The Next Day. Welcome Day at the Medical Center.
Adam and the seasoned crew rolled in early. While they were changing, Jessie, the surgical chief's secretary, popped in, waving a stack of envelopes. "Big moment's here, folks!"
"Our scores!"
The group swarmed her instantly.
"Adam, this one's yours."
Jessie handed him the first envelope. "Congrats on passing your internship—you're officially a resident at the medical center now!"
"Thanks!"
Adam took it with a grin, but before he could open it, Cristina snatched it, ripping it open.
"Holy crap! That little time, and you still got a perfect score?!"
Cristina stared at the paper, half-expecting it but still blown away. 😳
"Was there ever any doubt?" Adam teased, clearly in a good mood.
"Dr. Yang, here's yours."
Jessie started passing out the rest. "Grey, this one's you. O'Malley… here's yours."
Adam caught the brief pause in Jessie's voice and that quick flicker of pity in her eyes. He sighed inwardly, Poor George O'Malley…
As the chief's secretary, Jessie obviously knew everyone's results ahead of time—who passed, who flunked, all crystal clear.
"Did you pass?"
Cristina skimmed her own scores, then eyed her bestie Meredith.
"Of course!"
Meredith didn't sound so sure at first. She opened her envelope, double-checked, then let out a relieved breath before faking that confident tone.
"What about you, George?"
Meredith turned to the oddly quiet George.
"You didn't fail, did you?"
Cristina's sharp instincts kicked in. She grabbed his score sheet. "What the—?! You actually failed?! Dr. Bailey's gonna lose it!
Even Alex and Liz could've passed if they were still here!
And you flunked? What were you even doing?!"
George stood there, hands half-raised like he was still holding the paper, frozen and speechless. His chubby face cycled through a dozen emotions.
He never, ever thought he'd be one of the five cut.
Being mentored by Dr. Bailey—the hospital's most seasoned resident—was proof of his chops.
Plus, over the year, he'd done solid work, even earning the "good helper" title from Dr. Burke.
Sure, five out of eighteen getting axed was a decent chunk, but it shouldn't have been him.
"I'll check for you."
Adam pulled out his phone, dialed Chief Richard, and asked. After hanging up, he shook his head. "You scored third-to-last. The chief reviewed your paper personally—total mess. Were you too stressed and just choked?"
"Man, you're pathetic," Cristina jabbed. "Your girlfriend—who aced this exam once—helped you study, and you still bombed a test this easy?"
"Alright, Cristina, ease up!"
Meredith jumped in to stop her, then looked at Adam. "Any way to fix this? Can he retake it?"
"This isn't a no-show situation—how's he gonna retake it?"
Adam shook his head. "He's got two options: leave, or reapply for an internship. With George's record, the chief would probably greenlight it."
Missing an exam might get you a redo.
Failing it? If that got you a second shot, everyone who got cut would demand one—endless loop city.
"Reapply for an internship?"
George's eyes widened. "So I'd be trailing behind you guys?"
Right then, he was mentally cursing his girlfriend, Callie.
If she hadn't stressed him out so much, making him focus on proving his "boyfriend skills" instead of studying, he wouldn't be here.
Her intense "review sessions" left such a mark that during the exam, every question reminded him of that stuff with her.
With his skills, how could he end up third-to-last otherwise?!
"You think you're still shadowing Dr. Bailey?"
Cristina smirked. "First, your girlfriend snagged her chief resident spot.
Now you pull this, humiliating her.
You better steer clear for a while, or she's gonna chew you out so bad!"
She paused, then added, "Seriously, though—how does Callie even qualify to replace Bailey?
Does she have Bailey's clout to boss around the other residents?
'Cause I'm sure not listening to her."
Yup!
The chief resident gig finally settled—and it wasn't the top pick, Dr. Bailey.
Not even the runner-up, Sydney.
It went to third-place, low-key ortho resident Callie Torres.
"There's a reason for it," Adam explained. "Chief resident's just a title—doesn't matter much if Bailey takes it or not.
Her track record's already earned everyone's respect.
When she talks, we residents listen—that's more 'chief' than the title itself.
She's proven her management skills to the chief.
Now, she needs to spend more time in the OR, not stuck scheduling shifts or writing papers.
With her talent and grit, she can level up to a top specialist—or even higher."
He grinned. "Haven't you heard the rumor?"
"What rumor?" Cristina perked up.
"The chief's been thinking about retiring," Adam said. "That's why Burke, Shepherd, Montgomery, and Sloan are all jockeying for his spot.
But the chief's real pick? Bailey.
She's just a resident now, not quite ready.
Respect? Check. Management skills? Check.
What's she missing?
A big-shot attending title.
Chief resident would just slow her down—that's why the chief went this way."
"Ohhh, got it!"
Everyone nodded, lightbulbs popping on.
"What about you, Adam?" Cristina asked. "You gonna be chief resident someday?"
"Probably," Adam said with a laugh. "I've got the energy for it—no big deal."
"Oho!" Cristina cackled. "George, your girlfriend's screwed. She might get one year as chief resident—if Adam weren't just promoted to resident today, too green to jump straight to chief, she wouldn't even have a shot!"
George stood there, dazed, not reacting.
Getting cut had clearly hit him hard.
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
Cristina stepped up, snapping her fingers in his face. "What's with you? It's just failing and redoing your internship—why's that gotta be bad?
You forgetting who you could be shadowing?"
"Who?" George mumbled, on autopilot.
Cristina tilted her head toward Adam.
George followed her gaze, and his eyes lit up.
It clicked—trailing Adam openly wouldn't be much worse than Cristina or Meredith shadowing big-name attendings.
No, scratch that—it'd be better!
With Adam's rep at the center and his insane surgery grind, George would get way more juice following him than the others would with their mentors.
That little sting of "trailing his old crew"? Not worth sweating.
Shadowing Cristina or Meredith might get him laughed at by insiders.
But Adam? No one's laughing.
They'd just be jealous, wondering if he tanked on purpose—and if they could pull off the same "genius move." 😏
"Dr. Duncan, intern George O'Malley reporting for duty!"
Chubby little George shook off his funk, flashing a big, eager grin at Adam.
"Uh…"
Adam's mouth twitched. "Let's hold off—intern assignments are up to the hospital."
"I don't care!" George blurted. "I'm your little shadow from now on!"
Cristina and Meredith stood there, smirking, enjoying the show.
(End of Chapter)