"Please tell me you're going to Mark's." Briar tells Jackson once they've all split up. The mood got ruined with the knowledge that April failed her boards, none of them feeling like celebrating as they watch her walk to her car. Jackson wanted to follow her but knew she needed space. Meredith took Cristina with her to go buy alcohol for their party, accepting money from Jackson and Briar for it. Alex told them he'd pay them back, but they all know that's a lie.

"You don't mind?" He checks. "I wasn't planning on it but . . . I want him to know that I passed."

"And I want Callie to know. Good thing they live across the hall from each other. Alex, come on, you can tell Arizona." Briar laughs, leading them to Jackson's car. "We're board certified. Can you believe it?"

"I feel like I'm dreaming, honestly." Jackson admits, giggling. "I've had so many dreams about passing, and nightmares about failing, that it–ow!"

Briar bursts out laughing, having reached over and pinched his arm.

"At least you know you aren't dreaming." She giggles, shaking her head. She feels drunk on her own happiness.

They repeat that conversation over and over on the short ride to their attendings' building, and Briar loves that their mentors are so close to each other. She loves that they're close enough to them to randomly drop in at one in the morning.

Jackson doesn't get an answer when he knocks on Mark's door, but Briar tugs him across to Callie's apartment before he can start looking upset.

"He might've stayed over." She explains. "He does that a lot, since they're all friends."

Despite living right across from them, sometimes he'll be too tired at the end of a long night parenting to make the trek. There's a permanent blanket for him on the couch.

She starts to put her key in the lock, not wanting to wake Sofia by knocking, only to yelp when the door is yanked open before she can twist the key. The three of them are pulled into the apartment and greeted by cheering and party horns in their faces. They all laugh and Briar finally gets a look at the apartment, beaming when she sees that it's been decorated.

There's a banner–Congrats to our favorite attendings!– and Briar giggles at the way they put a line through the word residents right above attendings, already knowing that it was Mark's idea. There are streamers everywhere, and Arizona and Callie quickly put party hats on their heads.

"Please tell me you guys passed." Arizona begs, looking directly at Alex, since he'd nearly missed the exam.

They wait, sharing a look before they shout it together: "We passed!"

It starts feeling real when Callie jumps on her, sending the two of them to the floor since Briar hadn't expected it. She laughs into Callie's hair, some of which ended up in her mouth, feeling like her heart could explode as they're lifted up and yanked into a group hug. The six of them celebrate, the attendings listening attentively while the three of them detail their exams as dramatically as possible. Sofia is sleeping across the hall, a baby monitor in Mark's pocket, so there's no need to be quiet.

They're brought over to a cake, and Briar raises her eyebrows at the excitement on Mark, Callie, and Arizona's faces and the camera Callie aims at them: it's just a plain vanilla one, nothing special. At least, that's what they think until the three of them are handed knives and told to stab it. When they do, all at the same time, strawberry filling comes gushing out.

"Congratulations!" The attendings call out, while Callie zooms in on their shocked faces, the camera shaking due to her laughter. When Mark starts speaking, she turns it to face him, still zoomed in.

"This is what you don't want your patients to look like." He tells them with a smirk, gesturing to the mess of a cake. "I know you're not used to being perfect, but you're board certified now. Time to work on your knife skills."

He yelps when Briar scoops up some cake, chucking it directly at him and hitting his cheek. The cake slowly falls down his face, leaving a trail of red behind, and Briar smirks when she sees the competitive glint in his eyes as he lunges for the cake. It becomes an all out war, with them alternating between throwing the cake and eating it, and they're all covered in it within minutes.

It's a perfect celebration.

✦

If there's one thing that Briar and Meredith know how to do, it's throw a party. They became professionals at house parties during their intern year, and the excitement is heavy in the air as people rush into the house: other residents, interns, neighbors that are thrilled to see them living it up again. Everyone is welcome.

Briar has missed dancing on tables with Cristina and Meredith, a bottle in each of their hands. Tequila for her friends, vodka for Briar: Ruby Red–grapefruit– for now, caramel for later. She's not sure how well the flavors will mix together, but she doubts she'll care while drinking: that's a problem for tomorrow morning, when they inevitably mix on their way back out of her.

"We made the boards our bitch!" Briar screams, getting cheers from Cristina and Meredith, all of them swaying to the music. "We're done with exams!"

That gets even more excited screams from the crowd.

"Minus Kepner." Cristina giggles into her bottle. "We killed the boards!"

"We passed!" Meredith squeals, jumping with one hand up, the other tightly clutching her drink.

"Whoo-hoo!" They all cheer together, and Briar yanks Alex up onto the table with them, beaming when he instantly takes a sip from her bottle. Jackson is off comforting April, and maybe she's a bad friend for not being more supportive of her right now, but she needs this. There's nothing more important to her right now than celebrating passing the boards with the people that were with her every step of the way.

Alex is happy enough to dance with her, and this night is perfect.

It's even more perfect when her phone rings throughout the night with offers from hospitals. She's not the only one: Cristina and Meredith are fielding calls, and they take turns turning down the music so that they can be pleaded with, partying right after.

She's not expecting April to rush over to them, dancing intensely.

"Babe, you're gonna break your neck." Briar giggles, watching April whip her head around with exaggerated excitement, clearly close to being wasted. Next to her, Alex gives her a side hug and moves to stand with Jackson, who is watching his best friend with dismay.

Briar hands April a beer. If anyone needs to drink today, it's her. Especially since the next time a phone rings, it's UVA calling to rescind her offer. They want a board certified surgeon, and she isn't one. April rushes back to them after stating that, ignoring the apologies from the crowd as she shouts for them to turn the music back up.

Briar never thought she'd hear someone scream that they're sexy and they know it with so much anger.

✦

"So, what's your decision?" She shouts into Meredith's ear a while later, her arm wrapped around her friend's shoulders. They're swaying together to a Prince song that Briar can't stop humming.

"I'm staying, of course!" She shouts back, twisting to face Briar and beaming at her. "You're here, Lexie's here, Cristina might only be a 2-hour plane ride away, Alex is also staying, Derek is building me a house–"

"How's Derek feel about staying?" Briar asks, because she's heard the offer made to him by Harvard, and she doesn't know if she'd be able to turn it down.

"He'll get over it." Meredith giggles, shaking her head. "Oh! Shots!"

They flag down Cristina and Alex, all four of them doing a tequila shot. Briar grimaces as she sucks on a lime, missing the flavor of her vodka. As if reading her mind, Jackson hands her the whipped bottle from the freezer, and Briar quickly twists around to thank him with a kiss. It gets heated quickly and she flips off whoever complains over her shoulder, not pulling away from the warmth of his mouth to see who it is.

Jackson is the one to pull back, laughing fondly at her when she pouts and sways into his space.

"Do you remember the party Derek threw here?" He asks her, and she raises an eyebrow, starting to shake her head no before she finds the memory. Her, drinking vodka and pulling Jackson away from his friends to play party games, all of which he turned down.

"You wouldn't play strip poker with me." She narrows her eyes, jabbing him in the chest while he chuckles.

"You were wasted, so no I wouldn't."

"Am I wasted now?" She asks him, genuinely curious. And very interested in that look in his eyes.

"Hmm." He tilts his head, considering her. "I think you will be by the time we're done."

She laughs all the way up the stairs, pleased at how much her life has changed since that party. They're dating now, which Briar never would've thought possible at the time. Derek and Meredith are better than ever, having adopted a beautiful baby. They just nailed the boards, which Briar still can't wrap her head around.

Briar Sinclair, double board-certified surgeon. Insane.

✦

April, Alex and Briar are all scheduled in the pit. Alex and Briar are alternating patients, helping each other out the way they've always done. Briar can't stop smiling, despite the slight headache she's still sporting–a banana bag took care of most of her hangover, and she should be over this headache within the hour. She's just happy to know that Alex will be staying here, and they'll have years to work together still.

And she'll have Meredith and Jackson with her too.

Her life is amazing.

"Hey, Apes." Alex stands on the right side of April at the nurses desk, while Briar stands to her left. "I was thinking Briar and I could take the trauma rooms, and you can have the beds."

He talks to her with his softest voice, one normally reserved for his kids in peds, and Briar coughs to disguise her laughter. April is going to hate that.

"I can handle trauma, Alex." April scoffs. "It was one phone call. It doesn't mean I can't practice medicine. I still have three great hospitals who want me."

"Of course they do, Apes."

"Don't call me Apes!"

"Karev, come here." Richard murmurs, and Briar jumps, not having heard him until he spoke right behind her. He smirks at her, loving that he scared her, and she barely resists the urge to flip him off. If there weren't patients around, she would.

Briar doesn't even pretend not to listen in, turning to face them as Richard speaks.

"You're gonna get a phone call in a few minutes, and not just any phone call." He gushes, excitement heavy in his voice. "It's from Keith Collier."

"I don't know any Keith Collier's." Alex tells him, his head tilting in confusion.

"He was one of your examiners at the boards." Richard explains, and Alex instantly groans. Briar really doesn't like the look on April's face: she looks happy at Alex being upset.

"Oh crap. I failed, didn't I?" Alex worries, his face falling. Briar reaches out and grabs his hand, wincing slightly when he squeezes too tightly. She doesn't make him loosen his grip, though. "They changed their minds, son of a–"

Richard is shaking his head with a smile, and Briar feels her shoulders sink with relief. At least he hasn't failed.

"Karev!" Richard laughs, interrupting him. "Keith is a good friend of mine. Now whatever you told him at the boards really impressed him. I mean, really impressed him. He wants to offer you a peds surgery fellowship at Hopkins."

Briar gasps, looking between all of them–Richard, excited; Alex, happy but disbelieving; and April . . . jealous?–as Alex somehow squeezes her hand even tighter than he already was.

"Hopkins has the best program in the country." Alex states, a wide smile on his face.

"They've already chosen their fellows for next year." April jumps in, and Alex's face falls as he starts doubting Richard's words. April winces at the glare Briar sends her way.

"Which is what makes this so extraordinary!" Richard grins. "They're adding a position just for Karev."

"Of course they are." Briar brags, beaming at the two of them. "They'd be stupid not to. He's the best peds surgeon I've ever known."

Who else would skip out on their boards to check in on a patient they aren't even assigned to?

"Oh." April says bitterly, and Briar gives her another glare, nodding her head to the pit behind them.

Ruin this for him, and I'll ruin you, she thinks scathingly. She understands that April's having a tough time right now, but her failing the boards isn't anyone else's fault, and she'll be damned if she lets her bring Alex down with her.

April sighs as she scoops up her charts and stomps off, but Briar pays her no mind once she's gone, instead just watching Alex process the news.

"This is you playing some kind of practical joke," Alex says slowly, his eyes flickering across Richard's face, trying to get a read on him. "At the end you're gonna tell me I learned something when I really haven't."

Richard has done that to him multiple times, so it's a fair assumption.

"I–I am not joking." Richard insists, shaking his head. "I have no skin in this game."

"Hopkins is the dream." Alex breathes out, hope shining in his eyes.

"I know."

"It's really not cool to screw with somebody's head like this." Alex tries again, clearly not wanting to get his hopes up.

"I know. Make sure your ringer's on." Richard tells him, quickly leaving.

Briar smiles as Alex pulls out his phone, slowly switching the ringer on. He's moving sluggishly, in complete disbelief, and still holding her hand.

"What do you think?" He asks her, since he'd told her every detail of his boards.

"I think that they saw what all of us see." She tells him, grinning when he looks confused. "Alex, you're an amazing peds surgeon, and not just because you know what you're doing. You care. Your patients are people to you, not just operations. You don't get how rare that is. Of course they want you."

"It's Hopkins." He breathes out, but he looks more hopeful as he stares at his phone.

"Yeah, and they want you." She says, determined for that to be the truth. She pulls her phone out, doing a quick search and smiling at what she finds. "It's only an 8 hour plane ride from here to there. I'm going to be visiting you all the time."

"You really don't mind if I leave?" He asks, sounding worried.

"I think you'd be an idiot to pass up this opportunity, and of course I'm happy for you. We'll have weekly calls and the plane goes both ways." She tells him, knowing that it won't be the same. Still, she doesn't want to be the one to hold him back. If it was a different hospital, maybe she'd try to sway him to stay in Seattle, but he'll always regret not taking this offer if he stays. No one turns down Hopkins.

"I freakin love you." He says, pulling her into a hug, his eyes still glued to his phone.

"I love you too, bub." She grins at him, her eyes flickering back to his phone. As the seconds go by, she can feel Alex's disappointment growing, thinking that there won't be a call.

"He's full of crap." He scoffs, turning to go just as his phone rings. He's slow to reach out for the device, clearly not wanting to get his hopes dashed, and Briar nearly answers it herself. Thankfully, he takes a look at her as he answers and puts it on speaker so that she can be part of the moment.

Her heart races the entire conversation, having to cover her mouth with her free hand so that she doesn't squeal when the offer is made, pride surging through her while Alex asks for a day to decide. As soon as he's hung up, she's throwing herself into his arms, grinning when he wraps his own around her and spins her around. She can feel his laughter, quickly followed by wetness on her neck, where he's buried his face.

She feels close to tears herself, telling him over and over again how proud of him she is.

As soon as she's back on the ground, she hits him on the arm.

"I love you, talk to Arizona, and call them back to accept!" She orders. She knows that the only reason he didn't instantly take the offer is his respect for Robbins, but she doesn't want him limiting himself.

✦

Her phone won't stop ringing with offers. It was nice at first, seeing how badly these hospitals want her, but after the seventh call–from a hospital in Paris, of all places–she hides away in the tunnels.

She can't stop thinking about her decision, trying to decide if it's the right call–she knows that it is. She wants to continue working with Callie and Owen, with Mark and Jackson, with Bailey and Meredith and Lexie and Derek. So many talented surgeons work at Seattle Grace, and she knows she'll have good opportunities here, but she's being recruited to Paris. Of course she has complicated feelings about that.

Instead of dealing with any of that, she curls up with an iPad and a bag of chips, memorizing the conjoined twins casefile. They're leaving for Boise Memorial Hospital at 10 pm, and she's excited, since she's the representative for both trauma and orthopedics. The fact that both Callie and Owen find her qualified enough to go in their place means the world to her.

She's still there when Jackson finds her, handing her a salad. It's obviously one of the pre-made ones from the cafeteria, and Briar smiles when she sees that it's the one with strawberries, blueberries, and grilled chicken: the only one from here that she likes.

"You missed lunch." He tells her, giving her a water bottle as well. "And you have that flight soon. You might want to bring snacks with you."

"Good idea." Briar nods. She always gets hungry when she flies, and she's been too focused on this case to think about eating. "Thanks, baby."

He lets her eat in silence for a bit before he grabs the iPad from her, looking through the casefile. "I can't believe I'm missing out on this one."

"I know." Briar sighs. "Hey, at least you'll be in charge of plastics until Mark gets back. Excited?"

"Beyond." He nods, handing her the iPad back when he sees that she's actually eating. "I hope I get some cool cases to rub in his face."

"You will." She manifests, humming as she turns the iPad off and sets it to the side. She could recite the information in her sleep. "How's April?"

"She left early, she's at Joe's now." Jackson sighs, shaking his head. "You weren't there for it at lunch, but she got all of her offers rescinded. Except for here."

"Do you think she'll keep this offer?" Briar asks, genuinely curious. She doesn't mean it in a mean way, but Owen is going to have to make some tough decisions, and she doesn't see the board allowing him to keep an uncertified surgeon over the board certified ones applying for the position.

"I don't know." He sighs, running a hand over his face. "She's taking it hard. I've never seen her like this."

"Well, I'm sure the religious aspect of it isn't helping anything." Briar muses, thinking about how April had premarital sex before the boards, and how she's been freaking out ever since. Briar tried talking to her about it, but April only snapped at her and left. "You should go to Joe's, try and talk to her."

"I want to see you off." He tells her, and she smiles at him. The sentiment is sweet, but it's not necessary.

"I'm just gonna be prepping with everyone else." She tells him. Alex, Meredith, Derek, Lexie, Cristina and Mark are going with her. "She's more important right now. I really won't be upset if you want to go help her instead."

"No one's more important than you." He protests instantly, and Briar blushes. "I'll check in on her after I see you get on that plane."

He's such a sweetheart. He proves that by helping her pack her bag–and then carrying it for her to the lobby, refusing to let her carry it. She rolls her eyes at him, but is secretly pleased by his actions.

"You're gonna go great." He assures her, and Briar smiles, her gaze catching for a second on Lexie talking to Mark. She's heard all about how Lexie confessed her love to Mark, who thanked her for her candor. Seriously. Direct quote. They're such a mess, and Briar adores them. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I'll try and call you after, but I might end up crashing." She tells him, remembering the last time she performed this surgery. She'd been exhausted after.

"Don't worry about it, you'll need sleep. Send me pictures of anything fun you guys do." He tells her with a grin, knowing that her and Lexie will likely get up to something fun. Add their closest friends to the mix? Boise isn't ready.

"You son of a bitch!" Arizona shouting has everyone turning to look. She's yelling at Alex, while Callie tries to calm her down. "I had to hear it from Hunt! What, you couldn't even be man enough to tell me yourself?"

"Sweetie." Callie tries, turning to Alex. "She's had a horrible day. I'm so s–"

"No, you ungrateful crap dog!"

That's a new one, Briar thinks, sharing an amused look with Jackson. If anyone else was yelling at Alex that way, she'd already be over there, but it's Arizona. She's not too worried.

"It's Hopkins! You went there. You of all people should–"

"You are a miserable, miserable bastard!"

"Robbins, they want me! Alright? They really want me!" Alex explains, and Briar smiles to herself. He'd been encouraged by Richard to leverage with them, and Hopkins had proven how much they'd truly wanted him: paying off all of his student loans, giving him a mortgage stipend, along with an increase in salary and a stipend for the move.

Briar had done the same with Owen, in her own way, until he'd set an offer in front of her: increased salary, first pick of interns, an extra week paid vacation, and student loans paid off. That had come from her casually telling her how desperately the Cleveland Clinic wanted her, knowing that most of the others would be leaving.

She never had any real intentions of leaving, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Oh, you . . . you're actually going?" Arizona realizes, shock clear on her face.

"Can we talk about this when I get back?" Alex sighs.

"No!" Arizona shouts, shock giving away to outrage. She snatches the files from him.

"What are you doing?"

"No, you are not going to Boise, because you no longer represent this hospital!"

"Oh, give me a break!"

"Jeez." Briar grimaces, watching the two of them go back and forth. "Well, I guess that ruins my plans to prank Alex in our hotel room. That's a shame."

Jackson laughs, shaking his head and drawing her attention back to him.

"You'll have more opportunities to prank him when you get back." He promises, pulling her in for a kiss. When he pulls back, he zips up her navy blue Seattle Grace Mercy West coat and passes over her suitcase. "Have fun!"

"Oh, you know I will." Briar beams, beyond excited for this surgery. "I love you."

"I love you too. See you soon."

She joins Meredith and Cristina, who waste no time in telling her their final decisions: Meredith is going to Boston with Derek, while Cristina goes to the Mayo Clinic. She just nods, proud of them as she wraps an arm around both of their shoulders, watching Alex get screamed at for picking Hopkins.

"We've done good for ourselves." She muses, letting go of them to hug Lexie when she walks over. "You're next, Lex."

"Yeah she is. She's gonna follow me to Mayo." Cristina beams, nudging the younger girl.

"Uh, no. She's gonna follow me to Boston." Meredith scoffs, pretending to pull Lexie to her like they're playing tug of war. Briar holds on tightly, swaying with Lexie, who's laughing loudly in her ear.

"Actually, she's staying here." She protests, frowning. "We're gonna completely redo your house, Mer. You won't recognize it when you come to visit us."

"Ooh, can we make a library?" Lexie perks up, and Briar nods instantly.

"Amazing idea. Lexie's Library, coming right up." She snorts when Meredith sighs loudly.

"Well, I can't fight a library." She pouts, just as they're called to leave. "Fine, you can have the house."

"Wait, for real?" Briar checks, needing more confirmation. "'Cause I'm just now realizing that you're really leaving, and that I live in your house."

"I'm not kicking you out." Meredith points out, rolling her eyes at her as they all start moving. "God, you're an idiot."

"It was a valid question." Briar scoffs, waving at an indignant Alex as Arizona shoves past them, taking his place.

"See you on the flip side!"

Alex flips her off, and she's still laughing as she boards the plane.

✦

authors note

short chapter but next chapter will be long, so it'll make up for it.

they're on the plane 😃😃😃

okay i'm feeling so insanely sentimental over this fic being up for over a year. i did the math and so far we're at 277,896 words and 816 pages on google docs (single spaced, times new roman 12). insane. i genuinely can't wrap my head around that AT ALL. like, i used to have such a hard time getting past chapter 10 of a fic, and we're almost at chapter 50?? in a year?? i'm just really proud of this story, and a lot of the motivation to write it comes from you guys. i'll never be able to properly thank you all for the love you show this fic. just know that everytime you read, vote, comment, and add it to a reading list i appreciate it so so much. i love you all beyond words.

i'd also really like to spread that love around more, so please feel free to promote authors or fics you love in the comments <3 i'll make a reading list and give them all a chance, and comment!! i just want to share the feeling you guys give me. any fandom is okay. also please feel free to self promote :)

i also want to say that this fic will continue to be my first priority even as i write other ones. right now im writing this, along with fics for hp, obx, and the hunger games (all posted.) but this fic will not be left behind or abandoned, i promise. i know sometimes that happens (no hate to authors, life happens, i get it) but even if i go a little bit between updates (i have a full time job and a life i fear) this fic isn't going to be abandoned. im just trying to spread my creativity around (also, for the thg fic ive been writing her games and i feel a little insane. so its nice to get a break and write about briar with her clear communication and morals. even though shes about to be much more traumatized 🥰🥰🥰)

happy holidays if you celebrate!
love you all,
c 🤍