Shattered Heart, A Rainbow Six Story

Chapter 14

Three Days Later

Hereford Base, UK

(Y/N)'s POV

I sit in the Med-bay with Doc. I'm here because he wanted to follow up on me after my leave of absence, to make sure that I was healing properly, and that his work on my shoulder had held up alright. Apparently he wasn't satisfied with me saying that I was doing fine. Doc sits in front of me, carefully removing the sling from my arm. Once he gets it off, he puts it aside and sits back:

Doc: "Okay (Y/N). We're going to run through a series of tests, to make sure that you have retained full mobility. Can you roll your shoulder for me?"

I nod, and do as he says, grimacing in pain as I roll my shoulder. I'm able to complete the movement however, and Doc nods enthusiastically:

Doc: "Bien, bien. Now I need you to straighten out your arm, and hold it out to the side." (Good, good.)

As I follow his instructions, I decide to start a more interesting conversation:

(Y/N): "So, Doc. What made you become a medic?"

Doc sighs heavily, and sets his clipboard aside. He sits forward, and as he inspects my arm, he speaks in his smooth French accent:

Doc: "When I was little, I did not have many friends. Raise your arm. In school I was what you would call a bookworm. I studied for tests, got good grades. But when it came to social interactions, I was hopeless. Eventually, I learned to sit alone, and concentrate on my work. Curl your elbow. As time went on, and I started high school, I became extremely isolated. Then one day, a boy in my Health class sat down right next to me. He reached out his hand, and said 'Hello. My name is Mathis. What's yours?' I shook his hand, and introduced myself, and I went back to writing my notes. Hold your arm straight out in front of you. Merci. Mathis would sit next to me every day in class, and every day he would ask me how my day was going. He was the first person that ever cared what I had to say, disregarding my parents. Time went on, and I became good friends with Mathis. He had this dream of becoming a doctor. And he inspired me to become one as well. When we graduated high school, we both applied to a school that specialized in medicine. We became surgeons together. And then one day, Mathis told me that he was going to Africa, to try to help the people there. He asked me to come with him, but I was in the middle of establishing my private practice, and couldn't afford to fly to another country to do work pro-bono. So I declined. A few months later, Mathis' sister called me. Mathis had been killed in Africa, because he tried to stop a firefight. There were no other medics around to save him, and nobody knew enough medicine to help. He died. If I had been there...I could have saved his life. And it made me realize, that the place to save lives is in the field, not from an office. And that sometimes, the only way to save one life...Is by taking another. His death still haunts me to this day. I see his face in my dreams every night. But I suppose that I don't need to tell you what that is like. Do I?"

I stay silent, and shake my head. Doc sits back, and I lower my arm, wincing slightly.

Doc: "The pain should fade over the next week or two. But I want you to take it easy for now. No physical training. You don't have to wear the sling, but try not to put too much strain on your arm, or you risk more bone damage. Understand?"

I nod, meet his gaze evenly:

(Y/N): "Sorry about your friend Doc. He sounds like a great guy."

Doc nods, and smiles sadly:

Doc: "He was. It's too bad that it took his death for me to see just how good he was."

I nod, understanding exactly how he feels.