Chapter Text
Dana shook her head as she watched Trinity walk quickly past Robby, who had been very sensitive since earlier, either because of his anger at Dennis or because of the tense situation in the ER.
“You know this is because of that tall kid's big mouth.” Dana turned to Perlah, who nudged her arm, whispering softly so that Robby, who was only three steps away from them, wouldn't hear.
“Later, when he's calmer.” Dana replied, lowering her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose. She glanced briefly at Robby, who seemed to be aware of her and was approaching. His expression was still sour.
“What? If you want to talk, say it quickly. Stop staring at me like that.”
Dana took a deep breath before folding her arms, leaning against the nurses' station counter so that she and Robby were closer, making sure no one could hear what she was about to say.
“You need to send Dennis a message right away, promise to discuss this issue later at home. You know he's not this careless, right?” Dana began slowly.
Robby's expression immediately hardened, and he hissed softly, “Our work and our relationship have no correlation. If his work performance is poor, I will say it's poor.” Robby took a short breath before cursing softly at Dana, “It doesn't matter if we date outside of work or even if I have a ring for him. None of that has anything to do with the patients' lives, Dana.”
Dana blinked once before taking a deep breath.
"Robinavitch, then pray that nothing bad happens until our shift is over and I gather all the staff. I am the head nurse and I know what all the staff are doing better than you do. So, I'll sort out the Whitaker issue and James Ogilvie's behavior after the shift is over.“ Dana made her final decision, ”And don't cry to me if you regret it. I already told you to apologize to Whitaker for your harsh words earlier, but you refused. Fine, it's all up to time now."
Dana tidied up the documents in front of her. “You know very well that we never know what will happen in the next minute.”
Robby gave her an angry look then turned away, walking away from Dana, who was 90% always right—they had been friends for more than just a year or two.
And Dana knew very well how stubborn Michael Robinavitch was.
The woman shook her head before taking a step toward one of the patient rooms—
RINGG
RINGG
But the ringing of the phone on her desk stopped her in her tracks. She deftly picked up the phone, and immediately let out a gasp.
Her fingers pressed the notification button.
CODE YELLOW!
MULTIPLE VEHICLE COLLISION! 7 PEOPLE ETA 6 MINUTES
"ROBBY!!! 7 VICTIMS OF A MULTIPLE COLLISION ARE ON THE WAY! THE BUS DRIVER AND 2 PASSENGERS ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. THE BUS IS CRUSHED BETWEEN TWO TRUCKS, AND THOSE 7 PATIENTS ARE THE ONLY SURVIVORS AND CAN BE MOVED HERE." Dana reported from her station. Robby, who had suppressed his anger, immediately nodded in understanding.
He clapped his hands once, "DR. KING, PREPARE THE TRAUMA ROOM. DR. LANGDON AND DR. SANTOS, GET READY WITH ME TO RECEIVE THE PATIENTS. DANA, CALL DR. MOHAN AND DR. GARCIA TO GET READY IN THE TRAUMA ROOM WITH DR. KING.“ The command filled the ER, ”DR. MCKAY AND I WILL DO THE TRIAGE. COME ON!! GET READY!"
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The sound of the siren made Robby turn his head. He and McKay nodded to each other before putting on their new coats and gloves. Princess, Perlah, and Jesse were already standing beside them. His dark brown onyx eyes followed Langdon and Santos as they ran out of the ER to pick up a patient at the ambulance bay.
“I'm going out, Robby.” McKay informed him, her footsteps following Santos. Robby just muttered in agreement.
Once again, Robby glanced around him.
Everyone was ready.
So why was his heart pounding as if he were afraid?
Everything was ready, and this wasn't the first time he would receive a multiple accident patient.
Why was his heart pounding uncomfortably?
Was it because he drank too much coffee?
Or—
“NO!! NO FUCCKK!!! HUCKLEBERRY STAY UP FOR ME!!! HEYY!!! OPEN YOUR EYES!!!”
Robby’s ears were ringing loudly, amid the squeaking of the gurney and the harsh commands from McKay and Langdon’s firm voice, he could hear Santos’s wailing cries.
Huckleberry?
Their Huckleberry?
“MAKE WAY!! CRITICAL PATIENT NUMBER ONE! DENNIS WHITAKER. SEVERE BLOODLOSS IN THE HEAD AND ABDOMEN. THERE IS A PIPE STUCK IN HIS THIGH AND HIS CHEST IS CRUSHED BETWEEN THE PASSENGER SEATS!”
The gurney passed him as he stood frozen, Langdon's voice entering his ears again, “GARCIA NEED TO STOP THE BLEEDING IMMEDIATELY OR HE WON'T SURVIVE!! ROBBY!! YOU OR ME?!”
--and now his head was ringing even louder. His legs trembled and Robby felt his lungs failing.
There was a face that was both familiar and foreign.
Red.
Metal—iron-like smell.
The brown curly hair he used to run his fingers through was now sticky and dark.
Blood.
Huckleberry?
Dennis Whitaker?
His Dennis?
Trinity’s Huckleberry?
“ROBBY?!”
Why was Dennis lying in a pool of blood?
“HEY HEY HUCKLEBERRY!! DENNIS PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME RESPOND—FUCK FUCK!!!”
“GARCIA!! PREPARE THE TRAUMA ROOM!” Langdon roared amid the panicked screams and Santos’s howls.
Robby could hear him, but his head was pounding so hard he didn't know how to respond, then he felt his body being pushed away.
Robby felt someone talking in front of his face, a hand on his chest—
Blurred
He couldn't hear anything.
Another hand patted his back, then he felt the floor beneath his feet moving—getting closer.
“ROBINAVITCH!!! BREATHE!! BREATHE!!!”
A hand felt like it was pressing against his neck—no, cold... his cheeks were cold...
Pain
Huckleberry?
“FOR GOD'S SAKE, ROBBY!!! BREATHE!!!”
Robby felt the floor beneath his feet turn to liquid—his legs couldn't stand...
Dennis
His Dennis was bleeding.
Oh.
His Dennis..
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Jack was startled when he heard several sirens approaching ambulance bay.
Oh God, he had just gotten out of his car and was getting ready to start his shift, but at the end of the day shift there was an incident like this?
Although he had expected there to be cries and panic in the ER, what he didn't expect at all was that his close friend, Robby, was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.
“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE, DANA?!” he asked the head nurse, who looked just as broken as everyone else. He throw his bag carelessly, kneeling uncomfortably beside Robby.
“JACK!!” Dana's scream did nothing to calm him down. He immediately decided to focus on helping Robby get through his panic attack—but the screech of gurneys continued to fill the ER.
He had no choice but to take control.
"OKAY!! SHEN, ELLIS, IMMEDIATELY TAKE CARE OF THE NEW PATIENTS, COORDINATE THE PATIENTS' CONDITIONS WITH THE MORNING SHIFT NURSES, SHEN, PRIORITIZE CRITICAL PATIENTS, AND IF MOHAN OR GARCIA NEED YOU, PRIORITIZE THEM. NIGHT SHIFT, GET MOVING. TAKE OVER AND THE REPORT CAN BE TAKEN CARE OF LATER!" His loud voice filled the ER, and all the staff immediately nodded in understanding and carried out the orders.
“WALSH!! GET HERE WITH ME!” he called to Dr. Walsh, who had just stepped into the ER.
Jack took a deep breath, “What the hell happened to you, buddy?” he whispered as he helped open Robby's airway. Dana was still faithfully calling out to her friend.
“Sir, one patient was dead on arrival. Of the seven patients who arrived, the current status is one dead, one critical, and five being treated without critical trauma injuries.”
Jack looked up when a familiar voice entered his ears. He saw McKay, who had just given a full report. His gray eyes saw the woman's hands covered in blood.
“Okay, thank you. Stabilize the 5 patients immediately—”
“The one patient in critical condition is Dennis.”
Jack stared at McKay, who had cut him off.
Oh God.
“Dr. Robby saw it first hand... and... Dennis' condition, to be honest... is very serious.”
Oh my God.
Jack looked at Robby.
Brother... I'm praying for you two
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“James, please don’t interrupt the Resident—or people in general—when they talk, and please respect your fellow medical students.”
Dennis frowned as he watched himself speak to James Ogilvie, a medical student—wasn’t that a conversation from a week ago?
He remembered how Dr. McKay had complained about James’s frequent interruptions—even Residents—and his frequent answering of questions not addressed to him.
As the Resident responsible for mentoring James, Dennis decided to offer a word of advice.
“It was just a question and a simple remark; no one would be hurt if I responded more quickly. Maybe Joy should have been more responsive. And Residents like you should be more concise in your lectures. Don’t be so shallow.”
Dennis sighed, like the Dennis he was seeing now.
Honestly, Dennis was still confused as to why he was watching a video of himself. It was as if he were watching a drama. He feels like sit in dark room, its chilling and bit quiet—even though the screen that play the movie of himself is big and so clear.
And also, to be honest, dealing with James was indeed quite dramatic.
“James, please pay attention to the patient’s condition. You can’t force the theory you’ve learned to be applied 100%. We also have to consider the patient’s actual condition.”
Dennis frowned, the previous scene changing to another, with the ambulance bay in the background. Dennis saw himself, his eyes red and slightly puffy, talking to James, who appeared to be eating.
Ah yes, Dennis remembered.
This was the second incident where Robby was angry with him because James unilaterally performed sutures and administered painkillers to a patient. The result was an allergic reaction and infection at several of the suture points. Unfortunately, Dennis was performing the sutures at the time, intending to fix James's stitches, which had previously injured the patient and caused an infection.
"If that's the case, what's the point of me studying? Are you angry with me because Dr. Robby scolded you? Are you taking it out on me now?"
"It's not like that—"
"I don't know why you seemed so displeased with me earlier."
Dennis bit his lip, watching the scene unfold. Nurse Jesse and Princess were nearby, just as James spoke as if Dennis was cornering him.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Whitaker, I really am. I didn't mean to report you to Dr. Robby. But I think your decision was too dangerous, and the patient had an infection."
Dennis closed his eyes, rubbing his face in frustration.
Why did he have to stay here and re-watch all these scenes?
Robby was near the Ambulance Bay at the time, when James said that.
As a result, Robby ignored him even when they were home. Dennis kept trying to explain, but Robby refused—he said he needed time.
Dennis tried to close his eyes so that these scenes wouldn't replay.
What was wrong?
Why did he have to see all this again?
Where was he now?
Dennis couldn't even feel his legs now, or his chest? Breath?
Oh, right
Why couldn't he feel his own breath?
Dennis start shaking uncontrollably.
Where was he?
Why couldn't he speak?
Why did his throat feel like it was broken?
Why?
What was happening to him?
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Dana hugged Robby.
The large body that usually provided stability throughout the ER was now shaking violently. Dana rubbed Robby's back, constantly reminding him to breathe—
“Robby, breathe in, slow... breathe out...”
—amid the commotion of the trauma room and the loud buzzing of the monitors.
Ppiiiiiiiiiiipppp
Dana closed her eyes.
She didn't know what would happen next.
They—Jack, Garcia, Langdon, Mohan—had been trying to get Dennis's heartbeat back for almost 10 minutes.
But the steady, steady sound still filled the ER.
Dana hugged Robby tighter, faintly hearing murmurs in a language she didn't know—Robby praying...
Dana should have stopped this commotion sooner.
Dana should have been quicker and more responsive in reprimanding James.
Dana should have reported the student's behavior to Robby and HR sooner.
It should have...
Ppiiippppp
Dana squeezed her eyes shut on Robby's shoulder.
Oh God...
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2/3
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Preview next chapter.
"I don't know, it's hurt...it's hurt so much, you hurt me."
"i know, i'm sorry... i'm sorry..."
"i'm tired... it's hard."
"no, please don't... please. Don't close your eyes on me... please."
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