Dangerous Elysium

Aiden let out a baffled sigh and clenched his fist. Walking back and forth in front of Dr. Marcus and the assistant nurse, a dreary feeling was surrounding him. One of their patients went into a coma after their nurse resident gave a wrong dosage of medicine. 

He had a full-time shift, he barely ate since he got to work in their hospital nearly a month ago. His eye bags under his apparent eyeglass were making it obvious how many patients he was assisting which caused the nurse resident to slipped from his eyes. 

"You're saying that they filed a lawsuit?"

“Yes, and the board members want the list of the doctors and nurses who happened to be in the OR that time. And the patient's family is making a ruckus outside, they wanted the hospital to be under investigation.” Dr. Marcus said with his head hanging low. 

He sighed deeply. In the meantime, he was assigned by his father, Leon, to manage their hospital. His father had not been able to return to management after he became ill. He felt that was just part of his father's plan. Leon wanted him to come back home several times but life in Australia was something he wouldn't bargain. He could do whatever he wanted there unlike in New York. Thorough eyes were following his moves.

His vision blurred as he adjusted his eyeglass. “I shouldn't let this happen!” His tone was rising a bit. 

The tension around them intensified. The wall beside them seemed to be great since Dr. Marcus and the nurse focused their eyes on it which made his head even hotter. A few lines cracked on his forehead as he let out a deep breath. 

Back in Australia, everything was going smoothly since they were all focused on their works. One little problem, they would deal with it quickly. In New York, he noticed that the people he was working with could get easily distracted. They managed to deal with the problem when they were already on the edge. 

"We're sorry, Dr. Collin. But we'll try to talk to the family outside," Dr. Marcus said after a while. He motioned for the assistant nurse to leave first.

After the door shut, Dr. Marcus looked at him. “Sorry for not looking out to the resident nurses here since it's also my duty. With respect, I wanna advise you, Dr. Collin. Don't shut the others to help you. We heard what kind of doctors and nurses you're working with within Australia, but please let our people here show how serious they are in their work too.”

He fixed his eyeglasses, looking at the window in his office. Dr. Marcus was reasonable. “I know that and I'm still adapting to my new workplace.”

“You're a doctor, a surgeon. You should know by now since you're great at your work that you're the one who should adjust to your new surroundings.”

He nodded at him. Of course, the doctor was right. After their discussion, Dr. Marcus took his leave. 

He lazily sat on his chair. He got a serious headache from what happened after he arrived at the hospital. The thought of being here for about 2 or three months made him groan.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. Great, this would be hell for him every day. He shook his head in frustration. He had no escape. His father's health problem brought him back to New York and he was the only one who his father could count on. 

A loud knock on the door woke him in his deep thoughts. He was about to shut off whoever was behind it when the door opened and another reason for his headache barged in like he owned the office.

"Dude! People are talking about what happened to one of the patients," Kaegan said right after he plopped himself down the chair.

He was just about to shoo out his friend when Kaegan picked up the food on the side table, ate it without permission.

“Food will be the cause of his death.” He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to his laptop.

He clicked his tongue when he noticed that Kaegan was still eating. “What are you doing here? If you ask for help again because you were beaten at the bar, don't do it now," he said firmly.

"Not that. I accompanied Amy for a check-up. My princess has a cough again. Maybe later her throat will swell and she won't be able to talk to me. Then—"

"You and your imagination again, Kaegan. . . You're an advanced thinker," he interrupted the rest of what he had to say. He smiled after. Amy is Kaegan's little daughter. Even though he was a single Dad, he still gave his daughter the right attention. He raised his daughter without his wife, he also took his job seriously for her. So he admired his friend.

"Chill! You’re always stiff. Marry me and I’ll make your life easier.” He said then flashed his famous grin.

He threw a crippled paper at him. “Fuck you!”

Kaegan smirked. “Your age is about to disappear from the calendar. You should be looking for an inheritance right now," he joked. 

He just laughed, he had never thought of having a wife and children.

"Soon. After I go to the medical volunteers, I’m gonna find my future partner there," he said. But they both knew that when he was at a medical site he had nothing to do but to focus on the condition of his patients.

“Oh come on, all you need to do is come to the Bachelor’s Pad and go home with some hot babes.” 

“After I finish my work here.” 

Kaegan rolled his eyes. “You always say that. You're going to get old without spreading your genes.”

Their story was cut short when the secretary called him. He said goodbye to his friend first. He took his doctor’s gown and came out and grimaced when he saw his schedule. It was full; and surely that would be a long, long night again for him.

He first adjusted his doctor’s gown before heading to his station. He noticed that onlookers avoid looking at him. It looked like his rebuke earlier with the doctors and nurses involved in what happened earlier was widespread. 

Aiden was used with that attitude towards him. He wasn’t the type of doctor who anyone can befriend. He just wanted his work to be done, nothing more. 

***

“PAGING Dr. Collin. Paging Dr. Collin. You need to come to ... ”

“Dr. Collin, please come to operating room 2. Dr. Collin, please come to the operating ... ” 

His mind was distracted by the speaker's voice. He also noticed the running nurses and some doctors heading to the said OR. He wasted no minutes. He also ran with them. When he arrived at the OR he saw in the mirror that the nurses and doctors were already in a commotion; they were surrounding a patient.

Aiden quickly cleaned his hands. The people inside looked at him as he entered. The surgical techs immediately attended to him to help with his surgical suit.

"Condition?" Aiden asked immediately. Looking at the machine connected with the patient. 

"Unstable," replied the attending nurse.

Everyone seemed tense. The concern for the patient's condition was obvious on their faces. The resident surgeon gave him the chart.

"Better stop what you're thinking. Focus!" Aiden said emphatically. They immediately took their places and focused on the patient.

"Scalpel."

Aiden backed away slightly when he saw the patient's heart condition. Her state is very low. Two things could happen: the patient would die during surgery if they made a mistake or the patient would die if he was not operated on immediately.

"Dr. Collin?" The resident surgeon asked him. Aiden got his attention back to what he was doing.

The patient was given general anesthesia. After cutting 8 inches in her chest, the heart was exposed and he looked for a healthy vein to make a new path due to the blocked artery. 

After how many hours they spent in the OR, he breathed a sigh of relief when the operation ended successfully. 

"Dr. Collin, I will finish this." He looked at Dr. Tim and nodded.

Exhausted,  he came out of the OR. When he returned to the office, the darkness mirrored by the window immediately grabbed his attention.  He could only see the streetlights below. He stood there, making himself comfortable.

***

Nimueh was trying to calm down herself. She was afraid of being at the hospital but she needed her check-up. Walking in the hallway with her eyes avoiding to see the stretchers, the patients, the stuff used by the doctors, her heart was beating aloud. 

“Oh wow! What are you doing here?" Nimueh saw Dr. Tim, the doctor who always tried to hit on her whenever he saw her in the hospital. He was leaning on the counter in the reception area, looking good with his doctor’s gown.

“Had a check-up. I got a fever last night,” she replied. 

“Oh, are you okay now? Do you want me to give you a ride?” He said cockily. 

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Dr. Tim. But I can go home by myself. As you can see, many patients need you. Just assist them.”

Dr. Tim chuckled which earned a glare from her. He wanted to date her but she got plenty of reasons and no to him.

“Fine. Just be home safe and sound. I don’t want you to get hurt,” he replied. “By the way, are you free tomorrow night? I have two tickets for a movie.” He walked closer to her who hurriedly stepped back. 

“I still have work till night,” she replied. Thankfully, she always had many reasons to decline him. The doctor was surely determined to have her yes. 

“Then after your work?” 

She was about to reply when someone behind her groaned. She got startled and almost toppled over. Her whole body shivered when a cold pair of hands circled her waist. Her eyes narrowed and unconsciously put her hands on top of them. 

Dr. Tim scowled. He raised his eyebrow to her, looking down to her waist which the other doctor's hands were still gripping.

She frowned after and looked up to the owner of the hands. Her panties almost fell off at the sight in front of her. 

'Oh my! Why does she seem to be suddenly hungry? This man is yummy!'

Even though he was wrapped in his doctor’s gown, the man’s sexiness is overflowing. He was sex on legs. Thick eyebrows, green eyes visible on his eyeglass, pointed nose, long curly brown locks tied up. It was as if his face was sculpted by a great sculpture. Her mind screamed secretly because of the sudden thought.

But she immediately woke up to her fantasy when the man pushed her aside. She did not expect it so she grunted with the sudden loss of his touch.