A/N: Foundation Year 1 is equivalent to intern year for US medical residents - a year of general medicine building on what they learned in medical school. Since John had an Army cadetship at medical school, he'll do Foundation Year 1 before beginning full-time military duties. Adrenaline (aka epinephrine) is a drug used to stimulate the heart in cardiac arrest.


John's first night shift of foundation year starts slow; A&E merely seems full of kids with the sniffles. At 2100, things change.

The ambulance arrives with a man in cardiac arrest. EMTs wheel the patient in, ventilating him as they go. The patient is a 60-year-old man who collapsed at a local pub. Bystanders started CPR ten minutes ago. Staff flood into the patient's room. The charge nurse brings in the crash cart, and as one nurse gives chest compressions, John directs two other nurses to line up and be prepared to relieve her. The young doctor takes a deep breath to control the shaking in his voice.

Chest compressions. John orders adrenaline. No pulse. More compressions. More adrenaline. No pulse. John orders a fluid bolus. No pulse. More compressions. More adrenaline. No pulse. More compressions. More adrenaline. No pulse.

John asks, "How long have we been at it?"

"Thirty minutes, Doctor."

(30 minutes here and ten in the field. He's gone.) "Anyone object to calling the code?"

Silence.

"Right. I'm calling it. Time of death 2136."

John walks to the family room, shoulders sagging. The man's wife and children are there, praying for a miracle, and he must tell them that it did not occur. His greatest fear is that it was his fault.