S4 EP1
"DR... DR LAWRENCE?"
Norah turned around to see three nervous-looking interns and one familiar face waiting for her in a line; they had a notepad in their hands and a pen in another. She raised her brow at them before shaking her head.
"Does it never exist a gender balance?" she mumbled before lifting her eyes to them; the interns straightened their posture more than they already were. "Names?"
"Dr Nina Lee," said the only woman among the four, her hand shot up in the air.
"Kirian Rook," said a man with dark hair.
"George O'Malley."
The remaining man introduced himself, "Jace Thompson."
Norah nodded. "I have five rules, memorise them-"
"Five? That's a lot," Kirian murmured.
The resident shot him a glare which made him shut up. "Make that six. The sixth one is not to interrupt me when I speak. Are we clear, Rook?"
The intern nodded, and Norah resumed, "Rule number one: don't bother sucking up. You will do what you deserve to do when you prove to me that you're ready."
They began scribbling down on their notepads as the resident stepped aside, gesturing to the items on the nurses' station. "Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers," she listed out, "Nurses will page you, and don't you ever dare miss a page. Also, never disrespect your nurses-that's rule number two. Cranky nurses don't do us any good. Follow up."
She began walking down the hallway as her interns scrambled to pick up their pages before following after her. "You're interns, grunts, nobodies-bottom of the surgical food chain. You run labs, write orders, work every second night till you drop," she turned to them, "Don't complain to me until you're actually dropping, though, which brings me to rule number three: don't overwork yourself and faint. I have no time in babysitting an extra patient."
She opened one of the doors in the corridor, silently praying that it had not got occupied. Ah, my lucky day. "On-call rooms. Everyone hogs them, so sleep when you can and where you can," she continued, "Mind I warn you, if you catch anyone inside, kindly turn around and erase your memory of the last minute that existed." The interns shared a look; George had a knowing grimace.
"Rule number four: page me whenever you're unsure of anything," she stared at them with furrowed brows, "I do not want you to go around killing patients instead of saving them, we clear?" She rolled her eyes at George, who swallowed back a snort of laughter.
Nina raised her arm in the air before asking, "You missed one rule. What's rule number five?"
"Rule number five? That's simple," Norah cleared her throat, "Enjoy your internship. Do not do idiotic things, and do not disappoint me. Questions?"
"Is it true that you've frozen in the OR?" Kirian asked, and the three other interns snapped their heads to him, their eyes wide. He seemed to take notice of the tenseness in the air and shrunk back to his spot, stammering, "Uh, I mean... I, uh... I heard..."
The resident glared at him. "Have you heard that I've punched a co-worker in the face, too?" The interns have gone quiet; George looked like he was about to implode from holding his laughter. "Yes, that happened. And I will try my best not to repeat it on you lot this year."
Kirian smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"Well, then. Welcome to your internship in Seattle Grace-" Norah's pager went off, as well as the interns. They lowered their heads then back up to their resident. "Quick tip-if you want the best cases, run to the ER. Let's go."
❦ ❦ ❦
NORAH HURRIED DOWN towards the ER with her interns following her. Rounding the corridors along the way, she quickly listed the names of attendings and head nurses, and the interns wrote them down instantly.
"Dr Lawrence."
"Dr Sloan."
"I see you have little ducklings following you around," Mark grinned as she walked past him, "And O'Malley."
"Really? Ducklings?" she shook her head at him before turning to her interns, "That was Dr Sloan, Head of Plastics. Keep in mind that he hates interns."
They entered the ER where it was... empty. She expected to see a swarm of new faces but was, instead, greeted by an eerie silence and the new Chief Resident, Callie, who looked more than pleased from seeing her arrival. "Where are the rest?" Callie asked.
"No idea," Norah shrugged. "What do you have?"
"Multiple MVCs due any minute," the Chief Resident informed. "George is your intern?" her eyebrows shot to the air, "Well, at least they seem to be following your orders well."
"Like ducklings," Norah muttered under her breath. Oh god, Mark Sloan was infecting her.
She turned around to the four of them, and two hands shot up in the air. "Alright, George and Lee, head to the ambulance bay; Rook and Thompson, go get stat packs."
❦ ❦ ❦
THE THREE INTERNS WERE observing the arm, which was severed from a car accident, while George did an ultrasound on the patient. "What do you see?" Norah asked them.
"It's uh... very gory," Kirian replied and received an unsatisfied stare.
"It's a clean cut," Nina noted, "Complete amputation."
"Good," the resident nodded while she continued looking at the ultrasound display. "And what should we proceed with? Thompson?"
"Uh... hang antibiotics... to prevent infections," Jace replied unsurely, "Then put on sterile dressing to-"
The intern got interrupted when the door opened, and everyone turned their heads to it. Izzie entered the room along with her interns following behind her. Timothy walked in behind the group, looking bored out of his mind, but he managed to muster up a smile at the sight of his sister.
"This is trauma room one," Izzie familiarised, "Oh, hi, George. And as you can see, it's... there's a trauma." Her interns broke into whispers and murmurs, and she lowered her voice to Norah, "Hey, do you need some help? Please tell me you need some help."
"This room is packed, Iz, as you can see," Norah stated.
Izzie let out a frustrated sigh, shaking her head. "Why are your interns looking at me like that?" she asked again, "And mine?"
Norah turned her head to her interns, who were also whispering to one another. Seeing their eyes darting between the two residents in the room, then at Timothy, who had faked a guilt-free look on his face, the brunette laughed silently.
"Ah... They probably know that I've punched you before," she shrugged. "See, I might've mentioned it to my ducking, and, well, my brother's your intern."
The door opened again, and Izzie's interns took a step back, allowing Mark to step into the room while he put on his gloves. The attending's eyes met Timothy's briefly, and he cleared his throat, turning his focus back to the patient in the room.
"What do you got for me, Lawrence?"
"Nancy Walters. Complete amputation," Norah presented and turned the ultrasound monitor to him. "Her baby looks fine, but she's having some contractions."
Mark nodded and rounded to the side of the patient. "Hi, Nancy. I'm Dr Sloan. You mind if I take a look?" He inspected the severed section of the arm, his eyes narrowing.
"Hang antibiotics and put on a sterile, moist dressing. There's a chance at a good recovery here," he instructed, and Norah saw Jace's smile from the corner of her eyes. Mark lifted his head to the resident before asking, "Do we have an arm?"
"They're still searching for it on site."
"My baby has no father," Nancy spoke up, her voice quivering, "He's already down two arms. So he really needs me to have an arm."
"Thompson, go get the authorities on the phone," Norah instructed.
Jace blinked, "Me?"
"Is there another Thompson in here?" she cocked a brow at him, her tone making him shut up. "Go, now."
The intern stammered and quickly walked out of the room and off to the nurses' station; Kirian stared after him while Nina continued making notes on the severed wound.
Mark had a small smirk on his face as he removed his gloves. "You look hot bossing those little ducklings around," he whispered in a low tone next to her.
"Dr Sloan," Norah warned calmly, and he gave her a wink before walking out of the trauma room. Timothy bit back a laugh while George narrowed his eyes between the two curiously.
❦ ❦ ❦
THE OR WAS QUIET. Well, almost.
Norah had her complete focus on the enlarged image of the blood capillaries through the scope, carefully holding the clamp while working together with Mark on the opposite side.
"Got a big bleeder," the attending informed. "Lawrence, press and hold right here."
The fetal monitor suddenly started beeping, and the interns turned their heads to it. "She's having contractions," George notified, "They're strong, and they're two minutes apart."
"Call OB and get someone in here," Mark instructed.
"Uh, I don't think there's time to call OB," the intern informed, "Her water just broke, and she's crowning."
"Call Peds. Get a warmer in here. This baby's coming now," Mark spoke. "O'Malley, get her up in stirrups."
"Can we put her in a reverse Trendelenburg and have someone press her abdomen since she can't push?"
An intern shot an arm in the air, looking at her resident hopefully. Norah sensed the urgency of the situation and nodded. "Uh, alright-Lee, go help George."
"Try it without all the jostling," Mark warned, "I'm holding on to a major artery here."
"Okay, clamp," George requested, and the nurse handed the tool to him, "Scissors." The interns were amazed and awed by his quick reaction while the resident and attending continued saving Nancy's arm. "I got it. I got him," he announced.
A loud cry filled the room, and everyone exhaled in relief. "Great job, George," Norah remarked, "You too, Lee."
"Thanks," they chorused.
"Yeah, yeah. We're all heroes," Mark rolled his eyes. "Now, if no one minds, I'd like to get this woman's arm sewn on. Like she said, she's gonna need it."
❦ ❦ ❦
"HOW'S PLASTICS?" DEREK asked when Norah approached him at the nurses' station. The resident yawned and passed a chart to the nurse.
"It's okay, bearable. Cool, but not fun," she replied earnestly. "I still prefer brains, though."
He nodded with a grin before turning to her. "Did you know that Meredith has a sister?"
"Meredith has a sister?"
"Yeah, half-sister, apparently," he shared, "I met her in the bar."
Norah raised a brow at him. "Is that why you and Mer are all... broken up now?" she questioned, and he shrugged in response.
Mark walked up from behind them, and Derek sighed when he saw the plastic surgeon from over his shoulder; Norah narrowed her eyes between the two of them. Oh, to be in between these two gits.
"I'm the one that could use a friend," Mark voiced out. "I said that you could use a friend-I could use a friend."
"Look, Mark..." Derek tried speaking, but he got cut off.
"No, I didn't come to Seattle for Addison. I didn't come to Seattle to be chief," Mark stated firmly, "I came to Seattle for you, okay? I came to Seattle to get you back."
He paused momentarily upon processing the words that just came out of his mouth; Derek stared at him weirdly, and Norah burst into laughter, causing the plastic surgeon to snap his gaze at her.
"I know," Mark stated awkwardly, "I want to take it back now, but I already said it, so..." He gave the both of them an awkward laugh.
"Yeah, maybe we should have a drink," Derek stated, amused, as he tried to bite back from grinning.
"We could."
"Yeah. Not today," his smile dropped instantly, and he walked away from the other attending.
Norah grinned at the sight of the two slowly rebuilding their friendship, or at least what looked like a beginning step of it. Mark was smiling to himself, too. "Drinks, Laurie?" he asked while stepping closer to her.
"Nah, I have ducklings to take care of," she rejected with a wink, sliding away before he could get stop her.
He watched her as she walked off from the nurses' station; a blend of fluttery and sourness sank in his chest. The nights they had spent together floated in his head, and his mind ran wild. How was he going to remain friends with her when he could not stop himself from fantasising?
"Until then, I think we're better as... friends."
Her words echoed in his head; he wanted her so badly that it stung even from that one sentence.
Until then.
Was there a chance? He hoped so.
❦ ❦ ❦
NORAH WAS WALKING down the pavement lit by a row of street lights. Her hands rested in the pockets of her coat; she listened to the little splashes coming from behind her. Timothy was stepping in the puddles of rainwater from the rain that had stopped a while ago.
"Stop stepping in the puddles, Tim. You'll get your shoes wet," Norah advised. They had walked to the hospital in the morning since he insisted on 'exercising' before work would be healthy for them-though she had informed that running after pages in the hospital was already 'exercise' enough.
"I'm not dumb. I'm only stepping in the small ones," he declared, hopping from left to right. "Mum never let us hop puddles."
"Yeah, because you always cried when you get your socks wet," she shook her head with a grin at the memory of their childhood.
Timothy shrugged; he did not have clear memories of when he was that young. "Think she'll be glad to see where we are today?" he asked, his voice slightly quieter this time.
"She's proud, Tim," she reassured with a smile, her eyes peering up to the sky. "I know she is."
"Hey, did you know that Stevens saved a deer today?" he piped up.
"A what?"
"A deer, a fucking deer," he shook his head frustratingly. "We got to see a deer resuscitated instead of saving human lives."
"Well, she has her ways of teaching."
Timothy narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Why do you sound like you're defending her?" he questioned. "You punched her in the face before!"
"I'm a proud hypocrite, sometimes," she laughed. "Also, she's your resident, whether you like it or not. So, suck it up, intern."
Timothy rolled his eyes as Norah unlocked the door to the apartment. He yawned and set his shoes aside before walking over to the couch and dropping down on it. "Day one is already fucking exhausting."
"Welcome to intern year."
He turned to stare at his sister, who sat down beside him; the latter returned his furrowed brows with a confused look. "Your boyfriend's not coming over?" he queried.
She narrowed her eyes at his words. "Mark and I aren't-"
"So, you're telling me he's just a casual hook-up?" he questioned humorously. "Dude, do you need me to play fucking cupid right now?"
"What-no."
"Fuck's sake, have you seen the way he fucking looks at you?"
"Tim-"
"And the way you look at him," he added, completely cutting her words off as he stared at her in disbelief. When she was at a loss of words, he shook his head with a sigh. "Something for you to think about, I'll say. Goodnight."
As Timothy got up from the couch and went to his room, Norah leaned back against it with her mind flooded with the nights they had spent in this apartment.
"But is that what you want?"
His question bounced across his mind as she dived into a deep hesitation. But she reminded herself that she had already made a choice that night, and she intended to stick with it.
What you want.
Or at least she hoped to stick with it.