The last thing Maddox expected from her Thanksgiving is to spend it in warm Los Angeles, sitting around the dinner table with the only company of her parents, a turkey too big for the three of them and a strange unoccupied fourth place at the table, but perhaps the discovery of Savvy's case and the realization of the real possibility that she could someday inherit her mother's cancer have opened her eyes, realizing that life is too short to spend so much time away from the two people who gave her life.

Although the truth is that Maddox must admit that she is much closer to her mother than to her father. While it is true that she spent her illness with her and that strengthened their bond, Maddox and her mother had been close since Maria Easton gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. That way they were both happy: Greg had a boy to introduce to the world of the military and hunting, and Maria had a princess to spoil, buy dresses for and paint her nails. Greg Easton's presence in the house had been rather sparse, so the two twins had ended up being mama's boys.

Greg came home from time to time, maybe once a year for his kids' birthdays, maybe for Christmas, maybe none of those occasions; so Dennis and Maddox had found comfort with each other and with their mother. Still, when Greg returned, he could tell that Dennis was a very sensitive boy, attached to his mother and rejecting any kind of tradition instilled by his father. And Maddox, who from a young age occupied the role of the perfect daughter, began to be Greg's ward, mainly in the matter of guns.

"Mamá!" Maddox exclaims when she arrives at her parents' house.

"Maddie! Oh, dear, it's been so long," Maria is quick to wrap her in her arms. Maddox has been taller than her for years, but the warmth of her embrace still reaches her whole body. "Come in, come in. Papá is on the kitchen. You know, he hunted the turkey."

Maddox rolls her eyes slyly. She knows her mother's opinion is closer to her own, but taking issue at this point with Gregory Easton isn't the best option. He retired from the army years ago, when his wife became ill, and now has a quieter job in the army administration. For Maddox it was a step up, slight but a step up nonetheless.

"Do I hear my two favorite ladies?" Maddox smiles when she sees her father with mittens, apron and in his hands the tray with the turkey. Gregory sets it down on the table, smoke still rising from the meat, and hugs his daughter tightly. "We missed you so much."

"I can see that! Moving to another state to keep me far from you," Maddox smiles again. "So who are we having over? I see another empty seat. Please don't tell me you've invited Jonah."

Maria smiles nervously, and Maddox raises an eyebrow as everyone takes a seat. "No, of course not, mija. We accepted a long time ago you weren't going to end up together. He'll be here soon, you'll see."

"He?" whispers Maddox with a frown. She looks sideways at her father, whose eyes are unable to meet hers, and Maddox doesn't have to wait much longer to find out who they're talking about, because the doorbell rings, and as soon as Maria opens the door, her brother Dennis walks in, accompanied by a girl. "You have to be kidding me. Papá, tell me this is not real."

Greg mutters. "You know I wouldn't have done this without telling you, but your mother wanted to. She wants the family back together. When you called, she figured you'd be up for a reunion. Her words, not mine."

When Maria walks into the dining room she has a big smile on her face, but Maddox can't help clenching her jaw and biting her tongue to keep from blurting out unfortunate comments. Dennis is much changed: he has longer hair, taller and stockier with some beard, but his eyes are still the same as always, so when she looks at him hundreds of memories come into her head and she can't stop her muscles when they force her to stand up.

"What are you doing here?" Maddox reprimands, and everyone can start to notice the tension slowly building up.

Dennis looks surprised. "Mamá invited me. She said you were coming, and I thought—"

"Now you think?" Maddox glares at him. The girl, angry, looks at her mother. "Do you really think this is a good idea? After everything that happened? After he ran off like a fucking coward?"

"Maddie—"

"Don't 'Maddie' me."

"Please, Maddox," her father begs, still sitting, and Maddox tries to relax, sitting down slowly. "This is a chance to have new beginnings. We should put things in the past, where they belong, and take into consideration your mother's wishes. Let's have a peaceful dinner, shall we?" Greg clears his throat, aware of the discomfort, and then tries to smile a little. "So, who have you brought, Dennis?"

The boy smiles, and Maddox sees that hasn't changed in the slightest either. "This is Stella. She's my girlfriend, and we're expecting a baby."

Maria smiles broadly, and Maddox can see her eyes water. A grandchild is something Maria has been hoping for for years, but Maddox doesn't feel ready for it with what her work life entails, so Dennis' son or daughter will be the first grandchild, and the Easton line will probably die with Maddox.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Dennis has said great things about you."

"Has he?" Maddox sips her water. "That's new."

Stella wipes the smile off her face and looks to Dennis for some support. He pulls back his chair for her to sit down, but Maddox gets up from hers. "Don't bother. You can have mine, Stella. I hope he doesn't leave you hanging like he did to the rest of us," Maddox gives her a wry smile, gathers her things and walks out the door. "Thanksgiving my ass," she mutters.

"Maddie!"

"It's okay, I can—"

Gregory rises from his chair. "You shouldn't have lied to her. Let her go. She'll need time."

"Hey, I'm so sorry I didn't get to go to Thanksgiving. I thought spending it with my parents would be something a good daughter would do, but those days are over. As of now I'm fully committed to our family of four," Maddox sips her water as she and Izzie chase Dr. Shepherd to the pediatric floor. "Or should I say six? I heard Burke and Cristina had dinner with you."

Izzie snorts. "They did. I had no idea how to cook a turkey, so Dr. Burke helped me. He's a really good cook, you know? Cristina went to get something to drink and came back four hours later with a look on her face that said 'I just got out of surgery and it was the shit.' Burke is nice."

"Really? Wow, we're going to end up having more attending friends than people our age," Maddox mutters and Izzie laughs under her breath.

Dr. Shepherd shoots her a look over her shoulder, as if to signal that she's heard them, and they both stop laughing, clearing their throats and smoothing their scrubs as they enter the room. "Dorie, these are Drs. Stevens and Easton. Doctors, this is Dorie. She's having quints. I want you to keep an eye on the babies and tell me everything you see. Page me if you need anything."

Izzie and Maddox raise their eyebrows slightly in surprise, but neither says anything. Addison glances at Dorie's ultrasound, who smiles at the two young surgeons, and walks away. "How does it look?" asks Dorie.

"Not bad," Izzie replies.

Dorie frowns. "Not bad?"

Maddox insists. "Not bad is pretty good when you have five babies in the uterus."

The woman seems to relax at the two young women's words, but she sighs regretfully and the two girls turn around. "It's Kate. She kicks me so hard it's like she burns my belly every time. This one here: it's Charlotte," Dorie takes Maddox's hand to touch her belly. "She's the stubborn one. Lodged herself into my ribcage and won't budge. Now, over here, Lucy. She's the tough one. If she gets kicked, she kicks back. Emily. She gets the hiccups almost every day. And over here is Julie. She's pretty mellow. Every once in a while she turns around, which brings us back to..... Kate," Dorie narrates, and Maddox smiles softly, rapt.

"That makes your belly burn."

"Every time she kicks."

Izzie's pager beeps, and with an apologetic look, she bids the two women farewell. Dorie takes Maddox's hand again. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so I think we should be honest with each other. The other doctor, Dr. Stevens, I saw her judging me from the moment she walked into the room. But you...your face lit up."

"I'm sure Dr. Stevens was surprised. It's not every day we have quints here. Our goal is to make you as comfortable as possible and your daughters as healthy as possible. You are in good hands with Dr. Shepherd. She is one of the best."

"Dorie," Addison walks in the door, accompanied by Derek, as Maddox helps Dorie onto the gurney. "This is Dr. Shepherd, he's our head of neurosurgery."

"Oh, another Dr. Shepherd?" exclaims Dorie, and Maddox snorts. Derek looks at her with a raised eyebrow, amused.

"He's my husband, actually."

"Really? Wow, look at you two. Everyone must hate you," Dorie sings.

Maddox decides she likes Dorie. "Oh, you have no idea," all three doctors reply at once. Derek and Addison look at Maddox, who ducks her head and apologizes in a mumble. "Anyway, Dorie, Dr. Shepherd wants to talk to you about baby C."

"Lucy has a condition called hydrocephalus. It's a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain."

Maddox reaches over and touches Dorie's arm. "It means that excess fluid builds up and puts pressure on the baby's brain, which could cause brain damage."

"Good, Dr. Easton," Derek nods. "The good news is that we caught it early. We can take care of it very quickly. You're looking at a full recovery. No brain damage." Dorie's hand tightens on Maddox's, Maddox smiles, and Addison can see Maddox's connection to her patients, but especially pregnant women. "If you have any other questions, give me a call. Although I'm sure Dr. Easton has done her research. If you'll excuse me."

Derek leaves the room, and Maddox walks out with him. She is aware that the relationship she should have with him should be strictly professional, but despite the damage Derek has done to Meredith, her best friend, Maddox still holds some affection for him. "Enjoying your new life?" Maddox says sarcastically once the two of them enter the elevator, alone.

The man looks at her skeptically. "I am."

"You should get better at lying. Dr. Bailey would hate you," Maddox says, and Derek raises his eyebrows. "She hates bad liars," Maddox clarifies, whispering.

"One day I'll report you to Dr. Bailey. You're annoying," Derek mutters.

"You do that," Maddox shrugs. "In the meantime, get your life in order. On the one hand, you've hurt Mer a lot, but it's obvious you still love her. On the other, you're not doing your wife any favors, staying with her when you know it's over. Man up and make a choice. You won't have those two women eating out of your hand forever. Have a good day, Derek."

Derek squints his eyes. "Remember that time in Meredith's car, when I said I liked you? Well, I don't mean it anymore."

Maddox's pager beeps, so Derek takes the opportunity to exit the elevator without making too much noise, but smiles broadly when Maddox sticks her tongue out at him. The girl looks at the pager, and sees that it's Izzie, so she assumes it's Dorie, and she's expecting bad news. It's not the most common thing in the world to have five healthy babies delivered at once.

When she arrives, Addison is there, too. "The babies can't wait any longer. Dr. Stevens has called everyone in surgeries. Each of you will be assigned to a baby."

Dorie yells out loud. "Take good care of them, please."

Maddox makes herself heard above the ruckus. "We will, Dorie."

"What do you mean you slept with Olivia? Who's Olivia, George's Olivia?" Maddox frowns.

"You know another Olivia?" Alex scoffs.

"I was just trying to gauge what a jerk you are. And you're very much one. You're an asshole."

"I know, okay? I know I screwed up. I wasn't even trying to sleep with her. I was in the on-call room, she came in, we talked and it just happened. I wasn't thinking."

Maddox hits him in the arm with the chart. "You obviously weren't. Unless you were thinking with your dick. You were doing just fine with her, Alex. From villain to nice guy to villain again. Way to go."

"Can't you tell me it's okay, that everyone makes mistakes?"

The girl looks him up and down, suddenly feeling like Bailey. "I'm telling you because I'm your friend. If I wasn't your friend I'd be breaking your face," Maddox sighs, rubbing her temples, and Alex does the same. "What did Izzie say?"

Alex frowns. "She didn't even give me a chance to explain. I've been wanting to apologize since last night, but she always flips me off."

"Yeah, you can't blame her. Between working at the quints and seeing that, her night wouldn't have been the perfect one. Try talking to her, okay? But the most important thing is that you tell her how sorry you are. If she forgives you, that's up to her," both of their pagers go off again. "Oh, and for the record, understand that I'm on Izzie's side in this. I'm your friend and I'm here if you need me, but she'll be the one who needs the support the most."

Alex sighs, rolling his eyes. "I know. By the way, are you okay? The other day—"

"Shut up, Karev. I said I didn't want to talk about it. Follow-up on the quints now."

"Yes, sir, yes."

Maddox glares at him, but between them they know the matter isn't that serious. When they get to the room, the rest of the interns are already there and they glance at Alex and Maddox, wondering why they are arriving together. "Dr. Easton, finish with Emily?"

Maddox nods toward Addison and smiles a little at Dorie to calm her down. "Dr. Burke used a catheter to open Emily's atrial septum last night. Today we're going in and trying to reconstruct the left chamber of her heart. We are very hopeful."

The girl remains silent as she watches Dorie stare at her daughters' incubators absentmindedly. Even her diagnosis of Kate, Emily and Julie doesn't seem to cheer her up, because before the watchful eyes of the rest of the doctors, she drags her wheelchair into the room. Maddox purses her lips, empathizing with the mother, and shares a knowing look with Addison, who simply shakes her head and goes to talk to Dorie's husband, who is seeking some comfort for their situation.

For the rest of the day Maddox stays in the room with the babies. The interns promise to take turns caring for the quints, but Maddox is so quiet in the room that she doesn't even bother to alert the others for their turn. The vitals of all five are stable, they are all resting peacefully, and there is no need to alarm anyone, not even her peers. It's not too late when Alex enters with a book in hand, Maddox takes a silent look at it and Alex sits across the room, ready to study quietly.

"You've been lying low, huh?" Maddox breaks the silence.

"Now that everyone hates me, it's been an easy task."

"You know I don't hate you. And neither do the rest of them. It'll take some time, that's it," Maddox assures him. "How are you doing with your studies?"

"If I don't pass this exam I'll be out of the program. So no pressure."

"It might help, you know, unless you're too stubborn to admit you'd like the help."

Alex smiles, shaking his head. "You're annoying."

"Great. I've been called that twice today, my mission here is done," Maddox smiles back.

Izzie enters the room, and the moment Maddox hears her breathing heavily, she already knows she's in trouble. Alex breaks away from Maddox, not wanting to get her into any more problems, and quietly studies the ten seconds it takes Izzie to speak. "Unbelievable."

"Izzie, wait," Maddox calls after her, shooting an apologetic look at Alex, who nods.

"Don't."

"Come on, Izzie."

"Don't bother, Maddox. It's clear who's side you've chosen. What I don't understand is why. Since when have you and Alex been friends?"

"It's kind of inevitable when we all spend all these hours working together. You were the one to befriend him first, remember? I was just helping."

"Helping with what?" Izzie attacks. "Cheat on me behind my back again?"

"Izzie, that's not true. I wouldn't hurt you, and you know that. Look, the guy's having problems, too, and it's clear everyone is on your side. There's no need to cut him off."

"I don't care, Maddox. Sleep with him, for all I care."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"I don't know, are you?" Izzie spits and leaves.

"Dr. Easton," she hears a voice behind her, so Maddox clears her throat and tries to compose herself from the venom in Izzie's voice. She shakes her head several times before turning and bumping into Addison.

"Dr. Shepherd. Is there something you need?"

"Yes. Dr. Burke and I have reassessed. We think that there is a chance with the Norwood if Emily can make it through the next ten hours. Would you look after her for the night?"

Maddox stammers. "I was on call last night. You called it, Dr. Shepherd, remember?"

"I do, Dr. Easton."

"I will take care of her so you can get your beauty sleep, yes," Maddox smiles a bit.

"Good. I left the list of meds and, uh, you're familiar with pediatric life support?"

"I am."

"Okay then."

"Is there anything else I should know? To look out for?" Maddox asks when Addison is already leaving. It's her first such heavy responsibility and she doesn't want to screw it up.

Addison denies without looking her in the eye. "No. That should do it. Dr. Easton, this baby is your responsibility. She better be alive when I get back in the morning."

Maddox almost instinctively takes a step back, feeling intimidated by the woman's harsh tone of voice. "Okay."

Maddox is one of those who thinks there are times when it's better not to wake up. Especially if you realize you've fallen asleep during your on-call shift, consisting of caring for a sick baby, and when you peel your head off the table the nurse tells you she's died.

Maddox's world comes crashing down at that moment. Her heart shatters as she looks at Emily's empty incubator and wants to punish herself for abandoning her so mindlessly, for allowing sleep to overcome her when she had only one goal that night: to save the little girl's life. Her eyes water at times, but she does not allow herself to cry, because it was she herself who made the mistake and she must take responsibility for it. Even so, the nurse gives her a hopeful look, to which she responds only with silence.

She would like to lock herself in the bathroom, look at herself in the mirror and insult herself until she feels better, but now she has an even greater responsibility that she cannot avoid under any circumstances: to look her mother in the eye and confess to her that instead of taking care of her daughter, she has fallen asleep. She stands in front of the room, watching the scene through the glass while wondering if the pediatric ward will always be like this: motivation when things go right, horror when things go wrong.

Dorie averts her gaze from Addison to Maddox, and Maddox, embarrassed but firm, holds her gaze just to let her know how sorry she is. Dr. Shepherd leaves the room at that instant, grabbing her by the arm to pull her away from Dorie's view, who is holding one of her daughters in her arms.

"It wasn't your fault," is the first thing Addison says.

Maddox smiles cynically. "You put me in charge. I fell asleep. I killed that baby."

"No, you didn't," Addison assures her. "She was going to die anyway. She had a restricted atrial septum and virtually no aorta. As soon as Dr. Burke opened her chest, we knew she didn't stand a chance."

Maddox opens her mouth not knowing what to say, but the realization doesn't take too long to come to her mind: Addison knew she was a basket case, so putting her in Maddox's care was a waste of time. Some kind of test, Maddox thinks, but to what end? Did Addison want to see her like that, sunken, desperate?

"I don't understand. You ordered me to stay the night, to take care of her. I worked my ass doing CPR, pumping her full of every drug on the planet. I mean, do you have any idea how scared I was? It was all for nothing?"

Addison shook her head. "Hardly. If there's ever a situation again, I know you'll be able to handle the pressure."

"You lied to me," Maddox countered and Addison could see the pain in her eyes.

"You have to learn to take distance, Easton. You'll be a better doctor for it."

Maddox pinches the bridge of her nose because she can't believe what she's hearing. She can't believe someone as smart as Addison has been capable of that. "A better...a better doctor? That's bullshit. I spend two whole days here, forty-eight hours just because you ask me to, and you're telling me that the idea of a baby dying on my shoulders is going to make me a better doctor? If you really wanted me on your team, this is one way to prove it. I'm done."

"Maddox—"

"No!" Maddox breaks free of the surgeon's grip, but realizes that her cries have been heard throughout the hallway. "Let go of me."

The hours left on her shift pass horribly slowly, but when they do, the first thing Maddox does is change her clothes and get out of the hospital as fast as she can. A couple of drinks at Joe's doesn't sound bad at all, and having to face her friends, who will probably know her baby is dead, doesn't appeal to her at all. What she doesn't expect is to find Derek sitting at the bar, waiting for Joe to wait on him.

"I didn't have you as the alcoholic type of guy," Maddox greets him, taking a seat next to him.

"You seem to follow me everywhere, don't you?"

Maddox clicks her tongue. "Busted," Joe pours her the glass of tequila she asks for. "What are you doing here? It's nine o'clock, you should be having dinner with your wife."

Derek looks at her. "She didn't feel like it today. Felt sad, strangely."

"As she should be," Maddox takes a sip of her tequila, not even grimacing.

"Huh," Derek looks at her again, amused. "I didn't have you down as the kind of girl who looks down on her bosses."

"What do people call her? Satan, right? Well, they're right. The woman had me believing I'd killed a baby and sure enough, she walked away like it was nothing. Tomorrow's hangover is sponsored by Dr. She-Shepherd."

"I think you're biting your tongue," Derek says, taking a sip of his beer. Maddox raises her eyebrows. "I know there's something else on your mind. I'm not your boss's boss here and you're not an intern. I'm a good listener."

"You'll be surprised how well I do considering everything that goes through my head. I don't want to scare you."

"Nothing can scare me anymore. Try me," Derek raises his glass.

"I might have cancer," Maddox begins. "Not now, in the future. The possibility of me having cancer exists, but I don't know when I will have it, or if I will have it, and the uncertainty is killing me. My mother, who was the one who passed me the cancer gene, invited my brother to our Thanksgiving dinner without telling me, and that's bad considering I haven't seen him since we were nineteen, when he ran away while my mother was sick. Not even a damn goodbye post-it note. And I don't want to hear from him because all I remember is that my mom was sad, but all of a sudden he's back and he looks very different and he's having a baby, which brings me back to Addison and my baby died today. I think that's it."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I am," Derek is serious, so Maddox nods because she believes him. "I know this is easy to say but hard to believe, but you can't let any disease ruin your life. Cancer can be caught early and it can be cured, but there's no guarantee that you're going to be sick, now or in the future. I can test you, if you want. We'll be sure in a few hours."

"I don't know if I want to do it. I mean, I'd like to be sure if I have it or not, but I don't know what I would do if I did. I'm just starting my career. I don't want it to be ruined."

Derek shakes his head. "It won't. We can schedule an MRI for tomorrow if you feel like it. No one has to know, I promise. Although your family might want to know if there's something like that going on in your head. I'm sure your mother has had these thoughts in her own head at some point in her life. She could calm you down, talk you through it. And I'm sure her intentions were the best. A mother always wants her family back together. They forgive the unforgivable, as much as we can't see the good in it."

"I don't care. She might forgive him, but I can't. He ran away when we needed him most. He was nineteen, but so was I. I stayed. I stayed and I would do it again if it meant my mother felt supported. They never turned their backs on him, so why would he? I don't care about him or his girlfriend or his stupid baby."

"It's up to you if you give them a chance. I'm sure no one could blame you if you don't," Derek shrugs. "And from what I know about Emily's death, it's something Webber and Addison had talked about. Addison was like you once and Webber was the one who woke her up. She's good partly because of this. You may not see it now, but you have to keep your distance or you'll feel like crying every time a patient dies on you. This was not your fault. You did what you could with your best intentions. You didn't know the baby was going to die and you worried about her her last night like it was nothing. You will make a very good doctor, Maddox."

"Great, now I can add Chief Webber to the list of people I hate."

"Who's on that list?"

"The Bush men, Charlie Sheen, Ross Geller, O.J. Simpson and now these two. She has the honor of being the first woman."

Derek clears his throat, setting the decanter down on the bar and opening his lips in realization. "You called her Addison."

Maddox squints but blushes a little. "From everything I said, that's all you have to point out? That's her name, isn't it? She's not my boss here."

"Right, sorry. I just meant it's weird that you call her by her first name. I think she's sad for you."

"Why would you say that?"

Derek shrugs. "Since Addison came to Seattle, she hasn't had time to make friends. Everyone in this hospital knows our history, and it hasn't been easy for her to be the woman who cheated on her husband. She even said you would be a good addition to peds, if you wanted to. I think she feels bad that she had to do this to someone she might have considered a friend."

Maddox thinks about Addison, about the clear connection she's had with her —anyone would have sent her away if she'd dared speak with such cheekiness— but the thought of her lie in her head makes her stop. Besides, it's not like they're suddenly going to be friends. Having coffee, having lunch with her, or telling her about her problems don't seem like plans that would be feasible with Addison Shepherd.

"Enough about me," Maddox drawls as she takes her third shot of tequila. "It's your turn to tell me a secret. I told you three, but I can settle for one."

Derek looks at her, and it's inevitable that a playful smile threatens to break out on his lips. "Okay. I've made a mistake. I love Meredith, and I'm a coward for not choosing her. Now I've lost her, and I'm slowly losing my wife, because she knows everything is not fine."

Maddox finishes her fourth shot, Joe watching her carefully, then she frowns. "I said a secret, Derek."