Meredith's sister

2

Three Weeks Later

Mia's POV

I woke up with a heavy heart. Everything with Addison was consuming me—I had fallen for her. And I couldn't tell anyone. Not even Meredith or Izzie, the closest friends I had ever known. Meredith would hate me for it. I wished I could tell Addison, but I couldn't.

After showering, I stepped into Meredith's room. She was lying on her bed, awake but silent. Without a word, I called Cristina over and drove to the hospital.

I needed a distraction.

I wandered into the on-call room, and there she was—Addison. Sitting on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest, silent sobs wracking her body. Without thinking, I sat beside her and placed my hand on hers.

She jerked away. "Go away!"

"Addison—"

"GO AWAY!" she shouted, her voice breaking.

I hesitated, watching her for a moment, but then I left. My chest ached, but I had to push it down.

A trauma case came in—a 911 emergency. The ambulance doors burst open, revealing a woman with her hand inside a man's body.

"Mine," I said, stepping up.

Meredith and Cristina took the screaming woman while Alex and I assessed the man.

"Dude," Alex muttered.

"Yeah," I replied, already thinking about the next step.

After running tests, Cristina went to talk to Burke.

"How's his respiratory effort?" Burke asked as he stepped in.

"Absent breath sounds on the right side," I responded quickly. "Air bubbling at the wound. He's shocky and cyanotic."

The man gasped, blood trickling from his mouth. "My wife was—"

"Grey, prepare the OR," Burke ordered, and I nodded.

"Don't worry, sir. We're here to help you and your wife," I assured him before scrubbing in.

Just as Burke was about to begin surgery, Alex came running in.

"Dr. Burke, I need to speak with you."

Burke frowned. "I'm in surgery, Karev."

"You're going to want to hear this."

The urgency in his tone made Burke step aside. I exchanged a confused glance with Cristina as they spoke in hushed voices.

"Hannah," Burke finally said, turning to the woman. "What do you feel inside? What is your hand touching?"

She hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"Is it something hard? Like metal?" I asked.

Burke nodded.

"I—I don't know," Hannah stammered. "Maybe."

"Don't move your hand," Burke instructed firmly. "Just describe what you feel."

A hush fell over the room.

"My fingertips are kind of touching something hard..." she trailed off, realization dawning. "Oh my God."

"What? What's wrong?" Hannah asked, panic rising.

Burke's voice was calm but firm. "Hannah, I don't want you to move. Not an inch."

Her breathing quickened. "You're starting to scare me."

"Everything is going to be fine," he assured her. Then, turning to me, he lowered his voice. "Dr. Grey, I want you to walk out of this room. Don't run. Tell the charge nurse we have a code black and to call the bomb squad."

I swallowed hard and nodded, my pulse hammering as I followed his orders.

When I returned, everyone had been evacuated. Burke stood outside.

"What now?" I asked.

"I go back in there and wait for the bomb squad. You all leave."

I shook my head. "You need a surgical team."

"Fine," he relented, "but you wait by the elevator. No one stays in there who doesn't need to be."

I rolled my eyes but complied. Soon, the bomb squad arrived. As they headed toward the OR, I slipped in behind them.

Hannah's eyes were wide with fear.

"You're so brave," I whispered, kneeling beside her. "For not taking your hand out."

She gave me a small, shaky smile. "Thank you."

"Pink mist," one of the bomb squad guys muttered.

"What?" Hannah asked, confused.

"That's what they call you when you blow up."

I glared at him. "Can you shut up? You're scaring her."

"Bomb goes off, anyone in range turns into a billion pieces," he continued, unaffected.

Hannah's face paled. Her fingers twitched. I placed my hand on hers, steadying her.

"You're liquid. There's nothing left. Just flecks of human—"

"Enough!" I snapped. He finally shut up, but I saw the way Hannah's whole body trembled.

She started to pull her hand away.

"Hannah, listen to me." My voice was steady, but my heart pounded. "I'm going to take over. You'll slowly remove your hand, but you need to keep pressure, okay?"

She nodded. I gently replaced her hand with mine. She moved to the man's head, manually pumping air into his lungs.

"You're doing amazing," I reassured her.

She swallowed hard. "Aren't you scared?"

I nodded. "Terrified. But we don't give up. Even when things are scary."

Hannah nodded.

Through the glass, I saw Cristina and Meredith watching. Meredith's eyes brimmed with tears. The door opened, and Cristina rushed in.

"Where's Dr. Milton?" she asked.

"Ran off like a coward," I muttered.

"Mia, why?" Meredith's voice cracked.

"Because Hannah was going to let go. I had to do something brave... Because I can't even ask my crush out," I admitted, tears welling.

"Mia..." Meredith whispered, stepping closer.

"Even if I die, you'll be okay. You're the strongest person I know," I told her.

"Go," I urged.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" she argued.

Burke and the bomb squad leader entered. "We need to clear the room. Dr. Grey, out."

"No! I won't leave my sister and best friend here!"

"Mer, go," I pleaded. "For me."

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Cristina, who gave her a firm nod. With a deep breath, Meredith turned and left.

Burke took over the procedure. "Stay still, Mia."

I took a shaky breath. "You have a plan, right?"

The bomb squad guy didn't answer.

My chest tightened. "I haven't even told her how I feel... This is not how today was supposed to go."

The man met my eyes. "Mia, I need you to pretend I'm someone you trust."

I closed my eyes and imagined Addison.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know," she said. "But you can do this."

I nodded, reality snapping back into focus.

Slowly, I removed the bomb and handed it off. The man carried it away, careful and deliberate.

Then, an explosion.

And everything went black.