CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE
sympathy for the devil.
season five, episodes
eleven and twelve.

CASSIE GROANED AS SHE TURNED OVER IN BED, POUNDING THE BLARING ALARM TO SILENCE IT. For the last few weeks, her, Cristina, and Meredith had been avoiding each other like the plague following their big fight, and she was beginning to get annoyed with the silent treatment.

A few days prior, Cassie and Meredith had made up, mainly because they were never really arguing with each other to begin with. Cristina, on the other hand, was a different story. Cassie, stubborn as she was, didn't like holding onto grudges that weren't well deserved. So, if it took being the bigger person to get her friend back, that's exactly what she planned to do.

Rolling out of bed and padding towards the kitchen, she was able to catch Cristina right before she headed out the door.

"Hey."

"Uh, hi."

"If you wait a few minutes, I can give you a ride," Cassie proposed, sending her person a smile in greeting.

"Oh, um," Cristina mumbled, throwing her purse over her shoulder anyways. "I think I'll be fine." She moved to open the door, but stopped at the harsh sound of Cassie's stern voice.

"Cristina Helen Yang, get your ass in here!"

Slowly, Cristina backed up, startled at the outburst. Cassie stood in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed and a deep frown replacing the kind look she wore only seconds prior.

"I am trying to be nice," Cassie emphasized, frustration bubbling at the surface. "I'm tired of the fighting, and the avoiding, and all of the hurt feelings. Look, I'm sorry for saying I'm better than you, okay? That was out of line. But, I'm not sorry for saying I'm a better teacher than you, because it's true, and you know it." She raised a curt brow, gesturing to the girl across from her. "Okay, now you go."

"I— what?"

"Go, share how you feel. And then this can all be over."

Cristina sighed, dragging her feet into the room and setting down her bag. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"For...?"

Narrowing her eyes in irritation, Cristina took a deep breath. "I'm sorry..." Cassie watched on, slightly amused. "I'm sorry, for, um," she paused, scoffing to herself. "Yeah, no. That's the best you're gonna get."

Cassie thought for a long moment, before shrugging as a grin took over her features. "Eh, works for me." She turned on her heel, heading back into her room to get dressed as she called out over her shoulder, "I'll be ready in five minutes!"

Cristina opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Cassie's bedroom door slamming shut. She stared at the space her person once stood, slightly bewildered.

"Okay then."

☆

Joining Cristina, Meredith, Owen, and Derek in the pit, Cassie approached the group with a smile. "Hey, who's the patient?"

"Take a look," Derek said, his face betraying his emotions. He glanced down at her, hesitantly handing her a paper with the patient's information. Cassie read it, her brows furrowing in the process.

"Wait, he's a prisoner?"

"Yeah," he nodded, biting the inside of his cheek in premature rage.

"So," Webber joined them, placing his hands on his hips. "You've read up on our VIP?" The group nodded. "Multiple stab wounds, badly beaten. He'll have guards with him at all times. Cuffs stay on, leg irons stay on. Watch your syringes, sharps, and pins. I don't want any accidents."

Cassie shared a wide eyed look with Meredith. "No pressure, or anything."

Webber's pager went off, causing them all to straighten up. "And he's here. You five are my team. No interns. I want to keep this as quiet as possible. Get him in and out quickly, patch him up, and get him on his way—"

Cristina frowned down at the paper as they made their way outside, looking to the Chief in question. "What's PDR?"

"—get him out of trauma as fast as you can. Those guards are going to attract a lot of attention."

"Sir," Cristina called out, as the ambulances pulled up and opened their doors. "It's stamped PDR. What does that mean?"

"Prisoner," Webber told her, pausing for a long moment. "Death Row."

Immediately, Cassie's eyes landed on Derek in concern. The man who shot his father landed on death row, she thought anxiously, watching as he clenched his jaw. Fuck.

The patient was rolled out on a gurney, fully conscious while the group watched him. He grinned, sending a chill down Cassie's spine as he made eye contact with her.

"How's everybody doing this morning?"

☆

"Mr. Dunn, can you hear me?"

Cassie shined a flashlight in the man's eyes, as he responded, "You have a lovely voice."

"Okay," Cristina interrupted, "we need a trauma series."

Mr. Dunn groaned as they moved him onto his back. "Oh, I hate to be a bother, but my legs really, really hurt. Was I stabbed in the leg?"

"We checked your legs. We didn't find anything," Derek deadpanned, checking a wound on his head.

"We should add t-spine and l-spine films," Meredith observed.

"We're gonna get a CT anyway," Cristina immediately shot her down. "Extra films are a waste of time."

Owen shrugged. "Couple more shots can't hurt."

The patient turned to Cassie, who was next to Derek on his left. "If I wasn't stabbed in the leg, why does it feel like I was?"

Cassie tilted her head, "Well, there's a number of possible reasons."

He looked her up and down. "Like?"

"You know," Derek interrupted hastily, "the less you talk, the more we can work."

Meredith frowned. "Derek."

"That's okay," Mr. Dunn laughed it off. "He'll warm up as we get to know each other."

"I don't think so," Cassie mumbled, shaking her head to herself at the situation.

The patient turned to Derek. "You'll see. We're not that different, you and I. People are alive when they meet us, and then that all changes somehow." He turned his head, smirking at Cassie as she took his blood pressure. "You'll see."

Cassie shifted uncomfortably at the man's burning gaze, slyly gesturing for Owen to switch with her. As he began to do so, Mr. Dunn grabbed her wrist, using his hand that was cuffed against the bedpost.

"Ouch," Cassie winced, trying to get her arm free, but to no avail. Mr. Dunn smiled up at her, his rotting teeth making her internally cringe.

"Hey, hey," Owen rushed out, trying to remove his hold. Unfortunately, it only grew stronger.

"You look exactly like a woman I... used to know," the patient whispered to her, the meaning behind his words scaring Cassie more than anything else.

In a flash, Derek was at her side, bending the man's fingers back so he was forced to let go. With a warning glare towards the prisoner, he turned his gaze to Cassie, who was fine other than being totally freaked out.

"Cass," Derek nodded his head towards the door. "Follow me. Hunt, you got this?"

Owen nodded, as Cristina and Meredith watched silently. "Yeah, we'll take him up."

Cassie trailed behind Derek as they left the room, rubbing her wrist in the process. Derek paced back and forth for a few seconds, before looking up at his sister in concern.

"You can't be on this case," he told her, stress evident in his eyes. "Not after that."

Cassie looked into the trauma room, pursing her lips in thought. "You know, I'd usually be pissed for getting kicked off a case like this. But to be honest, I really don't want to be around that guy more than I have to."

Derek nodded in agreement, before asking, "Is your arm okay?"

"Yeah," she waved him off halfheartedly. "I-I mean, it's fine."

"Here," he held out a hand. "Let me see."

Cassie crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, no, it's fine." He gave her a disbelieving look. "Seriously, it's totally fine—"

Ignoring her protests, Derek gently reached out for her arm, scolding her the moment he laid eyes on the bruising handprint circling her wrist, which was swelling enough to be noticeable.

"Cassandra," Derek sighed, shutting his eyes in annoyance. "This is not totally fine. It's already turning purple, for god's sake!"

Cassie put her hands up in faux surrender. "In my defense, this isn't the first time a creepy man has given me a bruise without consent." Derek gave her a deadpan look. "Victim humor?"

"You're not funny."

"Oh, screw you. I'm hilarious."

"Shut up. You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Der," Cassie repeated, giving him a knowing look. "The real question is, are you?"

Derek looked at her for a long moment, before promptly ignoring her. "Get some ice on that wrist," he ordered, turning to go meet the others. "I have to go."

☆

A few days later, and the bruise on Cassie's wrist was still very much prominent; the only difference, was that it was now a dark purple shade with yellowing around the edges. Luckily, having a plastic surgeon as a boyfriend worked out in Cassie's favor, as the small injury was getting the best care possible.

Cassie and Mark entered Meredith's house with the spare key, after being called over early in the morning for an unknown reason.

"Hey," Cassie grinned, looking between Alex, George, and Sadie, all of whom were in the living room. Her smile dropped at the sight of Meredith, hugging a bottle of tequila to her chest with a frightened expression.

Mark frowned at the group, not a huge fan of hanging out with a bunch of residents. "What's wrong with her?"

"Mrs. Shepherd is coming," George informed them, causing a huge grin to come to Cassie's face.

Mark, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

"Oh, my god," he shook his head rapidly, grabbing Cassie by the shoulders and turning her body to face him. "She's going to kill me, Cass. Kill me."

"Why would she—" Cassie started to ask, pausing in the middle of her sentence. "—oh, yeah, she's definitely going to kill you."

George raised a brow at the couple. "Why is she killing you?"

Mark ignored him, focusing on his girlfriend, who was far less panicked than him, standing there with a calm grin.

"Remember when she thought I was flirting with you? She threw a book at my head."

Cassie snorted, not very worried, as she knew for a fact that Mrs. Shepherd worshipped the ground she walked on.

"Yeah, you're screwed." Mark just stared at her, paralyzed with fear. "You should probably go and shave, at least."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, backing away and going towards the door. "You know, I'm just, uh, I'm leaving now."

"Drive safe!" Cassie smiled, waving as he left.

"Dude," Alex laughed. "He looks like he's gonna puke." He moved his gaze to Meredith. "She's holding that bottle of tequila like it's a life vest."

"Mer," George said, causing the girl in question to jump at the sound of her name. "Don't worry, she's going to love you."

"No," Meredith immediately denied. "Mothers don't love me. Mothers like bright, and bubbly, and happy and..." she trailed off as a familiar blonde entered the room. "Izzie. Mothers love Izzie."

"They do," Izzie grinned. "Mothers do love Izzie." She stared into space for a moment with a strange smile, causing Cassie to raise a brow in her direction. "Uh, I stashed all the tequila, and took the condoms out of the cookie jar. I also replaced all your trashy magazines with back issues of the Annals of Surgery, okay?"

Cassie ignored her, sniffing the air as she sat next to Meredith. "Is it just me, or does it smell kind of musty in here?"

"My mom's house smells like peppermint," George added. "It's so homey."

"My house isn't homey?!"

Alex shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. "I was raised in a hellhole. This place is a palace."

"Why isn't my house homey, George?!"

"I can't explain it, it's just a feeling!"

"Well, Izzie can't fix a feeling!"

"She is freaking out, people," Izzie scolded them, while Cassie simply watched, knowing that Derek's mom couldn't care less about that kind of thing. "Just tell her something I can fix."

Alex gestured to the couch behind them. "Rebecca peed on that couch cushion."

Sadie looked to the couch, and back to him. "I've been sleeping there for weeks."

"Thanks, Alex," Meredith rolled her eyes. "You're... a good friend."

"You're welcome. Keep drinking."

"No," Cassie shook her head, stealing the alcohol from Meredith's grasp. "Stop drinking, you'll be fine. She'll love you."

"Oh, that's easy for you to say, McAngel!" Meredith snapped, immediately stealing back the bottle and taking a huge swig.

Cassie rolled her eyes, snatching the bottle once again and throwing it in the trash.

Outside, as Mark closed the door and began to head back towards his car, he bumped into Derek, who was just coming home from work.

"Mark?"

"Hey!" Mark cheered nervously, glancing behind him to make sure Cassie didn't follow him out. "There you are. Want to get a drink?"

Derek gave him a weird look. "It's four in the morning."

"Yeah, you're right, I probably should've called first," Mark rushed out, quickly changing the subject. "Hey, I heard your mom's coming into town today." He did a fist pump in the air. "Good times!"

He turned on his heel, hurrying away as Derek stared at him as if he'd grown three heads.

☆

Cassie approached Cristina and Izzie at a nurses station, dropping off several charts in their designated position. Moving to stand on Cristina's right, she tilted her head in question. "What are we staring at?"

"Meredith's lost it," Cristina deadpanned, gesturing to the end of the hallway. Cassie followed her gaze, spotting Derek and Mrs. Shepherd talking to Meredith, who had her hair up... in a high ponytail.

"Oh no," Cassie grimaced, lowering her voice down to a whisper as she leaned closer. "You think we should have her admitted?"

"It's weird," she shook her head. "Wait, don't you want to go over there? I thought you were like, an honorary Shepherd, or whatever."

"Yeah, I normally would, but this is way too entertaining to pass up."

Izzie rolled her eyes. "Relax, I've got it under control. Mer is doing... uh, great."

Cristina let out a mocking laugh, while Cassie snorted at the false observation. "She looks like she's gonna pee."

Cassie reached into her pocket, taking out her phone and opening the camera. She angled it towards Meredith, making sure to zoom in on her head. She didn't bother stopping as Owen approached the group, smirking to herself while taking photos she knew would come in handy some day.

"Dr. Yang," Owen handed Cristina a few charts, which she took without looking up. He frowned for a moment at Cassie, who mildly resembled an evil villain, before continuing. "Do you mind checking on some of my post-ops? The ER is swamped with traumas."

Cristina nodded. "Yeah, sure—"

"Also, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Slowly, Cassie lowered her phone as she turned to face Owen. Cristina did the same, a single brow raised in confusion. Izzie looked between the two, grinning widely.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"A date," Owen said as if it were obvious, ignoring the others. "You said not to play hot and cold with you, so, I'll pick you up around eight?"

Cristina stood frozen in place, prompting Cassie to step between them with a cheesy smile. "She'd love to."

Nodding curtly, Owen moved to leave, before stopping at the last second. "Oh, and make sure Mr. Kenner in room 2212 gets that enema. He's been holding on to it for days."

Cassie watched him leave, sighing sarcastically in the process. "Ah, romance."

Izzie leaned into Cristina's space, who was still gaping at the place Owen once stood. "Because that wasn't weird."

☆

On his way out of the cafeteria, Mark was in the process of throwing his trash away when a familiar voice made him freeze in his steps.

"Mark!"

He turned around, cringing slightly he gave the woman a guilty look. "Mrs. Shepherd."

Putting her hands on her hips, she sent him a knowing frown as she took a step closer. "You've been avoiding me." Shifting on his feet, Mark looked everywhere but her eyes, feeling scolded as if he were a child.

"Whaaat? No."

She raised a brow at him. "You have that same guilty look on your face as you did when you were ten years old, and you put Derek's favorite frog into the microwave." Mark looked up at her, lowing his voice to a mumble as he tried to defend himself.

"I never pressed start."

Smiling at the man she sees as another son, Mrs. Shepherd tilted her head in question. "Tell me. What's going on?"

Taking a deep breath, Mark blurted, "I'm in love with her."

"Oh, Mark!" Mrs. Shepherd scoffed, hitting him in the arm with her purse. "Not again! How could you?"

"No, no, no," he denied instantly, shaking his head as he hastily corrected her. "No, no, not Meredith. God, no."

"Oh," she sighed thankfully, fixing her posture and running a hand through her short hair. "Okay, well, who is it, then?"

Mark stared at her for several long seconds, not saying a word. Eventually, she snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing him to snap out of his anxious thoughts.

"Well, uh, for starters, I know you'll love her."

"That's great," she grinned, completely oblivious. Mark supposed that it must run in the family. "Where is she?"

With a nervous gulp, Mark turned to look for Cassie in the cafeteria, and found her sitting with George. She was shamelessly stealing fries from George's plate, sticking them in her mashed potatoes to form some sort of french-fry sculpture.

He pointed in her direction. Mrs. Shepherd followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing in curiosity, before going wide in bewilderment.

"Oh, dear," she placed a soothing hand on Mark's arm. "I had absolutely no idea!"

Mark frowned slightly in confusion. "I mean, I never told you, so of course you didn't." Mrs. Shepherd waved a hand in apology, neither of them realizing that they were talking about two very different things.

"You're right, I shouldn't have assumed. It's hard to keep up with the times, you know. When I was your age, gay people were much more stereotypical than they are now." Mark opened his mouth, but no words came out, as he was in pure shock. "Thank you for telling me, Mark. If he's friends with Cassandra, then I'm sure he's a lovely man."

"No, no," Mark laughed, more out of slight embarrassment than anything else. "No, I'm not gay. I am not gay."

"Oh," Mrs. Shepherd laughed, looking back to Cassie and George. She seemed stumped for a long moment, observing the two interact. Suddenly, she went stiff, the smile dropping from her face as a deadpan look replaced it.

"Listen, I—"

"Mark Everett Sloan," she drawled, crossing her arms over her chest and staring him down with her best disappointed mom glare. "Please tell me you are not in a relationship with my youngest child."

Mark smiled uncomfortably, the furrowing of his brows betraying his fear. "Surprise?"

☆

Cassie stood alone outside of the ER, just lending a helping hand wherever she was needed. Feeling a presence to her left, she glanced up, seeing Mrs. Shepherd only a few inches away.

"Mama Shepherd!" Cassie grinned, going in for hug, only to be stopped by the woman grabbing her face, squishing her cheeks together with a calculating expression.

"Are you in danger, Cassandra? Is he holding you against your will?"

Cassie looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that you spoke to Mark?"

Mrs. Shepherd released her with a huff. "Out of everyone he could've corrupted, he just had to chose my baby." Cassie watched her nervously, not sure how the woman was going to respond to the news. "Are you happy?"

"Very," Cassie answered instantly, sending her a hesitant smile. "And if anyone's being corrupted, it's definitely not me. I've already got enough dark and twisty to last a lifetime."

She narrowed her eyes. "Is he good to you?"

"He's amazing."

"When was the last time he cooked for you?"

"This morning."

"Are you using protection?"

"Yes, but please don't talk to me about sex."

"Noted. Has he cheated on you?"

"If he cheated on me, he'd be in the morgue."

"Good answer. Do you love him?"

"More than anyone."

Nodding slowly, Mrs. Shepherd stepped back, thinking to herself for a long while. Cassie shifted anxiously, not breaking the intense eye contact with the woman she sees as a second mother.

Mrs. Shepherd studied her, giving her a knowing look. "Have you told Derek?"

Cassie sighed heavily. "I'm working on it."

The two simply stood there, until Mrs. Shepherd brought Cassie into a bone crushing hug.

Eventually, Mrs. Shepherd pulled away, smiling down admirably at the girl she helped raise. "Every day, you become more and more like your mother, Cassandra." Cassie smiled softly, her vision blurring for just a moment, before it became clear again. "I'm so proud of you."

"I really miss her, you know."

"I know," Mrs. Shepherd whispered, before perking up once again. "Now, I'm guessing you know where the best coffee cart is?"

Cassie laughed, linking arms with the older woman. "Obviously. Come on, I'll show you."