S2 EP24

NORAH YAWNED AS SHE stepped out of her car in the parking lot. George had moved out and back into Meredith's house.

She figured that things were still not going well in the house since George and Meredith were still not on speaking terms. Also, from what she heard, Izzie was having major opinions about George's relationship. However, her apartment remained the 'crash site' for almost everyone.

"Good morning, Lawrence," a voice greeted from behind her.

Norah glanced over her shoulder and saw Callie waving at her with her arm linked with George's. She grinned at them. "Morning, Torres. Hi, George."

"How's the shoulder?" Callie asked.

"Bloody brilliant," Norah replied, giving her arm a few turns to prove her words. Callie kissed George goodbye as she entered the hospital, heading in a different direction from the interns.

George caught up to Norah and walked by her side. "I'm glad there's someone who actually likes her," he muttered with a sigh. "Someone other than me, I mean."

"What's the problem?" Norah quirked a brow at him.

"Izzie's the problem," George groaned. "God, she was the one who told me to confess my feelings to Callie, and now she's having an opinion when I'm dating her?" he scoffed, tossing his arms in the air out of frustration.

Norah smirked. "She's just jealous that she couldn't get it with Denny. Man's in bed, but not in bed."

George's eyes widened at her words. "Wow, that's... I like your way of words," he chuckled. "I'm feeling better already."

"If you need to beat up someone, just give me a page," she grinned, slapping him on the back, where he let out a grunt, and they laughed it off.

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH TIED THE KNOT behind her neck as she exited the ER to the ambulance bay. Looking at both sides of the wall, she walked over to Alex's side, where Meredith and Cristina were leaning against the wall opposite them.

"You look mad," Norah whispered to Alex as she put on her gloves.

He gave her a brief look before denying, "I'm not."

"Girl problems?"

"Shut up," Alex rolled his eyes.

"Ooh," Norah smirked, "Definitely girl problems, then."

The ER doors opened again, and George walked out along with Izzie, who looked wild. "Ask Meredith. Meredith?" she queried, but Meredith merely stared back at her. "That's right, I forgot, you're not talking to her," she rolled her eyes, "If you were, she would tell you that Callie crosses the line. So crossed the line. So freaking crossed."

Meredith shared a look with Cristina, who shrugged back at her. "Oh," Alex chuckled weakly, "We're still pretending that you're not seeing a patient, right?" Izzie threw him a glare while Norah snickered a laugh, giving him a fist bump.

"People, what's with all the evil misery?" Cristina voiced out as she walked in between the bickering few. She tossed her arms over Alex and Izzie's shoulders. "Live and let live."

The interns stared at their strange friend, then at each other-the five of them shared a concerned look on their faces. George walked up to her and touched her face; the latter stared back at him. "You're cheerful," he pointed out with furrowed brows.

Norah, too, pushed herself off the wall and turned Cristina to face her, observing the features on her face-before giving her a slap. Cristina let out an 'Ow' while she rubbed her cheek. "Huh... She is cheery. Was there a meteor shower last night, or is it the end of the world?"

"I scrubbed in on a four-hour paraesophageal hernia last night," Cristina announced proudly. "Then I got laid. And now, three ambulances are coming in full of bloody broken car crash victims, all who need to be cut open." She turned to face the other interns, dancing her delight out, "So, I'm cheery! I'm cheery! I'm cheery-"

Derek, who was trying to head into the hospital, almost got smacked in the face from Cristina's dancing. The intern immediately spun on her feet, and her eyes widened. "Sorry, sir. I..."

The neurosurgeon shot a glare at the brunette intern, who burst out laughing.

❦ ❦ ❦

"THE CT WON'T HURT THE baby or nothing, right?" Melanie asked while being transferred from the gurney to the CT bed.

"No, it won't hurt the baby," Norah reassured her.

"I was having a shower today. A baby shower," Melanie noted. "That's why Mama and Daddy are in town. Because I'm having a baby. How nice is that?"

"It's very nice. Congratulations!" Norah grinned at the patient. "Don't mind me asking, is it a baby boy or a girl?"

"My husband and I chose to not know the gender of the little bear growing in me," the woman smiled back.

The door opened, causing the intern to lift her head in its direction. Alex walked in, and Norah cocked a brow at his presence. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm captain of the vagina squad," Alex muttered.

"Huh, well then," Norah took a step back from the patient and the CT machine, "Have fun."

She walked into the CT room and sat on the chair next to the CT tech while they waited for the scans to show up. She had a casual chat with the tech to ease the awkward silence in the room.

After a long while, Alex came in with an annoyed look painted on his face. "Finally got her to shut up," he grumbled.

Bailey entered the room shortly after him, moving through her interns. "How's she doing?" she queried.

"Images coming up now."

"Is that a teardrop fracture?" Norah asked.

"No head bleed, though," Alex noted. "That's good."

"No... Look at her lungs and liver..." Norah squinted at the scans, not quite believing what she was seeing. "How is she alive?"

"Lawrence, page Shepherd, Burke, Montgomery-Shepherd, the chief and every surgeon with an available hand and get an OR opened," Bailey ordered. Norah nodded and immediately rushed out of the room with goosebumps rising on her arms.

❦ ❦ ❦

THE SURGEONS FROM different specialties surrounded the operating table, all cutting various parts of Melanie's body at once. Everyone was giving their full attention; surgical tools were being ordered from all different directions as they worked together, trying to save the patient's life.

"Pressure just bottomed out."

Blood splattered out from Melanie's abdomen, and Webber made a call. "Let's transfuse," he ordered, and a nurse immediately hung up a pack of blood.

"Four quadrant packing," Bailey informed, "Come on, people, get me some lap pads."

"Cross clamp the aorta."

"Clamp. Got it."

"There's too much bleeding. She'll never last," Webber shook his head with a frown on his forehead. "Shepherd?"

"Damage control."

"Addison?"

"If you want the baby to live, damage control."

"Burke?"

"Damage control."

With all three attendings agreeing on their next step, Webber nodded. "Everyone knows the rules. We're gonna move as rapidly as possible. Don't worry about finishing repairs," he announced. "For now, we're on crisis management people. Just get it done. Once she reaches the triangle, we stop. No exceptions."

"Why's he talking about triangle?" Alex questioned, sitting in front of the foetal monitor. "What triangle?"

"Triangle of death," Norah answered, "Blood stops clotting, the muscles produce acid, and organs get cold."

Alex tensed up a little, his eyes shifting to the patient on the table.

❦ ❦ ❦

THE FOUR FEMALE INTERNS sat on the couches in the hallway, munching on snacks and stretching their bodies. Norah had her feet crossed on the coffee table in front of her as she tried to catch a quick nap after their mentally draining surgery on Melanie.

"Her organs are bleeding, damaged, exposed, and covered in plastic wrap," Izzie stated with a sigh.

"Poor Marshall," Meredith spoke, referring to the man who caused the car accident. "I mean, one minute you're a surgeon, the next you've destroyed an entire family."

"Last month, I fell asleep in the parking lot," Izzie shared, "On a bench. I literally couldn't even make it to the car."

"I fell asleep at a restaurant," Meredith shrugged. "At a table while I was on a date."

"Yeah, well, I fell asleep during sex," Cristina said.

"Hell, you guys get to sleep?" Norah grumbled. "I miss having a proper sleep schedule."

George approached them from behind and walked straight to Izzie. "Callie's looking for you," he whispered. "You blew off her surgery."

"No. I... I had a patient. Denny. I...I had to go," Izzie informed.

"You were hanging out with Denny?" George narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh, please. Do not even talk to me about standards," Izzie rolled her eyes, "The girl can't even wash her hands."

"And you're trying to be shagged by a walking corpse," Norah interjected curtly, opening her eyes from her failed attempt of catching a nap. The other four were staring at her, and she fixed her gaze on the blonde woman. "What? You're getting attached, and we all know that."

"That was rude, even for you," Izzie deadpanned.

"I'm not known for being polite, you see," Norah shrugged, "If you're jealous of George having a partner, just spit it out and stop yakking around. What's the point of sabotaging his relationship and his happiness just because you don't like her? And mind you-Torres is a great person." Izzie glared at her while she shut her eyes again. "How do you call yourself a friend?" the brunette scoffed, "Now, don't mind me, I need a nap."

George rounded from them and lowered his head as he walked behind Norah. "Thank you," he whispered before he continued walking away angrily. Meredith and Cristina looked at each other, not knowing what to say while Norah drifted off into a long-awaited sleep.

❦ ❦ ❦

NORAH PLACED THE CHART away in the nurses' station and held onto her sling bag. She walked down the hallway, where the lights were dim to allow patients to have a better rest. Passing by the patients' rooms, she did a double-take at the view inside one of the rooms.

Izzie was lying on the bed, next to Denny; she had an arm on his chest while he hugged her around her back.

Stupid was all Norah could muster up as she shook her head and walked away.

Her phone's notification rang, and she took it out to check for messages. There was only one-from Derek.

From: Derek Shep

Ah, there goes my sleep again, Norah thought. What has this man done now?

❦ ❦ ❦

"I THINK I CALLED Meredith a whore," Derek sighed as he aimed and threw a dart.

"You think?" Norah cocked a brow at him, "Why the bloody hell would you even call her that in the first place?"

"I did not say the word directly to her face," he claimed. "I... sort of said that she gets around... with O'Malley, with our vet..."

Norah stared at him for a long time as he plucked out the darts from the board. He finished his glass of scotch and shook his head. "Okay, you're not speaking. So it is really bad, isn't it?"

"I'm currently trying to figure out the best word to throw at your face," she stated and took a sip from her drink. "But the words in my head are idiot, fool, and prat. Take your pick."

"I thought you're on my side-"

"No, no, no, no..." Norah shook her head, "I don't do sides. It does more harm than good."

Derek nodded. "I ended things between us," he said, but she responded with a snort. "I did-"

"Right... and I got shot by a jackass. If my dart hits the inner ring of the board, you're a liar," she smirked as Joe refilled her drink. "You're paying for my drinks, for dragging me here to be your 'relationship therapist' and all."

"You do have a degree in psychology."

"Still doesn't make me a therapist," she hissed and took her aim at the dartboard. When her dart hit the centre of the board, she smirked, turning back to the attending. "Ha! Bulls-eye!"