Callie, Derek, and Meredith all stepped back into the room seconds after Mark finished up making his promise to the unconscious body of Lexie. Two policemen entered minutes later, both males, one a tall, black, respectable looking officer and the other a well-built but still very young man. He was maybe in his late twenties.
Meredith almost lunged forward at them, but Derek held her arms behind her back to keep her from attacking them.
"Where is he? Where is that rat-bastard? Is he still downstairs? I wanna give him a piece of my mind. I want him locked up in rehab or better yet prison. He's dangerous; he's a threat to anyone near him. I will be pressing charges against him. You hear me?"
"Please calm down Ma'am. We came up here to check on the patient and talk to you about this whole ordeal, alright? We have to do this civilly if we want to get it done proficiently." The mid forty year old, respectable looking officer said, keeping his voice calm and neutral. "Is the patient doing alright? She's stable I presume?"
"NO!" Meredith fired back trying to squirm and wriggle her way out of Derek's tight grip on her shoulders. "She's not alright. She's in a freaking coma! She had to have SURGERY. He almost KILLED her."
"I'm very sorry Ma'am. I know what you must be going through. My name is Lieutenant Lance Dennings. The man held his hands out to keep Meredith back, "I just want to help here, but assaulting an officer is in no way alright either. Wouldn't want to have to arrest you so please, let's just all take a deep breath and stay calm now."
Meredith inhaled and then exhaled deeply. Her tense and rigid body slowly loosened as she released her breath until she was standing still no longer screaming and bickering in an insane rampage.
"See, that's good," officer Dennings said quietly with a smile that showed off his pearly teeth. "You must be the…" He said waiting for her to finish his sentence.
"Sister," Meredith responded almost immediately, now entranced on the ground, as crystally tears welled in her eyes, warping her vision. "I'm her half sister, Meredith Grey. We're all surgeons here in this hospital. She announced, looking up at him and letting the tears roll down her cheek as she motioned her hand around the room pointing to Callie, Mark, Lexie and Derek.
"But which of you rode the ambulance in with her?" The younger, unspoken rookie asked pointing between both Derek and Mark. "The EMT we talked to said it was a male."
"It was me," Mark raised his shaky hand.
"Can we take a statement? It will be real quick,"
"I already talked to the police," He blurted out, "I don't think I'm ready to leave her side just yet."
"I know but we have to hear the statement from you to avoid any issues that could pop up. We can step right into the hallway, she'll still be in clear view," The tougher looking rookie with the large stubbly face said sounding very professional and almost as if he were experienced.
Mark nodded his head and slowly stood from the chair, rubbing his clammy hands on his jeans and then nervously scratching the side of his chin. He obeyed the police, even if he didn't want to have to talk about this again. Each time was harder and harder on him.
While Mark stepped out, Meredith and Derek waited inside, now standing at the foot of Lexie's bed. Callie had left to take care of a few things and the other three surgeons had yet to return with Zola. So Meredith and Derek stood awkwardly, listening to the eerie beeps of the machine's that were literally making Lexie breathe and monitoring her vitals to make sure she wasn't going into D-fib or anything else.
Why was this hospital so screwed up? Meredith wondered as she stood, looking at her sister who she feared she was losing. It was like some universal curse had been bestowed on the place. Murphy's Law, anything that can happen… will, was definitely in play here. Bomb's in body cavities, George getting hit by a bus, ambulances crashing into each other and into the trauma center, terrible shootings, and floods. Accidents really seemed to revolve around the staff here.
Meredith tried to listen into the conversation happening outside but they were too far away for here to hear them. Then all of a sudden she heard her name being called out. She knew that voice, it was Cristina Yang. Meredith turned to see her best friend standing in the doorway in a pair of scrubs with a remorseful look on her face.
"I was…Working a surgery with… Altman. When I got out the hospital was buzzing with news about one of our surgeons getting assaulted, and that they were just out of surgery. When they said it was Lexie I didn't want to believe them..I..Guess," She tried to talk but her words just came out wrong and awkward so she stopped herself.
"It's true." Meredith finished her sentence, nearly choking on her tears as she tried to speak.
Yang stepped inside to look at the damage closer. "Well what in the hell happened to her?"
Derek could tell Meredith was in no condition mentally or emotionally, maybe even physically to be talking about it so he answered for her.
"Thatcher was drunk. Lexie tried to help him. He was so intoxicated that he didn't know who she was and attacked her, thinking she was a burglar or something. She is alive for now though. We hope it'll stay that way. I'll assess her in the morning….to see what we'll do. She might wake up before then though."
"Oh…My….Well…what're they doing with him? With Thatcher?" Yang pressed for information. Derek held Meredith close and looked up at her with a look that said it wasn't the time, "We're not sure," He retorted. "We aren't just gonna let this slide though…That's for sure,"
Yang stepped closer and laid her hand on Meredith's back while looking at Lexie. Lexie had been her intern. She'd almost been jealous of the girl when she'd first come in. Her photographic memory, her intelligence in general, even just her personality. Now she was lying in a hospital bed with tubes down her throat and machines breathing for her. It just wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. Even the best of people are dragged through the worst things. In fact it almost seems like it happens to the good more than the bad.
Then she knelt down beside Meredith, they looked into each other's eyes. Meredith could find comfort in simply a smile from her best friend. Even a tear had formed in Cristina's eye. It was an emotional night for everyone. Cristina knew she had to say something to Meredith to make her feel better. She just had to think of what that something was. There were so many things she could say, but choosing one would be the real dilemma.
"She is a good person." Was what she started with. "She's gonna come out of this. I can feel it; because Lexie…She's…She is a fighter. We've trained her well. She's learned it from her big sister. She knows how to survive. She is a Grey. And I know those Grey's real well. And they don't let go easily. They hold on until the very last moment that they can, they don't drop out before their time. They will keep holding on until their fingers slip off the edge and they fall before they give up. And Lexie's gonna do that too. Cause right now, she's….she isn't even half way there alright? She's still got a strong grip; she's still got a lot of energy in her; the adrenaline is still keeping her where she's at and you know she…she isn't gonna let go until she absolutely has to. And we're not going to let her either. We're going to help her no matter what other obstacles are thrown at us, alright? So don't…Don't just sit there at the end of her bed feeling sorry. You've already had to sit at her bedside like this before…When she had her breakdown. Lexie…She's one of those people that need a lot of close-contact comfort. She needs to be held, and hugged, and cuddled and whatnot. Hold her hand, and tell her that you are here waiting for her. She doesn't get to die today; she isn't ready, we aren't ready, no one's ready. We aren't finished with her yet." Yang smiled, still tearing up as she held her friend's hands and spoke from her heart to her, "She doesn't get to leave us yet because she has unfinished business here. She still has to complete her residency, and pass her boards, and choose a specialty, and…she has to get married, and start a family and all of those things. Help her…Help her get back to us."
Meredith took a long hard look at her best friend and knew that she was right. Now was not the time for her to be a cry baby, she had to help her sister. She needed to be by her side coaxing herto stay with her. She loved her sister. She did. Even if their relationship started out crappy, she'd grown and she'd bonded with her and come to be very fond of her.
Meredith stood up from the chair, letting Derek's hand slip from the back of her neck. He watched as she sat down next t her baby sister and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tight in her own. Fighting back tears, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She reopened her eyes as she exhaled.
"I know that I wasn't always a good sister, heck I might not even be the definition of a 'good sister' right now either, but I do know that I love you. You are my family. You are a joy to me every day that you've been in my life. I took it for granted at first and wouldn't let myself like you, or be close to you, but deep down inside I always liked you. They only thing that kept me from showing that I liked you was our dad. I didn't want to like you because of him and now look at how ironic this is, he's the one tearing us apart again. We're all here Lexie, and you're the only one who's not. Come back to us. Please, just come back. We're going to be here the whole time to help you get back. I swear it, but Goddamit you do not die on me. You are all that I have left. You are my only family. And I know that we still have our dad and your sister but really she isn't my sister. I don't know her like I know you, and honestly I don't really want to know her like I know you. You're the only sister that's here in my heart. You've been a good…friend, because that's what you are Lex, you're my friend. Despite what you might believe, we are friends, not just siblings. So you take your time, and you heal and we'll be waiting, so don't worry."
With that they could hear the door open, every one turned to see Mark as he returned from his interview with the cops.