Disclaimer: if it looks familiar than I don't own it
Teaser: there's a strange woman at Grace Seattle Hospital
Spoilers: Buffy season 7, Grey's Anatomy season 1
Here for the Body
Grace Seattle Hospital was as busy as always, people sprawled along the waiting rooms and entrance area, talking and mulling about with nothing better to do than wait.
That was the way it worked for anyone who didn't work in the hospital. No one was there for a good time. If you were in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the open, glass reception area than it was because you had no choice.
For some reason, she stuck out like a sore thumb.
Meredith Grey pursued her lips and concerned the blonde from across the long expanse of the floor.
There was nothing amazing about her—except, maybe, her short stature—even if she was pretty in her baby-blonde, fresh way. She wore tight denim and a leather jacket, her thin arms crossed over her chest. She was eyeing the room like a wary predator. Then she stalked toward the front desk.
It was the way she walked and held herself, Meredith realized as the blonde took long, confident strides across the thinly carpeted room. There was power in her strides, her perky body bounced with a fervor that she had never seen in anyone else before. But, then again, it was hard to have any perkiness when it came to being an intern—days without sleep could do that.
But there was something about this woman… Meredith couldn't shake the feeling that she was out of the normal.
"Oh, doctor," the woman said, recognizing Meredith by her pale green scrubs. She nodded even as her back stiffen slightly. Something about this woman was… off.
"I'm actually a…" she trailed off and shook her head. The woman didn't look to be in a dire situation so a real doctor didn't need to be present. "Can I help you?"
"Buffy Summers," the blonde introduced herself and shook Meredith's hand with a grip that was surprising for her physique. "I'm here for the body."
"The body?" Meredith frowned, having no idea what she was talking about.
Buffy shook her head and smiled. "Sorry. A young girl, named Bridget Howl? I'm here for her body." The short, blonde woman seemed unaffected by the fact she was asking for the body of a young girl.
"Oh…" Now Meredith understood what she talking about. Just as her shift had started around eleven last night a stab wound had been brought in, a young girl who had barely managed to tell them her name was Bridget Howl. She hadn't mentioned friends or family or what had caused her wound. "She not dead."
"Really? That's great!" Buffy's face broke out into a wide smile. "Then I'll just check her out."
"You can't," Meredith said and then blinked at Buffy's confused look. "She was stabbed in the stomach."
"Oh. I know."
Meredith was beginning to wonder if the woman really did. A stab wound wasn't something a young girl just got up and walked away from. Maybe, Meredith thought, she needs to see the girl. "Follow me."
She led Buffy Summers down the pristine, white corridors of the hospital, aiming for the elevator. The girl—when she had been brought in—had been put in intensive care because… well… stomach wound.
On their way they passed Meredith's ex-something-or-other, handsome, dreamy Doctor Derek Shepard. She had been avoiding him like the plague ever since she had found out about Allison Shepard—the not-so-divorced wife he had forgotten to mention to her. She had even locked her bedroom door just in case he had the gall to drive over to her house one night.
So far he hadn't, but he seemed to be trying to find ways to corner her alone. And she must have seemed pretty alone right then, even with Buffy at her side, because he hurried over to them, rubbing a strong hand through his dark, wavy mane of hair. "Meredith, we need to—"
"Not now," she snapped and strode right passed him, offering him a chilly glare as she went. Derek stared after her, looking frustrated.
Buffy watched him as they entered the elevator. "Hmm… nice," she said.
"Don't bother," Meredith grounded out as she punched the button on the elevator's panel. "I hear he's married."
"S'kay," Buffy replied with a shrug. "Wasn't really interested in a new relationship yet anyway."
Without saying another word, Meredith took Buffy to the room where Bridget Howl had been placed. She was Christina's patient but Alex was also working on her and the young man was eyeing Buffy Summers' butt as they passed by. Meredith supposed she couldn't blame him. Buffy Summers was a very attractive woman.
But Alex was quickly forgotten when Christina's annoyed, sharp voice reached her eyes. She and Buffy entered the room just in time to see her dark-haired, Asian friend squaring off against a younger, paler woman.
The young woman happened to be shoving a shirt on. A young woman who happened to have, about a few hours ago, a nasty stomach wound.
"I told you!" Bridget Howl snapped as she stuffed her messy red hair into a bun on top of her thin, fresh face. "I'm fine. Just let me leave!"
"Excuse me?" Christina snapped right back. She seemed to be in a bad mood… or a mood worse than usual, anyway. "A bleeding stomach does not equal fine."
Bridget opened her mouth to retort something nasty and then stopped when she noticed Buffy. Then she grinned. "Buffy. How's it?"
"Alright, I guess," the blonde replied. "You 'bout ready to leave? Need you down in Cleveland. Xander's going crazy in that kinda way."
"Joy and/or rapture," Bridget replied with a small roll of her eyes. "The Watcher calls."
Their conversation seemed to hold a lot of undertones and underlying messages. That much Meredith was certain. She and Christina shared a look from opposite sides of the room.
"Miss Summers," Meredith began and stepped between the two women. "She can't leave. We need to keep her here for proper observation."
"Trust me," Buffy said with a small grin. "She's fine."
"They won't believe you," Bridget warned.
"Look at her stomach for me, would you?" Buffy asked and Meredith turned to Bridget, who instantly lifted her shirt up over her stomach.
No scar, Meredith thought. No bleeding, gaping wound. Nothing. It was as if the girl had never been touched. But she had seen Bridget Howl last night, bleeding and near death. It didn't made sense.
"Impossible…" Christina said in equal confusion, voicing Meredith's thoughts. "I saw you sliced open myself… it's not possible… how—?" She lapsed into silence, staring at the redhead as if she had grown a second head.
"Trust me," Bridget said in a friendly tone as she lowered her shirt again, hiding the pale, untouched skin beneath cotton. Meredith didn't look away from the girl's abdomen. "You're better off not knowing."
"We'll check out now," Buffy said.
Notes: I don't know why I felt the urge to combine the two, but for some reason I felt the forces from beyond compel me to write this piece. Please enjoy the fic.
