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

75 | No Hard Feelings

Once again we were gathered in Chuck's room. I had done my research on the TAVI, and it didn't seem that bad, but Alex was still too scared. "I read the research, I talked to some other surgeons." Alex told Chuck, "But I'm not doing a TAVI on you."

Chuck was silent for a moment. "And that's your final answer?" he asked.

"That's my final answer." Alex nodded as he began to walk out, "I'll give you some time to make a decision."

"And here I thought you were a guy who had a pair on him," Chuck called after him.

"It's a stupid scar, Chuck." Alex groaned, "You really want to die because of it?"

Sighing, I turned to Chuck just as Teddy walked in, "Look, Chuck, I've done the research myself and I think that a TAVI could be possible. Now, yes, it is going to have higher risks than the other procedures, but if this is what you want, I'm not afraid to do it."

Teddy smiled, "Dr. Forrest, would you like to perform a TAVI on Mr. Cain?"

I nodded, "I would, yes."

Chuck smiled and clapped his hands together, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Later that night, Teddy and I entered Chuck's room to give him the details one last time. Once Chuck signed the last of the paperwork, the nurses started to roll him out of the room. "Once they have prepped you, we will meet you in the cath lab and do the TAVI." Teddy smiled down at Chuck.

"Hey, Chuck, what the hell?" Alex came out of nowhere.

"Crap." Chuck looked up at Alex, "Look, the ladies had bigger pairs than you. No hard feelings, okay? Let's go."

"I-I want my patient back." Alex turned to Teddy and me as they rolled Chuck away, "I was being cautious. You-you can't punish me for that."

"Actually, I can." Teddy told him, "You've had some bad outcomes. We all get bad outcomes. Your problem is that you let it get to you, and now you're scared. The only thing worse than a bad surgeon is a scared one. Dr. Forrest did her research and was ready, so this is her case now."

"Sorry, Alex." I gave him a sympathetic look before following Teddy through the hall to get ready for the surgery.

The surgery on Chuck was a success, and Teddy rewarded me for having the balls to do it by actually letting me do the majority of the surgery. I was so glad that everything turned out well, and I couldn't wait to let Alex know that Chuck didn't die. I didn't quite know why I wanted to share the news with Alex, but I just did.

As soon as I was done all of my work, I changed out of my scrubs and headed over to Joe's which is where I was told everyone had gone. "He just went in blind and he hit the ventricle. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen." I walked into the bar to hear Lexie telling Jackson and Alex about Derek's tumor surgery that her patient's had finally agreed to.

Jackson nodded as I sat down, "Wow. All Sloan taught me today was how to brine a chicken."

"Altman called me a chicken." Alex shot me a look before taking a sip of his drink.

I rolled my eyes as I ordered a drink, "Just so you know, Alex, I rocked that TAVI and Chuck is still alive. No thanks to you."

Just then, April rushed over and grabbed the drink from out of Alex's hand, "What you said to me the other day was horrible, mean, and-"

"All right. You're doing it again." Alex cut her off, "You're like a friggin' mosquito."

April continued to hold onto Alex's glass, "Yeah, well that's all changing. Lexie, you're leading pre-rounds tomorrow. Jackson, you're touring med students. Ellie, you're doing post-ops, and Alex, you've got nights in the E.R. for the next week. Any of you argue with me, and I'll take you off the O.R. board indefinitely. I, on the other hand, just got fired from Bailey's trial. So I'm gonna spend the night drinking and flirting with boys."

With that, April downed what was left in Alex's glass before walking off. The four of us shared a look before going back to drinking, or in Alex's case, ordering another drink. "No hard feelings?" I asked Alex once his drink arrived. Alex held his glass up and I clinked mine against it, "No hard feelings." he repeated before we both took a sip of our beers.