SO HIGH SCHOOL ― mark sloan

TWO

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AS A DOCTOR, DOROTHEA LEARNED TO SEPARATE HER PERSONAL LIFE FROM HER JOB.
BUT AFTER HER BROTHER'S DIAGNOSIS, EVERYTHING SEEMED A LITTLE MUDDIER.

"Did I hear the words: standstill operation?" Dorothea grinned, walking up to Derek and Bailey's interns. "I'm so in."

"Yes, you are," Derek smiled down at her.

"You're doing a standstill operation?" Christina gasped. "He's doing a standstill. Why does she get to be in it?" She gestured to Dorothea. "She just got here."

"She is a fifth-year resident," Dorothea snapped, an amused smile on her lips. "And she can make you do terrible things like every single rectal exam in the hospital if you keep calling her she."

"Nice," Derek offered a fist bump, which she immediately did.

Izzie gave Dorothea a look, amused by Christina's wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," Christina said hurriedly. "I've just never — I mean, it's a stand-still."

"Cool beans," Dorothea nodded. "Page me when you need me, I gotta diagnose some ER patients and work some IM," she nudged Derek, who smiled as she left his presence.

She was so happy Derek called her back into work.

—

"It's the location of the aneurysm that makes it tricky," Derek informed Joe, the bartender from across the street. Dorothea stood next to him, Christina next to her, and Burke next to him.

"Your body temperature will be lowered cool enough to protect you from any damage and stop the heart," Burke added.

"Which stops the blood flow to the brain," Derek finished. "Which reduces the risk of rupture. I'll have forty-five minutes to clip the aneurysm."

"Before I step in, and get the heart started again."

Dorothea looked between the two men, exchanging a look with Christina. There seemed to be an awful lot of testosterone between the pair.

"Wait, wait," Joe interrupted, holding a hand out. "You wanna freeze my body, drain my blood, and stop my heart?"

"And bring you back," Derek added.

"In under forty-five minutes," Joe smiled tersely.

"Like a frozen vampire," Dorothea simplified. "Only, Derek's got magic hands to clip the aneurysm, and Burke's got magic hands to bring back your heartbeat. You're going to have the best story in your bar."

"If you go overtime, is it free?"

"No," Christina replied plainly.

"If we go over," Dorothea smiled, sending Christina a look. "I'll buy a case of your best scotch for every minute past forty-five."

"Dr. Yang," Burke looked to Christina. "Why don't you go and handle the pre-ops?"

Joe smiled at Dorothea, but it quickly fell. "How much are we talking?" He asked. "How much does something like this cost?"

"I don't think you should worry about that right now," Derek alleviated.

"Hey, look," Joe looked between the three. "You guys say that you can kill me and bring me back. I believe you, you're doctors. But I own a bar. I don't got any insurance, so I'm not that concerned about the surgery, so much as what I'm gonna do when I survive it."

"There are programs," Dorothea supplied before Burke or Derek could speak up. "I've had a lot of cases like this in my old hospital. I can get you on some programs to help with billing and the hospital costs. I have a good friend who is fantastic at helping the uninsured. But right now, your body is most important. It's better to save it and worry about the production fees after we've finished."