Title: Breathe
Authors: Sara And Lizzie
Rating: T for language, mild sex
Disclaimer: It would be nice to own grey's anatomy, sadly all we own are a lot of high priced shoes and handbags, and both seasons on dvd.
Summary: A month or so after Meredith's near death experience, tragedy strikes Seattle Grace again in the form of a robbery gone wrong. A hostage situation takes place in the OR. Nine lives hang in the balance as they wait to live, die, or just get blown up.
Author's Note: Wow. The last time we updated this? Feels like years ago. This particular little story is giving us trouble. Because we have all these things we want to happen, right? But the execution of them is hard. Because we want it to be in character, believable, etc. So bear with us.
AND REVIEW.
I never learned nothing from playing it safe,
I say fate should not tempt me.
Her porcelain cheeks were paler than usual, and her normally gracefully composed face was scrunched in pain. Addison looked unlike herself at that moment. The pain in her leg was unbearable. There was blood seeping from a deep gash left by the edge of the table, accompanied by a deeper pain, a pain she feared was coming from a broken bone.
They rallied together and crowded around her. Derek, Alex and George knelt protectively by her side. Izzie was pulling Addison's hair away from her face, Burke and Cristina were checking her vitals, and Mark was clutching her hands, their fingers intertwined. Only one person was missing.
Meredith had left the clump surrounding Addison and strode angrily to the sliding OR doors. She waited for them to open, and faced the man who stood there, dressed in black, his large gun cradled in his arms. "You need to let me through." She demanded. He laughed at her and pointed the gun point blank at her chest. "I'll go back in." she said, angrily, "But she's hurt. I need to set her leg. Someone needs to stop the bleeding!" she shouted.
Her voice rose steadily in anger and attracted the attention of the others. It would have been laughable, the 105 pounds of Meredith standing off against this huge man with his huge gun. "What is wrong with you?" she shouted. "Can't you see she needs help?" She took a step towards the door to move past him. Derek sprang into motion as the masked man cocked his gun, and tackled Meredith to the floor. The shot fired into the opposite wall of the OR. The door slid shut and the man outside; satisfied that no one was coming back, leaned against it, flashing a taunting grin through the opening in his mask.
Meredith struggled under Derek, like she was preparing to lunge back and try to take him out, but Derek's eyes were fixed on the bullet hole in the wall, the wall that could have been Meredith's chest. She got to her feet angrily, pulling off her scrub top. Her pale gray shirt she wore underneath contrasted her flushed cheeks. She knelt by Addison's legs and used her top to stop the bleeding. Feeling around, she winced. "I think it's broken." She whispered.
Through her gritted teeth and pain, Addison eyed her. Meredith shrugged. "I've been with Callie lately." She said.
"Thank you." Addison whispered to her. "For helping."
Meredith shrugged again. "I tried." She said. "I mean, we can, you would have…"
"I would have done the same for you." Addison said, nodding. She shifted her weight and gripped Mark hands tightly, grimacing in pain. Meredith felt a surge of anger.
"We have to get out of here." She said.
"Wait." Mark said. "I get one thing, right?" he looked around. "One thing to say. Well here it is. This is ridiculous Addie. I haven't been serious about anything my whole life. Even medicine. I went into plastics, not brain surgery. And he was always the better guy." Mark said, looking at Derek. "And he got the one thing I've ever been serious about. I love you Addison. I've never loved anyone in my whole life but you. I don't want to wait sixty days or twenty three more days. I don't want to waste another minute."
He stopped talking, realizing that she had let go of his hand. The confidence that he had spoken with faltered and he looked down. "I just thought you might want to know." He said softly. "That for once in my life, I'm serious."
Addison said nothing, just placed her hand over his heart, and smiled through the tears shining in her eyes. Mark knew they had a lot to talk about. But that was enough for now.
He looked back up, with a fierce determination in his eyes. Meredith caught his glance and nodded. Derek looked curiously back and forth between the two of them, and Meredith turned to him. "Trust me." She whispered, squeezing his hands. He looked at her and nodded slowly. She cupped his cheeks with her palms and took a deep breath.
"I have an idea." She said, dropping her hands. "The window of the gallery is breakable. If we could somehow reach it…." She trailed off.
"We're supposed to climb out the window?" George asked nervously, looking at Addison.
"It's a diversion." Burke said, realizing it. "They hear the glass break, they think we're trying to escape."
Meredith nodded excitedly. "And they'll all go running."
"We need one man to separate that one from his gun." Mark said pointing discreetly towards the door. "Two guys to lift someone up to break the glass. Someone to watch the other OR for people coming through. Someone to stay with Addison, and someone to take the bullets out of the gun." He said very fast.
"And we'll have two minutes to do it." Meredith concluded. They all turned to stare at her. "If we do it now, they'll catch us. We need to wait right before the bomb goes off. Once we get the guard outside the door separated from his gun, we run. By that time, they should all be on their way to the gallery. Our only chance is to run to the stairs and hope in the confusion of the explosion that we make it."
Looks of comprehension and apprehension flitted across their faces. "It's a long shot." Izzie said.
"It's our only shot." Addison responded softly.
"Yea." Alex said. "And I'm starving."
Izzie fidgeted. "And I really have to pee."
Meredith looked up. "I'm going to break the glass." She said. "If Mark and Alex stand on the OR table, I should be able to reach it."
"No." Derek said. "If you can't get down in time, they'll shoot you."
"I'm taller." Izzie said.
"I'm the lightest girl." Meredith responded. "I'm not fragile, and I'm not breaking. I'm going to do this."
"So we'll lift you." Mark said. "Cristina and Izzie monitor Dr. Montgomery's vitals. Make sure the stress doesn't send her into shock. O'Malley, stand by the table, like you're going to climb up, but watch OR 4, make sure no one's pointing a gun through that glass."
Derek looked at Burke. "I'm going to tackle him." He said, referring to the lone guard outside the OR doors. "Get to gun, and take the bullets out." Burke nodded solemnly.
"Now what?" Izzie questioned.
"Now we wait."