"I just don't get why he won't answer my calls!" Briar complains, the sound coming out garbled as she brushes her teeth. She leans down and spits the toothpaste into the sink, taking a minute to examine her teeth in the mirror before continuing brushing–and complaining. She's a multitasker.

"Like, when we got a divorce, we promised we would still be friends. We made a contract, I'm so serious. It's notarized. And we've called once a week since then, but I've been calling all morning and he won't answer me!"

"Speaking of divorce," Alex starts, but Briar isn't listening to him, shaking her head in annoyance as she continues ranting.

"And, like, I've been texting him too and I know he got off shift at 8, so why won't he answer? We have a scheduled phone call time for a reason! It's scheduled, Alex!"

"Okay, yeah, that sucks. But about divorce–"

"Alex!" The door slams open, making Briar whine in pain when it hits her side. Meredith gives her an apologetic look before shoving herself inside the room.

"Ow! Mer!"

"Mer?" Alex questions from in the shower. Briar ignores both of them, aggravatedly shoving things aside to find the mouthwash.

"Okay, so Izzie's not here," Meredith starts, pointedly ignoring Briar's mumbled good riddance. "And Cristina's not answering her phone, and–Briar, I thought you were at work, no, wait, I don't care. I have a thing. Alex, I need you to be a girl for me."

Meredith sits on the toilet cover while Alex yanks open the shower door, poking his upper body out of it. Briar grins at the shampoo still in his hair and on his forehead.

"What'd he do? You want me to kick his ass?"

"You can kick Kelly's ass." Briar mumbles, before starting to swish her mouthwash around.

"He wants me to have a baby." Meredith says, making Briar choke. They both turn to her in shock, while Briar blinks at her reflection in the mirror, now covered in mouthwash.

"I just got changed." She sighs to herself, grimacing at the amount of liquid covering the front of her shirt. It was light pink, too . . . Briar doubts that it'll be coming out of the shirt. She really liked that one.

"So you do want me to kick his ass." Alex clarifies, turning back to Meredith while Briar grabs more mouthwash. Hopefully this time it'll stay inside her mouth.

"Alex."

"Do you want to have a baby?" Alex asks her, Briar nodding her head at the question. She hasn't ever heard Meredith say she wants kids.

"A baby doesn't want me. I had the worst mother in the world." Meredith protests, Briar nodding to that point as she stops gurgling, spitting the mouthwash out.

"Hear, hear." She says, thinking about her own nightmares of parents.

"I would be the worst mother in the world." Meredith continues, making Briar frown now.

"Says who?" She asks her.

"Izzie wants a divorce." Alex admits with a sigh, both of their heads whipping around to him. "She sent the papers–the official papers."

About time, Briar thinks, but doesn't say anything out loud. She knows how much getting a divorce hurts, even when it's the right thing to do.

"Want me to kick her ass?" Meredith asks him, making Alex smile.

A knock on the door is quickly followed by Derek pushing it open, blinking in shock at the three of them. "Hey, Alex–"

"He's being a girl for me." Meredith explains, Alex and Briar both nodding.

"Dude, it's true." Alex says, making Briar snort.

"Right." Derek says, clearly making the decision to not ask questions. Smart man. "There's a guy downstairs. Says he's your brother. You want me to send him up here to the bathroom since this seems to be where you receive your visitors?"

Even though she's shocked, she can't resist reaching out and giving Derek a high-five. That one was good.

"Tell him to wait." Meredith says, but Briar shakes her head.

"No, I'll come with you, talk to him. Alex. . ." She makes eye contact with her best friend, having a silent conversation, and then nods. "Love you."

"Love you too!" He calls after her, Briar making a pit stop to grab a different shirt.

"Alex is the oldest, then me, then Amber. Amber's graduating from St. Savior's in May." Aaron's explaining to Derek and Lexie when Briar gets downstairs. "She's. . . she's smart, like Alex."

Briar clears her throat, making them all turn to her, and she quickly puts a smile on her face.

"Briar Sinclair, nice to meet you." She says, holding out her hand, which he's quick to shake. "You must be Aaron! Alex has told me all about you."

"Ah, you're the best friend." He says, and then grins. "I always see you tagging him on posts on Facebook. Which I'm now realizing sounds very stalker-ish. It's–"

"You're all good, don't worry." She assures him.

"Honestly, I've just been shocked that your statuses haven't changed." He admits, making Derek laugh in the background.

"Nah, he's like a brother." Briar explains, and then looks over to where he was just sitting. "Did they get you coffee? Were you on the road for a while?"

Before he can answer, footsteps come down the stairs, and Alex greets his brother with a small smile.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Aaron gets up instantly, moving to hug his brother as he chuckles. "Man, you got old."

"Dude, uh, what are you doing here?" Alex asks again, pulling away from the hug after a few seconds.

"I had to drive to Portland on a job, and since I was in the neighborhood. . ."

"Portland's not in the neighborhood." Alex says instantly. Briar moves away from them and over to the coffee pot, shooing an intrigued looking Derek away from it. In just a minute she's got mugs made for her and Alex, and an extra one she sets in-front of Aaron.

"It's three hours. I do three hours in my sleep."

"Alex, he's your brother. He's allowed to come say hi." Lexie says, making Briar grab her and pull her back.

"Don't get involved." She whispers to her, shaking her head when she goes to talk. "Besides, don't you have pre-rounds? Go."

"Okay, well, it–it was very nice to meet you." Lexie says as she gets ushered out of the room by Meredith. "I'm Lexie, by the way."

"I'm overdue for a visit. It's been seven years." Aaron says to Alex, taking the coffee mug with a smile of thanks. Briar just nods back, scanning Alex.

"No, it has not." Alex starts to argue.

"Since you've been home. Seven years." Aaron confirms.

"You haven't been home in seven years?" Derek asks, raising his hands when both Meredith and Briar turn their glares on him. "Hey, I'm Derek, it was nice meeting you." He adds on, leaving the room.

"Meredith, by the way." Meredith moves forward with a smile, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you. Has it been seven years?"

"Amber was 10 the last time we saw you." Aaron says, and Briar grimaces into her coffee.

"Aaron, what's going on? What do you want?" Alex asks, while Briar and Meredith look at each other.

"I did miss you, okay? And I–I did want to say hi, but since you're a doctor, I thought I'd ask. . ." They all watch as he stands up, lifting his shirt and revealing a large hernia on his stomach. "Should I be worried about this?"

"Well." Briar fills the silence after a moment. "You chose the right people to come to. Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

She reaches over and squeezes Alex's shoulder on her way to the front door, calling out that she'll drive.

✦

"I need one of you in the pit." Owen calls out, making Briar sigh as she waves Meredith on to go with him. It hurts a bit, walking away from the opportunity, but Alex needs her. That's what matters.

"Come on, let's get you situated." Briar says with a smile to Aaron, walking ahead of them to the lobby.

"I honestly don't think I need surgery." Aaron says a little while later, watching Alex fill out his intake forms.

"You do." The two doctors disagree instantly.

"It doesn't even hurt that bad." He tries, but Briar reaches over and touches his arm.

"I know that surgery is scary, but it's necessary in this case. You know it is, or you wouldn't have come all this way to ask Alex for help. If you have any questions, we'll answer them."

"I don't know. . ." He tries, and Alex sighs loudly.

"You have an umbilical hernia. You need surgery. So shut up and fill out the paperwork." He tells his brother, handing over the clipboard and pen.

"I think surgery's just gonna make it hurt worse. You remember when Dad had his gallbladder out?"

"Stop talking and write!"

"Write what? I don't have insurance. Okay? What am I supposed to write?"

"We can talk to Bailey." Briar tells Alex, getting him to look over to her. "We'll ask her to do it pro bono."

"I can't ask her to do that."

"Alex, come on, he's your brother." Briar tries. She knows their relationship is complicated, but this is a necessary procedure.

"Evil spawn has a brother?" Cristina asks, suddenly standing over Briar, who sighs loudly.

"Cristina Yang, meet Aaron Karev. Aaron, Cristina." She waves between the two when Alex doesn't respond. Aaron stands up to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Yang. I'm Aaron Karev."

"Oh, my God. You're so nice. He's so ni–why can't you be nice like your brother–Angelspawn." Cristina says, making Briar laugh at the new nickname.

"Why can't you?" Alex asks back, glaring at her, and she concedes the point.

"Cristina, Meredith needs you." Briar says, ushering her away from them and getting a grateful look out of Alex. "She's in the pit."

"Alex." Briar fixes him with a look until he sighs and nods, rushing out of the room to go find Dr. Bailey. "Alright. Aaron, let's fill out this paperwork. I'm a pro at it by now."

✦

"How is it that your brother is a surgeon and you waited months to take care of this?" Dr. Bailey asks Aaron. Briar frowns at that, never a fan of those questions.

"I don't know." Aaron says, shrugging slightly. "Karev's are tough. I guess five years in foster care will do that to you."

"Foster care?" Dr. Bailey asks, while Briar shuts her eyes.

"Yeah. Me and Amber were in and out, but Alex. . . he had, like, 17 different foster homes in five years."

"Alex was a foster child?" Dr. Bailey asks next, and Briar shakes her head before Aaron can continue talking about it.

"No. Dr. Bailey, if Alex wanted you to know this, he would tell you. We are not going to betray his privacy." She says, staring Aaron down, daring him to say another word.

"Shh, Briar, I'm listening." Dr. Bailey dismisses her, but Briar shakes her head.

"No, you're not. Dr. Bailey, respectfully, this isn't any of your business."

"Hey, what are we doing with 2807?" Alex asks, coming into the room and taking in the awkward atmosphere. He instantly comes around to Aaron's side of the bed. "Dude, are you talking crap in here?"

"No."

"Dude, I work here!"

"So go to work. Uh, check the chest tube in 2807. Go!" Dr. Bailey waves him off.

"Alex, I stopped him from saying anything." Briar assures him, giving him her most reassuring smile. He hesitates, looking between his brother, best friend, and attending before nodding and leaving the room.

"So what happened to make–?" Dr. Bailey starts questioning Aaron again as she helps him lay back down, done with his physical examination.

"Dr. Bailey!"

"Oh, my God, fine, I'll stop asking if you stop whining in my ear!" Dr. Bailey exclaims, glaring at Briar. Briar just stares back, not bothered by her annoyance in the slightest. She'd rather deal with an irate Miranda Bailey than not defend Alex.

✦

"That's my intestine?" Aaron asks her, shocked, while Briar shows him his scans on the monitor.

"Yeah! See this part, right here?" She asks him, using her finger to show him what she's looking at specifically. "That's supposed to be on the inside of the membrane, but for you it's on the outside."

"Dude, that is sick." He gasps, making Briar grin. He talks just like Alex. "Can I get a copy of one of these? I wanna hang it on my fridge."

"My kinda guy." Briar says with a laugh. "I'll make sure to print it out for you. It's cool, isn't it?"

"Are we doing consults at the desks nowadays?" Arizona asks as she comes up behind them. Briar gives her a small smile, focusing back on the scan. It's fascinating. "Just asking 'cause I kinda need to use the computer."

"One sec, let me send this to the printer. . ." She says, doing just that before standing up from the chair. "Arizona, this is Aaron Karev, Alex's little brother. Aaron, this is Arizona Robbins, she's our best pediatric surgeon."

"Nice to meet you!" Arizona says, full of excitement as she shakes Aaron's hand. "How come I didn't meet you at the wedding?"

Briar is going to quit her job after today.

"Dr. Robbins–" She tries to change the subject, getting waved off by the woman.

"Oh! I forgot. No one's family came. Last-minute switcheroo and all that." She says with a chuckle. Briar stares up at the ceiling and wishes to be anywhere else.

"What wedding?" Aaron asks.

"Alex and Izzie's." Arizona says brightly.

"No one's!" Briar shouts at the same time, getting a confused look from Arizona.

"Alex got married?" Aaron asks, and Briar groans loudly.

"I'm just gonna go use the computer. Over there." Arizona says, finally realizing that Aaron had no knowledge about Alex's wedding. Briar watches her go, wishing she could join her, before slowly turning to Alex's brother.

"He got married and he didn't even call us?"

Before Briar can do damage control, Lexie speaks up, having caught the last few moments. "No, it–it–it sounds weird, but it was totally a spur-of-the-moment thing, you know, because of the cancer."

"Alex has cancer!?" Aaron shouts, and Briar can't help but whimper slightly. Why is she here? Why did she do this to herself? She could be in the pit right now. She could be cutting someone open right now—and she sounds like a serial killer.

"Lexie!"

"No, Izzie has cancer." Lexie explains, only confusing Aaron more.

"Who's Izzie?"

"Alex's wife. But she's not really his wife anymore–"

"Alexandra Caroline Grey!" Briar shouts, making Lexie clamp her mouth shut. Briar takes a deep breath before continuing, speaking through clenched teeth. "Stop. Talking. Now."

"Right." She says quietly, her face bright red, and Briar slowly turns back to Aaron.

"Okay, look, I know this looks bad–"

"Looks bad? Our brother got married without telling us! And he–he's what, divorced? Did he–?"

"Alex did nothing wrong!" Briar snaps, jumping to defend her friend. "Alex did nothing wrong. I'm sorry that he didn't tell you about the wedding, but I'm sure he had a reason for keeping it to himself. He's a good guy and–"

"Hey." Alex greets as he heads over to the desk. Briar starts mentally drafting her resignation letter, knowing how this is going to go.

"Dude, how could you not have told me you got married?"

"You told him?" Alex sighs, looking at her and Lexie, who instantly starts stuttering.

Dear Dr. Shepherd,
Thank you for the wonderful opportunities granted to me during my employment at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. I cannot begin to explain–

"No. No. It–it wasn't me. W-Well, some of it was, but–"

how saddened I am to be writing this letter. I have truly been honored to work alongside some of the greatest doctors and surgeons I have ever known.

"It was Arizona Robbins, by accident, and then Lexie–well, you know how she gets. She just started rambling." Briar sighs out, staring at the ceiling once again.

I hope that you'll consider writing me a recommendation letter. Also, please don't be weird at home.
Thank you,
Dr. Briar Sinclair.

Short but sweet. Straight to the point. Unlike a certain blonde who Briar is glaring holes into the side of right now.

"She figured your own brother would already know that you married somebody–!"

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you, because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it."

"It is a big deal! You get married on the spur of the moment, you walk out on your wife–!"

"I did not walk out on my wife!" Alex shouts back. "She walked out on me. She walked out."

"You have any idea what mom's gonna do when she finds out?" Aaron asks, making Briar groan loudly. Here we go. "She's gonna go off her meds."

"She's not gonna do anything because you're not gonna tell her, alright? You're gonna get your free surgery, you're gonna get back in your truck, and you're gonna get the hell outta here!"

"Fine. You know what? I don't need your free surgery." Aaron snaps, making Briar whip her head around to face him. "I'll see ya."

Briar rushes around the desk, blocking the exit before Aaron can leave.

"No! Don't be stupid." She snaps, glaring at him. "You're mad, fine. Be mad. But you need that surgery and you know it. Don't let your pride kill you."

He shakes his head, trying to shove past her, and Alex yanks him back by his robe. Aaron spins around and starts yelling at Alex again, while Briar tries to get in-between them.

"I don't need your crap! You walk out on us, you walk out on your wife? Like father, like son."

"Take that back." Alex growls, grabbing the front of Aaron's hospital gown. Briar shouts and jumps in, trying to pull Alex back and catching an elbow to the cheek in the process. In the next second, after Aaron is shoved up against a door, he hits Alex in his nose with his forehead. There's a loud crack, and then Alex is back to fighting his brother.

By the time the two are separated, Briar has a matching broken nose.

Dr. Bailey is the one to separate them, rushing over and hitting Alex over the head with some files. Briar uses the opportunity to yank him back, grimacing at the taste of blood in her mouth.

"What the hell is your problem?" Aaron screams at Alex, making Briar roll her eyes. As if he isn't the one who antagonized Alex.

"You are!"

"What, you hitting people now too? You really did turn into dad!" Aaron shouts. That's Briar's final straw.

"STOP!" She screams, making Alex falter as everyone turns to her. "Stop. Do you see yourselves? This is not how adults handle issues. Aaron, you don't get to say that, especially not after you broke his nose. Alex, walk away, now. I've got this. Everyone give him space."

Briar waits until Alex is clear down the hall before rushing over to Aaron, who's bent over double.

"I need a gurney!" She hears Dr. Bailey call, the two of them sharing a wide-eyed look before they focus on getting him into the O.R.

✦

"He protected me my whole life, you know?" Aaron tells them, making Briar smile sadly. "Kicked my dad's ass so hard, the son of a bitch never came back. I always thought he did that for me. But maybe he just likes throwing punches."

"No." Briar says firmly, leaning forward to look him in the eye. "Look, I know that I'm biased to your brother, but he did that for you. I did the same thing to my step-father for my brother. I–I hurt him so badly that he was hospitalized for a few days, after he laid his hands on my little brother one time."

She ignores the looks she's receiving from Dr. Bailey and the other inhabitants of the room, focused entirely on Aaron.

"I landed my brother and I in foster care, and he hasn't spoken to me in thirteen years. I know you and Alex aren't getting along right now, but don't doubt that he loves you. If he didn't love you, your dad would still be around. He's not a violent guy, but you can't go around accusing him of being his worst nightmare, and expect him to smile through it. Now, we are going to do this operation, and then you are going to have a talk with your brother. Dr. Bailey?"

"I need you to count backwards from ten for me, okay?" Dr. Bailey takes over, while the mask gets placed over his face.

Briar takes the ten seconds for herself, breathing away all of her stress in the way she's only capable of in the operating room. She ignores the stinging pain from her nose, having not had time to take care of it–instead, she wiped away the blood and put on two face masks before entering the O.R., not willing to waste time on herself when Alex's brother needed her.

"I didn't know either of you were in foster care." Dr. Bailey states, and Briar just nods.

"It's not exactly fun to talk about."

"I understand. Well, I don't, but I won't say anything to anyone. It's impressive, though. . . the two of you ending up here, becoming doctors."

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey." Briar says softly.

✦

"Aaron's surgery went well." Briar says, moving to stand next to Alex, who is currently putting the surgery schedule up on the white board. Part of his agreement with Bailey for the pro bono surgery was him doing her charting. "His hernia defect was large, but Bailey bridged it with mesh. And I know you're upset, but he's going to be waking up in the next few minutes. It'll be good for him to have a familiar face."

Alex just nods, and Briar reaches over to pull him into a hug. He doesn't hug her back, but that's okay.

"What he said to you. . . he was angry, and he's your brother. Sibling's always know how to hurt us the most, don't they?" He doesn't react at all, but Briar smiles at him anyway. "It's your decision, I won't judge you either way. . . but if it was my brother in that bed, I would go talk to him. Let me know if you need anything, okay? I love you."

With that said, she goes to find someone to fix her nose.

It doesn't take her long to quite literally run into Jackson, the two of them rounding a corner at the same time and bumping into each other. Briar yelps and then grabs at her nose, groaning in pain.

"Sorry, sorry! Are you o–Briar?" She hears a familiar voice, groaning as she looks up and tries to blink away the pain, still holding her nose. "Oh, my God, did I break your nose!? Come here, shit, um, let me see."

Briar lets him pull her onto a hospital bed, groaning as he gently pulls her hand away from her face.

"Wasn't you," She says when she sees how guilty he looks, almost as if he could cry, the words coming out stuffy. "It was Aaron Karev, actually. He really has a thing for breaking noses."

"Who?" Jackson asks, frowning as he tilts her head to the side before letting go of her to grab supplies to clean off the blood.

"Um–you know what, it's not important." Briar brushes the topic off, wanting to focus on something other than the drama of her day. "How was your day? Did you get any fun cases?"

Jackson's face lights up as he starts telling her the story of Gina, the officer who took down three men on her own, getting shot in the process. They took her into surgery, only to find out that the bullet was one that could explode on impact, which happened when Cristina tried to stop a bleeder and made it explode into her chest.

"She's alive, though, and the surgery. . . it was exhilarating." Jackson tells her. Briar smiles, unable to look away from the excitement on his face. He's so calm and collected, even while telling the story, completely focused on fixing her nose properly.

"And you're all set. Do I have to go over aftercare instructions with you?" He asks, amusement clear in his voice, and she laughs before grimacing in pain.

"Nope, I think I know what I'm doing. Thanks doc." She says with a mock salute, hopping down from the bed. The move puts them close to each other, before she steps to the side, clearing her throat and hoping she isn't blushing.

"Have a good night, Briar."

✦

"Alright, I bought ice cream." Briar announces, holding up the bag so that Alex can see. He grins at her from his spot on the couch, and she wastes no time in grabbing two spoons from the kitchen before cozying up next to him. "Whatcha watchin'? The news, really? Nope, let's see what's on."

She wrestles the remote and the box of cereal from him, happily munching on a handful as she scrolls through the channels. She ends up putting on an old sitcom they've seen dozens of times, knowing they both need the familiarity.

"Aaron go back home?" She asks, humming when he nods. "Okay. Well, let's eat our weight in cookies and cream ice cream."

They make it halfway through the carton before Briar's phone starts ringing, making her groan as she reaches into her bag. "If this is work, you found me dead." She warns her friend, making him laugh.

She freezes as soon as she sees the contact name, sitting straight up as she answers.

"Sloan?" She asks, worried, and Alex laughs harder.

"I thought you were going to play dead." He tells her, thinking she means Mark, but she shushes him.

"Woah, hey, slow down–what's happening?" She asks, jumping up to throw her shoes on and grab her keys. "What do you mean the baby's coming? Right now? Uh, um, okay! Okay, I'll meet you there. Breathe, okay, you need to breathe."

She runs out the door without saying anything to Alex, her entire focus on the phone pressed against her ear. "Hey, yeah, I'm still here. Do you want me to talk? Okay–uh, want to hear an embarrassing story about Mark?"

✦

She makes it right behind Sloan, who has hung up the phone, and Briar barely throws her car into park before she's sprinting into the apartment building. She's frantically trying to remember everything Addie taught her, and hoping that someone there is more qualified, and she makes Mark scream when she throws open his door hard enough for it to bang off the wall.

"Move, move." She orders him, wincing at the volume of Sloan's screaming. When he doesn't move quick enough, she shoves him out of her way. "Mark, grab blankets. And towels, and any medical supplies you have. Teddy, come here and help me get her on the ground." She orders, moving to get Sloan lying on her back over a duvet she snatches out of Mark's hands. She places a pillow under her hips, and then sets the other blankets aside for after the baby is delivered.

"Okay, Sloan, I need you to focus on me, okay? You're doing great." She encourages, giving her a smile. "Honey, I'm going to undress you from the waist down. Do you want Mark in the room?" When she nods, she gives Mark a stern look. "Okay, stay up there and hold her hand. Teddy, can I have your hands?"

"Tell me what you need me to do." Teddy agrees, kneeling down next to her.

"Sloan, I need you to hold off on pushing until I see how dilated you are. Mark, do breathing exercises with her." She grabs a pair of gloves out of the box Teddy hands her, relieved that doctor's always tend to have the basics in their homes.

"Okay, I'm checking the cervix." Briar announces, feeling better saying each step out loud. It makes it feel more clinical, like she has Addison Montgomery over her shoulder guiding her through it. "Oh, wow. Okay. Sloan, you're crowning, so I need you to listen to me and do exactly as I say, okay? We've got this."

Briar takes a deep breath. "I need to break the amniotic sac, but after that, this is going to go very quickly. When I say push, I need you to listen. For now, breathe."

She blocks out everything around her except for Sloan and Addison's voice in her head. She carefully pinches the membrane and twists, smiling to herself when it breaks and releases the amniotic fluid, not minding her arms and knees getting covered in it.

"Oh, God, what was that?" Sloan panics, Mark shushing her and explaining it as he runs his fingers through her hair. Briar catches Teddy smiling at the sight and pushes down the questions about their relationship, because it isn't the time to worry about that.

"You're doing so great, Sloan." She assures the girl, putting her hand in-front of the baby's head. "Teddy, grab a clean towel and get ready."

"Okay, I need you to start pushing." Briar says gently but firmly, placing light pressure near the perineum to help his head pass. "Good! You're doing amazing, Sloan, give me one more push. Come on, you've got this."

"No, I don't." She sobs, her entire body shaking.

"You do." She hears Mark tell her, and then he leans in and whispers something in her ear, Briar feeling relieved when she visibly gets more determined.

"One more big push, and then you get a small break." Briar tells her, cheering when she does just that, the baby's head passing through. "Stop pushing!" She calls out, turning to Teddy. "Use the towel and clear the airways."

She can't help but sigh in relief when she sees that the umbilical cord is where it should be. She was worried about it wrapping around his neck, and it's relieving to know that this just got slightly easier–for her, not for Sloan, who is doing all the heavy lifting.

"Mark, I need you to go get me a suture kit. I need a clamp and scissors. Go!" She watches him drop a kiss to his daughter's forehead before rushing out the door across the hall, blocking out the sound of him inside Callie and Cristina's apartment.

"Okay, Sloan, this baby is impatient. It's time to get his shoulders out, so I need you to start pushing again. Three, two, one, push!" From there, it's a quick process, the baby slipping all the way out once the shoulders are through. Briar keeps a tight grip, knowing from experience how slippery newborn babies are, and then turns to the doorway when it bursts open.

The looks on Callie, Arizona, Cristina and Owen's faces are hilarious, although she's sure hers and Teddy's are no better.

"Holy mother of–" Callie starts, before Arizona tells her to grab her bag, while Briar shouts for a clamp. Cristina rushes forward, falling to her knees next to Teddy, who quickly starts clamping as Cristina hands them to her. Briar can't take her eyes off of the baby, who still hasn't cried yet.

"Scissors!" Briar calls out, getting handed a pair by Owen. She cuts the umbilical cord in-between the two clamps, leaving the placenta free to pass through as well.

"How is he?" Sloan sobs out. "Is he okay? Is he good?"

"Honey, you did everything right. Arizona. . ." Briar gives her a look, handing the baby off to her, wrapped up in a blue towel. "No sounds."

"Dad." Sloan sobs, the sound making Briar tear up before she focuses back on her, seeing Mark tracking Arizona's walk to the other side of the room with the baby.

"Sloan, sweetheart, you did so good. So good." Briar tells her, hoping to distract her. "In the next few minutes, you're going to deliver the placenta, and we're going to get the two of you to the hospital to make sure everything is good. Okay?"

Sloan nods, looking beyond exhausted, and Briar feels for her.

When the baby starts crying a few seconds later, Briar feels her entire body go boneless for a second in relief.

"Oh, my God." She whispers to herself, feeling Cristina's hand on her shoulder. Her relief is amplified around the room, especially by the Sloan's, and Briar gives them a breathless smile before getting back to work.

✦

"What are you doing here? Are you like surgically attached to this place?" Percy jokes, making Briar slowly look around her from where she's leaning against the wall, drinking her fourth cup of coffee in the last half hour.

"Shh." She mumbles, frowning when she drains the cup a second later.

"I thought you left a few hours ago." Jackson tells her, and Briar sighs loudly as she opens her eyes, seeing that he's surrounded by his annoying Mercy West friends. Fantastic.

"Hmm, I did go home, and then I performed an at-home birth, and now I'm here." She says with a sarcastic smile, feeling her head pulsing. Her entire body is one giant bruise, she has two broken toes and a newly healed broken nose which has caused breathing and talking–two things she's been doing a lot of–to be difficult, and she hasn't gotten any sleep. Oh, and did she mention the headache she's sporting?

"Wait. You–you did an at-home birth? What was it like?" Kepner asks, her eyes wide, and Briar just groans.

"Sure did, Oopsy Bear." She tells her with a smirk, watching her stutter.

"Oopsy Bear?" She repeats, her friends starting to giggle. "Like–like the Care Bear? The clumsy, always making mistakes Care Bear?"

"If the shoe fits." Briar sighs, forcing herself to stand up straight. "Now, who has a good case that I can work on?"

"Let's go find one." Jackson tells her, holding out his right arm, and she laughs as she loops her left arm around it, letting him pull her away. She smirks when she hears the conversation happening behind them, before Jackson starts interrogating her about the birth.

"Did–did she just insult me using Care Bear's? And is Jackson actually–"

"Yep and yep."

✦

"Is that Thomas Evans from Baylor?" Jackson asks Meredith when they cross paths on the catwalk, Kepner trailing behind them. Briar laughs when he cranes his neck back, trying to get a better look at the man walking with Cristina.

"Yes, but don't get too excited. He's only here for one case."

"Oh, are you sure? Because I overheard Chief Shepherd discussing the fact that Dr. Altman doesn't have a permanent contract." Kepner says. Briar has to look away from Jackson so she doesn't burst into laughter, both of them amused by her crush on Meredith's husband. "So it would actually be a really genius move on the chief's part to go in and seize that opportunity to–"

"Oh, here we go again." Jackson sighs, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Meredith asks him, laughter in her voice.

"Shut up." Kepner snaps, making Meredith turn to her in surprise, but Jackson continues talking.

"She thinks your husband walks on water."

"I don't." Kepner says instantly, and Briar adds bad liar to her list of characteristics. "I don't. I, um. . . no, I'm–I mean, it's–it's a professional thing. It's, um. . . a mentor thing. He's–he's just my mentor because he's–he's married. . . to you! And you guys are–are so great and, um, together–together as a married couple, and you–you–you are so great."

"Oopsy Bear." Briar coughs out, both Meredith and Jackson chuckling.

"I, um, I do–I do think your husband is brilliant," She continues, now scratching her head and looking anywhere but Meredith. "But I'm–I'm sure that you think that too, so. . ."

"That's right." Jackson says quietly, setting off another round of laughter for Briar.

"Okay. That, um. . ." The three of them watch her flee from the scene.

"Thank you!" Jackson calls after her, making her walk even faster.

"Oh, I needed that." Briar said. "Okay. Wow. I'm awake now."

"How was the birth? Cristina said you took control. How terrifying was it?" Meredith asks her, while Jackson looks intrigued.

"I honestly think I've never felt so alive." Briar gushes to her, thinking back to how it felt to be the first one holding a human life. "It–it was exhilarating. Like I was the one learning how to breathe. I–I understand why Addie chose that career path now."

Briar looks up from her little rant, seeing Jackson looking softly at her, and flushes bright red. She ignores Meredith's curious look, instead looking behind her.

"Speaking of, I should. . . I should check on them. See you later!" With that she rushes in the opposite direction.

✦

"There she is!" Mark exclaims, pulling Briar into a tight hug, squeezing her as hard as he can before slowly letting go. Briar laughs when he kisses her on her forehead and pulls her into another hug, leaning into it instead of pulling away. "You–you–I love you. Okay? You're an amazing friend and I love you. Thank you for–"

"I love you too, Mark." She says, and finds that she means it. He's matured a lot over the last year, and Briar is happy to call him a friend now. "Don't thank me, okay? I loved doing it. How are they? Is everything looking okay?"

She looks at Arizona for that second question, remembering those terrifying few moments when he wasn't crying, when she thought she messed up.

"He's sleeping, and they're–they're both perfect." Mark says, his eyes watering, and Briar squeezes his shoulder.

"Dad?" Sloan calls out from her hospital bed. "Oh, Briar. H-hi."

"Hi, honey." Briar says, stepping into the room when Mark waves her forward. "I have to get back to work soon, but I wanted to check on you. See how you're doing."

"Thanks." She says shyly, and then takes a deep breath. "Thank you for–for coming."

"Anytime." Briar says, and means it. "I'm glad you called. All right, I'm going to leave you to it, but if you need anything while you're here, text me or have someone page me."

✦

"It was a fishing boat accident and two patients–one with a head lac and abdominal pain, the other, they said something about a fish hook being stuck somewhere." Kepner reports to Derek, her tone and body language making Briar and Jackson look sideways at Meredith, who doesn't look impressed.

"Why would they send a chopper for a guy with a fish hook?" Derek asks her slowly, making Kepner smile at him.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure they said fish hook, Chief Shepherd." She repeats herself. Briar has to cough loudly to avoid laughing. Between the look on Meredith's face, the incredibly awkward flirting from April, and the looks Jackson keeps sending her, she feels like she's in a sitcom. The elevator opens to the helicopter pad, Meredith rolling her eyes upwards while Derek and Kepner rush out.

"'I'm pretty sure they said fish hook, Chief Shepherd. But if I'm wrong, you can spank me.'" Jackson imitates her, Briar losing her fight with laughter at his tone and smirk.

"Shut up." Meredith says with a chuckle, pushing out of the elevator. Jackson gives Briar a grin as they follow, continuing to imitate Kepner.

"'Oh, Chief Shepherd, I do hope I'm wrong.'"

"I've got the son–head laceration and chest injuries." Dr. Bailey reports when they join her, Lexie, and Alex around the patient. They have to scream to be heard over the helicopter blades. "The dad's right behind. Let's go."

The flight paramedics wheel their next patient, reporting instantly. "50-year-old male, penetrating trauma to the chest. Hypotensive in the field, gotten 2 liters of L.R. en route."

They all gasp when the big hook in his chest is revealed.

✦

"Okay, hold it steady. Grey, get in there." Owen orders, getting ready to cut a piece of the hook. "Here we go."

"What do we have?" Teddy asks, her nasally tone making Briar grimace. "Oh my god."

Owen cuts it, making Briar smile and lean in closer. Ever since she went to Kelly's firehouse for the first time, she's had an interest in different tools, like the one Owen is using. She makes a mental note to call him later and tell him about this, if he answers.

She keeps one ear open while Meredith and Jackson explain the accident, more focused on listening to the patient's breathing through her stethoscope.

"We have absent breath sounds and tracheal deviation." She reports just as the monitor starts beeping, Owen announcing that his pressure's at 68 systolic.

"Get me a 14-gauge needle." Teddy says, with Jackson quickly handing one over from the tray behind him.

"Dad?" The first patient stumbles into the room just as Teddy stabs the needle into his chest, the father gasping almost instantly. "What are you doing to him?"

"Grey, get him outta here." Owen orders Lexie, who just appeared in the doorway, grabbing his arm.

"I'm trying. Doug, please."

"Go on, son. I'm alright. Oh, god. What is that? What the hell is that?" He says, growing more frantic when he catches sight of the remaining piece of the hook, and all the blood. Briar looks over her shoulder when the son starts apologizing.

"Lexie!" She shouts, "get him out of here!"

Alex appears next to them, also trying to coax him out of the room, as the dad starts yelling about his injury being his son's fault.

"Let's leave the hook in until we get him to the O.R." Owen says as the kid finally leaves with Alex and Lexie.

"I'm feeling a depressed skull fracture." Kepner tells them, with Derek telling her to order a head C.T.

"Right away, Chief."

✦

"Thought I'd check to see how far along we are." Derek says, walking into the O.R. with Kepner behind him, following his every move.

"Almost ready to extract the hook." Owen tells him, "Suction."

"After they get him off the hook, we'll go in to evacuate the hematoma and plate the skull fragments, right?" Kepner asks Derek. Briar is barely able to stop herself from rolling her eyes at her desperation to be noticed by him.

"No, I thought we'd throw him back in. Catch and release." Derek says, making Briar smile before it falls at the obnoxiously loud laugh Kepner lets out. The secondhand embarrassment is real. She exchanges amused glances with Jackson and Meredith as they listen to her snort and watch her bend over with the force of her laughter.

The joke was funny, but not that funny, and they are in the O.R.

"Thank you, Dr. Kepner." Derek says slowly while Briar bites down hard on her lip, thankful for the mask she's currently wearing.

"Well, Walter's lucky. It looks like he doesn't have to lose any lung." Owen says. Briar is thankful for a change in subject so she can focus on something other than her own amusement.

"Yeah, no thanks to his kid." Jackson says, making Owen hum in agreement.

"Well, it was an accident. It happens." Teddy disagrees, sparking an argument over whether he should've been on the boat in general. Briar raises an eyebrow when the conversation diverges into a discussion between Teddy and Derek that definitely relates back to the permanent position that Teddy wants but Derek hasn't given her.

"We're ready to extract the hook from the man." Owen says, breaking the silence.

"Alright, nobody move but Dr. Hunt."

"On my count. One . . . two . . ." Before Owen can finish, Teddy sneezes loudly, startling Owen into flinching and yanking the hook out. The monitor starts beeping erratically, since the action snagged an artery, and Teddy starts apologizing rapidly.

"God bless you." Derek says snarkily, making Briar sigh as she focuses on helping Owen control the bleeding. They get him stabilized, although he puts up quite a fight.

✦

"Is she sleeping?"

"I don't know."

"Well, wake her up."

"You wake her up."

"No, you–"

"Shut the fuck up before I stab a fork in both of your guys's eyes." Briar snaps, lifting her head up from the lunch table and glowering at Meredith and Alex. They both freeze, gaping at her.

"Jeez. Someone's cranky."

"Mer, I swear I will ruin your life."

"Fine, fine! Alex, how's the kid? Hook Guy is stable for now." Briar sighs but doesn't put her head back down, interested in how her patient's kid is doing.

"Crappy." Alex grumbles, slowly picking seeds out of his watermelon with his plastic knife. "Nothing to do now that we've finished the angio. Lexie's babysitting him now."

"Hey. Have you, uh, seen Evans?" Cristina asks, dropping her tray down with a thud that makes Briar groan and press the palms of her hands into her eyes. "It was amazing. Who saw?"

"Dude, you're like a kid with trading cards, except with heart surgeons." Alex says, making Cristina look at him like he's an idiot.

"Yeah. I gotta have 'em all." She says in a 'well duh' tone.

"I thought Teddy was the love of your life." Meredith points out, and Briar lights up.

"After last night, she's mine." She says honestly. "That would have sucked without her there. I needed the extra hands. Alex, don't say it."

Alex shrugs as he loudly slurps his drink. "Eh, that one was too easy."

Briar drops her head back down as Cristina starts rambling about Teddy and Evans, snorting when she calls herself a cardiothoracic whore.

"Speaking of whores," Meredith jumps in. "Has anyone seen the love-struck intern fawning over my husband?"

"April's not an intern." Alex says, Briar scoffing at him.

"You bat your eyes like that, you're an intern." Meredith tells him, Briar nodding in agreement.

"She acts like an intern." Briar tells Alex honestly. "You should've heard the way she laughed in the O.R. earlier. It was actually embarrassing."

"Oh, don't worry," Cristina waves Meredith's worries off. "That's not Derek's thing."

They all stop and look at her with matching looks of incredulity.

"Anymore." She adds, making Briar laugh.

"I was the love-struck intern. It is his thing." Meredith points out.

"He's grown out of it!" Cristina tries, making Alex scoff.

"Out of what, chicks who shave their legs and laugh at his jokes? Sure he's grown out of it." He says sarcastically, groaning when Briar kicks him in the leg with her good foot.

"Mer, relax. No one would choose Kepner over you. Let's be real here." She says, referring to the way she's been acting around Derek. Meredith did not act like that when she was the love-struck intern.

"I shave my legs." Meredith argues against Alex's previous point, before faltering at the incredulous looks thrown her way now. "Sometimes."

"You could always call him Chief Shepherd." Alex suggests. Briar instantly gags and shoves her lunch away. "I don't make the rules. I'm just telling you, it's a thing. Powerful guys like adoring girls."

"This is why I'm bisexual. To limit my attraction to men." Briar says, grimacing in disgust at the thought.

"Look, whatever. Do what you want."

"Mer, I live with you, do not do that." Briar begs instantly, making them all laugh at her desperate expression.

✦

"Karev, what's the status of your patient?" Owen asks Alex, who has just entered the O.R. where they're getting ready to operate on their patient again. He has a large hemothorax.

"Temperature spiked, but the dude's doing fine. We're running new labs." Alex reports, just as Lexie comes rushing into the room.

"Dr. Altman, stop!"

"Dr. Grey, do you always shout at people right before they start operating?" Owen chastises, but Lexie explains herself before he can continue.

"Doug has klebsiella pneumonia. And I'm guessing Walter here does, too." She pants out, making Briar's eyes widen. "We need to start to imipenem, stat, or things could get ugly fast."

"Klebsiella?" Teddy questions.

"It's highly contagious. . ." Lexie starts, before gasping for air, Briar taking over the explanation.

"Dr. Grey is saying that, with them working in close-quarters, they likely contracted it." She explains. Lexie gives her a nod before continuing.

"I think that hemothorax is a mixture of blood and an empyema."

"Maybe we should open him to check anyway." Owen suggests, while Teddy shakes her head.

"No. I–um, I think I was wrong here."

"Get him out of the O.R., into the I.C.U, now." Derek orders from the intercom, having been watching the entire thing from the viewing room.

Briar takes a deep breath, deciding that she's going to scrub the hell out of her hands just in case. She has to look away from the look on Teddy's face. She really hopes the woman gets to keep her job.

✦

"Hey, Briar, wait up!" Jackson's voice stops her before she can go home, turning to watch him jog up to her, hiding a yawn in her hand.

"What's up, Jax?" She asks him, hoping he'll be quick so she can go home to her bed. She has tomorrow off, a benefit to working today when she was supposed to be off. She has no plans of moving from her bed the entire day.

"Look, uh, I know you're exhausted so I won't be upset if you say no. But we both have tomorrow off, so . . . want to cash in those rainchecks? I'll buy, since you delivered Sloan's baby. That is a thing, right? Free drinks after your first solo delivery?"

"It wasn't . . . completely solo." Briar says, before biting her lip and thinking about it. In the end, it's the hopeful look in his eyes, and the excitement swirling in her gut, that makes her nod.

"I would love it if you bought me drinks." She tells him, laughing when he smiles widely and links their arms the way he did earlier, pulling her away from the hospital.

✦

authors note:
fun fact: i once assisted in a family members sudden at-home birth, and it was the most terrifying, exciting thing ive ever been apart of. pregnancy terrifies me, but i respect people that go through it so much.

also, it's been years since then, so if my knowledge is out of date, please look the other way (or correct me, i really don't mind.)

april's crush on derek is hilarious. she was so obvious with it, and jackson's comments crack me up. i can't wait to get to the end of chief derek, because omfg he's an asshole as chief. i'm really not a fan of him in that position.

jackson & briar finally getting to hang out outside of work!! look at them go!! only took over 70k words... which by the way, feels so insane since i've only been writing this for 10 days. like what??? i might be obsessed with briar.