A/N: Thanks everyone for your patience!
Some of you read my note on my profile about posting on FictionPress. I just want to clarify… FictionPress is Ffnet's sister site for original fiction and poetry. Fanfiction is not posted there. People write their own stories with their own original characters and plots. Original poetry and essays are also posted there.
When I have a story idea not based on characters from a show or book or movie… it will be posted on FictionPress. As of yet, I've published two poems there. Of course, all my Fanfiction will remain on this site. I have posted a link to my FictionPress profile page on my fanfiction profile for you to check out my original work.
Does that mean I've abandoned FanFiction? Of course not! You should know me by now!
Anyway… Ready for a ride?
Enjoy!
Now settled in a pre-op bed, April rubbed her pregnant stomach. She smiled when her baby kicked in response. Dear God, protect this baby… she prayed. She was going under the knife; her baby was going under the knife. She'd talked to the pastor and her mother the night before and felt sure that God would work his own work on this, and that surgery may be an unnecessary risk. But Jackson's confession this morning was unexpected. She didn't know he'd been that scared.
The latest scans, taken an hour ago, revealed that the tumor was still there. Maggie had said that it was possible for the tumor to remain the same size, and in the same location for the duration of the pregnancy. She also said it was just as possible for the tumor to grow and obstruct blood flow to the heart.
Dr. Herman and Arizona had let her know of the risks as well. The placenta could detach early, the baby could have complications. April could be at risk for eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, etc. etc.
Jackson wasn't a man of faith, however. He was a man who believed in science. In action. April knew… deep down, that if she did nothing, (although, prayer to her wasn't nothing,) And something bad happened, Jackson would be forever damaged.
So April decided on the surgery, trusting in Jackson's logic and praying God would do his work. April shifted in the uncomfortable gown and sticky sheets and leaned back to try not to think about this anymore.
"Hey," Jackson's soft voice caused her to turn away from her anxious thoughts.
"Hi," She reached and took his hand. "It's gonna be okay," she said.
"Yeah?" he asked, allowing a small smile to spread on her face.
"Yeah," she quirked a smile back at him. "I talked to Jesus. It's all good."
"Oh yeah?" He sat down on the side of her bed, his light eyes teasing as he took her hand.
She squeezed it. "Yeah," she said seriously this time. Jackson sighed, pulled her hand to his cheek and kissed it, and then kissed her belly as he caressed it. Somehow, she felt it. A miracle was going to happen today.
xxx
Arizona secured her scrub cap tighter over her head. "Dr. Herman," Arizona leaned over the scrub sink and ran her hands under the warm water. Through the window, she saw April being wheeled in, the orderlies and the nurses setting everything up. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to take the lead on the surgery."
"Robbins," Herman tilted her head as she tied her mask on. "You're a real go-getter," Dr. Herman replied. "Or is it because of my tumor?"
Inwardly, Arizona rolled her eyes. "It's a simple C-section, with a small incision over the heart of the fetus," Arizona said, choosing not to take the bait.
"Mm," Herman replied. "Very well. But she's your friend."
"I'm prepared for the risks." Arizona responded. Much rather that baby be in her hands than Herman's at this moment, though she didn't doubt her knowledge. Just the steadiness with the scalpel.
xxx
Jo followed Alex up the stairs when they heard shouting. "Sounds like Amber!" Alex thundered up the remainder of the steps. "Come on!" he growled.
"Alex!" Jo called from behind, "Wait!" Her gut rumbled with a bad feeling. "Let's wait for the cops, okay?" She strongly believed they shouldn't get too close right now.
But Alex didn't respond, so focused on the door ahead of them.
"You stole her! I'm just taking back what's mine!" Brent shouted as he leaned into the doorway.
"Stole her?" Amber yelled from inside the apartment, "I'm protecting her!"
"You're both not allowed to be here!" The foster mother screeched. "There are other children here!"
"Shut up," said Amber.
"Hey!" Alex said, making his presence known.
That's when Jo saw the gun at Amber's side. It seemed like no one else saw it. Everyone else was focused on Brent. Jo rushed ahead, "Gun!" she yelled.
In the doorway of the apartment, Amber held the gun low as Brent backed away, "Whoa," he said, holding his hands up.
"Oh my God!" The foster mother gasped and stepped back inside.
Jo thought she saw children's feet on the floor behind Amber, but it was a fleeting thought. She twisted and pushed Alex out of the way, intending to snatch the gun out of Amber's hand before she could pull the safety.
But the floor moved.
In motion, Jo stumbled and twisted, tripping. A loud pop! reverberated in her eardrums as she crashed into Brent. What? She thought before the walls cracked and the ground roared.
xxx
Meredith sighed as she scrubbed out. Her early morning surgery had been a success, and that felt good, but it didn't quell the emptiness she felt inside. She missed Zola. She'd barely had her, and she missed her already.
"Wow," Brooks rambled beside her. "That was amazing. I thought the guy was gonna be a goner, but you managed to salvage that liver… using a trauma move! I don't think I've even read-,
"Shut up Brooks," Meredith snapped.
"Shutting up Ma'am," the resident said and nodded. Meredith sighed and pushed back the door. Her stomach growling, she supposed she could force herself to have a bagel and coffee before rounds. "I need the labs ready for Mrs. Reed, before she's prepped for her gastric bypass," she informed her resident. "Page me when you're done. I'm going for breakfast. And don't call me ma'am.
"Yes ma'am- Sir- Dr. Grey, ma- Yes doctor."
She rolled her eyes at Brook's fumbling before exiting the OR floor.
In the attending's lounge, Meredith smoothed out Derek's scrub cap, fixed her hair and put on her lab coat. Her phone buzzed. She'd forgotten it here, earlier. There was probably a million messages on it from Maggie. Meredith flicked the screen, checking it. Yup. Wait, Lexie called?
She pressed the call button for her sister's number.
Half a ring went by before Lexie picked it up. "Meredith!" she answered breathless.
"Lexie, what's going on? You called me three times."
"Mere! I need to talk to you! Can you come over?"
"What?"
"Please… I don't want to talk at the hospital or Joes, too much gossip. I'm freaking out and I need you!"
"You're freaking out? About what?"
"Just get here! Please?"l
"Okay, okay," Meredith consoled. "I'm on a break anyway, I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay, thanks."
"Ugh, sisters," Meredith muttered. At least they didn't live too far away, she could have Brooks text her the lab results.
She quickly sent her resident a text before hanging up her lab coat and changing quickly into something presentable. Mark and Lexie didn't live very far. If she took the tunnel, she'd get there in good time.
.
Meredith sighed. She forgot about the morning rush hour. The short school bus in front of her skirted through the intersection and she was forced to stop at the light. It didn't matter however, because she pulled up behind it again, only minutes later.
Traffic clogged up again, full of working commuters and parents who were dropping their children off for school
Ahead of her, the bus lurched into the tunnel.
Meredith's phone buzzed again, and she picked it up from her purse in the passenger seat. Amelia. "Not now," she said, throwing it back on the seat. She slowly followed the small busload of some very rowdy kids. Her stomach complained. Oh well, she could grab a bagel at Lexie's.
If the traffic let up.
"Come on," she said as the bus crept forward a little. Meredith's Lexus slowly followed the bus into the tunnel.
Her phone buzzed. Lexie this time.
Sisters. How did she get so many of them?
Just then, her car tipped sideways, slamming her head against the window. An awful crunch- grind- crack filled the air as her car pitched up and down like a sailboat on the high seas. Dazed, Meredith looked out the front windshield. Ahead of her, the tunnel cracked and shook. Why was the tunnel shaking?
It wasn't the tunnel, Meredith realized. The ground was moving. Ahead of her, the busload of preschoolers tipped over as a thick piece of concrete crashed into the front third of the vehicle.
"Oh my God!" Meredith stumbled out of the car, "What the hell?" An earthquake? Dizziness struck. She swayed and grabbed the car door for balance. At her feet, the asphalt road had rolled into uneven, broken waves.
Meredith swallowed, her heartbeat rushing in her ears. Ahead of her, dozens of people had exited their vehicles, looking around in shock. But frightened wails got her attention, and her focus shifted to the school bus in front of her.
She reached inside her car for her cell to call 911, but after a moment of silence the call disconnected. The lines were already jammed. The ground shuddered again in an aftershock, but Meredith didn't notice as she stepped over to the bus.
Crap, they were just pre-schoolers too.
She ran over to the emergency door and pulled on the latch. "Stay calm!" she shouted. It took a couple tries, but the latch gave way and the door opened. A half-dozen pre-schoolers stared at her with uncertainty. "Hey, it's all right," she soothed. "You are all going to be fine. I'll help you down."
A few other bystanders ran over to help. "Can someone check on the bus driver?" Meredith called, "And get me a first aid kit!"
She lifted one child down from the bus, then another and another. "You all stay together, hold hands," she reminded them. Lifting one girl down, Zola's image passed through her mind for a fleeting second. Meredith closed her eyes and set the thought aside as quickly as it came.
There was no time to think.
Or worry.
"Auntie, auntie!" The child's voice caused her to freeze. Oh God… it was his bus?
"Noah?" she croaked. He clambered awkwardly over the sideways seats to get to her, his dark hair and golden skin instantly recognizable. "Oh God, Noah…" He was okay. He looked okay, Meredith thought as he reached for her.
On its side, the bus made it difficult for Meredith to maneuver to get to him. "Your arm!" she called out, noticing the swollen bump. Carefully, she checked him over, he seemed just fine, aside from his broken arm.
The boy swallowed. "I don't feel nothin'," he said, and Meredith nodded. Shock was starting to set in.
She slid her sweater off and put it over him. But not before she noticed the blood smeared on one side of him. "You're bleeding!"
Noah looked down on himself for a second, pulling on his shirt to look closer. "No," the boy shook his head, "I'm not bleeding, it's from over there," Noah pointed behind him.
Meredith leaned forward, following his direction… Who was bleeding? "Stay there okay? Don't go anywhere."
She stepped into the bus.
Meredith climbed awkwardly over the sideways seats to the front. It was hard to see, but… she thought she saw a dark mop of hair and… was that an arm? Above her, metal groaned under the strain of the concrete.
As she neared, she gasped. It was not one child, but two. One on top of the other, blood pooling underneath them.
"No!" Meredith cried when she saw who they were.
xxx
Trapped in traffic deadlock on the other side of the tunnel, Amelia had bore witness to nearly the same thing. The tunnel cracked as a second, smaller shockwave rumbled through.
She leaned over to the cab driver. "Look, I'm a doctor, I gotta go help," she blurted, eyes wide as she surveyed the damage.
"Where's my money?" the driver demanded. Arrogant ass, she thought. The meter read $12.70. She had a twenty and a fiver plus some change. She shoved him the fiver and about a dollar in change.
"That's good right?" she asked, not waiting for a reply before she dashed into the streets toward the carnage. Lives were at stake.
People were streaming out of the tunnel by the dozens, and it seemed like they were mostly okay. But at the far end, she saw something that concerned her. An overturned school bus. The tunnel hadn't completely caved, but a large portion rested on the front half of the bus. Her jog picked up speed, fighting against the current to get there, where there could be more severe injuries.
Two lanes to the left, she saw just the thing she needed. An ambulance. Without further thought, she marched up to the back and swung the doors open.
"Hey! What are you doing?" The paramedic inside asked sharply while he continued compressions on the patient in the rig.
"Commandeering this vessel!" She demanded.
"What?" he asked breathlessly.
"Commandeering, that's the word, right?" Amelia asked more to herself than anyone. She pointed to the patient on the gurney, "Ooh… how long has he been out?"
"Not… long," he continued while his partner bagged the unconscious victim.
Amelia leaned closer and grabbed the patient's limp arm. Her fingers found the pulse point on his wrist. "No pulse… he's dead."
"Not… dead." The medic continued.
Amelia gave him exactly ten seconds before she checked her watch. "Time of death… 10:07 am."
"No!"
"Look," she said, glancing at his name badge, "Deluca, I'm a doctor. A brain surgeon. That man is dead, and if by some miracle, he isn't or you do get a pulse, he's pretty much gorked," she said. "So, you can pound a corpse, or help me with the kiddo's next door."
"Kids?" Deluca asked.
"School bus with a tonne of concrete on it," she thumbed to the chaos outside. "Where's the biggest kit you got?"
The medic grumbled, then tossed her a bag before grabbing his own. "Fine…" he sighed dramatically.
"Deluca! Let's save some lives." They ran to the school bus. As Amelia passed the front, she stopped, seeing a familiar ponytail. "Oh my God, Meredith?" she exclaimed, hovering over a broken passenger window to see her sort- of sister in law bent awkwardly over a seat.
"Thank God! Get over here and help me!" she yelled through the broken window of the bus. "Sofia's unconscious, and-," she sniffed and wiped an eye with the back of her hand. "Anna won't stop bleeding!"
A/N: There! Definitely more to come! And remember, I do write happy endings, kay? Also feel free to check out all my other stories, as I've recently updated many of them!