"Oh, fuck."
Cristina deposited her soaked scrubs into her locker and turned towards Meredith, who had her back to her. She already had her top off and the red t-shirt she was planning on changing into was dangling in her hand.
"What is it?"
"I - I didn't notice it- how did I not notice it?"
"Notice what?"
"Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god."
"Meredith-"
Meredith's fingers loosened around the t-shirt and it slipped to the floor. Cristina slammed her locker shut and approached her. Meredith's hands were clamped over her chest, over her bra, over her heart.
She sat down hard on the bench, laughing humorlessly. "I told you I was going to die today. I'm never wrong." She shook her head. "Never wrong, Cristina Yang…"
"Mer, what's going-" That's when Cristina spotted the blood leaking between Meredith's fingers. "Shit." She tried to pry her fingers away to see the damage, but Meredith shrunk away.
"I said I was going to die today, not be killed. Especially not by you"
"You're bleeding!" Cristina blurted.
"Well, that much is obvious," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.
"Let me see," Cristina demanded, forcefully breaking Meredith's death grip. It only took a quick glance for her to clap her own hands back over Meredith's chest again. Thick, dark blood began pooling between her knuckles almost immediately.
"Jesus Christ, Mer, what did you do?" Cristina hissed. Meredith shrugged helplessly, and Cristina could see her eyes starting to go glassy. "No, no. Do not pass out on me. Izzie!"
"What?" Izzie asked, rounding the corner. Like Meredith, she was only dressed from the waist up- her scrub pants were stained dark from their stint in the shower. Her eyes widened when she saw Meredith. "What happened?!"
"Page the chief," Cristina ordered, making sure to keep her hands firm over Meredith's chest. Her eyes flicked to her limp wrists. "And check her pulse."
Izzie sprang into action, pulling out her pager with one hand and grabbing Meredith's hand with the other. "I don't know how we missed this," Cristina muttered. "I mean, god, that's a piece of shrapnel. It wasn't even bleeding."
"Sometimes…. These things don't… bleed right away…" Meredith slurred. She was rapidly loosing color. "Might've shifted… hit an artery…"
"Shut up, will you?" Cristina snapped, internal panic taking over. "Shut up and let us try to save your live." she rounded on Izzie. "How's her pulse?"
"Weak," Izzie said, refusing to make eye contact.
"We need a crash cart," Cristina announced to no one in particular. It was a truthful but useless statement. Neither her nor Izzie could go anywhere- Izzie was keeping watch on Meredith's pulse, and, well, Cristina's hands were keeping her blood where it should be.
It was an agonizing three minutes that passed before the chief burst into the locker room, beeping pager in hand. Meredith's face had gone completely white and she wasn't speaking, despite Cristina's murmured encouragements to 'stay the hell awake'.
"I don't have time for funny business, people. I've just had a bomb explode on the surgical floor of my hospital and a whole lot of people wanting to know how the hell it- Grey?"
"It's shrapnel, chief. In her chest." Cristina explained sharply. "We didn't see it, she must've been in shock, it wasn't bleeding until-"
"Five minutes ago," Meredith said thickly. "Now… it's bleeding… a lot."
"It's close to her heart. Left ventricle. Her pulse is fading." Cristina could only hope that the chief, by some miracle, couldn't hear the way her voice shook.
Dr. Webber's reaction was immediate and efficient. "Stevens, clear trauma room one and page Dr. Burke."
"Yes, chief." Izzie was on her feet and out the door instantly.
The chief rounded on Cristina now, brow furrowed with intense concern. Everyone knew he had a soft spot for Meredith- whether it was actually for his intern or for her mother was another story.
"Keep pressure on it, Yang. Do not move. I'll be back with a gurney." he ordered before disappearing.