Renee was sitting on her couch with Ilaria in her arms as she watched people around her dancing and laughing and having drinks, soft music was playing in the background, she wasn't exactly surprised when she found her colleagues yelling at her as soon as she entered the apartment, the hardest part was acting as if she was surprised. Birthdays weren't exactly something she liked talking about, in her childhood they were often overlooked and as she grew up birthday lost its charm. Addison was the one who had been excited for everyone's birthday, she would arrange dinners and gifts for everyone, Renee sighed when she thought about Addison, their group had fallen apart, Derek and Addison were divorced, Sam and Naomi were divorced, she and Mark separated.
"Ren, dance with me," Derek asked her as he offered her his hand.
"I don't dance, Derek,"
"I know, you're very bad at it but I'm still risking my feet," Derek smiled as she put Ilaria in her crib and took Derek's hand who pulled her along with him. He placed his hands on her waist as she placed hers on his neck as they followed the rhythm of the song.
Meredith was with her group watched them dancing with a hint of jealousy in her eyes, Mark caught her narrowing her eyes at his ex-girlfriend and his best friend before shaking her head and joining her by the bar setup.
"You're jealous," Mark simply stated as he sipped his whiskey.
"And you're not?" She shot back. Mark just shook his head again before rolling his eyes.
"Derek and Renee are close, they are each other's support, there were times when she won't tell me something but she'll tell Derek,"
"Didn't you get jealous?"
"No, because I trust them, both of them,"
"That's bullshit," Meredith said.
"Derek had always been very loyal to who he dates and who he loves,"
"Can I borrow her?"
Reyansh smiled as he watched Derek and Renee dance together, it had been a long time since they had spent some alone time, between their work, his fellowship and the baby, they hardly ever had time for themselves. He saw how hard Renee was working which is why he wanted to have a party for her birthday for her to just relax and not have to run after something.
"Hey," Renee smiled as she kissed him. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her a little closer to her as she placed her hands on his chest and her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," She said to him, though she wasn't a massive fan of birthday parties she couldn't help but feel thankful that he did everything for her.
"For?"
"Everything, the party, being with me during Ilaria's fostering," She said as she rested her chin on his shoulder, she could see Mark in the background as he drank his whiskey, making small talk with Callie.
"It's what good boyfriends do," Reyansh smiled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I was thinking how about we go on a date tomorrow, you're free right?" He asked.
"I am free but what about-"
"I asked Callie to babysit, she said yes," He smiled cockily.
"Aren't you a good planner?"
"One of my skills,"
Standing in front of the mirror, Renee was staring at herself, her black dress looked good, her hair was almost done, the minimal makeup looked good, overall she looked good, she just had to wear her heels and she was ready to go when her phone ringed. She sighed as she looked at her caller ID, Reyansh, it said and it was her gut feeling that told her their date was going to be cancelled. She stared at herself, she could see the sleeplessness on her face, there were dark bags under her eyes from the nights where she had to remain awake when Ilaria would cry, she had taken the girl for a checkup but they couldn't find anything. It was taking a toll on Renee but she couldn't do anything about it, she loved the baby to death, she just needed her to stop crying.
"Hey," She could hear the sadness in his voice from the way he greeted her.
"Big trauma?" She asked removing her earrings.
"No, it's a small one but there's a meth explosion and there's a baby involved which Karev lost,"
"Karev lost a baby?"
"I didn't lose the baby," She heard Karev shouting through the phone.
"Yeah, you go handle that...I'll do something," Renee sighed.
"How about tomorrow?"
"I have surgeries and appointments tomorrow maybe next Sunday,"
Renee was sitting on her couch with nothing do to, she drummed her fingers against her thigh, Ilaria was with Callie who said she wanted to spend some time with the baby, refused to return Ilaria for the night. With nothing to do, she decided to clean her apartment a bit, it had been a few months since she moved in but she didn't have a chance to arrange everything properly. Changing into her comfy clothes she started with her kitchen and almost four hours later everything was looking and smelling good, there were boxes in the living room which need to be thrown out. She sighed as she sat in front of them to check what they contained, she pulled one of the boxes which contained some old photographs and her files from when she was in the foster care.
In one of the other boxes, she found some old pictures of her and Mark along with their group, there were many photos of them especially doing some study or on rare occasions where they would have free time, there were picnic photos. However, one photo stood out the most, one where it was just Mark in the photo and he had something in his hand, something which looked really similar to a ring box.
Renee just sighed as she kept the photo back into the pile hiding them it deep under the other photos, she couldn't deny that seeing the photo made her heart beat a little fast, Mark was someone who didn't propose, she knew that he wasn't the one to settle down. Naomi and Sam had always tease how Mark would never stay long enough for them to get married, well that came out to be true.
She was pondering on the photo when there was a knock on her door, shoving the boxes in one corner Renee opened the door to reveal Callie and Ilaria, Callie had a panic look on her face while Ilaria seemed to be breathing heavily.
"What are you so panicked?"
"I gave her one of the baby foods you gave me and she-she's been breathi-breathing heavily after that," Callie said as she handed Ilaria to Renee.
"Okay, stay calm, we'll go to the hospital, take the food packet with you, stop panicking,"