How To Save A Life (Grey's Anatomy)

Chapter Forty-Two

"I can see you like vegetables. After surgery, you might become one." Alex leans over, muttering under his breath which makes the four of us laugh. We try to hold it in but Bailey catches us, making mad eyes as she continues.

"Communication. Don't use jargon. Use language that the patient can understand. Be creative in using metaphors." She says while reading and I hear a groan from behind me.

"Oh, I'm terrible with metaphors," Charles mumbles in defeat. "I can never come up with them."

"Why? Cause you're as dumb as a box of hammers?" Cristina asks, making the entire room erupt with laughter, Charles even joining in.

"See, that's a good one. You're an ass, but that was a good one." He says with a smirk and I tilt my head, shrugging.

"Technically a simile, but who's paying attention?" I mutter and Cristina slaps my shoulder, trying to get me to shut up but only earning a laugh.

"Aha!" Charles exclaims, taking it as a win and leaning forward to give me a fist bump. Just out of spite to Cristina, I return it, looking at her with a grin.

"Traitor." She whines, still amused with the interaction before Bailey continues.

"Be clear and comprehensive. Explain all risks and all probable outcomes, leaving nothing out. Questions? Adamson?" Bailey says, calling on Reed when her hand is raised.

"Why are you going so fast?" She asks the question we all had in the back of our minds. Knowing Bailey, she would have smacked us upside the head by now for interrupting her but she seems distracted.

"It just so happens that we have an emergent patient arriving who will need a little extra sensitivity." She says before turning back to the board and reading from the given script. "So, remember to employ your R-O-C, and you will...ugh, rock your patient's world." She says with a groan, clearly, she didn't write the script.

"Oh, god." Cristina chuckles as the entire room laughs at Bailey's play on words, standing up and grabbing our coats.

"Okay, that's enough of that. Follow me to the pit." She calls out, walking over to the door. As we walk to the door, Meredith leans over to talk to me.

"Who do you think the patient is? A dying baby or a guy with two heads?" She asks with a smirk and I shrug, returning her amused look.

"Maybe it's a dying baby with two heads," I answer and she laughs, following me and the rest of the group down the hall to the ER. Once we get there, we all file into the entrance of the ambulance bay, waiting for our mystery patient. I try to walk to the front, not being able to see over everyone's heads. When I get there, I look up to see I'm standing beside Jackson, our arms touching so I sidestep away.

His eyes linger on mine for a second longer, as if he wants to say something but he stops himself, hurt flashing over his eyes before turning away. I look back to the front, trying not to display any emotion on my own face as an ambulance drives into the bay. Right behind it, a fairly large shipping truck drives in.

"All right, people, remember what you've been taught. Use it throughout the day. There'll be consequences if you don't." Bailey says to us before turning to wait for the patient. The truck backs up, coming to a complete stop with the back facing us.

"What the hell is it?" Alex asks me, just as confused as every else on why they would need to bring the patient in a truck. We watch in surprise as an entire fireteam runs into the pit to help with the truck, everyone speaking over each other.

"What, did the circus come to town?" Reed asks in disbelief as a crowd of people work together to lower the back of the truck. We watch eagerly as the back of the truck is lowered, eventually relieving...a very large patient. A very large and immobile man sits in the back of the truck.