chapter three ━ doing the impossible
( season six, episode seven )

❝If I can remove the impossible,
then I'm going to remove the
impossible.❞

THE INEVITABLE HAD finally happened: Ellie was on Derek's service. She loved Derek; he was like a brother to her, but... he got really annoying in surgery sometimes. Ellie stood beside Dr. Bailey while listening to the chief address them all. "Hospitals across the country have reported substantial savings..."

"How bad is it today?" Derek asked Bailey, walking up to the two.

"The chief's implementing a computer model for scheduling our surgeries from now on. Something about efficiency and progress."

"And to make sure this was the right decision," Richard continued, getting everyone's attention back. "I have enlisted one of our own to do a trial run for the last month. Dr. Sloan."

Ellie tilted her head at her brother when he is given the floor. "I know what you're all thinking. It's a machine. It doesn't know me. It doesn't know what I like. But after using this new system for the past month, I gotta say, people, I'm a convert." Ellie snorted, earning her a look from Bailey. "This computer knows me better than I know me."

"Chief," Derek said, having made his way to the front. "this thing has rearranged my schedule for the entire week. I mean, haven't we had enough change here already?"

"Change is good, everyone," Richard told the group before directing the end to the neurosurgeon. "Embrace it."

Ellie and Bailey both walked up to Derek. "You two need to stop bickering," the General surgeon said and Ellie chuckled to herself. "It's unattractive."

Derek watched her go. "Yang, Ellie. With me." He sent Cristina to prep one of his patients as he and Ellie looked at scans in the X-ray room.

"Dr. Shepherd."

"Isaac, if you don't stop calling me Dr. Shepherd, I'm seriously gonna have to cut you off."

"Right. Forgot. Derek." Isaac turned to Ellie, "Dr. Sloan, right?"

She nodded with a kind smile. "Call me Ellie."

"Okay. I have your scans, Derek."

"I didn't order any scans," Derek said with a frown.

"I think they're for a consult," Isaac replied. "But I can come back if you're busy."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay."

Isaac put them against the light and Ellie's eyes went wide at the sight. "Sweet mother of tumors. That is beautiful."

Derek chuckled at her remark. "It's a tumor on the spinal cord, possibly a hemangioblastoma."

"You've seen one before?"

"Not this big." He pointed to the tumor. "You see how the tumor has worked its way up the spine? It's taken over the blood supply."

"Hmm."

"A perfect tumor," Derek and Ellie said together.

"You know if the patient still has leg function?" Derek asked, smiling at Ellie.

"Yes."

"Incredible," they said in unison.

"He shouldn't be walking," Derek said. "He should be paralyzed, dead."

Isaac sighed. "You'd have to operate quickly, then, to take the tumor out?"

"Oh, I'd love to operate on this. But, no. No, you have to cut the cord, paralyze the patient, to kill the tumor. Who's the doctor on this one?"

"You."

Derek looked at him in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"These are my scans," Isaac said, gesturing to the light and Ellie looked back at it. "The tumor is mine. I'd like you to take it out. I'd like you to try." Derek and Ellie looked between each other and the scan just as Isaac continued. "One doctor said it was bad circulation, another one, pinched nerve. But when the pain started to interfere with work, I decided to run an MRI on myself."

Derek's pager went off. "Isaac, had I know this was your scan, I wouldn't have—"

"I have been to every doctor, Derek," Isaac interrupted. "Every time, it's the same thing. They look at the tumor and they're defeated. But not you. You were inspired. That's why I know I was right to come and work here. I needed to meet you."

"You got a job here to meet me?" he asked.

Isaac nodded. "I have researched every neurosurgeon in this country. I know their statistics, I know who wins the most prizes, but I also know who takes the most risks. That's you."

Derek sighed. "Isaac, I know you believe I can take this tumor out, and I wish I could. But this surgery will kill you."

"Take the scans," Isaac replied. "Look them over. But stop your mind before the part where it gets to 'no.' Think 'yes'. Yes?"

Cristina walked in just as Isaac left the room. "Shepherd, I've been paging you. Shunt patient, OR 2." The tumor caught her eye. "Screw the shunt. Let's operate on that."

Derek wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulder as he continued to look at the scans and Ellie looked at Cristina with a confused expression.

☀️

ELLIE WAS LEANING on the wall beside her brother as he looked at the scans. "You know what this is about, right?"

"What?"

"You're no longer daddy's favorite, so you've gone in search of some crazy ass tumor to get his love back," Mark said.

"Actually, it's about my patient," Derek contradicted. Mark wrapped an arm around his sister and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm just looking."

"Derek, I've known you my entire life," Ellie said with a frown. "You're going to try and remove the tumor. What was it you said when you graduated med school?"

"Please don't."

"'If I can remove the impossible, then I'm going to remove the impossible," Ellie finished for him despite his pleas.

Cristina frowned at her. "How would you even remember that? Wouldn't you be kind of young?"

"I remember everything from the minute I could start remembering," Ellie shrugged.

"She has a photographic memory. Like Lexie." Mark supplied. "And an IQ of 155. In other words, she's basically a genius."

"Lexie has a photographic memory?" Ellie asked her older brother. "I didn't know that. I knew I liked her. Oh, and when were you going to tell me you and her were dating?"

"I—"

Mark was spared the explanation when Callie came in. "Isaac has a cord tumor?"

"Oh, it's awesome," Cristina said making Ellie look at her with a frown. 'Awesome' wouldn't be her word to describe Isaac's life-threatening tumor. "Look."

She looked at the scans and had the same thought as Ellie. "Awesome in a bad way. It's eaten five levels of his spine. Wait, you're not seriously considering trying to take it out?"

"Of course he is," Cristina replied. "He's Shepherd."

"What does that even mean?" Ellie asked, crossing her arms. "If it means that he's gonna do something that his boss doesn't want him to, I take back my question."

Derek rolled his eyes at her while Mark chuckled. "It's a bad case of telephone, right?" Arizona asked, coming into the room. "Isaac's got a bone spur or a herniated disk, not a..." She looked at the scans that Callie held out to her and sighed. "He diagnosed an osteosarcoma case for me a month ago. I thought it was a shadow, but it turned out to be the tiniest little lesion on an x-ray."

"That says more about you than it does him," Mark said and Ellie hit him in the back of the head.

Arizona chuckled. "I'm sorry. Do you even know who Isaac is?"

"No idea."

"I've only been here a few weeks," Ellie frowned. "What's your excuse?"

Lexie was the next to come in. "Hey, what's everyone... oh, a spinal tumor. I read about a case at Mayo where the surgery took 17 hours."

"I read the same one," Ellie said with a nod. "The head surgeon had four rotating assistants."

Lexie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and one just administered fluids."

"Okay, you know what?" Cristina said. "Don't try and lexipedia or..." She looked at Ellie. "...I'll think of another nickname later, your way on this. This is my tumor."

"You do know I'm on his service too, right?" Ellie asked with a chuckle.

Arizona interjected, turning to the two geniuses in the room. "What happened to the patient at Mayo?"

Ellie pushed herself off the wall. "He died," she replied with a sigh. "That's why it only took 17 hours."

"Hey," Owen said, the fourth to come in and the number of surgeons in the room was growing by the minute. "I just heard. Isaac has an inoperable tumor?"

"It's Isaac's tumor?" Lexie asked, having not known that information.

"Okay, yeah, yeah. Boo-hoo, okay?" Cristina exclaimed, raising her arms. "Who says it's inoperable?"

"Cristina," Ellie sighed, both her and Derek looking at the scan. All the doctors started to talk over one another while Ellie stared at the man in the machine. Richard came in and looked around the room at all of his surgeons.

"Why aren't you all at your surgeries?" he asked them. "Go, get to your ORs. Don't screw with my schedule on day one."

They all filed out of the room just as Derek let out a breath and stared at the screen. Ellie looked at the man she thought of as a brother. "So, are you gonna take it out?"

He looked back at her and shrugged. "I don't know."

☀️

DEREK HAD CALLED for all the residents to meet in the skills lab. When Ellie entered with Reed and Jackson, she saw the microsurgery machine and smiled to herself. The perk of having Mark as a brother, plus Addison and the Shepherd siblings, meant knowing a lot more than the average resident. That and her genius-level IQ and photographic memory.

She sat in between her best friends and Jackson looked at her. "Why do you look so smug?"

"No reason," she replied with a shrug.

He frowned. "You can do this, can't you?"

"Maybe..."

"Of course, she can," Reed answered him. "We already know that our Ellie is a genius. Is there anything you can't do?"

Derek faced the residents, not giving Ellie a chance to reply. "Microsurgery is about precision. The microscope changes your perspective radically. The hand-eye coordination required can be learned, but right now, I need naturals. Each one of you will get a chance to guide this pen through the hole in the cup." He demonstrated and held up the dollar so the residents could see the dot. "The person who makes a mark closest to the president's nose and doesn't hit the side of the cup gets to scrub in. Who wants to go first?"

All of the residents' hands went up as Derek smiled in satisfaction. He nodded to the resident in the front. "Take your time."

They watched as he looks into the microscope, pen in hand as he completely missed the cup and Ellie grimaced.

"Wow."

"Do over?" he asked, hopeful.

Derek shook his head. "No do-overs."

Cristina clapped as he sat back down. "Way to go, two."

Ellie leaned her head on Jackson's shoulder as Reed went up for her turn only to miss. She patted her head in comfort as they watched resident after resident go up and fail. She patted Jackson on the back as his turn came up. "Ooh. Here we go." She smiled when she heard the faint clink, telling her that Jackson hit the nose. "Nicely done."

She gave him a fist bump as she passed him on the way to the front. She took the bill from Derek and placed it under the cup. She adjusted the microscope as she took the pen in her hand. She lowered the pen until she heard a clink. She removed the cup and saw the dot square on the nose. She smirked and gave it to Derek who chuckled and shook his head. "You know, it's too bad you've vowed to never do neuro. You're a natural. Anyone beats this and I'll be out of a job."

"Well," Cristina said, standing up as Ellie sat back down beside Jackson who gave her a high-five. "I guess you might need to retire, then."

Derek chuckled at her confidence. "Okay."

Jackson wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they watched Cristina walk up to the microscope. She adjusted it before she placed the bill under the cup. She lowered the pen and it hit the side of the cup. Ellie grimaced as Cristina looked at it in disbelief.

"Okay," Derek said, giving her a second glance. "Um, Dr. Avery, Dr. Sloan, you'll both be scrubbing in."

They smiled at each other and Ellie gave him a fist bump as Reed sulked next to them. "Congratulations. I know I should be happy for you, but damn. This sucks."

"It's one surgery, Reed," Ellie tried to reassure her as they walked out of the skills lab towards the residents' lounge.

"I'm gonna grab a snack," Jackson told them. "Want anything, Ellie?"

"Trail mix, please?" She smiled. He nodded and Ellie linked arms with Reed. "So, how's life dealing with Alex Karev?"

"He's still a douche," Reed replied. "Though, I have seen a different side to him while he's been worrying about his wife."

"Well, maybe he'll surprise us all," Ellie said with a shrug. "We just have to peel back the layers."

"Always the optimist, aren't you, Ellie?"

She chuckled. "I grew up with Mark Sloan. I had to be an optimist."

Reed's pager went off and she pouted at the sight. "Ugh, I have to go. Good luck in surgery. Be sure you tell me all about it."

"You know I will," Ellie said before turning back to her best friend. "Hey, should we order Chinese for dinner tonight? April might be up for a phone call later."

"Works for me. And I want to say hi to her."

Ellie smiled. "Great. I'll pick it up when I get off work. Oh, and tell Charlie to stop by."

"Why me?"

"Because," Ellie replied, not giving her an answer. She knew of Charles' crush on her best friend. "I always order too much food, you should know that by now. I'll bring Jackson, if that makes you feel better."

Reed shrugged. "Okay. See you later."

"Bye."

Just then, Jackson came back with a bag of trail mix in hand. "Your trail mix, my lady."

"You're such a weirdo," Ellie chuckled, accepting the snack. "You know, you have good precision, Jackie."

"Thanks. So do you."

She smiled as they walked down the hall. "Mark will take all the credit for that," she replied. "I could suture as well as him by the time I was 16. You know what? I think you'd be good in plastics."

"Yeah? I don't know... I was kind of thinking cardio or neuro."

She shrugged. "Well, it's your decision. Just telling you what I think."

"What else is your genius brain thinking?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

Ellie looked at the clock behind him. "That we should probably get going before Derek yells at us for being late."

He followed her gaze. "Oh, crap."

They quickly met up with Derek and Lexie, the latter of whom looked uncomfortable, as though she had a wedgie. Jackson and Ellie both looked at her weirdly before Ellie stood beside Derek. "Anybody opens their mouth and they're fired," he warned them before looking at Isaac. "You, too."

He pushed through the door and Richard turned to the group. "Oh, Dr. Shepherd, I was just describing our new schedule to some of our board members. This must be... Mrs. Taylor. And she's undergoing a craniotomy."

"It's Mr. Taylor, chief. It's..." he gestured to Isaac and Richard smile apologetically to the board.

"We're, uh, still working out a few kinks, clearly."

"We should go," Derek said, clearing his throat. "Keep the trains running on time. Nice meeting you all." They continued down the hall and Ellie leaned toward Derek.

"Did you have to embarrass him in front of the board?" she asked in a hushed tone.

He nodded with a smile. "Now, it's just a bonus."

She shook her head as they walked towards the OR, a long night and surgery in front of them.

☀️

"1 HOUR, 13 minutes on the surgical clock," a nurse told them.

"The Dura's opened," Derek said. "Let's get our first look at the tumor."

Lexie was standing to the side, ready if she was needed. Meanwhile, Jackson was helping Derek and Ellie was on his other side. Jackson looked at the brain in amazement. "Wow. That's, um... wow."

"The vessels are more intricate than the MRI showed." Derek sighed. "There's no way I can get the tumor out without rupturing one and killing the cord."

"So, uh, what do we do?" Jackson asked the attending neurosurgeon.

"If I start the T-2, I could avoid hitting the feeding vessels, so maybe I should go lower?" Derek muttered to himself. "There's less vascularity around T-7, so that does seem better, no?"

"It does seem better," Jackson said with a shrug.

Ellie cleared her throat and got Lexie and Jackson's attention. "He's not talking to us," she informed them. "He's done this ever since he was in high school. He talks to himself when he thinks. Just ignore it."

"But I risk rupturing the anterior spinal artery there," Derek continued, still staring at the tumor. "Higher is better maybe? Either way, I risk sending him into hemodynamic collapse. T-2 shows less potential for bleeding. At T-3, the vessels have... increased."

Ellie, Jackson, and Lexie looked at each other as hour 8 rolled around and Derek still hadn't made a single cut. Derek continued to mutter to himself. "If I clip the draining veins without getting the feeders, they'll burst."

"Dr. Shepherd," Lexie cut in. "I really think it's time for you to take a break. It's been over 8 hours."

Derek ignored her. "I could go under the tumor here, but I might cut the radial artery. Let's look for, maybe if I go..."

"Dr. Shepherd—"

"Dude, if you need a break, just take a break."

"Guys..." Ellie warned, knowing how touchy Derek got at unnecessary noises, especially during surgery. "Stop talking."

"Please, I don't need one," Lexie said in response to Jackson's remark. "I'm hard-core."

"Are—are you wearing a diaper?"

"Shut up," Lexie said before looking at Derek. "At least bend your legs."

"You can't bring yourself to use it, can you?" Jackson asked in amusement.

"Shut up! Shut the hell up!" Derek snapped. Ellie pursed her lips and nodded, knowing full well this would happen. "Grey, I don't need a break. If you do, take one. Either of you open your mouths again, you're out of the OR."

Lexie left quickly, running into Dr. Bailey on the way out as she came in and looked at the neurosurgeon. "Um, Dr. Shepherd...?"

"What?"

Ellie and Jackson looked at each other. They hadn't been at Seattle Grace that long, but they knew not to snap at Dr. Bailey.

"Okay, I'm sure this is a completely authorized surgery, but I thought you might like to know that the chief is scheduled to do a surgery across the hall in OR 3 shortly." Derek looked up at the information. "So if you're planning on doing something, anything, you might want to do it soon."

Ellie looks at her when Derek didn't reply. "Thank you, Dr. Bailey. And I'm sure Dr. Shepherd is sorry about his outburst earlier."

Bailey nodded and left as Jackson and Ellie looked at each other before continuing. Lexie came back just as Richard came into the OR at hour 10.

"Dr. Shepherd." Derek ignored him. "Dr. Shepherd! Am I to understand that you canceled your surgeries today to operate on a spinal cord tumor? Dr. Shepherd." Richard tied on his mask and walked next to Derek. "The rate of infection for this patient is increasing every second you keep him open. Not to mention the thousands of dollars you are wasting standing here doing nothing. So I am demanding that you close this man up. Close him up and relinquish the OR. Right now, Derek."

Ellie watched Derek closely, following what he was doing. Derek sighed in defeat. "Okay. That's it. Let's close him up."

☀️

"SO..." REED SAT on the floor of the girls' apartment, eating her chow mein. "You're saying that Dr. Shepherd stared at the tumor for 10 hours and didn't make a single cut?"

"Yeah," Jackson said with a nod while sitting beside Ellie on the couch. "It was wild."

"It was dumb," Ellie contradicted while playing with her food. "The risk of infection Isaac could have after this... it's high. But... it's Derek. He's gonna find a different way to do it and then he's gonna call—"

As if on cue, Ellie's phone rang and she smirked at the sight of the caller ID. "Hello, genius neurosurgeon also known as Derek Shepherd."

"Ellie... can you never just answer the phone like a normal person?"

"Sure I can. But, not with you," she replied, taking a bite of her egg roll. "Now, how may I be of assistance?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Do you have a paper next to you?"

"Um..." She got off the couch and ignored the confused looks of her friends as she threw different items around while looking for a pen and paper. "Yes."

"Okay, draw exactly what I say..."

For the next hour and a half, Ellie stayed on the phone with Derek, trying to figure out different ways to remove the tumor.

"Perfect," Derek said at the end of the call. "Bring that drawing in tomorrow. We're going back in."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks, El. Love you."

"Love you too. Now go be with your bedridden wife." She hung up the phone and handed the drawing to Jackson who looked down at it. "We're going back in tomorrow. See? I told you."

"Why did he call you and not me or Lexie?"

She shrugged and took a bite out of her now-cold egg roll. "I don't know," she replied with her mouth full. "Ever since he found out about my photographic memory, he's always had me test him. Says I listen more than any of his sisters or Mark."

☀️

ELLIE, JACKSON, AND Lexie were sitting in a conference room behind Derek as he talked with Richard. "This patient understands what cutting the cord means?" the chief clarified. "The loss of function in both legs and possibly more?"

"We have to cut the cord to kill the tumor. There's no other way."

Richard sighed. "Okay. That'll only take an hour or two. You can have OR 1. Hunt needs it right after so he'll have enough time."

"Thank you."

"Good luck." Richard left the conference room and Ellie smirked at her brother.

"We're not cutting the cord, are we?"

"We're not?" Lexie asked in confusion.

Derek shook his head. "No. The mistake I made yesterday was that I wanted a plan. There can be no plan. I just have to pick a point and cut."

"But what you said yesterday, if—if you cut an artery or hit the cord..."

Derek sighed. "Isaac wants us to take the risk. He wants a cure, and it's our job to try. See you in the OR."

Derek left and Ellie and Jackson smiled at his determination while Lexie looked more worried. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

"Are you kidding?" Jackson asked, watching Derek's retreating figure. "No one at Mercy West was this badass."

"This isn't badass," Lexie contradicted as Ellie looked at her with her eyebrows raised. "This—This is... Okay, you saw him yesterday. He was spinning himself in-in circles, mumbling like he was some psych patient. And he was mean. Ellie, you have to talk to him."

"Well, he's your psych patient now," Jackson said with a shrug.

"Okay," Ellie leaned forward, interrupting their banter. "Look, the best way to deal with Derek is to be firm. Yes, he's your superior, but he put that responsibility in your hands. Be firm, Lexie. That's all you gotta do. Come on Jackie."

Soon, the three of them, plus Derek, all found themselves back in the OR. Derek as the lead surgeon, Jackson at the other microscope, and Ellie in between him and Lexie. "Okay," Derek said, letting out a breath. "I've gotten the plane. Ready to make our first cut."

Just then, Mark walked in. "I heard you needed some support."

Derek looked between Mark and Lexie. "You need people to talk to — experienced surgeons. And you can't say no because I'm in charge, and this is what I'm prescribing."

Ellie smiled at the brunette and Derek nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Grey."

Mark walked to the side. "Hey, Mark," Ellie said to her brother.

"Hey there, sunshine."

She groaned. "Stop calling me sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Lexie asked, looking between the siblings.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "As a kid, I was very bubbly and chatty... like I am now. But, Mark and Derek started calling me sunshine."

"A big ball of sunshine," Mark and Derek said together, nodding.

"Yeah, that," Ellie sighed. "Mark, here, hasn't called me that in a long time, though."

"Well, maybe I'll start again," Mark shrugged and Ellie had a small smile on her face. She didn't actually hate the nickname. "Anyways, back to the surgery."

Derek nodded and looked into the microscope. "Let's start. Making the first cut." A monitor started going off. Mark and Derek looked at it.

Jackson looked up. "What, did you—you paralyze him?"

"Way to have confidence in him," Ellie muttered quietly, but loud enough for Mark to chuckle.

"No," Derek replied. "One vessel down. Settle in. We have many more to go." A few hours went by and the surgeons were still going strong. "I've cleared a path at T-5. And if I continue along this plane, I-"

A monitor started going off again with Mark watching it. "M.E.P. tracing's losing amplitude," he said to Derek. "What just happened?"

"A vessel burst," Derek replied with a sigh. "It might have been connected to the cord."

"But if there's not enough blood reaching the cord—" Lexie started.

"I could've just paralyzed our patient, yes," Derek confirmed, interrupting the resident. "Suction, please. Suction. Easy. Careful. More suction." Ellie and Lexie kept following his instructions as Jackson groaned.

"There's too much blood."

"We're losing him," Mark said.

"I should've just cut the cord," Derek muttered, shaking his head. "This is too risky."

"Wait," Mark said, making them look at him. "It's back. Amplitude's up."

"So the cord didn't stroke out?" Lexie asked. "You didn't paralyze him?"

"The vessel was connected to, the, uh, tumor," Derek replied. "We're okay."

"Nice work, Derek," Mark said.

"Thanks." Derek walked backward, looking slightly pale. "Ellie, take off my mask."

"What?"

"Take off my mask. Take it off!" She quickly ran over and just as she removed it, he threw up. She rubbed his back as a parent would do to a sick child and she looked at Mark.

A nurse covered the puke and Mark coached Derek back into the surgery. Jackson and Ellie were continually keeping an eye on Isaac and his vitals. Lexie looked at him. "You really should drink something."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Lexie frowned. "You're dehydrated and you're stressed. You really should drink something."

"I said I'm fine."

Lexie caught Ellie's eye who nodded at her. "Drink the water. I said drink it!" Derek took the water like a little kid who was in trouble while Ellie smirked under her mask. Mark nodded at his girlfriend, impressed.

Dr. Bailey was the next to join them. "Dr. Bailey, care to fill us in?"

"No, I would not," she said. "Because anything outside of this OR is not your concern. Your only concern is this patient. Keep going."

HOUR THIRTEEN

Callie was now with them. "Damn it," Derek muttered.

"What is it?" Callie asked from beside Mark.

"I can't tell which one of these vessels feeds the cord and which one feeds the tumor. I have to do a blind cut."

"Like a trip wire?" Callie asked.

"If I cut the wrong one, the entire cord strokes out." Derek took a deep breath. "Okay, we'll come back to this later."

"Later?" Callie asked. "So you could finish the entire surgery only to cut the wrong one? This will all have been for nothing."

"Exactly." Derek nodded. "But thanks for pointing that out."

HOUR TWENTY-ONE

Arizona was the current attending in the OR."How many inches left?" she asked Derek.

"Uh, less than 2. So if I do my math, we got, uh, four or five more hours ahead."

"Crap," Jackson said suddenly. "Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap."

"What is it?" Derek asked, barely glancing at him over his glasses.

"It's my hand," he replied with a grimace. "It's cramping. Damn it."

"Don't move. Don't move."

"B.P.'s dropping," Arizona informed them.

"Okay, we're touching the cord," Derek said. "If we disturb it any more, we run—"

"Pulse is down to 52."

"It's getting worse, guys."

"Here." Ellie put her hand over his stabilizing, it in the process. "Breathe, Jackson. Calm yourself down, it helps." Derek sent her a look of thanks and she nodded before he turned his attention to Jackson.

"Have you had anything to drink today, Dr. Avery?" he asked.

"What?"

"Muscle cramps are a sign of dehydration," Derek said. "You went without fluids so Dr. Sloan or Dr. Grey couldn't get their hands on the retractor. Isn't that right?"

"I, uh... sorry. Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Derek shook his head, waving off the apology. "Just step aside. Ellie, take over." Ellie carefully took the instruments out of his hand and they switched places.

HOUR TWENTY-SIX

Derek had one final cut to make. "Hmm. A or B? Dr. Grey... A or B?"

"You're done? You got it all out?" she asked.

He nodded. "Except for the blind cut. I just have to pick one, and we're good to go. A or B?"

"You're kidding," she scoffed in disbelief.

"You're stalling. Dr. Avery?"

Jackson shook his head. "I don't like to gamble."

"Ellie?"

"Please, I'm your favorite sister and I'm not even related to you," she replied with a frown and he chuckled. "I'm not ruining my good status."

"Dr. Sloan?"

"What, so you can blame it on me for the rest of your life?" he asked, shaking his head. "This is all you."

"Right. My call. Great." They watched as Derek made the cut, all hoping it's the right one.

☀️

JACKSON AND ELLIE stumbled out of surgery, exhausted after being on their feet for over twenty hours. "Come back to our place. We're ordering a pizza."

Ellie unlocked the door as Jackson held the pizza box. She took hold of a slice as she leaned her head on Jackson's shoulder, waiting for a call from Derek. Anything to tell them that Isaac was okay.

"Do you think he cut the right one?" Ellie asked him, sleepily. "I mean, we didn't do the whole surgery just for Isaac to be paralyzed, right?"

"We won't know until he calls. Which may not be for a few more hours. So, eat your pizza and relax until that phone call—" Ellie's phone rang and Jackson shook his head. "That's freaky, you know. That it keeps ringing on cue."

She shrugged and answered. "Derek?" She paused before smiling. "He can feel his toes?" She and Jackson fist-bumped. "That's great! Get some sleep." She hung up and smiled at Jackson. "He's okay. He can move his toes. He's gonna be fine."

They high-fived in celebration just as Reed came in from her shift. "What's everyone excited about?"

"Isaac can move his legs and his toes," Ellie told her. "Over a day in surgery and he's okay."

Reed smiled. "That's great! I'll get the tequila. And water. We should celebrate!" When Reed came back, she found Jackson passed out on the armchair and Ellie on the couch. She chuckled at the sight and took a few shots from the bottle before putting Ellie's head in her lap and falling asleep.

☀️

━ author's note:

early season Jallie warms my heart. I forgot how much I missed this story but my babies are back and stronger than ever!