Riley's POV
"When we walk in this door you will remain decorum. You will not laugh, vomit, or drop your jaw. Are we understood?" Bailey orders. We all nod to her as she opens up the door to room 2111.
"Why would we laugh?" Izzie furrows her brows.
Alex smirks, rubbing hand sanitizer on his hands, "Oh just you wait"
I walk into the room behind George, and do exactly what I was told not to do. My jaw drops when I look at the woman laying on the gurney. She has a huge tumor on her left side. And when I say huge, I mean gargantuan.
"What is it?" George whispers in my ear
I slowly turn to him, eyes narrowed, "Its a tumor"
His eyes grow wide and he looks to the ground. Dr.Burke then enters the room, telling us all good morning.
"Oh,Annie. This is Doctor Burke-- awesome surgeon" Alex smiles, looking to the patient.
There is a long silence before Dr.Bailey reminds Alex it's his turn to present.
"Oh- Annie Connors is a 43-year-old woman who presented last night with progressive shortness of breath for the past three months. Found to have a very large tumor of unknown origin pressed against her diaphragm" Alex announces.
"Stable vital signs, scheduled for CT this morning."
Dr.Burke nods, "Thank you Dr.Karev. Ms.Connors, are you at all claustrophobic?"
"I've been housebound for the last year. How claustrophobic could I be?" Annie smiles at Alex when he covers her tumor.
"Alright then," Burke chuckles, "Dr.Stevens is going to take you up for a CT. It'll give us a better look at the tumor, and we'll know how to proceed."
"Could someone tell my mom? She'll worry if she gets back and I'm not here." Annie looks around the room.
Burke tells her that can be done, and Annie asks if Alex can take her instead.
"I mean- he's just so fun to look at."
My eyes grow wide, and I scoff. I can agree, Alex is a pretty face. What stops me from being attracted to him is his cockiness and know-it-all attitude.
We all exit the room, George immediately asking questions
"How much do you think it weighs?"
"At least 60 pounds. She's carrying around a whole extra person" Izzie answers.
"This ones in the books. I gotta get in" Christina balls her fists.
"I almost did, have you ever seen Alex like that? He actually seemed sincere" Izzie leans back on the counter.
Meredith rolls her eyes, "seemed being the operative word"
"He was on call last night when she came in." I tell them.
To be honest, I want nothing to do with this surgery. I would rather be with Derek, working in neuro. There was just something about the brain that fascinated me. It's so complex, it holds all the memories of that persons life, their emotions, feelings. In neuro, you get to have your hands in that persons whole life. It's simply amazing.
"Lets go people." Bailey says, making my jump out of my thoughts.
"Ms.Connors surgery, if we choose to proceed, will take most of the surgeons off the floor. That means you people will have to work extra hard not to kill anyone, cause we won't be there to fix your mistakes."
We all speed walk behind Bailey, on our way to our next patient. His name is Mr.Harper, and he had a coronary bypass yesterday.
"His blood pressure currently 100/65. It was running low overnight down to 70/30, but responded to medication." Izzie tells Bailey.
I stop listening to Izzie to look over to George. Except, I catch him already staring at me. He quickly looks away, causing me to smirk. I feel butterflies shoot through my stomach. I'm not sure if it was the fact he was staring at me, or how embarrassing that was.
"Good. He's doing fine" Bailey tells the wife, calling us on to our next patient.
~~
I'm particularly excited for the next room, mostly because it's one of Derek's patients. As we walk down the hall, I feel a pinch on my bottom. I quickly grab the hand and spin around quickly.
"Owch. Loosen up, I could have been George" Izzie smirks, pulling her hand away
"Ha. You're so funny" I roll my eyes, continuing to walk.
"Come on, don't you think I notice how you two look at each other? You have doe eyes for Bambi!" Izzie pushes my shoulder slightly.
I scoff, "Whatever. Even if I did like him, he wouldn't ever like someone like me"
"Oh that's bull. I caught him this morning trying to bring you coffee. Her ended up spilling it on himself, but it's the thought that counts right?" She shrugs. This catches my attention, and I turn to her sharply.
"What did he say?"
Izzies smirk turns into a wide smile and she gasps, "I knew you had feelings for him! But don't worry, your secrets safe with me"
I face palm as Izzie dances into the next room. Derek stands in front of the patients bed, but the patient is being assisted in walking by, who I assume, is his daughter.
"And this is Dr.Bailey and her fine staff of surgical interns." Derek announces, looking particularly at Meredith. The atmosphere in the room changes, and I can feel the tension between Dr.Bailey and the two surgeons.
At the party last night, Bailey caught Derek and Meredith doing certain things in a car last night. It's been pretty awkward ever since.
"Welcome to hell kids" The patient sits on his bed. He is extremely shakey, his whole body moves with every twitch.
"Who's presenting?" Bailey asks.
"Edward Levantine is a 63-year-old man admitted for pain management for dyskinesia. He's been stable since last night and responding well to the bolus injections." I announce proudly.
"Izzie, possible treatments" Bailey questions again.
"For Parkinson's disease? Um, deep brain stimulation has shown very--"
Derek interrupts her, "not for Parkinson's, for spinal pain.
When Izzie hesitates, Derek looks back and forth between me and Meredith.
I know the answer immediately, "Intraspinal catheter, that way he can have constant pain medication."
Derek nods at my every word, "Excellent. This is Dr.Foster, she's going to prep you for the procedure and assist. Dr.Grey will as well"
At first I am mentally screaming, until he announces the Meredith part. Don't get me wrong, I love Meredith. But what did she do to get herself into this surgery except sleep with Derek?
I tense my jaw, looking to George. He lets out a deep breath before mumbling a 'I'm sorry'
"You all make yourselves busy, ill catch-up with you" Bailey follows Derek out of the room.
Meredith looks to me quickly, "I'm sorry, you deserve this surgery. I'll just tell Derek I want off"
"No. We can do it together." I speak nicely.
Meredith gives me a sympathetic smile before turning to the patient.
"Okay Mr.levangie, we're gonna get you more comfortable. I'm gonna go downstairs and I'll be back up shortly" Meredith smiles.
He mutters an okay, and Meredith quickly leaves the room.
"Is there anything you need at the moment sir?" I ask him
"Actually, can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment please?" His daughter looks to me. I can see the fear in her eyes, probably the fear of loosing her father.
We stand in the hallway, and she stands with her hands on her hips. She is silent for a moment as she tries to figure out what to say.
"Do you think you could talk to him?"
I raise my eyebrows, "About?"
"Brain surgery. The doctor mentioned it, I've read about it online. If it worked, it could help with most of his symptoms. Not just pain." She explains, moving her hands as she talks.
I nod, taking in all of her words, "Is he a candidate?"
"He is but he's afraid of it. Surgery on his back he can understand. But on his brain-- and... There are risks. But his quality of life-"
"There isn't any." I cut her off, understanding what she is saying.
She shakes her head, "It keeps getting worse. I'm getting married next month. I already lost my mom. And I want him to walk... I want him with me. Maybe that's selfish, but you don't know what it's like having a parent. Watching him--"
"No you're right. Not a parent, but my grandfather. I'll see what I can do" I tell her, not getting into too much detail.
My grandfather got extremely sick when I was 14. It started with liver cancer,but quickly spread throughout his whole body. He's one of the reasons I'm a surgeon.
She thanks me quickly, walking back into her fathers room.
~~
I ended up telling Meredith about the patient, hoping she has a pull with Derek. She told me she would see what she could do, then went off to find him.
"He's denying it" Izzie whispers, walking up to me and leaning on the nurses station.
"What are you talking about?" I bring my hand to my forehead, closing my eyes.
"George. Every time I bring up him asking you out, he gets all jittery and stutters. He denies that he likes you, but it's obvious that he does"She pulls an apple out of her pocket and bites into it.
"You should go talk to him"
"W-why? I mean, what would I even say? Hey George, it's me, Riley. I like you. Izzie said you like me. Want to go out?" I speak sarcastically.
She rolls her eyes, "Get our yourselves. He's in Ms.Connors room"
I hesitate, turning sharply in the direction of room 2111. When I arrive, I wait outside the door and listen for the sound of George's voice. I find it, hearing him talking about the giant elephant in the room. Then the conversation turns a bit, and my heart starts beating rapidly.
"I've kinda had a crush on my roommate since day one. She probably won't go out with me, anyway, but... How do I know that for sure if I don't ever ask?" George tells Annie. I throw my head back against the wall, closing my eyes tightly. He's probably talking about Meredith.
"Seriously? You're equating your pathetic love life with my record breaking tumor? Seriously?" I hear her say. I can practically see George's blank stare as he begins walking towards the door.
I quickly scoot back to act like I was just walking by. I run into his side, almost falling at the impact.
"Oh-- Riley, hey. Hey what's up" he stutters.
"Uh, I was just-- no. No I wasn't just walking by." I try to build up the courage.
"W- did I do something wrong?" He scratches the back of his head.
I'm gonna do it, I, gonna tell him. Come on Riley, just say it!
Instead on saying something, I grab onto the collar of his shirt and pull him closer to me. Our lips join instantly. He tenses up at first, but slowly goes along with it. Our lips move slowly, in a steady motion. I pull away slowly, smiling. His mouth is wide open, but there is satisfaction in his eyes. My pager begins to go off, and I know Derek is wanting me.
"I gotta go, we can talk later" I tell him. He nods slowly, finally showing me his smile.
I strut down the hallway, surprised, but impressed with myself.
~~
Derek needed me to get something for his patient, and he let me know I would be scrubbing in alone. He kicked Meredith off for some reason. Since it didn't take long there, I decided to join the others for lunch.
"You know, if I stuck this fork into his thigh, would I get in trouble?" Christina looks at Alex, holding up a fork.
"Not if you make it look like an accident" I pull a chair up, setting my food on the table.
"Hey" George approaches us, smiling at my wildly.
We all greet him back, Alex explaining how he's drowning in estrogen.
"Hey uh, is everything ok?" George asks Mer.
"Shepherds a jerk" Meredith mutters
"Really? I think he's kinda great" I pop a grape into my mouth.
"He reamed her out in front of Bailey" Christina tells me
Izzie furrows her brows, "Why?"
"Cause he's a jerk"
"Bad days suck. Maybe tonight we could go out and drink alcohol, or we could all go out and drink alcohol. If you guys drink alcohol" George stutters, but doesn't move his gaze from me. I can feel Izzies eyes in the side of my head, so I just go back to eating my food.
"Dude" Alex chuckles, shaking his head.
George uncomfortably takes a bite of his sandwich, "Shut up"
Alex leans closer to me and whispers in my ear, "You've got yourself a keeper over there"
Christina almost chokes on her sandwich laughing. I tense my jaw and shove Alex's shoulder softly. Izzie looks proud of herself, almost as if she knows something I don't. Then my pager goes off, and I stand up from my seat.
"Gotta go. See you guys later" I say
"Bye Riley!" George shouts, waving as I walk off.
~~
"You paged?" I walk into Mr.Levangies room, seeing Meredith already there.
"Mr.Levangie, have you given any more thought about the other surgical options we discussed this morning?" Derek walks to the front of the bed. I look to Meredith, smiling.
"What? Why would I? I already told you no. I'm letting you cut into my back, but that's not enough for you. All you guys ever want to do is cut." Mr.Levangie shakes more than usual.
His daughter lets out a deep breath, "Dad just listen to what he has to say"
"I already listened."
"Sir, there's a very small window of opportunity here. Once the Parkinson's progresses to a point of dementia, you're no longer a candidate for DBS." Derek explains, trying to convince him into brain surgery.
"And when I'm no longer a candidate, is that when you people will leave me alone? What? Do I have to start drooling and forget my own name to get a little peace and quiet?" Mr.Levangie raises his voice.
Derek sighs, "Alright. I'll check back with you later, try to get some rest."
Derek maneuvers past Meredith and I, mumbling under his breath.
"I'll be at your wedding. I'll sit in the back, your uncle can walk you down the isle. I know it's not perfect, but life isn't perfect" Mr.Levangie tells his now crying daughter. She storms out of the room sobbing.
Then he sees Mer and I still standing there, and scoffs, "Is she already knows, why are we still talking about it. Why can't she just drop it?"
"It's your life. But it's her life too. You have a chance to get better here. All she's asking you to do is try." I tell him. Meredith smiles at me and leads the way out of the room. Hopefully, that will change his mind.
~~
"Riley!" Meredith jogs toward me. She grabs my shoulders and slowly her breathing down.
"What? Is something wrong?" I widen my eyes.
"No, Mr.Levangie agreed to surgery!" She cheers. I gasp, cheering along with her.
"We gotta go tell Dr.Shepherd" I tell her. She nods, leading the way to the OR where he is already scrubbing in in the tumor.
"Dr.Shepherd" Meredith opens the door.
"Mr.Levangie agreed on the surgery, but only if we do it today. If he leaves, he won't come back." She tells him, and you can see his smile through his mask.
Dr.Burke turns to Derek, "Don't worry. It will take hours before we get to the spine."
"Alright then" Derek takes his mask off and dries his hands, "Let's do it"
I clap, hopping along behind him to go and prep Mr.Levangie.
~~
"How you doin Mr.Levangie?" Derek asks as he maneuvers his hands around the brain.
"I'm doin alright. Where's those two girls?" He answers, trying to move his eyes around.
Meredith pulls me over into his sight, "Right here. Can't you see us?"
"I'm shakey not blind. If anything happens, I'm blaming you two" He points his finger at us.
"Well in that case, we'll stay where you can see us" I smile, even though he can't see through my mask.
"Now we just have to drill a hole to find the spot that controls the motor function." Meredith tells him.
He closes his eyes, "You can't see my brain from there. Aren't you supposed to be learning something?"
Meredith grabs one of his hands, I grab the other, "We're good right here" I tell him.
"Okay. This is gonna sound scary, but just try to relax." I reassure him, he squeezes his eyes tightly and clutches my hand.
Derek begins drilling, causing the patient to squeeze my hand tighter. I reassure him again, but he doesn't loosen his grip. It doesn't take long for Derek to find the control area of the motor functions. He begins working around in that area when one of the nurses walks in front of Mr.Levangie.
"Okay, now what I need you to do is copy my hand motions" She takes the back of her hand and places it to her palm, then turns it over where her palms are touching.
He struggles so much, and I begin to feel bad for him. He wants this badly. Mr.Levangie keeps doing it shakily, but then he stops shaking. Finally, he can bring the back of his hand to his palm, and turn it over. Without shaking. I smile when he starts crying, looking up to Mer and I.
"Good job Mr.Levangie" I tell him.
"Alright. I'm ready to close"
~~
"Oh, how's it going?" I sit down next to Alex in the gallery. Annie, the tumor lady, is down in the OR.
"Fine. George has almost dropped the tumor twice now" Alex scoffs.
"Man, it's unbelievable." Meredith sits next to me.
"How did she live like that?" I furrow my brows.
Alex let's out a deep breath, "Careful what you say, you never know who's listening."
Then he starts laughing like an idiot, "Look at George. He looks like he's about to fall in."
"Are you really as shallow and callous as you seem?" Meredith asks him.
"Oh" Alex looks to her, "You want to go out for a drink later and hear about my secret pain?"
"Does that line ever work for you?" I mumble, keeping my eyes on the surgery.
"Sometimes." He admits.
"Oh. Must be because you look like that." Meredith smirks.
"Like what?" Alex asks. When Meredith looks to him he laughs, "so is that a yes?"
"No. I can't I'm seeing someone" she chuckles. I spin my head to look at her, eyes widening. She's 'seeing' Derek?
"Look, if you don't want to go out with me, just say so. No need to lie" Alex mutters.
"Oh. Okay. Well, I don't want to go out with you. But I think I really might be seeing someone."
I smirk when Alex's grin fades. Nice try Dr.Cocky. My attention is drawn back to the OR when Izzie bursts in, announcing she had to open a patients sternotomy bedside. Everyone in the room turns to her, eyes wide. Alex jumps from his chair and runs down the stairs. Dr.Burke follows Izzie out of the room to hero her with that problem.
Not long after that, the patients artery burst, sending blood everywhere. They are going to loose her if they don't get the bleeding under control. They're out of blood now, and the patient is flatlining. Derek begins performing CPR, but she's too far gone.
"Time of death is 11:42" Derek announces, pulling off his headset.
I let out a sigh, getting up from my chair and making my way down the stairs.
~~
I walk into the locker room, taking my scrub shirt off. I take my time to change into my regular shirt and slip on sweatpants. I'm not much for dressing up. The door opening catches my attention, and my favorite brown headed boy walk in.
"Oh hey George. I was just about to-"
I am cut off by his lips on mine. I don't tense up, but instead move closer to him, grabbing the back of his head. He places his hands on my waist and kisses me passionately. It is him who pulls away this time, smirking.
"Want to go get a drink?" He asks, holding his hand out. I smile and grab his hand, intertwining our fingers.
We walk out of the hospital together, huge smiles spread across both of our faces.
~~
:)
This is the first chapter I'm actually proud of, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, way longer chapter because I was gone for a while.