FireCacodemon: Welcome back to another chapter of Trauma Center: A New Beginning. Trauma Center belongs to Atlus, the cover belongs to Aileen-Rose.
Chapter 4:
The Tumour Test
Derek felt something warm brush up against his face. Slowly opening up his eyes, he was greeted with Gemma's behind. She turned around to see if Derek was awake and meowed when she saw him awake. Derek smiled and gently lifted his hand to pet Gemma. She was a good companion and he was glad that she was here. Derek had felt a lot worse when he was coming home to an empty apartment or he found himself alone in the apartment. Sure he was a grown man but when he was alone, it bothered him for some reason. Once Gemma had hopped off the bed, Derek followed and left the bed too. He had to feed Gemma before he fed himself. Gemma was happy when Derek filled her bowl up with cat food, he always went for the best for Gemma to the point where you could class he was spoiling her. Derek made himself some breakfast toast with butter was okay for today. He wasn't really hungry but if he didn't eat then he was sure that Mary was going to scold him for not eating. She seemed to know exactly what was going on with him even if he hid it. Once he had breakfast he left to get himself ready for work and passed his lab. He stopped and looked at the door. The door had not been touched for 5 years now; the lab had not been used for 5 years. Gemma brushed herself against his legs as if she was telling him that everything was going to be okay.
"Thanks Gemma," he smiled and gave Gemma a few pets before he left for work. Gemma looked at the door and hissed slightly, the door was hurting Derek and she knew it.
Trauma Center: A New Beginning – Chapter 4: The Tumour Test
Derek had arrived at work and was immediately seen by Mary. She smiled and waved before talking to the patient she was currently with. Derek looked around to see that most of the patients were happy today which meant that the day was hopefully going to run smoothly. Of course, with walk-in patients that Derek mainly dealt with, they could easily bring negativity into the hospital. Derek walked into the lift and pressed the second floor button.
"Hold the lift!" Derek heard Greg shout as he sprinted towards the lift. Derek moved to the doors and stood in the way of them closing so the doors automatically reopened themselves as Greg slipped into the life with Derek. "Thanks Derek." He said while panting.
"It's no problem sir." Derek responded naturally. Greg stood up straight and looked at Derek.
"You look puzzled," he commented as he watched Derek out of the corner of his eye.
"I just...don't feel one-hundred percent today," Derek said trying his best not to let out a sigh like he wanted. He wasn't tired or anything but just looking at his lab door just reminded him of something negative. Something he knew was going to come around and catch him when he wasn't expecting it. Greg turned to face Derek.
"You don't look ill."
"It's more emotionally than anything else."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No, I just want this day to be over so I can relax at home and be with Gemma."
"Gemma?"
"My cat, she knows when something is wrong and often brings up my spirits up again."
"Ah pets. The best companions no matter what mood you're in, right?"
"Yeah...anyway, I better get changed and then get to work. Patients won't cure themselves," Derek said as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.
"I'm surprised you're early."
"Gemma woke me up," Derek smiled at Greg before he left the lift to get himself ready for his shift. Greg walked out from the lift too and watched as Derek went to the staff locker room and watched as the door shut. His smile faded. Derek had been working under Greg for about 3 years now and yet he still didn't understand Derek like he did the other doctors and nurses who worked here. It was like Derek didn't want anyone close to him yet craved companionship at the same time. Derek was complicated at times. There were too many stray variables that Greg couldn't calculate or even understand. When he talked to Derek's teacher back at his medical school, they confirmed that they were worried about him too due to an incident at home. Or that was what Derek had told them. They said that Derek was one of the top students of the class before something happened and he hadn't recovered since. Greg was glad that it was only the paperwork that took the blow while Derek's practical skills still showed off what he had learnt. He was already aware of how to handle the tumours. Well, Greg knew what patient he could give to Derek to push him just a little. A smile formed on his lips again.
Derek checked through the patient files on his desk before he noticed a new file. The other patients were all in hospital beds recovering from a previous operation while this patient was new to him. Derek sat down on his desk to read the record. What caught his attention the most was the fact that this patient had multiple tumours which needed to be extracted. Something that Derek could handle and he knew that. He had a feeling that Greg was the surgeon who left him this patient as a little test. When Derek talked to the other members of staff, they had informed him that Greg liked to test his workers so that it keeps them on their toes as well as to help them. They weren't given anything they've never treated before as a 'surprise' test and he wouldn't give them anything he knew they couldn't handle. Derek smiled before there was a knock on his door.
"Enter," he said as he closed the folder up. A patient with multiple tumours made Derek excited to do the operation. He heard the clacking of Mary's shoes as she walked into the office.
"Good morning Dr. Stiles," she greeted him normally before the two set off to work together to look after the patients. Very quickly, the day moved to lunch.
Trauma Center: A New Beginning – Chapter 4: The Tumour Test
Derek walked into the Nurses' office to talk to Mary about the last patient. He stopped when he noticed that Greg was among the nurses as well who were also on break. A lot of nurses that Derek was aware of were gathered around Mary.
"And so, since my husband's been relocated to a different office, I'll be leaving Hope Hospital, effective immediately." Derek heard Mary say and stopped. "I'm really going to miss this place, and all of you, but I promise to continue my work as a nurse, wherever life takes me!" She said with such determination before she noticed that Derek was standing in the room. Derek wasn't sure how to react, she had worked with him for a while and now she was suddenly leaving? He felt a lot of emotions, happiness that she'll keep on being a nurse but sad that she was leaving him all of a sudden, worried about his patients now he wasn't going to have a nurse by his side. Scared that he was going to mess up and a patient was going to suffer because of it. Mary seemed to notice and walked over to him with a friendly smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around Derek and pulled him in close. "You all taught me that helping patients is its own reward. Dr. Stiles, while you have been a wild card at times and only recently have you just started to come to work on time. Keep that up and I know you'll make a brilliant surgeon," she gently ruffled up Derek's hair. She let him go before Greg spoke up.
"It was a pleasure to have you on staff, Mary. Good luck with the new job."
Derek wasn't sure how to respond...so naturally, he just said what came to his mind. "I can't believe you're leaving. This is all so sudden..."
"What are you going to do without her, Derek?" Greg teased Derek with a smirk on his face.
"Actually, Derek's the only reason I'm a little hesitant to leave. I even spoke with my husband about it." Mary said.
"What...did you say?" Derek asked.
"I told him that there was a kid here that depends on me." She chuckled to herself before talking again. "He asked me how long I'd been working at paediatricians!" Some other nurses started laughing at the obvious joke, even Greg did. Derek, however, didn't find it funny.
"Am...I really...that bad?" Derek questioned her. There was a knock on the door before a new face entered the room. An elderly gentleman with white, short hair and a white beard walked into the room, he wore small glasses and wore a white blazer with a white shirt underneath with a brown tie.
"If Mrs. Fulton still here?" He asked. His name was Robert Hoffman. The director and founder of Hope Hospital had just walked into the room.
"Oh, hello Dr. Hoffman." Robert looked over at Derek before he looked back at Mary.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He asked.
"No, we're just teasing Derek," Greg said with a laugh.
"I came to say goodbye, since I won't be around tomorrow. Thank you for many years of dedicated service. You're a fantastic nurse...Probably our best. On behalf of our entire staff, I'd like to say thank you."
"Oh...Sir, the pleasure was mine. I wish there was some way I could thank you for this opportunity."
"As long as you don't stop nursing, that's all I want to hear." Robert smiled.
"You don't have to worry there, helping people is my life. I love doing it," Mary replied delightfully. Robert's smile spread more as she talked. "I just wish I could stay longer and learn from you a little more."
"Don't be modest. You already know everything I have to teach. I'm afraid that Dr. Kasal surpassed me as a surgeon long ago." Robert said.
"I wouldn't say I've surpassed you, Dr. Hoffman." Greg said before Derek perked up slightly. He wasn't aware that Greg had surpassed Robert. He didn't say anything though and just watched how they reacted with each other.
"Good luck with your new job, don't be a stranger, okay?" Mary nodded. "Well, I have matters to attend to, if you'll excuse me." And with those words, Robert left the room. Mary sighed.
"I'd hoped to see Dr. Hoffman in action more often but he stopped operating on patients after that incident..."
"What incident?" Derek asked.
"Derek, let's discuss your next patient." Greg told Derek. Derek nodded and dropped the topic.
"This will be my last operation with you and here. Don't let me down, Derek."
Trauma Center: A New Beginning – Chapter 4: The Tumour Test
"As yesterday's operation went very smoothly, I decided to pass this patient onto you. His name is Neil Spence. It'll be another tumour excision operation." Greg told the two members of staff.
"Multiple tumours confirmed in the pancreas. They may lead to a loss of stamina, so immediate removal is necessary, right?" Derek asked. Greg nodded.
"Glad to hear that you have already read the report. This will also be your last operation with Nurse Fulton so do you very best to prove how much you've learnt." Greg smiled.
"I'll do my best," Derek said.
"If you do handle this operation, I'll feel much better about leaving." Mary smiled. She noticed how Derek's expression dropped. This was all too sudden for him and she knew that but he still had a job to do and she better remind him. "I'm sorry this is upsetting you...but you better wake up! There's only one person you should be thinking about during the operation, and that's the patient! Do you understand Dr. Stiles?"
"I do." Derek inhaled and exhaled before smiling again. "So the main objective of this operation is to locate and extract all the tumours?"
"Yes, from the pancreas. I'm sure I don't need to remind you on what you need to do?" Derek shook his head. "Then let's begin the operation~" Mary chucked before Derek could say his line.
They walked into the operation room where Mr. Spence was laying on the table, unconscious. Derek had about 5 hours to complete the operation before Greg decided to take over and to save the patient. He looked up at the vitals to see that they were at ninety-nine, like the previous patient was. Mary watched Derek as he quickly, mentally prepared himself before he started.
"Antibiotic gel, please?" Derek asked. Mary nodded and handed over the small bottle of gel. Dipping his fingers in, he applied the gel over where he was going to make the incision. Once that was done, Mary handed him the scalpel and Derek cut open the patient. Opening up the patient, Mary noticed that the pancreatic membrane was inflamed.
"You're going to need some anti-inflammatory before we start trying to locate the tumours." Mary informed Derek.
"Can you bring me with vial and syringe then, please?" Derek asked, she nodded and went to get the tools needed to clear up the inflammation. Once the swelling had gone down, Mary got the ultra-sound ready for him. Derek placed the used syringe back into the blue vial that had the anti-inflammatory. "Ultra-sound please?"
"Look carefully," Mary spoke as Derek started to check around to try and find the tumours. Derek searched before he found that there were three tumours close to each other. Handing the ultra-sound back to Mary, he picked up his scalpel and cut down their middle. Much like before, green-looking cytoplasm started to dribble out from the cut and the tumours were out in the open. "Proceed just like before."
"I'm going to try and remove all three at once. I need you to be ready with the tools that I need." Derek told Mary.
"Are you sure you're confident?" Mary asked, looking over at Greg to see what he was thinking. Greg simply nodded, he seemed to trust Derek's instincts and he was willing to go with it.
"Please? I'm aware the vitals are going to stop but I know I can do it."
"Well Dr. Stiles, I trust you. I'll keep up with you as you extract the tumours," Mary smiled as she got the drain ready. Once Derek had the drain in his hands, she picked up the scalpel and was ready to hand it over to him when the last tumour had its cytoplasm drained. Handing over the scalpel, Derek cut around the tumours; Mary was ready with the forceps so that Derek could extract them. The vitals had dropped by thirteen. They were at ninety-four and were now at eighty-one. Greg watched as Derek continued the operation, his expectations of Derek were being met once more, not many rookie surgeons went to tackle three tumours at the same time and often only did one at a time. Not Derek, he was willing to jump before he looked and knew his skills. Mary handed Derek the forceps once he had placed the scalpel down and Derek moved to extract the tumours. Placing them on a tray that Mary provided, removing the tumours meant there was a massive drain on the vitals but Derek kept on top of it, extracting them quickly and replacing them with a synthetic membrane.
"Stabilizer, please?" Derek asked Mary. She nodded and handed him the syringe and the green liquid. He drew up the liquid before injecting it into the patient. He watched as the vitals increased from sixty-two to seventy-five. Derek moved to put another dose of stabilizer into the patient before asking for the bottle of gel. Mary handed him the bottle of gel and Derek applied it onto the synthetic membrane before massaging it on the pancreas.
"That took care of the tumours we found in our test. You're really improving, have you noticed?" Mary asked Derek.
"I don't mean to cut this short, but the patient isn't out the woods just yet until he's been stitched back up again and on the ward to recover," Derek said. Greg chuckled outside; he really was focusing on the patient in front of him.
"I know, but today you seemed really focused. I guess my work here is done!" Mary held a positive smile on her face. "Let's close up the incision, you've done some perfect work today." Derek nodded as Mary handed him the sutures. Derek carefully sutured up the incision. Once it was all stitched up, he applied antibiotic gel onto them and finally placed the bandage over the stitches. The operation was a success. "I think we can both relax, Derek. The operation was a success." Mary smiled. "Those were some master surgeon skills...for such a rookie doctor," Mary giggled. Derek smiled.
"Guess you don't have anything to worry about?" Derek asked.
"I don't, you did such a great job Derek. I really didn't have anything to worry about. I can see why Greg picked you. You'll make an excellent surgeon."
"I'm really going to miss you," Derek blurted out.
"I'll keep in contact with you. But...Please continue using your abilities to help the people of Angeles Bay."
"I'll do my very best," Derek said as Greg started to walk away.
Greg walked away from the OR as Derek and Mary got themselves ready for the rest of the shift. Greg smiled as he thought to himself about what had happened in the operation and he couldn't help but feel proud by the way that Derek handled the operation and the decrease in vitals when the tumours were removed. He also noted the concentration that Derek had performed during that operation.
"Derek is going to pass me in no time at all," Greg chuckled to himself as he returned to his patients.
FireCacodemon: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. We'll be back with another chapter.
Derek: Bye.