Hearts That Flatline

Part Two

"𝑁𝑜. 𝑁𝑜. 𝑁𝑜. 𝑁𝑜 𝑁𝑜." His mind thought frantically as that soul-crushing sound rang out through the otherwise silent operating room. With the clamp securely in place, he dropped the remaining instruments in the tray next to him and immediately moved to her side where he started CPR on her.

"Get me the defib!"

"But Doctor Ro-" the Nurse started to protest stating the girl is already dead, and there really wasn't anything more they could do. She came to them in pretty bad shape as it was.
Mattie, however, was having none of it.

This was 𝒉𝒊𝒔 hospital.
𝑯𝒊𝒔 operating room. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 patient! He 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 she'd be okay... He 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅! He swore an oath and he'd be damned to hell if he were to suddenly give up without trying everything! She was 𝗻𝗼𝘁 dying on his table today!

"I said get it ready!" Mattie growled as he continued to administer the CPR pumping manoeuvre.

The Nurse said nothing more as she got back to work, getting the gel and pads ready to place over the girls' chest. She never heard Mattie ever speak like that at all. Not to patients, not to parents or guardians who were being difficult, and certainly not to staff members.

He snatched the paddles from the Nurse and placed it over the gelled patches on Mizuki's chest.
"Clear!" He stated before pressing down to deliver the electric shock to her chest. Her body flinched upwards from he shock and he waited with baited breath.
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛.
Eyes turned towards the monitor that continued to give that dreaded ring through the room.

When the machine still flatlined, he handed the paddles back to the nurse as he continued manual CPR before trying again in another 30 seconds.
"Again." He said as he held out his hands for the paddles from the nurse.
"Clear!" He said again, only to be met with same results and switched back to the 30-second CPR manoeuvre.
"𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛, 𝑀𝑖𝑧𝑢𝑘𝑖. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!" his mind begged for her to come back to him.

One more time and it was all her little body could take with the electric shock riding through her system. Placing the paddles over her chest again, his mind screaming those begging plea's to any source of a higher power that would listen.
"Clear!" Her body jolted under the electric discharge but the machine continued to flatline.

𝑁𝑜. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

Breathing deeply in the rush of panicked adrenalin, his eyes widened in disbelief at it all. The young child that now lay lifeless on his operating table and him standing beside her, his white scrubs splattered and stained with her blood.
Just hours before he had looked her in the eyes and 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 her. He 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 her he would do everything he could.

But what he did wasn't good enough. He had all the medical expertise in the world and access to all the equipment and medicine, and yet, it still wasn't good enough. He had failed her.

"Doctor Rosewood?" the voice fell on deaf ears. Paddles were taken from his hands, leaving his hands suspended in the air and trembling.

"No." came the horrified whisper. A child had died under his hands. A child that he had promised life to. A child who had her whole life ahead of her – and he had taken it away! Him! A Doctor! Someone who was meant to 𝒇𝒊𝒙, to 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍 people! Not destroy them.

"Matt." The voice called again, this time a little more firmly because Mattie was just not responding. This Doctor, Dr. Alaric Smith, head Surgeon of the Paediatrics Ward, has watched Mattie grow into the fine surgeon his is today. Alaric's witnessed Mattie lose patients, some were old, some were inevitable, others were unfortunate... such as this. But he's never seen Mattie react this badly...