Let It Go

73.

Derek sat in his office, waiting on - something. He had no real idea as to how he was supposed to handle this situation. He kept an eye on the radar map, aware that tornado warnings and watches had been issued all across the state, nearly all of central Virginia under a severe trhunderstorm warning. He had figured the two weeks he was acting as Chief would be fairly straightforward. There would be a lot of paperwork, seeing patients, taking phone calls, approving things... He hadn't counted on there being a natural disaster.

But there was. There was a huge natural disaster in the making. Tornadoes were touching down all over the southern part of the state and now the storm system was making it's way to them and intensifying as it got closer. He watched as the rain lashing against his window became heavier and heavier. He'd sent out his e-mail, wishing like hell he'd done it earlier. He had a message delivered over the PA system for all employees to check their e-mail immediately, had a page sent out with the same message. With any luck, people would be reading their e-mails, spreading the news to their co-workers.

He sighed and rubbed his face. The hospital itself was, at least in theory, safe. The patients' rooms were supposedly the safest places to be in the hospital. The designated safe rooms for staff were supposedly safe as well. But how in the hell he was going to handle the fall out after the tornadoes begin hitting were beyond him. He knew the ED was going to be swamped with everything from small cuts on foreheads to massive traumas. He had no idea how he was going to begin to handle it, if he even had the staff to handle it. There was only one other hospital locally and they weren't a trauma center, not even remotely equipped to handle traumas. UVA was the only level one trauma center within a fifty mile radius. Normally, that was fine. Today, that was not a good thing.

He watched as the computer screen suddenly lit up with a new warning. "Shit," he muttered. There was a tornado warning for Charlottesville, what he had a feeling would be the first of many. He looked at his pager. As if on cue, it beeped. He grabbed it, knowing what he'd see. Code Orange.

He jumped up quickly and headed out of his door. Acting on instinct, he threw open the door to Meredith's office with every intention of grabbing Meredith and forcing her into the nearest safe room. He needed to know she was safe before he could concentrate on his job. Of course, Meredith wasn't there. "Shit," he said again, looking up and down the hallway for any sign of her.

"Shep!" Derek turned to see Mark and Alex appear from the stairwell. "Mark, have you seen Meredith?" Derek asked. "Not since before lunch," Mark answered, knowing where this was going. Derek looked at Alex who was dialing his phone. "Last I saw of her, she was downstairs ordering all non-emergent surgeries cancelled and bossing Newman around," Alex told him. Mark clapped Derek on the shoulder.

"She's fine Derek. She's in the hospital. She's safe. Let's get through this and we'll find her, okay?" he said in a low voice. Alex could be heard in the background, checking with Izzie to make sure she was okay. Derek nodded, worry etrched on his face. "She's fine," he agreed, not sounding as confident as Mark. "And I have stuff to do. I'm the Chief...," he added. Mark nodded. "You're the Chief," he agreed. Derek started down the hall, repeating in his head that Meredith was okay - wherever she was. It was his job to make sure everyone in the hospital made it through this. He had to focus on that and try to believe that Meredith was okay.

Meredith stared at her pager for a moment, registering the fact that she was about to be in her first tornado. Seattle had earthquakes. Chicago had snow storms. She knew how to deal with those. Tornadoes were not something she knew about however. Judging by the radar map and the weather forecast, she was going to know plenty about them by the end of the day.

Against better judgment, she wandered over to the huge glass windows of the lobby, curous as to what was going on. The sky had turned from an almost black shade to a pea-soup color. The rain was falling so hard she could barely see the parking garage across the street. Large balls of hail pounded the street, the hospital, and anything in it's way. She felt a sudden chill. The sound of a freight train in the distance found it's way to her ears. She frowned. There were no train tracks near the hospital, at least not that she knew of.

"It's coming!" someone yelled. Meredith snapped her head around. People were running in every direction. She took a deep breath and stepped into the lobby's chaos, trying to direct people as best she could, thankful a security guard had appeared and was helping her. A woman with three small children caught her eye.

"Ma'am? You need to follow everyone else. The security officer is directing them to a safe room. You'll be much safer there," Meredith told her in a firm but gentle voice. The woman looked terrified. "I... I can't! My babies are scared and I can only hold two! Maria won't come!" Meredith noticed the small, dark haired little girl sitting on the lobby floor, silent tears streaming. She glanced back at the woman before scooping the little girl into her arms.

"Follow me!" she ordered. The little girl clung to Meredith, her small arms wrapped tightly around Meredith's neck. Meredith felt the shoulder of her scrubs becoming wet as the little girl cried. "You're okay Maria. Don't worry, you're okay," Meredith whispered to her, hugging the child for reassurance. Maria squeezed her tighter. Meredith felt like she couldn't breath but she led them to the nearest safe room, the freight train like noise growing louder and louder.

"Sit down here," she directed, finding them an empty spot along the wall in the crowded room. The mother did as Meredith ordered, too afraid to think for herself. The two children in her arms cried loudly. Meredith squatted down and tried prying Maria off of her. "No!" the little girl shrieked. Meredith sighed. She'd planned on going back up to the sixth floor and waiting out the first round of tornadoes in the safe room down the hall from her office. That wasn't going to happen.

"It's okay," she told Maria, sitting down beside Maria's mother. She rubbed the child's back and held her close. The room started shaking ever so slightly. People let out screams. Children cried louder. Meredith closed her eyes, praying the hospital really was built as strong as it was supposed to be. The roar of the freight train crashed through the room. "It's okay," Meredith whispered to the trembling girl again, trembling slightly herself.