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

69 | Gala

As anyone who's ever had their tonsils out can tell you, surgery isn't cheap. It takes a lot of money to keep a hospital's doors open. And when the funds run out, it's on us to get out there and raise some more. Which means...it's time to put on makeup. It's time to dress up right.


Slipping on my black dress for the night, I sighed in relief that I could still fit in it. After struggling to zip it up, I smiled and thanked my body for still relatively hiding my pregnancy. The gala fund-raiser for the hospital was tonight and I had to get down there sooner rather than later. All of the board members were supposed to be there early and I was already running late.

Slipping my heels on and grabbing my small, handheld purse, I exited my house and got into my car.

Stepping into the building, my eyes widened when I saw circus performers breathing fire and hanging from silk attached to the ceiling. I was told this was supposed to be conservative. I felt lied to a little bit, but this looked fun so I didn't really care.

"I'm here." I walked over to Meredith, "My dress still fits and I'm feeling good."

Meredith looked at me, "You look good."

"Oh!" Cristina saw us and waved us over, "Meredith Grey as I live and breathe. I haven't seen you in ages. How's uh...how's Derek liking maternity leave?"

Meredith smiled, "He's on paternity leave."

"Yeah, okay." Cristina looked at the large table of random stuff as Callie walked over with a drink in her hand.

"We have a deal." Meredith said, "I don't work. Neither does he. It's working out well."

Callie took a sip of her drink, "I live in your house. You're bored out of your minds. Yeah, they've got all this pent-up surgical energy and now everything's a competition."

"It is not." Meredith denied.

Callie sighed, "And he's winning."

"He is not winning. He couldn't even get Zola to put her shoes on tonight." Meredith told us, "I did that. I got her to put her shoes on. So I'm winning."

Callie tried to hand me a drink but I refused and gestured to my stomach. "Sounds like a competition to me," I smirked at Meredith.

"I need to come back to work." Meredith almost pleaded with us.

"Drink?" a man with a weird-looking clown mask walked by.

Meredith stared at him as he pushed through the crowd, "Ohh. Excuse me."

Callie and Cristina both giggled. "That's the creepiest waiter I've ever seen." Cristina pointed.

"Bailey's gonna lose her mind." Callie nodded, "She can't stand clowns. This is gonna be hilarious."

I looked to them, "Bailey's not coming."

"What?!" Callie asked, "Wait, we can do that? Okay, I have been dreading having to be in the same room with Arizona. If this isn't mandatory, I'm going home."

"Wait, nobody's going home." Jackson walked by, "I'm giving ten percent of tonight's take to the department that raised the most money. Spread the...word."

"Wow." Cristina turned back to us as Jackson walked away.

"Derek is really good at this kind of thing." Meredith informed us as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, "I should get started before he does."

Callie looked behind Meredith, "Oh, I think he already has."

Turning around, we saw Derek juggling for a crowd of people who were smiling and laughing. When he finished, they all cheered. Meredith just glared at him before getting right to work.

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"Cristina. Ellie." Meredith approached us about twenty minutes later as we stood at the bar, "The three of us have to join forces so that Derek does not win Avery's money."

"Prison's changed you." Cristina gave Meredith a deadpan look.

"We are in trouble." Owen walked over, "Avery bet the farm on this party."

"Listen to you two." Cristina looked from Owen to Meredith, "This is not that difficult. Just be charming. Use the same skills you would if you were picking someone up at a bar. I know you know how to do that." she pointed to Meredith before looking to Owen, "And you need to practice if we're gonna get serious about meeting new people."

"You need to let that go." Owen groaned.

Cristina looked over Owen's shoulder, "Ohh, Richie Rich, ten O'clock."

Cristina took off in that direction as Owen shook his head.

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"No, thank you." I smiled as a man I had been talking to made his way over to the donation box. Sighing and pushing some hair away from my face, I walked over to the bar. "Hey." I looked at Alex who was sitting and drinking by himself. "Hey." he huffed.

"Another whiskey soda," Cristina ordered as she joined us.

"That's your fifth one." the bartender said.

Cristina gave him a look, "Who are you, my mom? I'm not drinking. Gotta stay sharp. This is for the C.F.O. of A.E.C. Interactive. Got him on the ropes. Every drink he knocks back is another zero added to the check I collect at the end of the night."

"That sounds wrong," Alex told her.

"Right and wrong don't live here, son." Cristina said and I chuckled, "This is the wild West. This is so much fun! It's like when we were interns...stealing surgeries, playing dirty. I don't really get to do that anymore."

Meredith walked up to us and pointed to the blue Grey Sloan Memorial sweater she was wearing, "Does this look stupid? The kid spit up on my dress, and in my dress...all over, really."

"No doubt Derek is winning." I chuckled.

"Oh, for the love of God, Mer." Cristina looked to Meredith, pity all over her face, "You're making it so easy."

"All right. Can I have your attention, please?" I heard Jackson's voice over the speakers and turned to see him on the stage, "Thank you. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Dr. Jackson Avery. And on behalf of the board of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, I just want to say, welcome."

Everyone in the crowd cheered as Jackson paced across the stage. "Thank you." Jackson smiled, "Thank you. Thank you very much. Now over the past year, we have seen many changes, from a change in name to a change in leadership...and it has all been a challenge. But it's been a challenge that we've all been more than happy to accept. As surgeons-"

Just then, one of the women who was hanging from the silk next to the stage fell. The woman who had planned this whole thing ran over and ended up getting crushed by the falling performer. "Was that part of it?" Alex asked.

"I don't think so," Meredith answered.

The four of us ran over and met up with Owen, Derek, Jo, and a bunch of other doctors. "Oh, no, no, no! You need to stop." Callie told the silk dancer who stood up, "You could have internal injuries or breaks."

"I think I'm okay. See?" the woman told her, "I'm okay. I'm fine."

Taking a step, the woman screamed as a bone sticking out from her leg went right through her foot. Everyone gasped as she fell back to the floor. "So, yeah, I'd say there's a break." Callie pushed through the crowd and rushed to the woman.

This party was becoming more interesting than I had expected.