April staggered forward while Derek laid gasping and bleeding out in front of her. He had been shot in the chest, blood spilling out from his wound. And now the gun was pointed at her.

April lifted her arms up either side of her head, clearly, so he wouldn't pull the trigger. She ran her tongue across her teeth and she couldn't stop shaking.

She wanted to live.

"My name is April Kepner. I'm 28 years old. I was born on April Ohio. I'm from Columbus, Ohio. My mom's a teacher and my dad is a farmer Corn. C-corn, he grows corn." She blinked repeatedly as she remembered what she used to call home. "Their names are Karen and Joe. I have three sisters! Libby's the oldest, I'm next and then there's Kimmie and Alice… I-I haven't done anything yet. I haven't," she gasped her eyes full of unshed tears. "I've barely lived. All I've done is- all I've done is win science fairs and go to medical school. I'm not finished yet. No one's loved me yet. Please, please. I'm someone's child. I'm a person. I'm a person."

His hand trembled, his finger still poised on the trigger and she was sure that he was going to pull it. That he didn't care about anything she had said, she was just as insignificant as she felt most of her life.

He gulped and then opened his mouth. "Run."

Her legs tensed with fear but pushed through and didn't look back.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" one of the doctors, an anesthesiologist, demanded.

Jackson removed his surgical mask, it had still been tied loosely around his neck. He balled it up and tossed it on the floor. "It wasn't the time and the patient -"

The doctor marched up to him and "You don't have a family, people depending on you. How selfish can you be?"

"The Chief said that we had to stay here," Jackson repeated for what he felt like was the hundredth time, no one cared about that and he was starting to hate hearing that excuse too. "It was what was best for the patient!"

"Yeah, well we're all dead now thanks to you!"

"Just shut up both of you!" one of the scrub nurses spoke up, she was older and had enough of them both. "If you keep shouting the psycho with the gun will find us and I don't think it'll matter to him which one of you is right."

Jackson walked over to the other side of the room and rested on the tiled wall. The other doctor stayed stood where he was, glaring at him before doing the same going in the other direction. They're all quiet and for a few minutes, they could hear nothing but the sounds of their own breathing.

He uncrossed his arms and pushed off the wall when he heard voices coming from outside the operating room.

"It's creepy quiet down here."

"He's down here."

"No. He is not down here."

"God. He's down here and he's gonna come out and shoot us."

"Will you shut up?! You're freaking me out and I don't have time to be freaked out right now. Mer is a mess, Derek is a mess, you are a mess, and I am in charge. And I say that no one is down here."

Jackson poked his head out and saw Cristina and April. They screamed and covered their heads.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

"You are not supposed to be walking around." He told them but he was relieved to see some familiar faces.

"Damn it, Jackson." Cristina straightened up and April followed, she looked terrified but at least she wasn't shot but when he noticed the blood on Cristina's scrubs.

"Is that your blood? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine." She waved him off and looked past him through the OR doors. "I'll go get Altman."

"Altman's not down here."

"Hunt?"

"They left." He said voice raised slightly.

"What, they left?!" she threw her hands up, frustrated. "OK, you know what? Someone shot Derek. He's got a GSW to the chest. He needs surgery now. Tell me there's an attending on this floor!"

"April, in the OR there are two OR nurses and an anesthesiologist. Get them." He clenched his jaw and stared at her, unblinking. "Tell them to set up for a cardiac procedure."

"What? Why? If we don't have a surgeon, what are we going to do?" April's eyes flitted between them, confused. No one was speaking and she didn't like being kept out of the loop normally so under these circumstances it had her feeling much worse.

"We have a surgeon."

"What? Who's gonna operate on Dr Shepherd?"

"I am," Cristina said.

Jackson watched Cristina walk back from where she came to the other OR across the way. They needed nurses, a few extra hands for what they were about to do and even then, it would be a huge risk.

It was unbelievable how quickly the events of the day had turned. Only a few hours ago, Derek had told him that there was a shooter in the hospital and now April, Cristina and himself were challenged with the great task of removing a gunshot wound from his chest.

Now only he and April stood alone in the deserted hallway. Jackson regarded her carefully. He knew that she was scared but he wasn't used to her being so quiet.

She wasn't wearing the usual sky blue resident scrubs instead she dressed in the attending navy and she wasn't as level-headed as Cristina was at the moment.

"April?" he asked, bending down a little to look her directly in the eyes. If they were going to do this then they all needed to stay focused.

"Reed's dead," she finally looked at him and her words almost didn't register in his brain.

Jackson opened his mouth to reply but was taken aback when April wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her face into the material of his shirt. It had been sticking to his skin since Shepard told him about the gunman.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," April muttered into his scrub top. She disappeared through the doors to where Cristina had gone.

Reed was dead.

April returned with the two scrub nurses. He didn't recognise either of them she could tell it bothered him but there was no time to worry about that now.

She was out of her mind when she found Reed, lying dead and bloody on the floor. Cristina had to shake her to get her out of it.

"When did you find out about Reed?" Jackson asked. He let her go first through the door to the washroom.

"It was after rounds I uh I..." She sniffed but didn't say anything more. They checked through the window to see nurses set up the OR for the procedure while the anesthesiologist worked on putting Derek under. They scrubbed in and then entered the OR.

Derek released a harsh breath as they took in his pale face. "So Kepner you're finally getting out from under my shadow…I knew this day would come, just didn't think it would be…so soon." he joked, his voice hoarse.

"Cristina is going to be your surgeon. We'll only be assisting," April knew he was joking but it felt wrong. He was lying on an operating table when a few hours ago he was perfectly healthy, just like Reed.

She nodded at Jackson before walking out to get Cristina. She was stood at the sink with Meredith but she wasn't acknowledging her anymore.

"We're ready for you."

"April, Meredith is going to sit here on the floor. I want you to stay with her." Cristina instructed, looking straight ahead. "If she tries to enter my OR, or even if she looks like she's gonna get up to take a peek, I want you to stop her. I don't care how you stop her."

"Okay." April nodded.

Cristina stepped around them but Meredith wasn't finished. "He is my husband."

"Do you want me to kill him? Is that what you want?!" Cristina snapped. "I will do my very best work but please, Meredith, I am begging you, sit down and wait."

She left them in the silence and the door closed behind her.

Meredith stood in her spot, staring at the closed sliding door dejected. April wasn't sure how to approach this she hadn't interacted with her very much and she didn't seem like a person who took orders well. Meredith flung her arm out, it smacked against her thigh as she planted herself on the floor underneath the sink.

April glanced through the window to the OR and watched Cristina and Jackson work on Derek. Cristina's movements were thorough and careful while Jackson assisted. She didn't know how they could hold it together so well when everything was falling apart at the seams.

They sat side by side on the floor not saying anything for what felt like hours. It was always in the back of her mind that the shooter could come back, no one had come for them and the lockdown was still on.

Apartments. That's the last thing that she and Reed were talking about, thinking that they'd have all the time in the world. Reed was the first real friend that April had ever had, only always ever told that she was annoying and too much and she remembered that she and Reed didn't start out liking one another. Being interns in one of the most competitive surgical programs in the country had meant that people had created more enemies than allies at first meeting.

Reed didn't like April because she was constantly ahead of the class and April didn't understand why she was always so short with her but she didn't think much of it since she was used to it from everyone. The first year was so important anyway so she tried not to let it bring her down and focussed on the medicine. It wasn't until a few weeks into the internship where they saw each other in a different light.

Beside her Meredith was talking about how long it took to find Derek, to find someone to spend her life with. Her husband is lying on a metal table in the next room and she shouldn't be crying, it wasn't about her and Meredith was right but April wasn't trying to make it about her at all.

She nodded and sucked in her tears, her breath hitching. "Reed was my best friend. And she died today."

Meredith dropped her arm onto her knee which was propped up beside April's and stretched out her hand. April covered her palm with hers and bowed her head.

"Do you feel anything? Can you see where the blood's coming from?" Jackson asked.

"Not yet," Cristina answered quickly. "Damn it, I can't see anything. Give me some suction." Jackson picked up the tool and cleared the area to give her better visualisation. "No, no, no, no, no It's right by to the aorta."

"You can do this." He assured, there was no one else. She had to.

"I know that," Cristina said, although her usual confident tone sounded shaken. "I just wanted it to be easy. Not the hardest freaking repair in the history of the world! I don't know what to do."

That's not what anyone needed to hear right now.

"There's massive bleeding in the lungs. There is a bullet lodged right next to the aorta and a huge hematoma." She rattled off and then opened her mouth in a whisper. "Would Teddy use a graft - or clamp and sew?"

He wasn't sure but while being on Altman's service he had picked up on a few things. "I think she'd –"

"Pig or cow," Cristina whispered again.

"What?"

"Pig or cow, Cristina? Clamp and sew." She nodded with an assurance that he picked up on. "Definitely clamp and sew. Give me a clamp."

"Badass."

A clamp and sew procedure would be a risky, especially with the gravity of the injury but they had no other options and even less time. Jackson passed her the clamp, his hands steady. He knew that this was their best chance.

They worked together soundlessly after that, with Cristina taking the lead and muttering instructions when needed. He hadn't cracked under the pressure yet and was doing well but the pressure was an aspect of life that he was used to. Of course, this was a vastly different experience from expectations from his stuffy family but it was testing his limits all the same.

Jackson had managed to stop the bleeding, draining the haemorrhage to relive the pressure in his chest while Cristina worked on the repair. It was such intricate work that needed great concentration, they were sure that because of the hospital lockdown they would have the chance to patch-up his wound before anyone came for them.

"Is that him?"

Jackson looked up at where the voice had come from, no one was supposed to be down here, especially someone who wasn't hospital personnel but once he saw the gun he knew why this man was here. Everyone else had paused but Cristina hadn't stopped working, too focussed saving Derek.

He approached them menacingly but Jackson hadn't taken his attention of the gun in his hand once

"Sir, we –"

"Be quiet!" He shouted, his eyes glued to Derek on the table and Cristina flinched. "That's him. That's Shepherd."

"Sir -"

"Stop trying to fix him! He deserves to be in pain." He walked forward and jammed the barrel of the gun against Cristina's temple. "He deserves to die!"

"Whoa, just calm down. Calm down." Owen appeared suddenly in the doorway. "Tell me what the problem is."

"Owen," Cristina hadn't taken her hands out of the chest cavity but tears were falling down her face.

"I'm here."

He pressed the gun at her head again. "Owen"

"Hold on!" Owen tried to distract him. "Talk to me."

"Stop fixing him. Let him die. Let him lie there and die. Do you want me to shoot you?" he threatened. "Stop fixing him!"

"No."

"Cristina," Owen warned.

"No," Cristina repeated, still crying. "Jackson, clamp the hilum so we get control of haemorrhage, - so I can get visualization."

"Don't you dare."

"Clamp the hilum so I can see." Cristina sobbed at the same time Owen stepped forward. It was the perfect distraction, allowing Jackson to do as she said. Bohkee, one of the scrub nurses, passed him the clamp before the gunman saw them.

"You stay back. You stay back."

"Owen, I can't stop. I have to…"

"I know. Just keep going. Keep going."

"You stop or I will shoot you."

"Hey! That is the woman I love. If you shoot her, touch her, I will kill you!"

"And I said stay back. Maybe I shoot you first. I shoot you and then I shoot her and then I shoot Shepherd. Is that what you want?" he asked. "I didn't come here for this. My wife is dead. He's responsible. I came here for justice. An eye for an eye. The only person I want in this room is Shepherd. Now back off! And you step away from that table."

"Please. Shoot me." Meredith spoke up. It was like she came out of nowhere, materialising in front of them. "You want justice, right? Your wife died. I know what happened. Derek told me the story. Lexie Grey pulled the plug on your wife, she's my sister. Dr Webber? He was your wife's doctor. I'm the closest thing he has to a daughter. The man on the table, I'm his wife. If you want to hurt them the way that you hurt shoot me. I'm your "eye for an eye."

Jackson wanted to shake his head but refrained. He didn't want him to shoot anyone else, that was something that he wasn't going to entertain. He had a plan and they were going to get out of here alive.

"Meredith,"

"You tell Derek that I love him and that I'm sorry."

"Meredith, wait! She's pregnant." Cristina blurted out desperately. "You wouldn't shoot a woman who's pregnant? Please."

Owen lunged at him then but he was faster and pulled the trigger before he could touch him. The bullet him in the shoulder and he flew back and hit the floor. Jackson unclipped the heart wires that connected to the monitor and lifted his hands.

"No! No! - No!" Cristina yelled.

"Raise your hands," Jackson ordered. "Trust me, raise your hands. He's going to shoot again, raise your hands!

Cristina did as he said and dropped the instruments. "I'm stopping!"

"No!" Meredith cried.

"See? I've stopped."

"Listen to me," Jackson said. "In a few seconds, his heart is going to pump blood into his chest and stop beating. You'll see it on the monitor. Just wait. Wait for it. Watch the monitor and wait for it."

"Please, don't stop!" Meredith begged them.

"Shut up!" Jackson shouted.

"No, no. No! Derek! No, no, no." Meredith fell to the floor, broken.

"See? It's over." Cristina told him. "It's over. He's dead. It's over.

"No! Derek!"

Satisfied that Shepherd was dead and gone, he lowered his weapon and finally left.

"Give me a 4-0 pledgeted suture," Cristina instructed. "Jackson, get me his vitals."

"Got a pulse of 128. BP's cycling."

"Mer? Is Owen dead?" She asked over her shoulder. Meredith didn't answer right away. "Dr Grey! Is Owen dead?!"

She crawled over to where Owen was passed out on the floor and listened for breathing. "He's alive. He's alive. He's unconscious, but he's alive."

"Take Owen to the OR across the way and take that bullet out. Get April to help you."

"Cristina?"

"I can't talk now. I'm trying to save your guy, now please go and try and save mine."

Meredith went back to get April as they continued to work. Cristina glanced up at Jackson once she was gone. "Remind me to thank you later."

"I will."

"I'm almost done, just finishing up the pericardial repair," Cristina informed the room. April and Meredith had finished extracting the bullet from Owen's shoulder and had quickly run back in to help in any way they could. Meredith was told to stand behind her husband and not touch anything.

Jackson removed his hands from Derek's chest and waited but his heart started to throb erratically. "V-fib!"

"Give me the internal paddles!" Cristina gestured over to them and April hurried over to unravel the long metal from their wires.

"Give me one of epi," Jackson asked the nurse.

"April, you got it?"

"Yep." April passed them over and she took the paddles from her hands, enclosing the cups around Derek's exposed heart.

"Charge to 50."

"Epi going in."

"Charge again to 50."

"Clear." They stood back again and held their breath.

Jackson stared at the screen until the familiar peaks appeared on the monitor. "We got him."

"Are you okay?" April asked even though she knew Meredith was far from it. Everything was okay now but they had her sit out from helping them with Derek, Cristina didn't want her anywhere near the OR while they all worked on him. She must have felt so helpless.

Meredith had brushed off April's concerns before, her husband had just been shot and Owen needed to be fixed but hopefully, she'd be more receptive now.

"I um, need pants," Meredith croaked. The blood had dried and it was starting to make her thighs itch.

"I have some extra scrub pants in my cubby, in the lounge,"

They walked the short distance to the resident's lounge and when they entered the room April approached her cubby and pulled out the scrub pants she kept at the back of the small space. Meredith still planted in open doorway when she turned around and handed them to her.

"April, you don't have to stay here with me."

"No no, it's fine. I can stay," April replied. Jackson and Cristina were closing so she wasn't really needed.

Meredith didn't argue and walked to the single bathroom in the corner. She then stopped halfway and spun to back to April.

"Thank you."

April gave her a tight smile in return.

They were allowed to leave the hospital a few hours later. Jackson found April in the resident's lounge after he, Cristina and the nurses finished working on Shepherd. He had been at the on his feet for hours and he hadn't spoken to his roommate since yesterday morning.

He had asked around for him after the lockdown had been overturned and he'd seem the rest of their resident class wandering around but he didn't receive any answers. He already knew that Reed wasn't coming back with them.

"Where are you going?" April asked with her voice trembling slightly.

"We need to find Charles and then we can go," Jackson said. He didn't want to be here any longer than he had to. There was a smattering of people outside, a few officers and he could see the last of the ambulances with the urgent care patients that were being taken to Seattle Presbyterian.

Jackson finally spotted an official checkpoint station, there were people with clipboards and papers standing behind several tables. "Over there, come on."

"Do you know if Charles Percy made it out?"

"Percy?" she didn't look at him as she busily searched for the name on the list. Her face told what he needed to know. "I'm sorry. He didn't make it."