OK, never written a Greys Anatomy fan-fic before and this story line just popped into my head at a totally random time when I was driving back from Alton Towers (that's a theme park in the UK for all you yanks ). So yeah, I don't own any characters except my own, please read, enjoy and review. I'll continue if I get good feed back. Thanks
Seattle Grace. One of the busiest hospitals in Seattle. And the breeding ground for gossip. That's not to say that Seattle Grace was not professional, despite it's school yard like features. Boys chasing after girls. Best friends switching one day to the next. An argument between two people suddenly has the entire surgical floor in opposition. And relationships blooming, ending, starting again, ending again…it was a lot to keep up with.
Dr Meredith Grey walked through the automatic doors with her steady, handsome boyfriend Dr Derek Shepherd hand in hand. They chatted easily and headed for the elevator. Meredith's cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, and Derek's hair neatly wind swept from the sea breeze swirling through the city. Derek fixed her collar and smoothed the creases in her coat as they waiting. As the elevator arrived, they stepped in, it was empty, the perfect place to snatch a last kiss before their shift began. Just as the doors slid shut, they lent into each other, lips puckered eyes closing. The doors were pulled open again and they jumped apart as Dr Mark Sloan (McSteamy to the surgical girls) raced in, red faced. He'd obviously been running. His black leather jacket was zipped to the top and he blew onto his purple hands then laughed.
"Sorry, my bad" He grinned and turned around as the doors shut again "Continue were you left off".
Mark and Derek had been best friends through high school and college back in their home town. They had done everything together, studying, worked, played, lived together. Derek's family had accepted Mark as one of their own, as a son and brother. Mark revelled in his new family with the Shepherds. His own had been bitty and broken. His dad had died soon after a younger sibling had been born and left his wife and two children alone with little money. Soon after however, she had remarried a guy who didn't like Mark and Mark didn't like him. He had got as far away from that mess as he could. He would spend as much time at Derek's house after school, worked and studying on the weekend, spending Friday and Saturday nights at the Shepherds. When time came for his and Derek's graduation, Mark offered his three allocated tickets Derek's family, who would have much rather watched the two boys throw their caps in the air. Luckily, he and Derek both attended the same university to study medicine, and continued to live and play together. They were best friends and brothers through and through. They knew everything about one another. Mark was the best man and Derek and Addison's wedding and gave a beautiful speech which made Grandma Shepherd cry for hours. Their friendship sadly abruptly ended when Derek came home one rainy evening, climbed his stairs, opened his bedroom door and found Mark, naked, atop his beautiful red-haired wife, clothes strewn across the bedroom, bed covers on the floor. He didn't say a word. Just shut the door and left for Seattle the next morning.
That was years ago now. They had amended and become "best friends" again and could often be found gossiping like school girls at the nurses station. Derek would have to so often warn Mark off from girls. Mark had a bit of reputation for being a man whore, and had been told to keep away from Meredith's little sister Lexie, another Dr at Seattle Grace. He hadn't listened.
As the three of them emerged from staff room, followed by the other first year residents: Christina Yang and Alex Karev, they made their way to the reception of the surgical floor to pick up their charts for the day. Already gathered round the reception were Drs Izzie Stevens, George O'Malley, Lexie Grey and several other interns. And of course, Dr Bailey, (rudely called the Nazi for her sheer stubborn and strictness) the chief resident ready to dish out orders.
"Little Grey, Stevens, and I are in clinic" Bailey ordered. Lexie and Izzie dropped their charts, nodded and headed to the clinic. "Yang, Karev, with Dr Shepherd". Similarly they nodded and followed Derek down the hall to proceed with rounds of the post-op Neuro patients. "O'Malley, Grey. With Dr Sloan in plastics". As they were about to leave, Bailey added "if it gets slow. Come find me." They nodded and followed Mark down the other corridor to proceed with rounds.
Meanwhile, in the clinic, Izzie and Meredith's sister Lexie began working on various cases. Lexie sat down besides a teenage girl and what seemed to be her mother.
"Hello, I'm Dr Grey" she introduced herself as she closed the curtains "What can I do for you?"
The young girl looked about sixteen, but was very pale and thin. Her long brown hair hung in limp waves passed her shoulders, her scalp hidden by a pale blue and grey hat. She wore a woolly scarf to match, and mittens too. The girl avoided looking up from anywhere but the bed.
The woman, a small lady herself looked as though she would have been very pretty as a younger women, but age and a teenage daughter hadn't done her beauty any good. She was shy and meekish, similar to her daughter.
"My daughter, Ellie, she uh.. was mugged." The women started to explain. Lexie looked at the daughter with great concern. "she's been having trouble breathing since, and wont eat…and she's got marks… and you see… we need to make them go."
"Um.. right ok…I'll get" Lexie began.
"No, you don't understand, you have to make the marks go! She has to be flawless again". The mother stressed. Lexie raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Ok then Ellie?" Lexie began putting gloves on. "I'm going to have to take a look at those marks and your throat please."
Ellie cast her eyes towards her mother without moving her neck and looked nervous. Her mother nodded. Ellie slipped off her mittens with trembling hands to reveal bruised and swollen fingers. Lexie kept mum for the time being about the state of her hands. Ellie winced as she curled her fingers around the woollen scarf and pulled. As it slipped from protecting her neck, it exposed more bruises, redness, scratches, old scars, burns and lacerations. Lexie bit her lip as she did. Then gasped as she took a closer look at her throat. It was severely inverted. No wonder she was having trouble breathing, Lexie thought. Then something caught her eyes. Definite bruises in the shape of hand prints were the throat was inverted.
"And you said a mugger did this?" Lexie asked still gazing at the wounds.
"Yes…" The mother answered.
"And when was this?"
"Um… er…um… Two days ago?"
Lexie leant back "Why didn't you come sooner?"
"We didn't think it was that bad. And we were busy." Quietly she added "We don't have insurance yet. We've just moved to Seattle from the UK." She explained quietly.
Lexie nodded understanding "And you are sure it was a mugger. Not someone else…someone in the family for example? A bully at…"
The mother interrupted speaking quickly "No.. no family, no bully… a mugger.. wasn't it Ellie?"
"A mugger. In the street." Ellie whispered hoarsely.
For some reason, Lexie did not believe their story. She had seen cases of domestic violence during her lectures at college. She knew how people in that situation tended to act. This was one of them. She was sure.
"I best check with my resident Dr, Dr Steven's for how to continue. But first, Nurse Adler will give you a shot or morphine for the pain. Ok?" Lexie said standing up and removing her gloves. The mother reached for her daughters hand and stroked it gently. The young girl looked sad. Lexie wanted to hug her but had to remain professional. She couldn't get involved with a patient.
She stepped out from the curtains as a nurse stepped in to give Ellie pain relief. Lexie went to the desk, lent against it, tucked her hair behind her ears and wrote up the notes regarding this case. She included in it : 'possible result of domestic violence'. Then she headed to the other end of the clinic where she had spotted the blonde haired Dr Izzie talking to a man who seemed to have a 'severe' case of the 'man-flu'. As she got closer Lexie heard him demanding to be admitted over night.
"I'm sorry sir, but all your symptoms point towards a severe cold. I recommend home, bed rest and lots of fluids." Izzie said with her hands on her hips.
"Sorry to interrupt, Um, Dr Stevens… I have a case I need your help with if you can spare the time from this gentleman…" Lexie asked half smirking.
"Gladly!" Izzie said so only Lexie could hear. "I hope you feel better soon Mr Carmichael." And with that the two ladies walked away from him. "God I hate men who over react at the slightest thing. Wait. Strike that" She said as she saw Dr Alex Karev walk past "I hate men full stop." Alex and Izzie's relationship was too complicated for even them to understand. He had recently been acting more of an a**e-h**e than ever since he had released his emotions to Izzie and cried following the admittance of his girlfriend to the psychiatric ward. "Now what was it you needed help with Grey?"
Lexie explained her case to Izzie whose face dropped from a welcoming, helpful smile to a deeply disgusted face. "Sounds like domestic abuse to me." She decided. "The mother?"
"No," Lexie said thoughtfully. "I think she might be victimised as well… but like I said, I can't be sure. They're both really nervous and this mugging story doesn't seem to hold up"
"You're probably right. So, what do you think need's to be done now?" Izzie asked, to gauge Lexie's understanding of the situation.
"Erm, well. I've ordered her a shot of morphine for the pain. I was considering giving her an oxygen mask, but I don't want to hurt her anymore, or cause any more damage. But I think she's going to need an operation. Dr Sloan might need to reconstruct her trachea and other muscles in her throat." She looked up at Izzie who was a good head taller than her. "Maybe?"
"Very good Dr Grey. Don't question yourself. You know your stuff" Izzie smiled.
"Thanks Dr Stevens!" Lexie said, feeling proud, and suddenly more assure of herself. "I'll get on it straight away." Izzie nodded and they departed in other directions.
Up on the second floor, Mark Sloan, Meredith Grey and George O'Malley had just finished prepping a cancer patient for reconstructive surgery on her breasts. She seemed elated that she was free of the cancer and would have a breast back. Meredith and George were completely surprised by Mark Sloan's bedside manner. He was charming, and not in his sleazy "I want to get you into bed" way, which was his normal type of charm. The three of them left the room smiling.
"Dr Sloan? Would I be able to scrub in with you this afternoon? I really want to see this procedure done by you first hand." George said
"Nope, but good try brown nosing. You can go get me a Latte though." Mark said, still smiling. George laughed awkwardly and didn't move. "I'm not joking O'Malley".
"Oh…" And with that George ran off in search of a Latte.
Meredith shook her head and continued to follow Mr Steamy to the nurses station . "So," he started "Are you going to beg to scrub in now too?"
"Hell no." Replied Meredith.
"Good girl. You have spirit. You can scrub in."
Meredith Grinned, happy with her self and thankful to Derek for the advice of not brown-nosing around Mark Sloan. He liked them feisty.
As George brought back Mark's cup of Latte, and was told that Meredith would be the one scrubbing in, Lexie joined them at the nurses station.
"Dr Sloan…" She started.
"What little Grey?" He asked sounding bored already. Meredith and Lexie exchanged glances at the Drs nickname for Lexie, the younger sister of 'Big Grey'.
"I have a patient downstairs…."
"Odd that, in a hospital…" Mark joked.
Lexie closed her eyes for a second to imagine a world were Dr Sloan was funny. Then opened them and tried again "I have a patient downstairs. 16 year old girl. I think she's a victim of domestic abuse. But I'm not sure… Anyway…Dr Stevens and I believe she needs reconstructive surgery on her throat and that means we need you" She tried her best 'please don't shout at me' smile.
There was a moments silence before he said anything. "Take her to paediatrics."
"Paediatrics? But Sir…." Lexie began but was interrupted by her pager. As were Mark, Meredith and George's. Lexie read her 911. "It's my patient. She's stopped breathing."
The four of them raced down the corridor swirving in and out of nurses, doctors and patients alike. They ran across the walk way linking the two halves of the building, paying no attention to the beautiful sea view in one direction, and the mountain ranges in the other. They jumped down the stairs two at a time, earning a scolding from the Chief of Surgery, as they dashed across the foyer, across the road and into the clinic.
At the far end of the clinic, the curtains had been pulled round a cubical and they ran in that direction, flung the curtains aside and stepped in, catching their breath. Izzie turned her head from where she was trying to get Ellie to breathe.
"Were the hell have you been?" She yelled at them.
Meredith and George bustled past the mother and started helping Izzie with the young girl. Lexie went to the mother to explain what was happening. Mark took her chart and began to read.
As he did his face dropped.
He became pale and still. He looked at the little girl on the bed, bruises covering her body, unable to breathe, then back at the chart to where it read in bold letters :
NAME:ELLIE LOUISE SLOAN
Mark closed his eyes for a second, then looked at the women who was quivering with fright, looking over Lexie's shoulder at her daughter, fear in her eyes.
"Ok," Izzie announced "She's stable, and breathing. Good job Ellie!" Izzie looked at Mark. "What's wrong with him?"
Everyone looked at Mark Sloan.
"Markus?" The mother of the little girl said meekly.
"Mom?" Mark replied softly.