Fallen Angel // Alex Karev

Chapter 28

I am sitting in Joe's bar by myself watching Derek go on a date with Sydney Heron, he is trying to prove to Meredith he doesn't have feelings for her anymore but everyone knows that's a lie. I am watching the date unfold chaotically as I nurse my beer, I spot Mark sitting by the bar and I go over. "Hey there" I say placing a hand on his shoulder, he brings his hand up to my hand "hey, you alright?" He asks and I nod finishing my beer and ordering another one.

I watch as Mark looks around before his eyes land on Derek and Sydney. He looks back at me and then to them "are you seeing what I'm seeing right now?" He asks leaving his mouth half open, I smile and take a sip of my new beer "yep, Derek wanted me here to 'save' him if this don't go so well" he laughs and throws a friendly hand around my waist as we both watch the date unfold.

After a few more minutes Derek spots us and goes slightly red but continues talking to her. Mark starts making hand gestures and I hit his shoulder "stop it, don't put him under pressure. Your making him nervous" Mark snorts and takes a drink, "if he isn't nervous this isn't a date he should be in" I hit him again as we continue watching. This really is going tragically, poor guy. I wouldn't wish Sydney on anyone especially to date, that's my idea of hell.

Sydney gets paged and Mark goes over there, that's when I spit Meredith and Cristina both looking glum. I glance over to my friend who seems to be getting enough grief from Sloan so I turn and head towards the girls. "What's got you two so glum" I say sitting down next to Cristina although I already know the answer, Meredith and Derek broke up and Burke ran away from his and Cristina's wedding. They've been through some shit but that doesn't mean they can lower the mood of the whole bar.

"What's going on with you and Mcsteamy? I thought you weren't together anymore?" Cristina asks changing the subject, I allow it, glancing over to Mark and Derek. "There is nothing going on, we are friend" Cristina snorts and I shoot her look, she rolls her eyes and steals Meredith's drink "no one is just friends with someone they've slept with". Shaking my head I eye up my best friend and his friend, both of them obnoxious know it alls "you can, Mark will never be more then a friend now, there's too much history" Meredith takes her drink back and flicks her fringe out of her face "maybe that's why you can't be friends" I down my drink and put it on the table "I'm on call, I need to sober up" I start to walk away "and we are friends" I hear both of them chuckle.

As I head back over to Seattle Grace and through the rain. I reach the ER and see Alex writing on some paper "Karev, follow me" I say and he looks up surprised. He looks over to me and nods following me as I make my way over to a bed and pull the curtains, I sit on the bed and roll up the sleeve of my shirt "get me a banana bag. I'm on call, I don't need chief Webber seeing that I'm tipsy" Alex raises his eyebrows and I glare "are you deaf? Go!" And he rushes off.

A few minutes later he comes back with a bag and plugs it into my arm "I'm going to stay here, don't let anyone open this curtain until I say so understood?" I ask and he nods, mock saluting me. I roll my eyes as I watch him disappear behind the curtains, I pick up my phone and I see a text from Mark 'where did you go?' I lay down on the bed and start typing 'forgot I was on call, needed to sober up'

I lay in the ER bed for a few more minutes before I call Alex back in to test my alcohol level. It's low enough for me to work and unplug myself from the drip and head into the ER. Bailey comes over to me "where have you been?" She asks and I raise my eyebrow "should you be questioning me? I am your boss not the other way around" I snap and before Bailey can say anything in reply a trauma comes in.

It's an adult patient so not my area so I head up to my floor to check on my patients. As I make it up a few flights of stairs there I see a mother crying "hey, are you ok?" I ask moving over to her, she looks up at me, her eyes red from crying. She wipes her eyes and smiles "I just- I'm so conflicted" she admits "I have a three day old baby in the NICU and a husband who is currently going into heart surgery. I want to see my baby but I feel like I'm going to be sick at the idea of my husband never knowing her" I pull a face and hold up my finger "give me one second" I say and disappear from my room.

I come back in with a wheel chair and her face lights up "I can't take you to see your husband but I can take you to see your baby" I say and the woman nods heartily. I help her into the wheelchair and we head to the NICU.

Once there I ask "what's her name?" And the mothers smile broadens "Brie. Her name is Brie" I search for the name and when I finally find her I bring the mother over. Her face lights up again and she gently touches the glass case surrounding the baby, I move my head to the side and ask "do you want to hold her?" She nods again, tears coming to her eyes. Slowly I undo the lid and bring Brie out, passing her gently to her mother.

"Hey" Lauren says gently as she holds her baby in her arms "hey baby" I smile and step back letting them have a moment of privacy as I check on a baby with a heart condition. The baby's breathing is steady, a slight murmur but nothing that won't be fixed with a little bit of time and patience. As I put the stethoscope around my neck I hear Laura call out, I turn and see she is panicking.

"What happened?" I ask and she starts to shake "it's sounds like she isn't breathing" she says and I take her baby into my arms, laying her in the cot and listening to her heart beat. I sigh and rub my forehead "she is fine Laura, nothing to worry about" the woman bites her lip nervously and I look over to her "your baby is small which means sometimes the mum feel like there is no heartbeat because it's difficult to feel but your baby is ok" she nods and wipes her eyes of fresh tears.

"I'm sorry it's just- I'm so worried about Luke. I guess I was projecting it on the baby" she says as I start to wheel her back to her room, I smile as I press the elevator button "don't worry, it happens all the time" I say. The doors opens and Alex is standing in there looking over a file "evening doctor Karev" I say as we head inside. I press the button for our floor and Alex looks up "Doctor Tearney" we stand in silence before the doors open.

As I take Laura back to her room she smiles up at me "what?" I ask smiling back, she shrugs and turns back around, "you like that doctor Karev" she teases and I laugh "nope I am happily married to my work" she snorts and I open her room door "I don't know how with doctors like that walking around"

———-

"What have we got?" Derek asks the next day as we rush towards the ER, Webber is tying a cover over his scrubs "High School bus crash" he says and Derek helps me into my apron "bunch of kids just came in. We got more on the way" An ambulance comes into the yard and we all rush out. Once the doors open the paramedic starts talking to us "Tricia Hale, 17, vital signs stable. Sustained a large facial laceration, trauma to the buttock area. Open fracture to the lower right leg"

We help her down and Webber throws me her chart "trauma room 2" he says and I nod going off with her. The girl is looking at her shaky, bloody hand "it's still bleeding" she says her voice panicking "my face is bleeding" Callie and I look at each other before she looks down and says "we'll get to that in a minute. Okay?" And we rush her inside.

"We?" She asks "no, try the head of plastic surgery" I have to smile at her attitude towards her looks, it's such typical teen girl behaviour. I was like that once and I was a nightmare. Alex is following us inside as the girl continues talking "no one is touching my face until I've spoken to the head. No one" Karev raises his eyebrows at me and I shake my head. Telling him not to ask.

We rush her into trauma 2 and start to assess her. "I'll page Mark" I tell the head of Ortho and she nods, we help Tricia onto the bed. She lays on her stomach in what I can only imagine as an embarrassing position. When Mark arrives he starts to clean up her wound, "you better not mess up my face" this seventeen year old warns him "I have Pom statewides in a month" I make for the door and ask "hey have you got this?" Callie nods and I head out to see the other patients.

I find another patient, a boy of 16 "hey are you being seen?" I ask and he shakes his head. He has a cut running down his arm and a small one above his eyebrow "ok" I say grabbing a stall and a suture tray "I'll just patch you up alright" and I start working. "What's your name?" I ask trying to make him seem comfortable because he looks really uptight "