Medical Center, Ward Room
"Dr. Bailey?"
Adam had been dragged over by Meredith, and the second he opened the door, he was met with a face sporting a chilly smirk.
Christina shot him a helpless look.
"You're surprised I'm here?" Dr. Bailey said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Unless I'm remembering wrong, you're one of my interns. Every move you make in this hospital needs my approval. Or do you think you can sneak around behind my back again?"
"Sorry," Meredith jumped in quick. "Dr. Bailey, this is my friend. His condition's a little… unique, so we thought—"
"You thought?" Bailey cut her off sharp. "This is a hospital. I don't care what you think—I care what I think! And what I think is simple: you follow orders, stick to the rules, and learn how to be a proper surgeon. Is that so hard for you?"
"Not hard at all," Christina piped up fast, eager to stay out of the crossfire.
She wasn't about to get lumped in with Meredith on this one. If Meredith weren't her bestie, she'd have thrown in a "It's just her, not me—I told her not to do it" for good measure.
"Not hard?" Bailey snorted. "So you're just deliberately trying to piss me off then?"
"…" Christina and Meredith were speechless.
Adam, meanwhile, kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart—total Zen mode. He wasn't one of Bailey's interns, and he wasn't your average newbie either. But if he dared open his mouth, Bailey's wrath would hit him like a carpet bomb. So, he stayed out of it.
Too bad the universe doesn't care about your plans.
"And what's your deal?" Bailey asked, glaring at her two star interns for a bit before turning her still-simmering fury on Adam, who'd been trying to play invisible.
"Meredith asked me to check out the case," Adam said with an innocent grin.
"Ha!" Bailey scoffed. "We all know you're hot stuff, but no matter how good you are, you're still an intern. Consults like this—are you even allowed to handle those?"
"Nope," Adam nodded honestly. "That's why I'm just taking a look. If something's off, I'll report it right away."
It sounded blunt, but it was the truth. Adam's skills were top-notch and still climbing fast. Still, as an intern, he couldn't officially see patients without a senior doc's green light. That's why he'd shot down Meredith's plea to secretly take on Steve's case from the start.
"Hmph!" Bailey pursed her lips. She was actually cool with Adam's attitude—he wasn't her problem, and a quick nudge was enough. Then she zeroed back in on Meredith.
"Your friend here—all his tests came back normal. Enemas, needle aspiration, nothing's worked. It's probably neurological."
"That's what we thought too, so I got Adam—" Meredith started.
"You should've gone to Duncan!" Bailey interrupted. "Neurological issue means you call in a neuro expert, not Adam! Drag this out any longer, and that thing might actually die off."
"Ah!" Steve, who'd been lying in bed watching the drama unfold like a flagpole, let out a panicked yelp.
"Relax, I've already called for a consult," Bailey said, calming him down.
"A consult?!" Meredith's voice shot up ninety degrees. "You called neurosurgery?!"
Adam felt that uncontrollable urge to laugh again, just like when he first saw Steve. Holding it in was torture—he was dying over here. How does something this ridiculous even happen? Meredith, you're the queen of chaos!
"Hey! It's not my fault!" Bailey snapped, totally getting why Meredith was freaking out but not about to let it slide. She planted a hand on her hip. "You're the one who broke this guy's little buddy."
"…" Meredith clammed up, mortified beyond words.
Christina ducked her head low—real low, practically smushing her face into her chest—to hide the laugh she couldn't hold back.
Adam wanted to play fair and say something like, "There's tissue damage, sure, but it's not broken—no need to exaggerate…" Then he remembered Meredith's morning rant about how guys shouldn't expect feelings from a bar hookup.
Yeah, fair. A woman takes a guy home from the bar, and he thinks she's catching feelings? Nah, she's just using him like a workhorse. In Adam's past life, there were plenty of classic lines for scenes like this. Anyone in the know gets it.
Oh, and here's a quick plug—patreon:belamy20—supporting creators keeps the good vibes rolling!
Thinking about it, Meredith kicking Steve out first thing was practically a mercy. At least he walked into the hospital on his own two feet instead of hobbling in, clinging to the wall. Emmm… Meredith's not the type to drain the pond dry—she's got some decency!
"Good morning, everyone!" A chipper voice rang out just as Meredith was drowning in shame and Adam and co. were snickering under their breath. Footsteps followed the greeting.
Bailey's neuro consult had arrived. And who else could it be but Dr. Shepherd, the neurosurgery chief himself?
Meredith, facing away from the door, squeezed her eyes shut. Her body swayed like she might collapse. The final blow had landed.
"So, what's the situation?" Shepherd asked, nodding at everyone with a grin.
He was in great spirits. Last night, he and his girlfriend Meredith had officially called it quits. Well, ex-girlfriend now—she'd come to her senses, and they'd parted on friendly terms. He knew she didn't blame him.
Blame fate's twisted sense of humor instead.
With that weight off his shoulders, he'd gone home and, for the first time in months, rekindled things with his wife—they'd nearly divorced over the drama. Barney's got a saying: "A little time apart beats a fresh honeymoon." It's up there with breakup sex, makeup sex, all that urban legend stuff.
Shepherd couldn't not be glowing today. Everyone got a smile.
Bailey glanced at Meredith, signaling her to explain.
"Here's the deal…" Christina stepped up—bestie to the rescue. She might've been laughing, but with Meredith about to faint, she took over and ran through the case.
"Hmm," Shepherd nodded, not overthinking it. He stepped to the bed, lifted the sheet covering Steve, and took a peek.
"When did this start?"
"Last night after I, uh, finished, and it was still like this when I woke up," Steve said, oblivious to Shepherd's history with Meredith, answering naturally.
"Dr. Shepherd, if I'm not needed here, I've got stuff to do," Bailey said, clearly done with the soap opera about to unfold.
"Sure," Shepherd nodded, turning back to Steve. "When was your last, uh, finish?"
Adam smirked with a playful glint. Christina's sideways glance at her bestie was pure meme material.
Meredith wasn't even registering Adam or Christina—her face screamed "kill me now," silently begging for this nightmare to end.
But the more you dread something, the faster it comes.
"I don't remember," Steve said after a pause. No answer came to mind, so he turned to Meredith casually. "Meredith?"
Her eyes slammed shut in agony.
Shepherd froze mid-note, pen hovering. He looked up at Meredith, disbelief wiping out his day-long high in an instant.