Little Shepherd

Chapter Thirty-Three

Today was a long ass day, the E.R was packed. So packed we had to send some to Seattle Pres. I honestly can't wait until I go to Joe's because I need a drink.

I have one last patient to assess before I can go, so Alex and I head over. "What do we've got Karev?" I inquire
"Andrew Palacios, 8 years old.  Blunt trauma to the head, along with several facial cuts and bruises." Alex informs me

"Hey buddy, what happened?" I question
"He fell." His dad replies quickly
"Bullshit." Alex mutters
I look up at his parents, both anxious.
"Dr. Karev, would you mind escorting the Palacios' out?" I inquire

"What? Why? Where are you taking him?" Mr. Palacios questions
"Relax. I need to run some tests. I'm taking him to CT." I shrug
"Is that nessecary? Is he okay?" His mom squeaks
"I won't know until I see, ma'am." I sigh, and roll Andrew to the CT machine.

"So, your parent's huh? They seem really worried about you." I say
"Yeah. " Andrew mumbles
"Everything okay at home?" I question
"Mommy and daddy fight a lot." He mutters
"Does your he ever hurt your mom?" I frown

Andrew looks down and doesn't say anything. I stop pushing him, I face him and hold his hand. "Hey, this is a safe environment. You can tell me anything." I assure him
"D-daddy sometimes hits mommy." He stutters

"Is that how you got hurt? Did your dad hit you?" I inquire, trying to hold back my anger.
"Yes. Well.. No." Andrew stammers
"Daddy was going to hurt my mommy so I got in the way. He hit me instead and I hit my head on the desk." He tells me, sadly.

"My mommy tried to hit him and he kicked her in the stomach." Andrew says

My heart falls, and my anger rises.  I clench my fist and take a deep breath. "Let's go get you your CT, then we'll go check on your mom." I tut
"No! You can't tell them that I told you!" He exclaims
"Andrew, I can't let this happen anymore." I sigh

"If you tell him he will hurt me or her." Andrew tells me, fear lacing in his voice
"Please, Dr. Shepherd. Don't tell them I told you." He begs
I nod and prep him for the CT. Not too long later his scans come up on the screen. After examining it, I determine he has a problem. Andrew has both a brain bleed and a huge tumor pressing down on his temporal lobe. "Dammit." I mutter

He needs surgery as soon as possible, I take him back to his room where both of his parents are. I don't dare make eye contact with any of them. I take them outside along with Alex to break the news. "I'm afraid the trauma to Andrew's head has caused a bleed in his brain." I tell Andrew's parents

"Is he going to die?" His mom gasps
"I can fix the bleed, it's nothing too major." I shrug
"But?" She questions
"But when I examined his scans, I found a tumor in his temporal lobe." I mumble
"Can you operate?" Mrs. Palacios inquires
"I need to consult with my colleague, but as of now I'm not sure." I say
"Some doctor you are." Andew's dad mumbles
"Dr. Shepherd is doing the best she can." Alex tells him

"Well obviously that isn't good enough. This bitch is going to kill our son." Mr. Palacios spits
Alex scoffs and opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off.
"Sir, I am not the biggest threat to your son's health, believe me." I mutter

"What did you say?" He asks, stepping closer to me. "Back off." Alex says, stepping in front of me. "You need to calm down or I am going to call security." I snap
"Tony, please calm down." His wife begs
He turns around and glares at her, "Shut the hell up." Tony tells her

"You need to leave. Now. Unless you want to be escorted out." I say
Tony scoffs and leaves angrily.
His wife looks at the ground sadly, then heads inside her son's room.

"Thank you for that." I tell Alex
"It was nothing." He shrugs
"He's abusing her." Alex mutters
"Yeah that not only her. That asshole is abusing Andrew too." I say
"I knew it." He tuts, shaking his head.
"Can you page Neuro, this kids needs surgery and this isn't going to help him." I sigh

"Yeah, I got it." Alex stammers, obviously pissed.
A couple of minutes later, Alex returns, Kevin by his side. "If I knew I was going to be working with you, I wouldn't  have taken so long." He smiles

I roll my eyes and exhale, "I need a consult." I sigh
"Okay, explain." Kevin says, licking his lips.
"This kid has a bleed, which I'm going to operate on soon.  But what's your opinion on the tumor in his temporal lobe?" I question

"Well, it's huge. There are a lot of risks, including speech and memory loss. Personally, I don't think I could do it. But maybe if we put our heads together, we can help him." He shrugs
"Okay, Alex and I are going to operate. While we're doing that, can you explore his options?" I inquire
"Fine, but you owe me." Kevin smirks

"How does she owe you if it's your job?" Alex questions
"Look, I don't have to do this. I have other things I could be doing , but I'm going to help Mariah. I was playing about the owing me thing." He replies, glaring at Alex.

"Both of you shut up and get to work." I scoff, walking to Andrew's room.
"Fiesty. Don't worry baby, I like them fiesty." Kevin shouts after me
I turn around and roll my eyes, Alex follows and helps me take Andrew to the O.R.

-.-
"I don't like that Kevin guy. He's a ass." Alex grumbles
"I'm not saying anything." I shrug
"Didn't you tell him you were with Sloan?" He asks
"I told him I was with someone, I guess that doesn't stop him." I mumble

"You know we got to call CPS, right?" Alex inquires
"Yeah, I know. Can you? I have a thing." I sigh
"Sure, go ahead." He tells me
"Thanks Alex, you're amazing." I smile
"I know, you're so lucky to have me." He mutters, a small smile appearing on his lips.
"That is true, bye Alex." I laugh, walking towards the attendings lounge

I change out of my scrubs and begin exiting the building."Mariah." Someone calls out
I turn around to see Kevin coming over. "Hey." He smiles, I nod and wait for him to continue talking.
"Where are-"

"Hey, so you decided to take Kevin after all?" Derek asks
"What? No." I frown
"Take me where?" Kevin inquires
"We're having this thing at the bar, and I told Mariah she could bring a date." He explains
"Yeah, actually about that. I'm not bringing anyone." I shrug
"Then that's even better, you can really take Kevin now." Derek smiles

"Um. I don't think so." I tut
"It's no problem, I'd be happy to." Kevin says
"Okay, I'll see you two in a little bit then." He tells us, walking off.
"You know you don't have to do this. Just because he's your boss, doesn't mean he controls all your decisions." I stammer

"Yeah I know. I want to." He reassures me
I sigh and we both walk over to Joe's.

Mark's not going to be happy...

We get to Joe's and find Meredith already there. "Hey, Mer'." I say
"Hey, Mariah." She tuts
"Who's your friend?" Meredith questions
"He's one of the surgeon's that works under my brother." I tell her

"Kevin, Meredith. Meredith, Kevin."  I sigh
"Nice to meet you." He smiles
Just then, Derek walks in with Mark.
They sit down and start talking. Mark notices Kevin sitting next to me, he looks at me and glares.

"I need a drink." I mutter, getting up.
"I'll go with you." Kevin tells me
"I want to be alone." I huff, I walk over to the bar and sit on a empty stool in the corner.

"There's my favorite costumer." Joe smiles
"Hey, Joe." I sigh
"What do you want?" He questions
"I'll take tequila." I reply
He grabs a glass and pours me my drink. "Are you okay?" Joe asks
"Not really, but I'll be fine." I say
I finish my drink, "I'll take another." I tell him
Joe nods and pours me another drink, I take a sip and sigh. I can't get Andrew out of my mind.

I get up and head to the table, "I think I'm going to go. Today wasn't my day." I tell everyone
"Come on, Mariah. You can't leave me with all these guys." Meredith says
"I'm sorry." I mumble
I look up at Mark and he doesn't look back at me.

I sigh, leave the bar and head home.

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I know I haven't updated in forever, but here's the update. This chapter was so frustrating to write because I couldn't word it right. Anyways, we're at 16k and that's amazing! Don't forget to comment and vote!

-A