S6 EP6

THEY SAT ANXIOUSLY outside the conference room. Residents, nurses and a few attendings who were on-call that night were now leaning against the walls.

Bouncing legs, nail picking, murmurs and discussion, pacing-everyone was tired and on the edge of their seats while they waited in the silence.

"Someone's getting fired," Reed spoke up in the nervous tension.

"Stop it," April hissed next to her.

"She wasn't even my patient," Charles proclaimed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Norah sat between Timothy and Alex, snapping her fingers nervously as they waited for the time to pass. The soft rhythm she created seemed to have calmed her racing mind for a while until Reed spoke up again.

"Would you stop doing that?" she snapped.

Norah lifted her eyes from the floor to the smaller woman, not bothering about her words but still lowering the volume of her snaps. Mark, who was leaning against the wall not so far from them, turned his head to the residents with a frown on his face.

"Is a tragic death curse not fucking enough for you?" Timothy fired back, and the redhead rolled her eyes.

"How long is this gonna take?" Alex asked with an annoyed tone.

"Why, you need to make a phone call?" Jackson taunted, and the Mercy Westers snickered.

Norah's snapping stopped, and she shifted her gaze to him, sending him a warning look. Alex was glaring at the man for a moment-until he snapped and pushed himself off his seat, launching himself towards the other guy, grabbing Jackson by the collar.

The situation quickly erupted into a fight, and the attendings were quick to rush over to pull both men apart. The other residents started arguing with one another, flaring up and shouting and shoving one another. Norah was about to stand up when she got firmly pushed back on her seat by Derek.

Owen inserted himself between the two fighting men, breaking them up from touching each other; Derek tore Alex away from the fight while Mark did the same with Jackson.

Norah ducked her head from a swinging fist while Timothy drew his legs up to his chest. His feet were on the seat as he avoided getting his shoes stepped on; at the same time, he was trying to get Lexie to sit down.

The chief walked out of the conference room upon hearing their indistinct shouting from within. "That's enough!" he demanded at the sight of the mess, but nobody seemed to have heard him. "I said enough!" Webber yelled, louder this time, finally catching everyone's attention.

Mark had got Jackson back to his seat, and Derek, too, shoved Alex back next to Norah. "You alright?" he queried, and the brunette resident nodded.

"What happened here tonight, what happened to that patient, was inexcusable. And we're gonna be here till I find out who's responsible for it," he ordered, looking between the two rows of doctors, "So until then, you will sit down, you will shut up, and you'll wait to be called."

An uneasy silence was shared among the doctors as the situation started to calm and quiet down.

"Hunt."

Norah rested her head against the wall behind her with her eyes closed as a sigh escaped her mouth. Mark stood in front of her with his arms folded across his chest.

She opened her eyes when he lightly bumped her knees with his leg. Words exchanged through their eyes; he was checking in on her, and she shrugged back in response.

Sinking in her seat, she noticed a pair of green eyes gazing in her direction-or more specifically, at them. "The one you shoved? That's Avery," Norah told Mark through a mutter.

He peered over his shoulder, then turned his head back to his girlfriend. "Pretty eyes over there is Avery?" he asked, and she confirmed with a single nod.

The plastic surgeon narrowed his eyes at the green-eyed resident behind him; the latter did not notice the attending's glare.

❦ ❦ ❦

"DR KEPNER HANDED the patient to you?" Webber asked the resident, who shifted in her seat.

"Dr Kepner requested for Dr Sloan, and I was his resident for the night," Norah clarified, her voice steady, and her expression was the calmest one she could put on. "The patient, Cathy Becker, had minor burns on her chest and a deep second-degree burn on her left calf..."

❦

"Dr Sloan!" April's voice caught the plastic surgeon's attention.

Mark narrowed his eyes at the patient across the ER. He nudged Norah next to him, who both hurried over to the burn patient. She furrowed her brows at the condition of the patient's leg.

"Third-degree?" she asked the plastic surgeon, who was examining the burns.

He shook his head. "I'd say this is deep second-degree."

❦

"So, Dr Sloan was treating the patient, and you were just a tag-along?" Jennings cocked a brow at the resident in the room.

Norah abstained from rolling her eyes at the board member. "No, I'm a surgical resident, and I treated her burns," she corrected firmly.

"You did?" Webber questioned, "Where was Sloan?"

❦

Mrs Becker was playing thumb fight with her son, Danny, who stood by her bed. The mother was trying to distract her son from looking at her wound, also distracting herself from feeling squeamish and the pain.

"Why don't you start cleaning while I finish debriding?" Mark instructed.

Mrs Becker gasped sharply as a piece of her burned skin got removed. "Does it hurt?" Danny asked her.

"Yeah, a little bit, sweetie. But it's okay. The doctors are making it all better," she returned her son's worried look with a reassuring smile. "Alright, now you gotta watch out, or I'm gonna get you."

"Dr Sloan, need you," Arizona called out from the nearby trauma room.

"Alright," Mark answered before lifting his head to the resident, "Finish debriding, cover the entire wound with silver sulfadiazine-"

"-then loose gauze, not too tight," Norah finished his instruction, "I've got this."

He nodded before heading into the trauma room, leaving the patient under the resident's care, whom he trusted the most.

"Hey, Lawrence. Come here when you're done there. We need the extra hands," Arizona called out from the trauma room, and Norah nodded back at her.

"I can work with He-Lawrence in the meantime," Mark spoke before raising his voice, "Timothy!"

❦

"You left Mrs Becker to Dr Lawrence to finish debridement?" Webber asked Mark, who looked composed while being questioned.

"Yes, because she's the best plastics resident in this hospital. Quick hands, very precise work," the plastic surgeon spoke coolly, as though he was stating the obvious. "Then, I was called over by Dr Robbins to a boy with second and third-degree burns covering more than sixty percent of his body."

"And then you requested for..." Jennings squinted at the papers in his hand, "Dr Lawrence, again?"

"The other Lawrence. He-Lawrence, Timothy," Mark replied, narrowing his eyes at each person in the room. "I need the most trustworthy residents on these serious cases. And he doesn't get queasy at the sight of burn victims."

❦

"So, did you stay with the burn patient in the trauma room?"

Norah shook her head. "No. I was treating Roy Macinaw, a firefighter-"

"You didn't join Dr Sloan in the trauma room?" Jennings interrupted.

❦

"Roy Macinaw, 56-year-old firefighter. Fell three stories from a ladder," Callie presented as Norah rushed up to provide an extra set of hands. "Looks like a hip and femur fracture."

Owen was checking on Mr Macinaw's ears while Callie continued assessing his bone injuries; Cristina was checking the man's abdomen. The firefighter was stammering while asking about the kid's wellbeing; the boy was getting treated in the trauma room by Mark, Arizona and Timothy.

Norah glanced over and saw the boy through the window screaming in pain as the surgeons treated his burns. "The kid is alive, Mr Macinaw," she assured, "Now, I'm gonna check on your pupils..."

The resident frowned as she shone the light across the firefighter's eyes. She lifted her head to see Derek walking out of one of the trauma rooms.

"Dr Shepherd!" she called out, and the neurosurgeon turned his head towards her direction immediately. "He has uneven pupils," she informed, and he hurried over at once.

"Abdomen's rigid. He's gonna need an ultrasound."

"Yeah, he's gonna need a head CT, too," Derek added, "Lawrence, page me when you get his scans."

❦

"Dr Sloan and Timothy had it under control, and there was no need for an extra set of hands," she spoke but got cut off once again.

"You're a third-year resident, and you didn't feel the need to confirm with your attending whether he needs more hands on his case?" Jennings questioned with an accusing pair of eyes staring at her.

"If you would let me finish," Norah rolled her eyes, "Respectfully."

She took in a deep breath after the board member quieted down. "The boy, Evan Langs, already had the Head of Plastics, Head of Peds, and a well-competent resident on his case, compared to Mr Macinaw, who was short in surgeons. And since Dr Hunt cannot solely stay on one patient, I followed my professional judgement to head to the patient who needed more hands.

"Then I left the ER and brought Mr Macinaw for X-ray," she informed before cutting off Jennings, who was about to pop up another question, "And no, I had never seen Mrs Becker since after I finished her debridement."

"So, who was with Mrs Becker?"

Norah squinted as she recalled the chaotic night in the ER. Faces after faces appeared in her mind-before she finally identified the resident in question. "Dr Adamson."

❦ ❦ ❦

THE RESIDENTS SPRAWLED across the seats outside the conference room, all looking either spooked out or exhausted. Norah was sitting on the chair closest to the conference room when she heard the door opening with a soft squeak, then closing afterwards.

Everyone snapped their heads towards the direction. Reed had just stepped out of the room with a mixed expression on her face. Norah noticed how the redhead gave her friend a side-eye, her look mixed with guilt and conflict.

April shot up from her seat and grabbed Reed's hand. "What?"

Reed turned to her, stammering. "I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice small, "I am so, so sorry."

April looked confused at her friend's words.

"Dr Kepner," Webber called out from the door, and she turned to him, her face slowly filled with realisation and fright.

"Wh-What did you tell them? What did you say?" April asked, but Reed did not provide a response other than a look of guilt on her face.

The latter shook her head and turned to walk down the hallway. April numbly walked towards the conference room; her mind was blank as the other residents watched her noiselessly.

The chief gave them a nod, indicating that they were free to go. The residents had never scrambled off that quickly.

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH SAT BY THE NURSES' station after ensuring that her firefighter patient was stable for the night. She placed the chart back along with the stack while covering a big yawn on her face.

Cristina walked up to the station with a slightly troubled look, causing the brunette to raise a brow at her. Jackson and Reed were exchanging words when Alex passed by them; the green-eyed resident had his gaze following Alex.

"What?" Alex snapped before rounding to the station.

"Just waiting to see if you're gonna try to hit me again," Jackson stated. Norah narrowed her eyes between the two male residents, both of who looked too tired to be starting a fight anytime soon.

Alex let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I was just, uh-"

"Forget it," Jackson interrupted, placing his pen back into his pocket. "Rough night, right?"

Alex nodded with an apologetic look on his face; the women had their brows cocked up in both surprise and confusion.

What is it about the male species being so impulsive and forgiving at the same time? Norah wondered solemnly.

Before her mind could wander off for a logical answer, Charles's voice took over. "So, April missed an airway, huh?" he folded his arms above his chest, "That's so stupid."

"Airway first," Lexie nodded as she walked up to the group along with Timothy, who was munching on a chocolate bar from the vending machine.

"It's like, Med School 101, right?" Jackson joked lightly, and some of the residents snickered.

"Yeah, I remember they thought us that on our first day," Timothy piped in.

Alex nodded in agreement. "It's pretty basic."

"It was one second!" Reed's voice boomed, causing the residents to turn their attention to the small figure. "She got distracted, and she made a mistake."

"That we all nearly got fired for," Charles deadpanned, throwing her an unamused look.

"Nosedive's got a point," Jackson nodded sincerely, and Norah snorted from her seat.

"Thank you," Charles muttered but furrowed his brows when his mind processed what his friend had just called him. "What?"

"We nearly got fired for trying to fix what she screwed up in the first place," Alex reminded, trying his best to not snap at the redhead.

"Yeah, because that's our job," Cristina snapped with a displeased tone, and the residents' banter faded off at once. "What, you didn't make any mistakes today? You've been distracted for the entire week," she snapped at Alex before turning to Jackson, "And who knows what you screwed up?"

He furrowed his brows with a slightly offended look on his face but chose to remain quiet. "But our patients didn't die, and that's why we didn't get caught," Cristina continued before shaking her head, "It could've happened to any one of us."

The residents' had their heads hung low as they took in her words; everyone had fallen silent. "You good?" Norah raised a brow at the resident, who had resumed her charting.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cristina sighed, "Thanks."

"Here she comes," Jackson whispered. The residents turned to look at April, who had a packed bag over her shoulder with a shameful look of betrayal on her face.

She pushed through the group of residents, not sparing any of them a look nor a word, including her Mercy West friends. Charles and Jackson wanted to say something to her but decided against it.

"April," Reed tried, her voice laced with a hint of guilt. She stepped forward, but April continued walking down the hallway towards the doors, ignoring the other resident's presence in whole.

April slammed open the doors and walked away from them, her steps heavy and her face dull.

Norah sighed, dropping her head onto the desk.

What a long, long day.