9. Bar Talk

"You look awful,"

"Why thank you, Alex. I feel just great knowing my day started with a generous compliment," Emily drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm as they walked behind Bailey.

"I'm just saying. Is it your brother?" He asked, genuine concern underlying his normally cocky tone. Sighing, she nodded, thoughts of her brother's worried voice and the loud shout, the roaring of the engine.

"Yeah, he's in Aleppo," she finally caved, pulling at her fingers as she did when she was fidgety, "I don't know what happened but our last call dropped and I've been worried ever since,"

"He's probably fine. At Thanksgiving, he seemed like a pretty tough guy," he offered in a way to assuage her worries.

"That's what I'm hoping but hope isn't great for a family like ours."

.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emily asked amused as she watched her three friends gulp down sausages and buns as fast as possible. "You guys are disgusting," She muttered, looking down at her tray of food and back up at them arguing, mouths stuffed and bits of food flying everywhere. She peeled her orange quickly, taking occasional sips of her water. Cristina seemed triumphant as she stood.

"You wanna be me but you can't be me," Cristina sang before a conflicted expression crossed her face. Her hand cupped her mouth.

"Uh oh,"

"Crap, she's gonna blow," Izzie realized, grabbing her drink and pushing her chair back.

"Everybody, run," The five of them stood, running away. Emily clutched her half-peeled orange and water as they sprinted away from the table. "Are we far away enough?"

"Should be," Emily affirmed, glancing back. The asian woman seemed to be swallowing with great difficulty, running to a nearby trashcan and unleashing her stomach's contents. "That is ugly,"

"Nasty,"

"Gross,"

"Ew,"

Alex just scoffed.

.

"Dr. Webber?"

"Check up on my appy in 2519 and remove the drains in 2789 and 2869. Gastric bypass in 2125 and esophagectomy, 2143. Page me if there are any complications." The Chief turned in the direction of the O.R.s muttering something about Bailey. Hesitant to stop him, she glanced up from her notepad, her pen stilled in her hand.

"And what about Kristen Holden?" The brunette asked quietly. The tall man turned around, annoyance etched faintly on his face.

"Stay on the phone with U.N.O.S. She's on top of the list, Moore."

"Of course, Dr. Webber. How is Dr. Bailey, by the way?" She asked, coughing awkwardly.

"Woman's forcing herself into preterm labor. What did I tell her?" The general surgeon asked to himself, walking away. Laughing quietly and a bit nervously, Emily went about her tasks for the day or at least until Dr. Webber came back.

.

"Come on!" Emily growled at her computer. It had been a week since Doc had been given away to Derek and the nurses were three days from going on strike. "Seriously?" Her computer beeped annoyingly as it tried to establish a line. The sound slowly died down and she heard a loud buzzing noise. It had been the first time in a long while that her brother came online. He had shot her a quick message that he was going to call Theresa and his kids first, which she didn't object to. But now that he was available, it wouldn't connect. "Goddamn it!" She swore, shoving her laptop away from her.

"E-e-e-em?" A broken voice reached her ears, causing her to grab the device haphazardly towards her. "Em?" It asked again, clearer.

"Can you hear me?" She asked, relief clear in her voice. "Are you okay? Fuck, Noah, you had me worried," The webcam cleared, revealing a new white patch across her brother's forehead and another down his eye. He seemed relatively clean as he offered a tired grin. "What the hell happened?" She asked.

"Is that Moore the younger?" A voice asked from offscreen. Her brother replied with a 'yes'. "Keep talking, I'm taking a quick shower," Agreeing, Noah returned his attention to his sister.

"We just had to pack up camp," He answered vaguely, "We relocated a distance away and we're fine now," In the background, Emily could see someone carrying a gun. "How are you?"

"Fine," She answered, twirling a dent in her wooden table, "My friends say hi. Izzie and George,"

"They're nice,"

"Yeah." The line buzzed uncomfortably as she stared at a dark ring in the wood. "So…"

"Any love life?" He asked suddenly when the camera bounced suddenly. "Dude," He addressed to someone off-camera, "The leg, you ass,"

"What's wrong with your leg?" She asked as the person said 'sorry'.

"Moore the younger!" A vaguely familiar voice greeted and the camera switched to the front camera, showing a blonde man with blue eyes. "Remember me?" A bruising colored his side brilliantly under a tight white bandage.

"Taylor Jacks!" She remembered, pleased. "What happened?"

"Just played a bit too rough," He replied easily, taking the phone from her brother. He flipped the camera, his face showing up on it a moment later. "The question is, how are you? Love life, as your brother was asking," Rolling her eyes, she laughed.

"What love life?" She joked, "Was that an indirect way of asking if I'm single?" He shrugged, unabashed.

"So what if it was?" He asked as a groan was heard in the background. "Oh, am I interrupting anything?" He pondered cheekily, his eyes twinkling at her. She flushed under his warm smile, shaking her head eagerly.

"No, no," She mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Can I talk to my sister?" Noah asked, annoyance laced through his tone. Taylor cleared his throat with a roll of his eyes, a whirl of scenery later, and she was faced with the tired face of her brother again. "Hello." Wincing, he glared in the direction of Taylor, "Jacks," He growled in a warning tone. "I'm not the one telling Kenner that you kept poking my leg,"

"Alright, alright." It was if Emily could hear the gesture he was making, his hands held up in a guilty-free gesture. "Au revoir, Moore the hotter. I will miss you ma cherie," Chuckling, she replied in her own French.

"Au revoir, mon amour," She called dramatically, to her brother's great unamusement. "Sorry, No' but you look real jealous."

"Maybe I don't like young guys flirting with my sister,"

"How old is he?" She asked innocently.

"Shut up!"

"Jealous!" She sang.

"Overprotective."

.

"I'm nearly throwing up in my mouth," Emily grumbled as she spotted the curly-haired resident, Sydney Heron.

"I am throwing up in my mouth," Cristina shot back, tying her hair up in a ponytail. "I hate her,"

"I miss Bailey,"

"So do I," Izzie grumbled albeit distant.

"Iz, you okay?" Emily asked, touching her arm with a hand.

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde directed a smile at the two of them, walking faster, "Let's get to Joe's already, guys!" Shooting a confused look at Cristina, they crossed the street. Something about Izzie wasn't settling quite right.

.

"So, this nurse thing, with the protests and stuff," Joe asked as he settled behind the bar again. Emily glanced up at him in a disinterested fashion, "how's it going so far?"

"It's whatever." She waved a lazy hand around before picking up her drink. Swirling the liquid in the glass, she glanced over at the nurses' table. They all sat, drinking and glaring at the other doctors in the room. "I'm more interested in when Bailey's coming back because," Her voice lowered to a whisper, "I cannot handle another day with Sydney Heron as my resident. Heal with love, my ass,"

"It is a nice ass," Alex remarked, causing Emily to scowl at him. "Heron's easy surgeries, I don't know what's the big deal,"

"Heron is heal with love. Alex, you have got to be joking me," He finally nodded, conceding to her point, "It's kinda gross.. I prefer to heal with science, thank you."

"Sydney sounds just like you except with medicine instead of boys." Joe remarked, passing by them to serve another patron.

"What do you mean?"

"Forget I said that."

"Joe, I demand answers."

"Wait," Alex paused their conversation, face scrunched up as he turned to the brunette. "Dude, are you a virgin?"

"No!" She flushed, pulling at the neck of her shirt. "I am not a virgin. I just happen to be slightly picky when it comes to picking out a boyfriend and haven't really… I just have dignified standards of love is all." Huffing, she downed her drink, turning her cup upside down.

"Right, and that's why you've never got laid ever," he retorted, peeling the shell of a barnut and throwing it across the counter, "Look, love isn't gonna mean that person's gonna be an easy ride. He isn't gonna sweep you off your feet like some knight in shining armor and ride off into the sunset."

"I've always, I don't know, dreamed that love makes your world spin. It always felt like it was something people always felt happiest with.

"Dude, you're like a little girl. Love isn't worth it."

"And you'd know?" She shot back, popping a peanut into her mouth. "You couldn't even get it up for Izzie and here you are moping."

"That's low,"

"I know," She admitted, crossing her arms on the bar top. "I'm sorry, it's just you have love and then you throw it away. Look at Meredith and Derek, how can they just… how can he just pick Addison and just, argh!" She threw her hands up in frustration before cradling her chin in her hands, propping her elbows up. "You don't throw away love, especially not one like theirs,"

"They were together for like two months - you're overreacting,"

"They're in love, Alex. Even a blind person could see that," Emily murmured, thinking back to when the two were still together, leaving the hospital together every day.

.

"Drinks at Joe's?" Emily offered with a smile to Meredith, who shook her head no. "Oh, got any other plans?"

"Uh, yeah. I-" Her sentence was interrupted by Derek entering the locker room, his blue eyes soft when he met his girlfriend's green eyes. "I have plans," The blonde concluded, gathering her bag and jacket in her arms.

"Oh, I see." She commented cheekily, opening the door for them as they exited the locker room. Pushing the elevator button, she sneaked glances at Derek and Meredith, both absorbed in their own conversation. Their heads seemed to gravitate towards each other and they never stopped smiling, Derek tucking hair behind Meredith's ear, the blonde kissing the raven-haired man's stubbled jaw. When the lift finally arrived, she stepped in and jabbed the lobby button, keeping it open for the couple. Standing back, she watched as they continued to converse, their genuine smiles nearly melting her heart. It was so clear that they loved each other, no matter how much either denied.

Their eyes never strayed and their aura was warm and happy and easy. Emily had never seen her friend's eyes so warm and shining at the taller man beside her. When the elevator finally stopped, she followed them to the door, careful not to intrude on their personal space before splitting ways. Before she ducked into her car, she saw Meredith entering Derek's car, smiling widely as he settled behind the wheel. They shared a kiss before he started the engine, driving off.

They love each other, she thought, igniting the engine. They really do.

As Emily settled comfortably behind the computer, she noted a dark-haired man approach a blonde that was leaning on the counter, looking through some documents. "You left early today. Home was quiet without you," Meredith murmured, flipping through the documents and scribbling something down. "What happened?" Derek was just recovering from the fact that they had called her house home as he replied.

"9-1-1. But I brought a coffee to make up for it," Derek grinned, procuring a large cup of the caffeinated beverage from under the counter. "What's this?"

"Family history on your aneurysm patient. It's her fifth aneurysm and second clipping so I was just wondering if there was a history," The blonde explained as the neurosurgeon nodded.

"So far?"

"Nothing,"

"Mmhmm. Keep going, maybe you'll find something," The attending rubbed his girlfriend's arm in comfort, pressing a kiss to her temple before walking away. Flushing, Emily looked away before anyone noticed she was looking. Their easy conversation and usage of words was as if they had been a couple for several months rather than one. She felt the green-eyed monster claw at her guts and she mashed it down because the romantic in her was so, truly happy that Meredith had found joy in the man she loved.

A/N: Edited - June 25, 2018