Where You Belong

109

Wednesday

Meredith sighed as she followed Cristina, Izzie, Callie and Bailey out to the ambulance bay. She hadn't slept well the night before and she was disappointed with herself for falling into the same trap as the last time she allowed herself to believe she could have a real relationship with the Greys. She and family just didn't exist well together. She knew that. She had plenty of experience to tell her that, but still, she let Lexie in. And she let herself have hope with Thatcher. And she had been blindsided. Again.

Derek had been hovering since arriving in the Chief's office the day before. She appreciated it, but at the same time wished he would lose the anxiety in his expression. She knew he was worried about her falling into the same state as the last time Thatcher had shattered her, but she had grown since then. She had moved on. She didn't need anything from Thatcher Grey for her to feel like she was a successful person. She had Derek and her friends, and even Derek's family, and that was all she needed.

Izzie and Cristina exchanged barbs, pulling Meredith from her thoughts. The two residents were competing for Hahn's approval, and with it every potential cardiothoracic patient. And it was getting annoying. Although she would normally jump in and compete for the patient as well, Meredith hung back, not having the energy or the drive to fight for a patient. She just wanted to get her shift over with so she could go home and pack. She and Derek were flying to New York the next morning, and she was looking forward to their long weekend away.

"What have we got?" Bailey called as the paramedics opened the back doors of the ambulance.

"Jacob Nolston, forty-seven, status two weeks post double bypass surgery," the paramedic announced as they slid the patient out of the ambulance on the transport gurney. "He's presenting as febrile with tenderness in his surgical incision."

Bailey nodded and began wheeling him into the hospital.

"We've got a ten car pileup on the freeway, do you mind taking him from here?" One of the paramedics asked. The normal procedure would be for the paramedics to accompany the patient into the ER, but in cases like this, they would leave immediately.

Bailey turned to her residents. "Get me a gurney for the transfer."

"I'll page Hahn," Izzie and Cristina announced at the same time.

"Clearly we all agree on a course of action. When we get him inside, you can flip for it," Bailey snapped at them.

Meredith rolled her eyes and stepped back into the hospital for a gurney, knowing neither Izzie nor Cristina was about to step away from the patient. When she returned, they were quick to transfer the patient, and Izzie and Cristina immediately pushed as close to the gurney as possible, as if claiming the patient as theirs.

Izzie and Cristina continued to argue as Meredith, Callie and Bailey settled the patient on the new gurney. Having been shoved away from the patient by Izzie and Cristina, Meredith huffed, but sirens down the ambulance bay driveway drew her attention. Normally an incoming ambulance would turn off their sirens once they arrived. The ambulance careening around the corner and towards them wasn't showing any signs of turning off its sirens. It also wasn't showing any signs of slowing down.

"Uh, you guys," Meredith said, trying to gain some attention over Izzie and Cristina's bickering, but failing. She turned back to the oncoming ambulance, which still wasn't slowing down. "Seriously, you guys, I think we should move." She shook her head, trying to tell herself she was imagining things, but the ambulance really wasn't going to be able to stop in time. She turned back to the trauma team. "Move!"

This caught everyone's attention. Meredith pushed at the gurney, and the trauma team joined her, pushing the patient as far from harm's way as possible, right in time for the oncoming ambulance to slam head on into the side of the stationary ambulance that had just dropped off the patient. The previously stationary ambulance rolled several times before coming to a stop on its roof.