11.12

Meredith stood in front of the OR board, filling in her surgery for later, as Helena approached her.

"Hey." She let out. "I just got out of the OR. Did it miss it?"

"No, you're good." The blond told her.

"I just finished my corpectomy." Amelia greeted. "Did I miss it?"

"We're good." Helena told her, just as Meredith's phone pinged.

"Wow, that was fast." She let out.

"What was fast?" Her sister in law asked.

"I put out feelers with a real estate agent about the house." Meredith explained. "Looks like I got an offer."

"You're selling the house?" Both brunette doctors asked.

"No. I don't know. Maybe." She shrugged.

"Why do people constantly feel the need to kill their arteries?" Maggie asked, moving to change the OR board.

"Are they here yet?" Callie asked them. "Oh, did I miss it? Tell me I didn't miss it."

"I almost forgot!" Maggie let out.

"I can't wait to see the beads of sweat on their freaked-out little faces." Callie smiled.

"Did I miss it?" Alex asked them.

"No." Helena told him.

"I want to see someone crap. Actually crap." Alex wished.

"Seen it." Callie nodded. " it. Not as fun as you'd think."

"Oh, come on. You're just mean, all of you." Helena shook her head. "We should be exited for them, encouraging. Those kids are the future of surgery. The future of this hospital. They're eager to learn, and motivated, and not yet desensitized to all the death... it's exciting. Not an opportunity to wish public humiliation on them."

"It's happening!" Arizona almost sang, walking down the hall. "The baby chicks and ducks are here!"

"See, that's what I mean." She pointed out, with a smile, moving to follow the blond.

——

"Each of you today comes here hopeful, wanting in on the game." Richard told the new interns, as the group watched from the gallery, mouthing the words. "A month ago you were in med school, being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors. The five years you spend here as surgical residents will be the best and worst of your lives." A girl raised her hand, making him ask. "You have a question?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Uh, you raised your hand..." He furrowed his brows.

"No, I'm sorry. I mean why will these be the best and worst years of our lives?" She asked.

"Uh, I was getting to that. Where was I...? Oh, right. You will be pushed to the breaking point. Look around you. Say hello to your competition. 8 of you will switch to an easier speciality. 5 of you will crack under the pressure. 2 of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is your area. How well you play, that's up to you?"

"Well, when it comes to our class, I do think it'd be smart to add something about people dying..." Helena let out, making heads turn. "Sorry. It's true, thought. It messed with the statistics..."

"They look stupid." Alex let out.

"They look like babies. Where we ever that young?" Meredith asked.

"They're so... well rested." Ben pointed out.

"Well, that will change soon enough." Helena chuckled.

"And eager. Like puppies." Meredith pointed out.

"No, not like puppies. Chicks and ducks." Arizona told them.

"When did we start calling them that?" Meredith asked.

"You've been gone almost a year..." Helena shrugged.

"Left to their own devices, they would drown." Arizona told them.

"And take the patients down with them." Callie added. "God help us all."

——

"Oh, God." A pregnant woman, who had been in an accident, let out. "There's another one."

"Ok, keep breathing for me. Nice and slow." Helena instructed, by her bedside, as she monitored the woman's contractions.

"Edwards, nice job reducing the wrist." Callie praised.

"Actually, Dr. DeLuca did that in the field." She told them.

"Dr. Who?" The trauma surgeon asked.

"Me. Hi." A man walked into the room. "Dr. DeLuca. I was at the scene. Paramedics ran out of splints, so that's actually my tie."

"Was your tie." Callie showed him the cut piece of fabric. "Sorry."

"Eh, not a problem. It was my favorite one, though." He shrugged.

"Oh, God!" The patient yelled.

"Alright. Three centimeters dilated." Helena informed, peeking under the sheet.

"Look, she has a fracture at C5-6." Stephanie showed Callie.

"What's a C5-6?" The woman asked.

"Joan, you fractured a bone in your neck, but it is stable for now, so we'll fix it after you deliver, ok?" She asked, then instructing. "Keep her in the collar until her labs come back. Then we'll get her upstairs so she can deliver and repair the fracture."

"Have them page me when her contractions become more frequent, ok?" Helena asked, then turning to leave the room. "Thank you for the help, DeLuca."

——

Her yellow trauma gown on, Helena jogged to the ambulance bay, where the field team, Meredith, Maggie and Amelia, left an ambulance.

"Hey did you bring any...?" Helena started, then stopping as she noticed Amelia and Meredith fighting.

"I was willing to try an ex-lap." Meredith told her.

"Oh my God. Will you shut up about the ex-lap. That is not the point!" The woman let out.

"The point is maybe we should have stayed." Maggie shrugged. "Maybe we didn't try everything we possibly could have to save him."