"Briar!" The loud shout in her ear makes Briar fall straight off of her air mattress, landing on the floor with a groan. She takes a second to just lay there, before sitting up and glowering at an amused Mark. "Oops."

"I hate you." She bites out even as she accepts his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Sure you do. Loving the whole lion's mane you've got going on, very chic." He teases, gesturing to her hair. She rolls her eyes at him, ignoring the comment and heading straight into the kitchen. She'll deal with her hair later.

"Hey, pour me a bowl, would ya?" Mark calls after her, going into his bedroom. She doesn't respond, but she does grab an extra bowl, pouring the honey comb cereal into both of them. He comes out a minute later, dressed for the day. Briar glances at the time, relieved to see that she has twenty minutes still.

"You're not as nervous as I would expect." He notes while grabbing his breakfast, nodding at her in thanks. She just hums, leaning back against his counter and eating her first spoonful. "I mean, the other residents are all losing their minds about solo surgery day."

"I've been studying for this non-stop." Briar says honestly. "Callie had me do the patient intake and all of the tests. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"You've done spinal surgery before, right?" He asks her, and she nods, starting to feel the nerves building as they discuss it. Callie has already teased her that she's going to do a crossword puzzle while Briar does the surgery. She's used to Callie watching her every move and jumping in when asked, but today she'll only get assistance if the patient requires it.

"Yeah." She says, suddenly not hungry. She drains the milk out in the sink and tosses the cereal into the trash, heading to get dressed for the day. She doesn't bother moving from the living room as she does–Mark has seen her naked before, and she knows there's no attraction there on either end. She has Jackson, and Mark is still hung up on Lexie, even if he won't admit to that.

"Well, good luck. I hope you don't paralyze him." He tells her, high-fiving her on her way out the door. Briar doesn't even make it halfway down the block before she's pulling over to throw up, her nerves going haywire.

✦

"Oh my god. Please tell me you aren't sick." April panics as soon as she sees Briar, who is leaning against her locker and taking sips of Pepto Bismol.

"I'm not sick, relax." Briar tells her, taking another swig before putting it back in her cubby.

"Good, because that would destroy my schedule." April tells her with clear relief, before tilting her head. "Do you just keep that there?"

"Yep." Briar says with a laugh, putting on her lap coat. "I've kept myself supplied on Pepto since my intern year. It's saved me more times than I could count."

"Huh." April muses, grabbing her stethoscope. Briar nods at her, leaving the room and finding herself with Meredith, Cristina and Alex, all of whom are heading to the surgery board. They're discussing Zola, since Meredith and Derek haven't heard anything yet about whether they'll get her back or not. They're intercepted by April and Jackson as they reach the board.

"It's up!" Cristina, Alex, and April all say, excited to see which O.R. they get.

"O.R. 3!" Cristina cheers, doing a happy dance. "Mm. I love O.R. 3!"

ROOM 6
SPINE THORACIC POSTERIOR FUSION
T11-S1 POSTERIOR DECOMPRESSION, FUSION
STAFF: SINCLAIR, B.

"O.R. 6," Briar beams, punching the air and beaming. "I did my first spinal surgery in O.R. 6. That's totally a good sign."

"Wait. Bowel resection? I thought you had a peds case." April asks Alex, frowning at the board.

"I switched last minute."

"You can't just switch!" April protests, her voice rising.

"Oh, plastics. I thought you were the gunther." Cristina mocks Jackson. "Wasting all your capital on boob jobs, huh?"

"It's a cleft lip." Jackson shoots back, smug about the surgery he'll be performing. "I'm changing a kid's life today. Look at Kepner, she's fixing a bum knee. Way to shoot for the stars, kid."

"Excuse me, ortho is badass. Say that to my face, Avery." Briar scoffs, giving him a pointed look. Sure, knee surgery doesn't sound as cool as clipping an aneurysm, but it's still an important surgery.

"Okay, guys. You also start teaching skills labs today." April tells them, making Briar raise her eyebrows.

"Uh, I'm not." Briar informs her, shaking her head. "I have my O.R. for up to 8 hours, and I have rounds after my surgery. I don't have time to do a skills lab."

"I made up a schedule for the month, yours is scheduled for tomorrow." April explains. "It's up on the board in my office."

Briar starts to nod before giving her a confused look.

"In your what?"

April Kepner has an office all to herself. It's complete with a couch, paintings on the wall, and a little circular table. It's very cute and very much April. She takes them to it after they bully her into showing them, and Briar wastes no time in going to the mini fridge and grabbing a water bottle.

"I'll pay you back later." Briar calls over her shoulder, taking a few sips, desperate to get rid of the Pepto aftertaste in her mouth.

"When did we get this?" Cristina questions, looking around with excitement while Jackson whistles, all of them thrilled at the new space.

"Uh, we didn't. It's for the Chief Resident, actually." April points out.

"This is good. I can sleep on this." Alex states, dropping down onto the green couch.

"Yeah, I got that on Craigslist. It's–it's mine." April tells him, and Briar bites her lip, trying to hide her amusement. April is not assertive at all.

"Uh, why is my name on this?" Cristina asks, sounding suspicious as she moves to a board in the corner.

"These are this month's intern skill labs." April explains. "Each of you has been given one skills lab to teach."

"I can't teach today. I have a mitral valve." Cristina tells her, while Briar frowns at the board. She loves teaching, don't get her wrong, but her schedule is already so packed.

"Okay, well, then just switch with one of these guys." April says, turning to the rest of them. Jackson and Meredith are now sitting on either side of Alex while Briar hopped onto April's desk.

"Aneurysm."

"Bowel resection."

"I got a baby's face."

"Spinal surgery. Speaking of, I gotta go in a minute." Briar sighs, looking at the clock.

"Guys, come on. I–I–I divided these up fairly." April complains.

"Uh, and you chose for the first day to be our solo surgery day?" Briar questions. That doesn't make any sense to her. April gives her a dirty look, clearly annoyed that they're not giving away their surgeries to teach interns.

"Come on–" April starts, gearing up to argue with her, but Jackson interrupts.

"You come on. Every surgery we do this year could end up on the oral boards."

"And they love picking the crappy outcomes." Alex adds on, while Briar tries not to think about the boards they're taking next May. They only have ten months until then, and Briar breaks out in cold sweats every time she thinks about it.

"This could affect which fellowship I get." Cristina states, removing her sticky note from the board. "I mean, it's not just life or death, April. Now it's our careers."

"Okay, how's this? Whoever has the worst outcome today teaches all the skills labs for the whole month." Meredith proposes, making all of them perk up–except April.

"Oh, I'm so in." Briar decides, swinging her feet. Her excitement comes back at the thought of a competition.

"Sounds good."

"I'm in."

"That's terrible!" April scoffs, getting ignored by the rest of them.

"You guys get this email?" Jackson asks, looking at his phone. Briar grabs her phone, curious about what could have him looking so concerned.

"You know, that's disgusting." April continues, throwing her hands out to the sides. "No, no, no. There will be no wagering on patient outcomes. That–that–that's an order."

"It's not like we're betting money on it." Briar points out, looking up from her phone before she can read the email and turning to the others before April can add to that. "Meet back here after all the surgeries?"

"Webber resigned." Jackson blurts out, his eyes wide, and Briar drops her phone at that.

"What?" She questions, her heart dropping just as fast as her phone just did, before she jumps down and scoops it up. She pulls up the email to read herself, desperately hoping that Jackson read it wrong, only to be disappointed when she reads the words herself. "He's no longer Chief of Surgery."

Meredith does her best to sink into the couch when they all turn to look at her.

"Doctor Owen Hunt is now Chief of Surgery." Jackson continues.

"What?" Cristina asks, sounding shocked about her husband's new job position. Briar winces at the look on her face, quickly leaving with the excuse of running the last X-rays before her surgery. She does have to do that, but she didn't have to leave at that very minute.

"I'll walk you." Jackson blurts out, jumping up from the couch and meeting her in the doorway. Briar smiles at him when he wraps an arm around her, leading the way down the halls to her patients room. Just being around him like this does wonders for her mood.

"Hey, are you still good for tomorrow?" She asks him, suddenly having an idea. When he nods, she grins to herself. "Well, want to up the stakes even more? Whoever has the worst surgery today pays for mini golf tomorrow? And whoever loses mini golf pays for ice cream?"

She invited him on a date since they both have the morning off, working the night shift instead. They're not doing anything crazy, just going to play mini-golf and get ice cream after, but Briar is really excited for it. She thinks she'd be excited to do anything with Jackson, and she's glad to be leaving the hospital behind for a while.

"Yes." He says instantly, his eyes sparkling, and Briar smirks to herself.

"Great. Good luck, Dr. Avery."

"Good luck to you, Dr. Sinclair." He says back, leaving her at the Jameson's doorway, and she's smiling to herself when she turns to face them, more confident than ever.

✦

The surgery starts off great: she makes a perfect incision over the midline of his back. She has no issues retracting the muscles for access to the spine . . . and then she freezes, instruments in her hand, staring down at the kid on her table. She can't see his face, since he's lying in the prone position, but she's uncomfortably aware of how young he is. Fourteen years old and undergoing spinal surgery for kyphosis–what if she paralyzes him? What if she causes nerve damage or blood clots or–?

"Sinclair?" Connor, her surgical first assist, tries to get her attention. His voice sounds like it's coming from the other end of a tunnel. When Briar looks at him, he looks impatient, nodding to the instrument in her hand. "Are you planning on continuing or should I get Doctor Torres?"

"Yeah. No. I've got it." She chokes out after a long pause, shutting her eyes. When did it get so hot in here? She's normally cold in the O.R., but she feels close to sweating. "Yeah, I just–I just need a second."

She keeps her eyes closed, not wanting to see disappointment on anyone's face–especially not Callie's. Briar thinks that would break her.

Instead, she takes a second to review the most important things Callie taught her about spinal fusions, pushing aside the idea of her ruining this kid's life. When she opens her eyes again, she's relieved to see that her hands aren't shaking. She nods at Connor, who nods back, and she gets to work decompressing the nerves, hearing Callie's voice in her head the entire time.

Callie never stops playing her crossword puzzle.

✦

Briar takes a moment to herself near the vending machines, taking a sip of water and leaning against the wall. She hears footsteps heading her way but does her best to ignore them, silently hoping that they'll leave her alone.

"I need you to talk to Alex." April tells her, sounding frustrated. Briar opens her eyes, watching as the redhead angrily punches the buttons of the machine, grabbing a protein bar and aggressively tearing the wrapper.

"No thanks." Briar says dryly, looking over her shoulder at the snack selections.

"But he's your best friend." April starts, and Briar huffs out a laugh, deciding to go with a bag of potato chips, patting down her pockets for the loose change.

"So? I'm not his keeper. If you have an issue with him, take it up with him. Or, if it's serious, take it up with Web–Hunt. Take it up with Hunt, assuming he's still the Chief."

"Look, I don't know what your fight is about but I need him to talk to my patient's son–" April pushes on, and Briar reaches out to place a hand over her mouth, muffling her next words.

"April, I can't say this enough: I. Don't. Care." Briar tells her very slowly, enunciating every word as clearly as she can. "No offense, but either talk to your patient yourself or make him do it. You're Chief Resident, now act like it."

Briar walks away, leaving April gaping after her and not feeling the slightest bit guilty about it. Not her patient, not her problem.

✦

"Congratulations!" Briar exclaims, jogging to catch up to Owen, who turns and gives her a grateful smile. He looks exhausted already, and his day has barely started. "Next time you're at Joe's, your tab is on me. I already texted him and let him know."

"Thank you, Briar. That means a lot." He tells her, and she just gives him a smile before changing the subject, uncomfortable with the gratitude.

"Of course. Where could you use me?"

"Don't you have your spinal surgery?" He asks, even as he starts going through a binder in search of cases for her.

"Already done. It took me three hours." She tells him, hoping she doesn't sound too smug about it. There'd been a minute where she didn't think she could do it at all, so she's proud of herself for getting through it with no complications. She did ask Connor for his advice twice, but she didn't have to bother Callie at all, so she's counting it as a win. "I've spoken to his family and I'll be checking in on him every two hours."

"Great. I'm glad to hear it went so well." He tells her, still sifting through the folders in his hands. Briar watches him with amusement for a few seconds before he seems to give up, slamming his binder shut. "Ah, you know what? Can you see if you're needed in the pit, and if not, go help Kepner."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Briar agrees with a salute, laughing when he playfully shoves her out of it. "My bad! I meant Chief!"

She's still laughing as she turns the corner, glad to be kept busy.

✦

All of them gather in April's office after their surgeries. Cristina and Meredith are on the couch while April and Jackson gather around her table. Briar is sitting at her desk, playing solitaire. She wants to find out who won the bet, but she isn't thrilled by most of the people in the room.

"I don't wanna go home." Cristina sighs. Briar grimaces, knowing that she's having troubles with Owen and has been ever since she made the decision to get an abortion. Briar doesn't understand why he thought she would change her mind on wanting kids–she's always been very clear on that not being her path in life, which is perfectly respectable.

"I don't either." Meredith agrees, sounding upset. Apparently Derek tried to order her around during her surgery today, only for her to ignore him and it to turn out perfectly. There's a lack of trust between them ever since Meredith tampered with his medical trial.

The pain on their faces makes Briar desperately want to do something to fix their lives, but she shoves down the feeling and flips over another card. She can't keep getting involved in everything–she's way too burnt out already.

April finishes passing out cups of scotch, and Briar's lips twitch up at the little plastic cups even as she declines hers.

"Did you finish your shift?" April asks when Alex opens the door, looking upset. Briar glances at him before looking back to her lineup, putting a 6 of spades underneath a 7 of hearts. Alex gets handed Briar's declined drink, dropping down to sit next to Meredith.

"Alright, so who lost the bet?" Jackson questions. Briar finally looks up from her cards properly, intrigued about the answer.

"Not me. My bomb was defused perfectly." Meredith brags, referring to her successfully clipping an aneurysm.

"I successfully performed a local bone autograft on a spine, and fused it together." Briar says next, smiling smugly at their annoyed faces.

"My appy was flawless." Cristina goes next, and Briar raises her eyebrows. Since when was Cristina doing an appy instead of the mitral valve placement she's been geeking out about performing?

"Except it was finished by a nurse." Jackson scoffs. Briar frowns to herself, wondering why she didn't hear that piece of gossip.

"Who told you that?" Cristina panics, sitting up straight. Briar laughs at her reaction, knowing that her ego has to be hurting.

"Karev's guy didn't even wake up. Septic shock." Jackson continues, explaining why Alex looks so unhappy.

"Oh, you blew a bowel resection?" Cristina scoffs, turning to Alex, who looks bitter as he takes another sip of his drink. "That's like misspelling your own name."

"I'm sorry, who forgot how to do an appy?" Briar shoots back. She may be pissed with Alex, but she isn't going to sit there and let them dog on him.

"It's Karev." Jackson decides, referring to the bet. "Sorry, dude. Enjoy that skill's lab."

"Can I just point out that Jackson never even touched his patient?" April tells them, causing Jackson to freeze, his smirk falling right off of his face. "Sloan did the whole procedure."

She turns her pleased look onto Jackson, who grits his teeth: "What does 'between you and me' mean?"

"So it would seem to me that he loses by forfeit." April decides, ignoring her best friend.

"Loser!"

"Forfeit!"

Jackson turns to Briar for help, but she just mimes swinging a golf club, smirking at the look on his face. He tries protesting anyway, only for April to ask if they want a rematch as she makes her way to the board to take down the sticky notes and replace them with Jackson's. She settles back down a minute later, tossing the sticky notes at Jackson and taking a sip of her drink, a pleased little smile on her face as she does.

Briar leaves soon after, excited to have dinner with Callie, Arizona, Mark and Sofia. Callie is cooking and it's a celebratory dinner for Briar's solo surgery going so well. Not only that, but Briar has an important question to ask her, and she's nervous for how that will go.

"Congrats on not paralyzing him." Mark teases her, wrapping her up in a hug with Sofia in his arms. She shoves him gently, not wanting to do any damage, especially when he's holding such precious cargo. A second later she steals her goddaughter from him, swooping her up into her arms and tickling her stomach as she heads into the kitchen.

"Great job today." Arizona tells her, smiling at her by the stove, where she's stirring mashed potatoes. One look at it has Briar's stomach growling, and she quickly passes Sofia back to Mark, who'd followed her into the kitchen.

"Thank you." Briar says brightly, moving to stand next to Callie and grinning widely at the sight of the steaks she's finishing grilling, the smell of garlic shrimp mixing in perfectly. "Callie, I adore you. Is that my recipe?"

She'd perfected her steak and mashed potato recipes years before, and she'd proudly shown off to Callie, who had been married to George at the time. There'd been a lot of late night talking–and drinking–between the two of them during that time.

"'Course, it's the best." Callie laughs. "Wine's on the table if you want to go pour us all a glass. I'll have this out in a minute."

Briar does just that. They talk about Sofia while eating, oohing and awing at all of her achievements that they all already know about, and showing off pictures and videos to each other as if they aren't all in a group chat for that purpose. Briar waits Mark and Arizona are deep in a conversation about some sort of study to get Callie's attention, starting to feel nervous again.

"Callie, I actually, uh, want to talk to you about something." She says softly, causing Callie to look curious, tilting her head at her as she stops eating. Briar swallows thickly, wishing she'd practiced asking this. "You're the best mentor I've ever had–the best teacher. I wouldn't have been able to do that surgery today if anyone else had been teaching–no, don't get modest, it's true." She insists when Callie goes to protest, shaking her head.

"You're one of my best friends, and I'm so in awe of you and your strength. I have been ever since you got with George and dealt with all the bullying for it, and everything that came with that whole situation. I am so honored to be your friend, and–and I'd like to ask you a favor."

"Anything." Callie assures her, reaching over and grabbing her hand. "I'm honored to be your friend too, and I love you. Anything you need–"

"Can you help me pass my boards?" Briar rushes out, not wanting to chicken out. "I know it's a huge ask 'cause you're so busy, with work and Sofia and–"

"Monday, Wednesday, Friday." Callie states firmly, shocking Briar into silence.

"What?"

"For the next three months, I want to see you on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. After that, we'll pick it up and make it Monday through Friday. I expect to see you here at 4 in the morning every morning." Callie orders her, giving her a smile that can only be described as manic. "I've been waiting for you to ask, and I've already been making flashcards. I thought you would ask closer to the actual test, but I'm proud of you for thinking ahead."

"Thank you." Briar breathes out, even though she's slightly intimidated.

"Oh, don't thank me now. We start bright and early tomorrow, and you'll hate me soon enough. More wine?"

Briar meekly nods her head, watching as Callie fills her glass, and wondering what she just signed up for. If it helps her pass her boards, though, it'll be worth it.

✦

"Woah." Jackson says as soon as he opens the front door of Meredith's, his whole face lighting up. "Is that for me?"

"No, it's for my other date." Briar says sarcastically, smiling at him over the sunflower she's holding out for him. She plays into the joke, leaning around him. "Speaking of, where is Lexie? She's going to make us late."

"Ha ha." Jackson says dryly, plucking the flower out of her hand and leaning down for a quick kiss, both of them smiling into it. "Thank you for this."

He leaves her for a second, and Briar can hear and see him grabbing a glass of water and setting it in there before he rejoins her.

"Are you ready to go, or did you want to talk to anyone first?" He asks her, but she shakes her head, slipping her hand into his.

"What kind of date would this be if I ignored you for the first part?" She questions, pulling him to the car and jumping in the driver's seat. "Speaking of, I hope you're ready to get annihilated out there."

"Oh, is that right?" He asks, straightening up in his seat. "Are you a golf lover then?"

"No clue, I've never played." Briar tells him, laughing at the wide eyed look he shoots her. "My family wasn't exactly put together enough for any form of golf, including mini. I'm gonna kick your ass though, just watch."

"Hmm, sure." He scoffs, getting into the competitive spirit. "Ooh, how many scoops of ice cream should I get? You're gonna be paying, so I'm thinking five minimum."

"In your dreams, Avery." Briar snarks back, shaking her head at him. There's no way she'll lose and have to pay: how hard can mini golf be?

As it turns out, pretty damn hard.

Briar wants it on the record that the world is out to get her–or maybe Jackson is. He's just so damn gorgeous, especially when he's smug, and she can't be blamed for wanting to pay more attention to him than the stupid game.

"Oh come on!" Briar cries out, scowling as her purple ball goes straight into the waterfall, instead of staying on the fake grass. Jackson is cackling, and the older gentleman at the next hole–course?–is also laughing good-naturedly at her. "There's no way that counts!"

"Awe, guess you have to start at the beginning." Jackson mocks her, and she sticks her tongue out at him as she does the walk of shame to retrieve the ball, barely stopping herself from flipping him off. Dipping her hand in the water is a nice reprieve from the heat, and she's tempted to dunk herself. When she reluctantly turns around to try again, she finds Jackson aiming his phone at her, clearly recording, and she quickly loses the restraint, flipping him off and almost dropping the ball back into the water. That only makes him laugh harder.

"Guess it's a good thing I went first after-all." Harry, the older man, calls out to her. She laughs, nodding back. When they'd gotten their clubs, he'd offered for them to play before him, saying that he had a headache and a bad knee and might slow them down. They'd declined, waving him forward, and had been engaging in teasing comments with him since then.

Despite all of her pouting and complaining, she's having a blast. She understands why people do this for fun–there's a good energy in the air, and it's exciting to compete over something so simple. She's used to competing for surgeries, but at least now the only thing hanging in the balance is whether she pays for their ice cream instead of anyone's life.

At least, she thinks that up until they reach hole 14 and find Harry lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my God." Briar breathes out, dropping her club to the ground and rushing over to him, hearing Jackson doing the same. "Harry! Harry, can you hear me?"

A faint groan answers her, and the sign of life brings her slight comfort even as she starts feeling at his neck for a pulse.

"Rapid pulse; dry, flushed skin, and that headache he said he had. Jackson, I think he has heatstroke." Briar reports, looking around them before pointing to a water hose nearby. "Grab that and our water bottles! Did you see him drinking water at all?"

"No!" Jackson calls over his shoulder, running to turn on the hose and bring it back to her. "Fuck, why did we come here on the only hot day in Seattle?"

"Good thing we did." Briar points out grimly. "There's no one else out here."

She shudders to think how long Harry would've been out here, unnoticed, if they weren't playing as well. She already regrets taking so long at the other holes so that more distance was between them: had he been showing signs that they missed seeing because she sucks so badly at mini golf?

Harry wakes up when she starts spraying him with the hose, although his movement's are sluggish and he doesn't seem mentally coherent. Briar talks to him anyway, taking Jackson's shirt when he yanks it off and using it as a makeshift sponge, getting the water on his face and neck without waterboarding the poor man.

"Hey, hey, it's just Briar and Jackson. You know, from mini golf? The couple with the girl who sucks at it." Briar rambles, hoping to keep him conscious and calm. Jackson runs off, returning a minute later with a Gatorade and a few wet towels. The two of them prop him up, having already ruled out spinal trauma, and Briar holds the bottle for him to drink from, hoping to get electrolytes and fluids into him.

"Jackson, grab my keys, we're taking him to the hospital." She decides, shifting so that he can reach into her back pocket and grab them. "It'll be faster than calling an ambulance."

The look on Owen's face when they march right into the hospital hours early, holding up a patient in-between them, is priceless.

✦

Alex and Jackson are practically best friends now.

Briar and Cristina are right behind them, all of them having been called to the pit, and they share a look when the two boys start laughing over an inside joke. While Briar is always happy to see Jackson happy, it is grating on her nerves a bit to see him so happy with Alex, who she still hasn't properly spoken to since their fight. Not that she'll say anything, or get him to pick sides: she doesn't believe in that.

"Human stampede at a comic convention!" Owen calls to them, throwing on a trauma gown over top of his button up and tie. Briar tosses a gown to Jackson, simultaneously throwing hers on with the speed of someone in the pit four days of the week.

"Which means crush injuries! Lots of them." Richard tells them, sounding eager.

"I have admin on the phone. They say it's important." Someone tells Owen, while the others run forward and start claiming patients. Briar reaches out and ties the back of Jackson's gown as they go, shaking her head at him for not doing it himself.

Briar ends up with a patient in-between Alex and Jackson and their patients. Her guy has a cut on his arm and what looks like a broken leg.

"Hi Andrew, I'm Briar, I'm going to take care of you today." Briar tells him brightly, before tilting her head as she examines his costume and the fake sword he's carrying with him with interest. "Is that Andúril?"

His head snaps to her, and his eyes widen almost instantly. Briar fights the urge to ask if there's something on her face, instead starting to gently check for any head trauma. He's responsive and clear-headed, although the way he's staring at her in shock is worrying her.

"Yes." He blurts out a minute later, confusing her. He must read the confusion on her face, suddenly giving her a toothy smile even as his face turns red. "Yes, the sword is Andúril. I, uh, I'm cosplaying as Aragorn."

"I can see that." Briar says with a giggle, gesturing to his outfit. "Good choice. Aragorn is my all time favorite fictional crush."

"You should cosplay as Arwen." He tells her next, surprising her as she continues her exam, checking his breathing and heart rate. She doesn't like how it's racing, frowning as she pulls back and looks him over again. It's likely just adrenaline, but she wants to keep an eye on it.

"Hmm, I don't think I could pull that off." She tells him, grinning. "Liv Tyler is absolutely gorgeous, and especially as Arwen."

"You could pull it off. We could go together sometime." He urges her, ignoring the sound of something being dropped from next to them. Briar doesn't look over either, too busy checking his legs. His left one is fine other than bruising, but the right one is definitely broken.

"Awe, that's sweet of you." Briar tells him genuinely. "So, is Aragorn your favorite then?"

"Yeah," He nods before yelping when she touches his leg as gently as she can. She apologizes, pulling back and putting in for him to go to X-ray. "Oh! I have an idea!"

Briar watches in shock as he tries to get off the stretcher, quickly helping him lay back down before he hurts his leg further. "No! No, don't move. Your leg needs to be taken care of before you can move."

"But the shop had an Evenstar." He says, frowning at her. "It would look great on you, and then you could cosplay with me."

"That's . . . very kind of you." Briar says slowly, looking around. Jackson is scowling down at his patient chart, while Alex is frowning at Briar's patient, completely ignoring his own. Briar gives her best help me eyes to him, feeling incredibly awkward. "Unfortunately, though, I, uh, I'm a very busy woman, so–also, Arwen gives Aragorn that necklace so it doesn't really work, um—"

"By that she means she isn't interested." Alex interjects, suddenly right next to her. Briar jumps, flushing even darker when he snatches the patient chart out of her hands, swapping it out with his own. "Okay, your leg is broken. Let's get you to X-ray and then out of here, where we'll hopefully never see you again. Carter needs to go to X-ray too, I already ordered painkillers and told him."

Briar stares after him as he disappears around the corner, before slowly turning to face Alex's patient.

"I'm guessing you're not into Hobbits, either?" He asks her, and she has to bite her tongue to hold in her laughter, slowly shaking her head. She catches sight of Jackson next to them, and can't help but smile at the annoyed look he sends her new patient–Carter, according to his chart.

"Nope. More interested in nepo baby doctors." She can't help but say, winking at Jackson when he looks at her in shock, a smile slowly lighting up his face. It takes her a second to look away from those eyes. "Alright, Carter, we'll get you through X-ray soon, and either Alex or I will be back to go over it with you."

✦

It ends up being both of them, since there aren't as many injuries as they'd assumed–there's a lot of fake blood and fake wounds, and a lot of patients with simple bruising. Jackson gets a good patient after passing off his original one, ending up with a guy missing an ear. Briar is insanely jealous.

"You broke seven toes, but really five, 'cause pinky toes barely count." Alex informs him, holding up the scan for him to look at. "So we're just gonna tape 'em up and getcha out of here."

He hands her one roll of tape, grabbing the other.

"Tape? I survive a human stampede, and all I get is tape?" He asks, clearly looking for more of an adventure. So, not a typical Hobbit, Briar thinks, amusing herself.

"I'll throw in some crutches. You don't look like you've got great balance." Alex adds, making Briar choke as she tries to stifle her laugh. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"I'm a Hobbit." Carter says, sounding surprised that he doesn't know that. Briar gives Alex a side-eye, already planning a movie night. The Lord of the Rings is her all-time favorite movie, and it's a crime that he hasn't watched them. "We're a gentle folk from a farming community called The Shire. It's in the northwest corner of Middle Earth. We live a . . . simple life, but we crave . . . adventure. And when we find it, some become heroes."

Briar looks up when he inhales sharply, to see him staring over their shoulders with wide eyes. "The Dothraki princess."

"Yeah. I stopped caring about ten minutes ago." Alex replies dryly, clearly not interested, while Briar turns to look over her shoulder.

"No. That–that doctor over there looks just like the Dothraki princess from the legendary 'song of ice and fire' series." He says in one breath, pointing right at April and gasping. "Not her hair, but her–her–her skin and her eyes and–oh, oh God, oh God, here she comes."

He looks down when she passes them, and Briar smiles to herself, finding the whole thing adorable. April deserves that kind of devotion.

"Her?" Alex asks in disbelief, yelping when Briar elbows him sharply in the side. "You have nerd chub for Kepner?"

"Kepner." Carter sounds the name out, a smile forming on his face.

"Karev! Trauma room, now!" Derek shouts out, leaving Briar to finish up with Carter, who whispers April's last name to himself again, sounding positively enamored with her.

✦

"Sinclair! In here." Mark orders her hours later, making her slowly back up and move into the exam room, frowning when she sees Sofia on the bed with Alex examining her using his stethoscope. "I've been trying to call you all night!"

"Is everything okay?" Briar asks, worried, moving to stand over Alex's shoulder.

"No! Sofia rolled off the sofa last night–"

"She rolled over!" Briar gasps, before her heart drops. "She rolled off the couch!?"

"Yes, and she's normally more alert than this. I sat up with her all night, checking to make sure she was still breathing." Mark tells them, sounding terrified. Briar moves over, grabbing his hand in hers.

"Maybe the reason she's not alert is because you kept her up all night." Alex points out, not sounding worried as he finishes the physical. Briar feels instantly relieved at how calm he is.

"What is that?" Mark shouts, pointing to the monitors, which show . . . nothing out of the ordinary. "Right there. See that?"

"Yeah. It's a perfectly healthy brain of a perfectly healthy baby who didn't need a C.T. scan." Alex tells them, sounding completely done with the whole situation. "The baby's fine. I'm going now."

"Yeah, there's the tiger." Mark whispers, leaning down to play with Sofia and her stuffed animal, while Briar furrows her eyebrows.

". . . Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"That's a jaguar."

". . . Shut up." He tells her, his lips quirking up, before he turns to her. "Can you do me a favor and give me a second opinion? I trust you more than Karev anyway."

"Anytime." Briar assures him, smiling to herself. "You know, it's nice to see you as a dad. You're an amazing one."

"It sure doesn't feel like it right now." Mark sighs, carefully playing with Sofia's hair while Briar checks out her heart, pleased when it sounds perfectly fine. "I feel like an awful one."

"An awful one wouldn't have rushed her to the hospital after staying up all night checking her breathing after being at work all day." Briar tells him, ducking down to hold eye contact with him since he's at Sofia's height. "I promise you, you're the best dad. If you are ever anything else, I'll call you out on it, but I don't see that being an issue."

"Thanks." He says softly, looking reassured when she tells him that Sofia is okay. "For everything, just–thank you."

"Of course. I love you both, but I have to go back." She tells them, even though part of her wants to stay in that room with them all day.

✦

Briar gets pulled into the missing ear case, much to her delight. Derek has already operated on the patient, Keith, since his C6 had been completely shattered. Alex was supposed to scrub in with him, but he'd pissed Derek off and gotten kicked from the case.

"I would've called you in, but I didn't have time." Derek tells her, handing her the scans to go over. Apparently Keith's friend sold the Tardis that they went through all of that for, and Keith had lurched forward in bed, further damaging his spine. "You've done two spinal surgeries, and I want you in that room."

Briar nods her head, taking the scan from him and going over it. She's thrilled to be considered for it, especially since Callie is away at a conference with Arizona. That's a lot of faith to put in her.

"Keith reinjured his spine, creating an epidural bleed that needs to be addressed as soon as possible." Derek explains to her, Mark, and Jackson.

"So does the ear." Mark states.

"The ear's cosmetic. The bleed could leave him paralyzed." Derek states.

"He could get an infection in the spinal cord and lose feeling in one or both legs. Is he able to move his legs now?" Briar asks, frowning when Jackson shakes his head.

"The ear's been detached for over twenty notes." Mark continues, although that's the least of Briar and Derek's concerns. "If we don't reattach it soon, it won't be viable at all."

"So, he can cosplay as George Weasley next time." Briar tells him, unable to help the comparison. "He needs to not be paralyzed more than he needs his ear."

"Uh, spoilers." Jackson tells her, making her stare at him in disbelief. That book has been out for four years, she doesn't want to hear that. "Are you going in through the front of the neck to get to the spine?"

"Yes." Derek says, with Briar nodding along. It makes the most sense.

"So the patient will be on his back already." Jackson notes.

"Yes, he'll be supine." Briar confirms, confused about where he's going with this.

"Why don't we insert the ear into the abdomen? Keep it viable with the blood supply there, let you operate on the spine." Jackson tells them, reminding Briar of their old patient Frankie, when they'd inserted his arm to his abdomen for the same purpose.

"Take it out tomorrow, reattach it." Mark continues the thought, nodding his head. "Good idea."

"Really good idea." Derek adds, looking impressed.

"Shep, you need me?" Owen asks, looking eager to help out at all after being banished to Chief duties–paperwork mostly.

"Oh, yes." Derek nods, moving to join him outside. Briar leans forward to the scans again, before pulling her phone out when it beeps multiple times, confused to see the contact name Joey until she remembers that it's her contact name for Alex–the Joey Tribbiani to her Rachel Green. She hasn't gotten a lot of texts from him recently in order to remember that.

Joey
DUDE

Hobbit Guy is back to see Kepner!!!

Rachel
You're joking

Did he ask her out?

Joey
No

He's pretending to have chest pain so he can stare at her across the room instead

Rachel
OMG

I'm coming to see 4 myself

"Hey, Karev needs me. Page me when I'm needed here." She tells Mark and Jackson, rushing from the room.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite resident of The Shire." Briar greets Carter, who is dressed in non-Hobbit attire, much to Briar's disappointment. Carter smiles at her, before hissing in pain when Alex puts in an IV.

"He insisted on having leg pain, and when I said I wouldn't admit him so he could gawk at Kepner, he suddenly developed 'chest pain.'" Alex tells her, making her laugh.

"Did you google symptoms doctor's can't ignore?" Briar asks him curiously, honestly impressed by the dedication.

"You, uh, think she's okay over there?" He asks them, nodding to where April is dealing with a clearly annoyed patient who's fighting her every move.

"She's fine." Alex says, while Briar frowns to herself, looking more closely.

"I'm gonna go see if she needs help." Briar tells them, moving over to them just as he hits April in the chest, sending her stumbling back a few steps.

"Sir, if you do not calm down, we will have to restrain you!" April tells him firmly, sounding more authoritative than Briar has ever heard her sound.

"Oh, I'm leaving." He decides, getting up, and shoving the nurse with him straight to the ground. Briar jumps in front of her, bracing herself for any impact. She can't help the fear she feels at how much bigger he is than her, but she does her best not to let that show, instead thinking of everything Kelly and Jay Halstead ever taught her.

"Call security!"

"I have to protect my house!" He roars, throwing a punch that Briar has to jump back to avoid, her hands up in a defensive pose. He takes a second to rip out his IV, and then is lunging for her again. He shouts the same thing about his house over and over again, getting a hit into her stomach that sucks the air out of her before she manages to get away from him again.

Stick and move, stick and move, stick and–MOVE! Briar thinks to herself, moving forward and landing a quick hit onto his cheek. She jumps back before he can retaliate, but doesn't get so lucky on the next turn, with him landing a punch to her face. Thankfully, he's too uncoordinated through the pain to give her another broken nose–she can only handle so many of those–but her cheek is going to feel that later.

"Someone help over here!" April screams, both her and Alex jumping in to grab his arms before he can punch Briar again. He still tries to, apparently narrowed down on her, and she focuses on zig-zagging so he can't predict her movements, not trying to get hit worse.

"Why are we paying security?" Briar complains, pissed that help hasn't arrived yet. A second later one of the officers joins the fray, getting punched in the face almost immediately. Briar watches him drop down in genuine annoyance. "Seriously?"

Alex gets knocked into a tray of instruments, all of which go flying, and April lands on the floor right after that. That leaves the man to stare her down, and Briar quickly fixes her footing, swinging out as soon as he's within range. Briar plays dirty, then, kneeing him straight in the groin and then elbowing him in the stomach in quick succession.

For a moment she feels good–if she can get one good punch in, she can hopefully knock him out–but a moment later she's being hurtled straight into the wall. She whimpers at the movement, one hand automatically cradling her head, even though her back took the brunt of it.

"I can't be here!" The man bellows, as if any of them want him to stay at this point.

"Someone stop him!" April cries, since the majority of the room is just standing around watching all of this happen. There's a distinct lack of energy that Briar does not appreciate.

Briar groans when Carter crutches forward. That is the kind of help they don't need, proven when he starts stuttering through telling him to calm down, and then gets thrown to the floor. All he does is provide the man with crutches, which he uses to hit Carter with while Briar forces herself to her feet.

If this doesn't work, I'm going to look so stupid, Briar thinks to herself even as she takes off in a quick–and short–run, throwing herself onto the man's back. She lands two quick jabs in before she's being tossed off of his back as if she weighs nothing, which aggravates her further.

"Briar!" Alex shouts, looking pissed. Briar gives him a look, trying to come up with a plan. Alex used to be a wrestler–surely she can use that to their advantage. It would be great if they had more help, but apparently it's just them and April.

"Hey!" Owen shouts, rounding the corner and punching the guy straight in the jaw.

Briar gapes when that's all it takes to send him straight to the ground, unconscious.

"I'm taking part of the credit." She blurts out, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to smooth it out. She takes a few steps forward, pulling Owen into a quick hug before turning and crouching down next to the guy to examine him. "Thank you, though."

"Anytime. Are you okay?" He asks her, looking around the room at the destruction around it.

"Peachy." Briar says sarcastically, turning to her friends. "April? Alex? Are you okay?"

When they both nod, Briar turns to the security guard. "Can one of you check him out? And can you get us better security?" She aims the last sentence at Owen, because that was embarrassing.

"Briar did better than him." April adds, sounding impressed. Briar just shrugs, wishing that she'd done more. She'll have to go to more kickboxing classes–you know, with all of her constant free time.

There's never a dull day at Seattle Grace Mercy West.

✦

"Ben!" Briar gasps, beaming at her favorite anesthesiologist as she enters the O.R. "I've missed doing surgeries with you!"

"Ah, my favorite resident." He grins back at her, before he frowns. "What's with the forming shiner?"

"Combative patient, you know how it is." Briar shrugs, ignoring the looks she gets from the others in the room. "Speaking of, sorry that I'm late."

"Sounds like it was for a good reason." Derek tells her, frowning. "I didn't realize you were caught up in that. Are you hurt?"

"No." She says, rolling her eyes when he gives her the most protective older brother look she's ever seen. "I'll have a few bruises, and I got knocked into a wall, but I'm fine. Owen knocked him out before anything too bad could happen."

"You got thrown into a wall?" Jackson asks her, and Briar looks up, frowning at the look on his face. He looks like he wants to hunt the man down and hurt him further, which isn't needed–even if it's doing something to her that it really should not be in present company.

"Yeah. Seriously, though, everyone is fine so can we focus on Keith?" She requests, relieved when they focus on the patient.

Ben doesn't let the silence last long. "I had a meeting in the conference room on nine." He says, causing Briar's eyes to widen. She knows what Bailey gets up to in that room, and it's nothing Ben would want to see, given his history with her.

Privately, Briar is rooting for Ben.

"Great deal of difficulty concentrating." Ben continues.

"You asked." Derek tells him.

"Yeah, but you knew I didn't really want to know and you told me anyway because you enjoy my pain." Ben retaliates.

"Well, next time you won't ask."

"You have a reputation for being a nice person. I think it's a load of crap." Ben says.

"You know what? I'm building a deck. Why don't you come by tonight, take it out on the deck?" Derek suggests.

"That work for you? Hitting things?"

"Works for me." Briar mumbles. "Can I get an invite?"

"You know you're always welcome at either house." Derek tells her pointedly. "Speaking of, when are you moving back in?"

"Uh, no. She's mine, you can't have her back." Mark chips in, and she sees Ben's eyebrows shoot up.

"Oh! You two are–"

"No!" Briar, Mark, Jackson, and Derek all cry out, immediately stopping that train of thought.

"No. Not together. I am the godmother of his child, though. And we live together." Briar elaborates, leaving no room for confusion.

"Got it." Ben nods, sounding amused.

"You know, before you insert that ear, Avery, why don't you move over and let me show you that trick for creating a subcutaneous pocket?" Mark suggests.

"You showed me that last week. Twice." Jackson informs him.

"And now I'm gonna show you again." Mark says, his tone growing cold. Jackson rolls his eyes upwards as he stops working, frustrated with Mark always taking over for him.

"Where's your resident, anyway? Don't tell me he's late for an epidural decompression." Ben tells Derek, referring to Alex.

"Avery." Derek says, and Briar's eyes widen. Is he really about to– "Ever decompress a spinal hematoma before?"

"I've seen Briar and Torres do one." He says, shooting a quick look at her.

"Great. Do this one." He decides, shooting a quick look at Briar, who nods at him.

"What?" Mark and Jackson both ask, while Briar moves to the other side of the table to give him enough space.

"Well, Sinclair here already has the experience, and you don't. It's a good skill to have. We're right here if you need us. Start with the, uh, leksell, work your way down through the bone to the dura."

"Okay." Jackson says, taking Briar's spot and the instruments Derek hands over.

"Hard for you to see what I'm doing, Avery, from all the way over there." Mark grits out, and Briar is thankful for the surgical mask hiding her smile. He's jealous.

"Well, I figured you could spare him since his hands are free." Derek snarks back. "Excellent control of the epidural vein, Avery. I'm surprised you never considered neuro."

Briar settles back, enjoying the show. All this time of Jackson feeling like a horrible surgeon, and now he has two attendings fighting to have him on their service.

✦

"Hey! Shepherd agreed to let me join in later, can I catch a ride with you?" Jackson asks her, making her smile as she waves her keys in front of his face.

"Sure, let's move." She says, excited to work with power tools.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks her, surprising her. "I wasn't there earlier, and I'm sorry for that, but it sounded brutal."

"It was a little scary." Briar admits, frowning to herself. "Watching everyone get taken out like that . . . I don't know. Not the best day I've had at this hospital, but not the worst. And don't apologize, you couldn't have known, and I'm glad he didn't get to touch that pretty face of yours."

"Oh, shush." Jackson scoffs, even as he blushes at the compliment.

"You had a pretty good day, from what I saw." Briar tells him, proud, and he hums.

"I mean, it'd be nice if your roommate would let me operate. You all–Lexie included–have done more surgeries than April and I have. We're so far behind, and he won't let me do anything." He complains, and Briar lets him rant about that the entire drive, chipping in with advice when he asks for it.

They split up when they get to Derek's, with Briar splitting off to join Ben and Owen, and Jackson going over to Derek. Briar helps get them set up, making sure the sawhorse is stable and putting on safety goggles.

"So the wiseass from legal tells me that I have to apologize to the drunk who tore up my E.R." Owen gripes, putting the saw in place.

"Uh, show them my bruises." Briar scoffs, lifting up her shirt to show the one on her stomach. "He deserved that punch."

"She wasn't ready for a relationship, and now she's in one!" Ben complains about Bailey, throwing his hands up.

"Right. So where is the accountability?" Owen adds. "That's what I want to know. What the–"

Whatever else he says is cut off by his saw, as he takes his anger out on the wood. Briar and Ben get the other pieces ready, with Briar nodding for him to go next. When Owen is done, they catch Jackson's rant to Derek, all of them stopping to listen in.

"Thanks for this, by the way. I know Sloan's my boss, and he's your friend. I wouldn't want to overstep." He says gently, before hammering away at his and Derek's station. A moment later he scoffs and his voice picks up with annoyance. "Not that I ever get a chance to overstep with him! Since he has me on training wheels, which is fine most days, except . . . when I get home, and it turns out my roommate who is a fourth year has done more surgeries than I have. And when my girlfriend, who is one of his best friend's, asks me about my day, all I can answer is 'great, sweetheart, I just spent the last nine hours watching your roommate operate.' He even gave me a shovel talk during one of them!"

Jackson's angry hammering gets interrupted by Owen, who hands him the saw with a pat on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He breathes out, turning it on instantly and getting to work.

Briar can't stop smiling, and it only grows when Ben turns to her and asks if she's the aforementioned girlfriend.

"Yeah." She breathes out, grinning at her boyfriend's back. She loves watching him get along with some of the most important people in her life, even if it involves complaining about one of the other ones. She especially loves that he's so comfortable labeling their relationship around them, and speaking his mind. "Wait–what shovel talk? Jackson!"

✦

"Do me a favor? Don't let anyone in." Owen tells her, having her guard the door to the broken jaw patient's room as he goes in and shuts the door behind him, shutting the blinds right after. The hall is empty, which is good, since Owen's voice carries ever so slightly.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Hunt. I am one of the surgeons who repaired your broken jaw. I am also the guy who broke it. Uh, it's wired shut right now so, uh, I'll do the talking. Now they want me to come down here and apologize to you, and I want to make something . . . quite clear. I feel good about what I did."

Briar can't help but smile to herself. Is she a fan of violence? Not at all. However, she understands that sometimes you have to use it to protect your people, and that's what Owen did.

"Now I reviewed the security tape, and I easily prevented half a dozen people from being injured by you. You assaulted a girl with a beer bottle. You attacked hospital staff. You put a man on the critical list. You would have done more damage if one of my doctors hadn't landed quite a few hits on you and literally leapt on your back to try and stop you. You were violent and abusive in front of dozens of witnesses, and I will stand up in any court of law and say just that. I do not apologize for things I feel good about, and I feel good about this. So . . . if you want to sue, you sue. And good luck with your recovery."

Briar grins at him when he leaves the room.

"I'd stand with you." She says softly, walking with him away from that room. "In court, if it came to it. I'd be right there beside you."

"I know you would." Owen tells her, giving her a grateful nod. "You're the most loyal person I know."

✦

"This is a bad idea." Alex groans, following Jackson and Briar into Derek's lawn. Briar rolls her eyes at his complaining. Jackson had invited him along, telling Briar that he couldn't stand him acting like a kicked puppy. "Shepherd hates me. I hate the woods. You know there are bears out here?"

"Ooh, maybe I'll hear you scream like a little bitch again." Briar says excitedly, flipping him off behind her back.

"I hope you don't mind, I–I brought Karev." Jackson calls out to Derek, who looks frustrated at Alex's presence. He gives Briar a 'seriously' look, who just shakes her head.

"Not my idea." She calls out, moving past them to join Ben and Owen again.

"Fifth year is really kicking my ass." Alex tells him. "I mean, it's no excuse, all right? But I didn't mean to be disrespectful or whatever. Also, I lied about Mayfield, just to be clear."

Briar bursts out laughing at that, exchanging amused looks with Owen and Ben. Mayfield is the erectile dysfunction doctor at the hospital, and a frequent excuse for being late. Briar is surprised Alex waited so long to use it.

Derek hands him a hammer, and Alex joins their group, staring at the side of Briar's face until she snaps.

"What, Alex?" She sighs, turning to face him, surprised when he doesn't back down the way he has been lately.

"I'm sorry." He says, stopping her in her tracks. "Briar, I–I'm so sorry. I just–I don't know what's wrong with me, or why I push people away. Well, I do, but it's–" He stops, exhaling a frustrated breath before starting over. "I should've told you as soon as I got the job offer, before I told Lucy. You're the most important person in my life, over any girlfriend or whatever. You're not nothing. I'm sorry that I called you that twice. I just–my life sucks when we aren't friends, and I miss you, so."

Briar stares at him for a long moment, all of the fight leaving her at the resigned look on his face.

"You're an idiot." She tells him firmly, ignoring the states they're both receiving from everyone there. "We were never not friends. Alex, you're the most important person to me too, and I was so mad at you because I've missed you so much."

"So, we're good?" He asks, looking hopeful, and she suddenly lights up.

"We're good–if you watch The Lord of the Rings with me. And we need to talk about this more later." She tells him, bursting into laughter at the look on his face while he begrudgingly agrees to it. She's already planning out a movie night with all of them–April especially.

"Derek!" Mark's voice echoes around them a moment later, making all of them once again stop working to watch as he marches up to Derek with Sofia in his arms. "You're trying to steal my guy! He's my guy! Avery, go get in the car."

The last line makes Briar laugh hard, leaning into Alex so that she doesn't fall over. He's such a dad.

"What? No." Jackson says, sounding confused.

"You've been moving in on him all week. You weren't even interested in him until you saw how much he meant to me." Mark snaps. "I don't take the time to teach anyone if I can help it!"

"Mark–"

"But I'm taking the time with Avery because he's a quick learner and he can do a Z-plasty better than I could at his level."

"I can?" Jackson asks while Sofia starts fussing. Mark turns away, beginning to walk away, and Derek protests.

"Hey, hey! Don't do that. Don't–don't just yell at me and then walk away."

"I'm not! It's just, Sofia likes it if I'm moving." Mark explains.

"Oh."

"You guys talk, I'll take the baby." Owen tells them, grabbing Sofia from Mark and walking with her. Briar would've done that, but she was enjoying this too much.

"Okay, careful. We had a scare this week." Mark says while handing her over carefully. "Thank you. Avery, go get in the car!"

Jackson doesn't move.

"If I pee myself, neither of you can judge me." Briar whispers to Alex and Ben, crossing her legs where she sits. Her entire body is shaking from the force of her laughter, and it only amplifies at the weirded out looks they give her.

"Friends don't steal from each other." Mark says firmly, and Briar shares a look with Alex, knowing they're both thinking the same thing: didn't you have an affair with his wife? If that isn't stealing, Briar doesn't know what is.

"It's not stealing if he asks to scrub in on my surgery." Derek explains, amused.

"Oh, don't be a jackass."

"Alright, look. I appreciate this, I really do, but if I have to choose, I choose plastics." Jackson decides, intervening. Briar sits up straight, intrigued, since she knows that Jackson didn't have his mind set on a specialty just this morning. "I mean, I really appreciate being able to take the lead on your neurosurgeries, but I–"

"Are you using my boy here to get more surgery?" Mark questions, suddenly mad at Jackson over Derek. Briar is getting whiplash. "Nobody uses my boy."

"Why are we the only ones with hammers?" Ben demands, looking at Alex and Briar, who just shrug back.

"I'm getting a beer." Alex sighs, followed by Briar and Ben, all of them dropping their hammers onto the deck.

✦

"What do you think they're talking about?" Jackson asks a little while later. He's sitting with Alex, Ben, and Briar around the table outside, watching as Derek and Mark talk on the deck.

"My guess? Which one of 'em gets to take you to prom." Ben teases, making Briar choke on her next sip.

"I call doing your makeup." She jokes, smirking at her boyfriend's face.

"Oh, shit." She sighs a minute later, watching a beer bottle roll off the deck. "The deck isn't level."

The four of them share a look and goad each other into another round of laughter.

"Anyone want ice cream?" She asks a while later, sharing a small smile with Jackson. "It's on me."

"Who could turn down that offer?" Jackson scoffs, getting up and holding a hand out to help her do the same. She takes it, holding on even after she's up, waving Alex and Ben after her.

"We'll bring some back for the lovebirds and Owen." She teases, smiling at the sight of Owen talking to Sofia, looking thrilled to be around her. He should babysit more.

"You think they'll notice that we're gone?" Ben asks, and she snorts.

"Not a chance."

✦

authors note

what is it about men is one of my favorite episodes. protective mark over sofia, the mark & derek argument and then talk, the real start to mark mentoring jackson, the nerdy references <3 top tier

i'm normally the president of the "i hate owen hunt" fan club but ngl he did the damn thing when he punched that combative patient. the way everyone else just stood there while april and alex got thrown around is crazy... also the security guard going down that fast is actually embarrassing

briar jumping on his back and then getting shoved off made me giggle while writing it... she thought she was gonna do something.

also jackson getting jealous while that patient was flirting with briar but not doing anything bc he didn't want to upset her 🥰🥰🥰 i love them

this is such a long chapter im so sorry 😭 there wasn't a good spot to split it up though!!

gotta say im having the time of my life making edits for this book. its so cool to do for fun instead of trying to be good at it :) my tiktok is calsvalentineswp if anyone wants to come say hi, my dm's are open there <3

love you guys <3

also i'm considering changing the name of this story...  so keep an eye out 👀