S6 EP10

THANKSGIVING DAY

THE TICKING CLOCK HAD long been ignored ever since Norah and Mark moved into their apartment. The rhythm that eased her in her sleep had gotten replaced with another.

It was like a habit for them-her of the left side of the bed and him on the right; her head on his chest and his arm held her close; him listening to the light snores, and she listened to his beating heart.

A light-sleeper and a deep-sleeper; they were polar opposites drawn to one another. One thing they shared, though, was the physical touch they craved from each other. A love language, one might say, was the thing they lacked from their parents when they were still a little child.

Lub dub... lub dub... lub dub...

The alarm went off, and Norah woke up with a start, her eyes dry and strained. She turned herself over to smash the clock before sitting up, stretching her body and cracking her neck.

The man next to her was still fast asleep, one hand behind his head and another at the side of him where she had just sat up from.

"Mark, up, up," she shook him, but he mumbled some incoherent words before planting his face deep into his pillow.

She scowled at their daily morning routine, which consisted of her spending up to ten minutes, then settling with dragging him out of bed.

She picked up her pillow and hurled it towards his ass, the latter not budging at all. "Mark, come on. It's Thanksgiving. The ER's gonna be swamped!" she tried before murmuring, "You know, you could be dead, and I wouldn't know it."

The next pillow hit straight to the back of his head, and he finally lifted his head from the pillow, though his eyes barely opened.

"Gosh, finally-hey!"

Mark had grabbed her and pulled her towards him while he lay back onto their bed. She let out a sound of protest, but his arms only wrapped even tighter around her body.

"Happy Thanksgiving," he mumbled.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. Now, let me go."

He shook his head at the crook of her neck, burying his face deeper while she laid her back on top of him with a sigh. She could feel herself moving along with his breathing pattern-his chest rising and falling against her back.

"We have work to get to," she stated.

"Then let's make it quick."

She flipped herself over on top of him with her eyebrows furrowed. "Mark, I love you, but you gotta get your horny arse up now," she deadpanned while his hands had already travelled to the hem of her shirt.

She smacked off his hand and got out of bed. "You best be up when I get out of the shower."

"Mm... shower sex?"

"Mark Sloan!"

"I love you more, Laurie."

❦ ❦ ❦

A MAN IN A SUIT WALKED up to the nurses' station in the ER. The nurses were busy charting and receiving calls on the phone, but one of them lifted his head to the man after seeing him approach.

"Hi, sir, can I help you?" Tyler asked whilst sorting the charts in his hands.

"Yes, is a Dr Lawrence working today?" the man queried, his accent thick.

Tyler checked the pages and nodded. "Yeah, both Lawrences are here right now," he informed, "Do you want me to page them?"

"Yes, please," the man nodded while checking his watch. "Only Norah, get Norah Lawrence for me," he added, "Thank you."

❦ ❦ ❦

"WHAT'S UP, TYLER, YOU paged?" Norah walked up to the nurse behind the station, handing him a cup of coffee that she had got when she received his page at the coffee cart.

"A man is looking for you," Tyler informed, nudging his head towards the ER's waiting room. She turned around curiously and saw the many people in there, either waiting nervously or making phone calls here and there.

"The one on a call, in the suit, pacing around, who also can't keep his eyes off his watch," he pointed out, and her face dropped, a sense of panic rising within her.

"Oh my god..."

She ran a hand through her hair, grumbling at the sight of the man. "I cannot deal with him right now," she grumbled, "Not by myself... Can you page Tim for me, please? Stat."

"What should I tell him?"

She chuckled weakly as she turned back to the man in the waiting room.

"Tell him our Dad is here."

❦

A BLONDE ENTERED THE ER looking noticeably nervous. She walked up to the first medical personnel she saw and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Dr Mark Sloan," she spoke up, and Alex turned around to meet her.

"Um, you see the dude who was burned trying to deep fry a turkey?" Alex pointed to the man on one of the beds in the ER. "Sloan's the guy making him scream like a girl."

The blonde walked up in that direction, where the patient was yelling in agony. She stopped next to the attending, clutching her handbag even tighter than before. "Dr Sloan?"

"Yeah." Mark glanced over briefly before doing a double-take. The girl standing next to him made him rack his brains; she looked familiar-a bit too familiar-for him to remain a neutral expression.

"Hi," she greeted awkwardly, "Um, so this is a little weird, but, um... My name is Sloan Reilly. And, uh, my mom's Samantha Reilly," she tried her best not to look freaked out, "And, um... I'm pretty sure you're my dad."

Mark's eyes widened at once; the patient whose yells were filling the ER had been thrown to the back of his head long ago.

Norah fled from the nurses' station, zooming up to him. Callie had tried to stop her but decided against it when she saw the slightly panicked and stressful look on the resident's face; Alex looked alarmed.

"Mark-my dad's here in the hospital, but he's not sick, he's just in the waiting room, and I'm trying not to freak out, and..." she trailed off when she noticed the blonde girl standing beside Mark; both of which had stunned looks on their faces.

Norah turned her head to look at Callie and Alex, who shared a look before the latter flashed her a forceful grin. The brunette turned back to the pair in front of her. Her sense of fright seemed to have doubled up.

"Please, on god's name, tell me my freaked-out mind is fooling with my right now-"

❦ ❦ ❦

"SHE'S EIGHTEEN, DEREK, eight-freakin'-teen," Norah rambled on while they worked on the boy in the OR, "She's like, ten years younger than me!"

"You do know who Mark was when you got into this relationship with him, right?" Arizona asked curiously as the resident continued mumbling under her mask.

"Yes, well, he's an ex-whore, and there does exist an age gap between us-those I'm aware," Norah responded before her brows knitted into one, "Holy crap. That's like-I haven't even hit puberty when my now-boyfriend has a freaking child!"

"Well, it's not that shocking actually," Derek shrugged casually with a chuckle. "I mean, the way Mark got around before he met you, there could be a gaggle of Sloans. Sloan Jones. Sloan Smith... Sloan Sloan..."

"Mean," Arizona hissed at him, and he returned with a laugh; Norah's eyes widened more than before as she held the instrument steady in her hand.

"Stop freaking out," Derek tried but was met with the resident's glare.

"No, no, I'm gonna continue freaking out," she snapped back at him, "And my estranged father decided to show up today-oh god, the world really does hate me."

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH SAT QUIETLY IN A conference room with her father, Brandon, still on the phone, giving out orders to whoever was on the other side of the call. The chief was kind enough to spare an empty room for the father and daughter, who were now waiting for Timothy to arrive.

Her eyes widened with a look that screamed 'help me' when she saw her brother walking towards the conference room; Lexie was next to him, staring in the room curiously.

Timothy reluctantly stepped into the conference room and pulled out the chair next to his sister. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"No bloody idea."

It was another twenty minutes or so before Brandon finally ended his call with a satisfied look on his face. His smile was bright when he turned to the two of them, who had looked puzzled and not entertained.

"Now, I know it's been a while," Brandon started, "And you two might have questions-"

"Why the fuck are you here?" Timothy cut him off harshly, making Norah sigh aloud next to him.

Brandon merely smiled at the words of his son. "I've just dropped a great friend of mine in your ER," he explained, "I thought, 'Why not Seattle Grace Mercy West?' I mean, my two children are working there-"

"Alright, stop," Timothy interrupted, rolling his eyes while Norah looked between the father and son, bored. "Why are you here, in Seattle? Another big business opportunity? Shouldn't you be in, I don't know, Tokyo or something?" Norah, too, turned to their father for an answer.

Brandon sat down on the chair opposite them, which reminded her of an interrogation room. "Toronto, actually. I have a few days to spare here in Seattle," the man informed, "And since it's Thanksgiving, I was hoping we could have dinner tonight, together?"

Timothy scoffed loudly, and Norah just shushed him before turning to their father. "Sorry, Dad, we're working tonight," she replied with the best smile she could put on.

Brandon's phone rang again, and the two siblings shared an annoyed look before leaning back on their seats. Their father saw the looks on their faces and put his call on hold. "You can't be excused for dinner?" he questioned, clasping his hand on the table. "It's Thanksgiving today."

"Yeah, we would ask you the same for the past fifteen years or so," Timothy bluntly stated while Norah sighed next to him. "And, in case you forgotten, we don't fucking celebrate Thanksgiving, do we?"

"Come on, Tim. It's been..." Brandon furrowed his brows as he thought hard, "How long has it been?"

"Huh, you can't even remember, and I'm not even surprised," Timothy let out a bitter laugh, crossing his arms above his chest. "The last time we've fucking met was before I even started Med School, and that was like, five-"

"Six," Norah corrected.

"-six years ago," he scoffed, "And the last time you fucking had dinner with us? During my 21st birthday, and you had to leave four fucking times for your fucking calls!"

The younger Lawrence had got up from his seat with an enraged look on his face. "I don't care, and I don't wanna fucking care!" he bellowed, "Go back to shoving your head into your fucking business!"

When Timothy left the room, he slammed the door after him; Norah noticed several curious glances from the nurses and interns nearby.

"Sorry, Dad, but we can't change our schedules at the last minute if we wanna keep our jobs," she stated calmly before getting up, too. "Nice seeing you... I guess."

❦ ❦ ❦

"I HAVE A DAUGHTER, Derek," Mark furrowed his brows while walking down the hallway alongside the neurosurgeon, "An eighteen-year-old daughter. I am too young to have an eighteen-year-old."

Derek sighed and shook his head. "I've already listened to Norah rambling for an hour, and I really don't want to hear yours, too," he muttered straightforwardly, "Because somehow, I'm you two's go-to person for their existential crisis-"

"And Norah's not answering my pages," Mark cut him off and continued anyways, "An eighteen-year-old... It's a nail in my coffin. It's like death has come to call."

"Okay, can we put a pin in your existential crisis for a minute?" Derek interrupted unamusingly.

"No. That's why they call it a crisis."

"Look, Dr Robbins and I have a six-year-old with an inoperable AVM. We need your help to make it operable," Derek informed, "And your freaked-out girlfriend is on that case, too, so you can talk to her."

"Alright, fine."

❦ ❦ ❦

"THIS IS THE BEST Thanksgiving ever," Cristina spoke, and the others lifted their heads to her curiously in the skills lab. "No obnoxious relatives. No stupid traditions..."

Norah cocked a brow at her, and she sighed. "Okay, one obnoxious father and a pop-out-of-nowhere Sloan's blonde kid," Cristina corrected herself, "But there's no going around the table and saying what you're grateful for."

"Yeah, I think we should do the opposite," Alex stated, "Talk about what we're not grateful for."

Cristina glanced around the skills lab to make sure nobody was overhearing their conversation before she answered, "The merger."

"The Mercy Westers," Meredith agreed.

"They're like the plague," Alex complained, "They're stealing all our surgeries, eating all that pie in the nurses' station."

"How about estranged family members turning up in the ER without notice, trying to barge into our lives like they had known us for a long time?" Norah piped in, still looking disturbed.

"Is that why you're avoiding Sloan?" Cristina questioned.

"I'm not avoiding him," the brunette claimed, "I'm just... not looking for him and hiding in this skills lab doing stitches I'm well-capable in, in a hope to not see his face, for now, while I sort my head through this bizarre madness as a holiday gift."

Meredith cocked a brow at her. "That's kinda is the definition of avoiding him," she stated before frowning at the stitch Alex was doing. "You're doing that wrong."

"I am not."

"You are. Can I show you?"

As Meredith took over Alex's stitch, Cristina shook her head amusedly. "Private lessons with the chief..." she scoffed lightly, "Man, those daddy issues are working for you."

"I don't have daddy issues," Meredith claimed.

"You do," Norah shrugged.

"Hey, you obviously do, too," Meredith snapped back, and Norah raised her hands in surrender. The former turned back to Cristina, "He's teaching me."

"You're his bitch," Alex stated.

"Well, in that case, you're Teddy's bitch," Meredith told Cristina before turning to Norah, "And you're... my husband's... bitch..."

The four of them narrowed their eyes at her statement. "That sounded weird," the brunette noted, and Meredith nodded in agreement.

"Maybe that's my problem," Alex thought, "I'm nobody's bitch."

"Oh, well, you were Izzie's bitch," Cristina reminded.

"You're the bitch," Alex fired back, and Cristina scoffed at his words while Norah chuckled, receiving a glare from the other woman.

Meredith sighed at the squabbling. "You know what? It's Thanksgiving," she interrupted, "Can we just have no name-calling?"

The three other residents agreed and went back to practising their stitches in the skills lab.

Norah received a text on her phone, and her eyes narrowed when she read the message. Putting her phone away, her mind was still circling at the text her father sent regarding his reservation in a restaurant.

❦ ❦ ❦

TIMOTHY CAUGHT UP TO Norah while she headed to Nicholas's patient room. The little boy had an inoperable AVM in which three heads of different departments were currently brainstorming a way to treat him, and Norah managed to insert herself into his case.

"Have you seen his text?" Timothy asked, and Norah nodded. "What the fuck is he-"

"Dr Lawrences," a voice called from behind, and the two siblings turned around to meet the chief who was approaching them.

"You're both ending your shifts before the evening," Webber informed, and they swapped a look with each other. The chief noticed the baffled looks on their faces and continued, "Go home and celebrate Thanksgiving with your father."

Norah saw Timothy rolling his eyes. "Unbelievable," he scoffed, shaking his head while the chief stared back at him confusedly.

"Your father came to see me because you two had night shifts on Thanksgiving, and I let both of you go only because your poor old man wanted to celebrate the holiday with his children," Webber snapped at the resident.

Timothy cringed at the chief's words, shaking his head with a scoff. "What are we-middle school kids?" he mumbled under his breath, which Norah heard. She sent him a look and noticed that people were staring at them. Bloody gossipers.

"Thanks, Dr Webber. We, um, appreciate the leave," Norah responded blankly.

"Whatever. Screw this." The younger Lawrence ended up shaking his head and walked off with a fluent line of swears.

Norah was about to walk off, too, when a lingering discomfort hung in her chest. She turned back to the chief, shaking her head. "Don't ever call our dad a 'poor old man' when you don't know our side of the story," she stated firmly, "Happy Thanksgiving, Chief."

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH LAID ON TOP BUNK in an on-call room, staring at the ceiling as she fiddled with the hem of the blanket covering her legs.

The door squeaked open, and a ray of light entered the room. She let out a heavy sigh when the brightness was replaced with the dimness again.

Mark stood beside the bunks with his arms folded on the mattress. Norah turned her body to him with a sigh while the blue eyes smiled back at her. "You've been avoiding me, haven't you?" he asked.

"Maybe...?"

He nodded and rubbed on his jaw. "The, um, results are in," he spoke up, "Sloan is my kid."

She blinked at him, more at the elated tone behind his voice. She had spent the whole noon sorting the mess in her head, but in the end, she could only come out with one syllable, "Oh."

"Yeah... Um, how was it with your dad?"

"He booked a table for dinner tonight, but I don't wanna go," she mumbled, "But I'll feel bad knowing if none of his kids shows up."

"Compassion looks good on you, had I mentioned?" he flirted in an attempt to brighten up her mood.

She stared back at him unamusingly, "Well, right now, I hate it."

"That bad of a childhood?"

She shrugged. "When my Mum died, my Dad became... absent, it was like he disappeared from our lives," she explained, "I mean, it did hit him hard, no doubt, and he buried himself in his work. Well, his business is thriving now, but he just... drifted off with his family, you know?

"Like, Dad was always a cheery man, always there for his family... Then one day, Mum died from an accident, and Dad, too, was missing from our lives. Tim was six, so I guess it was confusing for him... I know it was for me, and I was nine."

Mark kissed the back of her hand softly as his fingers entangled with hers. "My parents were never home for holidays, too. I always spend them at the Shepherds. I only spent Christmases with my Mom and Dad, mornings, normally, before they depart at night."

She turned to him with a sigh, "Having absent parents suck."

"Mm-hmm," he returned with a tight smile.

We will never have our children experience that, the words floated in his head, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Come with me," she said, "Tonight."

Mark's eyes widened alarmingly. "I.... uh-you want me to meet your... dad?"

She snickered lightly at his stammering words. "Is that so bad of an idea?" she raised a brow at him, "I mean, I don't wanna have an awkward dinner with him alone."

"So your solution is for us to be awkward together?" He blinked at her nod. "Laurie, dads historically do not love me," he stated, "And by that, I mean that when I was a teenager, dads did not love me, and that's-"

Norah shushed him up with her hand covering his mouth. "The man's barely involved in my life. I'll punch him if he has an opinion about who I'm dating."

"I offered Sloan a place to stay, with us, for a while, since, you know..." he interjected hesitantly, and she paused on her words again, "I mean, is that alright with you?"

I don't wanna be the bad guy. I don't wanna be the bad guy. I don't wanna be the bad guy...

"Okay, I guess, sure. I mean, it's just a few days, right?" she smiled back before shifting closer to him. "Return me the favour and come with me tonight?"

He stared at the hopeful eyes looking right back at him and tilted his head that was resting on his arms. How could he say no?

"Of course."

Her face grew into a grin as she leaned forward and kissed him. He deepened their kiss while pulling her down from the upper bunk.

"Mark, I'm gonna fall," she mumbled through their connected lips.

"I'll catch you."

❦ ❦ ❦

LEXIE RUSHED UP TO THE resident who was on her way into surgery. "Norah-"

The older resident stopped at her steps and turned to her. "I-I was just wondering if there was a... dress code for your dinner with your dad?" Lexie asked, "I mean... I offered to go with Tim."

Norah cocked a brow at her, "He's going?"

"I... I'm trying to convince him to go."

Norah stared at the younger resident, who was eager for an answer; she smiled, knowing her brother was loved but sighed at their whole current situation.

"Lexie, I like you very much, really," she spoke, "But don't force him to this dinner if he doesn't want to."

The younger resident blinked and nodded with a tight smile, her head lowered; Norah sighed. "Dress code is formal. Our dad never dines in anywhere less than five stars," she answered, "Also, try to get him to wear a tie."

❦ ❦ ❦

AT SEVEN IN THE EVENING, Norah and Mark stood at the counter of a high-class Italian restaurant. A waiter had escorted them to a room, where Brandon had made a reservation at.

"Are you nervous?" she raised a brow at her boyfriend.

"Uh, yes?" he replied as though he was stating the obvious. "That's your father, Laurie."

"You want a tip?"

"Yes, please."

"Stop staring at my arse."

Mark lifted his gaze back to her with a smile, who shook her head back at him. She pressed down on the door handle, and he felt like holding his breath.

"Hey, Dad," Norah greeted with a bright smile as she stepped into the room, with Mark staggering behind her.

"I'm really glad that you're here, Norah," Brandon spoke and hugged her daughter.

"This is Dr Mark Sloan," she introduced, "My-"

"Partner, date, boyfriend," Brandon replied easily, and Mark blinked. "Your tie matches her dress, and her earrings match your watch," he pointed out, "It's quite obvious."

"P-Pleasure to meet you, Mr Lawrence," Mark spoke as he shook the man's hand.

"Tanner," Brandon grinned at Mark, who looked confused. "Brandon Tanner. The kids follow their mother's surname," he explained.

"Oh." Mark felt close to exploding out of the universe while Norah snorted next to him.

They were seated at the round table, and Brandon called for the menu. They spent a while browsing the food choices, making small conversations-mainly Brandon asking Mark a whole bunch of questions and the latter trying not to act nervous around his girlfriend's father.

Before they called for the waiter, the door to their enclosed room opened, and all three of them turned their heads towards the pair walking in. Brandon was more than surprised when his son turned up-with a woman next to him.

Timothy was notably against the idea of having dinner with his father, but Norah noticed Lexie pinching him on the waist, and he put on a wide-forceful-grin. He was also tugging uncomfortably at the tie around his neck, which made Norah snort at his struggle.

"I thought you said Tim wouldn't turn up," Mark whispered.

"Well, I guess Lexie had her way," Norah grinned knowingly.

Timothy sat down next to Brandon and Lexie next to Norah. The latter noticed the younger woman's eyes widening when she peeked at the menu. She shook her head with a quiet chuckle when Lexie immediately flipped to the salad and soups section.

They made it through dinner with a few exchanges of words and small talks among the surgeons.

The night was still awkward, and there was an odd tension somewhere in the air. Timothy had his hand laced with Lexie's under the table while Norah and Mark sat close, their knees bumping each other's every now and then.

❦

"I AM SURPRISED THAT both my kids are becoming surgeons," Brandon spoke up, earning all four's attention. "I'm proud, really, and I'm sure your mother would be, too, if she was here with us..."

Timothy frowned at the look on the man's face. "But?"

Brandon tugged his mouth into a smile. "But I always thought I could one day pass my business to one of you," he stated, looking between the two. Timothy rolled his eyes while Norah avoided his gaze.

"Sorry, Dad, that's not gonna happen," he spoke, "We've worked hard to get here."

"Like you," she interjected with a nod. "You, too, had worked hard, and now your business is amazing, growing really fast in the market, isn't it?"

Brandon nodded, "That's true."

Norah fiddled with the velvet tablecloth while she stared at her quarter-full wineglass. Her feet tapped silently under the table at the mention of this topic; it had always made her antsy. Mark noticed her fidgeting and grabbed her hand in his, resting both their entwined hands on his leg.

"But maybe one day... Maybe one day in the future, one of you will take over," Brandon continued, his eyes shifting from his son to his daughter. "Norah?"

She shook her head. "No, that's not happening, no," she stated uneasily, feeling the pressure rising her head.

"The medical field is a tough competitor for..." he trailed off.

"Women?" she finished his sentence, her eyes narrowed as it fixed with the pair of green looking back at her. Mark and Timothy both frowned at the older man at the table who was still sitting calmly while he put yet another business call on hold.

"I didn't say that."

"Well, you might as well did," Norah rolled her eyes.

"Why?" Brandon questioned. "I'm earning big figures, and you know that-both of you know that-"

"Don't fucking drag me into this again," Timothy snapped at him.

"-I just trying to understand why you'd give up an opportunity like this one."

"Maybe if you weren't that absent when we were kids, you would understand us better," Norah spat, and she watched her father's face falter. "Not everything is about money, you see," she deadpanned, shaking her head while standing up.

"Thanks for dinner," she scoffed lightly, "I had a brilliant time."

Norah turned and left the room; Timothy stared after her, and Lexie just looked like she wanted to go home.

"Mr Tanner, all due respect, but you can't force... anyone, in fact, to do something they will not enjoy for the rest of their lives," Mark stated, "It is and will feel like torture." He got up from his seat and nodded at the man who was sighing. "Excuse me. It was nice to meet you."

❦

NORAH SAT ON A BENCH across the restaurant, taking deep breaths as she calmed herself down. She saw Mark exiting the place a bit after her, and he immediately crossed the street and walked towards her.

"You wanna go home?" he queried, "I mean, Sloan's at Torres and Robbins's place, and I don't wanna keep them from their holiday."

She lifted her head to him while he stared back at her. She liked that he was caring for his daughter, without a doubt; the dad-side of Mark Sloan was something that she had to start getting used to.

"Just... sit here and wait a minute."

He took off his suit jacket and covered it over her shoulders before taking the seat next to her on the cold bench. They sat in the quietness in the chilly night, under the streetlight that shined on them like a spotlight.

They saw the many cars passing by. There was a man across the street, who was leaning in an alley, waiting for someone. More pedestrians were walking up and down the street. Some were chatting, some were drunk, most were hugging their coats closer to themselves.

The door to the Italian restaurant opened again, and Mark squinted as he saw Timothy and Lexie heading in their direction. He got even more confused when Norah stood up, and the siblings could not stop the smiles from widening on their faces.

"Success?" Norah asked, and Timothy patted himself on the chest.

"You fucking bet it is!" the younger Lawrence exclaimed.

Mark and Lexie looked at each other, both baffled with furrowed looks. It took the former a while before his eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Oh god... Laurie, please tell me you two did not plan this," he deadpanned. When Norah burst into laughter, he shut his eyes and shook his head.

"Oh my god!" Lexie stared at them with her jaw hung open as she smacked Timothy in the back. "Timothy Kai Lawrence! Y-You two planned an escape plan-a-and actually used it?!" she questioned in disbelief, "That's your dad in there and you-oh, my, god! Unbelievable!"

"Payback's a bitch!" Timothy grinned despite getting hit continuously by his girlfriend.

"Payback's our bitch," Norah smirked and gave his brother a high-five, the both of them still laughing uncontrollably.

Mark, too, had joined their laugh, and Lexie had soon been unable to contain herself with her chuckling. "Oh. My. God," she repeated, shaking her head. "I-I don't-How did you even?"

"That's what you get from a bloody genius and a cheeky grin," Norah announced proudly.

"Sly foxes, we are," Timothy smirked triumphantly, "Sly, sly foxes."

❦ ❦ ❦

CHRISTMAS DAY

"AND THIS GOES THROUGH the nose to the base of the skull," Mark explained as he and Derek demonstrated the equipment in his hand, "And then I drill the bone off."

Norah was flipping through multiple journals, books and researches about neurosurgery, technology, robotics and engineering at the same time. "Well, what happens once you drill the holes?" Meredith asked the attendings.

"We put miniature staple clips on the vessels," Derek stated.

"With what instrument?"

Derek and Mark looked at each other. "We don't have it," Derek replied, "Not yet."

"But we will. We will," Mark reassured hastily, "We're, uh, still trying to figure out how to build it, but we're on it."

Norah looked up from her pile of reading materials with a frown on her face. "You mean I am on it?" she narrowed her eyes at them while stalking over to their equipment model, "I'm the one with my nose deep in books on Christmas."

The two attendings nodded at her impassive stare with appreciative smiles on their faces. Meredith snorted at her fellow resident, who scowled at the men just as Bailey entered the room.

She walked in between Meredith and Derek, looking at the both of them with pleading eyes. "Uh... I would like an invitation to your home for Christmas dinner."

"Wait, doesn't it go the other way round?" Norah raised a brow at her, "You can request an invitation?" Bailey sent her a glare, and she merely nodded back with a tight-lipped smile.

Mark snapped his head to Norah urgently, his brows furrowed. "We're having Christmas dinner at their place?" he mouthed to her, and she returned him with an 'are-you-kidding-me' look through her widened eyes.

"I know it's very late for me to be asking for such an invitation, given that it is, in fact, Christmas day," Bailey resumed, "However, I have a very worried father, and if I don't look like I have some sort of... life, he'll never leave."

"Ooh, Norah can deal with fathers," Mark spoke up with a suppressed grin, "Her and Tim both."

"I have a bowel infarction to repair," Bailey informed, ignoring the couple who started shoving each other, "And then after that, I'll be free to come to your home."

"Sounds fine."

"Oh, absolutely."

"Thank you," Bailey exhaled in relief before leaving the room.

Arizona walked in urgently, her face looking drained. "The chief just cut off the funding for our equipment," she notified, and all heads snapped to her.

"What?"

"We're way over budget, and Nicholas is running out of time," Arizona informed.

Norah placed the book in her hand down onto the table. "Happy Christmas, your six-year-old is dying," she mumbled under her breath.

"Laurie, no," Mark physically covered her mouth while sending Arizona a nervous smile. The Pediatrics attending quirked a brow at them; he was relieved when nobody heard Norah's words. "You really should filter your words sometime."

"I should get a filter for Christmas."

❦ ❦ ❦

THE SURGEONS WERE OVER at Meredith and Derek's place for Christmas night. Eggnogs was getting passed around, and songs were sung. The whole vibe was merry, and everyone was absolutely jolly.

"You got him a snow globe?" Norah narrowed her eyes, hoping that she had wrongly heard her, "Of Seattle?"

"What? He likes Seattle," Sloan claimed, and the brunette had to fight back the major urge to roll her eyes.

You're Mark's kid, and I love Mark. Well, that doesn't mean I have to like you, but you are driving me to my nerves, and you're lucky that I don't have a short fuse.

"I gave you sixty bucks," Norah deadpanned as she sipped her eggnog in distress. "So I'm gonna guess you've spent the rest of them on what? Clothes?"

This time, she actually rolled her eyes when the blonde nodded enthusiastically, showing off her new jacket.

Derek sighed heavily when he noticed the brunette, who looked like she was about to implode due to the eighteen-year-old. Although the look on her face was amusing and laughable, he had a bad feeling for the possibilities of what could happen.

"Mark, I think your kids are bickering, and Norah looks like she's about to pick up a fight," he informed the man who was standing on the other side of the living room.

Mark nodded with a tight smile, "I... noticed, yeah."

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"I'm workin' on it."

"By her, I mean Norah," Derek indicated and took a sip off his drink while Mark stared at him blankly. "Oh, come on, your kid has been staying with you for a month. She's fine with that?"

"She isn't not fine with that...?"

"Is that an answer or a question?" Derek asked again, raising a brow.

Mark shifted his weight from one leg to another, staring at his best friend's questioning look. "Uh, she had no objections, and she gets along with Sloan better than I am, so I assume she's-"

"Assume?" Derek shook his head disapprovingly, "Mark, you do not wanna assume anything in a relationship, and I'm telling you this because you suck in relationships-talk to her."

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH WALKED DOWN THE corridor to their apartment after having to send a drunk Timothy back to his place, along with Lexie, who could not stop scowling him at the back seat.

Her phone popped up a ring, and she checked her messages curiously-one being from Lexie, who told her that her brother was passed out asleep on the floor, the other being a random number that she did not recognise.

Ignoring the assumingly spam message, she pushed her key into the keyhole to their apartment. She closed and locked the door behind her before approaching the lit part of the apartment.

Mark was sitting by the kitchen counter with a half-eaten bowl of ice cream sitting in front of him. "Oh, hey," he perked up when he saw her walking towards him, "Sloan's asleep, and uh... ice cream?"

She raised a brow at the melted dessert and shook her head. "Ice cream soup? No thanks," she rounded the corner and kissed him on the cheek, "I need sleep. Night, Mark."

"Hey, uh, Laurie?"

"Yeah?" she yawned and turned back to him.

"You're really okay with Sloan staying with us, right?" he asked softly, "I know it's been a month, and you've been nothing but supportive. I really appreciate that, and you even get along with her better than I do, but I don't wanna assume that you're just entirely fine with this..."

Norah scratched her head before walking back to him. He had a mixed expression on his face while his hand rubbed along his jaw-something he did whenever he was nervous.

"If you want me to be entirely honest, my answer is no," she answered and reached for his hand at his face, "But she's your daughter, and I do want you to get to know her. I don't mind her staying with us for a while, or a while more, for that matter. But I don't... envision this to be permanent, know what I mean?"

He looked down at his hand, where her fingers were tracing along with his. "Yeah, okay," he nodded, lifting his gaze back to meet hers with a grateful smile before pulling her in by her waist. "I love you."

"I love you more," she grinned back, "Now you put that ice cream soup in the sink and let's get some sleep because I'm really sleepy, and I sleep better with you beside me."

❦ ❦ ❦

NEW YEAR'S EVE

NORAH PUT HER PHONE away in the pocket of her white coat after what seemed like the fifth time in that hour. The messages from the random number had kept coming for the past week-it was starting to creep her out.

"You should block the number," Derek suggested, throwing her a glance as he lifted his head from the chart.

"Hm... I would, but the texts are... I don't know, fami-" she cut off her sentence when Mark caught up to them with a stressful look on his face.

"Hey, morning," he greeted Derek briefly before lowering his head back to his girlfriend, "You went out early."

"Got called in early, and you looked too peaceful to wake," Norah replied with a shrug while she took the coffee she got handed. She was about to speak again when she saw a certain blonde following them. "Oh... Why's your daughter doing here?"

Mark peered over his shoulder as his hand reached back up to his jaw. "Yeah... See, she's pregnant," he blurted out, and Norah's eyes went wide, as well as Derek, who was suddenly interested in their conversation.

"Sloan's pregnant, and I'm bringing her up for an ultrasound," Mark informed, his voice small. "I-I can't kick her out, Norah, not when..."

"I know, I know," she nodded, though she was still taken aback by the abruption. "Alright, you, um, bring her up to OB and... uh, page me if you need me."

He nodded and placed a kiss on the side of her neck. "Okay, yeah, love you."

Derek let out a long exhale and snorted when Mark hurried away. "'Page me when you need me'?" he mocked, and the resident sent him a glare. "Admit it. You don't like her staying with you guys."

"I don't," she let out a heavy sigh as they walked down the hallway, "I made it clear before, and he knows that I'm not the biggest fan."

"Mm-hmm..."

She turned her head to him at his change in tone. "Derek, I have no intention in throwing out his pregnant eighteen-year-old, dear god," she snapped at him, "And don't you dare paint me as an evil figure here. I'll slaughter you on New Year's Eve."

He snorted at the scowl on her face while she held back the urge to stomp on his foot. "With that last sentence, you're vicious."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I hate you, Shepherd. You're hateable."

"I'm not, and you don't."

❦ ❦ ❦

"HOW'S IT HANDLING?" Arizona queried. The three attendings were operating on Nicholas while Norah, Lexie and Meredith watched the screen that displayed the microscope's camera view.

"It could bend a little more gently," Derek replied.

"Don't get all critical," Mark frowned at him, "Thing cost me a fortune."

"I could use one more day to practice," Derek stated, "Inserting the clip applier." The instrument got carefully inserted through the boy's nostril.

"Why don't you try torquing it a little to get a different angle?" Mark suggested, "There you go."

The residents and nurses in the OR, as well as the gallery of surgeons above them, watched in anticipation. Norah let out a relieved exhale when the screen showed that the clip was successfully attached.

"Got it. That's the last clip," Derek announced with a smile under his mask, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're done here."

"Nice work. Beautiful."

"Oh, my god. You did it."

"Amazing!"

Choruses of cheers and congratulations passed along the OR, in which everyone was happy and relieved that they saved Nicholas's life.

"Hang on. Look at the clock," Derek pointed out, and everyone lifted their heads in that direction. "And that's, uh, seven... six..."

Everyone joined in as they counted down to the New Year, watching the hand of the clock ticking towards the north.

"Five... four... three... two... one-"

"Happy New Year!"

New Year wishes boomed in the OR, and the people in the gallery applauded in bliss. The surgeons pressed kisses-or more accurately, nudged their noses-to each other through their surgical masks.

Norah rounded the surgical field, and Mark lowered his head to her, kissing through the layer of mask.

They were glimmering in the holiday spirit, eyes smiling back at each other; the beaming grins that hung on their faces would be permanent.

❦ ❦ ❦

ON NEW YEAR'S MORNING, Norah received a text, again, from the number she had yet to block.

But this time, it caused goosebumps to rise on her skin.

From: Unknown Number
[09:00] Happy New Year.
[09:01] Hope to see you soon.

The number got blocked immediately, and every trace of the message thread got erased.

The fright inflated in her chest was an uneasy one, and she was one to shut off her negative overthinking.

Everything will be just fine... right?