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"Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other."

-Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Chapter 14: Serenity

Yumi opened her eyes—it was already morning. But although she couldn't exactly pinpoint it, something felt off to her. She rolled over, only to feel the warmth of another body.

It was Ulrich—and he was shirtless. How-

They were drinking at the bar yesterday, and when it got late they took a cab together and—oh no. Did they-? She couldn't get her memories straight before the handsome colleague laying next to her opened his eyes. He gazed at her.

A tired smile graced his perfect lips. "Morning.." he mumbled.

Yumi instantly narrowed her eyes. "Hey, why are you-"

"When I'm next to you, sleeping is so easy," he said. Before she knew it, Ulrich's face got closer and closer. She could feel his breath blowing softly against her face.

"Stop!"

Surprised by her own voice, Yumi shot straight up from her bed. No one was laying next to her—it was only a dream. She quickly relaxed and glanced at the clock.

Yumi was supposed to meet Odd at 7 AM in Internal Medicine.

The raven-haired doctor was about to enter the office and put down her things when she heard voices coming from inside the room. Curious, she inched closer, pressing her ear against the door:

"Why would you do something like that.."

"Asking why won't change a thing.."

It sounded like Jeremie and the chief surgeon. She could easily distinguish the professional tone of Jeremie and the shrill tone of the chief's. It seemed to her that the bespectacled doctor was back from the US. Regardless, she decided to enter the room, but-

"I will perform Ms. Perraudin's operation, okay?" said Jeremie. She creased her forehead in confusion—why him?

But the chief responded calmly, "Dr. Stern asked we wait for him to consider his answer."

There was a sigh. "Dr. Stern shouldn't be on this surgery. Why would you even assign it to him?" Yumi pursed her lips together. Was Jeremie trying to protect Ulrich? She had never heard him so distraught.

"We needed a well-qualified doctor to take the place of the director."

"But Dr. Stern of all people!" Yumi could hear Jeremie's footsteps—he was pacing now. He stated exasperatedly, "You're just an outsider who came here from an affiliated university hospital."

There was a pause. "And so?"

"There are things about this hospital that you can't ever understand... Tell Dr. Stern to forget that this ever came up."

Jeremie and everyone else had protected Ulrich up until now. They didn't want him to perform the operation that his own father failed at. But while it was understandable, Ulrich wasn't even the one who made the mistake. They were being awfully protective about it.

Yumi headed for Internal Medicine anyway. "Sorry I'm late," she said.

Ulrich was standing beside Odd. "Good morning, Yumi," said the blond.

"Why is Dr. Stern here?"

"Since I called like a madman last night, Ulrich called me back when he saw the long call history," he answered, patting Ulrich's back. Ulrich had no reaction, as if he was used to this type of interaction with Odd.

"I'll just be assisting," Ulrich spoke with his usual impassive expression. "You'll be the operating surgeon, as planned."

"I think the patients would prefer it if you performed it," Yumi bluntly stated. And it was the truth.

"So you weren't being serious when you agreed to do it?" Ulrich frowned at her—his normal self had returned. But when she looked at him, she only recalled what he looked like when he was with her in the taxi, asleep.

"When I'm with you, I'm able to sleep." What was that all about?

"Here, the chart," smiled Odd. Yumi nodded and clumsily took it from his hands once she realized she was looking at Ulrich all this time. "You seem kind of spacey. Is everything okay?"

"Of course." She swallowed thickly.

"Let's take you two to the patient's room."

As the trio walked down the hall, Yumi could feel Ulrich's eyes burning into her back. She wondered if he was able to sleep after he got home last night, without the pills. She couldn't stop thinking of him, and that dream was to blame.

In attempt to forget her feelings, she flipped through the chart in her hands when suddenly, Odd whispered into her ear.

"Hey, so.. what happened last night?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, running a hand through her hair. This was honestly becoming frustrating.

"You were together, right? With Ulrich."

"We just bumped into each other."

He snickered at her feeble answer. "Okay, okay, I get it."

Yumi shook her head. She only wanted to improve her position in getting revenge on the director by getting close to Ulrich. There was no room for distraction. She had to keep it together.

Yumi hadn't seen Ulrich at all after that. It was nighttime. She retreated to the office to place the "out" card next to her name.

Next to Ulrich's was "on duty." He hadn't left the hospital yet.

But she hadn't seen him anywhere. Where could he be? She found herself leisurely checking some empty rooms. She felt the thought of him tugging at her heartstrings. Could he be out back at the stairwell? She was about to go there when she noticed a dim light coming from the conference room up ahead. Could Ulrich be inside?

Yumi quietly opened the door to a dark room. Immediately blinding her eyes was the image of backlit X-rays. Less protruding was a man's dark figure. It was Ulrich.. with Ms. Perraudin's X-rays. She was about to call out to him, to make sure he was alright, but she quickly decided against it.

Looking at his back, Yumi got the feeling that he was trying to shut out the rest of the world.

She tried to close the door softly.

"Dr. Ishiyama..?" someone murmured.

Yumi kept her back to him, clenching her hands. "I always seem to be interrupting, huh?" she laughed.

"No, it's fine." Yumi turned around and found Ulrich removing the X-rays. She noticed his hands were trembling as he gingerly held them.

"Dr. Stern.. your hands are shaking.." Ulrich pulled his hands away, but Yumi was faster and grabbed hold of them. She flinched—they were so cold. "I-I'm sorry.."

Yumi was about to retract her hands, but it was Ulrich who took hold of them this time. His larger hands wrapped perfectly around her smaller ones. "Could you stay with me a little while..?" he asked quietly, a troubled look on his face.

How sensitive, he really was. "Dr. Stern-"

"I feel calmer when you're here."

Yumi squeezed his hand in response. Although she didn't want to admit it, it was the same for her. Being together like this—she didn't feel as nervous about performing her mother's operation.

But the day arrived too quickly.

"Move the patient from Internal Medicine to Surgery," requested Ulrich authoritatively. This was it. It was time for Ms. Perraudin's operation. "Then prepare the operating room and nurses."

"Yes, sir," replied Emily. "I will be the operating room nurse this time."

He nodded back. "Dr. Ishiyama will give you the details."

"Dr. Stern, you really trust Dr. Ishiyama, don't you?" pointed out Anais.

"I'm sure there's nothing special about that," Yumi denied.

"That's not true." Anais grinned. "You two match so well. You're like the powerhouse team of Montpellier General Hospital!"

"That's right." Emily nodded stiffly. "But for now, you need to support Dr. Stern at this surgery."

Yumi noticed that there was something strange about the way everyone was so nervous about this particular operation. Was it because it was supposed to be the director's? Or was it because of his past mistake?

Nevertheless, despite all their worries, and despite all their fears, Ulrich and Yumi got through it without any problems.

Post-operation, the woman went up to the roof for a quiet retreat. The evening breeze felt amazing to her as it caressed her short locks of dark hair. Quickly she could feel all the tension melting away from her body.

"Mom, I got through one more obstacle. I did it." Smiling up at the stars, she thought of how proud her mother must be. She was also relieved it went well for Ulrich, too.

"The operation was a success, thanks to you," he said. A couple minutes ago, he decided to follow her up here, and now he stood beside her. "I'm glad I did it."

"I'm happy to hear that," she responded. "Because of you, I was able to face my fears." Ulrich was afraid of the surgery at which his father committed a terrible error. And she was afraid of the surgery to which she lost her mother.

Ulrich had no idea that they were tormented by the same operation. Yet—fate let it be that they performed it together, and perfectly, too.

Yumi stole a glance sideways and suddenly realized that Ulrich was staring in her direction. His eyes were so gentle, so kind. They pierced through her entire soul. When eyes like that were looking at her, what could she do? Losing the strength that she was so desperately clinging onto, she lowered her gaze—but Ulrich brushed a hand against her hair.

She realized that only he had that effect on her. "You seem different than usual," he said with concern, creasing his forehead.

Her heart was practically beating out of her chest. How could he expect her to act normally when he was acting like this all of a sudden? "You should avoid me after an operation," she fibbed. She inwardly cringed at how pathetic she was being. "My hair is a mess, and I'm all sweaty. I-"

Ulrich removed his hand. "I didn't think you were the type to care about that."

He caught her. What was Yumi going to do? Her face felt so warm, and he was bound to notice. She lifted her head and laughed it off to hide her agitation.

The warmth and comfort that was emanating from Ulrich left her feeling limp, as he gently wrapped a hand around her shoulder to pull her closer to him. She felt helpless, and before she knew it, she found herself yielding to him. "Dr. Stern?"

Yumi's lips stopped moving mid-sentence, sealed by Ulrich's. She didn't know when it happened. But they were kissing. In sudden disbelief, she stood with her feet planted to the ground, unable to move.

Yumi wanted to stop him because it was wrong—oh, so wrong—but...

She quickly mustered the courage, and kissed him back. His soft, but aggressive lips parted her own, sending tremors down her spine. She clung onto Ulrich—the only enduring form in her disorderly and headstrong world—with a fervor she had never known.