After once again feeling the awkwardness of the "Mi" naming style, Adam chatted a bit more with Monica and the gang. Mostly, they were buzzing about how excited they were for Adam Jr. to arrive in four weeks. Pure joy all around! 🥳
Once he hung up, Adam threw himself back into his crazy-busy work life.
And just like Juno predicted, the fallout from the Golden Light Nursing Home black-market scandal kept snowballing.
A week later…
"Adam, I need some interns to help me out!" Dr. Montgomery pleaded.
"Didn't Dr. Torres assign you any?" Adam asked, surprised.
"Oh, she did," Montgomery said, rubbing her forehead. "But it's nowhere near enough. Do you have any idea how many people are coming in for fertility consults every day now? And they're all couples the chief and the dean specifically told me to handle personally. I need more hands to free me up from all the little stuff!"
"Heh," Adam couldn't help but chuckle.
This was one of the ripple effects of the Golden Light Nursing Home mess. Suddenly, all these upper-crust types who never cared about having kids were flipping the script, scrambling for every trick in the book to start a family.
Normally, a top-tier neonatologist like Dr. Montgomery wouldn't be stuck answering basic questions. But these were VIPs—big shots—and the surgical chief and dean were grinning ear to ear, pulling rank and playing the guilt card to make sure she dealt with them herself.
Poor Dr. Montgomery was stuck.
"This can't keep going like this—it's throwing the whole hospital off," Adam said, catching her glare and quickly wiping the grin off his face. "Why not just book them all for one day? Hold a little Q&A session and knock it all out at once."
"I already suggested that," she groaned. "The chief agreed, but the people showing up today still expect me to personally hold their hands. I don't have time to babysit them all day! So, I was thinking—can I borrow a few extra interns today? I'll pop in, say my piece, then let the interns take over and answer their million questions. But they've gotta be sharp and on their game. Adam, you're my only hope here. Lend me a couple of your interns—or heck, all of them if you're feeling generous!"
"You hear that?" Adam turned to the Fab Four with a grin. "That's Dr. Montgomery giving you her highest praise."
The four of them lit up—though some more than others. Carter was practically bouncing with joy, while Shorty stayed cool as a cucumber. Like Adam and Cristina, Shorty had his sights locked on cardiothoracic surgery from day one. Hearts were his thing. ❤️
"Alright, fine," Adam said, glancing at the crew. "You four are with Dr. Montgomery today. Think of it as an early rotation in neonatology."
"Yes, sir!" they chimed in unison.
"Thanks a ton, Adam!" Montgomery beamed, then whisked the Fab Four away. She needed to give them a quick crash course before the tidal wave of couples hit.
Later that morning, after finishing a surgery, Adam swung by to check on them. They were holding their own pretty well. He was about to head out when something—or rather, someone—caught his eye.
"Pfft!" Adam nearly burst out laughing but managed to hold it in. He whipped out his phone and dialed a number.
In his line of sight, a tall figure fumbled for his own phone.
"Uncle Bell, you're at the hospital and didn't even tell me?" Adam said, grinning.
Yup, it was none other than Adam's Uncle Bell Duncan!
"Huh? How'd you know?" Bell asked, clearly thrown off.
"Eleven o'clock," Adam hinted.
Bell turned, spotted Adam waving, and gave an awkward little laugh. "Didn't wanna bug you."
"You coming over here, or should I come to you?" Adam asked.
"I'll come to you," Bell said, hanging up. He muttered something to the woman next to him and hurried over.
"Adam!"
"Uncle Bell, what's the deal here?" Adam teased. "Who's that lady? Don't tell me she's my new aunt!"
"Maybe," Bell said, hesitating before nodding—to Adam's total shock.
"Wait, for real?!" Adam's jaw dropped as he glanced at the thirty-something woman. She wasn't some drop-dead gorgeous type, so how'd she manage to straighten out his decades-long bachelor uncle?!
"It's not what you're thinking," Bell said, catching Adam's look and scratching his head sheepishly. "You know about all the stuff going on lately, right?"
"You mean the Golden Light Nursing Home thing?" Adam said, half-laughing.
"Exactly!" Bell grinned. "You have no idea—after I did that deal with your buddy Ted last time, I started thinking maybe Single Terminal wasn't the company's big diversification flop after all. But who could've guessed it'd blow up like this? Ever since the nursing home scandal broke, Single Terminal's business has been off the charts!"
"So why are you even here then?" Adam quipped.
"Because I got promoted!" Bell said, puffing up with pride. "The company saw how awesome I've been and made me the head honcho of Single Terminal in New York. We've got branches popping up in every borough now, all under my watch. I'm the boss, so I don't have to grind it out with the endless stream of clients desperate to ditch the single life. They just give me a rundown at night, and I check in. Easy!"
"…" Adam had no words.
It was too real. Employees bust their butts all day, then have to stay late to report to the boss and chat about work, pretending it's some noble 24/7 hustle. Sure, everyone's "007," but the boss gets to goof off, nap during the day, and do whatever he wants—while the workers are stuck "resting" (read: cultivating immortality). 😅
Adam couldn't help but sneak a glance at his smug uncle, especially at that sparse, nearly bald head of his. Who'd have thought? Big-eyebrow, bright-eyed Uncle Bell—you're one of those guys too.
"So why are you here with… uh, the potential future aunt, tagging along for Dr. Montgomery's fertility consult?" Adam asked, resisting the urge to roast his uncle and getting back on track.
"It's because of Golden Light again," Bell said with a wry smile. "I used to think living free and easy was the way to go. I'd roll my eyes at your dad for popping out kids nonstop—"
"I'm right here," Adam cut in.
"Whoops, sorry," Bell chuckled apologetically. "But after all these years, look at you guys—you've all turned out so great. Especially you, Adam. You're the Duncan family's pride and joy. Then this nursing home mess hits, and I started wondering if I've been wrong this whole time. Maybe your dad Bob had it right. Look at your big, happy family—none of you would ever end up tangled in something like Golden Light. But me? If I don't change, I'm doomed to that fate someday. I don't buy that this exposé will fix everything. There's too much money at stake—it'll keep happening, no matter what. So if I wanna dodge that misery later, I've gotta put in the effort now while I still can."
Adam nodded quietly. Uncle Bell hadn't survived decades out there for nothing—he saw right through the mess. No matter how big this scandal got, it wouldn't stop the elderly from being preyed on. The profits were too juicy. This TV-drama world ran on capitalism, after all.
Those who knew the risks but still refused to shift gears—partying through their youth without building a solid family—would end up on that path when they got old. It was just a matter of how many. Death or comfort? Most folks knew the answer but still picked comfort, even if it killed them. Talk about irony.
Ring ring!
Right then, Adam's phone buzzed.
"Mom?" he answered.
"Got some good news for you!" His mom, Amy, sounded downright giddy on the other end.
"No!" Adam's heart sank as he yelped, "Please don't say it's a pregnancy! Please don't say it's a pregnancy! Please don't say it's a pregnancy…"
"…"
Amy's excitement screeched to a halt. "You know I can hear you, right?" she said, exasperated.
"Oh, good!" Adam paused, then doubled down with glee, "Please don't say it's a pregnancy! Please don't say it's a pregnancy! Please don't say it's a pregnancy…"
(End of Chapter)