Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 6

It was finally Saturday, the last day of what had been a very long week and the morning was appearing to be as gloomy as she felt. She took her coffee with a thanks to the barista before making the journey through the hospital to her office. The whole week had been filled with meetings, and she was missing the rush of the OR. She had some free time today, considering the board didn't work on Saturdays, and she half hoped to be able to scrub in on something, anything.

Ellis and Richard's surgeries had already been taken over by the general surgery team, so she couldn't take one of those. It would probably end up being a case of trolling the ER for something to do. She hadn't spoken to Derek since he had been in her office on Monday, and stealing a case from under his nose felt like a good way to end the week.

She quickly loaded up her laptop, checking through her emails and sending out a few replies before closing it again. She used the adjoining bathroom to change into a pair of indigo scrubs, fastening her hair into plaits against her head. She put her trainers on and felt a sense of relief to finally be out of heels for the first time all week.

"Oh, Dr Grey!" She was greeted by the voice of April Kepner as she entered the OR, "I'm so glad to see you."

"How can I help, Kepner?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow as she met her by the admissions desk.

"I was waiting for Dr Shepherd, but I think he's caught up in a surgery, can I borrow you for a neuro consult?" Kepner asked, bringing up patient details on the tablet she held and passing it over to Meredith.

"Sure, which room?" Meredith asked as she read over the information already in the chart, taking it all in and memorising it.

"Room 3, Wilson is already in there with the patient," April said as Meredith's eyes flickered over the age of the patient. Seven. She took a breath before looking up at Kepner.

"I'll go in there now," she told her and April nodded, turning to the computer to presumably update the case.

She entered the room and immediately zoned in on the patient, setting the tablet down before pulling on gloves and sitting in a stool beside the young girl who sat with white gauze pressed against the back of her head by Dr Wilson, a fourth year resident.

"Good morning, Emma is it?" Meredith asked, addressing the girl directly with a warm smile, who nodded with a slight sniffle, appearing as though she had just managed to stop crying.

"My name is Meredith, Emma, and I just want to have a little look at your head and make sure everything is working properly, is that okay?" She asked.

The girl nodded again, having not yet spoken, and Meredith gestured for the resident to pull the gauze away so that the injury could be inspected more closely. Tenderly, she inspected the area, her fingers ever so slight against the girl's scalp, hearing an audible whimper from the girl and immediately pulling her hands away. She sat back down in the stool, eye level with her again.

"Who's here with you today, Emma?" Meredith asked, her gaze flickering up at Wilson a moment.

"Sarah, my babysitter," the young girl muttered softly.

"And where is she?" She asked, looking up at Wilson for the answer this time.

"Oh, she is in the waiting area," the resident said with a slight frown, "she went to call the parents."

"Shall we bring Sarah back in here, Emma? Is that okay?" Meredith asked the girl now, wanting to be able to get more of a history about the girl.

Emma nodded and Meredith looked to Wilson, who seemed to just realise she'd meant for her to go and get the babysitter and left the room.