Author's Note: This is my first time writing Grey's, and is also my first attempt at writing a single chapter/one shot. Yay for new challenges!
Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.
They days since receiving news from the last hospital had been a mixture of tears, alcohol, chocolate and pity parties of one. Never before had days felt so long and drawn out. The dark blue scrubs were a painful reminder that she wasn't really a doctor yet but instead someone just wearing the scrubs and pretending.
"Kepner, I need you down in the pit, now." Hunt's voice rang out above the gentle hum that was constant in the main lobby of the hospital. Kepner turned around to find Hunt and object, needing to see to her patients' files that hadn't yet been thoroughly approved since the new interns had arrived but could only see the back of his white lab coat disappearing into a set of doors.
Upon arrival in the pit Kepner was directed to a trauma bay and joined the many bodies that were already there. The patient was in critical condition that much Kepner could see from entering the room. She shoved through two interns while she put on gloves. It was the first time in over two weeks that Kepner had actually been in doctor mode. There hadn't been anyone telling or begging her to do something doctorly. The sour thoughts that had been starting to plaque her mind on a daily basis were little in the scheme of it all, pushed to the back of her brain.
A few hours later surgery was completed successfully even considering the complications the doctors faced once inside of the operating room. "Good job in there, Kepner." Shepherd congratulated. Everyone had been concerned about the young doctor after hearing that she had failed her boards and had been rejected by all of the hospitals she had applied to. Shepherd was hoping that the worst was now behind them and that he wouldn't be getting anymore drunken phone calls asking him to come pick her up from the bar.
Smiling she nodded her head. "Something just, happened. When I walked into the trauma room I just liked sprang into action." She mused as they scrubbed out.
"It's about time, April. You lost it there for a while. I didn't think you would get back up and do surgery again." Shepherd admitted. There was a silence that fell between them with only the running water into the basin being the barrier of complete silence.
Kepner sucked in a deep breath. "I never would have thought with all the hard work I put in during med school and as an intern and resident that I would fail my boards. I mean, I was chief freaking resident!" She yelled. There were tears forming in her eyes but she wasn't throwing a pity party again, they were tears of angst at herself. "I worked so hard and then I got side tracked by a freaking boy!" She turned sharply from the sink and kicked a medical waste basket hard with her foot.
Shepherd had since dried his hands off and was now leaning against the scrub sink with his arms crossed in front of him. He watched, patiently waiting for her to calm down. He himself knew all about the angst for oneself and knew that she needed to get it out of her system.
"What?" She snapped when she turned around to face the neurosurgeon. "What?" She yelled with rage. "I'm not good enough to wear these scrubs." She said tugged at the scrub top she was wearing. "I know it, you know it. Everyone knows it." She spat.
There was a brief pause in Kepner's rage when Hunt poked his head in through the door. "Kepner, there's someone that wants to talk to you." He told her holding the door open. Quickly he shot a glance over at Shepherd to see if anything was wrong. "Unless there's something you need to discuss with Shepherd."
As if on cue Shepherd shook his head and stood up straight. "Nope. She's free to talk to whoever." He then led the way out with Kepner following behind him.
The person who had wanted to talk to Kepner was an older looking man pacing in the waiting room of the surgical floor. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and his cellphone held to his ear in the other. "Just a minute." He whispered to Hunt and Kepner. Quickly he finished his call and slid his phone into his jacket pocket.
"Dr. William Reagan, Met Memorial Hospital. You're Dr. Kepner, yes?" The man wasted no time in greetings and pleasantries as he stuck his hand out to Kepner. "Chief Hunt here told me you're the one I was wanting to talk to." He looked over at Hunt and raised his eyebrows, wondering why he was still standing there.
"Let me know if you need anything Dr. Reagan." Hunt respectfully exited the waiting room deciding that getting post op exams completed was a great idea.
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand, why do you want to speak with me?" Kepner questioned, surely she didn't kill patient, or did she?
Reagan chuckled and motioned to the chairs. "Sit down, please." They sat before he continued on. "The man you just operated on is one of my doctors." Kepner sucked in a breath.
"Sir, I'm not the lead doctor on his case. Chief Hunt or Dr. Shepherd are the ones you should be speaking with." She started.
"No, no. Calm down, Dr. Kepner. We were out here for a small conference. We were halfway to our meeting destination when I remembered I forgot my reading glasses at the hotel. I had our cab driver stop and let me out to go back while they went on. There was a wreck about twenty minutes later and when I got the phone call I rushed over as quickly as I could." He paused for a moment and gave Kepner a look that dared her to try speaking. "I had just gotten here when I see you walk in and spring into action. Your quick reflexes and precise decisions were astounding. Naturally, I had to see you in action so I found my way into the viewing gallery."
Kepner was humbled that Reagan had seen some sort of talent in her work, however she was still confused. "Thank you, sir." She smiled for a brief moment. "Is there anything else?" She asked slowly, thinking that perhaps all this fellow doctor wanted was to share his thanks for her work.
"Yes, there is actually. I would like to offer you a job as a trauma surgeon in our ER at Met Memorial Hospital in New York." The doctor smiled.
A week had passed since Reagan had offered a job in his ER in New York and Kepner was saying her final farewells to the hospital staff and some long tern patients and signing off on paperwork. Things had moved pretty quickly and in a few short days her bags were packed and ready to board an airplane with Raegan and her new coworker to New York.
"Okay, here's the deal. You give me full reports on every trauma training day you put your interns through. I want to hear the tortures you put them through and if any of them freaked out like you did." Hunt told her firmly. He flashed her a smile and gave her a hug. "Good luck, April."
A few more steps down the hall was Yang. "Hey, kick ass." Kepner smiled and said a few words to the doctor before heading to the elevator.
"No." Kepner sighed when people filed out and she was left with Shepherd for the ride down.
"Oh yes." He laughed.
There was a little moment of silence before she decided to speak. "You know, you were the only one who never pushed me when I was down. You never ignored my drunken phone calls. You even gave me chocolate that one day." Kepner smiled over at him. "Thank you. Thanks for letting me yell at you because of my stupid mistakes." She added on.
"You know, April. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them. "You're going to do well at Memorial. Reagan is a great chief and he'll make sure that you're focused." Shepherd told her as the elevator dinged and signaled their exit. They walked to the front desk together. "If you ever need anything, give me a call. I know a lot of people where you're going." He told her finally as he gave her a hug.
With her badge turned in and the final paper signed, Kepner was walking out of Seattle Grace Mercy West for the final time. Her cab was parked off to the side out of the way of traffic of people dropping off and picking up patients. It was raining, like it always was.
"April! Hold on!" Avery called rushing out of the front doors. "Wait a minute!" He ran to catch up with her.
Kepner stood in the rain with her eyes closed. "What do you want, Jackson?" She asked.
"Stay. Stay with me." He told her when he came face to face with her. "Open your eyes, April. You don't have to do this. You don't have to fly across country to work in a hospital under that old fart. You deserve to be where you're …" Kepner cut him off.
"Stop, just stop, Jackson." She willed, her eyes were open now. "I'm going to New York. And yes, I'm going to work in a hospital under that old fart, but you know what? He saw my talent and hard work first hand, didn't have to see a resume or anything. He knew he wanted me on his staff even when he found out that I failed my boards. I'm moving on, Jackson. I can't stay in this rainy hole any more. I need to get focused."
Avery wasn't taking no for an answer. "April. Come on now, think about this. Hunt has treated you more than fair. I love you April." He was pleading now, anything to keep her from walking away.
Kepner laughed. "It's all about you, Jackson. I hope you realize one day that this is the right decision for both of us. You don't love me. You're just in love with the idea that you can have sex with your best friend whenever you want, and you're losing that." She paused and held her hand out open to catch the rain still falling. "I'm moving on." She said confidently before she continued to her cab.
Her bags were loaded in the cab when she turned to say one final thing to Avery. "Take care and don't do anything stupid." She smiled as she shut the cab door.
Letting her head rest on the back of the seat Kepner thought about everything she was leaving behind and what uncertainties she was facing next. The vehicle started to move away from the hospital and the rained eased. By the time Kepner stepped out of the cab at the airport there weren't any clouds in the sky, just sunshine.