2.10

Helena Campos had had enough near death experiences to know they were not, in fact, pleasant. From the panic to the pain, none of it was something she'd like to repeat. However, either by some cruel twist of fate or cheer bad luck, she kept finding herself in such situations. Today, she was in an OR with a bomb that could go off at any moment.

"Do you realise how stupid that was?" Dylan asked Meredith, who's hand was inside a body cavity with a bomb.

"It was Mer, incredibly stupid." Cristina agreed.

"Come on, I'm guessing that's not helpful." Helena pleaded, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah, you know when you don't need to make fun of? When you have your hand inside a body that's got a bomb in it and a stranger is velcroing a flap jacket to your boobs."

"You've got a sense of irony." The bomb squad member told the blond intern.

"Only when things are really ironic." She answered. "I had a feeling."

"I did too." The short girl whispered in realisation. "Oh god, I had a feeling." She started giggling, everyone looking in shock at the inappropriate response. "The only time..." The laughter interrupted her and she bent over slightly, trying to stop herself. "The only time my feeling is actually real and not just a product of my anxiety I chose to ignore it and just take tranquilliser." Her laughter started to fade. "I'm... I'm sorry, it's not funny. Just ironic."

As Dr. Burke entered the OR, he approached Cristina. "It's time for you to go."

"No, I'm staying." She argued.

"We've got it covered. Cristina, this is not another cool surgery. This ammo could go off and kill everyone in this room. Do you get that? You cannot be in here." He argued, worry in his voice.

"You think this is about surgery?" She scoffed.

"Cristina, I cannot do this with you in here." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I cannot think."

The intern looked over to her friends, the shorter one speaking up. "I'll take over for you, ok? I'll ventilate him, don't worry."

"We'll be fine." The blond reassured her. "It's ok."

"You know how in the movies, how there's always a hero and then there's the other guy? You know, the guy who sees danger and runs in the opposite direction? Be the other guy." The asian pleaded with him, the three intern's eyes full of tears, as she left.

"So, you have a plan right? You know how to get me out of this, right?" Meredith asked Dylan.

——

As Helena bagged the patient, Burke and Dylan whispered between each other. Uncomfortable with the situation, the interns looked at each other, the smaller girl shifting on her feet.

"Stop it!" Meredith asked. "I'm not a patient and neither is Lena. The two of you are looking at us the way we look at patients. Like I'm gonna freak out at any minute. We're not gonna freak out so whatever it is just tell me straight up."

Burke moved closer to the girls. "The main oxygen line runs directly under this room."

Helena exhaled and closed her eyes as Meredith spoke up. "Ok..." Looking at her friend's face, she questioned. "Not ok?"

"No, not ok..." She breathed out.

"Well? I need one of you to tell me what this means exactly. Cause I think I know what it means, but I tend to be glass half empty these days so I won't trust what I think it means. Because what I think it means is that if the bomb were to explode over the oxygen line, the whole hospital could blow up. And that's just crazy, right?" The blond asked.

No one answered. It was not, in fact, crazy.

——

As they moved through the hallway, Helena ventilating the man and Meredith with her hand on the body, they knew any movement could set the bomb off.

"You're doing great." Dylan told her.

"Let's go over it again." Meredith asked.

"The device is shaped like a rocket about eight inches long. We're gonna have everything ready: Dr. Burke's team is gonna be in place, my team is gonna be in place. Then I'm gonna ask you to take the hand you have on Mr. Carlson, wrap it around the device..."

"And pull it out." The blond agreed.

"Level. Pull it out while keeping it level."

"You know I don't like you very much." Meredith commented.

"I don't like you two either." The man responded.

"Well, that's a first." Meredith joked. "Everybody likes Helena."

Just then, Cristina stepped in front of the moving table. "What are you doing?"

"Stop, right where you are." Dylan ordered. "I thought Dr. Burke told you to leave."

"The other OR was right over the oxygen line." The short girl attempted to explain, seeing the panic on her friend's face.

"So we're moving to an OR further away. You know, in case we blow up..." Meredith's added.

"I distinctly remember him telling you to leave." The head of the bomb squad pointed out.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"He's prepping the OR." The blond told her.

"Then we'll never know, will he?" Cristina's eyes filled with tears.

"You stay over there." Dylan asked, as they resumed the movement.

"Tell us something." Meredith asked.

"What?"

"Cristina, I have my hand on a bomb, I'm freaking out. And I really have to pee. Lena's ventilating a man with a bomb inside of him. Tell us anything."