- - -
don't be scared. i have no idea how many times i've said it. the intern stands over a patient with a scalpel or a needle or a clamp, afraid to make the first move.
- - -
"how is she doing?" lia asks owen about cristina as they walk down the hospital corridor. "is she-"
"oh, we're- i don't know- she's- we're good," owen tells her. "we're fine. it's like nothing has changed, yet she refuses to talk about work. i bring up work, and she goes blank."
"maybe i shouldn't go on this vacation," lia exhales deeply. "i mean, i'm only going to visit sabie again. i was only going to get away from the hospital for a while, but i can stay."
"no, you should go," owen insists. "you've been through a lot too. you deserve some time off to see your family."
"webber, hunt," richard calls from behind them, cutting their conversation short. "emergent patient ten minutes out. can you meet me in the v.i.p wing?"
"in the v.i.p wing?" lia raises her brow. "who is it?"
"oh, you'll find out when we get there. let's go," richard nods and the two surgeons follow him to the v.i.p wing.
when they get to the v.i.p wing, there are three security men stood, guarding the door.
"dr. webber, ronald dace, state department," one of them greets, stepping forward and presenting his badge. "we spoke on the phone? these your surgeons?"
"uh, yes, this is doctor-" richard begins to introduce them as they all follow ronald into the v.i.p wing.
"right now, we need to limit access to this area to only essential personnel," ronald cuts him off.
"uh, why is that necessary?" richard asks.
"no one can know this man is being hospitalised," he informs the doctors. "no one can know he's in the country.
lia and owen stop walking as a man is wheeled in on a gurney, surrounded by men is suits speaking in arabic.
"everyone, stop," owen orders as he and lia push their way through to work on the patient. "someone get the paddles."
"got it," lia says, placing a board underneath him. "he's in v-fib. charge to two hundred."
"and from a global perspective," ronald continues to speak to richard. "it would be great if he didn't die."
"clear," lia instructs as she and owen look at each other, panic in their eyes.
■ ■ ■
"they faxed more of his records," a nurse hands lia some paperwork whilst she's looking at the monitor, outside the v.i.p patient's room as owen continues to shock him.
"these are all in arabic," lia states, looking through them.
"it was a car accident?" richard asks ronald.
"the emir's car was hit by a truck as he was leaving the meeting," ronald confirms.
"what's he doing in seattle?" richard raises a brow.
"he's not," ronald states. "let it suffice to say, if he dies, we've got a serious international incident."
"well, not to mention, his people are supposed to see their first elections, right?" lia adds, and ronald turns to look at her.
"i'm not at liberty to d-" ronald shakes his head.
"unless he does, in which case, the door is open for al qaeda to move in, and then your secret meeting was for nothing," lia cuts him off whilst continuing to go through the emir's records.
"you don't just skip to the crossword, do you?" ronald asks, slightly impressed before regaining his serious composure. "listen, our best outcome here is that we get him stable enough to be put on a plane home."
"our best outcome is we save him," lia corrects him, entering the patient room.
■ ■ ■
"clear!" owen calls, as he and lia continue to shock the emir. "we need to get him to a cath lab."
"yeah, well, if he'd stop coding long enough," lia rolls her eyes, whilst listening to his heartbeat. "i'm inserting a pacemaker."
"you paged?" meredith asks, entering the patient room.
"yeah, mer, grab me a pacemaker kit," lia requests, and meredith obliges.
"so are you looking forward to visiting sabrina?" meredith asks.
"uhh... i mainly booked the time off to get away from here," lia admits. "i'd rather be going somewhere exotic like bali. there's so many places i want to visit, i just never have the time."
"the glamorous life of a surgeon, hey?" owen chuckles.
ronald watches them through the window before he steps into the room. lia walks over to him to see what's wrong.
"how bad is it?" ronald asks her.
"i'll tell you when i know," lia nods.
"maybe a little less vacation planning," he suggests.
"hey, i don't tell you how to polish your sunglasses," lia argues.
"look, between you and me, he's a good man," ronald assures her. "and it'd be a shame if something like this screwed up what he was trying to do."
"wow. every time i talk to you, i feel a little more relaxed," lia says, sarcasm evident in her voice. she then turns and walks back to the emir.
■ ■ ■
"the emir's cath confirmed that he does have a tear in one of his coronary arteries," lia reveals as she stands in the conference room with owen, richard, meredith, and all of the emir's associates. "we've stabilised him with a balloon pump, but i am gonna have to perform open heart surgery to repair the tear."
"doctor! doctor!" one of his associates calls, as all of the others begin murmuring to one another. "doctor! doctor, please was the tear in his-"
"quiet, please," lia orders.
"please, was the tear in his artery an injury sustained in the car accident?" the same man asks, when the room has quietened down.
"there is no way of-" owen begins to explain.
"doctor, don't answer that," ronald cuts him off.
"there is no way of knowing if that was the cause," owen finishes his explanation, ignoring ronald's instructions.
"can we have assurances that your finest surgeons will be operating on his highness?" a man translates for an arabic speaking associate.
"yes," richard assures. "uh, these are the chiefs of my cardio thoracic and trauma departments."
"sorry. he was asking your state department," the same man clarifies. "he didn't mean the finest surgeons in this hospital."
"which is why you might be more comfortable travelling to your own country, where he can-" ronald advises, but he is cut off by the men shouting in arabic.
"alright. alright. quiet. quiet, please. quiet, please," lia shouts, and they settle down. "thank you. i understand that there are a lot of concerns and agendas here. but we all have the same goal, and that is to see this man live. now we are out of time, which means we are out of options. i am your only shot, and you have to take me. i can only say that if you knew me better... you'd feel pretty good about your chances. dr. hunt and i are going to operate, and we will update you as soon as we can."
the men all start murmuring to one another and the doctors begin to disperse, but lia remains where she is as she picks up her files and paperwork.
"good luck," ronald turns to her, and she smiles before exiting the conference room.
■ ■ ■
following the surgery, lia heads to the emir's room to find the room completely empty, much to her surprise.
"hi," ronald greets from behind her.
"hey," she turns around to face him. "uh, i usually do a post-op exam right now."
"yeah. well, well he's on a c130 halfway across the country by this time," he informs her.
"oh, so i don't get to check on his recovery?" lia raises her brow.
"he's being well taken care of," ronald assures her. "you did a good job. i can tell you that."
"what are you doing still hanging around?" lia asks him.
"well, i wanted to say thank you. and that it, uh... was nice meeting you," he informs her, holding out his hand which she takes to shake, but holds onto.
"i'd say the same... but you were never here," she smiles, letting go of his hand for him to walk away.
- - -
they're scared. they know what to do, but they just need that little push. don't stop. don't hesitate. you can't be scared of what's next. do not let fear get in your way. that's why we don't operate alone.
- - -
mark is riding an elevator at the end of his shift at the hospital, when the doors open and lia steps in.
"hey," she smiles.
"hey," he nods, and they continue riding in silence for a few moments. "so who was your v.i.p patient?"
"i can't say," lia shakes her head.
"okay," he nods, and then there's another few moments of silence. "was it bono?"
"mark," she laughs, as the elevator doors open and she steps out. before they close again, she turns around to look at him. "it wasn't bono."
- - -
there are attendings and nurses and interns. those o.r's are full of people. so in the cases where somebody actually does get hurt, nobody has to go through it alone.
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