Chapter Text
In hindsight, warning klaxons should have gone off in Kit’s head the minute Amelia, the daughter who couldn’t give a flying fig about medicine or anything related to her mother’s job, asked how things were going at Chastain. In her own defence, she was just so overjoyed to have both her girls under the same roof for the first time in several years...and admittedly, she was still running on the high of having spent the morning and most of the afternoon with Randolph before shooing him away for her girl’s evening in.
“It’s going well. I’m still not thrilled that the hospital is making strange bedfellows with the pharmaceutical industry, but if it keeps Chastain open and if it keeps my people doing the work they excel at for the betterment of Atlanta, then I can try and find a way to live with it. There are things that I still don’t enjoy, particularly some of the bureaucratic nonsense that comes with running an entire hospital, but other parts of it can be very rewarding. I finally have a chance to make changes and fix issues that I’ve seen for decades but never had the means or the clout to do anything about. It’s a process, of course, but I’ve already seen some changes for the better.”
“Doesn’t running the hospital keep you out of your happy place though, Mom?”
Kit offered her younger daughter a smirk, knowing exactly what she was referencing. “I’m in the OR less than I used to be, yes, but I’m still involved in the most critical cases. I rarely do things like hip and knee replacements anymore, but I don’t really mind that; I’ve done thousands of them over the years so I don’t mind letting the residents and interns really cut their teeth on the routine procedures. I’ve spent the last few years building an ortho department that I trust implicitly, so now it’s time for me to focus on the places where I can do the most good. Chasing surgeries is a young person’s game – I have other priorities now.”
An amused look overtook Amelia’s face but before Kit could inquire about it, her attention was drawn by the gentle hand Molly placed over her arm. “How’s your friend Dr. Hawkins doing?”
The tone of the conversation took a turn then as Kit fought back a sudden lump in her throat. The day after Nic’s unfortunate accident, she’d called both her daughters and unintentionally frightened them with her need to hear their voices and tell them that she loved them and was so proud to be their mum.
“He’s doing as well as can be expected. He was offered a leave of absence but he prefers to keep busy. I can’t imagine how hard this all is for him; he met Nic at Chastain when he started his internship, so the hospital must be teeming with memories of their life together.”
“They have a child together, right, a little girl?”
Kit nodded her head at Amelia’s question. “Gigi – she’s such a darling. Honestly, I think she’s the main reason he keeps going. He loves that little girl with every fibre of his being.”
“I can’t imagine what he’s going through,” Molly whispered thickly. “When Derek...when he...”
“Hush, sweetheart. You don’t have to imagine it. At the end of the night you’ll go home to your adoring husband and that precocious daughter of yours and all of that unpleasantness will go back to being a memory in the past.” Kit reached over to gently grasp Molly’s wrist, stopping her from worrying the area before reaching out to take Amelia’s hand in her free one. “But let’s go back to happier thoughts – I’m still so delighted that we could do this together. It’s been far too long since we’ve had the chance to all be in the same place at the same time. I’m so glad you decided to stay through the week-end, darling.”
“Of course, Mom. I’ve missed you both and Atlanta too – this will always be my home, no matter where I end up.” Amelia gave her a tender smile before the amusement came back in, causing Kit to furrow her brow. “I must say, though, something seems to have changed since the last time I saw you.”
“Ames...” Molly said in warning but Kit remained focused on her younger child.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s something different with you, Mom.”
“There’s nothing different with me,” Kit flat-out lied and hoped she wouldn’t be called on it.
“Nope, I’m not buying it,” Amelia told her frankly. “There’s something going on with you and Molly and I –”
“Leave me out of this, Amelia.”
“Nu-uh, I’m not going out on this limb all by myself, not when you’re the one who shared your suspicions with me in the first place!”
“Ames!!” Molly shouted at her sister, dropping her fork to the table and shooting daggers at her sibling. “I told you –”
“Enough you two!” Kit held a hand out in front of both of her girls, trying to stave off the inevitable screaming match that had been commonplace throughout their teenage years. “You’re both grown adults, so please act like it.”
“But she –”
“Well she –”
“Enough.” Kit left no room for argument and after verifying that they were both following her directive, she let out a small sigh and turned her attention back to Amelia. “What is it that the two of you think you know about me?”
She had hoped that her defiant tone would make the young woman back off, but clearly she’d forgotten exactly who she was dealing with and what particular parts of her own personality that Amelia emulated.
“We think that you’re seeing someone.”
Keeping her face neutral, Kit was willing to admit that her girls were good but she hoped that she was still that much better. “Really?! And what makes you say that?”
“The way you keep trying to avoid the topic, for one. Not to mention, your statement from a few minutes ago that ‘I have other priorities now.’” Amelia parroted the phrase in her mother’s accent, a talent she’d had since childhood that both amused and annoyed Kit in equal measure.
“If that’s all you have –”
“It’s not. There’s also the blush that you’re trying to fight right now but is slowly making its way up your neck – I’m sure if your hair was up at this very moment we’d see that your ears are pink. I hate to break this to you, Mom, but that’s always been your first tell when you blush.” Kit tried to ignore her flaming ears as Amelia pressed on once more. “Then there’s your whole demeanor since Mol and I got here: you’re really happy, like giddy-happy...”
“And why wouldn’t I be when I have the two of you here with me?! I’m your mum and I love you both to bits, you know that.”
“We do, Mom, and Ames and I feel the exact same way about you...but she’s right,” Molly stated gently but left no doubt as to whose side she was on in the discussion. “There’s been a change in you in the last couple of months. You’ve always been a relatively upbeat and positive person but for the past little while you’ve been really happy, happier than I’ve seen you in a really long time. You’re usually like this when you’re with someone, and I don’t mean one of your ‘flavours of the week’ as Dad so eloquently calls them. I think you finally found someone worth putting in the time and effort for and it shows, no matter how hard you try to hide it.”
“You’re wrong...I don’t...” Kit tried one last time to deflect but realized that she was rapidly losing ground.
“If you really didn’t want people to find out, maybe you should tell your gentleman friend should to be more careful about leaving his jacket in your front hall closet,” Amelia preened with cleverness as she played her trump card. “And before you even try to deny it, that jacket is way too big to be yours and smells very distinctly like aftershave and cologne – recent aftershave and cologne, like it was applied this morning...or maybe last night.”
Finally out of options and feeling her cheeks flame bright red, Kit hid behind the curtain of her hair and let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, alright, you’ve found me out! You’re right, I have been seeing someone. Are you two ‘detectives’ well pleased with yourselves now?!”
“Yes, very,” her younger daughter once again crowed with a smirk and though Molly was much quieter about it, Kit could also see the victorious look in her eyes.
“Well, bully for the both of you. Now that you’ve got what you wanted, can we please move on to another topic?”
“Oh, not a chance!” Amelia told her with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “Inquiring minds want to know why you’re being so secretive. Is this some type of forbidden romance? Is it someone who’s totally not age-appropriate?”
“No!! He’s older than I am!!”
“Oooo, Mom’s got a sugar daddy! You finally found someone to take care of you and lavish you with all the finer things in life?”
“Does that sound like something I’d be even remotely interested in?! Honestly!!” Though she was still more than a little annoyed with the interrogation, she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of being a kept woman. “And we’re not being secretive. It’s still early days yet and we’ve decided to keep it to ourselves for the time being. We agreed that you’d be amongst the first to know, but we hadn’t decided on how or when to tell you.”
“But it is serious, isn’t it?” Molly stated more than asked and Kit nodded her head in confirmation, feeling the corner of her mouth start to quirk up of its own volition.
“So where did you two lovebirds meet? I didn’t think you got out of the hospital much...” Amelia trailed off for a second and then her eyes went wide as a gasp escaped her lips. “Wait...that’s it, isn’t it?! The reason why you’ve been so cagey...it is a forbidden romance of sorts, because you’re dating someone at Chastain, aren’t you?”
Kit knew that she wasn’t fast enough to school the deer in headlights look she could feel overtaking her face, so there was no use trying to deny the accusation.
“Oh my God, Mom!! You’re actually dating someone who works for you?! Isn’t that against the rules or something?”
“It’s not, actually. So long as we filed the appropriate paperwork with HR to keep things on the up and up – which we have done – we’re free to do as we like. And he’s not my direct subordinate; there are a few layers of managerial positions that separate us.” Kit noticed the way Molly’s eyes lit up in recognition and knew she’d quickly put two and two together.
“So who exactly is this mystery man? A fellow doctor...a fellow surgeon...”
Offering up a silent apology to Randolph for not checking in with him first, she heaved another sigh and finally stopped being so cagey. “He’s a surgeon.”
“It’s Dr. Bell, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Because he’s one of the people who helped save Derek and because Josie still talks about Grandma’s funny friend who let her eat as much ice cream as she wanted. You might be more familiar with him by his first name: Randolph.”
“Ahh, that’s a name I know well. He comes up all the time when Mom and I talk. I always just assumed he was some old fuddy-duddy that Mom was nice to because he’s been at Chastain since the dawn of time.”
Her younger daughter’s assertion pulled an unexpected chortle from Kit. “When I said he’s older, I didn’t mean decades older! He’s only a few years older than I am. And though he’s spent his entire career at Chastain, he’s hardly a ‘fuddy-duddy.’”
“I’ll second that – he’s tall, charismatic, and has a full head of hair and piercing blue eyes. He’s got the whole ‘silver fox’ thing going for him.”
“MOLLY!!” Kit cried out, mortified to hear her daughter talk about Randolph in that manner.
“What?! I’m happily married but I’m not dead! He’s an attractive man!”
“Well, you can never tell him that because he’d be absolutely mortified, just like I am right now!”
“I wasn’t planning on it, Mom!” Molly retorted quickly and then all three women were laughing together. When it died down, Amelia jumped in with another question.
“So, what else should we know about this Dr. Randolph Bell?”
“He’s kind and thoughtful and I like him very much. We’re both quite happy with the change in our relationship and that’s all I’m willing to say on the matter because I don’t kiss and tell.”
“C’mon Mom!” Amelia started to complain but Kit turned a stern look to her younger child.
“No, that’s quite enough of you prying into my personal life, thank you very much!”
“But –”
“I’m pouring myself another glass of wine, if you’d like a top-up,” Kit overrode any further statements by abruptly standing up, grabbing her glass and heading straight into the kitchen.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Amelia quickly followed her mother’s example, tossing her napkin on the table and storming off towards the staircase.
Kit let out a frustrated growl and then pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to rein her temper in.
“She’ll be fine, Mom. Let her go stew for a bit.”
“How does she always know the right buttons to push?”
“Because for as much as I’m my mother’s daughter, so is Amelia, just in different ways,” Molly replied with a knowing smile as she placed her glass down on the island. “I think it’s also because she feels a bit left out. She loves what she does and loves the West Coast, don’t get me wrong, but it means that she’s often the last one to find things out about us. You know that she’s always hated being left out.”
“I know, you’re right,” Kit easily conceded the point. “We really were going to tell you both before anyone else, I promise.”
“I believe you. And I’m sorry for my part in this – I never expected her to ambush you like that. I only mentioned it to her because I was just curious if she could see the change in you too.”
“Is it really that obvious?”
“To those of us who know you? Absolutely.” Kit laughed despite herself at the surety of the answer, but sobered as Molly placed a gentle hand over her arm. “It’s really nice to see you this happy again, Mom. I’m glad that you two found each other.”
“Me too, darling.” The two women shared warm smiles before Kit turned back to business. “Alright, let’s have top-ups all around and then we’ll wait for your sister to come back and hopefully get this dinner back on track.”