Chapter 8-Courage

Hi Folks,

So after a huge huge gap, i am back to this story and i am determined to complete it. So here it goes.

Chapter-8

Kotoko recovered swiftly from the injury and all was well in the Irie household. Kotoko progressed well into her second trimester. All was happy and well for a few days.

It was time for the tri-monthly medical camps, and with doctors out on camp duty, the hospital was quite under-staffed, but it was still a managable situation. But still, the workload was very heavy, especially for a surgeon like Naoki, whose genius IQ is demanded for, everywhere. On top of that, he also has to keep an eye on his dear clumsy wife Kotoko, who is known for her tripping and falling. Life was highly hectic for Naoki.

Life was not easy for Kotoko either. With slight pregnancy complications and managing work, she had a hard time. She felt highly fatigued all the time and couldn't do chores with the ease she used to do the jobs before the pregnancy. After a few days, Kotoko was advised to take offs if she felt tired.

The start of a new week, with shortage of staff and heavy inflow of patients, became a no new scene. But no one knew that this week was going to be very different and interesting for the hospital, and to be precise, for our power couple. Monday had tired out Kotoko so much that it increased Naoki's concern. After consultation with Ibe sensei, it was decided that Kotoko will work only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Though it was to make things a bit more worse for the hospital management, it was nevertheless granted.

The next morning, as Kotoko gave Naoki a goodbye hug and kiss (which he is not very fond of, by the way),Naoki recived a call from the hospital. There had been a major road accident, a school bus and a lorry clashed. As the hospital was the very nearby hospital, the injured were being brought there. And they had also requested Kotoko to join duty. Naoki was weary of the idea, but Kotoko reassured him that everything will be fine, and quickly got ready. Together, the couple rushed to the hospital and went straight to the emergency wards.

The hospital was in a huge chaos. There were children screaming in pain and parents were frantically searching for their kids. Naoki, as surgeon went in for a surgery immediately with Kotoko as his scrub. The day went on and on for the hospital, and the injured seem to be coming in masses. Kotoko and the other nurses, ran from ward to ward, administering medicines, doing first-aid, bandaging the wounds and taking care of patients. And it was more nerveracking for Naoki, as he is one of the few pediatric surgeons available and he has alrady gone for six surgeries straight.

First, was a four year old kid, with broken chest bones. Naoki acted faster, but at the same time, was careful enough to do it perfectly. As soon as that was done, another child with a cracked skull was brought in. He had no other scrub other than Kotoko. Kotoko also cooperated, and was his scrub for the first few surgeries of his. Naoki was concerned, but he had other vying matters to concentrate on, so he put other thoughts aside and became the surgeon once again.

Finally, as the day passed, the situation was brought under control. The slightly injured were sent home, and asked to come for a review during the end of the week. The slightly serious ones were shifted to wards and the ICU was filled with the surgical patients. The doctors and nurses were proud of themselves for managing the situation well. At the nurses station, only tired faces could be seen, but one face was particularly more tired. Kotoko, was damn tired, but was a happy person, because she had done her job upto her best. As she got up from the sofa, to attend a nurse call, she lost balance and would have almost fell, when strong hands, that belonged to her husband.

"Kotoko, kotoko, are you fine",asked Naoki. "Hai, Irie-kun. Its just that i couldn't eat anything in between, so i felt dizzy",Kotoko replied. Naoki checked the time. She had gone without food for more than eight hours. He was angry at her for this, but at the same time, he also felt proud of his wife, a nurse who thought of other's life before hers.

He slowly made her sit and got her some juice to drink and started massaging her feet, despite Kotoko's protests. While massaging her feet, the juice glass touched his lips. "Irie-kun, drink some. You have also not eaten anything since morning", Kotoko said. Naoki was taken aback. She was the only one who could think about him, even when she herself wasn't in a good condition. Knowing that she is not going to leave him without drinking, he took a sip and insisted she complete the rest. After she felt a bit better, Naoki informed his seniors that he is leaving and can be contacted anytime, in case of emergency or relapses. The couple made their way back home.

The way back home was also not easy. Due to the accident, roads were blocked and it was a long way home. Both of them reached home, dead tired. The entire Irie household was awake and anxious to see them. Okasan, Otousan, Aihara-san and even Yuuki, fussed about them, feeding them until they were unable to move. Then the entire family went to bed.

Naoki helped Kotoko into her night wear and the couple slept immediately. But before sleeping, he did whisper to Kotoko that he was very proud of his wife, who was a very courageous nurse today. The comment put a wide smile on her face It was a tiring day, and though they didn't speak anything the entire day, they both supported each other silently, as no words are needed for this unique and pure relationship. But yeah, it was a trying day.

So finally i am done with a new chapter. Proof read, but still sorry for the typos...Please r&r

Hugs

Jan