thirty-one

"

***

"I mean, what am I supposed to say to her, 'Hey, remember the time that I quit and you got pissed and took my seat on a plane that crashed and now you're trading in your wheelie sneaks for a peg leg?' Sorry. My bad?" Alex said, once Meredith referred if he has talked to Arizona.

The surgical fellows decided to have both Cristina and Allison in the same room so they wouldn't have to switch off every now and then. Jackson could remember when they told him Allison and the others were in a plane crash, he never wanted to see her in the state she is currently in. He felt his heart break into pieces, she looked numb and broken.

Jackson walked inside Cristina and Allison's room as he eyed Allison who was staring at the ceiling. "How are we doing here?"

"Hey, Jackson." Meredith called out to him, "You're talking to Sloan, right? Keeping him updated."

"Yeah." Jackson answered, "Not about work stuff though. He doesn't need that kind of pressure right now."

"What is wrong with you two?" Meredith looked between Alex and Jackson.

"I just said that—"

"No, I'm just saying, they're fine. They're gonna be fine. Arizona's not gonna lose her leg, and Sloan is coming back. They're coming back so let's act like it." Meredith sighed as she looked at Cristina and Allison's emotionless face. "We're all gonna be fine."

"How long are we saying this is okay?" Alex asked, as the group stares at their two friends.

Meredith pointed her fork to the two, "As long as they need."

***

***

"I can't sleep." Allison spoke up. Jackson looked back at her inside the room, she was sitting up, the lamp on the side was on. "I haven't slept." She admitted, "Every time I close my eyes, I-I'm back in the forest. I remember everything."

Jackson laid down next to her figure as he caressed her hair, causing Allison to lay down and look up at the ceiling, "You don't have to talk about it."

"The fire went out. It was dark—really really dark. There were so many stars. I remember helping Cristina get the bugs out of Arizona's leg, putting on leaves trying to keep them out. And Mark" Jackson wrapped his arm around her. "Mark just kept d-dying. I-I just wanted to lie down and c-close my eyes and not wake up again. Meredith was asleep. Everyone was asleep, everyone except for Cristina and I. A-Arizona got the last of the water, I-I drank...my pee." Jackson face fell hearing what she had been through, "The noises—the animal noises...fighting and growling right next to us. I waited for them to come and kill me—to kill us, but they didn't, and then I realized they were fighting over L-Lexie. W-We tried to keep them off of her. , but we couldn't."

"You're safe. You're here now." Jackson assured, kissing her forehead, squeezing her shoulder lightly, every now and then caressing her shoulder up and down.

***

"I have to leave." Allison shook her head, it's been weeks since she has been released from the hospital, she felt somewhat better. Jackson has been with her before going to the hospital and comes home every night after his shift. She's been staying in Jackson's shared apartment with Alex and April. "I can't face him, Derek, I need to get out of here, so are you going to help me or not?"

Derek sighed as he watched Allison put her bags inside her car. "You should let him know, Allie."

"I-I can't." Allison refused.

"Alli—"

"No." Allison shook her head closing the trunk of her car, "We were in a plane crash! We almost died, my parents died in a plane crash, bad things happen here. You were shot here. We lost George here. Izzie got cancer here. Bad things happen in Seattle." Allison made her way to the drivers side of the car, "I'll be back, I just need to get away." Allison reached inside her purse as she took out an envelope. "This is for Jackson. Make sure to give it to him, please."

Derek grabbed the envelope from her hand, which was indeed addressed to Jackson. "Okay."

"Promise me you'll give it to him, Derek."