xxvii. 17 seconds makes a difference
2.25

There had been an overflow in the ER, there were patients left and right and Atlas had been all over the place helping. There were people who had been shot and others who were just injured. It was chaos.

Atlas found himself being approached by the chief, Richard. "I need you to do Denny Duquettes heart transplant. Burke is in surgery."

Atlas looked surprised, he wasn't the lead surgeon on the case. "I'm not the lean surgeon on this case. Bailey and Burke know the case inside and out." He expressed.

"Two dead, 14 injured. The policeman say the gunman got away so there could be more incoming." Richard told the attending.

"Even more reason for me to stay." Atlas raised an eyebrow at the chief.

"No. You and Burke are our only cardiothoracic transplant specialists. You go get that heart." Richard sternly told him.

Atlas raised his hands in surrender, "okay, okay. I got this."

Cristina, Alex and Eliza are watching from nearby, all three wanting to be included in the surgery.

"Oh, forget it, Karev. I already asked."
Christina mutters as she moves after Atlas who's getting into the elevator.

Alex runs after Atlas, yet the three missed the Elevator.

"It's not going to...happen."

Just as Atlas is entering the helicopter Alex starts to shout, "Dr. Lee! Dr. Lee! I heard you were getting a heart. Can I go with you?"

"I asked Burke." Christina stands beside Alex she pleadingly looks to Atlas.

Eliza looked up at her brother with the best puppy dog eyes she could muster up.  "Please Atly?"

"You didn't get assigned any gunshot cases?" Atlas asks the three as he straps himself in.

"Well, yeah, but if Burke had put me on this when I asked I would've been free."

"I'm not Burke."

"I didn't. I'm not doing anything." Alex frantically tells the attending.

"Me neither!" Eliza tells Atlas sigh the same amount of energy as Alex.

"No, he's on the gynie squad!" Christina argues with the men, wanting nothing more than to be on the case — a heart transplant no doubt.

"Not if you put me on this transplant. Please." Alex pleads, and Atlas wasn't sure if he had ever heard Alex say please more than he had in the last few minutes.

"Let's go, Karev. El." Atlas waved the two interns forward.

"You can't be serious." Christina deadpanned not happy that Alex and Eliza were aloud to go.

"Whoo! See you later, Yang. Whoo!" Alex cheered as he and Eliza got inside the helicopter and someone closed the door behind them.

"So who's the lucky patient?" Alex asked cheerfully.

"Denny Duquette."

Alex looks down at his lap with a sick and sad expression.

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Atlas bursted into the OR after being alerted that the patient who was going to give his patient was coding.

"Hey! What the hell happened to my donor?" He raised his voice as he looked to the Mercy West surgical staff.

"He went into v-fib." A Doctor Atlas didn't didn't know the name of told Atlas and his interns.

"I can see that. Give me the paddles. Karev, take over compressions! You gave epi?" Atlas spoke.

"Three rounds and shocked him twice." The Doctor told the Seattle Grace attending.

"K. I'm going to hit him again at 360...Clear!" Atlas held the paddles close to the donors chest.

"He's asystolic."

"I don't get it. I mean, if the guy's already dead..." Alex muttered.

"And now his heart has joined the rest of him."

"You could be a poet." Eliza quietly said from beside Atlas, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"Hmm. So, we can't use it?" Alex asked stupidly — he should have known the answer.

Atlas sent the male intern a look, "No, Karev, we cannot use it. The muscle is dead. The heart is useless..." Atlas took of running out of the OR.

"Dr. Lee...?"

"Brother...?"

Running through the hall Atlas tells people to move as he nears them. "Move, move, move, move, move!" He enters Dr. Hahn's OR, "Stop right there! Don't move that scalpel! Not even a single slice!"

Atlas had meet Hahn on a few occasions, them having worked together on a few cases. They weren't friends, but they respected each other and never ever disrespect each other — but today, Atlas would be a mean bitch if it meant he had a change at getting the heart.

"Just because your donor's heart died doesn't mean I have to give you mine." Hahn looked up from the patients chest.

"Is your patient higher on the transplant list, huh? Is he higher on the transplant list?" Atlas asked lowly, as he tried to be intimidating.

"I have no idea."

"Look at that, neither do I. El, get UNOS on the phone now." Atlas sent his sister a look, and she walked out of the room and dialled UNOS.

"Oh, give me a break!" Hahn groaned.

A doctor picks up a scalpel and went to cut. "No! Don't you dare!" Atlas pointed a finger at the doctor who had picked up the scalpel.

"What? Are you going to beat him up?" Dr. Hahn scoffed at Atlas.

"I won't, I'll cut his own heart out and replace that one with the one I lost." Atlas threatened and the Doctor quickly placed the scalpel down in fear.

"Ok, just hold on. It's pathetic, Sunny. Really pathetic."

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Everyone had gathered in the Mercy West conference room where they were calmly discussing — debating — who would get the heart.

"Your guys on an LVAD? He's probably up and walking around. My guy still needs his dobutamine drip." Dr. Hahn pointed out to Atlas.

"That's the best you can do? He can climb Mount Shasta on a dobutamine drip." Atlas squinted at Hahn.

"As of this morning, Dr. Hahn's patient was 22 hundredths of a point ahead." Someone from UNOS — Atlas believed his name was Ben — who was on the other side of the phone call told the room.

"That's basically a tie." Atlas said as he leaned forwards and placed his hands on the table, gripping the edge.

"Except that Dr. Hahn's patient was admitted into the transplant program before Mr. Duquette."  The phone man told them.

"How long before?" Atlas looked to the phone on the table.

"17 seconds." The man on the other side of the line answered Atlas.

"17 seconds." Atlas repeated to himself.

Oh how much 17 seconds could make a difference.

Hahn looked to Atlas smugly, "Might as well be 17 weeks. It doesn't matter."

Atlas's cell phone rang. So he could argue with Hahn for longer he handed it to Alex or Eliza, whoever would take it.

Izzie had gotten Alex to give Atlas the phone, claiming Denny was in a critical state.

"Flash pulmonary edema? Is it the LVAD? Is the LVAD working?" Atlas throws the questions at Izzie left and right.

"Absolutely." Izzie told him, not bothering to be specific.

"K, did you put him on a nitro drip?" Atlas held the phone closer to his ear.

"Um, yes. Yes, of course." Izzie breathed out, a small panic in her voice. ( that Atlas noticed )

"Lee-Sunny, she could be putting paddles directly on his heart. He's still not getting this thing." Hahn told Atlas as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"How's his blood pressure?" Atlas ignored Hahn.

"It's, uh, still dropping. 82 over 40." Izzie closed her eyes as she lied to Atlas.

"Then take him off the drip and put him on dopamine. Now! Don't hang up." He told her before he looked to all the people in the conference room, "According to my intern, Denny Duquette now qualifies as a 1A candidate for that heart. That puts him ahead of Dr. Hahn's patient."

"I'm out of here. This is just crap." Hahn stood up.

"Dr. Hahn?" The man in charge of redirecting the heart called out.

"What?" Dr. Hahn snapped.

"If Dr. Lee-Sunny wants to run labs, do an echo and a BNP to fully ascertain the status of his patient, we'll allow it." They told her.

Dr. Hahn let out a groan, "That'll take an hour."

"Is the donor stable?" After a few seconds they spoke again, "Dr. Hahn? Is the donor stable?"

"Yes, the donor is currently stable." Hahn forced the words out.

"In that case. Dr. Lee-Sunny, you've got an hour to get those tests."

"Dr. Stevens?" Atlas spoke into his phone.

"I heard." Izzie quietly told him.

"Good. Get going then." Atlas nodded even though Izzie couldn't see him.

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Atlas entered Dr. Hahn's OR, "According to my intern, Denny Duquette is in pulmonary edema. He has been intubated and placed on multiple IV drips." He informed Hahn and her surgical team.

"So, you gets the heart. Great, lets open this guy." A doctor who stood behind Hahn raised his hand and fake cheered.

"However, given this situation and out of respect to Dr. Hahn, I'd like to confirm those results."

"You just did." Alex eyed Atlas.

"In person. I gotta do it in person." Atlas confirmed.

"Are you kidding? By the time you get there, it'll be another hour. What are you up to, Lee? Why don't you just talk to your chief? Confirm the results with him." Hahn spoke with venom.

"Well, because of the shootings today...at the restaurant. All our attendings are still in surgery." Eliza came up with the excuse, well it wasn't technically a lie, just a fib more like.

"Exactly. Now, if you'd prefer, or I can just call UNOS and have them give me the heart... Or I can go and make sure that it really belongs to me." Atlas was only doing this because he knew Izzie had done something and something bad.

"Go." Hahn looked at the patient and then back to Atlas.

"Thank you."

Alex, Eliza and Atlas go to leave but Atlas stops the two interns. "I'm going back to Seattle Grace. You stay here and protect my heart. If that woman so much as looks at a scalpel, tackle her. Do you understand? I know you can do it El." Atlas told the two interns, his instructions clear.

"Yes, sir."

"We got this Atly."

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Here's the thing: bad things happen to good people. People who do good things in life. Who are the sunshine of the world. Atlas liked to believe that whatever happened to him, happened for a reason. Whether it be to teach him a lesson, him being in the wrong spot at the wrong time, or even better: the world trying to get him to appreciate his life and the people around him.

Atlas loved his family more than he loved his job, his life practically — well his family was his life. And he always did everything he could to protect them. If it was scaring the crush Eliza has away, or making sure his younger brother never ate avocado. Whatever it was, it was to protect his family.

Atlas never thought that his father would be standing outside the hospital doors, having a quick breather before going in to look for his children.

Atlas didn't see it either. The gunman. Until four gunshots rang.

A civilian fell to the ground, dead instantly.

And then Atlas's father fell down too.

And then a fifth gunshot rang and Atlas cried out in pain, the bullet hitting him right in the chest. Not close enough to his heart to kill him right away, but close enough to everything else to hurt him.

Despite being shot Atlas held onto his bleeding chest as he moved towards his still father. Dropping to his knees Atlas removed his hands and placed them on his fathers wounds, holding pressure. "Dad. Dad. Hold on okay?" He muttered as tears fell from his eyes.

His father gave a weak nod.

Miranda Bailey came running, and without noticing that Atlas had been shot she moved to dead civilian to check for a pulse. When she didn't find one she made her way towards Atlas and his father.

"Y-you can't d-die okay? Your gonna have to walk us k-kids down the i-isle." Atlas sniffled as Bailey called for some help.

Atlas weakly removed his hands and layed himself down on the cold ground beside his father. He grabbed his fathers hand in his own and held tightly. "It's okay. Help will be here any second."

"It's ok. Atlas will be here any minute." Izzie told Denny before she cuts the LVAD wire, and then there is the sound flatlining.

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please don't hate me!