warrior queen

attending general surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital full biography can be found here

Arizona had, had a difficult day and although she figured that she should have just gone home instead she found herself at Joes. Sleep would do her a lot better than the hangover that came from drinking but there she was with a rum and coke in her hand, chewing at the straw in between her teeth. There were babies you just couldn’t save and she knew that but for some reason this one hit hard. Hearing Jo’s voice from across the bar she glanced over, her third drink in and then glanced down at her drink. “Oh. You don’t have to do that Wilson, I don’t want a killer hangover.”

“A water and a friend then? I could tell you all about this doctor I’m about to turn into the medical board and maybe even Elaine to make sure he doesn’t get swept under the rug.” Which, might not be a bad idea now that she thought about it. Jo couldn’t be certain the neighboring hospital would take her complaint seriously and she wondered how much finesse he could use to convince anyone evaluating his license that she had her story wrong. 

“I should probably sober up a bit too.” 

April arched her brows at Jo’s comment and appearance, quickly realizing that something must have happened. That or she just had a bad day at the hospital. Either way, the redhead wasn’t one to deny a free drink, at least when it was coming from a friend that she trusted. Sliding into the seat next to Jo, April ordered herself a drink from the bartender, turning to look at her friend. “What are you drinking, Jo? We could always do a shot of tequila,” she teased, bumping her hip against her friend’s.

“A shot of tequila? Well after the day I’ve had... I’m in.” While she wasn’t young anymore and she had some terrible memories of nights with tequila, Jo was easily swayed and not as turned off to tequila as she was to something like fireball. With a smile after ordering the shots, she turned to April. “I’m hoping you had a better day than I did in trauma land?” Jo herself hadn’t had time to go anywhere near the pit today.tw

“Honestly as scary as she can be, the hospitals would probably be in better shape if she was somehow in charge of them.” She’d only met Elaine Sawyer a couple of times, and usually just in passing, but that didn’t change that she knew how well the hospital was already doing under her leadership. “Plus, it’d be more likely that you and the other doctors at Seattle Grace would go over for consults which would probably limit this sort of stuff too.” She let out a sigh as Jo mentioned the other patients that were in similar situations, her heart breaking. “That’s always the difficult thing. Knowing that for every person we help, someone is left behind.”

“Certainly nobody can deny that that woman knows what she’s doing.” Jo tried to stay on her good side, which mostly included rocking her surgeries and staying out of the never ending drama within the hospital staff. While she’d been through her fair share of it over the years, including everyone finding out just how famous in the surgical realm her former husband that had her running to Seattle in the first place; things had been significantly more quiet since then apart from a few problems. “Hence the booze and healthcare’s proclivity toward one of the unhealthy coping mechanisms they recommend their patients to avoid.” Not that it wasn’t alright once in a while or anything. “I’m sure Joe’s forever grateful for the location of his bar.”

He grinned when Jo said that she would insist on some drinks when he wasn’t on the pain killers anymore and he nodded in acceptance. “I will definitely let you know when I can drink responsibly again.” If he had anything to drink while on the medication he knew, at the top of his head, three people that would be incredibly disappointed and frustrated with him…and probably Jo. And he wouldn’t do that to himself or her. “I’m…okay. It’s tough sometimes but being home has helped.”

“Your mom is definitely thrilled to have you back. I bet she’s pampering you.” Many of the surgeons had learned the best way to balance parenthood and their job. And with Jo’s own worries about her children being so far away, she could imagine the relief of having them back home even if temporarily. “I can’t imagine how tough it would be. But I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about your injury. 

“Both,” she answered. On top of a busy day and being ready to go home, she had an injured daughter at home who just told her that she didn’t want to go to college. Addison was stressed out and disappointed. She just wanted to be done with the day. “That look tells me you have something you want to ask.”

“I just have a pregnant woman that was involved in a car accident. I was hoping I could have your expertise to make 100% sure the baby’s okay now that the mom’s doing okay. But I can totally find someone else if you’re having a rough one.”

Zali took a small sip of the drink that she’d ordered, and nodded. “I mean, I can appreciate that she’s old enough that her cartoons are at least somewhat tolerable. It’s not like when she was a toddler and every cartoon she watched was about counting or the alphabet,” she said. “Because as great as those are for them, I’m pretty sure I would have wanted to throw out our television if that phase of cartoons had lasted any longer.”

“Ah yes, the learning cartoons... Absolutely horrific for parents. I relied heavily on earbuds back then.” Anything to drown out the same songs over and over again. Even as the kids got older, the nostalgia for getting them into some of the cartoons she remembered watching at the few foster homes that allowed her to quickly wore off. “I bet people don’t tell you this enough but it’s admirable to get through medical school and residency while being a parent. It’s definitely hard enough without the added responsibility.” A toughness that she couldn’t relate to.

“Or, consider this,” Juliette began, realizing who was beside her. She did not want to be ratted out for being there. Yeah, she was an adult, but she certainly wasn’t a responsible one. People had their eyes out for her, and she knew that. “I’ll buy you a couple of rounds, anything you’d like, but you don’t mention at all to my mother that your drinking buddy for the night was me. Does that work for you?”

Jo’s eyes widened in full realization of whom she’d exactly been talking to. Of course while not privy to everything, she knew of some of Juliette’s struggles and she certainly didn’t want to make any of it worse. Still, she had a feeling that whether Jo was here or not she would be drinking regardless. Unsure of how to approach this, she decided to deflect the question for a moment instead. “-- Juliette! Hi, that was pretty rude of me not to greet you. I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been doing?”

“That’s fair,” Sofia chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. “I.. I really never realized. I didn’t even know Carina worked here. O-Or that she was married. Not until a week ago, or something. I avoid that department at all costs, so I’d never bumped into her or anything like that. But that might’ve been better than finding out after the car thing at the fair,” she huffed. 

Nodding confidently, Sofia raised her glass just slightly, “maybe one day.” After taking another drink, Sofia sighed. “Might not be today. Or next week. But some of them change over time, y’know?” A weak smile and a scrunched nose was all she could offer, knowing that it was only applicable to a small few. “Anything I can do to help?”

Her curiosity about what had happened was growing, but she also suspected that she was starting to get an idea of what might have happened. “Maya, yeah. Firefighter.” She had remained friends with Ben which led her to know more about the firefighters than many of the other doctors. “So it sounds like your family ruining happened after the fair fiasco?”

“Some of them do... the ones that are primarily in it for the money soften up a bit and let their underlying empathy shine through. This guy, though? It’s definitely the power trip and he’s not going to get any better.” That was something that she was sure of. “Apart from keep me company while I run up a huge bar tab? I don’t think much will help.”

“Yeah, I definitely need one after that.” It had been one of the most frustrating cases that she’d had to work on since coming to Seattle Grace. Normally she was dealing with heartbreaking cases, frustrating cases in the fact that a life couldn’t be saved; she hadn’t yet had to deal with a case where a patient was refused care. Especially not on the basis of the mental health struggles that they were facing. “Honestly with all of the things that I’ve heard, I really don’t understand how that hospital is still in business. Like I know we need all of the hospitals that we can get, but if they aren’t going to actually help people, what’s the point?”

“I’m sure if Elaine had her way we would swallow them up. Though I sure hope some were encouraged to find a job outside of medicine in that case.” While a few hospitals did need to be in the area due to patient load and the event of an emergency or technical problem taking one of them out, Jo was sure that even those desperate for help could keep a better eye on who they hired. “I want to be happy that he got the help he needed, but it makes me sick thinking about others like him out there that we don’t even know about.”

Jameson shook his head slightly at the offer. “Not that I’m not grateful, because it’s awesome of you to offer, but I really can’t. The pain medication that I’m taking right now is a no-go with alcohol. But maybe I’ll hit you up once I’m not on these anymore. That alright?” He asked, picking up his non-alcoholic beverage and taking a sip. He didn’t really know what had attracted him to the bar that night, given he couldn’t drink, but he hadn’t wanted to go home yet and a quick roll across the street had led him here.

“That’s right -- and very responsible. I’ll definitely insist on it when you’re off of them. How are you holding up with everything?” She’d heard from Miranda about his accident and being back in town... and while she truly couldn’t fathom how it felt to be injured in such a way, she felt for Jameson from being taken even momentarily from what he loved. 

Instead   of   being   at   home   alone,   Rowan   found   himself   falling   into   a   routine   of   stopping   at   the   bar   for   a   couple   drinks   before   heading   home.   Something   about   a   bit   of   liquor   before   bed   always   helped   him   sleep   sound   at   night.   That   or   it   was   turning   into   a   slight   drinking   problem.

He   was   nearly   done   his   whiskey   when   Jo   started   offering   up   free   drinks.   “No,   don’t   worry   about   it,   I’m   fine.”   Rowan   says,   but   when   Jo   spoke   with   a   more   serious   tone,   he   smiles   and   nods.   “Okay.   Whiskey   on   the   rocks.”   He   says,   watching   as   she   drunkenly   sips   her   drink.   “You   don’t   think   you’ve   had   enough   drinks   though?”   He   asks   as   he   pours   the   rest   of   the   amber   liquid   down   his   throat. 

“Yes!” An gleeful exclamation at the acceptance of her offer. It was probably mostly the booze, but trying to brighten other people’s nights would be the reason in her mind for her lightened mood. Surely others from the hospital that were in Joe’s tonight would have had a bad day sometimes this week too. It came with the territory more there than other lines of work at times. 

“A whole family,” Sofia spoke with wide eyes. She sighed, nodding at Jo’s comparison. “You’re.. yeah, that’s right. That’s a fair point.” Almost instantly, she ordered a drink, leaning back slightly in the barstool. “Did you know that Carina and Carlin the social worker were related? Am I dumb for not knowing that? I never knew Carina’s last name, nor that she worked at the hospital,” Sofia winced, happily accepting her drink from the bartender. Taking a long swig, she turned back to Jo, “are you okay?”

She wanted to ask further about the situation, but it was clear that Sophia was struggling with whatever had happened and Jo remembered how irritated she had been when people demanded answers when she had still been trying to sort out her emotions herself. So, she took another sip of her drink and let Sophia steer the conversation. She chuckled when Sophia ordered a drink. It was true that drunk people could only be handled by sober people in small doses and were usually only amusing to watch online where one was removed from the situation instead of involved in their loud antics.

“You get to know the OB staff pretty well when you have all of your kids at the same place. So I’ve heard Carina talk about Carlin -- but I just met her actually because of a psych patient. I don’t think you’re dumb for not knowing. I mean, it’s hard to know the extended families of the entire hospital staff.”

With a shake of her head, she dismissed the question about her own mental state. “I’m good. Just having a rough week and hoping one day terrible people will stop joining the healthcare field.”

“That’s a kind offer,” Zali said. She didn’t often get a chance to go by the bar, but she had a sitter with Zali who offered to stay late, so she had to take her up on that. Looking over at the older woman, she shook her head. “But it’s okay, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Not only are you my superior at work so it feels weird, but I can’t get too tipsy. I don’t want to deal with a hangover and an almost 10 year old in the morning.”

While some doctors had gotten up to far more inappropriate things with the interns, she could understand Zali’s feelings about an attending buying her a drink. There already was an imbalance of power without feeling like one owed an attending for any reason. Plus, there was a visible cringe at the mention of having a hangover with a kid in the house. “You’re right there. Not much is worse than a pounding hangover headache and an overly excited child putting on loud cartoons first thing in the morning.”

it had been a long day at the hospital and leila figured it’d be a good time to stop by jo’s on the way home and have a couple of drinks, responsibly of course. she knew she shouldn’t drink a lot since she worked the next morning, but it was definitely needed so she could unwind. when she spotted a familiar face, she gave the other a soft smile, “you don’t have to do that, it’s okay really but i mean if you actually insist, i could go for something fruity maybe something i’ve never tried before, what would you recommend?”

Carlin had been trying to dissuade Jo from offering her a free drink, but the woman really wasn’t taking no for an answer and she really could use an alcoholic beverage. “I’ll just get a rum and coke then please.” Something simple, but something that would do the job nonetheless. “Thank you, Jo.” They hadn’t known one another long, but Carlin had been the social worker called when the psychiatric patient in need of assistance had arrived at Grey Sloan; thus leading her to working with Jo on the case.

“No problem. I think we both need a few after that case. I need to report that doctor for his unethical behavior. I mean, seriously. The healthcare system and some of the people in it still stomp all over mental health patients.” He had needed help with his pre-surgery routine and didn’t have housing and a nurse for one of the mental health clinics had helped him with it all only for him to refuse to do the surgery and kick him out on the street. “I really thought all surgeons top priority was helping people.”

Sofia had literally just sat down when suddenly she was being offered free drinks. And, while she would’ve happily accepted that offer a week ago, she simply shook her head and smiled. “The last time I got drunk I destroyed a family, dude,” she laughed, finally able to find some amusement in the rather dim situation. “I’ll happily watch you, though. It’s like.. reverse babysitting. Payback for the times I was probably pawned off on you.”

Confusion etched her features at Sofia’s response. “A whole family? I think you must be being hard on yourself.” Lips back on the straw of her drink, she figured it might be for the best that she didn’t start buying rounds of drinks for half of the bar after all. “Come on, watching someone drink is almost as bad as watching another resident do the surgery they stole from you from the gallery. Babies are a lot cuter than drunk people.”