flatline [m.s]

clxii.

- - -
surgery is a solo act. we step up to the table with a scalpel in our hand and we go it alone. the isolation can start to define you, because even though you're surrounded by a team, what it really comes down to is your training.
- - -

"darci, put your shoes on," lia calls as she walks into the kitchen, carrying lily, where she finds mark drinking a cup of coffee.

"good morning," mark smiles as she rushes round the kitchen, using her free hand to gather her things.

"morning," she kisses him quickly before glancing over to see that darci still isn't wearing any shoes, and she groans. "darci, please put your shoes on. we need to go."

"busy day?" mark raises his brow.

"busy day," lia sighs. "i'll see you at the hospital?"

"see you at the hospital," mark confirms, and lia nods before carrying lily and her bag over to darci.

"okay, darci, mommy's going to pick you up early from day care to get you ready for grandma and grandpa's wedding," lia tells darci as she pulls her bag onto her shoulder, so that she can use the hand that's not holding lily to hold darci's hand. "then after the wedding, you're going home with daddy, and mommy will pick you up again on friday, okay?"

- - -
your choices. your wits. your hands. your stitch. it comes down to just you. surgeons are trained to go it alone, to be solo artists. to be mavericks both in and out the o.r. but the truth is we are never alone.
- - -

"jared cole, suffered byler's disease since birth, complains of increasing jaundice, edema, frequent fevers..." jo presents the patients case to lia and alex.

"so his condition has gotten much worse," lia summarises. "and if the bile continues to build up, then we're looking at cirrhosis or possible liver failure."

"he has to go on the list now, for a transplant?" kim, jared's mother, asks.

"we have one more chance to avoid it, uh, a diversion procedure," alex informs her. "we'll take a piece of his intestine and create a detour for the bile to drain out through his abdomen."

"i'll have a hole in my stomach?" jared looks up at the doctors.

"i know, that sounds weird. but it's our best shot so that you don't feel like you're getting sick all the time. does that sound good?" lia smiles and jared nods as her pager begins to ring. she slides it out of her pocket, and sighs when she reads it. "i'm being paged, nine one one."

"go, go. i've got it covered," alex assures her.

■ ■ ■

"and somebody page sloan again, stat," lia orders, working on a baby, as deluca enters and gets gowned and gloved by one of the o.b scrub nurses.

"right away, doctor," a scrub nurse nods.

"okay, elizabeth, take me through exactly what happened," lia turns to the doctor who pager her there in the first place.

"i was doing a crash c-section on this thirty two weeker," elizabeth begins with a shaky voice. "i had the incision done in five minutes flat. but i must have cut too deep, because when i went in to take the baby, i pulled through arm a little, and the-"