this is sort of a pro gieger story even though i have come to loathe the character for
obvouis reasons.  my one modivation for still watching the show (besides the fact that er
is begining to bite and i've finally given up hope of susan returning and the chance of one
of the fallen having a guest appereance -alan did and he was dead) is to watch aaron take
on gieger.  i'm rooting for the old shuttster.
i don't own em.  i don't claim to.  it's just for fun.

A Powerful Thing
by stephanie meyer

Billy was tailing Diane down the hall.  "But I'm back, we're back.  We're back together."
Diane was about to reply when she was interupted by a nurse.  "Dr. Grad, your nanny's on
line one."
Diane grabbed the phone.
"Your nanny?" Billy asked.
Diane covered the mouth peice of the reciever.  "Billy, can we talk about this later?"
They were still sittling on the balcony , holding each other when Diane's beeper went off. 
"That's Alice.  Are you done?"
"I have to sign a couple of charts."
"Meet you in your office?"  She stood up to leavse.  
"Yeah."  She bent down and kissed him.  "You still haven't explained the nanny."
"I will, I promise."
Diane entered Billy's office wiht a diaper bag slung over her shoulder and a toddler
nestled in her arms.
"This why you need the nanny?"
"Yes.  Jeffery Gieger showed up in my lab, what used to be my lab one afternoon and
asked if I'd watch her for awhile."
"Awhile?"
"That was two months ago."
Billy looked at her stqanding here holding the sleeping child in her arms.  He put his
hands on her shoulders and kissed her.  Diane recognized the kiss.  "This does it for
you?"
"You have no idea."
Diane was laying on the floor of her lab.  Phillip had left after their little tlak.  She was
deep in thought so she didn't know anyone else was in the room until she heard him clear
his throat.  "Geiger?"l
"Diane, listen.  I need you to do me a favor."
"Me?"
"Could you watch Alicia for a while.  I can't reach Camille and she knows you."
Diane blinked.  "Sure..."
"Great!  I'll have her things shipped to your apartment and drop her by here."  He
dissappeared.
"Geiger wait..."Daine sat up.  "How long?"
Caroline looked at Dr. Grad with amusment.  "Do you need any help?"
The noramlly short temper attending was extremely agitated.  Her briefcase and a diaper
bag were slung over her shoulders and she was jiggling a crying toddler on her hip.
"Yes.  Go up to Dr. Shutt's office and get his brain."
"His brain?"
"Tell him it's for Alicia."
"Okay..."  Caroline did as Dr. Grad asked.
"Dr. Shutt?"  Aaron looked up to find a timid resident in his office doorway.
"Yes?"
"Dr. Grad sent me for your brain?"
"My brain?"
"For Alicia."
Aaron stood up.  "Alicia?  Diane Grad has Alicia?"
"Yes.  Is she not suppossed to?"
Diane was still holding Alicia on her hip while she was talking on the phone.  The little
girl had stopped crying and her chubby little arms were wrapped around Diane's neck. 
Diane was snapping into the phone.  "Look I know this is short notice but I don't have a
whole lot of leeway here.  No, I can't wait untill tomorrow!  I need some one now!  Here! 
At my workplace, which is no enviroment to have a child in and I don't have the time to
wait while you sit there with your thumb up your butt!"  Diane slammed the phone down. 
Alicia began to fuse.  Diane immeditaly changed her tone.  "It's ok, honey.  I'm not upsset
with you.  No, baby.  Shh, sweetie, shhh."
Aaron came up behind her at the nurses' station.  "Diane?"
She whirled arond.  "Oh, good.  There it is!"  She grabbed the brain wiht her one and only
free hand.
"Why do you have Alicia?"
"Because Gieger asked me."
"Why?"
"I have no clue."  Diane shifted things around.  "I just know that I have six critical on my
service, three residents that I'm supposed to be supervising who's evagluations are due in
two days, a teething toddler and no nanny!"
Aaron sighed.  "I'll watch her.  Go to Watters and get someone to cover your shift.  I"ll
see if I can find Alan's nanny's old number."
"Thank you."  Diane handed the little girl, diaper bag, and brain to the nerurosurgean and
took off for Phillip's office.  Once again, a gradute of medical school was left wondering
how they came to be a highly paid babysitter.
Billy unlocked her door for her.  Diane put the little girl down into the portable crib.  "I
should put her pajamas on, but I don't want to wake her."  
Billy wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.  "I missed you," he whispered as he
moved down her neck.
"I missed you too."
Alicia woke up around three.  Billy jumped beside her in bed.  "What the hell?"
Diane had already pulled on a tshirt and was padding inot the living room.  "Put on some
shorts," she called over her shoulder.  He did.  She came back with the sobbing Alicia,
now cladding in a sleeper, in her arms.  She climbed back into bed, the little girl nestled
on top of her body.  Billy raisesd an eyebrow.
"She has nightmares.  It helps if she's with me."
Billy put an arm under her and pulled her and the toddler close to him.  the othre smothed
back Diane's hair and then hovvered over Alicia's head.  "Go ahead," Diane urged.  billy
smoothed the little girl's hair.  
"Maybe she'll help you stop the nightmeares," he whispered.  Diane kissed him before
they settled back down to sleep.
Alicia slept through the alarm.  Billy climbed out of bed so not to wake the little girl. 
Diane caught his hand and pulled him down for a kiss.  "What time do you get off?"
"Seven.  You on today?"
"No.  She should be ready if you want to come over her after work.  It should be just us
for awhile."
"I like the sound of that."
"So I'll see you about eight?"
"Yep."
Diane was giving Alicia a bath.  The little girl splashed her.  Diane laughed.  "Are you
splashing me?  You silly girl."
They had a ful day at the park and the grocery store.  Diane noticed the little girl's eyes
were drooping.  "Somebody's sleep."
The little girl yawned.
Diane had the little girl bundled in her sleeper and tucked in for the night when there was
a knock at the door.  Billy didn't knock.  He had a key.
Diane opened the door.  "Can I help you?"
"Are you Diane Grad?"
"Yes."
the man flashed his badge.  "Chicago PD.  Can I ask yu a few questions?"
Billy dropoped by Diane's only to find the aparment occupied by police officers and
Diane pacing the floor protectively cradling a fussy Alicia in her arms.
"Diane?  What happened?"  He pushed into the room and wnt to her, mimicing her
gesture with alicia.
"They say Gieger kindapped her!"
"Alicia?"
"Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?!  He's her fater, of God's sake!  It's in
Aln's will!"  Diane was outraged.
Billy turned to one of the cops, a detective.  "Do you mind ecplaining what this is about?"
"Who are you?"
"Her boyfriend.  What's going on?"
"Dr Geiger's custody was revoked.  Then, he and the child disappeared."
"Why was his custdoy revoked?"
"His compantency was questioned by the child's birth father."
"This is just what Alan was afraid of!"  Diane interjected.
"Alan?"  the detective asked.
"I mean, for god's sake, her birth parents wanted nothing to do with her!  She was sick
and they both left!  You want to give her back?  Unbelievable!"
"No one is giving ehr to anyone.  Dr. Gieger was instructed to hand her over to child
services."
"Absolutly not!"  Diane snorted. "Once she's in the system, it's over!  I will not let that
happen to her!  I owe Alan that much!"
"Diane, calm down.  No one is taking Alicia.  they jsut need to know where she is. 
Right?"
The detective sighed.  "Alan Birch was her adoptive father, correct?"
"Yes."  Billy was answering now.   Diane was trying to calm Alicia.
"Dr. Geiger is her godfather.  So where does Dr. Grad fit in?"
"She and the eel, i mean Alan were close friends.  She was wiht him when her was shot. 
She spent a lot of fime wiht Alan and Alicia."
"Were they involved?"
"Nope."  Billy was going to add more but was interupted by Diane.
"Billy, does her face look puffy?"
Billy exahimened the child in Diane's arms.  "A little.  Her lips are a starting to get a little
blue.  Let's see her fingers."
Diane's eyer were troubled.  "They're cold."
"Has she been fussy?"
"She was fine all day.  Just tired."
"Let's get her to the hospital."  Billy grapped Diane's keys and started ushering her to the
door.
"What's going on?"  the detective asked.
"She may be going into heart faliure,"  Billy answered.  "She has a perexisting heart
condition."
In the er, Billya nd Wilkes took over.
"Page Austin!"  Billy called.
"On it."  Diane answered from the phone.  "Damnit!  I should have seen this!"
"You can't page austin," Wilkes interjected.  "She's still suspened."
"I don't care."  Diane raged.  "That little girl is getting the best!  I don't care if I have to
hold the board at gun point to do it!"
"Diane, calm down," Billy soothed.  "She's going to be fine."
"She's already had open heart surgery twice!  I should have noticed the symptoms
earlier!"
"You did the best you could."
"Well, look what happened the last time I did my best."
Wilkes reinserted hisself.  "I didn't know you had kids, Diane.."
Diane was pacing and running her fingers through her hair.  "I don't.  What's her
pressure?"
"110 over 60.  She's stable,"  Billy answered.  "But she's got fluid in her lungs.  Let's get
her upstairs.  Prep an or while we wait for Austin."
"Wilkes, page Phillip and whoever's acting as house council."
Diane and Billy wheeled the little girl out of the er.
"This place is nuts,"  Keith said to the empty trauma room.
Diane was watching Kate and Billy operate form the observation room when Phillip burst
in.
"Who in the hell do you think you are?  Kate has been suspened by the doard!  What
gives you the right to over throw their decesion?!"
"I'll tell you Phillip!  That's Alicia Birch down there on that table and she gets nothing but
the best!  Kate Ausstin is the best and I'llb e damned if Alan's daughter doesn't get her
vecause of some bueracrtatic foul up!"
They stared each other down.
Kate found them after the surgery.  "Diane?"
"How is she?"
Kate remebered the last child that Diane had asked her about.  This time she had better
news.  "She's going to be fine.  One of her vaulves needed to be replaced.  She shouldn't
have anymore trouble for awhile.  She'll need follow up surgers as she gets older but it's
nothing that'snot managable."
"Oh, god," Diane's voice was choked wiht tears as she paced.
"Diane, she's alright."
"It's jsut so damned frustrating!  Hasn't enough happened to that poor child!"
Kate sighed.  "Yeah.  Yeah, it has."
Diane was still auguing wiht the police.  "You can't take her."
"Dr. GRad, Dr. Gieger can not take her back."
"Fine, then I"ll keep her until he regains custody or her godmother can be reached."
"Her father...."
"Is dead detective!  I saw him die!  It was his wish that ALicia be raised by her godfather. 
Alan Birch was one of the best fathers I have ever seen.  His wishes should be respected!" 
She left the deticive in the hallway and went back to Alicia's bedside.
"You did good wiht her."  Diane looked up in the darkened ICU room to find Alan sitting
across from her stroking Alicia's forehead.
"Alan...but...."
"I know.  I had to see her again.  YOu are a tigress, Diane.  I'm glad Jeffery decided to
trust you.  He should be back soon.  It will all work out."
"Alan..."
He placed a finger to her lips.  "Shh."
Diane woke wiht a start.  Gieger was sitting next to Alicia.  
"Jeffery..."
"Don't panic.  It's all taken care of.  The eel had some powerful friends."
"They gave her back to you?"
"Yes."
Diane smiled, "Did...nevermind."
"Did Alan tell me to bring Alicia to you?  Yes."
"But how?"
"A parents' love is strong, Diane.  Bery strong.  It can make anything happen.  Anything."