𝕀𝕟 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝔸 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕕 (𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕒 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕕)

𝕀 𝔸𝕞 ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕎𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔸𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖

"The greatest enemy of any one of our truths may be the rest of our truths"

                              —  William James

Aurora was walking down the hallway with her arm wrapped around Amelia's waist.

"You should get a dog. You seem like a dog person" Amelia told her.

"I with Meredith, you really think she would allow a dog?" Aurora asked her.

"Well, that's something we can talk about"

"And what does that mean?"

Amelia looks at her shrugs shoulders. "Hmm. No idea"

"Anyway, I was thinking we could have dinner tomorrow? It's my birthday, and I can't think of anyone else, I'd rather celebrate with, so..."

Amelia bumped her hip into Aurora's side. "Tomorrow's your birthday?"

"No, no. It's in a week, so you still have time to buy my gift, but I was thinking we could, you know, kick things off with dinner" Aurora told her.

"Do you like lobster?"

"Love lobster" Aurora told her.

"You know how to cook lobster?"

Aurora nods her head. "Sure, you just boil a pot of water and--"

"Yeah, see. You're already losing me"

Aurora chuckles a little and pulls out her phone since it started going off. "Shit. Incoming"

"Tomorrow night, then"

"Lobster" Aurora said putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Birthday lobster, which you are cooking"

"That's become obvious" Aurora said and jogged down the hallway.

Aurora was walking down the hall with Tess's parents.

"Your daughter suffered severe injuries from the fall. We're doing everything we can" Aurora told them walking close to Tess who was getting ready to wheeled into the elevator.

"Is that her?"

"Oh, my god. Tess"

"Another set of hands up in the OR?" April asked, looking at Aurora.

Aurora nods her head. "I'll get Owen to come to help"

"Michael"

"We told you. We told you not to take her on that mountain. Why are you always taking her on those damn mountains?"

"Uh, is there a place, uh, where I can wait for her during surgery?" Michael asked.

Aurora nodded her head.

"We all want to wait"

"I'll take you all somewhere more private" Aurora told them and began to walk away with them following behind her.

Aurora sighed as she stood in front of Tess's parents. "Unfortunately, in surgery, we discovered your daughter's injuries were more catastrophic than we realized and her brain function has virtually ceased. Your daughter has virtually no brain activity. I am so sorry"

"Oh, my god" Michael said.

"But I saw her. Her heart pumping. She's still breathing. She's alive"

Aurora bit her lip a little and ran a hand through her hair, and looked at April.

"The ventilator is breathing for her. She can't breathe on her own or feed herself or use the bathroom. She's using catheters and ostomies and will likely need those indefinitely"

"From this point on, she will require round-the-clock professional care, probably for the rest of her life" Riggs told the two parents.

"Or until she gets better"

"I'm sorry?" Riggs asked.

"She'll need the care until she gets better, until she wakes up and she can leave the hospital"

"Do we know when that might be? When Tess could leave here?"

Aurora looked at Riggs and April before looking back to Tess's parents. "Eventually, she would be moved to a long-term acute care facility where she would live for the rest of her-- well, we can-- we can get you some brochures. If that's what you decide, or of you decide to withdraw care"

"Oh, Tess"

"I understand that is difficult, and you should take some time to talk this over" Aurora told them.

"That won't be necessary"

"We understand the circumstances" Steven said.

"We want you to do everything you can to save our daughter"

"No! This is not what she'd want" Michael said walking closer to them.

"She could wake up. I mean, people wake up from comas all the time"

"Mm-hmm"

"Um? I'm sorry, but in Tess's case, that's highly unlikely" Riggs said.

"She told me what she wants. More than once. Please she would not want to live like this"

"What is wrong with you?"

"This isn't your decision to make, Michael" Steven told him.

"If this had happened two months from now, it would be. We would've been married"

"Will you get him out of here?"

Aurora shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.

Aurora was in the kitchen when Amelia walked in carrying a box of lobsters.

"Hey, got the lobsters" Amelia told her sitting it on the counter.

"Hey" Aurora said walking over to her and kissed her cheek. "Wanna help, cook the lobsters"

Amelia nods her head. "Sure. Is Hope Asleep?"

Aurora nods. "Yeah, just got her sleep a fre minutes before you came in. But anything else you would want with the lobsters?"

"Mashed potatoes sound good and some rolls, if that's okay if you"

"That is perfect for me" Aurora said walking closer to her and pulled her into a quick kiss.

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