Medical Center
The story of the urban soldier king faded into memory with his departure.
Christina didn't mention a word of it to anyone.
After she finished ranting, she didn't give it a second thought. Her focus quickly shifted to fighting for her first chance to lead a surgery as a resident.
Conference Room
"What's going on here?"
Adam strolled in with the four interns, noticing something unusual. He chuckled as he walked over.
"Wedding cake samples," Meredith said with a grin.
"The bakery needs me to decide by tomorrow," Burke explained, placing small cakes on the conference table. He smiled at Christina. "I know you're busy—about to take the lead on your first surgery. But if you could just tell me which flavor you like, that'd be great."
With that, he flashed a smile at everyone and left the room.
"They look so happy," Lexie sighed.
"Cakes and cards?" Christina picked up a card in front of one of the cakes and smirked. "What, is he turning into a girl now?"
"Someone's gotta play that role," Adam teased. "Besides, caring's better than not caring, right?"
"That white one's really good," Carter said, already digging into a small cake and nodding approvingly.
Coming from an old-money family with a castle estate, if he said it was good, it meant Burke had really put in the effort.
"Should I grab one for Derek?" Meredith asked, sampling a piece.
"Depends on what you're trying to say," Adam replied, just observing without taking any.
"You think so too, huh?" Meredith shook her head. "Nah, if I give him one of these, he'll probably think I'm hinting at a proposal or something."
"Instead of worrying about Dr. Shepherd, maybe think about taking one to Liz," Adam suggested.
"Oh!" Meredith gasped, suddenly conflicted. "Yeah, you're right. Should I bring Liz a cake?"
Everyone fell silent.
Liz used to seem like the happiest of them all—she'd even given up her career for love. But now, with cancer, her "true love" wasn't by her side. Most of the time, it was just a nurse looking after her.
Meanwhile, Christina—the workaholic who used to clash with her the most—had both a thriving career and a blossoming romance.
If they sent her a wedding cake sample, everyone could already picture Liz's reaction: a forced smile and polite congratulations.
But if they didn't send one, word would spread through the hospital like wildfire. When Liz eventually heard about it, she might break down, sobbing, "You all don't even see me as a friend anymore…"
Back in the day, Christina would've just watched her quietly, maybe even thrown in a sarcastic jab or two. But now, with Liz battling cancer, even Christina didn't want to upset her.
"O'Malley, take one to Liz," Adam said, shaking his head at everyone's hesitation and directly assigning George the task.
"Yes, sir," George replied. He was a little torn but didn't argue.
That's the plight of the worker bee. Like when Chandler's boss used to slap his butt—he'd resisted at first, but when it stopped, he ended up craving the attention. George was at the point where he'd rather Adam treat him like a lackey and pile on the tasks than ignore him entirely.
"Dr. Bailey, I saw you've got an appendectomy on the board. Can I scrub in?" Christina asked as soon as Bailey walked in.
"Dr. Bailey, you look stunning today," Meredith added with a smile. "Mind if I join that appendectomy too?"
Bailey let out a dry laugh. "Oh, I get it. You two heard that the first resident-led surgeries the past couple of years were appendectomies. So now you're suddenly all about the procedure you used to turn your noses up at—just to get some practice in, huh?"
Christina and Meredith just smiled without a word.
"Yang!" Bailey glanced at the cake samples, called Christina's name, grabbed a cake—tossing the card aside—and strolled out like it was nothing.
Her moves were so smooth, you could tell she'd done this before.
"…" Meredith was speechless.
What was she supposed to do—marry Dr. Shepherd just to practice an appendectomy and bribe Bailey with cake?
Ward
"Dr. Duncan, hi," a middle-aged woman said. "This is Aunt Joyce's nephew, my two brothers, Torben and Luke. They just flew in this morning. Torben, Luke—this is Dr. Duncan. You've probably heard of him!"
"Sorry, but your aunt's condition is terminal. There's nothing more we can do," Adam said, looking at the three family members. "It's about time to say your goodbyes."
"You mean right now?" Torben, dressed in a sharp suit, asked. "Or, like, in the next 24 hours? How much time are we talking?"
"It's hard to say for sure," Adam replied, shaking his head. "But I'd guess she won't make it past 24 hours."
"You're sure she won't last that long?" Torben pressed. "I've got a flight to catch early tomorrow. If it's after noon, I won't make it."
"…" Everyone was at a loss for words.
But it got worse.
"I'm flying out tonight," Luke, the balding suit-clad nephew, chimed in. "Big board meeting tomorrow—huge deal. So, do you think she'll die by then?"
The middle-aged woman looked at Adam awkwardly but stayed quiet.
Beep beep.
Beep beep.
Just then, the monitor started blaring.
"Crash cart!" Adam called, jumping into action.
"Charge to 360—clear!"
After a flurry of effort, they managed to bring the old woman back.
"God's really looking out for her, huh?" Torben muttered.
"Do you know how many people in this hospital are praying their loved ones will pull through right now?" Lexie snapped, unable to hold back. "How can you guys be like this?"
"You don't get it," Torben said, glancing at her. "Three years ago, Aunt Joyce was given a month to live. The three of us rushed here, held her hand by her bedside for weeks, crying as we said our goodbyes."
"Then she stabilized," Luke picked up, his voice flat. "A month after discharge, she was back in. Every time, we'd hop on a plane, show up at her bedside, and tearfully say goodbye. And every time, she'd bounce back."
"It's been three years," the woman added with a bitter smile. "We all want to be there when she goes—we really do. But we've flown out here over ten times now. She's ready, and so are we."
"It's time," Torben said with a helpless chuckle.
"…" Lexie was dumbfounded, speechless.
"We know Dr. Duncan's an amazing doctor," Luke said, turning to Adam. "So we're hoping you can give us a straight answer: either cure her completely or let her go peacefully."
(End of Chapter)