CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEENMELONIE'S POV

   "I booked the O.R. I read up on the procedure..." Jackson said as the both of us followed Teddy through the hospital. "I know this thing better than my own name at this point."

   "I pre-rounded on the patient, and he pre-op labs are all done, and-" I persuaded.

   "Wow. Quadruple bypasses are exciting, right?" Teddy interrupted me. "First assist gets to sew all the grafts onto the heart. Plum job."

   "I want it!" I raised my hand as she turned to face us and we stopped walking.

   "It would be an honor," Jackson smiled, trying to get her on his side.

   "I know you're thinking, whoever does this gets a leg up in the race for Chief Resident. Do you want to know a good way not to get it?" Teddy asked. "That's to bug the crap out of me before my day even starts."

   "I'm sorry. I'll back off," Jackson chimed. "You know what? Actually, I'll go to the skills lab and practice my grafts. And you just let me know if you need anything at all."

   I nonchalantly slipped my arm under his and grabbed the chart, starting to run away so they couldn't stop me.

   "Grey took the chart. She took the chart?" He started to run after me.

   Jackson and Teddy caught up with me and I filled them in after I had read the chart. Jackson glared at me, and I just gave him a cheesy smile.

   "Martha Elkin, 75, multi-vessel coronary disease, confirmed by an angiography," I informed. "Here this morning for an off-pump cabg."

   "That's just doctor talk for a quadruple bypass," Jackson told Martha.

   "Oh, thank you," Martha smiled.

   "Pre-op labs and her x-rays were normal," I reported.

   "Okay, you're ready to roll, Martha," I smiled at her. 

   "My husband went down for some coffee," she informed us. "He wanted to know how long I'd be asleep after the procedure."

   "Well, Martha, it's hard to tell," Jackson responded. "Every patient reacts differently. But, we'll keep him posted."

   "Most patients wake within 90 minutes," I added.

   "Oh, that's helpful, dear. He'll be glad to know that," Martha said. "But, we're both so nervous..."

   "Well, some anxiety is completely normal. But let me reassure you..." I trailed off, and took Martha's hand. "Dr. Altman is an incredibly talented surgeon. You're in the very best of hands." I looked at Teddy, and she gave a light smile.

   "Uh, Martha, I'd like to give you my cellular telephone number," Jackson tried sucking up, and I glared at him. "Now you or your husband, if you have any questions, if he gets a little worried or wants an update, then he can call this number. I'll even make sure to have a nurse answer if we're in the O.R." He started to write on a pad of paper, and I rolled my eyes.

   "Oh, you're wonderful," Martha smiled. "I mean, you all are. This is the finest patient care that I have ever seen. I feel like a V.I.P."

   "Well, it's just what we do," Jackson gave her a cheesy smile, then he looked at me and my smile faded.

   Jackson and I walked out of the patient's room, and to the information desk. 

   "You gave her your personal phone number?" I chuckled. "Wow, you're pretty desperate, aren't you?"

   "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he shrugged. "You're desperate too."

   "What? No I'm not," I argued. 

   "You held her hand!" Jackson pointed out. "You never hold hands with anyone who isn't Alex." I looked down, and he instantly regretted what he said. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

   "N-no, you're fine," I shrugged. "I'm getting over it."

   "I'm here if you need to talk." He touched my hand. 

   "Thanks, but I'm done talking about it." I walked away.

   I ran into Meredith on my way down to the lounge to talk to Callie. 

   "Hey!" I stopped her. 

   "Oh, hey," she sighed, seeming out of breath. "I was just heading down for some lunch. Wanna come?"

   "Yeah, sure."

   We started heading down to the tunnel, and we sat on one of the gurneys. I pulled out my sandwich and started eating.

   "So, what do you have today?" I asked her.

   "Guy with Alzheimer's," Mer sighed, and I stared at her.

   "Alzheimer's?" I asked. "As in, what killed our mother?"

   "Yeah, that Alzheimer's..."

   "I'm sorry." I took a bite of my sandwich. 

   "Sorry for what?" Lexie sat next to me. 

   "Nothing," I shrugged.

   "No." Lexie glared at me. "I'm sick of everyone being so secretive around me. Come on. We're sisters. We're supposed to trust each other."

   Mer and I looked at each other and shrugged. 

   "Meredith has a patient with Alzheimer's, the disease that our mom died of," I told Lexie.

   "Oh," Lexie sighed. "I'm sorry."

   Mer and I just shrugged and continued eating. April came down and sat on a chair across from us.

   "I cannot believe Alex," April complained. "He took my patient right in front of me," she groaned in her whiny, annoying voice. "He's gonna get me kicked off the program, and then-"

   "I have a patient to get to," I sighed, getting up and walked away.

   I walked into Martha's room, and she had picture frames in front of her.

   "Oh, you may want to put all that away, Mrs. Elkin. They're gonna come take you to the O.R. any minute," I warned her, taking out my stethoscope and placing it on her chest.

   "I don't think it's such a good idea," Martha said.

   "What, the surgery?" I asked.

   "Well, it's risky, isn't it? I mean, it's a five percent chance of mortality?" she worried.

   "Yes, but there's a ninety-five percent chance of success," I smiled. "Those are good odds."

   "I've had such a wonderful life." Martha looked back at her pictures. "My friend Donna, she had a big operation like this, and she was never the same. Nursing home, couldn't even feed herself... it was terrible. The poor kids, it was so hard on them... such a burden. I don't want to do that to my children."

   "I know it's scary, and it can go wrong sometimes. But you could have twenty more years." I looked at the pictures sprawled out on the table. "I mean, you could go to this baby's wedding. Are you sure you want to give that up?" She stayed silent. "If you walk out of her right now, you could have a few more months, maybe a year, but you'll always be wondering when you're gonna go. And, your family... they'll always be watching you, terrified. Don't give up on yourself. Let us help you."

   "Will you be there?" A tear trickled down Martha's cheek, and she held my hand.

   "Every step of the way," I smiled.

   "Okay," she gave in. "I'll do it."

   "You'll be great," I reassured her.

   I walked out of the room, only to see Jackson staring at me when I walked out. 

   "Unbelievable. You think you're gonna be able to do the grafts just because the patient's requesting you?" he asked. "Altman doesn't exactly fall for that kind of crap."

   "Believe it or not, not everything I do is about competition," I shrugged.

   "As if," Jackson scoffed.

   "Have you ever thought that you really don't know me at all? I'm actually a good person, unlike you," I scolded. "All you have going for you is your pretty looks."

   "Oh, you think I'm pretty?" he mocked me. 

   "That wasn't my point!" I groaned, walking away.

   I saw Teddy and ran over to her, walking with her and filling her in on Martha.

   "Martha Elkin's blood pressure was slightly elevated, but I let her rest and then retook it, and it's fine, so it should be no problem," I informed. Suddenly, Jackson caught up to us. "Oh my God, go away."

   "And Tweedledum is here too," Teddy sighed.

   "Charts are updated," Jackson smiled. "Did you decide who's gonna be first to assist?"

   "Why would I decide now?" Teddy asked. "Patient care has never been better. I mean, once I choose, one of you is just gonna be sulking around like a surly teenager."

   "Okay, this should be an easy choice," Jackson said. "I have been practicing these graft attachments every day for a month."

   "Some of us don't need practice." I glared at him.

   "Sure, Grey. You've got more experience overall, but these last couple of months, you haven't exactly been very focused for the past two weeks, have you?" he taunted, and I stared at him. 

   "You really had to go there?" Teddy scolded him. "You're that insecure?"

   "No... I'm just that much of an idiot," Jackson mumbled, and he looked at me. "Melonie, I'm sorry. I'm just-"

   "Whatever, Jackson, I don't care. Just take it," I gave up, walking away from him without looking back.

   I ran into the residents' lounge and I sat on the bench. I started to breathe heavily and my cheeks were soaked with tears in a matter of seconds. 

   "Melonie..." Jackson walked in. 

   "Get out," I muttered.

   "Come on..."

   "Get out!" I raised my voice, and he instantly shut the door. 

   I didn't want him to see me crying. It's a sign of weakness.

   After a few minutes, Jackson opened the door with Mer standing next to him. She glared at him. 

   "What did you do?" she asked.

   "I may have mentioned something about Alex... twice today," he sighed.

   Meredith ran to my side. "Hey. Hey..." She wrapped her arm around me.

   "I can't do this, Meredith," I cried. "I just can't. I can't even hear his name without my heart feeling like it's going to explode."

   "It's okay," Mer responded. "You just need time to heal. That's normal."

   "I can't even be in the same room with April. When I look at her, all I can think about is the image of her making out with him."

   "I know, I know." She pulled me closer to her. "Get out, Jackson."

   Jackson left the room as Mer let me cry for a little bit before I finally calmed down enough to get back to work.

~

Word Count: 1696