The Starting Line

Chapter 19

S8 EP08

Eleanora enters the screening room where Derek called her and Lexie, with her best friend by her side. As they enter, Hunt exits, sending the two a quick nod and a smile.

"Oh." Lexie winces, looking at some of the CT scans in front of her. Eleanora leans in, her eyes dancing across the tumors in front of her. "Those are intense."

"They are beautiful." Eleanora corrected her, Derek sending her a proud look. She looked back at the attending, crossing her arms. "Are they, our patients?"

"They will be." Derek told him, both Eleanora and Lexie wrinkled their noses in confusion. "I went to look for the patients who every doctor they've seen has said no to."

"And what are you going to do?" Lexie asked, and Eleanora perked up. She knew where this was going.

"Tell them yes." Derek told her, sending Eleanora a smile. "Tell them that I will do my best. It's not just about me, but about you two too. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Eleanora whispered, punching the air beside her. She focused her eyes at the tumor in front of her, pointing. "I want to get into that one."

Lexie, however, did not get excited as easily as Eleanora. At least, she hasn't yet. In time, Eleanora was sure she would be a mini version of her and Derek. That the three would become a trio of neurosurgery.

She couldn't wait.

"We?" Lexie asked, stuttering over her words. "I mean, me?! Ella I understand, but I....I.....Yes, of course!"

Derek smiled, sharing a look with Eleanora before gesturing towards the papers in Lexie's hand. "What is this?"

"Uh, Justine Campbell's AMA forms." Lexie told him, Eleanora's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the papers being handed to Derek. "She's going against medical advice, so-"

"-So, you're not ready." Derek stated, handing the forms back to Lexie. The young resident's eyes widened slightly, taking the forms.

"Why?"

"Yes. We're saying yes. If you can't get her to say yes to a simple life-saving surgery, how do you expect to address that?"

"Oh no." Eleanora interrupted, pushing Derek's hand away from the tumor he was pointing to. "That's mine. Point to another one."

Derek sent her a playful look before turning to leave, nodding toward the AMA forms in Lexie's hands. "Take those. Make her say yes, and I'll let you in on one of these. Okay? What do you say?"

Lexie smiled, Eleanora quickly following behind her. "Yes." Lexie stated, a small laugh escaping her.

Derek wiggled a raised eyebrow at Eleanora, the fifth-year beaming. "Of course, I say yes. What kind of question is that?"

"Hell yes." Derek chuckled, high-fiving both women.

______

Eleanora scribbles in the margins of her first draft of one of the works that she was going to publish soon, stuffing a carrot in her mouth while April looked at the heart in a box.

"It's kind of reassuring." April states, tilting her head. "Like sitting in front of a fish tank."

"It's not a fish tank." Cristina lashes out, taking a big, annoying bite of her salad. Eleanora tears her eyes away from the paper in front of her, one eyebrow raised in annoyance. "It is a key."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Meredith asks, her face scrunched up in confusion. Eleanora looks at the heart in a box, tilting her head.

"It's kind of gross. But in a cool way."