Stitches of Survival

Risk

Chapter Forty-Six: Risk

*~*~*~*

"How was your night?" Derek asked me as soon as he found me walking through the ER the next day. I looked up from my phone, having been busy looking over an email from Joel's school. "You and Jackson get everything sorted out?"

"We did," I nodded. "How did your disaster dinner go?"

"Uh, it didn't," he cleared his throat. I raised a brow at him, noticing the slight crimson tint in his cheeks. "Meredith and I... We kind of lost track of time."

"Mm, shut up," I spoke quickly, not wanting to hear anymore of his explanation.

"No! I want another doctor!" A woman shouted, causing both of us to look towards the ER desk where Amelia was trying to talk to a woman.

"What's the problem here?" Owen questioned as he joined the two women.

"She cannot touch my mother. She's a drug addict," the woman pointed at Amelia, catching the attention of the entire ER. "I can't have her operate on my parents."

"Hold it," Owen shook his head. "Dr. Shepherd is our--"

"Is a junkie," the woman cut him off. "I met her in Narcotics Anonymous. She's hooked on oxy. She overdosed with her boyfriend and woke up with him dead in bed with her. I want another doctor. Now!"

"Come with me. Just come with me, please," Owen tried to lead her away.

"No! I'm-- No, no!" She argued.

"This way, please," Owen insisted as I watched Derek hurry over to his sister.

"You keep her away from them!" The woman screamed as Owen dragged her back towards the waiting room. "Keep her away from them!"

"Hunt, don't worry. I've got this," Derek called after him. I just stood there, my eyes wide as I tried to process what had just happened.

*~*~*~*

"Oh, this is just what I needed," I smiled as soon as I walked into the nursery, finding Alex there checking up on one of the babies. "I love babies."

"All they do is eat, sleep, cry, and crap," Alex frowned.

"Ah, Alex, a ray of sunshine like always," I rolled my eyes as I let one of the babies grab onto my finger.

"I paged both of you three times," Arizona groaned as she made her way into the nursery.

"I was trying to find you," I assured her. "Though I got a little side tracked by the cute tiny humans."

"Yeah, keep your pants on," Alex shrugged. "I'm consulting on three babies here--"

"I have a mom whose fetus is bleeding into her SCT," Arizona informed us, making us both give her our full attention. "She needs an intrauterine transfusion. It's inserting a six-inch needle into an umbilical vein without rupturing membranes or inducing bradycardia. I've never done one, and Herman's awol."

"So, you deliver. You'll take the baby out," Alex told her the obvious solution while I nodded in agreement. "I'll repair the SCT myself."

"Alex, the baby's twenty-eight weeks," Arizona shook her head. "The whole point in seeing Herman was to try and get her to term."