What Next?

Chapter 5- Exhaustion

It was only midday and the exhaustion had already begun to hit Meredith. She had just finished her fourth surgery of the day (an inguinal hernia repair) and all had gone rather smoothly. She loved the small little simple surgeries; the satisfaction of a job well done served as a reminder as to why she became a surgeon in the first place. No one had died, the family were happy, and the patient was healthy- there wasn't much more you could have wanted from a surgery. Although, it lacked conversation as she did perform solo, with exception from the 2 interns who she had yet to learn the names of, but they were too scared of her to ask for more involvement and so she practically did it by herself.

She liked the nickname Medusa. It made her feel powerful and intimidating, much like the "Nazi" which they had called Dr. Bailey when they were interns. She had been really brutal on them, but tough love was needed when training to be a surgeon, Meredith often looked back on all of the times which Dr. Bailey had ripped into her, not in spite, but in appreciation. It was this harshness which had got her through her residency and so she decided to take a similar approach.

She made her way towards the nurse's station where she sorted through some charts and gave her interns some forms and post op patients to check on. She then headed to the cafeteria where she grabbed a turkey sandwich to eat before her appendectomy. Luckily, Alex was assisting her as it was one of his favorite peds patients: Lucy Ingram, a 12-year-old girl who was a frequent visitor at Grey Sloan. Meredith plonked her tray next to Alex who was sipping a cup of coffee at the table in the corner.

"Hey" She greeted.

"Hey yourself" He returned, "How did your surgery go?"

"As well as it could have. The interns are awfully quiet though... Were we ever that obedient? She joked.

"I'm sure Bailey would disagree" he chuckled. "Mine are pretty clumsy but the kids love them I suppose."

"Is Lucy prepped for surgery?"

"I believe so, we should get going in a sec."

"Mmmm" Meredith mumbled as she washed down the last few bites of her turkey sandwich with a small cup of orange juice.

They walked towards the pediatric wing in a comfortable silence. Meredith was always grateful for Alex's company. He was her best friend and she loved him endlessly for it. Ever since Cristina had left, the length of time between their phone calls kept expanding and Alex seamlessly filled the hole left in Meredith's heart. Cristina was her person, but Alex was her best friend.

Picking up the chart from the end of Lucy's bed, Meredith quickly read through, updating herself with the situation. Meanwhile, Alex introduced Dr. Grey and reassured the family that it would be a smooth procedure.

Alex's interns wheeled Lucy down to the OR as Alex chatted and joked with Lucy alongside. He would make a great Dad one day. He was like a Dad to Zola, Bailey, and Ellis, but she couldn't wait to see him have kids of his own.

It was a very quick surgery, only taking approximately 20 minutes from start to finish. She and Alex chatted about Jo, their relationship and how he was going to sort things out with her abusive ex-husband. The conversation then progressed to Meredith and Nathan but Alex sensed some awkwardness considering how much of an open wound their relationship had become. Alex's interns weren't permitted in the OR as he deemed it too personal, and so they were free to talk about whatever they liked. Although, nothing too juicy as the scrub nurses would most likely relay any gossip to those interested in Meredith's life, which was more often than not over half of the hospital staff.

Alex began to scrub out whilst Meredith closed and so once she had finished he left to take her back to her room. Meredith had just begun to scrub out when the mousey haired intern from her previous surgery burst through the door.