"Any luck with the roommates? The mortgage and bills are starting to pile up," Emma said, glancing over an envelope containing their water bill.
"No. You'd be better at doing the interviews. You have a fifth sense for deciding who to like and who not to like. You don't even have to talk to a person; you just decide you don't like them, and half the time, you're correct," Meredith said while multitasking as she brewed coffee for both of them.
"That's because I hate people and social interactions," Emma replied, grabbing travel mugs from the cupboard and placing them next to Meredith. Meredith poured their coffee into the mugs, and they made their way to the car.
"Why don't we ask Izzie, George, and Cristina if they need a place?" Emma suggested while buckling her seatbelt.
"No," Meredith said firmly. "We're with them a hundred hours a week; you want to live with them too?"
"I'm with you all the time, and I'm surviving," Emma retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, don't act like it's so hard," Meredith replied, scoffing as she drove away.
--
They entered the intern room to get ready for the day. Opening their lockers and getting changed into their scrubs. As Emma was tying her hair up George looked down at his scrubs and said, "I need a place to live. My mum irons my scrubs. I have to get out there," George groaned. Meredith glanced a look over to Emma as if to say please don't.
Tying her hair up, she chose to ignore her sister, "Well, George, at least your mum irons your scrubs. My mum's idea of helping is forgetting who I am in a nursing home. So, count your blessings, mate."
Meredith shot Emma a glaring look. George, caught off guard by the unexpected revelation, simply blinked before muttering, "I didn't mean—"
Emma waved him off with a wry smile, "It's fine, 007. I'm only joking. Moms, right? Always finding new and creative ways to drive us nuts." She finished tying her hair and closed her locker, masking the deeper layers of emotion that lingered beneath her casual demeanour.
"Anyways, we're looking for roommates if you want to live with us," Emma shrugged, trying to change the topic.
"Emma! I don't think it's a good idea," Meredith interjected.
"But I can put down the last, first, and deposit," George said. "I can cook. And I'm an obsessive cleaner," Izzie chimed in, joining the conversation.
"Wait, bake or cook?" Emma asked.
"Bake," Izzie replied.
"Oooh YES!" Emma nodded excitedly.
"No, Emma, we just want two total strangers who we don't have to talk to or be nice to," Meredith added.
"George, you're running the code team. Meredith, Emma, take the trauma patients. Cristina, deliver the weekend labs to the patients. Izzie, you're on sutures," Bailey said, walking over to them.
"Dr. Bailey, I was hoping to assist you in the OR today, maybe do a minor procedure? I think I'm ready," Meredith said.
"If she gets to cut, I want to cut too," Cristina quickly interjected. Emma snorted, looking at the floor to avoid Cristina's glare.
"Yeah, me too," Izzie added.
"I wouldn't mind another shot, I mean if everybody else is," George said.
Bailey held her hand up. "Stop talking! I know every intern wants to perform their first surgery, that's not your job. Do you know what your job is? To make your resident happy. Do I look happy? No. Why? Because my interns are whining. Do you know what will make me look happy? Having the code team staffed, having the trauma patients answered, having the weekend labs delivered, and having someone down in the Pit doing sutures. No one holds a scalpel until I'm so happy I'm Mary freakin' Poppins," she said, glaring at everyone as she walked up the stairs.
"She's such a bitch," whispered Emma. Everyone laughed.
"Why are y'all standing there? Move!" Bailey commanded.
They scattered quickly, Meredith and Emma walking towards the elevator. The doors opened, and there stood Derek, alone.
"Mer, want me to take the stairs?" Emma whispered.
"Please. That would be great. I need to talk to him," Meredith whispered back.
"FUCK! I forgot my pager. Gotta go. I'll meet you there," Emma said, winking at Derek, who smirked slightly, knowing what Emma was doing. Emma turned around, heading towards the intern locker room again.
As Emma hurriedly turned around, intent on heading back to the intern locker room, she collided with someone unexpectedly. Before she could react, she found herself face to face with Arizona Robbins.
"Oh, watch where you're going," Arizona teased with a playful smirk, her eyes dancing with amusement.
Emma, slightly flustered, managed a quick apology, "Sorry, Dr. Robbins. My bad."
Arizona chuckled, "No harm done, but maybe slow down a bit. We wouldn't want our brilliant detective to end up on the injured list, would we?"
Emma couldn't help but grin at Arizona's good-natured ribbing, "I'll keep that in mind, Dr. Robbins. See you around."
As Emma turned back around to walk down the stairs, she couldn't shake off the amused twinkle in Arizona's eyes.
--
"21-year-old female found down at the park, status: post-trauma, she came in with a GCS of 6, BP 80 over 60, head trauma, unequal breath sounds, the right pupil is dilated, and she's ready for x-ray," a nurse explained to Emma catching her up. She nodded and walked over to the woman on the bed. She slightly winced at the sight of the patient. Noticing her sister staring at the patient's shoes, she swore she saw Meredith wearing them to work this morning she decided to take over as Meredith seemed spaced out.
"Call ahead to CT. Let them know I'm coming. Load up the portable monitor. Call respiratory for a ventilator, I'll get X-rays while I'm down there, the sooner she is there, the sooner we can get her fixed, thankyou everyone," Emma said everyone nodded and began pulling up the sides of the bed to move her down to the X-ray room. Meredith seemed to snap out of whatever daze she was in and followed Emma to the X-ray room.
--
The hospital buzzed with the chaotic rhythm of emergency care as Emma guided the gurney toward the X-ray room, her focus on the critical task at hand. The nurse's report echoed in her mind, detailing the urgency of the situation. Amidst the urgency, she couldn't help but notice Meredith's momentary lapse, her gaze fixed on the patient's shoes.
As Emma efficiently took charge, instructing the team and ensuring a swift transition for the patient, she sensed Meredith's distraction. It wasn't until they were en route to the X-ray room that Emma decided to address her sister's unusual behavior.
"Hey, are you okay? You zoned out a little bit there, I hope it's okay that I took over as she's your patient and everything?" Emma asked, glancing at Meredith with a mix of concern and understanding.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay, sorry. And yeah, that's fine you took over," Meredith replied, her response lacking the usual assurance.
Emma, sensing that something more was amiss, probed further, "Mer, what's wrong with you?" The concern in her voice deepened as they continued navigating the hospital corridors.
Meredith sighed, her fatigue and a hint of distress evident. "It's just Allison's shoes are... the rape victim, Allison, her shoes. I have the same ones in my locker, and I normally never wear them because they're not comfortable. But today I did. And she was wearing the same shoes, and it's just... stupid, and I'm tired. And forget it."
Emma slowed the gurney down a bit, acknowledging the weight of Meredith's words. "Hey, it's not stupid. Trauma can trigger unexpected reactions. It's okay to feel something. And you're exhausted, Mer. It's normal to be affected by what we see here. Let's get through this shift, and then we can talk about it more if you want. Sound good?" Emma offered a supportive smile, wanting to assure Meredith that she wasn't alone in navigating the emotional toll of their work.
Meredith managed a small, appreciative nod, and they continued their journey.
