January 23 2020
ATTENDING'S LOUNGE, 7:15 AM*
The hospital was still humming, like it didn't know its center had cracked.
Lexie stared at the whiteboard where AJ's name had once filled half the OR schedule. Her name had been wiped clean. Just like that.
The silence was loud.
April, Jackson, Ben, and Parker stood behind her, all still in scrubs from the overnight shift. No one had gone home.
Ben - I can't believe it
Ben muttered.
April - Dr. Sanchez... she's *never* just gone.
Parker - She almost died
Parker said quietly.
Lexie turned. Her eyes were red but dry.
Lexie- And Mateo could've been in that car.
Jackson -Mateo *was* in that car
Jackson corrected.
Jackson - They were all in it.
The five stared at each other — stunned, rattled, unsure.
But the hospital? It wasn't slowing down.
---
ER, SAME DAY – 9:03 AM
*Code Yellow. Incoming Trauma. No available attendings.*
Lexie's pager buzzed first. Then Jackson's. Then Parker's and Ben's, April's
No one said it.
But they all *felt* it.
AJ would've taken that case.
And now it was theirs.
---
TRAUMA BAY 2 — 9:12 AM
A young girl, 16, was wheeled in — bruised, gasping, fractured clavicle, internal bleeding suspected.
Lexie took lead, voice steady but heart pounding.
Lexie - Jackson, ultrasound. Parker, prep fluids. Ben, page Radiology — portable CT.
The nurses blinked, but moved.
The interns — *no, not interns anymore* — were the highest authority in the room.
April - She's crashing
April said.
Lexie - Then don't freeze
Lexie snapped, eyes wild.
Lexie - Move.
---
POST-TRAUMA, BREAK ROOM – 11:45 AM
The trauma bay was calm now.
They saved her.
But Lexie was shaking as she scrubbed her hands at the sink. Jackson leaned beside her, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
Lexie - You okay?
Lexie didn't answer at first. Then —
Lexie -I kept thinking... *what would she do?*
Jackson - She'd yell at us for waiting
Jackson said.
Jackson - And then she'd tell us we're better than we think.
Parker walked in, holding coffee.
Ben followed, eyes wide.
Ben - I checked on Mateo. The nurses in peds have him wrapped up in like four blankets. Luke's standing outside the nursery like a damn statue.
Lexie gave a small, tired smile.
Lexie- Good.
They stood in silence again.
Finally, Jackson said what they were all thinking:
Jackson - We're not AJ. But we're hers.
And that was enough.
For now.
