CHAPTER SEVEN.
save me + who's zoomin' who?

When Vienna entered the kitchen in the morning, her jaw dropped slightly at the sight of Izzie in an apron, the walls and counters covered with frosting, cupcakes, and flour.

"What the hell happened here?" Vienna questioned with wide eyes.

"Eight hours, sixteen ounces of chocolate, and thirty-two cupcakes. And they still don't taste right," Izzie shook her head, glaring at the sight in front of her.

"No, these are good!" George told her as he stuffed his mouth. "Martha Stewart would be proud. Here, Vienna, try one."

The woman scrunched up her nose in slight disgust at the amount of sugar. "I think I'm gonna stick to my pancakes."

"There's something missing," Izzie sighed. "Some specific ingredient. Why can't I remember?"

"Look, just call her. Call your mother and ask."

"I don't want to call my mother."

"Good morning," Derek greeted the group as he came into the kitchen with Meredith in tow.

"Hey, you guys want a cupcake?" George offered. "Izzie made them."

Making the same face Vienna had a moment ago, Derek declined. "You know, I like it here," he said to Meredith, grabbing a bowl of cereal and taking a seat next to her.

"You said so yourself, you like having your things around, sleeping in your own bed," Meredith said.

"You're a health nut, aren't you?" George interrupted. "You eat Muesli every morning," He said to Derek.

"No I don't," Derek argued.

"Yeah, you do. You have a fruit salad and Museli in front of you right now." Izzie agreed with George. "The last seven days, at least."

"Oh, come on," Derek frowned. "I haven't been here for a whole week, have I?"

The interns shared a look, causing Meredith to smirk. "See? Even they think it's weird."

"It's pretty weird, Der," Vienna agreed, the male simply ruffling her already messy hair.

♱

"This guy belongs in psych. What are you doing turfing him here?" Cristina said as she and Vienna looked at their patient's chart, questioning the psychologist who decided he needed to be on one of the surgical floors.

"He's my gift to you," He said with attitude. "Had a seizure two days ago, and another one this morning."

"What are you talking about?" Vienna scoffed, reading from the chart. "It says right here, he talks to dead people, his family thinks he's dangerous, they had him committed. That's psych, not neuro."

"Man, didn't you go to med school?" Cristina scoffed.

"Yes, and unlike the correspondence schools you two attended ━━ "

"That would be Stanford, right?"

"So Columbia?"

"I learned not to jump to conclusions. Sorry, ladies. We can't take him back until he's cleared." The doctor told them.

"So, you're dumping him on us," Vienna folded her arms.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "He thinks his seizures are visions."

"They're not seizures," The patient called out from his room, "I'm psychic."

"Of course you are. Oh, and I'm a chicken," Cristina retorted, reluctantly checking him out as Vienna followed her lead.

"Okay, Mr. Duff. We're gonna start your check-up now," Vienna informed him.

"Check me up, check me down, I'm telling you it's a waste of time."

"Ok, well, humor us. Can you grip my fingers, please?" Cristina asked. Before he could do so, however, he appeared to go into some trance.

"Cristina. . . " Vienna trailed off as she eyed the patient. "Mr. Duff?"

"Mr. Duff, are you okay?"

"Someone ━━ "

"Someone what?" Cristina asked.

"Someone's gonna check out," He said, gesturing to the ceiling. "Bye."

"Oh, man, he's nuts," Cristina sighed.

Vienna nudged her, "Cristina, he can hear you."

"Yeah, I'm dizzy, not deaf, lady," he scoffed. "And I'm telling you, someone on the fourth floor is gonna die."

"Code blue, fourth floor. Code blue, fourth floor."

Vienna looked at him skeptically for a moment, before momentarily letting it go. "Alright, uh, we'll be back soon, Mr. Duff. Until then, get some rest."

♱

After Cristina switched cases with Izzie, for reasons unknown to Vienna, the two were in a scanning room with Mr. Duff, prepping him for his MRI. "Your nostrils are flaring," He pointed out to Izzie, smiling.

"They are not," The blonde quickly disagreed.

"You're into me. I can tell," He smirked at her. "Dr. Small-and-Angry was a hot appetizer, but you are a smorgasbord of lust."

"Smorgasbord?"

He turned his attention to Vienna, grinning at her widely. "Don't think I forgot about you, doctor. You're a less extreme version of Dr. Small-and-Angry."

"Right," Vienna deadpanned, setting up the machine.

"Mr. Duff, you're pressing your luck," Izzie warned him.

"Would you press it for me?" He flirted more.

"I hope you're not claustrophobic," Vienna said, changing the subject.

"You're staring at me," Izzie glared at him. "Stop it." She tried to move away, only to be stopped by him grabbing her wrist.

"I'm looking at you, but it's the strangest thing. I'm hungry for a chocolate cupcake."

Vienna and Izzie looked at each other in bewilderment. "What did you say?"

"A chocolate cupcake," Mr. Duff repeated, "Maybe one of those fudgy things, with the white swirl on the frosting, Could you oblige?"

"What, do I still have some chocolate on my face or in my hair or something?" Izzie questioned incredulously.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Duff frowned.

"You. I know the drill, so keep it up. Next, you'll be reading my cards, telling me my dead uncle is in the room." Izzie said.

"Is he?" Mr, Duff asked sarcastically.

Izzie rolled her eyes at him. "Ha-ha." Vienna laughed awkwardly, eyes darting between the two before pressing the button to start the MRI as Izzie glared down at the smirking man. "I'm watching you."

After his scan, Izzie had gone to get Mr. Duff to sign the consent forms for the surgery that he needed, which he eventually did after a lot of convincing.

Once the surgery was finished, Vienna headed toward his room once he'd woken up, to check on him. "Hey," She knocked twice on the door before stepping inside. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Mr. Duff said with a genuine smile. "Good."

Vienna smiled, "Are you alright?"

He nodded absently, looking off into space.

Vienna frowned in confusion. "What is it?"

"Everyone always tries to run from their past," He said cheekily.

"Um, what?" She asked him confusedly.

He didn't meet her eye, "It always catches up to them."

Vienna sighed. "Perfect."

♱

"George. You locked the door. I need to take a shower!"  Izzie shouted down the hall, followed by pounds of a door. Vienna groaned into her pillow before hopping out of bed. Her face twisted into confusion when she left her room and noticed George, Izzie, and Meredith all standing out in the hallway.

"What is going on out here?" She asked in confusion.

"He's freaked out 'cause I caught him playing with little Jimmy and the twins." Izzie laughed.

Vienna grimaced, "Oh, yuck."

"I have a girlfriend." George reminded them all.

"Oh yeah, how was your date, George?"

"Great. I ━━ It was great." He stammered as he walked back toward his room, slamming the door.

"This sounds like fun out here." Derek rubbed his eyes as he walked out of Meredith's room, "Morning, Vee."

"Hi, Derek," Vienna answered, as Derek's phone began to ring. The two looked at each other with uneasy looks as Meredith watched him look down at the phone and ignore it.

"Aren't you gonna get that? It might be the hospital." Meredith questioned.

"It's not. Breakfast?" Derek suggested, changing the subject as he moved down the stairs with Vienna.

The blonde lowered her voice as they walked into the kitchen. "Is it her?"

He nodded. "Has she tried to talk to you?"

"I wouldn't know, they're both blocked." Vienna looked at him, "Why is she calling?"

"No idea."

♱

"Hey, syph boy!" Vienna cheered with a teasing grin at George as she joined the rest of her intern group at a cafeteria table. Izzie had told her that George had gotten syphilis from the nurse Olivia, whom he'd gone on a date with the night before.

George groaned, glaring at Izzie. "You told her?"

Izzie took a bite of her sandwich, "I might have."

"Syph boy," Alex repeated, leaning back in his chair.

"Like a superhero." Vienna added with a smirk, looking toward Alex, "There was Spiderman, now there's Syph boy."

Alex laughed with her, "The Tale of Syph Boy."

"Ooh, The Amazing Adventures of Syph Boy ━━ "

George cut them off, "We get it!"

"Izzie didn't have to say a word," Cristina shook her head. "Around here, the only thing that spreads faster than disease is gossip."

"That's not true," George disagreed. "Just because Izzie can't keep her mouth shut doesn't mean everyone knows."

"How are you feeling?" Meredith asked George as she joined the group at their lunch table. "Sorry about the syphilis."

The boy groaned, "Everybody in the hospital knows?"

"Knows you're a player," Alex shrugged. "Everybody's got a secret. Be glad yours is out in the open."

Cristina looked over at him, "Oh, yeah, Alex? What's yours?"

"Show me yours, and I'll show you mine," He smirked. "I bet you've got some seriously kinky skeletons in your closet."

♱

"I have a cute butt too, want to see?" Vienna heard Alex's voice from behind an exam curtain. Pulling it open, she found Alex, and Meredith stood behind George as he leaned over a table, naked with his ass up in the air.

Vienna laughed in disbelief. "What is happening here?"

"Vienna! The curtain!" George shouted.

Closing the divider, she walked around the table to stand by Meredith. "You're doing it wrong," She told Alex.

"Be my guest," He said, handing the shot of penicillin over to her and swiftly leaving.

"Alex!" George called out, "Don't leave me with ━━ "

Vienna frowned. "Gross. I'm not doing it," She passed the syringe to Meredith.

"What are we doing here?" Izzie asked, yanking the curtain open the same way Vienna had.

The male on the table quickly pulled the curtain shut again. "Breaking George's spirit," He muttered in embarrassment.

"Curing George's syph," Vienna informed the blonde, "Meredith just needs to give him a shot in the ass, and he should be good to go."

"I don't like needles," George sighed.

"Good thing you became a doctor, then," Meredith smirked. "Okay, this one is done. Other side."

"Izzie?" They heard Cristina call out.

"Yeah?" She called back, causing Cristina to pull the curtains open once again and join them, much to George's dismay.

"Saving George from a future of festering sores," Vienna grinned.

"Oh, cute butt," Cristina complimented George as she went to stand next to the three women.

"It is cute. Like a baby's," Izzie nodded.

"You know, I have spent hours, days, years, imagining myself half naked in a room with four women. The reality is so much better," George said sarcastically, pulling up his pants and rushing off without another word.

Vienna scoffed. "Gross, dude."

"I think he's gonna cry," Cristina laughed.

"Three interns, four residents, and six nurses on this surgical floor have been diagnosed with...syphilis." Richard starts, standing in front of the hospital staff, having called for a meeting. Vienna's eyes widened as she stifled a laugh, eyes locking with Bowie from across the room.

"There are over 70,000 new cases every year. Undiagnosed, syphilis can lead to blindness, insanity, and death." Patricia tells the group.

"If you are having unprotected sex with another member of the staff, get tested. This is not a request." Richard says, earning laughs from around the room. "Patricia will now give you a safe-sex demonstration." Richard clears his throat uncomfortably.

"Do I need to get tested, Bowie?" Vienna questioned quietly with a raised eyebrow, once the room cleared out.

"Nope."

"Really?"

Bowie looked at her, "Why are you surprised?"

"I'm. . . not."

After she left the meeting, Vienna decided to go look for Derek, to see if she could get onto any of his cases. "You see that right there?" She heard the man in question's voice from an MRI viewing room. "It's a tumor, and it's pressing against your optic nerve."

"Who's got a tumor?" Vienna asked as she entered the room, making the attending and Webber jump and turn to look at her with surprisingly wide eyes. It was only then that she realized they were talking to the Chief. "Oh, hello... Chief Webber."

"Vienna. Don't you have patients?" Webber questioned.

"Actually, no ━━ I was looking for Der ━━ I mean Dr. Shepherd," She trailed off. "But he's here. So. . . how about that tumor?"

After strange looks exchanged between the two, Webber turned to her and sighed. "It's mine."

Vienna frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

He nodded at her before he turned back to Derek. "Is it operable?"

"Oh, definitely," Derek said. "Though, it does have its risks."

"You mean I could lose my sight?" Webber sighed. "Just what I need, a syphilis outbreak and a tumor."

"Well, it's probably unrelated," Derek grinned, making Vienna snort unattractively as Webber stared at them unamused.

"Alright, put a team together. And my people only. I still want this kept under wraps. The vultures will be circling soon enough," The Chief ordered sternly, turning back to Vienna. "And not a word of this to anyone, you hear me?"

The blonde nodded, "My lips are sealed." She made the motion of zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key.

Webber sent them a curt nod and made his way out of the room. Once he was gone, Derek looked at Vienna with a big smile. "So, are you ready for this secret super surgery? I'm going to try and get Meredith on it too." He asked.

"Obviously," Vienna said enthusiastically. "We're gonna need to work on that name though, give it more uh, more pizzazz." She grinned.

Later that day, Derek approached Vienna, Bailey, and Meredith in the hall, who had also been let in on the Chief's surgery.  "How's our special super secret silent sunset surgery?"

"I've been practicing that," Derek said. "Vee said it needed pizzazz."

"You have too much time on your hands," Bailey shook her head, "Tell the Chief I'll be there. Just let me know when and where."

After the Chief's surgery, which turned out successful, the female interns returned to the locker room to get changed and head home. When they entered they were met with the sight of a nurse who gave George syphilis nervously talking to him in the center of the room.

"George," Olivia sighed, "I want you to understand when we started dating, I was already kind of seeing someone. I didn't know how much I'd like you, and when I realized, I broke it off with the other guy ━━ "

"Other guy?" George frowned deeply. "Who's the other guy?" Olivia looked sheepishly behind George, causing him to turn around to see Alex standing there uncomfortably.

"This isn't going to end well," Vienna grimaced. "For who? I don't know yet."

"You and Alex?" George screamed, jumping at said male and attacking him with punches. "You gave me syphilis?"

"George!" the girls shouted, Meredith lightly pushed the others out of the way, grabbing onto the front of George's shirt and pulling him back.

♱

Vienna was finally on her way out of the hospital after her shift, and was planning on heading straight home. She was exhausted and wished she could flop into bed and sleep for the rest of time. The woman dug through her purse as she looked for her car keys. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," Vienna started, "I wasn't looking where I was ━━ " She paused as she looked up, seeing the face of the woman who'd participated in tearing her love life apart just a few months prior. "No."

"Vee ━━ " The redhead attempted, face branding a smile that Vienna no longer found comforting.

Vienna shook her head in disbelief, "No. Absolutely not. You are not in Seattle." The blonde scoffed. "Addison, what the hell are you doing here?"

Addison sighed. "The Chief asked me to come in for a special case," She said as if it was nothing. "And. . . You and Derek have been gone long enough."

"What a joke." Vienna laughed sarcastically, pushing past Addison.

"You can't avoid me forever!" The taller woman called behind her.

"I can sure as hell try!" Vienna called without looking back, swiftly pulling her phone out and sending multiple texts to Derek ranging from Voldemort is here to Satan has arrived in Seattle!

Shoving her phone back into her coat pocket as she reached her car, she groaned and threw her head against the steering wheel once inside. Instead of going home, Vienna drove in the direction of Joe's after pulling out of a parking lot, the woman now in desperate need of a drink.

♱ word count 2823