I'LL COME RUNNING …
Another post-Season 6 finale one shot. This time from Meredith's perspective, focusing on her friendship with Alex. We know how she reacted with Derek. But how did she find out about the man who is like a brother to her. Takes place a few hours after the end of "Death and All His Friends." A little bit of Alex/Izzie, too. Title is taken from the lyrics of James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend." Thought it was appropriate.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Meredith was finally able to breathe. As she stepped out of the ambulance and over the threshold of Seattle Presbyterian, she could breathe. Gary Clark was dead and Derek was alive, thanks to her best friend and a quick-thinking Jackson. And a miracle.
As she walked beside the gurney, she looked down at her husband, who was sound asleep. They had given him a strong sedative for the trip over. He had been upset when she told him. Not at her, but at the loss of their child. He'd tried to be strong, but she could tell that it hurt him to know that the child they had created, was never going to take first steps or keep them up at night.
Meredith pushed that thought away as she stepped off the elevator on the seventh floor next to her husband, only to be met by Teddy, in bright red scrubs.
"How is he?" The attending immediately took his chart and read over it as they continued to move into a private room. A smile appeared on her face. "Yang did good. Let's get him situated and I'll examine him, but by what I can tell, she did everything right." She smiled at the younger woman, who responded in kind.
Teddy's pager went off at that moment. She grabbed it and read the screen. Then she moved to pick up the room's phone and dialed a number. "Yeah it's Altman. He's awake? Okay. Keep him calm, give him a little more sedative if you have to and I'll be there in five minutes." She hung up the phone and turned to find Meredith smirking at her from her seat next to her husband's bed.
"Already put you to work, huh?"
Teddy shrugged. and began examining Derek. "He was my patient. Or rather, Mark's patient, then my patient. I'm just shocked he's awake already. I thought we'd have to leave him on the vent all night with all the damage the bullet did. Karev's a tough guy."
Meredith's heart stopped for a moment as what Teddy said registered. "What?" Her voice was stoic, but her eyes were wide, and it was clear she knew nothing of her friend's ordeal.
"Oh, God." Teddy looked up at her. "You didn't know? I'm sorry..."
"What happened to Alex?"
"He was shot, early on. We don't know the whole story, and he hasn't really been conscious or coherent, but he managed to get himself on an elevator, despite the bullet lodged in his chest. He lost a lot of blood. A lot. He's still critical, but hopefully he's stabilized enough for us to take him off the vent."
Shaking her head, Meredith tried to wrap her brain around this new development. "Who found him?"
"Mark and your sister."
"Oh my God. Are you sure he's going to make it?"
"Anything can happen, but I'm pretty sure at this point that he'll make a full recovery." The attending looked down at her hands. "But it won't be easy. Does he have any family we can call? I know you guys are close, so I figured if anyone knew who we should call, you would. He's going to need a lot of help with his recovery."
"Um, he has family, in Iowa, but he wouldn't want to call them. Not yet at least. We should call ..." she paused, and looked down at Derek, wondering was he would do if she wasn't around, how he would make it through recovery. She knew she should call her. Izzie would want to know, but ... "... No. No. He wouldn't want that." She looked up at Teddy again. "He's my family. He's Cristina's family and Lexie's too. We'll help him."
The other doctor nodded and looked over to her patient. "Derek just needs rest now. From all I can tell, he's going to recover fine. I'm going to go check on Karev. See if we can get him off that vent." She turned to walk out of the room.
"Thanks ... Dr. Altman?"
"Yeah?"
"Do me a favor and let me know when you get him moved to a room. I need to see him."
Nodding again, Teddy made her exit quickly and Meredith was left alone with Derek. She knew he would sleep for a few more hours, but she had to talk to him. Taking his hand, she lay her head next to his. "Did you hear that Derek? Alex got shot too. He's in ICU on a vent." It hit her as she said it that she came so close to losing two of the most important men in her life that day. Derek was her husband, the love of her life and the father of her child. Alex was like the brother she had never had. She couldn't imagine not having him in her life either.
Her mind went to Izzie again. When Izzie was sick, Alex rarely left her side. Now he was the one in trouble, the one who had almost died, and she wasn't here. It made Meredith angry. Angry at Izzie for leaving the first time, and the second time. Angry at Alex for making her leave the third time, although she understood why he did it. Angry at the shooter for hurting her by shooting her husband and her friends. Angry at herself for losing the baby. Suddenly a flood of emotions that she wasn't expecting just flowed out of her. She sat there by Derek's bed, holding his hand and just cried.
"Meredith?" She had no idea how long she had cried, but she looked up to find Mark standing in the doorway, fear marring his face. He looked from her to his best friend, and she knew what he thought.
"No, Derek's fine. He's just been sedated. I just ..." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Everything. Today. It just all came down on me. Teddy told me about Alex." Mark looked away. "Thank you. For saving my friend."
He moved to sit in another chair in the room. "Lexie probably did more good than I did," he mumbled, and Meredith saw the sadness in his eyes. She could tell that it was more about Lexie than Alex though.
"You still love my sister."
He simply nodded, not making eye contact. "She doesn't love me. She loves Karev. She told him in that damn conference room." This shocked Meredith. She knew that Lexie's heart was in her vagina and all, but love? Lexie didn't love Alex.
"She doesn't love him, Mark. She's young and emotional, mixed in with the adrenaline of today, of almost losing him. And, she can't love him. He's just ... walking like a duck. He doesn't love her back."
"I know," he replied. "I knew that when he was calling out for Stevens. We had done everything we could and we were just waiting. Right before he passed out he thought Lex was Izzie." Surprise registered on Meredith's face and she fought the little grin that was attempting to form on her face. Alex had called out for Izzie. "And Lexie went along with it, and told him that she wasn't going anywhere."
It was heartbreaking, for both Mark and Meredith really, realizing that Lexie was willing to love someone who clearly didn't love her back. Meredith knew that Lexie probably went along with being Izzie to help Alex, and it might have saved his life, but she couldn't help but think it was sad and maybe a little pathetic. "Give her time. She'll eventually realize that he doesn't feel the same way. Truth is, I don't think Alex will lead her on. He's a better guy than that. I think he wants something, anything in his life to work out right now, and Lexie's comfortable for him."
"Yeah."
"I'm just saying, don't give up on her." Meredith watched him contemplate her words, when her phone rang suddenly. She pulled it from her pocket. Lexie. "Hello?"
"Meredith, Teddy said you wanted to know when they were moving Alex to a room. She just took him off the vent and they are moving him to the same floor that Derek is on. He's doing okay. He's stable now."
Sighing in relief, she glanced over at Mark. "Okay. How are you doing?"
"I um, I have no idea." Meredith knew this was the beginning of a Lexie rambling fit. "Everything's a blur. I mean the guy started shooting and Mark pushed me behind the desk and then we got to the elevator and Alex was in there on the floor. There was blood. A lot of blood and -"
"I know. I know what happened. Mark told me."
"Oh." Something in Lexie's voice told Meredith that Mark's name did something to her. Made her feel something.
"I'll come find you guys in a little while, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay. I just wanted you to know that we were moving him."
"Bye." She looked up at the man seated across from her. "Just give her time."
Half an hour later, Meredith was walking down the corridor toward the room a nurse had told her Alex was in. Mark had promised to stay with Derek so he wouldn't be alone if he woke up. Her friend needed her too and she knew her husband wouldn't begrudge her taking care of him too. So many things were buzzing through her mind. But the one thing that kept repeating was that someone needed to call Izzie.
She got to the room and knocked quietly as she entered. Lexie was facing away from her, blocking Meredith's view of Alex's face. When she moved further into the room, her heart dropped to the floor. He looked terrible. His skin was ashy and gray and he looked like he was still on death's door. Derek had looked bad, but he'd gotten medical attention almost immediately and hadn't lost nearly the amount of blood Alex had. No one knew how long Alex had been on that elevator. It was no wonder that he looked like he'd been to hell and back. She knew that it would take time to get his color back and even longer before he looked well, but still, it was jarring to her.
Lexie looked up at her sister, tears welling in her eyes. Her scrubs were still soaked through with Alex's blood, and she looked almost as bad as the man in the bed. In a tiny voice, the younger woman spoke up. "He's going to be okay. That's what Dr. Altman said."
"She's right. He will be. He's tough. He's a fighter." Lexie nodded and turned back to him. Meredith moved closer to her sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go get cleaned up? Mark is with Derek, so I can stay with Alex. I want to talk to him anyway."
"No, I ... I should be here. He could wake up at any minute. That's what Dr. Altman said."
Meredith sighed. "Lexie. It could be any minute or it could be hours from now. You're a mess. Plus, when he does wake up, do you really think that the first thing he's going to want to see is half of his blood on your scrubs. You should go home and clean up. It won't take you too long and I'll stay here with him."
"What if Derek needs you?"
"He'll be asleep for a while longer. Mark will come and get me. I'll find someone to stay with Alex. Half of Seattle Grace is here, so it shouldn't be a problem. He won't be alone I promise. But you are not going to do him any good in the shape you're in."
Finally Lexie relented and disappeared out the door after kissing him softly on his forehead.
Meredith took her sister's place in the chair and grabbed Alex's hand. "Hey," she said softly, not wanting to disturb or scare him. "Alex, it's Meredith. I'm here. Okay, I just want you to know that."
"You don't have to whisper." She looked up at his face, surprised to hear him talking to her. His voice was weak and gravely. His eyes were still closed, but she could tell he was awake.
"How long have you been awake?"
"I heard the door shut. I think ... I think that woke me up." He lay there for a few minutes, resting or gathering strength or just trying to process what had happened, Meredith wasn't exactly sure. After a while, his eyes opened and he tried to adjust himself on the bed, only to tense up in pain.
Meredith immediately jumped into doctor mode. "Whoa. Alex. You don't need to move around. Just try to stay still, okay. Do you remember what happened?"
"You mean do I remember walking in to the supply room, seeing Reed on the floor dead and then the asshole shooting me from three feet away? Yeah. I remember that. And the elevator. But after that, it's kind of blurry." He looked up and met her eyes with his. She saw something in his that she'd never only seen once in his eyes before. When he almost lost Izzie. Fear. "Did they get him? The shooter?"
She sat back. "He killed himself in front of Webber. He can't hurt you anymore, Alex." She took his hand back in her's trying to reassure him.
Alex nodded, seeming to relax a little bit. "Did he get anyone else? I know about Reed, but ..."
Meredith swallowed. "Yeah. Charles Percy died. So did a few nurses and security guards and some others. Hunt got shot in the shoulder but he's going to be okay. And Derek was shot in the chest ..."
His eyes got wide. "Your post-it husband got shot and you're here with me?"
"Cristina and Jackson had to operate on him. He's going to be okay but they sedated him so he can sleep. So I came to check on you. Figured you might need a friend right now." He looked away, as if he was looking for someone else. "Lexie was here. But I told her to go home to change and clean up. She was still wearing your insides on her shirt."
Alex cracked a half smile, but looked back away from her. He was still looking for someone, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was. But Meredith didn't want to push him. Not right now while he was so vulnerable. If he wanted her, he'd ask. Until then, Meredith knew she would have to wait.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." She knew he was lying. And she knew that he wasn't okay and wouldn't be for a long time. So she sat there with him in silence. Meredith considered telling him that he was almost an Uncle Alex, but it seemed like the wrong time. She'd tell him eventually, but it could wait.
A knock at the door a few minutes later caused them both to look up. Cristina stepped inside, and Meredith could tell by her body language that what she saw scared her. That she was shocked looking at their injured friend. But she never let it show on her face. Forcing a smile, she moved to the other side of Alex's bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Like some dude in a mob movie."
She nodded and picked up his chart. She pulled the CT scans from their pouch and held them up to the light. Meredith knew this was a defense mechanism for Cristina. Work rather than let her emotions get involved. But she could tell that seeing Alex like that affected her more than she would ever let on. Her face stayed steady as she put the scans away. "I talked to Dr. Altman, and she said you're doing great, Alex. You'll be back to your same pain-in-the-ass self in no time."
"She didn't say that."
"No, I did." Cristina smiled down at him and he returned the favor with a crooked grin that was all he could muster. This was almost normal for them and it oddly reassured Meredith that what was left of their crazy little family was still in tact. "Mer, can I talk to you in the hallway for a second."
"Sure. We'll be right back, Alex. Don't go anywhere." She winked at him and he closed his eyes, clearly in more pain than he was letting on.
Once they got in the hall, Cristina leaned up against the wall. "He shouldn't be alive. That's what Teddy really told me. The damage inside was extensive. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did without surgery. Did you see the scans?" Meredith shook her head no. "The bullet ricocheted several times. A fraction of an inch further and he would have bled out in seconds."
"God." She knew it had been bad, but hearing it from a cardio-goddess like Cristina hit her hard. How close they had come to losing another friend.
"What about Izzie?" Cristina asked hesitantly.
She looked down at the floor. "He called out for her. Before he passed out. He was calling for her. At least that's what Mark told me."
Cristina paused, taking in that information. "We should call her. At least let her know what happened. Then let him talk to her if he wants to." Meredith nodded and pulled her phone from her pocket. She turned it on, not having had it on all day. Seven voice mails. She could check them later. She dialed Izzie's number.
It only rang once. "Meredith! Oh my God. What happened. Are you all okay? I saw it on the news, and I didn't know what to do. I called you ten times. Don't you answer you ph-"
"Izzie. Izzie, calm down. You need to breathe."
The woman on the other end of the line stopped talking and took a few deep breaths."Okay. I'm calm. Now please tell me what happened and that all of you are okay."
She took a deep breath. "Izzie ... It's Alex."
"No. no." The whispered voice was haunting to Meredith.
"Izzie, he's alive. He's going to be okay. He was shot at close range in the torso. It was touch and go for a while. He lost a lot of blood. He was on a ventilator. But they saved him." She heard Izzie's quiet sobs and had to fight to keep her words from wavering. "Recovery will be tough but he's alive, Iz."
"Is he awake?"
"Yeah, he woke up about twenty minutes ago."
"Can ... can I talk to him? Mer, I need to talk to him." Izzie was begging and it broke Meredith's heart just a little bit. "At least let me hear his voice so that I know he's okay."
"Let me go back in and see if he's up for a conversation. He's still pretty weak. But I'll call you back in a few minutes, okay?"
Izzie sniffled into the phone. "Okay. Mer ... thanks. For calling me."
"Yeah." She hung up, and looked over at Cristina. "She wants to talk to him."
The other woman nodded, understanding completely. "You think he can handle it right now, Mer? He's weak."
"He called out for her. He almost died and she was the name he called for. That has to mean something right. Honestly, I think it might help him more than anything. I'm at least going to ask him if he wants to talk to her. He can always say no."
"Okay. I'm going to go check on your husband again." She turned and headed down the hall.
Meredith moved back into Alex's room. His eyes were closed again and she thought he might have fallen asleep.
"You sure Shepard doesn't need you?" Somehow he knew it was her, even though he wasn't looking.
"Cristina's checking on him. I thought I might hang out with you a little longer." She sat back down next to the bed and watched his face. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look her in the eye. She gave him that look that clearly stated 'Don't argue with me.' She wasn't sure how to approach the fact that she had spoken to his ex-wife. Not knowing what his reaction would be, she hesitated.
"What?" He could obviously tell that something was bothering her. "Don't tell me 'nothing.' Something's on your mind."
She looked down and sighed. "Izzie called." She glanced up to see more pain in his eyes. In the past months, he had done a good job hiding the hurt of losing her. But in his weakness, it was written all over his face. He looked away, trying to hide it, but Meredith knew what she had to do. "She's worried about you, Alex. She wants to talk to you. To know that you're okay. I know that she hurt you over and over again. But she still cares about you. Think about it this way. If it was her hospital in Portland that was attacked and she got shot, what would keep you from calling? Nothing, am I right?"
He didn't say anything, but Meredith knew the answer. If the opposite had happened, Alex would have driven down to Portland in a heartbeat. Nothing would have stopped him.
"Can I call her back?"
He thought about it for a minute before nodded lightly. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he needed this more than he knew. Dialing the number, she knew Izzie would answer almost immediately. She was right.
"Hello?" she could hear the tension and fear in her friends voice.
"Iz. He wants to talk to you. Hold on just at second." Meredith placed the phone next to his ear and he slowly raised his hand to hold it.
He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. "Iz?" Meredith couldn't hear what Izzie was saying, but she could tell by the look on Alex's face that just her voice was soothing to him. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad." It was a lie and Meredith was certain Izzie knew that too. "Don't cry, Izzie. Please." As he said it, several tears streamed down his own face. Watching this suddenly seemed like an intrusion, and Meredith turned her back to face the window. As the conversation continued behind her, she looked outside, still seeing a few television crews reporting on the hospital where all of the Seattle Grace victims had been brought.
They would never fully know the story, Meredith thought. Never be able to translate the horror of what they all went through. What her husband and one of her best friends would deal with possibly for the rest of their lives. But as she listened in to Alex's conversation with the woman that he, though he might deny it, still loved, Meredith knew that somehow, someday they would be able to get through this and everything really would be okay.
Reviews, please! :)