Stitches of Survival

Falling Slowly

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Falling Slowly

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"You left early this morning." Meredith noted when she and I found Alex in the clinic once we got to work. I only offered my friend a smile of greeting between sips of my second coffee that morning, taking a seat on one of the stools at the end of a patient bed. 

"Yeah, 'cause I love it here so much," Alex rolled his eyes at he spoke. "I had to open, plus it looks good."

"Is that what the lawyer said?" Meredith guessed as she took a seat on another one of the stools. 

"Supposed to establish that I'm a valuable member of the community. You know, to counteract the fact that I ruined DeLuca's face," Alex shared his lawyer's reasoning. "I meet with them today. Strategy session. They say it's make or break, whatever that means."

"It means be on your best behavior," I warned.

"Right," the corners of his lips tugged downwards as he eyed me closer than before. "You look like shit."

"And you're a ray of fucking sunshine," sarcasm dripped from my words. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Joel woke me up twice."

"Is he sick?" He questioned.

"No, nothing like that," I shook my head. "Don't say anything, 'cause he'd kill me if he knew Mark or I said anything to anyone. He's been having nightmares for the last week or so. Has at least one every night since it started."

"He say what they're about?" Meredith asked.

"Won't say. Whatever they are seems to really be bugging him though," I pursed my lips at the thought of my eldest child's recent struggle. Remembering how terrified Mark and I had both been the previous week when he had been woken up by Joel shouting in his sleep. Both of us having ran to his room, thinking someone had broken in, only to find him still fast asleep and tangled in his sheets. How we had shaken him awake only to be met with tears as we held him, trying to assure him that everything was okay and that he was safe. 

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Alex offered. "Might help, having someone to talk to that isn't his parents."

"What part of 'don't say anything' suggested that I wanted you to talk to him?" I raised a brow at him. "Mark and I will handle it. But I promise to remember that if things don't work out."

"I just wanna help," Alex gave a small shrug of his shoulders as he glanced between Meredith and I. "Consider it a way for me to thank you for offering to help me. You guys really didn't need to."

"We love you, and we feel for you, Alex. Solidarity and all of that, but this is scut." Meredith gestured around us. Neither of us too pleased with the fact that Bailey had exiled Alex to the clinic since his felony charge.

"She's right," I hummed in agreement. "You're a surgeon, Alex. You don't belong here."

"Don't think for one second you're getting points for arriving before me." We all turned our head towards the door at the sound of the new voice. Spotting the head of the clinic, Nurse Timir, arriving. "Things you didn't do yesterday-- refill the glove dispenser, check the auxiliary thermometer batteries, stock oral swabs."

"I'm out," Meredith pushed herself up to her feet.

"Me too," I agreed.

"And what, you think this is a place to-- to hang out with your friends?" Timir questioned as Meredith and I headed towards the exit. "You do realize we open in twenty, so you gonna sit there and admire me or do you want to get to work?"