Chapter Text
LEROYS POV:
The first thing I noticed was the blood.
Not the screaming monitor.
Not the way everyone in the operating theatre moved faster than they thought they could.
The blood.
It was everywhere.
My gloves were stained red, the sleeves of my surgical gown were speckled, and no matter how much suction we used, it kept coming.
"Another unit."
My voice came out calm.
But in the inside.
HOLY SHIT!! This patient is bleeding so much how the fuck am i gonna save this guy
Twenty-three years old.
A car accident.
Internal bleeding.
A life that was seconds away from disappearing.
"Blood pressure's dropping."
I ignored the slight twist in my chest.
"I know."
My eyes stayed focused.
Find the problem.
Fix the problem.
That's what I did.
That's what I was good at.
"Heart rate one-forty."
The monitor was getting louder.
Faster.
The sound changed.
That horrible, endless tone every doctor knew.
"No pulse!"
The room moved instantly.
"Epinephrine!"
"Starting compressions!"
"Charging!"
I stepped back as the team worked.
"Clear."
The patient's body jolted.
Nothing.
"Clear."
Again.
Nothing.
For one second, I hated how quiet the room became.
I hated how everyone looked at me.
Like I was supposed to have an answer.
Like I was supposed to be able to save everyone.
"We need another surgeon," I said.
The charge nurse looked over.
"We don't have anyone free."
"Then find someone."
"Leroy-
"Find someone."
My voice was sharper this time.
A moment later, she reached for her radio.
"Operating Theatre Three needs immediate surgical backup."
Static filled the room.
Then a voice answered.
"We have the transfer doctor."
I looked up.
"Transfer doctor?"
"She started today."
I almost laughed.
"She's qualified."
I looked back at the patient.
The monitor was still screaming.
"Send her."
The doors opened less than a minute later.
And that's when I saw her.
Dr. Abigail brooks.
She was small but had a look of determination on her face.
Her long black hair pulled tightly together in a bun , her eyes huge like owls.
She walked in like she belonged here
Which technicaly she did.
She pulled on her gloves and stepped beside me.
"Dr. Abigail brooks " she said. "Trauma surgeon. Transferred from St. Matthew's."
"Leroy matteow" i stutter.
Holy shit why is she so pretty.
That was all the introduction we had time for.
She looked at the patient.
"What happened?"
"Major abdominal trauma. Ruptured spleen. Massive blood loss."
She didn't answer immediately.
She just looked.
"The bleed isn't from the spleen."
I frowned.
"What?"
She pointed.
"There."
I followed her gaze.
And there it was.
A hidden bleed I hadn't caught.
A mistake.
A mistake that could have killed him.
"Posterior vessel," she said quietly.
I stared for half a second too long.
Then I moved.
"Clamp."
The nurse handed it over.
The room changed.
The panic disappeared.
The patient stabilised.
The monitor slowed.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Alive.
I finally let myself breathe.
I looked at the woman beside me.
The transfer doctor who had walked into my operating room like she had been there for years.
She stared back up at me and gave me the most beautiful smile anyone has ever dared to smile.
And god did it make my heart flutter