Let It Go

79.

Derek and Mark walked side by side along the same street they'd walked down earlier, going farther into the wreckage this time, eyes peeled for any sign of a person in need. They didn't speak. Derek felt uneasy, like he had forgotten something. He kept running over a list in his head. They had restocked their medical supplies. They had put fresh batteries in their flashlights. He had checked his cell phone for service that still hadn't been restored. The EMTs they were with had supplied them with a walkie talkie this time which Mark was carrying in his hand. He had put Burke in charge of the hospital. He had told Meredith he loved her before he left the hospital. There was nothing he had forgotten and yet he was uneasy.

The wind was picking up. He and Mark were both well aware of that but neither of them had mentioned it. Large rain drops were falling sporadically, a sign that a heavy downpour was imminent. Thunder rumbled loudly every few minutes while bright lightening flashes illuminated the sky with an alarming frequency. The heavy clouds in the night sky were so low they felt suffocating. And it was hot. Incredibly hot. The air was thick with humidity making it difficult to breathe. Sweat soaked through the t-shirts Derek and Mark had changed into at the hospital, learning their first time out that it was far too hot for their dress shirts they had come to work in.

"Mark?" Derek asked. "Yeah?" Mark answered. He beamed his flashlight into an empty car as they passed it. "I'm about to say something and when I say it, you can't call me a girl or a chick or a woman or anything else you can think of, okay?" Derek said seriously. Mark nodded. "Fine," he agreed. Derek took a deep breath.

"I think we should have listened to Meredith. We should have stayed at the hospital. I just... I have a bad feeling," Derek admitted. Mark didn't say anything at first. He glanced at Derek then nodded. "Yeah," he said gruffly. "Me too. Somethin's comin'. I can feel it." Derek looked over his shoulder. A loud crack followed by an even louder boom sounded as an impressive streak of lightening streaked from the sky and struck something in the distance.

"What the hell do we do if a tornado touches down and we're out here like this?" Derek asked. Mark shook his head. "I've been thinking about it and I have no fucking idea. There is nowhere - nowhere - to go. All this debris... Shit's gonna be flying around... We're screwed Derek." Derek didn't miss the note of panic in Mark's voice. Mark wasn't one to panic for the sake of it. The fact that he was on the verge on panicking now didn't ease Derek's mind. He took another deep breath. He had another worry on his mind.

"I'm responsible for the others," he told Mark. "It was my idea to bring a team out here. I'm the Chief while Richard is gone. If Childs, Davidson, Richards, Holloway, and Bruin end up hurt or worse in all of this, it will be my fault." Mark sighed. Of all the times for this to happen it had to be two days before Addison's death. If something happened to one of the other doctors in the field - or to him - Derek would never be the same again.

"Childs and Bruin are back at the hospital," Derek ticked off, trying to place each doctor. "They both had critical patients and went back to the hospital for surgery. Davidson went back to the hospital as well, said his services were needed there. Holloway and Richards are still out here. Give me the walkie talkie." Mark handed Derek the radio. Derek radioed Holloway and Richards and ordered them to take the next ambulance back to the hospital. From the sound of their voices, both of them were more then relieved to get back to safety. Derek made sure he thanked them for their help before passing the walkie talkie back to Mark.

"I wonder if mom and dad are okay?" Mark asked. Derek swallowed. "I've been trying not to think about it," he replied. "Or if the sisters and their families are okay." "Annie and Brian used to live here," Mark stated. His eyes scouted the ruins around them. "They moved just before Harrison was born," Derek agreed. Mark shook his head. "Damn...," he muttered. Both of them were thinking about what might have been had Annie and Brian not moved, even thought they had left the neighborhood seven years ago. Ahead of them, Derek spotted a young boy running towards them. He elbowed Mark and nodded his head towards the boy.