Medical Center
Adam had compiled the most detailed info and precautions about congenital insensitivity to pain and sent them to Sheldon. Then, at Cristina's nagging, he headed off to Alice Grey's office for some one-on-one tutoring.
"So, Meredith really went?" Adam glanced at Cristina.
With a few people suddenly gone, it was just him and Cristina facing Alice Grey now. The room felt a lot emptier all of a sudden.
"What do you think?" Cristina shrugged. "At lunch, she was eating with Finn when Dr. Shepherd walked in, snagged her with a surgery right in front of Finn's face, and dragged her off. No way she'd ditch him tonight after that."
"She's playing with fire. She'll regret it eventually," Adam said, shaking his head.
Cristina just gave a helpless look.
Meredith's mom, Alice Grey, couldn't care less about her daughter's drama. She tapped her desk, her face cold as ice, and said, "Let's get started!"
Cristina straightened up instantly, notebook in hand, her eyes locked on Alice Grey—and Adam—as they dove into medical discussions.
No choice, really. With her skills, Cristina could only sit in and listen.
Even that was enough to make her stand out above the rest. Most people didn't even have the chops—or the chance—to be in the room.
The Next Day, Morning
When a familiar figure showed up at the hospital, it kicked off a gossip storm in no time.
"Isn't that Mark Sloan? What's he doing back here?"
"Didn't you see him in the white coat? Word is, he quit his job in Boston—just like Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Montgomery—and officially joined the medical center."
"Wow! Is this true love or just pure soap opera drama?"
"Look, look! Dr. Shepherd's heading over—oh, it's about to go down!"
"Nah, they won't fight. Last time was a fluke, and Shepherd hurt his hand. The chief chewed them out big time after that. If it happens again, he'll lose it completely."
"Yeah, a famous doctor's hands are the hospital's goldmine. Can't risk those getting messed up."
"I heard Dr. Yang's all about authority figures. That's why she's with Dr. Burke—those hands of his are her whole world, huh? 😉"
"You're weird, heh."
"You're weirder, heh."
"Geez, you girls—I don't even know what to say. Your imaginations are wild!"
"Enough dirty talk—look! Dr. Shepherd's chasing down the chief for answers now!"
"No chance. To the chief, business is business. Shepherd's neurosurgery might be prestigious, but it only brings in half as much cash as plastic surgery. No way the chief's siding with him."
"Half? That's insane! If Shepherd pulls in 2 million a year for the hospital, does that mean Sloan's raking in 4 million?"
"Yup, that insane! If Mark Sloan couldn't make that kind of money, you think he'd get away with strutting around just because he's tall and hot?"
"Tall and hot? Please, he's got nothing on Dr. Duncan!"
"Right? Dr. Duncan's just too straight-laced. With his looks and charm, he could outshine Mark even without the big bucks."
"Ugh, such a shame. I'd love it if Dr. Duncan took a page from Mark Sloan's book—just a little!"
"Mm-hmm, yes please!"
A gaggle of nurses huddled together, whispering and giggling.
"This has to be a nightmare," Dr. Montgomery muttered, rubbing her forehead when she spotted Mark Sloan. She marched up to confront him, but it ended in a huff, and they parted ways.
Noon
Adam was heading from the ER to the cafeteria when he caught something bizarre in the hallway.
"Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"
A woman's frantic shouts echoed as Dr. Montgomery trudged out of a patient's room, looking defeated.
"Did I just see that right?" Adam said, stunned. "Since when do you get kicked out by a patient?"
"Clearly, I'm not on my game today," Montgomery replied, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes, exhausted.
As a top neonatal specialist, she was used to patients and families bending over backwards to win her favor. It'd been ages since she'd faced a moment this humiliating.
"What's the patient's deal?" Adam asked. He could guess why she was off her game—thanks to all the Mark-related drama—but he didn't bother digging into that. He was more curious about what case had her so rattled.
Because unless it was a tricky one, even a distracted Montgomery wouldn't flop this hard.
"Pregnant woman, cervix fully dilated, three contractions so far, but the fetus is still 2 cm above the pelvis with no sign of dropping," Montgomery said, eyes still shut.
"Then she needs a C-section, like, now," Adam said, flipping through her chart and frowning. "The longer this drags on, the more contractions she has, the slower the fetal heart rate's gonna get. Could turn into late decelerations—"
"I know that! You think I don't?" Montgomery snapped, opening her eyes in frustration. "But she's dead-set on a natural birth. Says she's not a weak woman, won't back down from danger, and has her whole birth plan laid out. She wants to 'feel the pain of childbirth,' told me to stop scaring her, then screamed at me to get out!"
"Are you?" Adam asked, closing the chart and looking at her.
"What?" Montgomery blinked.
"Addison Montgomery, MD!" Adam said firmly. "Are you a weak woman? What are you doing right now? Letting the patient call the shots? What does she know about the risks?
Sticking to some natural birth plan at a time like this, bragging about not backing down from danger and wanting to feel the pain—she's gambling with her life and her baby's!
You're her doctor!
Drop all this messy love drama crap and tell me, with your top-tier experience and gut instinct, what she needs right now."
He'd seen the chart's numbers. This was urgent—no time to waste.
"She needs a C-section immediately," Montgomery said instinctively.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Adam pressed, his voice steady but intense. "Every minute you stall, the risk to her and the baby jumps tenfold!
You're her attending—the best of the best. Act like it! Stop being soft and take charge of their lives!"
Some patients are stubborn as hell. If a doctor doesn't project enough authority, they'll just do whatever they want.
Montgomery's experience and instincts screamed C-section—fetal size, all the data pointed to a tough natural delivery. Drag it out, and the baby's heart rate could drop fatally slow. Even the mom could be in serious danger.
Even in a modern hospital, losing both mother and child isn't unheard of.
Childbirth is a life-or-death ordeal for women—no joke. That's a truth carved out of countless tears and blood.
But this patient was pigheaded, and Montgomery, distracted by her soap-opera love triangle, wasn't exuding confidence or authority.
The woman picked up on it fast and threw it back in her face: "Late decelerations might happen? Are they happening now? No? Then shut up! I'm not weak—I won't run from danger. I've got my birth plan!"
Maybe she'd succeeded in some other field, convincing herself that sticking to her guns always wins.
Too bad not every path to victory works everywhere.
When it's a pro's job, leave it to the pro!
(End of Chapter)