flatline [m.s]

l.

- - -
we've all heard the saying. it's one of those things you learn in seventh grade science class. adapt or die. adapting isn't easy though. you have to fight your competition and off their attacks. and sometimes, you have to kill.
- - -

"is everything alright?" lia asks, as her and callie run into the trauma room where april and jackson are trying to take a beer off the drunk patient who came in with a knife in his head.

"yes," the patient, stewart says, at the same time april says, "no!"

"i was just showing this guys how, when i scrunch up my eyebrows, the knife moves," stewart says before demonstrating the knife movement. "see?"

"oh my god! my god! stop!" lia exclaims.

"stop moving the knife!" kepner orders.

"okay, okay," stewart gives in, holding his hands up in defeat.

"you guys shoulda seen the brawl," stewart's friend, david, exclaims. "stew-ball kicked that other guy's ass!"

"yeah!" stewart says, high-fiving david.

"okay, and now stew-ball has a knife in his head," april reminds them.

"okay, let's focus," lia instructs. "stewart, how much is fourteen plus four?"

"eighteen," he answers.

"twenty seven minus thirteen?" she asks.

"fifteen?" stewart answers, much less confidently.

"no," she shakes her head. "one hundred and seventy two minus sixty?"

"i have no idea, but it's not because of the knife," he admits, chuckling to himself. "it's just 'cause i'm so drunk."

"no, actually, it's just 'cause he's dumb," david interjects.

"thanks, david," stewart rolls his eyes. "really?"

"unbelievable," callie shakes her head in disbelief. "his mental status is completely intact, if you don't count for his maths skills."

"it's like the knife did no damage at all," jackson adds.

"so why don't you just pull the thing out?" david shrugs. "'cause we got games to get to!"

"i'll drink to that! whoo!" stewart yells, grabbing the beer back from april.

"no!" she snaps, snatching it back. "no beer!"

"buzzkill," he rolls his eyes.

■ ■ ■

"looks like the blade landed in the maxillary sinus," mark announces, observing stewart's scans, and entry wound. "chances are, the knife itself is tamponading any major bleeding. probably best just to go ahead and open up the cranium."

"or we could just take him to the o.r and pull this thing out," jackson suggests.

"really, avery? just pull it out?" mark raises his brow, disapprovingly. "let me guess. you want to get out of here early to go to the game, just like everyone else."