"I know I shouldn't be excited. But I'm excited," Frankie said from beside her. The bus that they were on was crowded, packed full with anxious residents. It was their first time responding to an ambush as attendings. They were in charge; it was their responsibility to be composed.
Meredith grinned back at her. "Its like candy, but with blood. Which is so much better."
Frankie punched her in the arm. "Exactly! See, you get it."
The bus screeched to a halt. Immediately everyone was on their feet, scrambling to get out the door. As attendings, Meredith and Frankie shoved their way to the front.
Meredith knew it was bad the moment she stepped outside. Panicked, she wondered if they had enough residents to cover all of the injured. Frankie's eyes widened and she knew that she was having similar doubts.
"Holy shit," Frankie breathed.
They split apart immediately. Meredith found herself keeping pressure on a gunshot wound to the chest with her knee while simultaneously checking for pupil activity. It was obviously a head trauma - the blood leaking from the soldier's ears told her that much - but she didn't know how severe.
The left pupil was blown. That meant a hematoma, most likely epidural. Burr holes. She needed to do burr holes.
Fumbling around for her drill, Meredith froze when she heard gunshots. She looked around wildly until her eyes landed on Frankie, who was already staring back at her.
Keep going, Frankie mouthed. Meredith nodded in return and placed her fingers over her patient's left ear, trying to keep them steady.
Another shot went off. Someone screamed.
Calmly, Meredith placed her drill to the temple and began. Don't pierce the dura.
Blood began to spurt from the abdominal wound. Meredith shifted so that she was laying on her side. Her hip and thigh covered the gunshot as she continued to do burr holes.
BANG
BANGBANGBANG
Another yell. Blood began to pool out of the solider's brain- she was saving him, she was doing it.
BANG
She didn't register the pain immediately, not until the gun fired a second time.
BANG
Her first thought was that he was bleeding out of his abdomen. That didn't make sense, though, she was practically laying on top of him. Then it occurred to her that if it was her patient who was bleeding out, she wouldn't be the one in pain.
Meredith yelled out when she realized what had happened. She tried to move, but realized that if she did, her patient would die. Whimpering, she pressed a strip of gauze to his skull and prayed. She had never prayed before. She wasn't even religious, but she hoped whatever god was up there would forgive her for that now.
She didn't remember ever leaving the site of the ambush. The next she knew, she was in the back of a helicopter with a swarm of people running around her. Her fellow doctors.
"This one doesn't have an exit wound," someone called out frantically.
"We need to wait to get her to an OR."
"She doesn't have that kind of time!"
"What do you want to do? Cut her open right here?"
Frankie. It was Frankie. Meredith allowed her eyes to drift shut again. If Frankie was around, there was no chance she could die.
Frankie was there the next time she woke up, too. Hours, days later. She was sleeping with her head folded by Meredith's legs.
Meredith nudged her awake with her knee. There was an oxygen mask over her face that was preventing her from speaking.
The movement caused Frankie to shoot straight upright. She looked around for a moment, brown eyes wide and bewildered, before her gaze landed on Meredith. A guttural noise of relief escaped her throat.
"Oh, thank god." She reached forward and pulled the mask off.
Meredith squinted, licking her lips. "Who are you?"
Frankie's face collapsed. Meredith laughed, which caused her chest to burn and sent her into a fit of coughs. "Gotcha," she said weakly.
"You little shit!" Frankie exclaimed, still pale.
Hand over her chest, Meredith leaned back into her pillows and caught her breath. "I'm still alive." her eyes landed on the folder at the end of her bed. "Is that my chart?"
She made an attempt to reach for it but Frankie held her back. "Jesus Christ Grey. You just had major surgery, lay the fuck down."
"I want to see my chart," Meredith whined.
Frowning, Frankie regarded Meredith as though she was sizing her up. Seeming to deem her fit to receive whatever information she had to give, she blurted out, "Hysterectomy."
"What?" Meredith asked blankly.
"You wanted to see the chart. That's what's on it. They did a hysterectomy."
Digesting this, Meredith tilted her head up to the ceiling. At the moment this new piece of information meant absolutely nothing to her. "Oh. Thanks."
Frankie looked distraught. "I'm really, really sorry-"
"No, its fine," Meredith cut in. "No harm no foul. I never wanted kids. Too messy."
Still frowning, Frankie stared at Meredith for a long moment. "You're fucking ridiculous, Grey."