Title: The Best Laid Plans
Authors: Sara and Lizzie
Rating: T for violence, language, maybe sex
Disclaimer: Obviously the show does not belong to two college girls.
Summary: An OR gets taken hostage by a love struck woman whose fiancé is dying. Meredith gets caught in the cross fire, and no one is safe. But, it's all in the name of love, right?
Author's Note: Yea, it's a cliché, but we're obsessed and back to writing game, so feed our egos and review. We're back from various vacations and are planning to update with fervor. So review. Chapters will get longer, that's a promise.
Meredith numbly hooked him up to a breathing tube, vitals monitor, and did everything else she could think to do, just to seem busy while she considered her options. Finally she turned to Rachel.
"Okay, it's my turn to talk now," she said bossily. "You might have the gun, but I have the medical skills, and without me, you're barricaded in an OR with no doctor. So we're going to have to get some things straight. I have spent the entire day with screaming babies, and a screaming ob-gyn. This is not what I had in mind for the rest of my shift."
She looked at Rachel, who looked like she thought Meredith was the one who needed medical attention. Meredith saw the fear in the girl's eyes, and her voice softened. "Look, I'll treat him, okay? I really don't have a choice. But I'm going to need some help."
Rachel eyed her suspiciously, the gun still in her hands. Meredith kept talking. "I don't mean I need help in here. I just don't know the best way to treat him. And I don't have the proper supplies. I need to make a phone call, and have someone bring me stuff. Is that okay?" she asked, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.
Rachel nodded. Meredith flipped open her phone, and hit the previously dialed button twice. She wasn't sure who the last person she called was, and almost died of relief when Izzie picked up. "Meredith?"
"Iz, thank God."
"Meredith, where are you? You're supposed to be doing post-op notes for Addison. She's gonna go ballistic."
"Izzie, do something for me. Go find Chief Webber, or Bailey or someone, and put them on the phone."
Izzie had no idea what was going on, but she heard panic in Meredith's voice, so she acted quickly. She saw Burke and Bailey striding somewhere quickly, and trusting her instincts, she simply followed them, ending up in the security office.
She opened the door right after they did, causing everyone's heads to snap around. "Stevens, you have patients." Bailey said.
"I've got Meredith on the phone."
She handed Dr. Webber the phone wordlessly. "Meredith?"
"Chief, he's got SARS."
"We know. We're watching it all on camera. You're doing great Meredith."
"What do I do?"
"Chest x-ray. I'd like to do a CT, but it's not plausible. I'll send someone down with meds to start treating the SARS and the symptoms."
"Why the chest x-ray?" she asked as if they were discussing a normal patient.
"SARS can cause lung damage. It's pertinent we check for that. Especially if it's a fast acting strain."
Derek heard Dr. Webber's side of the conversation, and his breathing started to return to normal. He released his grip on the chair in front of him, and relaxed his tense shoulders. She could do this. Meredith would just treat this guy, and then it would be fine.
He tuned back into what the chief was saying. "I'm sending someone with medication, as well as a first stage antibiotic for you. I'll get you some masks. Change them every twenty minutes without fail. I want to keep an open line of communication, so I'm going to patch through to the land line in your OR."
The chief was silent for a few seconds, and he turned to look at the rest of the room. "Yes," he said, turning away again, and lowering his voice. "Derek got out. He's fine."
Not low enough. Addison's lips set in a tight line, and Derek crumbled a little bit. Was he okay? He just left her there to get into this mess, and she wanted to know if he was okay.
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Meredith got off the phone, feeling reassured by the Chief's calm, direct attitude. She could do this. She could just treat the patient, and then everything would be fine, and she could go back to being miserable about Derek.
She took the landline phone off the wall, as per her instruction, and waited for security to put her on an open connection to the chief. She wheeled an x-ray machine over the table, and started to set it up, as best she could.
"I'm going to do a chest x-ray." She told Rachel. "To make sure his lungs haven't been damaged. And in the mean time, someone will bring down the medication we need."
Rachel nodded, but she felt very uneasy. It might be time to act out her back up plan.
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Richard Webber hung up the phone, his calm façade fading instantly. "Ok, people. I need someone to get everything we've got to treat and prevent SARS down there stat."
He looked at Mike Carlington, but was really addressing everyone. "We need a way to get her out of there as fast as we can. I don't like the idea of trusting this person. We have no way to guarantee Meredith's safety after the treatment. We need ideas, a strategy and an execution."
Security chief Carlington picked up the phone. "I'm calling the Seattle police."
Dr. Webber walked out into the hall, letting the security team talk to the police. He needed to think, needed to plan. He was prepared for any sort of medical disaster, but not for this.
Derek slipped outside the security office after him. "Richard," he asked, "She's going to need those masks. Do you think that I maybe could…?" He trailed off.
Dr. Webber nodded. "Prepare a cart. Take it to her. But Derek, you're in and then you're out. No show stopping numbers. Nothing heroic. The best thing you can do for her is be here to help."
Derek nodded, and hurried off in the opposite direction. Richard walked back into the office. "Seattle PD is on their way."
He nodded. Carlington continued. "In the meantime, we'll monitor the situation closely, and position our security as close to that OR as we can without tipping them off."
Addison looked around the room. "Where's Derek?"
When no one answered her, she knew. And it was only a matter of minutes before he could be seen on the camera.
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There was a knock at the door, and Rachel's head snapped in the direction the sound came from. So did Meredith's.
"I can't tell who that is, but there's a cart of supplies. Let them in."
Rachel shook her head.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "You either let me out to get the cart, or you let them in to give it to me. Take your pick."
Keeping the gun trained on Meredith, Rachel opened the door. Meredith's head spun a little when she saw it was. "Derek." She breathed.
He handed her a fresh, super resistant surgical mask before he said anything. She changed them quickly, discarding her old one in a trash can. He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
"You're okay?"
"I'm fine. Scared, but fine."
"Mer, I'm so sorry."
She smiled, and he put his other hand over hers, as if he could protect her by clutching her right hand. "It's not your fault Derek. I'm going to be fine."
He kissed her forehead, and then without thinking, kissed her lips. "Promise me that." He whispered.
"What?"
"Promise me you'll walk out of here just fine."
She looked at him, bewildered and against her better judgment, love struck. "I promise." She said softly. He squeezed her hands one last time and then left, reminding her to keep the phone connected, and her cell phone available.
Rachel sat in the corner with raised eyebrows, intrigued. There was obviously something between them, and she was sure she could figure out how to use that to her advantage.
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"Holy awkward." Izzie whispered to Christina. The two interns were huddled in a corner of the security office, watching Derek walk away from the OR where Meredith was. Everyone had just seen him kiss her, and they had just barely been able to make out what he was whispering when he asked for her word.
Now, as they stood in the office, Christina, Izzie, Burke, Bailey, chief Webber, and the security team, they were no longer watching the camera screens. Now, no one could stop watching Addison.
