Ferry Boats and Scrub Caps

Ju-jued

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun brightly reflected off the water, and the Hudson flowed as a river of sparks. It was a beautiful day, and yet...

"Juju?" Addison asked. She hovered over him with a paper cup in her hand.

"What?" Derek looked up from the bench at his wife. The sunlight caused her red hair to flare like fire.

"Hot cocoa Derek... It's good luck! I'm sorry about your patients... three in one week? That's awful." Addison sat beside him as he accepted the hot beverage.

"Hmm." He said as he took a sip and winced at the heat. In his mind he went over every possibility, but... It had been too late.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Addison asked.

Derek furrowed his brows in confusion, "Make it?"

"You know...Become great surgeons. When everything becomes second nature, and you just... Know, you know?"

Derek chuckled at Addison's rambling. She was cute that way. But his last patient... "I thought I knew, Addy. I thought the bleed would resolve itself..." he shook his head and frowned. "I waited too long. I made a bad call."

He stared at the cup. He lost patients before of course. Usually if a Neurosurgeon was called, it was bad enough already. But..."It was a kid Addy..."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. He sighed into her.

Everyday there was a choice. Operate or not. Wait or go in? Live or die? But what about after?

The consequences at the end. After the choice has been made. In his mind's eye he saw the boy's face... His mother's broken expression as he gave the news.

He sipped the 'Juju' Addison gave him. He hated these choices.

"Derek, it's... you can't-" Addison sighed, taking the cup from him and having a sip. "This is how you learn... Now you know."

"A kid had to die for me to learn?" Derek said, horrified.

"That's not-" Addison took his hand and rubbed it. "I just meant, you won't make this mistake again. It's in your mind now, and every time something happens, you'll think of this moment... So it won't happen again." She offered the cup back to him. "You'll know."

"I'll know." Derek ran a hand through his hair. He looked at his cup. "You Ju-jued me!"

Her lips quirked, and the light flashed in her eyes, making the blue even bluer. "It's good Juju!" she laughed. "Soon Derek, we'll have made it. We'll make it. But right now..." she stared out at the sky. "It's a beautiful day..."

Derek took her hands and kissed her quickly on the lips. "Mm," he said. Addison had a way of bringing him... Perspective.

It was a beautiful day. The clouds were wispy and thin against the blue sky, and along the edge of the river the New York skyline was as clear and bright as ever.

To be a good surgeon, you could only dwell on so much before you had to move on...

"It's a beautiful day..." he said as he picked up the Juju.

Ferry Boats were good Juju.