16

   shushes Luca, swaying back and forth in the bedroom as her son cried out. He was just tired, but he was refusing to fall asleep.

"Va tutto bene, amore. La mamma tornerà presto a casa, okay? Devi solo dormire, Luca." ()

The boy seemed to quiet a bit at the sound of his mother's words, his tear filled eyes looking up at her. Eleanora smiles down at him, her voice a little softer.

"Ti piace quando la mamma parla italiano? Un giorno lo parlerai anche tu, anche se tuo padre non lo capisce." ()

"Are you talking trash about me to our son?" Mark spoke up, walking into the bedroom, still in his pajamas.

"Maybe." Eleanora told him, Luca hiccuping. Mark took him from his wife's arms and pressed a kiss on her head.

"You should leave if you want to make it the hospital on time."

"I know," Eleanora started, leaning into Mark as she rubbed her finger up and down Luca's cheek, "but I'm just going to miss them."

"Well, good news is they'll be in the daycare a few floors down." Mark assured her. Eleanora looked up at him, Mark leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. "You don't to go back so soon. So if you've changed your mind-"

"No, no. I want to go back." She smiled, nodding. "I miss it, plus Chief Resident is getting picked in a month and I have to get back in the running."

Eleanora turned, grabbing her bag from the bed. She nodded, taking a deep breath and pulling her hair up. Mark watched her, rocking Luca back and forth.

Eleanora makes her way to Elijah's crib, leaning over the edge and pressing a kiss to his head. She then moves back to Mark and Luca, kissing her son just like she did his brother and then pressing one more kiss to Mark's lips.

"Okay, I'm okay. I'm leaving, I'm good. Let me know when you come in and drop them off at the daycare?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Eleanora took a few steps towards the door before turning around and running back to Elijah, kissing him again. She does the same to Luca, her eyes watering a bit.

"They're going to miss me, and-"

"-and I'll be here to make sure they won't be alone, and then so will the daycare." Mark assured her, voice soothing. "I'll also be here to let them know that their mom is an amazing surgeon."

Eleanora nodded, taking another nervous breath before booking it towards the door. She knew if she was too slow, she would just run back and never leave.

_______

   stood beside Jackson, watching Alex's presentation on the Africa Program. Eleanora fiddled with her ring, her brows furrowed a bit as Alex continues.

"This is Zola. She's 6 months old, born with Spina Bifida...."

"Adorable African children, shameless ego stroking—Karev is a genius." Cristina mutters to the small group, Jackson leaning towards her a bit.

"Yeah, he's single-handedly stealing Chief Resident out from under all of us, and we're helping him do it."

"Excuse me," Eleanora muttered, not looking away from the presentation, "I like to believe we're also gaining respect for in this program."

"We can't exactly refuse to treat little sick kids without making ourselves look bad, Eleanora." Jackson whispered back, Eleanora rolling her eyes before playfully knocking against her friend.

"He's a genius, or..." April starts to speak a language Eleanora doesn't understand, the small woman looking over at her friend with confusion written all over her face. "That's what they say in Swahili."

"Well, he only has a shot because I've been benched." Cristina stated again, crossing her arms. She then nodded towards Eleanora, one brow raised. "And Sunshine here got knocked up and took time off. Otherwise, it'd be between us. The playing field has been leveled. You're all welcome."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not." Eleanora whispered, Meredith snorting from the seat in front of her.

"My and Eleanora's Alzheimer's Trial kicks African-Orphan ass. It kicks all of your asses."

"Do you want to keep it down back there? I'm trying to listen to what appears to be the next Chief Resident talking."

The Chief speaks up, turning to face the group. Eleanora jumps at the sudden voice, her face heating up. She heard Mark and Derek both snicker, and she threw her husband an unamused look.

"Before we go," Alex continues, "I just want to say thank you to all of you for your participation. It, uh, truly means more than I could say."

A slow clap starts from everyone in the room, Eleanora's eyes widening a bit as she slowly follows.

"Oh no."

"Slow clap!" Jackson exclaimed, eyes panicked. "They're giving him the slow clap. Come on! I'm not giving him the slow clap. Ridiculous."

Eleanora turned on her heels and started for the door, April stopping her. "Ella? Where are you going?"

"I-I'm going to find a medical miracle to solve so I can also get a slow clap."

_______

walks into one of the Peds rooms beside Derek and Alex, her hands in her lab coat pockets. She sent the woman looking over their patient, Zola, a warm smile as they entered.