Jackson and Briar barely close the front door behind them before Briar is being yanked into a bedroom. She yelps when she's dragged down to the bed, barely getting a second to kick off her heels, and almost smacking her head on the bed frame.

"Meredith, what?" She asks, gaping at her friend, who is clearly panicking. Her hair is a mess, and she's pacing in front of Briar, looking terrified. "Mer? Hey, come on, speak to me."

"Derek wants to adopt Zola." She blurts out, before letting out a whimper and falling onto the bed next to Briar with her hands covering her face.

"Do you . . . not want to adopt Zola?" Briar asks carefully, worried that that's the issue. She doesn't actually know Zola since she wasn't assigned to her case, but Derek, Alex and Arizona seem enamored with her. Derek really is, if he's dreaming of adoption paperwork. "'Cause if that's the case, you need to be honest. Adoption is difficult and the last thing you need is–"

"No." Meredith says, although it comes out sounding muffled. "No, I want to. I just–I don't know how to be a mom. No sane person would let me adopt a baby. They're going to look at my history and blacklist me. How did you do it?"

"I haven't." Briar says slowly, starting to worry that there's something wrong with Meredith's memory. "I've never adopted a baby, Meredith. I think you'd know if I had."

"No, no." Meredith scoffs, waving her hand in the air. "Not that, just–you're a foster parent, right? How'd you do that?"

"Oh!" Briar says, feeling like an idiot. Of course that's what the question was. "Um, it seems overwhelming, because there's a lot of paperwork and interviews and the home visit and–I'm not helping. Mer, you've got this. How about we do a mock interview?"

Meredith perks up at this, sitting up straight. "Really?"

"Yeah." Briar nods, before frowning and standing up. She rifles through Meredith's dresser for a moment, pulling out a pair of her pajama shorts and an old t-shirt. She gets changed right there, tossing her dress at Meredith with a laugh before throwing herself back on the bed. "Alright! Um, first question: Why do you want to adopt?"

When Derek comes home hours later, it's to find them sleeping wrapped around each other. He just laughs and slips into Meredith's other side, used to this sight from their intern year.

✦

"Hey." Briar greets Jackson, leaning against the doorway to the bathroom. Jackson is brushing his teeth, but he nods at her through the mirror. She laughs when the movement makes toothpaste drip down his chin, moving in to grab her hair products and start braiding. "Sorry that we didn't get to talk last night. Meredith really needed me."

"I noticed." He says after spitting, sounding amused. "She almost made you trip with how hard she pulled you. Is she okay?"

"Yeah." She says, beginning to comb through her hair. "Just . . . girl stuff."

She's not sure how public Meredith plans to be about the adoption right now, and she won't be the one telling anyone. They don't talk for a few minutes, Jackson washing his face while Briar works on her dutch braids.

"So . . . want to have that talk?" Jackson asks after he's done, turning to face her. He leans against the counter, and Briar looks at him for a second before she returns her gaze to the mirror, wanting to make sure the braids stay even.

"I don't really know what to say. I had a great time." She admits, because she did. She really liked how easy it was: no pressure, no big expectations. Just them with her favorite people in the world. As far as first dates go, she couldn't ask for a better one. "And I–I want to continue that. I just . . ." She trails off, frustrated with her own inability to word what she wants.

"Don't know how to?" Jackson asks, and she nods, glad that he seems to understand. "Yeah, I get that. I think–maybe I'm wrong, but I think your worry comes from not thinking about how fun this can be. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything serious from the start, although it doesn't help that idea when we already live together. I just–I want to go on dates with you, to the movies or to restaurants or wherever, and I want to walk you to the door after. Well, it'd be your bedroom door, since it'd be pointless to say goodbye at the front door and then follow you inside, but–"

Briar cuts him off with a hand over his mouth, having finished her braid during his rant. She can't stop smiling. He's so sweet, and Briar doesn't know what she did to deserve this.

"Okay." She says, grinning at him. "Okay, let's date."

"Really? You're sure?" He asks her, giving her a toothy smile. The sight makes her smile wider.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm still a little scared, but I want this. I really want this." She admits, leaning in to kiss him before Derek's voice makes her jump.

"I'm thrilled for you guys, truly, but can you have this confession somewhere else? I really need to go." He says, sounding desperate, and Briar laughs as she turns to the still-open door, surprised that neither of them noticed Derek standing there for however long.

"Sorry, Der. By the way, you should make sure the dream house has more than one bathroom." She tells him through her giggles, pulling Jackson out of the room after her. Derek just rolls his eyes at her, ducking into the room and slamming the door shut behind him. "Oh-kay. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"'Cause someone was on my side!" He shouts back, but Briar ignores him in favor of hunting down breakfast, still holding Jackson's hand.

✦

"Briar, hey!" She hears behind her, turning to see Henry, who she hasn't seen in weeks. "Sorry if I'm bothering you–"

"Never." She assures with a warm smile, stopping so that he can catch up to her. They've only met properly once, since she wasn't on his care team and she hasn't spent much time with Teddy outside of work in months. The two of them got married–Teddy's idea, when she realized that he was going to die due to a lack of medical insurance. "How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah." He says, smiling back at her. "I'm not here for me–well, I am, but for personal reasons, not medical ones. Kinda. I was wondering if you'd seen Dr. Webber around?"

"Oh, he's always everywhere." Briar tells him, before twisting around and calling out to a nurse. "Hey, Connor, have you seen the Chief?"

"Vending machines."

"Do you want me to walk you? I've got some free time." Briar tells Henry.

"If you wouldn't mind, that would be great." He tells her, sounding relieved, and she wastes no time in updating him on some of the drama inside the hospital. During the quick walk, she finds out that he's got a real sense of humor, and she makes tentative plans to go out with him and Teddy whenever their schedules align.

She leaves him with Richard, before heading off to the conference room where she's meeting Owen for her Chief Resident interview.

✦

"On paper, your resume for Chief Resident looks amazing." Owen tells her from the other side of the conference table. "You have the highest reviews from your interns, with a note from Webber that you are to be the first in your year asked about taking on new interns. You're a good leader, and you get on well with the nurses and, ahem, most of the attendings."

Stupid fucking Stark, Briar thinks, knowing that he would've complained to Owen about her the first chance he got. They've bumped heads more than once since the saw incident. She hasn't exactly played nice on any of those occasions.

"You plan to become double certified, and you've logged in an impressive amount of surgeries in both fields." Owen continues, while Briar tries not to fidget. She feels way too awkward, and wishes he would start interrogating her. Anything would be better than this.

"I think a lot of people expect you to be the Chief Resident, but I'm not sure I see the drive in you." Owen admits, staring directly at her. "Kepner has an idea for a new system for the pit. Karev brought over all of those kids from Africa. Avery and Grey are both on clinical trials. I'll be honest, I was excited to see what you would bring to the table when the competition amped up, but you didn't bring anything."

"No, I didn't." Briar admits, watching as he tilts his head to the side, perhaps surprised that she isn't trying to defend herself.

"Why not?"

"Honestly? I don't know that being Chief Resident is what I want." Briar says, feeling relieved as soon as the words leave her mouth. "I've been thinking about what I want from my final year of residency, and I want a lot of things. I want more field experience, because I barely have any. I want to perform more spinal surgeries. I want to teach more, because it's been a long time since I had any proper interns, and I really enjoy teaching. I want a lot of things, but none of them involve being Chief Resident and worrying about schedules and morale and all of that. I would if I have to, but I don't want it the way the others want it."

"I see." Owen says, nodding his head. "Well, I appreciate the honesty. It's good to know what you want. I'll talk to Webber and Torres and see about getting you some field experience. You have certifications, don't you?"

"I do." Briar confirms, giving him a thankful smile. "I'm certified in swift water, collapse, confined space and rope rescues. Oh, and vehicle extrication."

"You've been busy." Owen notes, looking surprised, but Briar shakes her head.

"Perks of marrying a lieutenant with the CFD." She explains. "He insisted on me getting certified in all of it. He said that even if I didn't go into trauma surgery, the experience would never hurt."

"Smart man." Owen acknowledges, before looking at his watch. "We're both needed in the pit, but I'll talk to Webber later. I don't want all of that knowledge wasted."

✦

"I need you to speak girl for me." Alex says, dropping down on the gurney next to Briar, who raises her eyebrows at him.

"Who'd you piss off now?" She asks, dunking a celery stick in peanut butter. It's the only way she can manage to eat celery, although she's sure any health benefits are destroyed by the amount of peanut butter she adds to it.

"Lucy." He grumbles, opening a bag of chips. Briar looks at the label before stealing one when she sees that they're BBQ flavored.

"Right. And what'd you say?"

"Well, Arizona told me that I should consider taking her old job in Africa, since they still have an opening and I've built a rapport with them." He says casually, while Briar feels her heart drop. That would be an amazing opportunity for him, but Arizona's assignment was originally for 3 years. She can't imagine losing him for that long, or for any time at all.

"Okay." She says weakly, setting her tray aside, suddenly not hungry.

"Except Lucy got all pissy when I was on the phone with them, said that it didn't seem to matter what she thought, and then stormed off." He says with a huff. "All of this after she told me about a job opportunity at Baylor, but that she wasn't sure if she would go because of 'considering factors' whatever that means."

Briar stares at him for a long second, until he furrows his eyebrows at her. "What?"

"Alex, you're an idiot." She tells him with a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "She doesn't want to move because of you. Because you two are together, or whatever it is that you're doing, and so she wants to discuss potential job offers with you. Not just as an afterthought."

"Oh." He says, looking surprised.

"Yeah. Moving affects more than just you, you know?" She tells him, trying not to be bitter that she's only being told about the job opportunity after his fuck buddy.

"You know that I wouldn't want to leave you behind, right?" He asks back, looking worried now.

"Well, I'd hope not." She says, trying to laugh away her feelings. "I get it, it's a big opportunity. You should do what you want to do. What's best for your career?"

"Yeah. I should probably talk to her though. I told her that I'd have nothing here if I didn't take the job or become Chief Resident." He says, and Briar has heard enough, shaking her head and walking away. There's no way he just said that to her.

She finds Meredith just before they reach Cristina, who looks excited in a way she rarely has since being kicked from Teddy's service.

"I'm getting ready to remove a tree from a guy's lung, no time for mommy prep." Cristina tells Meredith, who is holding a parenting help book.

"Okay, what if the social worker wants to ask me about the time I spent sleeping around Europe?" Meredith questions, all of them walking Cristina to the elevator.

"Oh, that's easy. You were absorbing other cultures." Cristina says.

"Uh, did you sleep with the social worker in Europe?" Briar asks with a laugh. "I mean, how would they know about it?"

"Oh, God, don't even joke about that." Meredith panics, before moving to her next concern. "What about the fact that my mother had early-onset Alzheimer's and may have passed the gene onto me?"

"Makes you more appreciative of the gift of life."

"Also, it makes you more determined to cure it with your trial." Briar adds, before sighing. "While we're giving advice, any tips to make Alex stop being an asshole?"

"What'd Evil Spawn do now?" Cristina asks, looking excited.

"Well, apparently without the Africa project and Chief Resident, he would have nothing." Briar complains, getting ignored by Meredith.

"I put my hand on a bomb in a body." Meredith says next. "She could think that was–"

"Suicidal?" Cristina suggests. "No, it was brave."

"Four years of friendship." Briar complains, scowling down at her sneakers.

"Uh, yeah, I told a shooter to shoot me." Meredith continues, just as they get to the elevators and Cristina jumps in. Briar's frown deepens when she sees Alex in the elevator.

"Change the subject." Cristina suggests right before the doors close, leaving Meredith and Briar to stare at each other.

"Fuck Alex." Meredith tells her, making Briar laugh. She reaches out and grabs Meredith's hand, leading her to a conference room so that they can go over what to say to the social worker again. Maybe the seventh time is the charm.

✦

"Cristina hates me." April blurts out as soon as she sees Briar, who just stares back, holding her jacket in one hand. "She was starting to like me, but I went over her head to Altman and the Chief about her tree-in-lung guy and now she hates me again."

"Look at you, being a shark." Briar says with a proud smile, linking arms with her. "Good for you. I'll buy you a drink, come on."

"Do you think I'm dumb for trying to be Chief Resident?" April asks, sounding nervous. Briar pulls her closer to her, shaking her head instantly.

"No. Why? Did Cristina say something?"

"She said it would never be me." She sighs, sounding hurt. "She's probably right. I mean, compared to all of you–"

"Don't do that. Don't compare yourself, April." Briar tells her. "We can do that all day long. We all have different things that we're better at. And, for the record, I think you'd make an amazing Chief Resident."

"You're just saying that."

"When have you known me to say anything I don't mean?" Briar asks, pulling them to a stop and making April look at her. "I actually told Owen that you would be my choice today, that's how much I believe it."

"Really?" April asks, tears forming in her eyes, and Briar has to pull her into a hug.

"Really. You're organized and dedicated. You care about your patients more than anyone I've ever seen. You took the time to learn an African dialect so that you could speak your patient's language. I mean, none of the rest of us do things like that. You'd be great at it."

"Thank you." April says, before pulling back and wiping away her tears. "I think you'd be great too. I really want to win, but if I don't, I hope it's you."

"Thanks." Briar gives her a smile, not wanting to tell her that she all but pulled herself out of the running. "Now, enough sappy shit, I need to drink away my annoyance at Alex."

Except, apparently Briar can't have anything, because Alex is at the counter with Cristina when they arrive. Briar ignores him even as she grabs the spot next to him, waving Callaghan over and ordering drinks for her and April.

"You know, the rules are there for a reason." April says boldly, looking over at Cristina.

"Oh, boy." Cristina sighs, taking a sip of her drink. April shoots a quick glance at Briar, who nods for her to continue, wanting her to get it all off her chest.

"I killed a woman when I first started here. I got fired for it . . . because I missed a little step–one simple step." She says, sounding angry at herself in a way that Briar finds heartbreaking. "We follow the protocols, we don't skip steps, people live–simple as that. You know, you're right, I probably won't be Chief Resident, but the checklists work. You can't tell me they don't."

Briar follows her when she moves away from the counter, tugging her over to play darts.

"Feel better?" She asks, amused when she nods.

"Yeah." April admits, going first. Briar watches her, leaning against the wall and waiting for her turn. "You should go yell at Alex for whatever he did."

Briar considers it for a second before shaking her head.

"Nah, it's fine. We'll be alright." She decides, knowing that they'll talk it out eventually. They always do. She doesn't have the energy to fight with him.

They play two rounds before her phone starts ringing, and Briar answers as soon as she sees that Mark is the one calling, leaving the building to hear him better.

"Is Sofia okay?" Is the first thing out of her mouth, relief hitting her when he confirms that she is.

"I was calling to tell you that I take back my blessing." He says, confusing her.

"Uh, what blessing?" She asks, leaning against the building and looking up like the sky will have an answer for her.

"For you and Jackson." He says, only further confusing her.

"Okay, I'm lost." She admits. "First of all, I think being a father is getting to your head, because I don't need a blessing from you. I respect your opinion, but I don't need it."

"Sure, sure, but you can do better than a guy who drops out of clinical trials." Mark says, sounding disgusted.

"Uh, no, we're not doing any of this. Jackson is great and we've been dating for a day. No one is allowed to sabotage it, and I'm not ending it because he–wait. Did you say he dropped out of the trial?" Briar asks, freezing. She hasn't heard anything about that.

"Uh, yeah. He dropped out this morning, I just heard about it from Callie. It's such a dumb move–"

"I have to go." Briar rushes out, hanging up and running back in to get April. She can't think of a single good reason for Jackson to have dropped Webber's trial, not when he was so excited about it just yesterday. Whatever's happening, she's sure he'll want April at his side the same way she will always want Alex at hers.

They find him in his room, lounging on his bed with his phone out. He looks up when they both enter, looking surprised for a moment before he looks pleased, nodding for them to sit on his bed with him. They do so, sharing looks of confusion, having expected him to be a mess.

"Hey! I was just about to text the group chat to see if you wanted to hang out." He tells them with a laugh, tossing his phone aside.

"Uh, we heard about the trial." Briar says slowly, watching as he doesn't lose his smile. "Jackson, what happened?"

"I dropped out. It's alright, I'm not upset about it." He assures them, before nodding to the door. "Anyway, want to watch a movie? April, it's your turn to pick, right?"

"Um, yeah." April stumbles out, gaping at him. "Are you really okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Seriously. My life is really amazing right now." He says, gesturing for them to leave the room. April goes first, shaking her head even as they hear her start listing off movie options. Briar goes to follow, only to be pulled into his arms and kissed as soon as the doorway's clear.

"You're sure that you're okay?" Briar asks him, holding eye contact when she pulls away. He nods, kissing her again quickly before pulling back.

"I am. I have everything I could want, so why wouldn't I be?" He asks, delighting in making her blush before pulling him after her down the stairs, where she cuddles right up to April, leaving Jackson to sit on April's other side.

They put on a romantic comedy, and Jackson ends up being the only one actually watching it, while April and Briar gossip about work drama the entire night.

✦

"Hey." Briar knocks on the wall to Henry's room, walking in when he looks around and waves her in. He got into Webber's clinical trial, and is going to be undergoing surgery. "I come bearing gifts."

"Best gifts ever." He laughs when she pulls her hands from behind her back, revealing a deck of cards, UNO, and a pad of paper.

"Your choice: UNO, rummy, or pictionary?" She asks, snagging the seat next to him.

"UNO, obviously." He says, watching as she opens the box and starts shuffling the deck. "Did Teddy put you up to this?"

"Nope, I haven't seen her at all. I got here early and saw your name on the surgery board, so I figured I could save us both some boredom." She explains, starting to deal before flipping over the first card: yellow 7. "You go first since I dealt."

He plays a yellow 9, followed by her playing a green 9, only to be hit by a wild +2 and assigning the new color as blue. She sucks on her teeth as she picks up the cards, hating to gain so early on.

"So . . . Andrew Perkins." He says, placing down a blue reverse card followed by a blue 3. She grimaces at the name.

"Ugh. What about him?" She asks, throwing down a blue 6. She has a handful of green cards, since she apparently sucks at shuffling. In her defense, it's been a while since she had time to play cards and practice.

"You don't like him?" He asks, throwing down a green 6 and making her bite back a grin, not wanting to give away her hand.

"I don't know him." She says carefully, playing a green skip, followed by a green reverse, and then a green +2. He whines about it not being fair as he picks up, and she just smirks back as she waits for his move. He picks up four cards until he can finally throw down a green 0. She responds with a green 2. "He was the hospital's therapist after we had a shooting here. He had to clear us to operate again."

"Ah." Henry says, looking surprised when she glances up at him. He plays a yellow 2, and she changes the color to red. He plays a red 3, and she beams as she puts down a blue 3.

"Uno!" She calls out, bouncing in her chair before looking at him curiously. "Why do you ask? About Perkins, I mean."

"He's dating Teddy." He says, sounding pained. "She's leaving to be with him."

Oh, Briar thinks. Of course he's in love with Teddy–who wouldn't be in love with the gorgeous surgical attending with a big enough heart to get married to a man so that he has access to medical insurance. Briar wouldn't stand a chance, in his shoes.

"Hmm, between the two of us, I like you better." She says with a wink, hoping to lighten his mood even just slightly. He smiles at her even as he puts down a blue 1, making her cheer as she throws down her last card, a green 1.

"Alright, I have to go get ready for rounds, but if you want I can come beat you at more games later." She suggests with a smirk, pleased when he accepts the offer. When she gets a glance of him before leaving, he looks upset again, and Briar hurts for him.

She wishes Teddy would see what's right in front of her.

✦

"So, they're probably gonna fire me. Are you happy now?" Meredith asks Alex as soon as she walks over to their group of resident's. All of them are getting their assignments for the day, and all of them stop what they're doing when she speaks.

"Oh, come on. They're not gonna–" Alex starts, while Briar stares between the two, completely lost.

"I want your crap outta my house by the end of the day." Meredith informs him, rushing away.

"What the hell was that?" Cristina asks him.

"What did she do?" Briar asks next, making Cristina turn on her.

"What do you mean, 'what did she do?'" She snaps. "He's the one getting her in trouble!"

"If she's getting fired, it's because she did something." Briar says back, turning to Alex. "Alex, what's going on?"

He doesn't get the chance to answer due to all of their pagers going off. They drop the subject, running to find Hunt and Webber to get their orders.

"A 757 went down in the sound." Webber tells them, standing on the staircase with Hunt. "We're looking at about 200 injured passengers. We're the designated crisis center. Families will be instructed to come here to find their loved ones. We are activating surge protocol. Dr. Hunt is gonna be running the show. It's gonna be chaotic. You need to listen carefully. You need to stay focused. Do not contribute to the panic. Now get to your stations."

"Dr. Bailey, let's clear any beds we can." Hunt instructs as he leads them to the pit. "Discharge or transfer."

"Okay. Uh, Grey." Bailey orders, taking Meredith with her to do that.

"Alright. Torres, Sinclair, you're with me." He orders, with Callie and Briar moving to stand next to him. "Kepner, set up the E.R. for triage. Other Grey, I want you running the family center. Take over in the cafeteria. Yang, blood bank."

"Uh, we might need a candyman?" April suggests, making Owen nod.

"Dr. Sloan will be our candyman. Let's be liberal with pain meds for our victims and sedatives for patients that we are moving. Uh, Avery, you can help him out. Let's move, people."

"What happened with Meredith?" Cristina rushes forward to ask, grabbing Owen.

"Cristina, I can't–"

"Owen!"

"She tampered with Shepherd's study. Invalidated the results. She destroyed the whole thing." He admits in a whisper. Briar freezes, having overheard the whole thing. She doesn't stay to listen to anything else, rushing to help clear every available bed incase of survivors.

"Why'd you give me that guy in the middle of a mass trauma?" Mark questions Owen, nodding to Jackson.

"Avery?" Owen checks, surprised by the question.

"The kid quit Webber's study. What kind of idiot decides working with the Chief of Surgery is too taxing on his schedule?" Mark asks with a scoff. Briar shakes her head from the bed next to them, forcing herself not to defend Jackson. He explicitly asked her not to, and she's respecting that decision even though it feels horrible.

"He didn't quit because he thinks it's too much hard work." Owen informs him. "He quit because he thinks the Chief has a shot at a Harper Avery, and he was worried that if his name was on it, it would kill Webber's chances."

Mark looks like he's really considering that, and Briar is glad. She wants the two of them to get along, but she refuses to force that relationship. Either way, she's glad that one more person knows how selfless Jackson was by dropping out of something he loved being a part of.

✦

"Move over." Briar orders with a sigh, forcing Alex to move over so that she can join him on his hospital bed. They're all waiting for patients--if there are any survivors.

"I thought you hated me too." He grumbles, and she rolls her eyes even as she makes herself comfortable, leaning her body weight against him.

"I'm pissed at you." She corrects, shaking her head. "I could never hate you, Alex. You're my best friend. This whole Meredith thing isn't your fault."

"You don't know that."

"I do, I heard what happened. She's the one at fault." Briar states, because as much as she loves Meredith, she can't always blame everyone else for her decisions. She tampered with the trial: whatever happens is her fault. "I'd never hate you for someone else's actions."

"Well, Cristina can do it for the both of you." He snorts, although some of the tension leaves him at her words.

"Oh, what'd she say?"

"You know, the classic: Meredith is the only one who cares about me and I destroyed her life. Oh, and that I should find a skanky intern because if I'm in a burning building no one will give me a glass of water." He repeats, causing Briar to sit up and turn to him.

"You know that's bullshit, right?" She asks him, frowning when he still looks depressed. "Alex. First of all, I'm the first one who cared about you, so that's just factually incorrect. Look, people are pissed but none of this is on you."

"Sure." He says with a sigh.

"Besides, I have some firefighter training." Briar says, trying to lighten up the mood. "I'd totally save your life."

She succeeds in making him laugh, which is all she wants.

✦

"Still nobody?" Lexie sighs, joining them a while later. "Oh, their families are going crazy. What's taking so long?"

"Well, fishing 200 people out of the water is slow business." Mark responds. Briar shares a grim look with Owen over her shoulder, knowing the odds of anyone surviving is near zero at this point. "You want to play Angry Birds?"

"They'll do triage at the waterfront. It takes time." Owen tells her when she looks annoyed with Mark, crossing her arms at his suggestion. "Actually, if it takes this long, there's gonna be a lot of hypothermia. Kepner!"

"Oh, yeah! Warm blankets, heated lamps, and heated I.V. fluids. Got it." April rushes to get all of that ready.

"You post Chief Resident yet?" Mark asks.

"Uh, no. Not yet." Owen says back.

"What's the holdup?"

"The suspense ain't killing me." Callie says, wheeling over. "It's gonna be Sinclair. My girl is working her ass off to be double certified."

"Well, I thought Karev made a great play for it." Arizona interjects. "A plane full of orphans–that's pretty impressive."

"He's already decided. You don't have to lobby for your boy." Callie points out, flipping through her magazine.

"Yeah, I'll remember that next time you need me to babysit." Briar teases Arizona, watching her splutter before giving up on explaining.

Briar grimaces when Richard walks over to Alex's bed, where Briar long since left him to be angry by himself.

"Need more sedatives. The people we're transferring are starting to freak out." Jackson says, joining the room. Briar watches as Mark walks over to him, starting up a conversation about who knows what.

✦

"Okay, why does everyone feel the need to tug me around?" Briar complains, even as she allows Cristina to tug her around a corner and into an on-call room. She lets go as soon as the door is shut, pacing around the room while Briar watches from the bed.

"Meredith is busy so I need your help." She blurts out, and Briar sighs, moving to leave the room.

"Hmm, is this me giving you a glass of water?" She snaps, thinking back to Alex's words earlier. "I can't do any of this right now Cristina, I just–"

"I'm pregnant."

"Shit." Briar breathes out, all of her annoyance fading away. "Did you just find out?"

"What do you think?" She asks hysterically, looking a second away from throwing up.

"Okay, sit down." She says, pulling her down. "It's okay, we'll get this taken care of. Do you want me to make the appointment for you? I will, just let me know when."

"What?" Cristina whispers, making Briar frown.

"You know, for the abortion?" She asks, confused when Cristina stares at her with tears forming in her eyes. "You don't want kids. We all know that. I can come with you if you want me to."

She's not at all prepared for Cristina to burst into tears.

"Wow, okay, you have to talk to me." She says, even as she gives Cristina the world's awkward back rub. "What's going on? What do you need from me?"

"I needed that." Cristina gasps out a minute later, angrily wiping her tears away. "I told Owen, and he–I already told him that I didn't want kids, but as soon as I told him he started trying to caress my stupid stomach and talking about his dream for us. He wants kids, and I–I can't give that to him."

"You can't force it." Briar says softly, hurting for her. "Cristina, it's your body. Don't do anything you don't want to do, and don't carry out this pregnancy when it'll just destroy you."

"That's what I needed to hear." Cristina says, nodding her head. "Okay. I, uh, I'm going to make the appointment. Can you stay while I do it?"

"Of course." Briar assures, sitting next to her the whole time.

✦

"Emergency services have begun identifying bodies. They've given us a list. The airline reps are on their way. We've got social workers here and more coming. It's a long list. Each of you has families to inform." Richard tells them all, while Bailey hands out their lists.

"So, uh, please be outside the cafeteria in exactly one hour." Perkins instructs them. "You'll call one family at a time, and you'll be assigned a room to take them to and deliver the news. It's gonna be a long day."

"That's it." Richard dismisses them, just for Owen to move forward and pin the decision for Chief Resident to the board.

CHIEF RESIDENT

APRIL KEPNER, M.D.

The pride on April's face is amazing, and Briar quickly pulls out her phone and takes a picture of her shocked smile.

"Congratulations!" She tells her, pulling her into a tight hug. April laughs into her shoulder, hugging back so tightly that Briar loses the ability to breathe for a second. "We'll celebrate later, I promise. This is so huge."

Briar ignores the annoyance the other's are clearly showing, hoping that April doesn't notice. Instead she tugs her over to the board, making her pose in front of it while she takes pictures.

"I'm totally framing this one." She brags, laughing when April tugs her closer and makes her take a selfie in front of it with her. "Ooh, that could totally be your new profile picture!"

"Thanks." April breathes out, pulling her into another hug. "You're being so sweet about this. I'm sorry that it wasn't you."

"Don't be. I'm happy that it was you." She promises, before pulling away. "Now, I'm serious about celebrating later but we should prepare to give families bad news."

April nods, looking sad as she moves away, and Briar looks around before walking over to Jackson.

"How many people do you have?" She asks, frowning down at her list. "I have five."

"Three." Jackson grimaces, before nudging her. "Hey, so, Sloan asked me to dinner."

"Damn, I knew I should've watched out for him." Briar sighs teasingly, making Jackson laugh.

"Not like that." He says with a grin, rolling his eyes at her. "He said some weird speech about how you deserve a good man and apparently I'm that, plus something about giving us his blessing back? I didn't know he ever gave it, or that he took it back, but apparently we have that."

"He's taking this dad role way too seriously." Briar says, rolling her eyes. "Poor Sofia."

"Do you think I owe him a goat now?" Jackson asks with a smirk, laughing when Briar swats him in the chest with the back of her hand.

"Excuse you, I'm worth at least three goats." She scoffs back, turning around in fake annoyance and grinning when he wraps his arms around her, only for her face to fall when Bailey calls for everyone's attention.

"Alright. Let's do it." She says. Teddy leads the way into the crowded cafeteria, where all of the families turn to face them when they enter. The hope on their faces is agonizing and Briar discreetly squeezes Jackson's hand before letting go.

"Is the Schoman family here–Jessica and Maxwell?" Teddy calls out, with a couple rushing forward.

"Jason Schoman. He's our son." Jessica says, looking relieved to be given news. Of course she is, Briar thinks. They're in a hospital: of course she thinks her son is at least alive.

"I'm Dr. Altman, will you follow me, please?"

Mark goes next, followed by Bailey, then Lexie, and then Briar steps forward.

"Molly Maxwell?" Briar calls out, smiling gently at the redheaded woman who runs forward. "I'm Dr. Sinclair. Please follow me."

Briar leads her away, sending a grim look to Jackson and April. April is next.

She tells five families that their loved ones are deceased, and it breaks her heart further each time she sees their hope turn into despair. Some of them beg her to check again, insisting that there has to be a switch up. They ask to see them, at which point Briar has to–as gently as possible–explain that the damage from the impact is not what they'll want to see.

By the end of it, Briar is tempted to walk out of the doors and never come back.

✦

"Sarah Gordon–G.C.S of 6, head injury and multiple contusions to mid-torso." Arizona reports as soon as they've cleared the doors with the sole survivor. "Systolic 70s in the field."

"Unaccompanied minor?" Mark asks as he helps them all transfer her to the bed.

"Yeah, she was flying alone. I need X-Ray in here! We need to shoot a c-spine, chest, and pelvis." Arizona orders.

"Abdomen's rigid." Richard reports, while Briar gets to work on the ultrasound.

"Large hematoma on the left temporal lobe." Derek says, doing his evaluation. A second later, her eyes open.

"Folks, we've got eyes." Owen says, grabbing all of their attention.

"Sarah, I'm Dr. Shepherd." Derek tells her softly, bringing her attention to him. "You see all these people around you? They're doctors. You ever seen this many doctors before? Hey, don't worry, we're all here to take care of you, okay?"

✦

"Dr. Sinclair?" She hears behind her, turning quickly as she pulls off her trauma gown. She's facing a black woman with beautiful brown curls and a gray suit over a purple blouse. Briar has never seen the woman before, and quickly puts a smile on her face, hoping her exhaustion isn't too obvious.

"Hello." She greets, reaching out for a handshake. She returns it with a smile, quickly introducing herself.

"My name is Janet. I'm the social worker in charge of Zola's care." She explains, making Briar slowly nod, even though she isn't quite sure what that has to do with her.

"It's lovely to meet you. Please call me Briar." She says anyway. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, please, if you have the time. Derek has you listed as a character reference, and I thought since I'm already here–"

"Oh, absolutely. You caught me at the perfect time." Briar assures her. "How about we go to the lounge around the corner? Would you like a drink?"

"A coffee would be amazing, thank you." She says, sounding relieved. "It has been a long day."

"Tell me about it." Briar says with a commiserating laugh, exchanging a knowing look with her. "Here we are! We have creamers and everything in the fridge. Feel free to take anything you want." She says, pouring her a cup of coffee and handing it over a second later.

The two of them get situated across from each other, and Briar tries to push down her sudden nerves, not wanting to look uncomfortable or suspicious. Thankfully, Janet doesn't seem to notice anything.

"So, I see that you're a registered foster parent?" She asks, looking through a file. Briar itches to know what's in it, but holds back on asking, knowing that it wouldn't be appropriate. "Can you tell me why you chose to become one?"

"I'm a former foster child." Briar tells her, knowing that it's likely written in the file. "It's been my dream since then to foster and possibly adopt one day. There's too many kids slipping through the cracks, and not enough people willing to help."

Janet gives her a small smile at that, looking through the paper again. "All of your certifications are up to date. Can you tell me about Derek and Meredith? I see that you work and live with them."

"For now, yes. I'm sure they've told you, but Derek is currently building them a house. They're building a room for Zola." Briar tells her, and she nods.

"Oh, I saw it."

"Right. Well, Derek and Meredith . . . I've had the pleasure of watching their love since the beginning. They understand each other in a way I've never seen with a couple, and they truly love each other. Did they tell you about the post-it? No? They, uh, were supposed to get married but they gave up their wedding to friends of ours–the bride had cancer, so Meredith and Derek gave them everything they'd planned for their own wedding– and they had a post-it wedding later on here at the hospital. They wrote down their promises to each other on a post-it note and considered it their wedding."

Janet smiles even more at that, and so Briar continues.

"Derek is like a brother to me. We tease each other and fight, but I know that he would do anything for me. He's protective and caring and he adores Zola. I've never seen anyone want to be a dad the way he does. And Meredith . . . Meredith has gone through a lot, and she tries to pretend that she has no emotions sometimes, but she's so caring and often selfless. Her dad abandoned her when she was young to start a whole new family, and Meredith still gave him her liver when the daughter he had with that woman asked her to. She's protective of her family, and I think it would be the best thing you could do for Zola to make her Meredith's family."

"Thank you." Janet tells her, taking a sip of her coffee. Briar nods back, taking a deep breath. She wasn't expecting to do this much talking. "I do have a few more questions for you, if you don't mind."

"Ask away." Briar encourages, leaning back and settling in.

✦

It's not until hours later that Briar remembers that Meredith kicked Alex out of the house.

She's on her way out of the hospital when the realization hits, and she fights back the urge to cry. She just wants to get some sleep, is that too much to ask for? She's already made plans with April to celebrate another day, the new Chief Resident not feeling up for it after the crash today.

When she gets home, it's to the sight of Alex hurriedly packing up his belongings. Briar watches him for a second before joining in. They work silently, stripping down everything from the room, down to the sheets and pillows off of the bed. When Alex moves to leave, Briar stops him, ducking into her room for a minute and packing a duffel bag.

"What are you doing?" Alex asks her, sounding exhausted as he leans against her door frame.

"Packing, obviously." She tells him, shoving a sweater into the bag before zipping it up.

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm coming with you, nitwit." She says, turning off the light and grabbing one of his bags before heading down the stairs. "We'll get a hotel and figure everything else out tomorrow. Now hurry up, I want to get some sleep."

✦

authors note

next chapter starts season 8!!! are there any episodes/plotlines/scene you specifically want to see? anything you want more/less of? speak now or forever hold your peace!!

im so excited for season 8, there are SO many plots to pick from.

the google doc for this fic is over 500 pages... I feel insane.

the next chapter is already written, but I think I want to start holding off on posting until I have two full chapters written, that way I have a back-up in cases of writers block/get too busy to write. I'm trying not to disappear for months again!!

as always, thank you for reading and id love to know any thoughts you have <3