Medical Center
Dr. Shepter hurried over for a consultation. After a quick chat with Adam, he said, "There's another patient over there with their posterior cranial cavity and spine completely severed. Adam, I'm handing this surgery off to you."
"Got it," Adam nodded, then added with a hint of surprise, "Wait, seriously? The posterior skull and spine were completely cut from the inside?"
"Yep," Dr. Shepter replied with a grin. "It's a medical miracle, and I need to do everything I can to keep this miracle going!"
"If you need any help, don't hesitate to grab me," Adam said eagerly. "I'll wrap this surgery up as fast as I can."
A case this rare? He was super intrigued! 😮
"Cool," Dr. Shepter said with a knowing smile before heading off.
"Skull and spine totally severed… can someone actually survive that?" Carter muttered, rubbing his neck in disbelief.
It was like the patient's brain and body were only hanging on by skin and muscle!
"90% die on the spot, 10% don't make it past the ambulance," little Melendez piped up, his eyes practically sparkling with excitement. "There's never been a case that survived long enough to reach the hospital. This really is a medical miracle!" ✨
"So we'd better hustle—maybe we can still catch this surgery!" Adam chimed in with a nudge.
---
Operating Room 3: Sterile Prep Area
"Dr. Melendez, have you ever been in an OR before?" Carter asked casually as he expertly unwrapped a sterile scrub brush pack. He nudged the faucet on with his knee, wet his hands, and started scrubbing—10 times from the nails, then the front, sides, back, and between the fingers. Next, he hit the palms 10 times, followed by the backs of his hands, forearms—front, sides, back—all the way up to his elbows. Then he rinsed off with water.
While other med interns couldn't even dream of getting near an operating room, Carter—thanks to shadowing Adam—had these OR protocols down smooth as silk.
Why'd he ask? Oh, it was pure Versailles vibes—humblebragging for all to see! 😏
Little Melendez, a top grad from Johns Hopkins, had to have had better resources during his internship than your average med student. He'd probably been in and out of ORs a few times and knew the scrub-down drill. But no way had he done it this much—or this flawlessly.
Carter's real goal? Get Melendez to ask him why he was so slick at this… then casually drop how he'd been assisting Adam in surgeries for over half a year. He could already picture Melendez's jaw dropping, totally floored!
The thought of that smug, cool-kid face from a top-tier school morphing into shock? Carter was living for it. Too satisfying! 😂
"Ahem…" Carter nearly let a laugh slip but barely held it in. He turned, ready to flash his perfectly timed "oh, it's nothing" smile at his biggest rival—only to see Melendez, hands half-raised, already heading into the OR.
"What are you doing?!" Carter blurted, stunned. "Did you even finish scrubbing?!"
Melendez didn't say a word—just shot him a "What do you think?" look, then pushed through the door with his body and stepped into the operating room.
Carter's face froze.
All that smug satisfaction he'd imagined? Yeah, it just deflated like a sad balloon. 😞
---
"Alright, let's get started," Adam announced once everyone was in place. He glanced at Melendez, standing at attention, and Carter, still reeling. "Melendez, first assist. Carter, second assist!"
"…" Carter stood there, dumbfounded. The look he gave Adam was pure puppy-level grievance.
"Dr. Carter, something wrong?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.
Violet, the sharpest nurse by Adam's side, had her mask on, but her eyes—glaring at Carter—screamed "Get it together!" 😤
"N-No problem!" Carter snapped out of it, jolted by the memory of George O'Malley and Lexie Grey getting kicked out earlier. He shoved down his pouty feelings real quick.
Sure, he might roll his eyes at George and secretly gloat over Lexie's rookie fumbles—but George was Adam's old coworker and buddy, and Lexie? She was a stunner and the sister of Adam's colleague, Dr. Grey. Carter had been with Adam for half a year, but did he really think he had more pull than those two?
Emmm… Maybe he'd fantasized about it before, but one look at Violet's no-nonsense eyes crushed that daydream for good.
They didn't call her "Sharpest Nurse" for nothing. Without her nudging him along early on, he'd never have gotten close to Adam—or scored all those envy-inducing intern adventures. Her glare was the ultimate wake-up call.
So, no matter how confused or bummed he felt, Carter didn't dare say a peep—or even sneak another glance.
What's authority? It's when people trust and follow your rules. Fair, consistent standards win hearts and loyalty.
Watching Carter clam up, Adam smirked to himself. "Taking George under my wing wasn't such a bad move after all…"
Emmm… George was the fat chicken in this "kill one, warn the rest" game. Last year, Dr. Burke had used him the same way. Gotta admit, the old-timers knew how to set a precedent!
It was pretty darn satisfying! 😋
And why pick Melendez as first assist over Carter? Simple.
One: Carter had gotten way too cocky since becoming "Dr. Carter"—a total no-go in a life-or-death OR.
Two: Melendez's basics were rock-solid. While Carter was still gawking about "magic zombie patients," Melendez casually rattled off survival stats for this exact case.
The choice was obvious.
But Adam wasn't about to explain himself. First, that'd be way too uncool. Second, sometimes letting others figure it out—or overthink it—works better than spelling it out.
If Carter couldn't wrap his head around it? No sweat off Adam's back. The only one who'd suffer would be Carter himself.
---
The surgery sped along smoothly. Melendez, at first assist, showed off a steady foundation and some slick teamwork that left Adam impressed.
His hunch was right—out of the four interns, this little guy was the top contender for "future star doctor."
"Melendez, got any questions?" Adam asked mid-surgery, catching a flicker of doubt on the intern's face.
"Dr. Duncan," Melendez ventured, "this doesn't look like what those three climbers said—you know, swinging an axe to grab a rock and accidentally dropping it on the patient?"
"You heard their story?" Adam asked, intrigued, instead of answering right away.
"Yeah, I got here early this morning and overheard them while checking out the hospital," Melendez said, cool as ever.
"Heh," Adam chuckled. "I bet you didn't just hear their story—you've probably scoped out every patient's case here, haven't you?"
"No way!" Carter, who'd been quietly playing second assist with zero presence, snapped his head up, incredulous.
"Isn't that, like, the bare minimum for an intern? Getting to know the hospital's patients?" Melendez replied matter-of-factly.
Violet's eyes darted between Adam and Melendez, practically sparkling with amusement.
Carter, catching her look: "…"
(End of Chapter)