A Little Unsteady (A Grey's Anatomy Story)

Bitter Sweet

"Morning Doctor Pierce" I smiled as I entered the OR

"Good morning Doctor Quinn, glowing as ever I see" she returned a cheeky smile

I gave a small laugh at her remark as I placed my surgical mask over my face and approached the operating table. I was now 6 months pregnant and the impending doom of my oral boards hung dramatically over head. Arizona was constantly on edge and worrying about me, checking my blood pressure, proteins and sugars. The stress of studying and working was not doing our baby any favors. I had no choice but to carry on. My maternity leave didn't start until after the boards and I needed all the surgical hours I could get.

"What have we got today Dr Pierce?" I asked quizzically as I stood over the patient

"30 year old Vera Davies suffered an Aortic rupture, luckily she has medical training and knew the early symptoms. We got her just in time. This thing is a ticking time bomb." Maggie informed me

"Damn, look at it!" I said in shock as Maggie and I looked at the overly swollen aorta

Half way through the procedure a deafening alarm began to ring out through the OR and presumably the rest of the hospital. There were no scheduled fire drills for today and even so this did not sound like the normal fire alarm.

"What the hell is that?" I half yelled over the noise

"I've only heard this once before" Maggie shouted back "The hospital is about to go into lock down, we need to finish this procedure as quick as possible before they try to evacuate us or before there's a possible power outage" Maggie instructed

We tried our best to ignore the alarm and we continued swiftly through the procedure. I heard a loud knocking against the OR door and realized all electronic entries and exits were locked. I walked over to the door to see a frantic Arizona banging her palm against the glass pane.

"Arizona? Is everything okay? What's going on?" I asked

"Oh Jamie, thank god you're okay!" Arizona breathed a sigh of relief "There's been an anthrax outbreak spread through out the hospital, we don't know who or what brought it in but they're afraid it's going to spread through the vents" Arizona informed me

"What? Arizona what are you still doing standing there? You need to get out of here!" I almost yelled as I felt panic overwhelm me

"Are you kidding me? Jamie you're the one who needs to get out of here! That's my baby you've got in there with you" she said, worry flooding her features

"Arizona all the electronic exits are sealed, there's no way I'm getting out of here until we get the all clear!" I said exasperated

Arizona knew I was right. There was nothing more she could say. She placed her hand on the glass pane and I reciprocated by placing my hand against hers. All we could do was look at each other, but our eyes said more than words could.

"Quinn, I know this is crappy timing but I could really do with your help right now" Maggie called out over the deafening alarm

I had almost forgotten we were still in the middle of a very delicate procedure.

"I love you" I said softly against the window "Now get the hell out of here"

"I love you too" she smiled "and I am not leaving this spot until you walk out of there" she replied stubbornly

I walked back to the operating table and began to help Maggie finish up the procedure. I began to feel light headed as we sutured up the patient. The procedure was a success but we still had to wait until we could leave the OR. I walked back to where Arizona stood and pressed my forehead against the glass, feeling the cool draft hit my face.

"Jamie are you okay?" Arizona's tone was filled with concern

"Yeah, I'm good" I breathed

The pressure was dropping in the sealed OR because of the closed off vents. Fresh air was becoming thinner and thinner. I felt a trickle down my nose and placed my hand to my upper lip. I removed my hand to see a small trickle of blood on my finger. Shit!

"Jamie, what fuck? Is that blood? I need to get you out of there" Arizona began to panic when she saw what was happening

"Quinn, hey Quinn, stay with me alright" I heard Maggie calling as she rushed to my side

"Hey, Hey!" I could hear Arizona calling from outside the door "My wife, she's pregnant and she's in there you need to get her out of there" she yelled frantically

"Ma'am we need you to leave this area" I heard a gruff voice come from where Arizona stood

I looked up to see a pair of men standing outside kitted in their hazmat suits.

"I'm not going anywhere until you get those surgeons out of there" Arizona demanded

My lightheadedness soon became overwhelming and my vision began to blur before the whole room started spinning and I was soon hit by a cold, hard darkness.

***

"Hey" I heard a shaky whisper as I opened my eyes groggily

"Hi" I whispered back

I felt a soft, familiar hand on mine, giving a gentle squeeze. When my vision finally focused I could see a puffy eyed Arizona sitting by my hospital bed.

"What happened?" I asked in confusion as I began to sit up

I could see that Arizona had been crying and I was not looking forward to what she was about to tell me. I instinctively wrapped my arms protectively around my stomach as my whole body became filled with dread.

"There was a leak in your OR vent, a small trace of the anthrax leaked through which caused your dizziness and nose bleed. They got you out straight after you fainted and they administered the antidote and brought you here to Seattle pres." Arizona informed me, her voice still shaky

"And the baby?" I asked hesitantly

"He's perfect" she sobbed, as tears began to roll down her cheeks

"He?" I asked in awe as I could feel tears well up in my eyes

"Our little boy" she smiled from ear to ear

I placed my hand on her cheek as I wiped her tears and let out a small laugh of pure love and joy. I could see there was something more troubling her and my concerns were confirmed when she couldn't hold back another sob.

"Hey, hey" I cooed "what's going on?" I asked softly

"It's Maggie" she said with a quivering lip "She's dead Jamie. They were working on getting you out of there because of the baby and when another group of hazmat guys arrived Maggie wouldn't leave until her patient was stable and removed from the OR. By the time they came back for her, Maggie had inhaled a lethal amount of anthrax"

My hand slipped from her face. I was speechless, I couldn't think, I felt like my whole body had seized.

"This is my fault" I whispered

"Hey, woah, no way Jamie, this is not on you. Maggie was being a stubborn, caring surgeon, you would have done the exact same thing if you hadn't fainted!" Arizona reassured me

She stood up from her chair as she took me into her arms.

"You almost scared me to death Jamie" she cried into my shoulder "That could have been you, that could have been our little boy"

"Hey, hey I'm right here babe, me and this little fighter, we're not going anywhere do you hear me?" I hugged her tighter

She nodded into my shoulder and I kissed her cheek softly. It was bitter sweet moments like this I had such great hatred for. I was lucky to be alive, I was lucky to have my little man alive and well inside me. But I had lost a great friend and an amazing mentor.