Aria leaned back against the wall, arms loosely folded as she listened to Mark address the group, his voice carrying easily through the room like he expected — no, knew — everyone would listen.
Her eyes drifted briefly as Alex, Meredith, and Lexie walked in together.
All three of them.
Together.
That alone was enough to make her straighten slightly.
Something about it felt... off.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," Mark began, drawing attention back to himself, "this is Nick Hanscomb."
Nick smiled nervously at the group. "Hi."
His eyes flicked to Aria for a second, and she gave him a small, reassuring smile in return.
Mark, of course, continued without pause.
"Nick was lucky enough to have me remove a large carotid body tumour from his neck," he said, clearly pleased with himself. "The fact that I was able to get clean boundaries is pretty darn impressive... even for me."
Aria rolled her eyes.
"Congratulations," Alex said dryly.
Aria shot him a look — don't encourage him — but Alex just shrugged slightly.
"Don't interrupt," Mark continued, barely acknowledging him. "Now, despite the fact that it was a wildly successful surgery, we had to dissect out deep lymph nodes in his neck. There is now only a delicate flap of skin between his carotid artery and the outside world."
The room quieted slightly.
"That said," Mark went on, scanning them, "what am I worried about?"
Aria straightened slightly, already thinking through it.
"I would think," she said, voice steady, "given the fragility of the skin, there's a high risk that the artery could rupture."
Mark smiled immediately. "Right."
Of course he did.
Aria pressed her lips together, trying not to react to the obvious favouritism.
"Oh, don't worry," Nick added lightly. "I've heard this before."
"If that happens," Mark said, turning serious again, "whoever's in the room — doctor, nurse, orderly — your job is to stop the bleeding, then page me. In that order. Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded.
"They look scared," Nick said, glancing around.
"They're medical professionals," Mark replied. "A healthy level of fear is encouraged."
Nick smiled faintly. "Okay then... if I do die, it's been lovely meeting you all."
A few of them shifted uncomfortably.
"See?" Mark said. "The patient's confident. You should be confident."
Aria exhaled quietly.
If only it worked like that.
⸻
The trauma room was loud again when Aria walked in with Derek and George.
"This is Mary Daltry," Callie said quickly. "Lost consciousness behind the wheel."
Mary looked pale, shaken but trying to hold herself together.
"You're the neuro guy?" she asked Derek.
YOU ARE READING
Shooting Stars
Fanfiction"But he's Evil Spawn." "Don't you think I know that. I didn't wake up one day and suddenly decide I was going to be in love with Alex Karev." Being the daughter of a world renowned surgeon was never destined to be easy. The first born of the Grey tw...
