chapter eight ━ the past
( season six, episodes fourteen & fifteen )

❝April, are you asking the two
of us on a date?❞

ELLIE WOKE UP to the sound of knocking on her bedroom door. She glanced at her alarm clock and groaned: 5:15 am. With a huff, she stumbled out of bed and answered her door. April bounded in with a cupcake in hand, far too excited for the time in Ellie's opinion. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Ellie rubbed her eyes as she stifled back a yawn. "Yeah, you, too, Apes. Why are you awake this early?"

"I've been up since four baking," April replied with a smile.

"Why?" she asked, taking the cupcake from her energetic best friend. "You are aware that you are a resident and sleep is very hard to come by, right?"

"Oh, come on. Lighten up. Eat your cupcake. I'm gonna get Reed."

"Good luck with that," Ellie mumbled against the frosting. From across the hall, she heard a grunt and a thump, indicating that April had dragged a sleeping Reed out of bed and dropped her on the floor. The April Kepner Valentine's Day tradition.

Ellie went into Reed's room, found a grumpy Reed under a stack of blankets, and a still very awake April talking a mile a minute. Ellie yawned as she joined Reed on the floor and tried her best not to fall asleep on Reed's shoulder.

"So, what do you think we should do before our shift tonight?" April said, bringing the two girls out of the daze. "We could go mini-golfing, or we could go to a restaurant. Any ideas?"

"April, are you asking the two of us on a date?" Ellie asked with a smile.

"It's Valentine's Day," she replied. "No one should be alone on Valentine's Day. We're all single, we should embrace it."

"Galentine's Day." Ellie nodded. "It's a thing. How about, we sleep because we work later today and we go from there?"

"Hear, hear!" Reed agreed, getting up from her mound of blankets and ushering the two girls out of her room. "Goodnight."

April huffed in annoyance and went back into her room as Ellie looked around, suddenly no longer tired. She groaned as she went down to the kitchen and made herself an iced coffee. Valentine's Day... she thought to herself. Fun.

☀️

ELLIE WAS WALKING to the ER with Callie when Mark found them. "Hey, Ellie, Torres. Do you know anything about putting together cribs?"

"What about me tells you that I know how to put together a crib?" Ellie asked, tilting her head with a frown. "You bought a crib?"

"Well, Sloan's coming home tonight, and I got it put together, but it wobbles," he said. "And it can't wobble. Now will one of you take a look at it?"

Callie chuckled. "You're like a sweet, nerdy dad now. I don't even recognize you."

"I do." Ellie smiled. "Kicking off the rust, aren't you? Derek told me how freaked you were when you found out about me. It's cute."

"Well..." He stopped short causing Ellie to run into his back. "Who's the blonde?"

"I don't know," Callie said with a shrug.

"I may be a dad, but I am a single dad. Excuse me."

Ellie rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing exactly who the blonde was. "That's the guy we all recognize. Oh, this is gonna be fun." She watched as Mark walked up to the blonde and screamed out as Lexie turned around. Ellie chuckled to herself before going down to the ER, her spirits now lifted from the encounter.

She arrived just as Jackson came in after a gurney, an arm in hand. "I got the arm." She furrowed her brows and followed her friend.

"What do you got?" Owen asked.

"Traumatic amputation through the left distal humerus. Bleeding is controlled through pressure. Got 10 of morphine. Vital signs are stable."

Owen nodded at the answer. "Okay, let's get him in trauma 3, put him on a monitor. Push two of o-neg. Sloan, Grey, Avery, you're with me."

Ellie helped Owen debride the stump where the arm was cut off while Jackson and Lexie work on the severed arm. Owen looked up. "Okay, I need another 4x4. Sloan, dress him. I'm gonna take another look at the arm."

"Okay."

Derek poked his head in the door. "Hunt, can I borrow Sloan for the day?"

Owen looked around and nodded with a sigh. "Fine."

Ellie passed the dressing to Lexie and followed her brother out of the trauma room. "Do you have a surgery?"

"No."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Help on a consult?"

"No."

"Then what could you possibly need my help with?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I could be helping to reattach an arm."

Derek sighed. "Do you remember when you were in high school and you color coordinate everything and be the most organized human to exist?"

She frowned. "Of course I do. Why?"

"I need your organizational skills," Derek replied, walking to his office. "Kepner has been helping me, but I only understand your system."

Ellie stared at her brother. "So, you took me off of a case where I could have helped reattach an arm to color code files for you?" Derek nodded. "That's wrong, Derek. You're hindering my education."

Derek gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Please, Ellie."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "I hate your begging. Fine." Derek set her up in a conference room and she was met with stacks upon stacks of files. "What the hell? How much do you have?"

"These are the hospital records," Derek replied and Ellie stared at him with her eyebrows raised. "Thank you, Ellie. Love you."

"I hate you."

Ellie stared at the mounds of paperwork and groaned before sitting at a table and starting from the top: Hospital Budget.

This is turning out to be one horrible Valentine's Day, she thought to herself before opening the folder.

☀️

JACKSON FOUND ELLIE sitting in the conference room a few hours later, looking bored out of her mind. He set down a cup of iced coffee in front of her, having remembered his last mistake of giving her hot coffee, and sat down across from her. She looked up and her eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the beverage. "You're the best. Thank you!"

"What are you doing in here?" Jackson asked, looking at one of the folders in front of him. "You're one of the best residents and there are traumas galore in the ER."

"Put that back," Ellie told him before sighing. "I want to be in the ER, but dear Derek put me on his service and I guess that means that I have to organize files. Kill me now."

"How about after work, I buy you some Chinese," he said and she looked up. "My Valentine's Day present."

"Cashew Chicken and Beef & Broccoli and Potstickers?" Ellie asked with a smile and Jackson nodded in amusement. "Deal. Shouldn't you be working?"

"I'm scrubbing in in a few minutes, just thought I would bring you a coffee. Iced."

"You remembered," she said happily.

"The last time I got you hot coffee, you gave me the silent treatment for a week," he reminded her. "It's the exact same thing, Ellie."

"It is not." She argued. "Iced coffee is better. End of story."

Jackson put up his hands in defeat. "Sorry, I brought it up. I have surgery. Enjoy your organizing."

Ellie watched him go. "I'm gonna kill Derek."

☀️

ELLIE RESTED HER head on her hand as she watched Dr. Nelson's surgery from the gallery beside Derek when Mark joined them. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"This is the closest I've been to inside an OR in a week," Derek replied as Ellie moved her head to her brother's shoulder. "Last week, I would've been paged in to help. Now I'm paged about... fund-raising brunches."

"I'm adopting Sloan's baby."

Ellie raised her head in surprise and Derek looked at him. "You're what?"

"It's the right thing to do," Mark continued. "I think I can. I certainly want to. Callie said she'd help. I'm having a baby."

Ellie nodded and pat him on the shoulder. "Hmm, congratulations. Am I allowed to go?"

Derek nodded. "Thank you for all your help."

"Yeah, you're welcome. Don't ask me again." He looked up at her and she let out a breath. "I'm a resident, I need to be doing surgeries, not looking over department budgets. And thanks to you, I now have every detail of this hospital memorized. I didn't need to know any of that. And about your surgery woes... you're the Chief. You're in charge, which means you get to make the rules. No one can stop you from doing surgery. Take initiative and do it. Happy Valentine's Day, dear brothers."

☀️

2005

ELLIE SAT IN her car, staring at the hospital in front of her before she took her bag and walked into the building. She followed the group of other people who all look as confused as she did before they managed to find their way to the locker room. A red-haired girl noticed how nervous she looked. "Hi, I'm April Kepner."

"Elizabeth Sloan. Call me Ellie."

April smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Ellie. Are you starting your internship today, also?"

She nodded. "Yes, though I didn't accept until a few days ago."

"Why not?"

She hesitated and let out a breath. "I just got in from New York. A lot of reasons. I've been staying in a hotel for the time being while I look for an apartment."

"My roommate and I have another room. You should totally move in."

"You barely know me," Ellie said with a frown.

"I already like you and I know Reed will, too." April grabbed her hand and dragged her to the other side of the locker room. "I'll introduce the two of you. Reed, this is Ellie. She's looking for somewhere to live. She should live with us."

Reed blinked at the burst of information and Ellie chuckled. "If you don't want another roommate, it's totally fine," she told her.

"We'll talk over the day," Reed decided before smiling. "But, I can already tell that I'm gonna like you."

Ellie felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around, her blue eyes meeting a pair ofgreen ones. "Hi."

"Hi. Is that locker available?"

She looked behind her and nodded. "Oh, yeah. I'm not even over here. I'll get out of your way." She went to find another locker when he stopped her.

"I'm Jackson. Jackson Avery."

She turned back and smiled. "Ellie Sloan. It's nice to meet you, Jackson."

"You too."

God, she's cute.

He's cute.

☀️

2007

ELLIE STOOD AT the counter of a coffee shop, waiting for her iced coffee. She went to grab her drink when someone else grabbed it at the same time and their hands touched. The man looked at her. "I think this is mine."

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Unless your name is Elizabeth—" She pointed at the tag on the drink. "—then I think you're mistaken. This would be mine."

He looked down at the name on the cup as she examined the man. His perfectly styled brown hair, his piercing blue eyes, his suit. "My mistake," he said. "You have the same order as me."

"Impossible," Ellie frowned. "No one does."

He shrugged. "Well, it would seem I do. I'm James, since I already know your name, it only seems fitting you know mine."

"It's nice to meet you, James," she replied, shaking his hand. "I always like meeting a fellow iced-coffee lover. It's just—"

"—better," they finished in unison and Ellie chuckled with a nod.

"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Um, I'm gonna be late for work, but it was nice to meet you. Have a good day."

"Any chance I can get your number?" he asked, making her stop at the door and look at him. "You're cute."

"And you're straightforward." Ellie smiled before pulling out a pen and writing down her number on a piece of paper. "I like that. Give me a call sometime."

A short time later, Ellie walked into Mercy West and ran into Jackson on the way in. He noticed her smile. "You look happy. Or happier than usual. Something good happen this morning?"

She shrugged. "I met a guy. He's cute." Though, not as cute as you...

Jackson nodded. "That's—That's great. Where'd you meet him?"

"Coffee shop." She glanced down at her watch. "Crap, I'm gonna be late. I'll see you later, Jackson."

Jackson watched her go, greeting the nurses with a bright smile. Should've asked her out when I had the chance...

☀️

2008

    Ellie sat across from James as he told her yet another joke. They had been together for a year and a half, all filled with laughter and memories, and the occasional tears.

    Ellie chuckled and shook her head. "As much as I'm enjoying this little date, what's the occasion? It's not anyone's birthday, not an anniversary."   

    "The perk of having a girlfriend with a photographic memory. They remember all dates." Ellie smiled. "We're here because there was something I wanted to ask you. And, it's here, because I know how much you love potstickers."

    "That's true, I do."

    James smiled and cleared his throat. "Ellie... we've been together for a while now. And these past 18 months have been the best of my life. You've met my parents, they love you, and you love them. We hang out with your friends. I want you in my life. Forever. So... Elizabeth Mary Sloan, will you marry me?"

    Ellie looked down at the ring with tears in her eyes and nodded. "Yes."

☀️

2009

ELLIE STOOD IN the ER with Jackson as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Jackson looked at the blonde. "When's James coming back again?"

"Um, he left this morning," she replied, hugging herself to keep warm. "He's supposed to come back in a week or so. Wanna come over? We can order some pizza. The house is always so empty when it's just me."

Jackson shrugged. "Sure."

Ellie smiled softly just as the ambulance pulled up. "Unidentified male, in his 30s. Hit another car head-on. He's gone, we just need someone to call it."

They pulled off the blanket from his legs and Ellie saw his pants were ripped. She saw a scar on his knee. They removed the neck brace from his neck and Jackson checked his pupils. "Time of death, 11:48."    

Ellie walked closer and looked at his eyes before freezing. Jackson glanced over at her when he saw she wasn't next to him. "Ellie...?"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Th—That's James," she whispered, biting her bottom lip. "I would recognize those eyes anywhere. An—And the scar on his knee. It's from the ACL surgery he got when he was 15 from a soccer injury." She turned over his wrist. "And that's the birthmark he never liked. Thought it looked funny." She covered her mouth. "This is James."

Jackson pulled her into a hug as she stared at the lifeless body of her fiancé. "I'm so sorry, Ellie."

☀️

━ author's note:

I won't lie... editing this is painful. The chapters after the shooting are so much better in my opinion (especially by the time we get to their boards)

But anyways, only 72 chapters to go until I can continue writing this story :)