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DOROTHEA HAD ALWAYS BEEN MATURE FOR HER AGE. THE "MOM FRIEND" OR THE THERAPIST. SHE WAS, AND ALWAYS WOULD BE,
A DOCTOR.

"Hey, Addy Shepherd," Dorothea looped her arm through the redhead's. "How's your day going, lovely?"

"My favorite resident," Addison greeted back, smiling down at her. "You're looking extra cheerful today. Someone put sugar in your eggs again?"

"That was one time," Dorothea sighed, "and it was the worst sugar-crash of my life. Note to self: never listen to Michael Scott again."

"That's my girl." Addison chuckled. "Have you seen Derek?"

"Not since last night," Dorothea shook her head as the pair looked over charts. "He sign the papers?"

"He's avoiding me."

"You did cheat on him," she glanced up at him. Addison frowned.

"He told you?"

"He tells me everything, sugar plum."

"You don't hate me?"

Dorothea smiled sadly at her. "I adore you, Addy. But I'm with Derek no matter what."

Addison brushed back a piece of Dorothea's hair. "I'm so glad he has you, Thea."

"Me too."

—

Dorothea brought in two chipotle bowls and sparkling waters, closing the door behind her.

"Dennyyy!" She called, dropping the keys and placing the bowls on the coffee table. "I brought Chipotle!"

"One sec!" Denny shouted back from his bedroom.

They pair tried to eat dinner at least twice a month together with her schedule, but it was always harder the more she worked.

During med school, they'd make meals together, but as she moved further and further into her career, they'd taken to fast food.

And then with Denny's heart, they decided to go on lighter fast food, and seeing as it was a rare occasion anyway, burrito bowls were a better option than most.

"Whaddya wanna watch?" Dorothea asked as she sat back on the couch, flicking the television on.

"Anything's fine with—"

He cut himself off when they heard the newscaster speak.

"There was a train car accident in Seattle only minutes ago—"

"Oh, crud," Dorothea mumbled, giving him an apologetic look, only seconds before her pager went off. "Sorry, Den."

"Don't worry, Dottie," he pressed a kiss to her head and sat down. "Go save lives."

—

"Thea, you're gonna take any patients that would've been mine," Derek told her as she entered the ER. "I have to watch the Chief, it's his first day back off leave and I didn't really clear him."

Dorothea blinked, then nodded. "Okay. I might ask for counsel if I need it."

Derek smiled. "You won't need it."

Dorothea smiled back, fist-bumping him. "Have a good shift, Der-Bear."

Derek chuckled. "You too, Thea."

—

Dorothea was absolutely swamped.

Two spinal cord injuries, an axonal shear injury, and a TBI.

Derek was busy with Burke, Bailey, George, and Meredith helping two patients that were stuck together by a pole through their abdomen, and still alive.

So she couldn't ask him for help and despite "all hands on deck," the other attending was on a trip and it left Dorothea and two other residents (that she hardly knew) to clean up the slack.

But, still. Derek trusted her.

"Alright, get her prepped and up to surgery, I'll meet you up there," Dorothea told one of the interns. "It's gonna be a long night," she added with a sympathetic smile.

—

"I picked Addison," Derek said, entering the on-call room and taking a seat on the bed next to Dorothea. "I made a choice," he added, handing her a coffee.

"Proud of you," Dorothea smiled softly, taking a sip of her drink. "Heard you lost a patient."

"Yeah," Derek nodded, letting out a deep sigh. "Her name was Bonnie. I..." he shook his head, clenching his jaw. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Dorothea shook her head. "No," she told him. "Not for a long time. Just my brother. And Conrad. And now you."

Derek placed a hand around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her head. "I made the right decision, didn't I?"

"I like Addison," Dorothea told him. "I'm happy I don't have to hate her."

"Please don't sleep with her."

"I'm not Mark," she rolled her eyes. "I'm telling you, when I meet that guy, he's getting a broken jaw."

Derek chuckled, resting his head on hers. "Thanks, Thea." He was quiet for a moment. "Tonight sucked."

"Do you wanna lie down?" She offered. "I don't have anything scheduled."

Derek hesitated, but nodded, lying on his back. "Stay?" He looked up at her. "I don't wanna be alone right now."

"I got you, Der."

Derek smiled softly and closed his eyes. Dorothea finished her coffee and placed the cup down, lying back against the bed with him.

"Night, Thea."

"Night, Derek."

—

"Okay, so you've got a man who shows signs of pregnancy with no fetus or womb to carry the child, no abscess—"

"—Correct," Bailey nodded, handing Dorothea the charts. "I figured since you're IM resident too, you might be interested."

"I definitely am," Dorothea nodded. "I only had an aneurysm clipping today, I needed something juicy."

Bailey chuckled. "You are a riot," she shook her head. "Think on it, let me know what you find. Ask, uh, that other friend of yours, the "IM God" or whatever they call him."

"Oh, geez," Dorothea grinned. "I'm never telling him that, he'll blow a fuse."

Bailey rolled her eyes fondly. "Let me know what you find, I have to babysit my interns."

"I'm not jealous of you," Dorothea called after her."

"I'm jealous of you!"

—

"They're taking bets," Meredith sat next to Dorothea, who was eating an apple on a hallway rollaway bed. "Everyone. Labs, surgeons. They had a photographer."

Dorothea blinked, surprised by Meredith's forthcoming nature. She knew that Dorothea and Derek were best friends, right? And that she'd now taken Addison's side because Derek had?

"What?" Dorothea asked.

"Our patient," she pointed at the chart and noted theories in Dorothea's lap. "The one that I was given as a surprise charity for my affair with Derek. But you're nice and sunshine-y and you seem to care about patients. Everyone is mocking this guy. Pointing at him like he's some zoo animal. He's just a person. A person with a medical mystery and he's our patient and they're making bets on him."

Dorothea chewed her apple slowly, watching Meredith vent. She got the feeling Meredith wasn't only talking about the patient.

"And it's not fair, y'know?" Meredith continued. "This guy came here for help. To get better. To feel better. And instead, he's sent to psych because they think he's crazy and then we find out he isn't crazy and now people are milking it. Making money off him. Where's the human decency in all of that?"

"Word." Dorothea nodded her agreement. "You okay?"

Meredith sighed, shaking her head. "Is Derek happy?" She asked quietly after a beat. "I mean, with Addison, does he seem — is he happier now?"

Dorothea thought of the past few days. Derek mentioned marriage counseling with Addison, he'd worked overtime the first night after he chose her, and she'd caught him sleeping more in the on-call room than before.

"I think he wants to be," Dorothea answered truthfully. "Addison's his wife."

"And I'm the whore," Meredith surmised bitterly. "Everyone get out your cameras and snap pictures before the mysterious adulterous whore Meredith creates more chaos in the hospital."

"I don't think you're a whore," Dorothea shook her head, face softening in sympathy. "Derek didn't even tell you. And you met before you worked together. You love him. It's okay to love someone you can't be with."

Meredith's eyes snapped to Dorothea's. "You don't think I'm a whore? Really? I thought you'd be all over Addison now that he picked her."

"I like Addy," Dorothea nodded. "I like you. I love Derek. I'll be on whatever side he needs me to be on. But you're not a whore, Meredith. I'm sorry he hurt you."

Meredith sighed, then glanced to Dorothea's charts. "You think it's a mass?"

Dorothea nodded. "Gotta be," she told her. "I think it's malignant judging by how fast it's growing. Probably a mesenteric teratoma, I'm just waiting on a test to confirm it."

"God, you're smart," Meredith shook her head. "You gonna be in the surgery?"

Dorothea shrugged. "Depends. I don't typically follow IM patients up unless it's a neruo case, but if they need assistance, I will."

"I hope you are," Meredith stood, dusting off her pants. "Because that man needs people who won't call him a freak or pay money to be there. He needs someone who will tell him he's not the problem."

"You're not the problem," Dorothea said gently.

"I'm not talking about me."

Dorothea gave her a look and Meredith sighed.

"See you in surgery, Thea."

Dorothea chuckled and ate another bite of her apple as Meredith walked off.

Derek was such an idiot.

—

"Mesenteric teratoma," Dorothea pointed at the mass on the scans, standing on Webber's other side, Bailey and Izzy on his left. "In an adult male."

"Is this possible?" Webber asked in bewilderment.

"Large bilobed cystic legion," Dorothea nodded.

"With a solid calcified structure," Izzy added.

"A deformed mandible," Webber hummed, before walking to Shane.

"Lana show elevated HCG levels," Bailey told them. "That explains the false positive on the pregnancy test. Thea put it all together, sir."

"Did you?" Webber looked down to the younger woman, eyebrows raising. "Good job, Duquette."

"Thank you, sir," Dorothea smiled a bit. "Just doing my job." She glanced down to Shane, who was appearing to her a bit overwhelmed by the attention, not to mention the camera flashing in his face.

Dorothea exchanged a look with Meredith, who leaned against the wall next to Shane.

"You okay?" Meredith asked Shane. "You look a little green." At Shane's look and sharp inhale, Meredith looked to Webber and quietly said, "I think he needs some air, Chief."

"Deep breaths, Mr. Herman," Webber instructed gently.

"Just...most of this medical speak goes right over my head," Shane confessed to Meredith.

"It's confusing," Dorothea smiled softly. "Essentially, we're just saying you're not pregnant, there's no chance. It's essentially a germ cell tumor, it's called a teratoma. What's unique about your case is that it happens most commonly found in newborns, and even more usually it's benign. In your case, you're an adult male and it's malignant, which means it's attacking you. It starts in your reproductive cells, your sperm."

Shane blinked, eyebrows furrowing. "How'd I get it?"

"You've probably always had it," Dorothea answered. "It's just growing now, finally entering the picture."

"Wow," Shane frowned. "And that's why...?" He trailed off, pointing to the cameras and other doctors in the room.

Meredith smiled sympathetically.

"It's just, no one's really talking to us," Shane's wife told them.

"Just about you," Meredith nodded. "I know what that's like."

—

"He wants me to move here," Addison said as she entered the elevator. "To Seattle."

"So do it."

"He won't even budge about coming back to New York."

"No offense," Dorothea gave her a look, "but Derek's my best friend. I'm happy he's here. I'd hate if he moved to New York."

"Our life is there."

"Your old life," Dorothea pointed out. "Derek's different because you forced him to be." She softened at Addison's affronted look. "I'm not saying you're evil, Addy, I like you. But you did cheat on him. With his best friend. I think what he did to Meredith was worse than what you did, but that doesn't have anything to do with you and him. Sure, he had an emotional and physical affair with Meredith, but you've known Mark the entire marriage too. It's one thing if it's a guy in a bar, it's another if it's his best friend."

Addison sighed. "I hate that you're right," she mumbled, looking away.

"I want what's best for him," Dorothea told Addison. "He believes that's you. Show him he's right. Make an effort, here, in Seattle. You gave up your old life the second you cheated. Meet him in his or tell him he made the wrong decision."

"You always this blunt to your attendings?" Addison narrowed her eyes.

"All of them happen to love me, so yes." Dorothea quipped, smiling back at her. "Stay, Addy. Seattle's happy to have you."

She pressed a kiss to Addison's cheek as the doors opened, walking out and heading down the hall.

Both of the Shepherds were idiots.

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okiieeee back because I missed this story
not super happy with this chapter but tbh it's a lot of skipping through until mark. hopefully you guys don't mind i skipped the pole patients? I love them that episode always makes me cry but I didn't wanna cheapen it with Thea's presence anywhere. Also Meredith and Thea <3 and Denny content we'll get more tidbits here and there with him too I love Denny sm (in my JDM era so)
ty for the love and patience on this!!