A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I'm just very busy. As the school year wraps up for me, I have several projects and finals in every class to study for, plus I'm working on another multi-chapter fanfic, and I'm trying to start an original screenplay which has proven very time-consuming. This chapter is short compared to the others, but it's still 2k+ words and I can't think of anything else it needs. I'll try to get the next one up sooner.
Title comes from the song by Queen.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show.
Pressure. We all feel it.
Wyatt was stunned as he looked from one case file to the other. He felt like they were surrounding him. When he looked left, case file. When he looked right, case file. When he looked up, down, forward, back, case file, case file, case file, case file.
And when you're a surgeon, you're under pressure pretty much on a daily basis. It's not an easy job. Honestly, it's probably one of the hardest ones there is.
He picked up one at random and started to thumb through it. Whatever intern Lydia had previously had on this case wrote in chicken scratch. He saw something that said 'allergic to...' Allergic to what? The next word looked like a blob.
"Hey," Wyatt looked up now, as Lydia stood a few feet away. The case files seated on all sides of him prevented her from getting closer.
You need to make the right call, be quick on your feet, have fast hands. You can't just work under pressure, you have to thrive.
"We need to visit all of these patient's today," Lydia said, picking up a random case file. She flicked through it quickly then chucked it back down. "Meet me in the cardio wing in five?" Wyatt opened his mouth to object, but then Lydia plucked the binder from his hand. "Oh, Luke Kravitz? You don't need to worry about him. My stupid intern killed him three months ago." She threw the case file back at him before walking off, leaving Wyatt sitting on the floor with all her patient files, feeling absolutely terrified.
Because if you don't, someone else might pay the price for your mistake.
ZOLA'S ANATOMY
"Whatcha doing?"
Megan looked up as Bailey appeared behind her. His hand touched her shoulder and he peered around her to look at her computer screen. "Apartments?" Bailey said.
"Yeah," Megan nodded. "I need my own place. I just had no idea how expensive an apartment in Seattle was...I can't afford anything decent on an intern's salary."
"Can't you just ask your parents for a loan?"
Megan sighed. "I know my parents wouldn't deny me the money, but I really need to do this on my own. For the past two weeks since I got back from California I've been living in my old room - it's terrible! You know how hard it is to feel like a grown up when you have to live with your parents? Plus, I was kind of in a phase when I last decorated in there - it's all heavy metal posters, black studded accessories, curtains that keep the light out. But I never changed the wallpaper, so it's all pink and floral under all the teenage angst." She laughed rather awkwardly - Bailey knew she was thinking about what had come along with that "phase" too.
An image flashed to Bailey's mind of that day during junior year when he found Megan in the bathroom - purple hair, black clothes, hunched over the toilet with her fingers shoved down her throat. He shook his head, trying not to think about that. Megan wasn't like that anymore. And he wasn't like the guy he was that day either. They'd both changed. They were moving on, being adults.
Suddenly, he had an idea. "How do you feel about roommates?" Bailey asked.
Megan eyed him curiously. "Well, umm, I'm not opposed, I guess." She said. "Why do you ask?"
"I was asking cause..." Bailey began. "You could move in. With me."
Zola fidgeted in her spot as she waited for her ortho consult. Next to her, Connor was taking notes on teardrop fractures, the ailment their patient was suffering from today. "How long ago did you page again?" Zola asked him for what had to be the third time.
Connor shrugged and looked at the clock. "Probably no more than ten minutes."
Zola nodded and began to tap her foot impatiently. Why did it seem like lately she couldn't count on anyone else? Emergency pages were meant to be answered quickly, you know. She opened her mouth to tell Connor to page ortho again, when suddenly their consult appeared.
Sofia froze in her place when she saw just exactly who's page she was responding too. Zola narrowed her eyes. "You're late." She spat, annoyed.
"I had a patient," Sofia snapped back, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at Connor. "Plus the intern forgot to include that it was urgent in his page."
"Oh please." Zola said. "You're a surgeon, you know that teardrop fractures need to be quickly repaired."
"No, it's okay." Connor interjected. "I should've been more specific. Next time, I'll..."
"Shut up Connor!" Both of the two women snapped, their eyes never looking away from the other. Connor sighed and ran a hand down the front of his face.
It would be a long day.
When Bailey approached Wyatt, he found his best friend with his head buried in a binder as he scribbled furiously. "Hey," He said. "What's going on?"
Wyatt held up a hand, signaling him to stop. "Can't talk right now." He said. "Really, really busy."
"This will just take a second," Bailey said. "I just wanted to tell you that I asked Megan to move in with us and she said yes. I gave her my spare key."
Suddenly, Wyatt froze. He looked up at Bailey, a surprised look on his face. "You what?"
"It's no big deal, we have a spare bedroom," Bailey said with a shrug. "I mean come on, she's your sister, how bad can sharing an apartment with her be?"
"That's exactly my point!" Wyatt said, exasperated. "I had to live with Megan for the first eighteen years of my life, our rooms were right down the hall from each other. I did my time, buddy."
"Come on Wyatt," Bailey sighed. "She has nowhere else to go. Do the right thing!"
Wyatt laughed. "When have I ever done the right thing?" He said. "Look Bailey, I seriously can't discuss this right now. Do you see all the work Lydia has assigned me? I have to move and fast or else she will eat me alive."
Bailey rolled his eyes. "Fine." He gave in. "But this isn't over!" Wyatt waved him off, as if to say 'yeah, yeah, yeah' and Bailey reluctantly walked away.
To say that the air in the OR was tense would be the understatement of the decade. Connor felt like he was straddling the border between two countries that hated each other. Zola worked on his one side, instructing him on the steps of the repair but discreetly glaring at Sofia while she spoke, while Sofia stood on his other side, saying nothing but giving Zola so many bitchy looks that words were not needed on her part.
Finally, Connor sighed loudly. "I'm sorry." He blurted out. "But it's very hard for me to focus on Dr. Shepherd's lesson when the two of you are clearly mad at each other." He looked from Zola to Sofia, who were both staring at him - clearly he had their full attention now. "Look Zola, Sofia," Connor said. "The two of you have been best friends for as long as I've known you. Whatever it is, I'm sure you can get through it."
Sofia scoffed and said her first words since they'd scrubbed in: "More like who it is..."
Connor looked from one of them to the other, confused (okay - and slightly intrigued). Zola simply glared at Sofia before looking back to him. "Dr. Avery, why don't you come up here so I can show you - "
Sofia cut her off. "Actually, I think Dr. Avery would benefit much more if I showed him - " She reached for Connor's arm, but Zola beat her to it.
"Please," Zola said. "Dr. Avery is very interested in my procedure. Right, Dr. Avery?"
Connor looked back and forth. "Ummm, well..."
"See?" Sofia interjected. "Connor's just too nice to tell you he'd much rather be with me." She grabbed his arm too now and pulled it in her direction, but Zola did not let go, trying to pull him back towards her. This only caused Sofia to yank on him again, harder.
"Owww!" Connor cried as he yelped in pain, jumping away from them both. He rubbed his arm soothingly, making sure they hadn't pulled it out of its socket. "Jesus Christ!" He said. "Do you two want me to be the doctor or the patient here?"
Zola and Sofia shared a look, before each going back to their own work, heads bent. Connor shook his head and sighed, still rubbing his arm. He looked up at the ceiling and folded his hands. "Oh God," He whispered. "I know it's been a long time since I've gone to church, but please, grant me strength on this day."
Megan smiled as she saw Bailey walk up to her. "Hey, roomie." She said jokingly, playfully bumping his hip as he leaned against the counter. "So? How did Wyatt take it?"
Bailey sighed. "Not well." He said simply.
"Oh," Megan said, her face falling from disappointment. "Well, I guess I should've known. Thanks for trying." She dug around in her pocket for Bailey's key before finally pulling it out and offering it back to him.
Bailey looked from Megan to the key and then back again. Ahhh, screw him. He thought. "No," Bailey said. "Hold onto the key. I'm not going to kick you out onto the streets. We'll make Wyatt come around."
Megan eyed him quizzically but put the key back in her pocket. "Alright." She said. "But how so? You know Wyatt can be very stubborn."
"What were Wyatt's favorite things about you growing up?" Bailey asked.
Megan shrugged and thought about it. "I guess he liked that I wasn't one of those really girly, super annoying sisters, you know?" She explained. "Like, I listen to alternative rock. I don't hog the bathroom. I drink beer. I don't mind watching sports on Sundays. Oh! And when we were kids, I used to clean his room for him if he gave me five dollars."
Bailey grinned. "Perfect!" He said. "I want you to channel that girl, be Wyatt's perfect roommate! Then he'll have to let you stay!"
"Umm, okay." Megan said. "You think that will actually work?"
"Oh, please." Bailey said. "When he sees you, he won't be able to say no." Megan smiled at him, and Bailey swore he saw her blush.
"Alright, well..." She said. "See you at home?"
Bailey nodded. "Right." He affirmed. "See you at home."
As a surgeon, you are responsible for so many lives.
Lydia signed her patient's discharge papers as she continued through her post-ops. From behind her, Wyatt watched her hand glide across the page - he admired the curly loop of her L, the distinct point above her I. After a moment, Lydia turned her head, feeling his eyes on her. "Boy Spawn," She said, because even if she did claim to like him now, the nickname would not go away. "Did you book an OR?"
"Oh," Wyatt said. "I'm sorry, I forgot."
Lydia let out a long sigh and turned around so her whole body was facing him. She shook her head and did this thing Wyatt had noticed her do when she was frustrated - take her first two fingers on each hand and slowly rub her temples. "Look." She began slowly. "If you want to scrub in, you need to do what I ask you to. You want to be a cardio god? Prove it."
"I'm sorry, I -" Wyatt began, but Lydia didn't let him finish.
"Don't say sorry," She interjected. "Just do better. And finish my post-ops." She shoved the rest of her charts into Wyatt's arms, giving him a light pat on the shoulder for good luck before walking away.
Wyatt looked down at all the charts she'd given him and sighed. So far, being a cardio god wasn't that much fun.
Not just all of your patients, but their families and friends, who will be forever changed if you screw up in the OR.
Zola and Sofia were halfway through their procedure, but several minutes after Connor's intervention, they'd given up on playing nice. "And another thing!" Sofia interjected now. "You were always so damn privileged!"
"Me?" Zola snapped. "Privileged? I have worked hard for everything I have - "
They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone entering the OR. Not knowing who it was, both of the women stopped speaking. When they looked to see who was there, it was Tuck. He was holding a scrub mask up to his face, looking from one of them to the other. "What's going on?"
"Oh thank you God!" Connor cried out from in-between them. He dropped his tool back on the tray and marched over. "I have been stuck with those two for hours now. Please, please make them stop!"
Tuck looked even more confused now as Connor practically burst out of the OR. He glanced from Zola to Sofia. The two girls only stared back at him, unsure of what to say.
Then there's your families and friends. Your lovers. Their lives will all be affected depending on how you treat them.
"So..." Sofia said awkwardly. "You want to scrub in?"
Then, of course, there's you. The person who is dealing with all this pressure, who has to try and make it through. This is what we have to think about every single day of our careers.
"This is it," Wyatt said as Bailey turned his key in the lock. "You have to tell her. I don't care if she has to live with our parents for the rest of her life, I cannot share an apartment with my sister. I already had to share a uterus with her, that's enough for a lifetime. I'm done."
Bailey sighed. "Fine, I'll crush her dreams. Is that what you want?" He asked sarcastically. Wyatt nodded eagerly in response.
They walked into their apartment to find Megan sitting on their couch, in sweats and watching TV. She turned it off when she saw them. "Took you guys long enough. Do you move at a snail's pace or something?"
Bailey and Wyatt exchanged a look. "Ummm...no?" The latter said.
"I've been sitting here alone after my shift for an hour and a half," Megan said, getting up off the couch. She disappeared into her bedroom, but kept talking. "I was so bored I started watching ESPN and cleaning the kitchen. What have you done to that poor stove, by the way? It was disgusting! And you don't have any good beer, you know. That's got to change if I'm going to be living here."
So - why do we put up with this, you may wonder?
Bailey and Wyatt watched as Megan reappeared in a blue tank top and white jeans - that had to be a record for the world's fastest outfit change. "So boys," She said, her hand on her hips. "You want to go to Joe's or not? I'll buy the first round."
Well, we just couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Bailey and Wyatt exchanged a look. Bailey raised an eyebrow. "So?" He said. "Still want me to kick her out?"
ZOLA'S ANATOMY
