Chapter Text
Bell snored as he laid at his desk, head down on his arms, getting some much needed rest on his break time, until it was interrupted.
He blinked open his eyes as his pager went off, vibrating in his pocket and bringing him to life. He sighed and took out his pager to find there was an incoming in the ER due to a car crash, and they needed a couple of surgeons ready to help, and since Bell was one of the few general surgeons not in surgery, he had to be there.
He got up quickly, taking off his jacket, -it gets pretty damn cold in this hospital- knowing it could get ruined and he couldn’t risk that, then leaving the office, making his way to the elevators.
The doors opened with a ding, and Bell found himself in the ER. People were coming in left and right, ranging from mild to severe injuries. He stepped out and walked to the nurses desk, waiting for orders and direction.
“Where do you need me?” Bell asked, eager to jump in and help, his adrenaline fueling his energy.
“We could use some help unloading people, Doctor Voss is already on the job, but we could use an extra hand until you are needed for any immediate surgery,” Nurse Hudley said as she walked by him with a bucket of medical supplies, getting things organized so the doctors could operate at their best.
Bell nodded as he made his way outside, taking a gown with him and wrapping it around him, then getting some disposable gloves that were by the entrance.
Kit passed him on his way out, wheeling a patient into the ER. “There’s one more ambulance that needs to be opened. That’s yours, Randolph,” Kit directed as she went inside.
Bell turned to the ambulance, wasting no time to open it up. What he saw he wasn’t expecting at all. It made him freeze in his tracks, eyes going wide.
“Oh my God, Grayson.”
The kid was in poor shape. He was unconscious, which was good because Bell believes if he were awake he would be screaming in pain. He had multiple broken bones that Bell could point out just by looking, and it seemed that everywhere he looked the kid was covered in blood.
Some of the ER nurses came out to help with the last load, getting Bell back into his groove and knocking him out of his daze.
“We got a 23 year old male, multiple fractures, one compound fracture, could have a case of internal bleeding we need to get Grayson help right now!” Bell talked as he entered the ER, grabbing the attention of most everyone due to how far his voice carried.
He led Graysons gurney to an open room where he began to put on a mask but was stopped as Kit put her hand on his shoulder. He whipped around, eyes frantic as Graysons condition got worse and worse with each passing second.
“Let me and Conrad take this one, Randolph,” she said as Conrad entered the room, nodding in agreement.
“You have a relationship with this patient, and you know as well as I do that it could affect the way you treat him,” Conrad chimed in as he suited up then moved to Graysons side.
“I don’t have a relationship with this kid, he was my secretary and nothing more. We weren’t friends and he wasn’t even close to me.” Bell snapped, still trying to suit up. “Just let me help you with him, okay?”
“Randolph, you have to sit this one out, I’m sorry. Me and Conrad are going to save him. You Have to leave this one to us,” Kit said, grabbing Bell’s hands to stop him from continuing to get prepared. As she finished her sentence a sound rang out in the room as the monitor sounded a flatline.
“Oh god, no, no, no, no, no!” Bell muttered, looking at the monitor then at his dead secretary. “Help him! If you won’t let me save him then you better do it yourself!” Bell yelled, panic in his voice as he screamed at the group.
Irving and Devon entered the room shortly after the screaming finished, both exchanging glances as they knew what they had to do.
“Doctor Bell, you’re not helping anyone right now, you have to leave this to them and leave the room so they can work,” Devon calmly said, trying his best to use words rather than force.
“I’m doing fine! I just wish they would let me join! I could save him!” Bell’s voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, trying not to make anyone believe that he cared about this kid.
“Come on, Doctor Bell, you have to let them work,” Devon said as he wrapped his arms around Bell’s arm and began to pull him out of the room, Irving joining in as they pulled the man out of the room, closing the curtain behind them.
“No! I need to make sure he’s safe! I can’t leave him!” Bell yelled as he was taken out of the room and into the main ER area.
“You need to go calm down. Go to the cafe and take a break there or go to your office, but all I know is you can’t stay here right now, you have to leave this to them. We’ll keep you updated, alright?” Devon said as he stood in front of the room to make sure Bell wouldn’t try to go back, Irving by his side for the extra support.
Bell shook his head and began to walk away. He couldn’t make them think he cared about the kid at all, because he didn’t. He stepped into the elevator and let it close before pushing the button to his office floor.
He quickly walked to his office, holding back anything that may hint that he was mourning the young kid. He entered his office and immediately shut the blinds and closed the door, locking it before he took a seat at his desk, tears welling up in his eyes again. This time he let them fall down his cheeks and onto the table below. He couldn’t help it as he let out a sob but cut it short by biting his lip. He let his forehead hit the table, making a loud bang to hide another short sob.
“Why are you crying over him? He was just your secretary. He wasn’t your friend or anything.”
The more he told himself this the less real it sounded. Who the hell was he kidding? He loved Grayson like he was his own. Even though he would always push away the young secretary, he always had a soft spot for him.
Realizing the obvious truth got another stifled sob out of the man. He could lose the closest thing to a son to him, and there would be nothing he could do about it.
He should’ve just stopped being a hard ass and actually lightened up on the kid. He should’ve laughed at his jokes that were actually pretty funny. He would give anything to see his face light up one more time like it would when he would see him pass in the halls.
The more he thought about it the more he cried, and the harder it got to hide the sobs.
The more he thought about it the more he came to realize that he needed Grayson by his side, secretary or not, he just needed him there.
He needed Grayson to pull through.