"He's a criminal!"
"I heard he killed a guy with his bare hands."
"I heard he punched a guy out for using his soap."
"Fascinating! And I heard he was a patient, and a person, furthermore, who needs our help." Dr. Juliet Burke interrupted her interns as they gossiped amongst themselves about their new patient. "Now can any of you go in there and present for me without setting him off? God only knows what he might do to you, and I can't afford any casualties among my interns right now." she said seriously, though the sarcastic undertone was evident in her expression.
"We're sorry, Dr. Burke, we just--"
"You just need to remember right now that you are medical professionals and handle yourselves as such. He is a patient, like any other, and we're going to treat him that way." she instructed.
"So you're not, like…scared of him?" one of the more timid interns asked her, cowering slightly.
"No, Dr. Rutherford, I'm not like, scared of him." she replied, though not unkindly, a small but reassuring smile on her face, "And you shouldn't be, either. He stole a car, he's not a cold-blooded killer. He's made mistakes, like all the rest of us, and it's not our business. Our business is to treat him for his condition, which is…what, Dr. Carlyle?"
"Uhh, stage 2B lung cancer, Dr. Burke. The tumor is roughly 3 centimeters and is located near the airway, causing a great amount of difficulty breathing, though it hasn't spread to the lymph nodes." the intern explained, beaming with pride.
"Well done, Dr. Carlyle, you're on the case. Rutherford, if you can muster the courage, I'll take you, too. The rest of you, go find something to do in the pit." Juliet said, dismissing her other 3 interns. "Alright, let's go."
The three doctors walked into the room of the patient they'd just been talking about, passing the guard outside the door. "Hello, there." Juliet greeted the patient with a smile, but he didn't return it.
"Hello yourself," he said gruffly, not bothering to make full eye contact.
"Dr. Carlyle?" she turned to her colleague, giving him the floor to present.
"James Ford, 37 years old, presenting with stage 2B lung cancer. The tumor is localized, though it will spread quickly if not treated. He's been having severe shortness of breath, along with several bouts of pneumonia."
"And what would you suggest as a course of treatment, doctor?" Juliet asked.
"At this stage, a segmental resection would be the most effective way to eliminate the tumor."
"Very good. Mr. Ford," she said, turning to her patient, "The chief has informed me that you're against surgery. May I ask why that is?"
"Simple," James replied, "Do you believe in karma, Dr. Burke?"
She paused a moment, "I believe that sometimes, life deals us a bad hand, Mr. Ford. It doesn't mean we've done anything to deserve it, and even if we have, it doesn't mean we don't deserve to get that royal flush."
He chuckled, "So you're into poker, huh, Blondie? We'll have to play sometime. You know, before I die."
"You're not going to die, James." she said, in a serious, yet somehow comforting tone.
He stared at her, slightly put off by her use of his first name, though he liked how it sounded coming from her lips. "I am, doc. Hell, we all are, eventually. I just happen to deserve what I'm gettin'."
"Nobody deserves this. What you deserve, James, is a second chance, and I can give that to you."
"Well damn, Blondie, when you say it, I almost believe it." he said, giving her a grin that showcased his dimples, which, she absentmindedly noted, were adorable.
"Let me do the surgery. Then find a way to make yourself worthy of that second chance. It's not too late to get a royal flush." she insisted, staring directly into his eyes.
He sighed, "You sure are persistent, doc. But I've made up my mind. I know you're good, but I ain't lettin' you slice my lung out. Give that second chance to someone else. I've had plenty of 'em already."
Juliet made up her mind right then and there that she was going to get this man to agree to surgery, no matter what it took. "Dr. Rutherford, Dr. Carlyle, go and see if Mr. Ford's labs are back yet, please." she instructed her interns, who scampered off, seeming glad to get out of the room. "James," she began, pulling a chair to the side of his bed and taking a seat. "You have stage 2B lung cancer. If you refuse to let me operate, that will escalate. The cancer will spread to your lymph nodes, then to the rest of your lungs. You will not be able to breathe without the help of a machine. You'll begin coughing up blood on a regular basis, and eventually, you will stop breathing altogether. It will be very slow, and very, very painful."
"Well gee, thanks for sugar-coatin' it, Blondie." he said with a laugh that turned into a cough.
Juliet continued a moment later, after his cough quieted, "I want you to understand what you're going to go through if you don't let me do this surgery. And I want you to understand that it can all be avoided if you just trust me. If you can believe that you deserve to live…James, I wouldn't wish the kind of death you're facing on anyone."
"Not even a murderer?" he asked, staring into her dazzling baby blues. He found himself wishing he could stick around a little longer, if only to get a few more glimpses of those eyes.
"Not even a murderer." she confirmed.
"I killed a man," he confessed, "I stole that car with my buddy, Chuck. I was drivin' too fast, tryin' to get away from the cops. I didn't even see that damn truck 'til it hit us. Smashed straight into him. He was dead before the car stopped."
Juliet just nodded, not breaking her gaze from his. "You can't blame yourself for that, James."
"Can't I?"
"No. Well, I suppose you could, but it would drive you crazy and you'd be completely wrong." she said, leaning in a bit closer to him, "Listen to me. Life happens. We make bad decisions and sometimes, very rarely but sometimes, those decisions lead to the death of someone else. I killed a man once, too, you know. I was a second year resident, and I had this patient…Tom Evans…I made the wrong call on his meds. I told the nurse the wrong amount, and my mistake killed him."
"Well that wasn't your fault. People make mistakes, you didn't kill him on purpose."
"Exactly." she said, looking at him with a soft smile. "We all make mistakes, James. But at some point, we have to learn to forgive ourselves. It wasn't easy coming to terms with what I did, but I had to accept that it was a mistake. A horrible one, yes, and one that I'll never forget, but a mistake nonetheless. You couldn't have known that your decision would result in Chuck's death. It is not your fault. And it does not mean that you deserve to die." she didn't realize that she did it, but at some point, she'd placed her hand on top of his.
James looked at her for a long while, tears threatening to invade his eyes. He wondered if maybe he'd been sent to her by some kind of higher power. If she was meant to save his life. Her sweet words sure made him want to believe he deserved more. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"You can cut me open, Blondie." he said, chuckling softly.
Juliet smiled and squeezed his hand, "Okay."
"But there's one condition." he told her with a grin.
"Oh? What's that?" she asked with an amused expression.
"Ya gotta let me take you out on a date."
Juliet arched an eyebrow and smiled, "Take me out where? The hospital cafeteria?" she asked, grinning sweetly, teasing him.
"Yeah, maybe." he replied, his grin broadening.
"Maybe I'll just bring the food to you, okay, Casanova?"
"Whatever works for ya, Blondie."
