22

takes a few deep breaths, bouncing from foot to foot as she stands in the ambulance bay, the other residents in her class either saying their goodbyes or boarding the bus that would take them to the airport.

"You'll be fine." Max told his sister, holding her bag for her as she had her small freak out. "You did the same thing right before your SAT, and then your MCAT. You're an actual genius, Ella. You can do this."

"I can do this." She responded, nodding her head. She then glanced at her little brother and the proceeded to freak out. "Oh god I can't do this!"

Max's eyes widened as Eleanora attached herself to her younger brother, holding onto him tightly. He pat her back, his wide eyes moving around.

They landed on Mark, who was making his way to the bud with Avery beside him, hovering like a worried dad.

"Mark!" Max hissed out, drawing the man's attention. "Take your wife before she cuts off my air supply!"

"Right, okay." Mark breathed out, turning back to Jackson one last time. "Now have salmon for dinner. And tell room service to make sure its not frozen. You lose Omega-3's if it's frozen. Avery, I have a wife to console, too, are you listening to me?"

"I'm trying not to." He tells Mark, sending him a smile. Mark sighed, pulling a wad of cash out of his pocket.

"Alright, how are you on cash? I figured you needed some?" Jackson raises his brows and takes it, nodding as he moves to the bus.

Mark then move straight to his wife, prying her off of Max. "Nora, look at me."

"What if I fail, Mark?! I can't...I can't fail! I do bad at failing, a-and I'd lose any credibility I have and....and..."

"Breathe." Mark told her softly, urging her to take a deep breath in then out. After a few moments, he cups her cheeks, making her look at him.

"You are the smartest woman I know, and you are one of the best residents this hospital has ever seen. You have your notecards, all five rounds, you have a textbook, you have money, and you have your brain. That's all you need, doll."

"That's all I need." She breathed out, nodding her head. "All I need are my notecards."

After a moment, her eyes widen again, voice panicked. "What about my pin?! Oh god, I don't have George!"

"I packed it for you." He told her calmly, Eleanora calming down at the knowledge. "It's in the bag with your makeup. You got this, Eleanora Amedeo-Sloan. Now, give me a kiss and go kick some ass."

Eleanora gets up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to her husbands lips. She pulls away and nods, hugging him tightly for a few moments before turning to Max.

He hands her her bag and give shes another hug, whispering to her. "You got this, Ella."

"I got this." She breathed out. She turned to Mark, taking another deep breath. "You make sure Elijah and Luca don't stay up too late."

"I got it."

"And make sure you keep Elijah moving, because if he notices I'm gone he'll freak. A-and make sure Luca has his elephant stuffed animal Lexie got him because if not he'll start crying and then realize I'm not there and then cry even harder."

"Got it, doll. I got them, you got this." Mark assured her. They shared one last kiss before she boarded the bus. She flopped in the seat beside Cristina, taking a deep, shaky breath.

And then, she started bawling her eyes out.

Cristina sighed, laying her hand on her friends back and rubbing in circles, flipping through her cards.

"You have twenty minutes to cry and then I'll smack you. Sound fair?"

"Y-y-yes!"

______

   sits beside Cristina in the hotel lobby, flipping through round four of her notecards. She looks up when April stomps over, having of just practically told someone she took their job.

"Well, he hates me." She huffed, flopping down beside Alex. Alex snorts, looking over at her.

"How do you do that? You've been here, like, two minutes."

"My examiner is gonna hate me, too, instantly." April stated, closing her eyes as she leaned back on the couch. Eleanora shook her head with a small smile, looking back down at her notecards.

"Don't psych yourself out." Cristina told her with some laughter in her tone, going through her bag to try and find her phone.

"One in five people fail the boards!" April choked out. That makes Eleanora's head snap up, eyes wide in fear. She does a quick mental count, a gasp falling from her lips.

"Th-that means at least two people from Seattle Grace-Mercy West will fail." Her breathing picks up and she drops her notecards, burying her head in her hands. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

Cristina pats Eleanora on the back, throwing April a glare. "See what you've done? You've freaked out Sunshine!"

"It's just a test." Jackson sighs, throwing April and Eleanora a look. Eleanora takes in a deep breath, looking over at her friend. "We've all dealt with worse. No one's bleeding out on your table. We will be fine."

Meredith stands up, putting a hand in Cristina's shoulder. "Cristina, Ella."

Both Eleanora and Cristina stand up, following after Meredith a bit. Eleanora plays with her wedding ring, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"What?" Cristina asks Meredith. Meredith takes a deep breath, looking straight ahead.

"Zola has the stomach flu."