chapter twenty five

let the angels commit.season three, episode six.

She had spent pretty much every second of every day over the last week at Joe's, way too drunk to function. It was how she coped with the large amount of blood money weighing on her back.

And after Mark convinced her to deposit the 10 million dollar check into a secure bank account that only she can access, she was more than ready to distract herself by cutting people open.

At least, she was, until she heard a rumor that made her want to go back to Joe's bar forever.

"Absolutely not," Cassie deadpanned, leaning back in the chair with her arms crossed.

Webber sighed heavily. "Dr. Harper, I know you have some personal issues with Dr. Stevens, but—"

"Personal issues?" she scoffed. "She single handedly killed Denny. So yeah, I guess you could say I have some ."

Richard removed his glasses and put his hands together. "I'm sympathetic towards you, Cassie. I really am. But doctors, surgeons, make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes cost us a life."

"It's not a mistake if it was on purpose," Cassie countered, standing up, arms still across her chest.

"You want to know how many patients I've personally killed in my career?" he asked, making her frown with confusion. "9. That's 9 people, with 9 families. Families, that consisted of sisters, brothers, wifes, husbands, and parents. And I wouldn't ever expect them to forgive me for what I did. For the mistakes I made. And I don't expect you to, either."

Cassie scoffed and raised her voice to a shout. "All due respect, sir, but being forced to work civilly alongside her, and be around her without there being any problems, sounds a hell of a lot like forgiveness!"

"Dr. Harper, sit down," he instructed loudly, standing up as well.

"No."

On the strip outside of the Chief's office, the interns watched the argument intently, along with Derek, Mark, Addison, Burke, and a few other members of the hospital staff.

"Is she yelling at the Chief?" George gaped. "No freaking way."

Cristina raised her eyebrows. "It's the daddy issues. Leads to little respect for authority."

"No," Meredith disagreed. "There's no way she'd argue with the Chief unless it was about something really important."

"I don't know, she's pretty unstable lately. Wouldn't surprise me if she did something she'd regret," Alex added.

"She's not unstable," George shook his head.

"Have you been to Joe's recently?" Alex asked as if it were obvious. "She practically lives there."

"It's Izzie's fault," Cristina said. "It's her first day back tomorrow."

"Should we be worried?" George asked.

"She's fine," Meredith and Cristina said in unison, sharing a look that showed they both knew she definitely was fine.

Alex watched as they continued to fight. "She's totally unstable."

A few feet away, Mark glared at the intern. "Hey, Karev!"

"Dr. Sloan," Alex greeted nervously. "What can I do for you?"

"You ever say anything like that again, and I'll make sure you don't see the inside of an OR for months," Mark threatened lowly. "Understood?"

Alex gulped. "Understood."

Back in the Chief's office, Cassie was pacing across the floor. "What do you expect me to do, just work around her like nothing ever happened?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I expect," Richard said sternly. "You are a surgeon. Good surgeons put their personal issues aside and focus on their patient no matter what. And you are a good surgeon, Harper."

Cassie paused. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Izzie is an intern. She made a bad choice, and she lost the man she loves and a close friend because of it. She messed up, but that's what interns do. And there's no doubt in my mind that one day, you'll mess up too." He took a deep breath. "I'm not saying that you have to forgive her. I'm saying, that if you're not able to do your job with her around, we will need to have a longer discussion about your future at this hospital."

Cassie took a long look at him.

"If I were you, I would contact your lawyer."

She stormed out of the office.

☆

"Isobel."

The blonde's head snapped over to her bedroom door, where Cassie was standing in the frame with a blank look on her face.

"Cassie!" Izzie said in alarm, standing up from her place on the bed. "I—"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Cassie waltzed into the room nonchalantly, observing the decor and leaning against the dresser. Izzie watched nervously, scared for what she would do.

"You're coming back to work."

"I, um, yes. I am."