CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
17 seconds.
season two, episode twenty five.

☆ trigger warning ☆
mentions and descriptions of gun violence

CASSIE, MEREDITH, CRISTINA, AND IZZIE SAT AT THE BAR, WATCHING BURKE AND DEREK VIOLENTLY PLAY DARTS. "He's picturing my face," Cristina scoffed, glaring at her boyfriend. "He's totally picturing that dart puncturing my skull."

Derek made eye contact with Meredith, before spinning around and hitting a bullseye.

"Derek is picturing Meredith," Izzie added.

Meredith scoffed, downing her shot of tequila. "He called me a whore. He lost the right to picture me."

"He called you a what?" Cassie gasped drunkenly. "Do you want me to beat him up? Because I will. I don't care. Just say the word."

"Maybe later," she smirked, nudging Cassie in the ribs.

"So I fall asleep during sex. So what?" Cristina shrugged. She raised her voice and shouted, "Ass!"

"Ass!" Meredith repeated.

"Ass!" Izzie smiled sarcastically at Alex as he walked by. Cassie looked between them all, trying to remember which relationship problem belonged to which couple.

Alex smirked. "Isobel Stevens has finally left the hospital. Does this mean heart patient dude finally kicked it?"

"Hey," Cassie glared at him while taking another shot. "Talk about Den like that again, and you'll be the one I beat up."

"Oh please, you couldn't beat me up."

She raised a brow. "Care to test that theory?"

Alex frowned slightly, taking a step back. "Actually, no. You can be scary."

"That's what I thought."

Izzie rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, this section of the bar is for surgeons. We don't socialize with gynecologists." George entered the bar making her smile. "George!"

Her smile faded when she saw who he was with. Cassie, on the other hand, jumped out of her seat and gave the other girl a hug.

"Callie, you're here!" Cassie grinned. "With George! You know, I don't say this enough, but I love you guys together. You two are awesome."

George looked Cassie up and down. "You much do you think she's had to drink?" he whispered to Callie.

"A couple shots, at least," Callie replied with a small smile, looking at the only one of George's friends that she actually likes.

"Hey," Izzie smiled weakly.

"Hi, Callie."

"Hi, Dr. Torres."

The couple shared an uncomfortable look at the other's hostility, which Cassie noticed.

"Hello! Welcome!" she cheered, lightening their moods as George ordered them drinks.

"Uh, gin and tonic and a beer."

Cassie looked over at Derek, who was still making angry eyes at Meredith, and scoffed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I'll be right back," she slurred.

"No, Cass—" Meredith tried to stop her, but she was already halfway across the bar.

"Hey! Ass!"

"Cassie?" Derek frowned. She smacked him upside the head, making him wince. "Ouch!"

"You are being an ass."

"What do you—"

"You called her a whore! Seriously? Maybe I should remind you who slept with an intern while married to his wife!" Cassie shouted, causing a few people to turn their heads. Burke sipped his drink and pretended he wasn't listening, and the interns to attempted to hide their laughter.

"I didn't—"

"You. Called. Her. A. Whore?" Cassie yelled, hitting him with every word. "She. Is. Not. A. Whore!"

"Maybe we should..." Alex mumbled.

"Yeah," Cristina agreed, standing up and bringing Cassie back to their table.

"I'm mad at you, but I still love you!" the brunette called out over her shoulder.

☆

"White male. GSW to the left shoulder."

"I've got a GSW to the abdomen."

"Multiple walking wounded. Five injured coming in behind us."

"Why are they all in the hallway?" Meredith and Cassie asked in unison, pointing to the patients lining the halls.

"Overflow from the ER," Cristina said.

"A paramedic told us an employee went postal. Shot up a restaurant," Izzie added.

"I heard he got away," George said with wide eyes.

"Really?"

Cassie frowned, checking her pager and seeing that she didn't have any active patients. "Hey guys, I'm going to check on Denny real quick. Let me know if you need me."

Cristina and Meredith nodded, both knowing how much their person was worried about the patient. The LVAD helped his heart a bit, but he needed a heart transplant sooner than later if he wanted to live a long life.

"Go, Cass. We've got it."

Cassie nodded thankfully, hopping on the elevator and making her way up to Denny's room, where he was watching Jersey Shore.

She snorted at the screen, gaining the man's attention. "Hey bubbles, what's up?"

"Not much," she shrugged, sitting on the end of his bed and facing the TV. "Why are you watching this?"

"It's entertaining," he replied, turning down the volume so he could hear her properly. "Hey, Cass, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Cassie turned, her face falling slightly at his serious expression. "What is it?"

"I just thought you should know," he paused, "I signed a DNR this morning."

Her face went blank. "What?"

Denny sighed heavily. "I'm weak, bubbles. And I'm in pain. And if Dr. Burke can find me a heart soon, then that's great. But if he can't... I don't know that it's worth it."

"Of course it's worth it!" Cassie instantly disagreed. "What are you even— what are you talking about?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "Do you believe in heaven?"

"No, not really."

Denny smiled sadly. "I do. I believe that when all of this is over, there will be peace. And honestly, kid, I'm in a lot of pain. Right now, going to heaven doesn't seem to be the worst thing."

"Stop it," Cassie snapped, her eyes watering. "Stop talking about heaven and dying and going into the damn light. You're stable. You're not dying anytime soon. Burke will find you a heart—"

"I know," he interrupted. "I know. But just in case he doesn't, or something bad happens, I'm signing the DNR. Okay?"

"No, no, I—"

"Bubbles, please," Denny begged. "Just in case. It's what's best for me."

Taking a shaky breath, Cassie slowly nodded in acceptance. "Okay."

Denny grinned, pulling her into a hug. "Okay."

☆

"Two dead, 14 injured. The policeman say the gunman got away so there could be more incoming," Webber said, unaware of the three interns listening in on the conversation.

"I could stay. We could send Bailey," Burke replied.

Webber shook his head. "No. You're our only cardiothoracic transplant specialist. You go get that heart."

"Heart?" Cassie asked Cristina and Alex hopeful. "For Denny?"

"Oh, forget it. I already asked," Cristina said. "It's not going to—" she cut herself off when Alex and Cassie ran after Burke on the helipad. "—happen."

"Dr. Burke! Dr. Burke! I heard you were getting a heart. Can I go with you?" Alex asked as Burke boarded the helicopter.

"I asked first," Cristina butted in.

Cassie caught Burke's eye from behind the two, and she gave him a pleading look, knowing who the heart was for. Burke held their eye contact for a long moment, before looking back to Cristina.

"You didn't get assigned any gunshot cases?"

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

"I didn't. I'm not doing anything."

"No, he's on the gynie squad!"

"Not if you put me on this transplant. Please."

"I need to be there, Dr. Burke," Cassie said in a tone that caused the three to turn their attention to her. "I'm Denny's family, I know that, but there's no reason why I can't go to get the heart. Please, I need to be there."

Burke slowly nodded. "Let's go, Cassie, Karev."

Cristina groaned and threw her arms. "You can't be serious!"

Alex cheered as he stepped onto the helicopter, but stopped when he realized something. "Wait, this is for that heart patient dude?"

"No," Cassie shook her head, smiling hopefully at Burke. "This is for Denny."

☆

"Two brothers tried to pass a semi on a double yellow and came out on the losing end of a head-on. Both are a match for your guy," the doctor told them when they arrived at Mercy West.

"So we get our pick," Alex stated.

"It doesn't work like that," Burke disagreed.

"UNOS has already assigned who gets which donor," Cassie informed him.

Alex looked around. "So who's retrieving the other heart?"

"Took you long enough, Preston," a blonde woman named Erica Hahn said as she approached the three. "Why are junior 1 and 2 here? Did your ego get too big for one man to carry?"

Burke smiled condescendingly. "Dr. Hahn here graduated second in our class at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Karev, Dr. Harper, ask her who graduated first."

Erica rolled her eyes. "God."

☆

The machines in the donor's room began to go off, causing the trio to rush into the room. "What the hell happened to my donor?" Burke questioned.

"He went into v-fib," the doctor said.

"I can see that," Burke rolled his eyes. "Give me the paddles. Karev, take over compressions! You gave epi?"

The doctor nodded. "Three rounds and shocked him twice."

"I'm going to hit him again at 360."

Cassie watched anxiously, already starting to have the feeling.

"He's asystolic," she shouted.

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

Burke looked at the intern. "And now his heart has joined the rest of him."

"So, we can't use it?"

"No, Alex, we cannot use it. The muscle is dead. The heart is useless!"

Cassie pushed back the tears that were willing to come out. This was his chance, she thought numbly. This was his chance, and now he's going to die.

"At least the other guy gets one," Alex huffed, causing Cassie's head to snap upwards.

"Dr. Burke," she said slowly, "The other guy."

Instantly, Burke and Cassie sprinted out the door in unison, running out of the room and entering Hahn's OR with a bang. Alex followed shortly after.

"Stop right there! Don't move that scalpel! Not even a single slice!" Burke shouted.

"Just because your donor's heart died doesn't mean I have to give you mine," Hahn said, moving the scalpel towards the man's chest.

"Stop!" Cassie screamed at the top of her lungs, making the entire OR go still.

"Is your patient higher on the transplant list?" Burke asked lowly, and was given no response. "Is he higher on the transplant list?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, neither do I," Burke said. "Karev, get UNOS on the phone now."

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

As she said that, a doctor picked up a scalpel.

"Hey! Hey!" Burke stopped him.

"What? Are you going to beat him up?"

"Yeah," Cassie intervened, glaring at both the doctor and Hahn. "I will."

"Okay, just hold on. It's pathetic, Preston. Really pathetic."

Cassie looked up at Burke, trying to calm her raging anxiety. "Thank you."

Burke nodded, his face unsure.

☆

"Your guy's on an LVAD? He's probably up and walking around. My guy still needs his dobutamine drip."

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

The man from UNOS on the phone inturrupted. "As of this morning, Dr. Hahn's patient was 22 hundredths of a point ahead."

Cassie closed her eyes in defeat.

"That's basically a tie."

"Except, that Dr. Hahn's patient was admitted into the transplant program before Mr. Duquette."

"How long before?" Cassie spoke up.

There was a long pause.

"17 seconds."

"17 seconds," Burke repeated slowly.

"Might as well be 17 weeks. It doesn't matter," Hahn shrugged.

Cassie narrowed her eyes at the attending. "Not to be rude or anything, but I really don't like you."

Burke's cell phone rang, and he handed it to Alex. Cassie, who was busy pacing back and forth, unfortunately didn't hear Alex say the words Izzie, I'm not going to lie for you.

☆

Back at Seattle Grace, Izzie rushed into Denny's room, flustered and confused. "There may not be a heart, Denny. Somebody at Mercy West might get it instead."

Denny's face dropped. "So this isn't going to happen... again?"

"Not necessarily," she said vaguely. "I have been over this, and over this, and it can't be a lie, and it can't be fake. We need charts, we need test results, we need UNOS to believe us. So it has to be real."

Denny frowned, shifting in his seat. "What are you talking about, Izzie?"

"In order for you to get the heart, you would have to get worse. Much worse. And you would have to do it very quickly."

Denny smirked. "Well, I don't see that happening. You see that happening?"

His expression fell when he saw the look on her face.

"I am going to make it happen."

☆

Somehow, Burke convinced the UNOS doctor to give them an hour to get the correct test results.

"It's been 30 minutes already. Is Izzie answering her page?" Cassie asked hurriedly.

"She probably busy getting test results," Alex said.

"Did you call Bailey?" she continued to question.

"Well, she's not answering either."

Cassie frowned at him. "Alex, is everything okay?"

He didn't respond.

"You can check the chart all you want. You're not getting this heart," Hahn smirked.

"Well, you may not want it. His angiogram shows 30% LAD," Burke tried to persuade.

"It's still not enough to give it to you."

☆

"Izzie. Izzie, stop and listen to me. We're not doing this," Denny said.

"Don't worry. You're not going to die. I will be here the whole time to make sure of that, and that's what this stuff is for," Izzie said, showing him the medical supplies.

"This isn't about me dying. All right? This is wrong."

"You've waited a year and a half to get this thing. Who knows when the next one is gonna come along?"

"I'll take my chances."

"No! It may be too late by then."

"Then it's too late! All right? Now, get this stuff out of here!"

"Denny, please. You have to do this," Izzie pleaded.

Denny shook his head. "No, Izzie. I'm not about to steal a heart from another man's chest. Not to mention, this will be the end of your medical career, and Cassie will kill us both."

"I don't care about my medical career!"

"All right, you know what? This has gone on long enough. I'm gonna call a nurse."

"Everyone who is entered into the transplant program is clocked in to the second. To the second. Denny, you were clocked in to the second and so was the other guy. I checked with UNOS. The difference between when you entered the program and when he entered the program, is 17 seconds. That's it, Denny. Seventeen seconds. I mean, it's not even the length of a decent kiss. So this other guy? I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve this heart. I'm sure he does. But so do you. So do you! Cassie will understand! And if you tell me any more crap about heading towards the light or looking down on me from heaven, I swear I will kill you myself, right now."

Denny sighed. "Izzie. I'm gonna be all right. All right? You don't have to worry."

"What about me? What about me when you go to the light? No! I get it, okay? I get it. You'll be okay. You'll be fine, but what about me? So don't do it for yourself. Do it for me! Please! Please, Denny! Please do this for me! Because if you die... oh, God you have to do this. You have to do this for me or I'll never be able to forgive you!"

☆

"According to my intern, Denny Duquette is in pulmonary edema. He has been intubated and placed on multiple IV drips," Burke said as he got off the phone.

"What?" Cassie gasped. "Dr. Burke, what's happening?"

He didn't answer.

"So, Preston gets the heart. Great, lets open this guy," Hahn rolled her eyes.

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

"You just did," Cassie said, her brows furrowing.

Something wasn't right.

"In person. I want to confirm them in person."

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

There was a long silence, making Cassie look up to her attending.

The feeling was getting stronger.

"Dr. Burke?" she whispered with concern.

"Well, because of the shootings today... at the restaurant," Alex suddenly spoke up, drawing Cassie's attention towards him. "All of our attendings are still in surgery."

Something is wrong, the voice in the back of her head told her. Something is wrong.

"Exactly," Burke nodded. "Now, if you'd prefer, 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."

"Go."

"Thank you."

Burke moved to the exit with Cassie and Alex behind him, but he stopped the interns before they could go out into the hall.

"Preston," Cassie said, using his first name to emphasize her point. "What's happening?"

"I'm going back to Seattle Grace," he said simply. "You stay here and protect my heart. If that woman so much as looks at a scalpel, tackle her. Do you understand?"

He turned around to leave, sighing when he noticed Cassie was following him. She looked up and noticed his expression.

"I'm coming with you."

"No," he responded instantly. "You, stay here."

Burke walked away, making it several paces down the hallway before Cassie called out to him.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Dr. Burke?" she raised her voice.

"Pardon?"

"You're lying to me," Cassie deadpanned.

"I'm not."

She shrugged. "Fine. Then I'm coming with you."

"Dr. Harper—"

"If you seriously think that I'm going to stand here and do nothing while Denny slowly dies, you clearly don't know me at all."

☆

The whole ride to the hospital, Cassie was physically shaking with anxiety. So much so, that Burke had to take deep breaths for her to follow so that she wouldn't have a full fledged panic attack.

Something is wrong.

The two stepped onto the hospital grounds, and began to make their way inside.

He's lying. Something is wrong.

Out of nowhere, Burke fell to the ground. It wasn't until she looked down, that Cassie registered the sound of gunfire.

The next thing she knew, she was laying on the cold concrete, in a pool of her own blood, with a gunshot wound to her abdomen.

☆

"It's okay. Burke will be here any minute."

Izzie cut the LVAD wire, and the machine flatlined.