XXII
NICO
For Nico, Will had always been a ball of sunshine, glowing so brightly every single day. Nico had once thought that nothing or no one could ever knock that brightness out of Will no matter what the circumstances could be. But of course, Will could be unpredictable as the weather. One second it was a sunny day then it was cloudy and soon it would rain. The sun would hide behind the thick clouds and the brightness would eventually fade. That was what it had seemed like seeing Will broke down in the heliport the other day. Even if Nico's heart was already dead, the center of his chest hurt so much when he had seen Will alone in that cold ground, crying his heart out. Nico had felt helpless and he had badly wanted to ease Will's pain but he hadn't known how. All he could have done was to hold Will as firmer as he could. Because when everything around Will had been falling apart, Nico had needed to be the strong one holding the broken pieces together.
"Done checking me out?" Will raised an eyebrow at Nico after he had changed into a scrub shirt.
Nico was sitting on a steel bench in the locker room of JHH.
"Did I ever tell you that you look more handsome in scrubs?" Nico tilted his head.
Will threw his head back in laughter. There, his smiling and ever radiant sunshine. Nico smiled too.
"I believe you haven't until seconds ago." Will shook his head. He picked up his scrub cap and mask in the locker and then he closed the locker door behind.
"I'm glad you're smiling again," Nico said.
"But I'm terrified inside," Will said quietly tying his scrub cap around his head.
Right. After so much discussion of the pros and cons, they had decided to do the surgery today. They couldn't risk another cardiac arrest so they would proceed with the surgery, which was a risk too since Naomi could die during the surgery. Nico couldn't tell Will how much aura of death was surrounding Naomi. It was so thick that Nico was having doubts if she could fight it. Yet he had to hope, there was still Will's glowing trick.
"The Fates must have spared me earlier." Will continued, this time tying the mask around his neck. "Even for a short time, mom was conscious earlier. She was always asleep because of the drugs administered to her and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to talk to her-" Will paused, exhaling. "Well, as much as I want to scold her for not telling me about her condition, all I could say was that I love her. Even then it felt like there are still a lot of things I need to say to her. . ."
"You can tell her when she wakes up after the surgery," Nico said.
Will exhaled again. He looked like he was having trouble getting the words out of his mouth. "Nico, I am a doctor. I know the possibilities and the painful thing is, the worst possibilities are dominating all the good ones. But I can't just stand there and do nothing. As a surgeon, I don't have any other choice but to face those risks when it comes to surgery. I don't have any other choice but to keep my wits together for the sake of my mother."
Nico materialized in front of Will and held his hand. "You'll be able to overcome this no matter what. We all believe in what you can do. Besides, you still have a back-up plan."
Will's glowing trick.
The two of them talked about it and it was their last option when everything else failed.
"You can do this." Nico squeezed Will's hand.
Will was standing beside the operating table where Naomi Solace was anesthetized to sleep. Will was going to be assisted by Dr. Lee Fletcher. Lou was also there scrubbing in. Up in the spectator seat was Kayla, Cecil and some other doctors including Dr. Carter. Nico had materialized in the corner inside the OR, invisible to everyone else.
Will silently nodded at Nico. Nico nodded back for assurance.
"All right." Will squared his shoulders, like a soldier going to war. Yes, there was a war, of life and death. Nico was going to bet all the fortunes of the Underworld that Will was going to fight with all he had got to win this one.
"Naomi Solace, here we go. Scalpel please."
Lou handed him the scalpel and it began.
The operation went for seven hours. The anesthesiologist changed the shift with one another. Some of the scrub attendants were already sitting on the floor due to exhaustion. Yet Lou remained standing next to Will. Nico also remained on the same spot in the corner of the OR. The death angel could already see the faint glow that Will emitted fighting the aura of death surrounding Naomi. Nico couldn't help but be in awe of the sight of Will.
Will was extraordinarily stunning. Nico became more hopeful that all was going to be well.
But of course, things started to go wrong.
Blood suddenly spurt out from the open chest cavity staining Will's scrub suit. That awoke and alerted all the attendants inside the OR. Will's glow became brighter.
"Inject epinephrine and increase oxygen concentration," Will ordered.
"BP going down on 60." Dr. Fletcher warned, who was on the other side of the operating table.
"Get me a defibrillator," Will commanded again. The glow around him was pulsating with life, fighting and warding off the aura of death that continued to envelop Naomi. Nico was frozen in his place. The attendant gave Will the internal paddles, paddles that looked like a big stainless spoon.
The paddles made contact on both sides of the heart. Will spoke. "Set on 20J."
The shock came. Will looked up at the heart monitor. It was still dangerously going down. He glowed like Nico was getting closer to the sun.
BP started to rise, going normal. Will sighed. He handed back the paddles to the attendant and resumed back on his work.
Nico exhaled the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He calmed down, a little bit. On the corner of his eye, he saw something black materialized out of nowhere. He turned his head in that direction. His dead heart sank.
Not from afar, Bianca appeared with a horrified expression on her face.
"Oh, Styx. No!" Her voice strangled.
Will looked at her, his eyes widening a bit. His glow started to dim.
"Dr. Solace." Dr. Fletcher called out. Will looked back down at his work.
"This can't be happening," Bianca said in a panic. "She's the last one on my list, if I didn't- if he snatched her again. I won't be able to reach my quota!"
And that means punishment for Bianca. Nico's body was rooted to the ground, though his head was turning back in forth between his sister and Will.
BP was falling again. The monitor beeped in a warning.
"Damn it!" Will cursed and started to massage the heart with his gloved hand. His glow was shifting between brightness and dim.
"Defibrillator," Will said and Lou gave it to him. "50J."
Will shocked the heart.
"Again."
The lines in the heart monitor rose a little bit as if responding to the intensity of light surrounding Will. Nico couldn't stare for too long at Will. He was too bright. He blocked his eyes with his hand.
There was another warning beep of the heart monitor.
"Will, she's going into cardiac arrest!"
Will tried to shock the heart again but it was pointless anymore.
Will closed his eyes. Then Will's blinding light exploded all around him. Nico had to shut his eyes tight.
"No!" Bianca screamed.
The long beeping sound of the heart monitor echoed out in the OR. Nico opened his eyes. Will's light was gone.
Bianca blinked. She looked around as if not comprehending what had just happened.
Dr. Fletcher looked up at the digital clock above the OR door. "Time of death 03:20 a.m."
Bianca vanished.
"I-I was just going to sew her up." Will croaked. "That's the last thing I could do for her."
After Naomi's body was transferred to the morgue, Will was left alone in the OR together with Nico who had never left his spot from the beginning. Maybe because his mind was still processing how everything had turned that way. It was going well in the beginning, right? Nico clenched his hands.
Will was sitting on the floor. His back was against the wall. Strangely, no tears were falling; Will was just staring at the empty space.
Will closed his eyes and tilted his head back "How long do you keep on standing there?" He was referring to Nico.
"I'm sorry." Nico finally said.
"Yeah." Will swallowed.
"No. seriously. I'm sorry. It's my entire fault, wasn't it?"
Will's eyes snapped open. He frowned at Nico. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"She could have been saved."
Will stood up. "You saw what happened. Mom did not respond anymore to my power. There was nothing I could do about it!"
"Because you hesitated, because of me, of my sister."
Will seemed taken aback. "A-are you blaming me now?"
"No, Will. I am blaming myself. Things could have been different if. . ." Nico swallowed the bitterness rising from his throat. "Bianca was right. I shouldn't have mingled in the world of Living because I don't belong here. Now, I've taken away the person you cared the most. I ruined your life."
"What the hell Nico!" Will tried to walk towards Nico but Nico stepped back. His back hit the wall.
"Will. . ." Nico's face contorted in anguish for Will and everything he had to go through because of him, and also in anger that directed to himself. "I couldn't bear the fact that I am the reason why you weren't able to save Naomi-"
"Oh don't be so self-centered asshole!" Will snapped at him. "Do you want me to explain every single detail to you how my mother's heart failed her as well as her lungs? Well, it's started on hemorrhaging then-"
"Will stopped it!"
"NO, you shut up! How can you talk like that? Did I ever blame you for once? All I need right now is you, here beside me not arguing with me and spouting nonsense. I need you right now. . . "
Nico hated how Will had brokenly whispered the last part. But he continued, Will had to understand his point somehow.
"Don't you understand Will? Things could have been better without me? I am interfering with your power, I am the reason why you are giving it up. I'm so stupid not to realize that I am holding you down. You can be someone far greater but because I was sticking on your side, I just made everything worse and prevented you to do your job and use your power for the greater good."
"W-What are you trying to say then? A-are you breaking up with me now?"
"I-I am so sorry Will." He whispered. He took a sharp intake of breath as he closed his eyes. His heart made of glass fell and shattered on the ground. The shards poked him in the lungs, in every artery, that every breath hurt.
"You're so unfair! How could you do this! I just lost my mother and you are bringing this up?"
Nico opened his eyes again. Will's blue eyes were cold like ice. The blond turned around on his heel. The OR door slammed closed.
Nico couldn't breathe at all.