Medical Center.
A king leading four aces—white coats swaying, BGM blasting in the background—they strutted through the hallways, officially making their debut.
Adam was showing his four interns the ropes of the surgical wing. Sure, he could've dumped this on George, but nah—Adam wanted to do it himself. If he was gonna mold these rookies into legit future star doctors, he had to be hands-on from start to finish. No skipping steps!
And let's be real—Dr. Bailey's intern orientation? Absolute classic. Worthy of a salute from Adam.
"Dr. Duncan!"
As they passed a patient room, a familiar bald guy called out, stopping Adam in his tracks. His four interns, glued to his heels, screeched to a halt too.
"Vince!"
Adam turned to his fellow Texan with a grin. "How's Rick doing?"
"Thanks to you guys, Rick's recovering fast," Vince said, beaming. He glanced at the four interns trailing Adam and added, "I always knew you were the best, Dr. Duncan. This is the kind of crew you deserve—total Texas vibes!"
Eyeroll. Yep, that's right! Back at the cruise ship accident rescue, it was Christina who nudged this tough-as-nails Texan Vince to beg Adam to save his buddy Rick, who was pinned under a car. Back then, Vince was freaking out, worried Adam might be some hardcore Texan—or at least had a Texan soul. Now? He's proud as heck that Adam's a Texan too. All that old awkwardness? Poof—gone, like it never happened.
"It's just a resident with a few interns," Adam said with a laugh. "Rick's the real hero here. He deserves the best care we can give."
Some random nobody, no superpowers, no fancy assets—just a regular mechanic named Rick—ran into danger during a disaster without a second thought. Saved over a dozen trapped people, only to end up crushed under a car himself, suffering like crazy and flirting with death multiple times. To Adam, that guy's a hero, no question.
With Adam guiding over the phone and Christina drilling into Rick's skull on-site to stabilize him, plus a rescue team (quietly tipped off by Karen) rushing in to lift the car off, Rick made it. Christina got him onto an ambulance Adam had lined up, and they sped to the hospital. Dr. Shepherd took over, pulling him back from the brink. Recovery's still gonna take time, though. Right now, Rick's chilling in a VIP room Adam hooked up for him.
Vince was clearly there to check on him.
"Not everyone respects heroes," Vince said, looking at Adam gratefully. "Rick's in your hands now. I've gotta head out—won't be able to visit before he's discharged."
"No worries," Adam said with a nod and a smile. "New job?"
"Kinda," Vince replied, his grin getting wider. "Heading to MIT for grad school. Military training program."
"You're military?" Adam asked, eyebrows shooting up.
In that moment, the light bouncing off Vince's shiny bald head hit Adam just right, and a memory flashed—Vince in a military uniform.
Oh crap! It's him!
"Used to be," Vince said with a chuckle. "Retired, went to college, became an engineer. But Rick's rescue shook me up. One person's strength? It's nothing against a disaster. Then my old boss called—Air Force has this training gig. My background and service record fit, so I applied. Now I'm off to MIT for a master's in mechanical engineering."
"Haha, nice! That's better than a physicist-turned-engineer," Adam said, half-laughing, half-stunned. "Never asked before—what's your last name?"
"Williams!" Vince grinned. "Vince Williams."
Bingo. Adam was sure now.
This bald Texan tough guy? At first, Adam pegged him as the brother-in-law of that narc cop from Breaking Bad. But nope—turns out he's the Air Force colonel from The Big Bang Theory. The one who scared Rajesh speechless with a single line, made Howard think feds were tailing him, and sent him flooring it through red lights—only to get pulled over and stumble out of the car with shaky legs. Colonel Williams!
Fate's wild like that. 😅
Beep beep.
Beep beep.
Adam's pager went off.
"Sorry, Vince—got a patient coming in," he said, glancing at it. "Congrats in advance for MIT! Catch you later!"
With a wave, he bolted toward the ER. Three of his four interns sprinted after him. Neil Melendez, the short guy, was the fastest—not George, who came in second. Carter was third. Lexie? She was the slowpoke, lagging behind.
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ER Entrance.
A multi-car pileup had been called in, and everyone who needed to know was there.
"Listen up—big accidents are our favorite! They're your best shot at hands-on practice!" Christina announced, practically buzzing as she led her crew in.
Meredith rolled up with her team too, same energy.
"Don't copy her," Adam warned his interns. "She's not wrong, but you've gotta keep some compassion for the patients. Plus, if they or their families hear her say that? Best case, you get punched. Worst case, sued—or maybe even a bullet to say hi. So don't go plastering excitement all over your face and mouth like she does."
"Hey! You serious?" Christina overheard and marched over, glaring. "Using me as your little 'bad example' for teaching interns?"
"Am I wrong?" Adam shot back with a grin. "I've told you a million times to tone it down. You don't listen, so why can't I use you as a cautionary tale? If I mess up, feel free to do the same—I won't mind!"
"…" Christina had no comeback.
Everyone around cracked smiles, but George and Lexie straight-up laughed out loud.
"Oh, great—Adam's mocking me, and now you're laughing too, O'Malley?" Christina snapped, narrowing her eyes and raising a brow. "Guess my interns are gonna have plenty of 'bad examples' to learn from soon. Starting with: Don't be a 007!"
"Christina!" George's grin froze.
"Alright, ambulance is almost here. Go wrangle your interns and get ready for patients," Adam cut in smoothly.
Christina shot George one last glare before stomping back to her team.
"Dr. Duncan," a nurse ran up, "they found that last missing hiker—still alive. He's on his way, critical condition, with a climbing axe stuck in his head. The director wants you on it."
"Got it," Adam nodded.
"Damn it!" Christina muttered, her little eyes practically glowing with envy.
A hiker with an axe in his head, still kicking? What a cool case! Now the pileup patients she was about to handle felt boring in comparison.
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