Cristina becomes paranoid after that.

Briar can't exactly blame her–if she thought she was being cheated on, she would likely be just as worried as Cristina is. She asks her every day if Briar saw anything, and Briar gives her a detailed report every time, even though she never finds any evidence of Owen cheating. They have a lot of traumas over the next week, and Owen is consistently sleeping in the hospital in between them.

Privately, Briar thinks that the man is avoiding going home, because he could go and get paged back like the rest of them do.

All of this to say, Briar isn't the slightest bit surprised when Cristina texts her while she's with Jackson in an on-call room.

"Wait, one sec." Briar tells him, leaning over to try and get access to her phone from the side table, much to his dismay.

"Are you seriously checking your phone right now?" He questions. Briar nods, making a triumphant noise when she gets her hand around the case, pulling it to her and opening Cristina's text.

Anything?

Briar starts typing no, we had a bus cra before yelping when the phone is pulled out of her hands and tossed onto the bed behind them. Jackson gives her a smug smile, reminding her that she isn't by herself, and she gives him a guilty look back.

"My bad?" She tries, giggling when he shakes his head at her before rolling her to be on top of him. "Sorry, sorry, it's just Cristina and–"

"I really don't want to think about Hunt and Yang right now." Jackson tells her pointedly, and she nods quickly, trying to push it out of her mind.

"You know what? Me neither." She breathes out, leaning down to kiss him again, smiling into it when his hands start exploring. Just as they're getting back where they left off, the door opens, and Briar shrieks again while Jackson quickly flips them so that she's mostly covered. He pulls the blanket over them, and she clutches it to her chest, her heart racing.

If it's Bailey or Richard, I'm jumping off a cliff, Briar thinks to herself, slowly turning to look at the doorway. The relief of seeing Cristina there nearly makes her lightheaded.

"Oh, thank fuck." She breathes, shaking her head. "Cris? You okay?"

Cristina doesn't say anything, backing out of the room, and she hears the door across the hall get opened.

"Cristina, come shut the damn door!" Briar shouts, and Cristina does just that before continuing down the hallway, likely searching for Owen, who once again didn't go home the night before.

"Nice save." She tells Jackson, gesturing to the blanket, and he just smiles at her before looking over his shoulder.

"Is she okay? She seems . . . off." He says slowly, sounding worried, and she just sighs.

"Her and Owen are having marital troubles." She says as clinically as possible, not wanting to betray Cristina by discussing her worries with anyone else. "Anyway, this is why I didn't want to be having sex in the damn hospital!"

Jackson smirks at her, one of his hands drifting down and making her breath catch. "I really don't hear you complaining."

"Fuck you." She breathes, even as she pulls him closer.

She doesn't complain again after that.

✦

"Okay, let's go over the game plan again." Jackson tells Mark, following him into the skills lab. "If we see my mother. . ."

"We're buried with work today." Mark fills in with a monotonous tone, heading straight for the microscope they came in for.

"And . . . you're sorry, but Jackson has no time to spend with her, okay?" Jackson continues, wanting to make sure that Mark truly understands how important this is. While things went moderately well the last time his mother visited the hospital, Jackson doesn't want her trying to poke around in his life again. Thankfully, she seems to really like Briar, so at least he doesn't have to worry about her trying to set him up anymore.

The door opens before he can say anything more, and his mother comes marching in with another doctor behind her.

"There you are!" She announces, beaming at them.

"Doctor Avery." Mark greets her with a smile that his mother returns.

"Doctor Sloan, how nice to see you again." She says, and Jackson raises an eyebrow at that. They'd done nothing but argue with each other when they met previously, but he's thankful for her playing nice. "Now move outta my way so I can see my boy."

Jackson gives her a smile as Mark does just that, and his mom wastes no time in grabbing his face and giving him a kiss on the cheek, as always.

"You look skinny." She says when she pulls back, grabbing his arms. "Tell me you did not forget your tux."

"Tux?" Mark questions.

"Jackson is my date for the frontiers of medicine benefit tonight." She explains.

"And Briar is my date." Jackson tacks on, smiling when he thinks back to taking Briar dress shopping for it a few nights ago. He'd practically had to drag her from the pit for it. He understands that she loves being on trauma rotations, but her sudden desire to spend all of her free time in the pit had surprised him–she's been complaining nonstop about Owen Hunt, even going so far as to make a club about hating him. As far as he knows, Meredith is the only other member.

"Mm. Right." His mom gives him a tight smile, confusing him. "Oh, this is Doctor Mara Keaton. Mara is my star urology fellow. Mara, my son Jackson and Doctor Mark Sloan."

Jackson gives her a quick glance and a polite smile, holding his hand out for a handshake before looking over her shoulder. He's hoping that Briar will come rescue him from this moment, but she's probably back in the pit. At this point, she should have a bed there.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." She says, and Jackson distantly notices that she has a British accent, more focused on the strange look Mark is giving him.

"Pleasure to meet you." Mark agrees, although he's giving her a side eye that Jackson doesn't understand.

"Mara's considering Seattle Grace as an option for next year, and I thought, well, who better to show her around than my son?" She asks, pulling him into another side hug, and Jackson watches as Mark's face darkens slightly.

What the hell is going on, he wonders, confused about what Mark is so upset about. Also, if Mara is his mom's star pupil, why does she seem so eager for her to transfer to a different hospital?

"Dr. Sloan, can you spare him for just a couple of hours?" She asks the question Jackson had been waiting for, and he prepares to look resigned when he says no. What a shame, not being able to show a stranger around.

"I'm afraid I need him for a Rhinoplasty." Mark declines smoothly. "I'm sure there's an intern around here who can show Dr. Keaton everything she needs to see."

"Ah, well, that Rhinoplasty isn't scheduled for another two hours." She dismisses, waving her hand. "I'm sure an accomplished plastic surgeon like yourself can spare him for an hour or so. She'll return him in one piece, I promise!"

Jackson gets pulled from the room, wishing desperately that he was spending this sudden free time with Briar instead.

✦

"Hey." Callie announces her and Briar's entrance to the conference room with a warm smile. Briar sits down next to Morgan while Callie heads straight for the coffee. They've just got back from coming up with a plan for Morgan's preemie's hip dysplasia. "So Tommy's hip dysplasia can be treated with a harness."

"And I brought you a scone since you skipped breakfast." Callie adds on, speaking to Arizona now. Alex and Teddy are also in the room, all of them working on Thomas's care. The boyfriend couldn't handle all of this, so Morgan has been dealing with everything by herself, although Alex has been spending a lot of time with her to try and help her out.

"Oh, thank you." Arizona says, before opening the bag and wrinkling her nose. "Pumpkin. Ew."

"I'll take it." Alex says before Briar can, snatching it up and putting it in front of Morgan. "Eat that."

"Right. Like I can eat." Morgan scoffs, worried over her baby needing heart surgery.

"You didn't eat all night. You're gonna pass out." Alex warns her, pulling the scone out of the bag for her. The rest of them stare at them, exchanging looks, and Briar fights back a sigh. This better not turn into another Rebecca situation.

"When, uh, when are you gonna do the surgery?" Morgan questions after rolling her eyes at him.

"As soon as he's prepped." Teddy informs her. "Karev will let you know when we get started."

"Yeah, I'm gonna scrub in, right?"

"You just want him to have surgery 'cause it'll look good for your boards." Morgan teases him, and Briar shares a look with Callie, starting to worry about how attached she is to him. It's good to have someone to lean on, but if her feelings go further than that, it'll be a disaster.

"I do not." Alex protests, before lowering his voice. "And also I do, but it's gonna be great for my boards. Look, he's gonna be fine, alright?"

"He's not scrubbing in. He was up all night." Morgan tells them, following Alex out of the room.

"Should Karev really be hooking up with the heart-patient intern mom?" Callie questions, taking a seat now that her coffee is made.

"What? No, he's not." Arizona yelps, shaking her head.

"He spent the night. He gave her a scone." Callie tells her.

"You gave me a scone."

"Yeah, I spend the night with you, too, because I'm married to you." Callie points out, and Briar laughs. "Briar, you know him best, come on. Tell her."

"She's smitten." Briar tells them, holding her hands up when Arizona glares at her. "Look, Alex gets attached, especially with peds cases. He likes lost causes, why do you think I was his first friend? And . . . it's easy to fall in love with that. Not that I would know, 'cause ew, but I can see how a newly single mom might latch onto the hot, attentive doctor who cares about her baby."

"Shit." Arizona sighs, slumping forward. Briar gives her a mocking pat on the back.

"What's up with you? You've been tense all day." Callie asks her next, and Briar groans loudly.

"Catherine Avery is back in town." She confesses, receiving confused looks.

"Didn't you woo her last time she was here?"

"I thought I did." Briar admits, shaking her head. "I mean, we got along well enough, and she added me on Facebook the next day. But . . . I don't know, I might be making something out of nothing."

"What happened?" Teddy asks, leaning forward.

"Well, there's this gala happening tonight, right? And of course the Avery's got an invite."

"Obviously." Arizona agrees.

"Right, well, Jackson is technically his mom's plus one, but it's the Avery family, so whatever they want, they get. Jackson asked me to come with him, and his mom . . . she didn't say no, but she didn't seem that eager about it either. I just worry that I'm overstepping or something."

"If Jackson invited you, you're fine." Callie assures her, shaking her head. "Just let your worries go and have a good night with your super sexy boyfriend."

"And his mom." Arizona tacks on, laughing at the disgusted face Briar makes.

"Yeah, you're right." She sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I'm probably just tired and overthinking."

"Unless she hates you and wants to spend time with Jackson alone." Teddy blurts out, grimacing when they all turn to face her in surprise.

"Right, you've just unlocked a new fear." Briar says cheerfully, giving her a fake smile before leaving the room, only to cross paths with Catherine on her way to the pit. "Oh! Catherine! I was wondering when I'd get to see you."

"Briar, sweetheart, how are you?" She asks, and Briar is relieved to see a bright smile on her face right before she pulls her in for a hug. Maybe she was just being paranoid–she must've spent too much time around Cristina.

"I'm good! Just studying for the boards and working. I'm about to put a hip harness on a preemie." She tells her, cutting herself off before she can start rambling due to her nerves. "How are you? Have you seen Jackson yet?"

"Oh, well, that's a complicated situation." Catherine says, and Briar tilts her head, confused. "You know, honey, it's completely okay if you can't make it to the gala tonight. Babies are just so important, and that's where your priorities should be. Well, I'll see you around, I'm sure!"

Briar watches her walk away, her heart sinking with every clack of her high heels.

There's no way she imagined that.

✦

Jackson opens the door to another one of the galleries, beyond bored.

"And this is O.R. 2, which looks exactly like O.R. 1." He sighs, watching as Mara moves to the front and observes the surgery happening below. He's about to wave her out until he sees Briar down below, suddenly eager to stay.

"You still have to cover the E.R. in fifth year, and study for your boards?" She questions, and Jackson frowns.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I saw that doctor in the E.R. when I entered, and she was talking about studying." Mara says, pointing at Briar. "It doesn't seem possible to be able to fully focus on your patients, if you're worried about exams as well."

"Yes, well, it's a pretty rigorous program here." He defends, frowning at her before smiling when he sees Briar successfully inserts a screw into her patient's spine. As someone who once majorly screwed up a spinal surgery, he doesn't understand how she can love this operation as much as she does, but there's no denying that she's amazing at it. The fact that Callie trusts her enough to continue operating on a man's spine while she isn't in the room is impressive on its own. "Doctor Sinclair is more than capable of multitasking. In fact, she's working on becoming dual-certified."

"Fascinating. Do you mind if I watch for a second?" She asks, giving him another warm smile before sitting down in the front row. Jackson sits behind her, his eyes focusing on Briar once more.

"God. I thought I had no time for a social life." She continues to point out the supposed flaws in how their system is run, and Jackson tries to ignore her. "Are you still dating anyone?"

Jackson freezes at that, the word 'still' catching his attention. What does that mean?

"Am I still dating?" Jackson questions, his tone growing cold despite his best efforts to hide his growing annoyance. He feels like an idiot, suddenly understanding the looks Mark was giving them.

"I mean, are you dating anyone?" She tries to cover up, but Jackson shakes his head.

"Tell me about you. Where'd you go to school?" He asks, confident that he could predict the answer. His mother is nothing but predictable when it comes to trying to set him up.

"Well, my dad's the director of surgical science at Oxford, so I did my preclinical years there." She starts, and Jackson tilts his head down, shaking his head.

"Oxford. Wow." Jackson says, wondering what his mother expected. Did she think he'd dump Briar and run off with Mara, all because of a family name? Surely she knows him better than that.

"Then residency at Mass Gen, then I transferred to the Brigham to study under your mother, and here I am."

"That's quite a pedigree, isn't it?" Jackson asks her, surprised that he didn't notice how flirtatious she's been acting until now. What did his mom offer her: extra credit if she starts dating her son? It's ridiculous.

"Well, you know, a little hard work and a lot of good timing."

"I get it." Jackson tells her, knowing that they aren't on the same page. "I totally get it."

He slips out of the room while she starts gushing over Derek's entrance into the O.R., having learned what he needed to. Now he just has to find his mother–hopefully before she runs into Briar.

✦

"Cord's clear. Spine is stabilized." Derek tells them, sending a surge of relief through Briar. She'll never get over the thrill that is spinal surgery.

"What do you think?" Callie asks him.

"Well, I think his motorcycle days are over." Derek says dryly, stating the obvious. "Hopefully, he'll be able to walk again."

"A patient in Australia had this done and was able to after extensive physical therapy." Briar adds, because she tries to be optimistic about patient recovery when she can be.

"Dr. Shepherd!" Alex enters the O.R., ignoring the death glare Briar sends him for rushing into the O.R. like that. He's lucky that none of them flinched, or they could've paralyzed the patient–or worse. "We need you in O.R. four. It's Tommy. He's got a grade-3 bleed. He needs a ventric placed."

"Karev, slow down." Derek orders. "Who is Tommy?"

"Uh, Morgan's baby. The intern Morgan."

"The preemie. We were calling him Ali for a while." Briar adds, watching recognition grow in his eyes. She doesn't add that she prefers the name Ali to Thomas, figuring that it's not her baby and her input wouldn't be wanted.

"Alright. Well, just give me a second to, uh, finish–" Derek starts.

"Can you come now? Please." Alex begs.

"Sinclair, do you want to finish?" Derek asks, holding steady eye contact with her until she nods, sure that she can. "Okay. Callie, watch her every move."

Briar smiles to herself, picking up Derek's instruments. Her day just went from awful to amazing.

✦

"Where's your hot tourist?" Mark questions as soon as he sees Jackson, who scowls at him.

"Yeah, she's not here for a tour. I'm being set up. My mom's trying to expand the Avery dynasty." Jackson complains, shaking his head. "You couldn't have warned me?"

"You didn't realize?" Mark shakes his head at him. "I tried getting you out of it. I didn't expect your mom to already know your surgery schedule. What do you do, text it to her every shift?"

"No." Jackson shakes his head, pointedly not mentioning that he does sometimes send her his schedule. Only when he has major cases! "She probably scoped out the surgery board. She's a freaking vulture."

"Look, you lucked out. Briar isn't the jealous type." Mark tells him, shrugging at the look Jackson sends him. "Knowing her, she'll probably find the whole thing funny."

"You think?" He asks, even though he knows that Mark is right. Briar will probably laugh hysterically when he tells her.

"I know. Go on, go find her." He waves him off, and Jackson rushes to do just that, hoping that his mother hasn't gotten to her first. She's no longer in the O.R., or by the vending machines, or in the cafeteria, or in April's office.

"Have any of you seen Briar?" He asks April, Meredith and Cristina, heading straight to the mini fridge. He ignores April's protests behind him as he looks through her food, grabbing two water bottles, a protein bar, and a cup of fruit. Briar has a tendency to forget to eat after surgery, and Jackson tries to get some fruit in her at the very least.

"Hunt was bragging about her finishing Shepherd's cord operation on her patient." April suggests, although there's an edge to her tone that has him looking at her sideways for a moment. Is that jealousy that he's hearing? He doesn't see any signs of negative feelings on her face, though, and after a second he lets the thought go.

"Yeah, she's already out of the O.R." Jackson complains, ripping open the protein bar and taking a bite. "I wasted time trying to hunt down my mother instead of her."

"Is everything okay?" Meredith asks, her eyebrows furrowed.

"No." Jackson sighs loudly, shaking his head. "My mom is here and she's trying to set me up with some doctor of hers, even though she knows that I'm with Briar. I'm happy, but all she sees is . . ." Jackson trails off, not sure how to word all of his fears and frustrations, but Meredith knows what he's going through and says it for him.

"The lack of a known family name?" She asks, exchanging a knowing look with him. Jackson slumps forward, running a hand over the back of his head as he nods, thinking about the phone call where he told his mom about him dating a doctor. No, mom, she doesn't come from a medical family. No, she doesn't come from money. No, she isn't using me. Yes, I'm sure that she isn't. He thought they were past that.

Sometimes, he wishes he wasn't an Avery.

"She might be checking on Morgan and her baby." Cristina suggests after a minute. "I know she started a meal train for her."

"Thanks." Jackson tells her genuinely, happy for any help. "Now if I can just figure out what to say to her to make this a little better."

"We're still talking about Briar, right?" Meredith asks, shrugging off the unimpressed look he gives her. "I'm just saying, she's understanding. It's not like you asked someone else out or something."

Jackson doesn't get a chance to respond before Mara comes knocking on April's door, telling her that she's looking for him.

"Oh, yes, he's right there." April tells her happily, pointing to him before he can try and hide behind the couch. Jackson hopes his look back conveys his thoughts of I hope you choke on that casserole properly as he allows himself to be led out of the room.

"I thought we could check out your cafeteria. Get a bite to eat, talk." Mara suggests, while Jackson walks beside her and tosses the water bottle he's saving for Briar in the air, absentmindedly catching it.

"Listen, Dr. Keaton–" He starts, looking around the corner for Briar. She wore her hair in a braided bun today, and he sees no sign of her still, frustrating him. Where did she go?

"Mara."

"Look, you're very nice." He says awkwardly, hating that his mother put him in this position. "I have a girlfriend."

"Good for you." She tells him, sounding unbothered by this information, and Jackson grits his teeth.

"I know that my mom put you up to this, and that she thought something might happen between us, but I'm not interested. I'm in a serious relationship and it's insulting that the two of you thought I would end it over–"

"Over me?" She asks, her eyes narrowing on him as she stops moving, right by the nurses desk. "What's insulting, Dr. Avery, is you thinking that I'm being served to you like a concubine."

"I didn't say that." Jackson quickly interrupts, his eyes widening.

"I'm not here to service you, Dr. Avery. I'm here to serve your mother for a grade. And she has tasked me with digging up as much information as I can about your boards, your standing, your love life, and when you're gonna stop screwing around in plastics."

"You're not a setup. You're a spy." Jackson realizes, a little embarrassed now.

"I rank this task slightly above wiping up vomit from bedpans, but your mother is a very demanding woman, and if you know anything about her, you know I can't go back empty-handed. So if you're really sorry, and not just a presumptuous pig, you would do a girl a solid, and you will tell me whatever it is you want me to tell her! And you can do it in the cafeteria, because I'm bloody starving!"

"Not a chance." He tells her, amused when she looks a second away from yelling at him again. "It's jambalaya day. Come with me."

He leads her to the tunnels because he knows they keep food in a mini fridge there, thrilled when he finds Briar, headphones on as she eats a slice of pizza on a gurney. She's focused on whatever she's watching on her laptop, and only looks up when Jackson pulls the headphones off her head.

"Are these mine?" He asks, endeared by the thought more than he's annoyed.

"Yeah, I didn't have any here." She tells him, before looking over his shoulder at Mara, who is hovering behind him, clearly not sure about her place here. "Hi! I'm Briar Sinclair. It's nice to meet you . . ."

"Mara." She introduces herself with a smile, coming further into the room. "Mara Keaton. I'm here with Dr. Avery–Catherine Avery."

The clarification clears the confusion from Briar's face, and she motions for the two of them to join her on the gurneys, which they do. They end up sitting on either side of her, and Jackson watches with a fond smile as Briar instantly starts sharing her food with the other woman.

"How'd your surgery go?" Jackson asks her, snagging a slice of pizza for himself and giving her the water bottle and fruit cup. She instantly goes for the grapes, just like Jackson had known she would.

"Amazing." She gushes, her entire face lighting up at the reminder. "I had to finish up for Derek because he got paged out of the room, but it all went really well. He said he was proud of me."

A blush darkens her cheeks at the last part, and Jackson is so in love with her. He knows how much Derek's approval means to her.

"Derek?" Mara questions, reminding the both of them that the other woman is still there.

"Derek Shepherd." Briar explains, and Mara's face becomes awestruck immediately.

"We saw part of your surgery from the gallery. It looked great." She compliments her. "I'd love to pick your mind about it later, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Briar assures her instantly. "Are you coming to the gala tonight? We can talk about it, and you can tell me about your own experiences."

"Deal." Mara agrees, beaming at her before looking past her to Jackson. "Have you figured out what you want me to tell your mom yet?"

"Tell her that I'm happy in plastics, that I have an amazing mentor who pushes me constantly." He starts, looking at Briar, who looks confused again. "Tell her that he's been helping me study for the boards, so she doesn't have to worry about me failing out. Tell her that I have an amazing girlfriend, and that I'm very content with how my life is going and don't need her to interfere."

"Hmm, I'll try. No promises, though." Mara jokes, all of them knowing that Catherine is a force to be reckoned with.

Briar doesn't say anything, just holding his hand and pressing play on her laptop, which Jackson now sees is playing one of the Lord of the Rings movies she's so in love with. His headphones have been discarded to the side, and he makes a mental note to bring them home later so that he can charge them.

"Oh, who is that?" Mara asks, leaning forward to see the screen better, and Briar beams as she twists around to see the other doctor better.

"That is Aragorn, and he's the love of my life." She announces proudly, while Aragorn gives a speech to his army.

"Uh, I'm right here." He teases, fully aware that he may as well not exist when Viggo Mortensen is on her screen. Sure enough, she just waves him off behind her back, still focused on Mara.

"Have you never seen these movies? Oh my god. Okay, how long are you in Seattle? We need to fix that right now." She rants passionately, clicking out of the movie and putting on the first one. "They're so good, you'll love them."

"Well, I have another hour until I have to get back to Dr. Avery, and I'm only here for the night." Mara tells her, grabbing another slice of pizza and settling in next to her.

"Awe, well, I'll just have to get your number so that we can talk after you leave." Briar tells her, always one to make friends wherever she goes. They only get five minutes into the movie before Briar's phone goes off, Derek calling her.

"Shit, it's Derek. I gotta go." She sighs, seeing the text from him telling her to meet him in a conference room. "You guys can keep watching, and the pizza's yours."

She manages to stuff the remaining half of her slice into her mouth, her cheeks bulging and making her look like a chipmunk, and Jackson barely manages to wipe the sauce off her cheek before she's rushing from the room.

"I think I might be in love with her." Mara confesses into the otherwise silent room.

"Join the club." Jackson tells her, still watching the hallway that she rushed down, so impossibly fond of the woman he's lucky enough to call his.

✦

"Is everything okay?" Briar questions, frowning at Derek sitting in the conference room, his head in his hands.

"No." He groans, looking up at her as she closes the door and walks over to him. "Mer and Lexie did something so beyond stupid, and I just–I need to talk about it with my sister."

Her heart warms at the word, even though it's not the first time he's referred to her as such, or that she's called him a brother. It still means the world to her every time: she never thought she'd be someone's sister again after Sebastian broke contact with her all those years ago.

"Rant away." She tells him, sitting down in the chair next to him, smiling when she sees that he made her a hot chocolate. She takes a sip, sighing happily when the heat of it warms her chest.

"I left them alone with my patient." He groans, clenching his jaw for a second before he relaxes back into his chair, although he still sounds angry. "It was Lexie's first solo cyst procedure, and it was going great. She did a perfect craniotomy. The patient had a benign tumor that we were leaving alone, because it wasn't causing her issues."

Briar can already tell where this is going, and she can understand exactly why he's so angry, getting up to pace around the room while he talks.

"Callie called me in for your guys' surgery, so I asked Meredith to supervise Lexie as she finished up." Derek continues, finishing his first lap around the room and stopping to drink some coffee. "Lexie knew what she was supposed to do, and she knew to leave that goddamn tumor alone!"

"But she didn't." Briar guesses, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "Goddamn it, Lexie."

"But she didn't." Derek repeats, sinking into the chair next to her again, his head in his hands. "They didn't. And I can't stop thinking about the look on Meredith's face when she came into the O.R. to tell me that they took her tumor out. She was so proud of them for performing an extra operation that my patient didn't consent for, without even consulting with me."

"How is the patient?" Briar asks, positive that she already knows the answer.

"She woke up, which is a blessing in and of itself." Derek says with clear disdain, shaking his head. Briar can understand the anger: surgery isn't something to mess around with, but especially not neurosurgery. "But she now has aphasia."

Briar sucks in a breath, shutting her eyes as she silently thinks about the patient. How terrifying it must be, to wake up and no longer be able to form words. To know what you want to say, but never be able to say it . . .

"Lexie cried when I yelled at her, and Meredith tried to get me to blame it on her instead of her sister, and I am so angry at them both." Derek continues, and it's clear that 'angry' doesn't cut it. "I don't get it. I mean, you aren't running around performing whatever surgeries you want, how you want. There's a process. There's a reason that attendings are in charge instead of residents and–and she's so young. She's so young, and now her life has been drastically changed, by my wife and my sister. I feel responsible."

Briar is shaking her head before the last word can leave his mouth.

"Derek, this isn't your fault. You were being paged into every O.R. in the hospital, and you should be able to trust that the doctors here will–" She cuts herself off, because saying 'respect you' feels a little like pouring salt into his wounds.

"Yeah." Derek sighs, seeming to get where she was going without her saying the words. He gives her a bitter smile, shaking his head.

"Derek." She starts, not knowing what to say to make him feel better, but both of their pagers go off before she can try. In seconds they're leaving the conference room, heading for the pit, but he pulls her to a stop right before they get there.

"Thank you for listening." He tells her, and Briar squeezes his arm before they're thrown into the heat of it.

✦

Briar finds Catherine putting the finishing touches on her makeup in the attending's lounge, and she slips in, relieved to see no one else in the room. She's determined to get this conversation out of the way, for better or for worse.

"Oh, honey, you haven't started getting ready?" Catherine questions, looking her up and down in a way that has her fighting down the instinct to make herself smaller.

"No, because I'm not going to the gala." She says calmly, taking a seat on the couch and watching as Catherine pauses with an earring dangling in front of her face.

"Well, that surgery did sound complicated–"

Briar cuts her off, not wanting to dance around the truth.

"I finished that surgery hours ago." She dismisses, forcing herself to sit up straight, and to meet Catherine's gaze head on. "It's been clear to me that you don't want me to attend, despite Jackson insisting otherwise. If I did or said something to offend you, please tell me, because I truly can't think of anything."

"You haven't." Catherine tells her, not correcting her about anything else, and Briar just nods to herself.

"Okay, well, I'm relieved to know that." She says, standing up and hesitating in the doorway. "You know, Jackson values your opinion, but . . . he's finally doing what he wants with his life, not what you want him to do. Plastics is good for him. I'm good for him."

"Being an Avery seems fun from the outside." Catherine says, her voice soft, and Briar steps back into the room properly. She shuts the door behind her, keeping one hand on the doorknob, and listens. "Being part of a legacy like the one that Harper has brought us . . . the galas, the respect, all the best things money can buy . . . when you don't have it, it seems amazing."

"It's not that I don't like you." Catherine continues, having Briar's full attention now. "You remind me of me. Determined, dedicated, stubborn . . . you're a good match for Jackson, and I've known that for a while now. He adores you, and I just want to protect him in case you decide that this is all too much."

The words click a piece of the puzzle into place, and Briar walks over to her, abandoning the easy escape route. Catherine watches as Briar fixes a piece of her hair that has been out of place, before grabbing the forgotten earring and putting it in for her. She steps back a minute later, satisfied that Catherine looks ready to go.

"I'm not one to be in relationships that I'm not serious about." She tells her, nodding when Catherine looks dubious. "Jackson had to convince me to give this a chance, yes, but that's because of my . . . complicated past. I'm all in for your son, and if that means that I have to attend some stuffy dinners and make small talk with people who condescend to me due to my upbringing, then I can deal with it as long as I have him by my side. If I'm coming home to him, it's all worth it. I'm not giving that up for anything."

"You love him." Catherine acknowledges, looking relieved.

"I do." Briar says softly, smiling automatically.

"Well, then, I apologize for making you feel unwelcome. I would enjoy it if you were to join myself, Jackson and Richard tonight." She says, and Briar knows that she truly means it this time. This is more than pleasant conversations over board games, and a Facebook friend request the next morning: this is actual acceptance.

"I appreciate the invite, but I think tonight should be about you and Jackson. I think the two of you have some things to talk about." Briar turns her down as gently as possible, knowing that she's making the right choice, and she slips from the room feeling much better than when she entered it.

She's halfway down the hall when she falters, did she say Richard?

Jackson and Mara have the same idea as her, skipping the gala in favor of getting burgers and milkshakes from that diner they love, and end the night in their living room. Mara scandalizes Briar when she ends up loving Legolas more than Aragorn, and she gets to tease Jackson relentlessly the whole night, which is a much better time.

Jackson admits to her, later that night with Mara asleep on the couch while they make a fort on the living room floor, that he thought he was being set up with the other doctor. Briar laughs so hard that she has to hide her face in a pillow, not wanting to wake Mara up when she has a flight to catch the next day.

"Oh my god." She wheezes, her body shaking. Jackson throws a pillow at her, looking offended, and she laughs harder, curling up. "Babe, she is so far out of your league."

"I hate you." He whispers, amusement lighting up his eyes.

"Mmm, sure. That's why you defended our relationship to her, because you hate me soooo much." Briar teases, grinning at the sheepish look on his face. "Now, come help me finish this fort so I can watch the love of my life."

"I'm burning these damn movies." Jackson grumbles, even as he starts piling throw pillows into the fort.

"I'll just buy more."

"I'll burn every copy that exists." Jackson shoots back, and Briar giggles to herself.

"You're cute when you're jealous." She mocks him, crawling over and acting like she's going to kiss him, only to move out of the way at the last second. He flips her off, and she smiles into the pillow when he's the one to rewind the movie back to where they left off, intrigued by it even as he pretends he isn't.

She's not ready to say it out loud yet, but she thinks he might be the actual love of her life. 

✦

authors note

sorry for disappearing for a few weeks, but ive been exhausted and I refuse to put writing over my wellbeing. ive missed briar, and you guys. 

briar has a new face claim <3 Jennifer love Hewitt!! I just think she fits the story better, and feels less modern/more 'greys' if that makes sense. also, there's so many scene packs, so maybe I'll get into editing for this story properly :) 

love you guys!! excited for the next few chapters--also terrified because we're getting close to the end of the season.