The Dr. Shepherd

Ivy looks down at her buzzing pager before taking off. She finds Amelia scrubbing in as Herman is being brought under, "How you doing? You ready? Is this a pep talk or a it doesn't matter that your not Derek talk or..."

Amelia sighs, "All of the above."

She nods, "Okay. Look, you've got this. If Herman thought that there was no chance you could do this, she wouldn't have let you planned or even be laying on that table. You've got a plan. A great plan that not even the great Derek Shepherd could make. If anyone can do this, it's you. You've got this, Dr. Amelia Shepherd. Dr. Shepherd. I'll be in the gallery. You finish prepping," there, she leaves Amelia to finish scrubbing before heading up to the gallery.

Finding Meredith and Maggie, Ivy sits between them. Each girl grabbing one of her hands as Ivy takes a breath, "Come on, Amy, you got this."

Edwards draws the mark before Amelia steps forward, "Start the clock please. Ten blade," she makes eye contact with Ivy before starting.

○○○○

Ben waves a man off as he tries to sit next to him. Maggie looks around, "So this is a regular thing. You all come up here and you watch surgeries. Why."

Meredith shakes her head, "Not just surgeries- the bug surgeries, the whale surgeries, the rare ones, the crazy ones. I mean, your on the edge of your seat. The patient could die. This is life or death. The adrenaline, the rush-"

"Okay, so you watch, like, the worst day of a person's life like a movie," Maggie asks.

"No, not like a movie. That's insulting. This is not entertainment. Movie. Oh, okay, this is where the good part starts," Meredith scoffs, handing Ivy a water.

Ivy ignores everyone else in the room, focusing only on Amelia and her movements. Time to insert the dye. The lights go off. An intern leans forward, "What does the dye do?"

Meredith answers, "Oh, the dye makes the whole tumor glow so that we can see where the tumor ends and where the brain begins."

Immediately, Amelia's entire face is lit up from the tumor, "Whoa."

○○○○

Edwards narrates for the observation deck, "Dr. Shepherd is examining the margins of the tumor."

Ivy sits on the edge of her seat, watching carefully as Edwards settles in, "Dr. Shepherd is now cutting the tumor away from the gyrus rectus."

The same intern from before taps Meredith's shoulder again, "Gyrus rectus?"

"The area responsible for our sense of smell," she tells him.

Ben shushes them.

Callie and Owen talk before Ben shushes them, "Oh, relax. It's not the ballet or whatever."

Ivy stands and leans against the glass, "Through it is a kind of dance. A practiced, precise dance. That only Dr. Shepherd knows. It's about grace and balance."

"I got shushed, but McBaby is fine," Callie comments.

"Yes, because my sister is the one performing the surgery," Ivy snaps back.

Edwards narrates again, "Dr. Shepherd is now clearing the tumor away from the midbrain structures the fornix, the thalamus. Uh, using extreme care not to violate the interior commissure. Dr. Shepherd calls this the dream box."

That intern again, "Dr. Grey, I'm sorry, but dream box?"

Ivy rolls her eyes but answers for Meredith, "Where we create dreams and memories and discern shapes and colors. Read a book. Jeez, these are our interns?"

She looks down and notices how tense Amelia is getting. Ivy sees her freeze. Before she can make a move, she sees Jackson and April walk in. Jackson kisses Ivy before sitting down before sitting down behind her.

April sits next to Meredith, "I'm not working. I'm- I'm just- I'm not ready to work yet."

"Its okay. We're just glad to see you."

"I'm just gonna sit. Dr. Herman was with my on my worst day. I just wanted to be with her for hers," April tells them.

"Hows this going?" Jackson asks, messaging Ivys shoulders.

Webber tells him, "Uh, she's trying to dissect around the fornix. But she still has a long way to go."

Jackson leans forward, "So, why are they not operating?"

Ivy stands, "Because she's thinking. Trying to find a clear path. She needs a soundboard."

She leaves the room, grabs a mask and enters the O.R., "Dr. Shepherd."

"Dr. Shepherd-Avery. What do you need?" Amelia turns to her sister, shooting her a hopeless look.

"Well, seeing as I'm the only one who really knows and understands your thought process, I thought I could be a sounding board. You can talk at me and I can help you find that clear path," Ivy offers.

"Kill the intercom please," Amelia says, "Dr. Shepherd-Avery, step over here, please."

Ivy moves to take Edwards spot as Amelia tells her, "You can be a big help. I need you to call our brother. Tell him he needs to get on a plane. He's in D.C., so if he goes now, he could be here in, what six hours, seven. I am in over my head. I made a mistake. I took on an impossible task, and my hubris is going to kill her. Please. Get him on the phone. Get him on a place. Get him here, now."

She shakes her head, "No, Derek would kill this patient. You know this plan better than you think. You know what move you should make. Derek would come in, take over, and kill her. Your hubris isn't going to kill her, your untrusting of yourself would. You think he's better than you? Why? Because our family and him says so? They aren't here. Listen to me. You are good. You can do this. Look at that brain, clear your mind, and make a move. I've seen Derek in this position before and you want to know who got him through that? Me. By talking it out. So, either clear your mind and make the move or talk your choices out with me. You don't need my help, but I'm here if you think you do. What's next?"

"Navigation probe," Amelia nods at her sister.

"Edwards, you're on," Ivy tells the resident, stepping back to the doorway.

"Intercom please. Dr. Shepherd is identifying the lamina terminalis so that she can go around the commissure, laterally dissecting away from the perforated arteries," Edwards narrates.

Ivy asks, "Can you avoid splitting the fornix?"

Amelia murmurs, "I sure as hell hope so."