"Subdural hematoma," Meredith announced after she had finished examining Mary Dunpoint's scans. She stood and turned to face Lexie. "Book an OR, I need to get in there right away. She's at risk for permanent brain damage."
Lexie furrowed her brow. "Are you ok to operate?"
Meredith started. "What gave you the impression that I wasn't?"
"Well… you and Dr. Shepherd seemed sort of… tired, this morning," Lexie explained tentatively. "I'm just saying I still have Nelson on standby."
"We don't need Nelson, Lexie. I can handle this. I've been living and breathing hematomas for the last two years."
Lexie nodded. "OR 3 is open."
"Good. You can scrub in after you prep her," Meredith said, gathering Mary Dunpoint's scans. She moved to grab her lab coat from the back of her chair, and as she did, she heard the distinctive clink of something metal hitting the tile.
"You dropped something."
Immediately, Lexie bent down and picked up the ring. She turned it over in her hand, scrutinizing it. Stunned, she glanced up at Meredith. "Its a ring."
"Its not mine," Meredith lied quickly. "I'm holding it for someone."
Lexie raised an incredulous brow. "Whose is it?"
"Cristina's," Meredith responded instantly. "She's doing a valve replacement with Burke and she forgot to put it in that little box on her nightstand this morning. Where she normally leaves it." In reality, Meredith had no idea where Cristina left her wedding ring. She had never seen her wear it- she wasn't even certain she had one.
A small smirk crossed Lexie's face. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms. "Dr. Yang has a silver band. This is gold. And she always leaves it in her cubby in the resident's lounge. Izzie yells at her about it every morning, she thinks its going to get stolen."
Meredith groaned. "Its not what you think it is."
"Derek proposed!" Lexie squealed, lunging forward and hugging her. "This is so exciting. Oh my god, we need to throw an engagement party."
"Lexie!" Meredith squirmed out of her sister's arms. "We have a patient. Teenage girl with a subdural hematoma, remember? Ticking time bomb."
"Right. Sorry." Lexie calmed herself instantly, but she was still grinning like a fool. "I'll prep her and get her into the OR."
"Thank you," Meredith breathed, sagging against the wall as Lexie exited the viewing room. Tilting her head back, she stared up at the ceiling tiles and closed her eyes.
I won't let this one get away, Frankie.
[]
"So, how did he do it?" Lexie asked as Meredith worked over Mary Dunpoint's open brain.
"Forceps," Meredith said in response, holding out her hand to the scrub nurse.
Lexie watched Meredith work and continued to pepper her with questions about the proposal. "Was it super traditional? He seems like a traditional guy. But I know you're not." She fell silent briefly when Meredith failed to respond. "Ooh! When's the wedding?"
"I was the one who proposed, ok?" Meredith snapped without moving her line of sight.
Lexie paused. "What?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry to disappoint you. You'll be even more sorry to hear that you missed the wedding."
"I did?" Lexie asked quietly. Meredith recoiled at the obvious hurt in her voice.
"We eloped last night. No one was there," she mumbled.
"Oh." Lexie forced a smile. "That's great! That's exciting!"
"Yeah." Meredith sighed deeply, trying to control heart rate, which was beginning to rapidly increase. A horrifying inkling in the back of her mind told her she wasn't fit to be operating. Something was wrong. "If it makes you feel any better, you're the first one I've told," she offered weakly.
Lexie smiled softly. "It does. Make me feel better."
Just then, the monitors began to go haywire, and suddenly Meredith was transported.
The medical tents in Iraq were freakishly small. Less than 50 yards separated the recovery area from the "operating rooms".
Which is why Meredith immediately caught wind of the news that her unit's transport had driven over a landmine.
"What?" she snapped, and the nurses all whipped around to face her. She tried to stand but one of them - Nurse Paula - made a beeline for her and forced her back down.
"You need to stay still, Dr. Grey. You'll rip your stitches."
"Are they ok? Is anyone hurt? Where are they?" Meredith demanded. In the past few years, the members of her unit had become a surrogate family.
"We don't have that information right now, Lieutenant," the nurse said soothingly. "You need to sit. You'll disturb the other patients."
"Screw them!" Meredith growled. The soldier in the bed beside hers stirred, rolling over. "Where the fuck are they? What happened?"
"Paula," one of the nurses muttered furtively. "You need to sedate her. They're on their way back."
"No! Don't!" Meredith shrieked. Her fingernails dug into Paula's arm, trying to resist her. "I need to see them, please-"
The other nurse handed Paula a syringe, which she wasted no time plunging into the crook of Meredith's elbow. The effects of the drug took hold immediately. Meredith could feel her ability to be coherent slipping away by the second -
"Meredith! She's crashing!"
Derek. This was Derek's fault.
"Charge to 200."
He drove her out of the country. Who does that?
"Charge to 250."
The droning noise of a flatline.
"Dr. Grey, you need to call it."
Frankie was dead. She was on the transport, she had hit her head in the explosion.
"Dr. Grey!"
She was a neurosurgeon, for god's sake.
"Meredith!"
Hands wrapped around her elbows, shaking. Lexie's frantic face swam into her vision. Meredith opened her mouth and a loud, fat, sob bubbled out.
"You should have let me help," she whimpered. "I could have saved her."
Lexie frowned deeply. In the background, one of the scrub nurses called time of death.
"Meredith," Lexie muttered. "What are you -"
"I'm so sorry." Meredith turned on her heal, tearing off her surgical mask and barrelling into the scrub room. She didn't bother removing her gloves or gown. As she stepped into the hall, she nearly smacked Derek in the face with the door.
"Meredith," he said, his face creased with intense concern.
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Thank you so much for the reviews! I have an ambitious, lofty goal… lets see if we can get to 15 before the next chapter