Secret Sister (Station 19)

Closer to Fine

After realizing that Maya was there, Elle quickly excused herself and headed out. Head down, she ran up the stairs until she bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry," she said looking up. She felt even more embarrassed when she came face to face with Andy.

"God, you are just everywhere aren't you?" Andy spat.

"Sorry..." Elle repeated as she moved aside and ran the rest of the way up the steps.

Elle spent her two days off hanging out with her two best friends, Liam and Alex, studying up on fire protocols, and avoiding work questions from her parents. Her mom would ask about the calls they had, how she was getting along with the team, etc. but Elle could tell that she just wanted to know how things were going with Andy. She didn't have the heart to admit to her mom just how much Andy couldn't stand Elle. She knew that her mom was upset about how things had gone with Andy a few months before and that it would only make her feel worse, so Elle was constantly dodging her questions.

Heading back to the station for her next 24 hour shift, Elle tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever she was about to walk into. Things seemed quiet when she walked in, so she quickly changed and headed up to the beanery for breakfast. Vic was at the table and they chatted about their weekends as Elle poured a bowl of cereal. Vic perked up, and looked past Elle. "Hey!" she said. "How was your weekend?"

Elle turned to see Andy walk in.

"Pretty good. Robert and I went hiking. He's very excited to be back next week." Andy responded with a smile.

Vic seemed glad to hear it, "Aw that's right, his suspension's finally up. That's great!"

Elle turned to Andy, "That's Sullivan right? The battalion chief?"

Andy didn't answer, she just grabbed an apple and brushed past Elle on her way out.

Elle sat down across from Vic and silently ate, staring down at her bowl.

"She still won't talk to you huh?" Vic asked.

Elle shook her head. "Nope." She paused, took another bite, and looked up. "It's fine though. It just is what it is. Right?"

Vic gave her a sympathetic look, but a call came in before she could say anything.

Elle was on aid car with Warren and was glad that she had the chance to prove herself after losing a patient during her last shift. Ben had always been pretty quiet. He wasn't super friendly with her, but it didn't seem personal and he would talk to her when they were together. They chatted on their way to the scene and it seemed to Elle like Ben had somehow not noticed everything going on with her and Andy... and Maya... and Jack. Either way, she was glad to have some normal conversation.

When they arrived, the scene was absolute chaos. A family had been using raked up leaves and twigs to have a bonfire, but it quickly got out of control. As the rest of the team worked to get the fire out, Elle and Ben started working on treating the family. The dad and two kids were just fine, but the mother had apparently caught on fire and jumped into the pool to try to extinguish herself. It might not have been a terrible idea, but she went into shock in the water and started to drown. Her husband had already pulled her out, but she still wasn't breathing when 19 got there. Elle started compressions, as she called for Warren to come help her. Together, they worked quickly to get her breathing again with a steady pulse.

After a whirlwind 10 minutes of compressions, bagging, and pushing meds, they got her stabilized and loaded into the rig. The whole time she was working, Elle could feel Maya watching her. She felt like every move she made was being scrutinized, so she was relieved to be alone in the back of the ambulance as Warren drove to Grey Sloan.

When they got back to the station, Maya was waiting for her again. Elle took a deep breath as her captain walked over to her.

"Walsh," Maya bellowed, "Come with me."

Elle nodded and followed her, desperately trying to figure out how she had messed up now.

Bishop pulled out an oxygen tank and handed Elle her turnout.

"Air consumption drills" she said as she passed over the gear. "You've been on aid car a lot lately; I want to make sure you're ready when I send you into a fire."

Elle nodded, geared up, and started running drills. She was incredibly grateful that Vic had taught her a trick to extend the life of her oxygen as she blew through the drill with flying colors.

Bishop nodded as she watched, and Elle just smiled when she returned to Maya with a half a tank of air left. "Good," Maya said as she turned and walked back inside. It wasn't much, but Elle was glad she wasn't in trouble.

Andy had seen Maya running the drill with Elle and popped into her office to ask about it.

"Putting probie through the ringer?" Andy asked, hopefully.

"Just seeing where she's at," Maya responded. "You know.. She's actually a pretty good firefighter. Especially for a probie."

Andy rolled her eyes, "yeah... I know. That's what makes it even more annoying" she lamented as she left, closing the door behind her.

Maya couldn't stop thinking about what she had heard Elle say a few days before. She hadn't realized that Elle knew who she was before coming to 19 and she certainly didn't know that Elle had admired her since she competed in the olympics. As Maya thought back on Elle's first few weeks, she realized that she had been too harsh on her. Of course Andy is her best friend and she's always going to have her back, but Elle didn't actually do anything to her; she just existed. She thought that maybe it was time to actually give the kid a shot.

Meanwhile, Elle was in the gym working out with Vic. She thanked her for teaching her how to maximize her oxygen tank, and explained that Maya had just run a drill with her. Vic admitted that was a little weird, but maybe it could be a good thing? Honestly, she wasn't sure, but she wanted to encourage Elle. They chatted as they lifted weights; Vic filling Elle in on all the latest station gossip, and Elle loving every second of it. For once, she finally felt like maybe she would be okay at station 19.