3.12

The interns studied for their intern exam at Cristina's place, all of them sitting in the living room as Meredith sat in a chair at the center.

"What are the signs of a central line infection?" Alex asked Meredith.

"Pus, redness and fever." She answered quickly, sitting on a chair.

"What's Conn Syndrome?"

"Uh... wait, wait, I know this!" The blond answered, shaking her hands.

"Cracking under pressure." George teased.

"No, I know... Hypercortisolism!" She answered.

"Primary hyperaldosteronism." Helena corrected. As Alex nodded towards her, she told the blond. "Yes, it's my turn on the chair!"

"No, it's my turn!" Izzie complained, sitting on the chair as Burke gave Cristina some cake to try for their wedding.

"What is the strongest layer of the string bowel?" George asked her.

"It's fine, yummy." Cristina evaluated the cake, shooing her fiancé.

"It is not snot." George helped the blond.

"Submucosa." The blond answered.

"Wait, wait, wait, how do you know that?" Cristina turned to George. "Are you studying with your wife's cards?"

"What cards?" Meredith asked, confused.

"Callie was ranked number one in her year after the test, she has legendary flash cards." Cristina explained.

"Well, so do I. My flash cards are the best." Helena shrugged. "Plus, I made them waterproof." She said, smiling, proud of her work.

"I want the seat." Cristina complained.

"No, my turn." Alex sat down on it.

"What is actinic keratosis?" Izzie asked him.

"It's a... a premalignant lesion."

"In old people!" Cristina added.

"In anyone." Alex and Helena argued at the same time.

"Is this one too bitter?" Burke asked as his soon to be wife tried some cake.

"I don't care about the cake. Now, are they right or am I?"

"Learn to care or I'll get another bride." The man joked.

"I love it, I love all cakes, now break the tie." The Asian woman asked, the short intern perking up on her seat.

"Karev and Campos are right."

"Yes!" Alex let out, high-fiving Helena, who giggled.

——

The night before her exam, Helena woke up with her phone ringing on her nightstand. Rubbing her eyes to clear her sight, she saw it was her brother.

"Danny? Are you ok? Was it a nightmare or phantom pain again?" The girl asked, worried.

"Both. I'm sorry, I know you have your big exam tomorrow, I just... you know you're the only one who can calm me down." He said in the other end of the line, his voice of someone who had been crying.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, I've got you. Did you get out the mirror I got you, you know, to mirror your leg?" She whispered, still half asleep.

"Yeah, I did. I'm just... I'm still panicked." He told her.

"You're ok, Danny. We're both ok. Do you want me to stay on the phone for a bit until I'm falling asleep?" He asked.

"I... yes, please." He answered.

"Ok, then. Just close your eyes. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." She whispered as the siblings drifted off to sleep.

——

The next morning, the interns were in the kitchen, studying.

"How do you treat pancreatic divisum?" Cristina asked the formed model, Helena sipping on her coffee and biting on her toast.

"Cristina... if you're not gonna let us sleep you at least have to let me put coffee in my cup."

"No ones stopping you..." Helena shrugged.

"I'm too tired to go." Izzie whined.

"Here, have some of mine." The short girl offered, smiling. "And, Cristina, dorsal sphincterotomy."

"Not your turn, but correct. You do me, Alex."

"Can't believe O'Malley is missing this." The man scoffed. "How's he gonna be ready?"

"You're kidding, right?! I have Callie cards but..." Cristina started.

"George has Callie." Izzie completed.

"Oh, whatever, we have Baby Einstein. I quizzed her on all of the cards on Callie's deck her own last night and she didn't get one single answer wrong." Cristina turned to the blond, making the shortest girl smile up at her.

"Ok, what's the most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients?" The man asked.

"Rotavirus." Cristina answered, soon rethinking her choice. "No, no, no, no... salmonella."

Helena shook her head, correcting her. "It's C. Diff, which can lead to toxic mega colon, perforations, sepsis and death."

Meredith entered the kitchen, all dressed in black. "That's what killed Susan."

Susan, Meredith's father's wife, had died recently in the hospital, a result of complications of her treatment for hiccups. As Meredith was her intern, it had, unfortunately, ended in Meredith's father blaming her for his wife's death and slapping her at the hospital.

"Is she ok?" Izzie asked, after Meredith left.

"She's fine." Cristina answered.

"She's messed up." Alex told her.

"Of course she's messed up, but she'll be fine, just give her some space." Helena asked