Chapter 1: Manners
"Okay so how about you take sutchers on the hand I'll go inform Brody about the intestine boy" Kate said to her co-worker Kyle
Chapter 1: Manners
"Okay so how about you take sutures on the hand I'll go inform Brody about the intestine boy" Kate said to her co-worker Kyle as they looked at a couple x-rays
Kyle raised an eyebrow and smirked "no"
"Okay…why not?" she asked confused
"I can't believe you're giving up sutures for being someone's messenger" he said amused "You just want a reason to talk to Shepard"
Kate's jaw dropped "Excuse me!" she exclaimed and followed him when he started walking out the door "I do not need a reason to talk to Shepard! If I wanna talk to Shepard, I'll go talk to-" the phrase died on her lips as soon as she saw the very man she had been talking about walk out of the OR.
"Sorry?" The tall dark man said in confusion. It was no secret that Kate had a thing for jack, in fact, it was no secret that half the hospital had it for Jack. He was gorgeous, tall, short cropped hair and a smile that had every girl fall to her knees.
"Huh" Kate huffed dumbly in response, ignoring her co-worker who was trying in vein not to laugh hysterically at her situation
"I heard you say you needed to talk to me" Jack said, taking off his mask
"Uh…I" Kate stuttered "I don-"
"The guy with the intestines Kate" Kyle rolled his eyes
"Right" Kate said shaking her head and read off some stats to him about how he was doing in surgery.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked confused "You seem…distracted"
"Yeah I'm fine" Kate said, swallowing thickly "Just tired"
Nodding he lifted his mask again "Keep me informed" he said before going back into the OR.
"Good job Kate" Kyle teased
"Shut up" she grumbled
"You were like a bumbling idiot."
"Didn't I say shut up?"
"Hey" they heard a voice said in exasperation "you two have some time on your hands?"
Kate turned to see who the voice belonged to and froze "Yeah" she said immediately seeing it was Jack
"Great, one of you get in here" he ordered
"I'll-"Kyle started, the words dying on his lips when he saw Kate grab a mask and rush in
"I got it from here Adam" Jack said walking back in with Kate "You can take Dr. Shea and check on the other patient"
"If you're going to be a surgeon, you need to learn how to hold a clamp" Jack stated, staring at her intently as her hand shook while holding a clamp inside a mans body. Kate's head shot up and she nodded, willing herself to stop.
"Better" she heard him chuckle as he reached for another instrument. Kate could literally feel her entire face heating up, for once in her life, she loved the surgical masks.
"Suction" She heard him say
"I can't do suction" She heard a nurse say in a terrified voice. Jack sighed and stared at Kate, silently telling her to do it. Kate nodded and took a hold of the tube from the nurse's hands and did as she was told.
"Tell me why you can't do suction again" Jack said as he concentrated on what he was doing
The nurses eyes widened "I uhm…I'm new"
"And that's an excuse?" he raised an eyebrow "How long have you been working here?" he asked, chuckling when he saw her fearful face "Relax" he said "I just wanted to know…"
"About 2 weeks" She answered
"It's about time you learned how to do some things right?" he asked convincingly "Dr. Austen, go ahead and hand it over to her" he said "Help her if she slips" he added
Kate nodded and very gently let her take hold of the tube that was suctioning excess blood and fluid up "Not too tight." She said "kind of like a pencil"
"So you can talk" Jack said in amusement "I always seem to catch you at a bad time" he added at her confused glance. "And we're back to not talking" he laughed to himself
"No sorry" Kate sighed "You're a little intense" she admitted, not believing the words that came out of her mouth
Jack chuckled "Yeah, I've gotten that before"
"Whose intern are you again?" he asked Kate
"Actually…I'm yours" she answered somewhat disappointed he hadn't realized
Jack looked up from what he was doing, amusement evident in his eyes "I know that Kate" he said barely stifling a chuckle "I was being sarcastic because you've barely said 3 sentences to me"
"Oh" Kate said quietly, prepaying to god that she wasn't blushing
"You think you got hold of the suction there?" he asked the new nurse who nodded in response
"Good" he stated "now go ahead and take the clamp from Kate"
Once she successfully handed the clamp over, she looked at him expectantly.
"Come around here" he told her "I might even let you do a couple things" he added
Kate stepped around the table giddily until she was standing next to him, watching in fascination as he worked. "See" jack started "let me hear your voice a little and you might get to see the coolest thing next to a stand still" he chuckled
"You're doing a stand still" Kate stated immediately
He looked over and raised an eyebrow "I've done one stand still" he stated "And I have one scheduled for tomorrow"
Kate looked at him longingly, her eyes wide and pleading with him to let her scrub in on the surgery.
Jack chuckled "Is there something you'd like to ask me?"
"No" She mumbled, turning her attention back at the surgery at hand
Jack rolled his eyes "You really have to speak up a little…people aren't just going to hand things to you"
"Too much" Kate shook her head at the nurse who was still holding the suction and clamp "You're compressing the organ."
"Sorry" she said nervously
"Fine. Can I scrub in on the stand still" she said sweetly, taking Jacks advice
Jack smirked and nodded "since you're the first to ask"
"Thank you! I would hug you but well…yeah" she finished feeling a little more comfortable around him
"Well that was rather unprofessional" jack said in a serious tone
Kate froze "I-I…sorry"
"I was just joking" he said amused
"Whatever" he heard her mutter in annoyance before he took a large piece of tumor out
"It looks like its spread" Kate said, examining the area he had just opened up
Jack shook his head "Lab results say otherwise"
"Well maybe they were wrong" Kate stated making him smile
"You're getting the hang of it" he laughed
"Do you always screw with your interns like this" she demanded
"You know, if you would shut up for more than 2 seconds I could let you actually do something"
Kate immediately shut her mouth and stared at him with a small smile "I'm waiting…"
"Well keep waiting" he said in the same tone "until I get this thing out you can stand there holding the tray"
Rolling her eyes she nodded "what a treasure trove"
"You think you can manage to close?" he asked
Kate nodded "Definitely" she said stepping forward and taking some materials from the tray.
Jack watched in amusement at how concentrated she was. Her tongue was protruding the corner of her mouth and her eyes were so focused, it made him want to laugh out loud.
"Are you going to hover over my shoulder like that?" Kate asked nervously after a few minutes, realizing he was watching her intently
He nodded "I can't leave until you're done." He said with a shrug
"I can close you know…" she huffed
"I'm sure you can" he chuckled "But like I said, you're an intern, and I have to watch you" he finished just as the patients blood pressure began to drop. Immediately he was at her side "What did you do?" he asked
"I didn't do anything" she stated calmly while searching the cavity for anything that might have gone wrong. Hell she hadn't even started yet… "He's hemmoredging" she said
"I need another pair of hands over here" he demanded to the nurse who was standing here. She nodded and reached over the table, doing what she was told. "Forceps" he stated to her and waiting until she handed them to him before trying to stop the bleeding.
"Dammit" he cursed to himself as he saw how deep the bleeding was and closed his eyes, sighing when his heart flat lined from the trauma. "Push one of epi" he said, still working on the man
"No change" he nurse said
"Push another" he ordered still trying to find the source "Kate I need you to hold this…don't move it, don't even flinch" he ordered knowing they were working with a very delicate procedure. One flinch and he could be paralyzed for life.
Kate nodded and desperately tried to hold still as he used gauze and whatever else he could to mop up all the blood that was pooling inside.
"Still no change" the nurse replied. Jack sighed and told Kate to let go "time of death" he paused "7:41 pm"
"Jane, can you page Kate Austen for me please?" he asked his assistant while sitting in his office going over some paperwork
"Sure thing Dr. Shepard"
"How many times do I have to say "it's Jack" he said exasperated before hanging up
A few minutes later, he heard a knock on his door "Come in" he said
"Hi" Kate said quietly, looking physically exhausted and drained "You paged me?" she asked, walking into the large office
Jack nodded and motioned for her to take a seat "Just wanted to see how you were holding up" he said, shaking his head when he saw her puffy eyes
Kate sat down slowly, taking a deep breath "I'm fine" she said softly
"He was old Kate" Jack said "almost 70 years old…his heart gave out. It was no ones fault"
"I know" she responded "It's just weird you know? I mean…the surgery, it was successful" she sighed
"Things go wrong. Complications arise" he responded "I know this is a first for you. But there's going to be more…a lot more. And we as doctors have to learn to deal with it. If I let myself feel for every patient that's died on my operating table, I'd be in a mental institute right now"
Kate nodded "I know. I just need to think a little"
"So I'll see you bright and early tomorrow?" he asked
She nodded "Bye Dr. Shepard" She said
"It's Jack!" he exclaimed in annoyance while she was leaving
"Hi Dr.-Jack" she clarified when she saw him throw her an annoyed glare
"Finally someone gets it right" he muttered before greeting her back and handing her a few charts "you're on clinic today"
Kate narrowed her eyes at him "Stand still" she stated
"It's at 4. Until then, you're in the clinic." He answered
"Such a gentleman" Kate mumbled under her breath and made her way down to the clinic
Sighing, she read the chart for her first patient before knocking on the door and swinging it open "Hi, I'm Dr. Austen-wait……Christi?" she asked in disbelief, walking in and closing the door behind her
"Hi" he young woman who couldn't be in older than 30 replied
"What are you doing here!" she asked in concern. Christi was one of her best friends in med school, and they still kept in contact every now and then
"I thought you had that in your chart" she chuckled before standing up and giving her a hug "It's good to see you Kate. And before you ask, I'm here because I'm in town for my husband, but I don't want to shake this off any longer. I have a feeling I know what it is…but I'd like clarification"
"You're here about severe neck pain, and back pain right?" Kate asked sitting down in the chair across from her
The blonde nodded "yes, I've had neck pain for about 3 years now and I have no idea what's causing it"
"Any headaches, nausea, and dizziness?" she asked
"Headaches…they feel more like migraines actually"
"Migraines huh? You get nauseous, sensitive to light and sound, blurry vision?"
"I'm sensitive to light and sound and I have some blurry vision but not usually nauseous" Christi responded
"Okay" Kate nodded, writing a few notes in her chart "Any numbness in your fingers or toes, like pins and needles?" she asked
The blonde hesitantly nodded "in my fingers most of the time…"
Kate sighed "Okay. I'm going to go ahead and recommend you for an MRI so we can see what's going on in there" she said "Take this to reception and they'll make you an appointment"
"Dr. Austen, I have the results from the MRI we took earlier today" a nurse said coming up to her a few hours later while she was eating lunch
"You mean the one from the clinic?" she asked confused, taking the folder from her "You already scheduled one today?"
She nodded "Yea, and from what the radiologist said, it looks serious"
"Thanks" She said, opening the folder and sighing at what she saw. It was a tumor, along her spine…and from what she could tell it was large. "Wait" she said to the nurse who was now walking away "Is she still here?"
She nodded "Should be in the waiting room, her husband is in the clinic I believe"
"Hi again" Kate said, finding her sitting impatiently in the waiting room
Christi jumped startled at first but relaxed seeing it was just the Kate "Hi" she said with a smile
"I got your results back" Kate said, sitting down in a chair across from hers
"Already? That was quick" The woman said impressed
Kate laughed "you know better than to get used to that" What we found was a large tumor growing on her spine" she said apologetically
"I knew it" Christi said with a deep sigh
"I want to refer you to a specialist" Kate said "Jack Shepard"
"Yeah" she scoffed "Because I can get an appointment with him"
Kate laughed smacking her on the shoulder lightly "I'm his intern. I'll give it a try alright? In the mean time why don't you go tell Kyle…I'm sure he's going to be more worried than you are"
She nodded "Thanks Kate. But if Jack does take me on, I'll have to stay here…and I can't quit my job. You know how much I love working in Seattle"
"He's the best Chris…" Kate said softly "Let's take this one day at a time alright? Promise me you'll stay at least for the week" she demanded
Christi nodded "Promise" She said quietly
"And you're staying with me"
"I know" She laughed
"Jack" Kate called out at around 3 o clock as she entered his office
"Hmm" He hummed not looking up from the papers he was going over
"I have a favor to ask" She said, coming to stand in front of his desk
Jack finally looked up at her and waiting in question "What is it?"
She slipped Christi's chart into his hands and watched patiently as he studied it "She has a tumor" he said simply, looking back up at Kate "What did you need?"
"I was wondering if you would see her" she said nervously
"Kate…" he said shaking his head "I'm not taking on any new patients right now"
"I'm asking as a favor. She's a good friend of mine…" Kate pleaded "Please"
Jack sighed and opened her file again, studying it more closely "It's on the L-4 and it looks too large to operate"
"Its borderline inoperable" Kate nodded
Taking a few moments to think he nodded "Okay" he said finally making her grin "Ask Jane for my schedule and go ahead and book a consult"
"Thank you!" Kate exclaimed
"I also want a full work up" he said "What are you doing?" he asked when she sat down
"Sitting" she said confused
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to sit down"
"Don't you have things to do?"
"Nope. I'm just waiting for the stand still…" she said with a smile "you ready for it?"
He nodded "Spent the entire day practicing with the team" he said "We should be okay"
"So do you have any other interns?" Kate asked
Jack shook his head "No" he said simply "Hey you wanna go get me some coffee?"
Kate scowled "I'm your intern. Not your slave" she stated sweetly
Jack chuckled "That's why I don't have any more interns…and you know if you talked to any other resident that way you'd be fired right?"
"No but seriously. Do you really want coffee?" she asked with a sigh
He rose an eyebrow at her "Is that even a question?"
"I'll get it…only cuz I'm so nice" she muttered
A/N: So what do you think? This was completely out of nowhere…so let me know if you think I should continue!