Origins: Oín

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The man had a broken pelvis and a ruptured spleen, but he would live- of that Oín Farin was certain. He had a bit of a sixth sense when it came to his patients, an uncanny knack for diagnosing their injuries that he discovered soon after starting his first round of clinical. Oín always enjoyed biology and anatomy, and after his second year of college knew that he wanted to apply to medical school. The scholarship had been a dream come true, as had the early admittance to his first choice school.

Oín stepped back from his patient and pulled off the latex gloves, tossing them in a bin by the door. He was slated to graduate in the spring, just as soon as he finished his surgical rotation.

"What's your prognosis, Doctor Farin?" Asked Doctor Celeborn, looking over the patient's medical chart. He was head of surgery at the hospital and Oín's mentor, as well as his adviser.

"Shattered pelvis, burst spleen. We removed the spleen and sterilized the area. The pelvis has been set and should heal up nicely."

Doctor Celeborn nodded, obviously pleased with his star student. "Fine work, boy. You've got the lowest mortality rates I've seen in all my years of practice. I half expected this man to die, but under your ministrations he should make a full recovery."

"Thank you, sir," Oín replied with a slight flush. He knew he was good at his job, but it was different to hear the praise from someone he admired so much. Doctor Celeborn had taken Oín under his wing, made sure he got the most sought after rotations and had the best instructors. From the onset he groomed Oín to one day work at his side in the emergency surgery unit.

A loud beep sounded and Doctor Celeborn looked down at his pager with a frown. "Ten year old female. Gunshot wound to the chest. Come on, boy!"

They raced to the surgical ward and scrubbed in, pulling on sterile masks and gloves before joining the staff already at work trying to stabilize the girl. The team had already removed the bullet, but the child had lost a lot of blood and wasn't breathing.

"Doctor Farin, try to stop the bleeding. Nurse, give her 10 CCs of lidocaine, stat! Keep the ventilator going, but we need to clear out her airways!" Doctor Celeborn issued commands with a practiced ease and the staff quickly followed them to the letter.

Oín grabbed a suction hose and a roll of gauze, trying to clear enough blood away so he could see where it was all coming from. The wound was small, but deep, nicking an artery juts next tot he left ventricle of the girl's heart. He couldn't get in close enough to suture it up without first widening the incision and the child had already lost too much blood for that. Oín stared at the wound and tried to figure out what to do. He ran a finger over the bullet hole, hoping to see an angel he could work with, but instead noticed the artery was no longer gushing blood. "The bleeding has stopped!"

The beeping on the heart monitor steadied. Doctor Celeborn raised a brow in surprise. "She's stable."

The girl took deep steady breaths, her vital signs slowly returning to normal.

Doctor Celeborn frowned deeply and moved to Oín's side. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Oín replied in confusion. "I couldn't get in to stitch up the artery, but the bleeding stopped on its own."

"Arterial tears like that don't just stop. She should be dead." He shouldered Oín out of the way and pulled back the gauze wrapping the child's chest. The wound where the bullet had entered was clean and puckered slightly, fresh pink skin stretching around the lesion. "What did you do?""

"I told you, sir. I didn't do anything! I don't understand!"

"This incision looks to be weeks old. There's new skin growing over it. But we both know this child was shot less than two hours ago." Doctor Celeborn's voice was low. "I'll ask you again. What. Did. You. Do?"

"Nothing!" Oín tugged off his gloves in confusion and threw them in the bin.

"So, that's why you've been excelling so easily. Why your patients seldom die." His eyes were hard, cold. "You have powers."

"Powers? No! I don't! I-"

"Don't lie to me anymore, boy! I've wasted enough time on you." Doctor Celeborn spun, forcing Oín towards the door. "Get out of my hospital!"

"But, sir! Please!" Oín's voice broke as he pleaded with his mentor. "I didn't do anything wrong! The girl lived!"

"We don't want your kind here! GET OUT!" The door slammed in Oín's face.

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