if you hadn't dumped her," meredith points out, giving him a disingenuous smile, and jackson instantly goes silent.
"my whole brain is crammed with so many hypotheticals, i can't even remember what real cases i was actually there for," april complains in an attempt to salvage the conversation. "i am screwed."
"i'll tell you who's screwed; yang," alex says. "the boards are around the corner, no one's seen her study. she's gonna get creamed."
"yang is fine," meredith defends her best friend.
"you can't just pass the boards on raw talent, okay?" alex argues. "it is an artificial environment, which requires massive amounts-"
"cristina is fine. okay?" meredith snaps, cutting him off.
■ ■ ■
"mom. are you ready for dinner?" lia asks, as she opens the door to her room, followed by richard, to find her in bed with the man from earlier.
"aah! this is a private room! get out!" adele screams, and they back out of the room again.
"oh dear god," lia says, eyes wide in disbelief as she stands staring at her mother's closed door.
"i will not have this!" richard shakes his head, turning around to find mr. wallis.
"dad, please," lia pleads, chasing after her father.
"you get that man out of here!" richard shouts, approaching mr. wallis at the front desk.
"dr. webber..." mr. wallis calmly begins.
"it's assault," richard cuts him off. "she was vulnerable. you just don't let a man-"
"please, dad," lia cuts him off, in an attempt to cam him down so he'll act more rationally.
"he took advantage of my wife. he's a predator. if you don't get him out, i will sue," richard threatens.
"dr. webber, allan has alzheimer's," mr. wallis informs richard, and his expression immediately softens. "his is quite progressed, further along than your wife's, even. he's not a predator. he's a patient here."
■ ■ ■
"well, you have a better view of the pond. you know, i heard that mrs. thompson across the hall has a great movie collection," richard smiles to adele after moving her into her new room in an attempt to get her away from allan.
adele takes a seat on her new bed, with her hands in her lap and a sorrowful expression.
"mom, what is it?" lia asks, taking a seat next to her mother on the bed.
"he hasn't come to visit or call," adele shakes her head. "i don't know what i did wrong."
"you did nothing wrong, honey. it's just... i'm your husband, for thirty years now," richard assures her, taking a seat on the other side of adele, and showing her their wedding photo. "i'm right here. i- this is us... on our wedding day. your mother took it right after the ceremony."
"you and- we're married?" adele looks at richard with confusion.
"yes, honey. i proposed on new year's, and- and we were married the valentine's after. and this is our daughter, alivia," richard reminds her, as lia stands back up from the bed. richard then begins to sing their wedding song like he did in the o.r. "m- my funny valentine. sweet comic valentine. you make me smile with my heart. your looks are laughable, unphotographable."
"allan?" adele calls, and lia's eyes begin to fill up with tears.
"yet you're..." richard continues to sing.
"where's allan? can you help me find him, sir, please?" adele continues to fret, turning to richard for help. "this isn't like him. he loves me. he wouldn't just disappear. he loves me. allan? where are you? allan, please come home, baby."
"dad, come on," lia says, holding out her hand, but richard remains seated. "dad. i really think we should go. we can come back later."
richard nods, and takes lia's hand as he stands up from the bed. when he gets to the door, he stops and turns back to look at adele. lia places her hand on his shoulder, and he eventually turns back around to follow lia out of rose ridge.
■ ■ ■
jackson is riding in an elevator in the hospital, when the doors open and lia steps in. she gives him a small smile, as she moves to stand beside him.
"hey," he greets. "meredith, said you were visiting your mom. how is she?"
"she's... good," lia nods. "most of the time she doesn't remember who i am, and now she's forgetting my dad too. but... she's happy. she seems to like it there."
"good," he smiles. "i'm glad she's happy."
"wanna hear something disturbing?" lia asks, and jackson turns to her with a raised brow.
"sure..?" jackson answers with a grin of uncertainty.
"my mom has fallen in love with another patient at rose ridge, and today my dad and i walked in on them having sex," lia tells him with a slight chuckle.
"that's rough," he chuckles along with her, as the elevator doors open on lia's floor. she walks out of the elevator, but spins back around to face him before the doors shut again.
"i'm glad we're still friends, jackson," she smiles.
"me too, lia."
- - -
when i hear hoofbeats, horses. i always think horses. even when i shouldn't. things are not always what they appear to be. they're often an indicator of something bigger going on, deep underneath.
- - -
"you have a good life here, mom," lia smiles, as she is sat with adele at rose ridge again, following her shift at the hospital. "you... have friends, and, you know, sometimes... well, we- we can get in the way of- of all that."
"of course, now if you need anything, just pick up the phone, and i'll stop everything, and i'll come right over," richard adds. "i love you, adele. and i always will."
"dad," lia says, using her eyes and a nod of her head to gesture.
"what?" richard asks, before realising she's telling him to look behind. when he turns around he sees allan stood there. he then stands up, and turns to allan. "allan, um... come- come and sit down. i was just on my way out."
"where have you been?" adele beams, taking allan's hands in hers. "i've been waiting for you."
"let's go, dad," lia smiles softly, standing up from her own seat and walking over to richard.
- - -
symptoms. red flags. warning signs. things we should pay attention to. things we shouldn't ever ignore. things that are bad. things that could really hurt us. things that it might be just too late to fix.
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