Paradise-Grey's Anatomy AU Book 8

Chapter Twenty-Three

"So, there's this bird. Some sort of swallow I think. Every September, thousands of them ditch rainy Seattle to winter in Mexico. These birds aren't dumb. And every year, crowds of people gather around Seattle to drink beer and watch the flocks take off. They call it the Great Migration. I don't know how those birds do it. Travel thousands of miles without getting lost. Banging into windows, being eaten by cats. But every spring, they're always here. I guess they come back to what they know. People say it's pretty cool, watching them go. They say you can actually see the moment when, at some mysterious signal, all at once the birds decide to leave. So maybe I've been missing out. Whatever... there's always next year"

"we'll hum our hearts to rest"

At Meredith's house, the 5th year residents were having a party to celebrate passing their boards. April was rocking back and forth to the music on a chair. "Oh! I love this song! Excuse me!" she exclaimed, getting up and running off to dance. "Kepner's wasted", Alex stated. "That's a first", Lucy added. "Yeah, well, lately, she's been all about firsts", Jackson replied. A phone started ringing. "Wait, wait, wait", Cristina said as Meredith shut off the music and she grabbed her phone. "This is Dr Yang. Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Well, that does certainly give me a lot to think about. Thank you so much for calling. Mayo wants to give me a research lab. Guess who's back in the running!" Everyone cheered. "Yeah, Cristina!" April said. "April!" Cristina said. The music came back on and April started aggressively dancing again. "So that's what rock bottom looks like", Alex said. A phone started ringing. "Music. Music!" Jackson said. April grabbed her phone. "Hello? Yes, this is she", she said. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Well, yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for the opportunity. UVA wants a board-certified surgeon, so they pulled my offer. Come on. Music! Come on. Come on. Music! Come on!"

Aurora entered the firehouse, where Owen was already asleep. He woke up and saw her. "Aurora?" he said. She climbed onto the bed and lay on his chest.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know"

He held her tighter. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know"

She got up and left.

Teddy, Cristina, Beck and Callie were in Nick's room. "So, this patch here is your tumour", Cristina explained, pointing to a scan. "It's invading the wall of your right ventricle. What we'll do is, we'll resect the tumour, then repair the ventricle, and replace the tricuspid valve". "Dr Yang is the best that we have. You couldn't be in better hands", Teddy reassured him. "Come on", Nick said to Callie. "Where is she?" "Arizona? She's... Patients. So many patients", Callie replied.

"So, basically, you all want to chop up my heart into a jigsaw puzzle. It may give me a few more months, most of which, I'll be spending in a hospital bed, while my best friend in the world does everything possible to avoid me? Or, I spend the rest of my short life lying on a sandy beach in Belize"

"Nick, you need this surgery"

"Tell Scottsdale I said goodbye. Looks like I won't get the chance"

Alex found Lucy in the hallway and grabbed her wrist, dragging her into an on-call room. "What's up?" she asked him.

"Richard just told me that one of my examiners loved me so much that they're gonna call me about a fellowship at Johns Hopkins"

"Shut up"

"It's true"

"Oh, my God! I'm so proud of you"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not. This is the real deal, Alex. I'm not gonna take that away from you. Besides, I don't mind moving if it's something you really want. I've got some options close to there. We'll make it work and it'll be great"