SHE | alex karev

chapter sixty two

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CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
stand by me.
season five, episode eighteen.

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"I'm sorry, why are you so stressed?" Billie asked, watching as her brother, at the wheel, ran his hand through his hair frustratedly for what must have been the sixth time. At this point, his hair was a complete mess.

"It's Shepherd! Goddammit, this is why I never wanted to be Chief," Ian replied with a huff.

He had been sulking for the past few days, pushed down by the weight of having to replace Derek as chief of neuro due to the fact that said surgeon was still adamant on quitting. As he had said, Ian had never wanted to be Chief, since anything that required paperwork put him on a bad mood extremely quickly, but there was no other qualified attending for the job.

Billie had been to the woods, to Derek's trailer, in order to check on the man multiple times through the past few days. However, he was always drunk, smelling of beer and with an overgrown stubble, as well as the same clothes every single day, so Billie had been making it her job to visit his trailer every night, once he had dropped fast asleep, in order to clean up the space. It may had had something to do with the fact that Derek's constant drunkenness reminded her of her father, who had also spent years of his life engrossed in pints, although she wasn't all that sure.

She no longer bothered trying to talk Derek, since he was always extremely angry (the last time Billie had tried having a conversation with him, he had ended up literally insulting her brother for plainly existing, which was why the girl had embodied wrath itself and had left the trailer for a good period of time. However, even though his behavior wasn't excused, she'd always be there for him because she knew better than to judge him for his depression), but simply coming over felt like enough comfort for both of them.

"You're doing a good job, Ian, relax," she said, putting down the sun visor in order to eye herself on the small mirror as she applied some mascara (Ian had woken her up at five thirty and had forced her to rush out of the house, which was why she hadn't had time to properly get ready).

"Yeah, doesn't mean I like it," Ian mumbled under his breath just as he pulled up on the parking lot of the hospital.

Immediately, both siblings rushed out of the car in a very similar fashion, holding their bags to their shoulders and each threading their fingers into their own hair out of stress. Walking in sync, they made their way into the hospital, where they mumbled a goodbye and each headed their own way. Billie, in her case, strode towards the elevator, which she managed to catch just in time before the doors slid closed.

With a bit of a struggle, she pushed herself into the small tin box with the many other people. She had to chug in her claustrophobia, but as she was about to close her eyes to get some tranquility, she caught sight of Alex next to her, which immediately calmed her down. The man was too busy looking down at this phone to notice her.

"Alex, hey." Billie smiled, nudging him with her elbow. He was already changed into his scrubs.

Alex looked up, but he didn't smile. "Oh, hi."

"You good?" She frowned as the elevator began riding up.

(Billie liked to consider herself a perceptive person. She tended to psychoanalyze the people that surrounded her, so she was able to sense the slightest shift in someone's energy because she fixated over every detail. Unpredictability made her feel unsafe.)

"Fine." He nodded.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

"Why would I be?" Alex glanced at her sideways, almost like he was avoiding her eyes.