Rain

The building collapse

Big brother to her stupid little sister she loved with stupid puppy eyes. Little sister. Lexie was her little sister. And as much as Meredith was scared to love her, she did. That's why she was doing this. It was something Emily would've done. Emily probably would've asked to be tested even though Thatcher was Lexie's dad. But she was different now. Less stable. The last time they had spoken, she realized that the brunette sounded better but still off. Still healing.

For God's sake, she was Emily. She loved with her whole heart and never held back and that meant when George died, she could barely hold it together. Meredith knew that. And now he was gone. There was bound to be a few cracks without anyone who knew George to help her. She'd fill in the cracks with glue that hadn't set and tape that'd fray. Meredith knew that Emily wouldn't fix it until someone made her fix it.

Sometimes, she hated that her friend was in Boston. Sometimes, she hated the distance because she could feel Emily drifting away again. Something bad was coming and she knew it. Now, they had to just wait for it to play out.

.

Three days after her Boston marathon, Emily was paged to the E.R. The T.V. was on and there was a startling calm to it. Many of the beds were prepped with trauma kits as a black jacket was shoved into her hands. Her Mass Gen jacket. Confused, she unfolded it. Putting it on, she joined the line of other doctors waiting beside her. It consisted of Tom, Taylor, Matthew and Noah. She frowned slightly, tucking the necklace under her shirt.

"What's happening?" Tom asked as Noah broke line, a commanding aura around him. He scanned them, watching as the T.V. switched to the news.

"We are deployed as the triage team from this hospital. A building collapsed with an estimated a thirty casualties so far. Now, I need you all to assess, tag and move on to the next one or go to triage and do what you can. Search and Rescue are continuously bringing out new ones and I need you all on your A game." He held his hands behind his back, pinning them with a stare again. "Be careful, be cautious, be smart. Quick and dirty, no muss, no fuss. Understood?"

"Yes," they chanted back and he nodded. Turning around, he grabbed a trauma kit and they followed suit, loading into the ambulance. The doors swung shut as Emily huddled in between Tom and Taylor. Noah and Matthew sat on the other side, swaying as the sirens wailed. They dodged between traffic and sped through the highway as they drove as fast as they could to the site. Noah brought out some black devices, hooking one on his jacket.

"Radios. Use 'em when you need to, always answer and tell us where you are. You report back to me when I tell you to."

"Yes, sir." Emily grabbed the radio and hooked it to her jacket when the ambulance stuttered to a stop. Opening the door, Taylor jumped off the rig first, his green trauma kit swaying from the momentum. Landing beside him, she used his shoulder to steady herself before glancing up. Her eyes widened as Tom came beside her.

"Holy shit." Swallowing, she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah."

In front of her, a grey building was swallowed in dust and ash, steel beams and glass panes shattered. It was three stories tall, an apartment building. Tenants streamed out, scared and hurt. There were tents and rolled tarps for color-coded triage. There was a loud crash and a large flare of fire ignited before dying off again. Dust and smoke poured out the broken windows as people screamed. The thundering rain nearly drowned them all out as Emily ducked on instinct, raising her arms as glass shattered.

"Let's move, people!" Noah yelled and immediately made his way to the red zone, stopping beside a small child. Nodding, she grabbed Tom's hand and he pulled her along. Taylor went off to talk to the Search and Rescue leader while Matthew went with the trauma surgeon.