A/N: Here is chapter 13. All the usual disclaimers. I am not a medical professional and have no real sense of how boards work. I do know what interviews are like, so I went more with that. I'm trying to get back to the Thursday update schedule, but please bear with me. I have been editing the long term plotting on this story and getting started with some brainstorming for the sequel. (And being a student too!)Thank you all again for your continued support and I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's boards. Who will pass? Will anyone fail? Let me know what you think.
Jerking awake, Alex shifted and yawned in the unfamiliar hotel room bed. Not only was it unfamiliar, it was decidedly uncomfortable. Realizing he was cold he discovered that only a fraction of the sheet covered his body and the temperature had woken him up. April must have pulled it to her side. Damn it.
Alex squinted at the dim red lights of the digital alarm clock that sat on the nightstand next to the bed. 2:23 am. Late. Stupid late. It was the night before his boards, so he was bound to be a little restless. The 5th years had all flown to San Francisco for their oral exams and fellowship interviews with the American board of surgery.
Everyone seemed more than a little on edge, and Alex knew that he was totally on the irritable side. He just wanted so badly to pass. Normally his confidence would have been fine, but in the weeks since Marcello's death, Alex had realized just how much his cancer research had diverted him from his other studying. He may as well be applying for a pediatric oncology fellowship for all the adolescent cancer crap that filled his mind.
And it wasn't like he didn't know the rest of what he needed to. He had all the knowledge in his head. Just the cancer stuff seemed at the forefront. Alex was determined to pass. If he didn't freakin' make attending, he'd blow up.
Without rolling over Alex could tell that April was awake too. If she had gone to sleep at all.
If Alex was a little restless and irritable over their looming examinations, April was positively oozing unease. She kept sighing and sniffing fretfully. He could feel her messing with the edge of the sheet, and she kept moving into different positions as though she were unable to find a comfortable spot. April shifted again and pulled the sheets even more to her side of the bed and sighed again.
For crying out loud. If Alex was ever going to get back to sleep, he'd need her to calm down. And get her to not be a blanket hog.
"April," he said over his shoulder, as he gripped the sheets and yanked them a little more evenly on his side. "Freakin' go to sleep! I can hear you thinking. Cut it out. Just sleep already."
"I'm not going to pass," April said, and a quiet tone of despair slipping into her voice. Alex knew that she was her own hardest critic, but he thought that she had as good a chance as any of them for the exam. Even with the setback of the leg injury.
"You're gonna pass."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"Fine! You'll wash out, and end up working at Starbucks, and then I'll be the most popular attending ever because my girlfriend can get me coffee at a discount," Alex teased trying to get her to chill out and laugh. Her fears were practically making him more nervous.
"It's not funny, Alex!"
"You know what's really not funny? The fact that I am awake at 2:30 in the morning, the night before my freakin' board interview. I should be getting my god damn beauty rest, and so should you. So suck it up and get some sleep, or we'll both fail!"
April gulped and sniffed again, and Alex sighed. He felt guilty. She really was anxious, and snapping at her wasn't helping.
Alex. rolled over and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Look, I didn't meant to...I'm just tired."
April scooted closer to him, saying, "No, you're right. Laying awake like this is only going to make tomorrow worse. I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"It wasn't only you," he backtracked. "These beds are freakin' uncomfortable."
"Uh, huh," April murmured quietly. She lay her arm across his and said, "Come on. We've got to sleep."
"Okay," he whispered. "April?"
"Uh huh?"
He grinned, "You'll pass."
Alex let himself drift off. The next time he woke up, he found that the other side fo the bed was empty, and he could hear the sound of a blow dryer coming through the closed bathroom door. He groaned and turned to the night stand and stared at the clock. 7:30 am. Next to the clock sat two paper cups filled with coffee and two bananas.
The blow dryer shut off and a fully dressed April came into the room and reached for a cup of coffee. Sitting up, Alex arched his back and stretched his arms. He was glad to have gotten at least a few hours of sleep, but he wasn't sure if April had gotten any.
"Continental breakfast," she explained before she started peeling one of the bananas. She looked pretty hot in her business casual. Kind of librarianish. Nice. But Alex thought April was a little to 'awake' and perky. Especially when suspected she'd gotten less sleep than he had. "You should get dressed. We don't want to be late."
"Good morning to you too!" Alex groaned. Stretching again, his rose and made his way into the bathroom for a shower.
"Oh...yeah," she added smirking as she chewed a mouthful of banana. "Good morning."
Though he still felt very groggy, somehow Alex managed to wash up and throw on a suit, and when he was finally ready, he and April headed down stairs to the lobby of the hotel. Jackson was already waiting for them, sitting on a plush bench nervously loosening his tie. When the other doctor caught sight of them he stood up and walked to April's side.
"Van cab is on its way," Avery said.
"Meredith and Cristina come down yet?" Alex asked.
"Here they come," April said gesturing so that both men turned to see their friends exiting an elevator and walking over to join them. An air of solemnity seemed to hang around the group, as each of the residents contemplated the gravity of the exam before them. The events of today would determine the course of each of their careers.
The five residents were soon in the back of a van on their way to the test site, riding mostly in silence until the vehicle stopped. Alex reached for his wallet, ready to pay his share, as April, Meredith and Cristina each reached for their purses. Breaking the their silence, Jackson held up his hands.
"I got this guys," he said holding up a wad of money. "Sloan gave me a ton of cash."
April scowled, "Why?"
"It's Dr. Sloan," Cristina replied dryly. "Do you even have to ask?"
Exchanging a knowing glance with Meredith and Avery, Alex began a silent count down in his head. Because April did have to ask. And Alex knew that it would take her mind a moment to figure out what Sloan had in mind for Avery's money. Because it would never occur to her. Not right away. Her mind worked nothing like Sloan's. April frowned, blinking rapidly and tilting her head to one side.
Three. Two. One.
Realization dawned on her face, "You mean for...Oh...Oh! That's...that's gross. Jackson you're not going to-to..."
"Of course not," Avery laughed, as he paid the cab driver, and they all exited the van. "But I'm not about to turn down free money."
The short conversation made everyone chuckle and for a moment it pulled them from their anxious silence. Alex slipped his hands in his pockets and stood with Meredith and Cristina to his left and April and Jackson on his right. He stared at the building in front of them, thinking back to his first day as an intern at Seattle Grace, and everything that had happened in between.
All leading to this. To boards. Today's event could make or break their careers.
"Maybe...maybe we should say something or whatever," Alex mumbled glancing down to his feet.
"What? Like a speech?" Meredith said.
"Yeah, I dunno. Something. I mean, like, when we started we were..." Alex shrugged.
"Grunts," Jackson supplied.
"Babies," April added.
"The bottom of the surgical food chain," Cristina concluded.
He shrugged again, "And now we're..."
"Experienced," Meredith nodded, adjusting her suit jacket.
"Ready," Jackson agreed.
"Stop being so mushy. Let's just do this," Cristina sighed, moving forward and heading up the stairs to the front doors of the testing facility.
One by one the other residents followed her lead. Alex kept his pace slow and hung back with April as she made her way up the steps. She could do stairs now, with the cane and all. But it was slow going. Especially going up.
When they all made it inside the groups split off according to signs posted in the main lobby. Jackson and Meredith followed a sign that said A-G, while Cristina headed toward another hallway for P-Z. Alex and April took the third path and took seats in a long hallway with the rest of the hopeful residents whose last names filled the middle of the alphabet.
Alex tapped his fingers on his knees and gave April a small smile. She was uncharacteristically quiet and he knew that her nerves were probably running wild in her mind. And to be quite perfectly honest, his own anxieties were heightened too. Add to that, all that could be done now was sit and wait. No more time to study. No more time to practice. No more time to prepare. And the waiting was the worst.
A bored looking woman carrying a clipboard called, "Karev? Dr. Alex Karev? Seattle Grace Mercy West?"
Here we go. Alex waved a hand and popped up, "That's me."
As he began to follow the lady down the hall, April offered an earnest, "Good luck."
Alex turned back and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "You too. It'll be fine. We'll kick ass."
Turned out, the exam itself was the easy part of the board examination. The Torres method was solid.
At least, Meredith felt like it was.
She all but flew through the course of hypotheticals that the older surgeon proctoring the exam threw her way, and knew, with complete confidence that she the courses of treatment she'd recommended would have saved the lives of the hypothetical patients. The proctor, Dr. Cruise had a very good poker face, but Meredith was certain she'd responded correctly. That part was easy.
What was less easy, was the second portion. The interview. The part where the old doctor pulled her files and recommendations. The part where he saw her past. That made Meredith uneasy.
As he read her file, Dr. Cruise sniffed and lifted his fingers to his mustache, as Meredith sat across from him. She pursed her lips and stared her her hands, which she'd had splayed out on the table in front of her. She heard the sound of papers shuffling and glanced up to see that the proctor had put down her file. He sighed and remained silent for a long time.
Meredith swallowed.
"Dr. Grey," Cruise began slowly. "I knew your mother. She was an excellent surgeon."
"Yes," she replied tentatively, unsure of where the older doctor was going with this. She hated that her mother always came up at times like this. It was like always being in her mom's shadow. Meredith wanted nothing more than to stand on her own.
"Very principled, Ellis Grey," he continued, meticulously pronouncing the latter word, and eyeing her appraisingly.
"Yes."
"I see here that you are seeking a Neurology fellowship."
"That's correct."
"You have some very good recommendations here. From Jim Nelson, Richard Webber. Men I respect very much. And Chief Owen Hunt. Your case histories are strong. You've put in more than enough your OR time..."
Meredith knew all of this. Derek had been unable to give her a recommendation because she was his wife and all.
"You were involved in that big Alzheimer's trial before it went bust."
"Um, yes. I was."
"In fact, from what I understand, you are a big part of the reason the FDA pulled the plug," Cruise said evenly.
Meredith breathed slowly, unsure of how to respond. Dr. Cruise didn't know the half of it. The 'official' record didn't even contain the half of it. Meredith knew that if it wasn't for Webber taking the fall for her, she would still be fired from Seattle Grace.
"I don't need you to tell me the exact details of how that all fell apart," Cruise said finally. "But I would like to know the pathos behind the part you played in all of it. The why, from your perspective."
Meredith swallowed again.
"Because," he paused, lifting one hand and gesturing in the air. "Because I think that the why will tell what sort of surgeon you are. What sort of fellow you'd be, so please. Tell me about it."
Meredith knew that she was an excellent surgeon, and a caring doctor. But she also knew that her decision to alter the clinical trial had had far reaching consequences on both her personal and professional life. She had gotten everything straightened out with Derek and Zola. But now maybe the jig was up. Maybe the hell to pay would be in her career.
"Dr. Kepner, you currently hold the position of Chief Resident at Seattle Grace Mercy West?"
"Y-yes," April replied trying to control her breathing and the noticeable rise and fall of her shoulders. And failing miserably.
"Hmmm..." Dr. Kent, her proctor, flipped a page in her file.
She felt horrible. She had probably already failed her exam portion. April had fumbled her way through and given what she thought were the right answers. But she kept second guessing herself. Now looking back, she was sure that she'd been wrong about doing a segmental resection on the patient in the car crash hypothetical. Because now that she thought about it, she could have just done a longitudinal repair. Though, in real life she knew she wouldn't really have had the time to think that much.
Maybe what everyone had said before was right. April just wasn't ready for boards this year on top of everything else.
"But I see here that in your third year of residency, right after your hospital merged with another, you were fired for a time?"
April felt her lower lip jutted out and she looked down. This couldn't be worse. It was possibly the biggest regret she had in life. Not checking that woman's airway. She'd missed one simple step.
"It was...a mistake. I got distracted. I f-forgot to check a patient's airway after a fire...and...and she died," April lifted her eyes to the proctor. "I always double check my steps now. Always. I implemented a checklist system, like they use for aviation. So everyone knows they aren't skipping s-steps," she answered lamely.
"Not many people come back from something like that and make Chief Resident."
"I-I..." she struggled. "Well, neither decision was r-really in my hands."
Kent smiled, shaking his head in agreement, "I suppose not. However, I also see in your file that this year, you had an extended absence? Because of your leg injury. You only just met the minimum requirements to even sit this examination."
"I, uh...I got back to work as quickly as I could," April explained wringing her hands nervously in her lap. "And-and you can see that when I got back, I tried my best to pick procedures that would be most applicable to...for this.."
Nodding, Kent's eyes flicked briefly to April's cane as it leaned against her chair, the polished wood handle reflecting the California sunlight through the blinds of the small room's single window. Something about the glance made April feel even more uncomfortable.
"Look. It's my job to ask you the tough questions, alright?" Kent said smiling sympathetically. "I have to ask you the tough questions to see if you really have what it takes to be a surgeon. To do what you want to do. remember that. This next bit is going to be hard. Okay?"
April bit her lower lip and nodded, "Okay."
"Can you tell me..." he sighed. "How can you expect to be a good Trauma fellowship candidate, given your new disabi-ah...your new circumstances? Trauma surgeons, we have to be able to think quickly. Act quickly. Move quickly. You could have changed your specialty, but you didn't. So my question is, why trauma? Why still trauma?"
April gulped and breathed deeply, trying to collect herself, and to formulate some sort of answer. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he leg would stop her from being able to do what she wanted to do. Maybe she should just call it quits.
"Your record indicates that you have some issues with protocol and authority in the workplace."
"What?" Alex said trying not to sound too defensive. Where the hell does it say that? "I mean, uh, what's giving you that impression?"
The thin lipped proctor, and old chick called Dr. Grady, lifted her eyes from his file and stared at him over the top of her glasses. She lifted an eyebrow and smiled wanly at him.
"Well, Dr. Karev, there is nothing in your file that...explicitly states that you don't always follow the rules. Or that you occasionally butt heads with your superiors."
"Oh." Then why was the old bat talking to him about it? Alex cleared his throat and pulled at the sides of his suit jacket.
"But..." Grady continued, "You do have a bit of a reputation. My good friend Dr. Stark had quite a few stories when he finished his contract at Seattle Grace. Many about you. Body blocking the head of pediatrics?"
Freakin' Stark. Still causing trouble. And who would ever think that dude had 'good friends with anybody? Figures it'd be this dragon lady though. Alex lifted his hand and pointed to his file, "I can explain that-"
"'Persuading' a dying patient to donate her money to your project for African children?"
"I didn't make her-"
"I'm sure there you have a reasonable explanation for all of this," Grady said softly. Alex felt like this lady was freakin' patronizing him or something. So what if her bent the rules sometimes? His Africa project had helped quite a few kids, and he didn't regret doing it in the end.
He frowned and tried not to glare as he crossed his arms, "I do. Stark made a bad call and wanted to amputate the patient's leg. A teenage girl! No way I'd let that happen on my watch. I knew my ortho attending could save it, and the original head of pediatrics knew she could save it. So I stopped him from cutting. Kid's not an amputee today because I did that. Whatever."
"I see," Grady said. the pursed lips were back again. "You also not known for cultivating the best relationships with your patient's parents?"
Really? You've got to be freakin' kidding. From the look's on this proctor's face, he was starting to feel really tense about passing. Which was freaking stupid because he just knew he'd nailed the hypothetical section. If he failed because he'd body blocked Stark? Or because he convinced a selfish bitch to leave a positive legacy? Alex was going to be pissed.
"That's in my file too?"
The older woman sighed, glanced back down at the file in her hands, "Well your reviews are mixed. But, based off of her recommendation, Dr. Robbins seems to think you are quite the candidate. I'm just trying to figure out if you are simply a jerk, or if you have what it takes to be a great pediatric surgeon. Because children are very special patients. And I am very particular about who I feel is qualified to work with them."
Alex leaned forward, "Look: My priority is always my patient. Alright? They're kids. Kids. Dealing with...crappy diseases and stuff. They're kids, and they can't always speak up for themselves. Way I see it, it's my job to advocate for my patient. So, so what if I have to bend a few rules? Sometimes you have to. And sometimes it means I have to talk tough with parents. Tell them things they don't want to hear. Same goes for attendings. Just because you've been a surgeon for forever doesn't mean squat if you are not willing to try stuff. There's always something you can do! Even if it's just sitting with a kid and making them feel comfortable. Maybe this crap doesn't win me a lot of brownie points, but I don't give a damn. I'm gonna do what's best for my patient!"
Grady blinked once and clicked her pen open, quickly beginning to write on a page in her paperwork.
"I see, Dr. Karev."
"The medicine was right there," Meredith concluded, having deftly relayed the 'official' version of her part in the failed Alzheimer's trial, and avoided directly saying anything about Webber. Even if Richard had been willing to take the fall for her, Meredith was unwilling to further damage his reputation. She sighed, looking back to Cruise's mustached face she continued, "I realize that it compromised the rest of the trial, and...if I knew then what I know now, I...I think I would have acted differently...but at the same time, I still don't think that things are always clear cut. They're not black and white. You have to look at each situation for itself."
The proctor gazed at her calculating, "So, would this be the way you characterize your approach to your patients?"
Meredith blinked, and lifted her eyes to the ceiling, considering the question. Neurosurgery was a very precise discipline on a whole. Move one wrong millimeter and you permanently damage the delicate brain. But...
"No two tumors are alike," she said carefully. "Just because they have similar locality and size doesn't mean their surgical removals would at all alike. It's more complicated than that. People's brains aren't exactly alike."
Cruise tapped his fingers together lightly, "Would an appropriate interpretation of your sentiments be that if you were a Neuro fellow, or eventually a neuro attending, you would still approach your cases on an individual basis?"
Meredith was silent for a beat, trying to figure out exactly what Cruise was getting at. Finally she replied, "Yes. Every single case is unique. It may have similarities with another, but you can't count on things being exactly the same. If I were a neuro attending, I would always account for that."
"Okay," the proctor said smiling faintly and writing a few notes down in his notebook."
"Why do you want to be a Trauma surgeon, Dr. Kepner?" Kent prodded. "With your mobility, how would you do it?"
April shifted uncomfortablely as she tried to answer. She knew that she wasn't and would never be a brilliant, raw talent sort of surgeon. She was no Ellis Grey. Or Cristina Yang. April wasn't the future of medicine and had long since given up comforting herself with the idea. She realized that ultimately, all she wanted to do as a doctor was to help people in their time of need. That was what really made her heart sing. Bringing some sort of order to the most chaotic moments of a person's life. It wasn't much of a reason. Probably not enough to pass boards, but it was the truth. And all she could say.
"Uh," April began slowly. "I didn't start out in trauma. At first, um, I thought I wanted to specialize in neurosurgery because...because it was precise and exact."
And she'd been so different then. A major reason April had been in Neuro back then had been her unfortunate crush on Derek Shepherd at the time. And her crush had been magnified by the fact that he had given her a second chance after being fired.
But now she knew that real love, not just crushing, was nothing like she thought it was. She'd never been in love with Dr. Shepherd. She never loved anyone really. Not a guy. She'd thought she had, but it wasn't real. It didn't feel real. Not until Alex. Derek was someone she really admired. She just hadn't known the difference at the time.
At that time trauma surgery had been the farthest option from her mind.
"But then..." she continued, gasping as her memories came back to her. "Then...there was a-the...our hospital had a shooting."
"Ah. I heard about that. Big news."
"Yes."
"That must have been difficult."
"It was. It was awful. Two of my closest friends...died. And one of them...he-he might not have. Training and knowing more on what to do for trauma...that could have made a difference for Charles. Maybe he would've lived. If-if the trauma training protocol was better, so Dr. Hunt implemented this new program, and I just-I liked it. "
"Yes, in his recommendation letter, Chief Hunt said this you excelled in his trauma team."
April shrugged, "Well, I- I guess it brings something out in me that I didn't know...I mean, after I started doing more trauma surgery there was a shooting at Pacific College and all of the patients came to us. And I felt...I felt like- in the shooting I was f-frozen. Useless. A total mess. But for those patients, I...I mean, I was running the ER, and I was doing something. If you have the proper training, and you get trauma. You can do so much. So much. I know I'm not the perfect candidate, but...I just want to make a difference."
Kent nodded and write notes for himself, "You should know Hunt is very interested in you as a candidate. His letter is very passionate."
She blushed and looked down at her hands, grateful that Hunt seemed to have more faith in her abilities than she did at the moment.
"He is very interested in you. Even now..."
Even now, in spite of your leg. That's what Kent meant. Which April thought was a little unfair. She could do the job. the knowledge in her mind and her surgical kills weren't affected by the metal rods and pins that held her leg together. Her leg should not be a reason to fail.
"I know it's a little unusual, but I don't think I am the first surgeon to have a limp."
"Trauma surgery is-"
"I know what trauma surgery is!" April surprised herself with her outburst. "It saved my life. My leg. I can walk now because of trauma training. Trauma surgery. I know what it is and I am grateful for it, and I know I can do it."
Kent seemed surprised at her snap too, and stared at her mouth slightly open.
"Look at my cases!" April demanded, gesturing to the files in front of the proctor. "Look at the ones after I came back to work! I haven't had any trouble doing my job. Now, I can get around fairly quickly, and I am doing my best to improve upon that. OR accommodations can be made. And when they can't I can find a way to manage! Surgery isn't a solo sport! Look! I performed a successful surgery on a man with rib injuries in our free clinic! With interns! If you have the proper training and you trust the people around you, you can do amazing things. I trust the people at Seattle Grace. And I know I can make a difference there. I just...I can do this job, Dr. Kent. I can be a trauma surgeon."
Kent still looked surprised. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms and watched her for a moment. April knew in that moment that she'd blown it. Surely. she should have just waiting until next year to take boards. She would have been walking better, and had more cases under her belt as a better track record. She might not have had a cane by then. It would have been better. April was certain. But, at least she could console herself in knowing that she didn't let comments about her leg go. Because it probably wouldn't be the last time someone, somewhere would raise a concern about her ability to do her job with her injuries.
"Alright, Dr. Kepner," Kent said evenly, his tone and expression revealing nothing. "I think I have all that I need. I will be making my recommendation to the Ammerican Board of Surgery and the board at Seattle Grace with in the week. You should know your results a short time after that."
He beckoned one hand toward the door, and April awkwardly stood up, muttering a soft, "Thank you" before she quickly edited the room.
As she exited the room, April was grateful to see Alex, having already finished his interview, waiting for her at the end of the hall. she rushed up to him and gave him a hug.
"That bad?" he asked quietly as they headed down the hallway toward the main lobby of the test center.
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know."
"Couldn't have been as bad as mine," Alex huffed, wrapping one arm around her shoulder as they walked.
"No?"
"My proctor was a freakin' dragon lady."
"Alex..."
He held his hands up and made air quotes, "Apparently she's 'good friends' with Dr. Stark."
"That's not a crime. Robert Stark is a human being. He's not so bad once you get to-"
"Whatever. I don't want to hear it. Besides, human being or not. Stark was never a fan of me."
"This is true."
April waved as she caught sight of Meredith waiting for them.
"Hey Mer," Alex said as they walked up to her side.
Meredith smiled slightly.
"Yours was a bust too?" he asked curiously.
She gave a small humorless laugh, "The proctor wanted to know about the clinical trial. So yeah. Bust with a capitol B."
"Yikes," April replied, glancing over to Alex as he ducked his head. she knew he felt guilty for the part he'd played in revealing Meredith's actions.
"Oh, well though. The other shoe had to drop sometime," Mer seemed to notice the change in Alex's demeanor too, so she turned the subject around. "How did you guys do?"
"Fine on the hypotheticals. But I don't think Stark's BFF liked me very much."
"Bitch," Meredith concluded, turning to April and raising a questioning eyebrow.
April shrugged, "I kept rethinking things too much in mine I guess. And my proctor thought my leg was a problem."
"What?" Meredith said.
"I'll kick his ass," Alex added. "That has nothing to do with your-"
"It kind of does," April tried to explain. " For trauma it does. You need to move fast. Maybe even run. But, I know I can do what I have to. Especially at crunch time..."
Meredith and Alex looked at each other and grinned as they said in unison, "MASH in the clinic."
"Shut up!"
Cristina was next to join their little group, and as usual her self confidence was in tact, in complete contrast to the other three. All she would say on the subject was, "I am a rock star. My guy was ancient. I probably know more about modern cardio surgery than he does."
Jackson was the last to come out, surprisingly. He made his way over to their group with a familiar figure in to. Mara Keaton.
"Oh hey guys," he joked. "Look who I found!"
Alex glanced over to April and they both fought to keep from laughing. For all the complaining Jackson did when his mother first introduced him to Dr. Keaton, they really did seem to get along.
"Hello Mara," Meredith said.
"Your resident program is so different," Mara enthused. "Look at you all, hanging out. Waiting for one and other. Ours is a bit too cut throat for that."
Alex and Cristina joined in that conversation, so April leaned toward Jackson and whispered, "How did it go?"
He groaned and rolled his eyes, "Don't ask. Let's just say the phrase 'You are that Avery? And you want plastics?' started off the interview section."
"Ah," April winced. Today might have been a bad day for all of them. Except Cristina. She wondered whether they would all be able to repeat fifth year, with Lexie's group. She knew Hunt would probably allow her to do that, because that had been what he thought April should have done all along because of her leg. For the others she wasn't sure. But her trauma mentor had always seemed reasonable to April, so she thought he would let them repeat too. Still, the 'failed the first try' black mark would likely soon be on all of their records.
"What do we do now?" Cristina asked when the side conversation's had died down.
"We wait in agony," Mara sighed.
"Right now," Cristina corrected. "What's done is done. We can't do anything to change it. Standing around here is pointless."
"Let's go get drunk," Alex suggested.
"Yeah," Jackson agreed. "We're here. In San Francisco. We don't have work tomorrow. For better or for worse, we just survived one of the biggest days of our lives. Booze is a must."
From the looks on the faces around her April could tell that they all thought it sounded fun. Not a bad idea at all. Because whatever was going to happen was going to happen.
It was out of their hands.
