Chapter Seven: Let That Be Enough

I wish I had what I needed to be on my own
'Cause I feel so defeated and I'm feeling alone
And it all seems so helpless and I have no plans
I'm a plane in the sunset with nowhere to land
And all I see, it could never make me happy
And all my sand castles spend their time collapsing
Let me know that you hear me, let me know your touch
Let me know that you love me, and let that be enough

Switchfoot

…

"Let me out of here! I want my lawyer! You can't make me stay here!"

Meredith cringed as she heard the young girl screaming from inside the ER. She was tempted to leave the page unanswered—first, it was a page from Court, and second, it was probably Psych and not Surgery—but she knew it would be irresponsible not to answer. She had to momentarily put her emotions aside and put her patient first.

"What've we got?"

"A very angry, pissed off person!" the girl yelled as she pulled violently on her arm restraints. "Are you the boss of this idiot? Tell him to let me go! Nothing's wrong with me!"

"Kody Sanders, age thirteen. Brought in from The Tanner School after experiencing severe behavioral changes, hemiparesis, and vomiting. Psych wants her cleared before admitting," Court reported, eyeing Kody cautiously all the while.

Meredith knew that The Tanner School was the place they sent the kids who were pretty much beyond any other help. Yet even with that knowledge, as much as she wanted to think that it was all just an act for attention, she had a feeling about this girl that there was more. "Okay, she's all yours, then. You know the drill; do all the tests, and if she's clear, page Psych."

"But… Dr. Grey?"

"What?"

Court, however, paused hesitantly. He knew very well that Meredith wasn't going to make this easy for him or offer more advice than was necessary, but he wasn't at all sure how to go about handling a patient like Kody Sanders, who was determined to challenge him to the breaking point as well. "How am I supposed to, you know, get her in the machines when she's liable to run away at any minute? Am I supposed to sedate her or something? Can I even do that?"

"You can't touch me! You don't have my consent!" Kody shouted.

Meredith just smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. But just to be safe, don't do anything until her social worker gets here," she told him as her pager went off again. "Enjoy."

Her next page, however, caused her heart to race; it was from the NICU, and she had the sinking feeling she knew exactly why. And her fears were only intensified when she got there and saw both Derek and Addison—not to mention a very worried Piper—hovering around one of the incubators. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Shepherd. Colin started seizing, and I freaked out and paged everyone because I didn't know what to do," Piper said frantically as Meredith hurried over to them. "I couldn't think, and I was just so scared."

"You did the right thing," Meredith assured her. She remembered the days of her own internship, so filled with fear and uncertainty, and did her best to be mindful of that when dealing with new interns. "Okay, we've got to get him to surgery right away; he needs a shunt because all the fluid is pushing against his brain and making him seize. Call the OR and tell them we're coming up."

"I'll go talk to Amy about this," Addison sighed, hear heart heavy for the young woman who had already been through so much. "Piper, I want you to keep a very close watch on Nora. She's your main priority, and I want you to stay here and monitor her."

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery," she agreed as Addison left to speak with the babies' mother.

"Is there anything you need me to cover?" Derek wondered, trying to give her a little ease in this very stressful situation. He knew that Meredith's worst fear was losing a child on the operating table.

She nodded and said hurriedly, "Yeah, I have a kid in the ER waiting on some test results, so if you could cover her for me, that would be great. Just let Court know to page you."

"All right," he nodded and kissed her cheek, and soon Piper found herself alone with Nora.

Yesterday, Piper probably would have laughed to Whit and Elena about how sweet and adorable the Doctors Shepherd were and recount the scene to them. Whit would have just shaken his head at her and called her a hopeless romantic. And Elena would have smiled her mysterious, knowing smile and remarked that she hoped she and Brennan would still be in love that way after so many years. Now, however, Piper understood the meaning behind Elena's smile; she had probably been witness to such scenes countless times throughout her life. Deep down, she knew that her anger toward Elena wasn't even really Elena's fault, but she was too prideful to apologize just yet.

So instead, she sat alone, stroking Nora's tiny arm and wishing her best friend was sitting beside her.

…

"Aida?" Addison wondered, surprised to see the youngest Shepherd child wondering through the hallway. Usually, Aida avoided the hospital at all costs.

"Hey, Addie," she smiled weakly.

"Oh, Sweetheart. You look like hell," Addison laughed. "And I'm willing to bet you feel worse, don't you?"

Aida nodded, which consequently sent the room spinning for a moment. "I don't think I've ever thrown up that much in my entire life," she confided. Out of all the adults in her life, she found it easiest to confide in Addison. Of course, she knew just as much of the story as any of the children did—that Addison and her father had once been married. What she didn't know was exactly why they had gotten a divorce in the first place, but she was fairly sure that even Elena didn't know that.

"Have you had any lunch yet?" Addison wondered, and when Aida said that she hadn't, she offered, "Well, if you're hungry, I'm buying."

"Okay," she agreed and let herself be led arm-in-arm to the cafeteria.

"So, what're you doing here, anyway?" Addison asked once they had gotten their food and were seated at a table. "Is everything all right?"

However, before she could answer, Mark spotted them and made his way over. "Hey, Squirt. You get hit by a car or something?" he teased before kissing Addison on the cheek.

"I got hit by tequila," she teased back; even though Mark was her father's best friend, she knew he would never tell on her. In truth, she was pretty sure that he found her amusing. After all, she was the black sheep of the family—a pun that was eerily appropriate. "I guess that's kind of why I'm here. I need a note because I didn't exactly make it to school today."

"No problem. Consider it done," Mark assured her, and Addison slapped his arm.

"Don't you think that this is something you shouldn't meddle in?" she questioned. She and Mark had always been involved in the lives of Derek's children, but she knew that there was a line that shouldn't be crossed.

"Oh, come on," he laughed. "The hangover is probably punishment enough, and she's young and needs to experience the world while she still has that youthful energy and vibrancy."

"Thank you, Uncle Mark!" she grinned and got up to hug him tightly. "And you, too, Addie. Really, you guys rock."

"I have a feeling your mom and dad would beg to differ," Addison sighed as Aida wrapped her arms around Addison's neck.

…

"They said you were down here."

"Oh, Bren! Thank God," Elena whispered excitedly, jumping up off the old gurney and running to embrace her husband.

I heard about everything that happened.

"I hate Court Christensen, Bren," she started to fume. "Can you believe what he did? What an ass. And I can't believe everyone else is taking his side about this. I mean, seriously?"

"Yeah."

But his tone caught her attention. "What? You don't think he's an ass?"

"No, I definitely do."

"Then what is it?" she wondered.

Brennan sighed. "It's just… maybe you shouldn't have kept this from everyone, you know?"

She stared at him in silence for a moment, unable to find words. That certainly wasn't the response she'd expected… not from him. "You can't be serious. Brennan, you're my husband. You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side, Elle. I'm just saying—"

But before he could finish, Elena's pager went off. Handing him all her scattered files, she said, "It's the ER. They're shorthanded. And whatever you were going to say, just don't, okay? You've said enough for now."

"What do we have?" she questioned the EMT as soon as she arrived in the ER.

"Lukas Falke, age eighty-five. Witnesses said he was sitting down at the café he goes to every afternoon and just collapsed—stroke. He's got a history."

Elena's heart sank as she recognized those pale blue eyes. This was the old man from the graveyard. Lukas Falke, she thought, finally being able to put a name to his face. "Someone page Dr. Shepherd, stat!" she ordered, taking hold of Lukas' hand. "It's okay. You'll be okay," she whispered, although she was also trying to convince herself.

"What's going on?" Derek wondered, surprised to find Elena in the ER.

Completely forgetting that she was a surgeon, Elena momentarily became a frightened little girl that found comfort in her father, the hero who would undoubtedly save the day. "Daddy, you have to help him," she whispered pleadingly.

"Have an OR cleared," Derek instructed then turned to his daughter. "And Princess, you're scrubbing in on this one."

…

Okay, so I know that technically, they'd have to run all kinds of tests to determine a stroke and the proper medical treatment, but I'm gonna just use the "Medical technology is far more advanced 20 years from now" excuse.