Little Shepherd

Chapter Forty-Three

After a while of seeing patients, I feel tired, so I head to the attending's lounge for some coffee. I walk in and find Mark, standing by the coffee machine. I grab a cup and walk over, "You miss me?" He questions

"Not particularly." I shrug, teasing him.
"That's not how you felt earlier." Mark whispers, kissing my neck.
"Go away." I chuckle, pushing him off and pouring my coffee.

He sits down on the table with his coffee and a bagel. "You going to eat?" He asks
"I'll pass." I reply, leaning against the counter.
"How's your leg?" Mark questions
"It's fine, nothing major." I nod

"Are you coming home with me tonight?" He inquires
"I don't know." I shrug
"You know you're welcome there right?" Mark frowns
"Yeah, I just don't want to rush into things too fast." I sigh

"I-"
"Who's rushing into things too fast?" Derek asks, walking into the lounge.
"Oh, nothing." I mumble
Derek sets his stuff down on the table, and walks to the couch, accidently bumping into Mark who was drinking his coffee.

"Aw, shit." Mark curses, standing up, grabbing napkins to clean himself up.
"Sorry man." Derek apologizes
"It's okay." He grumbles, wiping his shirt.
"You good?" I ask
"Yeah. I just need to change clothes." Mark replies

Much to my horror, Mark thoughtlessly take off his shirt, revealing his scratched up back.

I try my best to hide my smirk, but fail. " Damn, you sure were busy there, huh Mark?" Derek chuckles
"Yeah, I tend to have an effect on women." He smirks, glancing at me.
I roll my eyes and watch as he grabs another scrub top and puts it on.

"So, you're seeing someone?" My brother asks
"Yeah." Mark nods
"Is it the same girl from last time?" He questions
"Yes, actually." Mark replies
"Hmm, that's a surprise. You usually don't keep long relationships." Derek remarks

I shoot Derek a look, "You know what I mean, you're more of a 'hit it and quit it' type of guy. I feel bad for the poor girl you reeled in." He chuckles
"Derek, stop." I warn
"What? It's true." Derek shrugs

Mark glares at him, "You're being an ass, there's no need for that." I say
"Mariah, do you know his track record? He's hooked up with several women and then just leaves. He feeds them all these lines and they just eat it up until they give him what he wants." He tells me

I look at Mark and he clenches his jaw. "Man, what the hell?" He huffs

I scoff and leave the attending's lounge before anyone can say anything else.

I toss my empty coffee cup in the trash and massage my temples.

What did I get myself into?

"What's wrong?" Someone asks from behind me, I turn around and see Alex.
"Nothing." I frown
"I missed you." I sigh, embracing Alex in a small hug.
"I missed you too, believe it or not." He smirks

I push him playfully and he laughs, "How was Mark's?" Alex asks
"It was fine, I guess." I shrug
"Oh, no. What happened? " He inquires
"Do you think Mark is just with me for sex?" I question, shifting my weight on one foot.

"What? No." Alex answers, looking at me weirdly "Why do you ask?" He asks
"Nevermind, forget it. " I mumble
"Mariah-"
"I'm going to go, I'll see you later." I say, pulling on a smile.

I walk off and head to the E.R, suddenly my pager goes off. I look at it: Incoming trauma

Yes.

I run to the pit and pull on the yellow trauma gown and gloves, then rush to meet the ambulances. Dr. Bailey, Callie and Derek are already there when I arrive,  "What do we got?" I ask

"4 car pileup." Bailey answers
The ambulancs arrive and I tend to the first one I see. "Jamie Zamora, 19. Blunt head and abdominal trauma from the airbags and the steering wheel. She's in and out of consciousness and went into v-fib once." The paramedic tells me, wheeling her into trauma room 6.

Izzie and Meredith are sent to help me, we get her on the table and examine her injuries. "She's going to need an ultrasound." I say

Izzie brings the machine over and begins the ultrasound. "There is bleeding, quite a bit." She informs me
"Is that-"
"A fetal heartbeat." Meredith answers, cutting me off.

"Let's take her to surgery." I demand
"Doesn't she need a CT?" Izzie questions
"Her pupils are responsive and she's  stable. It'll have to wait, we need to fix this bleed and help the baby." I state

"The fetus is about 18 weeks, can it even survive something like this?" Meredith inquires
"We'll have to find out." I sigh, wheeling her to surgery.

We get her to an O.R and I began to operate. I make an incison on her abdomen and Izzie suctions all the blood pooling out. I try finding a source, but can't seem to pinpoint one
"Dr. Shepherd, she's coding." Meredith tells me

"Shit, start compressions." I demand,

Meredith works on her, but there is no change. "Let me try." I sigh, trading places with Mer.

Luckily, Jamie becomes stable after just a while of compressions and we are able to work on her again. I finally am able to find the source, her small intestine. I repair the bleed, then proceed to check on the fetus, seeing as how it was no longer in distress.

The fetus remains intact and safe, I sigh in relief. "Well, we did it." I smile
"Stevens, close. Afterwards, send me updates hourly." I order
"Yes ma'am." Izzie nods

I leave the O.R and begin taking my surgical wear off. I wash my hands then head out.

I'm back.

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Let's not repeat the whole, "I'm back and will update weekly again" thing. Chances are, I'm not. I have school and other things and well, I don't have a lot of extra time. I'm sorry, y'all. I will try harder, but for now, enjoy the shitty update. Don't forget to vote and comment! -A