Chapter 2: The Emergency Department
910 Words
Fiona grabbed her white coat as she strode into the corridor.
"Report."
The nurse hurried after her, reading from a clipboard. "Male, thirty-one. High-speed head-on collision. Multiple blunt-force injuries to the left arm, right leg, and chest. A large piece of windshield glass is lodged in his abdomen. Blood pressure is dropping. Suspected internal bleeding."
Fiona didn't slow her pace.
"Alert radiology to stand by. Notify anesthesia and prep OR One immediately."
"Yes, Doctor."
She rounded the corner toward the ambulance bay just as the shrill wail of sirens echoed through the emergency entrance.
The ambulance screeched to a stop.
Its rear doors flew open, and paramedics rushed out with a blood-soaked patient strapped to a gurney.
"Twenty-eight minutes from the scene," one paramedic reported while running beside the stretcher. "Hypotensive despite fluids. Penetrating abdominal trauma from shattered windshield. Decreased breath sounds on the left. Pulse one-forty. BP seventy over forty."
Fiona took one look at the patient.
"Move him to Trauma Bay One."
The trauma team sprang into action.
Monitors beeped. IV lines were connected. Nurses called out vital signs while blood samples were rushed to the lab.
Fiona quickly examined the patient.
"FAST ultrasound."
Seconds later, the screen revealed free fluid pooling inside the abdomen.
Internal bleeding.
A nurse handed her the field report.
Patient: William Sterling
Code Name: Tango-4
Age: 31
Mechanism of Injury: High-speed head-on motor vehicle collision.
Fiona's expression hardened.
"He's bleeding into his abdomen."
She looked around the room.
"There's no time for a full workup. Prep him for an emergency laparotomy. Move!"
The room erupted into controlled chaos.
Within minutes, William was wheeled into Operating Room One.
Inside the scrub room, Fiona washed her hands methodically before stepping into the brightly lit operating theater.
The anesthesiologist confirmed, "Patient asleep. Airway secured."
Fiona pulled on her sterile gloves and looked around at her surgical team.
"Let's begin."
A red light illuminated above the operating room doors.
SURGERY IN PROGRESS.
Inside the operating room, silence settled over the team, broken only by the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
"Scalpel."
Fiona's gloved hand extended without looking. The instrument was placed into her palm instantly.
She made a precise incision.
"Suction."
"Retractor."
"Hemostats."
One command followed another as the team worked in perfect rhythm.
Blood pooled inside the abdominal cavity, but Fiona remained calm. Her sharp eyes located the source of the hemorrhage.
"I've found it."
She carefully removed the jagged piece of windshield glass lodged deep in William's abdomen.
"Suction."
The nurse responded immediately.
Fiona controlled the bleeding before repairing the damaged tissue with practiced precision.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours.
Finally, she tied the last suture on the repaired organ and stepped back.
His vital signs had stabilized.
She let out a quiet breath.
"Dr. James, finish closing."
"Yes, Doctor."
Removing her gloves, Fiona stepped out of the operating room.
The moment the doors opened, a middle-aged couple rushed toward her, curiosity written across their faces.
"Where's my brother-in-law?" the woman demanded, shedding tears that didn't seem to reach her eyes.
Before Fiona could answer, both of them tried to push past her toward the operating room.
She stepped in front of the door.
"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs…….” The name on the clipboard flashed through her memory. “Sterling, but you can't go in while the surgery is still being completed."
"And who are you to stop us?" the man snapped.
"If anything happens to William, every person responsible will answer for it."
Fiona met his glare without flinching.
"I understand how worried you are. But your brother is receiving the best care possible. Interrupting the surgical team won't help him."
"What do you know about my brother?" the man shouted.
Before Fiona could respond, a deep voice echoed through the corridor.
"What's all this noise?"
The hallway fell silent.
An elderly man in a perfectly tailored black suit approached with measured steps, the rhythmic tap of his cane echoing across the polished floor.
Every nurse instinctively moved aside.
The couple froze.
"Dad..."
The old man ignored them completely.
His calm, piercing gaze settled on Fiona.
"Doctor," he said. "How is my grandson?"
Fiona straightened respectfully.
"The surgery was successful. He's no longer in immediate danger. Dr. James is closing the incision now, and we'll continue monitoring him closely.”
A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Good."
He nodded to himself.
"I told his grandmother there was no need to worry."
He turned back to Fiona.
"Thank you, Doctor...?"
"Fiona Hart."
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"So you're Dr. Fiona Hart."
"I've heard a great deal about you."
"Thank you, sir."
Behind her, William's elders exchanged embarrassed glances, their earlier arrogance gone.
The old man's expression darkened as he faced them.
"Have you embarrassed yourselves enough?"
"Dad... we were only worried..."
"Worried?"
He struck the floor once with his cane.
"Worry is no excuse for forgetting your manners."
Neither of them dared to answer.
"Go home."
Without another word, they lowered their heads and walked away.
The old man turned to leave but stopped after a few steps.
"Doctor Hart."
Fiona looked up.
"The Sterling family never forgets a kindness."
With that, he walked away, leaving Fiona standing quietly outside the operating room, alone with her thoughts.
Fiona looked toward the operating room, unease settling quietly in her chest.
She had no idea that the man lying behind those doors would soon turn her peaceful life upside down.
- Writer
