A/N I haven't posted on my other story there is a reason posted and that story will be up and running again soon. But for now, I have a new story for you guys. The story is mine 100% but I guess I can say I used the song How to Save a Life as a template/inspiration. I looked at the lyrics and am writing my take on what is happening. This fanfic is obviously gonna be a Grey's anatomy fanfic, unlike my other stories. It is AU, Derek didn't die in the accident (it never happened), but he does die, and this is a similar time too. There will also be language and mature content takes place at the end of season 11 start of season 12 somewhere in there. Enjoy.
Alex's POV,
It was a quiet night in the ER, me and Derek Shepard and running things. I am in the ER he is just here doing surgeries. There were some residents around but not many other surgeons. It was almost too quiet, I should've known something was gonna happen. I was waiting for a big mystery to come into the ER, something, or something big to happen. And something did happen, but I never expected it to be what it was.
(10 hours ago) Derek's POV
"Your neurological exam seems good. I will be back in about an hour to check on you." I say to a patient.
"So the surgery went good, he is fine?" His wife asks me.
"Everything seems to be perfect. Yes." I say.
"Oh, thank you, doctor. Here have this, please take it, you saved my Reggie's life." She says handing me an expensive looking bottle of whiskey to me.
"I simply did my job," I say and try to leave without the alcohol.
"Please, take it. I don't drink and Reggie shouldn't drink, so take it please." She says. I smile and take the bottle. I go put it in my locker and go to do my next surgery.
The surgery I just did was grueling, if anything could've gone wrong, it did. It was an extra two hours longer, making it 10 hours of hell. But the patient is still alive. I am no longer on call I deserve a prize for what I did in that OR. I look at the bottle of whiskey in my locker. I shouldn't, I put the bottle in my bag and I begin to go to the parking lot to head home to celebrate with my wife. I think of all the fun things we could do tonight. But part way down the hallway, I start having horrible pain in my stomach. I wince in pain. I take another few steps before the pain gets unbearable. I reach for the counter of a nearby nurse's station, but miss and clip my head on it instead, I black out as I hit the ground.
Alex's POV
"DOCTOR KAREV! DOCTOR KAREV COME QUICK!" A nurse screams running into the ER.
"I'll be back," I say the patient I am with. I set the tablet down and rush to follow the nurse. I am not prepared for what I see. At first, I don't recognize who is laying on the ground there head surrounded by a pool of blood knocked out, but then I realize, it is Shepard.
"Get him to trauma 1," I say as nurses and orderlies get him onto a stretcher. I quickly assess the damage. I look the cut on his head is superficial, and because it was his head he bled a lot. I dress the wound well waiting for his lab results to come back. I worry when they come back, the numbers are as if none of his organs are functioning properly. Some numbers are as if his organs aren't there. I rush him to CT.
"Book, an OR and call any general surgeon on call except for Meredith Grey. I order an intern. I quickly get Shepard ready for surgery. I get ready for surgery and then head the OR. I am scrubbing in when the intern comes back, no one would even answer their pages. I also tried phoning and texting. No one answered.
"Dammit," I mutter under my breath. "Scrub in. This could be a once in a lifetime surgery, and I am gonna need all the hands I can get. I say as I finish scrubbing. I go in and open him up. Just as I thought. His organs are missing chunks, some are only chunks left.
"Dr. Karev what is this|?" The intern asks me.
"Doctor Shepard must have gotten a chemical in his food. Then it traveled to his esophagus, where it mixed with his stomach acid, and then his stomach acid was acidic enough that it was able to burn away the flesh. It then leaked into his stomach cavity and started to burn away at his other organs. He has so much damage I don't know where to start. I step back and think of where to start. I step back to the table and assess, his liver, his esophagus, and his pancreas look horrible, they are all damaged beyond repair. He will need new ones within six hours if he has any chance. I tell this to the nurse and she calls UNOS. He is at the top of the list, but there isn't a good chance that he will get the organs he needs in time. I repair everything I can but I can only do so much because he needs those organs, they took the worst of it.
It has been four hours, and every second that goes by without organs, he is in worse shape, six hours is the longest we can wait, in an ideal world he would get organs in less than two. Time is running out. Should I call Meredith? I wonder. No, I need something solid to give her, I will wait another hour, but if there is still no news, I will call her to come say goodbye. I plan in my head. I hate waiting, praying for news.
I waited, but it has been five hours.
"Emma," I call one of the scrub nurses over.
"Yes, doctor Karev?" She asks.
"Get my phone," I say, she does. "Unlock it the passcode is 4523, go to my contacts and phone Meredith Grey, then put the phone to my ear," I say because I am still scrubbed in, and don't want to scrub out until Derek is being taken to recovery or the morgue. A resident can do the organ recovery. The phone is held to my ear. It rings twice and is picked up on the third ring.
"Hello?" Comes a small voice from the phone, Zola.
"Hi Zola, where's your mommy?" I ask. Wondering why she is up at this hour, then I realize it is almost 6 am, so it isn't unreasonable.
She doesn't speak but I can hear the sound of her running down the hall. "Here mommy." She says.
"Hey Alex, do you know where Derek is? He was supposed to be home yesterday." She says.
"He, He's in an OR," I say.
"Emergency surgery?"
"Yes, but, he, he's the patient, Meredith, Derek is the patient in my emergency surgery," I say.
"What, why is he, Alex what happened?" She asks.
"He must have gotten some kind of chemical in or on his food. It reacted badly with his stomach acid. It became acidic enough to burn through his esophagus and it destroyed his liver and pancreas. He is in really bad shape, he has another hour to get new organs before it is too late."
"That means you've known for at least five hours! Why didn't anyone call me?"
"I didn't want to call you until we knew what was happening, I wanted to be able to give you something solid. I think you should come to the hospital and say goodbye." I say.
She hangs up. A half hour later we are still in the OR. But it is clear it is too late. I close Derek up. Just as I am finishing Meredith comes in. She looks at me. I shake my head, it was too late even if Meredith had come through the door with organs, it would have been too late.
