Halloween Havoc

Part II

October 31st

The Seattle Grace Healing Hospital lobby had been entirely transformed. The chairs had been removed for the evening, making space for the surgical staff to mingle. It was strange, seeing so many of his coworkers in costumes instead of scrubs, it gave the impression of an adult costume party.

Which, Derek supposed, was exactly what was happening.

"Oh, look at that." Meredith stood by Derek with her arm tucked in his and she pointed up to the ceiling. Derek looked up and was more than impressed with the beautiful transformation that turned the skylight into a deep black with golden stars twinkling in view. Since it was actually grey and bleak outside, Derek had to assume it was actual magic that had created the view.

"Very nice," Derek said, genuinely meaning it. Magic was fascinating, absolutely fascinating. Derek invited Miranda Bailey who had years of knowledge about magic, it was difficult playing catch up.

All the more so when Derek's preferred source of information was constantly running around while he juggled surgery, his family, and running a hospital. Though the entire point of the Halloween party was to encourage more communication and relationships between the doctors and healers.

Meredith automatically began to move toward her group of friends and Derek would accompany her any other time, but Harry wanted to end the separation between the two groups and Derek should set an example.

"Have you met Healer St. James?" Derek asked Meredith, spotting his red-headed magical counterpart standing among a group of other healers. "Let's go say hi."

Meredith sighed, but she did it quietly. Derek pasted on a polite smile and nodded to his various coworkers on the way across the lobby. Healer St. James was an interesting woman, Derek had spoken with her on a few rather notable occasions. She invited him to sit in on a magical brain surgery once, but Derek had been pulled into his own emergency surgery and missed it.

"Hello," Derek walked up the the small group and tried to use their costumes as an ice breaker. "A witch seems a little on the nose, doesn't it?" he asked St. James, smiling to ensure she knew it was only a joke.

"Ignorance is very unflattering," St James said. She patted the black witch hat on her head. "I'm obviously Celeste Warback."

"Ah, my mistake," Derek said. He recognized the two healers with St. James, but wasn't sure of their names. "Hello, Derek Shepherd, head of medicinal neurology."

The slight man with the black hair and green eyes nodded and kept his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.

"Trent Bailey," he said, his eyes never once meeting Derek's.

"Are you—"

"No relation to the other Baileys," Trent said, cutting off Meredith's question. Judging by the physical similarities to Harry, Derek would guess that he had been asked the question too many times already.

"Gabrielle Delacour." The blonde woman with the bright blue eyes shook Derek's hand briefly. "I am ze pediatric and obstetrician healer."

There was an accent there, French, Derek thought. Gabrielle was quite beautiful, but she didn't seem altogether interested in conversation. She wasn't rude, but aloof.

"Are you searching for someone to head one of those departments?" Derek asked her. "I'm sure it's a lot of work to do both."

"Double ze work, double ze pay," Gabrielle said smoothly, flashing a brief smile. "I enjoy my work, Meester Shepherd, I need no ozzer healer stepping on my toes."

"Fair enough," Derek said. "Trent, you're the Head of Cardio, right?"

"That's what my nameplate says," Trent said. Like Gabrielle, Derek didn't get the overwhelming sense that he was interested in talking much. "Excuse me, there's…"

Derek grimaced when Trent abruptly walked away, darting around other people to hide himself somewhere else. Meredith raised an eyebrow and Derek looked at St. James apologetically.

"Was it something I said?" he asked. It wasn't exactly setting a good example if Derek scared away the healers.

"What? Trent? No." St James laughed and Derek hadn't noticed it before, but she had a tattoo on the side of her neck. He couldn't see the entire thing, but it looked like a grim reaper and it was moving.

Fascinating.

"Trent's a genius which means their brain is too busy being brilliant to worry about social rules. They’re a savant, really, too smart for us normal folks. Michele, by the way," St James offered her hand to Meredith suddenly and winked when Meredith shook it. "You're one of the Greys, right?"

"Meredith Grey," Meredith said. Impressively, she managed to not even sound annoyed by the question. It was baby steps, little tiny steps to get her to accept Lexie as part of her family. Meredith could act as heartless toward her sister as she wanted, Derek wouldn't forget that Meredith swore to castrate Harry Bailey after he and Lexie broke up.

"Ah, so the less impressive Grey," Michelle said. "Have you declared a specialty yet?"

Derek pressed a kiss to Meredith's head when he spotted Harry in the lobby. Meredith could handle herself, she was all backbone.

"I'll be back," Derek said. "Have fun."

Harry was headed toward the doors, as if he was going to slip away from the party he planned. Not only did Harry plan it, but he also practically threatened everyone to show up and paid for an open bar out of his own pocket for it.

Derek didn't dress up, he drew the line somewhere, but he did put Amelia in charge of his post-op patients specifically so he could be there to support Harry.

"Harry, hey!" Derek sped-walked to catch Harry before he slipped outside. He glanced at his costume curiously, wondering what magical celebrity he was dressed up as with his green sweater, black tie, and slicked back hair. More than that though, Derek was curious what had Harry's fingers thrumming nervously at his sides.

"Great party," Derek told him calmly, setting the example again. Derek was sure that Harry was competent, well-trained, and possibly even an incredibly bright person. But Harry was also young, he probably had PTSD from the war he fought in, which had only ended something like six years ago.

And, Derek did not snoop, he happened to be perceptive enough to pick up on the stressors behind Miranda's increased nagging since Harry started at the hospital. When Harry got stressed, Miranda started hovering around him, tracking every bite he did or didn't take.

Harry was a nice guy, smart and friendly, Derek liked him quite a bit. Harry was also just a young guy that Derek probably had some misplaced pity for. It didn't help that Harry was inspiring envy at every turn, too successful and too young to not be trash talked by jealous doctors.

Derek didn't have any younger brothers, he only had sisters, but he thought that he might consider Harry to be something like a brother in many ways.

"Derek, hey." Harry paused, probably only to be polite. His eyes flickered to the door and Derek didn't have to wonder what had him on edge. The ‘peaceful protesters' on the lawn had turned into a chanting mob since Karev nearly ruined Harry's career. Derek had nearly been pulled into an argument with an ignorant man holding a cross and claiming that magic was evil.

"Are you leaving already?" Derek asked, shifting to try and block the doorway some. Harry could not be seen running out of his party, it would look terrible.

"Anderson thinks they're going to get violent outside, I need to talk to my guys," Harry explained in a rush. "I want them to be ready in case there's an issue."

"If they get violent, someone will come get you," Derek assured Harry. "Come have a drink, relax. Tell me where you found your department heads, they're certainly interesting people."

Harry had to know it was a blatant distraction, but he was also intelligent enough that he had to know how it would look if he ditched the party meant to bring the doctors and healers together.

"I - er… sort of knew Gabrielle from school." Harry let Derek lead him to the makeshift bar with a hand on his shoulder. "Her sister was in a tournament with me, we sort of bonded?"

"Tournament? What kind of tournament?"

"The foolish kind."

Derek and Harry were stopped on their way to the bar by Miranda. Miranda, like Derek, had foregone a costume. She had her mama bear mask on anyway, her arms crossed and one foot tapping away.

"Derek, if you wouldn't mind, I am going to borrow my son for a minute," Miranda said, squinting at Harry suspiciously. It had to be a mother thing, Derek frequently received the same expression from his own mother, nevermind that Derek was a grown man who didn't need his mom's approval for every little thing he did.

It was nice to have on the rare occasion he did have it, it only wasn't necessary.

"I'd hate to stand in between mother and son," Derek said. Derek was not afraid of Miranda, not like every intern who went through the hospital was, but there he carried a healthy amount of respect for her.

"Derek and I were actually about to get a drink," Harry said. Derek had to admire his gumption when Harry pecked his mother's cheek and then breezed right past her.

"What have you done to Miranda?" Derek chuckled. "Poor woman."

"Oh, Mum's just worrying," Harry said, waving it away. They rested against the makeshift bar and Harry raised two fingers toward Joe, the bartender he must have hired for the event, which started to clear up Derek's questions on Miranda's concern.

"How many drinks have you had tonight?" Derek asked.

"Three, which sounds like a lot, but it isn't," Harry said. Joe slid them their drinks and Harry grinned self-consciously when Derek raised a mildly-concerned eyebrow.

"It's been a bad week," Harry said defensively. "You know, I was sued and I have a mob of angry people on the lawn… oh and Teddy scratched himself during the last full moon so that was terrible. And," Harry turned to lean against the bar and he gestured to the entirety of the staff in the lobby, "nobody's interacting together."

Derek turned to lean beside Harry and swept his eyes slowly across the lobby, frowning at the obvious separation between the staff. The medical interns were in a cluster, Callie and Arizona were chatting with Karev and Addison. Trent had made it back to the other healers and they stood together, a tight knit group.

The only other ones who seemed to be inter-mingling were Harry's assistant chief, Draco Malfoy, with Richard Webber and Mark Sloan.

"You could have an ice-breaker game?" Derek suggested, the only issue Harry had that he could contribute to. The lawsuit was a sham, Derek wouldn't have minded seeing Karev fired for it. The mob was becoming a growing concern, nothing that Derek knew what to do with, aside from riding through the storm. And Derek certainly had no opinion on Harry's son or his full moon transformations.

"Mum said I should give a speech." Harry sipped his drink and Derek saw the quirk of his lips behind the glass when he spotted Miranda scolding Meredith and Christina.

Derek told them to not smuggle in flasks, it was an open bar for Christ's sake. They could get their beloved tequila from the bar.

"A speech wouldn't be a bad idea," Derek said. He winked when Meredith spotted him and she rolled her eyes. "What would you say?"

"Get along or get out?" Harry said. Derek looked to be sure he was joking and was almost sure he was. "I might make Draco do it instead, people listen to him. He's terrifying, you know. In fact," Harry cheerfully adjusted his tie and raised his voice a bit, "he's the scariest person I know."

Draco didn't even pause whatever he said to Mark as he raised his middle finger at Harry.

"Harry…" Derek took a deep breath, reminded himself that Harry was only twenty-four. "Are you dressed up like Draco?"

"How'd you know?"

"You know…" Derek put his hand on Harry's shoulder and hoped it was a comfort. "Maybe you should ask your mom to give a speech. People listen to her, she's intimidating and fair. She has a foot in each side, it would probably be best."

Miranda did her best with Harry, Derek was sure of it. There must be something to say about genetics and the trauma of war…

"Yeah, you're probably right." Harry finished his drink and then shrugged out from beneath Derek's hand. "I'll go ask Mum to do my job for me."

That wasn't exactly Derek's point, but it would probably be better if Miranda was the one to corral the staff together.

Miranda must have recognized the limits of her son's capabilities because Derek saw her and Harry having a whispered conversation only a few minutes before Miranda stepped up on the staircase to get everyone's attention.

It couldn't have happened a moment too soon, Derek had been trapped in a conversation with Meredith, Lexie, Izzie, Karev, and George about household chores. Derek couldn't wait until he could convince Meredith to kick the extra strays out of her house.

"Oh, look at that." Derek was relieved when Miranda cleared her throat and nearly instantly had the entire room's attention. "Everyone shut up."

"If I'm nice to your friends, you have to be nice to mine," Meredith whispered reprovingly.

"My friends aren't walking medical malpractice suits," Derek whispered back. "And your friends are slobs, loud, and annoying."

"Your friends are… okay, okay," Meredith grinned at Derek. "Well, your new best friend looks drunk and I think he's flirting with your ex-wife."

Derek wasn't going to look behind him where Harry was definitely flirting with Addison. Derek warned him, he did, if Harry wanted to fall in the actual devil's trap, that was on him. And if he wanted to find someone who he could empathize with and connect with emotionally… then he should definitely look elsewhere.

"Good evening, everyone," Miranda said, her voice easily carrying through the lobby. "Thank you for being here, I know that both Chief Webber and Chief Bailey appreciate it."

Derek clapped politely with the rest of the staff. It was when the applause ended that Derek realized without the music playing, they could actually hear the chanting happening outside.

"Magic is evil! Magic is evil!"

"Oh, God, they sound so ignorant," Meredith breathed, actually cringing from the chants. "I hate this for the healers."

Derek did too. It was ignorant and uninformed, it was threatening away something beautiful and amazing, something with the potential to save so many more human lives. Witches and wizards could keep their magic to themselves, only use it on fellow magical-humans, but they wanted to share it to save lives.

It wasn't evil, it was the exact opposite.

"This event was created for you all to give everyone a chance to let their hair down, meet new people, and to learn from one another," Miranda said loudly, probably trying to mask the increasing chants outside. "Everyone here is an intelligent individual, capable of rational thought, unlike some people I may know."

There were some chuckles, mostly from the medical staff. Derek could sense the uneasiness from the healers as they exchanged looks with one another.

"Burn the witches! Burn the witches!"

"I AM HOPING THAT TONIGHT YOU CAN CONTINUE TO GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER—"

The chants became a shout and there were a few screams when one of the windows on the front door was busted and glass shattered across the room. Derek yanked Meredith away from the glass as a few people shrieked. Richard called across the lobby for everyone to move away from the door and in the rush of people getting away from the glass and the cold air coming in through the door, Derek heard Miranda shout.

"Harry James, don't you dare!"

"Damn it." Derek saw Harry rushing toward the mob outside which was not going to de-escalate any situation. "Stay here," Derek told Meredith before he ran after Harry.

Harry was a good man, he was intelligent and clearly had a big heart. But Derek could also see why most men in their early twenties weren't given leadership positions within hospitals.

"Potter!" Draco tore after Harry with Derek and Miranda and the scene outside was absolute chaos.

"Oi!" Harry stood beside one of the vets he hired as security and glared out at the angry faces of the mob. "You all need to stay away from our hospital before I call the police. Do you understand that you could have seriously hurt someone?"

"Potter, get inside and we will call the police," Draco hissed. It was then that Derek was momentarily distracted by the red tie Draco wore and the lightning bolt drawn on his forehead. "Don't try and scold the barbarians."

"Did you just call us barbarians!" One of the men in the mob threw down his sign and stormed closer to Draco. He wasn't exactly in his face, but he got close enough that Derek saw Harry pull his wand out.

"You threw a rock through the window of a hospital," Draco said, firmly standing his ground. "What would you prefer to be called?"

"A human being, unlike you PRODUCTS OF SATAN!"

"Oh, you can all hush! This is not a display of God's love and acceptance!" Miranda shouted. "You all have three seconds to clear this lawn before I call the police!"

"THIS IS A PEACEFUL PROTEST!" a woman shouted. "YOU CAN'T SILENCE OUR OBJECTIONS!"

"Woah, woah, this is getting out of hand," Derek said, attempting to be a voice of reason. He stepped forward and raised his hands harmlessly. "Look, this is a hospital full of sick people. If you could all back away from the doors and refrain from—"

"You can't tell us what to do! Begone, Satan!"

"Satan, really? Why don't you all go—"

The man Harry had began to yell at grabbed for his hip and Derek's gut knew what was going to happen a second before it did.

When Derek was a child, he had seen his father be shot. It happened slowly then, a scene drawn out that couldn't have been stopped even if ten year-old Derek had known any way to stop it.

When the man pulled a pistol from his hip and aimed it at Harry, it happened much more quickly. Miranda started to yell and Draco grabbed Harry by the shoulder to jerk him away, then the man fired.

"HARRY!" Miranda screamed louder than the bang from the pistol and Derek was frozen in place when Harry's face transformed from a look of irritation to one of mild surprise. He looked down at his sweater and everyone could see the blood that began to pour from him.

"Oh." Harry blinked and looked from his stomach to his mother. "Mum…"

Derek remembered when his dad had been shot and the scream that he didn't dare release his entire life. And for the rest of his life he thought he would remember the strangled shout that Miranda made when Harry's eyes rolled back in his head and he hit the ground in a puddle of his own blood.