DARK WAS THE NIGHT
8x9

Charlotte sits beside Meredith in the rig, wearing her Seattle Grace Mercy West jacket. Alex sits in front of the bed they had set up from the Nicu. All three sat in silence. No one wanted to be there anymore than the others.

"It's probably a mistake. You know, courts—" Alex shook his head. "they screw up all the time. You call 'em in the morning—"

"It's over, Alex," Meredith snapped. "It's been over for a while. Everyone knew it. No one wants to say it."

Alex situated his jaw, "So get— get a surrogate or whatever. You can't just write off having a family like that. Get Charlotte— or Yang to carry a kid for you— she gets knocked up at the drop of a—"

"If you don't shut up in the next three seconds, I'm gonna shove you of the back of the rig," Meredith threatened.

"I'll help," Charlotte volunteered, blankly staring at the ambulance wall.

When they arrive at the hospital Meredith and Alex push the bed and everything they'll need on the stretcher. Charlotte follows behind

"Hey," Charlotte said so Alex didn't fall. "We're here to pick up a baby— take her to Seattle Grace."

"You're, uh, you're looking for me," A doctor came around the main nurses station. "I'm Jordan Wagner. I am really glad to see you guys."

"Yeah," Alex stuck his hand out. "I'm Alex Karev. Meredith Grey. Charlotte Brown."

"Okay," Dr. Wagner nodded with a shocked expression. "Li— uh, listen, she was born six hours ago, right away, trouble breathing. Stomach looked distended, so we put down an N.G. tube. But the x-ray showed that it was just coiling in her chest," The four doctors entered the hospital room. "We've done everything we can to keep her breathing, but it's been a struggle."

"You don't have a neonatal mask?" Alex questions.

"We're not set up for neonatal or O.B.," The man shook his head. "Thi— she was an emergency delivery, otherwise, we would've sent her to the hospital in Leavenworth."

"Pulse ox is seventy-nine," Charlotte observed.

"Respiratory rate is eighty," Meredith added. "She's got retractions."

"How come she's not intubated?" Alex's face displayed concern.

"The smallest tube we had didn't fit," The doctor says. "Please tell me that you brought a neonatal tube."

"We're gonna need x-ray in here for a post-intubation film," Alex said as he looked through the bag.

"This I.V's no good," Charlotte looked between Meredith and Alex with concerned eyes.

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "You don't even have a neonatal central line kit?"

"No," The man clenched his jaw.

"I.O needle?" Meredith looked up.

"No," The man looked down after a pause.

Charlotte scoffed quietly, with semi wide eyes. The three look at each other as they search for what they need to save this baby.

❄️

Alex stepped away, calling Arizona. All three residents had shedded their coats, just in their light blue scrubs.

"How's it going?" Arizona asked through the phone.

"The kids septic. She's got pneumonia," Alex held the phone to his ear.

"Was she intubated when you got there?"

"Yeah, well, they don't have any neonatal stuff here at all," Alex held the x-ray up. "We intubated, we started an umbilical line to hang D10 normal saline and antibiotics. But her SAT's aren't coming up, and all the oxygens going into her stomach."

"You're gonna need to put in an amplatz umbrella."

"They don't have a 3-0 E.T. tube. You think they're gonna have an amplatz?" Alex made a face.

"Alright," Arizona rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Elevate her head."

"Alright. Get her head up," Alex repeated to Meredith, Charlotte and the doctor from Bentley.

"Aright, so do they have a Fogarty catheter? They use those on grown-ups," Arizona explained further.

"A Fogarty catheter?" Alex looked at the doctor and he nodded. "Yeah, what else?"

"You're gonna have to thread the Fogarty down her trachea, pretty far down, then blow up the balloon, and pull up until you get traction. That'll occlude the fistula and get the air flowing into the lungs," The blonde pediatric surgeon walked the resident through the procedure. "You're gonna have to keep the blind pouch clear, and I'm not sure you have anything in your box that's gonna do that."

"Uh, how about an eight french suction catheter?" Alex dug through the box again.

"Yeah, that'll work."

"You got it," Alex pulled the suction catheter out, "Alright. We're gonna call you when we get to the rig."

"Hey, Alex. You don't have a lot of time. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know that," Alex shrugged it off, pressing the red button to end the call.

❄️

The rig drives through the rain—which was now a thunderstorm.

Charlotte bit her lip nervously and tried to fight back the urge to bounce her leg or play with her hands.

"You know, why not try adoption again?" Alex brought the elephant in the room— or, rig up, again.

"Social services just took our kid away," Meredith furrowed her brows. "What do you think, if we wait a week, they'll forget and give us another try with a new kid?"

"Alright, so get a surrogate," Alex suggested again.

Meredith sighs as Charlotte holds back the urge to puke—she really hates thunderstorms.

"Alex," Meredith drew out his name.

"Why not?" Alex leaned his head against the seat.

"Because she doesn't want a surrogate. She wanted Zola," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Now drop it. Please."

"No," Alex didn't let up that easy. "You just don't give up like that."

"It's nice that you care," Meredith paused. "but it really isn't any of your business."

"It is," Alex looked down. "It's my fault. I can't handle being responsible for you not having kids. It's too much."

"I— it's not your fault," Meredith said only half convincingly.

"Yeah, it is," Alex looked at Meredith, watching Charlotte slightly as well. The brunette leaned her head back and had her eyes closed.

"It's my fault," Meredith looked down at the rig floor. "I got the ball rolling. I messed with the trial. What you did was turdy, but what I did was illegal."

"Who cares?" Alex shook his head. "You don't just give up. It's lame. You're not a quitter. That's not who you are."

The rig shakes a little and Charlotte grips the seat with one hand, trying to go unnoticed by her two friends. She realizes it stopped and let out a sigh of relief.

"Dude, what's the problem?" Alex asked the driver.

The three received no response, only hearing the front door shut and the driver comes around the back, opening the doors.

"What happened to the engine?" Alex asked.

"I don't know what the crap it is. I called for another unit, but we're in the middle of nowhere. It's gonna take forever. I'm putting these out and I'm gonna run back," The driver grabbed the orange cones. "It looked like there was a store or something, about half a mile back. Maybe they got a truck. You gotta get out of the rig."

"It's pouring rain and it's freezing!" Charlotte scoffed.

"We can't go out there with the baby," Meredith looked at the man with wide eyes.

"There's no shoulder," Alex looked around him. "It's not like we can just take the incubator out. I mean, there's not even anywhere to stand."

"This thing is full of oxygen tanks. We get hit, it'll go up like a Roman candle. You gotta get out," The driver shook his head.

"And leave the baby?" Alex tilted his head.

"She'll die," Charlottes eyes widen.

"You want to all die? I'm putting these out. You better hope people can see 'em. You're on a hill and you're on a curve. I'm telling you, get out of the damn rig," The guy shuts the doors.

❄️

"Secure the umbilical line with extra tape," Arizona instructed. "You need the D10. Put the oxygen tank in the holster, and take the paramedic kit."

"Get out of the rig," Derek told the trio in a low voice.

"Swaddle her so that she stays warm," Arizona looked at the phone.

"We can't regulate—" Alex's voice cuts out on the attending's side.

"What?" Arizona asked.

"We can't regulate her temp without the incubator," Alex repeated.

"They may have to leave the kid," Mark said.

"We are not leaving the baby," Meredith demanded.

"At least one of you should get out of the rig," Mark matched Meredith's tone.

"What are they gonna do, flip a coin?" Derek asked bitterly.

"They're sitting in a powder keg," Mark said.

"Get out," Alex told Meredith and Charlotte.

"Alex—"

"Absolutely not!" Charlotte's breathing picked up.

"Go," Alex said sternly. "There's not reason for all three of us to get killed."

"Well, we're not any safer in the middle of the damn road," Meredith glared.

"I'm telling you both to get out of the damn rig," Alex pointed to the doors.

"Alex, if you want to go, you go," Charlotte closed her eyes.

"We're not gonna fix your guilt by us letting you die in an ambulance so that we c—"

The rig shakes, the lights going out and flinging Meredith and Charlotte across the rig. The dirty blonde hits her head off the plastic around the bed, and the brunette hits her forehead off the medicine cabinet.

Alex gets pushed to the side of the rig, hitting his head off the wall.

Charlotte picks her head up first, checking to see if the baby took any damage—thankfully, she didn't.

"Are you okay?" Alex picks up his head along with Meredith. "You're both bleeding.

"I— I'm fine," Charlotte said, that anxiety rushing back at her.

Meredith sits on her knees, getting the baby out of the bed.

"Mer, what are you doing?" Alex made his way towards the two.

"Get her a blanket— she's taking her out," Charlotte pointed to nowhere in particular, everything was scattered all over the rig.

"Mer, put her back in," Alex handed Charlotte a blanket and the woman wraps it around the newborn.

"She just got thrown around in a plastic box," Her eyes glancing around the bed. "She needs to be held. I'm not putting her back in."

Alex pushes Charlottes hair out of her face, looking at her right eyebrow which was sliced open, the blood making its way down her cheek. He looks at Meredith's forehead next.

"Are you guys okay?"

"No, we're not okay," Charlotte swallowed.

"Guys, listen, we gotta get outta here before this thing blows," Alex grabs a bunch of supplies.

"Well, how are we gonna do that?" Charlotte talked fast. "She's connected to a million things."

"You have the bag, Mer has the baby. I'll get the 0-2 tank and the I.V. and we're gonna disconnect her from the antibiotics," Alex explained.

"Is that gonna be okay?" Charlotte's eyes darted between Meredith and Alex.

"Yeah. It's gonna have to be," Alex declared, the three making their way out into the no longer rainy weather.

All three residents look at the scene before them—a van flipped over, members of the family laying on the wet street.

"Oh my god," Charlotte says with wide eyes.

this has no chapril
whatsoever but idrc
anyways

this is setting us up
for cute chapril moments
when charlotte gets back 😍