Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

Good Gracious You're a Heart Attack

It was almost midnight and it was still raining when Owen and Cristina left Meredith's house. Owen put his jacket over him and Cristina as they dashed towards his car. Cristina hurriedly stepped in and sat in the passenger seat, wiping the rain off her face and arms as Owen closed the door. She watched Owen as he walked around the car, towards the driver's side. She shifted her gaze in front and noticed another car stopping in front of the house. Cristina initially mistook it for Derek, but she then realized it wasn't him, though it looked familiar. Her eyebrows arched up with curiosity as she saw Lexie coming out of the SUV, leaning down the open car window before stepping away from the car.

Owen shook the rain off his jacket before closing the door. He turned to face Cristina and noticed her glancing away, lost in thought. He stared at her with a worried expression on his face for a moment, before he squeezed her arm.

"You okay?"

Cristina replied with a half-smile.

She returned her gaze to Lexie, who was now walking towards the front door. The car didn't leave until Lexie was standing in front of the doorway.

"That car," she said, pointing to the car that was driving by.

"What?"

The SUV had already turned to the corner before Owen could see it. He then reached inside the gym bag in the backseat for his clean shirt.

"Here, dry yourself with this," Owen said as he returned to his seat and handed Cristina the shirt. "Let's go home," he added, starting the car and driving away.

- - - - -

Sunday Afternoon
Emergency Room

The ER wing had been chaotic since the afternoon. The sudden surge of patients occurred at the same time Owen left the wing for surgery, leaving April to manage the ER all by herself as she took the ER shift. April stood motionless watching as the gurneys were brought in and out of the busy emergency room.

Mark and Eric stared at the dazed resident as they checked their patient.

"She's gonna hurl," Mark chuckled.

Eric kept his stare at April, who seemed to be mumbling incoherently under her breath. "She'll be alright," He looked back at the patient, but did a double take as he noticed Lexie passing through the wing with Dr. Browne, pushing a gurney towards the elevator. He kept his gaze fixed on Lexie until she entered the elevator, then turned to the chart he was holding and wrote his observation.

"Uhm, right." Eric signed the chart and returned it to the nurse before turning his gaze to Mark. "No deficits; he's clear." He stopped as he spotted Mark, staring at him blankly, mouth slightly gaped.

"What?"

There was a minute of silence before Mark finally spoke. "Nothing," Mark said as he cleared his throat and walked away.

April shook herself off her dazed trance and did her best to keep the chaotic ER under control. She went on discharging cleared patients, assigned tasks to ER nurses and staff, and answered ER calls of incoming ambulances. She also guided the arriving surgical attendings to their consults — all while checking and treating her own patients. Owen returned just as April was about to go to surgery with Derek and found his ER well handled.

The pit was noticeably quieter when April returned in the evening, compared to when she had left it. Owen left to attend the intern mixer and she was stuck manning the ER until 7 AM the next day. April sat in the chair, thinking about how she had survived the five-hour trauma tsunami that afternoon. Her arms dangled from the armchair as she slumped in exhaustion. She wished she had just said no to Alex about taking his shift in the ER if she had known the pit would be this busy. All she could do now was hope that her evening wouldn't be as chaotic as the afternoon.