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lydia has been home with a crying, sick baby for a few days and she's missed a lot of work but her friends have all helped her out. she heard that april kepner had been fired and she was actually really upset about it.

she made her way to work when she saw derek, isaac, and a giant spinal tumor.

"woah that's a huge tumor." lydia said, walking into the room. she looked at the scans in deep thought and didn't know how derek would be able to operate on it.

"these are my scans. the tumor is mine. i'd like you to take it out. i'd like you to try. one doctor said it was bad circulation, another one, pinched nerve. but when the pain started to interfere with work, I decided to run an m.r.i. on myself." isaac said.

derek's pager beeped. "isaac, has i known it was your scan i wouldn't have..." derek started.

"i have been to every doctor derek. every time, it's the same thing. they look at the tumor and they're defeated. but not you. you were inspired. that's why i knew i was right to come and work here. i needed to meet you." isaac said to derek.

lydia thought everything isaac was saying was very empowering. there was no way derek was gonna say no.

"you got a job here to meet me?" derek asked him.

"i have researched every neurosurgeon in this country. i know their statistics, i know who wins the most prizes, but I also know who takes the most risks. that's you." isaac said to derek.

lydia was just watching the conversation unfold. she had no reason to be there. she didn't have anything to do though so she wanted to stay and listen to the two men.

"isaac, i know you believe i can take this tumor out, and i wish i could. but this surgery will kill you." derek said to the man sadly.

isaac didn't give up. "take the scans. look them over. but stop your mind before the part where it gets to 'no.' think 'yes.'"

cristina walked into the room and lydia waved to her.

"shepherd, i've been paging you. shunt patient in o.r. two." cristina said to him. lydia got her attention and pointed to the massive tumor on the wall. "screw the shunt. let's operate on that."

derek took cristina, lydia, and isaac to the m.r.i. room to give isaac an m.r.i and they met up with mark in the process. something lydia thoroughly enjoyed doing.

see, lydia and mark had this unofficial thing going on. they weren't a couple, but everyone thought they were. lydia wanted to be an official couple with mark but didn't want to break what they had going on.

"you know what this is about right?" mark asked.

"mmh-mnh."

"your no longer daddy's favorite, so you've gone in search of some crazy ass tumor to get his love back." mark told him.

"actually, it's about my patient. i haven't made up my mind yet. i'm just looking." derek said.

"isaac has a cord tumor?" callie asked coming into the room.

"oh it's awesome." cristina said.

"look." lydia pointed out from her place next to mark.

"awesome in a bad way. it's eaten five levels of his spine. wait you're seriously not considering trying to take it out." callie showed them.

"of course he is. he's shepherd." cristina said.

"it's a bad case of telephone right?" arizona robbins, lydia's older sister, walked in the room. "isaac's got a bone spur or a herniated disk not a... he diagnosed an osteosarcoma case for me a month ago. i thought it was a shadow, but it turned out to be the tiniest little lesion on an x-ray." arizona said sadly.

"that says more about you than it does him." mark said sipping his coffee.

arizona giggled sarcastically, "i'm sorry, do you know who isaac is?"

"no idea." mark answered honestly.

"mark!" lydia gasped and hit his shoulder.

"hey what's everyone," lexie walked into the room after arizona. "oh, a spinal tumor. I read about a case at mayo where the surgery took 17 hours. the head surgeon had four rotating assistance, one of whom just administered fluids." lexie said, showing us her knowledge.

"ok, you know what? don't try and lexopedia your way on this. this is my tumor." cristina said to lexie.

"hey, cristina, i was here way before you were." lydia told the surgical resident.

"what happened to the patient at mayo?" arizona asked lexie.

"he died. that's why only took 17 hours." lexie said sadly.

"hey, I just heard. isaac has an inoperable tumor?" owen asked.

"it's isaac's tumor?" lexie asked.

"okay, yeah, yeah. boo-hoo, okay? who says it's inoperable?" cristina said. waving her arms in the air, grabbing everyone's attention.

"cristina." derek points

everyone started to talk at once and no one was listening to each other.

"why aren't you all at your surgeries?" richard webber asked, walking into the room. "go get to you o.r.'s. don't screw with my schedule on day one."

everyone but derek filed out of the room and headed to their appropriate surgeries and places in the hospital.

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lydia found herself in a room with a bunch of other surgical residents and derek shepherd. she stood next to cristina yang.

"microsurgery is about precision. the microscope changes your perspective radically. the hand-eye coordination required can be learned, but right now I need naturals. each one of you will get a chance to guide this pen through the hole in the cup. the person who makes the mark closest to the president's nose and doesn't hit the side of the cup gets to scrub in." derek showed everyone how it was supposed to be done and lydia thought she was ready. mark gave her a little pep talk beforehand and it gave her a lot of confidence.

"who wants to go first." derek asked.

everyone raised their hands and derek picked steve who was in the front and ultimately didn't make the cut. next was pixie, whose name lydia now knew as reed. she didn't get it either. more people went until it was jackson avery's turn. he did it perfectly and lydia was amazed.

"nicely done. if somebody improves on that, i'll be out of a job." derek said.

"well, i guess you might need to retire, then." cristina said cockily.

next was cristina, lydia had complete faith in her, but that faith was shot down when she messed up. next up was lydia. to say she was nervous was an understatement. before she was confident but that was all sucked out of her. she walked up to the machine and picked up the pen. she poked the pen inside the cup and didn't hit the side of the cup. she did it just as well as jackson and didn't even realize it.

"wow, great job lyddi," derek said and lydia glared at him for the nickname but softened up her look as she smiled and high fived jackson, as they were the only two who did it.

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lydia was walking the halls with cristina, talking about random nonsense when cristina nudged her and pointed towards lexie, who was in the residents lounge.

"is she holding a diaper?" lydia asked cristina.

cristina didn't answer and instead pulled the girl into the room to question lexie about her diaper.

"is that what i think it is?" cristina asked accusingly.

"what? no. no!" lexie said defensively.

lexie hid the diaper behind her back and lydia went behind her and pulled it from her hands.

"a diaper?" lydia questioned.

"it's for the surgery. please don't tell anybody about this." lexie said, reaching out to grab the diaper back.

"that's genius. you never have to leave the o.r.  you can hydrate all you want." cristina told her.

"you're mocking me." lexie smiled. "fine. whatever. it's not like I was gonna use it anyway." she tried reaching for it again.

"of course you are. this is the definition of hard-core. you're like an astronaut. this is surgery nasa-style. you know what? You put it on right now. we'll guard the door." cristina said walking towards the door.

"hey, are you gonna wear one for the surgery too? you know, for me?" lexie asked innocently.

lydia thought about it but ultimately decided not to. "um i don't think so, but i won't tell anyone and i'll be there for you for moral support." the girl said throwing two thumbs up.

lexie and lydia got ready for the surgery and were pushing the patient down the hall. lydia couldn't help but notice lexie pulling her diaper down. lydia threw her a look and lexie ignored it. lexie sent her a look back that said it's uncomfortable, i can't help it.

"anybody opens their mouth and their fired." derek said and the the door opened. "you too." he said to isaac.

"oh, dr. shepherd, i was just describing our new schedule to some of our board members." webber said to derek as we pushed isaac through the doors. "this must be... mrs. taylor. and she's undergoing a craniotomy."

"it's mr. taylor, chief." derek says as isaac waves to the chief.

"we're, uh, still working out a few kinks, clearly." webber said.

"we should go. keep the trains running on time. nice meeting you all." derek said, clearly rushing.

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6/14/20