First Day, Second Year: Ensemble
Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy.
I Know How You Feel
Chapter 4
Scene 1
Cristina reeled, but rallied as best she could, with all eyes on her. She was Cristina Yang after all. She wouldn't believe it until the Chief himself told her. Burke was gone? Gone for good? Hot/cold shivers of... something ran through her system. She was never going to see Burke again? She shivered again and sweat broke out in a sheen across her forehead. Her stomach heaved.
Meredith. I need Meredith. Where is she?
More easily than she ever would have thought possible, Cristina delegated her responsibilities to Flopsie, Mopsie and Peter Cottontail. (Cindy Lou Who was no where to be found again. That was a problem.) She gave up accompanying the patient into Dr. Hart's surgery without a whimper. But, of course, she did it Yang style.
"Mopsie and Cottontail, you are to accompany this patient to the surgical suite. There you will hand him over to the surgical nurses. You are not to scrub in. You are not to get in anyone's way. You are not to beg the attendings or residents. You will go to the gallery for that surgery and observe. Take notes and try to learn something.
"Flopsie, sutures. In the Pit. Now."
Cristina turned her back and left without another word, looking for Meredith.
Meredith was distractedly talking on the landline while she filled in a chart and gave instructions to an intern over her shoulder. Derek rushed up to the station and wrote notes in his own patient's chart.
"They can't find the arm. I'm missing a severed arm. Have you seen it?" Meredith asked Derek.
"Have I seen a severed arm today? No," his eyes crinkled at the corners like they did when he wanted to laugh, but knew he shouldn't.
"Grey. Yes, Dr. Grey at Seattle Grace. Please call as soon as you find it. Yes, I'll be waiting," Meredith said into the receiver and then hung up.
Derek started to say something when he was interrupted by the annoying wannabe. Meredith sighed inside. She couldn't seem to shake her. She kept popping up.
"I'm so sorry about before," she said breathlessly, all bright eyed, "Don't block the trauma bay doors. I know that now. It was just that I was so nervous about meeting you."
Derek did a double take and said before he thought it through, "You're the girl from the bar."
"Sorry?" Lexie Grey said confused.
"The girl from the bar. You're the girl from the bar," he smiled.
"Oh! Yeah! Oh my God, yeah," Lexie spouted as Meredith's puzzled expression turned into a glare.
"The girl from the bar... I'm the girl from the bar," Meredith frowned at Derek while he uncomfortably shifted and looked from Meredith to Lexie and back.
Meredith walked away without another word. Lexie slumped.
"She hates me. My sister hates me. I've been stupid every time she's seen me."
"Your sister?!" Derek asked, "Meredith is your sister?"
His insides clenched at his faux pas.
Damn it. Didn't he and Meredith already have enough trouble?
"Yes. My mother told me all about her. She said she was a really good person and that we had so much in common, both being doctors, you know? But, now she hates me," Lexie wailed, more to herself than to Derek.
"Meredith... Meredith needs time. Give her time," Derek dropped the chart in the slot and walked away, back towards his safe OR, shaking his head.
He passed Meredith on his way out and waved. She was huddled with Cristina Yang. The strain on Yang's face was hard to look at. Just as Derek approached the swing doors they blew open and Bailey and the Chief bustled through.
"Dr. Bailey, we need to talk! You've been avoiding me!" the Chief said.
"Talk? Talk to you about why you picked Dr. Torres-O'Malley as Chief Resident over me? No! Respectfully, sir, no. I don't want to talk to you about that," Bailey pulled on the ugly yellow ER cover up and briskly tied the strings.
Derek's eyebrows rose as he looked at the Chief. Bailey looked like she could chew nails. He wouldn't want to be anywhere in her line of fire today. The Chief rolled his eyes at Derek, looking for sympathy, as Bailey stormed away, and Dr. Yang stormed up.
"He's gone? Just like that? Without telling me?" Yang stared at the Chief, "He's not coming back, ever, is he? When were you going to tell me?"
"Dr. Yang, Burke resigned," the Chief drew a huge breath, "He's not coming back. The massive emergency in the Pit this morning precluded me having the meeting with you that I'd planned. I'm sorry you found out through the grapevine."
Cristina felt her inner fortress crumble. She reached out a hand to the one person she knew would be there. Meredith grabbed her hand and threw an arm around her shoulders, looking reproachfully at both the Chief and Shepherd. She quickly hustled her friend out of sight, away from prying eyes into the relative safety of the women's restroom. Meredith locked the door.
"I'm sorry, Cristina. So sorry," Meredith murmured.
"Yeah, so am I," tears glistened in Cristina's eyes but they didn't fall.
She sucked it up, the way she used to tell Mer to do. A tear trickled down Meredith's face instead.
