TRIAGE | grey's anatomy (ON HOLD INDEFINITELY)

003: "are 'friends' electric?"

CLEM HAD MANAGED TO SNAG A THIRTY MINUTE NAP IN AN ON-CALL ROOM BEFORE ROUNDS, AND SHE FELT LIKE A NEW WOMAN. With Miranda Bailey's somewhat approval and two extra hours to catch up on how Seattle Grace worked, Clem was no longer scared shitless by what lay ahead.

She found an empty locker on the same row as everyone else, trying to cram a breakfast sandwich down while listening in on everyone's conversations. Meredith and Cristina were still friendly this morning, which assured Clem it hadn't been the grief / tequila talking when they had offered themselves up as friends to her, like the tiny pessimistic poltergeist on her shoulder had suggested. Alex was next to her, and he still seemed to be in a pissy mood, though his eye seemed to have stopped its swelling. She wondered if the angry cloud over his shaved head was a permanent fixture.

Because Alex was a boy, and because most angry boys like food as a rule, Clem silently passed him the bag of chips she'd snagged from the vending machine. Clem herself ate like a sumo wrestler, and she hoarded food in some of her various pockets for emergencies. A hungry Clem, Seattle Grace would soon learn, was a very, very frightening one.

Alex was confused. "What the hell is this?"

"Potato chips. Duh." Clem rolled her eyes. "As a thank you for not letting me wear peds pants on my first day."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I still don't like you." Alex ripped open the bag and shoved a few in his mouth, though, and Clem knew she would be able to get through to him. With some work. There was something about his personality that reminded her of Beck-- the sarcasm and the protective wall around him, but a pair of quick-witted and vulnerable eyes. And even though any reminder of him hurt like a needle to the heart, Clem wanted to be friends with Alex Karev.

So she pulled out the game-changer, the show-stopper. Not to sound intensely egotistical, but Clementine Santos knew she had an amazing smile. It was her best feature, she thought, and it was a weapon of destruction. Clem had always been told she could win wars with her smile, and so she deployed it now.

"I don't necessarily believe that," Clem grinned, and Alex blinked. "We're going to be great friends."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, because she turned around towards George and Izzie. They were giving her matching quizzical looks.

"You're consorting with the enemy, you know," Izzie informed her.

Clem shrugged. "I don't doubt he's been an asshole to you guys, but I would prefer not to make any enemies at all unless absolutely necessary."

Cristina nodded as she tied her sneakers. "That's smart. You, my friend are a player, huh?"

"I'll make sure to watch my back," Meredith teased.

Clementine began protesting, because it wasn't about playing the game, it was about being kind, but they had moved on. George laughed, and patted her on the shoulder anyways.

"I respect that, Clementine, and I don't mind. Just because some of us are sharks doesn't mean we all have to be." He then turned to Izzie, continuing their conversation that Clem had interrupted. "I don't need you to take care of it. If Alex starts something, I'll handle it myself. I can handle it."

Bailey appeared at the entryway, and everyone scrambled over. "Okay, people, assignments. Yang, you're on discharges. O'Malley, report to room E19. Santos, go familiarize yourself with the Pit. Grey, come see me, and who was on call last night?"

Bailey plopped the stack of charts that Clem had looked over the night before into the hands of Alex and Izzie. "Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Redo these and return them to me before lunch. Understood?"