Morning time.
At the medical center.
Monica's been drilling it into Adam's head to personally handle little Adam's bath—no way she's risking him getting hurt or swapped by mistake.
Beep beep.
Beep beep.
Mid-scrub, Adam's pager goes off. He glances at it, stands up, and turns to Nurse Carla. "Hey, Carla, can you take little Adam back to his mom in a bit?" Then he grins at Chandler. "Chandler, just keep an eye out, alright?"
Chandler flashes a helpless little smile 😅.
"Don't sweat it—plenty of hugging chances later!" Adam teases before heading out.
"What's going on?"
Adam rushes to the ER.
"It's Dr. Bailey's son!" George blurts out, all frantic. "Little George!"
Emmm.
Funny twist of fate—Bailey's kid got named after George, so he's extra invested.
"Call Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Burke, and the Chief for a consult—stat!" Adam orders, then dashes over to check on little George. "Limbs are responsive, pupils dilating and reacting—no neurological damage.
Left forearm's bruised and swollen—get an X-ray lined up!
Tuck, how'd he get hurt?"
"He climbed up in the study, reaching for a medical book, and the bookshelf toppled on him," Tuck, Bailey's husband, says, hand over his mouth. "I heard him scream—that's when I found him…"
"Left-side breathing's weak, abdomen's rigid—prep CT and ultrasound," Adam says, his face tightening as he examines the belly. "He needs a full trauma workup."
"What's that mean?" Tuck asks, voice shaking.
"Could be internal injuries!" Adam replies, already wheeling the gurney toward a room.
George O'Malley's on it, hustling ahead to set things up per Adam's orders.
"What happened?!"
Dr. Bailey storms in, and when she sees her son lying there, bawling his eyes out, she freezes.
"Bookshelf fell on him!" Tuck explains quick.
"It's in the study—there's a baby gate in the living room. How'd he even get in there?!" Bailey snaps.
"The gate was open!" Tuck fires back.
"You forgot to close it?!" Bailey glares at him.
"It wasn't me!" Tuck glares right back.
"So you're saying I didn't close it?!" Bailey's panting now, furious.
"Accidents happen!"
Just then, the Chief arrives with a posse of top docs, cutting off the couple's spat. They swarm around little George.
"Adam, what's the situation?"
"Multiple rib fractures, possible lung damage, maybe even the heart," Adam sums up fast. "He needs a full trauma scan ASAP!"
"Oh God!" Bailey claps a hand over her mouth. The tough-as-nails doc's eyes flood with tears in an instant 😢.
Since it's Bailey's kid, they skip the line straight to the CT room. Bailey and Tuck stay inside with their son while Adam, the Chief, Dr. Montgomery, and the others huddle over the scans.
"Ugh…"
The docs let out a collective sigh.
"There's a shadow!" George says, voice tight with worry.
"Where's the heart?" Lexie asks, confused.
"Can't see it," Cristina says, cool as ice, reading the scans. "His stomach's in his chest cavity—organ perforation, positive color markers. Diaphragm's shifted. But that's not even the worst part.
The trauma's stressing his thoracic aorta. There's fluid around the colon—it's ruptured too. Fecal matter's leaking everywhere, risking infection during artery repair. Complications could be fatal."
"Chief?" Adam looks to the surgical director.
"Book an OR now!" the Chief sighs. "Burke's primary, Duncan's first assist. Addison, you and I are on standby to jump in."
"Melendez, reserve the OR!" Adam calls out. "O'Malley, Grey—stick with Dr. Bailey. She's not calm right now. Keep her steady so it doesn't mess with the surgery!"
"Got it!" Cristina and the others spring into action.
"Carter, cover Bailey's clinic shift today," Adam adds, glancing at Carter.
"Yes, sir!" Carter bolts off.
Surgery kicks off at lightning speed.
Outside the OR, Bailey's suited up in scrubs, pacing and peering in anxiously. George and Lexie block her from barging inside.
"They're patching the diaphragm hole," Cristina reports from the doorway, keeping Bailey updated. "They're about to check the mediastinum."
"Is Burke stitching or grafting?" Bailey asks, voice trembling.
"He hasn't said yet," Cristina replies. "Want me to ask?"
She starts to head in, but Bailey grabs a mask and storms past her into the OR.
"Miranda, out!" the Chief barks.
"I just want to be with my son," Bailey pleads, eyes begging. "I won't get in the way—I swear—but I can't just stand out there waiting. I need to be with him!"
"Dr. Bailey, hospital rules—no moms watching us operate," Burke reminds her. "O'Malley, Little Grey, take her out."
"No!" Bailey shouts, digging in her heels. "I'm not going anywhere—I'm staying with my son. Keep going!"
"Chief, Dr. Burke—let her stay," Adam cuts in. "I'll take over as primary. No worries about distractions."
"Miranda, you okay with that?" Burke asks her.
"Yeah," Bailey nods. "I just want to hold my son's hand." She'd never doubt Adam's skills.
"Alright, Adam, you're up," Burke says, stepping aside without a fuss.
Anyone else, and Burke would've kicked Bailey out and kept the scalpel himself. But Adam? He's cool with it. He knows Adam's not showboating—this guy can legit multitask like a pro, unfazed by Bailey's hovering, avoiding any slip-ups.
So, Adam swaps spots with Burke. Under Bailey's hopeful yet piercing gaze, he dives into the surgery with total chill.
As it goes on, Bailey can't keep quiet like she promised. It's her kid—every choice matters, and she pipes up, questioning, suggesting.
But Adam handles it like a boss—chatting with her, explaining, gently shutting down her impulsive calls, all while steadying working on her son.
"Alright, stomach's fixed, spleen's intact. Just need to insert the chest tube, and we're done," Adam says with a grin. "Dr. Bailey, any more questions?"
"Thank you, thank you!" Bailey gushes. Watching it all, holding her son's hand, being there to give him—and herself—strength, she's beyond grateful to Adam for making it happen 🙏.
(End of chapter)