The Unbroken Beat 3/20
Title: The Unbroken Beat
Chapter:Any Other Random Stranger
Rating: T/PG-13
Author: graceoverfire
Summary: Aftermath of Nick's surgery followed by aftermath of the plane crash. In other words angst and drama for days.
Disclaimer: The characters represented in this story are fictitious extrapolations derived from an interpretation of the show Grey's Anatomy which is the production and property jointly of Shondaland and ABC Studios. As such it is necessary to state that this work has not been produced for profit or any other proprietary reason.
They wheeled them in one at a time and everyone stood at the doors waiting. First Cristina was pushed in cursing and ordering the paramedics around as if nothing at all had happened to her. Awake and responsive. Callie could see them all checking her off the list. Not Callie thought, she was looking at that arm and thinking about how to get it back to normal. As a surgeon, more than anything Cristina needed to be able to maintain a normal range of motion. Owen ran, he ran to her like a fireman to a house on fire. It only made it that much more difficult to watch her push him away as she was guided into an emergency room. He trailed after her anyway.
Next was Meredith, who clearly had broken her foot and had what looked like third degree burns to the back of her head. Baily looked happy, not about the injuries, but yes about the injuries. So far, they had been minor which was unthinkable considering they survived a plane crash. Webber directed Baily to follow Meredith in. Everyone started to relax assuming the worst was over, and then, suddenly they were all snapped back into reality.
The first bag stumbled out with a solid thud that made everyone stand at attention, their eyes transfixed on the mystery hiding from them inside. How could they have been so naïve? What kind of plane crash exists where no one dies? Really, they should have known better, or at least that’s what Callie told herself in between kicking herself for secretly hoping it was anyone but Arizona.
They wheeled Derek out and he did his best to look normal as ever, but Callie could see through the nearly perfect hair and the plastered on smile. She notice him concealing his left hand. It wasn’t going to be good, but she was confident she could find a way to fix that too. Richard directed April to take care of Derek and Callie watched as Kepner’s trauma training kicked in. It was the only time she found the girl just slightly tolerable.
Then another bag. How many had they lost? One? Two? As people kept getting wheeled out Callie realized the odds of her not losing someone she loved deeply were slowly slimming to nil.
Mark came out blue faced and unresponsive by the look on the paramedic’s face Callie could tell he was barely holding on. Webber looked to her to take on Mark but Callie simply looked at theambulance bay and back at Webber shaking her head in silent refusal.
“I got it” Jackson piped up and darted off to chase down Mark’s gurney.
Arizona was wheeled in last, despite looking like a barely mobile corpse she seemed to be smiling. She even made an attempt at lifting her head when the gurney got closer, but failed miserably.
“Callie!” she sighed sweetly as they met each other. Then without any further notice she simply went limp and passed out.
Richard and Alex stood in the bay waiting without saying a word, they watched as the herd of paramedics returned to their trucks. No one wanted to take in what was happening, but really they all knew. Process of elimination told them when Arizona came off the truck. There were two bags and five doctors accounted for. Lexie was in one of those bags.
The bodies had been pushed off to the side now and Alex went to one while the chief went to the other. The chief went first unzipping the bag just enough to see a face.
“The pilot” he announced to no one in particular.
Alex looked down at the bag in front of him. What was the point he questioned. It was clearly Lexie it’s not like staring at her dead face was going to make her any less dead. But they all looked as if they were in need of the confirmation, so, for their sake, he did it. Unzipped the bag.
“balls, freakin’ balls!” he muttered under his breath. “It’s Lexie”
Callie could see from her bay where she’d been observing Arizona. She saw just enough to know that the body in that bag once belonged to Lexie, but it most certainly was not Lexie Grey. My God the damage was unimaginable. She turned her attention back to Arizona who was still unconscious and not responding to any stimulation.
Callie lifted the towel that had been covering her wife’s legs and nearly fainted at the sight before her.
“Oh crap!” she gasped.
Just then Owen came charging around the corner like a NASCAR driver forcing himself to grab hold of the door frame in order to stop himself.
“I just spoke with Yang, she’s going to be okay” he started. Then his eyes narrowed to Callie who was fist deep in Arizona’s exposed femur trying to ensure the artery was clear and safe from any potential nics.
The problem was, the closer she got the more damage she’d see. They’d hooked her up to a machine and managed to stabilize her heart rate, but Arizona still wasn’t waking up.
“Torres can I speak with you a minute” Owen demanded and Callie ignored.
“Get me the 3cm rods please” she asked an intern who just happened to be nearby as she spoke.
“Callie outside now!” Owen really did not like having to repeat himself.
She finally convinced herself to walk away, just long enough to tell Owen exactly where he could go. She didn’t have time for conversations. Her mind just kept telling her first Arizona then Mark.
They stepped into the hall, not that it provided much in the way of secrecy, there was glass everywhere so they were plainly visible to most and on top of it all the unintended hostility taking over both their voices leant itself to loudness, so anyone within five paces of the front door could hear them.
“I know, you don’t think I know how hard it is to walk away. I know Torres” Owen began. “But you cannot be in there, it’s a clear conflict of interest and a violation of hospital policy. Meanwhile Mark’s in OR three and you’re needed in there right away. Kepner will keep you updated.”
He said that last bit as if he just expected her to jump and clap like a trained seal.
“No” Callie’s voice was firm and stern. Just that one word expressed exactly what she was thinking at the moment.
“Torres I said OR three NOW!” Owen shouted.
“And I said no” Callie shot back. “You have a conflict of interest; you can’t be in there with Cristina. What I have is an all too convenient truth.”
“What?” Owen questioned, his brow furrowing in perpetual confusion.
“I am not married, she is not my wife, at least not according to the state of Washington at the moment. She is my patient, just my patient like any other random stranger.” Callie explained.
Owen grabbed her hand half to comfort and half to take back control of the situation.
“Torres, you and I both know that isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it?” Callie questioned “seems like a nice little gray area to me”
Owen could see he wasn’t going to win this battle, rather than eat up any more time arguing over semantics, he figured the best he could do was give her all the information he had.
“Cristina says her lungs are full up with liquid and blood and she’s been coughing it up maybe for the past 24 hours. I’ll go see what I can do about Mark.”
With that minor distraction over and Callie emerging the victor, she went straight back to work. First came securing the femur, which, had Arizona been conscience, would have been mightily painful. Then came assessing the rest of the damage, of which, it turned out, there was plenty.
Callie found herself yelling at a nurse over the phone.
“Oh really, his hip is killing him? Well, I’ve got several people dying down here like literally from a plane crash!”
A short pause as the nurse tried to reason with her some more allowed Callie to catch her breath.
“What do you mean was it that crash? Of course it was that…tell Mr. Dillard he’s going to have to reschedule. I need that OR like yesterday.”
Another short pause.
“Then bump his ass!” Callie screeched.
At some point people were going to have to learn to stop telling Callie no. The way she was going it was likely to be some point today too.
She and a group of nurses and lower level residents each took a side of the gurney and sprinted down the hall with Arizona lying motionless, her skin barely returning to its normal color. OR twelve couldn’t come soon enough.
“Someone page Altman” Callie ordered as they reached the doors.
The nurses looked up in confusion about what to do. They were all scared of receiving Callie’s wrath. One brave soul finally had the courage to speak up.
“Dr. Altman was fired this morning” she squeaked barely loud enough to make out. “I hear she’s on a plane to Virginia.”
Callie wanted to be upset about Teddy being fired, but she couldn’t get past the part about her being on a plane. Any plane.
“No more talk about planes, or flying, or trains, or transportation. Anything with wheels on it no one talks about in this OR” Callie instructed.
The femur was stable, but Callie couldn’t do anything about the leg until they cleared the fluid from Arizona’s lungs. A sudden spike in the heart monitor let Callie know she needed to act quickly. There was no Teddy, no Cristina, and no one else in cardio she trusted enough to let them crack her wife’s chest open. Looking up at the clock Callie closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She had to do it, it had to be fixed.
“Syringe please; a big one” she ordered.
Chapter:Any Other Random Stranger
Rating: T/PG-13
Author: graceoverfire
Summary: Aftermath of Nick's surgery followed by aftermath of the plane crash. In other words angst and drama for days.
Disclaimer: The characters represented in this story are fictitious extrapolations derived from an interpretation of the show Grey's Anatomy which is the production and property jointly of Shondaland and ABC Studios. As such it is necessary to state that this work has not been produced for profit or any other proprietary reason.
They wheeled them in one at a time and everyone stood at the doors waiting. First Cristina was pushed in cursing and ordering the paramedics around as if nothing at all had happened to her. Awake and responsive. Callie could see them all checking her off the list. Not Callie thought, she was looking at that arm and thinking about how to get it back to normal. As a surgeon, more than anything Cristina needed to be able to maintain a normal range of motion. Owen ran, he ran to her like a fireman to a house on fire. It only made it that much more difficult to watch her push him away as she was guided into an emergency room. He trailed after her anyway.
Next was Meredith, who clearly had broken her foot and had what looked like third degree burns to the back of her head. Baily looked happy, not about the injuries, but yes about the injuries. So far, they had been minor which was unthinkable considering they survived a plane crash. Webber directed Baily to follow Meredith in. Everyone started to relax assuming the worst was over, and then, suddenly they were all snapped back into reality.
The first bag stumbled out with a solid thud that made everyone stand at attention, their eyes transfixed on the mystery hiding from them inside. How could they have been so naïve? What kind of plane crash exists where no one dies? Really, they should have known better, or at least that’s what Callie told herself in between kicking herself for secretly hoping it was anyone but Arizona.
They wheeled Derek out and he did his best to look normal as ever, but Callie could see through the nearly perfect hair and the plastered on smile. She notice him concealing his left hand. It wasn’t going to be good, but she was confident she could find a way to fix that too. Richard directed April to take care of Derek and Callie watched as Kepner’s trauma training kicked in. It was the only time she found the girl just slightly tolerable.
Then another bag. How many had they lost? One? Two? As people kept getting wheeled out Callie realized the odds of her not losing someone she loved deeply were slowly slimming to nil.
Mark came out blue faced and unresponsive by the look on the paramedic’s face Callie could tell he was barely holding on. Webber looked to her to take on Mark but Callie simply looked at theambulance bay and back at Webber shaking her head in silent refusal.
“I got it” Jackson piped up and darted off to chase down Mark’s gurney.
Arizona was wheeled in last, despite looking like a barely mobile corpse she seemed to be smiling. She even made an attempt at lifting her head when the gurney got closer, but failed miserably.
“Callie!” she sighed sweetly as they met each other. Then without any further notice she simply went limp and passed out.
Richard and Alex stood in the bay waiting without saying a word, they watched as the herd of paramedics returned to their trucks. No one wanted to take in what was happening, but really they all knew. Process of elimination told them when Arizona came off the truck. There were two bags and five doctors accounted for. Lexie was in one of those bags.
The bodies had been pushed off to the side now and Alex went to one while the chief went to the other. The chief went first unzipping the bag just enough to see a face.
“The pilot” he announced to no one in particular.
Alex looked down at the bag in front of him. What was the point he questioned. It was clearly Lexie it’s not like staring at her dead face was going to make her any less dead. But they all looked as if they were in need of the confirmation, so, for their sake, he did it. Unzipped the bag.
“balls, freakin’ balls!” he muttered under his breath. “It’s Lexie”
Callie could see from her bay where she’d been observing Arizona. She saw just enough to know that the body in that bag once belonged to Lexie, but it most certainly was not Lexie Grey. My God the damage was unimaginable. She turned her attention back to Arizona who was still unconscious and not responding to any stimulation.
Callie lifted the towel that had been covering her wife’s legs and nearly fainted at the sight before her.
“Oh crap!” she gasped.
Just then Owen came charging around the corner like a NASCAR driver forcing himself to grab hold of the door frame in order to stop himself.
“I just spoke with Yang, she’s going to be okay” he started. Then his eyes narrowed to Callie who was fist deep in Arizona’s exposed femur trying to ensure the artery was clear and safe from any potential nics.
The problem was, the closer she got the more damage she’d see. They’d hooked her up to a machine and managed to stabilize her heart rate, but Arizona still wasn’t waking up.
“Torres can I speak with you a minute” Owen demanded and Callie ignored.
“Get me the 3cm rods please” she asked an intern who just happened to be nearby as she spoke.
“Callie outside now!” Owen really did not like having to repeat himself.
She finally convinced herself to walk away, just long enough to tell Owen exactly where he could go. She didn’t have time for conversations. Her mind just kept telling her first Arizona then Mark.
They stepped into the hall, not that it provided much in the way of secrecy, there was glass everywhere so they were plainly visible to most and on top of it all the unintended hostility taking over both their voices leant itself to loudness, so anyone within five paces of the front door could hear them.
“I know, you don’t think I know how hard it is to walk away. I know Torres” Owen began. “But you cannot be in there, it’s a clear conflict of interest and a violation of hospital policy. Meanwhile Mark’s in OR three and you’re needed in there right away. Kepner will keep you updated.”
He said that last bit as if he just expected her to jump and clap like a trained seal.
“No” Callie’s voice was firm and stern. Just that one word expressed exactly what she was thinking at the moment.
“Torres I said OR three NOW!” Owen shouted.
“And I said no” Callie shot back. “You have a conflict of interest; you can’t be in there with Cristina. What I have is an all too convenient truth.”
“What?” Owen questioned, his brow furrowing in perpetual confusion.
“I am not married, she is not my wife, at least not according to the state of Washington at the moment. She is my patient, just my patient like any other random stranger.” Callie explained.
Owen grabbed her hand half to comfort and half to take back control of the situation.
“Torres, you and I both know that isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it?” Callie questioned “seems like a nice little gray area to me”
Owen could see he wasn’t going to win this battle, rather than eat up any more time arguing over semantics, he figured the best he could do was give her all the information he had.
“Cristina says her lungs are full up with liquid and blood and she’s been coughing it up maybe for the past 24 hours. I’ll go see what I can do about Mark.”
With that minor distraction over and Callie emerging the victor, she went straight back to work. First came securing the femur, which, had Arizona been conscience, would have been mightily painful. Then came assessing the rest of the damage, of which, it turned out, there was plenty.
Callie found herself yelling at a nurse over the phone.
“Oh really, his hip is killing him? Well, I’ve got several people dying down here like literally from a plane crash!”
A short pause as the nurse tried to reason with her some more allowed Callie to catch her breath.
“What do you mean was it that crash? Of course it was that…tell Mr. Dillard he’s going to have to reschedule. I need that OR like yesterday.”
Another short pause.
“Then bump his ass!” Callie screeched.
At some point people were going to have to learn to stop telling Callie no. The way she was going it was likely to be some point today too.
She and a group of nurses and lower level residents each took a side of the gurney and sprinted down the hall with Arizona lying motionless, her skin barely returning to its normal color. OR twelve couldn’t come soon enough.
“Someone page Altman” Callie ordered as they reached the doors.
The nurses looked up in confusion about what to do. They were all scared of receiving Callie’s wrath. One brave soul finally had the courage to speak up.
“Dr. Altman was fired this morning” she squeaked barely loud enough to make out. “I hear she’s on a plane to Virginia.”
Callie wanted to be upset about Teddy being fired, but she couldn’t get past the part about her being on a plane. Any plane.
“No more talk about planes, or flying, or trains, or transportation. Anything with wheels on it no one talks about in this OR” Callie instructed.
The femur was stable, but Callie couldn’t do anything about the leg until they cleared the fluid from Arizona’s lungs. A sudden spike in the heart monitor let Callie know she needed to act quickly. There was no Teddy, no Cristina, and no one else in cardio she trusted enough to let them crack her wife’s chest open. Looking up at the clock Callie closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She had to do it, it had to be fixed.
“Syringe please; a big one” she ordered.