A treat! 2 in one day! LOL Sorry guys. I started a new job and I absolutely love it but it's taking all of my energy. Also, so is GTA Online. (foxiemainah) *oops*
"What do we got?" I asked loudly as I entered the ER.
Dr. Torres handed me a chart, barking, "Bed ten, Swan. Thanks for finally showing up."
I squinted at her as she huffed off to the next patient, choosing to ignore her attitude and head over to see what bed ten had for me.
Drawing the curtain back, I introduced myself before looking up, "Hi there, Tony, I'm Dr. Swan. What brings you here tonight?" I looked up and saw a young man with a red face and red tinged eyes. His forehead was mottled with sweat drops and I immediately pulled a N95 mask from the cart and pulled gloves on. He looked to be around twenty seven and his long brown hair was stuck to his forehead and neck. The white tee he wore had stains on it, as if he'd been sick. He smelled as if he had been.
"Fever, aches, pains." Tony gasped and hugged his side. "Vomiting. I don't know what's going on, Doc but I'm worried. I never go to the hospital." He gasped some more, eager to take in the required breath he needed.
"Easy there, tiger. Here." I handed him an oxygen mask and directed the nurse on the course of medicine I wanted him started on. "And don't forget the saline drip. He's going to get dehydrated fast if he keeps sweating like this." I checked his temperature and listened to his lungs. "You definitely have a fever. It's too high. Let's get him cooled down." I said loudly to the nurse.
Before the nurse had even finished inserting Tony's IV, his blue eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started seizing. The commotion erupted around us as we worked to secure him and his airway.
"Take him up to CT and give me the results ASAP." I snapped at the nurse and my intern, Ducks.
"Right away, Dr. Swan." Ducks said as he followed the nurse and grabbed Tony's hospital bed, leading them down the hallway to the elevators.
Ducks was one of my favorite interns. He is a first year, short, chubby, and keeps a red stubble beard and shaved head. He's smart as a whip and faster than I would have thought a chubby guy could be. He doesn't let anything slow him down and he studies. I can tell he studies because he's never wrong when I ask him questions. He reminds me of me during my intern year. I was determined that he get the proper training that I had so he can be just as good as I am.
I jumped in on a case with Dr. Hunt as I waited for Tony to get back from CT and after an hour, I found myself in front of Ducks as Tony was wheeled into surgery.
"What the hell happened?" I snapped as Ducks stopped in front of me. He never let my anger bother him.
"CT showed his stomach had pushed up into his diaphragm, most likely caused by the force of his vomiting. He's prepped and ready for you and Dr. Grey, ma'am."
I rolled my eyes at the respectable name and clapped him on the shoulder as we started walking toward the operating room. "You're scrubbing in." I had done several hiatal hernias through the course of this program so far. Hopefully, Grey would step aside and let me work. I was eager to prove to her that I could pull this off without an attending.
We worked fast and once I was scrubbed and in the OR with Ducks, I reassured Tony once more before I directed the anesthesiologist to put him under. I saw they were all set up for the Nissen procedure and nodded. It would be better if I could get this done laparoscopically. It meant a quicker recovery and less risk of infection for Tony.
"Where's Dr. Grey?" I asked, when I looked and didn't see her scrubbing in.
"Dr. Grey had an emergency." One of the OR nurses said timidly.
"So who the hell is going to be doing this surgery?" I demanded hotly. I knew I could do it myself as I had countless times but there was always supposed to be an attending present when a resident did surgery.
"That'd be me, Dr. Swan. Good evening." Carlisle's smooth voice glided over my skin, raising goosebumps.
I watched as slyly as I could as the OR nurse pushed gloves onto his pale hands and tied his mask onto the crown of his head. As he sidled up beside me, he asked what we were doing and to fill him in. I did so and when I looked over at him, just a few inches to my right, he winked. I was glad of the mask I wore, so he couldn't see my blush.
"Shall you do the honors? I assume you've repaired a hiatal hernia before?" Dr. Cullen asked.
"I have, sir. Several of them." I stated confidently.
"Have at it then. Let's see how she does, eh Dr. Samson?" He asked Ducks.
"Yes sir, happy to watch, sir."
I smirked behind my mask as I asked Bokhee for a scalpel and got to work.
"Suction, Ducks."
Ducks placed the suction tube in the small incision I made and cleared the area for me.
"Ducks?" I could hear the amusement in Carlisle's voice.
"He quacks. Like a duck." I said shortly, concentrating on my work, referring to the way he sounded when he said 'yea' to answer any positive question. "Oh crap." I sighed as I saw the damage inside the small incision I'd made. The camera couldn't get anywhere near the hernia.
"What is it?" Dr. Cullen asked, reading my tone.
I shook my head in exasperation. "I've gotta open him up. What do you think, Dr. Cullen?"
Dr. Cullen leaned over towards me to get a better look before nodding. "I agree."
"Let's prep for an open surgery." I demanded. "Remove the trocars. Ducks, suction."
As I opened him up further, Ducks leaned over Tony's body to see why I couldn't finish the repair laparoscopically.
"Oh goodness." Dr. Cullen sighed.
"That's...Not...Is that?" Ducks stuttered, his eyes large.
"That is what cancer tumors look like, Ducks. He's got stomach cancer. A lot of it." I sighed. "I'm going to fix his hernia and I want you to go out there, Ducks and call Tony's family. You're going to call them, tell them that we need to get this out. I can get it out. But they need to give consent." My voice was sharp, disappointed as I was for the young man on my table.
I never took my eyes off the surgery field as I directed my intern.
"Yes, ma'am." His feet carried him quickly from the OR, stripping his gown, mask, and gloves as he went.
I rolled my eyes again but didn't say anything about it. "Now, hand me the three oh prolene and gastronomy tube please, Bokhee."
By the time Ducks returned with Tony's wife's consent, I was able to get most of the tumors from his abdomen. They were tiny, marble sized mets that had migrated down from his esophagus, and I had gotten those too, under Dr. Cullen's direction. His skilled hands and knowledgeable advice proved to be exactly the right skill set that I needed. He didn't stutter, falter, or get flustered. Even when Tony's sats dropped and I had to stop to massage his heart, Carlisle remained cool and in control.
I aspire to be like him.
"Well done in there, Dr. Swan." Dr. Cullen praised as both we and Ducks scrubbed out.
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I smiled, keeping my eyes on my hands as I scrubbed them clean.
When I finished drying my hands, I swiped the blue towel across my forehead with a sigh.
"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." I said as the three of us exited the scrub room.
Ducks smiled as he looked between us, a glint coming into his gaze. "I'd love one, Dr. Swan. Would I be so forward to call you Bella?" He asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're lucky I like you Ducks. Get out of here. Go get some rest." I jested with him, nudging him away with a fist to his shoulder. "And if you call me Bella again, you'll be on scut for a month." I said sweetly.
"Yes ma'am." He nodded as he hurried away to find an on-call room to sleep in.
"That was mean." Carlisle chuckled.
"It was appropriate. No one calls me Bella here. I don't even know if many people know my first name." I smiled.
We walked down the hallway, away from the OR and got on the elevator to take us to the ground floor. I swayed as the elevator came to a stop and Carlisle's hand found my elbow.
"Are you alright?" His concern touched me.
"I'm fine." I wiped my forehead again, the back of my hand coming away sticky. "I just need some sleep." I assured him.
He did not look convinced as we exited the hospital after waving our goodbyes to our colleagues who were scheduled to actually work tonight. I would never understand why they page so many extra people when there's no need of it. Someone is always in the way.
I waited for traffic to ease up before crossing the street, surprised that Carlisle was walking with me.
"Come to walk me home, Doctor?" I asked with amusement.
He smiled at me but I could see the concern lingering in his eyes.
"Well, my hire car is still here," he pointed to the black car still parked outside Joe's. "And I need to make sure you get home okay. You're swaying, sweating, and your heart is pounding."
It wasn't until that moment that I realized he was right. But…
"How could you possibly know my heart is pounding?" I asked him, stopping beside his hire car and turning to face him.
A quick flash of something passed over his face and he almost looked chagrined. "I can see your artery throbbing from here." He pointed out before tracing said artery with his fingertip.
My heart threatened to leap out of my chest right there, ready to flop onto the cold concrete as he touched me so delicately. The world spun and I was suddenly in his arms. The thick cords of muscles along his forearms were like heaven as I wrapped my fingers around them to keep myself upright. I wasn't clinging long before Carlisle swept me up into his arms and jogged up the stairs to my apartment.
"What are you doing?" I protested indignantly. "Put me down. I can walk!" I said, digging for my keys from my pants pocket.
It was difficult to acquire from this bridal position I've been put in and I wriggled around too much. Thankfully, Carlisle didn't drop me. He quickly grabbed the keys from my hand once I'd grasped them and unlocked my apartment door. I wasn't even sure how he knew which one was mine. There are three up here.
"You belong in bed. You're starting a fever and you're sweating. You're coming down with something." His voice was tender yet demanding as he told me what to do.
"Oh great. I hope you don't catch it." I muttered as he deposited me gently on the bed.
Carlisle chuckled. "I will be just fine, I assure you."
I wasn't sure how he could assure me of that but the bed felt awful comfy and I snuggled down underneath the comforter as he disappeared for a moment. I heard water from the sink and watched as he walked back into my bedroom slash living room. Setting a clear glass of water on my end stand beside me, Carlisle smiled and brushed his palm over my forehead.
"You're so beautiful." His smile grew as I snorted derisively. "You are. Even flushed and sweaty as you are right now. Here's some acetaminophen. Take it. I will check on you in the morning before my shift."