Chapter 23
Rose is sitting in her car a couple of houses down the street from the Webbers. She makes herself ready to exit her car when a black Jaguar glides up and parks in the Webbers driveway and out steps Addison and Mark Sloan. Two more cars arrive. It is all of the slut's friends. She sits back and watches how they are all meet at the door by the Webbers and a woman that must be Mrs. Shepherd. The street gets quiet again. I need to get into that house, she thinks. Making sure she has what she needs in her coat-pocket she steps out of the car and sneaks up to the house. She can see that everyone is gathering in the dinning room. She knows the house since the Christmas party she and Derek went to last year. Everyone inside seems to have a nice time laughing and smiling. Suddenly the patio doors are opened and Dr Webber says it's a nice evening and that they need some more air inside. Rose slides deeper into the shadows and moves slowly towards the kitchen door. Nobody is in the kitchen and she carefully opens the door, slides in and closes it behind her. There is a loud signal from the kitchen. Steps are heard in the hall moving towards the kitchen and Mrs. Webber's voice.
"I'll get the garlic bread, just one moment."
Rose is hiding behind the door to the laundry room. Adele returns with the bread to the others. They are talking about Meredith and Derek and their first months together. Mrs. Shepherd tells the other a funny story about Mark and Derek. Mark tries to blame it on Derek but the rest don't believe him. The meal continues and Rose listens in. She learns a lot about Derek and Meredith. The Webbers seams to have known her since ever. That is news to Rose. The dessert is being served and coffee is being poured. Cristina asks for tea and Mrs. Shepherd walks into the kitchen to get her some. Owen is telling everybody about the baby and that they will accept the contracts while caressing Cristina's hand under the table.
"This we need to celebrate properly" Richard says and stands up. There is loud crash heard from the kitchen.
When Carolyn steps into the kitchen to fetch a cup of tea for Cristina Rose steps out from behind the door and sneaks up behind her. She puts the scalpel she had in her pocket against the carotid artery in Carolyn's neck. Carolyn drops the cup she is holding.
"Nice to finally meet you Mrs. Shepherd" Rose says in a pleasant voice.
"Rose is that you?" Carolyn can't se the woman's face but recognizes her voice.
"Yes it is me, the future Mrs. Shepherd, your soon to be daughter-in-law. Now let's go and say hi to the other guests. "
While keeping the scalpel pressed to Carolyn's neck they slowly move towards the dining room. Richard is halfway through the hallway when they meet.
"Rose, what are you doing? Put that scalpel down!"
"Don't think so Dr Webber. Get everybody seated around the table again, Sir."
Richard walks backwards into the room.
"Please sit down everybody, we got company" he says before seating himself at the head of the table. Everybody stares at Carolyn and Rose who are entering behind Richard. Carolyn gets pushed down into her seat and Rose looks around the table. They all look like fishes on dry land with open mouths and staring eyes. Rose picks up a roll of duck tape from her pocket and throws it at Lexie. Tape everybody's hands behind the back of the chairs.
"No"
"Did you just say no?" Rose puts a little bit of pressure on the scalpel and nicks the skin enough to draw blood.
"I'll do it" Lexie hurries up and starts with George who is sitting beside her.
"It's Ok Lexie, just do what she says for now. I love you."
"No talking and hurry up. We have a phone call to make and an engagement to celebrate."
Everybody around the table look at each other, now they all know that there is a very crazy person in the room.
Meredith and Derek had woken up in each others arms and Derek had to start the morning with a cold shower. They spent the morning lingering over breakfast and a long walk. After a late lunch Derek surprised Meredith with a couple massage and afterwards they fell asleep wrapped into each others arms on the bed. Meredith woke up first and just lays there listening to Derek's hearth beat. Her hand is slowly stroking his chest but when it travels further down Derek's hand grabs her hand with a strangled growl.
"If you don't stop that you'll have to be aware of the consequences. I'm no fan of cold showers."
Meredith looks up into his eyes and slowly entangles her hand from his and this time strokes him deliberately down his tense thigh. Derek responds with a growl and flips her on her back in one smooth move. His lips crash on hers while his hands roam her body. Meredith's hands sneaks under his robe and finally their robes open and they have skin contact. Their kisses turn more and more passionate and they moan into each others mouth's.
"Are you sure about this?" he finally whispers and Meredith responds by wrapping her long and slender fingers around him.
When Lexie is done Rose orders her to sit as well and then tapes her up as the others. Now she can put the scalpel down. Rose looks around the table and tries to make the right decision.
"Dr Sloan, in which pocket is your phone?"
"The right one, why?"
"I'm going to make a phone call. She walks around the table and picks it up.
"What number to speed-dial Derek?"
He doesn't answer. Rose walks back to Mrs. Shepherd and picks up the scalpel.
"2" he answers.
Rose makes the call with the speakers on.
Derek wakes up by his phone. He takes a look at the caller id, Mark. He lets it go to voicemail and snuggles up even closer to Meredith. Meredith's butt is pressed against his crotch and he starts to caress her back. A hand slips around her waist and sneaks up under her breast. Her skin is so very soft. His fingers start to trail up along her ribcage and he is kissing her neck and earlobe when the phone starts ringing again. Derek grabs the phone again to once more move the call to voicemail. He glares at the caller id, Addison. Meredith stirs and asks.
"Who?"
"Addison"
"What does she want?"
"I don't want to know."
"Answer and get rid of her, please."
"Hello Addison, this better be important."
"You need to come back here now!"
"What? Why? Is it mum? Is she sick?"
Everyone around the table has heard when Derek's voice went from sleepy to full alert.
"Mum is OK for now" Mark looks at Carolyn.
"Mark, tell me why you are calling."
"Yes tell him" Rose says.
"Where are you? Who is with you? Was that Rose?
"We are at the Webbers together with Meredith's friends and Rose showed up during dessert." Mark takes a deep breath but Alex interrupts.
"Rose is holding a scalpel against your mother's neck."
"What!!!" Derek screams. "Rose, what the hell are you doing?"
"Calm down Derek. Now!" Rose says.
They can all hear Derek's heavy breathing.
Meredith is staring at Derek.
"What is happening?"
Derek grabs a pen from the table and scribbles. She leans forward and reads it. 'Call Seattle PD, Code White, the Webbers'. Meredith runs to the desk and the phone. What is code White? She phones the operator and places a call to the Seattle Police. At first they don't want to believe her. How can she know of a Code White in Seattle when she is at a spa outside Seattle? Finally they agree to send a car over to check it out. When Meredith looks back at Derek she can see him still on the phone putting his clothes on. When he sees her looking at him he says.
"I'm on my way now. I will get to Seattle and then we will be engaged but only if you don't hurt anyone."
Someone is talking to him but Meredith can't hear.
"She will not be going to Seattle. She will go to Darfur where she works. I will not say a word to her."
Derek has been writing something the whole time and leans towards her and gives her a silent kiss while giving her the paper before running out the door. Meredith reads the note a makes a new call to the police and crawls then onto the couch and cries. She feels so helpless.
Rose feels very happy when Derek tells everyone around the table that they will be engaged. She pulls a chair up to the table between Carolyn and Lexie. She grabs Lexie's coffee and Carolyn's dessert and begins to eat while listening to Derek getting into his car. After about 15 minutes the house phone rings in the Webber resident.
"Don't answer" Rose says. A minute later Richard's cell phone rings and then Adele's purse starts to move around on the table in the hall.
"We don't need interruptions. Your friends can wait until Derek arrives" Rose says while licking the Panna Cotta from her spoon.
"This is delicious, you should try it."
The first police to arrive has made a walk around the house and seen people in the dining room. They called for back-up. It was a Code White, hostage situation. They have seen that hands are taped behind the chairs but for a woman eating dessert. A scalpel is on the table together with two phones. They count 9 hostages and one offender.
Meredith's phone rings again and she answers. It is the police again. She explains the situation one more time and what has happened before during the week and what demands she know of. Ninety minutes later Derek walks up to an officer standing at the road a couple of houses down from the Webbers. There is a police officer in the car who looks at him and then on a computer screen. The officer stays by his side while Derek runs towards the house.
A man dressed in civil clothes stops him just a couple a meters from the Webbers driveway.
"Dr Shepherd"
"Yes"
"I am John Schwartz from the Seattle Police Department and I'm the negotiator. We are here to assist you in anyway we can."
Rose is sitting by the table doing small talk like she is at a normal dinner. There is little response from the others. Izzy tries to talk to her but Rose is either ignorant or yells at her to shut up. Rose is more interested in talking to Carolyn about the engagement party. After she becomes sure Derek is on his way she becomes confident. After about an hour Addison's phone rings. It is still on the table along with Mark's. Rose answers believing it to be Derek.
"Hi honey, I can't wait for you to come."
"Who is this?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Edward Hansen and I work for the Seattle Police Department. I want to know if everyone is doing well."
"Why shouldn't we? The Panna Cotta is delicious and we have coffee."
"Is there anything we can do for you?"
"Bring my fiancé here."
"What's your name miss? What can I call you?"
"You can call me Rose. In September I will be Mrs. Shepherd."
"Thank you Rose. You can call me Eddy."
"Why should I call you that? I don't want to talk to you. I want more Panna Cotta."
Rose hangs up the phone. Those that could see through the windows could see shadows passing in the dark of the garden. Another 30 minutes passes and the negotiator Eddy tries to get Rose to talk a couple of times. Addison can't take it anymore.
"Rose, I need to use the bathroom."
"No"
"Yes I do, otherwise I will have to do it here in my pants and that isn't very classy."
"You're right, it wouldn't be very classy. I will cut you lose and you are allowed to use the downstairs bath and don't close the door. After Addison each of the others are allowed restroom time. Alex leaves his phone on the shelf in the bathroom on an open line to 911 with the speakers off. Richard sees it and leaves his phone in a bowl in the hallway. Lexie and George put theirs in their pocket. Cristina and Owen were last. Cristina was cut loose and when she was to sit down again they all heard a crackling sound from the kitchen. One of the officers had accidently step on the shards from the broken cup while sneaking inside the same way as Rose did. Rose who had the scalpel ready to cut a piece of duck tape to use on Cristina jumps over to Mrs. Shepherd and points the scalpel at her neck again.
"No" yells Mark as Rose cuts into the artery. Time stops to gain momentum and then time speed up to maximum speed in a second. There is a lot of movement. An officer shoots Rose through the patio doors and she falls sideways with the bloody scalpel still in her hand. Mrs. Shepherd falls forward with blood flowing from her neck. Cristina jumps up and applies pressure on the wound yelling for paramedics. Officers followed close by Derek enter the room from every possible access and helps free the sitting doctors. Owen is by Cristina's side in a flash. When the paramedics arrive Mark grabs a bag and rips it open in search for bandages and a suture kit. Together they make a field repair that will hold until they can get Carolyn into surgery. Rose is lying on the floor and is attended by a paramedic. None of the doctors gives her a look. She is getting trouble breathing but none of the doctors' care. She is wheeled to a second ambulance and is handcuffed to the rail of the stretcher. The first ambulance has already left with Mrs. Shepherd together with Derek, Cristina, Owen and Mark squeezed into the back.
Richards voice takes over in the dining room.
"Is everybody OK?"
He is standing there with his arms tightly wrapped around Adele. The rest is gathering in small groups but look at him and nods. The police officer in charge enters the room.
"Before you can leave tonight we want you to leave a preliminary statement of this evening's event. I know that you all want to go to the hospital so I hope we can do this quickly. Addison asks to go first.
The surgery went flawless and Mark drops the needle into a scrub nurse hand after the last suture. He and Cristina look at each other with tired smiles.
"Thank you everyone for your job tonight." Mark says.
Mrs. Shepherd is wheeled to recovery and Cristina and Mark goes in search for the rest. Outside the waiting room they are asked to leave their statements before meeting the others. Cristina and the rest watches Rose surgery from the gallery and Richard returns home to Adele who stayed with the police.
Derek has been trying to relax and is dosing in a chair outside the OR when Mark shakes him awake.
"Derek, she is out of surgery."
He scrambles to his feet and follows Mark into recovery.
"How is she?"
"Derek, your mother's carotid artery was cut with a scalpel. Cristina Yang was able to stop the bleeding within half a minute. Carolyn lost more then one and a half liters of blood. Dr Hunt and I helped her as soon as we were released from our chairs. Hunt is now supervising the resident performing Rose surgery but she will probably never walk again. One bullet is stuck in her spine."
"I really don't care about Rose right now. My thoughts are with mum. Mark, please make my sisters know. I have to call Meredith."
"I will Derek."
"Thank you Mark."
Meredith is still in their room at the spa. The phone rings again. This time it's Derek. He tells her about what happened during their friends dinner and what happened to his mother.
"I love you and want you here Meredith. A car will pick you up in an hour and drive you here."
" Thank you and tell everybody that I am so sorry I put them all in this situation."
"How are this, your fault?"
"If it wasn't for me going to the graduation… Rose wouldn't have been planning your engagement party this Friday."
"That is crap and you know it. I love you, not Rose and I wouldn't have proposed to her. All this was in her crazy head."
"But Rose did this because of me."
"No she did it because she is crazy. Sane people don't do things like this. Do you think I would propose to a crazy woman like that and my friends and family would support me?"
When Derek's sisters arrive to Seattle it is almost noon. Carolyn is awake but tired.
"Mum, children are supposed to give their parents grey hair not the other way around." Mark enters the room with a smile. "And how are my favorite girls?" he asks the Shepherd sisters.
Derek leaves the after giving his mother a peck on her cheek. There is an officer outside Rose's room. He is not allowed in because of his involvement in it all but he grabs her chart. The resident in charge has done what he could but it would not be enough. After checking her films Derek knows that only a handful of neurosurgeons in the world would have managed to fix her spine and he and Meredith are two of them. None of the others are in the States. He tries again to contact Meredith but she doesn't answer her phone. She hasn't spoken to him since last night. She arrived to the hospital and they talked for a couple of minutes and then she left with Izzy and Alex. He knows that she is blaming herself even though he, Mark, Addison, Richard and Cristina are telling her otherwise.