CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
in the midnight hour.
season five, episodes eight and nine.

IMPATIENTLY WAITING AS MARK PULLED INTO MEREDITH'S DRIVEWAY, CASSIE KISSED HER BOYFRIEND ON THE CHEEK AS SHE OPENED THE CAR DOOR. Cristina hopped out of the back seat while the couple in the front said their goodbye's.

"I'll see you at the hospital," Cassie grinned, waving to Mark as she shut the door. "Love you!"

He returned the expression, rolling down the window to shout, "I love you more!"

Turning around and walking backwards, Cassie cupped her hands around her mouth as she shouted back. "Not possible!"

Cristina rolled her eyes, opening the door to Meredith's house with her key and letting herself inside. "You two are disgusting."

"And you're bitter," the brunette playfully remarked, following after her up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

Cristina pounded on the door, only waiting half a second before opening it to reveal Derek and Meredith fast asleep.

"You up?"

"No," Derek grumbled into his girlfriend's shoulder, groaning in discontent as he flipped over to his back. Cassie and Cristina made their way onto the bed, despite his protests.

"Yes," Meredith disagreed, sitting up straight.

Cristina squeezed between Meredith and the night stand, while Cassie unceremoniously plopped herself down between the blonde and Derek. She nudged her brother, handing him a hot coffee to apologize for waking him up.

"The wicked witch, is dead," Cristina said dramatically, prompting Meredith to raise a brow.

"Metaphorically dead, or dead dead?"

Derek frowned. "Who are we talking about?"

"Hahn."

"Her name is off the surgical board, and all of her surgeries have been cancelled," Cristina gossiped with wide eyes.

Cassie took a big gulp of her latte. "We don't know how, or why, but we do know that Hahn is gone."

"That's too bad, she was really talented." The three turned to give Derek incredulous looks, prompting him to slowly nod in understanding. "You're not talking to me."

"Nope," Cassie smiled, pushing him so he was forced to roll off the bed and leave them alone.

Derek stumbled out of the room, going to answer a knock at the door that the others hadn't heard.

"So, she just left?" Meredith wondered. "No warning, no official resignation, nothing?"

"No idea," Cassie shrugged, just as confused. After pondering it for a moment, a thought came to mind. "Hey, you think that maybe, Hahn leaving has something to do with—"

She was hastily cut off by the sound of footsteps tumbling up the stairs, as an unfamiliar blonde barged through the door and threw herself on top of Meredith.

"Death!" the girl squealed, as Meredith did the same and hugged her back. Cassie and Cristina scooted towards the end of the bed, their eyebrows raised in confusion as they shared a look over the other two's bodies.

"Oh my god!" Meredith exclaimed happily, a huge smile on her face. "It's been—"

"Forever! You look like—"

"You look like—"

"Death!" they shouted in unison, laughing at the inside joke neither Cassie or Cristina understood.

"Is the guy in the pajamas your boyfriend?" the girl wondered, "Because if so, then hot."

Cassie scrunched up her nose in disgust, already getting a weird feeling from the perky blonde. At first glance, she seemed far too Izzie-ish for Cassie's personal liking.

"Hey, um," Cristina interrupted, a fake smile adorning her features as she tilted her head at the new girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sadie," she responded. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Cristina."

Cassie raised a brow at the blonde, not bothering to be nice when she said bluntly, "I've never heard of a Sadie."

"And who are you?"

"Cassie."

Sadie smirked, taking a seat next to Meredith, purposely forcing Cassie to stand up in order to avoid falling on the floor.

"Funny. I've never heard of you, either."

☆

"Apparently, they went backpacking around Europe or something," Cristina mumbled, sitting in discontent on Derek's right. Cassie sat on his left, staring at her empty coffee cup in boredom. "Before med school."

"I hate her," Cassie grunted, crossing her arms over her chest like a child. "Did you see the way she all but pushed me away from Meredith? Freaking unbelievable."

Derek gave her a sarcastic look. "I couldn't imagine what that's like for you."

"And Death?" Cristina scoffed. "Meredith's name is not Death, it's Mer."

"I really feel for you," Derek hummed.

"You know, she's never even mentioned this bitch," Cassie continued with a glare. "How good of a friend could she be?"

Derek shrugged, heaving a sigh as he sat back in his chair. "Good enough to kick all three of us out of bed." He raised his cup in mock enthusiasm at their expressions of realization. "Welcome to my world."

☆

"I'm telling you," Cassie insisted, following Mark down the halls as they made their way towards their patient. "There's something off about her."

"You just met her," Mark reminded his girlfriend, checking if the coast was clear before taking her hand in his own and laying a kiss on her knuckles. "It's okay not to like her, but you should at least give her a chance."

Cassie huffed, shaking her head adamantly. "I gave her a chance, and she was a bitch. Plus, you know I'm always right about this stuff."

"Right about what?" George wondered, joining them on the other side of Cassie.

"Everything."

He instantly nodded in agreement, not able to remember a time when she was ever wrong. "That is true."

"See?" Cassie gave Mark an I told you so look.

Rolling his eyes fondly at her stubbornness, Mark looked over her head to send George a questioning look. "What do you need, O'Malley?"

"Uh, your girlfriend, actually."

Cassie nodded, giving Mark a quick peck on the cheek. "Go on, I'll catch up." She turned back to George, smiling up at him. "What's up, Georgie?"

"Have you seen the interns?" he asked.

"Uh, what interns?"

"Any of them," George shrugged, looking slightly bewildered. "I need them to run labs for my patients and catch up on charting, but they're nowhere to be found."

"No idea," Cassie shrugged, before grinning suggestively. "So, I've been meaning to ask, how's Lily? Did I train her well?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "she's an awesome intern, she's great with patients, she's my girlfriend, she's super nice—"

"Okay, back up," Cassie held a hand up in the air. "Could you repeat that last part?"

"She's super nice?"

"O'Malley."

"Oh!" George smiled cheekily, pretending to be surprised. "You mean the she's my girlfriend part?"

Cassie laughed loudly, grabbing both of his shoulders and using them as leverage as she jumped up and down excitedly. "Dude! I'm so happy for you!"

George grinned widely at his best friend's reaction, adding to the fun by picking her up and spinning her in circles, making her laugh even harder.

"Thanks," he chuckled, setting her down. "I asked her, like, an hour ago. You were the first person I wanted to tell."

Unable to wipe the smile off of her face, Cassie threw her arm around George's shoulders, leading him down towards the ER as she thought back to her cupid-esque experiments.

"I really am always right, aren't I?"

☆

A few days later in the middle of the night, Cassie's interns were finally at their breaking point. Almost a week had gone by with Rue, Ollie, and Ryan being the only interns staying on top of charting and labs, as well as picking up everyone else's slack.

"Dr. Harper," Rue panted, carrying a total of nine charts in her arms.

Cassie turned around at the sound of her name, growing concern for the girl in front of her. She was still in her street clothes, as she'd just arrived after being called in.

"Lennon? Is everything okay?"

"No," she snapped, before taking a deep breath and speaking more kindly. "Sorry. I meant, no. I can't keep covering everyone's patients! I haven't slept in like, forty hours, and I'm pretty sure I'm getting a stress ulcer or something, because my stomach is killing me!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Cassie soothed. "I'll page Peterson to help, alright? You're doing a great job."

Rue shook her head. "Ollie's covering Dr. Grey's and Dr. Yang's patients."

Frowning, Cassie crossed her arms over her chest. "And where exactly are their interns?" Rue shrugged cluelessly, making the resident sigh in annoyance. "Okay, um, I'll page Xavier. Just, go, sleep. Get some rest, and I'll let you know if I desperately need you."

"Thank you!" Rue gasped, slightly hysterical from the lack of sleep she'd gotten. She dropped the charts at the nurses station, rushing to the nearest on call room and collapsing on the bottom bunk.

☆

Joining the others in the ER at four a.m. sharp, Cassie immediately turned to Meredith and Cristina in question. "Hey, why the hell do you have my interns covering your interns asses?"

The duo frowned in unison. "What?"

"I just talked to Lennon, and apparently, your interns are nowhere to be found, leaving three babies in charge of all of our patients," Cassie explained.

Meredith shrugged, not putting much thought into it. "They're a little messy and weird, but they always come when I page them. Well, eventually."

Cristina waved her off. "They're interns, Cass. Are we really surprised?"

"Look, I just think you should talk to them, because—"

"What are you all doing here?" Bailey interrupted, scrunching up her nose at the sight of all of her residents — minus Izzie, who was nowhere to be found — standing at the entrance to the ER.

"Oh, uh, he's mine!" Cristina shouted, referring to the incoming trauma patient. "I met the ambulance."

"And she's sharing him with me," Meredith interrupted, pausing before pulling Cassie by the arm to stand closer to them. "With us."

"He's mine," George said, "I'm on call."

"Good morning, Dr. Bailey," Alex smiled. "You look nice today."

"Brownnoser," Cassie scoffed at him, before giving Bailey a dazzling grin. "I'm happy to assist in any way you see fit."

"I got here first," Cristina argued, "And the Chief said I'm the one to watch, so."

Bailey narrowed her eyes at them for a moment, before letting out a laugh at the situation.

"Oh, I get it," Bailey nodded. "It's solo surgery time, and you've all heard the past two years, the Chief has assigned an appendectomy, so you little mini surgeons dragged your butts out of bed, to pick up some final tips from the master," she gestured to herself. "Yeah, it's kinda cute. All right, I can use two of you."

George pouted. "But I'm on call."

"I just filled Meredith in on the case," Cristina vouched, sending an apologetic smile to Cassie.

"Jason Kron, forty seven, tenderness over mcburney's point," Meredith listed off.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I could've memorized that for the next hundred years by taking one glance at the chart."

"Huh," she hummed. "Karev, what do you know about Mr. Kron?"

Alex paused. "I... know that he's a lucky man to have you as a surgeon."

They conversation was cut short as the paramedics wheeled in a separate patient, with Owen accompanying them as they came inside.

"Arthur Soltanoff, forty five, fell from a second story window. Stable vitals, Multiple fractures and lacerations with evidence of head trauma."

"Trauma one," Owen ordered. "Dr. Bailey, I'm gonna need two of your residents."

"Me, mine, I'm on call," George said instantly.

"It's yours," Bailey nodded, gesturing to Cassie to follow along. "Harper, you too. Go."

"Yes!" Cassie cheered, pumping a fist in the air and high fiving George as she joined his side. Owen shook his head at her excitement, a small smile on his face.

☆

After getting out of her patient's surgery a few hours later, Cassie cleaned off her hands before exiting the scrub room.

She made it about twenty feet down the hallway, before realizing she forgot her favorite hair tie on the sink, prompting her to turn back around. As she grew closer, she heard two hushed voices, which were familiar yet she was unable to place.

"Wait, we shouldn't do this here—"

"Shh. It's fine, everyone's gone. It's just us."

Cassie opened the door in genuine curiosity, only to freeze in her steps at the sight of Ollie and Ryan, making out against the sink.

The duo leaped apart as if they'd been shot, staring at her with wide eyes and beating hearts.

Cassie's mouth hung open, as she slowly raised a finger to point between them. "Oh my god."

"Dr. Harper, we can explain—" Ollie started.

"We're not gay!" Ryan exclaimed, causing his boyfriend to send him a deadpan look.

"Seriously, babe? That's your best defense?"

"I don't know, what was I supposed to—"

"Oh my god!" Cassie suddenly squealed, startling them once again. "You two are a couple? Why didn't you tell me?!" Not giving them a chance to respond, she continued with a wide grin. "Oh, wow, this is the best day of my life."

"You're not mad?" Ollie bit his lip nervously.

"Mad?" she repeated. "Why would I be mad?"

"Uh," Ryan stuttered, "because we're gay?"

Cassie gave them an obvious look. "Are you kidding? You guys, I am quite literally the most bisexual of all bisexuals."

Ollie and Ryan laughed at the statement, their postures relaxing as they smiled fondly at their resident.

The happy moment was abruptly ended with the buzzing of Cassie's pager. She glanced down, her brows furrowing at the message.

911 - HELP - Outpatient — C. Yang

"Okay, party's over," Cassie quickly, grabbing her hair tie and throwing her hair into a sad excuse for a bun. "Follow me, and page Lennon to outpatient surgery, now!"

Cassie sprinted out of the room as the other two blindly followed behind.

"Dr. Harper, what's happening?!"

"I have no idea."

☆

"What the hell is going on?" Cassie mumbled, entering an outpatient room to find the literal definition of chaos. Lexie and Lily stood off to the side with a huge group of interns, crying into their hands as they watched the scene in front of them.

Meredith and Cristina stood over an open body, gloved and masked as if they were in an OR while the machines went haywire. Cassie looked down, seeing Sadie laying unconscious.

"What the hell is going on?!" she repeated louder, making everyone in the room collectively sigh in relief.

"Cass, thank god," Meredith said hurriedly, waving her over. "Scrub, we need you."

Still wildly confused, Cassie did as instructed, arriving on the other side of the table while Ollie and Ryan stayed still in the doorway.

She was then filled in on what had happened; the interns thought it would be fun to perform an unauthorized appendectomy on one of their own.

Cassie shook her head with a disappointed scoff. "Unbelievable," she mumbled, grabbing a clamp from the side table. "Un-fucking-believable."

"Where the hell is Bailey?!" Cristina yelled.

"Peterson, Xavier," Cassie shouted out to two of the three interns who weren't involved. "Go, run, and find Dr. Bailey— oh, Lennon, thank god."

Rue rushed in, barely able to stay calm. "What can I do?"

"We need hands," Meredith told her.

"Lennon, you slept?"

"Eight hours total."

Cassie nodded. "Alright. Scrub in, now, and help me find the source of this bleeding."

☆

"What the hell is going on?" Bailey demanded, getting gloved and coming up to the others at the table.

"That's what I asked."

"We were trying to take out her appendix," Lexie said nervously, sharing a glance with Lily, who was glaring at her.

"Well, whose foolish idea was that?"

"Mine," Lexie sighed, at the same time as Lily said, "Lexie's."

Bailey shook her head, looking to Meredith in question. "Where are we?"

"We just found the artery in the mesoappendix. Apparently, the stitches the interns did came off."

"Hand me another 3-0 silk," Cassie ordered Rue, who did so diligently. "Damn, I need some more suction."

"How's her pressure holding up?"

"74 systolic," Meredith said anxiously.

"She is really bleeding," Cristina said rapidly, "I can't see anything."

"The stump isn't closed right," Cassie observed, finishing her stitch in the area she was working on.

"She needs a partial cecectomy," Bailey told them.

"I can't get to the appendiceal artery," Cristina argued, very obviously stressed out.

"Come on," Bailey soothed, "Yes, you can. You almost had it."

Meredith retracted more, raising a brow in inquiry. "Is your visualization better?"

"No, I still... I-I can't see anything."

Cassie tilted her head, feeling around the appendix. "Wait! Wait, I think I have it."

Bailey moved around the table, looking over her shoulder. "Okay, good, Harper. That's good. Just feel around—"

"Mer, retract a bit more— okay, I got it!" Cassie laughed slightly, mainly out of nerves. "I got it. Cristina, you have the better angle on the stitch."

Cristina agreed, nodding her assent as she began to finish the hardest part. Bailey watched the three of them work together, smiling under her mask despite the situation.

"Okay, Grey, you tie it off while Yang holds the clamp in place. Harper, finish the stitch once it's closed."

"Stick tie or ligature suture?"

"Whatever works. You'll have to do what feels right to you."

☆

Webber was standing in front of his desk, his arms crossed as he looked down on Meredith, Cristina, and Cassie.

"I was sleeping," he started off sternly. "And sleep isn't easy for me to come by. But, I was finally sleeping, then I get a call."

"I can't believe it," Meredith told him honestly. "I still can't believe it."

Cassie agreed wholeheartedly. "It's insane."

"Don't beat yourself up too much about it," Webber sighed. "I've seen a lot of maturity in the three of you through this whole mess. You handled the crisis, you handled the surgery, and you saved that girl's life. And, you called for help right away." He paused for a moment. "There was a time not so long ago, that you would've reached a different conclusion. You could've stuck to the code and saved your own, tried to hide the whole mess. You know, sometimes protecting your colleagues is solidarity, and sometimes it's just hubris. I'm glad to see you know the difference."

Suddenly, Lexie barged in the room, looking distressed. "Chief, you don't..." she looked to the residents. "I can't let you three get in trouble for this."

"Lexie—"

"No, it's not right," she shook her head. "People tried to stop me. Dr. Yang told me yesterday to shut it down, but I didn't listen."

"You knew about this yesterday?"

Cassie knitted her brows, as she, Webber, and Meredith stared daggers at Cristina.

"Sir, I—"

Webber turned to Meredith and Cassie, his voice raised. "Did you two know?"

"No," they chorused, oblivious to Cristina's betrayed look at their answer. "No, we didn't."

☆

"You knew?!" Meredith accused, shouting at Cristina. Cassie followed them into an empty hallway, more upset than angry about the whole situation. "You knew they were gonna cut her open?!"

"No!" Cristina denied.

"Cristina," Cassie scolded, "Lexie just said you knew. So which is it? Yes or no?"

"No!" she repeated in frustration. "Sutures. I knew they were doing sutures on themselves, and I didn't think I needed to say anything, because I had shut it down. I had handled it."

"Apparently, you didn't."

"Yeah, because it almost cost Lexie her job! Not to mention, that Sadie almost died in there."

Cristina shook her head, glaring at her two best friends with renewed anger as they teamed up against her.

"Okay, you know what?" Cristina shouted. "Sadie did that to herself," she turned to Meredith, "and let's not pretend that you have some sort of relationship with Lexie. Let's not pretend that you care about her."

"I care about my job," Meredith retorted. "And I care about doing the right thing."

"Who are you to lecture me on doing the right thing? Are you kidding me?"

"No, we're not," Cassie said sternly. "You hear about something like that, you report it, Cristina! These are peoples lives at stake!"

"You're not attendings, you know! You both may be sleeping with one, but that doesn't mean you are one yet."

Meredith and Cassie rolled their eyes.

"Is that what this is about?" Meredith asked. "Derek? It's always going to be about Derek?"

"Just because you're lonely, doesn't mean you need to take it out on us," Cassie added.

"Okay, fine," Cristina yelled. "It's not about Derek. It's about you two, and me, and the fact that you didn't have my back in that room!"

"What would you have wanted us to say?!"

"I don't know! Anything?! You should've said anything." Cristina gestured to Meredith. "You have a relationship with the Chief. You have his ear, but you didn't say anything to defend me." She turned to Cassie. "We all know the Chief respects you the most, and you didn't even bother to give me the benefit of the freaking doubt."

Cristina shook her head in defeat as she continued to rant. "Because this isn't just on me. I mean, you two just stood there, and you watched him take me out of the running for solo surgery. You let me take all the blame, but the fact is, that we all had interns in that room. We all failed to supervise them. Mer, if your friend had died in there, if we hadn't saved her life, that would've been on all of us, too."

The three of them stood in silence for a long moment, which Cassie broke with a sharp exhale.

"Will you stop saying we?"

At that, both Cristina and Meredith turned to her in irritation and confusion. "What?"

"Stop saying that we all had interns in that room," Cassie shook her head. "Because the fact of the matter is, I didn't. I was the only one who didn't."

Both Cristina and Meredith scoffed, the former speaking up in a harsh tone. "Yeah, we get it, Cassie. You're perfect."

"Seriously," Meredith added. "Now isn't the time for a lecture on your oh so superior teaching methods."

Taking offense at the mocking tone, Cassie narrowed her eyes at the two.

"Actually, I think it is. Because to be completely honest, this isn't anyone's fault but your own. You two, not anyone else."

Cristina pursed her lips. "Excuse me?"

Cassie rolled her eyes, trying to explain without coming across as judgemental. But, if she were honest, she was being judgmental; and rightfully so, after what had just happened.

"You are responsible for your interns. When Izzie cut that LVAD wire, who got in trouble other than Izzie?" Cassie tilted her head. "Bailey did. And now, the people who relied on you to teach them, to guide them in the right direction, messed up. That's on you, not anybody else. Your interns are immature and reckless, because you are immature and reckless."

Meredith raised her voice to a shout once again, no longer able to take sides, as it was now a three way argument. Cristina simply scowled at Cassie.

"I am not—"

"If Bailey treated you two the same way you treat your interns, do you really think you'd be as advanced as you are now?" She interrupted, looking between them with a single brow raised. "No? Yeah, I didn't think so."

"It's different—"

"No, it's not, and that's exactly why my interns were nowhere near that room. Because I take the extra time out of my day, and use genuine effort and care to actually teach them." Cassie crossed her arms over her chest, her head tilted in faux inquiry. "Can you say the same for yourselves?"

author's note —
the girls are fightinggg!