Thank you for the reviews! This chapter is based on 6x05.
Enjoy! :)
The first day of the Seattle Grace-Mercy West merger had arrived. Mercy West's emergency room had officially shut down and soon, the rest of the hospital would follow suit. The transition wasn't going to be easy for anybody, especially when jobs continued to be on the line regardless of surviving the first three stages of cuts by both programs. It was expected that the residents in orange would be loathed immediately by the baby blue brigade. They were the invaders, the new kids. Nobody was going to bow down to them whether or not they were better at their jobs than their Seattle Grace counterparts.
And the Mercy West crew was already at a disadvantage because most of them lived on the other side of town where their former hospital was located. Now they were required to fight through morning traffic in the downtown area to get to work.
"We're not late, April," Jackson assured his fiancée as they rushed out of the parking lot and towards the entrance of the newly named Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. He clutched her hand while weaving around various people walking at a normal pace.
"It's 7:50. Our shifts start at 8 AM," she worriedly responded, her eyes staring at her watch.
"Which means we're not late. Stop freaking out."
He nearly bumped into an Asian woman on their way to the entrance. It was strange walking into that building again. The last time they were in Seattle Grace, Trevor had been shot and Jackson was almost shot as well, and April had been contemplating transferring into their program. They were interns then. Strolling through the lobby, he spotted an elevator door ready to close and ran towards it. He managed to keep it open, letting April inside first.
"Avery, wait up!"
Jackson held the door open once more as Charles and Reed joined them inside of the elevator with a brunette Caucasian man in street clothes quietly standing in the middle of the foursome. He appeared disgruntled to see them, clearly one of their doctors.
As the elevator traveled up to the fourth floor, April eyed the man in the middle. She was certain she had seen him before, perhaps during one of her few visits to the hospital when she was an intern. He noticed her staring and slightly scowled at her. When the doors opened the man rushed out of the elevator as the four Mercy Westers trailed behind.
The residents locker room was crowded and most of the cubbies inside were already taken. Jackson and Charles went one direction, while April and Reed went the other. They had a few minutes to get settled in before reporting downstairs to the pit.
Jackson placed his work bag inside of a cubby, then he slipped on his lab coat and double checked his pockets for all of the supplies he typically kept in them. Scanning across the room, he found April leaning against her cubby and diligently writing notes in her red notebook. It felt like their first day as interns all over again. She had been nervous since the night before. Even sex hadn't loosened her up. But he couldn't keep an eye on her all day. He had his own back to watch out for.
"Trev should be here," Charles stated after he wore his lab coat. "I bet he's better than half of the goons who've been working here. Want to bet we'll be stuck doing rectal exams, while their doctors actually get good cases?"
"If we have to fight for cases, then that's what we'll have to do. No doubt they'll be doing the same thing, so we have to show them they can't push us around," his best friend confidently said. "Remember, attendings loved us at Mercy West. No reason why it can't happen here. We just have to prove our worth without playing too dirty. Can't be too aggressive on the first day."
Both men turned their attention to an argument on the other side of the locker room. Reed and a Seattle Grace doctor with short blonde hair were almost in each other's faces until the man from the elevator separated them. Neither of them were surprised to see their friend already stirring up trouble on their first day. She was feisty when she wanted to be and hardly backed down to anybody who confronted her.
"Geez, you'd think she has mental problems or something," Reed jokingly muttered, sharing a laugh with April. "What's the big deal about the cubby I took? Is it like some sacred shrine that they pray to every morning?"
"Barely five minutes in this hospital and they already think we're big, bad wolves looking to rip them into shreds," the redhead replied, her eyes focused on the blonde surgeon. She definitely remembered her. Stevens was her last name from what she could recall during their past encounters. Something about her was different. Aside from the very short haircut, she appeared sickly, making her extremely curious. "Does that woman seem off to you?"
"The one who went from calm to psycho within ten seconds? Of course she seems off."
April shook her head. "No, I mean… well, nevermind. Maybe she's just as scared as we are because we're all fighting for limited spots," she insisted.
"We can't show them we're scared, April. Don't show your vulnerable side under any circumstances," Reed advised. While her best friend's confidence had grown since their intern days, she knew April still had a fragile side to her. "Oh, and don't try too hard to make people like you. That's when they actually start to dislike you."
"I'm easy to like," she claimed, then she furrowed her eyebrows at Reed when her former roommate remained quiet. "What? I am. You were the exception."
"Charles hated you. Trevor too. And Jackson thought you were weird."
April lightly slapped her friend's arm before they met up with Jackson and Charles in the hallway. The foursome found the lobby where they spotted a familiar blonde in navy blue scrubs standing by the nurses' station.
Charles grinned from ear to ear and spread his arms out for a hug. "Swanson, I bet you thought you'd never see any of us again," he obnoxiously blurted out to get their former resident's attention.
Valerie Swanson gazed up from her chart, pursing her lips at the sight of Charles. "Oh, it's you again," she unenthusiastically greeted him. Having finished her residency at Mercy West, she was now a cardiothoracic fellow at Seattle Grace. She smirked at the foursome as she folded her arms. "Just when I was finally fortunate to land a gig here, it could all go away because of this goddamn merger. How are my favorite guppies?"
"Trying to survive," April sheepishly answered. Her history with Swanson was both good and bad. During their intern year, the blonde surgeon had unsuccessfully attempted to steal Jackson away from her. It resulted in a bold confrontation in which the redhead punched her in front of their colleagues at a party. They worked out their differences and she even gained a little more respect from the cardiothoracic surgeon. "I'm sure your job is safer than ours."
"This hospital's going to feel like a madhouse for the next few months until all of the cuts have been made, but thank God I'm not a resident anymore," she arrogantly stated, smirking at the foursome. "As far as I know, the fellows are safe. By the way, weren't there five of you? Where's umm, what's his name? Stanley?"
All four of their faces dropped, then Jackson responded, "He was cut before the merger, unfortunately."
Swanson sighed. "Well, that's too bad. I liked him. Anyway, you people should find a case to leech onto. You're not going to impress anybody standing around like new kids who can't find the cafeteria," she instructed.
"We were just about to head downstairs to the pit," April chirped. "We're bound to find something there."
Charles placed his hand against his chest. "Actually, yours truly has been assigned to a Dr. Bailey," he announced. "Is she cool?"
Swanson snickered as she handed off her chart to a nurse. "I suppose we could put it that way," she cryptically answered before walking past the group. "Good luck, guppies. Don't drown on your first day."
Reed rolled her eyes and softly laughed. "She's still the same sarcastic bitch we met at Mercy West," she noted. She gave Charles a quick kiss on the cheek. "Try not to make a fool of yourself."
"You're so encouraging," her boyfriend sneered before he strolled down the hallway. "Later, guys."
Jackson, April and Reed rode the elevator to the emergency room. Because Mercy West's ER was closed, they were receiving all of the traumas and walk-ins at their new hospital. It was crowded inside, so extra hands were definitely needed. They approached a group of Seattle Grace residents and a redheaded man in navy blue scrubs giving orders to go anywhere help was needed, but the pretty boy thought better.
"At Mercy West, we do zones. When it's super busy we just give everyone a zone, a space. The nurses put a person in that space. You know it's your patient. Helps you get to 'em quicker," he explained to the attending.
The Asian doctor Jackson nearly bumped into outside stepped forward. "Yeah, well, this is the ER not a schoolyard. We're not playing four square," she quipped, eliciting smirks from the other residents.
"I like it," the attending countered, puzzling her in the process. The name on his lab coat was Owen Hunt. "It's a good idea. Let's try it. What's your name?"
"Jackson Avery," the Mercy West doctor introduced himself.
"Dr. Avery, Dr. Hunt," Owen replied, shaking the new guy's hand before walking away. "It's all yours. Zone away."
Jackson proudly smiled, waving his arm at April and Reed to follow him. His confidence had already impressed one attending and rattled the snarky surgeons in baby blue. The threesome walked past the dumbfounded Seattle Grace residents after making them look like fools. So far, adjusting to a new workplace hadn't been as difficult as they had anticipated.
The morning had gone pleasantly well for at least half of the Mercy West foursome. It hadn't taken long for April to make an impression on Derek Shepherd, the top neurosurgeon in the country, despite having to work with a resident named Lexie Grey, who apparently had a photographic memory. She had been contemplating neurosurgery since her intern year, so landing on the attending's good side was important.
Jackson was forced to work with Cristina Yang, the resident he had embarrassed earlier in the pit. However, she refused to seek any help from him, but he had the last laugh when he tackled a patient and stopped him from further injuring another. He received a round of applause for his efforts, making him the hero yet again. Like his fiancée, he managed to score a surgery on his first day.
Reed clashed with Alex Karev, the grumpy man from the elevator. They constantly bickered back and forth over diagnosing their patient, neither of them wanting to back down. Her Seattle Grace counterpart was a douche and if her job wasn't on the line, she likely would have decked him when she had the chance.
For Charles, his morning had a rough start. He was the lone Mercy West doctor on Miranda Bailey's service and the other Seattle Grace residents eyed him as if he came from another planet, but he managed to redeem himself with Izzie Stevens. After he apologized for the incident with Reed in the locker room, she warmed up to him when he learned of her cancer and provided personal information about his relationship with his girlfriend. And he earned himself the coveted code to the research library that the blonde doctor initially refused to give him.
His fake charm so far had been working to his favor and he couldn't help but brag to his friends in the lobby. "The woman does whatever I ask. I want something, she gets it for me. The research library – anytime you want to go in and it's closed, just say the word. She gave me the code to the place," he gloated to Reed and April.
"You're kidding," Reed replied in amazement. Her boyfriend wasn't a complete moron after all, she thought.
"She can't do enough for me. It's like I have my own surgical bitch," he arrogantly bragged.
April found amusement in the situation until she noticed Izzie standing nearby, visibly upset after overhearing Charles' cruel words about her. She quickly approached him, clearing her throat to let him know he was basically screwed. She and Reed slowly backed away as the Seattle Grace doctor approached him with two cups of coffee. The two best friends snickered after Izzie dropped his coffee onto the floor, spilling it all over his shoes before she walked away.
Reed smirked at Charles as he stared at his coffee drenched shoes. Okay, so some moron still existed in that giant head of his. She and April wandered off, waiting until they were far away from their friend before they burst out laughing.
"Alright, as great as it was that he weaseled his way to get the research library code, I'd say he deserved that," she stated. "At least he got a Seattle Grace doctor who gave him a chance. Mine? Total dick. We're at the point where we're stealing our patient's chart from each other."
"Mine hasn't been too harsh. Well, actually she doesn't really try to talk to me. She supposedly has photographic memory, but she couldn't tell me where my red notebook was," April mentioned, rolling her eyes. "By the way, have you seen it? I don't know where it is."
"You lost your notebook? That's very unlike you. I told you to attach a leash to it," Reed teasingly scolded her.
"You'd tell me the truth if you took it as a joke, right?" she worriedly asked. "The last and only time you stole my notebook was during our intern year, but please tell me you're messing with me again because I don't want it to end up in the wrong hands."
Her best friend held up her hands in front of her chest. "I'm innocent. I didn't take it," she insisted. "You're actually freaking out about this, aren't you?"
April nodded, her eyes wide open. "I write things in there that people who don't know me won't understand. I have certain quotes written from intern year and some very personal thoughts are in that notebook."
Reed softly groaned. "April, what did I tell you about treating your notebook like a diary? In fact, why don't you just buy one instead? You know, one with a lock?" she suggested. Throwing her arm over the redhead's shoulder, she smiled. "Don't worry too much, okay? Your notebook will pop up eventually. Maybe you should retrace your steps. Sometimes that helps."
"There are too many steps to retrace," she dejectedly replied, then she whispered, "A few of my entries are about sex with Jackson."
"Seriously?" Reed gasped and shook her head. She gently patted her colleague's shoulder and sighed. "Oh, April. You better pray that notebook is just lying around somewhere in the garbage."
Jackson finished scrubbing out of his first surgery, successfully assisting Owen in correcting a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm. Cristina may have won the early rounds, but he won the fight by diagnosing their patient and landing a spot in the operating room. Strolling down the hallway with a smug smile on his face, he was on his way to the cafeteria to finally eat a very late lunch. Rounding the corner and heading towards his direction was April, who had tears streaming down her face.
"April," he called out to her, pulling her aside into an empty stairwell. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I-I I know I'm not supposed to show them that I'm weak, but…" She choked back a sob trying to recollect herself. "The people here are terrible. Th-they are cruel an-and conniving backstabbers-"
He held his fiancée against his chest and soothingly rubbed her back. "Calm down for a minute. What happened?"
April cleared her throat, resting her head against Jackson's shoulder. "One of their doctors stole my notebook and read it," she tearfully murmured. "She used things I wrote in there against me, so I'd look bad in front of Dr. Shepherd. We were getting ready to scrub in on a surgery based on my suggestions and she stole it from me. She even had the nerve to point out that I had a nose job!"
Jackson quietly laughed as he recalled the day Charles shattered April's nose at a Sonics game during their intern year. "Yeah, but you didn't get the nose job for cosmetic reasons. The people who care about you are fully aware of that. Forget about what that one doctor thinks. She's obviously intimidated by you," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"It's like the first month of intern year all over again. They hate us, Jackson," she replied and frowned.
"It's only the first day, babe. Believe it or not, there are people here who don't mind our presence. You're going to be fine," he advised, wrapping his large arms around her smaller frame.
"Easy for you to say. You handle your confidence much better than I do."
He shook his head. "That's not true. Where'd that super confident woman from Mercy West go? Before the merger, you walked around the hospital thinking nobody could take you down. I know it's hard right now, but you'll earn the respect of the Seattle Grace doctors soon. You're too good of a surgeon to be treated this way."
She partially pulled away from him and sadly smiled. "You have to say those things because we're engaged."
"Nope, because it's true. Well, and also because I love you," Jackson answered with a smirk, innocently placing his hands behind his back. "Did I ever tell you how cute you look with a scrub cap on? It lets me see your entire face."
April chuckled as she dried her eyes with the collar of her scrub top. "Are you trying to flatter me for sex?"
"I wanted to get you smiling again, but I don't object to sex," he playfully twitched his eyebrows with a mischievous grin on his face. She laughed and lightly smacked his abdomen with her forearm. "I wonder if the on-call rooms here are better than Mercy West's."
"Jackson, we're not having sex here on our first day. That's so unprofessional."
"I was joking," he humorously replied. Jackson rubbed his hands along April's shoulders. "So, are you okay now?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I should go scrub in before Shepherd thinks I bailed on them."
He leaned forward, kissing her lips. "Kick ass in there."
She smiled, opening the door leading back into the hallway. "Oh, wait. How's your day been?" she asked, turning around to face her fiancé.
"It's actually going pretty well. Just got out of surgery, but we can talk about it after work," he responded while he followed her back inside. Jackson grabbed a hold of April's hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't let that bitch see you down, okay?"
"I'll try."
"No, try. Just do," he countered before letting her leave.
Watching her stroll down the hallway, the pretty boy hoped people wouldn't give her such a hard time. Otherwise, he was going to start kicking some asses and taking names.
The first day at Seattle Grace Mercy West felt like it was never going to end. Doctors clashed with each other trying to protect themselves from losing their jobs. They were all aware more cuts were coming because every department in the hospital was over capacity, but the foursome in orange were thankful that none of them had screwed up on the job. Exhausted and ready to go home, they watched the mixture of baby blue and orange clad doctors walk through the lobby below them.
"I think we can rule this place," Charles boldly declared. His three friends simultaneously glanced back at him, unconvinced by his statement. He shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows. "What? It can happen."
"A little too soon for that, Charlie," Reed retorted. She remained annoyed and frustrated with how her day went. Although she and Alex worked past their issues with each other, he was still an ass to her. "Anybody want to go get a drink? Heard the bar across the street is better than Schmo's."
Jackson sighed, nodding his head. "I'm down for two drinks."
"I could go for three," April muttered, drawing skeptical stares from her peers. "I meant three shots. Three, small and not very strong shots. We do have to be here early again tomorrow."
"Let's get our stuff and go," he suggested, draping his arm over her shoulder as the foursome headed for the locker room.
Since they arrived at the hospital dressed in their scrubs, they had no choice but to enter the Emerald City Bar in them as well. It was slightly embarrassing because as soon as they walked through the door they immediately drew glares from some bystanders who were likely Seattle Grace staff members.
"Great. Even in the freaking bar, they hate us," Reed bitterly said as they approached an empty booth by the wall.
"Whatever. Ignore them," Jackson advised, sitting beside April. He scanned the bar, which was larger than the Queen City Bar they were used to hanging out in at the other side of town, and overheard somebody refer to the place as Joe's. Checking out the bartender, he was amused to find a similar resemblance to their guy, nicknamed Schmo. "Well, I'll be damned."
"What?" April asked curiously.
Jackson pointed out Joe the bartender and softly laughed. "He looks a lot like Schmo. I bet he's Joe."
Reed chuckled. "Joe and Schmo. Sounds like Seattle Grace and Mercy West were always meant to be," she quipped, then she spotted a familiar blonde woman in street clothes sitting at the counter. "Oh, gosh. She's here too. I hope she doesn't try to fight me again. You think I could take her?"
"Cut her some slack. Her shit day likely became shittier," Charles said, staring at the back of Izzie's head. "She literally screwed our patient out of receiving the kidney she needs to stay alive because she told the nurse to give her the wrong medication. I think she's the first casualty of the merger. And I was a total dick to her, so I feel kind of responsible."
"You can't blame yourself for a mistake she made, but I'll agree with you being a dick," his girlfriend replied. "I think we all pulled some dick moves today."
"I didn't," April chirped. "If anything, all I did was be myself and I got my notebook stolen for it. Even though I have it back, Ms. Photographic Memory probably has all of my personal thoughts memorized."
Jackson placed a kiss on her temple. "Don't worry about it. Maybe she won't even tell anybody what she read." He watched his fiancée slide out of the booth and raised his eyebrow. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to talk to Stevens."
"Why?"
"I've been meaning to ask her a question."
Charles waved his hand. "Hey, while you're at the bar can you order us a pitcher?"
"Fine," she groaned, leaving her table and approaching the counter. April purposely stood beside Izzie and ordered a pitcher of beer. She slowly eyed the two empty shot glasses in front of the blonde woman, then she forced herself to smile. "Long day, huh?"
Izzie guffawed, staring down at her third shot glass filled with tequila. "You have no idea," she murmured.
"Umm… about Charles-"
"You don't need to apologize for him. He already tried and frankly, I don't care. I got fired because of his indirect stupidity." She closed her eyes, inhaling sharply. "I was distracted for one freaking minute and it cost me my job. I may have killed a woman who deserved to live for longer."
"I-I I'm sorry this happened to you," April awkwardly replied, nervously biting her lower lip.
Izzie opened her eyes and looked back at the redhead. "I cut an LVAD wire and I got a second chance. I had cancer and I should probably be dead. Actually, I did die for a while before they brought me back for a third chance," she explained. "And I blew it. So, I'm just gonna go away and try to figure out what my purpose on this earth is supposed to be. I just… have to disappear until I pull myself back together."
"I uhh, I hope you don't mean disappear as in vanishing into thin air," she unsuccessfully joked. Izzie simply stared at her unamused. April cleared her throat and pointed at herself. "Do you remember me? April Kepner? I almost transferred into Seattle Grace during our intern year. You sort of gave me a tour."
She slowly nodded her head. "I do. Well, you kind of got your wish now."
"I was wondering if this one doctor who I'm sure you know still works at the hospital. I haven't seen him anywhere. George? I remember him being really sweet and a little awkward."
"George… is dead," Izzie unhappily answered, sadly smiling at April. "He died throwing himself in front of a bus to save another person. It happened just a few months ago."
April frowned. "Oh." She didn't know George O'Malley very well, but she felt terrible for bringing up his name. Based on Izzie's reaction and the fact that she was fighting back tears, she figured they were good friends. "He… he was a nice person during the few times I interacted with him."
"Your friend took his cubby. That's why I was upset," she admitted. "I didn't mean to be so aggressive. Maybe if I had just flat out said why nobody used it-"
"It's okay. I understand."
Izzie drank her last shot of tequila before she pushed herself up from her seat. "Anyway, good luck. A word of advice, don't get distracted even if it's for one second. It could easily bite you in the ass."
April looked back at Izzie as she walked past her and left the bar. She let her advice sink in for a moment before she returned to her table with empty mugs and a pitcher of beer. And she was determined not to be that person.
It's easy to guess what's coming up next ;)
