A/N: Hey guys! So at first I planned to make this a 20 chapter story, but now I decided this chapter would be the last. I spent a lot of time to type each new chapter, but I ended up deleting every single word I wrote, and I realized that I was in a writer's block. I figured that it might be the best to end the story before it turns into a boring drabble :( Thanks for all the love given to DESTINED and EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED, and special thanks to Patsy, Olya-la, 1 and suki! Your kind reviews made my day!

PS: I am posting a new story called LOVE IS IN THE AIR, make sure to check it out if you haven't!

Chapter 15

Kayla Elizabeth Burke: 15 years old

2033 Seattle Hillside Middle School, Seattle

"Ellis! Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?" Hearing the familiar footsteps, Kayla turned around and yelled to her best friend since birth, Ellis Shepherd, annoyed.

"I know! I am really sorry. But you know how many people are waiting for Mrs. Balski to answer their questions! I have to queue!" Ellis pulled out a bottle of water and gulped half a bottle down her throat.

"Ugh. I don't get it. Why don't you wait till we got to the hospital and ask your mom? Or my mama." Kayla whined and walked towards the ferryboat pier with her arm in Ellis's.

"I am not as smart as you are. I don't want my mom to have any false hope that I am gonna become a surgeon." Ellis sighed, "Zola already got accepted into pre-med at Stanford, and Bailey is ALWAYS the top student. He is probably going to med school as well. People assumed I am going to be a surgeon as well, while I still can't understand how the heart works. My mom is gonna be so disappointed at me. I don't want to disappoint her and dad."

"Well lucky for you, my mama and daddy are heart surgeons. They can give you free tutorials. Or I can too." Kayla smiled and pulled out a lollipop from her pocket, "Eat this and forget all those surgical royalty crap."

"Thanks." Ellis pulled a weak smile and stuffed the candy into her mouth.

"Oh shoot. We are gonna miss the ferryboat. How about we take a cab to the hospital?" Kayla waved for a cab to stop in front of them after getting a nod from Ellis.

"Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital please. We are in a hurry." Ellis told the driver and wiped her phone out from her pocket. "Oh crap. My mom texted me and is telling me to get to the hospital ASAP."

"Tell her we are in a cab and is on our way… Ouch!" Before Kayla can finish her sentence, the cab stopped sharply and she hit her head on the back of the front seat. She closed her eyes and moaned in pain.

"Kayla! You alright? Oh God! You are bleeding! There's a cut on your forehead!" Ellis bent forward and checked her face. The cut was luckily just a superficial one, but there's still blood oozing out. Ellis flipped through her bag and found a piece of tissue paper for Kayla to cover her wound.

"What's the problem?" Ellis bent forward and asked the driver.

"There's an accident in front of us. We are stuck. I am calling the police and we have to wait for them to come."

Ellis peeked out through the window, and she saw a little boy trying to crawl out from the car, but failed to do so because of exhaustion.

"I need to get him out from that fuel tank." Ellis mumbles, she pushed the door of the cab open and quickly ran to the boy's side.

"El! Damn it." Kayla cursed and followed her friend. "Ellie! What are you doing! It's dangerous!"

"Shut up and come give me a hand. I need you to help me move him away from the car." Ellis looked at her friend and screamed, "Kayla! This car can explode at any minute. We have to move fast!"

"Okay fine. On three. One, two… Three!" As she counted to three, the two girls dragged the boy out and carried him to where their cab stopped.

"Hi. My name is Ellis, and she is Kayla. We called the police, they are coming. What's your name? Are you hurt?" Ellis crouched in front of the boy and asked. He shook his head and answer while sobbing.

"My name is Evan. I am not hurt."

"Oh, that's good. Don't be scared, we are gonna sit with you okay?" Ellis smiled and tried to comfort him. She knows that she is missing something, but she couldn't tell what is that she is missing…

"Evan." Kayla frowned and asked, "Who is in the car with you?"

'Oh right!' Ellis thought. 'Damn, his parents are probably still stuck in that car.'

"My mom and my dad. They are still in the car." Evan finally busted into tears, he grabbed Ellis's sleeve tightly and said, "Please, please help them."

Ellis stroked his back and ran towards the car with Kayla. "Are they alright?"

"The man's leg is injured, probably a fracture, but he is still conscious, I think we can get him out of the car." Kayla answered wisely. Ellis looked at her best friend appreciatively and replied, "Wow. You sounded like Aunt April, I can almost see wisdom dripping out from your words."

"Shut up." Kayla rolled her eyes with a smile on her lips. "Okay, let's do it. Sir, we are getting you out now. One, two, three!"

The two girls took a deep breath and dragged the man out from the car. Blood is running down his leg, and the leg of his trousers has already stained with blood. Apparently, there is a big wound under the fabric.

"Sir, your son is safe now. We are taking you there to sit with him." Ellis explained gently. The man shook his head vigorously and yelled, "No! No! My wife! She is still inside the car! Please. I have to save her."

"Sir! Your leg is injured! You have to lie on the floor and don't move if you want to keep your leg." Kayla answered. She thought for a second and said in a softer tone, "How about we go check on your wife and get her out of there for you?"

"Thank you, thank you so much."

The mother was in the back of the car. Her limbs are not injured, but she couldn't crawl out from the car because she is too weak. The two girls asked the cab driver to help, and they finally pulled the woman out from the car after a few try.

"Her breathing is very shallow, and her pulse is thready. I don't think she can wait until the ambulance arrives." Ellis whispered into Kayla's ear after she checked the woman. They are not surgeons, but after spending 15 years in a trauma center, they already have the ability to tell whether a patient is going to live.

Kayla bit her nails and try to think of a way to save this woman. She couldn't bear to see a woman dying in front of them. She has to do something.

'When we were still interns, a ferry boat crashed once. Aunt Meredith, Uncle Alex, and your dead Aunt Izzie and Uncle George went to the field to save the passengers.' One of her old bedtime stories suddenly came up in her mind, she can still recall her mother's voice telling the story. And how pissed her father was when he found out her mother has been telling her "bloody" stories before she goes to bed.

'At that time, a man had a brain injury and have to wait for the rescue team to come. Knowing that he will need some blur holes on his skull, your Aunt Izzie called Chief Webber -well, your Uncle Richard was still the chief at that time- for help. He teaches her how to drill holes in a skull on the phone! She used the drill from a random…'

Right! She can call her parents! They are cardiothoracic surgeons! They must know what to do to save this woman.

"Evan, can you get my phone? It's in the cab, with a pink phone case… Yes, that one. Thank you." Kayla got her phone and quickly Facetime her mom.

"Hey sweetie. Where are you? You are late!" Cristina's face popped up in the screen almost immediately. She looks really pissed off because her daughter is so late for the celebration party for Richard's second Harper Avery award.

"I know, sorry mom. Um, Ellie and I got into a car accident."

"You what?" The worried face of Burke appears next to Cristina's. "Did you hurt yourself? Did you call an ambulance?"

"We are fine. Really. We are not hurt or anything." Kayla squeezed a smile and got Ellis to wave to the worry parents to show them they are fine. "Listen, um, we helped a woman out from her wrecked car, but her breathing is shallow and her pulse is barely there. We don't think she can wait till the ambulance come. What can I do?"

"Oh, uh, show us how injured she is." Kayla nodded and moved her phone. Cristina gasped when she saw the woman.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" She can hear her mother whisper to her father. Burke thought for a moment and nodded. Cristina sighed and said,

"Honey… I am sorry. I know you wanted to save this woman, but you have to crack her chest in order to save her. You have to let her go."

"You can walk us through how to crack her chest!" Ellis suggested, "It's like… cooking. You tell us what to do on the phone, and we do exactly what you say!"

"No!" Cristina and Burke screamed at the same time, "You are only 15, and the two of you have no medical education at all. You don't even know where her heart is!"

"Mom, dad. We grow up in a hospital. Trust me, we know more than your interns." Kayla looked at her parents with pleading eyes, "Please, she is circling the drain. She is gonna die even if we do nothing."

The two surgeons looked at each other thoughtfully. Suddenly, Burke frowned and said, "Cristina! You can't give in! It is reckless and dangerous. We can't let our daughter become a murderer!"

"She is right. That woman is gonna die anyway. Might as well let them try."

"What happened to first do no harm?"

"Guys! I am sorry! But I can't feel her pulse anymore!" Ellis interrupted.

"Um, is there a breath sound?"

"No." Ellis placed her ear on the woman chest and answered.

"Damn it!" Burke mumbled and exchanged a glance with his wife. He sighed and turned to face the girls, "Okay, we don't have any other choice if we wanted to keep this woman alive. Girls, can you find a knife? Not necessary a big one, but it needs to be sharp."

"I got a craft knife in my bag." Kayla said with a bit of uncertain in her voice.

"That's will do. Oh and try to find some disinfectant too." Ellis nodded and quickly went back to the cab.

"Erm, all we got are these small alcohol swabs. And the cab driver gave us half a bottle of Vodka." Ellis returned with a bunch of stuff in her hands and added, "I thought Vodka could be used as alcohol." She showed it to the surgeons and they nodded.

"That's enough. And good thinking on the vodka." Cristina said with a smile. "Okay, the next part is the tough part. You need to cut into the woman's chest, stick your hand inside and massage her heart. It's gonna feel super gross and you can't stop until you got her into the hospital."

"First you want to clean the knife with the alcohol swabs. And pour the Vodka onto the woman's chest." Burke said calmly and hold Cristina's hand tightly. Nobody knows what will happen, but just like what Cristina said before, these two girls are the best shot.

"Okay, done. What's next?"

"Now, locate the collar bone. It's near her neck, the horizontal bone at the very top of the chest…"

"Mama! I know what a collar bone is." Kayla hissed to the phone, and Ellis couldn't help but giggled a bit. It definitely helps her to loosen up her mind.

"Walk your fingers down her chest, following the ribs. You should be able to feel it, stop when you hit the fifth one."

"Got it."

"Move your finger up a bit, and stop between the fourth and the fifth rib. Okay, right, now take the knife and make an incision about 4 to 5 inches long by the side of her left chest."

Kayla stared at the knife held by Ellis. All her courage seems to be disappeared, she is scared, really scared. What if she cut something she shouldn't have? What if she killed this woman? How can she look herself in the mirror again?

"El… Can you do it?" She looked at Ellis and asked helplessly.

"You are already there! The clock is ticking, we have to do it right now if we want to save her. I can't replace you." Ellis shook her head and replied. She stared right into Kayla's eyes and added, "You are the daughter of two badass cardio surgeon. It's in your blood! You will do it and save her life."

Kayla nodded at her friend and grabbed the knife from Ellis's hand. Taking a deep breath, she located the knife right at where it should go and is ready to cut. "Okay, here I go…"

"Dig into the skin with a bit of force, human have a tough shell. But remember don't go too deep at the first cut. Be careful and don't hit the lungs."

"How can I make sure I didn't cut into the lung?"

"You just have to be sure." She can see her parents giving her the encouraging smile on the screen.

Kayla took another deep breath and make the cut. She tried to picture how her parents would do and tried to mimic their action. As soon as the cut was made, blood came flooding out from the incision.

"I see… blood! So much blood! Did I hit her lungs?"

"It's alright, she was in a trauma and this bleeding is normal. Just stick your hand into the chest and feel. Tell us what you feel." Cristina said anxiously. She exhaled in relief and held Burke's hand even tighter. Her daughter is saving a life. Like what she did when she was nine on her father. The only difference is, her daughter is taking instructions from two world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeons, and that's why this woman is gonna live.

"Um, I am touching a slippery thing now… I think it's the lung because it is quite big… I am traveling upward and… Oh my god, I think I'm touching the heart!"

"Okay, touch the heart and try to feel, is there anything different than the heart you saw in textbooks?"

"I… I think… I think I can feel a hole. Yes, definitely a hole. About the size of my pinky."

"Good! Plug the hole with your pinky and start massaging. Give the heart a good hard squeeze every second, and do not stop until the ambulance come." Kayla nodded and begin squeezing. Shortly after she finished with her emergency thoracotomy, she can hear the siren of an ambulance coming from not far away.

Ellis stood up and waved to stop the ambulance. The paramedics helped the girls to move the woman onto a gurney and load her onto the ambulance.

"Daddy, mama, I gotta go." Kayla waved to her parents with her spared hand.

"We will be waiting for you at the hospital."

"Karen Naylor, 40. Abdominal injuries and a blunt trauma to the chest. Heartbeat stopped for 5 minutes in the field and resumed after an emergency thoracotomy." The paramedic yelled as he unloaded the gurney.

Waiting at the ambulance bay, Cristina and Burke rushed to the patient and see whether they can release Kayla from the patient.

"Oh… sweetie, I am afraid you need to come with us into the OR." Cristina said after checking the chest injury, the woman's body is barely hanging because of Kayla's cardiac compressions, which means her daughter needed to keep on massaging the heart until they can hook the woman onto a bypass.

"I'm alright, mama. Just do what you needed to do."

"Kayla, don't stop until I tell you to, understand?" Burke whispered to his daughter as he lay another sterile towel on Kayla's body. He landed a gentle kiss on her forehead after he saw she nodded.

"10 blade. And get ready with the bypass." The surgery started silently. Kayla watched her parents work quietly while squeezing the heart.

She watched similar surgeries for a thousand times already, but she never felt what she is feeling now. She started to understand her mother about how magical it feels to stand in an OR. Seeing the heart pinking up as blood flows into the muscles, and the systematic beat of the organ is definitely the most mesmerizing thing she has ever seen in her life.

She always thinks that she is going to become a surgeon like her parents because everyone says so. People automatically assume that she will follow her parents' footsteps, gradually she started to feel like she has an obligation to be a surgeon too. But today, when she cut open the woman's chest, the first time in her life, she knows. She knows she is going to be a wonderful cardio surgeon because she wanted to.

As the heart being connected to the bypass machine, it's time for Kayla to leave the OR. But she was so mesmerized by the surgery and couldn't hear a word her mother says.

"Kayla Elizabeth Burke!"

"Huh? What?"

"We hooked her onto a bypass already. You need to go now honey."

"But I… Can I sit in the gallery and watch you finish?"

"Of course. Go clean your hands."

Kayla nodded and step out from the OR. Burke smiled at Cristina and said,

"Well, guess we are going to have one more cardio surgeon in the family."

"Of course. She is my daughter." Cristina replied with a proud smile covered by her mask.

THE END