Second Chance For Love

Chapter one.

Johnny Davis POV

January 1, 2023 - 00:01 am.

- Happy New Year! - is what I hear coming from outside the small room where I usually stay to rest when there is no patient to be seen.

I let out a long snort as I hear the voices of some nurses and some doctors, celebrating another year to come. I don't know why people get so excited for events of this kind when everyone already knows that nothing will change.

When I decided that I would work on New Year's Eve, the idea was to be able to spend those minutes away from all the excited shouting and all the euphoria that a new year brings to people.

I can't tell you at what point this kind of event became torture for me, but that time has unfortunately come.

I am a resident physician and while I am not finishing my specialization, I work in the emergency room of one of the biggest hospitals in the city. When I started medical school, people always told me that being in the emergency room was chaotic, that you had to have emotional and mental preparation for the things you would see there. But to be honest, in all the months that I have been working day and night in this ward, seeing more than thirty patients a day, I have not met a single patient who has caused me any emotion.

Everyone in this hospital has a gigantic aversion to the way I behave in front of the things I see and even with the patient, they say I'm too cold, that I'm too distant, that I should give more assistance to the people who are here looking for support, besides help to recover.

But I don't think that's my job, because if patients need support, maybe they should look for a psychiatrist, a psychologist, someone who will listen to their complaints.

I am not that person!

My father is a renowned doctor and he taught me everything I needed to learn about it and one thing he always told me is:

"A good doctor is a cool doctor. His patient doesn't need fine words and understanding, he needs efficiency."

In the beginning I didn't take what he said seriously, I thought that I needed to be understanding, that I needed to be a more human doctor and that I would be a better professional if I acted that way. But today I understand that I am better off acting with this detachment, even if everyone who works with me thinks otherwise.

At least I deliver results and take care efficiently of all the patients that pass through my hand, and well, none of my patients have died.

Because that's it, I do what I have to do.

I hear the loud laughter outside, and just hearing the animation of the others gives me a gigantic irritation. Why so much excitement for the turn of the year?

I take one of the pillows and put it over my face, wishing that something would happen in this hospital so that I could work.

In general, nights like these are usually pretty dull. And I confess that one of the crucial reasons I agreed to be on call that day was to get away from any celebration with a relative or friend.

I received a few invitations and I knew that if I declined any of them, just for the sake of declining, I would be confronted about it, especially by my father. So I decided to work, because there is no better excuse to avoid this kind of event than work.

I close my eyes and am ready to ignore the excitement of my co-workers and take at least a five-minute nap, but my plans fall apart when everything gets too quiet.

I open one of my eyes and stare at the door in front of me, already waiting for the moment when someone will open it.

The little room I was in was a good distance from the emergency room and the silence of the people nearby could mean that some victim has just arrived and they are rushing to attend.

- 1, 2, 3... - I am counting quietly, because I know that it is a matter of seconds before someone comes to call me, since the other doctors on duty already had patients to attend to and I was the only one who was "alone".

The door opens and I smile sideways, seeing a novice nurse coming through the doorway with her breath slightly affected by the run she must have taken to get to me and let me know what's going on.

- Doctor, two accident victims have just arrived! - she says agitatedly and I jump out of bed.

Finally some excitement! I was in need of a minimally lively evening.

I leave my little room together with the nurse, taking quick steps towards the emergency room as she was running in front of me.

I adjust my clothes as I see the two gurneys entering the hospital, each being dragged by a pair of paramedics.

I approach the first stretcher that comes in, seeing that it was a man, he was awake and looked quite frightened.

- What is the situation? - I ask the paramedic.

- Car accident. A road swerved into the wrong lane and hit the car they were in head-on.

I nod and look at the man, who doesn't seem to have suffered any serious damage, although his head is bleeding and he has some wounds all over his body.

- He hit his head and broke one of his arms. - the same paramedic tells me and I again agree.

That's what I call luck.

- My fiancée, please. Check on her! - the man says to me, apparently desperate.

I look at one of the nurses who was standing next to me.

- Take him to the emergency room. - she agrees and grabs the stretcher, taking it along with the paramedics and a few more nurses.

I go towards the other stretcher and I confess to being somewhat surprised at the state in which I find the woman. Her face was bruised, her head was bleeding, and she had part of her ulna bone exposed.

- Did they have the same accident? - I ask the paramedic and he agrees. - And the truck driver?

- He died on the spot. Everything indicates that he was drunk.

It's not as if I can feel sorry for such a being, since a good number of the accident victims I attend, have been in an accident because of a drunk driver and yet, people insist on driving while intoxicated, not caring if they are putting others' lives at risk.

- It seems that she suffered a head trauma, we noticed that her airway was not clear, so we had to intubate. - The paramedic gives a brief summary of what they had to do with the girl.

I grab a part of the stretcher and help carry it to one of the emergency beds, some nurses help us transfer the patient to the bed, freeing the stretcher from the paramedics and allowing them to leave.

I start to examine the girl and quickly realize that we have a very serious case here and that her brain doesn't seem to be reacting very well to my stimuli.

- We have to take her to surgery. Is there a surgeon on duty? - I ask a nurse next to me.

- There's Derek, but he's having surgery right now. - I let out a long sigh, looking at the blacked out woman in front of me, if she didn't go into surgery now, she might not survive.

- Prepare an operating room. - I ask seriously.

- What do you mean preparing an operating room, Johnny? Who's going to do the surgery? - the head nurse asks me and I sigh.

- Me. I don't intend to do her whole, but I have to at least start, otherwise she will die, and you know that none of my patients die. - I speak seriously, looking her in the eye.

I knew that this was not my specialty and that it was a risk for me to venture into something like this, but even though it is not my specialty, I knew the basics and if I am right, it is not going to be a complex surgery. So I can handle it.

- As soon as Derek is done with his surgery, ask her to come over and assist me. All right," I say to her.

Morgana agrees with her head and lets out a long sigh. She didn't agree with my decision, but she knew that we didn't have many choices.

While the nurses prepare the woman for surgery, I go to the boyfriend's bed.

- Are you in a lot of pain? - I get closer and start examining the arm that the paramedic said he broke, apparently that's all it was.

- Yes. My head hurts like hell! - he says agitatedly and I move closer to examine his head, seeing that there was a small piece of glass stuck in the side of it, near one of his ears.

- I need tweezers and gloves! - I ask and one of the nurses hands me what I asked for.

I quickly put on my gloves and grab the tweezers, ready to get the piece of glass out of there.

- What are you going to do? - the guy looks at me desperate.

- I am doing my job, now turn your head and be quiet. - I speak without patience and without shame.

- Stay calm, okay? Doctor Davis is very good at what he does. - the nurse says, trying to reassure the man.

I roll my eyes and use the fact that his attention is on her to remove the piece of glass. He groans and I put the small piece into a container.

- Do the dressing. - I say to one of the nurses. I turn to the other. - You can inject 0.05g of morphine. - I ask and she promptly prepares the needle and approaches the patient. - And plaster the right arm.

All said, I walk away and head for one of the elevators, which luckily was empty. I get to the fifth floor very quickly and leave in quick steps, going to one of the operating rooms. I start to wash my hands, seeing the team already starting to get ready in the room, getting everything we would need to perform the surgery. The nurses arrive with the patient and arrange the gurney in the room. I dry my hands and leave my hands open, a nurse approaches and helps me to get dressed, preventing the clothes from touching my hands. I step out of the small wardrobe and into the operating room.

- Is everything sterile? - I ask only out of conscience, since this was standard procedure.

- Yes, doctor - one of the nurses says.

I approach the patient and look at the objects laid out on a tray, wondering where I should start.

I was not an expert in surgery, but I knew that if I waited for Derek, this woman would die. And no patient of mine dies!

I started the surgery around half past midnight, taking all the care in the world not to do anything stupid. The woman had a hematoma on her brain and I needed to drain it before things got too chaotic. As I access her brain, I hear the door to the operating room being opened and a hurried Derek rushing past, giving me a rigid look.

Derek was a renowned surgeon with over ten years of experience in his field, unlike me, he was one of the most beloved doctors in this hospital. Everybody loved Derek! He was sympathetic all around and treated the patients without all the coldness that I used to use in my care. That's why he was loved and I was hated.

We were opposites.

And I think that even here, I don't need to tell you that we don't have a very nice relationship. To be honest, I don't have a very good relationship with 99% of the employees in this hospital, but I think that things with Derek were much worse.

- What are you doing, Johnny? - his voice comes out muffled, because of the mask covering his mouth.

In a matter of seconds he is standing next to me, holding my wrist so that I don't give another cut.

I stare at him with narrowed eyes, already feeling tension building around us.

It wasn't the first time we were having a clash, when it happened, all the people around just watched, mentally hoping that Derek would put me in my place.

- How dare a resident enter an operating room, without the supervision of a doctor? This isn't even your specialty, Johnny!

In any other situation, I would try to confront him and make all my points. But all the time I would waste doing that would be a problem for this woman on the stretcher.

For the first time, I will prioritize the welfare of a patient, rather than myself.

- I know I shouldn't be in charge of this, but she was in a critical condition, Derek. If I didn't bring her here, she wouldn't have a chance to survive.

He lets out a long sigh and fits his surgical goggles, with which Derek would be able to see the patient's brain better.

- You will assist me. - He is serious and asks me with a look that I remove myself from where I am so that he can take over.

I roll my eyes and make room for him to approach. Derek faces the situation and takes a breath.

- We have to be quick. - he raises his head and looks at the display with all the patient's information, checking how her heartbeat was, everything was stable.

- We have to drain this hematoma. - he says to me and I just nod my head.

That I already know, Derek. How about telling me something I'm not aware of?

I don't know how much time passes before we finish the surgery, but from the discomfort I feel in my legs, I have the feeling that a few hours have passed.

The patient is taken to the ICU, so that we can keep an eye on her. And I go to the wardrobe, to wash my hands again and get rid of the surgical clothes.

I am finishing washing my hands when Derek enters as well and positions himself at the sink next to me.

- You had a stupid attitude today, you know that, don't you?

- I didn't know that doing everything to save a patient could be considered a stupid attitude. - I speak nonchalantly and wipe my hands.

- That's not how things work, Johnny.

I turn my face toward him, staring at him intently.

- If you want to talk about it to the hospital director, feel free!

It was no secret that Derek wanted me out of this hospital from the moment I stepped foot in it. Now he would have an excellent opportunity.

- And mess with a Davis? No thanks! - he lets out a toothless laugh.

I would like to say that I didn't understand what he meant by that, but the truth is that I knew perfectly well and there was nothing in this world that annoyed me more.

I hated the weight that my last name carried, and if I could, I would get rid of it all. I tried to do it, early in my career, but my father wouldn't let my plan come to fruition, making it clear to all the important people in the business that I was his son.

He basically marked me.

- I know the stories, Johnny. And I know the things your father did to anyone who tried to harm him or get in his way in any way. Son of a fish is a fish.

Many things irritated me, that's for sure and it's not open for discussion. But what irritated me the most was when I was compared to my father, because I knew that the two of us were very different and that I would never act like him.

I would never be like Domenic Davis!

- You don't know anything about me, Derek! So keep your guesses to yourself.

That said, I exit the garment, leaving him alone.

I walk slowly to the ICU, approaching the patient and checking to see if she was stable. The nurses had already taken care of her injuries and had bandaged them. They had already stitched her arm and it was all bandaged up.

I go back to the emergency room to check the condition of the fiancé of the woman I had operated on, seeing that he already had bandages, his arm in a cast, and was resting, probably because of the medication he had been given.

- Dr. Davis? - the voice says behind me and I quickly turn around to find a nurse. - This patient's relatives are in the waiting room and want information about his condition.

- Right. I'm going over there!

- The chart. - she reminds me and hands me an iPad in my hand, where it contained all the information about the patient in question.

I walk past her and head toward the waiting room.

This was one of the most boring parts of my job, to notify the relatives. I never knew how to deal with their despair, with their cries. Some would even hug me, seeking comfort.

I meet three people in the waiting room and from the state they are in, they can only be relatives of the couple who arrived here.

- You are the family members of... - I look at the iPad in my hand, to see the name of the patient. - Luke Montgomery?

The three of them get up in a huff and come toward me.

- Yes, I am his mother. How is my son? What happened? - one of the women asks.

I notice that your eyes are puffy and your hands are shaky.

- Your son was in a car accident, but he is stable and only had minor injuries. - I explain calmly and see the relief in the eyes of the woman and the man accompanying her.

- I was informed that my daughter was in the car too, how is she? - the other woman asks and seems as distressed as the first.

I stare at the iPad in my hand and run my finger across the screen, finding the chart of the patient who had undergone surgery.

- Crystal Jones? - I ask, still looking at the screen.

- Yes, her.

I raise my head and straighten my posture, already preparing myself for the pain this woman is going to have hearing about her daughter's condition.

- Well, your daughter suffered a head trauma, she arrived and has already had to go through surgery to take care of a serious hematoma that has appeared on her brain. We left her in the ICU to keep an eye on how she will react, but for now, she is stable.

The woman starts crying desperately and I feel the discomfort hit me as the other two hug her, trying to comfort her.

I just don't understand the reason for such desperation, her daughter is alive.

- Head trauma? - she asks through tears.

- Yes.

- Will she recover?

- We will do our best to make it so.

Before I get the pleasure of seeing more tears and more suffering, I turn around and simply walk away from these people.

Today is not a good day to see people crying.