Shooting Stars

CHAPTER 64

The buzz of the hospital was palpable, but nothing seemed to cut through it quite like the sharp tone of Dr. Bailey's page. The five fifth-year residents—Alex, Aria, Cristina, Jackson, and April—had been walking down the hallway when their pagers went off in unison.

Alex stopped in his tracks, flipping open the pager as he read the number. "Wait. Bailey paged you, too?"

Aria, glancing at her pager, nodded. "Yeah, looks like it. Any idea why?"

Cristina, already walking ahead, raised an eyebrow. "Who cares? As long as it gets me away from Altman, I'm good." She let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh god."

April, a little more on edge, glanced at the others. "She's gonna fire us, isn't she?"

Jackson, trying to hold in a grin, turned to her. "Why would she fire us?"

April, not quite reassured, leaned against the wall. "There was that patient mix-up in the O.R."

Cristina shot them both a look. "Oh. You should be fired." She barely glanced at April, focusing more on the pager again.

Alex, scoffing, raised an eyebrow at Cristina. "Me? You guys didn't update the board. That's why she looks so pissed off."

Aria, standing next to Alex, felt her stomach twist a little at the thought. "That's not good for it," she muttered, unsure of what exactly it meant but knowing it didn't sound good at all.

They kept walking in silence as they made their way to the ER. "Uh, let me see that chart," Bailey said as she caught up with Jackson.

Jackson handed it over without hesitation. "What is she looking for?"

As Bailey skimmed the chart, her face hardened. She looked up. "What have you got?"

Cristina moved in closer, sensing something was off.

Callie, always the one to stay cool under pressure, answered calmly. "A field amputation with complicated extrications. Still assessing her multiple crush injuries, but I felt a broken pelvis for sure, and her B.P.'s in the toilet."

Bailey brows furrowed. "Yeah, this is a Gunther."

Callie looked surprised, turning to Bailey. "Really?"

Bailey, still focused, nodded. "Really."

Callie, who had been quiet up until now, eyed the others. "Do you think they can handle a Gunther?"

Jackson gave a short, dry laugh. "Oh, I think they need a Gunther."

April blinked, completely confused. "Uh, what's a Gunther?"

The group stopped in the hallway, everyone looking to Aria.

She exhaled slowly, glancing at them before speaking. "It's a critical patient. A case where the injuries are so severe that only a handful of surgeons can manage the complexities. Someone who's going to need everything we've got to survive. We all know it. So, we need to step up. And fast."

Aria pushed the gurney down the hall alongside the other residents, her focus on getting their patient to the O.R. as quickly as possible. The controlled chaos of the hospital buzzed around them, but she barely registered it—until she heard Derek's voice calling her name.

"Aria!"

She glanced up, spotting Derek heading toward her, his expression tense. She immediately slowed her pace and motioned for the others to keep going.

"I haven't seen her," she said before he could even ask, already guessing why he looked so unsettled.

Derek exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face. "We can't find her. Or Zola. She's not answering her phone."