Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 6

"How did this happen then, Emma?" Meredith asked as she continued her examination of the girl.

"My head hurt, and I couldn't see and then my head really hurt because I fell over," Emma told her, her eyes starting to tear up again.

"You're being really brave for me Emma," Meredith assured the young girl, "When Sarah gets here I'm going to go get a few things to help with your head but then I'll be right back okay?"

Emma nodded just as Dr Wilson returned with who she supposed to be Sarah who announced that Emma's parents would arrive soon. Meredith slipped out of the room after instructing the resident to stay with them, taking the electronic chart with her to update the notes.

She picked up a suture kit, lost in her own thoughts as she thought about what Emma had said and the symptoms she had witnessed just being in the room with her. They were definitely going to need to get her an CT scan.

There had still been no sign of Derek in the ER when Meredith had returned from taking the young girl for the CT scan, having promised to stay beside the girl since her parents couldn't go in the room. She now left Emma in their care in one of the rooms on the paediatric ward while she went to seek out the scan results and blood test results.

She was still lost in her own thoughts when Yang approached her, almost startling her out of her skin.

"You're being jumpy," Cristina said, narrowing her eyes at Meredith.

"Yeah, I just have a patient I need to get results for," Meredith said with a slight frown.

"Oh you have a patient?" Cristina asked, "is this your first patient whilst being acting chief?"

"Yeah, seven year old girl, suspected brain tumour that's probably pressing the optic nerve," Meredith explained as they walked in the direction of the lab for the results she needed.

"Are you okay?" Cristina asked, genuinely concerned now.

"Cris, I'm fine, I've got it," Meredith assured her as she got the results from the lab, simultaneously receiving a notification to her phone, pulling it out to see the scan was ready for her.

"Okay, if you say so. Page if you need me," she said, her hand resting on Meredith's shoulder a moment before she walked away.

Meredith found herself back in the ER after viewing the scans, ready to speak to Emma's parents about the results but she was intercepted by Derek before she could leave the ER to go up to the paeds floor.

"Dr Grey?" He asked, about to reach for her arm but thinking otherwise when she all but glared at his outstretched hand.

"What do you need Dr Shepherd?" She asked, one hand on her hip, "I have places to be."

"Kepner said you took my consultation," he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your point?" She asked, her arms crossing over her chest.

"I mean, I can continue on the case if you're busy," he said, seeming to catch on to her not so pleasant mood toward him now.

"Dr Shepherd, when it takes you or anyone from your team over two hours to see a child with a head injury it doesn't look good. I may have stepped on your toes two weeks ago when I told you to sort your department out, but now it's my job," she told him, standing up straighter now, "if you're having problems with that, I need to know."

"Right, Dr Grey, sorry," he said, realising she wasn't even close to teasing him about this right now.

"I won't have enough time to pick up the slack and I won't always be here to do it either," she said to him, "there needs to be improvements by the end of the next week before Dr Grey returns."