Fandom Clinic, Friday

[deaddadsclub]

It was another quiet, boring day at the clinic -- which was good, since at least half the nurses had called out. Something about long-lost relatives? Whatever, Cristina hadn't paid that much attention. She couldn't even blame them, surely there was a limit on how much canasta even they could handle.

If anyone needed her, she was manning the front desk today, eating popcorn and watching surgeries on YouTube.

[open!]

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[drmcdreamymd]

Derek came in without fanfare, letting the door shut behind him and just standing and taking in the small clinic for a moment.

Meredith had mentioned Cristina found it dire, but it looked kind of cute to him. Very small town. Which was probably exactly why she hated it.

[deaddadsclub]

"Be right with you," Cristina said without looking up. "Come on, come on -- no, don't go for the paddles already, you have to give it a minute! God, what a bunch of amateurs."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek huffed a small laugh and walked up to the desk. "If I was bleeding right now, you'd at least look up, right?"

[deaddadsclub]

"Derek!" Cristina couldn't help but smile back. "What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off mapping the brain for the president or something? Don't tell me the island kidnapped you, too."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek's smile vanished. "She didn't tell you."

That was . . . not good.

[deaddadsclub]

"Didn't tell me what?" Cristina asked. "I haven't heard from Mere in a little while -- oh god, Derek, tell me you didn't actually cheat on her. Because I am in some serious surgery withdrawal, and I am not above cutting bits out of you if you did."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek leaned against the desk, feeling light-headed. Which was ridiculous, but if anyone could make a dead man woozy, it was the other half of the Twisted Sisters.

"Cristina," he said. "I'm dead. My car was hit by a truck a few weeks ago. How could Meredith not have told you?"

[deaddadsclub]

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Right, sure. You've been dead for weeks, but you're still fixing your hair. What are you doing here?"

[drmcdreamymd]

"You called me," Derek said, leaning in deliberately now, his expression dead-serious.

Pardon the pun.

"There's a stone, out in the woods. I saw it when I arrived. With dozens of other people's deceased loved ones. Who were brought back for 48 hours, because the people living here -- you -- need us. I'm here for you, Cristina. And I need to know why Meredith didn't tell you!"

[deaddadsclub]

"You're here for me?"

Well, that sounded familiar.

"Wait, no, hang on, I know this one: I have a brain tumor, right? And you're the vivid hallucination telling me to seek help? 'Cause I gotta say, Derek, you've never really been my type."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek slapped his hand down on the desk. "Dammit, Cristina!" He stormed over, pulling the keyboard away from her, and after a few moments of googling, pulled up one of several news stories that had reported his death.

Look, a prominent brain surgeon, working on an assignment for the President of the United States, rescues four people from certain death after an accident on a mountain pass only to end up dead himself due to a blind corner and a stupid hospital error, and it gets a lot of coverage. He'd made headlines nationally.

"And if you don't believe that, call Owen. And then call Meredith and ask her why she didn't tell you."

[deaddadsclub]

Cristina let out a small protest, then frowned at his search terms. And frowned harder when she skimmed the article he pulled up.

18 wheeler . . . brain death . . . left behind a wife and two children. . . .

That was a lot of effort to put into a joke in such poor taste. And pranks had never been Derek's sense of humor.

"You're serious."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek nodded, slapping the desk again for emphasis.

"Completely."

[deaddadsclub]

"You're -- you're actually dead. Mere withdrew support."

[drmcdreamymd]

"Any one of us would have. I wasn't coming back."

[deaddadsclub]

"You're dead!"

[drmcdreamymd]

"Yes."

[deaddadsclub]

"Why didn't Meredith call me?!"

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek threw his hands in the air and walked several steps away.

[deaddadsclub]

Cristina was already on her phone. "It went straight to voicemail." She quickly scrolled through her contacts, then settled on Karev. He was supposed to be the substitute Cristina there now, after all. And she didn't have nearly the baggage with him as she did with Owen.

"Karev! What's this I -- no, I haven't -- what do you mean missing?!"

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek rushed back over, wishing he could snatch the phone out of Cristina's hand, but having to resign himself to just listening in as best he could.

The last thing the folks back at Grey-Sloan Memorial needed was a phone call from one of their many dead, after all.

[deaddadsclub]

"And she hasn't talked to anyone since then? You're sure." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "No, the phone reception around here is -- weird. Sometimes I don't hear from her for a little while. I didn't think -- yeah, of course. And you'll -- no, I'm sure she's fine. She's not the same person she was then. None of us are." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and nodded. "Okay. Keep me updated. And -- I guess say 'hi' to people for me. Bye, Karev."

She hung up and looked up at Derek, eyes wide.

"She ran away from home."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek ran both hands through his hair.

"The kids?"

[deaddadsclub]

"With her." Cristina offered a shaky smile. "She wouldn't have taken them if she was going to try anything, Derek. Not after what her mom did to her."

[drmcdreamymd]

Derek nodded, hands still clenched together at the back of his neck. "You're right. If she's got Zola and Bailey. . . ." He let out a small breath, then looked around the clinic again. "So." He looked back up at her with a smile. "You called me here."

[deaddadsclub]

Ugh. Cristina hated that smug little smile.

"Did not."

[drmcdreamymd]

"I gather it involved several dreams."

[deaddadsclub]

Cristina thought back on the dreams she'd been having earlier in the week, about people from Seattle and large motor vehicles. And groaned.

"I really hate this island."