Catherine's POV,
I cracked my neck, feeling exhausted. After long hours of surgery, I finally got the rest I needed. Every inch of my body is hurting. My heart's pounding faster than ever. It was chaos.
"I failed someone." Alorra was there when I had my first failed surgery. My patient died. "I hate this feeling," She said, slowly wiping her tears away.
"We're doctors. It's our job to save people, to give them a second chance to live. However, it's not our job to magically bring them to life when all there's left is death." I said. Alorra has been my best friend since birth. Our moms are the best of friends. She's much more like a sister to me.
I know how fragile she is.
"Stop crying." I rudely said, making her roll her eyes at me.
Alorra sniffled. "You're such a jerk," she said, her voice cracking.
I leaned my head back against the wall. My eyes shut, but I could still hear the sound of the flatline ringing in my ears.
It won't stop.
"You can't keep bottling it up," she whispered. "One day, it's going to crush you."
I opened my eyes and stared at her. Her face was red from crying, but her eyes still carried that fire. That's Alorra. Breaks easily. Heals quickly.
"I know," I said quietly. My chest tightened.
She sat down beside me, crossing her arms. "We're terrible at this," she muttered.
A small laugh escaped my lips. "Yeah. We are."
For a moment, it was just us. Sitting in silence. Two broken doctors pretending we were fine.
"What's bothering you?" She suddenly asked.
"My patient earlier-" I stopped mid-sentence. "Do you remember the night we were talking about sex life?"
"I remember. You were all about that person you had a one-night stand with," She said with a hint of tease in her voice.
"She was my patient."
Silence surrounds us. I looked at Alorra, all shocked.
"Believe me, I had the same reaction," I said.
"What the fuck?" She gasped. "What the actual fuck?"
"She's alive," I added quickly. "She made it through the surgery."
Alorra's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."
I shook my head. "I wish I were."
Alorra buried her face in her hands. "This is a disaster."
"I know."
"She's still unconscious, right?"
I nodded.
Alorra peeked at me through her fingers. "What if she wakes up and remembers everything?"
I swallowed hard. "Then I'll deal with it."
Her eyes narrowed. "Deal with it? That's your plan?"
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. My hands were shaking. "You don't get it, Alorra. The second I saw her on that table, I froze. I almost lost her."
Alorra's expression softened, but her voice stayed sharp. "You can't afford to freeze. Not in this job."
"I don't know what happened to me, too. It's like" I stopped for a bit. "My chest suddenly tightened when I recognized her. I was getting affected earlier during surgery, I could cry for God's sake."
"You're getting soft," She teased me.
I looked at her and rolled my eyes. Soft? I am definitely not a softy. Not for anyone.
=
"What did you say? The erosion was because of your stupidity in pushing to build that building! The landwas not strong enough, yet you still push through your stupid company."
"Watch yourwords."
"No, you watch yours. Because of you, people died."
"Don't blame me. Blame the land."
"You knew the risks. You ignored the warnings. That's on you."
Silence.
"Careful."
"I should be saying that to you."
My eyebrows furrowed with what I've heard. What the hell is happening? Was that erosion not an accident?
"I know for a fact you're not allowed to leave yet," I raised my brows at the woman in front of me, already trying to pack her things.
"What the actual fuck?" There it is, her wide smile and annoying grin. "You're my doctor?" She burst into laughter.
"Wait, actually? You saved me?"
"You are not discharged yet." I looked into my chart. "Not for another week"
"Then I'll be happy to stay here forever if I wake up every morning with this view," She grinned. Pointing at me.
I looked at her full of disgust. "Stay still."
She chuckled, lying back down like she had won something.
Why does she smile like that? Like nothing happened. Like she didn't almost die.
"You don't listen, do you?" I said.
"I listen," she smirked. "I just don't follow rules."
Of course. Just my luck. Stubborn and reckless.
I sighed, flipping through her chart again, even though I already memorized every detail. Anything to avoid looking at her. That feeling- I feel it again. Heart racing, insides screaming. All new feeling.
"Doctor?"
I didn't answer.
"Doctor," she said again, softer this time.
I glanced at her.
Her eyes lingered on me, searching. "Why do you look so serious all the time?"
Because people die in my hands. Because one mistake and it's over. Because saving you shouldn't have felt this personal. You are a nobody to me. Yet here I am.
I swallowed hard. "Rest. That's all you need to do."
She smiled again, slow and knowing. "I'll rest… but only if you stay a little longer."
This woman. God help me.
I hesitated, the words heavy on my tongue.
"Tell me…" I swallowed hard. "That erosion… it wasn't an accident, was it?"
Her smile froze. For the first time since she woke up, she didn't have a quick answer. Her face says it all. Something's wrong.
Slowly, her eyes shifted to mine. Serious. Sharp.
"Why would you ask me that?" she whispered.
My chest tightened. "Because I need to know."
She studied my face, searching for something. Then, after a long silence, she spoke.
"I wasn't just there by chance," she said. Her voice dropped lower. "I'm an engineer. I was inspecting that site before it collapsed."
My stomach sank.
An engineer. That explains it. The way she talks. The way she questions everything.
"I knew the soil wasn't stable enough," she continued. "I raised my concerns. But someone pushed the project anyway."
Her words hit me like a knife.
She leaned closer, eyes burning into mine. "That wasn't an accident, doctor. It was negligence."
"Are you going to report it to the authorities?"
"Can I ask you out?" Her serious face suddenly faded. She looks all annoying again. Smirking like she's not inside a hospital. Grinning like she just didn't almost die.
"I'll be back later to check on you again," I said, completely ignoring what she just said.
My heart was pounding very fast when I left her room. I had to stop for a bit to feel my pulse because it almost felt like I was palpitating.
I leaned against the wall outside her room. Tried to steady my breathing.
Why does she do that? One minute, she's almost dead. The next, grinning like the world owes her something.
My hand pressed over my chest. My heart wouldn't stop hammering.
Focus. She's a patient. She almost died. Act normal.
Normal felt impossible.
I closed my eyes. Tried to slow my pulse. Tried to tell myself it was just… her words. A joke, but when I thought about that smirk. That ridiculous question… my chest tightened again.
God help me. This woman is impossible.
I took a deep breath. Walked back to the nurses' station. Hands still trembling.
Get it together, doctor. She's a patient. That's all.
=
"How's your lover?" I rolled my eyes. Alorra, thought it was funny calling my patient my lover. "Wait, what's her name?"
I suddenly held the chart I was holding tightly. "I don't know," Alorra looked at me, all confused. "Damn, I don't even know her name," I said. I quickly turned the pages of the chart until I found her name.
"How can you not know your lover's name? What the hell? When you said it was a one-night stand, I didn't expect it's gonna be really a one-night stand." She chuckled.
"Elai Jonah Andres"Andres? That's a very familiar last name. I think I've seen it before.
"Andres?" Alorra said. "I feel like I've heard that before."
"I know, right?" I was trying to remember where I've heard the name Andres before. I swear to this hospital, I know this name.
"Doc Cath? The director's asking for you." One of my residents said.
To Be Continued...