WHAT WE MEND
Into the Unknown

GROWING UP IN QUEENS in her late teen years, Odette had been adept to the feelings of coldness as dreary days brought less than preferred weather for most. A chill strong enough to make you cover yourself adequately in sweaters or a comfortable throw, but nothing too serious like a bulky jacket. Seattle, she would come to find however, was a different kind of cold. Neighbored by a snow-covered mountain top, the idea of cold was bound to be different and as a chill broke way through her thin lab coat, Odette had found that she couldn't wait to get back inside.

But that would take a moment as she stood at the top of Seattle Grace near a landing pad as a helicopter circled overhead, preparing for a landing. Her eyes winced with burning tears as she tried to ease her hair out of her face, fighting against the biting winds produced by the speedy blades of the chopper. When it finally came to halt, Odette fluttered her lashes and stared at the scene before her with clarity.

Bailey drew towards the helicopter with ease, hurriedly collecting information from those inside while her interns helped remove the gurney and patient alongside it. "Katie Bryce, 15 year old female," a woman on board answered. "New onset seizures, intermittent for the past week. I.V. lost en route. Started grand mal seizing as we descended."

Odette peered down a twitching young blonde girl, her heart aching with empathy toward her predicament and the fear she must have been experiencing, a while her gut twisted with anxiousness as she came to realize that, in this moment, she was thrown into a new world. A world in which would be tasked to monitor new patients after patients, each their own.

While Odette hadn't ever interacted with someone who was experiencing a seizure before, she had known enough to understand that the most important thing was to roll the person on their side, to prevent choking and make sure that their mouth was clear of anything that could cause them further damage.

Bailey hovered over the scene, directing orders to her interns with a strict tone that left no room for error. With every hesitant movement came a sharp command that was quickly followed and, soon, young Katie Bryce's seizure came to a halt as the diazepam was released into her system.

Odette let out a breath.

Footsteps entered the room and a deep voice drew all the interns' attention. A tall, dark skinned man in royal blue scrubs and adorning classes sauntered in, his eyes raking over the scene in a lacked manner. Doctor Burke. "What do we have? A wet fish on dry land." At the confirmation, he said. "Doctor Bailey, let's shotgun her."

At the unanimous looks of confusion, Bailey answered. "That means every test in the book- C.T., CBC, chem-7, tox screen. Cristina, you're on labs. George, patient work-ups. Meredith and Odette, get Katie for a C.T. She's you two's responsibility now."

Odette felt that aching feeling return to her chest at the revelation, a small part of her hoping that the task of Katie would be handed to someone else, or that she would be given a less than pressing task. As soon as she thought that, a series of curses spilled through her mind.

"If I keep doing that, I might as well have not have come here at all," she thought venomously.

Izzie shot up, her gaze hopeful. "What about me?" She questioned, noticing that Bailey had forgotten her.

Or so she had thought. A nonchalant raised brow was all she received at first until Bailey stated. "Honey, you get to do rectal exams." And with that, she was out the room.

Odette blinked in contemplation. Perhaps there were worst things than her current predicament.

SEATTLE GRACE WAS A massive building, holding more similarities to a maze than anything else, matching perfectly with the description of a hospital- multiple different floors with similar yet different categories, something that held a big a level of importance around here, staff who, either due to the heavy work load or a missed coffee, looked less than pleased to give directions (though neither her nor Meredith seemed keen to ask while under the watchful, and judgemental, gaze of Katie), and so on so forth. Odette was sure that if she checked her fitness band her number of steps would be at an all time high then what they were used too.

"You two are lost," Katie stated plainly, staring up at the pair with a slight arrogance that was common to young teens her age. Odette had a knowledge of sorts on how to address it, but, upon her observations, Meredith had not.

"We are not lost." The blonde had huffed, an agitation trembling in her tone that was obvious she was trying to shake. A tense smile plastered on her face as she and Odette pushed the heavy plastic and metal bed through the halls. "How are you feeling?"

Katie frowned. "How do you think I'm feeling?" She answered sarcastically, her body sinking further into the pillow beneath her in distress that was definitely not geared toward her medical predicament. "I'm missing my pageant."

"You're missing your pageant?"

"The Spokane Teen Miss. I was top ten after the first two rounds," she said proudly, a smirk pulling at her lips. "This is my year. I could have won." When she took notice that neither of the women with her where responding, she shifted into a sitting position. "Hello? You two are so lost. What are you, like, new?"

Odette let out a soft sigh, her nose twitching in building annoyance the more the young girl behind her talked. If she were anyone else, maybe she would have snapped long ago or at least have let her frustrations bleed in her words, similar to Meredith who, despite trying, was failing at hiding her emotions. But Odette had, not only, grew up and practically raised her two younger sisters who could be bratty now and again, she herself had went through a similar phase when she was younger. Being a brat had seemed to be a life stage that every Alman woman had to go through, or so her father had said.

With a deep breath, Odette turned to Katie, her expression giving way to faux interests and sincerity. "I'm sorry that you have to miss your pageant, I'm sure you would've beaten the other girls there with little issue." At this Katie raised a brow in response, her lips pursing in suspicion but her eyes held a glimmer of pride. "But, to be honest, neither of us know much about what goes on behind the pageant scene so give us some berth here. Maybe if you tell me more about it, once we get you settled I'll try to look into it more, give you something to talk about while you're here, hmm?"

For a moment the only sound was squeak of the hospital bed wheels as they glided down the hall, and for a moment Odette had almost feared that the Katie would answer with another sarcastic retorted that would only end up embarrassing the older woman in front of her colleague (not something that she looked forward to on her first day). However, to her surprise and relief, whether due to simply being bored and wanting to strike up conversation at the behest of bragging about her talents or that the universe was simply on her side, Katie fell back on to the pillow behind her and began to rant about the ends and outs of pageant life and her plethora of skills that no one could compare too.

Discretely, Meredith sent Odette a grateful smile.

It didn't take long after Katie began her spiel about pageantry, with a few quips thrown at the two interns aside her, before the trio had successfully made it to their destination and Odette and Meredith could hand off the teen for her C.T.. By the time lunch had rolled around, Odette could feel her stomach urging her to at least consume form nutrients no matter if it was deemed health or not. In moments of hunger, especially on a long hour shift, food was food. Seattle Grace had, thankfully, a pleasing arrangement of foods within their cafeteria providing those in attendance with the options of either pre-made sandwiches to yogurt cups and fruit to a sizeable helping of salads and so on.

As she moved to advance in the line, her eyes took notice of a new presence appearing to her left. The familiar blue eyes of Meredith drew registration as she hurriedly grabbed a plastic tray. When the latter finally took the space to Odette's side she asked. "How did you handle Katie Bryce so well? I was nearly about to pull my own hair out if you hadn't stepped in."

This drew a soft chuckle as Odette rearranged the food layered on her tray. "It was nothing, really. I grew up as one of the oldest and had two younger sisters, both of which have had their own Katie Bryce moments." She paused, taking note of the words that had just left her mouth and winced. "Uh, save being emitted to the hospital and all." Her eyes drifted hesitantly toward Meredith in hopes that she held no offense to the joke. Even if Katie Bryce was a pain in her side already, Odette had a feeling that she wouldn't necessarily take well to jokes made at the girl's expense, no matter how light.

Odette's worries, however, blew into the win when Meredith let out a snort in response. "Well, I'm an only child so my patience is probably not on par with yours. Two sisters, I couldn't even imagine." Meredith paused. "No offense."

"None taken."

The pair moved in an easy sync of silence, only wavered by Meredith's frustrated huffs as she was obviously still vehemently annoyed by the young girl under her care. Odette was so focused on the blonde that she hadn't realized that they were walking towards a table with the other interns in their sphere until her steps drew to a halt. It wasn't that she was necessarily shy around new people, she most certainly was not, but it had been a while since she had formed any long term relations. Her big departure from New York had played a role in that.

She hadn't even finished packing.

To Odette, trying to gain a form of community was not her main goal, especially since the last one hadn't gone well and she had no idea how long she would be in Seattle for that matter. A part of her felt flighty, and while she had hoped to remain in the space most know for the best medical education, she also knew that she had to be prepared to jump ship if need be.

"You coming?" Odette snapped out of her thoughts as Meredith glanced over her shoulder, brow raised in confusion about the brunette's sudden stop.

"Uh, yeah, sorry."

The conversation round the table instantly died out the moment the pair fell into empty seats. Odette, who took notice immediately, glanced side ways at Meredith, who went on a rant about the entirety of beginning day, without any notice to the less than subtle stares in her direction.

"If I hadn't taken the Hippocratic oath, I'd Kevorkian her with my bare hands." With a pout she slumped down into her seat, awaiting some form response from those around her. Finally taking note of the stares, she exclaimed. "What?"

Before she could further press those around her, a deep and familiar voice drew their focus as Burke strolled over to their table. "Good afternoon, interns." A sly cheery grin painted his face as his gaze scanned the table. "It's posted, but I thought I'd share the good news personally."

Odette narrowed her eyes in confusion, watching as others such as Cristina and Izzie sat up straighter as if they knew what was coming while George seemed more focused on his food before him.

"As you know, the honor of performing the first surgery is reserved for the intern that shows the most promise. As I'm running the O.R. today, I get to make that choice." This sent a chill of unease down Odette's spine. She hated the idea from the moment it left the attending's mouth, as the idea of partaking in a surgery on the first day seemed not only weird but also hazardous. While she was sure that Burke, who was highly trained in his position, would tale over if need be she wasn't exactly a fan of the possible risk behind it. Another part of her had hoped that she would be far from his mind in regards to who he would chose. She did not want to do any surgeries, let alone now.

She wasn't good enough for it.

A sigh of relief fell from her mouth when Burke drew his hand on to George's shoulder in a rather forceful pat, his eyes reading anything other than sincere congratulatory. "George O'Malley. You'll scrub in for an appendectomy this afternoon. Congratulations." And with that, he walked away with little care to the array of emotions he scattered.

Cristina was visibly dejected and annoyed, her gaze reading very clearly that, if looks could kill, Odette would have been sure that she'd kill George on the spot and swipe the surgery for herself. But Odette could care less as she relaxed back into her seat, worries lifting from her shoulders.

"Did he say me?" George stammered in disbelief.

__________________________

author's note:
word count: 2293

Chapter two update is finally here! It technically was ready a while back, but I decided to be special and make my chapters have titles (as if coming up with one for this fic itself wasn't difficult) and was struggling to think of one. I still don't even like the one I chose but, hey, what can you do?

Nothing much really happened here, that'll be for the next upcoming chapters, but I still wanted for you guys to get the update you deserve. Hope you enjoyed!

©️ sukibenders//LUNARS