killing ourselves to live

Mason cleared his throat slightly as she mentioned his wife or girlfriend. Was this really something he told people he had just met? Probably not. “It’s just coffee.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders. He let out a sigh, not being able to find the right words to stay about his marital status. His divorce had only been finalized a few weeks ago, after being separated from his ex-wife for about eight months. His daughter was still upset about the fact, although the two of them had agreed to co-parent her. “There’s… uh… no one to mind?” He stated, rather awkwardly. Mason ran his hand over his head as he spoke, looking down at his runners, not knowing what else to say.

Amber’s lip was now caught between her teeth. ‘Just coffee.’ Okay, she could tell he wasn’t interested now. It was pretty clear and if she were being honest about it, of course it stung a little but instead, she reached into the bag, which had a bunch of nerdy patches sewn into the canvas, things from Harry Potter ( she was a Gryffindor ) to Doctor Who ( she was a self proclaimed Clara Oswald ) to quotes and even a little water gun her son had given to her last Christmas. She tugged the pager from her bag, sending a page to Alex, pretty aggressively if she were being honest. She tossed it back in her bag before giving Mason a half smile. “Well, I could use a cup, I suppose.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Clark wasn’t sure how he could help.  "Are you sure he’s working today?“  He watched as she was calling someone on her cell phone.  It was harder because he didn’t actually work at the hospital.  He could just walk behind the counter and check.  

“I thought he was! At least that’s where some secretary said he was.” She tore her purse around to her front, digging inside of it for something before she finally pulled out a pager. She knew Alex also had one, and quickly sent him a page before looking up at Clark again. “Sorry, I uh...He has one and we uh, I just figured I’d give it a shot.

quinn smiled brightly when she saw her aunt approaching her. it had been a good minute since she really saw her. as they get closer, she brings her arms around the other for a tight embrace. she really missed her & couldn’t even explain how excited she is to see her here, “what are you doing here ?” she asked once she pulled away from the hug, “it’s so good to see you, i’ve missed you so much, aunt amber.” she replied with a smile on her face.

Amber held her tightly, not wanting to let go of her niece any time soon. “Well, kiddo. I decided to leave Iowa and SPD needed another officer so here I am!” She finally let go of her and held her at arms length. “God, you must’ve grown like 2 feet since I last saw you.” 

“That’s… understandable.” Mason wasn’t one to understand crazy families. He could say that his family life had been relatively normal. “Inspiring, yeah… I think I can relate to that.” Mason admitted. If he hadn’t been inspired by those babies that day, he wouldn’t even be here right now. “We can check the attendings’ lounge, if you want. He usually likes to raid the fridge.” He stated with a chuckle. “I’m free for another few hours. I’ve got four patients in labor but they’re not ready to deliver just yet.” There was something about this woman that made him want to drop everything he needed to do. Not that Addison would appreciate that, since he was the ob/gyn on call that day. But he was going to appreciate the more time he gets to spend with her. “And if he’s not there… I like to think I’m the king of the attendings’ lounge coffee-maker and I would love for you to join me for a cup of coffee.” Smooth, Mason… so smooth.

Amber was nodding along with what Mason was saying, trying to look anywhere except the man’s eyes. Not because of fear but because if she did, she probably wouldn’t be able to stop and her secret would be out. She cleared her throat a bit and smiled before nodding, finally looking up but casting her gaze just behind him. “Won’t your wife or girlfriend mind?” It wasn’t at all smooth or subtle, but it was something she needed to hear to just soothe her crush or whatever this was.

Clark knew that Alex had siblings but he couldn’t remember their names.  Which wasn’t really surprising as they didn’t live in Seattle. At least, that he knew of.  "Um, I don’t know if he’s working today,“ he said as he looked around.  "I don’t work here.  I was just dropping off my kids.”  He didn’t normally know the doctors schedules outside his family.  "You could try calling him or maybe ask the nurses to page him.”

Amber wanted to smack herself upside the head. She felt like she was annoying everyone with asking if they knew or had seen her brother. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you, I just...I’ll leave now. Just uh, pretend I never acosted you.” Amber pulled out her cell phone and typed in Alex’s number again, hearing the ringing before there was a dial tone and an automated message saying the voicemail was full.

“That’s… quite the story.” Mason smiled. “So, Alex Karev’s your brother. That’s pretty cool.” Pretty cool? Really? He really did suck at small talk. “I could say something like that.” He admitted, laughing softly. “My mother’s a urologist and my dad’s a pediatrician.” He replied as he lead her down the hallway to the NICU, standing by the window and watching the babies. He remembered the first time he’d been to see the babies in the NICU. It was with his Mama. She had brought him to see the sick babies, told him how each child there was getting a donated organ. It was when he had decided to call her Mama. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” He said as he sighed contently. He loved what he did for a living. “Yeah, I don’t think I can see Alex here anywhere…”

“I mean, it depends on how you look at it. The last time I really saw him was when I graduated from the academy...but honestly, I don’t blame him. Our entire family is kinda...” she made the crazy motion with her hand. She nodded as he spoke about his parents. ‘Get a grip, Amber. He’s a good looking, probably rich surgeon. He probably has a fiance or wife or is gay. Besides, you’re just the same damaged girl you were in Iowa.’ She tried to shake those thoughts from her mind and smiled. “It is...awe inspiring even.” Her eyes dashed around and she really tried to not be excited that he brother wasn’t here. “I can um, just wait for him. I’m sure you’ve gotta go save a life or something like that.”

“Oh my goodness gracious!” Mason grinned. “That’s pretty excitin’. How long have you been a cop for?” He asked her as they began walking towards the NICU. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as they walked, his eyes darting around the walls of the hospital, everywhere except her eyes. “I’m an OB/GYN slash fertility specialist slash fetal and neonatal surgeon. I mean, I trained under the best OB/GYN in the country so I couldn’t really pick one kind of OB/GYN.” Why was he telling her all of this? Was he trying to imply that the intense medical training he had received in his field was something that made him… better at the act of making babies?

“Well I started at the academy when I was 18. But because you can’t have a firearm until you’re 21, I had to wait to be sworn in. I spent 14 in Iowa and then decided I wanted to be closer to Alex and well...here I am.” She shrugged, walking down the hall and turning her head, smiling at the man. So he was gorgeous, sweet and smart? Was there some other worldly being trying to taunt her? She knew as a single mom that she couldn’t just have hook ups but she also couldn’t let herself fall for a guy. Hell, she’d been celibate for like 5 years. “Oh god, really? That...that sounds like a lot. So I’m gonna guess you’ve got doctor parents like almost everyone else here?” she joked, knowing that most of the doctors in this hospital had relationships and children together, mostly from her nieces.

Mason could hear Charlotte yelling through the phone but he chose to ignore it, his gaze focused on the beautiful woman in front of him. “Oh so you’re a cop then?” Mason asked as he was already standing up from his seat. He had a slight Southern accent that he had picked up from Charlotte and the triplets over the year, something that made most people refuse to believe that he was not even Charlotte’s biological son. He picked up his phone and brought it up to his ear, speaking over his mother’s yelling. “Mama, I’ll call you back.” Without even waiting for her to respond, Mase hung up the call and turned back to Amber. “Well, I’m headed towards the NICU myself. I’ve got to go check on a pair of tiny humans that were delivered prematurely this morning. Why don’t you walk with me?” He asked her as he walked around the desk to stand directly next to her. His bright pink scrubs had been ironed to the point where you couldn’t see a single crease on them. His hands tucked into his pant pockets. In his left lab coat pocket was his scrub cap that was printed of a cartoon character called Judy the Utie Uterus.

Amber heard the screaming and couldn’t hide the chuckle that came out of her mouth. “Yeah, yeah. Just joined Seattle PD last week.” Wow was he tall? And the slight twang in his voice went right through her in the best way. It was like every moment he did something more to attract her to him. She nodded her agreement and the two began to walk in the direction of the NICU. “So by the color of your scrubs and by what you just said, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you deliver babies? That’s gotta be pretty amazing.” She was torn between looking at him and finding the floor incredibly fascinating. On one hand, she was afraid if she just looked at him, he’d get uncomfortable. But if she stared at the floor, he’d think she was uncomfortable. She instead, she tucked her hair behind her ear and settled into his pace, taking a glace at him every once and a while but keeping her eyes mostly in front of her.

“Yeah, it’s just…” She stood up deciding that showing the other would work better than telling her how to get there. It also gave her a reason to do something other than sit and wait. “Wait - do you have something to drink with you? Because I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s anything close to decent in the attending’s lounge. That, or they’re really great at hiding it.” 

Amber could definitely tell she was a doctor’s kid. She was cautious and smart and knew some of the ins and outs about the hospital. With a shake of her head, Amber spoke again. “Any vending machines on the way? I’m not awfully picky.”

Thankfully being the son of Addison Montgomery had come with some special privileges.  The daycare, it wasn’t really him using it because the information was under Dr. Montgomery but it saved his life some times.  He had dropped off the kids and was heading out to get his life in order.  Actually, it was only running errands but it could be a lot with two kids.

He was standing next to a desk when he heard someone speak.  "Which one?“ he asked as he looked up at the brunette standing in front of him.

Amber turned and looked at the man giving a smile. “Uhm, Alexander? I’m not some wierd creepy girl, just his little sister. He won’t answer his phone so now I gotta track him down and...you really didn’t need all that did ya.” Amber had the habit of rambling when she was anxious or with Mason, who she had finally found his name out from one of the doctors. “He’s a Peds attending.”

after school, quinn decided to pay her parents a visit at the hospital. not to mention she enjoys going to the hospital & making friends with the patients. there’s one kid in room 204 that she has grown close with that has become like a best friend to her. not to mention her favorite older patient, fred, she loved visiting him & having lunch or any kind of snack with him. walking into the hospital, she walks up to get her visitor pass, she hears someone ask for her father earning a smile on her face, “wait … aunt amber ?” she recognized the older female as soon as she got closer, “it is you !” she smiled brightly.

Amber turned and heard the voice of her niece and smiled. “Hey there kiddo!” Amber walked over and wrapped her arms around the younger girl. While the woman hadn’t been around all that much, she had grown to love each one of the girls that her brother had, and as she hugged Quinn tightly, she realized that in all honesty, it was the right decision that she moved here. If her brother wouldn’t except her, the girls certainly would and that would be enough.

“I didn’t freaking ask.. What I asked is who’s in trouble now? It’s Aaron isn’t it? Or is it you.. Are you? What do you need? Money? You on some kind of drugs? You gone psycho on me too? ”

Amber sighed, pressing her hands to her face and running them up through her hair. She couldn’t believe it. She tried to do all of this in the interest of trying to reconnect and her brother was being a total ass. “Oh yeah, I’m totally on drugs. Total meth head. I mean, my boss may not be cool with that considering we are arresting people for drugs but hey you never know until you try. What the fuck, Alex, are you kidding me?”