CHAPTER ELEVEN
deny, deny, deny.
season two, episodes four and five.

[ author's note — so way back when
i started this fic, i gave george's heart
in the elevator plot line to cassie, which
looking back is dumb and i hate it, so feel
free to just like skip this chapter lmao ]

WHILE CASSIE WAS AT JOE'S WITH IZZIE, GEORGE, AND MEREDITH, she approached the bar to grab a drink. As she was waiting, she spotted Bailey, and decided to go over and say hello. "Hey, how are you, Dr. Bailey?"

"Cassie," Bailey nodded in greeting. "I'm fine, tired. How are you?"

Cassie smiled, glad her resident actually liked her as a person; she always was a people pleaser. "I'm good, I actually—"

"Meredith kissed me," Derek interrupted, squeezing himself between them without warning. "Addison kissed me. My wife and my girlfriend kissed me on the same day."

"I'm sorry, what?" Cassie laughed in shock.

"Joe, do I look friendly to you?" Bailey asked Joe as he handed Cassie a shot of tequila.

"Oh, you're a tiny little kitten of joy and love," he responded, earning himself a look. "What? He saved my life."

"His first mistake," she rolled her eyes.
"McDreamy, go sit by someone who cares."

Derek scoffed, before pointing at his sister. "Cassie cares."

"Does she?" Cassie piped up, causing him to raise his eyebrows at her in betrayal. "Look, Derek, I love you, but you need to stop complaining and get your shit together."

"What she said," Bailey said, high-fiving her intern from his other side.

"Everything's gonna be fine," he shook his head, ignoring them. "Addison will go back to New York, Meredith and I will start over, and everything's gonna be fine. Right?"

Bailey shook her head at him as Cassie took her shot. "You're so damn stupid."

☆

"Cristina Yang, post-op day 3 from a unilateral salpingectomy," Cassie presented the next day during rounds, trying not to laugh at the dirty looks her friend was sending her mother.

Cristina cut in, "And ready to get back to work."

"Is she?" Cristina's mother piped up.

Cassie looked to Bailey in question. "She's taking solids and her pain is controlled with oral meds."

"See? I'm ready," Cristina insisted.

"Didn't the nurse say this morning you had a fever?" her mom asked her.

"Mother!"

Bailey raised her eyebrows. "Cristina, did you have a fever?"

"Temp spiked to 101 last night. Big deal."

"She worked 2 shifts last month with a 102 degree flu," Cassie defended.

Cristina pointed at her person with gratitude. "Yes, exactly, Cass, thank you."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "And we appreciate your dedication, but you're staying in bed until it normalizes."

Her mother sighed, "I keep telling her there's more to life than surgery and career."

"Mother, go upholster something," Cristina retorted, causing Cassie to laugh under her breath.

"Look, I need you to relax, shut up and get better. You're a patient this week so you can be a doctor next week. Understand?"

They all moved to leave, but Cristina pulled Meredith and Cassie back by their arms. "Mer, Cass, you cannot leave me alone with her. I'm flying over the cuckoo's nest here. You have to save me," she begged.

"You need time to heal," Meredith sighed.

"I'm healed," Cristina called after her as Meredith walked out of the room. "I'm healed!"

Seeing the hopeful look on her face, Cassie sent her an apologetic one of her own. "Sorry, but I agree. I'll bring you some jello."

"Fine," she huffed. "But not the green. The green sucks."

☆

After rounding on a few more patients, Bailey sent Cassie to cover the ER. As she was walking towards the elevator, she stopped as Derek approached nervously.

"Hey Der," she smiled, giving him a side hug.

"Hey," he replied, seeming like he wanted to tell her something, but was a bit hesitant.

Cassie studied his demeanor for a short moment. "Okay, out with it."

Derek sighed at her intuitiveness. "Addison, uh, she gave me divorce papers."

"Fuck," she cursed, grabbing the papers from his hand and reading them over. "I mean, that's great, but like, fuck."

"Yeah, pretty much," he nodded.

"Are you going to sign them?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes?" he repeated, beginning to question the truth behind his answer. "You don't think that I will, do you?"

Cassie shrugged nonchalantly, handing the files back over to him. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I just figured that if you hadn't asked for a divorce by now, then you were probably willing to give your marriage another shot. Even if the lying snake doesn't deserve it."

He looked down conflicted. "I'm definitely going to sign them. I— I'm definitely going to think about signing them."

"Once you sign those papers, it's completely over with Addison," she advised. "So, just ask yourself one question; do you, or do you not, want her out of your life forever?"

☆

Cassie entered Cristina's room later that day, and was greeting by a terrifying sight; the ever stoic Cristina, sobbing loudly on her bed, surrounded by piles of tissues. Izzie, George, Meredith, and her mother were simply watching the shit show play out.

"What the hell?!" Cassie yelled, panicked.

"I can't stop— I can't— I can't stop," Cristina sobbed.

"Crying. She can't stop crying," Izzie clarified.

"I can see that, thanks. What on earth did you guys do to her?"

"Nothing!" they shouted in unison, looking at her like a zoo animal.

"She's going to dehydrate," George said. "Cristina do you want some water?"

Cristina shook her head violently.

Meredith moved in to hug her, but George and Izzie stopped her by shouting, "NO!"

"I already tried that. It just made it worse," Izzie sighed.

"I knew she'd break sooner or later. Just a matter of time," her mother said with faux pity.

"I will kill her!" Cristina shouted with a crazed look on her face.

Cassie, in the midst of her confusion and worry, grabbed the woman with a glare and escorted her out of the room.

"I'm her mother!"

"We don't do well with mothers here," Meredith told her quickly. "Why don't you leave and come back later."

"Make— make it stop. Make it stop!" she continued to sob.

"Okay," Cassie cringed, helplessly looking around the room. "Uh, okay, Cristina, try to breathe for me—"

"Somebody sedate me!"

☆

A few days later, thunder boomed from outside Cassie's window, causing her to wince and bury herself deeper under the covers. After another lightning strike causing the lights to flicker, she jumped out of bed and made her way down the hall.

"George," she whispered, lightly knocking on his door as she made her way inside. He continued to sleep, so she walked over to the other side of his bed and layed down next to him.

"Cassie?"

"Yes?"

"You're in my bed," George stated, confused.

"I know."

"Um," he hesitated. "Why are you in my bed?"

"There's a storm. I don't like storms. And Meredith and Izzie are gone so I didn't know what else to do," Cassie said quickly, curling deeper into his side. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, it's okay," he shrugged, turning onto his side and going back to sleep.

Only a few moments of peacefulness later, Izzie stormed in wearing a fancy dress. "Seriously?" she shouted, startling both occupants of the bed.

"I'm sleeping!" George complained.

"Don't scare me like that!" Cassie frowned.

"Oh, shut it," Izzie rolled her eyes, laying on the other side of George.

A few minutes later, Meredith entered in a similar fashion. "Seriously!"

Meredith set herself beside Cassie, so the brunette was sandwiched between her and George.

George rolled onto his back with a huff. "This is a very small bed."

"He's a brain surgeon," Meredith ranted.

"I look fantastic! I shaved my legs!" Izzie added.

"He's a brain surgeon. How can he be so brainless?"

"Seriously!"

"Seriously!"

"I don't know about you," Cassie said to George, "But I think they're being serious."

"What's up with you, Cass?" Meredith wondered, just as a flash of lighting and thunder cracked, making her flinch.

"Storms," she said simply. "I really hate storms."

"Shh. Sleep," George says, just before the power goes out.

☆

"Alright, what do we have?" Cassie questioned as she stepped into the trauma room, with Alex hot on her tails. She rubbed her eyes tiredly while yawning to herself, the exhaustion creeping up on her.

She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep recently, due to supporting Cristina after her surgery. While the intern was okay and back at work now, it took a little bit for her to fully recover emotionally. Luckily for Cristina, Cassie was more than willing to spend a few nights at her place to help her curve the anxiety.

Cassie whipped out her stethoscope, checking the patient's heartbeat and trying to focus.

"Pete Willoughby, 25 years old, GSW to the chest in the field. Immediate return of 860 CCs of blood from the chest," the paramedic informed.

"Oh man," Pete winced, staring down at the gaping hole in his chest. "They never tell you in the movies how much it hurts to get shot."

"Push 5mg of morphine," Cassie ordered.

"This is my patient," Alex spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping in her path. "You got the last one, and the one before that."

"I got here first, Alex," she rolled her eyes.

"You got here first because I let you."

"Where are his chest films?" she ignored him, looking them over as a doctor handed her the scans.

"You always get the surgery," Alex continued. "Today, I'm getting a surgery."

Cassie rolled her eyes, gesturing to the many officers watching through the window. "Knock it off, Alex. You've got an entire police force watching you. Besides, we'll need all the hands we can get." Handing the scans to the nurse, she began pushing the gurney out the door. "Page Dr. Burke, let him know I'm bringing up a GSW."

"No, that we are bringing up a GSW," Alex corrected, causing Cassie to shake her head as she moved the patient to the elevator. "So, Pete, you got shot in the line of duty?"

The patient nodded feverishly, clearly still in pain. "First month on the job. Can you believe my luck? A guy pulls a gun, and I freeze up. The rookie let himself get shot. I'm never gonna live this down."

"Sure, you will," Cassie assured him.

"You think?"

She nodded with a small smile, trying to comfort him. "Absolutely."

As they entered the elevator, another flash of lightening seen through the windows caused Cassie to flinch.

"So, what's the deal with Izzie?" Alex wondered as the elevator began to rise. Cassie laughed slightly at him, confused about how he could be so oblivious.

"She shaved her legs for you."

"And?"

"And you didn't even kiss her goodnight. Total dick move, man."

"She shaved her legs for you and you didn't follow through?" Pete asked, taking her side.

"Hey," he scoffed, "I follow through. I always follow through."

"You didn't last night," Cassie muttered, earning a glare from Alex and a smile from Pete.

"Mind your own business, Cassie."

"Okay, first of all, you asked me. Second of all, she had expectations. And you didn't meet them," she shrugged. "So don't take it out on me—"

All of a sudden, the elevator went black, and soon stopped moving completely.

"Dude," Alex said after a few quiet seconds. "We're not moving."

"Really?" Cassie raised a brow, looking around sarcastically. "I had no idea, thanks for pointing that out."

☆

After a few long minutes, the elevator still wasn't moving, causing Cassie to start getting anxious. In the meantime, Alex was attempting to pry the doors open, but ultimately failing miserably.

"If elevator should stop, do not become alarmed. Press the button marked alarm to summon the assistance," Cassie read the instruction panel, pressing the call sign. "If they don't want us to be alarmed then why call the button alarm?"

"That didn't work the last five times you did it. Get it through your head, we've lost power. We're stuck here," Alex sighed, defeated.

Pete began to moan in pain, alarming the two interns. Cassie checked the BP monitor, while Alex took his pulse. "His pressure is falling," she whispered. "Alex, there's a lot more asbestosis in the pleura back. We need to get him to the OR, like, now."

"Okay, you're whispering," Pete said nervously, "Don't whisper. I mean, I don't wanna complain here, but I got a bullet in my chest and whispering isn't a sign I'm gonna be okay, you know?"

With a soft smile, Cassie took his hand in her own. "Someone is going to get us out of here soon. Don't worry."

☆

Though the firefighters managed to get the doors open about a foot, Cassie and Alex were officially stuck between floors with a dying patient and no surgical tools.

Bailey put her head in the small opening, glaring at the duo. "What did you two do?"

"Nothing!" Alex shouted.

"Power went out," Cassie told her quietly, trying to remain as calm as possible.

You can have a panic attack when this is all over, okay? she thought to herself.

Dr. Burke took the resident's place, peering into the small hole. "How's the patient?"

"He's not looking so good," Alex responded as Pete tried to get up. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I have to get home," he slurred, delirious.

"Pete, you're in the hospital," Cassie said softly.

He remained in his current state. "Need to get home— need to get home."

"What's his blood pressure?" Burke questioned as they finally got Pete to settle down a bit.

"It's not reading. He's too agitated."

"How's his pulse?"

"Thready, but it's still there."

"Do you have any instruments?"

Alex sighed awkwardly. "Uh, just a code box and some gloves."

"You didn't bring an open chest tray?" Burke nearly yelled, not helping Cassie's anxiousness.

"No, we thought—"

"You don't have time for excuses. Harper, blood pressure."

"I've taken it 3 times. I can't hear systolic over 50," she answered.

Alex looked between a coughing, wheezing Pete and a nervous, terrified Cassie. "He's going to die."

Burke hesitated for a moment, before making a split second decision. "Intubate him. I'll be right back."

Cassie's eyes widened, concerned. "Woah, where are you going?"

"To get an instrument tray. You guys are going to have to open up his chest."

☆

While they waited for Burke, Cassie repeated the same phrase over and over again in her head. Fake it 'till you make it. Fake it 'till you make it. Fake it 'till you make it.

"Okay," Burke joined them once again. "This isn't gonna be too sterile, but we can still try. Prep and drape the patient."

Alex and Cassie did as told, sharing uncertain looks throughout the process.

"We're really going to do this," Alex said nervously. She just looked at him, trying to calm her own nerves.

Fake it 'till you make it.

Once they were ready to begin, Burke carefully tried to hand them a pair of scissors and a scalpel, his hand going directly to Alex. "Take these."

"Sexist, but okay," Cassie mumbled under her breath.

Alex just looked at them, remaining still. "Karev, take the scalpel."

Alex didn't move, standing frozen with a scared look on his face. Cassie raised her brows at him.

"Alex," she whispered. Burke looked at him confused, while Alex kept his gaze on the ground. "Ventilate. I got it," Cassie ordered him, grabbing the scalpel from Burke. "What do I do?"

"Make a large anterior, lateral, mid-auxiliary incision in the 5th intercostal space."

"How large?" she questioned with faux confidence.

"As long as possible. You need to get 2 hands in there. It needs to be long and deep. Use the scissors if you have to."

"Okay—"

"But wait, be sure you don't cut into the lobe of the heart."

She paused awkwardly. "Uh, how can I be sure of that, exactly?"

"You just have to be sure," Burke shrugged.

Cassie made eye contact with each of the men staring her down, her hands trying to stop themselves from shaking. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to make the cut.

"I really hate storms," she muttered, as the scalpel sliced deeply into the patient's skin.

☆

"Heart surgery?!" Derek gaped, staring at his sister with a guffawed expression. "You're telling me, that you, an intern, perfectly performed a solo heart surgery, in an elevator, and the guy lived?"

"Yeah," Cassie breathed out, unable to remove the smile from her features. "Normally, I'd be cocky about this, but I have literally zero idea how I managed to do that."

"I just— heart surgery?" he repeated, looking at her with a mixture of pride and awe.

"Heart surgery," she nodded with a grin, before pointing to the files that sat between them. "And as much as I'd love to revel in the victory, I believe one of us has a life altering decision to make."

"Don't remind me," he groaned, coming down from the high and tossing his pen across the table.

"Still haven't decided, I take it?"

"I should, I mean, I know the right thing to do, but I just... don't want to do it."

Cassie's smile slowly worked itself into a frown. "You know I won't judge you for whatever decision you make, right? Addie may not be my favorite person right now, but if you forgive her, I suppose I will too."

"I know," Derek nodded, albeit glumly. "I really wish you would just tell me what to do, seeing as you're clearly some sort of god."

"Ah, careful," she playfully tutted, making her way out the door. "My ego is already bigger than it should be, try not to fuel the fire."

Derek laughed, "I'll do my best."

With that, Cassie left the hospital and once again crossed the street over to Joe's bar. After a near panic attack and being thoroughly praised by the entire local police force, she decided she needed a drink.

"He's not coming," she heard Meredith sigh when she joined her fellow interns at their table. Her person turned to face her, judging her expression. "You don't think he's coming."

"He might come," Izzie interrupted, before Cassie could say anything.

"Yeah, you never know," Cristina piped in.

"He's definitely coming," George added, causing Cassie to kick him under the table. "Ouch, what? Do you want her doing tequila shots all night? We'll be the ones cleaning up the vomit, you know."

"No one knows if he's coming," Cassie said hesitantly, not wanting to get Meredith's hopes up. "Derek is kind of, uh, unpredictable."

The bell above the door chimed, signaling someone had entered. The group collectively turned to look, just to see a couple of strangers enter.

Cassie looked between Meredith and Joe with a sad look. "Pour her another one."

author's note —
sorry for the lack of updates
recently, i've had a lot on my
plate! pls remember to vote
and comment so i know that
people are still reading <3