Medical Center. Ward.
"Melendez," Adam said, tilting his chin up slightly.
"Today, we're performing an aortic valve replacement for Mr. O'Malley. We'll be using a pig valve to replace the aortic valve. We've noticed your irregular heart rhythm, so it's best to do the surgery now…"
The short guy explained the condition calmly, taking his time.
"Excuse me, have you checked the acidity of his digestive fluids?" George barged in from outside, snatching the chart from the short guy's hands. In a tone that practically begged for a smack, he added, "His potassium levels were borderline low this morning."
"Dr. O'Malley, have you ever performed an aortic valve replacement?" Adam asked, his face blank.
"…No," George faltered, then tried to justify himself. "But this metric has to affect the surgery, right?"
"How does it affect the surgery?" Adam shot back. "Please explain in detail."
"…"
George was speechless. He only had a vague idea and couldn't elaborate. He'd just noticed the potassium levels brushing the edge of normal and instinctively thought it was a problem.
"Mr. George O'Malley, do you have doubts about me leading this surgery?" Adam asked, switching to a more formal tone as he addressed George, the family member.
"No, I'm just a little worried…" George mumbled, looking embarrassed.
"Then what do you want us to do?" Adam pressed. "You should know the aortic valve replacement isn't the critical part here—the tumor removal is. We don't have time to waste."
"Sorry, Dr. Duncan. George cares too much. Please forgive him," George's dad jumped in with an apology.
"It's my fault," Adam said with a smile. "As his senior, I haven't trained him well. He's impulsive, not calm enough, and his theoretical knowledge is lacking. Looks like he's not working hard enough."
"Then push him harder!" George's dad said with a sheepish grin. "We all know Dr. Duncan is an amazing doctor. It's George's good fortune to learn from you. If he's slacking, don't hold back—push him!"
"I'll try," Adam said, shaking his head. "Theory's easy to learn, but changing his personality? That's tough. How far he goes depends on him."
George, the chubby little guy, usually played the perfect "best guy friend"—warm, soft, and easygoing, never losing his temper no matter how much people pushed him around. But when he did get worked up, oh boy, he could be a real pain! 😤
It's not that Adam couldn't explain things patiently. Last time, when Dr. Bailey's son had an issue, Adam not only let Bailey into the OR but also walked her through every step of the surgery with care. If he could do that for Bailey mid-operation, explaining things to George beforehand should've been no problem.
But Adam could see it: George's dad had cancer, and George was bottling up a ton of frustration. On the surface, it looked like he was just overly worried about his dad, hence the outburst. But deep down? He was probably resentful—blaming his dad for smoking, drinking, not exercising, eating junk, and not taking care of himself, leaving George to run around stressed and scared. He didn't even realize it himself; that's why they call it "nameless anger." 😣
Human nature—people hate dealing with trouble. But Adam wasn't about to coddle him.
After giving George a good scolding to vent his own frustration, Adam felt better. He got the okay from George's dad, then took the short guy and Carter into the OR to start the aortic valve replacement.
Operating Room.
Everything was going smoothly.
"I'm about to stitch up the aortic incision. What's the next step?" Adam asked, playing the role of a good mentor while operating.
"Insert a needle into the ascending aorta to remove the air, then release the aortic valve clamp," the short guy replied, assisting as the first helper.
"If it weren't for George, you guys would've handled the follow-up steps," Adam said with a shake of his head.
"No one wants an intern doing surgery—not even the interns themselves," the short guy quipped dryly.
"Except you, of course, Dr. Duncan," Carter chimed in with a grin. "When you were an intern, everyone wanted you operating on them."
"Not everyone," Adam laughed. "Some people swear by age being a treasure. They think the best doctors have to be middle-aged."
"That's just 'cause your skin's too perfect, Dr. Duncan. You look like you just walked out of high school!" Carter teased. "Plus, they don't get what a genius is. They're not one, and they've never seen a real one in action—how far talent can really take you!"
The short guy glanced at Carter, who caught the eye of the "most understanding" nurse nearby. Seeing her look of approval, Carter flashed a smug little smile at the short guy. 😏
"So, Carter," Adam said, eyeing Carter's increasingly smooth flattery with a grin, "Halloween's a week away. Your Carter family's old money—got any special Halloween traditions?"
"Nothing fancy," Carter replied after a pause. "Just decorating the house. Honestly, it's less lively than most regular folks."
"Makes sense," Adam teased. "Normal families get kids knocking for candy. Your kind? Living in a huge estate with forests and lakes all around—kids would have to trek through half of it just to reach your door! They'd give up halfway. What, their parents gonna drive them for candy?" 😂
"Yeah, so it's kinda boring," Carter chuckled.
"I bet your parents just make an appearance and leave you to it, right?" Adam said playfully.
"How'd you know?" Carter asked, surprised.
"'Cause they've got their own stuff going on," Adam said with a sigh. "Halloween's such a great holiday—my favorite, honestly."
In his mind, he couldn't help but picture some eye-opening scenes. Old-money Halloween vibes, probably something like that.
"I'm more of a Christmas guy," Carter said, brushing off Adam's teasing tone. "Every Christmas, the bravest man in the Carter family heads into the woods, picks out the perfect Douglas fir, and chops it down with his strong Protestant hands for our Christmas tree."
"Let me guess—this fine tradition's been passed to your strong doctor hands now?" Adam grinned.
"Five years ago, I took up the axe," Carter said proudly.
"Ever brought a girl along to chop trees?" Adam teased. "Some girls have a thing for lumberjacks or chimney sweeps—real rugged types."
Somewhere at Ralph Lauren's office, Rachel sneezed loudly.
Carter just smiled, saying nothing. Clearly, a handsome, strong lumberjack chopping his own tree in his family's vast woods and dragging it back to their grand estate? Most girls couldn't resist that. 😎
Beep beep! The monitor's alarm blared.
"The ascending aorta's swelling—massive bleeding around the suture line."
"BP's 68/42."
"Heart rate's dropping."
"Get an esophageal and cardiac ultrasound now," Adam ordered calmly. "We need to control the bleeding and redo the bypass. Melendez, ever done a running diagonal suture?"
"No," the short guy shook his head. "But I know how."
"Well, now's your chance to put theory into practice," Adam said with a smile.
Under Carter's jealous gaze, Adam guided the short guy through the running diagonal suture while operating. The short guy lived up to being Adam's favorite of the four. He'd never done it before, but his hands were rock steady, and his theoretical knowledge was spot-on—he knew exactly what to do at every step.
Soon, the monitor's alarm quieted down. The surgery was back on track.
"Great job, Dr. Melendez," Adam praised, then glanced at Carter with a smirk. "See that? That's the strongest pair of hands! If Neil's last name was Carter, he'd be the one chopping trees every Christmas."
"…" Carter's mouth twitched.
He'd laid on the flattery so smoothly, and still, he couldn't outshine the cool, quiet short guy. It deepened his respect for Dr. Duncan's "merit rules" philosophy.
But he glanced at the "most understanding" nurse, giving himself a mental pep talk. Strength speaks for itself, sure, but flattery wasn't useless. Once his skills caught up to the short guy's, he'd be the one Dr. Duncan favored most.
(End of Chapter)