Olivia takes a deep breath and peeks around the corner. Pointing the barrel right under her line of sight as the men start up the stairs, she takes aim, and fires. There's a grunt from the man with the gun, and he drops it, clutching his arm. She hit her mark. The second man picks it up and fires twice where Olivia is standing, luckily missing. Olivia is fully aware of the bullets burying themselves in the wall not three inches away from her; the splintering of wood echoes in her ears.
She briefly fires back, but the men have moved to cover. She glances around the upstairs hallway, trying to decide where to move.
"Fuck," she breathes. Her best shot is the master bedroom. Olivia doesn't have enough time to second guess, she can hear the men moving just ten feet away. In a split decision, she crosses the hall and takes shelter around the doorframe of the master. It's quiet, she's slightly relieved she can't hear Meredith in the bathroom because if she can't, the men can't either.
Just hold them off until backup arrives. Hold them off.
Her heart is pounding so strongly she can feel it in her throat. Luckily, her breathing stays even and her head stays clear. A strange calm has settled over her, as it always does. Years of training have paid off- it always does. She just hopes it will be enough to save Meredith.
As Olivia shifts her weight to peek around the corner to get a visual of the intruders, the floor creaks. She freezes, cursing herself. Holding her breath, she waits, listening. There are loud whispers and she knows they're getting closer, and the damn squeaky floorboard just gave away her position. She has to take a shot...blind.
With a calming breath, she holds her Glock in front of her and leans around the doorframe, firing once, and before she can turn back, the man fires as well and she's instantly greeted with stinging pain in her arm. Holding back a hiss of pain, she glances at her left shoulder, seeing the red liquid already glowing in the moonlight. She tests the joint, moving it, and thanks god that the bullet just skimmed her arm, no serious damage.
A groan in pain reaches her ears and she feels a flash of satisfaction knowing she hit her target as well. Peeking half of an eye around the corner, the man without the gun is slumped against the wall. However, the one with the weapon is quickly approaching. As he passes through the hall, light from the full moon hits his face and Olivia recognizes Matthew Trahkcol.
He's only a few feet away now, and Olivia quickly comes up with a plan.
Her senses are heightened and she's completely focused on the danger in front of her. Smells of gunpowder and blood fill her nostrils, and she takes shallow breaths, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Her finger tightens on the trigger of her Glock, and she hears a floorboard creak. A bit of smugness rolls over her as it seems she's not the only one having problems with the crappy floors in Meredith's house.
Matthew's breathing heavily, probably the adrenaline, so when Olivia can hear his breaths, she makes her move.
Slipping her Glock into its holster on the side of her body, she makes one swift motion around the door, catching Matthew's hand holding the gun with her own. She presses with her right arm, her primary goal to get the gun away from him. With a knee to the gut, his grip loosens and she's able to wrestle the weapon out of his hands and into her own.
She tosses it across the ground way behind her, just in time to catch a strong punch in her gut. She's on defense now, dodging, ducking, and blocking his punches as she's backed against the wall in the hallway right next to the open master bedroom door.
They're both panting, but Olivia is not even close to giving up. She glances at his cheek, pulling back an arm to make it look like she's throwing a punch, but throwing out her leg and sharply kicking him where no man wants to be kicked. He pulls back sharply, and now she's attacking him.
Recalling every bit of hand-to-hand combat training ingrained into her mind from years of practice, she reads his moves and soon realizes he is not a skilled fighter. She has her knowledge to her advantage, but he's still twice her size and weight.
They're going at it, slamming each other into walls. Olivia is trying to kill time as well as keep him away from Meredith, waiting for her backup to arrive. Seconds pass slowly, she has no idea how long it's been, meaning she has no idea how much longer until Derek and Maggie show up.
While her mind is trying to figure out how long she has to keep going, Matthew manages to pin her up against the wall. She struggles, but he's pressed a knee to her core and is using his greater strength and size to hold her there.
She's bleeding and out of breath, but so is he. Olivia's hands throb, pain radiating up her forearms. She doesn't have to see them to know she's done serious damage by fighting like this. Getting tired of using his energy to keep her against the wall, he reaches to her side and pulls out her own Glock from its holster. Neither of them breaks eye contact as he presses the cold chamber to her temple. When he cocks the gun, she relaxes in his grip, stopping her fight and looking away.
"Please," she whispers, her voice breaking.
Matthew laughs menacingly, loosening his hold on her and relaxing as well. As soon as he's distracted, Olivia snaps back up, throwing all of her weight against him. The gun is away from her head and he's stumbling backward in surprise. She takes the opportunity to get a couple more punches in, and Matthew falls to the ground. Adrenaline pumping through her body prevents her from fully feeling the pain for the moment.
She goes for his arm holding the gun, but not before he can empty the chamber. Three gunshots ring through the house and excruciating pain erupts from Olivia's leg. She falls back, feeling her pant leg slowly start to soak with warm blood.
The woman braces herself against the wall, stifling a yell. Somehow, Matthew finds the strength to get up again. He throws the now empty Glock to the ground and starts towards the master bedroom. Olivia sinks to the ground, her leg unable to hold her weight anymore. Her muscles are burning and her vision is clouded with blood and pain. Breathing heavily, she struggles to keep from screaming, as she so badly wants to.
Matthew enters the master and begins searching the room. Olivia fights off the powerful darkness that wants to take over and drags herself into the doorway. Pulling her secondary out of its concealed holster at her ankle, she takes aim and fires three times without hesitation. There's a grunt, and Matthew hits the ground.
Threats neutralized, she collapses, gasping for breath. She bites her lip so hard a metallic taste fills her mouth, but the pain is nothing compared to her leg. She hears sirens and the screeching of tires. Backup, of course, two minutes too late. There's shouting and she hears footsteps.
"Upstairs! It's clear!" She yells, using all of the energy she has left. In a matter of seconds, Derek and Maggie both appear at the end of the hall, running towards her. "Shower," Olivia gasps, telling Derek the location of Meredith before he even has to ask.
Maggie stops and crouches at Olivia's side. "What the fuck?"
The bright blue eyes close and she just shakes her head, not having the energy to respond. Finally, low, pained groans escape from deep in her throat, and Maggie applies pressure to her leg, where she noticed the blood instantly. More footsteps and two paramedics appear at the top of the stairs. Both run over to her.
"Jake and Ryan?" Olivia gasps, her face twisted.
"We've got more doctors here helping the other injured agents. Don't worry, they're both alive." One paramedic responds.
"Fuck, my leg," Olivia yells, grinding her teeth against the pain as it begins to get the better of her. The paramedic wraps a tourniquet around her thigh, pressing gauze to the bullet wounds. "Bitch shot me twice," she tells them.
"I think a bullet burst your femoral, we need to get you to the hospital."
After both paramedics lift Olivia onto a gurney, one steps into the master bedroom. He sees Matthew's body on the ground and checks for a pulse.
"He's dead." The paramedic announces, then leaves the room.
"You hear that, Meredith? It's okay, Matthew is dead. You're safe, it's safe now. Unlock the door and come out, okay?" Derek calls through the locked bathroom door. It's quiet inside, he presses his ear against it, trying to get Meredith to come out.
Eventually, after a lot of convincing, the lock on the door clicks and slowly opens to reveal a terrified-looking Meredith.
"Hey," Derek gives her a soft smile. She practically throws herself at him, breaking into sobs against his chest. He's instantly filled with a warm sense of protectiveness as he wraps his arms around her, slowly whispering comforting words.
Suddenly she stops sobbing and looks at him, tears streaking down her face. "We-we have to g-get to the hospital."
"Are you hurt?" Derek steps back, looking for any traces of injury on her body.
"No, no I'm fine, but everyone else. There were a lot of gunshots. Oh god, tell me they're not dead!" She exclaims, stepping around Derek to search her room. She only stops for a second when her gaze falls on Matthew, then continues.
"Mer, Mer, stop. It's okay, Ryan, Jake, and Olivia are all alive. We can go to the hospital, Cristina and Alex are gonna freak out."
Meredith laughs slightly. "Yeah, they are." She resumes her search, this time scavenging her room for shoes. As she tries to put them on, she realizes she's shaking and stops. "Um..." She holds up one of her hands, which is shivering uncontrollably.
"What happened in the bathroom?" Derek asks gently, coming to help her.
"I...I don't really remember."
"Okay, you're okay. Just focus on breathing." Derek hands her a sweatshirt, and once it's on they leave the house, passing by two coroners. Meredith moves slowly, taking in the damage to her house and the bloodstains that now litter the floor and walls in multiple places. Things have been knocked over, pictures off the wall, glass shattered everywhere.
They make it to Derek's car, Maggie already waiting in the driver's seat. Once they're in, they take off, speeding towards Grey-Sloan Memorial.
"Did you call Lindsey?" Derek asks quietly.
"Yeah, she's gonna meet us here." The woman responds, pulling into a parking spot. Derek and Maggie start toward the main entrance, but Meredith stops them.
"I can get you in through the ER," she beckons, jogging towards the emergency entrance, leaving the other two agents no choice but to follow.
They get around the building for once it's not raining, and the first thing they see is Alex pacing around the entrance.
"Good God!" He calls when he sees them. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" He demands as he approaches Meredith.
"No, no-"
"Don't lie to me, I swear if-" Alex cuts her off, looking her up and down.
"Alex, I promise, I'm just uh, shaken up." She deadpans, holding up her still-shivering hands. Alex chuckles slightly, then turns to walk inside with them, an arm protectively around her shoulders.
"Okay, we're getting neuro exams for Howard and Desmond, plastics is gonna need to fix up both. They're stable and conscious, ortho is looking at them too. Prenton might need surgery though."
"What happened to Olivia?" Meredith demands, moving closer to Alex's larger figure, as if to use him as a shield when they enter the bustling ER. She's not comfortable around a lot of people, and the constant shouting, screaming, and crying of an emergency room doesn't do her any good either.
"The guys are over there," Alex points to two beds in the corner with the curtains around them. "Olivia's in trauma two."
"What happened to Olivia?" Meredith repeats herself, stronger this time.
"She took one bullet to the left arm, which only did muscle damage, and two more to her left leg. One bullet clipped her femoral and she passed out from blood loss in the ambulance. They're getting x-rays to see if her femur is still intact. Before you ask, Yang and Torres are on it."
"Cristina?"
"She's the best." Alex shrugs.
"But she's going to be okay, right?" Derek cuts in. Before Alex can respond, something distracts them.
"Oh my god, Derek!" A loud, female voice rings out across the ER. The four people turn, seeing a tall blonde wearing cowgirl boots, faded jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket weaving her way through the people towards them. "What happened? Tell me she's okay."
"Lindsey, calm down," Derek says gently, clearly Lindsey is panicked. Her eyes are wide and her breaths are coming fast and shallow. "This is Dr. Karev."
"Yes, Alex right? I'm Olivia Prenton's girlfriend. Is she here or...?" Lindsey's hazel eyes are cloudy, full of fear and confusion. This time, Alex is again cut off by the door to trauma two opening behind them. Out rolls an unconscious Olivia on a gurney, Cristina sitting on top of her, using her entire body weight to apply pressure to her leg to try and stop the bleeding. "Oh my god! Oh god!" Lindsey exclaims, taking one look at her girlfriend.
Three nurses rush the gurney to the elevator, while Callie stops. "We have to repair the damage to her femoral, it's completely busted, and her femur is shattered. From the x-rays, it looks like I'm going to have to place a metal plate or two, and at least four screws. We'll be out to update you as soon as we can." She tells them shortly, then turns and dashes off towards the elevator, off to try and save Olivia's life.