New Jersey
Peggy's Apartment
After a solid roast of Sheldon, Adam kept the good vibes rolling, humming a classic Christmas tune.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Unlike Sheldon's weirdness, Adam went full local—Christmas had him hooked.
Too bad the happy times always fly by.
He watched Christmas slip away, the days sprinting toward the millennium.
New Year's Eve rolled in, and Adam and Peggy's paper officially dropped in The Lancet, complete with Adam's hand-drawn cover.
---
Medical Center
"So romantic," Meredith sighed, gazing at the Lancet cover with her usual dreamy eyes.
"Too flashy!" Cristina snatched it, giving it a once-over. "If it were me, I'd plaster my face across the whole thing—that's real romance."
"You're practically married now—quit acting like the lone wolf," Meredith teased with a smirk. "You and Burke are a team."
"I'm always me!" Cristina shot back, oozing confidence. "No one's changing that!"
"Come on." Meredith tugged her toward the door. "Everyone's waiting for the rankings—let's go check it out."
---
Nurse's Station
A pack of doctors crowded around the computer.
"Back off—you're hogging my oxygen!" Bailey snapped at Shepherd, who'd craned his head right next to hers.
"I'm just looking at the screen," Shepherd grinned, unfazed.
"Results aren't even up yet—what's there to see?" Bailey grumbled, though her eyes stayed glued to the monitor.
"They're supposed to drop at 4," Burke said, arms crossed, cool as ever.
"It's 4:15 already!" Mark Sloan piped up, perched on the desk like he owned it.
Post-fracture, he was back to his cocky self.
"Refresh it—reload the page," Cristina said, reaching for the mouse.
Smack!
Bailey swatted her hand away. "I know that! I've been refreshing every 10 seconds."
"Still no rankings?" Montgomery strolled over.
"Nope," the group groaned in unison.
"Results out yet?" Chief Resident Callie asked, sidling up with George, all smiles.
"Not yet—be patient," came the collective grumble.
"Dr. Duncan's been killing it this year," Mark mused. "The cruise ship rescue—live on TV, huge PR. Plus that glioma virus breakthrough—historic.
With all us top docs jumping on board, even if we don't snag first, we should at least pass Mayo Clinic for second-best teaching hospital, right?"
"Shut it!" everyone barked in sync. "We're taking first this time!"
"Whoa, chill!" Mark froze, forcing a laugh. "I just meant we're guaranteed second, aiming for first… okay, okay, we're definitely first!"
Their glares shut him up fast.
He wanted first too!
But teaching hospital rankings hinge on tons of factors. Sure, the Medical Center was riding high, but locking in #1? Not a sure bet.
Second was fine by him.
"Refresh again," George said, reaching for the mouse.
"Don't touch it!" Bailey smacked his hand too, finally losing it as everyone kept pawing at her computer. She spun around, glaring.
"Alright, everybody back off! No more grabbing, no more doom-and-gloom talk. When the rankings drop, they'll drop, and I'll tell you—"
"They're up!" Cristina cut in.
"First: Hopkins."
"Second: Mayo Clinic."
"Third: Cleveland Clinic."
The group read off the list in order.
"What?!?!"
The Chief of Surgery stormed over just then, his voice hitting the ceiling when he heard the top three—and no Medical Center.
"We're not first? Not even top three?!?!"
"Chief, we're fourth…" George mumbled, his voice shrinking under the Chief's fiery, eat-you-alive stare until it faded completely. He dropped his head, avoiding eye contact.
"This is totally unacceptable!"
The Chief marched to the desk, checked the screen himself, then grabbed the phone with a scowl, dialing the review committee.
Everyone held their breath, watching him.
"This is Dr. Richard Webber from New York Medical Center. Did you mess up the teaching hospital rankings?" he demanded, barely containing his fury. "Did you not factor in Dr. Adam Duncan's achievements and impact?
Sure, his Lancet paper just dropped today, but the surgery succeeded a month ago—you know that!"
He laid it out, crystal clear, then listened to the other end, his frown deepening by the second.
The crowd exchanged looks—bad vibes all around.
This wasn't a glitch.
"Chief, what'd they say?" Bailey asked, stepping up under everyone's stares. "What's the deal?"
"They said without Dr. Duncan's achievements and influence, we'd be 12th this year!"
The Chief planted his hands on his hips, scanning the room with icy, furious eyes. "And no matter how big Duncan's wins are, one guy doesn't define the Medical Center's overall teaching level.
They said he could waltz into the crappiest county hospital out there and still shine the same.
What—are they saying some Podunk dump with Duncan could leap to #1 teaching hospital in the country?
Get real! Fourth's the ceiling!
Folks, we dragged Dr. Duncan down!
A genius like him belongs at the #1 hospital.
Fourth?
Unacceptable! Unacceptable!"
He stormed off, fuming.
Silence settled over the group.
"This ranking's still off," Mark said, trying to lift the mood as everyone sulked. "Okay, Duncan can't carry the whole Center alone—but are the rest of us chopped liver?
Dr. Shepherd—best neurosurgeon in the country.
Dr. Burke—top cardiothoracic surgeon nationwide.
Dr. Montgomery—premier neonatologist in the U.S…"
He trailed off, getting no reaction, and started winking hard at Shepherd—your turn to hype me, man!
"Dr. Mark Sloan, Medical Center's finest plastic surgeon," Shepherd tossed out with a grin, then bailed.
"…" Mark's lip twitched.
Burke shot him a look, shook his head, and walked off.
"Jinx!" Montgomery glared at Mark, then split.
"Your fault!" Bailey threw him a dirty look too, stomping away.
"Talk less," Callie snapped, glaring as well. "Don't forget the pain just 'cause the scar's healed."
"Classic Adam-style jinx," Cristina quipped, tossing Mark a side-eye.
And then—yup—every single person glared at him before bouncing.
Mark: "…"
(Chapter End)