Chapter 13

"Damnit, he's bleeding out!" Kevin hissed as he stood over his struggling patient in panic as the loud horrifying sounds of the heart monitor eachoed in the air. "Help me, Didi!" he begged to the nurse.

The older nurse stared at the doctor's useless effects. "I'll be right back!"

"You can't leave me!" Dr.Richardson hollered. "DIDI! GET BACK HERE!"

Didi burst through the OR doors shouting through the halls. "ANNIE! ANNIE!"

The redhead paused outside the elevators doors. "Didi, what's wrong?"

"Mr.Olsen's fading fast!"

"WHAT?" Dr.Turtle exclaimed fear consuming her as she dashed back to the operating room. "He was fine! How did this happen?"

The nurse quickly slid a pair of gloves onto her hands. "Kevin..he...I don't know, he went to fix something and it turned into a trauma!"

Annie marched into the bloody horror scene that was still playing. "Didi, get the retractor! Kevin, finish sewing up the other opening!"

"What?" the doctor asked in shock.

"JUST DO IT!" Annie demanded as she progessed into the surgery.

"Is it too late?" Didi asked.

"I don't know, I just don't know," the female surgeon whispered.

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"Case for you, Nick!" Howie stated pushing in the stretcher. "Male, 78, was walking down his driveway slipped on a patch of ice."

"I probably messed up my damn hip again," the old man grunted.

"Well, we will take a look and find out," Nick assured him. "What's your name, sir?"

"Herman Burns."

"Hi, Herman, I'm Nick Carter."

"Nice to meet you, son."

"Well, Mr.Burns," Howie said shaking the man's hand. "I'm leaving you in good hands. Take it easy!"

"See 'ya, Howie!" Nick called waving to the paramedic. "Ooh, those are some nasty bruises," he whistled glancing at the man's leg.

"Hurt like hell," the patient grumbled. "I just hope I don't need one of those damn hip surgeries most people my age end up needin'."

"Actually, Mr.Burns, I don't believe that'll be necessary," Nick replied examing the area. "I think you've just torn some ligaments is all. I'd like to have some x-rays taken to be certain, but if it is indeed the liagments you'll just wear a brace and I'll prescibe some pills to lessen the pain."

"Sounds better than some surgeon ripping me open," the patient commented.

The student nodded. "I happen to agree. Well, I'm going to have a nurse give you something for the pain and have you taken down to radiology to double check your leg."

"Thanks, kid," Mr.Burns said gratefully nodding his head.

Nick smiled walking toward the door. "My pleasure, Mr.Burns, feel better."

The young student made his way into the lounge reaching into his pocket for spare coins. "Pepsi....Dr.Pepper....Water...." he mumbled glancing through the selections of soda available to him. "Ah ha, Mountain Dew, much needed caffiene," he decided slipping his money through the opening. He lifted his head as he heard the door open behind him. "Oh, hey, Dr.Littrell," he greeted as he bent down grabbing the beverage. "How's your patient? Chirstina? The little girl with leukemia."

Brian lowered his head. "She's dead."

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"You saved him, Annie," Didi smiled wiping the doctor's sweaty brow. "I don't know how you did it, honey, but thanks to you, Mr.Olsen is alive."

"It was a group effort," the young surgeon argued allowing the nurse to help her out of the protective layers of clothing. "I couldn't have done it alone."

Didi patted her cheek. "Annie, you child, are a miracle worker."

The redhead glanced at Dr.Richardson standing across from her in silence. "I wouldn't say that, but a miracle definitely occured today." She slid a new pair of scrubs over her clothing. "Didi, could you please see that someone is consistently keeping an eye on Mr.Olsen? I'd like the nurses to constantly be checking his heart rate and blood pressure for the next forty-eight hours for any signs of an irregular pattern. Also, I want to be imediately inform if he develops a fever or any signs of infection near the incisions."

Didi nodded. "Ceratinly, Dr.Turtle."

Dr.Turtle turned to the silent surgeon standing in the corner. "Dr.Richardson, I'd like to speak with you now in private."

He nodded following her out of the small room. "Let's go into the my office."

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" she shouted as they entered the small quarters.

"I don't know, Annie," he sighed sitting down.

"You could have killed him, Kevin! You nearly did! What were you thinking? Didi told you it was fine, why didn't you listen to her?"

"She's a nurse, her opinion isn't as highly regarded as mine."

"Why the hell not?" the woman snapped. "Why do you get to ride over everyone? Because of the markings standing behind your name? You could have at least let her explain why she thought it was already complete! Why did you decide to put yourself above everybody else?"

"I don't..."

"Yes, you do! You walk around here like you're a precious gift! Well, you're not!" She took a deep breath fighting to control her temper. "You don't listen to anyone else, you don't care about anyone else. How could you be a doctor when you treat every one of your patients as merely a body and not a human!" She stared at him her brown eyes burning in anger. "Everyone makes mistakes, accidents happen, but there is no excuse for you consistently being an asshole." Annie paused embarrassment consuming her for what she had just shouted. "Oh my God..." she whispered. "Kevin...Kevin, I'm so sorry, I had no right to say that to you. I was just upset."

He shook his head. "No, you're right."

She felt her jaw drop. "What did you just say?"

"I said you were right," he whispered slowly. "And you are."

Annie crossed her arms. "What's going on with you? You never agree with me."

He looked up at her. "You're right. You've been right. You're a better doctor than me."

She sat beside him, calming down. "I'm not a better doctor than you, I'm just a different doctor than you. You treat bodies, I treat people."

"From now on you're incharge of the surgrical unit."

"What?" Annie gasped. "Are you kidding? Kevin, I'm not good enough for that!"

"Yes, you are."

"I'm suppose to do all the operations at this location myself?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's a small area, Annie, you could take all of the scheduled operations yourself, you don't need me."

"What if a trauma comes in?"

"Then, I'll have to step in and help you."

She crossed her arms. "What do you plan to do if you want to stop surgery?"

"I'll handle the business affairs in the hospital as well as working and managing the ER."

"Kevin, you'd be wasting your talent in the ER. And we both know you wouldn't be happy working there. Look, I was wrong to snap at you." She attempted to smile. "Listen to me, I'm admitting I was wrong, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear me say that. It probably will never happen again."

"Don't you get it?" he sighed. "You're not wrong. I shouldn't be operating if I'm going to be making fatal mistakes."

"But it wasn't fatal."

"Yeah, because you stepped in and saved him, Annie. You're an asset, I'm only a liability."

She held in her head in hands. "I'm telling you, Richardson, you're a fantastic doctor. Maybe I see some flaws in your personality, but I had no right to comment on your credibilty as a doctor."

He stood walking to the door. "You had every right. I'm leaving everything in your hands now, obviously you're better for the job."

"What kind of man are you?" she sighed. "One mistake and you just give up?"

His green eyes softened staring down at her. "This isn't like riding a bike, Dr.Turtle. I can't just stop, dust myself off and hop back on. If I make a mistake the only thing I could be dealing with is a dead body, that's too much to take. So, I'm leaving the sugrical jobs with you. The patients deserve to have a person standing over them, not a person like me."

Annie watched as he left in silence never looking back at her. She sighed. "But what if I can't handle it?"

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"Everyone is going to so pissed at us," Katie said nervously as she and AJ entered the quiet hospital.

"Think we could get passed them?" AJ asked.

"After being gone two hours and coming back with scrapes and bruises?" she answered back sarcastically.

"So much for being optimistic," he sighed walking up the quiet hallway the nurse near his side.

"Where is everybody?" Katie wondered glancing at the surroundings.

"I'm right here," Brian replied from behind.

Katie turned to see the doctor facing them. "Dr.L-Littrell," she stuttered as her nerves took over.

"Where were you two?" he spat.

"It's all my fault," AJ stated taking the blame.

"Undoubtedly," the doctor agreed crossing his arms. "I want to know what happened, and I want to know now."

AJ lowered his head. "We went into the city."

Brian's eyes narrowed. "To do what, Mr.McLean? Go shopping?!"

"No...We, I mean, I was giving free medical treatment near a homeless shelter."

"YOU WHAT?"

"I know a nice man there," AJ explained. "I wanted to help him. I know what it's like to be in that kind of situation, so, I try to give back."

He shook his head. "I appreciate the thought, but you went about it all wrong. And what were you thinking, AJ, taking Katie with you?"

"I demanded that he take me," Katie whispered unable to make eye contact with the doctor.

"You wanted to go to the projects?" he repeated in shock glancing at them. "I can tell by looking at both of you that you now know why I'm upset that you went there."

AJ paled. "Oh, Dr.Littrell, please don't tell Kevin! I'll be kicked out of school, Katie could lose her job!"

Katie stared at him in fear. "Brian, I can't lose my job! I just can't."

He sighed. "Neither of you will lose your jobs, but don't expect me to save you anymore! I tried! I tried for both of you!" He released a deep breath. "I've gone behind both of you picking up the pieces! Helping you deal with doctors that didn't understand, helping you get extra rest when you needed it, helping you adjust to the hospital, taking care of you when you were sick! Cleaning up cuts, giving stitches, always standing behind you trying to come to the rescue!"

Katie paled as she realized that Brian's words were no longer directed at the duo. His eyes locked with hers. He had protected her from all he could, but this had been beyond his control.

Dr.Littrell stopped speaking covering his face. "I won't do it anymore. I can't protect you, especially when you leave me like this. Besides, it's out of my hands."

"What do you mean?" AJ asked in worry.

"Dr.Richardson is managing and working in the ER now. If you screw something up he'll be the one you deal with, not me. And if you think I'm bad now, you don't even want to think about the conquences if it were him."

Katie stared at the floor. "You needed us today?"

"Yes, I needed you desperately," he answered sadly. "Maybe, the reason was personal, but I needed you all the same."

AJ fidgeted about. "Why is Kevin down here now?"

Brian shrugged. "I don't know, and I'm too tired and upset to ask. Besides, it doesn't matter. He is and that's all we need to know. Annie is now incharge of the sugrical unit according to him." He shook his head looking at their ragged appearance. "Go get cleaned up and take care of those scrapes and bruises. I don't have the time or the patience to do it for you." He began walking away not looking back at them.

AJ sighed. "Come on, Katie, let's go."

"Yeah, I'll be there in just a minute." She glanced at Brian dragging himself away. "Brian!" she called.

"What?" he asked without his usual caring tone.

"Why did you need us?"

"I needed you," he corrected.

"Why?"

"Christina's dead," he answered shortly.

"Oh no," she gasped tears finding her eyes. "Brian, I'm so sorry."

He looked at her unable to speak and simply continued to walk away.

"I owe him so much," Katie sighed wiping her tears. "Annie is running the sugrical unit, and Kevin is working near all of us, Brian not being there to help me anymore...Nothing will ever be the same here."