''Tonight, the future begins. The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. Will bring about advancements in power, advancements in medicine-''

''Lauren... turn it off !''

I remained totally stoical through my order and quickly filed the file I held in my hand in the appropriate briefcase.

The blonde in question immediately pulled her feet from the desk of administration in a start before pivoting in her chair in my direction. I could perfectly feel her scrutinizing and curious eyes on me as I strove to continue with my rereading of the vitalities of my last patient.

"It's nonsense as you say will revolutionize the world. Medicine. "Lauren commented, popping a new popcorn into her mouth before pointing the screen sarcastically." His words, not mine. "

'' And trust me that future will be here faster than you think. ''

I completed the file of one of my patients before lifting my eyes from my notepad to watch the TV screen with platitude.

I had heard that kind of speech during my time in the army, and each time they came to the side of the enemy.

It was because of those kind of people who wanted to play with dangerous sciences that we ended up with genocides and nuclear wars.
Unfortunately the human being was programmed to reproduce his mistakes.

Some will say that I am pessimistic, other than my thoughts are simply the result of post-traumatic stress, my verdict? Years and years of learning the greatest horrors of this world.

So no, for me it was not a planetary advance but simply another speech of an idealist thinking to do good.

I took my ballpoint pen in the pocket of my white blouse before giving Lauren an empty glare. " .off. Now.''

I shook my head briefly as I briefly saw her rolling her green eyes mumbling under her breath.'' Aye, aye, captain! ''

This time, it was my turn to roll my eyes as I quickly turned on my heels ignoring her little joke before accelerating the pace through the familiar hall of my floor.

I pulled the edges of my blouse closer as I walked through the corridor towards my next patient.

However, I was not slow to take a slight break at the sight of the big building occupying all the spirits tonight.

Star labs.

Everyone was staring at them tonight and I couldn't help but feel that ball of agony in the hollow of my throat. It was almost like reliving my years on the field.

I stared at the rain outside darkening the whole city for a while before forcing me out of my daydream to tackle a much bigger task. I knocked three free-knocks on the open door of Mr. Jenkins's room and immediately raised my head to the agreement of his appeal.

From that moment, I focused on my patient and only on him.

"George, how are we feeling today ?" I asked, pulling my stethoscope from my neck before stopping at his bedside.

"Painful and bored." He replied, trying to straighten himself with a grimace before giving me a bitter look as I pushed him back against his mattress. "You know I could be your father, little one! ''

George was a non-healthy sixty-year-old man, which was currently a problem for his fractured ankle. We could say that we had a somewhat tumultuous past. In fact, George was my first patient after my resignation from the Army Corps.

After the horrors I had gone through during my childhood, I had always thought that enlisting in the army would eventually buy the sins of my own family but I finally realized that this only added to it.

However, if I was used to dealing with bloody wounds and under tension, I used to care for my soldiers, not patients.

I had been pretty rough and unmoved with George at first. In fact, I was still learning to manage my relationships with my colleagues.

It certainly was not how I thought of going back to my life. In fact, if I were to be honest with myself, I would have liked never to practice medicine again.

The abominations I had seen during my three years in the army would have been enough for anyone, but the army was my only professional experience. And to be honest, the job market was not very generous at the moment.

So I ended up doing what I could do the best. It was either the hospital or finishing my life playing bodyguards for mundane celebrities or evil politicians.
I tried not to roll my eyes to his replies already heard more than once before giving him a persistent look. '' And what was my answer each time ? ''

"I don't like the tone you take with me, my little one. If the other nurse was not so incompetent- "he mumbled under his breath as I walked towards his vital signs with a smirk.

"Lauren is not incompetent." I said absently, watching his heart monitor before giving him a sharp look. '' And I'm not a nurse but a doctor, who by the way, has guided more armed troops than you can imagine. ''

George rolled his eyes grumbling under his bored breath as I turned to him with my stethoscope.

I returned an annoyed look at his attitude similar to that of a whimper child and pointed his chest covered with a grown instead.

"Well, let's see this breathing."

I helped him up, taking a good deal of his weight off my shoulders, thank you for training the army before laying the cold surface under his hospital gown.

''Inspire. Expire. "I commanded, listening carefully for any kind of anomaly before finally taking a step back by resting my stethoscope around my neck. "Well, I don't see anything abnormal. Your vital signs are correct and the little hang in your lungs seems to have disappeared. "

"Ah, that's good." George agreed, before frowning slightly in my somewhat uncertain direction. "It's good, right?"

I took a step back, crossing my arms on my chest before nodding my head and take a step around his bed to resume his file at his feet. "It's very good, George. Continue like this and we will not have to endure ourselves anymore. "

"For a stupid nurse to mess up your work ? Yeah, no thanks ! "He growled sullenly as I pushed the door open.

I immediately went to the antiseptic product to disinfect my hands before making a sudden break at the sight of strong light coming from Star Labs. I frowned as waves of energy swept from the building before slowly approaching me, bringing my hand to my eyes in the blinding light.

Suddenly, a wave was sent at full speed over the whole city and from the moment she reached the hospital, all the machines and alarms rang at the same time.

At that moment, I knew that we were in one of these situations of great tension.

I held me back immediately on the nearest wall as I was abruptly pushed back by the energy field full force. I looked alert all around me before I jumped at the agreement of the voice of my superior.

'' Cannert! ''

"What the hell just happened?" I exclaimed, walking quickly to his side while giving quick glances at the entire medical corps that seemed to be sinking into chaos.

''I don't know. There was a problem with the particle accelerator. It exploded. "Cried Dr. Finch under the thunderous alarms surrounding us. '' All our machines are in distress. ''

'' Dr. Cannert! Dr. Cannert! "Lauren shouted, heading straight for us, breathless.

I stopped immediately in a military position and gauged the blonde with an impartial expression despite the chaos and cries reigning around us.

"The number of cardiac arrest has just exploded in the last two minutes."

I restrained myself from letting my fear and anxiety show on my face before taking a breath, giving Lauren a firm look. "Lauren, gather all the doctors and nurses on this floor as you can. They must treat all dependent patients first. I will evacuate those that are transportable. "

I was not expecting a single minute for Lauren's confirmation as I was already running in a race through the hallways. I struggled to give orders and stay calm to evacuate my patients before calling nurses on my way.

I continued this for several minutes when suddenly a second hit from the accelerator sent the entire establishment into chaos. I was holding on to one of the walls again and watching as several patients with nurses were thrown to the floor.

I pushed myself away from the wall on which I was standing in a simple movement of instinct and charged me to help as many people as possible before suddenly stopping on my knees in front of a young intern.

"Hey, hey, do you hear me ? Do you hear me ? '' I snapped my fingers in front of his face to test his reaction before nodding once I got an answer. "Hey, you have to take out all the patients, okay? It's dangerous to stay here. "

''Bu-but... ''

"Hey!" I shouted, being careful not to be crushed as a horde of frantic people rushed in our direction.

I turned my gaze focused and focused on that of the young man and supported his horrified expression. '' You're fine, okay. You must help these people. Remember your oath. You must help these people! "

I waited for him to nod quickly in the realization before helping him up.

I checked his operational status one last time before launching myself again through the hordes of nurses, doctors and patients.

I pushed violently the door leading to the stairs and quickly ran down the stairs in the wake.

The hospital's alarms were still screaming in the background reminding me of the military exercises we used to practice on the base.

However, it was no longer the base and I was no longer under the imminent threat of a rifle. I tried as best I could to remember that as I stopped suddenly inthe corridors still breathless.

I turned on myself to look at the disastrous atmosphere around me. It was like everything had become slow. I turned on one side as I saw a couple of young people overtake me in tears before settling for agreement in an authoritative voice. I was flip-flopping just to open my eyes at the sight of a team of stretcher bearers pushing an unconscious patient through the doors.

I immediately rushed to the patient under the respiratory system just as another doctor approached the other side.

"What the hell happened to him ?" I asked simultaneously with the other doctor making him realize my presence.

'' He was hit by lightning.'' Replied one of the paramedics, handing me his file, letting me look at the patient's face in disbelief.

I quickly passed the file to my colleague without even consulting it before focusing on the patient.

I was helping paramedics drive him to the nearest operating room, ignoring the glances nurses were making when we burst into the air.

"How is still alive ?" Shouted the paramedic in front of us through the doors of an operations room.

I checked the installation of his breathing system before hastening to let go of the stretcher to prepare myself with the others.

"Put him on the table." I ordered amidst the rush and cacophony of the room's occupants before turning back as the linear sound of his heartbeat echoed around the room. "He's SVT. CBC, chem 24, type and cross blood. Bag him. ''

"I need a resus." My colleague exclaimed as he stood beside me as I removed the patient's mask to quickly install a breathing pump to facilitate his resuscitation.

I took deep inspiration to stay calm despite the feeling of pressure when suddenly the sound of the doors followed quickly by the intervention of a civil alerted me.

I gave a glance at the devastated brunette at the door before returning to the patient.

"Nurse!" I cried, signing the girl to the nearest nurse before quickly returning to the patient's treatment.

'' I'M FAMILY! ''

I passed the palms of resuscitation to my colleague over the patient's exposed torso before looking up at his flat line on his monitor.

I rushed instantly to the nearest drawer before taking out a syringe. "A dose of adrenaline."

I tore off the hood with my teeth for lack of time before planting it directly into the patient's chest. I threw the syringe into the nearest basin before raising my head on my colleague in impatience.

"Charging paddles, 200. Clear!" I gave him a discharge by immediately monitoring his monitor before giving a snarl at the sight of his static line. '' Tried again. ''

He tried again, then again and again. However, I could already see that it was over.

Unfortunately, I was a stubborn person and I had seen too many fallen soldiers to let this happen now. It was out of the question that this boy was going to die now because of the sick ideals of a scientist. I had seen my fair share of death and this boy was not going to be a new addition.

'' He doesn't answer.'' Whispered Dr. Mason, whose name I now knew.

"He will not die. Not now, not later. "I snapped, pushing my colleague with a hip sweep before taking the defibrillator from his hands.

"Doctor, what are you doing ? We must pronounce the time of death. ''

"Charged !" I ordered curtly, throwing a glow in the direction of the doctor while the cries of the girl before seemed to become more and more frantic at the last statement of the man.

However, the nurse made no move to charge again, causing me to cast a new, darker glow in her direction.

'' It's no use hustling, doctor. ''

'' This boy will not die, is that clear ? '' I barked with conviction as I pushed her out of the way to take care myself to increase the power.

I stabilized my chest and lifted the fins by targeting the ribcage and ribs when a hand interfered in my path.

"If you do that, I'll have to report you." Dr. Mason warned me to hold his gaze for a moment before releasing a disdainful snort.

'' Go ahead! "I answered simply before loading the palms of electricity before shocking the patient.

A silence suddenly fell over the entire operating room as I stared at the patient's childish face in hope.

"It's all yours !" I murmured, releasing a breath before sending a new discharge at full throttle.

I was watching his flat lines with a heavy heart as I could already count the minutes in my head and murmured under my breath in nervousness and slight panic. '' C'mon ! C'mon ! C'mon! Come back ! Come on, soldier! ''

Suddenly, the light bleep sounded in the room, soon followed by a second and another and again another. Soon a quick but still existing trace crossed the screen causing me to retreat while resting the defibrillator in relief.

"Impossible. He was dead." Dr. Mason whispered, rushing to his monitor to monitor his vital signs in disbelief.

"Nurse, we still have some work to do!" I ordered, waking one of the women from her shock as I checked the patient's other wounds before throwing a dark look on the two remaining men. "From now, it's my patient."

"Yes, Doctor." She hurried to answer before following me to tend to her remaining wounds.

After checking and treating each of Mr. Barry Allen's wounds, as his chart indicated, I was now in his hospital room.

Probably for the hundredth time I checked his heart monitor, his IVs, and his vital signs before shaking my head at the nurse who was helping me.

"I'm going to go and tell the family." I said, turning around and taking off my latex gloves when the woman called.

"Doctor, how did you know ?" I turned to her with an eyebrow raised in confusion, forcing her to repeat her question. ''He was dead. The layout was flat. How did you know you had to try again? ''

Honestly, I didn't have a clue. In fact, if it had been on the ground, I would have stopped as soon as the monitor would have announced his state of death. So yes, I didn't know why I had risked my life, my career and a possible lawsuit against the system. It made no sense and it definitely didn't look like me.

However, I had seen enough death for the duration of a lifetime and after what had happened in the last few months, I was definitely not ready to fail again.

I gave the patient a look, now noticing how attractive he was when he was not on the verge of death before turning my eyes to the nurse still waiting for an answer. "I know how to recognize a survivor when I see one. And this one is definitely one of this kind."

With that, I turned on my heels again and finally left the room charged with tension.

I let out a long weary sigh, feeling the weight and responsibility of the evening falling back on my shoulders before I froze at the sight of the young women from earlier now accompanied by a man sharing some of her characteristics.

They were both Afro-American, the girl looked around my age, maybe a little younger while the man seemed around his forties, he had wide shoulder and a slight beard around his lips and his chin.

According to his stature and posture, I could already say that he must be a man of importance however, the tears polluting the back of his eyes at present contrasted with his hard appearance.

Their eyes soon fell on my form and I hastened to join them as they arose in anguish and anxiety. Dry lines of tears still adorned the cheeks and cheekbones of the brunette as she approached me with a trembling step.

It was a part of the work that I hated the most and again, here I stood in front of the duo with the patient's file against my chest.

'' Good evening, I'm Dr. Cannert. I took care of Mr. Allen's case."I explained with professionalism before pulling the patient's files under my arm to flip through it quickly." He seems out of the woods. The hospital team and I have done our job to keep him steady but his layout is surprisingly fast. At the moment, he's in a coma. "

The brunette suffocated by immediately bringing her hand to her lips in a jolt before nestling in the side of the man who I supposed to be her father. ''Oh my God !''

"What does that mean ?" The man asked hoarsely, obviously holding back his emotions.

That's why I hated this side of medicine. When I was in the field, I was not dealing with the families of the soldiers, let alone taking the role of the mower.

I tried to control my voice by trying to show as much compassion as possible despite my inability to feel that kind of emotion before holding the file against my chest. "I really hope Barry will recover. I, myself, have put a lot of hope on him but you should think of the hypothesis that he couldn't get through it. "

The brunette gasped again making me wince slightly as the man left his emotions in the open air before squeezing his daughter in his arms.

I gave a nod in their directions before turning on my heels to leave them him private.

Three months later…

It had been three months since the particle accelerator had exploded. It was three months since the media had reported Dr. Wells's mistakes. It was also three long months that I worked hard to keep Barry Allen alive. It seems that the lightning had a strange effect on his metabolism. Every time he stopped, the hospital's weights jumped automatically. His flatline was almost non-existent and yet he was still alive.

His family, who I had learned was actually his adoptive family, detective Joe West and his daughter Iris West, came to his bedside every day. And every day they had to live the hell of waiting again.

Regarding this case, I did not even count the number of times his heart stopped.

As for me, I assumed that I shouldn't even exercise if it was not for the West. Apparently, my decision to save Barry had been touted by Lauren and now I was the only one who they really trusted to treat Barry.

I assumed it was the only thing that kept me from being fired.

But back to the present, I found myself once again running blindly through the dark and hectic corridors of the hospital. I was taking care of a teenage couple stupid enough to have played with darts when all the shots of the hospital had jumped.

At that moment, there was no hesitation for me, Barry's heart had once again stopped.

I narrowly avoided a doctor doing an IV before pulling one of the curtains out of Barry's makeshift room just to pause at the sight of three new people around my patient.

A red-haired, auburn girl was currently analyzing his vital signs while a brown-haired, Spanish-type man was waving a flashlight in front of Barry's eyes.

''What are you doing here ? And who allowed you to come in ? "I snapped, shoving myself on the two to get them away from him before noticing the third person. '' You !''

'' Dr. Cannert, I presume. I'm the Doctor-"

"Wells." I interrupted him dryly before quickly standing in front of him, or at least, he and his wheelchair with a stern look. ''I know who you are. And in case you haven't noticed, you have nothing to do here. "

"We have permission from his family." The woman said coldly, but I kept my eyes scorned at the man in front of me.

"Tell your employees to back off from my patient." I ordered harshly, intentionally ignoring the redhead's intervention before crossing my arms over my chest with determination.

A long silence passed between us as Dr. Wells and I kept staring at each other before Barry's curtain was pulling again revealing the West in person.

'' Dr. Cannert. "Hailed Joe West forcing me to take my eyes off the Dr. Wells to give them my full attention.

'' Mr. West. Care to explain to me what all this is ? "I demanded, crossing my hands behind my back in a typically military position.

Old habits had a hard life and even more when I was in a situation of strength. If I had been anti-Wells before, I was more anti-Wells now. There was just an aura around this man who was bothering me. And the fact that he had paid in part for his mistake did not change my opinion.

"You're smart, Doctor." Wells intervened instead of Joe narrowing my eyes to the mistrustful man. '' I am sure you have found that your care and the machinery of this hospital are not enough to provide for Mr. Allen's needs. ''

'' This is where we come in. '' Added the other man, advancing beside the doctor in an irritating and overactive manner. "At Star Labs, we have the hardware and technology for. We can keep him alive. His heart doesn't stop. Far from there. He's just too fast to be seen. "

"I know that sounds crazy. In fact, I'm not really sure I believe it myself. "Iris West came forward in a trembling voice almost pleading with me to believe them.

"But Barry has always believed in the impossible and if they claim to be able to help him then we have to do something, Dr. Cannert."

I was literally speechless for a moment, watching Barry's monitor carefully before heading back to the girl too close to my patient for my taste.

She gave me an annoyed look but I held my ground before turning to Dr. Wells again in skepticism."Do you expect me to believe that his heart beats so fast that he is invisible to the monitor?"

"You can believe what you want, Doctor but that's the reality." Supported Dr. Wells with conviction and slight impatience.

I did not like the calculating glance he was giving me at the moment. It was as if he was trying to judge whether I was an enemy or a defenseless prey. In both cases, it made me feel uncomfortable and especially irritated me.

"Okay, I don't know what kind of people you are to want to take advantage of the distress of these people but this patient... Mr. Allen, is my patient, okay. It's my responsibility. "I exploded, not believing a single word of what was coming out of their mouths.

I stayed calm and measured as I approached Dr. Wells throughout my tirade before stopping firmly at his height clearly not ready to let them take him to do something with him.
And even if they were right about his condition, he was not a case of experimentation. He needed care, real ones. Not technological care or that kind of thing they promised the West family.

'' But who are you for-''

Joe West was not slow to intervene with his imposing authority reminding me of my superiors before giving me a sharp look. ''Doctor. Cannert. Alex. ''

"With all due respect, Detective West, I don't think that researchers working on advanced quantum theory to light years on our era is the solution for your adopted son. He needs doctors, not scientists."I said quietly, despite my usually explosive temperament.

"You follow our work, Doctor. Cannert ? "Exclaimed the Doctor. Wells in astonishment forcing me to take my eyes off the man in front of me to give him a cold look.

"I worked for three years in the US Army Division against Biological and Nuclear Terrorists, so yes, I think I learned some things on the ground." I said with contempt and disdain.

A tense, electrified silence followed my statement as I confronted Dr. Wells once more as the others stared at us in uncertainty and discomfort.

"No wonder why she's so scary." Muttered the brown now standing beside Wells, causing me to throw him a shine as I squeezed my jaw.

Joe West finally turned on his heels, giving hesitant glances at Wells and me before settling on my side as he gave a look at his daughter. "Maybe Dr. Cannert is better able to take care of Bare, Iris."

Dr. Wells broke our confrontation at the Joe's decision deal before giving a determined look to my attention. "Listen, Dr. Cannert. Obviously, the case of Mr. Allen concerns us all. You don't trust me. And rightly so. Like the whole city now. But I really care about Mr. Allen's interests. You must believe me if I tell you that I can treat his case. "

Honestly, I did not know why I was so obsessed with this patient. I did not even know him and I was not particularly influential in the case and yet, I could not help but worry about the fate of this stranger.

Maybe it was just my pride and my spirit of protest against the Doctor. Wells and his team for the damage they had done or it was just for personal interest.

After all, if Barry Allen left this hospital then I would probably be fired.

However, I knew they were just bad excuses. Work had never been a big concern to me and to tell the truth, if I could be removed from the medical profession, I would be relieved.

Unfortunately, as the first night Barry Allen arrived at this hospital, it seems he was pulling on me and those, even in his sleepy state.

"And if Dr. Cannert was working with you at Star Labs." Iris West suddenly suggested, staring at me like the others in total disbelief.
Well, it seems she was not the only one to share this idea as her father soon turned to Wells and me in agreement. "I admit that I would be more reassured if Dr. Cannert continued to follow Barry."

The woman was about to oppose against this idea only Dr. Wells was quick to stop her with one hand gesture as he turned to me. "What did you say, Dr. Cannert ? Would you be willing to support working with a team of scientists despite your opinions ?"

"Excuse me, are you offering me a job ?" I exclaimed in disbelief and mistrust.

"Let's call it a partnership instead. Mr. Allen's family trusts you and as I said before, we only have his best interests at heart. "He explained, rolling in my direction before standing with his hand rise expectantly. "So, what do you say ?"

I immediately gave a look at the West family clearly surprised and overwhelmed by the situation before shifting my attention to the patient.

It definitely did not look like me. Go against all my ideals and what I had learned for an unknown patient. It was hardly credible.

And yet, I knew that I did not really need to think. In fact, I already knew my answer.

In any case, I had nothing to lose. And that would allow me to keep an eye on Allen. I could put my opinions aside. I did not know him yet but I assumed he had that effect on people.

I turned back to the Doctor. Wells giving attentive glances at his small team and could easily see that the woman did not like me very much. All the better, it was reciprocal.

The other man was gauging Wells's outstretched hand as if we were about to formalize some sort of alliance like the TV series.

I shook my head, turning my attention to the doctor in his chair before taking a deep breath as I squeezed his hand in my hand, shaking hands. '' We have a business. ''

A wide smile making me a little nauseous appeared on the lips of the man in front of me and I knew from this moment that I should always keep an eye on him.

Just in case. My instinct had never failed me and it was not now that I was going to ignore it.

Not to mention that I had my fair share of criminal. Better, I grew up in one of the most criminal families there is.

Anyway, that was how I started my new job at Star Labs.

Please, leave a comment :)