Let It Go

9.

Meredith gulped her water, thankful for a few minutes of peace and quiet - finally. It had been an incredibly busy day. She'd performed two emergency surgeies in addition to the one she'd had scheduled. Her next day off - Friday - was starting to look farther and farther away. She really hated the days in between Tuesday and Friday at the moment. She, Izzie, and Cristina were now more or less hiding on a bench outside the hospital, taking a few minutes to catch their breath. Their days had gone about the same as hers.

"Okay - time to give details. How was the 'just dinner'?" Izzie asked. Meredith grinned and looked over at Cristina. "I don't know if we should discuss it Izzie. Cristina may not want to hear about it," she said with a smirk. "Oh please. Cristina is dying to know too - way deep down inside where no one will ever find out." "Oh just spill it Meredith!" Cristina said, glaring at Izzie. Meredith laughed. She'd known Cristina was curious. And she was surprised to find herself wanting to tell them about it.

"It was great," Meredith said. "We went into a toy store, he bought his nephew a gift, we had dinner, walked around the mall for a while, listened to some of the street musicians, had ice cream... It was great." Cristina groaned. "I didn't pick you to be the fluffy type," she said. "I'm usually not," Meredith admitted. "Which is why this is weird. But it's a good weird. I think."

"Are you two going out again?" Izzie pressed. "I think so. He mentioned it when he brought me back to my car last night. And again in the 'I had a lot of fun last night' e-mail I got this morning." "He's all smiley and stuff," Cristina said. "He's never smiley." "I noticed that too. He's happy. He hasn't been happy in a really long time," Izzie said. "He's either happy or Meredith is really good in the sack," Cristina replied. "I am good in the sack - but he wouldn't know," Meredith spoke up.

"So no sex? That sucks," Cristina said. Izzie rolled her eyes. "It's been a long time since I went on a date that didn't end in sex," Meredith stated. "And surprisingly, that's not a bad thing." "But are you hoping for a second date?" Izzie asked. Meredith grinned. "I am," she confessed. Izzie let out a very Izzie-like shriek. Cristina groaned. Meredith's pager sounded, followed seconds later by Izzie's.

"MVA?" Izzie asked Meredith as they both headed towards the ED. "Yeah. Derek's in with the board, Dr. Shaffrey is off, Dr. McCarter is in surgery... We're getting short on neurosurgeons. Let's hope this isn't bad." They burst through the ED doors and headed for the ambulance bay, both grabbing yellow gowns. Izzie tied Meredith's as they walked then got in front of her so Meredith could tie hers.

"What do we have?" Izzie asked a nearby nurse. The sound of a helicopter could be heard growing steadily louder. "MVA, mother and child. Mother is pregnant, being brought in by ambulance. The kid is being flown in. The paramedics at the scene said he was thrown from the vehicle and had obvious head trauma," the nurse answered. A orange and blue helicopter came into view, a big white pegasus horse painted on it's side.

Meredith broke away from Izzie and the nurse to wait for the helicopter to land. It was impressive, watching the big machine settle down so gracefully. The doors opened and flight nurses jumped out and then lifted a stretcher out. Meredith watched for the signal that it was safe for her to approach the helicopter. The second she recieved it, she started towards the child.

"What do we got?" she called over the roaring of the helicopter. "John Doe, male, about 7 years old, ejected from the vehicle, unconcious at the scene. We intubated him in the field and he crashed in flight. We were able to get his heart beating again, but it's bad..." Meredith took her stethoscope from around her neck as they rushed towards the ED entrance. "What are his vitals?" she asked. She looked down at the child, poised to check for herself. "Oh my God!" she said. She looked up. "What?" Izzie called from nearby as a ambulance rolled into the bay carring her patient. "This isn't a John Doe. This is Dr. Shepherd's nephew."