𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝

fifty eight | locusts

"They're locusts. Comfortable locusts feeding on our surgeries."

"It's rude. There should be at least a couple of days where they act like guests before they put their feet up on the coffee table."

The lasting residents of Seattle Grace ponder within Meredith's patient room — who had given part of her liver to her estranged father.

"And what's with the orange scrubs? What, ours aren't good enough for 'em?"

"We ran out. They're on back order. Randall from the supply company says they'll be here in a week."

The rest of us stare at Mer in surprise.

"That's what you learn when you lie here all day."

"Why bother ordering new ones?" Alex scoffs while gesturing to his own scrubs. "We could just give these to our replacements."

"Relax. We're not giving up our scrubs because we're not being replaced." The uncertainty in my voice manages to hide itself for a moment.

"If I have to become a coroner —"

"No one is becoming a coroner."

"Give it up. They're already here. It's over."

An enraged Meredith sits up in bed. "We are not some stupid hosts. They can't invade us. They can't attach themselves to our faces and then explode out of our chests and skitter across the floor while we're eating spaghetti. This is our ship. This is our ship."

"Are you-Are you quoting a Sigourney Weaver movie?" Lexie narrows her eyes.

"That's what happens when you live here. You watch a lot of T.V.." Izzie grimaces in remembrance of her time as a patient.

"Go out there and go get surgeries before they take them. Go!"

And so each of the residents find themselves paired with a resident from Mercy West.

"Hi! I'm Dr. Kepner — oh. Handcuffs."

"I'm not an ax murderer. I just broke into someone's house. Dude came after me with a golf club, beat the crap outta me." The man grunts out.

I flash the penlight over his eyes. "Not what you were expecting on a Tuesday morning, was it?"

"Can't say that I was." He chuckles lightly. "You don't need the cop. I can barely move."

"Oh, well, in that case —"

"We'll keep the cop."

The interns help to roll the patient onto his side, and I note the multiple contusions down his back and which films would be needed.

"Burst fracture at T-12. And the vertebral height loss is more than 50%, meaning A.L.L. and P.L.L. are both disrupted." I dictate to Derek.

Billy stares up at the ceiling with furrowed brows. "What's that mean? I got a broken back? I'll still be able to walk, right?"

"You will still be able to walk, burgle, have a full life." Derek assures with an amused look. "Dr. Phoenix, any ideas?"

"Decompression via corpectomy and reconstruction with strut graft and anterior instrumentation." Kepner spits out without a pause.

"Or you could do transpedicle screws with a posterior approach." I suggest with a shrug of the shoulders.

Derek hums against his throat. "Let's go with the pedicle screws."

"Perfect."

"Get him into pre-op and let me know when his test results come back."

"I'm on it!"

Kepner runs off with notebook and pen in hand, a nervous perk to her steps. With the next step being surgery, Derek and I spare a couple minutes to talk in an on-call room.

"God, those Mercy Westers. . ."

Derek lets his lips hover over every inch of skin below my jaw.

"Meredith's bedridden and begging for details every chance she gets."

An involuntary sigh leaves my parted lips.

"And don't get me started on Cristina. She's depressed and cardio-deprived."

A yelp sounds when he nips a particularly sensitive area on my collarbone, knowing very well a red-purple bruise would linger for a few days.

"You didn't pick my idea because I'm your wife, right?"

"Of course not. I picked it because it was good."

Soon, it's time to scrub in.

"Where are we at with Billy Sheehan?"

"He's ready. I helped put him under. He's prepped and positioned." April blurts out. "I just wanted to make absolutely sure everything was ready for Dr. Shepherd."

Derek lightly grins. "Your first day here, and already you're making my life easier."

"Isn't that just great?" I grimace to myself.

The surgery ends with a success, April and I managing to work together under the same roof.

"The surgery went pretty well, Mr. Sheehan. We had good bone alignment." Derek welcomes abc the now awake patient.

"And I'll be back to my old self? I'll be able to get around?" He groans a little under his breath.

"Get around? Yes." He crosses his arms over his chest. "To where you were? No. Probably not. Probably about 70%, which is good considering your injuries."

Once the neurosurgeon leaves the room, I note down the first set of post-op vitals into his patient file.

"I guess that means I only steal 70% as much stuff." He cracks a sorrowful joke.

After our shifts end, I notice April packing her things away for the day, scouring around in search of something.

"Do you need help?"

"I-I can't find my notebook. My small, red notebook. It's gone."

It's how I spend the next half an hour with a Mercy Wester, helping her look for her prized possession.

"You know, I didn't realize how hard it must be for you guys, being the new people in an all but welcoming environment."

"We know that we're the invaders. It hasn't helped that you guys mention it every second you get."

I finally find the red notebook, buried in a laundry cart under a set of sheets. She looks towards me gratefully, eyes glossing over with tears.

"It's just gonna take some time for all of us to get used to it. But we'll get there."

"Th-Thanks."

That night, I've already changed out of my scrubs and into a comfy outfit when I stop by Meredith's room, already seeing Cristina situated in the bed.

"Thanks for the invite, guys."

"We knew you'd stop by eventually and join us."

Both of them scoot over further, as much as possible without falling off the twin XL bed. I curl into the left side of the bed with Cristina in the middle and Meredith on her right.

"What are we watching?"

"Breakfast at Tiffany's. Your favorite."

"You're sure Derek isn't gonna come looking for you?"

"Oh, he will. But he knows not to bother me when I'm with you two.'

"How romantic."