A Kind Girl In A Cruel World (Grey's Anatomy AU)

Chapter Five

"Surgery? You mean, on my brain?" she asked.
"Yes, and we'll have to do it soon."
"You don't have to do this, Marianne."
"How much longer will I live if I do this?"
She looked at Dr. Shepherd, who came into the room just a little bit ago.
"Could be anywhere from five to ten years." she explained.
"Will I lose anything after all this?"
"It's in the part of your brain where your memory is located."
"What? W-will I get it back?" she looked at me.
"I'm sorry, but no."
"Wh-what? No, no I can't lose my memory. How long will I have without it?"
"A few months, at best."
"What do you think I should do, George?"
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"Uh, it's not really up to me." I shook my head.
"If it was me, I'd do the surgery." Dr. Shepherd suggested.
"Will you be there with me?"
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight.
"If that's what you want, yes." I nodded.
"Yes, please."
"You want to do this, Marianne?"
Dr. Shepherd rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Y-yes."
After that, we walked her to operating room number five, so we could prep her for surgery. Lara came to scrub in on the surgery, and she stood on the opposite side of me. I was holding Marianne's hand tight.
"Don't let go, please." she begged, and her voice was shaking.
"I won't."
Lara smiled at me and squeezed my other hand. She and Dr. Shepherd worked together to get her ready for surgery, and I was just the comfort for her.
"Are you ready, Marianne?" Lara asked her.
"Mm-hm." she nodded.
They put the oxygen mask over her face, and her entire body went limp, but I didn't let go of her hand.
"Okay, Dr. Karev. Do you want to do the honors?"
Dr. Shepherd offered her the bone saw, and she took it.
"Yes, sir."
She went to cut the top of her skull so they could get to her brain. I said a little prayer for her while her brain was being poked and prodded and cut away piece by piece.
"God, please help Marianne get through this. She's so full of life and joy, and she's only twenty-five years old. She has her whole life ahead of her, and she needs to live. She has to live." I prayed in a whisper.
"It'll be okay, George."
One of the nurses that was there squeezed my shoulder, and I smiled at him. They started cutting out a piece of her brain with a surgical scalpel, and I gently squeezed her hand. I looked at her monitor, and her heartbeat slowed real fast.
"Uh, guys... what's going on?" I asked.
"Her lungs aren't agreeing with the anesthetic." Dr. Shepherd explained.
"What does that mean?"
"She's having a hard time breathing. Somebody get me a ventilator, please!" he said.
She started flatlining, and I ran to go get her a ventilator. I came back as quickly as I could and tried opening her mouth to put the ventilator in.
"Damn it, her throat is closed. I can't put the ventilator in."
I tried lifting her head up more, and she finally opened. I was able to put the breathing tube in and tape it down then turn it on, and her heartbeat regulated again.
"You just saved this girl's life, O'Malley." Dr. Shepherd said.
"Thank God." I sighed. I went back to holding her hand, and Lara smiled at me.
"Oh, crap!" she said.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I dropped the scalpel." she said. I reached over and handed her another one.
She continued cutting things out, then she stopped.
"Okay, and that should do it." she said, with a large amount of satisfaction. Dr. Shepherd took over so he could put her back together, and she was stitched up in no time.
"Great job, everyone. This young lady will live much longer because of this."
"Yeah, but she won't remember anything." I sighed.
****
After Marianne woke up, we took the tube out of her throat so she could breathe normally, and she looked around with confusion.
"Wh-what happened? Where am I?"
"Marianne, I'm Dr. George O'Malley. You're at Seattle Grace Hospital, and we just did surgery to remove a tumor from your brain. How do you feel?"
"A little tired, but otherwise fine." she sighed.
"That's good. Can you remember your name? Or your birthday?" I asked.
"My name is Marianne Jeanine Lewis, my birthday is, uh... I can't remember."
"That's okay. At least you remember your own name." I smiled.
"Did I die? D-during surgery?"
"Yeah, you flatlined for about a minute. Why?"
"Because when I was laying in this bed, asleep... I saw a white light, and maybe an angel? He almost looked like... you." she pointed at me.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yeah. He had dark, curly hair, but his eye color was different. His eyes were like a bright green." she explained.
"How are you feeling, Marianne?" Dr. Shepherd walked in with her chart.
"I'm fine. Uh, who are you?"
"Dr. Shepherd." he said.
"Does that chart have my birthday on it?"
"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"
"I can't remember my birthday."
"It's July twenty-second."
"Thank you." she smiled.
"You're welcome." he said.