Chapter 13: Dirty Harry
SCENE: THE CAFETERIA
(Amber and Levi enjoy the bagels and coffee)
Levi: How long is your brother gonna be chief?
Amber: Um a few months I think why?
Levi: Because I want to savor these bagels for as long as I can. Your brother is officially my fav chief.
Amber: (Chuckles) Don't say that around Bailey she'll probably rip your throat out.
Sam: Hey guys. When did we gets bagels for breakfast? I mean I'm not complaining it's just I thought we only got stale muffins and burnt-out coffee.
Amber: We do but Alex makes it a point to give us these breakfast treats once a week to boost morale. Sesame?
Sam: Oh, don't mind if I do.
(Amber sips her coffee and sees Jo and Alex talk about his picture in the hall of chiefs)
Alex: Oh, come on. I hate that thing. I smile weird.
Jo: No, you don't. You smile handsome and confident and accomplished.
Amber: No, he's right. He smiles weird always has.
Alex: Thank you.
Jo: You are not helping and, Alex, think about where you started, how far you've come. When you were bouncing around foster homes, trying to keep your brother and sister alive, did you ever think that you would grow up to be Chief of Surgery? This is something to celebrate. Here, get beside it. I'm gonna take a picture for your mom.
Amber: Oh, dear God.
Alex: Come on, Jo.
Jo: Get beside the picture.
Alex: (Groans but does as told)
Jo: (Imitates groan) Okay, ready? (Takes picture and chuckles) Perfect. I'm gonna frame it. Now you stand next to him Amber.
Amber: (Hell no) Uh wow look at the time I'm on Pierce's service, can't be late. You both understand see ya!
(Amber quickly walks away from Jo and Alex)
Jo: (Scoffs) Your sister is such a kill joy.
Alex: She would be if there was joy to kill.
(Jo glares at Alex who grins)
LATER AT THE CARDIO FLOOR
(Amber grabs a tablet and joins Pierce for rounds)
Amber: Hey.
(Maggie ignores Amber as she stares at her tablet)
Amber: Um hello? I'm on your service today.
Maggie: Huh sorry. Who do we have first?
Amber: First is Kimberly Thompson.
Maggie: Oh, my God, I saw that name. It gave me chills. I went to med school with a Kimberly Thompson I could not stand, but she made everyone call her-
(They walk inside an exam room and see a woman sitting on the exam table)
Maggie: Kiki!
Kiki: (Chuckles) It's really you. I cannot believe it is really you.
Maggie: Me neither.
Kiki: You look exactly how I remember you. Minus the braces, of course. Your teeth turned out so cute.
Maggie: I-Uh, thank you. And-And, uh, you? You-Are you...
Kiki: I have a little practice in North Dakota. Family medicine. Not like Magpie. Head of cardio, hello!
Maggie: Hello! (Chuckles) Yeah. Uh, do you want to, uh, present?
Amber: Uh, Kimberly Thompson, 43, with a history of a bicuspid aortic valve and a thoracic aortic aneurysm requiring repair with the elephant trunk technique years ago. She presents with weakening and dilation of the graft.
Maggie: I guess I don't have to explain how serious this is.
Kiki: Nope. Old graft in my aorta's giving out. I've seen eight surgeons, including Abby Miller. You remember Abby from school with the weird dresses? No one will touch it. And then I saw that you are running cardiothoracic at Grey-Sloan. So, what do you say, Magpie...you wanna save my life?
(Amber looks at Maggie who looks constipated with rage)
CUT TO BLACK
(Amber and Maggie go outside the room)
Maggie: (Angry) I hate her, I hate her so much I just want to rip that aorta graft out of her heart with my bare hands.
Amber: Jeez she couldn't have been that bad.
Maggie: Believe me she was you have no idea how much bullies sucked when you were a kid.
Amber: (Sarcastic) Yeah lucky that everyone in my catholic school was nice to the queer girl with the crazy brother who tried to kill her.
Maggie: Sorry I'm just (Groans) I don't know what to do here. Her chart alone indicates severe risks to open her up and her CT is going to indicate it as well. Its gonna take so much imagination just to see a clear path here.
Andrew: (Approaches Amber) Hey babe, I thought we could meet up for lunch today.
Amber: Bad timing Andrew.
Maggie: Really bad timing. Okay just breathe.
(Maggie inhales and exhales deeply, Andrew looks at Amber who shakes her head)
Maggie: Okay I need to know if there's something, anything that can help me with Kiki's black heart. She-Karev your gonna go to the library and research what you can for an aortic graft on a bicuspid aortic valve and thoracic aortic aneurysm.
Andrew: Whoa can she even survive surgery?
Amber: That's what were gonna find out. (Has an idea) You know who you should talk to, Jo. She and Bailey are working on the latest medical marvels, maybe they have something that can help.
(Maggie looks at Amber gratefully and holds her face to kiss her cheek surprising Amber and Andrew)
Amber: Oh! Okay then.
Maggie: I am so glad I decided to teach you. DeLuca never let this one go.
Andrew: (Chuckles) I don't intend to.
Maggie: I'm gonna get Jo, you get that lizard monster into CT.
Amber: Yes ma'am.
(They both go to their tasks leaving Andrew behind)
Andrew: I'll just…get a snack.
(Andrew awkwardly walks away)
LATER IN THE CT
(Jo, Amber and Maggie standby as Kiki enters the CT machine)
Jo: You said this was a med school friend?
Maggie: No not a friend not even an acquaintance or even a person in my books.
Amber: Apparently, she bullied Maggie.
Kiki: Hey Magpie, do you remember when Dr. Hartwell made us suture on ham hocks? What was wrong with him?
Jo: Did she just call you "Magpie"?
Amber: Yeah, she does that.
Maggie: It's a nickname she gave me, it was meant to be cruel not cute.
Kiki: Oh, my God. Do you remember when you stole that cadaver heart? You were so weird.
Maggie: (Switches microphone and laughs) Yeah, I was. (Switches microphone) She used to belittle me every single day in front of the whole class. She bought diapers and put them on my workstation 'cause I was the "widdle baby of the class," and everybody laughed, and I laughed. I had to pretend she was funny, but she wasn't. She wasn't funny. She was mean and vicious.
Kiki: How much longer, Magpie?
Maggie: (Switches click) You're doing great, Kiki. Uh, we just need a few more scans. (Switches microphone) Of your guts, which I hate. I hate your guts.
Amber: (Pleasantly surprised) Whoa I love seeing this side of you.
(Jo rolls her eyes and the scans come up)
Jo: Oh. Oh. It's worse than you thought.
Amber: Can she even survive a replacement?
Maggie: I used to lie in bed at night, wishing she was dead.
Jo: That's dark.
Amber: Not really, I used to do it in high school.
LATER AT KIKI'S ROOM
(Maggie looks at the scans and prepares to give her answer to Kiki)
Kiki: No, Magpie. Don't you say it, too.
Maggie: I have to agree with your other doctors. We've looked into it, and the procedure is just too dangerous. I'm sorry. I can't help you.
Kiki: Or you don't want to help me because I'm the bitch from med school that made life a living hell for you.
Amber: (Whispers to Jo) Did she leave the CT microphone on?
Jo: Mnh. Mnh. Mnh.
Maggie: Um, this isn't about you or me. It's about the graft. It's too risky to repair it.
Kiki: Did she tell you I left diapers on her workstation?
Jo: Yeah, were they dirty diapers, or...?
Kiki: Listen, I can hold a grudge with the best of them, Maggie, but come on.
Maggie: Okay, fine. I don't like you. I really, really dislike you. When we studied grotesque diseases in pathology, I imagined that you had them, because you singled me out and you tortured me and abused me. So, no, if anybody can repair your heart-which I don't think that they can, I can't imagine why you would want it to be me.
Amber: Should I still be here right now?
Kiki: Remember Michelle Bukin? I told her our immunology final was moved a week. She slept through it and failed the class, because I wanted a better shot at being number one.
Amber: (Scoffs) Wow.
Jo: So, your defense is that you were hateful to everyone?
Kiki: Yes, and I'd like a chance to change that in this lifetime. Because if I die now and there is a hell, that's where I'm going. Do you think I wanted to come here? I didn't. But you're the best. So, I'm asking (Sighs) Could you just take the win and help me? Please?
LATER AT THE CAFETERIA
(Amber sits down with Andrew and stare at the Scotsman in line)
Amber: What exactly is this? Did Alex hire a bagpipe band for lunch to raise morale?
Andrew: No there was a shooting at a parade and one of the Scotsman's kids got hit. He's still in surgery.
Amber: (Sighs) Well now I feel awful. Was it an officer or…?
Andrew: No, it was just some drunk whose gun 'slipped' it's unbelievable.
Amber: (Scoffs) I'm honestly mad at the gun salesman who didn't run a proper background. I mean when I bought a gun I was vetted and questioned for a week before they gave it to me.
Andrew: (Shocked) Whoa what? You have a gun? Like an actual gun that shoots bullets and kills people?
Amber: Its registered I keep it locked inside a little safe under my bed. I got it when I started NYU, I wanted to protect myself.
Andrew: (Stammers) W-W-What could you possibly need protection from in med school? Have you used it?
Amber: No, I haven't and there are a lot of reasons why I needed protection in the heart of Manhattan. Do you know how many women are attacked and raped walking down the streets at night? Also let me remind you I was mugged last year.
Andrew: Yeah, you were mugged and held at gunpoint but do you also know how many people are killed a year due to gun violence?
Amber: It's not like I carry it in my purse and shoot when I see a shadow, it's just a precaution. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?
Andrew: I am not-
Maggie: (Sits with them) Hey what's going on?
Amber: Nothing.
Andrew: Amber carries a gun.
Amber: Andrew!
Maggie: (Sternly) What? You have a gun?
Amber: No, I-I don't carry it I keep in my room.
Maggie: (Shocked) You keep a gun in your room in my sister's house where her kids live? Are you insane?
Amber: It makes me feel safer. What if a robber breaks in-
Maggie: Get rid of it today. Tonight.
Amber: Maggie-
Maggie: (Serious) This is not a stupid debate where we argue over why one of us is in the right this is my nieces and nephew who could very well walk inside your room, find your gun and play with it.
Amber: No, I keep it in a safe under my bed they won't-
Maggie: I am not going to take that chance and neither will Meredith so either you give us the gun tonight so we can get rid if it or we'll get rid of you tonight. (To Andrew) Do you have anything to say?
Andrew: No, I think you pretty much covered it.
(Maggie leaves passing an angry glare at Amber)
Amber: Thanks for standing up for me.
Andrew: Amber you have a gun in a house full of kids. Do you honestly see nothing wrong with that?
Amber: No, I don't see anything wrong in exercising my right to protect myself.
Andrew: (Scoffs) Well a 15-year-old and his father upstairs are paying the price for your 'right'
(Andrew leaves the table)
LATER AT THE CARDIO FLOOR
(Amber walks outside a patient room)
Amber: (To Nurse Ginger) Make sure that Mrs. Rodriguez gets 30 mg of calcium blocker every hour.
Nurse: Of course, Dr. Karev would you like me to hand her chart to Dr. Pierce once she's out of surgery?
Amber: (Confused) What surgery?
Nurse: Her surgery on Ms. Thompson, she went in a little under an hour ago.
Amber: …Excuse me.
(Amber checks the surgical board and heads to O.R. 4. She holds up a mask and enters the O.R. to find Maggie, Meredith, Levi and Jo working on Kiki)
Amber: Dr. Pierce. Nurse Ginger told me you had already started the surgery. I didn't even know we had a plan.
Maggie: We don't I do and I choose to let Schmitt assist me instead of you. We've already successfully placed the stent.
Amber: Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?
Maggie: Why don't a lot of people tell other people things? I'm sure you can understand that, Amber.
Amber: (Mouth gaping) …Are you serious right now?
Maggie: Deadly now get out I still have to close.
(Amber leaves the O.R. in a huff and heads to peds where she sees Colin in a bed)
Amber: What happened?
Alex: (Sighs) It was touch and go for a minute but we were able to bring him back. He had to have part of his lung removed and we had to put pins on his hand but with rehab he should be okay.
Amber: That's good, how's the dad?
Alex: He's relieved, no doubt he'll let his son out of his sight anytime soon. I swear man guns alone are making this country worse.
Amber: I didn't peg you for a blue heart.
Alex: Me neither but then the shooting happened and I saw that guns are used more for ending life than protecting it.
Amber: What shooting?
Alex: The shooting here, you don't know about it?
Amber: No what happened?
Alex: A dead patients husband went crazy from grief and brought a gun to this hospital. He shot 18 people only seven of them survived…including me.
Amber: (Shocked) You were shot? When?
Alex: It was nine years ago. I think that's when I christened this place 'Seattle Grace Mercy Death'.
Amber: …You were shot?
Alex: Yeah, but I'm okay now, okay? Unless I'm a zombie or a ghost.
(Amber gasps and Alex pulls her in a side hug as they look at Colin)
LATER THAT NIGHT AT MEREDITHS HOUSE
(Andrew goes upstairs and sees Amber on her bed staring at her revolver)
Andrew: What are you doing?
Amber: (Sighs) I lived in a bad neighborhood most of my life. Every night I would listen to ambulances nearby and wonder 'what happened now'. I was bounced around from foster home to foster home terrified of what might happen to me under a stranger's house. My own brother drove a knife into me when he lost his mind. I had to protect me and me alone when nobody could, that's why I have this gun.
Andrew: I'm sorry for what I said its just-
Amber: My brother was shot.
Andrew: (Shocked) What?! When?
Amber: It was nine years ago. A crazy gunman walked into the hospital and shot over ten people including Alex…11 people died that day because a man was given a gun without a second thought. I almost lost my brother that day because of this country's screwed up gun laws and today a kid was almost killed for the same exact thing. Until today I felt safe with this gun, I felt like I had something to protect me from the demons. But now…now I look at it and see my oldest brother, the man who raised me, lying on a floor bleeding after being shot by a demon. I don't want this in my room anymore I don't need it.
(Andrew holds out his hand and is given the gun by Amber. They walk downstairs and see Maggie and Meredith sitting in the living room. Andrew puts the gun on the coffee table)
Amber: I'm sorry. I should've told you I should've asked. No guns in this house I get that now and I will abide by that.
Meredith: Thank you.
(Maggie nods approvingly. Amber nods back and heads upstairs with Andrew)