Before We Turn to Stone

Season 16, Episode 12: The Mother

"Welcome to the end of being alone inside your mind,

You're tethered to another and you're worried all the time.

You always knew the melody but you never heard it rhyme."

***

Eli is Izzie's son.

Alex Karev gets involved with his patients. It's unavoidable: it's peds. And when you grew up like Alex did, when things heavier than children should have to bear were the fabric of your childhood, it's even harder not to be consumed with a drive, a need, to save and protect children in danger.

But this... This is different.

He knows he will never forgive himself if he does not save Izzie's child's life.

He has a stitch in his side by the time he arrives at CT. The resident, Marko, is waiting in the vestibule for the scans to come up on the screen. "He hasn't come to. Blood pressure is holding, but we've had a few dips," Marko informs him when he enters.

"He's bleeding into his brain. We gotta get those scans up." He closes his eyes and wrestles down the urge to slam his fist onto the top of the ancient machine before him.

"Dr. Karev! Here they come."

But before he can get a good look, he sees the little body inside the CT start to shake.

"He's seizing again. We're out of time."

Alex charges into CT; he barely remembers to grab an apron before he goes in. He slaps at the panel. The platform glacially extends out from within the eerie tunnel. An orderly appears at his side with a gurney. Together they lift Eli's body board onto the gurney.

"OR one, let's go! Marko, tell me what I'm looking for!" Alex roars.

"Bleeding into the fourth ventricle! It's blocking the CSF, that's what's causing the swelling."

Alex swears and charges towards the OR elevators. If the trauma alone had caused the swelling, he could do a craniectomy, remove a flap of bone and remove the pressure. But a bleed into the ventricle... the best, safest bet is to install an intraventricular catheter. There's less risk, but they're already strapped for time... and though he's done several over the years, Alex has never installed one on a kid as small as Eli. And if the cath doesn't do its job, it might be too late for the craniectomy to do any good..

More than ever, he desperately wishes he was at Grey Sloan.

It feels like it takes forever, but it's less than ten minutes later that he's scrubbed in and Eli's been prepped, face down in the OR. Alex's pulse hammers in his throat, but his hands are steady as he walks into the OR.

"Ten blade," he begins, extending his hand.

But before he can make another move, the door to his OR opens.

"Alex."

"Mer! What are – It doesn't matter. Go scrub and get in here. I want another set of eyes."

She stays where she is, outside the sterile field. "Alex," she repeats. "Put down the scalpel, please."

He glares at her. "Meredith, his brain is swelling. I don't have time for this. What's the matter with you?"

"You can't operate on Eli. Amelia is going to be here in a few minutes. If you give her privileges, she can take over for you."

"How did you know this was..." Realization breaks over him like a wave. "Izzie's here. She's with you. She doesn't want me to operate on him."