Briar holds in a yawn, fighting desperately to stay upright. She hasn't had any coffee yet, having come straight from peds to listen to this incredibly boring speech from the Chief, and there's nothing she wants more than even one cup of it.

It's funny, because caffeine doesn't work on her as much as it does other people, but she still falls back on it. The placebo effect in action.

The lecture on their new computer scheduling system becomes more interesting when Derek interrupts Mark only a minute into him approving the system. They're always so interesting to watch, bickering back and forth like brothers.

"Change is good, everyone. Embrace it." Chief Webber finishes, hopefully not seeing the face Briar makes at that statement. She hates change.

Everyone disperses after that, Briar sighing as she walks over to the resident's lounge, quickly gathering up her purse and heading out the door to the laundromat around the corner. She still has an hour before she has to be back on shift, and she has something important to do with that time.

She wishes she was using it to sleep, but Wallace Anderson trumps the need to sleep any day of the week.

"Hi, Andrea." She greets the owner with a smile once she's entered the shop. She's been coming here fairly often over the last three years, and she's built a relationship with all the workers. Andrea is her favorite, a comforting older woman who always talks about her family with Briar. "Oh, I love the red on you!"

Andrea has her hair done in red box braids, currently gathered up in a bun, and she looks gorgeous as always. She grins proudly as she explains that her daughter did them, and Briar makes sure to tell her to extend the compliment. Aisha, who is sixteen, has recently realized that she wants to become a hairstylist. Her mother is often rocking whatever new braid, color, or trend Aisha can think of.

"What brings you in today?" Andrea asks after that exchange, eyes zeroing in on the bag in Briar's hand, which she quickly hands off. Andrea's face lights up when she pulls the coat out of the bag, cooing the same way Briar wanted to when she saw it all those months ago.

"This is adorable!" Andrea exclaims, making Briar laugh in agreement.

"I know, right? The kid's a genius, too. He does rounds with my attending." She explains with a soft smile, thinking of her favorite kid in peds. She isn't supposed to have favorites, but she doubts anyone could know Wallace Anderson and not adore him. "I stayed with him last night because his parents both had to leave and were upset about it, and he made me this bracelet."

She holds it out so Andrea can see it, grinning from ear to ear. It's a friendship bracelet made out of dark blue string, with 'Dr. Sinclair' in multi-colored beads, a variety of rose charms, and red and pink beads. He has a matching one, although his says 'Dr. A' because his wrists are smaller than hers, so his last name would make it too large. She used a mixture of blue beads and charms, including a shark, since that's his favorite color.

"You better keep that safe." Andrea tells her with a smile, before looking back down at the lab coat, running her fingers over the embroidery. On one side, just like her own lab coat, sits the words Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, while the other side reads Wallace Anderson, M.D. "I'm assuming you want this back today?"

"If that's possible." Briar agrees. "I have to get back in an hour, but I understand if you have other orders. I just wanted to get it here quickly, he was really upset about getting it dirty."

Andrea waves her off, already starting to gather products specific for lab coats as she mumbles to herself. Briar smiles at her, glad to have stumbled into this shop a few years ago. It had been a mortifying experience, seeing as she'd been drunk, but it led to one of her favorite friendships.

"I'll be back with donuts." She tells her with a grateful smile, before leaving her to it. There's a cafe a few stores down that Andrea frequents just as often as Briar, and so it's a quick process to get a variety of baked goods and two coffee's. She shoves two of the bags into her backpack to disperse among her friends later, holding the other one in her mouth so she doesn't spill either coffee in her hand, nodding at the gentleman who holds the door open for her. She also tries to say thank you without losing the bag, the garbled noise making him laugh at her.

"Coffee for you, and there's sandwiches and donuts in here." Briar says brightly when she's re-entered the shop. She has forty minutes until she has to be back, and Andrea has already placed the coat in a hot cycle, explaining the process to her. There's a lot that goes into cleaning lab coats, and Andrea's shop is one of the ones with experience in doing so, seeing as she is so close to the hospital.

Briar is pretty sure regulations don't matter as much, seeing as Wallace's lab coat isn't one getting stained by blood and other bodily fluids, but by her container of orange juice he'd elbowed off his table. Still, she doesn't like to make him feel like he isn't one of them, and she wouldn't want to take it to any other shop anyways. Andrea tells her that she'll likely be done in a little over an hour, and Briar quietly resigns herself to being late.

The other residents are frequently late and never in real trouble for it. If her pager goes off, she'll book it to the hospital. Otherwise, she's pushing aside her anxiety about missing something in order to get the kid his lab coat back as quickly as possible.

"How have Aisha and Carter been?" Briar asks after they've gotten situated. Andrea flips the sign on the door to say she's taking a break and they both sit in the lobby. Briar hums around her breakfast sandwich, eyes closed in bliss. She has a thing about being cautious about eating in front of patients; if they can't eat a certain food, she doesn't like to rub it in their faces. Wallace is being fed through T.P.N, intravenously, and so she didn't eat dinner last night in order to stay by his side.

"They're great! Carter has been getting interested in cooking. I think he might end up going to culinary school." Briar opens her eyes, smiling as she watches Andrea dip her donut in her coffee.

"That's amazing! I thought of being a chef once. Ended up choosing a different knife, but I still enjoy cooking. He'll be great, though. He's one of the most determined people I've ever met." Briar says, and then tries to hide a yawn into her hand, making Andrea tut at her.

"I'm assuming you're staying until the coat is finished?" She asks, and Briar nods. "Well, you lie down and get some sleep. I'll wake you up when it's time to leave."

There's no arguing with Andrea, so Briar gives her a quick "yes ma'am," and pulls her pager out of her pocket, wanting it next to her head so that she has a better chance of hearing it. Warmth floods her when Andrea tosses a blanket at her, and she falls asleep moments after wrapping herself up.

"Get up." Jerks her awake what feels like mere seconds later, although from the bag being handed to her, it's been around an hour. "It's been a little over an hour, I was right."

Briar snorts at the smug smirk sent her way, brushing her hand over her hair to make sure it isn't too messy, and grabbing the bag from her. Inside sits Wallace's coat, looking good as new. Briar could almost hug her for that, but holds back, knowing that Andrea isn't a fan of them.

"You're amazing." She says genuinely, before pulling herself up and following her to the counter, where she's handed the receipt. As always, she tips her 100%. If there's any lesson life's taught her, it was to treat service workers with the utmost respect and to always tip them. Andrea shakes her head at her but doesn't try to argue against it, knowing that Briar won't change her mind. She tried telling her once to stop bringing her food if she was going to tip so highly, but Briar is stubborn to a fault.

"Thank you, seriously! You just made a kid's day."

✦

"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, hi!" Briar greets as soon as she's back in the peds ward, running into them right as she gets back to Wallace's room. They smile back at her, although their eyes dart back to their son's room, where he's still sleeping.

"How was he?" Paul asks, shifting his body slightly so that he can see into the room even as he speaks to her. Bethany is looking directly at her, and so Briar makes sure to stare back into her eyes as she speaks, knowing that she needs that contact.

"He's doing great. We had a fun night," She smiles at that, holding out her wrist so that they can both see the bracelet, Paul laughing at the sight.

"Was he upset that we left?" He asks her then, and she takes a moment to carefully choose her words, not wanting to upset them or minimize their feelings.

"He knew why you had to, and I distracted him as much as I could. He's way better at me with Lego's," She says with a teasing smile, receiving a smile from both parents. "Seriously, it was a good night. He perked up when you called, especially since you still did your bad dreams routine, Mrs. Wallace. I'm sure he would love to be woken up by you, though."

"Are you on his rounds today?"

"Unfortunately not." Briar says with a sad smile. If she could, she would do all of her rounds with Wallace. "I have to leave in about twenty minutes to do mine, but if it's okay with you, I'd like to talk to him for a few minutes before that."

"Of course," Paul nods at her, before walking into the room and carefully waking his son up. Briar and Bethany both smile at how excited he gets to see his dad, and how bright his smile is when he turns to see his mom.

"I can come back later, if that's better." Briar offers, feeling like she's intruding on a family moment. She has to do that more than she'd like as a doctor, but it never stops feeling horrible.

"No. No, it's okay." Bethany says with a shaky smile, and Briar gives her a nod, wishing that she could take her pain away. Instead she gently squeezes her shoulder before moving further into the room, giving her a minute to collect herself. She can only imagine how difficult it must be to see your child in a hospital bed, especially when that child is constantly in and out of one the way Wallace is.

"Hi there," She smiles brightly at Wallace as she enters his room, taking a second to admire all of the toys scattered around it. His personality shines through every spot, and she loves it. "I have something for you!"

She grins when she pulls the lab coat out of her bag, especially when it makes him cheer before reaching for it. She hands it over with a laugh, delighted to see him instantly pull it on, despite not wearing the matching scrubs.

"What do we say, Wallace?" She hears from behind her as Bethany enters the room, making her smile. She loves every glimpse she gets of Bethany and Paul's parenting. They truly adore their son, and they've raised him right.

"Thank you!" He tells her with a beaming smile, both of his parents nodding at her in gratitude. She smiles back at all of them, feeling her cheeks hurt but not minding it at all. Times like these make up for the bad moments in peds and remind her why she became a doctor.

"You're welcome. I'll leave you to it, I have to get to my rounds." She excuses herself, pausing when Wallace seems upset about that. "If it's okay with you, I can come back later? We can compare stories about our rounds?"

When all three of them nod, Bethany and Paul looking grateful, she leaves the room with another goodbye.

✦

She's barely exited the peds ward before her pager goes off, Dr. Shepherd requesting her to one of their learning labs. When she enters, she sees she's the last to arrive, although she doesn't see Alex or Lexie anywhere. Just as she's about to ask Cristina, who's vibrating with excitement, Derek starts to explain why they're there.

"Microsurgery is about precision." He says from the front of the room, next to a microscope. "The microscope changes your perspective radically. The hand-eye coordination required can be learned, but right now, I need naturals."

Next to her, Cristina straightens up slightly. Briar gives her a smirk, willing to bet money on Cristina being what Derek is looking for. If anyone's a natural when it comes to neurosurgery, it's Cristina Yang.

"Each one of you will get a chance to guide this pen through the hole in the cup. The person who makes a mark closest to the president's nose and doesn't hit the side of the cup gets to scrub in." He demonstrates as he speaks, all of them watching closely as he makes a mark perfectly on Washington's nose, holding the dollar up to show them.

"Who wants to go first?" All of their hands shoot up in the air.

Briar can't help but cheer and boo people on with Cristina, smirking at each other every time someone gets particularly aggravated at it. The two of them are at the front of the room, Cristina having stolen Steve's chair, and Briar sitting sideways on her lap. They get a few looks before people turn away, most people used to them by now. Derek laughs at them and makes a joke about taking a picture, getting a wink from Briar and a "it'll last longer" from Cristina.

Cristina yawns loudly and dramatically from next to her when Steve goes up, really taking his time. Briar hits her shoulder, annoyed that she's now yawning again. She just got that under control. A moment later, Steve misses the entire cup, making Briar laugh.

"Way to go, two." Cristina grumbles, clapping at her old intern. Steve has the nerve to ask for a do-over, as if do-overs happen in surgery.

Pixie Cut hits the side. The next two completely miss the cup. The guy after that misses the cup and knocks it over, making Cristina question how he got into the program. Cristina yawns obnoxiously again, almost knocking Briar off her lap when she leans back in the chair, Avery and a few others laughing.

This pattern continues until it's Avery's turn, Briar narrowing her eyes at him.

Fail, fail, fail, she chants in her head, annoyed when he does better than anyone before him. He beams as he holds the dollar up to show the mark right on the edge of Washington's nose.

"Nicely done," Derek says with a smile. "If somebody improves on that, I'll be out of a job."

Cristina wastes no time in shoving Briar off of her lap, making Briar smirk over at Avery as she saunters up to the microscope. Cristina is great at neurosurgery, this is going to be so easy.

"Guess you might need to retire then." Cristina tells Derek, making him laugh.

Briar can't wait to see the look on Avery's face when–Cristina fails.

Cristina fails.

She hits the top of the cup, not going into the circle, and Briar can only stare at her with wide eyes while the rest of the room gasps and whispers. Even Avery looks shocked.

"Dr. Sinclair?" Derek prompts after a moment, blinking away his shock. Briar slowly moves to take Cristinas spot, smoothing out the dollar bill before setting it down. She takes a deep, centering breath, forcing herself not to think about all the eyes on her as she takes her time adjusting the microscope. Cristina is an inch taller than her, so she gives herself a minute to move the eyepiece around until she feels comfortable, and then changes the grip she has on the pen.

Very slowly, she moves her hand down, hating that she isn't staring directly at it. Looking through a lens completely changes her depth perception.

She hits Washington's chin. Not horrible, but not the best. Not as good as Avery, which sits wrong with her. Despite how frustrated she feels, she makes sure none of that shows on her face as she winks at Derek, folding the dollar bill and placing it in her pocket.

"Thanks for buying me a coffee." She says with a smirk, making him chuckle at her.

"Like I'm not always suckered into doing that," He calls after her as she moves to sit with Cristina again, who appears to be frozen to her spot. "Alright. Dr. Avery, you're scrubbing in."

"Come on," Briar whispers to Cristina. "Let's go get a coffee, you can bitch to me for a few minutes, and then I have to figure out who my attending is for the day."

She drags her out of the room, desperately needing the energy that a dollar can get her at the coffee cart. Thank you Derek Shepherd.

✦

"Wait, what?" Lexie questions, frowning at Briar, who just explained the competition to her. Briar blinks back, wondering what she's so confused about, as they go to hunt down Sloan. Both of them are on his service for the day, which Briar isn't too excited about. She hates third-wheeling with them.

"Cristina hit the top and–"

"No, I mean, what do you mean there was a competition?" Lexie questions her, making Briar frown back.

"You didn't get paged to the skills lab?"

Oh fuck, Briar thinks, grimacing when Lexie slowly shakes her head, starting to look angry. Briar does not want to be in the middle of whatever this is. Although she clearly has no choice, since Lexie grabs her arm and pulls her to where Derek is talking to Sloan. Briar gives desperate help me eyes to Callie and Arizona as they walk past but they only laugh at her.

"Should I be offended?" Lexie breathes out, out of breath once they reach the two. Briar gives her a look, wondering if she should help her create a workout plan: this is kind of sad. "Because I've been trying to come up with a good reason why you paged every resident to the skills lab but me. Me. Your sister. Your sister, Derek!"

"I think you're on my service," Sloan interjects, before Derek interrupts him.

"Little Grey, I didn't page you because I have another job for you. You gave me the idea, actually." Derek says, sounding amused. "I need someone in the E.R. who's gonna remind me to take breaks, to bend my legs, to drink water. I will be your patient essentially."

Sloan and Briar side-eye each other, neither of them believing that excuse. Lexie does, though, judging by the slow smile spreading across her face. Briar isn't going to be the one to burst her bubble.

"You want me to be your doctor?" Lexie excitedly questions.

"If Dr. Sloan's okay with you giving up his services, of course." He says, making Lexie turn her doe eyes to Sloan, while Briar smirks at Derek. Of course he didn't ask Sloan, and of course he's now asking in a way that would put him in the doghouse if he were to say no.

"You love me, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime tumor." She breathes out, reaching over to grab Sloan. Briar mimes gagging to Derek, who shakes his head at her.

"Go get your rogue on." Sloan responds, making Briar feel like she could actually gag now.

"Didn't need to hear any of that. Please tell me we have some fun patients today." She interrupts before Lexie can respond, although she regrets it when she sees the mischievous look on Sloan's face when he turns to her.

She hates plastics.

✦

A few days later, Briar still feels just as tired.

She's barely been able to sleep, since Alex hasn't been sleeping well, and she doesn't want him going through this alone. As much as she understands the urge to run when things get tough, she can't help but hate Izzie for doing so as she watches Alex suffer in her absence.

She spends her day off waiting for Izzie to come to her appointment.

Alex joins her halfway through her wait–she showed up hours before Izzie's scheduled time, in case Izzie tries to sneak in–and the two of them sit in silence.

When Alex finally breaks, finally cries, it's heartbreakingly relieving.

"She can't be this stupid." He sobs into Briar's shoulder, who just rubs his back and makes sure he's hidden from view of the door, in case anyone walks by. He would hate being seen like this. "This–this saved her life. It saved her life. She can't be this stupid."

Yes, she can, Briar thinks glumly, but tries to force herself to be optimistic.

"She could be getting it at a different hospital." She says, not sure if she believes that idea herself, but needing to. This can't be the end of them, the end of Izzie.

When the door cracks open behind them, Alex stiffens, and Briar quickly turns while still hiding his face in her shoulder. She runs a hand through his hair, and then rolls her eyes when she sees Pixie Cut slowly walk into the room, clearly trying to get a good look at Alex. Not happening on Briar's watch.

"I just wanted to–" She starts to explain, but Briar shakes her head. She doesn't want any part of whatever she's trying to do. She has Alex, they don't need anyone else, especially not someone who has proven to be so judgmental of them. Someone who was recently making fun of his wife.

"Go." She says, her voice flat, and she doesn't look away until Pixie Cut finally turns and exits the room.

They stay there for an hour, Briar letting him cry, rant, and sit in silence, until he decides to leave. She offers to drive him home, but he just shakes his head, saying he needs the space and that he'll see her at the trailer.

"Call me as soon as you're there." She says, staring him down to make sure he really hears her.

After he promises she turns to leave, pausing for a moment before deciding to go to the peds floor. She checks on her long-term patients before going to the locker room, deciding that that's enough of a headstart for Alex. If he needs more space, he can kick her out, but she needs to sleep.

When she enters the room, Avery is sitting on a bench in-front of his locker, his entire body bowed forward. She feels a moment of fear about the surgery–Derek had gone back in to remove the tumor after doing nothing but staring at it for 10 hours the first attempt–before remembering that Cristina had texted her updates. She'd wanted to watch the surgery from the gallery, but her need to be there for Alex had trumped that desire.

It took over a day–she thinks she remembers the count being around 26 hours–but the surgery was successful. They removed the tumor without paralyzing or killing Isaac. A true accomplishment.

She doesn't say anything as she gathers her things, but she pauses before leaving the room, looking back at Avery.

"Are you going home?" She questions, making Avery slowly look up. He looks around as if waiting for someone else to pop up, which is fair. She doesn't make a habit of speaking to him unless it's needed for a patient.

"In a little bit." He says slowly, still seeming confused. She takes a step closer, tilting her head as she examines him. His green eyes are bloodshot, there are bags underneath them, and exhaustion is pouring off of him in waves.

"Come on." She sighs before she changes her mind, waving him up. "I'll take you home."

"What?"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me it's safe for you to drive." She raises her eyebrows, feeling smug when he doesn't do anything but blink at her. "Exactly. Do you want to go home and sleep, or do you want to end up back here on a gurney? So grab your stuff and let's go."

She pulls her keys out of her bag, swinging them around her pointer finger as he slowly gets to his feet. His footsteps are heavy as he joins her, and she slows her pace to make the walk easier for him, hoping they don't run into anyone on their way out.

"Why are you helping me?" He mumbles when they get in her car, leaning his head against the passenger side window.

"My ex is a firefighter. You wouldn't believe how many crashes are caused by someone getting behind the wheel exhausted." She says, thinking back to all of Kelly's rants about it. "I know how it is to get out of a full day surgery, when the adrenaline crash hits, it's dangerous."'

"Thanks." He mumbles again, his lisp more prominent in his tired state, and she nods. She's unsure what to say for a second, before realizing she doesn't know where to go, and asking for his address. They don't speak for a few minutes, Briar completely focused on the road, before he starts a different conversation.

"I think I get it now." He says, and she waits for him to continue, only to be met with silence. She chances a quick glance at him, seeing that he's turned to face her.

"Get what?"

"What you said that day, about Seattle Grace being different from Mercy West. I thought that was bullshit, you know, the type of shit you say just to prove a point? But. . . today, watching Dr. Shepherd give his all like that, watching the other attendings put their own careers on the line to help him do a rogue surgery? That never would've happened at Mercy West. So I. . . I think I get it."

"If you heard Percy make that comment about Izzie, calling her his bitch, today: what would you do?" She questions in response, finding herself genuinely curious about his response.

"I–I don't know." He says slowly, sounding and looking confused. Briar gives him a minute to add on to that, but she isn't surprised when he doesn't. She can tell that he's being honest, which she can respect, even if the answer isn't what she was hoping for.

She parks the car outside of the apartment building. He apparently shares it with Percy, as he told her when he started giving her directions. She knows it can be hard to stick up when the bully is a friend, and them being roommates makes it harder, but they're all adults. She doesn't want to waste time on anyone whose morals don't align with hers.

"I respect you for being honest." She says just as he's stepping outside of the car, making him stop and bend down to look back at her. She looks him in his eyes, wanting him to really hear what she has to say.

"You don't get it. Seattle Grace is about more than hardcore surgeries. It's about standing up for each other, helping each other, being understanding and loyal. The attendings stood outside that room for hours, changed their own schedules, and stood up to the chief because they believed in the surgery and are loyal to Derek. That's what makes Seattle Grace such an amazing hospital. We don't have room for bullies, or for friends of bullies who don't step up and stop it. That's what I was saying that day."

When Avery simply stares at her, she gives him a nod.

"Congratulations on winning the contest and on a successful surgery, Dr. Avery. Have a good night."

With that, she leaves him behind, staring after her car in silence.

authors note:
this chapter was written just now in a hospital waiting room, after i found one my brother had what we believe to be a seizure that led to a stroke. he's getting a lot of tests done, and it's going to be a long night. if you're reading this, take it as a sign to drink some water & take care of your body and mind as much as possible.

i honestly wish wallace got more screen time. also, i know there's a lot of debate about his parents, but i see them as devoted, desperate parents. i loved wallace, and im already emotional thinking about the next chapter.

im going to be honest, this isn't going to be one of those fics that revolve around the love interest. i love developing my oc's as much as possible, and im a firm believer that the healthiest couples have lives outside each other. so there's going to be a lot of focus on briar's friendships, her patients, and her life in general.

this has been so much fun to write already <3