[ batter, batter, swing! ]
"I call this trauma!"I yelled as I ran into the ER and grabbed a trauma gown.
"Hey you can't do that!" Cristina yelled at me.
"Too late. Dibs! I call dibs!" I yelled.
"Bailey tell her she can't do that," Alex told Bailey as she walked in the ER grabbing a gown for herself.
"Dixon's ready. Let's go," She told me.
"Yes! Yes! Ha ha!" I laughed at Cristina and Alex as I follwed Bailey out to the parking lot.
"Jody Crowley. 60 year old driver who lost consciousness and hit a parked car. Vital signs stable complains of abdominal pain," The E.M.T informed us as she brought our patient out of the ambulance and into the hospital.
"It wasn't a parked car. It was them. They hit us," A man said.
"Uh sir, who are you?" Bailey asked.
"How am I? Who are you?" He asked.
"That's my son," Ms.Crowley told us.
"Why don't I take you to the waiting room," I offered the man.
"Oh no. He needs to stay with me, he's a paranoid schizophrenic," She informed us.
"Okay," Bailey said, motioning us to move into the trauma room, "Alright. Let's put her on a gurney on my count. One, two, three."
"Listen to me, mother. They're trying to get to me through you. You have to believe me," The man told his mother."
"Tom, they're not real," Ma.Crowley told her son, "Look at me. Look at me honey."
"Did you feel dizzy or lightheaded before the crash?" I asked her, as I examined her.
"No I felt fine," She told me.
"Okay, uh abdominal tenderness. I feel a mass," I said, as I felt the woman's stomach.
"I-I've had it for quite awhile," Ms.Crowley said, "Maybe that's what caused me to pass out."
"I've been trying to warn her. They're trying to hurt her, but she won't believe me," Tom frowned.
"Tom look at me," She took her son's arm, "You know I wouldn't like to you."
"No.No!" He yelled.
"You have to believe me, someone has to believe me," Tom looked up to me, "Aliens impregnated my mother."
I lifted up Ms.Crowley's shirt and looked at the mass on her stomach. My eyes widened as it started to thump and move, "Uh, Dr.Bailey."
••
"How long have you had the growth?" Bailey asked our patient.
"Uh, can you cover the clock? The number five bothers him," Ms.Crowley asked.
"Get something to cover the clock," Bailey motioned to one of the residents.
"Are those cameras?" Tom asked, as he looked at the smoke detector.
"Tommy," his mom called, "What do we need from the store?"
"Why won't they leave me alone?" Tom asked.
"Tommy do we need fruit?" His mom asked.
"Yeah," he said not turning away from the smoke alarm, "Why won't you leave me alone?"
"What kind?" His mom asked, "What kind of fruit, Tommy?"
"Uh Apples, Pears, Strawberries," He said.
"Make a list," She directed her son,"Can you give him some paper and pencil. He needs something to distract him from the voices."
"Okay, uh m'am the growth," Bailey reminded her.
"Oh, uh, sorry. I've had it for awhile. I've been meaning to get it checked, but uh as you can see my son's illness is a full time job."
"Dixon, I'm gonna need you to get Mr.Crowley's wrist x-rayed, while I get her up to MRI," Bailey instructed me.
"Okay," I nodded.
••
"I just got my hair cut," Tom told me, as I wrapped his wrist.
"Oh, well it looks nice," I smiled.
"The nurse out there," He looked out the window into the ER, "She's laughing at me, you can tell I just got it cut and they cut it too short and that's why my ears are sticking out."
"Oh, well I'm sure she's not laughing at you," I shook my head.
"How does that feel?" I asked.
"It feels like my-my hand's falling off. It feels like-" He shot up from the seat and walked over to the window, "Like they put something in it to make my had fall off, like it's snakes or something. You don't have a name tag,"
"Oh crap," I looked down, "Yeah, I guess I don't."
"The other doctor had a name tag," He said.
"You know, I must've left it in my locker," I told him.
"You think I'm an idiot? You got my mother and now you're trying to get me," He accused me.
"Tom, no. I promise-"
"Stay away from us," He yelled at me
"Tom, it's okay," I tried to calm him down.
"I keep telling you people to stay away from us!" He yelled at me before throwing me up against the wall, then throwing me on the floor.
"Oh my god," I yelled as I hit the floor and watch him run out.
••
"I called security," Olivia told me, "They're on their way."
"Where's psych? I asked you to page them over an hour ago!"
"I paged them twice, if you want to see the log book-"
"No," I cut her off, "I want to know how a paranoid patient managed to get out of the E.R. Where were you?"
"I had stepped away from my desk to deal with another patient," She explained, "And normally being a punching bag for the doctors is just part of the job, but now there's a merger and I'm not about to go down for a mistake that wasn't mine. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll page psych again."
I sighed before I ran upstairs to go tell Bailey.
"Have you seen Tom?" I asked Bailey.
"I thought he was with you?" Bailey asked.
"He was, but then he uh, attacked me and he left," I smiled, nervously.
"He wha-I thought you could handle this!" Bailey scolded me.
"I can! I am! I will!" I told her, "It's under control. I called security. Maybe his mom might know?"
"His mom has a triple A! The last thing she needs to know is that her mentally ill son is loose in the hospital!" Bailey said.
"Okay, uh, you know, okay this is bad. Really bad but uh-"
"I'm gonna stop listening to you now, because the words you are saying are really hurting me. Find him!"
"Right, okay," I said, before I ran off looking for him.
I frantically ran all over the hospital, looking everywhere. I looked behind every cart. Every bed. In every trash can. Everywhere.
"You look crazy," Mark said.
"Shut up! You're the one who got into a fight with Derek over a girl. Twice!" I said, continuing to look, in the hallway, "If anyone's crazy it's you."
"He's the one who started it."
"You two are like a couple of five year olds," I rolled my eyes.
"So what exactly are you doing that makes you so mature?" He asked me.
"I lost a schizophrenic. A real life schizophrenic that thinks his mom is impregnated by aliens and that I'm gonna kill him. Seriously could you see me killing anyone? I mean I can't. Anyway, if I don't find my schizophrenic, I'm gonna be fired, and some hot, new Mercy West resident is gonna take my place, and then you're gonna start dating her. Then one night I'll wake up in the middle of the street, homeless, and then I'll die from either starvation or from the wrath of Tom."
"Who the hell is Tom?" He asked.
"The schizophrenic!" I yelled at him, as I moved a cart away from the wall and looked behind it.
"I don't think you're gonna find him back there," Mark mocked me.
"Okay, you do not get to be charmed by this. This is not charming. Did you not hear what I just said? My life is over! Thanks to schizophrenia!"
"Alright," Mark said, placing his hands on my shoulders, "Relax. Breathe. Breathe. That's good. Security is on this. Okay? You have become a crazy person I do not recognize. I want Brandy back. Can I have Brandy back?"
"Oh my god stop talking to me like I'm schizophrenic," my eyes widened, "Oh my god. I am schizophrenic aren't I! I'm-I'm the schizophrenic who is missing and-and I've gone crazy!"
"Relax. You're not schizophrenic," He told me, "You're a little crazy but not schizophrenic."
"Stay away from me! You get back! Stop! Get back!"
"Oh my god, that's him. That's Tom. That's the schizophrenic!" I panicked, and ran out to find him.
"Where's my mother? What have you done with her?" He stood at the top of the stairs, cornered in by two guards.
"Sir please," The security guard, reached forward.
"No!" Tom yelled stepping back and falling down the stairs.
"Oh, shit," I frowned as he rolled down the stairs and on to the floor, right at Mark's and my feet.
••
"Guys, I lost a schizophrenic and he almost died and now I'm gonna be fired," I said, sitting down with Cristina, Meredith, and Alex.
"If anyone's getting fired it's me," Cristina said, "Alex you're Bailey's favorite now, you two have your boyfriends to save you, mine won't."
"Owen isn't protecting you?" Meredith asked.
"Nope," Cristina said.
"Wait, boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend. At least I don't think I do. I don't know anything anymore, for all I know I could be a schizophrenic," I sighed.
"Woah, Sloan isn't your boyfriend?" Alex asked, "After the fight everyone just assumed he was."
"No, at least I don't think he is. I don't know we haven't really talked about it."
"Whatever, I can't stand i any longer. Can't you go to Webber and use your dead-mommy connections to get some answers?" Cristina asked Meredith through a mouthful of pudding.
"We don't need dead-mommy. We are going to be fine," Meredith said.
••
"Hi, uh, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you're okay," I said standing in the doorway of Tom's room, "Are you okay?"
"I injured my spleen and they're just waiting to see if it stops on its own."
"Good, uh, I'm glad you're feeling better, but I should probably go," I said.
"No, it's okay. They got me in restraints. I couldn't hurt you even if the voices told me to," He said, "It's a joke. Schizophrenia humor."
I laughed and nodded.
"Uh, there's this thought I keep having. I think that they planted a camera in my stomach, during the ultrasound."
"Okay," I nodded, grabbing the computer and pulling up his scans, "Here is your spleen. See? The bright spot is blood, that's not supposed to be there. No camera though."
"No camera," he repeated.
"Mhm, I can leave this up if you want so when the thoughts come back, you can see this. You'll know they're not real. They're just thoughts. Scary thoughts."
••
"Has Ms.Crowley agreed to the surgery?" I asked Bailey.
"No," She shook her head, while she looked at her scans, "She's gonna go home and she's gonna die, and she's gonna die. Then what's that boy gonna be left with?"
"Well, he needs surgery," I told her.
"Well, does he need a transfusion?" Bailey turned around, "Is there active bleeding?"
"No, his crits stable. I know we don't operate unless there's an active bleed, but it's so close and maybe she'll agree to surgery. They can do surgery together and recovery together. They'll be together. I know you probably think this is a bad idea but I think it could work."
"You're right. This is a good idea," Bailey told me.
••
"What's going on?" Alex asked,"You paged us?"
"Check your email. H.R. If you got cut, you'll have an email," Meredith told the three of us.
We all quickly pulled out our phones and looked.
"I didn't get one," Meredith shook her head, "I'm calm. I've been calm, but if one of us gets cut, I won't be calm."
"I'm fine," Alex said.
"No email," Cristina said.
"I'm fine too," I smiled.
"Okay, I knew we'd all be fine," Meredith said.
"Not yet. They're sending out another round," Cristina said.
"Hey," I walked up to Mark, "I'm safe, and Tom isn't gonna kill me."
"I told you, you'd be fine," He said.
"I have to ask you something," I said.
"What's that?" He asked.
"Are you my-my boyfriend?" I asked.
"Yeah," He nodded, "Are you my girlfriend?"
"Yeah," I smiled.
••
"Okay, I'm sorry I don't have time for games. I have to get back to the hospital," Cristina said.
Derek and Owen had the brilliant idea of going batting. Cristina wasn't as fond of the idea, though.
"She's right. She does have to go back to the hospital," Meredith nodded.
"We're not here to talk about the hospital, we're here to play baseball," Derek said.
"And drink beer. Drink your beer," Mark handed me a beer.
"How can I drink beer when I almost got fired?" I asked.
"You need this. Put this on," Owen handed Cristina a helmet, "Stand right here."
"Trust me," Derek told her
"Now hit the ball," Owen told her.
"I don't want to hit the ball," Cristina said.
Owen pressed a button and sent a ball flying at Cristina, causing her to scream as it flew by her.
"Hey, batter, batter, batter, batter, batter," Mark mocked her.
"Quit being an ass," I laughed, as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Strike one!" Derek yelled.
"You need to stop thinking about what's gonna happen and you need to focus on what's right in front of you. Now hit the ball!" Owen told her.
Cristina stepped up to the plate and got ready to hit the ball. The machine made a thunk before letting out the ball and flying it towards Cristina. The bat cracked as Cristina hit the ball and sent it flying into the outfield.
"Hey!" Everyone cheered.
"I hit the ball! I hit the ball!" Cristina cheered and ran up to Meredith, giving her a hug.
"Your turn," Mark told me.
"No way," I shook my head.
"Yep," he nodded, sliding the helmet on my head.
"I hate you," I glared at him.
"Go on," he said, motioning me to the plate.
"Fine," I said, walking over to the plate, and getting ready to hit the ball.
"Ready?" Owen asked.
"No," I shook my head.
Owen ignored me anyway and pressed the button, sending the ball out. I watched the ball and swung as hard as I could, sending it all the way to the fence.
"I can do better than that!" Cristina said, taking the bat from me.
We spent the next few hours out on the field. Batting and drinking, just forgetting everything that was going on. We pretended that the world
wasn't falling down around us, that'd everything would be okay.