𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝

thirty four | vows

"What's the most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients?"

"Rotavirus. No, no, uh — salmonella."

"Diarrhea in hospitalized patients."

"The most frequent cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients is C. diff, which can lead to toxic megacolon, perforation, sepsis, and death. That's what killed Susan."

Meredith walks into the kitchen, already wearing her black dress for the funeral of her father's second wife.

"Is she okay?" Izzie looks back at Meredith's retreating figure.

"Yeah, she's fine." Cristina flips through Callie's laminated notecards.

"Dude, she's messed up." Alex retorts.

I fiddle with the slit of my own black attire. "It's a given. Susan was a better mom to her than her biological mom."

"Is she going to the hospital first or the funeral?"

"First to the hospital, then to the funeral, then to the test this afternoon."

Two weeks have flashed by in the blink of an eye — although with the number of occurrences, it felt slow — and it's time for the intern exams.

Cristina pours some more thermoses with coffee for the ride to the hospital. By the time I arrive there, Derek has already been on-call for a few hours.

"You're going to the funeral?" He stands next to me in the empty elevator.

"I, uh, might. If Meredith decides to go." I nod lightly. "I'm just going to support her because, you know, she had grown close to Susan over the weeks."

His hand palms against the small of my back. "I brought a black suit to work. Just in case you want me there or. . ."

"Thank you, Derek."

I leave a faint kiss on the corner of his lips before stepping out of the elevator. The doors close, and the last thing I see is his somber face.

As an excuse for studying, Cristina, Izzie, George, and I watch the E.M.T.s and attendings wheel gurney after gurney, each one holding a climber from Mount Rainier.

"Did you see that? That is freaky." Cristina gasps.

"Flail chest. I've never seen one before, and it is such a. . .beautiful sight." My eyes remain wide open. "Must be painful."

She and I tug Meredith away from the others, the three of us plowing down the hallway in frustration and stress.

"Why does today have to be test day?"

"I know."

She and I look back at the third member of our group, the only one out of us going through something more important than the exam.

"You could talk to the chief and see if you can take the exam some other time."

"I don't need to take the test later."

"Whatever you say, Mer."

"What are you fools doing here?"

The sight of our resident, Dr. Bailey, scares the living crap out of the five interns stalking the E.R. floor.

"In a few hours, you people are taking a test that will determine the course of your entire medical careers because the five interns with the lowest test scores will be cut from the program."

She charges towards us with a warm I.V. tower in tow.

"But are you studying for this test? No, you're not."