December 28 2019
3:47 p.m. – ER Trauma Bay 2
The ER doors burst open with a blur of blue scrubs and shouting paramedics.
Paramedics- Seventeen-year-old male, head-on collision. GCS dropped en route, suspected epidural bleed!"
Ben was already snapping on gloves as the gurney wheeled in.
Lexie grabbed a sterile gown.
April ran vitals.
Parker stepped to the head of the bed, checking the pupils.
Camila- No attending?
Lexie looked around. AJ was still in surgery. This was it.
Just them.
Lexie took a breath.
She heard AJ's voice echo in her mind:
> "You don't get to choose if you're scared. You choose what you do with it."
Lexie - Okay
Lexie said, voice steady.
Lexie- Parker, airway. Ben, ultrasound. April, get neuro paging — tell them we're prepping for a possible OR run.
April -Vitals tanking, BP 82/40. He's going.
Lexie swallowed her fear.
Lexie - Then let's bring him back.
---
3:50 p.m. – Still in the Bay
Ben found the bleed on ultrasound.
Ben - Large right-sided hematoma. Mass effect.
Parker confirmed- Pupils are blown. We don't have time.
April handed Lexie the scalpel.
April - It has to be now. We need burr hole decompression before the herniation completes.
Lexie froze — but only for half a second.
Lexie - I'll do it, Someone page Dr. Sanchez for post-op, but we're not waiting.
The team looked at each other, and in that moment...trusted her.
---
4:07 p.m. – Post-Procedure
Lexie's hands were still shaking when AJ walked into the trauma bay, Mateo's baby hat still peeking out of her scrub bag.
She saw the patient — stabilized, already en route to OR for craniotomy — and then looked at her interns.
Ben's chest was still rising fast.
Parker had blood on his shoes.
April was gripping the counter like she needed gravity.
And Lexie... Lexie met her eyes.
AJ didn't say a word.
She just gave one nod.
Lexie let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
And that nod?
It meant more than any "good job" ever could.
---
4:30 p.m. – Locker Room
The interns sat in silence.
Then Parker broke it
Parker -So... we just did brain surgery.
Ben- We did *AJ Sanchez*-style brain surgery.
April- Without crying.
Lexie sipped her water and finally smiled.
Quiet. But proud.
