I was in a really good mood and decided to post early! (: This chapter is written in both Brittany's and Lily's perspective, and there is a flashback in bold. My medical knowledge is as great as what I've learnt from my biology courses and Grey's so I'm obviously not a doctor, just doing my best. Also, I highly doubt that you can hear what's going on in the OR in the gallery or that Brittany would actually be allowed in there but I'm begging you to just roll with it because it makes the scene work. I really hope you guys enjoy!
Nine. Down
"You won't be lonely, even if the sky is falling down."
- Down, Jay Sean
"Maggie?" Santana calls out. She receives no response.
I look down at the redheaded woman holding on to an unconscious boy who is around sixteen. Looking at the boy it is obvious he is Artie's son; his nose and light brown hair gives it away, if his eyes were open I would assume they would be the same shade of ice blue as Artie's.
"Maggie?" I bend down carefully next to her; Santana kneels down along side of me. I had met Maggie after comforting Santana. It was only brief but I could immediately tell she was a nice woman.
"Brittany?" Maggie finally looks up from the face of her son in her arms.
"Maggie, I need you to let Santana examine him and you can tell me what happened okay?" I say trying to keep calm.
Maggie carefully lays him down on the floor, taking a deep breath. Santana gives her a quick reassuring smile before checking his neck for a pulse. "He had a just told me a joke, we were laughing. I can remember slowly starting to get pale and I had asked him if he was feeling okay. He didn't get a chance to answer me, he collapsed before he could." Maggie stops and throws her head in head hands for a moment, only to look back up and begin shaking her head. "He has sickle cell anemia."
I look over at Santana; she gives me a slight shake of her head. I can tell by the movement of his chest that he's still alive but by the look on Santana's face I can tell that if we don't get him to a hospital soon he won't be for much longer.
"Do you want me to come with you?" I ask Santana as she finishes giving information to the paramedic who had just placed Maggie and Artie's son, Cam, on a stretcher.
"I'm going to need you." Her brown eyes are slightly widened; I notice the look in her eyes and realize I didn't even need to ask.
She averts her eyes as I begin to speak. "I'll be there. Are you going to go with the ambulance or do you want me to drive?" I take her hand in mine, which is surprisingly shaking.
"I'll come with you." She still doesn't look at me.
"Santana?" I begin to rub the back of her hand with my thumb as we start walking to my Jeep Wrangler parked a few spots away. She sheepishly looks up at me. "Just relax, okay?"
"I'll try." I can physically see some relief cross her face. "I just really don't want to let our daughter's friend's brother and your ex's son die."
"Relax, honey, we'll think of a game plan on the way there." I try to reassure her the best way I possibly can right now because to be honest, I'm just as nervous as she is.
Before we begin to pull out of the parking lot following the ambulance Santana turns on the emergency lights. "Okay, time to use me as a sound board." I take her hand that has now become clammy to try and calm her down, to make her thinking more rational.
"I'm pretty certain he has a tear in his aorta but I'm going to need a chest x-ray to check. It's also possible he had a heart attack but it's not completely probable." I can still sense the anxiety in her voice but her hands are beginning to become drier, which I take as a good sign.
"So if he has an aortic tear and had a heart attack what are you going to do?" I ask as I pass two slow moving cars that were ahead of us.
I know that in situations like this the only way to calm Santana down is to get her to think like a doctor rather than just an average citizen.
"Okay, well, you're going to control the bleeding then give him a blood transfusion. Then," Santana continues explain the procedure to me. I can hear her breaths beginning to become more even and her voice to become calm. Out of the corner of my eye I can tell that as she's looking out the windshield the traffic around us has disappeared and an imaginary surgical field has taken its place.
After her explanation she takes a deep breath before finally her eyes off the road in front of us. "Thank you."
"For what, I just asked what you'd do." I say before turning on the signal light, indicating we'd be taking the on ramp leading towards Mount Sinai.
"I needed that, so thank you for knowing me better than I know myself most of the time." She chuckles slightly.
"No thanks are needed, San." I give her a small smile before lifting her hand to my lips, hoping that I've calmed her down enough to get us both through tonight.
I've been pacing back and forth the OR corridor for the past few minutes debating with myself if I should go down to the ER to check on Cam and Santana. I could see from the OR board that Santana hadn't scheduled surgery yet.
"Just go, Brittany. If it doesn't help, it certainly can't hurt." I say to myself as I stop pacing and continue to walk in the direction of the elevators.
As I open the doors to the ER I can hear Artie's voice booming throughout the ER. I look around to find her nowhere in sit but the door to trauma room two open. Sure enough there she is, Maggie trying to pull him back towards the wall. I don't hesitate before entering the trauma room.
"Lopez, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill my son?" Artie's face had reddened significantly considering her usual pale tone.
"Artie!" Maggie continues to try and tear Artie away but he keeps managing to get closer and closer.
I look at Santana; the look on her face makes it obvious that she's uncomfortable with having Artie here. "Somebody get him out of here!" Santana directs one of the male nurses to remove Artie from the room.
"Like hell I'm going anywhere. I'm not going to let you kill my son, Lopez." Maggie's hold on Artie's chair finally gives and he begins to approach Santana.
I manage between to get between the two of them before Artie decides to do something without thinking clearly. "Artie. You're not going to do this." I firmly plant my feet on the ground preparing for his retaliation.
"That's my son. I want him to have the best. Not a surgeon who just said they were going to patch his aorta and perform bypass surgery before completely fixing the aorta. He's my son." Artie's wheelchair begins to collide with my legs.
"Artie," I put my hands on his shoulders and begin to carefully guide him backwards before he decided to take out my wife. "Artie, listen to you. He's your son, you clearly cannot be here I'm going to ask you and Maggie to leave before I have to physically remove you. You can't help him now, but they can. So let them help him." I give him the best look of reassurance I can.
Artie stops and finally looks me in the eye. The fear in his eyes is evident. Maggie takes Artie's hand, and I can see slight relief for a moment cross his face. "I'm sorry." He says quickly before quickly exiting the room, shaking off Maggie's slight hold, at what would be an almost jogging pace if he was able to walk. Maggie gives me quick look of gratitude before exiting out of the room after him.
This was so familiar it hurt to even think about what Artie must be going through. My mind immediately travels to a similar situation from years ago when Lily was seven.
"Brittany!" Santana's voice echoes through the ER. I lift my head up to find her half running, half rolling through the ER barely missing some of her colleagues as she makes her way to us. "Mija, what happened?" She says taking a seat next to me before holding tightly onto our daughter's hand.
"I don't know Mami, but I don't feel good at all." The words are slurred slightly as they leave Lily's mouth from the pain killers she was given after she was admitted.
"I know baby, but the doctor's are going to all they can to make you feel better." Santana says before giving me a highly concerned look; I can practically feel how fast her heart is beating from my spot next to her.
"Okay, Mami. I want to go to sleep, why can't I sleep Mami?" Lily looks up at her with her big brown eyes, almost on the verge of tears.
Santana immediately places a kiss to her forehead before look back at me as if to say "WTF!"
"They told me to not let her fall asleep, which is a lot harder than it looks with the pain meds they gave her." I say as calmly as I can, placing a hand on Santana's thigh. "She had a seizure San, she broke her leg and hit her head. They don't want her to fall asleep 'cause they said if she does she could have another one. It was so scary, when she woke up I didn't know what to say to her." I whisper to her; it was clear after I met up with them in the ER Lily had no idea what happened to her.
She had been at dance class and when I got to the hospital she was so confused, she had no idea what was going on. The last thing she remembered was tapping Maria Berry on the shoulder to get her attention then she was here at the hospital. The EMTs had told me that she was unconscious since they arrived at the studio. I was only at the hospital for five minutes before she awoke with a start.
"How long have you guys been here?" She gives me a look that tells me once I answer her Snix may be unleashed.
"Uhm, uh," I give her a nervous look which earns me a raise eyebrow from Santana. "There was paper work and they were asking me a bunch of questions."
"Britt, tell me." She's gets straight to the point; unlike me.
"About an hour." I can feel the nervous blush creep across my face as I look her in the eye.
"Keep her awake." She says through her clenched teeth. She places another kiss on Lily's forehead before storming away.
Lily begins to speak sleepily. "Momma, can you tell me," She doesn't get to finish her sentence before my wife's voice is booming through the ER.
"What the heck is wrong with you people?" Santana's usual professionalism is gone out the window, she's in complete Snix mode; something I haven't seen in years. "My DAUGHTER has been in the ER for an hour and not a single one of you thought about PAGING me!"
Lily's eyes widen in fear at my wife's words, slowly beginning to feel with tears. "Momma."
"Its okay baby, just stay awake for me okay?" She nods slowly, clearly distracted by Santana's voice continuing on loudly in the background. "I'll be right back. I promise." I follow Santana's actions, placing a kiss on Lily's forehead before heading in my wife's direction.
I find her arms waiving, mouth going with Spanish flying out. "Santana!" I yell at her as I continue to approach the scene she's causing. My raised voice is barely audible over hers.
"Todos ustedes son idiotas!" She nearly hits an intern as she attempts to get up in the resident in charge's face.
"Santana!" This time my raised forces her to turn to face me; shame is clear all over her face.
She quickly turns back to the members of the staff she's just insulted. "I am so sorry."
Tears are starting to form in her eyes before she turns on her heels and practically runs out of the ER. I'm proud of her for saying she's sorry, but I can't help but be a bit disappointed in her for running away; she hasn't done it for years.
"Santana!" I call out to her as I pass through the swinging doors of the ER. I find her curled up into a ball on the floor against the wall at the end of the hall. I approach her slowly, careful to startle her to much. "San?" I say as I bend down in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She mumbles over her tears like a mantra.
"Everything's going to be okay." I wrap my arms around her, pulling her towards me. "Just breathe, baby."
She lets out shaky breaths, grabbing at the labels of my jacket; trying desperately to have us be as close as possible. "I'm sorry."
"I know. You're scared, and so am I. But Lily is so terrified so we have to be strong for her okay?" I feel Santana nod against my chest. "I love you." I can't help but press a kiss to the top of her head.
"I love you too, Britt." She places a quick kiss to my collarbone. "Let's do this."
"Okay, someone get an OR prepped. I'm going to get changed into scrubs and meet you in the OR." Santana says before the nurses quickly roll Cam's gurney out of the trauma room. "Thank you." She rips off her gloves while the room around us empties.
"No thanks are needed. I know how he feels. He just needed someone to set her head straight." Santana turns around and I untie her trauma gown.
"I know I just couldn't bring myself to look at him and I couldn't think straight."
"Do you want me to be in the gallery?" I take out a ponytail ring and a few bobby pins from my pants pocket and begin to fix Santana's hair so that it would fit comfortably under her scrub cab. Under my touch I can feel her relax slightly.
"If you want to be there you can." Her words say but her tone is telling me that she's going to need me in that gallery otherwise she's going to start panicking.
"I'll be there." I say with a small smile as she turns around to face me. I can't help but give her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you. Now go kick some cardio ass!" I chuckle.
Santana gives my favourite soft smile. "I love you too. I've got to go get changed but I'll see you there." Santana gives me a quick peck on the lips before practically jogging out of the trauma room.
As I exit the trauma room I can't help but notice a familiar head of red hair exiting the ER. I pursue my instinct to follow them.
"JJ." I call out as I catch the door shutting behind her. She continues to walk on, not hearing my voice. "JJ!" My voice is louder now and has obviously reached her ears as she turns around.
"Mrs. Lopez?" She asks in surprise as I manage to catch up to her. Her face is slightly puffy and her eyes watery. It is evident she's been crying.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do for you? Would you like for me to call someone for you?" I ask empathetically.
"No, that's okay Mrs. Lopez. I'm fine." The fact that she is telling me she's fine tells me she isn't 'fine'.
"It's Brittany, sweetheart." I give her a small smile. "Are you sure? It's no trouble." I try and get her to accept the help I can tell she most desperately needs.
"Uhm, would you, uhm never mind." JJ gives me a look of what could almost be considered disbelief.
"JJ, it's okay. I don't bite." I smile.
"Would you be able to call Lily?" Her words come out rushed, sounding more like one word than a sentence and her cheeks are beginning to become slightly pink out of embarrassment.
"Not a problem, I'll just give her a call. I'll tell her to you by the main nurses' station in the waiting on the surgical wing because that's where I'm headed to right now so she'll know exactly where to find us okay?" I give her a quick smile before dialling our home phone number. "Lily?"
As I walk into the hallway leading to the main waiting are on the surgical floor I couldn't help but feel anxious and slightly nervous. Mom was fairly discrete and cryptic when she called me and asked me to come to the hospital. All she had said was that someone here wanted to see me, and that I should be prepared to stay here over night so I should put Nik in charge back home.
Opening the door to the waiting area I immediately realize who she was referring to. JJ is sitting in one of the waiting room's uncomfortable chairs staring at the staircase leading to the patient rooms upstairs with bloodshot eyes.
I slowly approach her, I'm not careful of my words. "JJ?" It takes her a moment for her to look at me. "Can I sit down?"
She nods slowly signalling me to sit down. We sit here in almost complete silence for almost five minutes before words are spoken again.
"My brother is in surgery." She pauses for a moment trying to regain some composure. I slightly hesitate before taking hold of her hand. "Your mom's operating on him, he has sickle cell anemia and he's got an aortic tear." Fresh tears are forming in her eyes and beginning to roll down her cheeks.
"It's okay." I give her the best reassuring smile I can, right now is to be the good man in a storm I was raised to be.
"He might end up being paralyzed or he might die." JJ buries her head in her hands.
I now go into full protector mode, something I definitely got from Mami, beginning to rub my hand up and down JJ's back to calm her. We may have only known each other for a week but we've become closer than I've been to anyone who I don't consider family in a long time.
"I know you feel like the sky is falling down on top of you but you've just got to relax. Worrying isn't going to help; it's only going to drive you crazy. I've been there before, you've just to put your mind of things and let the doctors do their jobs. It may seem like a load of crap but honestly it helps if you take your mind of it." I try my best at getting JJ to relax.
She looks up at me with bloodshot eyes, "And how do you suppose I do that." JJ almost chokes on a sarcastic laugh.
"I'd like to propose we get out of here." JJ gives me a confused look as I pause for a moment. "I think that we should go upstairs to my Ma's office and get away from this chaos. Plus then I'd actually get the time to get to know you better, you're one of my best friends and I don't even know your favorite color." I chuckle trying to cheer her up, even if it's in the slightest.
A small smile forms on JJ's face. "I think I'd like that." I stand up and begin to lead her out of the waiting room towards. "Lily?" JJ's voice breaks the silence that exists in the room.
"Thanks, I just couldn't be alone." She gives me a gratitude filled smile.
"Not a problem, I wouldn't have wanted you to be left alone like this." I can't help but think that this is only the beginning of a friendship that is going to last a long time. At this thought a wide smile crosses my face. JJ takes notice and gives me a curious look. "Nothing, JJ. Don't worry about it. I was just thinking that's all. Let's get upstairs."
One of my mother's favorite nurses opened the door to my mother's office with a sympathetic smile. "Just lock the door when you leave as always when you're done."
"Thanks Jen, I appreciate it." I say with a quick smile before leading JJ into the office.
"Wow, that is a lot of photos." JJ says with a slight chuckle as she takes notice of my mother's photo top covered desk.
"Most of them are of me and my siblings with my parents." I say feeling the blush beginning to rush to my face. "I'm going to ask you to go take as seat because there a few really embarrassing photos of me on there." I laugh as I motion to the large comfortable navy couch against the adjacent wall.
"You dance?" She asks, clearly having seen a picture of me and Mom from my first ballet recital at the top corner of Ma's desk.
"Not anymore." I say, taking a deep breath; I knew this was bound to come up eventually, I just didn't think it would be this soon.
"Oh. Did you not like it or?" JJ's questions hangs in the air, almost like a noose.
"I loved it but it just got to hard to keep going. I, uh." I can't find the right words to tell her; things hadn't been to bad with telling people considering it was part of my life since a young age but a few bad reactions here and there still made me nervous.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She shies away slightly, edging her way towards the couch.
"No, it's okay. I'm epileptic." There is was plain and simple. I take a deep breath before continuing while also trying to gauge her reaction. "I had my first grand mal seizure at a ballet lesson when I was seven. It took a long time for them to get my seizures under control, and there was something about dance or any purely physical activity that seemed to make the seizures worse. My parents said I didn't have to give things up if I didn't want to because they wanted me to have a normal childhood that I would just have to cut down the amount of energy I put into it. Like I'd only be able to go to one lesson a week instead of the usual two or three or I could choose to stay in gym class but I couldn't play the 'rougher' sports like flag football or basketball like the other kids."
"That must have been tough." She gives me a sympathetic smile that doesn't make me feel like she pities my like I normally did when people responded that way.
"I just couldn't do it. I may have only been eight years old when I made the decision but I knew I had to do it all the way or not do it at all. I couldn't do anything half-ass, and I still can't," I can't help but chuckle. "I gave it up a month after my eighth birthday. They didn't get seizures completely under control until I was about 12 or 13, and by that time I was completely behind and not to mention out of shape so I never went back to it, no matter how much I loved it as a kid. So as they say everybody has a happy ending, so if you're not happy it is not the end. I may have been unhappy for a while but eventually I found something else that made me feel the way dancing did and I've stuck to it ever since."
"That's great, I have something like that. I don't think I could give it up even if I wanted to." She lets out a small laugh before taking a seat on the couch.
"Do you want something to drink?" I ask, trying to make things less tense and comfortable for the both of us. I bend down behind the desk, opening Ma's mini-fridge. "We've got apple juice, orange juice, water, and what looks like fruit punch."
"Apple's good." JJ's voice is quieter now without the nurse or photos to distract her. There are so many things I wish I could say to her, things that could make her feel better, even if it's only for a moment, yet I don't know how.
I pull out a can of apple juice for her and a box of fruit punch for me. "Can you catch?" I ask as I stand back up straight, shutting the mini-fridge door shut with my foot, while holding out the can of apple juice prepared to throw.
"Can I catch?" She shakes her head with a laugh, causing me to raise my eyebrow slightly. "You're looking at the MVP for my old school's baseball team two years running. I played on both the boy's and girl's teams. I was practically born with a glove in my hand screaming 'Put me in Coach!'" She smirks; I can tell she's beginning to relax now.
"See I told you this was a good idea." I say as I throw the can of juice to JJ. "I didn't know that, obviously."
"And now you do. So that means I get to know something about you that I don't already know now." JJ smiles slightly as I take a seat on the couch next to her.
"I'm extremely organized. It's definitely something I picked up from my mom, considering Ma is not the neatest person in the world. My room is always clean and everything is always exactly where it's supposed to be, therefore I know where to find everything." Blush is beginning to flush in my cheeks.
"I never would have pegged you for the organized type." JJ chuckles before taking another sip of juice.
"It's not like I have OCD or anything, I just liked to be organized." My embarrassment is starting to become slightly apparent in my voice.
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being organized. I'm just saying that I wouldn't have thought you were the organized type, but I wouldn't have considered you a slob either." She laughs which causes me to follow suit.
"Why thanks, JJ. That's always great to hear." I almost snort in laughter.
"You're welcome." She gives me another smirk. "I'm not what you'd consider a slob but I'm not the neatest person in the world either."
"Okay, I have a good way to make this more interesting. Considering my good track record so far I think you should listen." I say with joking arrogance.
"I'm all ears." JJ says as I kick off my shoes and pull my feet up on the couch, turning so my back is against the armrest.
"I ask you a question, you answer, and vice versa. You get five vetoes and who ever runs out of vetoes then refuses to answer any other question loses."
"Sounds like a plan." Jess says as she follow my lead, leaning back against the opposite armrest and pulling her feet up which land on top of mine. "Sorry." Blush begins to faintly spread across her cheeks.
"No biggie." I say with a sympathetic smile trying to hide my own nervousness, I'm currently having what could only be described best as butterflies like a six year old whose crush has just kissed her boo-boo all better. "So where were we?"
I take a seat in one of the empty chairs in the front row of seats in the gallery above Santana's OR. Looking down into the OR I notice Santana's scrub instantly; the plain black material covered with red guitars and white music notes. I can't help but smile; she has been wearing the same pattern on her scrub caps ever since her first year as a resident, it never ceased to make me smile.
One of Santana's scrub nurses comes up behind her and whispers into her ear. She nods before looking up to the gallery. I can't see any part of her face except for her eyes which meet mine and I can tell by the look in her eyes she's giving me a smile, thanking me for being here because I can tell how hard this is for her. I give her a quick wink and a smirk before she continues with the procedure.
I'm sitting in the gallery for what seems like an hour before the monitors in the OR start blaring. "Damn it, I need suction over here!" Santana's voice is booming through the room below. Her tone and choice of words causes my hand to become slightly clammy. When she starts swearing, especially in the OR, you know it's nothing good. "Johnson, I need you to keep suctioning while I search for the bleeder." Her voice is firm and still loud enough to be heard in the gallery.
I look at the monitors and I don't see anything becoming bradycardic, his pressure was dropping fast. "Come on, Santana." I say whisper as I lean forward, putting my elbows on my knees, and my hands to my mouth.
I look over at the monitor at the side of the gallery and realize that the procedure Santana was performing was not what we had discussed earlier. It appeared to be the a lot riskier David procedure. "Is that an aortic dissection?" I ask a second year resident sitting two seats away from me. My medical knowledge consisted of what I'd learnt from what had become rare study dates with Santana. But I'd have to say I definitely know a lot more than your average kindergarten teacher.
"Yeah, it is. I think Dr. Lopez will be able to get a handle on it, she's one of the best." The young brunette gives me a small smile, obviously now realizing who she was speaking to. Santana tried to keep our personal life out of work but considering she's been here since her internship it was near impossible to not have people know we were married.
"I hope you're right." I give the resident a smile in return. The resident then turns back to surgical floor watching intently. As I follow suit the monitors blaring beeps begin to lessen becoming less frequent. "Thank you for not dying." I say under my breath before saying a little prayer.
Santana looks up at me for a moment; the nervousness and fear in her eyes are clearly evident. She looks at me for what seems almost like an answer as if she should continue. I give her a look of encouragement and nod, hoping she gains at least the smallest amount of courage from my reaction. I honestly can not help but smile as Santana takes a breath before continuing on as if her patient is not my ex's child, as if he's one of her long term patients she'd fight for, as if she had not just almost lost him on under her scalpel.
Santana's firm yet hopeful voice now echoes through the OR. "Okay, people we don't want that to happen again so we're going to do this as quick as possible and without any mistakes. Let's get back to what we came here to do, save a life."
"Okay, what is that most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?" JJ gives me a slightly wily smile before placing her empty can on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Oh, good grief." I hang my head for a moment. "Veto." I mumble.
"Oh what was that? Lily Lopez refusing a question with no vetoes left? Leaving me to be the one to win?" The smirk on JJ's face doesn't fade as I look up at her with narrowed eyes.
"I thought I still had one more veto left, don't you go trying to cheat your way into this one." JJ and I have been sitting in my mom's office past hour and a half trying to get to know each other better and keeping our minds, mainly JJ's, off the fact that her brother was in life saving surgery as we speak.
"I'm not cheating; you seriously don't have any vetoes left. But if you want to tell me then I'll have no protest on you still being in the running to win." The smirk on her face fades to a genuine smile and I can't help but blush slightly.
"Here it goes, Lily." I think to myself. I've decided to just give up my resistance and tell her because it's bound to become relevant eventually.
"Last year, I was dating one of my best friends. Things seemed to be going absolutely perfect but." I don't get to finish my sentence as there is a knock on my mother's office door.
"Saved by the bell, well knock in this case." JJ says with a chuckle.
Thank God for interruptions.
"Okay, Dr. O'Neil can you test the reflexes of both legs, please?" Santana asks a third year resident who has scrubbed in with her. Her voice is calm but I can tell she's nervous.
The resident makes their further down the table and begins to testCam's reflexes. I watch intently for any sign of movement. The resident tests three times with no result before testifyingCam's lost the use of his legs. The look on Santana's face may be hidden by her surgical mask but I can see the expression that is on her face in my mind, and it's not good.
Santana looks over at another resident. "Okay, good work people. Johnson, could you close for me please? I've got anxious parents to speak with."
Without another thought I almost jump out of my chair and swiftly make my way to the scrub room. As I enter the room, Santana enters through the opposing doors. She rips her surgical gloves off, slamming them into the medical waste bin, before yanking off her surgical mask and doing the exact same thing. She doesn't look at me; she just continues to scrub out, scrubbing her hands vigorously. As she wipes her hands dry she finally looks at me.
The tears now running down her face are enough to make tears prick in my own eyes. I hold out my palm open hand waiting for her fingers to intertwine with mine. I don't have to wait very long before I feel Santana's warm hand take mine. I lead her out of the scrub room to the on call room down the hall, ignoring the concerned look from Quinn who was standing in front of the OR board.
As we enter the on call room I let Santana go in first and shut the door behind me. Turning back to look at Santana she has thumb and her index finger on her temples, her hand covering her eyes.
"Come here." I take a step closer to her and put my hand on her shoulder, guiding her to me.
Santana immediately buries her face in the crook of my neck, wrapping her arms around my neck, going on her tippy toes. I wrap my arms around her waist pulling her closer protectively, sheltering her from herself. I place a quick kiss on the top of her head, "Sh, its okay, its over. He's okay." I whisper sweetly hoping it will help.
I can feel hera tears running across my collar bone, slowly wetting my jacket. We stay like this for what seems like forever but in reality was only a few minutes before Santana pulls away slightly to look me in the eye. "He's 16, he's Nik's age, and he's never going to walk again." The anxiety in her voice is inevitable.
"That maybe true but he's still alive. He's still alive, and that's all because of you." I begin to slowly comb my fingers through her hair to sooth her.
"But he's a teenager, he's going to hate his life, he's going to know exactly what he's missing. What if this ruins his lifeBrittany?" She replies, her tone completely serious.
"He is a teenager, Santana, which means he has time to get over what happened and move on with his life. Sure, he's going to be upset but that's what's normal. You had a patient who cut off his own finger so he could play hockey for college scouts and his hand got infected, he lost most of the function in his hand. But you know what? He moved on with his life, he got over it, because it's what you do, you have to. And if acts as much as he looks like Artie then he's going to get over it because he's a strong kid. He's not alone, Santana. He's got a lot of people to help him, he'll get over it. And he's going to be thankful to you. You know that mortality rate of aortic dissections, Santana. It's a miracle he survived, and he has you to thank for that. So stop worrying your beautiful mind about it. You deserve to relax, okay?"
I finish my rant like reply with my famous goofy smile which I know always makes her smile. Santana shakes and hangs her head for a moment with what I assume is a chuckle. She looks up at me with a smile. I cup her cheek, wiping away her tears with my thumb. "See that's better." I say with a chuckle.
Santana reciprocates my actions, placing her affectionate hand against my cheek. "I love you, Britt." With a look of utmost admiration and love in her eyes she slowly leans in and places a soft, yet indulgent kiss on my lips. "I love you." She says as she gradually pulls away, this time her voice barely a whisper.
"I love you too, San." I whisper back. "Now you've got some parents you've got to talk to because you can't lie to your colleagues now can you?"
"I guess not." The nervousness that had disappeared is now apparent in Santana's voice.
"Do you want me to come with you?" I ask even though I already know the answer.
"Please." Santana gives me a small smile.
"Time to face the music then, San." I give her a quick kiss on the forehead before taking her hand and intertwining our fingers while leading her out of the on call room to find Artie and Maggie.
"Lily?" The door opens slowly to reveal my blonde haired mother. "Hey JJ, I just wanted to check up on you two, see if you guys needed anything."
I don't get a chance to respond before JJ begins to speak to my mom. "We're okay, Mrs. Lopez. Lily here has got it covered." She gives her a small chuckle followed by a slight smile.
"Well in that case JJ do you want to come see your brother?" My Mom gives her a big smile.
The look on JJ's face changes immediately and I can't help but smile widely as well. "Are you serious?" She says almost in shock.
"I'm serious."
Tears begin to form in JJ's eyes and she sniffles. "Sorry, I'm not usually and emotional person." She chuckles.
"It's perfectly fine. You've got the right to be emotional. Mom will take you up to see him" I stand up removing my feet from between JJ's, grabbing her empty juice can and my empty juice box off the coffee table and placing them in the recycling bin next to my Ma's desk.
"You're not coming?" Mom asks me curiously.
"Well I was thinking," I don't get to finish my response as I am cut off by JJ.
"If this is a privacy thing then don't worry about it." JJ says causally, I look back at her; looking in her expressive eyes for a moment. They tell me that she wasn't about to ask me to come with her because she didn't know how, no matter how much she wanted to.