𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝

twenty nine | water

For the first time since our talk in the elevator, Derek isn't sitting beside me while I relax in a tub full of bubbles.

And without him, I can't relax.

So, around five in the morning after yet another sleepless night, I take Scar with me to the usually energetic household a few miles away.

"What is wrong with everyone?"

Izzie sulks in the corner of a doorway, staring into George's empty bedroom. Meredith sits still at the foyer, in the process of slowly putting her shoes on.

"I thought I was the only one in a mood, but. . ."

"Morning." Meredith greets me with a miniscule smile before rubbing her hand over Scar's eager snout. "Are you staying for breakfast?"

"No. No, I had Ben & Jerry's this morning."

"Ice cream isn't breakfast."

"It is when you're going through a rough spot."

"Well. . .yeah, you're not wrong about that."

As the sun grows brighter, it's time for morning rounds at the hospital. But, today's a special day: we get to do triage.

In the clinic.

"A lot of. . .arm swelling but good distal pulses, so we can rule out compartment syndromes." Izzie holds Sydney Heron's limp arm. "I suspect a radius fracture so I'd split and get an ortho followup."

"Anything else?" Bailey jots down notes on a clipboard.

Izzie hesitantly replies. ". . .no."

"Then, I guess this means —"

"Time."

"And I'm dead."

"Dead?"

Her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she struggles for a few moments before succumbing to the cushions of the bed.

Bailey — with a bit from Sydney — then proceeds to explain what Izzie did wrong and uses the example to teach us.

"People." Chief Webber stands in front of the double doors. "Sorry, I have to interrupt the session for a moment."

Ever since the divorce with his wife, the chief has also gone through a phase of dying his hair and his beard.

"Do you need something, sir?"

"We just received word of a mass casualty incident nearby. All available level-one trauma centers have been asked to respond." He announces. "I need to send a team into the field immediately."

"Is this part of the exercise or —"

"This is not an exercise or a drill." Chief Webber cuts her off. "This is an emergent situation, and I need all hands on deck."

The six of us dress in Seattle Grace jackets for the cold weather before packing our triage kits. But upon limited space in the ambulance, Bailey forces Cristina and Izzie to stay back.

"Holy mother of. . ."

At the dock sits an anchored ferryboat sprouting large clouds of black smoke and orange flames in the front.

From the sight of the disaster in our hands, Bailey practically sends each of us off on our to help as many people as we can by following what we've practiced.

"Sir, you're going to be just fine." I guide the limping man to a tent for minor patients. "I'll have someone come over to check the burns, but other than that. . .you're good to go."