Everyone had their breaking point but it was generally expected for a doctor to be as professional as humanly possible regardless of any personal affairs, as was the case in most customer care and civil service occupations, probably even more so since matters in the hospital were often very personal in nature.

Rutile understood that and when she had her doctors hat on she was as patient as she needed to be. She seldom ever had that patience tested… But her latest patient… Well, he was undoubtedly pushing her buttons in a few ways she wasn't accustomed to.

"Mr. Photeus… Please hold still" Rutile said as she struggled to hold the little boy's arm in place as she lowered the needle, wanting to swiftly inject the medicine before she'd end up accidentally stabbing either herself or him with it. So far he was rather determined to not let this happen.

"Keep it away! Please, I can't handle needles!" he pleaded as another woman held him down on the chair by the shoulders, the vacant expression on her face as she did showing she was well accustomed to this sort of behavior. He was one of the older youngsters she'd met over the years and was just around thirteen with bright green hair and matching emerald eyes. She supposed the attitude was understandable considering he was just a kid, but she'd injected ten-year-olds with less fuss, a lot less if she was entirely candid.

Why was a heart surgeon injecting antibiotics into kids? Well, that was a question she was just curious to know the answer to ask. The syringe and recommended medication was often laid out in advance to make the process efficient but stuff like this generally wasn't her purview and had her dropping some of her morning's tasks to familiarise herself with the original doctor's case files just in case the offered medication was incorrect.

A matter of convenience for staff she supposed, whoever wasn't in the ER when someone walked in with an appointment seemed to be the case for her more and more these days. She wasn't complaining though, She just happened to be the one on break when they walked in she supposed.

"Come now Photeus, your only prolonging whats going to happen so just sit still already and let the doctor work" the second woman grumbled as she finally snagged his arms and held it in place as the boy struggled like his life was on the line. Rutile wasted no time holding his wrist in place and in trying to line up a vain from him.

Unfortunately for this to work she needed his cooperation. So she glanced up at the woman with a prodding look that explained her stance quite clearly. 'I can't do my job unless he cooperates.'

"I promise the pain won't last long. Just make a fist, so the vein show up"

"No…" he grumbled in response.

"Photeus" the woman reprimanded to which he groaned, finally caving.

"… You promise it'll hurt for a second" the boy said looking up at Rutile worriedly.

"Cross my heart" the doctor responded with a halfhearted smile. Obviously, that wasn't a promise she could keep but the soner she got this over with the sooner she could have the child out of her hair.

"…Ok. I'll hold still" he said finally cooperating, but no sooner did a vain show and the sight of a needle nearing his flesh did the struggling resume and with Rutile's patience having hit a breaking point she held the arm in place and injecting the needle. He squealed response and kicked his free leg out vainly.

Rutile took a simple step to the side as she kept an iron grip on his arm so the only thing he could do was push his own bag down, annoyingly the bag was partially unzipped and with the floodgates opened half its contents slid out as it fell. Mostly a collection of comics, some snacks, a few school books and a few others she couldn't be bothered to look at.

"You said a second, it's definitely been more than a second!" Photeus wined as Rutile finished the injecting the antibiotic.

"Patience Mr. Photeus-"

"Phosphophilite!" he said, cutting her off as she retraced the needle and set it on the table.

"What?" she said with a raised brow.

"Call me Phos, not Photeus" she repeated, prompting Rutile to glance at the woman serving as his guardian.

"Apologies Doctor, he can be quite troublesome. Phos is just a nickname he particularly likes" she said as she rubbed her head.

"I see" Rutile said nonchalantly as she wiped the injury and put a band-aid over it. "You might get a little sleepy later but the stomach aches should be gone by tomorrow" she explained with a small smile. "All done" she said she stood up and took off her gloves.

"Ugh. It stings, and my stuff got pushed over" Photeus grumbled.

The other woman gently whacked his head with a folded magazine. "That was your doing. Now pack your things, were going back to the bus"

"Ugh, fine, thanks Miss Ru…" Photeus said trailing a he searched for the words.

"Rutile" she finished as she grabbed a notepad and passed it over to the other woman. "Just sign out and you can walk out" she said pointing to the signiture strip with a pen.

"Ah, right. Thank you" she responded with a bow as she signed them out. Once that was done the pair walked out the door with the young doctor shutting the door and rubbing her temples.

"Ugh… I'm never having kids" she announced, grimacing at the thought of spawning anything as hyperactive and thoughtlessly talkative as Photeus as she put away some of the instruments and headed back to the mess hall. At the very least the story would keep Jade reasonably entertained.

Taking a step back from that little diversion, an introduction of sorts was prudent, she supposed.

Her name was Rutile, a twenty-five year old heart surgeon best known for her extreme work ethic, dry wit, punctuality and an odd penchant for dissection. Unassuming as they got by appearance alone but with more under the surface than the average doctor, a photographic memory of the skeletal system as well all the internal organs and brilliant at her work, the best heart surgeon in her station if they were honest and that was saying something considering she worked at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country, though that wasn't a title she liked to throw around.

If her age didn't give it away she was had only been working for the last three years as a heart surgeon, didn't stop from excelling at what she did though, overall she only had seven failed surgeries and four of those were more to do with the patients arriving at the ER in a state that was beyond repair than a flow in her overall methodology.

Why the health sector? Well, it was just the apparent route for her. Having a father with two Ph.D.'s in medicine with over forty years of experience in laser surgery and a mother who'd written a number of textbooks that were practically a must have if you were in medical school. She'd considered a few other fields as a child and her parents were none too concerned with her chosen course of study so long as it wasn't something valueless like the entertainment industry. Or at least that's what her Mother and Father thought of it.

They had been married for a good number of years before they conceived her, both in their forties when she was old enough to start remembering faces and were now on the tail end of their sixties. So you could say it went without saying that they had lived through a lot of things. Music and paintings were abstract, they're effects weren't quantifiable, and the artists or 'con-artists' as Father would put it always hid behind the 'art is subjective argument'. She still remembered that one time her mother jokingly threatened to disown her if she ever tried to pursue music as a career and to this day she wasn't sure how much of it was was just joking.

Well, she supposed there was no need to ponder such things now that she was literally following their footsteps, they would find her wanting in no capacity, right?

Soon enough it was closing time, and she heard the familiar voice of her best friend, Jade, at the door. She was a young woman only a year younger than Rutile herself who worked in the hospital as a Pharmacist/Organiser.

"You finished up for the day Rutile?" Jade asked as she opened up the door, her bag held close and quite ready to retire for the day. The multicolored doctor sighed and rubbed her tense shoulders. How long had she been reading through this PDF?

"Just about, give me a second while I pack up," she said as she closed the laptop and placed it in her workbag. She could resume reading at a later date, she supposed.

"Jeez, you always seem to forget your allowed to close at six. Talk about a workaholic" Jade muttered under her breath as she looked through the room to see the Doctor had a number of books strung about around the office, it was irksome how Rutile someone that kept her home as organised and symmetrical as possible could get so absorbed in her work that she'd forget the policy against cluttering up the office.

"Sorry about that," she said with a slight blush as she gathered her things up. Jade not wanting to be kept stepped in to offer a hand. Placing the books back into the shelf and handing Rutile the books she needed to head back home with.

"You'll just do it again tomorrow" Jade responded with a smirk which Rutile returned. That was when the green haired girl glanced down to see a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the coffee table. "Hmm, what's this?" she said bending over to pick it up.

"Hmm?" Rutile glanced over as she zipped up her computer bag. "You got something?"

"Yeah, a poster actually. For some concert happening at the capital in a week" Jade said as she waved the dusty poster around. Well, Photeus was the only appointment she'd had today so it probably passed them by when he kicked the bag down.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose at the memory of that boy.

"It's probably from the boy I treated today. Let me see" she said as she reached for the poster which Jade handed to her with a curious look.

"Something tells me you didn't have a good time" she said noting her tired posture.

"You could say that" Rutile replied as she turned the poster over. It was a pretty basic black background with a single performer in the middle with a Cello in hand, a spotlight centering above them and illuminating their stage. A rather fetching tuxedo over their shoulders and a regal smile on their lips as strands of Ruby red hair formed just above their forehead, the rest of their forty mane neatly tucked in behind them … Why was there something achingly familiar about this poster?

"Well, you'll have to call them to get it back now… Yeah, you can do that when your home. I'm not staying behind to wait for someone to come over and pick it up for them" Jade said as she adjusted her the hem of her skirt.

"…". That familiar thick yet finely styled hair, the relaxed smile and the Cello in hand… There was only one person she knew that fit that descript-No! She was overthinking things again. That stupid obsession of hers made it easy to make any association to that acquaintance. Irrationally tying herself to someone that had probably long forgotten her name.

Yet… There was no mistaking that face

"Hey, quit zoning out will yah" Jade said, it did little to draw Rutile's attention however as she read the whole poster.

A performance that'll make everyone a hipster

One of the best Cellist performances ever recorded

Said the tagline at the top of the poster, a bit lame as far as clever wordplay went but what did she know about posters and branding.

Come see Concerto's fourth live performance on Friday the 7th.

She kept doing double takes on the eyes, facial expression, and hair colour, ready to snap herself out of this fabricated imagery. It could have just been a coincidence, it had to be!

Rutile was pulled out of her thoughts at the sensation of Jade's arm on her shoulder.

"Rutile, are you alright. Your arms are shaking" Jade said, her tone conveying concern as Rutile noted her arms were indeed shaking uncontrollably.

"I…" she struggled to find the words. "It's them Jade," Rutile said to the emerald haired gem who understandably looked more confused.

"Who?" she asked.

"Padparadscha. The person I met at that bar over a year ago" she said turning over the poster to Jade, her eyes full of hope and genuine happiness despite her shaking arms.

Was it really alright for her to dare let those old feelings rear their heads again? Irrational feelings that had her combing the capital for an entire weekend. At the exact moment, Rutile simply did not care.

Finally got around to writing this sequel. Distractions just seemed to jump out from left to right that had me keep putting this on hold. But here's the first chapter of what may or may not be another three-parter. Feel free to let me know what you think if you feel so inclined.

You can expect the next to be up soon.