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

82 | Cat Man

Every day, a surgeon makes a decision that can go one of two ways...either very good or very, very, very bad. The problem is, the epically great decisions and the epically bad ones look exactly the same when you're making them.

They did it. They took each other's hand and they did it. The large barn doors slid open and April and Jackson ran out, together.

"The weeping sisters have gone through every tissue in this building." Cristina huffed as the two of us entered the room we had started in.

Meredith zipped up her bag, "Did you get the mother to calm down, at least?"

"We tried." I threw my arms up.

"But how was I supposed to pretend that what just happened wasn't the coolest thing I'd ever seen?" Cristina gushed.

Meredith shook her head, "Cristina..."

"You know, I've always been on the fence about Kepner, but now I'm not just a friend, I'm a fan," Cristina told us.

Huffing, Meredith grabbed her stuff and stormed out. "Was that about me?" Cristina asked.

"No, it's about me." Derek sighed, "The President called, and I have to go back on a promise I made to her."

Cristina nodded, "Oh, good. Better you than me. President?"

"Of the United States," Derek said like it was no big deal.

I looked up, "You are...not serious."

"Mm," Derek smirked as Cristina's pager went off.

Picking it up, her eye's widened. "Something's going on at the hospital," she told us.

Heading back to the hospital, we all ran to the I.C.U. where I was informed that Alex's dad was there. Not only that, but Shane had performed the surgery and nearly killed the man due to exhaustion. Shane's exhaustion. He had been hallucinating and thought the patient was Heather.

════ 3 Weeks Later ════

"MVC pileup at the downtown waterfront." the paramedic said as he rushed through the ambulance bay doors with Owen.

"We've got multiple victims coming in here, people!" Owen shouted, "Be careful!"

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Shane standing in the doorway. He was just watching as the chaos unfolded. "Ross!" Jackson ran by, "I need hands."

"Ross, stay where you are." Owen told him, "You're with me today. Edwards, go help Avery."

Stephanie stared at him, "Avery?"

"Oh. No." Owen remembered, "Sorry, uh...not Edwards. Okay. Warren, Avery needs hands."

Ben, who had transferred to taking his surgical residency here, took off and left the patient he was helping Webber with. "Now, hang on a second." Webber called over all the noise, "Warren's with me. You can't break up the big dogs."

Owen sighed, "Webber, I'm having enough trouble juggling who can work with who. Don't make it any harder."

"Oh, for God's sake, I'll go with Avery." Leah volunteered as she headed in Jackson's direction, "Wouldn't want to break up the 'old dogs' or anything."

"It's big dogs," Ben mumbled as he went back over to Webber.

"Another incoming!" Owen yelled as the two of us ran over.

The paramedic looked to us, "Pedestrian, hit by car, vitals are stable. Possible fracture to right arm."

"Holy crap!" Stephanie said as we look down at the patient, a man whose face was covered in tiger print tattoos and whiskers pierced into his skin, among other things.

"You know, it's not my face that's injured." the patient told Stephanie, "It's my arm."

Reaching down, Stephanie started to loosen the ties on the stretcher when the man held out his hand, which had sharp, claw-like, fingernails. "Meow." he stared at us.

══════════════════

"And I was just walking down the street and some chick blows through a red light...six car smash-up." the feline-like patient told us as soon as Callie had walked in. It reminded me slightly of my accident, but I couldn't let him know that it affected me. "One even comes up on the sidewalk and takes me out." he finished the story, "Stupid woman."

"His pupils are unresponsive." Stephanie said, referring to the man's orange, cat eyes, "Those are contacts, right?"

The man nodded, "Yes."

"And the teeth are...?" I questioned.

The man took a deep breath, probably having answered these questions a hundred times before,
"Veneers...permanent. Whiskers, piercings."

"Ohh." Callie stared at his face.

"So, you guys gonna doctor me up or what?" he asked.

"Yeah." Callie snapped back into reality.

I looked to the monitor, "He complained of abdominal tenderness."

"Right." Callie turned to Stephanie, "Get a C.T. to rule out internal injuries, and then we'll fix the arm."

Stephanie nodded and grabbed one of the tablets. "You know what?" the man pointed to the crazy busy E.R. just outside the walls, "Um, t-there was a little kid out there...cracked her head open. Is she okay?"

"We can find out," I assured him.

Callie nodded, "Yeah, you know what? Let's just worry about getting you out of here with all of your nine lives, okay?"

Callie started to laugh a little too hard at her own joke and the man just stared at her. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him.

══════════════════

"It took fifteen surgeries total." the man told us once we had gotten him his own room and removed the piercings.

Callie continued to examine his arm, "Wow."

The man nodded, "Spent everything I had. How many people do you know that are unhappy with who they are? And do they do anything to change it? 'Cause, see, I didn't like who I was. But I had the balls to become who I wanted to be. I committed."

"Some people get a gym membership," Stephanie said.

I looked to him, "You went all-in. I like it."

"Me, too." Callie nodded.

"How's it go over with the ladies?" Stephanie asked.

The man sighed, "Well, you know, I had a girlfriend when I started all this. She loved it. You know, but that ended...and, uh...listen, let's just say the cat man gets more than his share of tail, okay?"

"Okay." we stepped back, having just received a little bit too much information.

"That's all I'm saying." he told us as we got his arm in a cast, "Hey, what's the word on that little kid? Did she wake up yet?"

Callie sighed, "Well, I am so sorry, but patient information's confidential, so..."

"It's bad news, then, huh?" he exhaled.