S8 EP16

"OH, HEYA, TUCK," NORAH smiled at the five-year-old as Bailey dropped him off at the daycare. Tuck gave her a wave and a shy smile before hopping away to the box of blocks.

"You dropped Kai off?" Bailey asked the resident, who nodded in reply.

"Yeah, 'cause Mark won't be able to let him go because he's Mark," Norah chuckled. "Also, the ER's swamped with burn victims, so he was called in early."

The resident and attending walked out of the hospital's daycare together, not before running into Derek, who carried Zola on his hip. Norah did a double-take at the girl, trying to hide the disturbed look on her face.

"Oh, Dr Bailey, is the dumbbell tumor still on the books?" Derek asked.

"Yes, all good to..." Bailey trailed off; her eyes twitched when she saw Zola's hairstyle. "Is Meredith out sick today or...?"

"She came in early to study with Torres," Derek replied obliviously, bouncing his daughter in his arm, "Why?"

Norah was still looking rather petrified while Bailey blinked before turning her gaze back to the other attending. "Um, no, no reason," she claimed, "It's just that she usually... drops Zola off. So..."

"Hi, Zozo, I'll see you in a bit, hm?" Norah forced a smile at the attending and daughter pair before zooming out of the daycare. Once the doors closed behind her, she broke into cackles, unable to contain them any longer.

The doors got pushed open again, and Bailey stepped out. Her eyes widened as they stared back at the taller resident. "D-Did you see..."

"Poor Zozo."

"Oh my..."

"Poor, poor Zozo."

❦ ❦ ❦

TIMOTHY, MARK, AND Derek sat at the low round table in the daycare, each holding their child. The latter eyed the woman, who was glancing at him and Zola from outside, and his eyes narrowed. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Mark asked as he helped Kai to sit up on his leg.

"The way that woman looked at me and Zola," Derek pointed out, and Timothy raised a curious brow at him.

"Derek, we're hot doctors with babies. Women are gonna stare," Mark stated matter-of-factly before lowering his head to his son, "Isn't that right, little man? Hot daddy and hot baby."

Timothy snorted with a hint of amusement while Sofia lifted the ball toy and hit him on his jaw. "Ow-thanks, Sofia, but try not to hit your dad in the face next time."

"I think she's racist," Derek frowned with a tone of accusation.

Mark and Timothy quirked a brow at him; the former hung back a bit while the latter chuckled. "Uncle Derek is worried about bridging the cultural divide," Mark stated as he bounced Kai on his leg, "Well, lucky for him, your Uncle Timmy knows all about it."

The resident raised a brow at the father-and-son pair before shrugging in response. "I just took up extra language classes back in high school. Just glad that I'm fluent in Spanish," he mentioned before lowering his head back to his daughter, "¿No es cierto, Sofia?" (Isn't that right, Sofia?)

"You know she doesn't speak Spanish?" Derek deadpanned.

"Well, learning a second language boosts their problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, and listening skills, memory and concentration..." Timothy trailed off when he felt the two attendings furrowing their brows at him.

"Lexie has a photographic memory," he sighed, "And she's getting in my head."

❦ ❦ ❦

S8 EP18

"YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Norah ended the call, beaming from ear to ear as she snapped her head to the car's rear mirror, where Mark was already stealing curious glances at her.

"You're glowing-who was that?"

"Harvard," she replied in a singsong tone while she cooed Kai on the car seat next to her.

"Harvard? Isn't it still early for fellowship calls?" he glanced over to her briefly before keeping his eyes back on the road.

She nodded enthusiastically as they stopped at the red lights. "Remember the article I published earlier?" she asked, "They're gonna arrange a video interview with me, you know, alumni and all."

His eyes went wide, and he turned around on his seat to stare at the large grin on her face. "Holy crap. That's... wow," he shifted his gaze to Kai, "Your Mama's a genius, little man! I hope you got her brains!"

"Oh, you better get my brains, son, not your Dada's," she smirked. She stared at his eyes that flooded with pride and adoration; also, excitement.

Another car pulled to a stop next to them, and Mark raised a brow at the familiar faces inside it. He rolled down the windows, causing her to turn her head curiously. Derek and Meredith were in the other car, already had their window down.

"Hey, Derek, guess what? Norah's getting interviewed by Harvard!" Mark shouted from his seat as he leaned towards the opened window.

The neurosurgeon's eyes widened, too, and he had a proud grin on his face. "Congrats, Norah," he spoke, and she thanked him with a grin. "Mark, wanna race?"

"Zola's in the car, for god's sake!"

The two mothers stared at their partners in disbelief-both of them had a similar frown on their faces.

"Hey, Mer, tell Zozo I said hi," Norah called out.

"Aunt Norah said hi, Zozo. Are you gonna say hi back?" Meredith cooed to the baby in the back row of their car. Both the parents' faces beamed when Zola let out a noise.

"She said rawr," Meredith told the couple in the other car before turning back to her baby. "That's what a lion says."

Mark turned to his son with his eyes narrowed. "Can you say rawr, Kai? Rawr..."

"Mark, he's four and a half months old," Norah deadpanned, shaking her head at the glowing blue eyes, "Hey, eyes on the roa-holy mother of... Is that-"

"-a lion," Derek's eyes widened.

Mark blinked, "Rawr."

❦ ❦ ❦

"...AND IF THE ANEURYSM ruptures, I'd clip proximal and distal to it."

Lexie nodded and placed the flashcard down. "Ding, ding!" she voiced, "You're gonna ace your boards."

"Oh, I sure hope so," Norah sighed before tearing the crust off her sandwich while the younger resident slurped on her drink opposite her. "I'm losing sleep, daily."

"Well, I'm losing sleep, too. Tim's an ass, a good one, though," Lexie shrugged and gulped down her drink. Norah choked on her bread and furrowed her brows at the other resident, who realised what her words meant, and her eyes went wide.

"N-No, I don't mean it that way, oh my god!" she quickly cleared up. "He spends nights reading about baby things for Sofia, and my photographic memory has all these baby nutrients and stuff bouncing off my head. He loves his kid, I-I mean, Sofia's loveable, of course, but..."

"Lexie Grey, are you getting jealous over an infant?" Norah raised a brow at her.

"No, I'm not. No, no, no," she denied hastily. "We are taking things slow. Really, really slow, and we both agree it's the best approach."

"Well, that's great for the both of you. I'm glad," Norah grinned. She lifted her eyes to the two men shoving each other with their trays on their hands, both laughing at god knows what, but the two residents at the table stared at them with knitted brows.

"We're gonna be sister-in-laws one day, aren't we?" Lexie asked.

Norah nodded with a smirk, "Mm-hmm. As long as you two gits don't be stupid and break up again."

❦ ❦ ❦

S8 EP19

JACKSON WAS HANDING out the printed papers to the attendings who entered the conference room. On top of the table, there were cakes, pastries, fruits, and much more food which made their tummy grumble.

"'Excellence is not an act, but a habit,' Aristotle," Bailey read out the top line on the paper she got handed before lifting her head to the resident. "Avery, what is Aristotle doing in our staff meeting, and why are you even in here handing these out?"

"You mean when I could be practising medicine or studying for my boards?" Jackson asked with a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I've asked myself that same question."

"I-Lawrence, what are you doing here?" Bailey narrowed her eyes at the other resident, who walked into the room.

"I just dropped my kid off in daycare, and I'm hungry, and I saw food," Norah nudged her head towards the table of eatables in the middle of the room. "Can I..." Callie lifted a plate of tarts to her, and her eyes glittered as her mouth watered. "Thanks!"

"Mmm-this is delicious," Arizona commented after tasting a cake. "When did Hunt bump up the doughnut budget?"

"As Chief, I'm a firm believer that a nice variety of baked goods is the right way to start any meeting," a different voice announced as he entered the conference room.

Norah choked on her tart when she saw Mark in a suit and tie, and wearing a Bluetooth earpiece. He gave her a quick wink as he sat on the seat at the end of the table. "Avery, rub her back for me."

"As chief?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Seriously?"

Norah had just swallowed down a mouthful of water when she noticed lots of pairs of eyes glancing at her. "No, no, don't look at me," she replied with Jackson still patting her back.

The group of attendings all turned their heads back to the well-dressed man at the end of the table. "Dr Hunt and Dr Yang are down with the flu," Mark informed as he picked up a cake from the plate. "I'll be acting chief in Dr Hunt's absence. Could be a day, could be a week... What do we got for today?"

Norah was still blinking at her boyfriend's sudden 'promotion'; a smirk hiding under her confused face. One thing she had to admit was the dark suit looked ridiculously good on him-too good, in fact.

"Let me get this straight," Bailey voiced out in disbelief. "Dr Hunt asked you to fill in as chief-you? Mark Sloan? By name?"

"Yes, he did," he nodded. Derek was staring at him blankly while he passed the plate of bread to Norah, the latter raising a brow at her boyfriend. "Any other questions?"

❦ ❦ ❦

"JASON COOPER, 29-YEAR-old male with advanced juvenile arthritis, causing fusion of the jaw and extensive fusion of the C2, C3 and C4 vertebrae," Jackson presented with Mark standing next to him.

"He's been on a feeding tube for the past eight months," Cooper's wife added, "No solid food at all."

"Well, don't worry, Mr Cooper," Mark reassured as he looked at the patient with sincere eyes. "After we break your jaw and put in those sweet titanium hinges I made for you, you'll be eating burgers again real soon."

Norah, Derek and Ben Warren who were standing aside in the room shared a concerned look. "Could we have a word with you outside, please?" Derek asked.

All five of them stepped out of the room after sending the patient and his wife a comforting smile. Norah eyed Jackson, who could only shrug back at her, holding the clipboard of her boyfriend's entire schedule in his hand.

"The three of us don't think we should do the surgery today," Derek notified.

"Why not?"

Derek glanced over at Norah, who sighed and explained, "With Cooper's cervical fusion, him lying down on the operating table is gonna put pressure on the base of his spine."

"Not to mention that orotracheal intubation is impossible on this guy," Ben resumed, "I'll do nasotracheal, but if there's any compromise to the tube while he's under and he's got no mobility... Let's just say, I can't guarantee anything."

Mark nodded at their input and asked, "Well, what's your recommendation?"

"We postpone the surgery until other plans can be made," Derek stated.

Mark turned to the resident next to him. "And, Dr Avery, what would support performing the surgery as soon as possible?"

"The, uh, patient has a major abscess in the back of his mouth," Jackson replied.

Norah noticed Mark's lingering stare on her, waiting for her to continue.

Oh wow, why am I in the middle of this situation again? It all felt so familiar.

"Which could lead to sepsis or endocarditis."

Mark nodded. "Infection's a killer, which is why this can't wait," he concluded firmly, "So let's figure out a way to get Mr Cooper into surgery on schedule."

Derek shook his head with a sigh, "Well, frankly, I don't know what you think I can do for him three o'clock this afternoon."

"Rise."

"Excuse me?" Derek narrowed his eyes at the interim chief, having the same confused look as Ben and Norah.

"You have it in you. Lost causes, right? Making the impossible possible?" Mark stated, his eyes filled with hope and wonder, which caused Norah to stare at him concernedly.

Jackson took a step closer to Norah and whispered, "What did you do to him?"

"I think Kai broke him," she whispered back, her eyes telling him that she was just as confused as he was.

"Besides, you have a little genius with you," Mark shot the residents a look before turning back at the neurosurgeon, "Rise to the challenge, Shepherd. I believe in you-rise."

Norah ended up bursting into laughter as Mark walked off along with Jackson, the latter sending her a 'save me' look. Derek looked beyond puzzled and worried, while Ben chuckled next to him. "So you take orders from Sloan now?"

Derek shook his head worriedly before turning to the resident. "So, Kai broke him, huh?"

❦ ❦ ❦

TIMOTHY PLACED HIS lunch tray on the table-a little too harshly-as he sat down on the chair opposite Norah. "Sorry," he mumbled before shaking his head, "Or not. Your boyfriend is torturing me."

"How so?"

"He told me to rise," he deadpanned, and she snorted. "I have a trauma patient, and he told me to rise. Rise, fucking rise-oh, how I'd love to tell that to my dead trauma patients!"

Before she could reply, the empty seat next to them got pulled out. Jackson slumped onto the chair, setting his drink on the table. He let out a loud sigh before pulling out his study cards.

"Sloan's killing me with his whole 'beef with the chief' thing," he complained, "And I really need to study for my boards."

"See?" Timothy threw his sister a glare before turning to the other fifth-year resident, "Come on, I'll quiz you."

She shrugged at the pair before returning to her lunch, listening to Timothy quizzing Jackson from his study cards and the latter tapping his feet anxiously as he tried to dig out the answer from the back of his head. She was just about to drink her coffee when a hand seized it away from her tray.

She narrowed her eyes at the neurosurgeon, who gulped down her drink stressfully. "Derek, what the hell?" she scoffed at him while the other two residents eyed them curiously.

He placed down the half-empty coffee and snapped his eyes to her. "Norah, you are gonna be an excellent surgeon," he prefaced, and she cocked a brow at him. "But right now... Right now, you gotta fix your baby daddy."

"Fix him? How... What...?"

"Rewire him, reboot him, turn him off like a machine and turn him on again," Derek ranted on urgently before biting off the apple in his hand. "Get him back to his default... Mark-settings."

Jackson narrowed his eyes at the attending. "Mark-settings?"

"Yes, and you do it quick, because he just told me I can do better, and told me to rise, again," Derek gave the brunette a forced smile. "I don't think I can handle Mark being a chief any longer."

Timothy clapped his hand together, pointing at her sister with his mouthful. The three men surrounding her had the same look on their faces; they were all close to imploding and desperate for her to ease the situation.

Norah sighed at the three of them and rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine," she grumbled and stood up from her seat, making her way to the side of the cafeteria where Mark was sitting.

"Chief Sloan," she spoke up, and he lifted his head to her, a smile pulling his lips at her words.

"Dr Lawrence," he addressed while she sat down opposite him.

"I've been in this cafeteria for less than ten minutes, and I've already received three complains from your staff," she informed while taking away his bowl of salad.

"Really?" he raised a brow at her, passing her a fork, "Well, they gotta rise up and-"

"Mark," she cut him off, "They had quite literally sent me here to... reboot you. You're driving them crazy, and they'd probably form a riot by the end of the day. And Derek stole my coffee."

"Derek stole your coffee?"

She nodded and pulled her chair over next to him. He draped his arm over her while she leaned against his shoulder, watching as she drank off his cup of coffee with a hand resting on his leg. Her fingers tapped against his leg, drawing his thoughts away from work and all to her.

Yet he was thinking about how nice her hand will look with an extra touch to it.

He watched as her hand trail up to his chest, to his neck, before tugging against the knot of his tie; his mind was running free while she whispered in his ear, "You know, you are devilishly hot in this suit, but I prefer you out of it."

He turned to her with a lowered voice, "Are you trying to-"

"Yes, I'm trying to get you to an on-call room where I can rip this tie off your neck," she spoke confidently, twirling the necktie in her hand.

"You can't-"

"Oh, I can," she cut him off before he could even finish his sentence. "You don't own me, Mark Sloan, I own you."

Her words bloomed butterflies in his stomach, and the wet kisses she was placing along his jaw only made him shift on his seat. She stared at him when he turned his face to her, the dilated pupils and the quickening heart rate under her hand on his chest.

His jaw clenched when she moved her hand back to his leg, painfully slow.

"I mean, unless you'd rather have a wardrobe malfunction here..."

"On-call room. Now."