CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOMELONIE'S POV

   "Hey, when do you get off of work tonight?" Jackson asked me as we walked into the hospital.

   "Nine, I think," I answered. "Why?"

   "I was just wondering." He shrugged. "But I have to go. I love you." He kissed me, running off into the elevator.

   I gave him a confused look, but I just shook off my thoughts and walked into the attending's lounge, grabbing my dark blue scrubs and throwing them on.

   "Jackson's been acting kind of weird," I sighed to April, sitting next to her to put on my sneakers. "Do you know why?"

   "No." April shot off of the bench and ran out of the room. 

   I swear to God, April, if you are screwing my boyfriend, I will kill you, I thought to myself, staring off into space.

   I threw my hair into a ponytail and walked out of the lounge, seeing Alex and Jo talking by a counter. Alex was definitely flirting.

   I stared at them until Jo left, and I walked up to Alex.

   "Don't get any ideas, Karev," I warned him. "She's too innocent and joyful for you to corrupt her. Keep your penis to yourself."

   "Are you sure you're not just saying this because you're jealous?" he smirked, folding his arms.

   "Wha-? No, no, no, no." I shook my head quickly. "I'm completely over you. I just actually like Jo, so I don't want you to ruin her like you do with every other doctor in this hospital."

   I turned on my heels and walked away from him, thinking about what he said. 'Are you sure you're not just saying this because you're jealous?' No, I'm over him. I love Jackson. I'm in love with Jackson. Alex is old news.

   I grabbed my charts and started to fill them out as a trauma came in, and Meredith was in her street clothes, helping the paramedics to bring her in.

   "What happened?!" I ran over to help.

   "Cyclist verses auto. Multiple crash injuries," she filled me in. 

   "Um..." I looked over at Jo. "Wilson, I need you to call upstairs. Tell them we need a trauma O.R. open, and get Ross. He's on my service."

   "You." Meredith grabbed Stephanie Edwards, another intern. "I need you to go get my car. It's at the intersection of 4th and Pike. In the backseat, there's a box of frozen fish sticks. Grab them, nuke them, bring them up to daycare for Brazil Day." She threw her the car keys.

   "Grey, you realize you just stole my intern?" Miranda looked at us.

   "Sorry!" we both yelled, running after the gurney that the patient, Melissa, was being taken into an O.R. for an emergency surgery.

   In surgery, we were working on her heart, which was nearly crushed by the car being on top of her chest.

   "Suction," Meredith requested.

  "There's a lot of blood. Suction keeps clogging up," Shane responded.

   "Adjust the angle. Lower your hand," I instructed, keeping my eye on the heart. 

   "Melonie, let's run the small bowel," Meredith said.

   "How do you do that again?" Shane questioned, continuing to suction.

   "Here. I'll take the suction. Meredith will teach you." I took the suction and started to suction the gunk and blood out of the way.

   "Just take them in your hands, look for injuries... nice and slow." Meredith walked him through it, making sure he didn't do anything wrong.

   Callie walked in and wiped her gloves to get them dry. "I just dropped Sophia off at day care. Did you remember it was Multicultural Day?"

   "Yeah, I made fish sticks," Meredith answered her.

   "Ugh," Callie groaned. "I signed up for plantains and I totally forgot."

   "I'm sure no one will notice," Meredith responded.

   "Mark always kept track of that stuff," Callie sighed.

   "Okay, Melonie, I'm sorry, but Callie is going to take over for you. I'll let you have the next surgery." Meredith looked at me. 

   "You've got to be kidding me." I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

   I handed the suction to Meredith, while Callie took over for what Meredith and Shane were doing. I threw my gloves into the trash and took off my mask, walking outside.

   As I went to check my charts, I saw Jackson and April talking to each other. They had very intense looks on their faces and I groaned, rolling my eyes at them. I watched them as they had their intense conversation, then April saw me and looked away, told him something, then walked the other direction.

   "What is going on?" I walked over to him. 

   "What do you mean?" Jackson asked me, trying to hold my hand, but I jerked it away.

   "Are you cheating on me?" I blurted out. "I swear to God, if April sleeps with another one of my boyfriends, I am going to kill her. I don't know why I-"

   "Babe, stop." Jackson attempted to calm me down, and I just looked at him. "I'm not cheating on you. I would never cheat on you. I love you and only you."

   "Then what's with all of the whispering and the secret conversations, and why is April acting so weird around me?" I questioned.

   "You'll find out soon, okay?" He kissed the top of my head before hurrying off.

   'You'll find out soon.' What the hell does that mean? How soon is 'soon'? 

   I walked down to the dungeon and began eating my lunch. I was mad, and confused. What could be going on with Jackson? And why does April know about it?

   Meredith and Alex came down, and Mer sat next to me, while Alex sat on the other side of her.

   "What happened to your surgery?" I asked Mer.

   "They didn't need me anymore, and Callie had to amputate her leg, so that was all her job, not mine," Mer answered.

   "Do you guys know what's going on with Jackson?" I asked, jabbing my fork into my salad and shoving it in my mouth.

   Alex and Meredith just looked at each other, then started eating. I looked at them and dropped my fork back into my salad.

   "So you do know," I grunted. "Tell me. I'm dying."

   "Look, we can't tell you, but you'll find out soon," Meredith reassured me.

   "That's exactly what Jackson told me!" I raised my voice. "Why does everyone know except for me? April's acting all weird and it's driving me insane."

   "Calm down," Alex scoffed, eating his sandwich. 

   "No one was talking to you, jackass," I retorted, eating a part of my salad, then hopping off of the gurney.

   "Where are you going?" Meredith questioned.

   "Everyone's lying to me and I'm done with it," I answered.

   "Melonie, we're not lying to you," Alex said. 

   "By not telling me whatever is going on, you're lying!" I exclaimed.

   "Apparently, you don't know the definition of 'lying'," Meredith chuckled. 

   "And now you're laughing at me." I rolled my eyes.

   "Oh my God. Why are you so upset by this?" Meredith asked.

   I didn't answer her. I just folded my arms and walked away like a child would when pouting.

~

   I arrived at home at about 9:30 that night. I walked up to my porch and dug through my purse for my house keys. When I finally found them, I unlocked the door.

   The first thing I saw was April, Meredith, Derek, and Alex all standing in a line in the hallway. I gave them confused looks as I walked past them, and they all handed me a bouquet of flowers. My hands were full by the end of the line, so I set the flowers down as I saw Jackson. He was wearing a tuxedo and he was smiled, his hands folded in front of him. 

   I walked toward him, giving him a very confused look. 

   "What is going on?" I asked, giving him a small smile.

   "I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. You have made me feel things that no one else has. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. I love everything about you; your smile, your personality, the way you stand up for what you believe in. Everything. I want you. All of you. You make so happy, happier than anyone ever has, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He reached into his pocket and went down on one knee. I cupped my hands over my mouth as tears began to form in my eyes. "Melonie Ann Grey, will you marry me?" He opened the box to show a diamond ring.

   I stared at him, then at the ring, and I nodded, letting my tears fall from my eyes. Jackson slipped the ring onto my finger, and I wrapped my arms around him as he picked me up, spinning me around. Everyone in the room clapped and cheered for us, taking pictures and videos. I kissed Jackson passionately, cupping his face with my hands.

   "I'm sorry that I blamed you for cheating," I giggled. "I love you."

   "I love you." He kissed me again.

~

Word Count: 1519