The hospital was still humming with the aftershock of Derek Shepherd's defiance.
"He went rogue," Cristina muttered in the elevator, arms crossed, fury simmering beneath her cool tone. "Told the Chief to go screw himself and locked himself in his OR."
"He saved a man's life," Meredith said quietly beside her.
Cristina shot her a glare. "He ignored the board. The rules. Me."
From behind them, Nia kept silent. The elevator carried all three women to the third floor, tension thick. The buzz surrounding the Isaac spinal tumor case had spread like wildfire. Derek had taken on the impossible—and won.
But not everyone was celebrating.
---
Isaac's Recovery – Neuro Wing
Nia stood beside the ICU bed, watching as Isaac opened his eyes for the first time since the 17-hour surgery. Derek stood at the foot of the bed, calm but exhausted, the lines under his eyes carved deep.
"You're awake," Derek said gently.
Isaac blinked, groggy but aware. "You did it?"
"We did."
Nia swallowed. She hadn't been in the room for the whole procedure—Cristina had. But she'd reviewed the scans, mentally reconstructed the tumor's structure in her mind like a blueprint. And now, standing here, watching Isaac move his toes, it felt like witnessing a miracle.
Cristina, however, stood in the doorway with arms crossed, gaze sharp.
"You cut me out of the surgery," she told Derek, her voice low but firm.
"You froze," he replied, turning toward her.
"I hesitated. For a second. You're my attending. You teach me, not shut me out."
"You weren't ready."
Cristina stepped back like he'd struck her. Nia turned away, giving them privacy—but the look in Cristina's eyes lingered in her mind like a ghost.
---
Chief Webber's Office – The Fallout
Later that morning, Derek sat across from Chief Webber.
"You directly defied protocol," the Chief said, voice tight. "You disrespected me and this hospital."
"I did the surgery. He lived. That's the outcome that matters."
Webber sighed. "You inspired half the interns and pissed off the rest of the attendings. Even Bailey's thrown."
"She'll get over it."
"And the intern who predicted the vasculature pattern before the scans even finished uploading? Nia Adisa."
Derek raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"
"Watch her. She's on every department's radar. People like that... They either flame out or change everything."
---
Trauma Bay – Blood and Smoke
"Multiple gunshot wounds incoming. Male, mid-30s. Chest and abdomen. ETA two minutes."
The trauma bay exploded into motion. Nia and Micah raced to prepare supplies, gowns, and monitors. Owen Hunt strode in behind them, snapping on gloves.
"Duvall, you're lead. Adisa, you assist. Let's go."
The patient rolled in seconds later, blood gushing through pressure bandages. EMTs shouted vitals. The man was pale, eyes fluttering.
"Name's Darien Law," the EMT barked. "Armed robbery gone wrong. Took three bullets before diving behind a dumpster."
Micah took over. "Let's crack him."
Nia's eyes scanned the wounds. She saw the pattern—left side entry, possible diaphragm tear, liver involvement, probable spinal ricochet.
"Entry at T9," she said, already sterilizing the area. "Spine's at risk. Bleeding's pooling near the liver. We'll lose him in five minutes if we don't decompress."
Micah nodded. "Hunt, we need to open him up. Now."
Owen didn't hesitate. "Do it."
Micah made the incision, blood spilling fast. Nia retracted the rib cage, suction working overtime. For a moment, all Nia could see was blood—but then her vision cleared. The heart was intact. The aorta untouched.
"Focus on the liver. Small artery tear. I can clamp it," she said.
"Adisa, that's close to the renal—"
"I know."
She clamped. Pressure stabilized. Vitals ticked up by half a point.
"You saved him," Micah said quietly.
"We're not done yet."
---
Observation Room – Word Gets Around
Later, while the patient was stabilized in recovery, Teddy Altman stepped into the gallery above OR 4, where Meredith and Cristina were watching a bypass.
"She saved that man's kidney," Teddy said, arms folded. "Called it without imaging. Again."
Cristina, still bruised from Derek's dismissal, scoffed. "She thinks fast. Doesn't mean she's ready."
"She's not arrogant," Meredith pointed out. "She's just gifted."
Cristina turned sharply. "And we're not?"
"She's not competing with you, Cristina," Meredith said softly. "You're the one turning this into a war."
Cristina bit the inside of her cheek, jaw tightening.
---
Call Room – Cracks Appear
Micah sat on the edge of his bunk, head in his hands. Nia entered quietly, closing the door behind her.
"You okay?"
He didn't answer at first. "That guy… I saw myself in him. Wrong place, wrong time. No second chances."
"You gave him one."
Micah looked up at her. "You ever think this place just… eats people alive?"
"All the time."
She sat beside him. Their arms brushed. The silence between them was warm this time—exhausted, but not empty.
"He was dying, and all I could think about was you," Micah said.
Nia turned to him, surprised.
"I thought—if I mess this up, if he bleeds out—I don't get to see you again. I don't get another chance."
Nia swallowed. "You don't have to protect me."
"I want to."
They kissed, soft at first, then deeper, urgent. Not an escape—just an anchor.
---
Derek's Hallway Talk
The next day, Derek found Nia reviewing neuro scans in the hallway.
"You were right about the anterior displacement in Isaac's tumor," he said.
Nia straightened. "I just mapped it out early."
"You do more than map. You see."
"I visualize surgical flow. I don't know why. It just happens."
Derek tilted his head. "You ever think about neuro?"
"I'm not ready."
"Neither was I, at your age. But I had a mentor who said, 'If you wait until you're ready, you'll always be late.'"
She looked at him, searching.
"You're not Cristina," he added. "You're something else entirely."
---
Cristina Breaks
That night, Cristina found Owen alone in the on-call room.
"Shepherd humiliated me," she said. "He said I wasn't ready. And now everyone's falling over themselves to worship Nia Adisa like she's some surgical oracle."
Owen looked at her gently. "Cristina, you're brilliant. But brilliance isn't the same as timing."
"She's getting opportunities I bled for."
"Then do what you always do. Cut deeper. Work harder."
Cristina nodded. But her hands trembled as she held them in her lap.
---
Closing Scene – Surgical Board
The whiteboard glowed in the low hallway light. Teddy's name appeared next to a new hybrid cardio-neuro case: Aortic dissection with cerebral complications.
Beside it, three names: Altman. Shepherd. Adisa.
Cristina saw it first. Her name wasn't there.
Nia stood behind her, reading it too.
Their eyes met.
Nia didn't speak. Didn't gloat.
She simply nodded—and walked away.
Cristina stood frozen, chest tight, hands clenched.
It wasn't just about being left behind anymore.
It was about watching someone else rise—and not knowing how to stop it.
---
End of Chapter 4