webnovel

37

   walks into the Attending's Lounge to find her husband on his stomach on the couch, his face shoved into a pillow.

She falters in the doorway, eyes narrowing as she stares at him. Finally, something hits her, a loud gasp leaving her. Mark jumps a bit, his head rising from the pillow to look at his wife with tired eyes.

"You're sick!" She whispers, moving towards the sink to wet some paper towels and then towards her husband. She kneels down beside the couch and begins to pat his forehead with them, shaking her head. "I knew you would get sick with the flu going around."

"Why am I the only one to possibly get sick out of the two of us?" Mark grumbled, his eyes closing at the relief the towels bring.  She smiles, shaking her head.

"I don't get sick. Unspoken rule."

"Well, I'm not supposed to get sick either." Mark whined, his face wincing in pain. His complexion was pale and sweaty and Eleanora's nose scrunched up slightly. "I have a rhinoplasty today."

"No, you a rhinoplasty today. Now, you have a one way ticket back to the house to go wallow in your sickness." Eleanora pushed hair out of his face before standing up to the throw the towels away. "I'll pick the twins up after pre-school and bring them to the daycare. I don't want multiple whining, sick Sloan's to deal with."

"Now," she continued, washing her hands and throwing a look over her shoulder as Mark slowly sat up. "You page Hunt, tell him to push your surgeries or hand them off to Jackson and then go home, take a shower, and stay in bed."

"I should stay at work." He grumbled, standing up. He wobbled a bit in his spot, Eleanora throwing him an unamused look. "I should go home."

"Yes, you should."

_____

   call all the colleges. See if anybody there can speak it." Derek gets out to the nurse, Eleanora standing beside him with a grimace. She had a chart in her arms, watching him with careful eyes as he tried not to vomit.

"You look gross." Eleanora told him, scrunching her nose up. Derek sent her a glare before turning around, coming face to face with a worried Meredith with a sickly looking Leah Murphy behind her.

"Are you okay?" Meredith asks her husband, Eleanora shaking her head vehemently from over his shoulder. Derek sighed, rubbing his face.

"Um, if you can speak Estonian. My translator called in sick."

"You don't look good. Are you getting this thing?" Meredith asked him. Eleanora nodded her head with the same enthusiasm as before, Meredith sending her an odd look before Derek shakes his head no.

"I don't get sick. It's an unspoken rule."

"Spoken." Murphy speaks up, her voice and faced tired. "Twice today."

"Three." Eleanora sighed, looking down at her chart. "Mark said it too before I sent him to wallow in his sickness in the comfort of our own home, much like Meredith should do to you."

"Meddler." Derek hissed at her, Eleanora letting out a huff before pointedly looking back at her chart. "Even if I were gonna get sick it's not gonna happen today. Murphy, you look awful."

"I'm pushing through." Leah sniffles out. Eleanora and Derek make an identical disgusted face, Eleanora taking one small step away from Murphys direction.

"You know, get away from me." Derek decides, shooing her away. Murphy sighs but does as she was told, Eleanora shaking her head.

"These residents." She tsk's, clicking her pen a few times. "Can't even handle a simple cold."

Derek turns back to face his wife but something over her shoulder grabs his attention. His eyes widen and he smacks at Eleanora blindly, voice an awe-struck whisper.

"Oh, wow. He's here." He turns Meredith around forcibly, Eleanora letting out a gasp at the sight before her. She holds her chart close to her chest and shuffles to stand beside Derek, her own eyes sparkling.

"Who's here?" Meredith asked, Eleanora letting out an excited noise.

"He came, oh my god he came. Derek Shepherd, you are the best thing to ever happen to my career." She smacked at her mentor a few times, watching as an older man slowly made his way to the lobby.

"Is that Gerhardt Strauss?" Meredith whispered, Eleanora nodding her head furiously.

"Yes, yes it is. Oh my god. Gerhardt Strauss is in my hospital." She takes a few deep breaths once the older man notices them, trying to keep her excitment at bay. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Der, act natural."

"You act natural." Derek hissed to her, putting on his charming smile. Eleanora followed suit, Strauss giving them a nod and grin as he reached them.

"Dr. Derek Shepherd. It is a pleasure to meet you." Gerhardt shook his hand, giving a curt nod. Derek'a eyes light up at that, shaking his hand back.

"Dr. Strauss. Pleasures all mine."

The older man looks towards Eleanora, his brows going up slightly in recognition. Eleanora feels her heart stop at that, her eyes and smile widening just a fraction.

"Ah, you must be Dr. Amedeo-Sloan."

"Yes, sir." Eleanora offers her hand, the two shaking it for a moment. "It is such an honor to meet you."

"Well, it is nice to meet the face behind the newest Alzheimer's Trial. You know, it is getting a lot of traction."

Eleanora struggled to not melt down into a puddle on the floor, the older man looking back at Derek.

"I was, uh, intrigued, Shepherd. Your project was the talk of the EU Neuroscience Conference. Yours as well, Dr. Amedeo-Sloan. Mostly, people were wondering whether your trials are serious efforts or just PR Stunts for your President."