Grey Sloan Memorial was supposed to have a normal day. You were halfway through your shift when the overhead speakers crackled, followed by a sharp, urgent announcement:

“Mass casualty incoming. All available staff to the pit.”

Your stomach dropped. You grabbed a pair of gloves and sprinted, nearly colliding with Dr. Jackson Avery at the entrance.

He steadied you with a hand on your arm. “Easy. You good?”

“No,” you admitted breathlessly. “But let’s go.”

He gave one sharp nod. “Stay close to me.”

The ambulance bay exploded into chaos. EMTs rushed in patients—smoke inhalation, broken bones, burns, trauma—but nothing gruesome. You and Jackson were assigned a critical patient, a teen who’d been caught in a building collapse.

Jackson knelt beside the stretcher, voice calm but firm. “Hey, I’m Dr. Avery. We’re gonna take care of you, alright?”

You took vitals, trying to steady your hands. They were shaking more than you wanted to admit.

“BP’s dropping,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

Jackson glanced at you, reading the tension in your face. “Look at me for a second.”

You did.

“You’ve got this,” he said quietly. “Just follow my lead.”

Something in you clicked back into place.

Together, you moved like a synced rhythm—Jackson assessing injuries, you prepping supplies, relaying information, anticipating his next step. The trauma room around you buzzed with alarms and voices, but the two of you were locked into the same intense focus.

“Hang the fluids,” he instructed.

You were already doing it.

“Good,” he murmured, more to you than anyone else.

When the situation escalated again, Jackson’s voice lifted. “We need to move—now.”

You helped guide the stretcher as you both rushed the patient toward CT, Jackson running beside you, updating the team on the fly.

At one point, when another alarm sounded, your breath hitched. Jackson noticed instantly.

“Don’t panic,” he whispered, leaning close enough that only you heard. “We’re not losing them. Not today.”

His confidence wasn’t loud—it was steady, grounding. You clung to it.