olx. inoperable tumor
5.06

There was just something about unpacking boxes weeks, months after you had already moved into your home and settled down — forgetting about the box in the first place.

Somehow in the process of moving, Atlas had pushed away and hidden some boxes. Now that he had pulled all of those said boxes and placed them around the living room. There was at least six.

Atlas sat cross lagged beside Derek who was playing with Star. Star was beyond excited when there were boxes placed in front of her. Her little hands would reach out to grasp the cardboard and she would try and pull it towards her, the boxes were way to heavy and she would only fall back into Derek's chest as the aftermath.

Atlas was opening boxes left and right, digging through them and sorting them. Things Atlas could use, like the more baking supplies he was finding.

Or the small little blue box that was covered in snowflakes. The box looked familiar to Atlas, so instead of even putting in into a pile he placed it on his lap.

Derek looked over at the box. He knew that box. He had picked that box out. It was the attempt at a gift for Atlas from Derek after Addison had shown up. It would have been their first Christmas together too, but the world had other plans then

"You kept that?" Derek said, his hands fiddling with Starlees.

Atlas looked between the box and Derek, "I guess I did."

Atlas opened the blue box, inside was a key — the key Atlas had given Derek to his home then, and the key that Derek had given back.

Underneath the key was a picture. The picture was of both Atlas and Derek laying side by side outside of Derek's trailer. Their shoulders were touching and both men held bright smiles. Their faces were lit up, not only from the flash of the camera, but from the brightly shining stars above them.

╚═ ☆ ═╝

"Bailey!" Atlas skipped forward with his anatomy Jane in hand. He had taken it back from Star when she lost interest in it once they entered the hospital — she had dropped the doll when they entered past the gift shop, her attention was no the pretty blue "congratulations, it's a boy!" teddy bear.

"Yes Atlas?" Bailey turned around to face Atlas.

"Look!" Atlas held up his anatomy Jane doll. "It's anatomy Jane!"

Atlas handed the doll to Bailey who held it and took apart the detachable organs. "Did you just have this laying around — no wait, of course you had it laying around." Bailey shook her head at the possible fact that Atlas had an anatomy Jane just lying around.

Bailey only stood there playing with the doll, taking out her organs and putting them back in, the repeating the action.

"Bails?" Atlas asked slowly.

Bailey just continued to play with the doll — what Atlas didn't know was Bailey was imagining the doll as her patient. Bailey had been given a little girl with an inoperable tumour, she had been tasked with removing the tumour and keeping the little girl alive. It would be tricky and she had no idea how to do it, she had no idea what surgeons to bring onto the case, hell the only thing she knew was that she couldn't give up.

Bailey snapped out of her daze. "Uh, yeah. Come with me." She waved him forward, the anatomy Jane doll still clutched in her hand.

Atlas followed behind like a puppy on their very first walk. He was confused for one, but on the other hand he was bouncing with excitement.

Atlas followed Bailey right into the residents lounge. Before she actually entered the room, she handed Atlas back his doll. Bailey then entered the residents lounge, "Okay, two things: you all have a skills lab this morning. It is mandatory, don't even think about trying to get out. Second, one of you will not have to go to the mandatory skills lab because you will be assisting me in my efforts to remove an inoperable tumour from a ten-year-old girl."

Bailey finished and everyone's hands shot up, except for Meredith.

"I'll do it." George O'Malley said.

"No, you won't." You have a hundred delinquent charts." She sternly looked at George, "You will do those after the lab."

"Slacker." Christina whispered to George but Atlas still caught it.

"How can you operate on an inoperable tumor?" Alex inquired.

"Karev is also out."

"What did I say?" Karev whined.

"You doubted me." Bailey spoke in a duh tone.

"Oh, I-I-I-don't doubt you, Dr. Bailey." Christina smiled (in atlas's opinion it looked really fake) and put her hand down too.

"Yang is out, too."

"Why?" Christina looked to Atlas for backup, he only shook his head and stepped behind Bailey.

"You weren't supportive of a fellow resident who couldn't get his paperwork under control." Bailey told her before she looked towards Meredith. "What is that? Grey, is that anatomy jane?"

"Yes." Meredith looked up.

Atlas grinned stepping out from behind Bailey and holding up his own anatomy Jane, "Twins!"

"With the 24 removable organs and the optional parts to simulate pregnancy?" Bailey asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Yes. Does that mean I'm out, too?" Meredith frowned lightly.

"No, that means you're in."

Izzie groaned, "Oh, that's not fair."

"Yes!" Meredith cheered.

"Next time, you'll know to bring in an ugly doll, won't you, Stevens?" Atlas caught the slight smirk on Bailey's face as he followed her out of the residents lounge — Atlas was confused on why he, an attending and a head of a department was following around a resident... but in all honesty he didn't mind.

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Atlas had been instructed to stand behind Bailey well Meredith presented and showed the little girl her anatomy Jane doll, in hopes she would be able to understand what was happening to herself.

"Hard, but not impossible, right?" One of the adults in the room asked, Atlas guessed he was the father of the little girl.

Richard nodded, "We're gonna try everything we can."

"Everything you can should include your cardio thoracic guy." An older woman spoke now — she must not have seen Atlas yet. "Stewart at Seattle pres said the vasculature is the big problem, and you have the best cardiovascular surgeon he's ever seen." The old woman continued, her words being a smile to his face. "If she's not on Tori's team, we're leaving and going to san francisco."

Bailey nodded towards Atlas. Atlas stepped out from behind the other doctors , "Hi. I'm Atlas Lee-Sunny, I'm the cardio surgeon here."

The old lady perked up. "Ah, you are the one." She turned to Richard and Bailey. "He's the one."

╚═ ☆ ═╝

After Atlas and Meredith had played around with their anatomy Jane dolls, trying to figure out how to to save Tori, they finally figured out a way. They would remove all of Tori's organs so they could access the tumour — it would be hard and long, and it had its risks, but once they ran it past everyone else on the team, it seemed like the only good idea.

"Dr. Bailey, can you dissect down anymore?" Richard asked as the worked together on the surgery.

"There's nothing to dissect." Bailey paused shortly. "There's barely any artery left."

Richard thought for a second, "What about if we extend the gore-tex graft?"

"No," Atlas shook his head sadly, "What's left is too friable."

"So we can't reconnect the organs to the vessels?" Meredith piped up, looking between the doctors.

"Not at this moment, no." Bailey muttered sadly.

"But if we can't reconnect the organs, they won't reperfuse and they'll just die." Meredith stated.

Atlas nodded his head. "They will."

Meredith looked to Atlas, "Is it too late for a transplant?"

"Unfortunately, we have to find six good organs in about eight hours... It's, uh, pretty late."

Bailey stammered, "We could try to put in more gore-tex."

"I don't think that will work, Bails." Atlas denied sadly.

"Well, then what's your idea, huh?" Bailey snapped towards Atlas, but she gave him an apologetic look once she realized what she did.

"It's not my idea that matters — what do you think Bails?"

"What about... using the human umbilical vein? I mean, ready to go, already heparinized." Bailey looked between Atlas and Richard.

Atlas nodded, "I think it'll work. But this is your case, Bails. You decide."

"Okay. Let's do this."

And they did, Tori had a successful surgery and would live a happy, tumor free life.