season six episode twenty-four 'death and all his friends'
Jackson's week was agonizingly slow leading up to Friday. He performed well in his surgeries and had been praised by his fellows but nothing seemed to be as monumental as the thought of what was to happen later that night. He had already bought a plethora of pancake toppings for his friendly date with Adeline and had planned on cooking up a storm. It would be their first private hang out with their feelings in the open and known to each other and after an awkward and long stage of not talking to one another. He wanted to leave a good impression on her, again.
Throughout his week he had received a lot of teasing from Charles, though it was all in a friendly manner. Charles was proud of his friend for being open and making amends with the girl but if you asked him he'd tell you he was sick of seeing his friend sulking all the time. Charles had to admit it, he was jealous because he secretly knew he'd never have the guts to tell Reed his feelings so in a way he was living vicariously through Jackson.
Jackson had only spotted Adeline a couple of times on Friday morning, admiring from a distance and his heart fluttering whenever he caught her eye. His day started with a trauma, a gunshot victim which took him into surgery. He was on Teddy's service, happy that he didn't have to share with Christina in the OR. The surgery was going well albeit Owen was acting a little hostile but Jackson knew it was none of his business.
When Derek walked into the OR and quietly informed Jackson of the current situation all Jackson found himself thinking about was Adeline. She was meant to be on Owen's service so with him in the OR she could be anywhere in the hospital, anywhere out in the open, a sitting duck. He cleaned up his act quickly as soon as Derek left, returning to his patient and apologising for his shaky hands. He couldn't leave the OR, not until they were given the all clear.
The remainder of the surgery was gruelling for Jackson; he wanted to be out there, he wanted to be with Adeline, protecting her and comforting her, shielding her from the terrible atmosphere. He didn't know that two of his friends were dead or dying, he hadn't seen the bloodstained girl we was in love with. It felt like everything seemed to drag on for so long and it was tortuous. There was tension between Teddy and Owen and it took everything in Jackson to not shut them up by telling them of the reason for the lockdown. He needed to wait until after the surgery.
Jackson was left in the OR with the nurses as Teddy and Owen made their way out, slowly taking their patient to the ICU. There was no use arguing with either of them, he knew their patient wouldn't last if he stayed in the OR. Jackson remained by the door as soon as Owen and Teddy left. There were only two nurses and the anesthesiologist in the room with him and Jackson couldn't let anything happen to them. He calmed them down from his position by the door, leaning up against it and listened out for any movement in the hallway, waiting for an all clear message. Adeline, please be okay, Jackson kept thinking to himself. Please, be okay.
Adeline stood at the corner of the hallway, looking down both sides before moving quickly across to the elevators. It had taken Christina and Adeline quite a while to get Derek into the wheelchair and to gather Meredith and April up. Christina seemed to be the most calm one there, consoling the two girls as Adeline came in and out of dazes. Christina could only imagine what she had seen. She had given Adeline the task of making sure they had a clear path to the elevators down to the OR, she had to keep her mind working otherwise she'd zone out again, break down to tears.
Adeline pressed the button to go down, tapping it repeatedly before the doors slid open. She turned back, waving to Christina and held the doors open as she wheeled Derek in, Meredith and April following. Adeline closed it as soon as the last person came in, pressing the button to the ground floor. Adeline anxiously started to tap her foot, growing more and more impatient by the second.
"Addie! Addie, cut it out." Adeline looked at Christina, noticing her pleading look before nodding. She bounded out of the elevator as soon as it opened, waving down with every hallway she passed before making it to the double doors. They rushed through, making it into the first OR they could, April holding the door open. Christina pushed Derek over to the table, gesturing to Adeline to help her lift the man up. It took all their strength but the two managed to get him laying on the table.
"Prep him for OR. Teddy should still be on the floor, Addie and I will go find her. April will be here with you, okay. We'll be right back." Adeline was grateful for Christina, she was keeping calm and speaking smoothly, something she couldn't even begin to do. The two women krept into the hallway, noting how eerily quiet it was without a groaning Derek. "You check OR 2, I'll check OR 4." Adeline nodded, letting go of Christina and turned to the left, slowly approaching the door as her friend turned the opposite way. It was metres away but trying to keep her footsteps quiet and not make a sound made it seem ages away. The shooter could be down here, he could be near her.
"Jackson. Alex. Mark. Charles. Collins. Schmidt. Swan. Lexie. Meredith. Christina. April." Adeline took a step with each name she muttered, trying her best to control her breathing. She came closer to the door, starting the names all over again to help her calm down. Adeline lifted her hand up shakily, grabbing a hold of the door handle and pulling down slowly. The lights were turned on as it slowly streamed out. She gasped as a hand clasped onto her wrist, pulling her in, slamming their hand on her mouth as they closed the door. She was squealing against the hand, clasping onto it as he released her wrist. She was held against the man's chest, thrashing in his arms before relaxing when she saw three other people in the OR.
Jackson had heard some groaning and a series of footsteps from outside of his OR, moving himself tightly up against the door. He was seemingly calm as he began to hear whispering from outside his door. He slowly built up the courage as it grew louder the closer the person came and watched from his position on the left side of the door as the handle moved down. He didn't think twice before opening the door, pulling the person in and clasping his hand over their mouths. He almost didn't recognise Adeline from the blood in her hair, staining it a darker brown, but once he did he was relieved to know she was alive.
"Hey! Hey, shh! Addie, it's me! Shh." Adeline's eyes softened upon hearing the voice, quickly turning to look up at him. "Is that you're blood? Are you okay?"
"Jackson." She breathed, taking in his appearance. He was wearing his normal scrubs, looking over her and assessing all the blood in her hair, on her face and staining her attending coloured scrubs. "Jax, oh my God!" Adeline cried out, rushing into his arms as he tightly embraced her. Jackson didn't want to let go, he couldn't imagine what may happen if the two had separated. Adeline struggled to move away but had to in order to save Derek's life. "It's uh- It's Reeds. And Zeppelins and Derek's. O-Owen. And Teddy. We need them, where are they?" Adeline blurted out, looking around the room expecting to see the two attendings hiding away. "Jax?"
"They're not here. They left." Jackson wanted to pull her back in, protect her from outside. Judging by her looks she had seen and experienced a lot.
"Derek has a GSW to the chest and- April and Mere are in there prepping him and Christina is out there expecting to find one of them in the OR." Adeline ran a hand through her hair, the strands sticking to her hands before they pulled away.
"We have two nurses and an anesthesiologist." Jackson nodded his head to the three other women. Adeline looked over at them and nodded.
"I'll get Christina. Take them to OR one and tell them to set up for a cardiac procedure. We have a surgeon, we have Christina." Adelined needed to act fast. She set out of the room, Jackson rallying up the three other staff before setting up after her. She met with Christina in the hallway, simply shaking her head. "You are going to go in there and you are going to save Derek. Ok?" Christina seemed surprised by the sudden calmness.
"I-I need Teddy or Owen. I need someone, it can't just be me." Christina started to ramble, looking at Jackson and the others. Adeline sighed, following her gaze before sighing.
"I'll go. I'll go look for them, okay." Christina seemed unsure about it before nodding at her friend.
"Addie! No! You can't be walking out there." Jackson tried to argue, waving to the staff to head into the OR and prep. He reached out, grabbing her hand in an effort to stop her.
"You need to go and help her. I will be back soon." Adeline squeezed it before dropping his hand. She knew he was safe, now she had to find Owen or Teddy for Christina. It was the least she could do after she felt like she got Derek into this mess. "Go." Adeline urged the two. Christina seemed hesitant at first before disappearing down the hall and into the OR. "Jax, please. They need you in there." Jackson looked at Adeline, fighting back the urge to drag her with him. He went to speak before stopping himself, running after Christina. He couldn't look back at her otherwise he wouldn't have made it in.
"She'll be okay, Jackson." Christina quickly helped the nurses set up, looking over at him as he made his way to wash his hands and officially scrub in. "She'll be okay."
* * *
Adeline waited until the door closed behind Jackson before heading off. She didn't know where she could go exactly, Owen and Teddy could be literally anywhere in the hospital and there was a lot of a hospital to cover. The blood had dried on her shoes so she was no longer slipping as she walked and her breathing seemed to regulate as she focused on finding an attending. She rounded corners carefully, making sure to watch her feet and where she was going simultaneously so she didn't trip and fall to the ground. The names repeated in her head yet she felt more at ease knowing Jackson was with three of the people she cared about.
Adeline opened every OR and door she came across, looking inside, seeing either an empty space or a couple of nurses, civilians or other staff members hiding. Adeline couldn't imagine what it would be like to have the door open from the otherside, waiting to see a gun. Adeline wasn't too sure how long she was walking for, she was taking a while to ensure she made the least amount of noise possible.
Adeline closed each door as silently as she could before moving on as she passed them, making it to a large open area. She cringed to herself, she would be spotted easily if the shooter decided to venture down here. Adeline sucked in a breath, bolting across the floor to the otherside and away from the big open area and staircase. She looked back at the empty space as she disappeared around the corner leading into a hallway, halting when she saw the SWAT team. The five men stood in a perfect 'V' formation with their guns held in front of them as they moved methodically. Upon seeing them, she raised her hands in the air.
"Ma'am, are you okay? Are you injured?" One of the men spoke up, waving for his men to lower their weapons as she stood. Adeline shook her head, struggling to get the words out.
"I-I need to help my friends. Please, we need to help them." Adeline's hands remained up and started to shake when she realised she was in no real danger anymore. The weight of her morning came crashing down and she lowered her arms, looking at the five men. "Derek's been shot, please we need to help him. I need Hunt or Altman, please." Adeline pleaded, looking back the way she came. She heard static voices as they came through on their comms, all five men finally relaxing, no longer on edge. "Can we please go help them?" By this stage Adeline's bloodstained cheeks became streaked with tears.
"Ma'am, let's take you outside. We'll have you go get assessed." The leader of the pack slowly approached Adeline, watching as she took a step back.
"No, no. We need to help Derek. I'm not going." Adeline wiped under her eyes as the tears began to collect on her bottom lid. "We have to go. We have to get there before the shooter does. Please. I've seen people dead and I've watched people die. This is my hospital, these are my people. I am not leaving." The leader reached out carefully, grabbing her hand.
"It's okay. The shooter has been located and dealt with. Let's get you out of here." He was under strict instructions to get the remainder of the people out of there. When he noticed Adeline stepping back he sighed, asking his supervisor how to go about the situation, getting his reply seconds later. "Take us to him." Adeline nodded before turning on her feet, running back the way she came and down to the OR. The five men exchanged looks before running after the woman. They had been in plenty of situations like this one before but never in a hospital. It was an eerie sight to see; a place that was so arguably safe and indestructible so empty and quiet.
Adeline made it on the OR floor, completely disregarding the men as she ran, stopping in front of the OR Christina and Adeline had felt Derek in. She pushed the doors open, noting that Christina was with Owen with some gauze on his shoulder. Jackson stood off to the side with April beside him and Meredith sat at Derek's head, looking down at him. Adeline quickly glanced at the monitor's sighing with relief when she noticed he was stable. The men piled in behind her, the leader speaking into his walkie talkie before looking around.
"Addie." Jackson stepped forward with a sigh of relief, the girl collapsing into his embrace, finally letting herself go. Adeline wrapped her arms tightly around him, breathing in his scent.
"Let's get you all out of here." Adeline heard the leader of the team speak to the exhausted group.
"I've got you, Addie."