Affinity (RDJ)

Chapter 50 - Trauma Training

'Okay, well, I guess I'll see you in there.' You're parked a 10 minute walk away from the hospital since you can't take any chances of anybody seeing you together and although you're excited for a full day at Seattle Grace, it stings that it's the start of another impossible week of pretending not to know each other.

You roll your head in his direction, pouting. 'I know, I know,' he sympathises, hand squeezing yours. Just then, his face lights up. 'Oh, I forgot to tell you! Callie's in town tomorrow night. She's assisting on a hip transplant at Seattle Grace so she's crashing at my place. Why don't you come over?'

You feel brighter already. 'I'd love that! You sure she won't mind though? I don't wanna crash your catch up,' you reply.

'Course not. She'd love to see you. And also, she can make sure that I'm not being an ass to you so it's a win win really,' he smirks.

'Kay. Sounds like a plan,' you grin, leaning across the center console to kiss him before you leave. 'See you on the tour,' you say and with that, you're out of the car and making your way towards the hospital on foot.

Excitement buzzes as everyone from your class congregates in the foyer of the hospital waiting to be spoken to by the Chief of Surgery. Lexi and George aren't here since they already know the hospital inside out so you plan to stick with Alex and April for the tour and hopefully the skills lab too.

'Welcome everybody,' comes a voice from the sweeping, glass staircase. 'I'm Dr Webber, Chief of Surgery here at Seattle Grace. It's great to have you here for your tour of our trauma center and the surgical floor. Who knows, some of you could be interns here in a few years - the next generation of life savers.' An excited buzz of mumblings spreads across the group before he speaks again. 'Dr Shepherd here, our chief of neurosurgery, will be conducting your tour. Take advantage - you might not get the opportunity to speak to such an acclaimed surgeon again any time soon.'

'Thanks Dr Webber,' says Dr Shepherd, smiling reservedly as he takes his place on the steps. 'So, if you'd like to follow me, we'll start in the ER.'

-

The cafeteria is buzzing with chatter after your tour finishes. You sit with your friends imagining what it could be like eating here every day in between surgeries. Dr Shepherd is sitting with Robert at a table in the corner (away from the hundreds of questions probably) and it's amazing how easily Robert has slotted in with him - he looks like he's worked here for years.

'Jeez, Florida, put your tongue back in your mouth. You've been staring at Shepherd all lunch,' Alex drawls, taking an unimpressed bite of his sub. You feel your cheeks get hot and make mental note to be more aware of yourself. Thankfully, April comes to your aid before you attempt at a response.

'Oh leave her alone. They do call him McDreamy for a reason...'

You giggle, thankful for the out, as Robert rises to his feet and claps loudly to gain everyone's attention. 'Alright everybody, we're headed to the skills lab in five minutes so finish up!' Excited butterflies flutter in your stomach and it's not long until you're sat in the lab awaiting the start of your trauma training.

'So,' Robert begins, rolling up his sleeves at the front of the room. 'We're gonna learn some basics in handling various forms of trauma this afternoon. On your desks, you'll see several every day items that could be used in an emergency as well as your blood bottles. Now, these have a 2 litre capacity which is around half a human's blood volume. If someone loses half their blood volume, they're dead - keep that in mind. So, without further ado...' He breaks off and heads towards the front table, smirking. 'Better stop those bleeders!'

At that, he stabs a hole in the bottom of their blood bottle and it starts gushing out as he moves quickly around the room doing the same to all of your bottles. Shrieks and shouts come from all over the lab as the 'blood' spills out, covering half the students in red liquid. April is drenched but she springs into action, shouting instructions at you and Karev. 'Pass me the rags! Come on guys, more, more!' she yells, shoving the strips of old t-shirt into the hole to try and stop the flow. You put your hands in and hold pressure as she packs the hole, breathing a sigh of relief when the spurting seems to stop with around a quarter of the liquid still in the bottle.