Seven Thousand Hours

Chapter 3| Grey, meet Shepherd

"Hey Mer! Wait up!" Izzie called after her as they walked along the boardwalk to the chief's office. "Richard paged all the residents to his office. Do you know why?" Izzie asked. "I think he wants us to meet the new attendings being 5th years I guess?" Meredith wasn't entirely sure, but it made sense.

They knocked on Richard's door and were welcomed in where they stood behind the sofas where some others were sat along with the rest of her friends.

"I brought you all in here because you're almost all attendings, so for your final year you'll be treated like attendings. I expect you to lead by example and stay in control of every situation you are in. You're almost in the big wide surgical world, it's time you start acting like it. So I'd like to introduce you to your new colleagues and mentors who some will lead you through your boards. Be welcoming. This is Doctor Teddy Altman, my new head of cardio." Teddy turned around and gave everyone a small wave before Richard carried on.

"This is Doctor Shepherd, our new neuro attending" the small woman turned in her seat and gave everyone a bright smile and a wave. "And this is the other Doctor Shepherd. Our new head of neuro. This is Derek and that's Amelia but we've come to an agreement to avoid confusion and that it will be Shepherdess and Shepherd. I can only apologise that none of you got much time in neuro due to staffing over the years, so no one will be working under them but you will be working alongside them and I only want the best for this hospital"

Meredith's stomach dropped when she saw the back of his head, instantly recognising those dark curls from the other night.

Once Richard finished his speech, everyone stood up and started to introduce themselves to their new attendings. "Meredith! Come meet Derek!" Richard chimed as he brought her too her. "Shepherd, meet Grey". Derek looked at the woman, then suddenly it clicked that it was the badass woman he'd met the other night. "Dr Grey." He stuck his hand out to shake hers, only to be met by a tiny smirk that only he could see or understand. "Dr Shepherd" Meredith took his hand, shaking it firmly.

Richard had disappeared now and Meredith turned to Dr Shepherd. "I didn't know you were a surgeon" she said. He raised a brow at her, "And I didn't know you were a surgeon" he retorted back before silence fell on them again. "I'll see you around, Dr Shepherd." She said sheepishly before walking over to the Shepherdess. "Dr Grey! It's nice to meet you!" Amelia exclaimed as they got talking. She could feel his eyes on the back of her head but she didn't dare turn round.

Later that day she was in the pit dealing with a trauma that had just rolled in. "I've got a head lac up here, page the Shepherds and get a CT!" Meredith said over all the chaos that was happening on this poor teenage boy who had come off the back of his dads motorcycle.

Meredith stabilised his neck and gave him a full neuro exam. "His BP is skyrocketing. Where the hell are the Shepherds?" Meredith turned to the nurse. "We've tried 5 times and neither have responded. We'll keep trying" she nodded. Meredith sighed as she continued to watch the monitor as his BP continued to fluctuate.

I expect you to lead by example and stay in control of every situation you are in.

"Everyone stabilise what they are doing and stop because he'll start seizing in a minute" Meredith said as she looked at Alex, George, Callie and April. They stopped what they were doing and turned to the monitor, watching the number rise higher again. Suddenly the young man started seizing violently.

"Okay push 15 of diazepam and keep paging the Shepherds" she said as the young boy eventually stopped seizing. She looked back to the monitor. "Is ICP is through the roof. He's going to stroke out. Where the hell are they?!" Meredith looked around before checking the monitor again, her heart dropping.

"I need to do emergency burrholes. Get me the drill, a scalpel and a new gown and gloves" Meredith ordered and she grabbed everything she needed.

"Meredith you're a resident, wait for the Shepherds!" George exclaimed as he watched his friend begin you shave the boys hair. "George he's about to die! I can't wait around for them. This is why this hospital is number 12! We don't even have a neuro department" Meredith said exasperated. "Do you even know how to do burrholes?" Callie asked. "I've done them a few times" Meredith said, trying to focus on the task at hand. "Wait for an attending, Meredith" Callie warned but Meredith just shook her head. "You're an attending, Callie, why don't you come do this?! He's going to die and I'm not being responsible because the McLazys couldn't move quick enough. Now either leave or stay but I am doing this" Meredith said determined as the nurse handed her to tools.

Callie walked out the room, along with George and April; leaving her and Alex. "I'll be damned if this kid dies" Alex mumbled as he came to Meredith's side. "Thank you" Meredith whispered as she reached for the scalpel, taking a deep breath.

She cut an incision on the scalp before retracting the skin, exposing the skull. "Drill please" she asked, Alex handed it to her. "You've got this" Alex whispered before Meredith nodded and turned on the drill. She drilled it in before feeling less resistance, signalling for her to stop. "Okay I need a drainage shunt" she asked and they handed it to her. Alex smiled wide, not quite believing that she just did that.

"What the hell is going on in here!" She heard a loud voice from behind. "Leave it Shepherd, I've got this" Meredith mumbled as she placed in the shunt, releasing all the fluids and pressure on the brain.

"No, no you do not have this! Do you realise how irresponsible this is! How much trouble you're going to be in!" He shouted but she just rolled her eyes. "Alex, give Dr Shepherd some Diazepam and tell him to calm the hell down or leave the room. I just saved this kids life, no thanks you anyone." She said sternly before she began closing up the wound.

She threw her gloves into the trash and turned to Dr Shepherd. "He still needs surgery but I bought him time, I potentially bought his life back. CT's are over there. Do your job, Doctor Shepherd." She hissed before walking out the room.

She ran down the hallway and out the emergency exit, running across the patio area before hurling in a bush. "Mer!" Alex ran to her side. "It's okay. You did good, you did so good, Mer. That was incredible. He's alive. You did good"Alex said before he hugged her. "That was so scary" she whispered as tears streamed down her face.

After they'd gone back inside, Meredith quickly went to an on all room to calm down after Callie and the rest of them tried to apologise. Sometimes she hated being so determined, because the high and the adrenaline was great, but the comedown was the worst.

She rested her face in her hands and steadied her breathing before laying on the bed and falling asleep.

After a few hours her pager rang.

Richard Webber: Chiefs office

Oh great...