The Starting Line

Chapter 26

Eleanora rocked back and forth on her heels, watching as Izzie walked through triage, talking to Dr. Bailey.

"Lots of swelling in the arm, but good distal pulses so we can rule out compartment syndrome. I suspect a radius fracture, so I would splint and ask for orthopedic follow-up."

Eleanora wrinkled her nose upward, but quickly removed that frown when Bailey sent her a look. Bailey had made it clear that no one else was supposed to speak up or indicate that someone was doing something wrong.

"Anything else?" Bailey asked Izzie, who quickly shook her head in response. "Well, I guess that means-"

"Time!" Callie yelled after Eleanora and George, making the two best friends jump in fear.

"And I'm dead." Dr. Heron sat on the table; Izzie huffed in annoyance.

"Dead?!"

"You sent her home; the bone pierced her skin." Dr. Bailey wrote something on the clipboard, Izzie arguing as she approached her resident.

"Yes, but she had multiple wounds and abrasions!"

"Dr. Amedeo?" Bailey asked, knowing she had the piece Stevens was missing.

Eleanora straightened her back and spoke, her voice confident but still soft as she gave Izzie an apologetic look. "A puncture over a break should always be considered an open fracture until we can prove otherwise."

"So, I got sick and died at home because of you!" Sydney added, giving Eleanora an excited thumbs up. Eleanora gave her a half-hearted smile, feeling bad about having to technically correct Izzie.

"Whatever." Izzie scoffed, rolling her eyes. She returned to the ground and stood on the other side of Alex, giving Eleanora a heated look.

"Not whatever for this guy." Sydney scolded, Bailey turning to look at her intern.

Most of them seemed bored, as if this exercise was a waste of time and "talent." Of course, Eleanora was excited, but Bailey had long ago concluded that she would always be like a cute puppy.

"You must be quick and thorough while using your instincts. You cannot be fooled by what you see. If you evaluate wrong, your patient could die while waiting for treatment. Karev, you are next."

"Just think," Izzie whispered to Alex, her voice containing a little laugh, "I already killed her. You can't do more harm than that."

Alex huffed, climbing onto the gurney as Dr. Heron laid back, both of them preparing for the next round of sorting exercises.

"People!" Bailey scolded, giving Izzie a little glance. "Triage is one of the most important tools a doctor has. In a real emergent scenario, they will only have a few minutes..."

Bailey was interrupted by the sound of a Polaroid, causing everyone to look at George. George, who had somehow gotten hold of a Polaroid camera, decided that now was a good time to take a photo of his wife.

In the image, Callie was holding the stopwatch with an unamused expression on her face and right behind her was Eleanora, who had the ever-present smile on her face.

Callie's face heated up with embarrassment, and she quickly dragged her husband to the side. Cristina and Meredith made fun of their friend for getting into trouble with his wife, but Eleanora hissed at them both to stop.

"O'Malley, put that in its place." Bailey finally snaps. George nods, heading to do so quickly. However, he is stopped by Webber, who enters with a serious look on his face.

"People look, I'm sorry. But I have to interrupt the session for a moment."

Eleanora's eyes widen at the Chief's appearance, noting the obviously freshly dyed hair on the top of his head. She cleared her throat, scratching her neck as she tried to look anywhere but at his head, not wanting to make him uncomfortable with the shocked looks.