TRIAGE | grey's anatomy (ON HOLD INDEFINITELY)

018: "alien blues"

THERE WERE PLENTY OF PLUS SIDES TO HAVING FRIENDS IN HIGHER-UP PLACES, CLEMENTINE WAS DISCOVERING. The friends in the higher places being the nurses of the surgical floor, and the plus sides including a dose of narcotics and a jailbreak to visit an equally doped-up Meredith.

The doctor who had cleared Clementine, almost directly after Mark had left to scrub in, was not in fact the chief of neurosurgery, nor anywhere close. He'd been an attending named Dr. Garrison, a washed-up looking man in his late thirties who'd spent half the time looking down Clem's gown at her chest, and who smelled slightly sour. Ruby had later informed her that Shepherd was ignoring every one of Sloan's personal pages and sending one of his lackey's out to respond instead. Clem had made a dizzying mental note to not let Mark find that out, because despite Garrison's proclivity to look at her tits, the doctor had cleared her in record time. He had said that she may have worsened her first, almost healed concussion a bit, but all she needed was sleep and time to rest. With the softening of her eyes and a groan or two about the pain all over her body from, y'know, the time she was thrown like a rag doll by a fiery explosion, and he'd slipped her some hydromorphone with no questions asked.

Dilaudid was a wonder drug. Her headache practically gone, her vision clear for the most part, and her ears only ringing ever-so-slightly, she felt like a new person. One who could compete in the Paralympics, or something. Clementine had thrown on a second gown over the back of hers, so her ass and the Friday underwear she was wearing on a Tuesday wouldn't be seen, and dragged herself into the wheelchair, intent on finding Meredith. Lynn had stopped by during Garrison's checkup with a message from Cristina, saying that Mer was not in fact pregnant with an adulterous love child, and just had appendicitis. Clem definitely thought that was cause for celebration, and she wheeled herself to the nurses lounge before finding Meredith to steal bottles of apple juice and some cookies.

Meredith's face when she wheeled herself into the room, looking around like an undercover agent smuggling contraband, was priceless. From the glaze in her eyes and the lack of abandon when she threw up her arms in the air, Clementine knew somewhat hazily that Mer had to be high, too.

"My girlfriend!" she cried, turning to the other people in the room, who Clem had just noticed. George, Finn, and Derek were all staring at her in slight surprise. Meredith sniffed, rubbing her nose, and turned to the rest. "Now all my boys are here and my girl! Y'know, I've never actually kissed Clemmy, but she's probably a better kisser than any of you. I hate to say it."

Clementine was suddenly paranoid, considering the fact that she was on the run from several nurses and two thirds of the men in the room were doctors. She looked around the room, bug-eyed, then whispered sadly, "I didn't bring enough apple juice, I'm so sorry."

"That's okay, Santos," Derek replied, looking vaguely amused as she began wheeling herself slowly to Mer's bedside. George started to help her, but she smacked his hands away quickly. "How are you feeling? Were you cleared?"

Clementine motioned for Mer to move over, setting the food on the bedside table. "I have a warning for that Garrison dude. Tell him I would've reported him for the whole boob-staring thing if it weren't for the drugs he gave me, would you?"

"What?" George looked slightly like he was being choked. "He stared at your... breasts?"

Clementine shook her head. "No, Georgie, my boobs. Keep up."

"I don't necessarily blame him," said Meredith, from right next to her on the bed, scrunching her nose as she turned to stare at Clem. "I think in another life we were lesbian lovers. You believe in reincarnation and all that, right?"

"Sorta," Clem shrugged, leaning her head on Mer's shoulder. "Juice, lover?"

Meredith continued talking, her voice even raspier than normal. "I was just about to tell Finn here about me and George and our disastrously uncomfortable sexual experience."