lxxix.

                                    

                                          
- - -
every patient who gets bad news wants to be the exception. the one in a million. the miracle. but surgeons don't believe in miracles.
- - -
                          
"almost all of the surgeons in your program have been cleared to operate," dr. perkins says as he is sat in front of all the department heads of the hospital. "the remaining cases will be referred to dr. wyatt, and she'll clear those people when she feels they are ready."
                          
"what about cristina yang?" derek asks. "what's the timeline there?"
                          
"dr. perkins felt that we should assign dr. yang to something low stress for a few months- research, admin duties," richard explains. 
                          
"administration?" derek raises his brow. "that's the best you can do? put her on my service."
                          
"she's not on anyone's service, derek," richard tells him. "she'll be in the hospital, she just won't go near a surgery."
                          
"well, you do that, and she'll leave," derek points out. "she will not come back to this program. put her on my service."
                          
"i already tried it, derek," lia turns to him. 
                          
"lia's right," callie nods. "she's not ready."
                          
"well, she wasn't ready before. maybe now she is," bailey suggests. 
                          
"i think we should give him a shot," mark adds. 
                          
"well, especially if nothing else is working," arizona points out. 
                          
"she crawled under a table in the o.r two weeks ago," andrew reminds them. 
                          
"thank you," callie gestures to dr. perkins, and the doctors all begin muttering to each other.
                          
"she goes, i go," derek says loudly, so that he can be heard over everyone else, and the talking stops. 
                          
"that's insane," richard shakes his head. 
                          
"if she goes, i go," derek repeats. 
                          
■ ■ ■
                          
"a virgin... at twenty seven?" lia asks, as she is stood conducting exploratory surgery on meredith and april's patient to see why she's having trouble breathing. 
                          
"yep," meredith confirms. 
                          
"well, maybe she was waiting for the right person to come along, someone special, someone who really got her," april argues. "it's sweet. it's- it's idealistic."
                          
"it's smart is what it is," lia says, thinking back to the first time she slept with mark. back when she was just a girl in a bar, and he was just a guy. "if you don't sleep with 'em, you- you don't get attached. y- you sleep with them, and then you get attached even when you don't want to, even when you specifically pick someone that you are sure that you couldn't possibly get attached to, and them boom- you're hooked."
                          
meredith's eyes go wide at lia's outburst, as she glances across the table to april who's eyes are also wide. 
                          
"is that the mass?" meredith asks, looking at the screen. 
                          
"yep," lia sighs. 
                          
"is it a tumour?" april asks.