Lucy stood at the computer, searching through several Journals for cases for her upcoming Lit review. Lit Review met three times a week, and was required of anyone studying the art of anyone cutting up people. Lucy loved research, and had perfected her notes for the study group so well that the others were envious.
Elizabeth appreciated her hard work and effort at such a task—most didn't care, and the curly-haired surgeon knew how important the group was. She was the leader of the small session, but even she needed to prepare for the larger session helmed by Robert.
Lucy played with her stethoscope around her neck, and read until her eyes glazed over. She pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her sleepy eyes. The fourth floor was surprisingly empty today, but she was hiding in an unused corner so she could prepare. Lucy checked to see if the coast was clear. She popped some Ritalin, and took a sip of water, writing down a few important points.
"I figured you wanted some more of this," the gentle voice startled her, but Lucy only jumped slightly.
"Thanks, Dr. Corday." she smiled sweetly as she took the cup from her outstretched hand.
"Seriously, you can call me Elizabeth. We are friends, aren't we?" Elizabeth looked the blonde over, waiting for her answer as she took a sip of her coffee and stuffed her free hand into her scrub pocket.
"Of course we are, Elizabeth." Lucy nodded, any animosity had faded over the last month as Elizabeth had taken her under her wing, and pushed her to be better.
"Good. I had hoped you felt the same as i did," she paused for a minute, lost in her thoughts. She pushed them, aside,"preparing for Rocket's Lit Review?" she giggled, recalling the many nights she'd done the same thing a few years ago.
"Yes, and i'm not having any luck." Lucy sighed as she explained the problem.
"Situs-Inverses. Yes, that's very rare. We operated on a boy about a year or so ago. I'll have Nicole in records get you the file." Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at the screen, squinting at the tiny print.
"Thank you so much!" she clicked on another journal and gasped.
"What?" Elizabeth set down her cup, intrigued.
"Your Hemo-Aid Paper you wrote with Dr. Romano. "
"So, what about it?"
"I found it."
"What?" Elizabeth focused until the words became clear in her eyes. She worked hard on that, and she knew that he would publish it, but had never seen it. Her heart raced with excitement, and she smirked, figuring Robert would put his name first. He was after all, the brains behind said study, and Elizabeth wouldn't have been that upset about it.
"Yeah, and you're listed first." Lucy pointed to the type, showing the experienced surgeon the evidence. "See."
"Well, i'll be damned." They both laughed an exchanged a look. Once again, Robert had proved that he admired her—loved her and showed it in his way.
"His other's are listed here too," she scanned the database, overwhelmed at the amount of publications he had. She had a secret. She'd been searching for his research anyways.
She took a deep breath. "Elizabeth, did you know that Dr. Romano gratuated from Columbia in 1975?"
Elizabeth shook her head and let the information sink in.
"He was valedictorian, and everything." Lucy jotted down a few more notes.
"Really? He never mentioned that. How did you get him to tell you?" she was curious, and Elizabeth made a note to ask him about it tonight at dinner.
"I didn't exactly. An ad for the Class Reunion of 1975 popped up, and i was curious. I searched the yearbook, and his named popped up, so i reached out to some of his classmates. No one knew who i was talking about." Lucy's face fell, painted with sadness. She had grown to admire the surgeon, come to love him like the father she had never had, and she couldn't understand how no one could remember him.
Elizabeth gave a proud grin at her resourcefulness, but her insides were a mess. She knew that no one had come to his graduation, but she never expected Robert's admission of having no friends to sting as much as it did in this moment.
"Robert told me that i am the only friend he's ever had, and he told me that no one came to see him graduate." Elizabeth so desperately wanted to find her beloved and hold him for a long while. "Speaking of graduation, don't you soon?"
"Next week." Lucy studied the mischievous look on the red-headed surgeon's face. "What are you up to?"
Elizabeth leaned in, informing the young woman of her plan. Lucy smiled and set to work, determined to make everything perfect. Elizabeth set off to find him.
—
"What do we have?" Mark asked Dr. Lewis as he entered the room, ready to work.
"11 year old male. Multiple gun-shots everywhere. Bp 90 over 50. Pulse ox. 85." Dr. Lewis listened to his chest. "Tension phnuemo. Get me a chest-tube tray."
Dr. Greene helped her stabilize the patient until surgery arrived.
Dr. Benton rushed in because he was responsible for all Trauma cases in the ER. "Okay people, what have we—" he stopped mid-sentence, looking at the gurney in disbelief. No! it couldn't be. "Jessie?" he whispered, and only Mark heard.
"It's his nephew." he sighed, and Susan looked horrified.
Haleh ran to the phone and called for another surgeon. Peter hadn't moved.
"Peter, we need to hurry."
"Right. Intubate and prep for a mid-line incision." Blood covered the front of his scrubs. Mark helped as best as he could, but he wasn't really equipped for this.
"He's oozing everywhere," Mark sighed, tying off everything he could, but blood poured from everywhere.
Peter began to cry, pleading with his nephew no to give up. "Come on Jessie. Don;t you do this, man."
"Well, then we better get to work." Robert's gentle voice came from behind the tall surgeon, and Peter wiped his eyes.
Dr. Romano had already gowned and gloved as he approached the intubated boy. He held onto his sarcastic remark because he didn't feel like getting punched by Benton.
"Hang three more units. Bovie, Metz, and i need every Lap Pad you've got. Peter, it's kind of hard to do the Pringle Manuever by yourself," he joked lightly as Haleh handed him the instruments, moving the table closer to him.
Peter snapped out of his misery, and he put on fresh gloves. "Run the FFP. Hang some packed cells. Watch the Thorasel. Three-o-prolene." He cauterized Robert's side of the liver so he could finish the Pringle Manuever.
As Robert finished, Benton resowed everything he could, his hands shaking so bad he didn't think he could sow in a straight line. The short surgeon noticed his falterings, and made an executive decision. "Peter step back. You're causing more harm than good right now. "
"No! I'm fine." he argued, still shaking.
"You've spent five minutes over-sowing the same spot. Peter, step back." His voice held more authority, but dripped with concern.
Peter knew he was right, and threw down the needle, storming out of the room as he flung off his gloves.
"Okay, can any of you sow quickly and straight?" Robert looked up at the Two Attending's and they nodded.
"Good. Glad to know our tax-payer dollars weren't wasted on the two of you for your med school loans. Dr. Lewis, what's the proper procedure for fixing an abdominal laceration?"
"Pack it off with lap pads and use mono-filament sutures." she responded as she picked up the needle.
"Excellent! Congrats, you get to do it." he responded a little flirtatiously as Lewis rolled her eyes and set to work.
"Greene, do you know how to do braided sutures?" Mark nodded his head.
"Good you take the lung. With any luck Jessie here will make a full recovery. How are his stats?"
"Stable for now." Haleh told him.
"Spin another Crit, check another BP, and a Pulse Ox. Five passes should be enough." he told Lewis who did what he asked. Robert moved onto the spleen, checking the time, and cursing. He turned into Rocket—the fastest hands in the Midwest— he picked up the pace. He looked over Greene's handiwork, and nodded. Suddenly, the machines went crazy. Greene yelped as Jessie's heart sprayed him with blood.
"Give me a pressure dressing." Lewis told Haleh, and threw it over Jessie's bleeding heart.
It soaked through in two seconds.
"Damn it, where is this blood coming from?" she asked. "Did you nick the aorta?"
"No. I wasn't any where near it. " Greene told her, annoyance growing in his voice.
"Open another chest tube tray. Pericardiocentesis needle." Greene slammed the needle into his heart, and aspirated a large pool of blood.
"Bullet must have fragmented and shredded his left ventricle." Lewis told him as she inserted the other chest tube. Blood poured at her feet. The patient arrested. "Lost the pulse. Crash cart." Malik pushed the machine over, and charged it.
"Hang two more units, and another five of packed cells." Robert told Malik who did what he was asked.
"Charge to 200. Clear." Lewis placed the paddles to his chest and shocked him back to life.
The flat line on the montor changed to peaks and waves. "Sinus. We've gotta find out where this blood is coming from." Dr. Greene breathed a sigh of relief.
"We could try dialysis tubing. Create an artificial value until we can transport him," they conversed as the patient lost precious time. They had no real experience with creating fake vessels out of random scraps of medical supplies.
"Don't bother. Call the OR, tell them we're coming up. Have two more surgeons standing by. Malik, Haleh you're with me." Dr. Romano climbed on top of Jessie., sitting on his his chest as he plugged the shredded vessel with his finger. He had stopped the bleeding. Haleh grabbed the drug box, and Malik bagged the patient continuously.
The Trauma room was covered in discarded gowns, gloves, and instruments, all covered with blood. Mark Greene and Susan Lewis took their gloves off and threw them on the floor, looking at the victim being wheeled out of the room.
Several people pushed the gurney down the hall towards the elevator, people looking on in shock at the surgeon on top of the patient. Benton and his sister held their breaths and Robert looked at Peter, giving him a knowing glance.
Jackie, Peter's sister, screamed and Benton held her close, reassuring her that Jessie was still alive and that Dr. Romano would do everything he could to save him.
"Alright, people, don't jostle the gurney or we'll have an even bigger mess." They made it into the elevator. Malik pushed the button with his free hand and the doors closed. Robert was covered in blood, but he was hell-bent on saving him. Jessie wouldn't die—no today. Not on his watch.
Dr. Anspaugh waited for him as the elevator doors opened. Dr. Dubenko stood beside the the seasoned surgeon, eager to start his first shift at County. "Well, it seems like you've had an interesting day, Robert. Where's Peter?"
"He can't scrub in on this one." Robert told him as they all wheeled down the hall to the Pre-Op room.
"Why the hell not? He's the Trauma fellow, right? Shouldn't he be operating?"
"I made him sit this one out."
"Robert—"
"The boy is his nephew, Donald." he replied, a bit sharper than he meant to.
Anspaugh's face fell. "Oh, good call. Come on Dubenko. Robert scrub in."
"I'm kind of controlling the bleeding here. I can't exactly let go." he laughed slightly, and the other surgeons scrubbed in as Robert remained where he was.
Robert and Jessie waited in OR 1 as Anspaugh and Dubenko prepped.
"You're gonna be just fine," he promised the unconscious boy, hos voice full of love and concern. He knew that it was a terrible idea to make that promise, but he was determined to carry it through.
Donald and Lucien entered the room, and everyone set to work. Robert operated on Jessie's shredded heart vessel while his hand was still holding it shut. It was a remarkable feat, and Shirley took pictures of the surgeon doing surgery without seeing what he was doing. This was one for the record books, and Journals. It was the easiest way to repair the damage, and he was perfect at it, releasing his finger slowly. The fully repaired vessel did the job it was supposed to, and no blood erupted onto Robert.
He jumped off the patient and ran to scrub. Several minutes later, he joined Dubenko and Anspaugh on the floor, standing by Shirley who helped him put on his gown and cap.
"Hell of a feat, Robert." Anspaugh complimented him and he smiled, checking Jessie's vitals and grabbing the suction device.
"You're Pringle Maneuver is superb," Dubenko commented as he cut and stitched.
"Fastest Hands in the Midwest. Rocket Romano. I don;t think we've met yet." He greeted the surgeon standing next to him.
"Lucien Dubenko. Surgical Attending. I just transferred here from UCLA." He responded, working on the mesanteric artery.
"Robert is one of the best we've ever had here. You'd be wise to listen when he talks." Donald worked on the left side of the table, glancing up at the two men from his surgical mask. Dubenko nodded.
"Who did these mono-filaments?" he asked while examining the kidney and abdomen.
"Susan Lewis. I needed all the extra hands i could get." Robert chuckled, picking up the needle driver. "Greene did the braided ones with a chainsaw."
"Well, they'll hold. How many units did he have downstairs?"
"Ten I think. I hung another three when i got there."
They continued to work. Silence slipped over the room.
—
The surgery was over. Anspaugh and Dubenko conversed while Robert wheeled Jessie down the hall to recovery.
Shirley watched him for a minute, smiling at the stoic surgeon's gentle concern for the young man laying on the gurney.
Robert checked for post-op bleeding, jotting down a few notes on his chart. Placing the clipboard at the foot of his bed, he grabbed a bowl of water and a few rags, and sat beside the patient. Jessie was still under the anesthesia, and he was still intubated.
Dr. Romano sighed, examining Jessie's face for any sign of distress, but the young man looked eerily peaceful—as if he were simply in the middle of the most wonderful dream. The Chief of Staff's heart was in his throat as he rung out the excess water from the rag, and began to rid the young angel of the dried blood that covered his body. Poor kid. Robert's brown eyes were like glass as he rubbed a hand over Jessie's head, hoping that he realized that his loved ones were very worried about him. "You did so good. I promised you would come through this. I better get your mom and uncle." he whispered as he stood.
Robert looked back at him one last time, and walked out of the room to find the two other surgeons so that they could find Peter.
—
Peter paced in the ER. Jackie bit her fingernails as she watched her brother, worry creeping deep into her bones. Chairs was crowded, and the tall surgeon had changed into fresh scrubs, hastily returning in case there was news about his beloved nephew. Worst- case scenarios plated through his mind, but he tried to keep them from his face. Peter knew the odds, but Jackie didn't need "Surgeon Peter," she just needed "Peter" right now.
"What is taking them so long?" he spat as he continued to pace.
The elevator dinged. Three men stepped off, the same stance. The same faces. Typical surgeon look.
"Peter." Anspaugh greeted him gently.
"Dr. Anspaugh." he nodded back, anxious to get this over with.
"Sit down." The older man's eyes were full of sleep, but nothing else.
"How is he?" Peter badgered as he managed to find a seat next to Jackie. She looked at the men, grabbing her brother's hand, and preparing for the worst.
"Robert, Dr. Dubenko, and I operated on your nephew. "
The other surgeon''s kept their emotions in check as Robert looked at the floor, and Dubenko fiddled with his glasses.
"He's recovering now. Surgery was a success, all thanks to my colleagues," Donald pointed to the other gentlemen, lingering on Robert while smiling slightly. "We can especially thank Robert. He repaired Jessie's left ventricle without looking at it and while holding it shut."
Robert blushed at the compliment, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the recognition, the room seemed to be a thousand degrees.
Peter glanced at Dr. Romano, and nodded, unable to say anything. The short surgeon took that as Peter's way of saying thank you—he'd never heard Peter say it in the two years he'd known him.
Jackie wailed in happiness and relief, jumping out of the chair and hugging each one of the surgeons as she mumbled her gratitude. She held onto Dr. Romano a little longer than the rest of them, squeezing him tightly in appreciation. The doctor with the gold stethoscope awkwardly patted her back, startled by affection that he hadn't received in a very very long time. Donald laughed at Robert's discomfort and Dubenko chatted for a bit with Peter.
"Come on, let's take you guys up to see him." Donald said after a few minutes, saving the crimson-faced man.
The two followed the veteran and newbie to the elevator.
Robert walked down the hall, trying to recover.
He closed his eyes, sighing. A pair of lips closed on his, and he knew he must have been dreaming.
"I missed you," the voice whispered against his lips. Warm arms comforted him.
Robert opened his eyes. "I missed you, too."
Elizabeth held him. "I heard about what happened. That was very sweet of you." she smiled dreamily at him.
"I just did my job, Lizzie." he replied, suddenly desiring to be alone with her wrapped in his arms in the safety of his house. "You off, yet?"
"Yep. All done." she smiled against his neck. "You?"
"My shift ended four hours ago." He tried to fight off the yawn, but Elizabeth felt it.
"Come on, let's go. We'll stay in tonight." she took his hand, and he opened his mouth to protest.
"I won't have any of it. You're knackered and I like staying in with you," she raised her eyebrows suggestively. He snorted, his feet unable to move. She pulled him along. "I'll cook, and you can just relax tonight."
"That sounds nice," he sang the last word, lost in his own thoughts as she drug him to his car, and opened the passenger side door. She shoved him inside, ignoring his protests, and shut the door. Walking around to the other side, she got in, started the engine, and sped out of the garage.
Robert was asleep in five minutes, softly snoring beside her as his head drooped. Elizabeth laughed and headed to his house. She'd only stayed there a few times in the last few months, but she was beginning to love it.
When they arrived, Gretel greeted them and she managed to maneuver him up the stairs and into bed. She pulled the covers up, and kissed his forehead, setting off to fix dinner, hopeful that she would soon call this place home. Home was where the heart is, and her heart was deeply, firmly, Robert's. And that's where she was determined to stay.
