Code Blue | Grey's Anatomy // Book 2 // COMPLETED

20 | The American Medical Board of Surgery

Picture this...you've spent the past five years of your residency training to become a surgeon, but those five years suddenly don't matter. The only thing that matters...the only thing between you and the rest of your career is a test in a random hotel, in a random city, with a random examiner, asking you random questions. Nervous? You should be.

"We should be gone by now." April ran off of the bus just as I was about to get on.

"The flights not for three hours. You're fine." Owen told her.

April started to freak out, "I-I'd be fine if people showed up on time."

Owen sighed, "No one is going to be late. San Francisco is a short flight away. There's no reason to be nervous, okay?"

Just then, April started to cry...for about the third time that day. "Oh. Not again." Owen huffed.

"I'm sorry." April sobbed, "It's just that my parents called me this morning to wish me luck, and they told me that their church is praying for me, and what-what-what if I don't pass? One in five people don't pass."

"Kepner, stop. And you listen too, Forrest. 'Cause I'm only doing this pep talk once." Owen tried to calm her down, " You're trauma surgeons. We're soldiers. We fight battles harder than this test every single day, and we win, okay? So dry your tears. I want you to repeat after me. I am a soldier."

"I'm a s-soldier." April blubbered.

Owen shook his head, "No, no. I want to hear you mean it. Repeat. I am a soldier."

"I am a soldier." April threw her arms to her sides.

"You too, Forrest." Owen looked at me.

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh, me too? Um, okay. I am a soldier."

Owen sighed, "Good enough. Now get on the bus. And Forrest, try to stop Kepner from crying any more on the trip there."

"No promises." I told him before getting on the bus, "Oh, and, I just wanted to thank you Chief Hunt. For taking me under your wing when I said I wanted to go into trauma."

"No problem." Owen smiled, "Now go and do us trauma surgeons proud."

After climbing onto the bus, we had to wait an extra twenty minutes for Meredith and Alex. But once they were on, we were good. Taking a seat beside Jackson, I sighed. "Where were you?" I turned to Meredith.

"Oh, Zola got sick," she told me.

"Aw, that sucks." I sympathized, "Aren't you lucky that her daddy's a doctor, all of daddy's friends are doctors, and her daycare is located in a hospital. She'll be fine. You, focus on the boards."

After Bailey patted the hood of the van, we started to move. Everyone outside cheered as we drove out of sight. Just then, my phone buzzed. Pulling it out of my pocket, I read the new messages.

Skylar: Good luck today!

Smiling, I read the next one.

Sam: Hey, it's me. You're parents called and told me about the boards. Good luck.

Jackson looked to me as I turned the phone off. "Who was that?" he asked.

"Ugh, my sister and Sam," I replied, feeling weird after saying the name Sam. I hadn't talked, let alone texted her in about a year or so.

Before we knew it we were at the airport, and after a somewhat quick three-hour wait, we boarded our plane. I, like normal, fell asleep on the plane and was woken up when we arrived in San Francisco. After grabbing our bags and getting a few taxi's, we finally made it to the hotel that we would be staying in and also taking the boards in.

Upon entering the lobby, I looked up and read the large banner that said, 'Presidio Presidential Suits welcome The American Medical Board of Surgery.'

Grabbing a place to sit down, April bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry." she turned around and read the guy's hat, "Oh, Case Western Reserve. Uh, do you know Ted Stevenson, head of Trauma?"

"I do, yeah." he nodded.

April smiled and stuck out her hand, "He just offered me a job. I might be an attending there. April Kepner, Seattle."

The man scowled, "Kevin Banks. I'm the guy whose job you took. I was waiting to hear, but I guess I just heard. Thanks a lot."

"Well, he hates me." April huffed as the man walked off and she sat down with us.

"How do you do that?" Alex laughed, "You've been here, like, two minutes."

April sighed, "My examiner is gonna hate me, too, instantly."

"Don't psych yourself out." Cristina smiled.

"One in five people fail the boards," April informed us.

"Thanks for that." I huffed, "You know, I somehow think that that's not exactly what people want to hear right now."

Cristina looked up at her, "Fine. Psych yourself out."

"It's just a test." Jackson said, "We've all dealt with worse. No one's bleeding out on your table. We will be fine."

"Guys." Meredith stood up and pulled Cristina and me away from the group a little.

"What?" I asked.

Meredith sighed, "Zola has the stomach flu."

Cristina huffed, "So? Kids get sick. Derek's with her."

"Zola has the stomach flu," Meredith repeated and I noticed how pale she was.

"Oh, no, No, Mer, you can't be sick." Cristina told her, "You cannot be sick."

"Okay." Meredith swallowed hard.

I placed a hand on Meredith's shoulder, "You're just freaking out."

As I said that, Meredith gagged. "Okay." Cristina stopped her, "J-just take deep breaths, okay? Just take deep breaths."

"So do you guys wanna go register and then go get some lunch?" April walked over and asked us.

The mention of lunch was just too much for Meredith and she leaned down and threw up. "Wh...uh, what just happened?" April was confused.

"Stomach flu," I told her as Cristina and I helped Meredith.

"Zola has the stomach flu and you didn't say anything?" Jackson asked once everyone had found out.

"How could you?" April snapped, "Are-are you trying to sabotage us all?"

I gave April a look, "She didn't ask to be sick, smart one."

"It's not like it's the black plague," Meredith told her.

"You are supposed to be our friend." April flipped shit.

Meredith stood opposite the rest of us. "Oh, April, calm down." she stepped towards us.

Alex stuck his hand out to stop her, "Y-you stay right where you are, typhoid Mary." he turned to the rest of us, "Come on. Let's go register."

The rest of them walked off. "Mer, just sit." Cristina told her, "And I'll get your registration package. "

As I stood in line behind Alex, he shut off his phone after making a call before turning to Jackson, "Dude, is that your mom?"

"Baby." Catherine smiled as she walked over.

Jackson's face fell, "Oh, no."

"I know. I know you don't want to see your mother before the boards." Catherine told him, "But they are wearing this old girl out. Got me examining three sessions tomorrow, and I might not see you, so I had to say good luck."

"Thank you, mom." Jackson sighed as Catherine gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, and I brought it." Catherine reached into her bag for something.

Jackson stopped her, "Mnh-mnh. No, no, that's fine. You don't...that's fine."

"It's in here somewhere." Catherine continued digging.

"That's okay." Jackson insisted.

Catherine looked up at him, "That's what you always say, but you always want it in the end."

"Mom, I'm good. I am." Jackson told her.

​"Okay." Catherine gave up, "I'm in room 809 when you change your mind."

I stepped over to him, "Okay, now I'm curious. What does she have for you?"

"Nothing," Jackson told me.

Catherine smiled, "Dr. Ellie Forrest. You scrubbed in on my penile transplant, didn't you?"

I nodded, "That I did."

"And what specialty are you going into?" she asked.

"Trauma, actually," I replied.

Catherine looked to Jackson, "See? Now that's a real specialty."

"Mom," Jackson warned.

"Okay. fine." Catherine smirked before walking off, "It was lovely seeing you again, Dr. Forrest."

"Mommy bring you your binky?" Alex mocked Jackson.

Jackson turned to him, "It's my lucky pencil. She brought my lucky pencil."

"You know this is an oral test, right?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I know, okay?" Jackson huffed, "It's just, I used it for my S.A.T.s, and my M.C.A.T.s, and my intern exam."

Alex smirked, "So it's your binky?"

"It's...sort of like my binky, yeah," Jackson admitted.

"Okay." Cristina walked over once I had my package and handed Meredith hers, "Fill this out. There must be, what, like a hundred people in this room? Okay, if Kepner is right, twenty of them are screwed."

"I'm gonna puke," Meredith grumbled.

"Relax. You're not one of them." Cristina told her.

"No, on you." Meredith tried to stay calm as she started to gag again.

Cristina and I literally jumped up and ran away. It wasn't that we didn't want to help our friend, because we did; it was because there was no way we were getting sick right before the boards.