Important

***Back to the present ***

Phill was walking down the corridor, doing his usual rounds when he got mistakenly shoved by the ward boys, because they were in a hurry. There was a new arrival at the emergency ward. It was an accident case and the patient was gravely injured.

" We are so sorry Dr. Rodgers..."

one of them turned around, trying to apologize while they ran with the stretcher.

" Go ahead. Concentrate on your job, " Phill reprimanded him but followed it with a thumbs up and a smile.

He was going for a short coffee break so he took the right.

He came back walking with his favorite Espresso in one hand and holding a file in the other.

But as soon as his eyes fell on the patient that was being rushed in, his coffee cup went flying and so did his file.

" Lea... Oh my goodness... Lea.... what happened? Why do we keep meeting like this... "

He ran along with the rest of them as the others watched him closely but none of them dared to utter a single word.

Phill kept stealing a glance every other second at Lea as a nurse helped him put on his gloves.

"Let's get a full trauma workup, stat!" he instructed the nursing staff. They promptly started monitoring her vital signs, checking her blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation while another toiled to press her bleeding down.

He turned to his team with a sense of urgency in his voice. "We have a critical situation here. Find the source of the bleeding immediately," he directed, the gravity of the situation etched on his face, making his usually cheerful face frown.

Phill knelt by Lea's side, his gloved hands gently exploring her body. The profuse bleeding needed to be stopped, and it needed to be done swiftly.He couldn't trust his subordinates while he just stood there and watched her bleed.

The nurses stared for a moment but then they looked away minding their business again. They couldn't be blamed, could they? Not every injured patient brought the doctors to their knees.

And definitely not a rich heir.

We need an IV line in place now," he instructed, his gaze fixed on a nurse. With nimble hands, the nurse carefully tried to insert the IV needle into Lea's arm, connecting her to a lifeline of fluids.

But he grabbed the needle from her hands to everyone's surprise.

" Let me do it. You start writing the file... " he startled not only her but himself with his own reaction. It wasn't like him. He could not understand his own actions.

As Lea's blood pressure continued to drop, Phill knew that time was of the essence. "We're losing blood rapidly. We need blood products—type and cross-match for Lea," he ordered, the urgency in his voice mirrored by the team's determined expressions.

They could see this patient meant something for their beloved Dr. Rodgers.

With the IV line established and the blood products on the way, Phill turned his attention to the surgical table. "Prepare for surgery," he said, the words carrying a weight of responsibility that hung in the air, but his sole focus was Lea and only her.

" How on earth did you end up like this again Lea? Was it that as*hole again? Did you have another misunderstanding? An argument? How can you be so foolish Lea? Is this how human beings react? Does your life hold no value for yourself? But it definitely does Lea. It doesn't for me at least. "

He wanted to yell at her while he waited. He never understood why doctors were always advised against operating on their closest relations.

It seemed like, now he did.

He could feel his hands getting frozen. And so were his knees and his feet.

" Dr. Rodgers, sorry for interrupting but do we not need to run some scans? Should I prepare that before we get the operation theatre ready? "

" Yes of course... " Phill finally stood up.

What sort of an insult was that? A nurse reminding of basics like scans before rushing to the operation table? What the hell was he thinking? Or was he not thinking at all?

" Run a full CT scan and a MRI...Be gentle with the patient... " Then he turned towards the one pressing her bleeding down.

" Add more layers to your gauge... Increase your timing... Let the bleeding stabilize before rushing her anywhere... "

He stood up and walked away the other way after giving the necessary instructions.

He took repeated short breaths, breathing through his mouth.

" Calm down... Phill calm down... you are going to kill Lea at this rate. There is no other doctor present at the moment. Can you trust anybody more than yourself with her? You don't.... time to be Dr. Rodgers, Phill.... come on. Man up. "

He jogged a couple of steps to and fro. With his nerves stabilized and brain cooled down, he finally walked back in slowly.

He waited as she slowly shifted her body from the stretcher to the bed of the Scanner.

The room was exceptionally cold because it was required to maintain that temperature.

Phill did not miss the tiny shivers all over Lea's body.

He was sitting in front of the monitor of the other side of the glass. But he walked around to where she was, pulled a blanket and covered her.

" Don't be scared. It's just a small test... I'm right beside you. No need to worry.... Alright? "

His hand gently brushed again her, so he took the opportunity to give it a little press and then whispered some words of reassurance in her ears as if she could hear them.

He walked out as his team started the process on his cue. The machine slowly sucked her in as Phill went out of the door and went back to the glass window that seperated them.

The nurses were hurdled around the screen but they scattered as soon as Phill arrived, vacating his chair.