How To Save A Life (Grey's Anatomy)

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter 42

Season 6, Episode 21-22

Anything would've been better than staying the night in my childhood bedroom, but with Iowa being as far as it is from Seattle, I didn't have much of a choice. Before we left, I went home and grabbed some things and we hit the road, stopping at a hotel halfway there. Without a car to drive back with, I bought a cheap plane ticket and got back within the next couple of hours.

Most people would appreciate an almost three-day break from work but I am the opposite. Not only were the conditions of my break less than ideal, but I love my work and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Normally, I would sleep on the plane, but with everything that happened with Jackson, I didn't sleep a wink and was up for three hours thinking about it.

I've been trying to figure out what to say to him, but I don't think there is anything to say that would make him forget about the truth that I clearly laid out. When thinking about it, I don't think I would've done it much differently, except for the fact that I wouldn't have left him on that note. I didn't tell him where I was going, but he's probably figured it out by now.

The moment I walked through the front door of the hospital, I was greeted by Meredith, asking about what happened while I was gone but I kept it short, leaving out the parts about my mother. Thankfully, my mother was still on her medication when I got there and she was decently pleasant. Much more so than she was when I was living under her roof.

Derek was good about it since I called ahead, telling him I would need another day or two to get sorted. I guess when you never take a day off in three years, your entitled to three days off for a family emergency without question.

While changing, Meredith and I were paged to one of the skills labs for sensitivity training, as they called it, but we're not sure what for. Every resident is in the lab, which I notice as I walk through the door. Crowds of residents swarm the lab, catching up with each other and goofing off. I spot Cristina and Alex, joining them with Meredith at my side.

The moment I walked through the door, I saw Jackson and he saw me. Both of us quickly looked away, not holding each other's gaze like we normally do. He's sitting behind me with his friends, so I don't turn around, keeping my gaze locked at the front where Bailey is setting up.

"Okay, people! Listen up!" She calls and the room goes quiet, a couple of rowdy residents still talking. "Uh, reaction, observation, communication, any questions?" Everyone raises their hand at her quick snap at us and she doesn't seem surprised, realizing our questions before any of us can ask them. "We are doing this because Chief Shepherd suggests we brush up on our patient sensitivity skills, that's why. As it just so happens, this morning was a very good time, besides, half of you were raised by wolves."

At her comment, a couple of people in the room snicker. She turns to the whiteboard, grabbing a marker and writing words as she speaks. Alex is practically falling asleep next to me so I elbow him.

"I'm the one that should be tired, not you," I mutter in annoyance and he sighs, leaning back in the chair to try and keep his eyes open.

"Reaction. Keep your face impassive. Whether prompter by a patient's appearance or lab results, facial expressions of surprise, concern, disgust, et cetera, can be counterproductive." She reads from a paper in her hand, talking very quickly as if she's on a clock. "Jokes...don't make jokes about patients, not in front of them, not even in private. Yang?" She calls on Cristina as her hand raises.

"What if the joke is really funny?" She asks, causing some of us to laugh but Bailey just purses her lips, unimpressed.

"It's not. Neither was that one. Moving on. Observation." She says, writing the word on the board before her pager goes off, she looks down at it, seemingly annoyed but she keeps going. "Use reflective listening, repeat the patient's feelings back to them. I hear that you're concerned about the surgery. Let me explain the risks."