Chapter 2
Season 1, Episode 5
I'd been kept in the ICU for four days to make sure that I didn't have any problems post-op and, by the looks of things, I was going to be okay. I couldn't wait to be up and walking around because I wanted to start working as soon as I could.
Alex would try to stop by and talk to me but every time he did I would tell him to leave. Obviously, I'm going to have to forgive him eventually, he is my brother, but not for a while. I'm going to let him sweat it out for a bit.
Yesterday I stood up to be moved to a wheelchair to get some scans, but I haven't walked yet. I assume that's what I'm supposed to do as I see two interns walk into my room. I recognize Dr. Yang but I don't recognize the other doctor.
"Hi, Audrey. We are going to help you get on your feet today." Dr. Yang says looking at my chart before handing it to the other intern a little harshly. He almost drops it but recovers quickly and looks at me a little embarrassed before I smile at him. "This is Dr. O'Malley." She says without looking at him as she walks to my bedside and pulls the sheet off my body.
She holds her hands out to me and I give mine to her. As I start to shift my weight to get off the bed, I wince as I feel a little bit of pressure in my stomach, but it's not as bad as a couple of days ago. I swing my legs over the bed and stop to let out the air I had been holding.
"Very good. George, can you spot her?" She says, still holding my hands. He comes up beside me and waits for me to stand. I nod at her and she starts to pull on my hands as George grabs my arm for extra support. Once I'm finally standing, he holds his hands at my waist without touching me but close enough that if I fell he would be right there.
"You're doing really well," George says as I take a couple of steps, I laugh at that.
"Yeah, not well enough. I need to be running before I can join this program." He looks surprised when I say that.
"You-you're a surgical intern?" I look at him and nod before we walk over to a chair on the other side of the room and I sit down. Dr. Yang grabs the chart from my bed and starts writing in it while George stays by me.
"Alex never told us you were-" He starts and suddenly my smile goes away and the walk I just did can't keep me happy.
"Yeah, Alex doesn't tell people a lot of things," I say sharply and I think he realizes it's a touchy subject because he changes the subject.
"Well, you want to be a surgeon. That's cool." I can tell he's a little awkward but he seems really nice and I smile again. Hopefully, I can make some friends here.
"Okay, you did well today. We're going to get you back in bed and you should be discharged tomorrow." Dr. Yang says with a thin-lipped smile that doesn't reach her eyes before walking back up to me and giving me her hands. Grabbing them, I start to stand again, my balance a little better this time as we make our way back to my bed. I let her hands go as I pull myself onto the bed. I have to recover quickly or I won't be able to join the program until too many learning opportunities have passed.
"We'll check on you later," George says as they walk out of my room leaving me alone yet again.
Every so often, I see people running past my room. All I want is to be running with them to whatever trama or surgery they need to get to. If my dumb brother never sent me that email I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have been in a car accident and I would be out there watching surgeries.
I take a deep breath before pushing the blanket of my legs and swinging them off the bed. I look outside, only one nurse at the desk and she's looking down. Great. I start to lower my feet to the ground until I'm standing, holding onto the bed for support. I push off and start to walk to the door of my room.
When I get there I hold onto the doorframe and let out a painful grunt before poking my head out into the hall. Bingo. I see a wheelchair on the other side of the hall. I hold my breath before walking out into the hall, I almost trip but I'm close enough to the wall that before I fall, I brace myself. I lower myself into the chair and grab the wheels before taking off down the hallway.
The last time I was at this hospital, I was doing a tour of it before I applied. I don't remember it very well but I want to visit the surgical viewing area. Luckily, I'm on the right floor and I see many people walking through one door near the OR. That must be it. I start to wheel myself toward it when I am pulled back and can't move my wheels forward.
"What the hell?!" I mutter before turning and seeing George holding onto the back of the wheelchair.
"What are you doing out of your room?! Cristina and I got in so much trouble when you weren't there!" He whispers harshly as people walk by. I roll my eyes and try to move but he's holding onto the chair firmly.
"I may not be able to do any actual medicine but I can observe and learn. I'm so behind, I need to get into the viewing area." When I finish he thinks for a minute before nodding.
"Fine, but stay quiet." I nod in agreement as he opens the door and lets me wheel myself into the room. Many people are sitting in the chairs watching the surgery. I stay to the side in my wheelchair and George stands behind me.
I look down into the OR and smile. Open heart surgery, that is the coolest thing I've ever seen. All of a sudden a very preppy blonde girl moves from one seat to the one right beside me and looks at George.
"I don't think you're supposed to bring patients here." She says before looking at me and smiling. I give her an awkward smile back before George answers.
"Well, she's not just a patient, she's going to be an intern here." When he says this her eyes widen as she looks at me.
"Oh my god, you're Alex's sister right?" I nod and she outstretches her hand for me to shake. "I'm Izzie Stevens." I shake it and smile.
"Audrey Karev." She lets go of my hand after I introduce myself.
"So, are you, like, really smart?" She asks me, tilting her head to the side as if confused.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, if you're an intern this year and you're younger than Alex, you must've skipped a year of school." She questions. Clearly, Alex hasn't told them much about me.
"We're actually twins," I explain to her and her eyes widen in excitement.
"That's so cool." She marvels at this new information but I try to brush it off by looking back down into the OR. As I'm looking around the room at the surgical team I hear George lean forward so his head is near my ear.
"See that girl down there, holding the heart." He whispers, trying not to draw attention from others watching. I nod in excitement. "That's Meredith Grey, she's one of us. An intern." My eyes widen while watching her.
"An intern? Holding a freaking heart? Damn, the things I'm missing right now." I mutter as I watch the other doctor work on the heart she's holding.
"You'll catch up. Soon you'll be holding your own heart." He says before he starts mumbling. "I mean, I don't mean your heart, like, I mean some other, uh, heart that-" He stammers before I laugh quietly.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He stops talking as I smile. We watch the entire procedure and just as they're putting the heart back into the chest, Dr. Yang, or Cristina as George called her, runs into the room.
"What the hell is she doing here George?" He turns quickly before mumbling, obviously scared of her. I move the wheel and turn to face her.
"I just wanted to see a surgery. Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm going back now." I say as I push myself forward until I'm right in front of her, blocking the door. "Do you mind?" I say and she reluctantly moves to the side so I can leave. I can hear them talking behind me.
"Take her back to her room. Don't leave her side or Nazi is going to kill us." She says before I feel myself moving a little faster, George has started pushing the wheelchair forward.
"The Nazi?" I ask and he laughs but I can tell he's nervous.
"She's our resident. I don't know, people call her that cause she's kinda scary." He says looking around nervously as if she's going to hear him.
"I think if she heard you using that nickname she'd be a lot scarier." I laugh as he pushes me down the hall. When we finally make it to my room he helps me back into my bed. We talk for a minute before he needs to leave for another case. I can't wait till I'm in that OR.
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When you're a patient, it's amazing the kind of drama that you hear. I've already heard so many rumours and it's only been a couple of hours. The favourite that I've heard is that the Meredith Grey I watched in surgery popped a glove while holding the heart and now the woman has a tear in her ventricular wall. I don't know if it's related but if it is, there goes her license. I also heard there's a party at her house tonight. Everyone in the damn hospital seems to be going, even the nurses.
I also heard that she's been sleeping with her attending Derek Shepherd which is news to me. Who in their right mind sleeps with their boss?
Speaking of the devil, Dr. Shepherd walks in just as I was trying to eavesdrop on two of the nurses outside my room and he closes the door behind him. I sigh in disappointment and he smiles.
"Spying on nurses?" He laughs and I shrug.
"Not much else to do when you're stuck in a hospital bed." He nods at this and comes to my bedside.
"Since you are not a neuro case, you are not technically my patient anymore but I hear that you are going to be an intern here at Seattle Grace." I nod at his statement and he continues. "Well, if you need anything at all, feel free to page me, alright?"
"Thanks, Dr. Shepherd." He smiles in acknowledgment before leaving the room. I realized he was in people's clothes and not scrubs. He must be going to the party too. I can't remember the last time I went to a party.