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The emergency room is busy. Patients roll into every available bed. Some broken man lost his mind and went on a shooting spree at a mall, killing a few and injuring dozens. Osler is one of the two nearest hospitals.
I look around and find Lionel attending to a critical patient. Lionel appears fine and is where he is supposed to be. Like Lionel has no loss of memory. He's back to being Frost – the doctor with a temper and cold sarcasm.
We never talked while coming to the hospital. But I wondered why Lionel remembered where he parked his car. He also had a baby seat installed in the back. It was a bit weird for a convertible. I couldn't ask him anything as he was busy checking the situation over the phone. For somebody who was reluctant to be a doctor and cold to patients, he was eager to save people.
"How many patients should die before you learn to intubate?" His eyes dart at another resident. He grabs the tools and intubates the patient. My confusion about what seems to be his recovery vanishes after he awes me with his gifted expertise.
"Dr. Darwin!" I run back to see the patient I have just attended. The numbers on his monitors are dropping.
I grab the AMBU bag from the nurse and squeeze it. The chest of the patient moves, but his stomach doesn't expand. "Take this," I tell the nurse and check the patient's torso. "He's hemorrhaging. Is Dr. James available?"
"He has just taken one patient to the OR. There is no available thoracic surgeon," the nurse informs me.
"Then, just inform any other surgeon!" I yell out of frustration. "If we can't open him up, he may drown in his blood."
"What's going on here?" Dr. Kevin Templar, the head of cardiology surgeons, walks in.
"We should drain the blood in his lungs and rescue his heart. But there are no available surgeons now," I explain. The nurse explains that Lionel is available, but Dr. Templar assigned him as his first assistant. "Dr. Icenhower!" Dr. Templar quickly calls.
Lionel looks at me for a while before focusing on the patient.
"He's yours," Dr. Templar orders. "Get some residents to assist you. Are you up to this?"
Lionel nods and walks closer to the patient. He looks at me and says, "We have to hurry. You'll be my first assistant, Darwin. I don't care if you're scared or not ready. Just do it right. Understand?"
He's Lionel without the memory loss. His eyes are focused; his voice is cold. And he seems irritated that he's stuck with me. Lionel slams his hand on the bed to get my attention.
"Focus, Darwin. You won't like it if this patient dies on the table," Lionel warns. His coldness shatters my heart. He looks at the nurses and orders, "Prepare an OR ASAP."
He can't have regained his memory in just a snap. There must be something that triggered it. Some studies show that when clots in the brain disappear, the patient regains his memory. But Lionel did not have any head injury or any physical injury. Could it be happiness? Happy hormones can counter the effect of stress. And we were happy.
I shake my head. There should be manifestations or signs that the patient remembered something. Lionel didn’t show any of it. It’s like he suddenly remembers everything with a snap of a finger. Could it be? I look at him while he discusses with other residents tending to his other patients.
Could it be that he never had amnesia? But that's insane. Why would he pretend? Lionel is close to being a genius, but he could not have planned to fool us. And why would he fool us?
"Darwin!" Lionel blows a heavy sigh. He walks to me and pins his eyes into mine. "I told you to focus. I don't want you to think of anything or anyone. Keep in mind that you don't want this man to die."
“Can I talk to you after the operation?”
“You can sing and dance for all I care,” Lionel snaps. “But help me get this done with the patient being alive.”
He’s Frost, alright. The fantasy granted to me for a day has just ended. I’m back to being the hated Kayley. I take a step to follow Lionel but suddenly stop. He could not have forgotten about what happened between us, right? Kollie?
I remember how we talked to each other after we left the house. He may have recovered from his temporary amnesia, but he surely remembers what happened between us. I hold my chest – as if trying to hold up my sinking heart. The fantasy did not just end. Lionel will end up hating me more now. Kollie.
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