Chapter Four
Jo exited the OR quickly, running directly into Alex.
"Hey! Watch it!" He teased, then saw the tears streaming down her face. "Jo, what's wrong?"
"It's Meredith…" she began.
Alex's face fell as he looked beyond Jo to the OR."Is she okay?"
Jo was annoyed. She was crying, but once again he was worried about her. "Yeah, she's fine!" her tone sharper than she had intended. "I mean she is the reason I'm upset!"
Alex's worry turned to confusion. "Okay, what did you do?"
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened in shock. "Me? I didn't do anything, Alex! She started screaming at me for no reason!"
Alex stared at her unable to comprehend what she was saying. "Something must have happened. Meredith doesn't yell for no reason. What happened right before that?"
"Nothing! Nothing happened! We were actually having a really good conversation. She was giving me advice about studying for my boards, and she even told me a really sweet story about you."
Alex stared at the OR doors. This fight seemingly happened after talking about him. Was Meredith upset with him for something? He needed to speak with her. He turned his attention back to Jo, and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Jo. I have a feeling this had nothing to do with you. I'll talk to her, okay?" He kissed her head.
She was really upset with both Meredith and Alex, but nodded anyway. As she walked down the hallway she tried to understand what had happened, but came up blank. Just when she felt like she was gaining ground with Meredith, she was back to where she started. She would be so glad to move away, where she and Alex could finally be free to live their own lives.
The OR doors opened and Alex stepped inside, holding a mask over his mouth. He observed her for a moment before speaking. She appeared to be closing, but her facial expression was far from relaxed. "How's it going?" he asked, tentatively.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sound of his voice. It threatened to unravel the artificial calm she had constructed. She did her best to steel herself. "Fine. Almost done here."
"Great. Can you find me after? I need to talk to you."
"Sure."
He studied her. Something was clearly going on with her. She hadn't even looked up at him. She was working in a frenzy on a clearly stable patient. He had seen her much more subdued in emergent settings.
"Anything else, Karev?"
He shook his head, worried. "No. I'll, uh, talk to you later." Reluctantly, he turned and left the room.
Once she was certain he had left, she turned to her resident and instructed them to finish closing.
She entered the scrub room, and stood at the sink for several minutes, until the shaking in her legs subsided and she could walk.
She hurried out of the room towards the bank of elevators. She pressed the button repeatedly. Finally, the doors opened and she got on. She needed air.
The doors finally opened, and she rushed out into the night air. Once outside, she doubled over, gasping for air. Once she calmed down, she stood slowly and walked to the bench.
