12.01

"Hey! Are you excited?" Helena smiled, joining Jackson in walking down the hallway.

"About?"

"April. She coming back tonight, right?" She titled her head. "I was pretty sure it was tonight."

"So what time is the thing tonight?" Callie asked, joining them.

"What thing?"

"For April! She's coming back tonight, right?" She looked to Helena, who gave her a mix of a nod and a shrug. "Aren't we doing a thing?"

"We should do a thing. And should be excited." Helena tried.

"There is no thing!" He snapped at them them, leaving them to keep walking to the ER.

"Sorry?" Helena shook her head. "Jeez."

"Should we clear trauma one to remove the giant bug from his ass?" The ortho surgeon joked.

——

"Jessica Tanner, 15 years old." The paramedic told Helena and Callie, who got the girl out of the ambulance. "Moving train swiped her, then tossed her down the embankment. GSC is 15. Pressure's 100 palp. Right side took all the burn. One big bruise."

"T-there's a shortcut to- to school." The girl tried to explain. "I take it every day, over the track. I-I tripled. You know, my foot- it got stuck between the tracks."

"Jessica, honey, we've got you." Helena told her, taking a flashlight to her mouth, to examine her airway. "Try to stay calm."

"Have you seen the other girl? S-she just showed up out of nowhere. She tried to push me out of the way..." She muttered, as Owen, by the other girl, called for Callie.

"Torres. Take a look at this." He tried, making Helena glance to the other girl, noticing her arm dangling from the gurney, a heart drawn on it.

"I've got her, go." She nodded to Callie. As Jessica tightened her grip on Helena's hand, she reassured. "It will be ok, Jessica. We've got you. Both of you."

——

"You're here, good." Helena told Alex, as she worked on Jessica, along with Maggie. "She's got multiple complex injuries. She needs to go to the OR for a washout."

"Hemothorax on her right side that needs to be drained." The cardio surgeon told them, as Helena approached the girl.

"Hey, Jess?"

"Have you seen her? The other girl? I-Is she still alive?" The girl asked, clearly worried.

"Jess, can you tell me her name? It'd really help us out." The brunette doctor tried.

"I-I-I don't know her, so..." She trailed off, making the pediatric surgeon nod towards the heart drawn on her arm.

"You have the same heart drawings." The pediatric surgeon gave her a soft smile.

"Her name's Aliyah." Jessica let out, reluctantly.

"And you were together out there?" Helena furrowed her brows, sympathetically.

"Yes." Jessica guiltily looked up to the ceiling, teary eyed.

"Jess... your foot didn't get caught on the tracks, did it?" The doctor almost whispered, making the girl shake her head. At that, she took in a sharp breath, placing a comforting hand on Jessica's head. "Honey, why don't you tell me what happened out there?"

"We just wanted to be together..." She whispered, almost in tears. "Dead or alive."

At that, the small doctor shared a look with her friends, before focusing back on the girl.

"Thank you for telling me, Jess. Thank you for trusting me." Helena nodded.

——

"Jess... was it on purpose? Did you... were you hoping it would kill you?" Helena asked, as she palpated the girl's abdomen.

"It's more complicated than that..." She explained.

"You were standing in front of a train." Alex pointed out, making Helena shoot him a harsh look.

"We weren't suicidal. We just..." The patient shook her head.

Helena understood. She understood it all, she saw it in the way Jess worried about Aliyah, the way her eyes shined when talking about her.

The surgeon took in a deep breath, before giving her a small smile. "Why don't I tell you something personal about myself, Jess? Is that ok?" As the teen nodded, she revealed. "I am attracted to men. I like men romantically, I even married one. But, also, I'm attracted to women, too. My first love, ever, when I was about your age, was another girl." A small smile showed up on the girl's face, almost one of recognition. "Do you think I can ask you something personal about yourself?" The girl gave her a slow but steady nod. "Do you like girls, Jess? Do you like Aliyah?"

"I love her." The teen let out, making Helena smile brightly at her.

"What were you two doing out there, sweetheart? What happened?" Helena asked.

"It's not that we wanted to ." The girl's voice broke. "This was just... the only way that we could stay together... forever."

"Oh, no, Jess. No. There are many other ways, honey... this is not... it's not a solution. It's not one of those ways. Killing yourself? It solves nothing." Helena told her, shaking her head.

"My parents... they're sending me away. To a camp." The teen revealed, making Helena furrow her brows in a mix of anger and disbelief, as she bit her lip. "They come get you in the middle of the night, and they take you to this place... they you. They're gonna make me change my mind about Aliyah."

"No, there's no way. Those places don't work. They work." Alex reassured.

"Your parents are doing this?" Maggie asked.

"Please. Please." Jessica grabbed Helena's hand. "You can't call them. Please don't tell them that I... they're the whole reason why I'm even here. . You can't call them..."