Kellan and I made our way to the cafeteria and we got a tray of food and I saw Rosa and Nathaniel already eating away.
Rosa was waving us over to their table saying, "Hey Alex over here."
I looked at Rosa but also saw Savannah sitting alone on another table.
I then whispered to Kellan, "Hey Kellan, see that woman waving us over, go ahead and sit with them and tell them I'll be joining them soon, I just need to take care of something."
He nodded and joined Rosa and Nathaniel. I approached Savannah who was sitting alone on a table, eating her lunch.
"Hey there Sav," I said and her eyes met mine and she beamed with delight as she dropped her utensils and gave me a tight hug. "Oh my goodness, the face I just wanted to see," she said as I hugged her back and then eventually we pulled apart.
I sat down and said, "What's wrong? I have a feeling something is wrong."
Her smile faded as she looked down and said, "I made a complete fool of myself, I almost killed a man a few minutes ago."
I was about to speak but she continued to say, "I can't believe that I tripped and I fell onto the tools and everything went flying."
"Good thing the head surgeon caught a scalpel before it plummeted right into the patient's brain," she said as she continued to look down and play with her food instead of eating it.
I sighed and said, "Savannah, how about you come join me with the rest of my friends, help you take your mind off things."
She looks up and smiles then says, "I'd love that."
We picked up our lunch trays and then I led her to the table where Rosa, Nathaniel and Kellan were already audibly laughing.
I cleared my throat and said, "Mind if we join in?"
Rosa smiled and said, "What took you so long?." I grinned and looked at Savannah. I then said, "Just bringing in a new recruit."
"Hi I'm Savannah Wilson, neurosurgery, you can call me Savannah," she said as she sat down and put down her lunch tray.
"Oh my gosh, is it raining accents or what? We have Nathaniel here with a sexy English accent, Kellan over here with that cowboy accent, yeehaw! and Savannah with a.... uhhh... I don't actually know what your accent is...," Rosa said as she looked at Savannah.
"Oh, I grew up in South Africa, hence the accent," Savannah explained. Before anyone could respond I catch Lucas just standing all alone by the corner of my eye.
I wave him over saying, "Hey Lucas, over here! Come on."
He shyly smiled and made his way over to us, awkwardly carrying his lunch tray. He sat down next to me and said, "Thanks for inviting me, I haven't exactly made friends with any of the nurses here yet."
"No problem, we're here for you," Rosa said as she flashed a smile at Lucas making him blush. He awkwardly smiles back and says, "T-thanks."
"So Alex, how has your day been?", Nathaniel asks as he takes a bite of his sandwich.
"Well uhh it all started with a massive jerk named Damien Wright," I said and Rosa gave a sneered laugh and said, "OhhhhhHhhH yeah, I was there to witness Alex put that man in his place."
"So you're telling me that the Damien Wright, talked to you?," Nathaniel questioned and I rolled my eyes and said, "More like I talked to a massive man baby."
"Man, I would have killed to have a conversation with him, he is literally the best at diagnosing patients, he has never ever gotten wrong," Kellan said as he ate his coleslaw.
"True, I heard that he can diagnose a patient by just giving him the information without seeing the actual patient and still get it right," Savannah said as she also took bites out of her lunch.
"Well I don't care if he's some high and mighty doctor here, he literally rained on my parade just because I accidentally bumped into him," I said as I furiously took a bite off my tuna sandwich.
"Woah, Woah, Alex, you're going to choke if you eat like that," Rosa said, "But..... you guys! Alex was so badass!"
"She literally went...nuh uh Dr. Wright, I'm not gonna let you insult me like that," she said as she tried to mimic my voice.
She then said, "And Dr. Wright said to her...," she proceeded to clear her throat and say in a much deeper voice, "You know I can fire you."
She then said in her normal voice again, "But our badass Alex was not gonna go down without a fight! She then said....."
She adjusted her voice to mimic me again, "I'd like to see you try."
I laughed and said, "Do I really sound like that?"
Lucas nodded and said, "You have a calm voice but in a good way where you can lead a crowd without having the need to shout."
"I'm gonna assume that's a compliment," I said as I drank some water then I sighed and said, "He wasn't the only jerk I encountered, I was also met with an extremely angry ginger."
"Oh yes and that ginger, I presume, has just entered the cafeteria," Lucas said as he shifted his gaze to Kaelyn who proceeded to get some food and sit alone on a table.
"Oh.....my...... god.... as in my partner for the rest of the week Kaelyn Miles," Rosa said and I nodded.
"I thought I was the only one who was being terrorised by her," Rosa said and Lucas laughed then said, "Uh huh, she gave me hell because I forgot to get her blood sample tested, I was about to break down and cry but Alex helped me through it."
"Dang, that small ginger must've packed a punch there to make you tear up Lucas," Kellan teased.
Lucas' mood turned bleak and he softly said, "Well my worst fear was to be seen as incompetent and she jabbed at it."
"You know what this calls for?," Rosa said as she stood up from her seat.
"Extra Mashed Potatoes?," Nathaniel said as he finished his own serving of mashed potatoes.
"No silly, this calls for a group hug!," Rosa says as she envelopes Lucas in a hug and we all join in as well.
"Don't worry buddy, cut yourself some slack, it's your first day, you're bound to make a mistake," Savannah said to reassure Lucas.
We all retracted from the hug and got back on our seats as Lucas said, "Thanks guys."
"I feel like this is gonna be our legit social circle," Rosa said and I nodded and said, "I could see that happening."
"I wouldn't mind hanging out with all you lads," Nathaniel said as he continued to eat the remnants of his sandwich.
I looked at the time and said, "Uh, lunch break's over guys."
"Oh shoot," Kellan said, "I'll go check on Delilah."
"Yes, that reminds me, I have to go talk to Kaelyn about our patient," Rosa said as she proceeded to walk up to Kaelyn.
"Guess I should be heading out too, catch you later Huang," Nathaniel said as he returned his tray and left the cafeteria.
"I'll be heading off too, see you later Alex," Savannah says as she smiles and walks away.
I turn my attention to Lucas then asked, "You got my results?"
"Yup, I was actually going to tell you that I'd give it to you after lunch but I forgot," he said as he sneaked a glance of Rosa.
I laughed and said, "I see, you must've been distracted."
"U-um well, yes, I was really into the conversation," he said as his cheeks turned red.
"Uh huhhh....alright lets go, I need to see those results," I said as I stood up and Lucas joined me to return our trays.
"So you like Rosa huh?," I teased Lucas as we walked out of the cafeteria to head to the nurse's station.
"Huh? Oh, Um, what are you talking about?," he said as he looked down.
"It's okay Lucas, don't worry, you don't have to admit it to me right now," I said as I put a hand on his shoulder.
He looked at me and I smiled then said, "But if you ever need help, just tell me."
He shyly smiled back and said, "O-okay."
We eventually arrived at the nurse's station and he handed me my results then said, "Here are your blood test results and your CT scan."
"Ok thanks, I guess I'll see you after my shift ends," I said.
He nods and says, "You'll know where to find me."
I made my way to room 302 and along the way I looked at the blood test results.
Low in Vitamin B-12. Small intestine is probably not absorbing enough nutrients.
CRP levels are increased so there must be inflammation.
Also a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Definitely a disease that's causing inflammation in the body.
I eventually arrived at room 302 only to see Delilah happily chatting away with Kellan.
I couldn't help but smile as I leaned by the doorframe.
Sadly, I knew we have business to attend to so I cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Sorry to cut your conversation short Delilah but I just need to confer with Dr. West if that's okay with you?," I asked and she nodded.
She pouted a little and said, "Alright."
"Don't worry, I'll have him back there in no time," I said and she just smiles.
I lead Kellan outside the room and showed him the blood test results.
He then read the information saying, "Low in Vitamin B-12, increased CRP levels, and high ESR."
"Can I see the CT scan?", he asked and I nodded and handed him the image.
I pointed to him a part of the image and said, "The ileum and the colon are inflamed."
"Ah I see so it really is Crohn's disease, but the common type, Ileocolitis," he said and I nodded and said, "Exactly what I was thinking, now we have to tell her the news and explain to her the treatment."
"Aaanddd since Delilah seems to have a soft spot for you, I believe you should break the news to her and also explain what she's gonna be doing here in North Haven," I said and he nodded.
We went in the room and Kellan explained to Delilah what was going on. I tuned out of the conversation when I saw a figure watching us from the outside.
It was Dr. Hudson taking notes of our performance.
Eventually I tune back into the conversation as Kellan says, "Do you have any known allergies to medicine?"
"None so far," she said and Kellan nods and says, "We'll be giving you prednisone to help reduce the inflammation, azathioprine and mercaptopurine to suppress your immune system, we will also be prescribing you anti-diahhreals and pain killers to help ease the pain as well as Vitamin B-12 shots."
"We'll be monitoring you for 2 weeks here to see if there are any improvements then after those two weeks we can decide if you're good to go," I said.
Delilah smiles and says, "I don't mind being here for two weeks if I get to see Dr. West everyday."
She shoots a wink at Kellan making him cough nervously.
"We'll see you later Delilah", Kellan said hinting at me that we should go and check our other patients.
An hour passed as Kellan and I checked on other patients and informed the nurses about Delilah's medication.
I decided to drop by and check on Delilah while Kellan took a toilet break.
"How you holding up Delilah?," I asked and she just sits up her bed, smiles, and says, "I'm doing fine, the nurses already stopped by and gave me my medication."
"That's good to know," I said as I took a chair and sat beside her.
"So, are you still in school?", I asked and she nodded and said, "I go to UCLA."
"Oh, so what's your major Delilah?," I asked and she looked like she was about to answer but her words were turned into gibberish as she suddenly looked pale.
"Delilah?," I asked but she suddenly slumped back into her bed as her eyes immediately closed.
The heart monitor suddenly flatlines.
Oh my god!
I scream at the top of my lungs, "CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE! WE HAVE A CODE BLUE!"