Nighttime.
Medical Center.
"So, what's the deal?"
Christina and Meredith crowd around.
"What's what?"
Adam looks puzzled.
"How's the chief handling Liz?"
Christina cuts to the chase.
"How'd you guys find out?"
Adam shoots a frown at George.
"They're Liz's friends," George mumbles, guilty. "They deserve to know."
"Hope you're still this chill when the chief fires your ass," Adam snarks.
"…"
George shuts up fast.
At the closed-door meeting earlier, Surgical Chief Richard Webber's face was a thundercloud. His vibe toward George? One line: "Shut it, O'Malley. No talking—just listen!"
"We'll keep it quiet," Meredith says, stepping in for a spooked George. "Just between us."
"That's for the best," Adam nods. "Otherwise, the chief'd go straight for firing Liz, no question."
"So it's not a firing?"
Christina zeroes in on the key word.
"Nope, not a firing," Adam sighs. "We all want her gone, but the reason? Can't make it public."
It's a classic case of holding back to avoid bigger trouble.
Liz is a doctor, part of the union. No solid, public reason means they can't just boot her.
What she did? Oh, it's a 100% fireable offense.
But spilling it would tank the whole medical center's rep and profits.
"You want her fired too?"
Meredith stares at Adam, shocked.
"What's the issue?"
Adam fires back.
"She's your friend!"
Meredith exclaims.
"I don't have friends who care that much," Adam says with a cold laugh. "If we hadn't all stood firm, she'd have dragged me down with her. Maybe the chief'd be firing me too. You want a friend like that?"
"But she's already been punished—she got shot," Meredith falters.
"What's that got to do with her having no ethics and not deserving to be a doctor?" Adam scoffs. "You think the shooter was some vigilante doing the world a favor?"
"…"
Meredith's got nothing.
"Alright, enough," Christina cuts in. "What Liz did was way out of line—no defending that. So, what's the outcome? Not fired—then what?"
"'Encouraged to leave,'" George pipes up. "Whether her hand heals or not, Liz can't keep training as a resident here."
"That's it?"
Christina's surprised. "That's not even harsh!"
"Not harsh?"
George's eyes bulge.
"Come on, think about what Liz pulled," Christina says, shrugging. "If Dr. Burke hadn't raced back with that heart in time, and you'd actually been dumb enough to cut Danny's power cord like she asked, Danny'd be dead.
That's borderline murder.
You thought about that?
Compared to that, 'encouraged to leave' just means she can start over somewhere else.
That's not a good deal?
You seriously think after all this, the chief'd just yell a bit, slap her with a warning, and let it slide?
She's not Meredith!"
"Hey!"
Meredith's not thrilled with that jab.
What's that supposed to mean?!
"Come on!" Christina smirks, giving Meredith a side-eye. "You know the chief's soft on you. It's human nature—connections matter. What's to hide?"
"Ugh," Meredith sighs. "I just hope Liz doesn't pull this kind of stunt at her next hospital."
A faint, chilly smirk tugs at Adam's lips.
The four chat a bit more, with Adam stressing again not to spread this around. Then he heads toward the VIP ward to check on Tatiana.
Juno's already talked to Heather.
Heather's pumped—says she'd love to adopt.
But with her background, passing the child protection agency's screening? Tricky.
So Adam consulted pro philanthropist Caroline and cooked up a plan.
Step one: Caroline's charity fund adopts Tatiana. Step two: Pass her off to Heather.
Problem is, it hinges on the adoption agency's credentials.
Caroline needs time to sort that out.
Plus, Tatiana's health needs some TLC first. So Adam's keeping her at the medical center for now, under the care of sweet Nurse Carol. It's a safe bet.
He's even hooked her up with an English teacher to learn some basics while she's here—make it easier to chat with Heather later.
"Adam!"
Christina jogs up from behind.
"What's up?"
Adam stops.
"It's not that simple, is it?" Christina lowers her voice. "I saw that cold smirk earlier. You don't buy Meredith's take."
"Of course not," Adam chuckles. "People don't change that easy. Liz went full psycho—could you have predicted that beforehand?"
"Nope," Christina shakes her head.
"Exactly," Adam shrugs.
"Nah, there's more," Christina says, locking eyes with him. "That smirk wasn't just that. You're planning something—revenge, right? Making sure Liz can't start over anywhere else?"
"Where'd you get that idea?"
Adam looks surprised.
"Don't play dumb," Christina groans. "You're petty as hell. Liz nearly trashed your career this time. Sure, the hospital's rep means no public firing, but I don't buy you letting it go."
"You're overthinking it," Adam laughs. "I'm a big-picture guy. Liz getting pushed out? That's enough for me."
"For real?"
Christina's skeptical.
"Totally," Adam grins. "But the chief? He's pissed. Consequences are gonna sting. Liz's medical file? The chief's review won't be pretty. He's told Burke and the others—no recommendation letters for her. Good luck finding a new gig with that."
"Shit!"
Christina's jaw drops. "How's that different from firing?"
In the U.S., where records are everything, your resume's gold.
A surgical chief from a big hospital tanks your file and blocks your old bosses from vouching for you?
Every other hospital knows what's up.
Liz isn't some hotshot star. She's a nobody.
Even a legit genius like House—absolute legend—would've been screwed without that dean who adored him and took the heat to hire him.
No skills matter if no one'll touch you.
Hospitals hate headaches.
A top doc's life-saving wins don't outweigh the chaos one troublemaker can cause in a single screw-up.
It's not worth the math.
They're here to make money—why risk a loose cannon?
House barely scraped by. Liz? She's nothing.
"Oh, it's different," Adam says with a smile. "This way, Liz can stomach it better. People need a little hope, right?"
And whether that hope turns into endless despair later?
Well, that's just like the classic line Adam's second sister Teddy recorded for their fourth sister Charlie's Growth video:
"Good luck, Liz Stevenson!" 😈
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