━━ ✦ 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 ⌟ ‌

"what?" ryleigh's words took a moment to register with his as to exactly what she'd said. not helped by the fact that he was carrying a heavy box, either. look of confusion rushed across his face as nathan moved to put the box down on a nearby surface, hands reaching to rest on the top of her arms as he did his best to calm her down. "ry, we've been together for –– for ages. what's changed your mind? is it the xbox? because i can get rid of that ––"

"i know i don't need to." but the truth was, there was a part of her that thought that she did. josh was her best friend, the one she could lean in when a lot of her family were far away. and it was a gesture of thanks, and of appreciation, in the best way she knew how to –– a perfectly wrapped gift. "i've had a lot of practice, okay! i don't give things that don't look absolutely pristine. you should know that by now." she gave a fake roll of her eyes with a slight laugh. "now open it. and if you don't like it, i can exchange it."

planning a wedding was far more intense than yazmin thought it would have been. they weren't going for something big and fancy, but it was still a lot. she couldn't just let justin's offer of help just go without taking advantage of it. "okay, it's super easy," she started, pointing to the boxes of items she'd ordered for their favors, "just take one of these little bags, the clear ones," holding it up for a moment, "and then one thing from each box. tie it with a ribbon, stick a sticker on it, and voila! wedding favor."

if there was one thing that as doctors they could count on, it was that most of the time there was always someone willing to join you for whatever caffeine fix it was that you were craving. "normally, i don't. but for some reason the or is all backed up, and it's buying me a little more time." hours without proper sustenance was just part of being a surgeon. she'd gotten used to it over the years. "so while i have the chance, i need to grab it. who knows how long it might be before the next proper meal." she laughed, shoulders shrugging as she spoke. "you look like you're deep into something not as fun?"

“oh, if you need anything in the mean time.” she pulls a neatly embossed business card out of her bag. “any time. day or night. preferably day, but you never know.”

"this looks fancy." she chuckled, holding the business card in her fingers carefully, as if it might shatter, or disappear, if she didn't take enough care with it. it had been long enough since she'd seen her cousin, and she didn't want to risk upsetting that if she could help it. "i will try and keep all emergencies within daylight hours." she confirmed with a slight smile. "thank you, colette. you really didn't have to."

nathan walked into the apartment with a big grin on his face, the first box of several in his arms. it was a strange feeling for him, having spent so much time in this apartment before, but now it was going to be their place, together. "home sweet home." he teased, placing the box down on the counter before he turned to face her. there was a moment that made him pause though. "are you okay? you don't quite look as happy as i hoped you'd be. i didn't forget the bubbly, it's in another box downstairs ––"

there was no denying that there was a little bit more stress than yazmin had anticipated when it came to the wedding. she'd thought that by doing something on the simple side, it would have been easier –– but there was still plenty left for her to do, with only a week to go. "exactly. you are raising a child and becoming a surgeon, you really want me to add more to that pile?" she asked, leaning into him as his arm wrapped around her. there was a pause though, as she thought about all the things on her to do list. "but i do have some things you can help me with." it didn't exactly take long for her to cave. "i have our wedding favors that we need to put together. we can put on a movie, do it together?"

"definitely me." he answers truthfully. as much as he'd like to deny it, mark wasn't the best partner back then. or person, even. there were lots of things he had to work on himself before he could give himself fully to someone and not sabotage it. he dares to look addie in the eye. he knows what she means. given the choice, mark wouldn't go back in time. he loves his life and his family as it is right now. he wouldn't trade it for the world. "i always imagined she'd be just like you." part of him wondered if they could have it all, then, and now. he didn't entertain this thought often but anytime he was around addison with sofia, or any kid, it felt like a dream he once had. "i don't know about that. sofia makes it easy." he said with a smile, thinking of his child. her mothers also had a part in the matter, there was no denying it. "she'll make a great big sister." his blue eyes lingered on addie's for a little too long before he added, "and you'll make an amazing mom some day. i've always known it."

there were times where addison spent more time than perhaps she'd openly admit thinking about the choices she'd made, and how different things might have ended up for her if she'd gone down a different path. at the core of most, if not all, of those journey's down memory lane had an element of mark sloane attached. "god help if she'd been exactly like me." she joked, a slight deflection from just how deep of a turn their conversation had taken. surprising somewhat, but equally as necessary, it seemed. "you really mean that, don't you?" though the look on his face meant that her question didn't need an answer. not a spoken one, at least. "i don't know. i think that ship might have sailed for me." a sensitive topic, but if she couldn't speak to mark about it, then who could she? "had my chance, and missed it. i don't know if i'll get the chance to have a sofia of my own." sofia covering what she really meant –– a second chance at being a parent.

"really?" she asked, eyebrows raising. the redhead welcomed the offer of dinner, albeit if not slightly surprised. "i'd like that." she confirmed, gentle smile spreading across her face. "better than a hospital room, right?" she offered as a joke, gesturing to the room around them.

"i'm okay, you know, trying to get in the christmas spirit as much as i can." she explained, hand gesturing to the rack of alcohol behind her. it wasn't as easy when she wasn't spending it with her family, but sometimes you just had to make do. "you too?"

“anyway. the residency program needs shaping up. that’s what i’m here to do. that’s… my purpose.”

"oh, that's good. i think. not that the residency program needs fixing, obviously, but that you can be the person to do it." she could feel herself babbling. "i didn't think it was too bad." said the only resident in her class to fail the boards the first time she'd taken them.

"i just got zola her first fishing pole," a fishing pole. a fishing pole for a kid who could barely sit up on her own, but it was her first fishing pole. next thing derek knew, she would be old enough to actually fish. "it's pink." april kepner wasn't his usual person to disclose this type of information to, but she was the one in the room.

"oh that's so fun!" it didn't take much for april to get excited about things. she just enjoyed when people were happy, and hearing derek talk about zola the way that he did, how could she not join in the excitement that he clearly had. "do you think she'll come with you on fishing trips soon? my dad used to take me out on the farm from almost the moment i could walk, it was hands on, right away when you're a kepner."