53. Happiness

And it's not so important that it's happy ever after just that it's happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon people will surprise you. And once and a while people may even take your breath away.

-Meredith Grey

"Camera crew are coming up to peds," Taylor reported through the phone and she nodded, sipping her coffee. "Is it another day on K duty?" After the success in the double-leg amputation, Emily had barely left Kayla's side since her dads were working their asses off to cover for insurance. Mostly because she wanted to make sure the girl was okay but also because she was getting exhausted and crampy and taking care of Kayla was an easy day on her.

"Yeah," she affirmed as the elevator doors opened to reveal the people filming them. "It's only 6:30 so I'm not waking up Kayla yet. I might see if Mark got some sleep before we make sure she didn't get edema. It's healing better than I expected but Callie wants me to ease her into the schedule of being at the hospital full time," she added with a roll of her eyes, taking her coffee and going to the on-call room she saw her husband go into. He was awake but tired and she sat by his head, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah. Well, Lexie's on double-arm transplant with your husband so that leaves us both left out. I've got to begin organizing the 'training' for the other residents and attendings since we won the one mil grant," Taylor informed. "Keeps me busy. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, bye, Taylor." She hung up and Mark finally looked up at her. Her stomach churned at the haunted look in his eyes. "Did you sleep?" she asked anyways.

"No," he murmured and rested his head on her thigh. Sighing, she lifted his head and settled so he was between her legs. Letting his head use her stomach as a pillow, she just stroked his hair.

"Then sleep now. I'm here," she murmured. He nodded and swallowed thickly, closing his eyes and trying to sleep, hoping that the nightmare wouldn't come again.

.

"7:30 and it's time to work," she announced to the camera crew following her. "I've been here for… twenty two hours? After a few routine procedures, I'll probably be off but I'll stay for one surgery. There's a double arm transplant going on so I'll be watching that." Taking Kayla's chart, she began to walk to the room. "I've been on this case for a few weeks now and I just need to make sure she doesn't have edema which is a buildup of fluid and that the incision site looks good." Alex ran past her, down the hall and she watched him. "He's probably got a 911 page. You never walk for a 911 page but especially on peds. These are kids and there's a lot of stake."

"What's the case?" a cameraman asked and she opened the binder, bending the cover over the back as she took out a pen. Clicking it, she proceeded to explain.

"Uh, she was admitted because of her condition - you may be familiar with clubfeet. Normally, it's treated when they are babies but the baby's birth parents weren't financially stable and gave her up for adoption so we performed a double below-the-knee amputation. Right now, I'm just checking up on her because her parents aren't around." Entering the room, she put an effortless smile onto her face. "Hey, Kayla!"

"Em!" The girl perked up as soon as she saw the doctor. "Do I get my legs today?"

"No, Kay. Now, these nice men are just filming you so give them your biggest smile." The tiny child beamed at the cameraman who cracked a smile.

"Cheese!"

"Okay, Kayla. Can you give me a super deep breath?" Inhaling, Kayla sat up as Emily took her vitals. "And another? Okay, good girl. Is your daddy coming to visit today?"

"Yep! With brownies!" Kayla exclaimed and she grinned. "Do you need to see my legs?"

"Yeah. Pull those blankets off. Sorry, Mr. Piggle," she apologized to her patient's stuffed pig who sat at the end of the bed. The brunette placed the large stuffed pig in Kayla's arms and the blonde child hugged it tightly. "How's the pain? Okay?" Nodding, Kayla watched as Emily unwrapped the bandages and tenderly touched the healing scars. "Good." Rewrapping the legs tightly to prevent the fluid buildup, she ruffled the girl's hair.

"Am I all okay?"

"Yep. Tip-top shape. I think we just need to wait one or two more weeks before we start getting you some legs."

"Yay!" Emily smiled, backing out of the room with a promise that she'll come back later. Leaving, she looked at the camera.

"They're normally in good spirits. Just because the parents aren't around doesn't mean they're bad parents. They're just busy." Walking down the hall, she picked up a few more charts for rounds. "Come on. We've got a long day ahead of us."

.

"How has the shooting changed us?" Alex asked as he glanced at Emily. He wanted her to answer the question and she smiled slightly.

"I think we're a lot closer. I mean, we've been close since our intern year but this really was a… a bonding moment." Alex snorted at her words and she wrinkled her nose at him. "He was there when I really needed him."

"Plus, her guy took a bullet for me, so I'd say I owe both of 'em."

For the viewers at home, they would read their names, yes, but then it'd cut to Alex and Emily walking down the hall, meeting up with Lexie as text appeared on the screen.

Dr. Moore had to bring a colleague to a safe area whilst the gunman still roamed the halls. The colleague was shot when pushing Dr. Karev out of the way.

Dr. Moore and Dr. Karev had to perform a procedure without any anesthesia on the colleague while Dr. Grey rushed to grab blood from the blood bank.

Then, it'd cut back to Alex and Emily, who were quiet. "I mean, a lot has changed here. For one, I got married."

"Yeah. And I saw that happen before my very eyes. It's weird. I never thought I would be the type of guy worthy enough to be pushed out of the way."

"He was a dick when we first came here," Emily informed and the cameraman arched an eyebrow. "It's kind of… touching, seeing how far we've come." Emily placed her hand atop of Alex's and smiled. "But, it's cost us a lot, hasn't it?" At this, the two surgeons glanced at the cameraman to cut. The man lowered the camera and the brunette sighed.

"Thanks for filming with us guys," the producer said, coming into frame. Shaking their hands, he nodded. "I'll keep in touch if we want to film later in the day."

"Yeah, of course. Where are you off to, next?"

"Lunch." Cracking a smile, the two friends watched as the camera crew headed off to the elevators. It dropped when they were gone. Talking about that day was not the easiest way to put a smile on either of their faces.

.

The alarms blared and Emily glanced up at the swirling red as she exited the bathroom. She had just spent forty-five minutes getting acquainted with the bathroom tiles, having felt nauseous and bloated. The nausea was cured by the vomit, the bloating not so much. Instead, she felt like she was full of gas and would burst if someone touched her the wrong way.

She saw staff walking past her and a commotion down the hall. She was just on her way to the O.R. where Mark was operating when she heard someone yell.

"Avery! Dr. Avery! Hold on! Dr. Avery!"

"Enter security access code."

Running over, she saw nurses crowding around a pair of locked doors. Pushing through, she slammed her hand against the glass. She was well aware the camera crew was filming but it was barely in her head. Her only focus was getting Jackson and the patient out. Yanking at the door, she grunted when it didn't budge.

"Jackson?" Her voice caught in her throat as she saw him lower the patient 180 degrees to begin compressions. "Jackson! Hey! Listen to me!" He seemed to be stuck in some loop as she swallowed, hand stinging from her repeated slaps against the glass. There was nothing she could say that could unlock the doors and save that patient. As the alarm continued to scream in their ears, she heard someone else come through.

"Let me in here. Move. Avery, Avery!" There was a crash cart waiting on the other side and a code team waiting for the exact moment the doors swung open. "Avery, look, I was waiting in radiation. How's the patient?" Trying to yank the doors open, Teddy continued slapping the glass as Emily gave the cardiothoracic surgeon a look. Their eyes met briefly before Teddy turned to look back at Jackson. "Damn it! How long has he been coding?"

"I need to get out of here."

"Avery, you're gonna break his ribs."

Through the glass, Emily could hear his panting as he continued to press against the patient's chest. He lost all form, now blindly desperate to save the man. If he pushed any harder, ribs would snap.

"Jackson, we'll get to you. Just hold on."

"Enter security access code."

"I'm not kidding, DR. Altman, okay?" Finally, he looked to them and Emily clenched her jaw when she spotted the way his eyes narrowed, crumpled into distress and fear. "Please." Despite Teddy's words, he persisted. "I need to get out of here. Now." His eyes fell back to the patient and Teddy grimaced, turning away.

"Dr. Altman, where are you going?"

"To fix this." The blonde stormed off and the camera crew followed after her as Emily turned to the waiting nurses.

"Get back to work, all. There's a code team on the other side. You guys need to do your jobs." The nurses all stared at her dubiously and she added, "Dr. Altman will be back. You guys go." They dispersed and she turned back to the door. "Jackson, I need you to listen to me. You need to take a breath. You need to breathe." Trying to get his attention, she slammed her hand against the glass. "Jackie."

"Get me out of here, Em! You've gotta get me outta here."

"I know, I know. Altman's doing what she can. Just wait. Just hold on, Jackie."

"Enter security access code."

"Avery. Avery, it's okay. Just hang in there, okay?" Turning around, she saw Altman run back towards them and Emily pushed against the doors when suddenly they swung open. Flooding into the hallway, the code team and Dr. Altman swarmed the patient as Jackson continued CPR. "Alright, you can stop now. Someone else can take over."

"Jackson, you have to stop. Jackson—" She tugged at his arms, pulling him away but he was bigger than her. Stuck in a trance, he blinked as Emily tried to call to him.

"Avery, look at me. Look at me. You can stop now. Avery, Avery. It's okay, it's okay." Dr. Altman sighed, hand on his bicep. "Moore-" Nodding, the brunette finally managed to wrench Jackson away from the patient so the code team could hook up leads. The two stumbled back against the wall and the code team wheeled the stretcher out between the double doors. Teddy followed but not before a final glance at Jackson who sagged against Emily, sobbing into her shoulder. Crumpling under the weight, the two surgeons sank to the floor and Emily leaned against the wall, holding him to her.

"Jackie," she whispered, hand rubbing his head as he tried to calm his breathing. "Jackie, come on. We have to get up." Looking up, she saw the camera crew staring at the two and glared. "Don't you have something better to do?" she snapped and they glanced at each other before walking away. Swallowing the bruising in her throat, she pressed her forehead against Jackson's head. "Okay. Let's sit here. That's fine. When you think you can, we can get up."

So they sat there for a long time and Emily knew she was missing a historic surgery but she didn't know what decent person would leave Jackson, a friend, like this for something that could happen again.

.

"So, your hCG levels are balanced again. As long as they don't fluctuate, you should be fine to conceive a child." The O.B. stood, shaking Emily's hand before shaking Mark's. "I hope you two the best."

"Thanks, Connie," Emily said and Mark held her hand as the obstetrician left first to give them time. Making a face when she moved too fast, Emily tried to fix her face to hide the bloated feeling in her lower abdomen. She felt so gassy and terrible. Plus, her sweating was off the charts. If she vomited, she sweated. If she sweated, she vomited. It was a vicious cycle that had taken a break after lunch but the bloating didn't go away.

Still, Mark didn't notice too much - or so she thought - and they left the office to go down. The camera crew was off to Joe's since Mark was going to celebrate the successful arm transplant with the others.

"You should go. I can go home and rest." Emily pecked Mark on the lips and he smiled, kissing her lips, then the spot between her eyebrows. "Have fun."

"Make sure you sleep. You've been busy today." Nodding, she hugged him tight and he returned the hug before pulling away. "I'll make sure I drink a brandy in your honour."

"I'm touched," she whispered and he wrinkled his nose against her face. "Go! Don't let me keep you." Pushing him towards Joe's, she watched him for a moment before heading inside their apartment building.

.

"How were drinks?" she asked carefully when Mark came in. Rubbing her palms against her pants, she glanced nervously at the pregnancy test on their coffee table.

"Good, we had a few rounds. But you need to be honest with me - what's wrong?" Her mask of carefully schooled neutrality dropped into a confused one.

"What do you mean?"

"You have that look where it says you're hiding something from me. Plus, you've been acting weird since the O.B. visit. I'm here for you, Em—" He came closer and she stepped into his outstretched arms. Hugging his waist tightly, she looked up at him— "I love you, you know that."

"I love you, too." The anticipation welled up, squeezing between her lungs as she took a deep breath and sat him down, settling down beside him and taking his hand in hers. "I've been sick, and sweaty, and bloated and… I've had these signs before. I, uhm, I want to know if I might be pregnant, but I wanted to wait for you." Reaching forward, she showed him the unused pregnancy test. It was still in its wrapper and everything. Mark's eyes widened substantially and his jaw dropped. "I want to take this but I want to take it with you."

"Then, let's do it," he readily agreed and she smiled hesitantly. Hugging her, he let out a shaky laugh. "You could be pregnant. With our kid, Em. Ours."

"Yeah, I know. But if I'm not… I don't want to disappoint you." He sighed, cupping her cheek so she would look at him. "I know how much you want a kid." Her voice echoed the past, with Sloan and his grandson. "I want one too but it's your dream and I don't know-"

"Hey," he cut her off firmly and his thumb stroked her cheek whilst looking into her eyes. "For so long, all I've ever wanted was you, alright? Yeah, kids are something I want but my dream is you. I lost you once, I'd be damned if I lose you again." Stunned, she felt tears beginning to sting and her heart throbbed in her throat. "You are my family. You always have been."

"And that's… enough? I… I'm enough for you?" she whispered, voice cracking and he nodded, heart breaking at her words. She sounded so thoroughly shocked, so surprised that someone would think such a thing. "But, with Sloan-"

"She's gone now. And you are my family. I mean, we're married, Em, and you are my best friend. Knowing that makes me the happiest I've ever been. Loving you makes me happier than I've ever been." Pulling her into another tight hug, he kissed her neck as she allowed the tears to trace down her cheeks and nestle in his shirt. Wiping at her face with a sniff, she let out a breathless laugh and looked to the ceiling to try and stop the crying. After a moment, he pulled back and kissed the tears off her cheeks.

"Mark, how did I manage to get you as my soulmate?" she asked and he laughed, pressing their foreheads together.

"Please. I ask myself the same question every day." Kissing her swollen mouth, he indulged in her plush lips before remembering the situation at hand. Pregnancy test. Right. "Come on, let's go to the bathroom before you pee your pants."

"Oh, yeah. I completely forgot."

After ten minutes behind closed doors, the two emerged with red-rimmed eyes and full-blown tears. Everything was blurry - she could hear the rain against the windows, smell Mark's shampoo beside her, felt him carry her and spin her around but everything was blocked by the tears the just streamed down her face. But when she blinked hard, a new round of tears falling down her face, the world was crystal clear and she looked at the tiny stick again.

"We're going to have a baby. Oh, god, I'm having my kid," Mark whispered and she looked up at him in disbelief. "Em? Are you alright?" Launching herself into his arms, she heard his yelp in her ear as he pitched backward onto their bed. Laughing, she felt their hearts beat in time as he rested a hand on her abdomen.

"We're having a baby!" Peals of laughter burst from her chest as he brought her down for a deep kiss. Arms wrapping around his neck, she sighed into his mouth, giggling against his persistent kiss-seeking lips. The two rolld over, with Emily now flat against the bed and Mark growled against her jaw, kissing a flaming trail down her face to her neck. As her hands ran up and down underneath his shirt along the planes of his back, his roamed the expanse of her waist underneath the loose tee she wore for pajamas.

"I adore you," he whispered and she smiled into their next kiss.

"I adore you, too."

For once, everything was as it should be.

.

"Noah Moore speaking." Emily's brother sounded extremely tired but Emily herself was too excited to sleep. Mark had just gotten down in their room as she paced back and forth in their living room.

"Hey!"

"Emi, what on Earth?" She grinned excitedly to herself. "I woke up from a good night's sleep with my wife. Which you should be experiencing, with your husband." The last words were pointed and Emily knew it was because he was exhausted. "Honestly, what do you want because if it's about your newest revelation in your marriage I swear-"

"I'm pregnant!" she exclaimed and there was the buzzing on the other end. "I'm pregnant, alright? And I'm happy, I'm finally happy, and I wanted to tell you. Noah, I'm - I'm pregnant."

"Is it Ma-"

"Of course it's Mark's, you idiot!" she yelled and winced, knowing she probably woke Mark up. "God, you are one of the leading surgeons in peds surgery in the world. You'd think you'd be smarter but no-"

"Oh, my god. You're only a few weeks in and your hormones are a hundred times level that they should be. You're so dramatic!" Noah groaned dramatically but smiled on the other end as his sister began ranting. His baby sister, having a kid. It seemed like yesterday when she was asking for his textbooks because she had nothing else to read for silent reading. It was like yesterday when he managed to catch her video call to see her crying her eyes out. It seemed like yesterday when she had her heart shattered by that douchebag from New York Presbyterian.

Now, it was yesterday that Emily was ever in pain at all.

.

Waking up early in the morning was normally relatively simple. They'd normally shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for work. But now, ever since he learned that she was pregnant, she'd woken up multiple times to Mark whispering nonsense to her stomach.

"Hey, baby. This is your daddy. Yeah, your daddy and your mommy."

"Mark, we've got to get to Callie's. They're packing their stuff for Malawi as we speak. Come on, get up." She shoved him off of her and back onto his side of the bed and got up, feeling cramps immediately pinch at her. "God, ow!"

"Cramps?"

"Yeah, at least I don't have morning sickness," she murmured as Mark rolled to the edge of the bed, lounging like a house cat.

"I have Lexie on my service today. We're giving a woman an ass." He propped his head up with his hand and leaned over with his other arm and pinched her butt. Yelping, she turned around and glared at him. "I like your ass, though, if you were feeling self-conscious."

"No, I wasn't." She scowled, throwing a pillow at him. "Come on, let's get to Callie's. Up, you lazy, lazy man!"

"Okay, okay." He groaned as he got up, falling off the bed. "Hear that baby? Your mommy's already bossing me around!" he yelled as he went into the bathroom and she giggled, placing a hand on her still-flat stomach. For a moment, she tried to imagine what their child would look like before she realized she was getting ahead of herself. Getting up, she followed after her husband to the bathroom.

.

"Taylor!" The trauma attending looked up from the labs and smiled.

"'Sup?"

"Okay, so Callie and Arizona are leaving today and Teddy was supposed to get the cupcakes but she's getting lungs and Mark is giving a big ass to a lady. Lexie's assisting, I'm exhausted and Kayla's having a bad day because her dads haven't visited this week. Plus, I have the 'trauma board certification' so I was just wondering-"

"Are you asking for me to get the cupcakes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and she nodded. "Em, I'm a trauma attending. Do you think I'm some errand boy?" the blond added incredulously and Emily sighed.

"Please," she whined and he sighed, already caving. "Come on. Callie and Arizona are leaving for three years." With a pout on her part and a reluctant nod on his, he agreed. "Thank you." She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "Party's at seven."

.

"You're really going for three years?" Emily ran a hand through her hair as Callie nodded. The two women were outside the hospital near the parking lot. The orthopedic surgeon was waiting for Mark while Emily was ready to head out with her friends to Joe's. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," the woman murmured and the brunette smiled softly, pulling back.

"You know, Mark would say something weird, some weird analogy or metaphor, but I think I can say this because you're literally leaving and you don't have time to be mad at me."

"What are you saying?"

"You don't want to go to Africa, and… you keep convincing yourself that you do." Callie pulled away and took a step back, her face darkening. "And I feel like, as your friend, I have to tell you what I feel."

"Em-"

"You need to do what you want to do. I know you love her, but… but if I did what you're doing for Arizona right now, Mark and I wouldn't be married at all. I had a miscarriage in Boston," she said, arms crossing as she took a step back and leaned against the concrete fence. Callie's arms dropped from their crossed stance and her mouth popped open, "and it's one of the reasons why Mark and I split the first time. Because, I couldn't have a kid and he was pushing me to do all these things for Sloan, and every time I said 'yes'. I realized that the way we were having this relationship - there wasn't room for me at the time. That… I could never make Mark choose between me and his daughter. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself, so I walked away and now Mark and I are together again, and… and everything's good.

So, I think you need to step up, and tell Arizona that you can't move to Africa. You cannot bend backwards for the one you love just because you are scared to lose them, because you'll lose yourself, and then what are you left with?"

"Emily, I never knew you had a miscarriage."

"That's all you took from my words?" asked the younger surgeon tiredly and the Latina grinned slightly, bittersweet. "Look," she sighed, "if you make her choose, neither of you will be happy. So please, just tell her how you feel." Her phone chimed and Emily tore her gaze away to her bag, taking out her phone. "Oh, that's Alex." Slipping her phone back into her bag, she pushed off the fence to walk into Callie's arms. "I'm going to miss you, if you really do go." Callie's hand rubbed her back as the brunette held onto the woman tightly.

"Go on. You probably have plans."

"Yeah, call me when you land, okay?" Parting, the two surgeons merely took the other in, trying to memorize each other. "Who's going to teach me now?"

"You'll find someone." Chuckling, Emily looked to her shoes.

"No one's Callie Torres." Sniffing, Callie made Emily look up again and opened her arms.

"Come here before you make me cry." And once again, the two embraced, unable to let go.

.

"Move or I'll run you down! Hilarious!" Alex downed another drink as April blushed. Lexie shared a glance with Emily, who slowly sipped her water and glanced over her shoulder. Mark was staring at her ass. Shaking her head to herself, she turned to Lexie.

"Where's Taylor?"

"No idea. He was supposed to meet me here," the brunette muttered and Emily frowned as Alex continued the story.

"Em was there - it was crazy."

"Yeah, it was great. You know, Red, you could be the trauma surgeon we need to help complete the gang. Peds—" She pointed at Alex then at herself— "Ortho or plastics, Mer is gonna be neuro, Jackson is going to do whatever he's going to do, no idea. He's a wild card. Cristina is cardio, obviously." Alex and Lexie sent her a look that she ignored in favour of smiling at April. "All we need is general."

"Well, I still have to decide, so," Lexie said with a shrug and Emily made a face in agreement. Draining the last of her water, she set it down on the counter when the burning in her back intensified. Excusing herself, she let Lexie take her seat the bar and pretended to search for the one man she saw instantly. Walking over to her husband, she leaned on the table and smiled. "Were you staring at my ass?" He smirked, settling down the newspaper he was reading and letting her sit in his lap. Kissing him, she smiled against his lips as his arms wrapped around his waist. Her hands pressed against his neck as his other hand tangled in his hair, eyes closing.

"Wasn't the first time; won't be the last. Do you wanna go home?" he asked and she nodded, slouching against him. "Baby's taking a lot out of you, huh?"

"Yeah. Can't wait until he's older. Then, I'll have the soul sucked out of my body!" Laughing, the man kissed her cheek. She got off of him, wrapping an arm around his waist as he helped her out of the bar. She bid farewell to her friends and they went home only to see a heartbroken Callie on their doorstep, tears running down her face as she explained that Arizona left for Malawi without her.

.

Emily could hardly believe that Cristina had quit. Cristina Yang's quit, she repeated in her mind. And is hosting a house party.

But she went to the house party anyway which appeared to be missing the owners of said home. And Mark's hosting, which takes the stress off of me because he looks really good in a black tee. Fantastic. Leaning against the counter in the kitchen, she rolled out her neck under her palm as Jackson came beside her with a whole body of gin. His poison.

"Pick your poison," she muttered dryly, pulling open the fridge to grab the carton of apple juice. Pouring herself a glass, she returned the carton to the fridge and leaned in beside him, nudging the fridge door closed with her foot. Jackson poured himself a cup, downed it, then poured another. "Wow, cowboy. What's up with you?"

"Bad day at work."

"Jackson."

And so Jackson began to rant, ending with, "Bailey told me to step out of her O.R. I mean, I did everything right and she still died. Post-op pancreatectomies always gets fistulas which results in severe hemorrhaging and other complications so I didn't screw up. I didn't screw up and now, no attending wants to work with me."

"Is it time to pull the wife card?" she asked. "Or do you want your non-nepotistic mindset prevent you from working at all?" He groaned, facepalming. "Just, calm down, Jackson. I was joking and I'm sure that an attending will want to work with you."

"But she-"

"I know, alright? Just drink your poison." He did so as April entered the flat, tears streaming down her face. Immediately, Jackson's face softened into worry at the sight of his best friend crying. Excusing himself, he approached her and brought her to the kitchen where Emily was watching.

"Red? What happened?" she murmured as Jackson hugged the crying redhead. "April?" The woman just kept crying into Jackson's chest as Emily rubbed her arms soothingly. April began to explain through shaky breaths as she detached herself from Jackson. Emily passed her a tissue and Jackson smiled.

"Hey, it's okay, alright? It's okay, now."

April nodded, sniffing as Jackson rubbed her arm. Offering her a tissue box, she saw April freeze and followed her eyes to see the very same man who had caused April's humiliation.

"Jackson-" she began to say but it was too late. The absolute rage in Jackson's eyes told her his mind was made. His hand fell away from April's arm, he stormed up to Alex who tried to placate the man to no avail. The man socked him in the jaw, once, twice, then tackled him to the ground. The table shattered and Emily lunged forward, pulling Jackson away from Alex as Mark and Owen backed her up. Placing herself between the two men, she turned to make sure that Alex wouldn't chase after the man. Callie and Meredith restrained Alex, taking him outside as Emily took Jackson to the kitchen past April. He was still in a haze as Mark opened the freezer to pass an ice pack to the waiting Lexie and Taylor behind him.

"Take this to Grey outside."

"Yeah." Lexie grabbed the ice pack as Emily made Jackson lean against the counter. "Taylor, can you get a towel?" she asked her boyfriend who nodded, wrapping it around the pack of ice in her hand. "Thanks, I got this." Lexie smiled at Jackson before heading out the loft.

Mark gave them all a hard look before shaking his head. Owen went back out to get the shattered table cleaned up as Emily grabbed another towel to wipe at the blood beading on Jackson's knuckles.

"So much for a 'housewarming' party," she muttered, glancing distastefully at the broken table over her shoulder. "Stay still."

"Callie asked if she could move in." Emily looked to her husband, raising an eyebrow. "I said yes since she's heartbroken and Robbins-" Mouthing an 'of course', she smiled and tilted her head to tell him she got this.

"You think it was hard for Yang…" he began and she looked up at him briefly before continuing to dab away the blood, "to quit, to… to just walk away?"

"If you're implying that you're quitting, then you don't need to worry. Technically, you did just assault a man so that might cost you the job anyway."

"Yeah, well, April is the only friend I have left here."

"I swear to God, I am going to murder your ass." Pressing particularly hard on one of his knuckles to make him wince, she scowled at him. "What do you think I've been doing for you? Why do you think I've been doing it? Because… because I think you're some helpless deer?"

"Well-"

"Jackson, you're my friend. You said it yourself."

"That was before we had sex."

"I hate you, and you can't say that anymore once I-" She bit her lip, stopping herself. Jackson's eyebrows scrunched together, confused but she continued, "We are friends. With everything that's been happening, we're good friends. Which is an upgrade from when we were not so good friends, agreed?"

Jackson smiled and she cupped his face. "Agreed."

"You're still having nightmares, aren't you?" He sighed and her hand dropped from his cheek so she could focus on his bruising in his hand. "You need to talk to someone about it."

His eyes softened and when their eyes met. "Yeah, I know."

A/N: Edited - November 8, 2018

Next: A surprise visitor after a long day at the hospital.