Jo ran the entire way back to the house; an uneasy feeling in her stomach the whole time. The surgeon burst through the front door to the Residents' House and several pairs of confused eyes locked on her.
"Alice got into a car," She panted out. "She said they were her friends but the woman in the front seat was an adult. I didn't get a good look-"
"No," Lexie stood up from her chair and shook her head. "No, no, no. W-what did she say to you? We need to call the police. Where were you-"
"She said to let you know that her friends," Jo made sure to say it the exact way her sister had and stared at Lexie with growing fear. "Were picking her up."
"Someone call the cops. Mark; get the car. What way did they go?" Lexie started towards the door, with the majority of the surgeons following after her.
"W-we were just at the end of the block when the car pulled up. They turned right. What's going on?" Jo answered. Alex took her by the arm when she tried to follow the small group of doctors out the door.
"Jo, just stay here." He muttered. "That…that could have been her parents."
"Our parents." Jo's eyes widened. "You mean…that was them."
"We don't know yet! Let's just…let's just call the cops and figure this out." Alex fished his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed 911.
—-
"How did you know I'd be home?" Alice asked, staring desperately out the car window at the passing streets. Her terrified mind worked to memorize exactly where they were going should the opportunity to escape present itself. The gun her father was holding made that a very slim possibility.
"Shut up." Her mother answered gruffly. The older woman looked far older than the last time Alice had seen her. Memories of the night she had gotten into the same car with a touch of unease flashed through her head and her heart beat faster. She was going to die. There was no way they'd let her go this time.
"We should have made sure you were dead. Won't be making that mistake again this time. You're going to pay for sending us on the run, you fucking bitch." Alice's father muttered in the driver's seat and pulled her attention from the passing buildings. "You're out of chances."
"Please don't do this. I'm sorry." Alice was surprised to hear the same weak desperation in her voice that she had used so many times at home. In the moment, it was like nothing had changed. The car swerved a bit to the right, and then corrected as they approached an intersection. The lights flashed from green to yellow, and Alice hardly registered the fact that they were still going the same speed. The teen was too focused on debating how good her chances were if she leapt out of the moving vehicle to notice the bus hurtling towards them. Her mother had just begun to yell when it hit them.
—-
"Mark, we can't get through. They couldn't have come this way. There's been an accident or something." Lexie's voice shook as she peered through the windshield at the growing traffic jam in front of them. Smoke was rising from an unseen source in front of the train of cars, and the sound of a horn repeatedly beeping marked every second that passed. Unable to turn the car around, Mark got out of the driver's seat. Lexie followed, much to his dismay.
"Maybe they got stopped here too." She spoke up hopefully; following the bearded man through the line of cars. Each one proved to hold someone other than Alice, and the passengers shot confused glances at the couple darting in between the stopped traffic. They had barely reached the intersection before the screaming reached their ears. Lexie's heart dropped.
"Alice!" The pregnant woman screamed. Mark caught her before she could make her way over to the smashed car in the middle of the street. It looked like it had rolled several times and smoke poured out from under the hood. A moving form was just visible in the back seat and two still forms had their heads against the dash in the front.
"Lex, you have to stay here. Hey," Mark grabbed one of the onlookers closest to them and tugged the surprised man over. "Stay with her and make sure she stays here." The stranger nodded and took Lexie's arms hesitantly as Mark turned and rushed over to the smashed car.
"Alice!" Mark crouched down enough to stick his upper body through the broken window and looked the injured teenager up and down. He saw at once that she hadn't had a seatbelt on and she was hurt, badly. Blood streamed down her face from a piece of glass embedded in her forehead and Mark held her still as she tried to move.
"Get me out, please." Alice panted out in labored breaths.
"We will; an ambulance is on the way right now. Just hang tight." Mark assured her. A loud hissing sound came from the engine and Alice wasn't oblivious to the fear that crossed the older man's face.
"My leg's trapped. Please, get me out. I don't want to die in here, Mark." She pleaded tearfully. The surgeon debated his options; wandering if he should chance moving her. Her legs seemed free to move, but he had no way of knowing how bad her internal injuries were. "Please don't let me die."
"I wont," Mark replied finally. Her gritted his teeth and then yanked the dented-in car door open. It's damaged hinges squeaked and Mark hurried to crawl in and lift up the injured girl inside as gently as he could. He caught sight of Lexie as he turned and began to walk away from the car, and the pregnant woman was staring at the two of them in horror. As soon as he was far enough away, he sat Alice down on the pavement and looked her over again. Alice's eyes were closing just as the sound of sirens started to ring out down the street.
—
"Alright people, I know this is a personal situation for a lot of you. But right now, everyone needs to look at these cases as patients." Richard stared at his staff solemnly. Doctors were lined up at the ambulance entrance, dressed in their trauma gowns.
"Amelia, the…adult female has extensive head and neck injuries. You have privileges here for today-"
"No." The brunette interrupted. "I don't want privileges."
"Shepherd," Richard's voice rose. "You need to be a doctor right now."
"I am a doctor, and I'm declining privileges because I know I will not be able to make unbiased decisions." Amelia shot back.
"I've got it, Richard." Derek stepped in and the older man reluctantly backed down. The first ambulance rounded the corner and came flying into the parking spot. Most of the doctors were holding their breath as the door opened and paramedics pulled out the first gurney.
"Let's move, people!" Richard's booming voice broke through the temporary lack of motion and the team of doctors burst into action.
—
"Alice, honey, I know it hurts but I need you to hold still for just a few more seconds." Arizona coaxed, trying to calm the writhing girl in front of her. The blonde had been struggling to cut Alice's jeans off for nearly a minute, all the while wondering where the hell her help was. Finally, the trauma room door burst open and Amelia, Jo, and Meredith came running in. Thankful that the teenager would be distracted for a few seconds, the paeds surgeon quickly finished slicing through the denim and finally exposed Alice's blood soaked legs.
"I need suture kits and someone needs to get Callie in here to look at her x-rays. We also need to get her started on a morphine drip-"
"No!" Alice lurched up on the exam table and then fell back with a grunt of pain. The doctors in the room stared at her in confused concern, and Amelia was the first one to understand her reaction.
"Alice, you were just in a car accident." The brunette pointed out quietly. She exchanged a glance with Jo, whose expression revealed that she had caught onto the situation.
"I think she needs something for this. With the pain, she could go into shock or it could be too much on her heart-"
"P-please don't. I don't…I don't want it." Alice interrupted through gritted teeth. Before any of the adults could attempt to convince her again, Callie practically flew through the doorway.
"She's still conscious?" The Latina asked in surprise, noting Alice's very awake state.
"Alice doesn't want any pain medication." Jo explained quietly. Callie's eyes widened, but she pursed her lips and caught Amelia's gaze. The brunette stood near Alice's head, inspecting the deep gash at her hairline. The neurosurgeon shook her head and then went back to her work. The exam room was silent, saves for Alice's labored breathing, as Callie took the fresh x-rays from Arizona and held them up to the light.
"Her left hip is dislocated and these four ribs are cracked." The ortho surgeon pointed out finally. There was a new unease in the room, with the question of whether or not to administer a painkiller hanging in the air. Finally, Amelia pulled a stool over next to the exam table and sat down so that she could be at Alice's eye level.
"Callie's going to have to pop your hip back into its socket, possibly reset some broken ribs, and you have at least two lacerations that need stitches. Now we will sit here, and we will help you through this, but if it's too much, you need to tell us. No one here is going to be disappointed in you for using a painkiller when you're actually hurt. And I won't lie to you; I'm not sure you can get through this without one." Alice hesitated for a few seconds before shaking her head weakly.
"I don't want one. I want Lexie." She murmured. Amelia offered a soft smile before standing and nodding at the small team of doctors. Meredith was the first to volunteer.
"I left her with Addison out in the hall. She's probably right outside the door." The eldest Grey sibling said. Opening the door, she found Lexie and Addison less than five steps away, with the younger of the two arguing tearfully with her impromptu babysitter. Her sister's appearance was enough to prompt silence and Lexie stared at her anxiously.
"She's refusing pain meds, but she wants you in there. Are you sure you can handle this?" Meredith asked carefully. Lexie nodded immediately and brushed past the older surgeon, into the trauma room.
"Oh my God, Alice." The pregnant brunette whispered. Amelia made room so that she could sit on the stool beside the table and Lexie grabbed onto the teenager's hand tightly. Arizona, who stood across the room, nudged Jo lightly. The youngest doctor had been standing in the corner, vastly unsure of what to do or where she was wanted, but took Arizona's cue hesitantly. Jo took a seat on the other side of Alice and took her other hand. The two of them had remained rather reserved in physical contact since they had met and Jo found herself slightly relieved when the injured girl didn't pull back from her touch.
"Let's just get the worst part over with, okay? Alice, I'm going to pop your hip back in-" Callie's voice was cut off the second she moved Alice's leg into position by an anguished scream. Several pairs of eyes clenched shut at the sound and Lexie brought her free hand up to her mouth in an attempt to stifle a small sob. Alice's breath hitched in her throat and tears finally started to stream down her face as her hands tightened on the ones that they held.
"Just go." The teenager brought her gaze up to meet Callie's and the surgeon nodded once before angling the limb and pushing upwards.
Merry Christmas everyone! Feel free to review and thanks for reading!