This job isn't easy. The sheer amount of pressure and loss that we square off against every day... can leave you exhausted... or helpless. You're going to need to find an outlet for the stress. Maybe it's physical... maybe it's emotional... maybe it's family... but trust me, you're not going to survive residency unless you have a happy place... somewhere that you can just escape it all.
3rd Person POV:
We see Jackson working out, releasing all his anger. He's angry about everything. He's angry about the virus, he's angry that it's killing patients every day, and he's angry... that his wife had to be put on a vent.
He wanted to her to be okay. He wanted to hear her beautiful voice, see her gorgeous smile, hear her infectious laugh... he wanted to hear her. He needed her.
Meanwhile at Meredith's house, we see Amelia trying to get a hold of Maggie.
Amelia: Maggie, I don't know if you are asleep or if you are ignoring me or the world entirely, but call.
Link walks outside as Amelia hangs up the phone.
Link: still nothing?
Amelia: uh, she could be passed out on the floor from COVID, and no one would know. Or– or she could be hit by a car on the I-94 on the way to Wyoming.
Link: what's in Wyoming?
Amelia: I don't know. But one sister's on a vent and the other one is missing, not to mention my niece is also on a vent, and the last time a sibling was missing, he was dying on the side of the road, so—
Zola: is my mommy and sister gonna die?
Amelia turns around to see Zola at the door with a terrified look on her face.
Amelia: uh...
Zola: it's okay. You can tell me.
Amelia looks at Link then back at Zola.
Amelia: come on Zo. Let's go inside.
Amelia leads Zola back into the house.
Meanwhile on the beach, we see Delilah walking along the beach with her eyes closed, enjoying the breeze in her face. She takes a moment to stop and look out towards the ocean.
Joey: you're a little early to the party sis.
Delilah's heart stops for a moment when she hears the familiar voice. She turns her head and she sees... her baby brother.
Delilah: Joey.
Joey: hey big sis.
Delilah slowly approaches her little brother with tears of joy in her eyes.
Meanwhile in the real world, we see Teddy enter Tom Koracick's room.
Tom: hi.
Teddy doesn't respond.
Tom: what, no gifts? At the very least, some crosswords, peanut butter cookies, contraband porn?
Teddy doesn't respond.
Tom: kidding. I'd trade all that for good conversation.
No response again.
Tom: okay, if this is about the nurses, they need to calm down. We have COVID. It was no biggie.
Teddy: what are you talking about?
Tom: I went to see Grey and Avery-Shepherd. I needed to see some living scenery. You would've loved it– each time, the two of us under blankets, it was like "On COVID Pond".
Teddy: it's not funny.
Tom: it's a little funny.
Teddy: we intubated Meredith, Tom. Delilah too.
Tom scoffs. He was finally happy to see Delilah awake and kicking it. He wanted this to be a joke.
Tom: you know, if you ever find yourself thinking about cheering up kids in the cancer ward, don't.
Teddy: sorry. I'm sorry. I-I just... I just needed to be in a room with someone who doesn't hate me.
Meanwhile, we see Richard talking to Owen about his plan for Andrew who was stabbed.
Webber: you're going to do an ex-lap and a sternotomy? Is that necessary?
Owen: it is. It's what Lilah would do. And besides, his FAST exam indicates cardiac injury. Ever since I stepped up as chief of trauma in Lilah's place, every time I'm on a case, I would think, "what would Lilah do?". So I'm confident in my choice.
Meanwhile in the chapel, we see Carina with her girlfriend Maya.
Maya: do you want to see your friend? The one that speaks Italian.
Carina: Delilah. Um... yeah. I mean, she's intubated, but yeah. Come with me.
Maya takes Carina out of the chapel and Carina leads Maya to Delilah's room.
Maya: I'll be right here.
Carina slowly walks into Delilah's room for the first time since she was admitted. The distraught Italian woman sits beside her baby brother's friend and takes her hand in her own.
Carina: hi Delilah. I wish you could speak so you could tell me that everything will be okay. Andrea is clinging for his life, and I... I don't know what to do. You always know what to say to calm me down, and I'm scared that I'm going to lose my baby Andrea. Please wake up.
Carina breaks down in tears as she squeezes Delilah's hand.
Meanwhile on the beach, Delilah and Joey are sitting in the sand together.
Delilah: I was devastated when you died.
Joey: I know.
Delilah: I hated myself that I couldn't save you, or your dad.
Joey: don't hate yourself. You fought as hard as you could to save my dad.
Delilah: I miss you.
Joey: I miss you too big sis. So, how's my lovely mother dearest?
Delilah laughs at her brother's sarcasm.
Delilah: I don't know if you've been watching over me since you died, but she tried suing me for wrongful death.
Joey: oh yeah, I saw that go down. What a bitch.
Delilah chuckles at her brother.
Joey: Michael's pretty cool. I would've liked to know him.
Delilah: he's a really smart kid. I know you two would've gotten along.
Joey: I'm glad he's taking care of you.
Delilah: the kids really miss you. They've made drawings of you a lot.
Joey smiles at his sister.
Joey: they're growing up so beautifully.
Delilah: they are.
Joey: they need you. It's not your time sis.
Delilah: ... I know.
Meanwhile in the real world, we see Jackson with Link, Dylan and Winston in the backyard of Meredith's house. Jackson, Dylan and Winston were drinking while Link was walking around with Scout in his arms as they all talk.
Jackson: you want to sit, or...
Link: oh, the second I stop, Scout starts wailing like a human ambulance.
Jackson: as you were.
Link: and Scout needs me to keep moving. Zola, Bailey, Ellis. George, Cathy, Xander, Mark– they need us to keep moving, playing songs and eating. They eat so much. So I just keep going to the grocery store and buying food that Amelia keeps pretending she knows how to cook, and what if Meredith and Delilah don't survive this, you know what it's gonna do to my life?
Jackson, Dylan and Winston all look at Link with a judgemental look.
Jackson: yeah, you just said that out loud.
Link: I'm sorry man. I didn't mean that.
Jackson: don't worry man. I get it, you're scared. We all are.
Dylan: no one's judging you man.
Winston: I'm a little bit judging, but that's 'cause I've only known you seven minutes.
Link: I'm on my knees every night praying that they survive this, and I'm not an on-my-knees-praying kind of guy.
Jackson: you're not the only one.
Dylan places a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. Jackson has been more stressed than ever since Delilah was first admitted and he couldn't deny that he felt the same way. Delilah was his family, he hated all of this.
Link: I'm not praying for myself.
Dylan: you're human Link. Give yourself a break man, alright? You're exhausted. Meredith is like family to me, so is Elle.
Jackson: Elle is the love of my life, and Mer– she's my family. She's technically my stepmother in-law. But she's also one of the greatest friends I have in my life. I can think of a million reasons I don't want her to... die.
Jackson has been thinking about Meredith and Lilah non-stop and the worst case scenarios. What if Delilah survived and Meredith didn't? What if Meredith survived and Delilah didn't? Either way, he would have to tell one that the other didn't make it and he knew that either way would end up in heart break. He didn't want to go through that.
Jackson: the point is, you're allowed to have your reasons dude.
Dylan: I'm with Jackson. They don't all have to be selfless.
Link: those kids already lost their dad. I don't want them to have to grow up without a mom too. Or their sister. And all we can do is just...
Winston: keep moving.
Link: yeah.
Winston: I mean, literally keep moving, 'cause human ambulance.
Link goes back to walking around. The conversation gets awkward when Winston finds out that Dylan and Maggie dated.
Jackson: another round?
Dylan: yeah.
Jackson and Dylan walk into the house to get more beer. As they walk into the house, they see Michael in the kitchen eating a snack while on his phone.
Jackson: hey kiddo.
Michael shoots his head up and smiles when he sees Jackson.
Michael: dad!!
Jackson chuckles as his son tackles him in a hug, making him stumble a bit.
Jackson: hey kid.
Jackson holds his son tight for the first time in weeks.
Michael: when did you get here?
Jackson: Dylan and I had to get Maggie since she wasn't answering her phone. We've been here for a bit.
Michael: how's mom? She's on the vent, right?
Jackson: her numbers are still the same kiddo. Hey, where are your brothers and sister?
Michael: Mark and Xander are napping and the twins are watching a movie. Should I tell them?
Jackson: later. They don't need to know yet.
Michael pulls Jackson into a hug.
Michael: I'm scared dad.
Jackson rests his head on top of his son's head.
Jackson: I know kid. Me too.
-later at night-
We see Amelia, Maggie and Michael in the living room with Zola explaining what's happening with Meredith and Delilah.
Amelia: so, this morning, they put your mom and your sister on a ventilator.
Zola: that's the machine that breathes for them.
Amelia: yeah.
Zola: when will they take them off of it?
Maggie: different people come off it at different times.
Zola: my dad never did. Do you think my mom and sister will?
Maggie: we hope so.
Amelia: but we don't know. We just...
Michael: we don't know kiddo.
Zola: we shouldn't tell Bailey and Ellis. Or the twins and Xander. Not unless we need to. They're just too young to understand.
Michael agreed with the young girl. He didn't want to scare his brothers and sister.
Amelia: okay. We'll wait.
Michael pulls the young girl into his lap and kisses her forehead. From the short amount of time he's known Zola, he grew to love and care for her. She knew how much Zola and the other kids meant to his mom and he learned to love them so quickly.
Meanwhile on the beach, Delilah was hanging out on the dock. She was smiling as she looked out towards the ocean. She was enjoying the breeze in her face when she heard someone's voice calling out to her. She turns around and her heart stops when she instantly recognized the face.
Delilah: oh my god...
Meanwhile, on Meredith's beach, we see Meredith and Andrew together. He was being called by his mother.
Meredith: I'll miss you. If I go back and you don't, I'll miss you.
Andrew: it'll be okay Meredith. It will. It'll be okay.
Andrew's mom: Andrea!
Andrew looks at his mother for a second then turns back to Meredith.
Andrew: one last thing. Take care of Delilah for me. And tell her... thank you for everything. She was a pretty great sister to me when Carina annoyed me too much.
Meredith and Andrew share a laugh.
Andrew: I have to go.
Meredith: okay.
Meredith watches as Andrew runs into the arms of his mother. He was happy again, and that made her happy.
Jackson's POV:
I was sitting outside on the porch by myself looking through old pictures of Delilah and I with tears in my eyes.
It's been so hard to stay strong. She's the love of my life, and seeing her on a vent killed me.
Michael: dad.
I quickly wipe away my tears before looking up at my son.
Jackson: yeah kiddo?
Michael: I want to see her. I... I need to see mom.
Jackson: Michael...
Michael: please dad. I... I need to see her. This is killing me. Please.
I look into my son's eyes and I could see his red and puffy eyes. He had been crying. It broke my heart to see my son so broken.
Jackson: ... okay.
I grab my son's hand and shoot Dylan a text that Michael was coming with me to see Lilah. When we got there, we sneak Michael into the hospital and get him in PPE before entering Lilah's room. The second Michael sees Lilah, I could see his heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. I stand behind Michael as he sits down next to Lilah and takes her hand in his.
Michael: hey mom, it's me. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here. I'm here and I love you. Please wake up.
I look at Dylan who was standing outside of the room. Dylan nods at me and I step out of the room for a second.
Jackson: what's up?
Dylan: Owen just told me about DeLuca. He went into surgery again, and he... he didn't make it.
My face falls. Andrew stepped up as a brother figure to Lilah after she lost Joey. How am I supposed to tell her that her pseudo brother is gone when she wakes up?
Jackson: damn it.
Dylan: can't even imagine how Lilah's gonna take it when she wakes up.
Jackson: poor Carina. Andrew was everything to her.
Dylan: I really liked DeLuca. He was a damn good surgeon and a really good kid.
Jackson: I did too. He took care of Lilah when I couldn't. He was a good kid.
I see my son break down in tears so I run into the room and hold him in my arms.
Michael: I need her.
Jackson: I know. We all do.
Michael: she has to live. She has to.
Jackson: I know.
I hold my son close to me as I look at my wife with tears in my eyes.