Chapter 56: DOCTOR DOWN

Maya's POV

"Maya a word," Doctor Leighton says from behind.

I knew what this was and I had been dreading it. It had been a relatively quiet tonight so I was surprised he hadn't grabbed me sooner. Jesse gives me a sympathetic look and I unwillingly follow Doctor Leighton into the staff lounge knowing full well Doctor Rorish wasn't here to protect me.

"We need to talk about yesterday," He says.

"What do you want to say?" I say knowing it was better to let him lead the conversation.

"You made a stupid mistake yesterday," He says. "One that cost a life."

"I know using the Xoliar was a bad decision but do you really know if it was that that killed him? He could have been haemorrhaging when we came in. Which meant if he was, we were probably not going to be able to help him," I say. This reasoning was the only reason I got even a couple hours of sleep last night.

"We can't prove that," He snaps.

"And you can't prove that it was the Xoliar that caused the haemorrhaging," I bite back. I was not going to roll over.

"Is that how you see it? As an accident? Is that how you cope? In denial? Because if you are denying it, it's going to come crashing down."

"No. I feel guilty as all hell as a child died in my care. That I couldn't save him despite my best efforts," I say sternly as I start to get annoyed. "But then again you can't say I'm denial when in actual fact it's you who's denying responsibility."

"Excuse me?"

"You are the one who left a first year resident alone with a severe trauma," I say. I was not letting him pin this all on me. Yeah some of it was my fault but some it was also very much his.

"Don't try to pin this on me. Doctor Rorish told me you were a good doctor," He snaps.

"I'm not pinning it on you. Just making a statement," I say sweetly pushing my anger back.

Before he can reply a nurse bursts in. Thank goodness.

"Doctor Leighton we need your help out here," She says.

"This isn't over," He says and then walks out.

I take a few deep breaths calming myself before following behind.

I manage to get through the rest of the shift without running into Doctor Leighton again. It was a long shift with the stream of patients seemingly never ending.

Who am I kidding? The stream of patients never ended.

I slowly make my way to the locker room my shift finally over when I hear yelling. Yelling that sounded like Christa.

"HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!"

I dash into the locker room and find Christa quickly. My heart drops when I see her.

Next to her was Doctor Perello lying in a pool of her own blood. Her dress was soaked and she was barely breathing. Christa was barely moving and very obviously in shock.

I instantly go into doctor mode.

"Christa get help!" I say yanking off my scrub top leaving me in only my Under-Armour.

I quickly crouch down getting blood on my scrub bottoms but I ignore it. I was glad my sleeves were pushed up. I apply pressure to Doctor Perello's stomach but I barely make an affect. She moans quietly in response.

Christa doesn't move.

"Christa go get help! Get a stretcher!" I say more sternly.

She shakes out of it and runs out of the locker room slipping slightly on her way out. I quickly check Doctor Perello's pulse. Weak but there. Then with one hand check breath sounds. Still slightly strong.

"Doctor Perello can you hear me?"

"Cameron?" She mumbles quietly.

"Hey, yeah it's me," I say keeping the pressure. "What happened?"

"Gordon… Heshman" She stutters out. "Malaya…"

She loses consciousness just as a stretcher comes in. I check her pulse. Nothing.

Crap!

"Patient is female mid-forties. Multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen and mass amount of blood loss. We have no pulse," I ring off as I help get her onto the gurney. Doctor Leighton is looking at me in shock and Doctor Lorenson still looks to be still slightly in shock.

"Maya remove the scrub top. Let me see the damage," Doctor Leighton says. I do as I'm told and quickly put on gloves as I keep up.

"We need security in here now!" I say to one of the nurses as Doctor Leighton starts to yell what we need when we reach centre stage. "We are looking for Gordon Heshman. We also need to find Doctor Pineda. Her life is at risk."

"Yes Doctor Cameron," She says and rushes off.

"Cameron chest tube now!" Doctor Leighton says. "I need to intubate her!"

"Yes Doctor Leighton," I say taking the package with the instruments for it from a nurse beside me.

The chest tube was difficult. There's a lot of blood and broken bone and it takes all I have to stay calm. My hands were shaking but I manage. The lung regains some functionality but it's not before I get covered in more blood and more complications arise.

"Has anyone done a clam shell before?" Doctor Leighton says.

"I have," I say but I get distracted by Malaya coming in screaming and on a gurney with Doctor Hudson and Jesse.

"Malaya calm down. You're okay," Jesse says but that's not backed up as another gurney comes through.

With Gordon Heshman on it.

I stare in shock losing focus.

"Maya, you're the only of the residents who knows what they are doing," Doctor Leighton says as the chaos continues. "Deep breaths! Focus on me!"

I nod and take a few shaky breaths before I allow a nurse to help into a gown. I quickly change my gloves and take the scalpel off Doctor Leighton who begins cutting away Gina's dress. As soon as he gives me the clear and the area is sterile enough I start to make incisions. I barely get finished before Doctor Pinkey comes bursting in.

"You called a TTA… What the hell is going on?" She exclaims. "We can get you a place in seven minutes."

"We don't have seven minutes Doctor Pinkey!" Doctor Leighton says handing me the separators. I could hear Christa working on Heshman. I felt ill. "You can either help us or leave."

"You're letting Cameron do this!?" She exclaims. I grit my teeth carrying on with the procedure. "She's not trained! I'm calling Campbell!"

"Go right ahead!" Leighton yells. He then turns to me with a softer tone. "What's the damage?"

"Nicked everything," I say. "Liver and kidney damage fixable, nicked digestive tract, splenectomy needed and damage to the lungs. Not sure about the heart."

"Start repairing what you can!" He says. "Neal, get over here!"

I watch as Doctor Hudson rushes over as I get to work. As soon as he's gowned he jumps in but ten seconds later Campbell appears.

I hate Heather.

"What the hell is going on!?" Campbell yells.

"Perello got stabbed. No ORs available," Doctor Leighton says.

"Procedure states…"

"Screw procedure!" He yells. "Now stop standing there and actually help!"

It's not long before Campbell jumps in however Perello's vitals are dropping fast. Before we can react her heart stops completely.

"Maya! CPR please!" Doctor Hudson says.

I move quickly passing over what I was doing to Campbell and start CPR. I go for nearly a minute before we try the pedals. But nothing.

We try for over ten minutes. We try to resuscitate her.

We try.

And we fail.

"Time of death four twenty three AM," Doctor Leighton says as I step down. Breathing heavily and covered in sweat and blood.

I look around me at the chaos. Christa and Angus were working on Heshman. Malaya was gone to be treated by Mario. Doctor Perello was lying in front of me covered in her own blood and cut open. Doctor Perello was lying in front of me dead.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Heshman being wheeled away. I felt ill. It wasn't right. It wasn't freaking right.

"Hospital procedure states that in the event of any extreme circumstances those involved are to be taken off shift and remain in the hospital," Doctor Hudson says. "As it is a Code Black attendings can stay on as well as Senior nurses. Any Residents and so on have to stay away from patients."

Everyone gives a series of yes's and nods. I start to shake slightly as I realise the magnitude of the situation and I have to concentrate on my breathing to stop myself from freaking out.

"At the moment, nobody can go into the locker room," Doctor Hudson continues. "Until it's cleared by the police nobody is to go in there, so anyone who has just been taken off the shift please go to the staff lounge or someplace else in the hospital while keeping your pagers on."

I barely hear him this time. As something dawns on me.

"Who's going to… who's going to call the morgue?" I whisper.

"I will," Doctor Leighton says. "Nobody touch her but cover her up. Let's regain some of her dignity."

We all stand in shock for a while. Campbell and Heather are the first to leave. Then Angus and Doctor Leighton. Eventually everyone filters out leaving me and Christa. I pull off the gown and gloves revealing my hands to be covered in blood as well as my trousers and top. I start to shake uncontrollably.

Me and Christa had been opposites. She was now reasonable while I was the one losing it.

"Let's get you out of here and cleaned up," Christa says quietly "We both need cleaned up."

I nod and follow her numbly out of centre stage as it dawns on me.

The ER director was dead.

Doctor Gina Perello was dead.