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uncpanda · 3 years

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Second Chances

AN: In ten years I have NEVER written a oneshot this long, it’s over 10,000 words and nearly twenty pages, but this idea has been bugging me for a few weeks. I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Mike Dodds x Fem!reader

Warning: Self harm; after a case Mike does bare knuckle boxing as a form of self punishment, nothing too graphic. Mentions of major character death.

“So, what’s our reason?”

Liv doesn’t even glance up at you. After six years, she’s gotten rather good at working through your babbling. “Our reason for what?”

“Hating the new sergeant? When Rollins and Amaro came we hated them because they weren’t Elliot? Are we hating the new guy because he isn’t Nick?”

She glares up at you, “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that, right?”

You shrug, “It’s my specialty.”

“We didn’t hate Carisi when he transferred in.”

“No, I didn’t hate him. The rest of you were . . . enh? Not to mention the poor man has been asked to be called Sonny about a billion times and I’m the only one who will do it.”

“Carisi was brash. . . and then there was that mustache.” You shiver a bit at the memory. That thing had been horrible. “And now Carisi is a much loved member of the team.”

Out of the corner of your eye you watch the chief walk in with who you assume is his son. You lean back against Liv’s desk, “They don’t look much alike, do they?”

Liv peers around you, “Nope. Be ready though, I’m going to have you teach him the ropes.”

You smile and then head out of the office and back to your desk, the one that sits right across from the new sergeant. You catch his eye as he passes by and you give him a small smile before diving into your paperwork.

You’re just getting to the bad part of the paperwork, when you hear your name called. Your head shoots up and you lock eyes with Liv. She’s smiling, it’s her ‘company’ smile, the one she uses for political shindigs.

“Y/F/N Grey this is Mike Dodds, our new sergeant. Dodds, this is Grey.”

Your first thought, standing in front of him is, man is he tall. Your second thought is, man is he pretty. You shake his hand and exchange pleasantries.

“You mind showing the sergeant the ropes? I’ll be along shortly, but the chief and I need to finish our conversation.”

“No problem Leiu.” You take the slip of paper from her with the details, “Finn and Sonny already there?”

“Yep. So do me a favor and make the introductions.”

“On it.”

You grab your jacket, do a small spin as you put it on, and smile at your new team member, “Time to head out Sarge.”

You see the confusion on his face as you head out. You stay quiet on your way to the hotel. He’s nervous, you can see it in the slight twitches in his fingers. He’s doing better than you had on your first day; you’d run into a wall while taking a perp down, and the entire squad had mother henned you for a week. You’d been twenty three, and had been deemed the kid from that moment on. Nevermind the fact that you were twenty-nine now, the nickname was still heavily used.

You make introductions at the hotel. Your sergeant seems to relax a little bit in the presence of fellow males, and you nearly snort. Finn and Sonny are more weary of him than anyone. They’re fiercely protective of you and Liv and Rollins. Your loveable boys.

You nearly burst out laughing when the Sarge mentions his father. Any possible goodwill for the boys just went out the window, and you ask him, “Can I give you a tip?”

He looks down at you, “Did I screw up already?”

Your lips twitch, “No. Just some advice.”

He looks hesitant, “Okay.”

“Be Mike.”

He blinks a few times, “What?”

“Be Mike. Don’t be Chief Dodds son. Be Mike . . . SVU sergeant.”

He stills, “You mean, don’t use my dad’s name.”

You smile fully, “I mean. . . be yourself. Don’t be what others expect you to be. This department is . . . brutal. A lot of the time, we pour our hearts into cases only for it to end up as a slap on the wrist. And that isn’t our ADA’s fault. He’s a good guy, snarky as hell, but he knows how to make an impression . . . and I’m rambling. When I do that, call my name, and I’ll get back on topic. Anyways, we get through everything by being a family. We text at all hours, and we spend holidays together. The only way you’re going to make it here. . . without losing who you are in the job, is by embracing the squad. We’re your people now.”

He stares at you for a second, “You’re very honest . . . you know that?”

“Yeah. I’ve been told that. I’ve also been told I’m obnoxious . . . if I get to be too much just let me know.”

He shakes his head, “No. It’s refreshing.” You beam at him.

Your Sarge does well. He picks up the terminology quickly, and when you correct him on the water and DNA thing he takes it well. You count those as good signs. He really earns your respect when he doesn’t rat out Rollins to his dad, and you can see a glimmer of respect in Liv’s eyes too.

As the case wraps up and the paperwork is finished it’s nearly two am, and none of you

have eaten, “Who’s up for Pizza at my place? Sheets and blankets have just been washed, so the pullout couch and chaise are up for grabs.”

Rollins declines, but she usually does, and Liv has to go home to Noah. Sonny and Finn are all game though, and you look at Mike expectantly. He hesitates, “I still have paperwork left . . .”

“And it’ll be there in the morning. When you’re just starting out with those reports they take forever, and you may actually starve and wither away into nothing if you try to do them all at once. Come eat pizza and be subjected to Sonny’s bad taste in movies.”

“Hey!” You toss him a grin over your shoulder and he rolls his eyes.

“You sure I’m not intruding, new guy, boss’ son and all that?”

You roll your eyes, and walk over to him. You grab him by the arm and haul him up,

“Sonny grab his coat.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Mike looks back at you as you literally push him towards the door, “I thought I was in charge.” Both Finn and Sonny laugh at that.

Sonny is the one who drives, and the boys immediately make themselves at home while you order the pizza before going to change. Mike is the only one who’s a little stiff. You watch as he looks around and stops at a photo, “These your parents.”

You hand over water bottles to each of the guys, Finn scowls, “No beer?”

“Not at 2:30 in the morning.” You turn your attention back to Mike, “Yep!”

“They live close by?”

“No. Seattle. And thank God, they’re worriers.”

He smiles, “Not cops?”

“Surgeons. So are my siblings. I went against family tradition, much to my mother’s displeasure. She doesn’t like dangerous jobs.”

Finn huffs, “That’s an understatement. Your mom calls me at least once a week so I can list the trouble you’ve gotten into.”

“Well, I am her daughter.”

Your family is dropped from conversation, as the pizza arrives, and you sprint for the door. Before you can pay Mike steps in and hands over cash. You stare at him, and he stares back, “Did I do something wrong?”

Before you can tell him about the system you have for paying Finn cuts in, “Don’t you complain about free pizza! I swear.”

You look back at Mike, “You did nothing wrong, it's very sweet of you. Thank you.”

He studies you for a second and then crosses his arms against his chest, “There’s some sort of system in place, isn’t there?”

“Yes. And I will tell you about it, when Finn isn’t around to interrupt or trying to change the rules.”

Sonny laughs, “He can’t change the rules anymore, you wrote them down, remember?”

“It’s nearly three am, be happy I’m conscious.”

The pizza is consumed quickly, and Mike starts to relax more and more, as a movie is put on. Eventually, all of the boys fall fast asleep. Finn on the couch, Sonny on the chaise, and Mike on the floor. At least Finn gave him one of the throw pillows. You take out your assortment of blankets and cover all of them before padding back to your room.

You wake up to the smell of food. It’s nearly ten am, and the squad has the day off after working pretty much through the night. You trudge out and find Sonny and Mike in the kitchen while Finn is eating cereal at the table. “They were taking too long.” He explains in between bites of lucky charms.

You roll your eyes fondly, “Just means you’re washing dishes.”

Sonny snorts, “No he isn’t. The man ruins pots and pans. I will do the dishes.” He turns to Mike, “My mother bought her these pots and pans.”

Mike’s brow furrows, “Are you two . . .?”

You burst out laughing, and then look at Sonny, “Sorry. It’s just I know way too much about you, and your childhood, and your family to ever step into that web.”

He waves away the laughter, and turns to Mike, “Despite my mother’s desire otherwise, she’s like a sister. I got hurt on the job one time and she went to get my mom personally. Of course it was during a bible study meeting, and my aunt Florence, my father’s sister, started bad mouthing me and the job, and Y/N made some comments that put her in her place, and bam, my mother started talking about grandchildren.”

“Also known as the reason I refused to go to your cousin’s wedding with you.”

Mike grins, “Afraid she was going to pull a gun and force the two of you to get married?”

You point at him, “You make fun, but when you meet Mama Carisi you’ll understand. I

also expect you to provide cover so I can sneak out.”

“I can do that.”

The boys leave a little while later, with Mike being the last one out. He wavers at the door, “Thank you for this. It’s been a long time since I’ve just been one of the guys, and not . . . “

You deepen your voice and finish his sentence, “Michael Dodd, perfect son with a stick up his ass?”

His eyes go wide, “You don’t pull punches, do you?”

You shrug, “Like you said. I’m very honest. And it’s under those circumstances that I’ll say, I think last night might have knocked the stick loose.”

He sighs, “Until I see my dad again.”

You lean against the frame, “It’s not easy being a legacy kid, having the expectations thrust upon you. I know. I’ve been there. I was supposed to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, that’s the specialty my mother had me pegged for. Wanted me to go do my residency in Switzerland with an aunt who runs an institute.

“I swear, when I told her I was going to be a cop, she went white as a sheet. She said, tragedy follows our family, and it would end with me dead in the street. She didn’t talk to me for a week after that.”

“And now?”

You smile, “Now she comes to any sort of promotion or awards thing, she flies out just to see me, and we text constantly. It helps reassure her that I’m okay.”

There’s a moment of silence before Mike admits, “I wanted to open a bar. I even tended bar when I got out of the army. Dad tolerated it for a little while, I think he knew I needed time to recover, but eventually the conversations about where my life was going started, and . . .yeah.”

“Are you unhappy?”

He shakes his head, “No. I love what I do.”

You smile, “So do I.”

There’s another moment of silence before you say your goodbyes.

You find a good rhythm with your sergeant. He hits a few bumps in the road but he’s a good cop, and he’s really trying to make himself a part of the team. For the most part people are pretty receptive, but Rollins is still on edge around him, and Liv is . . . wary. The most important thing is that he doesn’t name drop anymore, even when his father stops by he addresses him by sir. That goes a long way towards unifying things.

Then comes his first kid case. You can see the toll it takes on him. He goes from warm and welcoming to closed off and self loathing. You know there’s nothing you can say to make him feel better. So, you stay nearby, and you stay quiet. You don’t even tease him when he and Sonny come back dressed in uniform. You do spare a minute to think about how good he looks though.

When the case is wrapped up, and he’s drowning himself in paperwork, you remind him that your door is open. You don’t expect him to use it, but he does. He knocks on your door a few minutes before midnight. You’re lying on the couch, getting ready to fall asleep in a position that’s going to leave your neck crying in the morning, when you hear it.

You’re a little surprised to see Mike on the other side of the door, part of you had expected Sonny. Kid cases usually lead to him crashing on your couch. The stubble is still covering his jaw, and his hair is a mess. He’s dressed in workout clothes, and you notice his hands wrapped in bloody bandages. You tsk, he’s been punishing himself.

Without a word you steer him towards the bathroom. You force him to sit on the counter, before you clean his knuckles. “Please tell me this was the result of a punching bag, or another consenting adult? I don’t want to have to break in a new sergeant.”

“I’m the only one hurt.”

You rub neosporin over the cuts, before you apply some gauze, and then bandages. When it’s done you pull out the Advil and pop two in his hand before handing him a small paper cup. He pops the pills before sliding off the counter. You push him into the doorway so you can clean up.

You can feel his eyes tracking you, and then you feel them on your ass. You straighten and look at him, “Are looking at my ass?” He blushes and you laugh, “Good to know I still got it.”

“Sorry.”

You shrug, “You can’t do this every time Mike.”

He leans against the frame, “I know.”

“Bloody knuckles aren’t a good look.”

“Usually I wear gloves, but tonight I needed to feel it.”

You sigh, and once again steer him towards the living room. You push him onto the couch and he looks up at you, “You know, you push me around a lot.”

You roll your eyes, as you search for the card you need, “Someone’s gotta do it.” You find it and hand it over to him.

“A therapist?”

You wrap your arms around yourself, “It’s who I go to. It’s how I keep the job from swallowing me whole. And this job, this department will do it Mike. Don’t let it.” He stares at you for a second and your brow furrows. You settle down on the couch next to him and place a hand on his forearm. You don’t miss how he leans into it, and that’s when it hits you; the poor guy is touch starved.

Your lips purse, mainly because you didn’t notice it before. You’re a fairly affectionate person to those you know. You hang off of Sonny all the time, or lay your head on Liv’s shoulder, you’ve been known to rest your chin on Barba’s shoulder as he reads, but you haven’t gotten to that point with Mike yet. That needs to change.

You grip his shoulder and gently tug him towards you. He hesitates for half a second before he leans into it, and you have his head settled in your lap. You run your fingers through his hair, and let your nails scrape against his scalp. He melts into it. And when the sobs come, and tears for Lily fall, you don’t stop, because Mike Dodds is a good man.

You lean your head down so that you’re bowed over him, and you whisper reassuring words: he did his best, he’s a good man, he’s kind, he’s strong, he’s gentle. You feel him grip your hand with one his own, and you know this moment of weakness is a huge sign of trust, and you wonder who he has in his life. You decide he has you and the squad and you’ll make damn sure that’s enough.

You wake up the next morning, on top of Mike. Your limbs are tangled together and his arms are holding you close to his chest. You can feel yourself blushing, especially when, in his sleep he buries his nose in your hair. But you don’t fight it. You actually like being in his arms, and you stop the thought there because you can’t go any farther.

Eventually, he starts to stir, and when he’s awake he blinks at you owlishly and you declare, “You’re like an octopus when you sleep, you have to glomp onto something.”

He laughs, “Nope. Just you.”

You roll your eyes, and he lets you go as you roll off of him. “I bet you have a body pillow and everything.”

He snorts and follows you into the kitchen, “Yeah right.”

You start making coffee, and you hear Mike ask, “Do you think having a life outside of the force is actually possible?”

You raise an eyebrow, “I’d imagine so. Liv seems to have figured it out with Noah. . . I mean it took her fifteen years . . .” The quip doesn’t get the smile you expect. “What’s going on Mike?”

“I want it.”

“A life?”

“The wife, the kids, the house in the suburbs.”

You lean against the counter, “So what’s stopping you from getting it?”

“Life, my father, the rules? What about you?”

“Husband sounds nice. So do the kids. I don’t know about the suburbs though. I think I’d spend more time in the car than at home. Plus, I like knowing I can get takeout at any time day or night.”

He smiles at that, “I could compromise with that.”

Your brow furrows as you process and then your mouth makes a little “oh” shape. He smiles, “For such a good detective you’re oblivious.”

“Only in my personal life. I actually ended up dating a guy for a year and didn’t know it until he tried to kiss. I thought we were just hanging out!”

Mike walks towards, you and hesitates before you give him a small nod. He cages you in with his arms and bends down so he’s looking you in the eye, “I’d like to take you on a date detective.”

You grin, “See, that’s how you do it. Simple, straight forward, and I don’t have to interpret anything.”

“Is that a yes?”

You roll your eyes, “Duh.”

He laughs, and you nudge him, “Come on, you have to admit this will make a good story to tell those hypothetical children you were talking about.””

“Yeah. Oh how did I ask your mother out, well it was just after a case, I alluded to the future, and she still didn’t get a hint, and when I asked her out she said duh.”

You pat his cheek affectionately, “You’ve got time to work on your storytelling skills.”

You move to walk away and he snags you around the waist, spinning you towards him and you squeal before falling into laughter as his fingers dance across your ribs, tickling you. You break free and make a mad dash around the apartment. You dodge him for several minutes before going on the offensive. You jump from the couch and onto his back.

He takes your weight: no problem, and makes sure your secure before allowing the two of you to fall back onto the couch together. You wrap your arms around him from behind, and clasp them together right near his heart, and lean forward so that your cheek is pressed against his. His large hand comes up to cover yours. Quietly he says, “You’re one of the only people I can be ‘just Mike’ around.”

“Hmm. I think you should be ‘just Mike’ all the time. He’s a good dude.”

He laughs, and when he turns his head you lean in and brush your lips against his. He’s hesitant at first, and you can understand why. He’s a good guy, but with the things you see on the job, he needs to be sure. So you say, “You can always check in with me Mike. My standard code is green is good to go, yellow is slow down, and red is stop, just ask for my color.”

He visibly relaxes, “Color.”

“Green.”

His lips crash against yours. They’re warm, and soft, and you think he tastes just a tad like vanilla chapstick. You save that tidbit for later, as your hand threads through his hair. It’s soft and a little fluffy. All in all the moment turns into you two making out like teenagers on the couch and you both leave that day with a few new marks on your neck.

You don’t disclose, not right away. While you’re pretty sure what you and Mike have is the real deal, you want to be careful. You know his dad isn’t going to take your relationship well, and filing disclosure paperwork is a big neon sign for a fight.

So, you pass the days with secret looks and covert touches, as Mike continues to fully integrate himself into the squad. You catch him joking with Liv, and talking baseball with Rollins. He, Sonny, and Finn actually go out to the bar to watch some pay per view fight every other week. Things are good. . . until they aren’t.

It starts off as a simple favor from Liv asking you to pick her up on the way to the DNA conference. You agree, rather reluctantly from the warmth of Mike’s arms while he still sleeps wrapped around you like a koala. He’s spending more and more nights at your place in the six months you’ve been dating. In fact, he basically lives with you at this point. He has clothes in drawers and hanging up in the closet. His gym bag has a home in your hall closet, and he has shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletries in the bathroom. It should seem like things are moving too fast, instead it’s like things are meant to be.

You untangle yourself from Mike’s arms, and get ready as quietly as possible. When you get out of the shower, he’s awake but still in bed. He smiles lazily at you as you get dressed, “Leaving a little early, aren’t you?”

“Liv asked me to pick her up on the way to the conference.”

He sighs and shifts under the covers, “You guys gone all day?”

“Most of it, unless something comes up.”

You swoop down and kiss him, before you can pull back he murmurs, “Love you.”

He goes still, when he realizes what he just said, but you don’t hesitate, “Love you too.” You toss him a wink that has hime laughing and you’re out the door. It’s fast but you and Mike just click.

You pick Liv up, and you thank her profusely when she shoves a cup of coffee at you. She grins, “Don’t thank me yet. It’s a bribe. I need to make a stop. Lucy is worried about the other family she nannies for.”

You shrug, “Give me the address and let’s go.”

“There’s the enthusiasm I love you for!” You just laugh.

You follow her to the door, and take in the sights on the street. You never see the butt of the gun coming. It makes contact with the back of your head . . . hard, and you go down, and then everything goes black.

When you come to your hands are ziptied behind your back, and you have to wiggle into a sitting position.

You look around and find Liv in a chair next to who you assume is the mother. Her face has bruises blooming. Your gaze moves to the two kids in the corner. They look terrified. Your gaze then shifts to a man and a woman; they’re obviously on something, and that is not good.

The man, Joe, catches you up on the situation; you’re being held hostage, the mother is being sent out with a third accomplice to get the money they want and you, Liv, and the kids are his meal ticket. When the mother leaves, Joe decides to separate you from the group. He grabs you by the hair, and drags you to your feet.

The moment you’re standing you act on instinct, and you throw your knee into his crotch. He goes down with a whimper, and a second later the girl, Roxie, has punched you, sending you back to the floor. “You bitch!”

He moves towards you and you glare, “Touch me, and you’ll lose that hand.” He looks wary, having the family jewels attacked tends to do that. Instead of grabbing you again he points the gun at you, “Kitchen now.”

You do as you’re told, and Roxie is the one who secures you to the table, right next to the unconscious and bleeding father. You listen as the mother is led out of the house, and Liv and the kids are led upstairs.

The father is unconscious and bleeding from the head. You try to tell yourself that those wounds always look worse. Eventually, exhaustion begins to tug at you. You feel your head dip several times before you allow it to just take over. Knocking on the door is what wakes you.

You listen carefully, and when you hear Mike’s voice on the other side you want to cry. Instead you do your best to keep your face straight and unemotional. He and Sonny are sent away, but you know he knows something is wrong.

A little while later you hear yelling from upstairs, and after that the telltale signs of sirens. Hostage negotiation is about to begin. Liv and the kids are brought back down, and you’re kept in the kitchen. You listen as negotiations are made for the father to be taken out. You’re a little surprised, but not by much, when Mike enters posing as one of the paramedics.

You make eye contact with him, and mouth the word green; you’re doing okay.

He mouths back the word red; he’s not okay. You’re in here, and he can’t get you out, and you know it’s killing him. You watch him disappear through the door and you want to cry because all you want to do is go back to that morning, when he was wrapped around you, and you were safe.

It’s another hour or two before Roxie leaves to check the SUV, and another hour after that before Joe decides to go out. You’re being left behind, apparently Joe doesn’t like you. But before he goes he squats down in front of you and says, “If it wouldn’t have swat rushing in here, I’d put a bullet in your head.”

That’s a lie. He isn’t willing to kill, or he would have done it before Mike and Sonny had come looking for you. He knows the jail sentence that carries, and killing a cop usually got you life. You don’t say anything, because you know Joe’s minutes are limited. So instead, you close your eyes and you listen for the sounds.

Things are unusually quiet before you hear Liv shout and then, the sound of a bullet. Not a minute later the front door bangs open, and Mike is in front of you. He has you cut free in seconds and your shoulders and arms weep in relief as they’re freed. You sort of collapse on top of him before the paramedics move in to help.

You’re taken to the hospital, and Mike is the one to ride with you. You can hear him shoot Sonny down when he offers. It’s a little forceful and kind of harried. He’s allowing himself to freakout a little bit now.

Once you’re safely in the ambulance you take his hand and admit, “Yellow.”

He lets out a breath, “Same.”

He doesn’t leave your side. Some uniformed officers come to him as you’re in the emergency room, and he sends them to Finn. When his father calls he sends it straight to voicemail, and he admits, “I think it’s time we disclose.”

“Can we do it after the doctors look at me?”

He grins, “You’re cracking jokes, that’s good. It means you’re going to be okay.”

The nurse comes in and asks for your medical history, she looks at Mike pointedly when she does this, and you wave her off. “He can stay.”

You detail how you had your appendix out when you were eleven, and the few non-life threatening injuries you’ve had on the job: two bullet grazes and a broken arm. And then she asks a doozy of a question, “Are you pregnant or think you might be pregnant?”

Your immediate reaction is no. You haven’t been in a relationship in years and you’re not a one night stand kind of girl. Then you remember, you’re in a relationship, and yes you’ve used protection, but nothing is a hundred percent effective, especially after watching Mike box. You try to think about when your last period was, but your head hurts from the math.

You can feel Mike’s eyes on you, and he quietly says “It was over a month ago.”

You blanche, and the nurse nods as she catches on, “How about we do a test real quick.”

“Please.”

She takes some blood and disappears, and you look at Mike with wide eyes. He takes your hand, “It’s going to be okay.”

“We’ve only been together. . . .”

“I know. And knowing us. . . it will be okay.”

“Your dad . . .”

“Is not a factor in this. This is your choice.” And he looks so strong and so steady, you know what your choice is.

It takes about an hour to get the results, and the same nurse slips back in. She hands you the piece of paper that reads positive. You hand it to Mike and the nurse looks between the two of you before saying, “That’s going to be one pretty baby.”

You burst out laughing, and Mike joins you a few seconds later. You’re told an MRI is the best option, but they’re still going to cover your stomach with something to be on the safe side. You have a concussion and they want to keep you overnight to monitor you.

When that’s dealt with the OBGYN on duty is sent in to check you out. You’re not far along, only seven weeks, and you wonder how you missed it. The doctor assures you that it’s normal, and then asks if you want to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Once again, Mike leaves it up to you, and you nod.

You grip Mike’s hand as you wait in silence, and when you hear it, a rush of relief leaves you, and you feel a few tears fall. Mike wipes them away and places a kiss on your forehead. You’re cleaned up, and a few minutes later the room is open to visitors.

Sonny comes in literally seconds later, carrying pizza and cannoli. “I brought food, and managed to convince my mother to not come up and see you. She is, however, lighting a candle for you. Whether it’s for you feeling better or us getting together, I don’t know.”

You watch Mike’s jaw clench from the corner of your eye. Sonny doesn’t know about you and Mike, and it’s a long standing joke between the two of you since he’s hopelessly in love with Barba, and usually Mike doesn’t mind, but you can tell he’s feeling a little protective. You find that a hostage and surprise daddy-hood will do that to a man.

“Thanks Sonny.”

“No problem. The lieu is asking for you by the way, Sarge. She’s just down the hall, 308. Tucker, the Chief, and Finn were in there too.”

Reluctantly, you watch Mike move out of the room, and once he’s gone Sonny closes the door and turns to you, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

Of course he’s figured it out, “Does anyone else know?”

“Naw. Everyone knows you two are close, I just know the two of you better than they do. And the mom jokes have been wearing on him lately. So, how long have you two been . . . ?”

“Six months.”

He hands you a slice of pizza, “You going to disclose?”

“Kind of have to.”

“Have to?”

You swallow your bite of pizza, “I’m pregnant. Seven weeks. And I’m only telling you, because you’re my best friend and you know everything.”

“I thought your parents were doctors. Didn’t they teach you about safe sex?” He teases.

“Yes. They did not, however, teach me about the allure of watching one’s partner box.”

He makes a face, “Too much information.”

You scoff, “I’ve listened to you go on and on about Barba and your secret dates, and him waiting for you after you took the bar, and much more sordid things. You can handle my PG 13 story.”

He pushes another slice on you, “Just eat, so my niece or nephew can grow properly.”

You’re released from the hospital the next day. Sonny is the one to drive you home and stay with you while Mike is forced into the precinct. He’s determined to get the disclosure paperwork in ASAP, and the paperwork in regards to the hostage situation is somewhat sorted on top of that.

When he finally gets home later that night, his tie and jacket are stuffed into his gym bag, and his sleeves are rolled up. He collapses on the sofa next to you while Sonny just watches in amusement. “Paperwork in?”

Mike allows his body to fall so that his head lands in your lap and he’s staring at Sonny, “It’s in. I was told it might take a few months to end up on my father’s desk though, since it has to go through HR.”

It doesn’t take a few months for it to land on his father’s desk. In fact, news of your relationship spreads like wildfire through the department. It results in teasing from Finn and Rollins, a sit down/ serious conversation with Liv, and stares from others in the precinct. You make it a habit to keep things strictly professional in the workplace, all while keeping your baby a secret.

Mike’s dad blows into the office, two weeks after the paperwork is filed. His face is red with anger and he locks onto you the moment he storms through the doorway. Mike catches him before he reaches you. There’s a whispered, “Not here,” before Dodds senior is whisked away into one of the conference rooms.

You do your best to ignore it, but you can still hear snippets; accusations of you sleeping your way to a better job, accusations of you using Mike, accusation after accusation, and it has your eyes prickling with tears. Damn pregnancy hormones.

Barba comes in half way through the tirade, where the entire department is watching the father/son duo duke it out, and settles next to you. He offers you a handkerchief, and you just know that his boyfriend told him what’s going on.

That’s when Liv notices and scoots over to you, “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

You’re just about to respond when you hear Mike shout out, “Cause I love her dad. We’re having a baby!”

Your face burns as Liv’s jaw drops open. You grab your stuff and you bolt. You’re later told by Sonny that Dodds senior actually collapses into a chair at the news.

You make it back to the apartment, fully exhausted, and climb into bed. Maybe if you hide under the covers long enough, the embarrassment of today will fade away? You groan into your pillow. Eventually, you fall asleep.

You wake up when the bed shifts. You’re more than a little cranky when you pull the covers back to look at your boyfriend. He moves in for a kiss and you dodge it, and glare, “Red.”

He sighs and nods, “I’m sorry.”

You sit up, “That never should have happened in the precinct, Mike. I’m . . . I don’t even have words for how humiliated I am. And I can’t believe you told him about the baby. . . I’m not even out of the first trimester.”

“I’m sorry, I just . . . I got so mad. He kept talking about how everything we wanted could be ruined by this, that there were other girls out there, and just a bunch of bad stuff. And as I stood there listening, something just clicked. If I let him, he’d run the rest of my life. He’d pick out who I was supposed to marry, tell me the appropriate number of kids to have . . . and I just snapped. I said literally everything that’s been on my mind for years.”

Your lips twitch, “Feel good?”

“So, good.”

You wait a second before you say, “Yellow.”

He smiles and moves to take your hands, “It took me a while but I finally stood up to him. It just took him threatening what I love most.”

“Better late than never. Thank you for defending our honor. That being said, if I see your father again before this day is a distant memory, I will scratch his eyes out.”

Mike sighs, “That might be difficult.”

“Why?”

“He’s outside the front door. He heard the word baby, and I swear the man started making plans.”

You groan, “We’re going to have to go into WITSEC, or kill him. I don’t think there’s any middle ground.”

Mike places a kiss on your temple, “What do you want to do?”

“Send him away. I really, I just . . . I can’t deal with him right now Mike.”

He doesn’t hesitate, “Okay.”

He’s gone for only a few minutes before he returns. You make room for him to cuddle up beside you and he does just. You take the position of big spoon, and wrap around him like a boa constrictor and say, “Green.” He just smiles.

You are put on desk duty the next day, which you feel is a little unfair. Rollins was nearly six months along before she had to stay behind a desk. Apparently, carrying the chief’s grandkid meant different rules.

Three months later, you’re still successfully dodging the chief, and you’re starting to show. You’re trying to button your pants, but it’s not happening. Mike, who has officially moved in, is watching from the bed, “We need to get you some maternity clothes. We can go this weekend.”

You look at him in the mirror and then down at your protruding belly. You poke it once, and sigh,”That doesn’t solve the problem of what I’m going to wear today.”

“Wear the blue dress. You’re not carrying a sidearm, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It doesn’t fit over my boobs anymore.”

His gaze flickers to your chest and then you see a small grin, “Yeah, I can understand that. Do you have a skirt that would fit? You could pair it with one of my dress shirts, and then we could stop by a store tonight?”

You swoop down and place a kiss on his lips, “That works.”

You find a skirt with enough stretch, and tuck Mike’s dress shirt into it. It’s a little baggy, but not overly so. You slip on some flats and you head out the door together. Mike’s only dropping you off at the precinct, he’s headed upstate to visit Gregory Yates while you have another fascinating day of paperwork ahead of you.

You kiss him goodbye right as Liv steps out of the precinct, she shoots you a smile and jokes, “I don’t have to kiss him when I get in, do I?”

“Nope. I don’t share.”

She laughs and they’re gone a minute later. You get a few more stares than usual as you walk through the precinct. Your bump is on display instead of hidden under previously baggy shirts. Finn lets out a whistle when you walk in, “You sure you’re not having twins.”

Rollins punches his arm for you, while Sonny stops just to the side and stares, “Is the baby kicking yet?”

“I feel flutters, but no one else has been able to feel anything.”

“By no one, you mean Mike?”

“Well he is the father.”

He crosses his arms, “Let me try.”

You sit down at your desk, “No. This is important to Mike, and I don’t really like anyone touching me but him right now.”

He pouts a little bit, and you say, “Once it’s more common I’ll let you feel. I promise.” That’s all it takes for him to be smiling Sonny again.

It’s nearly lunchtime when you get the call; Yates and Rudnick have escaped. It’s all hands on deck, well all hands except you. You’re left behind to coordinate things in the precinct and pass on information; which is why you’re completely alone when Dodds Senior enters the precinct.

He locks onto you, and approaches carefully. He stops just a few feet away, and you stand up from your desk. His eyes go to you bump, and he asks, “Do you have any updates for me detective?”

“Rudnick has been located, detective Carisi is speaking with him, and teams have been dispatched.”

“Chicago PD?”

“Has joined the teams. One detective is with Sonny and Rollins, and the other is with Mike.”

He sighs, “With any luck we’ll get Yates too.”

“Yes sir.”

He nods, and his hands go to his hips, “How have you been detective?”

“Fine sir.”

“And the baby?”

Your hand goes to rest on your bump protectively, and you debate telling him anything, “Good as well, sir. We got to see them on our last visit.”

His eyes widen slightly, “Do you know what it is?”

“We have it written on a sheet of paper. We haven’t looked yet.”

“Not curious?”

“Of course, but Mike and I have a bet going on in regards to the name. We settled on a first name in each case, but the middle name was bugging us. So we made a deal, whoever looks first loses, and the winner gets to decide the middle name.”

“And if neither of you look?”

“Barba gets to decide.”

His brow furrows, “The DA?”

“Yeah. I had a crying fit early on, and he got me like a dozen muffins to make me feel better, in all the different flavors I wanted. That qualifies him for sainthood.”

“I see. And your parents? How do they feel about being grandparents?”

“They don’t know.”

“They don’t?”

“No. You see they’re surgeons, so are my siblings. Which means if my parents or siblings find out, then the rest of the hospital finds out, and all of a sudden my OB is being bothered at all hours of the night, and I’m getting texts about totally private things.”

His lips twitch, “When do you plan on telling them?”

“When I’m in labor, and not partway through either, most of the way through. That way, they hopefully won’t get here when I’m in labor.”

“Your family dynamic is rather complicated, isn’t?”

“I’m the youngest of four. I was adopted when I was only a few days old. I was abandoned at the hospital, and my mom said she just knew I was meant to be theirs, she says I’ve been surprising them ever since. So, in all actuality, I’m pretty much on brand.”

He smiles, “Well. I hope to meet them one day.”

“I’m sure you will. This will be the first grandkid.”

“You siblings don’t have any children?”

“Not yet. My oldest sister is in the middle of her second specialty fellowship, and the other two are finishing up residency.”

Dodds senior has just opened his mouth to ask another question, when the phone rings. On the other end is Benson, and what she has to say makes your blood run cold. You hang, and grab the chief’s arm, “Mike’s been shot. We need to go.” You don’t need to say anything else. His speed picks up, and he reverses the hold you have on him, so that he has an arm wrapped around your shoulders as he leads you to his car.

The ride is filled with worry, made only worse by the hormones running through your body. You reach the hospital, white as a sheet, and you’re on the verge of name dropping when a doctor comes out to see you. He leads you to the back where Mike is. It’s a through and through shot that will require some PT and time off, but he’s okay.

His eyes are a little blurry, a clear sign of pain medication, but he holds his hand out to you and you take it. You swoop down to place a kiss on his brow, “You scared the crap out of me Mike.”

“Hhm, Sorry honey.”

You growl a bit, “That Chicago detective is lucky I’m not hunting her down right now.”

He tugs you down next to him, “It’s not her fault.”

You don’t believe that for a second. His hand settles on your lower back, “Hey dad. Didn’t expect to see you here so soon.”

“I was with Y/N when the call came in.”

He raises an eyebrow, “You two were together? Without supervision?” He focuses on his dad, “And she didn’t kill you?”

Dodds senior hesitates and you say, “We’re working on things. Today was a good start.”

He lets out a sigh of relief, “Thank God.” He focuses on you again, “I’m sorry we couldn’t go shopping today.”

His dad perks up, “Shopping for baby things? I can always help with that. I can help put stuff together too.”

Your lips quirk, “Maternity clothes. Nothing fits except yoga pants, and if you let me wear those to work I think that would be blatant favoritism.”

“Oh.”

“But we do need to start getting stuff for the nursery. Get all the office stuff into storage.”

He nods, “I can do that. I know people!” And before you know it he’s off making plans and calling people. You look down at Mike, “He’s a little bit of a control freak, ain’t he?”

Mike scoffs, “That’s down playing it big time.”

The remaining months of your pregnancy are spent getting things ready for the baby. Dodds senior becomes somewhat of a fixture in your apartment. He and Mike assemble furniture together, and you can see where he’s trying to let Mike make his own choices. When he suggest counter terrorism and Mike turns it down, he doesn’t bring it up again.

Your baby shower happens in your eighth month, right as the Munson case hits the news. You’re in the elevator with Barba when he’s threatened, and you’re more than a little touched when he steps in front of you. You spend the time memorizing the bastard’s face, and then you chew Barba out for not telling anyone about the threats. Sonny is especially upset with his boyfriend.

He’s in the middle of chewing him out when you get the call from senior, “Mike’s in a hostage situation, get here ASAP.”

Rollins drives you. You arrive and William is there to intercept you, you’re just about to ask what the hell happened when you hear the gun go off, and a chill runs down your spine. You can feel time slow down, and then you hear the call, “Officer down!”

You feel the bile rise as you push into the house, and see Mike bleeding on the floor, with William using his jacket to try and stop it. You glare at Munsen who’s now in handcuffs, but you can’t do anything. You just watch in horror as the blood pours through.

You can faintly hear William call your name, but it takes you a few seconds to focus. “Am I riding or you?”

“You.” The response comes before you can stop it. They’re gone a second later, and you feel an arm wrap around you. You look up at Rollins, and she gives you a sad smile, before leading you towards the car.

Once in, you take out your phone and find the contact. It rings twice before she answers: “Hello?”

You can’t hold back the sob in your voice, “Mom, I need you.”

The hospital is a flurry of activity when you arrive, officers line the walls, and William is at the center with Olivia. He goes to you immediately, asking if you need anything. You shake your head as a doctor approaches. He looks scared shitless, and you know he’s talked to your mother, “Detective Grey?” You nod, and he swallows visibly, “I’m Leon Richards, the hospital administrator. I just talked with your mother, Dr. Grey, she’s assigned someone from Grey-Sloan Memorial to observe the surgery while she and your father fly in.”

Your throat is dry, “Thank you.”

“Please let us know if you need anything.” You say nothing else as he walks away. The name Meredith Grey carries a lot of weight in the medical world. And you can’t help the burst of laughter, because you had warned Mike against using his father’s name, and here you were using your mothers. Everyone looks at you like you’re crazy, but you suppose that’s allowed because no one says anything.

It takes several hours before your mother and father arrive. You study them as they walk towards you. Your father’s face is slightly wrinkled. Your mother keeps her hair dyed, and she looks incredibly good for her age. She takes one look at you, and your protruding belly, and pulls you into a hug, “You are so my child.”

She passes you to your dad next. He whispers words of comfort in your ear as your mother stomps off in search of who’s in charge. “She had Bailey and Jo observe the surgery. They were sending her updates through the whole thing. No doubt she wants to go in and make sure they didn’t botch anything up.”

You take another shuddering breath, “I don’t know what I’ll do if. . .”

“Don’t go there love. Don’t let yourself go there.”

You sigh, “How can I not, I mean look at you and mom . . . you lost Abby and mom lost Derek, and now. . . now I might lose Mike.”

Your father doesn’t say anything. He knows tragedy like the back of his hand, and he knows Meredith does too. They’ve both been in this situation; the potential loss of losing their person. And he has no doubt Mike is your person. While you may not have told them about their impending grandparent status you had told them all about Mike, and the boy had even joined you on zoom calls. Cormac had liked the young man, he had fit in well. He had taken the teasing from Liam and Austin well, he’d talked sports with Bailey, and had handled Zola’s interrogation well, and he had managed to make Ellis laugh. He was good people.

“Tell me about your pregnancy. About my grandchild. Your brothers and sisters are going to flip when they find out you kept this a secret.”

Your lips twitch, “You guys would have dragged me home and wrapped me in bubble wrap.”

“You’ll understand that feeling soon enough. The moment you hold that baby, you’ll understand the desire to protect it from every evil in the world. I felt it with Liam. I felt it with Austin. I felt it with Zola, Bailey, and Ellis when I met them. And I felt it with you the first time I saw you in the NICU.

“You were so tiny, but you were such a fighter. I remember your mother coming up to bug me for a consult down in the ER, and she just paused at the sight of you. We weren’t even dating then, you know? We just, each saw you, and felt that you were ours. Brought the kids up and they agreed.”

“And now, here you are nearly thirty years later.”

He nods, “No matter how this ends, you’ll survive. You’ll go on for your little one.”

Your hand cradles your bump as a kick comes through. There’s a shout of your name and you lean forward to see your mom. She’s dressed in scrubs, with the ferry boat scrub cap on. All she says is, “I’m going in. I’ll see you on the other side.” And then she’s gone.

It’s another two hours before you see her again. And in that time your dad forces you to eat, drink some water, and walk around. When your mom appears again, she has a small army of doctors shuffling behind her, and looking at her in awe. You motion for William to join you.

She smiles, “He’s stable. He’s in the recovery room right now, when he’s moved to his ICU room you can see him.”

You throw your arms around her as tight as they’ll go, and she hugs back. When you pull back you can feel the tears, and she’s quick to wipe them away. She pulls out her phone, “Okay, now stand where I can get your profile, so I can send a picture to the family and freak them out.”

You do as she asks, before you settle in for a lecture on hiding a pregnancy. You listen to her rant and when she sees you not taking it seriously, she asks, “Why are you smiling?”

“Because both you and your mother hid a pregnancy. Technically, I’m just following family tradition.”

She looks at your dad, “Cormac.”

He shrugs, “She’s stubborn, like you love. We knew that when she insisted she never needed training wheels on her bike, we knew that when she didn’t cry for use to stay when we dropped her off at kindergarten, we knew that when she decided to be a cop instead of a doctor.”

Your mother’s lips twitch, but before she can say anything a nurse comes out to tell her that Mike’s been moved back to ICU. She leads you and William back, and your dad tags along as well.

Mike looks incredibly pale and your mother assures you that’s from the blood loss, and they have a transfusion going on still. “It’ll still be a while before he wakes up.”

The four of you settle in. Your mom doesn’t say much, she continually checks on Mike, and your father examines his chart.

When his eyes do open, you can sense something’s wrong. It’s not just the anesthesia, something is wrong you can feel it in your gut. When he gets some things confused you look towards your mom and dad who are studying you. When you shake your head, something isn’t right, they both pounce.

Your mother starts a neurological exam while your dad gets your aunt Ameila on the phone. She’s put on speaker a moment later and she starts listing out tests, while your mother responds with what she sees. It takes three before Ameila barks to get him back into surgery, it’s an aneurysm. Your dad pushes the code blue button, and doctors and nurses come running.

They’re both barking out orders, and you’re a little surprised when your dad heads back towards the operating room too, and you’re once again left to wait. You pace this time, non stop, and you can feel senior’s eyes on you the entire time.

It’s a few hours later when your dad comes out. Your breath stills in your lungs, and you know it’s not good. His voice is serious, “He’s alive. The neuro surgeon did an excellent job, your aunt Ameila observed from Seattle. She’s going to fly out as soon as she can. However there was bleeding on the brain. They’ve put him into a medically induced coma to heal. We won’t know the extent of the damage, or if there even is any damage until we feel confident about bringing him out of it. And there’s always a chance things could get worse.”

The words wash over you, and then there’s this blinding pain in your belly. You nearly go to the floor and you hear your father yelling for help, and then everything goes blissfully dark.

You wake up in a hospital bed, and find your mom next to you. “Your blood pressure is through the roof. It sent you and the baby into distress.”

“Mike?”

“He’s hanging in there.” She adjusts so she’s sitting on the side of your bed, “You have to go on bed rest though. Your dad and I took some time off work, we’re going to stay with you.”

You don’t protest, you just lean into her hand when she cups your cheek, and you try not to cry.

Bed rest isn’t fun. It’s you sitting on the couch, with either your mother or your father watching over you. Whichever one isn’t there, is at the hospital, because they’re workaholics, and no hospital is going to say no to Meredith Grey or Cormac Hayes doing surgeries or consultations.

Your Aunt Amelia arrives, and it’s through zoom that you watch her examine Mike. Her prognosis is good, but she won’t know for certain until he wakes up, and she’s not comfortable waking him up just yet. She stops by your apartment for a hug, and to feel the baby kick and then she’s on the next flight out. She’s not a fan of New York. Too many bad memories, she says.

You go into labor nearly two weeks into bedrest. The baby will still be early, but not terribly so. Your father figures he or she will spend a week in the NICU at most. Your parents take turns coaching you through labor, but you draw the line at either of them delivering the baby. Instead your poor OB is subjected to their stares of death each time you cry out in pain. Then again, that’s your fault, you refused the epidural.

It takes fourteen hours of labor to bring your baby into the world, and during that time your get to hear both of your mother’s birth stories. They don’t help things. But the moment you hear your son cry you forget all about it, because your dad was right; all you want to do is wrap him in your arms and protect him from all the bad things in the world.

You get to hold him briefly, before your dad whisks him away to the NICU to make sure he’s okay while your mom stays with you. She places a kiss on your sweaty forehead and tells you just how proud of you she is.

You’re kept overnight for observation before you’re sent home. And it’s at that point that you begin to live at the hospital. You go back and forth between the baby you haven’t named and the boyfriend who’s unconscious. You tell each of them about the other. You’re constantly exhausted.

Eventually, your mom and dad have to head back to Seattle, but to your pleasant surprise Zola flies out in their stead. You and Zo had always been close; partly because of the adoption thing and partly because the two of you had just always clicked.

The two of you stare down at your son and she says, “I can’t believe you grew a human being from scratch.”

“Tell me about it.”

There’s a moment of silence before she says, “Before long, Mike can be here with you.”

You look at her and she shrugs, “Neuro fellow, remember?”

You grin, because just like her dad and aunt Amelia, she’s absolutely brilliant in the field. You know she’s gotten offers from all the big hospitals, including Grey Sloan.

“I was thinking about taking a job here, after my fellowship is done.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Making sure you and Mike stay out of trouble, and being able to see my favorite nephew whenever I want are pretty appealing draws. By the way, my nephew needs a name other than baby boy.”

“I know. But we have time. And Mike has already missed so much, I don’t want him to miss that too.”

“Fair enough.”

Turns out, your brilliant sister is right. Mike is brought out of his coma three days later. By that time his incisions are looking great, and you figure he’ll be in a lot less pain than when he initially woke up.

You watch from the corner of the room as Zola is allowed to do the exam under a local doctor’s watchful eye. She beams at the end, “You got lucky Mike. Your tests and scans show no brain damage. You should thank Y/N for catching the signs.”

There are tears in his eyes, and his voice is rough from having been on a vent at the beginning of this mess, “Hey you.”

You take a few hesitant steps towards him, before squatting down next to him. He lifts his hand to run his fingers through your hair, “God, you look amazing.”

“I had a baby a week ago, I’ve gotten no sleep, and I’ve been living in this freaking hospital. Don’t you ever do this to me again Mike. I mean it, I can’t lose you, do you hear me?”

He wipes the tears from your face, “Kiss me honey.”

You oblige him, and when you pull back he asks, “How’s our boy?”

“He’s amazing. They say he can leave the NICU tomorrow and . . . and you looked!”

He smiles, “Like two days after we got the results. That means you win middle name rights.”

Zola leans forward, “So we can finally stop calling him baby boy, and start calling him . . .?”

You smile, “Aaron Richard Dodds.”

Zola smiles, “After grandpa?”

“Yeah. After grandpa.”

Meredith Gray looks at the picture her oldest daughter just sent her. You’re back in the apartment, in the bedroom, with Mike. You’re cuddled into his side while Aaron lays on his father’s chest. She needs to get it framed.

“They made a pretty baby, love.”

She looks back at her husband, “She’s our daughter, of course she made a pretty baby. Mike just made it even better.”

Bailey leans over her shoulder to look, “He is a pretty man, isn’t he?”

Meredith laughs, and Cormac rolls his eyes. A trip for the entire family to fly out and meet Aaron and Mike is already in the works. She can’t wait to hold her grandbaby again. She waits until Bailey leaves the room before she turns to Cormac, “I’m so relieved, she didn’t have to go through. . . what we went through.”

“Same love.” There’s another moment of silence before he asks, “You ever think about moving out that way? Liam is at a hospital in Chicago now, and Austin is at one in Connecticut, and Zola . . . well we know she’s going out there.”

She shrugs, “Maybe. I want to see what Bailey and Ellis decide. Bailey has his boards coming up and Ellis is only a year or so away from them herself.”

“But maybe . . .maybe it’s time for a change.”

He pulls her to him and kisses her gently, “Just say the word, and I’ll follow you to the ends of the world Doctor Grey.”

#mike dodds #mike dodds imagine #mike dodds x reader #seargant mike dodds #law and order svu #Law and Order: Special Victims Unit #law and order svu fanfiction #law and order svu imagine #greys anatomy #merideth grey #cormac hayes #zola shepherd

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chachkayes · 4 years

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next season i’d love to see Meredith talk to Hayes about how she stood up to Castello at her hearing, and then Hayes mention how he did the exact same thing at the conference with the sales rep. i think it could be a fairly humourous scene honestly.

#i can just imagine the look on their faces when they realize they did the same thing #like first they both ran away after their spouse died and now they also both confronted the people who contributed to said spouse’s death?#iconic if you ask me #its almost like they were meant to be or something #merhayes #cormac-hayes #merwidow #grayes #mermac

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arcturusreads · 3 years

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Hi I have a prompt but its more of Hayes having a monologue to Abigail if thats okay😬 okay so here it is: Hayes visits Abigails grave on the Anniversary of her death and tells her that he is finally ready to move on and let her go. When he gets home he finally takes off his wedding band and placed it in a box thing with Abigail’s own wedding band ( just had to include this detail for the imagery lmao🤧😂 i hope thats okay😂)

Things Which Bind Us Together

Sorry this took a little while but I hope you enjoy <3

"I know I saw you earlier today with the boys, but I needed to come back. Talk to you alone." Cormac knelt beside Abigail's grave, a piece of grass rolling between his forefinger and thumb.

"I can't believe it's been three years... Three years’ worth of birthdays, anniversaries, first days of school and arguments. Sometimes I'm not sure how the boys and I made it through, most days it felt like we weren't. I still miss you like crazy, and I know the boys do too. I don't think anything will ever change that. You were every bit of warmth in our family, Abi. It's what drew me to you in the first place."

Sighing, Cormac shifted himself, so he was sitting cross-legged, elbows resting on his knees. "You told me, before you passed, to try and move on. I didn't think it was possible. I couldn't imagine a life without you, I didn't want to. So much has changed though... life kinda threw me onto a path I was expecting... it seems to have a habit of doing that..." There was a churning in his stomach. As stupid as it may have sounded to other people, Cormac had spent the past week practising how to tell Abi the news in the mirror at home and yet he still felt nervous.

"I think... I think I might be ready, Abi." He felt his mouth go slightly numb. "It still feels wrong to say this to you, even though I know that this is what you wanted. I think I might finally be ready to move forward. It's taken a lot of time, but I finally realise that moving forward... It doesn't mean that I'm letting you go completely, that I'm forgetting you or that our love is anything less than what it was... What it still is... But I finally understand what you were trying to tell me, I was just too stubborn to listen back then.

"I don't think I'll ever find a love like ours again. I don't want to. But I'm ready to at least try and find someone that I could love... I might have already found them."

He leant forward, running his fingers over the engraving on Abigail's name on the marble stone. "I love you like crazy, Abigail Hayes and I'm always going to be thankful for the years that we got together. I hope one day I'm going to get the chance to see you again but until then I'm going to do what you wanted me to do. I'm going to learn how to live again."

The flight back to Seattle was a quiet one, with all three boys lost in their thoughts and memories. When they finally got home, they trudged upstairs, seeking some peace in their own rooms. Shutting the bedroom door behind him, Cormac walked over to the dresser and opened a drawer. He pulled out a wooden box with a Celtic knot carved into the top. Gently lifting open the lid, the light immediately caught the diamonds in Abigail's ring set. Her engagement and wedding ring were nestled into a velvet cushion. One each for the boys when they were old enough to have use for them.

Cormac twisted his wedding ring around his finger. He wasn't sure how long he stood there glancing between the box and his wedding ring before finally sliding the golden band from his finger. His entire hand suddenly left lighter, a feeling he was not accustomed to, nor did he entirely like. Before losing his bottle, Cormac placed his wedding band next to Abigail’s and closed the box. He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his decision slowly release from his shoulders. His love story with Abigail was so much more than a ring. It was one that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. But maybe now it was time to open a new book and start writing a new story.

#cormac hayes #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy fanfic #mermac #merhayes

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jobrookekarev · 3 years

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Unexpected Delivery

Chapter One of One

Words: 3740

Summary: All Jo wanted was to go home and spend the evening on the couch with Alex, but apparently, their daughter had other plans, and so she sends Jo into labor faster than either of her parents expected.

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy.

Relationship: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson.

Characters: Alex Karev, Jo Wilson, Meredith Grey, Cormac Hayes, Atticus Lincoln, and Miranda Bailey.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences.

Additional Tags: Fluff, Pregnancy, Birth, Baby, Birth Scene, Grumpy Pregnant Jo,

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

AN: For Nina (@doc-pickles) and her granola bar LOL

……………………………………………………………………

Jo Karev waddled over to the Peds floor. At almost 40 weeks pregnant, her baby belly was barely contained by even the largest pink maternity scrubs. Their daughter also took away her ability to walk at anything faster than the speed of a waddling duck, as she liked to complain. The second she rounded the corner to the nurse’s station, the collection of nurses there took one look at her and instantly got out of her way. They busied themselves with anything that took them away, leaving the area empty and free for Jo to pick any chair she liked. She eased herself into the one rolly chairs with memory foam padding, finally getting some relief for her aching back and feet as she melted into the chair.

“Hello Jo, how was your day?”

She looked up to see Hayes was finishing his post-op notes on the tablet in front of him. Of all the people around her, he was the only one that seemed to be unfazed by her grumpy moods.

“My day would have been better if Alex had met me in the lounge on time to take me home like he promised,” Jo complained as she crossed her arms and glared at Hayes as if it was his fault Alex was running late. “Where is my dear husband?”

“He's just finishing up with his last case of the day. The parents need a little extra reassurance after their son's surgery, and Karev is just talking with them. I’ll go get him,” Hayes said, sending her a smile before he left.

Jo closed her eyes and leaned her head back, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. She had been on her feet all day in between her two C-sections and running around the maternity ward. She was exhausted. Although, Carina had her on light duty ever since she reached 35 weeks. She urged Jo to consider taking maternity leave or at least doing half days as she was just so overly exhausted and, as a result, grumpy. However, the only thing Jo hated more than feeling exhausted at work was sitting in the Loft all alone, feeling anxious for the baby’s arrival and missing Alex. At least here at work, she could pop over and see him whenever she wanted to.

However, the peace and quiet didn't last for long as the baby inside her squirmed and wiggle around as she kicked Jo's ribs. On top of that, as soon as the kicks ended, she had another Braxton Hicks contraction. Jo got up from the chair and put both hands on the desk in front of her as she leaned forward. The pain was unbearable and unimaginable. It felt like someone was squeezing her entire abdomen. She couldn't think, she couldn't speak, all she could do was sway her hips from side to side as somehow that helped as she willed the contraction to go away.

Suddenly Alex's hands were on her waist. He came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her as he held her belly. Jo stood up and leaned against him, her eyes still closed as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Alex held her and whispered soft things into her ear to distract her from the pain as Jo moaned in relief. The feel of Alex's hands on her body, although it did nothing to relieve the pain, just having him there, having him support her and having him to lean against was enough. Alex held her as they gently swayed from side to side until her contraction finally passed but kept his hands on her belly.

“Hey,” Alex whispered in her ear, soft and gentle like you always was for her, as he pressed a kiss to her neck. “You ready to go home?”

Jo let out a sigh, and she leaned forward and put her hands on the counter again. “I don't think we're going home tonight.”

“What's wrong, oh,” Alex said as he let go of her and she felt him step back. Jo could almost imagine the way his eyes went wide as his lips parted into an o, and she smiled. “Was that, are you, are you in labor?”

“I may or may not have had a few contractions,” Jo admitted as she bit her lip to hid her smile before she turned around to look at Alex. His panicked expression changed into one of frustration as he greeted his teeth and put his hands on his hips.

“Seriously, Jo,” Alex said, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead. “Okay, well, when did they start and how far apart if they've been.”

“Relax, it's only been a few hours, and my water hasn't broken, oh,” Jo gasped as if by divine intervention she felt a gush of fluids dampen her pant and run down her legs as her water broke.

“Josephine Karev, why didn't you tell me earlier,” Alex insisted as he glared at her.

“You were in surg…” Jo trailed off as she felt the pressure in her pelvis increase and another contraction started.

If Jo thought she was in pain before, it was nothing compared to the pain she was in now. She knew that her amniotic fluid cushioned the baby's head in her uterus, and now that it was gone, she felt the full force of the baby's head bearing down on her pelvis as their baby made its way out of her.

She could only moan and squeezed her eyes shut as she reached out for her husband. Alex took her hand and only let out a little squeak as she squeezed it as hard as she could. He instantly moved to put counter pressure on her hips from where she was still bent over. Jo leaned forward to put her head on her arms as she tried to remember to breathe in the midst of all her pain.

“They’re less than three minutes apart, for God's sake, Jo!” Alex said in exasperation once her contraction passed.

“Not helping!” Jo yelled back at him through gritted teeth as she cried out.

She gripped the counter with both hands and let out a groan as she pushed again. She was both familiar with this pain and yet completely inexperienced with it. She had seen it hundreds of times as she helped other people deliver their babies, but she didn't truly understand it until she felt it herself. The feel of her baby's head pushing out of her and bearing down all of their weight on her pelvis while her uterus contracted to push them out was unlike any pain Jo had ever felt. And she was no stranger to pain. Her entire body was on fire, and the pain was nearly unbearable, but she still didn't cry out. She just gripped the edge of the counter until her knuckles turned white as the beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she was consumed by pain.

“Okay, okay, just breathe in and out,” Alex said, modeling for her as they both took a few deep breaths before her contraction passed. “Okay, I'm going to go get Carina now?”

“Alex, wait,” Jo said, gripping his hand and pulling him back before he could run off. “I'm having this baby now.”

“Yeah, I know that's why I'm going to go get you a wheelchair so we can head over to the maternity ward.”

“No, Alex,” Jo said as she paused, feeling the urge to push again, as she could feel the baby’s head move down the canal and she grabbed the hem of her scrub pants to pull them down. “I'm having this baby right here, right now.”

If Jo thought he had a worried expression before, the look on Alex's face was pure panic. He was white as a sheet and grabbed her scrub pants to pull them down to the floor as Jo spread her knees.

“Holy shit,” Alex swore, and Jo didn’t need him to explain why as she felt their baby's head in between her legs as the baby was crowning. “Jo, Jo, you need to slow down, or you're going to tear.”

“Tell that to your daughter! She's the one who's coming out of these faster than a lightning bolt,” Jo said as she squeezed her eyes shut as she moaned in pain again, they sure did call it the ring of fire for a reason. “I was supposed to have an epidural.”

Jo kept pushing as the contraction continued as Alex kneeled in-between her legs and coached her through it as she counted the seconds and pushed. Her body seemed to be in charge as all she could do was push until the contraction passed.

“She's got a lot of brown hair.”

“Seriously Alex, her head is coming out of me and that's all you can say!”

“I'm sorry, I'm just freaking out a little bit here!”

“You're freaking out!” Jo yelled, glaring at him, Alex freaking out the last thing she needed.

He peeked up at her with wide eyes as his mouth was open in an oh, clearly seeing how he messed up.

“Nope, nope, not freaking out, and I'm doing great, you just relax I got it, her, I got her,” Alex said before disappeared in between her legs and she felt his hands on the baby.

“I'm so gonna kill you after this!” Jo said, before another contraction came on and she put her chin to her chest and pushed with all her might.

Jo knew that her experience as an OB resident would help when she delivered her baby, but she didn't think she would be her own OB. Despite the pain, she tried her best to remember how to breathe, how to push, and when to take breaks, not that her baby or her body gave her any. With Alex helping her through it, she delivered the head and then the shoulders. With one more push, their daughter came into the world, and she felt a sense of relief as it was all over. The pain of pushing and her contractions momentarily passed, but she held her breath as she waited for her daughter to cry.

There was a moment, a half-second of silence, as both she and Alex anxiously waited before she heard the baby begin to cry. Jo let out a sigh, knowing that her daughter was alive and well. She opened her eyes and turned around, still gripping the counter and leaning on it for support. She looked down to see Alex holding their pink, crying baby girl in his arms as he crouched in between her legs. Both of her parents looked at her in shock at her sudden appearance.

“I had our baby,” Jo said, absolutely stunned as her legs gave out from under her, and she sank down to sit on the cold laminate floor in the pool of her amniotic fluid and a bit of blood, and she rested back against a file cabinet.

“You had our baby,” Alex said as he cradled their newborn to his chest, gently swaying before he looked up at her.

It was far from the most comfortable thing, but she was too exhausted to care so long as she wasn't standing anymore. Her entire body had those hard muscle aches that came after a long day or a hard workout. She was so exhausted she could have fallen asleep right then and there, but Jo was so stunned by the little girl Alex was holding, and she wanted to meet her daughter.

Jo looked down at the crying baby in Alex's arms before she reached out for her. He passed her over and Jo instantly cradled her as she held her daughter for the first time. She began to rock and shush the baby as she had done a dozen times with other babies, but this was her daughter in her arms, and Jo just stared down at her in amazement. Soon she quieted down and opened her perfect dark eyes to stare up at them.

“Hi,” Jo whispered as she smiled and stared down at her before she brushed her finger down her perfect cheek.

“Hello,” Alex said, and Jo could hear the tears in his voice as he got choked up. “I'm your Daddy and I'm so happy to meet you.”

Alex leaned forward to look at her as well and they both had large matching smiles. Their daughter squirmed and gave another cry as she kicked in Jo’s arms instead of in her belly like she had only moments ago. She could hardly believe that her daughter was here in her arms and that this wasn't all a dream. Jo reached out to take Alex's hand and give it a gentle squeeze as they both stared back down at their daughter.

“She needs a blanket,” Jo said, looking around the empty nurses' station. She couldn't believe she had just given birth in the middle of the hospital with no one but Alex to help her.

“You need a blanket too,” Alex said, taking off his lab coat and putting it over her bare waist where her pants were still around her ankles.

Jo looked down and Alex's scrub shirt that was absolutely soaked in blood and amniotic fluid. Besides, she was pretty sure she peed as well in the midst of pushing their daughter out. As Alex looked around for anything to cover their daughter, Jo moved to take off her own scrub shirt. She was already sitting there with her pants down, she didn't really care as Alex helped her pull her scrub shirt over her head before she cradled her daughter against her bare skin. She felt her baby against her chest as her little chest rose and fell before Alex placed the shirt over them. The cool air felt nice against her overheated skin, and for a moment, they just sat there in stunned silence staring at the little girl who had curled up on Jo’s chest and seemed content in her mother's arms.

“Oi, where is everybody?” Hayes yelled before he looked down and saw them on the floor. Jo and Alex looked up to see him staring down at them, slacked jaw and frozen in place. “Jo, you had your baby.”

“Yeah.” Both Jo and Alex said at the same time as they turned to look back at their daughter with large smiles.

“Well, congratulations, but I'm going to go grab the nurses, Dr. DeLuca, and some blankets,” Hayes said before he ran off.

……………………………………………………………………

Less than an hour later, Jo was settled in a postpartum room. Carina helped her finish the delivery and had cleaned up her and the baby. Now the family of three were slowly settling in for the night as they bonded with their daughter. The shock of her delivery was slowly fading away, but Alex was still a little dumbfounded. However, they were both so happy that she was here regardless of how unexpected it was.

“You just couldn't wait to get out, could you, Eden Helen Karev,” Jo said as she smiled down at her daughter as she ran her finger down her little nose. “You were a surprise from the very beginning and you just keep surprising us.”

Alex chuckled as he pressed a kiss to the top of Eden's head. He was sitting at her bedside, leaning forward to rest his elbows on her bed, so he was right next to Eden's head. Her head was indeed too big for the regular baby hats, so instead of a hospital hat, she was wearing a light purple knitted hat from Nana Helen. Jo was thrilled to have gotten some pain killer as her perfect daughter's big head had indeed torn its way out of her. She had to have nearly a dozen stitches, but it was all worth it, mostly.

“Well, I think we've had enough surprises for one lifetime, baby girl,” Alex said as he still stared at her completely in awe. “You hear that Speedy Edie, no more surprises.”

“For once, I agree with your Daddy, not on the nickname, though,” Jo said as she glared at Alex while he just smiled at their little girl. “No more surprises, at least not for a while.”

He chuckled as he looked up at her and Jo caught his eyes as they exchanged a little laugh. They were still in disbelief that she was finally here in front of them, and they just couldn't stop staring at her, despite how she was fast asleep in Jo's arms. They were just so absolutely in love and in awe of their little girl as they got to know her and memorize her face. Eden was absolutely perfect in every way, with ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. She had Alex's little lips that Jo knew would turn up into his crooked smile as soon as she started smiling. She had Jo’s little nose and her eyes that, although they were a dark grey now, they both could tell they would be a brilliant shade of gold.

As they continued to stare down at her, their quiet little moment together was interrupted by the door swinging open as Meredith frantically came into the room.

“You gave birth!” Meredith explained before she looked down at the newborn in Jo’s arms

“Yep, Mer, meet Eden, she decided to come out and that was that,” Alex said with a laugh and a shrug.

“She gets that determination from her mama then,” Meredith said as she walked over to them and smiled down at the little girl in Jo’s arms. “Well, hello little one.”

Meredith wasn't the only one who seemed to have just received the news of Jo giving birth as Link was hot on her heels, nearly running into the door frame.

“You're in labor! Wait, the baby’s here already!” Link said, looking at Eden in Jo's arms as his jaw dropped.

“In Jo’s defense Eden came really fast,” Alex said shaking his head even now, neither of them could still believe it.

“Eden?” Link said with a smile as he came over to them. “That's a great name. Hello Eden.”

“Thank you,” Jo said as she beamed up at their friends, but before she could introduce Eden to him, Webber came into the room as well.

“Karev, I hear congratulations are in order,” Webber said, coming over and smiling down at the little girl. Before they had time to say hello, Amelia and Maggie came into the room with nearly a dozen balloons, teddy bears, and other little gifts for the baby.

“Congratulations,” Maggie and Amelia said as they came in, filling the room with the gifts. As if to complete the party, Levi and Helm came in and offered their congratulations with a teddy bear and a balloon.

Jo just sighed and relaxed as her family came over to her bedside and cooed over Eden while congratulating her. Jo was excited for them to meet her, and Alex proudly told the story about how Jo had given birth. As he talked, he seemed completely amazed as he just gazed over at them getting a little distracted as he stared at his wife and child.

“Karev, what's this I hear about you giving birth at the nurse’s station?” Bailey’s booming voice filled the room as she came in looking between Jo and Eden to the party around them. “And what is all this? What are you people doing harassing the Karev’s and their newborn? Out, all of you!”

Bailey quickly began shooing them all out of the room as they all reluctantly left, but promised to visit the next day. Jo didn't mind the big party at first, but she was exhausted and was happy to be able to rest.

“Congratulations you two,” Bailey whispered to them before she dimmed the lights and closed the door behind her.

Jo smiled as she laid back in the bed ready to get some sleep. Alex took Eden and held her as he leaned a kiss on Eden’s head before leaning forward and placing a tender kiss on her lips.

“You are amazing, Jo. Thank you for giving me this beautiful baby girl,” Alex said, staring at her with so much love in his eyes.

Despite how they had been together for more than half a century, she was still surprised when Alex said things like that to her. No one had ever thanked her for anything she had ever done, but Alex did. He made her feel loved and appreciated. And no one looked at her like Alex did. He looked at her with so much love and sometimes it still took her breath away. All she could do was smile and squeeze his hand before she reached out to brush her finger down Eden's arms before her tiny little fingers wrapped around Jo's big finger with a tight grasp. Alex settled in the chair right next to her and held her, and their daughters joined hands, as his thumb rubbed circles in the back of her hand. Jo could barely keep her eyes open, but she just stared at him and their daughter just for a moment longer.

“Go to sleep, Jo. She'll be here when you wake up, we both will.” Alex said, nodding as she looked over at them.

She smiled, and she sighed, Alex always knew exactly what she needed to hear. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Alex said, giving her, her favorite crooked grin. “Now get some rest, you and our baby girl deserve it.”

“Okay,” Jo finally relented and closed her eyes.

She still hung on to the feeling of Alex holding her hand and Eden’s fingers wrapped around hers. Her family was right next to her and she didn't want to ever let them go.

#jo wilson #alex karev #jolex #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy fanfic #otp: home and heart #my work #my writing #my fanfiction #meredith grey #cormac hayes #atticus lincoln #miranda bailey

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kathleenshepherd-md · 4 years

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This was not how Kathleen had imagined the night going. She’d already been slightly emotional over kissing her babies goodbye, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she seen them again but still she’d let her lips linger slightly too long on their foreheads and had to fight the urge to hold them tight and never let go when they’d hugged. The younger Hayes text hadn’t made the situation any better, her more fragile than usual state making her more likely to believe the other woman than she might have any other time, and she’d had to pull over to let out some tears of frustration before the record had been set straight. She was now considerably later than expected - having had to dry her tears, turn the car around to get back en route and stop off to buy much cheaper wine to replace the one that Olivia had drank. Now, standing in front of the Hayes house with a bottle in each hand as the doorbell she’d just rang sounded through the hallways, she just had to hope it was Cormac who answered the door. Or at the very least one of the boys.

@cormachayesmd

#| c ; cormac |

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readromanceink · 4 months

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Craving Olivia by Emmy Lou Hayes

Her Fated Mate - Book 2

Slighted by the man she loves and left to pick up the pieces Olivia turns to her father, who writes to the clans scattered around the countryside seeking a bridegroom for his daughter. Deegan Kennedy answers the call. When he travels to Dublin, to determine if Olivia is his mate, he discovers something incredible about the enigma of the woman. Something that leaves him craving her more than he ever imagined he could crave another.

Cormac is forced out of the city, with no choice but to leave Olivia behind. At last, when he is able to return for her, he discovers she has been promised in marriage to another man, another wolf. One who is willing to go against the laws of their packs, and fight to the ends of the earth to hold onto her. Both men crave her so deeply they arHer Fated Mate - Book 2e willing to put their lives and the lives of their packs on the line to win her heart. In the end the magic between fated mates is undeniable, proving that true love conquers all.

This is book two in Her Fated Mate Series and can be enjoyed independently.

#Paranormal #Dark Alpha Romance #Dark Romance #Contemporary #Danger #Mystery #Suspense #Action/Adventure #Shifter #Shifter Romance #Family Conflict #Werewolf

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girl-of-many-fandoms · 3 years

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3K FOLLOWERS: ✅

YEAH BABY, WE HIT 3K!!

I'm still in shock 😲 I never thought my account would blow up this much nor did I expect so many of you to love my work but damn I'm happy that you all do. You've made this island girl’s sucky day 100x better ♥️

To all of the lovely souls I've met on this platform, thank you for supporting & motivating me through it all!!

Much love - Ce 😘

MASTERLIST

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inanotherlifeicouldbewithyou · 2 years

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Fandom: Grey's Anatomy

Pairing: Cormac Hayes x Reader (She/Her)

Summary: part two of my first imagine, now it's Hayes' turn to learn a little more about you

not my best work, but I think I have an idea of where I want to go with this, hopefully yall like

---

“he said that?”

“I had just woken up but... yeah”

you had just gotten out of an emergency surgery and ran into Maggie on your way out

“what did you say after that?”

“nothing, I got the 911 and here I am”

“what are you gunna do?”

“I don’t know, he has a complicated history and I-”

“you’re scared you’ll lose him too”

“Maggie, how am I not supposed to be?”

later that day

your in the nurses station finishing up some patient notes, you look up to see Cormac walking in her direction

nope nope nope

you close he chart and start walking away from him

“Dr. l/n!”

you feel his arm graze your forearm so you turn around to face him

“I have a patient I'd like you to consult on...”

oh good, he doesn't want to talk about... what he said

"...and I'd like to talk to you about this morning"

you ignore him, continuing to read the patients chart

your breath hitches

you recognize these symptoms

“you alright?” no trace of lightness in his voice, leaving only concern

“uh yeah... yeah,” you shake your head, “I just- my brother died of the same thing”

you can feel his eyes soften even though you’re laser focused on the chart

his hand glides onto your lower back, leading you to a small office space

“I'm sorry, I hadn't realized, will you be alright?”

“you didn't know,” you lean against the desk, trying to hold yourself together, “sorry, I need a minute”

he leans on the desk beside you

“how long has it been?”

“three years. he went on a camping trip with his boyfriend and ended up in a small town hospital- didn’t even occur to him to call me,” you’re holding back your tears now, breath unsteady and Cormac's’ arm wrapped around your shoulder, “no one there knew what to look out for, thinking it was a bad case of heartburn, they didn’t look any closer”

you lean into him now, hoping he can hold you together

“the pain never really goes away, it just settles in you, makes you think that it gets easier. until something decides to dig it all back up. I love my wife and losing her felt like more than I could bare... and then I met you. Be sad, miss your brother, it’s alright”

“I wanna be the doctor that he never had,” you wipe your eyes, “let’s get to your patient”

---

it's so hard writing him because he doesn't have a lot of screen time so it's hard to figure out how he talks, I had a better idea when I first watched, but now...

as promised, the inspo hit so I hope you like, @noob-saibotx

#cormac hayes #cormac hayes x reader #cormac hayes x you #cormac hayes imagine #greys anatomy #greys

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hotticuslincoln · 5 years

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Grey's Anatomy 16x19:

I missed Link terribly during this episode. Two weeks without him are truly quite long especially during quarantine? 🥺😩 And although I almost never talk about other characters unless involved with my fav I have many emotions about last night's episode so here goes.

Maggie: Get it girl! Boy, was she hot during that steamy scene! More please!!! Phew! That aside, I somehow got the sense that we're going towards the end of the series aka the writers are starting the wrapping up of stories. Just me?! Idk, it seems like they made it a possibility for Maggie to end her on screen journey by moving to Boston to be with the guy. Like a last episode kinda thing?! And the last scenes with Richard. Oh my gosh, my insides literally twisted.

Richard: I have no words to explain how I felt when we found out he was imagining Catherine being there, talking to her, kissing her, holding her. What a punch in the stomach this was and so completely unexpected — although Catherine apologizing kinda seemed OOC, I truly didn't think Richard could be having this kind of an episode due to whatever his health is throwing at him. Gutted.

Hayes: Ouch. That was tough to watch. The kids 😭 and the scene when he smashes the drinks. Tough. Tough. Tough. Although, watching and listening to what his wife told him had me respond two different ways. First, I hate Krista for having Cormac's wife say that it was gonna be okay for him to fall in love again after her death. I felt like she was telling her viewers how to react to a loss. And to me, this is not okay. We all react differently to life. I felt manipulated by her words; At the same time, I was thinking that Hayes is the best choice for Meredith because they were both lucky enough to find the love of their lives and both extremely beaten by life for losing them. They know personally what it feels like to fall apart. They literally both left their town when it all happened. They have so much common ground. They truly seem to be a perfect match. We'll see where the story goes obviously but I would love for them to get together. Imagine them with the five kids. Ha. Cutest!!!!

Teddy: I mean, what? They made Teddy a regular cheater. They ruined the idea of friendship. They literally said Alison was the love of Teddy's life obliterating what we've been fed lately — she's loved Owen forever. Yes, Owen happened after Alison, ok. But to me, they ruined her backstory with this revelation. Also, her best friend was literally Arizona and she never happened to mention what she had with Alison even once? Come on! So surreal... just a twist they threw our way to what? Justify her cheating on Owen because she loves both him and Tom?! Wow. No. Not a fan. Whatsoever. None of it makes sense. Cheating is not justifiable by saying I love them both. No. Are you kidding? Obviously Teddy's SL hit me the most because NONSENSE. And I'm sad this is where they're going with her.

Anyway, yeah, that's basically my feels in a nutshell-ish 🤣 I have more I promise you lol but I'm not sure I'm able to articulate it well enough to convey my thoughts the right way. I might, or might not, be adding stuff later on but let's talk. What did you think of it all?

#grey's anatomy #16x19 #greys anatomy #my thoughts #teddy altman #maggie pierce #richard webber #cormac hayes #love of my life

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redhairedwolfwitch · 3 years

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Doctor Y/n - Attending Orthopedic Surgeon - 7 - Grey's Anatomy x Fem!Reader

"Hey, you okay?"

You looked up, propping yourself up on your elbows as Teddy walked into the on-call room.

"Yeah, sorry, I just needed a minute to... Meredith's going home!"

"She's going home? Hell yes!" You smiled, watching Teddy walk around the room excitedly.

"I mean, I haven't had good news, since forever, and I-I know that we are still in the thick of things, but we're finally getting a handle on how to treat this. I actually feel hope!" Teddy grinned, her grin faltering into a smirk as she finally noticed you laying on the on-call room bed.

"What's with the smirk- oh!" You squeaked, cheeks feeling like they were burning as Teddy launched herself at you, pulling you into a kiss as her hands ran under your scrub top.

///

Joey: first day in OB

Braces: good luck, resident

Joey: you're a little shit

Braces: that's no way to talk to your superiors

Joey: omg

Braces: i'm kidding

///

"You called these guys?" Teddy stuttered as it was revealed that Winston had called Link and Owen up to the COVID ward.

"They said it was slow downstairs." Winston admitted as Link chuckled.

"Y/n and Nico have it covered."

///

Joey: Jackson's leaving for Boston?

Braces: damn, happy travels to him

Joey: no breakdown over someone leaving?

Braces: you were closer to him than me

Joey: he thanked me

Braces: didn't need to know that

Braces: least he didn't say goodbye in a letter:/

Joey: you're not allowed to leave me any time soon

Braces: I'm never leaving you

///

"Sorry, it's just the new guy, trying to get the lay of the land. Alright, I couldn't help but notice earlier, you and Altman-"

"Teddy and I are just friends and co-parents. Teddy is dating Doctor S/n... I can't really explain it all." Owen admitted, shaking his head as Winston looked confused.

///

"Hey, Avery! Send some postcards from Boston, yeah?" You smiled, spotting Jackson leaving Meredith's room.

"Are you going to send me postcards of Seattle?" He smiled, chuckling as you stopped to consider it.

"Is that you asking for postcards of Seattle? You going to miss the west coast that much?" You teased, smiling as Jackson rolled his eyes.

"Give 'em hell, S/n. You, Jo and Teddy, the three of you are a force to be reckoned with." Jackson nodded before walking away, leaving you to smile as you watched him go down the corridor.

"Give them hell, Avery, and change things for the better."

////

"Braces! Teddy! Come on, it's time for Meredith's clap out!" Jo shouted down the hallway, breaking out into a jog as you and Teddy ran to catch up, heading down to stand outside of the ER.

"Okay, okay, okay, folks, I know we're excited, but you're gonna spoil the surprise, so let's keep it down until Perez wheels her out, okay?" Bailey instructed, waving at you, Jo and Teddy to get out of the way and stand near Owen so the ER doors wouldn't be obstructed.

"What happened?"

"uh, Doctor Grey is not in her room and all of her things are gone." Perez explained as he wheeled out an empty wheelchair.

"Hahaha, nice one Grey... evening everybody!" Hayes waved, heading back into the ER.

"Grey made a run for it and bypassed the crowd!" You realised, laughing as Jo, Teddy and Owen looked confused and Bailey wondered where the hell Meredith was.

///

"Hey, I'm going to go up to talk to Luna." Jo smiled, quirking a brow as she noticed how you and Teddy kept sharing looks.

"I'll come up later and see you both, if that's alright?" You enquired, barely taking your eyes off of Teddy as Jo smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I think the on-call room is free by the way, but I know you two have a thing with supply closets-"

"Not the orgy supply closet joke again." You grumbled, biting your lip as Teddy held your waist.

"I'm not letting you hear the end of it, and neither is Callie or Arizona, and I think Bailey would rather forget what she think she walked in on, to be honest." Jo teased before she headed up to see Luna.

"So... on-call room?" Teddy whispered, smiling as you nodded, a mischievous smile crossing your lips.

/// Time Skip /// Week One ///

"Has anyone seen my keys?" Jo enquired, looking around as you sat with Allison in the high chair, trying to get her to eat her breakfast.

"Uh, here!" You called out, flicking the keys at Jo.

"Oh, lovely, they have... whatever Allison is eating on them, thanks Ally." Jo grumbled, wiping the keys with a towel.

"She's not enjoying her oatmeal... probably because it's oatmeal." You replied, trying to persuade Allison to eat the incoming airplane of oatmeal as Jo got ready for work.

///

Joey: Luna's legal guardian sucks

Braces: I honestly forgot social services gives legal guardians

Braces: because you act like her legal guardian/parent, y'know

/// Time Skip /// Week 2///

Joey: Luna's guardian is glad she doesn't have to think about her because Hayes and I look after her

Braces: fuck that, i hate social services

Braces: we don't even know if my recorded birthday is my birthday because of them

Joey: we haven't celebrated your birth-month since before we were interns

Braces: maybe post-pandemic

Joey: i want to adopt Luna

Braces: I'm gonna be an aunt?

Joey: why are you so chill about this?

Braces: because you've basically been Luna's unofficial parent since Val died

Joey: I just never thought I'd be doing it alone

Braces: you've got me

Joey: you wanna raise a baby with me?

Braces: you're basically Allison's auntie Jo, let's be real, Allison loves you and the apartment is basically a matrifocal compound

Braces: I know you don't plan on living with us forever but

Joey: I don't want to think about men right now

Braces: fruity

Braces: I don't think about men really ever

Joey: shush you

/// Time Skip /// Week Three ///

"Okay, so what's the hold-up? Sorry, are we not thinking you're going to adopt Luna yourself?" Link enquired as Jo complained about Luna's social worker.

"Okay, it's crossed my mind, and I talked to Braces... I never pictured myself doing this alone... but Braces wants to help, and the three of us have talked about moving into a bigger place, a bigger 'matrifocal compound' as Braces calls it. Maybe it's the pandemic or the fact I felt connected to Luna's mom, or because Luna's perfect and I completely fricking love her." Jo admitted, leaving Link to grin.

"I think you can stop asking yourself if you can do it, Jo. You already are." Link patted Jo on the shoulder before walking away.

///

Joey: I want to adopt Luna

Braces: you're going to be an amazing mom

///

"Hey, can we talk?"

Your voice had Teddy snapping up from where she had been leaning on the railing.

"Hey, whoah, breathe, it's good, I think?" You chewed your lip, trying to calm Teddy down as she looked worriedly at you.

"What's going on?"

"Jo wants to adopt Luna... and I want to help her raise Luna, but I want your opinion, because we already have Allison with three parents and-"

"Would Jo still live with us whilst raising Luna? Because I think Allison would love a little sister." Teddy replied, watching for your reaction.

"She'd still live with us, because Jo needs us, and I need her, and then she was all 'i don't want to think about men right now'-"

"Then yes, but we're going to need a bigger place, and the dynamic is going to be very different..." Teddy replied, biting her lip as she began to overthink.

"Hey, it'll all fall into place, it's going to be hellish at first, but it's always hellish when there's babies involved and you don't have a routine yet-" Teddy cut off your rambles by pulling you into a hug, letting out a chuckle as your voice was muffled by her.

/// Time Skip /// Week Four ///

"I'm her mom. I'm gonna- I wanna be her mom." Jo exclaimed, letting out heavy breaths as she watched Luna be put on manual respiration after she aspirated.

/// Time Skip /// Week Five ///

"Her chest x-rays still shows aspiration pneumonia. We'll keep her on antibiotics and see if we can extubate her next week." Hayes explained as he found you and Jo sat at Luna's PICU incubator.

"Should probably call Carmen." Jo grumbled, looking down at Luna as Hayes pulled up a seat to sit with the three of you.

"Ah. It can wait. Wouldn't be a normal day if a parent or guardian wasn't mad with me about something." Hayes chuckled, leaving Jo to let out a quick chuckle too, "of course, when you become her legal guardian, I'll deny that I said that."

"If she lives long enough for the paperwork to go through." Jo sighed, rolling her eyes as you scoffed.

"If Luna is anything like you, she's a fighter, and a survivor."

"Were you here again all night?" Hayes enquired, glancing between you and Jo.

"If I went into cardiac arrest and had a tube shoved down my throat, I wouldn't want to be alone. Plus, Braces wouldn't leave my side, she's stubborn like that." Jo admitted, looking up at you as you smiled softly at Luna.

/// Time Skip /// Week Six ///

Joey: I failed my background check

Braces: ???

Braces: fuck

Braces: I'm sorry Jo

///

You were laying on the couch, watching Allison sit on her floor mat and play with her toys, when Jo walked in.

"Hey- oh, okay, okay..." you whispered, immediately wrapping your arms around Jo, as she all put flopped on the couch, on top of you, sobbing into your shoulder as Allison went quiet, watching the scene in confusion.

You already had a basic idea of what was wrong though.

Jo wanted Luna.

Jo wanted her daughter.

///

Tags: @nnightskiess @emskisworld @multifandomlesbianic @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived @inquisitive-nix @fire-and-blood-targaryen @unexpected-character

#grey's anatomy x reader #grey's anatomy imagine #grey's anatomy #teddy altman x reader #jo wilson x reader #teddy altman imagine #jo wilson imagine #teddy altman #jo wilson #meredith grey #owen hunt #atticus lincoln #winston ndugu #miranda bailey #cormac hayes

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calzona-ga · 4 years

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Showrunner Krista Vernoff talks with The Hollywood Reporter about wrapping Alex's storyline, being the first show to shut down production and the episode that serves as its season ender.

[This story contains spoilers from episode 1621, "Put on a Happy Face."]

ABC's Grey's Anatomy concluded its 16th season Thursday with an episode that wasn't designed to be a finale but, as showrunner Krista Vernoff admits, was lucky to have doubled as one.

The Shondaland medical drama had four episodes left to produce before Vernoff made the call to shut down — the first series to do so amid the coronavirus crisis — in a move she says was designed with the crew's health in mind. The series was also the first to publicly confirm that those four episodes would never be produced as Vernoff and her team will use their extended hiatus as a way to incorporate those events into the drama's previously announced 17th season.

As for the episode, here's what happened: Richard (Jim Pickens) is cured, but rejects his estranged wife, Catherine (Debbie Allen). Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy (Kim Raver) are … on pause. Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Link (Chris Carmack) have their son. DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) saves the day with Richard but has a breakdown. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) now finds herself in a love triangle (again).

Below, Vernoff talks with The Hollywood Reporter about making the call to shut down, how she's approaching season 17 and, yes, how she and the Grey's writers wrote out Justin Chambers' Alex.

First, how are you doing with the state of the TV industry right now? I'm worried about everybody in the world, including our industry. I'm really lucky to have continued work. I have a writers room for [ABC pilot] Rebel and I'm doing post on Station 19. I have some semblance of normalcy and I'm hopeful that there will be some return to normalcy in the not too distant future.

Grey's was the first show to shut down production. What went into that decision and was what has ensued since what you were expecting at the time? What went into that decision for me and why I pushed for that shutdown is we have been on the air for so long that so many of our crew members were in that high-risk category. Many of them are over 60 or even 70. There was a day when someone was saying, "Maybe you should go to set and give a pep talk," and I had a feeling of like, "No, I don't want to go to set." I called the network and said if I don't want to go to that set space, you can't keep asking the crew — who are all high-risk — to go. Like anyone else, did I expect the whole world to shut down? No. This is all so unprecedented in our world. I didn't expect this. I just knew in that moment that what I was reading that was happening in Italy meant we were in danger here and I wanted to protect our crew.

You lost four episodes from this season. What was the cast's response to that? What are you considering doing with the remaining four unproduced episodes? Rolling them to next season? Or waiting to see what happens with the world before you plot out what comes next? We're waiting to see what happens with the world. I will start a season 17 writers room in May, and, at that point, I imagine our conversation will be about starting our story from where we left off in season 16. But I don't think we can take unproduced scripts that we didn't shoot and shoot them. We're going to have had a break and have new ideas. We've been texting each other ideas already. Some of those things that we had decided, we're changing because we'll have had a break and have come up with better ideas. And some of it is going to have to change because you're taking what was going to be a regular episode and have to turn it into a season premiere and that will require some reimagining.

As a medical drama, and one with a global audience — you air in something like 250 markets across the globe — have you talked about if you're going to incorporate coronavirus into your storyline? I haven't talked to anyone about anything yet because we're not in the room right now. We're on what would have been our hiatus. But once the writers room gathers in early May, we'll begin to have those conversations. I've been thinking, are we incorporating coronavirus into the storytelling and also does that dictate what kind of stories we can tell? Are we, for example, limiting the number of people in a room? If we're doing a story where 60 people were sitting in a theater, are we no longer doing that story? Those are the things I'm thinking about because I don't think this is going to be totally over when we come back to shoot in July. I don't know.

Have you thought about what it would take for you guys to feel safe enough — given the crew you have — to go back into production? The Writers Guild is thinking about all of those things. There are conversations about, will testing be more widely available by that point? Are you testing people when they go to work? Are you taking temperatures of people before they go to work? I'm addicted to silver linings and an idealist and fantasy thinker because I am a writer, so I keep thinking maybe some miraculous vaccine or cure or somebody will figure out a medicine we use for this can be effective. I'm trying not to think about it too much because no one knows anything and next week everything could change.

This episode was fortunate to work as a season finale. Can you say anything about what would have happened in those four episodes? Or are those ideas that you're holding on to for now? I'm going to holdon to them for now because I imagine we'll play out a fair amount of them in season 17. It's not lucky that there's a pandemic and we had to stop our storytelling four episodes short, but it's lucky that where we had to stop wound up as a pretty perfect season finale.

One thing watching this episode that I'm very eager to know: What do Amelia and Link name their son? Grey's does have a way of honoring the past when it comes to baby names … The name the baby storyline was in episode 22 [which won't be produced]. I suspect it will play in the [season 17] premiere.

Any clues if the name has any special significance? Derek, maybe… I will tell you that the name is not Derek (laughing). I'll give you that the line in 1622 about Derek was that Link pitched it and Amelia said, "I don't want to cry every time I look at my baby, so no." But the name is meaningful, yes.

Owen tells his mother that he's postponing the wedding but doesn't tell Teddy. He obviously has that pretty awful voicemail in which he hears Teddy sleep with Tom. Why doesn't he break things off? The cruelest thing that Owen could do in that moment is to call his mother and not Teddy. That didn't come from anything magnanimous. Letting Teddy suffer in that silence and fear … if everything is OK, you call your partner and say we can't do it. I honestly think Owen is in too much pain to talk to Teddy at this point. It's a major storyline for us to play in season 17: are they over? Is there a way for him to come back from this? Owen has cheated himself and been forgiven, so he would be a hypocrite to not allow for possibility that there could be some forgiveness here. Yet what he heard was really damning and man. That OR scene was my favorite scene of the season. It was really beautiful.

DeLuca, who should be celebrating a big professional victory, realizes he has a problem after diagnosing Richard. What are you looking forward to exploring with his storyline? Everyone interprets that last scene differently. What I believe happens to DeLuca in that last scene is that he's been manic for so long that his brain chemicals have shifted and he's gone into a depression and that's what you're seeing. It's not that he's making any kind of realization; it's that he can't get up off the floor and he doesn't know why. We're telling a story of a mental health crisis with DeLuca and I think he does have the disease his father has. What's kind of beautiful about where we ended the season is that you see that a person who is struggling with mental health crisis can still be an incredibly productive member of society. He diagnoses Richard and saves the day — and he goes into a hole. Where we go from here … you'll see in season 17.

There's a great scene during Richard's surgery when DeLuca looks up at Meredith and gives her this nod, which feels like he's thinking that maybe now he is on her level professionally — and maybe now she can see him in that way. Meredith, meanwhile, tells Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood) that she wants him to ask her out again. This episode also had a lot of foreshadowing that Hayes and Meredith seem destined to be together. What's the larger idea or theme you're looking to explore with this … triangle of sorts? It kind of is a triangle at this point. There are so many pieces to making television: there's the conversation in the writers room, then the script on the page. It's like what you think it will be vs. what's on the page. And then there's what the actors do with it. That story has emerged in a way where I never expected it to be a triangle but feels like it very much is one right now. That's because DeLuca has been so heroic and so dynamic in his mental health storyline that, in a strange way, I expected that storyline would illuminate him as a love interest for Meredith and it ironically feels like it's done the opposite. It's been amazing to watch Giacomo resonate with that storyline. The story ended up better than what I expected it was going to be because now I don't know who I'm rooting for Meredith to be with. There's a part of me that feels like DeLuca, if he gets the right kind of treatment, could be becoming a human being with life experience that helps him rise to Meredith's level and yet there's this man, who is co-signed by Cristina and we've seen the pain he's survived and how, in so many ways, his life experience mirrors Meredith's. Where this goes now is really anybody's guess. I'm excited to see how it unfolds.

I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about something else that happened earlier this season: Justin Chambers exited this season. While Alex had a big send-off, it felt like Chambers left quietly and suddenly. What can you say about happened and the way that all transpired? I decline comment.

From a planning standpoint, how much notice did you have that Chambers wasn't returning? Chambers' last episode aired in November… I don't want to talk about it.

Can you talk a bit about how the Grey's team came up with how you concluded Alex's storyline, reuniting him with Izzie (Katherine Heigl)? I love that episode. I thought it was beautiful, romantic, heartbreaking, painful and the perfect combination of the way so many stories happen in Shondaland, where you're simultaneously crying for joy and crying for grief. It was perfectly imperfect and it was perfectly messy. It allowed for Alex to have grown as a human in a variety of ways and to still be imperfect and to disappoint a woman he has loved greatly. It allows for Jo to have been a person who really healed him and in so many ways that he's now able to go be this wonderful dad to these kids. And it allowed for the characters who are still at Grey Sloan to not have to go through another massive chapter of grief. I thought it was beautiful and I'm really proud of it. It was an amazing thing to get to watch 16 seasons worth of material. To get to go backwards on a character's timeline, 16 seasons, and to have it actually be stuff we shot on the show? That's rare in TV. Usually if you're flashing back, you're using VFX to de-age a character.

Wrapping things up, I always ask you the same two questions at the end of every season. Will there be any cast departures ahead of season 17? There are no notable cast member departures happening between seasons.

And are there any conversations about season 17 being the last one for Grey's? And in terms of 17 being the end, I never believe it's the end until they tell me it's the end for real.

#grey's anatomy #krista vernoff #THR #news #scoop

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