𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 ━ jackson avery

015. ━ healing

season seven // episode one
[ healing ]

❝He knew that I was important
to you, so he shot me. And I
almost died.❞

"ELLIE." THE FAMILIAR voice repeated her name over and over. "Ellie. Come on, sunshine, wake up."

Ellie's eyes fluttered open, squinting at the bright light. She took in her surroundings and saw she was in a hospital room. She looked to her left and saw Mark sitting in a chair beside her bed. "Ma—Mark?"

He looked up at the sound of her voice and relief flooded his face. "You don't get to scare me like that anymore," he said, kissing her forehead. "You understand me?"

"Scare you?" Ellie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why would I scare you? What happened?"

Mark looked at her. "Uh, how much do you remember?"

"Um..." Ellie thought back to her day at work. "I heard a noise so I went to—toward it, thinking someone needed help. There was Reed. She was..." She pursed her lips. "She was dead. Alex got shot. April found me. Uh... I told Jackson to save Derek." She widened her eyes. "Oh, my Gosh! Derek! Is he—?"

"It's okay," he assured her, and she looked back at him. "He's okay. Cristina saved him." Mark nodded with a forced smile. "Well, that's—that's good. You remember everything. You didn't—You didn't forget anything."

Ellie narrowed her eyes at her brother. "You're acting strange. What aren't you telling me, Mark?"

"Um..." He cleared his throat. "When Avery brought you to the ambulance... you, uh, you had passed out from the loss of blood. And when you got here, they took you up to surgery and they... told me that your heart stopped twice. You died twice, Ellie."

"What? What do you mean that 'I died'?" She shook her head. "No."

"Ellie, it's okay." Mark reached for her hand as her heart monitor started going off from shock. "Just take deep breaths. You're okay, Ellie. Everyone's okay."

"Not Reed!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "My best friend is dead, Mark."

Mark sighed. "Yeah..."

"Where's Jackson?" Ellie looked around the room. "And April? And—And Charlie?"

"Avery went to work," he replied. "So did Kepner."

"And Charlie?" Ellie asked. "Where's Charlie?"

"When, um..." Mark took a shaky breath. "Percy was on Bailey's service when Gary entered the general wing. They tried to hide, but he found Percy in the bathroom and shot him." Ellie shook her head. "Bailey did all she could, but the elevators weren't working and he died. He's dead, Ellie."

Ellie felt tears flood her eyes as she brought a hand to her mouth. "No, no," she said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "There were five of us. That's how it was supposed to be. Not three. Five."