Chapter 1
The practice of Medicine encompasses all manner of people…
One, two, three…
"Breathe. Come on, come on, breathe" he whispered in dull listless fatigue even as he tried to keep the proper position for performing CPR.
One, two, three…
He bent down to force air into the man's lungs, trying all the while not to think about the fact that this was the second time he had been forced to press his lips to another male's.
This was not what he had wanted to do with his life; he hadn't asked for this damn it!
Breathe. Breathe!
He stared down in pious satisfaction as the thick-chested man coughed fitfully before drawing in a large wheezing breath and opening his eyes to stare dazedly around.
"Sasuke-kun!"
He looked up to see a pink blur heading towards him.
Wait, what?
Sasuke blinked and squinted a bit so as to have the blur focus into his childhood friend – he really needed to get his eyes checked…and she was wearing pink? Really? Maybe she wanted to look like a walking stick of cotton candy.
"Sakura, what are you doing here?" he asked when she reached him along with a team of paramedics who attended to the incapacitated man immediately.
"Tsunade-sama insisted I come with the paramedics after we received an emergency phone-call notice…I-I didn't think I'd find you here, isn't it your day off?"
Sasuke fixed her with a flat stare but she seemed too busy catching her breath to notice. Yes it was his day off and he had tried to spend it as far away from the hospital as he could only to come across a man showing signs of cardiac arrest.
Of course his medical instincts had kicked in and he'd ended up doing the exact same thing he'd sworn never to do.
"Excuse me Doctor Uchiha, but we need a summary of the events that occurred," one of the paramedics informed him.
Sasuke turned his stare on the shorter man before him and began giving a summary of what had happened but was interrupted halfway by Sakura.
"You performed CPR? I thought you'd sworn to never do that after your incident with Naruto when you guys accidentally kiss-"
"That will be all," Sasuke said sharply to the paramedic before turning to a clearly amused Sakura.
"Oh, come on Sasuke-kun. That was 12 years ago, it was funny," she said, eyes twinkling in amusement.
"I'm leaving."
Sakura's amusement seemed to dwindle at his cold manner and he almost sighed in frustration. Why was she so temperamental?
"I'll be working tomorrow," he said, his back turned to her as he started walking away.
Sakura smiled slightly and turned to nod as a paramedic informed her they were ready to leave. He hadn't changed, at least not visibly but this Sasuke was most definitely not the one that had ripped her heart out years ago.
Her smile widened as the meaning of his last statement resounded in her mind.
See you tomorrow.
There are those whose everyday brings a new loathing for the profession…
XXXXXX
"This was not part of the job request."
"I-I know Doctor Hyuuga, but Doctor Temari said specifically that you would carry out the ward round with the exchange-program students this morning."
The nurse seemed to shrink under the cold stare of his pale eyes and he tried to look less hostile. He had been sent over to the Wind and Sand Teaching Hospital to perform a neurological operation on one of the board members who – for some diplomatic reason or the other – could not be transferred to the Flaming-Leaf Referral Hospital.
Neji did not have an eidetic memory but he was sure carrying out ward rounds had not been in the agreement but he couldn't really turn the offer down without jeopardizing the delicate co-operation between his hospital and this one. Besides, the fact that they trusted him enough to carry out a round in their hospital was rather flattering; this said though, he was tired and just wanted to get as far from the facility as he could. He would have to do this fast.
"Very well," he said in acquiescence. "Where are the students?"
"Hey cool, it's Neji-san doing the round for today! The dragon-lady is not around!"
A slap resounded and then: "Watch your tongue you idiot! Temari-san is not that bad."
Neji – dreading it all the while – turned around to have a look at his students for the day only to come face-to-face with 3 familiar figures.
"Konohamaru," he said monotonously. He remembered the other two but the names had slipped his mind; Moegi and Ugon, Igon? Whatever! "Where's your coat?"
Konohamaru frowned and then seemed to recollect something before dashing off after a mumbled "Excuse me."
Neji on the other hand couldn't believe his misfortune. Here he was, far away from the controlling hand of his uncle – because the Wind and Sand Hospital had asked for him personally, just so everyone is clear – and almost content, but he just had to bump into these three and have a forced ward round with them.
They were part of the 12 third year medicine students that had been sent over to the Sand and Wind even as the Flaming Leaf Referral Hospital got 12 students in turn.
"Let's begin," he informed them after eyeing Konohamaru's wrinkled coat.
They walked into the first room to find a slender brown-haired woman seated in bed, typing at the laptop on her outstretched legs.
"Good morning miss…Tenten?"
He continued when she looked up at him and nodded in affirmation. "I'm Doctor Hyuuga and I'll be examining you this morning," Neji said as he picked up her chart and proceeded to check her for any signs of disease.
Finished with what he had wanted to do, he turned to his 'students' and posed a question.
"Miss Tenten was brought in yesterday due to loss of consciousness. She awoke almost immediately but was confused, had slight tremors and blurring of vision. A C.T. scan showed nothing remarkable, GCS was 13/15 and there was no history of trauma. What other investigations would you carry out to form a diagnosis?"
"Hemoglobin concentration? She could be anemic or something?" Moegi stated, more like asked. She needed more self confidence, but Neji nodded in agreement.
"Skull x-ray," Konohamaru offered.
Neji turned to him and asked, "Why?"
"Um, well…to show any…fractures?"
"No," Neji said sternly and turned to the bespectacled man without explaining why Konohamaru's answer was wrong. He wasn't having a good day.
Udon practically jumped when the white gaze was turned on him; what was Neji-san's question again? He'd been distracted by Moegi's scent. It was so…
His thoughts were interrupted when a nurse opened the door and asked to speak to Neji-san; what a relief.
"Eish, he's even more stuck up than I remember," Konohamaru announced, only to be slapped upside the head again by Moegi.
Meanwhile, Neji was pleased to learn that Gaara, the head of the hospital board, had heard of his predicament and relieved him of his duties immediately. Maybe Gaara wasn't so bad after all.
He walked towards the patient's room to inform the students that their little round was done, only to open it and find them all crowded around Miss Tenten's bed. Konohamaru turned to look at him and Neji had to raise an eyebrow in curiosity at the man's sudden change in countenance.
The Hyuuga had long since kept secrets of how to treat the responses and reflexes of the human body and so had learnt how to read the subtle messages the body sent out expertly. Konohamaru's body-language had originally been telling Neji that the youth didn't want to be there, but now it was screaming confidence and excitement, what, with his shoulders back and his arms relaxed like that.
"Random blood sugar test to check for hypoglycemia or diabetes," the youth practically yelled.
Neji was confused; had they looked at the file? No, it was right where he left it and had not been turned even a small degree. But…well, this was good he guessed.
"Correct, what else?"
"Serum electrolyte check." This time it was Ugon, Igon? who said it and he nodded again.
"Judging from the signs, what is your final diagnosis?"
"Adult hypoglycemia." Moegi offered. "Miss Tenten would probably have low blood sugar levels and that would explain the loss of consciousness, confusion and blurring of vision."
"Yeah, also her eyes seemed to be slightly yellowed and it could be a sign of anemia," the bespectacled man offered, though he faltered when miss Tenten glared at him. Neji wondered what that was about.
"Management?" he asked.
"Infuse 10% glucose solution intravenously and deal with any anemia if present with appropriate medication. Also, encourage bed-rest and a proper diet," Moegi said.
"But we must also counsel her on her work habits. She's sick but still working on her laptop so it might be that she doesn't eat and still overworks herself," Konohamaru offered.
Suffice to say Neji was pleased, he'd thought they couldn't even know simple hypoglycemia but they had proven him wrong. Miss Tenten however, didn't seem too pleased and was glaring at Konohamaru; seriously, what was that about? He had better get the three away from her.
"Thank you Miss Tenten, we'll take our leave."
Those who do it simply because they didn't have a choice in the first place…
XXXXXX
"Doctor Uzumaki, please wait up!"
Naruto turned to look at the middle aged woman trying to catch up to him after the long strides he had taken out of the operating room had taken him halfway the corridor.
"Yes, how may I help you madam?"
"I-I…I just want to thank you. That was my daughter you just operated on. She…if it hadn't been for you, sh-she might have-"
"You are a good mother to have rushed her in as fast as you did. You alertness saved her," Naruto interrupted the woman gently.
"Th-Thank y-you," she managed to choke out before she burst out into tears.
As Naruto stood there, gripping her shoulder in show of his support and understanding, he knew that he had chosen the right profession.
If only he could convince Sasuke of the same thing.
Those whose love for medicine drives them to become better, wiser…stronger…
XXXXXX
Tenten sighed and shook her head to rid it of the indignant thoughts, before she got back to her typing. She remembered her third year of medical school, it had convinced her without a doubt that she was in the wrong profession, but she could not quit because her father had believed with all his heart that she had been in the right place. Not only that but he had been so proud of her.
He would always talk about how his daughter had been the first in class again and did you know just how sharp his little girl was and that she was going to be a doctor? Oh, she would be the best doctor in the world, just wait and see.
Yes, she had graduated from medical school – finishing third-best overall – but she'd eventually told her father she couldn't continue as a doctor…it just wasn't the life for her. He'd understood – or come as close as an idealistic father could – and promised to support her in whatever she'd decided was her calling.
Her father was a devious liar.
He'd slowly tried to push her into inheriting his company and though it was largely successful, it was still medically related and she wanted to run away from hospitals and all that was medical as much as she could. Needless to say, she fully understood the irony of her being in a hospital at that very moment.
The door opened and she looked up in curiosity; visiting hours were over…weren't they?
In walked the doctor that had examined her that morning – Hyuuga was it? – but he didn't look too pleased – he didn't look angry either though…admittedly, it was kind of hard to tell with that listless white gaze of his.
"You gave them the answers," he stated accusingly.
"Excuse me?"
"My students, you gave them the answers this morning," he repeated.
Ah, so he had finally figured it out; smart man.
"Well, I remember how it was like being in third year med school, they deserved the break you know," she said with a slight smile and a raised eyebrow.
If Doctor Hyuuga was surprised that she was medical personnel, he didn't show it; though it was still hard to tell with the white eyes and white coat – at least he had the good sense not to wear a white shirt.
"That doesn't excuse their obliviousness; hypoglycemia is simple enough," he replied.
She frowned. It was people like this who had exasperated her in medical school. People who thought doctors had to be perfect and know each and every single thing; she was a human being for goodness' sake, it was supposed to be alright for her to forget once in a while.
Tenten had felt a sense of budding joy when she had called those kids to her bedside and explained to them exactly what was wrong with her and how to deal with it – though the comments about her being anemic and a workaholic had made her almost regret the help she'd offered. That said though, she wasn't going to argue with the stoic man standing before her.
"If you say so," she said with a smirk and returned to her typing.
Neji raised an eyebrow and exhaled slowly as he wondered what had possessed him to see this woman in the first place. He was about to leave though when her voice stopped him short.
"Oh, Doctor Hyuuga, could you discharge me this evening? I need to leave and see to something."
He raised a surprised eyebrow
"Miss Tenten, or should I call you Doctor Tent-"
"Just Tenten will do," she cut him short.
"You have severe hypoglycemia, a history of loss of consciousness and a hemoglobin level of 10.2. Surely you don't expect any sane doctor to discharge you."
"There are people walking around with levels of 8 or lower, so don't give me that. Plus you already kept me here for the night, isn't that good enough for you people?" she asked, her voice rather strained.
Neji just stared at her passively.
"Fine then. But rest assured you won't find me here tomorrow."
"You're going to escape?" he asked, indecorously amused.
She gave him a smile of raillery, and he was taken aback by the subtle charm it encompassed, and said; "You'll see."
"Hn," he grunted in response and then: "Good evening Miss Tenten," before he walked away and closed her door.
She allowed herself a chuckle; boy was he in for a surprise the next day.
There also some who are perfect for the practice but shy away for in their eyes, the practice has never perfect...at all…
XXXXXX
"Doctor Hyuuga, Doctor Hyuuga would like to see you now."
Hinata raised her head to look at the nurse in confusion.
"My father?" she asked.
"Yes doctor."
"Very well, thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Hinata allowed herself a small sigh when the nurse had left. Of late, her father had been demanding…well, more than usual and that was saying something since the man had really never found her performance in anything satisfactory. She was getting rather stressed and it was affecting her work performance; this – or so her father said – was an unbearable disgrace to the Hyuuga.
However, she still didn't know how she was going to tell her father that as…honorable as the Hyuuga's chosen profession of neurology and its surgery was, she…well, she wanted to be a pediatrician. Children were her passion and-
"Doctor Hyuuga, is there something wrong?"
Hinata turned her attention on the patient she had been talking to before the nurse had come in.
"No, no; but allow me to introduce to you the gynecologist who shall be attending to you," she said as she knocked on a door and opened it when a faint 'come-in' was heard.
"This is Doctor Jiraiya," she said with a small grimace that really couldn't be hidden as a tall white-haired man turned to give a wolfish grin to the patient.
Then there are some to whom the practice is perfect but who never get the chance to do what they want in it…
…Regardless of the reasons, the fact still remains that the practice of Medicine encompasses all manner of people; even those who should not be there.
A/N: Yes, you guessed it; am rather frustrated with med school and so I am writing a fic that explores the lives of doctors and what they really go through. I don't know which direction I'm going to take with this but it's been seated on my laptop for onths and I needed to post it because it was annoyingly – and ludicrously – obstructing my continuation with MU BYONNA. But I'll finish that story soon as well. Well, here's to new beginnings. Let me know what you think of it so far. ^_^
Please be nice to your doctors and nurses!