Meredith is having lunch with Alex, Jackson, and Maggie in the hospital cafeteria. Derek is in surgery, Zola is at school, and Bailey and Ellis are at home with the nanny.
"Did you hear about those two interns that dropped the blood bags in the OR" Alex says with a laugh. "Are you serious" asks Maggie with shock on her face. "Apparently it went everywhere, and it was during Bailey's surgery" Jackson says. "That's the one person you really don't want to screw up in front of" Meredith says with a laugh. They keep gossiping and laughing about the random things going on in the hospital. Meredith's phone rings and when she looks at the number her face falls; Zola's school never calls her. "Hello?" "Dr. Grey? This is Mrs. Stanley I'm Zola's school nurse" a woman says. "Is everything okay? Did something happen to Zola?" Everyone looks up when they hear Meredith say this and they all look at her in confusion. "We're not sure" the nurse says tentatively. "Well what do you know" Meredith says angrily into the phone. "Zola has what looks like weakness in her right and left leg. The teacher noticed she was walking weirdly and that she had a hard time holding her pencil. When her teacher asked if she was feeling all right, Zola apparently screamed at her and told her to shut up. Other students say Zola has been acting very strange all day. Is there something going on at home that we should know about?" "No there's nothing…can she move her right extremities at all?" "A little. We have her here in the nurse's office." "Can I talk to her?" "Of course?" "What's going on" asks Maggie but Alex just shushes her. "Zozo, it's mommy, are you feeling okay?" "No I don't feel so good" she replies but her speech is kind of slurred. "Mommy's gonna come get you, okay sweetie? Can you give the phone back to the nurse?" "I'm coming to pick her up I'll be there in 15 minutes." "Okay, Dr. Grey. We'll keep an eye on her until you get here." Meredith hangs up and jumps out of her seat. "Alex come with me, Jackson text me as soon as Derek is out of surgery, and Maggie let the nanny know we won't be home tonight" she says as she starts walking out of the cafeteria. "Sure but what's going on" Maggie asks as they all follow her. "Is Zola okay" Jackson asks. "She has worsening right extremity function, change in personality, and slurred speech" Meredith says quickly. She grabs Alex's arm and pulls him out of the room. "What does that mean?" "It means her shunt stopped working" Jackson says.
Meredith and Alex run into the nurse's office at Zola's school. When they get there she can barely move her right arm and leg, her speech is very slurred, and she is yelling at everyone and being extremely rude, which is very unlike her. "We tried to keep her calm, until you got here but she's acting out" the nurse says. Meredith picks Zola up and Alex grabs her backpack, and they walk out of the room. "You have to sign her out" the nurse yells after them. "No time" Alex yells back. "It's going to be okay Zozo mommy's got you" Meredith says. They get her in the car and Alex sits next to her so he can observe her. Meredith races to the hospital and pulls into the ambulance bay. She gets out of the car with the keys still in the engine, but Alex already has Zola in his arms. "Oh my god, Meredith what's going on" April says when she sees them walk in. "Her shunt is malfunctioning' Alex says. April brings them a gurney and they lower Zola onto it. "Mommy I'm scared" she says, but it doesn't sound like that at all. Her speech is so slurred it sounds more like just noises. "It's going to be okay Zo I'm right here I'm not leaving you." "Let's get her up for a CT" April says. As they get out of the elevator they pass Jackson who joins them. "He's still not out of surgery. Do you want me to wait or…" "Get him now" Alex says quickly. Jackson runs off to get Derek while April, Alex, and Meredith get Zola into the CT machine. Meredith puts on a lead blanket so she can stay with Zola and hold her hand.
"What is it Avery" Derek says as his OR door swings open. "You need to come with me right now. They think Zola's shunt is malfunctioning." Derek looks up in shock and freezes. "Go. I'll take over until someone from neuro gets here" Jackson says. Derek hands his instruments to the nurse. "Where is she?" "She's in CT with Mer. Karev is with her too." Derek runs out of the room and takes the stairs two at a time, and doesn't stop running until he gets to the CT room. He throws on a lead blanket and stands next to Meredith. "You're doing great sweetie. Just keep still for a little while longer" he says with a smile. Meredith smiles and nods to keep Zola calm, but when Derek looks at her he can see the fear in her eyes.
Once the scan is finished a nurse comes to take Zola up to a room in peds, so Meredith and Derek go with her. A few minutes later Alex comes in with Zola's scans. "So, her shunt has stopped working as we suspected. It looks like there's some form of blockage, but it's most likely just kinked. I'll go in and repair it, or replace it if I have to." "When can you do the surgery" Derek asks. "Well she had lunch at school today so we're going to have to wait a few hours. We can keep her sedated with meds until the morning, and we'll have someone watching her the whole time in case she starts seizing" Alex says. "Yeah, us. There's no way in hell that I'm going to let some idiot intern watch my daughter" Derek says angrily. "Look, she's going to be fine, okay?" "You don't know that" Derek yells. "Derek!" Meredith says angrily. "You're going to scare her!" Derek rubs his hands through his hair and goes over to Zola's side. "Everything's going to be okay sweetie. Uncle Alex is going to take very good care you of. And mommy and daddy aren't going anywhere" he says with a smile. "I'll come back in a few hours to check on her, and I'll have a resident stop by to run tests." Alex give's Zola's foot a squeeze and gives Meredith a small smile before leaving. Zola tries to say something, and when she hears how slurred her speech is she starts panicking. "It's okay Zozo. Stay calm, don't worry. That's going to go away after the surgery, okay? Just don't talk for now" Meredith says. Derek pulls up two chairs so he and Meredith can sit with her. A few minutes later Bailey and Richard run in. "We just heard" Bailey says. "Her shunt is malfunctioning. Alex is doing the surgery in the morning" Derek says. "Is there anything we can do" Richard says as he looks down at Zola. "No, we're good" Meredith says with a small smile. "Well let me know if you need anything. And you two obviously can have the rest of the day off, and any days off after. Take as long as you need. I know how hard it can be" Bailey says. She walks over to Zola's bedside and pulls out some stickers from her pocket. "I normally give these to Tuck when he's a good boy, but I think these magic stickers need some love from Zola" she says as she puts a few of them on Zola's shirt. This makes Zola smile and she plays with the shiny stickers excitedly. "Have they done her blood work yet?" "No, Alex is sending a resident by soon." "Well I can do it now" Richard says. He takes Zola's blood and has it rushed to the lab by saying it's for Dr. Shepherd's and Dr. Grey's daughter. A lot of the nurses know Zola from her time at the day care and from when she was first brought to the hospital.
Derek and Meredith spend the next few hours sitting with Zola, trying to keep her distracted from the fact she's having surgery. By dinner time Meredith finally steps out, but only to call Maggie. She volunteered to watch Bailey and Ellis for the night so Meredith and Derek could stay with Zola. "Aunt Maggie is going to come by soon with your pjs and some stuffed animals. And then you can say good night to Bailey and Ellis" Meredith says. When Maggie brings them in a little while later, Meredith holds Ellis while Derek helps Bailey sit with Zola in her bed. They read a bedtime story together and Bailey kisses Zola's head before leaving. Derek and Meredith take turns staying up to make sure she isn't having any seizures. When Alex comes in the next morning to prep Zola for surgery they look exhausted. After the nurses take Zola to the OR, Derek grills Alex on his plan for her surgery. Alex has to force them from staying in the OR, but agrees to let them watch from the door window. Meredith and Derek pace outside the window nervously for the entire surgery. Maggie and Bailey are in the OR holding Zola's hands, just as Christina had done for baby Tucker. "He should be done placing the shunt by now" Derek says. "I'm sure he's just making sure it's working" she replies. "I knew this might happen eventually, but I didn't think it was going to be so soon." "85% of shunts have to be replaced within 10 years, you know that." "I know the facts Meredith! It doesn't change the fact that our daughter is in there!" "Don't you think I know that? That I'm not freaking out too? But you need to keep it together, for her sake, because she needs to know that she is going to be fine." "I know, I know" he says as he rubs his hands through his hair and down his face. "She needs to believe that she is going to be fine in order for her to be fine." "I know" Derek says as he hugs Meredith. "She's going to be fine." "She is going to be fine."
After the surgery ends, Zola is taken to the peds PACU and Derek and Meredith rush in as soon as they are allowed to. It takes an hour for the anesthesia so wear off; when she wakes up the first thing she sees is her parents faces smiling down at her. Meredith starts crying a little and Derek cannot stop smiling. "Am I going to be okay" she asks. "You are going to be just fine" Meredith says. "The surgery went perfectly. Uncle Alex said you were the best patient he ever had" Derek adds. "Can I have some ice cream now?" Meredith and Derek both laugh with joy; Zola is famous for her love of ice cream and her asking for it means she's back to her usual self and the shunt is working. "Maybe in a little while honey" Meredith says with a smile. "Can you follow my finger" Derek asks. He does a quick neuro exam to make sure the shunt is working, and smiles even wider when he finishes because the shunt is working perfectly. Alex stops by a little while later and congratulates Zola on being "a super star in my OR." At some point during the day everyone stops by to say hello and bring her a present. April brings her a huge teddy bear, Maggie brings her cards to play go fish, Jackson brings her coloring books, Richard brings her a box of cookies, Arizona, Callie, and Sofia stop by with some pictures and a get well card from Zola's class, and Bailey brings a big box of Legos. Derek goes home to feed Bailey and Ellis but leaves them with Maggie again so he can sleep in Zola's room with Meredith. They watch Zola fall asleep and just listen to the sound of her breathing. Eventually they fall sleep on the couch with Meredith's head on Derek' chest.
