You Promised | Mark Sloan ✓

44┃someone's getting fired

"And then you requested for..." Jennings squinted at the papers in his hand, "Dr Lawrence, again?"

"The other Lawrence. He-Lawrence, Timothy," Mark replied, narrowing his eyes at each person in the room. "I need the most trustworthy residents on these serious cases. And he doesn't get queasy at the sight of burn victims."

❦

"So, did you stay with the burn patient in the trauma room?"

Norah shook her head. "No. I was treating Roy Macinaw, a firefighter-"

"You didn't join Dr Sloan in the trauma room?" Jennings interrupted.

❦

"Roy Macinaw, 56-year-old firefighter. Fell three stories from a ladder," Callie presented as Norah rushed up to provide an extra set of hands. "Looks like a hip and femur fracture."

Owen was checking on Mr Macinaw's ears while Callie continued assessing his bone injuries; Cristina was checking the man's abdomen. The firefighter was stammering while asking about the kid's wellbeing; the boy was getting treated in the trauma room by Mark, Arizona and Timothy.

Norah glanced over and saw the boy through the window screaming in pain as the surgeons treated his burns. "The kid is alive, Mr Macinaw," she assured, "Now, I'm gonna check on your pupils..."

The resident frowned as she shone the light across the firefighter's eyes. She lifted her head to see Derek walking out of one of the trauma rooms.

"Dr Shepherd!" she called out, and the neurosurgeon turned his head towards her direction immediately. "He has uneven pupils," she informed, and he hurried over at once.

"Abdomen's rigid. He's gonna need an ultrasound."

"Yeah, he's gonna need a head CT, too," Derek added, "Lawrence, page me when you get his scans."

❦

"Dr Sloan and Timothy had it under control, and there was no need for an extra set of hands," she spoke but got cut off once again.

"You're a third-year resident, and you didn't feel the need to confirm with your attending whether he needs more hands on his case?" Jennings questioned with an accusing pair of eyes staring at her.

"If you would let me finish," Norah rolled her eyes, "Respectfully."

She took in a deep breath after the board member quieted down. "The boy, Evan Langs, already had the Head of Plastics, Head of Peds, and a well-competent resident on his case, compared to Mr Macinaw, who was short in surgeons. And since Dr Hunt cannot solely stay on one patient, I followed my professional judgement to head to the patient who needed more hands.

"Then I left the ER and brought Mr Macinaw for X-ray," she informed before cutting off Jennings, who was about to pop up another question, "And no, I had never seen Mrs Becker since after I finished her debridement."

"So, who was with Mrs Becker?"

Norah squinted as she recalled the chaotic night in the ER. Faces after faces appeared in her mind-before she finally identified the resident in question. "Dr Adamson."

❦ ❦ ❦

THE RESIDENTS SPRAWLED across the seats outside the conference room, all looking either spooked out or exhausted. Norah was sitting on the chair closest to the conference room when she heard the door opening with a soft squeak, then closing afterwards.