No Time | Grey's Anatomy // Book 1 // COMPLETED |

64 | Negotiating

  "Mrs. Pulcher," Alex announced as we walked into the pale looking lady's room.

Mrs. Pulcher rolled over in the bed, "Oh, ohh. Is it two hours already? Ow. It seems I just saw your slack jaw a minute ago."

"I feel like I just saw your blistery old butt." Alex retorted as he rolled her over.

"Oh, no. You can't speak to me like that," she said, her voice quiet and weak, but still arguing.

"You can't speak to me like that," Alex told her as we rolled her the other way.

Mrs. Pulcher sighed, "I should sue you...ten grand for every bedsore on my ass. I'll die before I ever see any of that money, but I'll-"

"But you'll die rich." Alex finished, having heard this statement many times before.

"Richer, thanks to you dumbasses," she added.

Alex was about to shoot something back, like always, before he stopped, "Or you could do something good with the money. Donate it to a good cause, help someone out."

Mrs. Pulcher scoffed, "Or put it to getting you a medical degree."

Alex pulled up a chair and motioned for me to stand beside him. Moving closer to him, he leaned towards the bed, "Mrs. Pulcher, I have a plan to bring some African kids over here...for some really cool...I mean...desperately needed surgeries."

"You askin' me for money?" she asked.

Alex nodded, "I need at least one-hundred grand to get things started."

"Oh, my god." Mrs. Pulcher laughed, "Take it somewhere else, Sally Struthers, and get outta my face."

Mrs. Pulcher began to cough as Alex stood up, disappointed, and put the oxygen mask on her face.

After leaving the room, I found out from Meredith that Callie's baby had to be taken into surgery, and so did Callie because she tore her stitches and worked herself into a rupture. "So, what now?" I turned to Alex.

Alex thought for a moment, "Follow me."

After Alex told me what he was going to do, I went with him to print out the picture. Then, we entered Mrs. Pulcher's room again. Alex sat on the end of the bed and held up the first picture of a child from Africa. It was a small girl with an eye patch on her eye due to an infection. "You're dumber than you look." Mrs. Pulcher told Alex, her voice muffled from the oxygen mask.

Alex didn't say a word, but instead, held up the next picture of a small boy. "I'm gonna have your job." Mrs. Pulcher ripped her oxygen mask off, "Nurse!"

"Help me, Mrs. Pulcher," Alex begged as he held up another picture.

"You'd be doing something really good for these kids." I added, "Giving them a second chance to live a normal life. A life without diseases or complications."

Mrs. Pulcher didn't reply to us, "Oh. Nurse! I'm gonna call your supervisor and have you fired."

"You're my only hope." Alex said in a kid's voice as he kept holding up photos, "I need your help."

"And then I'm gonna sue this hospital!" she added, "And then I'm gonna sue you!"

"Please." Alex pleaded.

Mrs. Pulcher shook her head, "Get out! I don't ever want to see your faces here again."

Finally giving up, Alex stood up and we exited the room. This lady was one tough cookie. That night, Alex and I went to check on our very happy-go-lucky patient, Mrs. Pulcher. As we entered the room, we saw Lexie being pushed away by Mrs. Pulcher. "Oh, she's been asking for you two." Lexie sighed when she saw us.

"Get in here." Mrs. Pulcher demanded, "This ham-fisted twit doesn't know how to roll me."

"You asked us not to come back." Alex reminded her, "We're only-" Mrs. Pulcher turned to us, "Just shut your hole and get in here before this idiot breaks my spine."

Alex was about to walk in, but he paused, "One-hundred grand."

"What?!" her eyes widened.

"Alex, don't," Lexie warned.

"Give me one-hundred grand, and I'll come in," Alex said.

Lexie didn't know what to do, "Mrs. Pulcher, he's-he's joking. He-he doesn't...he doesn't mean that."

"Fifty." Mrs. Pulcher told Alex.

Alex shook his head, "One-hundred."

"Seventy-five." she shot back.

"One-hundred grand, final offer." Alex wasn't budging.

"You don't know how to negotiate." Mrs. Pulcher told him.

Alex smirked, "I'm not negotiating."

"Oh, don't pretend to be smart, you crooked little bastard." Mrs. Pulcher huffed.

"And don't pretend you're poor, you evil old bitch." Alex told her, "One-hundred grand."

Mrs. Pulcher began to cough, "Done. One-hundred grand. Now get in here and roll me over."

Smiling, Alex gave me a high five before we entered the room. Lexie, who was giving us the evil eye, left as we began to roll our new favourite patient.

Only about an hour or so after getting the money from Mrs. Pulcher, I got a 911 page from her room. "Damn it." I dropped what I was doing and rushed down the hall, getting to the room at about the same time as Alex. "Time of death, 21:44." one of the nurses said.

"No!" Alex and I yelled.

"No. Shut up. No." Alex moved towards the body and past Lexie.

"She had an arrhythmia," Lexie told us.

Alex turned to her, "Well, get her back. I need her. I had it. I had it!"

"I'm sorry." Lexie tried to stop Alex as he shook the body.

"Stop, Alex." I also tried pulling him away.

"No, I had it. I had it!" Alex panted as he back away, "You bitch."