Eternally Yours

Hana winced as she put weight on her ankle, the lingering ache a constant reminder of the previous night’s mishap. Three days had passed since the eventful evening with Dr. Jenkins.

As she sat behind the desk, her fingers flying across the keyboard, a part of her was grateful for being relegated to data entry. However, a nagging sense of guilt crept in as she realized; less work for her, and more work for everyone else.

As she typed, her mind wandered back to that night. The memory of his gentle touch…

“What am I thinking?” She caught herself before she could fall deeper into her delusions.

A sigh escaped her lips as she tried to focus on the task at hand. The computer screen, with its blinking cursor, seemed to mock her with its relentless demand for attention. She needed to concentrate, the follow-up notes weren’t going to write themselves.

Hana was startled from her thoughts by a small voice.

“Excuse me, Miss,” a little girl said, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Hana looked around to find the source of the voice and found a small, vibrant girl standing in front of the reception desk.

“Yes, how can… do you need anything? Are you lost?” Hana responded, her voice gentle.

The girl’s face lit up with a smile. “We’re going to the doctor for Mommy,” she announced proudly, pointing towards a woman seated in the waiting area. “Daddy has a new job, so we’re in a new house,” she added as if sharing an exciting piece of news.

Hana followed the girl’s gaze to the woman, whose pale complexion and beads of sweat on her forehead caught her attention. Something about the woman’s appearance seemed off as if she was enduring more than just the usual pre-natal discomfort.

“I see,” Hana replied, her voice gentle. “I’ll show you the way to the doctor’s office.”

As she turned to lead the little girl, the child tugged on the sides of her pants, startling her a bit.

“Can I tell you a secret?” the little girl asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Hana nodded, crouching down to the girl’s level. “Of course,” she replied, her voice soft.

The little girl leaned in closer, her voice barely audible. “Mommy’s tummy hurts a lot,” she whispered, her eyes filled with concern. “And she’s scared.”

Hana’s eyes widened in surprise as the child’s words registered, but she immediately masked her look. She nodded, giving the child a reassuring smile. “Let’s take mommy to the doctor,” she promised.

She quickly made her way to the woman, her concern growing. Something wasn’t right.

Hana knelt in front of the woman, her concern growing with every passing second. “Ma’am, can you tell me what your name is, where you are, and how you’re feeling?” Her voice was gentle and reassuring, but her mind was racing, trying to assess the situation.

The woman nodded slowly, her face pale and drawn. “Tia. I think I’m at the hospital,” she replied, her voice weak. “My belly...it hurts. My baby”

As Hana continued to assess the woman’s condition, her eyes fell upon the woman’s dark long dress. There, spreading like a crimson stain, was a growing wet spot.

She touched it. Her worst fears were confirmed.

The vivid red color stood out starkly against the white of Hana’s gloves, a stark and chilling contrast.

Hana’s heart sank.

She turned to the little girl, who was watching her mother with wide, frightened eyes.

The little girl looked up at her mother with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling. “Mommy, are you okay?” she asked, her voice filled with fear.

The woman reached out and took her daughter’s hand, her voice soft and comforting. “I’m okay, sweetie. Mummy is just a little tired,” she replied, forcing a smile.

“Sweetie, Mommy is going to be okay,” she assured the child, her voice steady. “We’re going to take her to the doctor, and they’ll make her feel better.”

The child nodded, her small hand reaching out to hold her mother’s. Hana knew she needed to act quickly. She rushed back to the nurse’s station, her mind racing. She grabbed a wheelchair and dialed the OB/GYN unit, her fingers trembling slightly.

“We have a patient here experiencing severe abdominal pain,” her voice trembling as she explained to the nurse on the other end of the line. “She’s pregnant, complaint of severe abdominal pain, present with bleeding and we need to get her to the maternity ward immediately.”

The nurse on the other end of the line acknowledged her request and assured her that nurses would meet her halfway immediately. Hana hung up the phone, her heart pounding in her chest.

Returning to the woman and her daughter, Hana gently helped the woman into the wheelchair.

“Mommy is going to be okay, sweetie,” Hana reassured the child once again, her voice gentle but firm. The little girl nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and trust.

She looked down at the woman in the wheelchair, her face pale and drawn. The little girl was crying softly, her small body trembling with fear.

Hana wheeled the woman towards the exit, her mind racing.

As they approached the OB unit, a team of nurses emerged to meet them. They took control of the wheelchair from Hana and moved the woman into a unit.

The little girl, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, clung to Hana’s hand, her eyes wide with fear. Hana knelt, offering a reassuring smile, her gloved hands patting her hair.

“Mommy is going to be okay, sweetie,” she said softly, her voice gentle. “The doctors will take good care of her.”

The child nodded, her grip on Hana’s hand tightening. Hana looked up to find Dr. Lia racing into the room, shutting the door behind her as she gave instructions.

“Do you want to wait here with me, or would you like to call your daddy?” she asked gently.

The child looked at her with tear-filled eyes. “I want Daddy,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Hana nodded, understanding. “Okay, sweetie. I’ll stay with you until he gets here,” she promised.

As she sat down in the waiting area, Hana couldn’t help but feel a surge of exhaustion. The adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins was beginning to subside. She glanced down at her ankle, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through her. But as she looked at the frightened little girl, she pushed the discomfort aside.

After, leaving the girl with her father, Hana limped back to the ER, her ankle throbbing with every step. The adrenaline that had been fueling her actions had worn off, leaving her feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.

As she approached the nurse’s station, Nurse Crystal was already waiting for her, her expression: annoyance.

“Where did you run off to?” she demanded, her voice sharp. “I’ve been paging and calling you.”

Hana’s heart sank. She had left her phone and pager on the table in her haste. Her mind raced, trying to come up with an explanation. “I’m so sorry,” she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. “I left them on the table. I was just…”

Nurse Crystal’s expression was not one to listen to excuses, as her voice remained firm. “You must always have a means of communication with you at all times,” she reminded Hana. “This is a hospital, not a playground.”

Hana nodded, her ears flushing with embarrassment.

Just then, a low, snide comment reached her ears. “She thinks she can do whatever she wants because she has Dr. Jenkins on her side,” a nurse muttered under her breath.

Hana’s heart froze. Gossip about her and Ren had spread through the hospital like wildfire. The whispers and curious glances she had felt earlier now took on a new, more sinister meaning.

“No wonder she gets to be on desk duty,” she heard a nurse whisper, her voice barely audible but clear enough for Hana to catch. “I heard about them from the girls at Ortho,” another nurse added, confirming Hana’s worst fears.

Nurse Crystal, clearly overhearing the comments, turned to them with a stern look. “Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us?” she demanded.

A hush fell over the room as everyone scrambled to return to their tasks,

As she sat down at her desk, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being under a microscope. A wave of annoyance washed over her, tears threatening to spill.

The whispers and curious glances from her colleagues were starting to get to her. She needed a moment alone, a brief respite from the suffocating atmosphere.

Hana felt a wave of nausea washing over her. She felt dragged back to her past, the whispers from people about where she was taken to, why she couldn’t speak, or why she always avoided touch. The whispers always followed her.

With a flimsy excuse forming in her mind, she announced her intention to restock the supply closet. Something about running low on syringes.

“Excuse me,” she mumbled to no one in particular, her voice barely audible.

As she navigated the winding corridors, her mind raced. She couldn’t escape the feeling of being under a microscope, every move scrutinized and analyzed.

Fate, however, had other plans. As she rounded a corner, she almost collided with the second victim of the gossip.

Dr Rowan and Dr. Jenkins, were heading towards the ER lobby, a small entourage of nurses trailing behind them. Startled, Hana stumbled backward, her heart pounding in her chest.

Ren’s eyes met hers, a flicker of concern crossing his face. The hushed whispers that had followed her from the reception area reached her ears once more, and she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

Before he could say anything, she turned and fled, her eyes burning with tears.

The whispers, the curious glances, he’d seen it all before. And he knew, without a doubt, that it wouldn’t be long before the rumors reached her.

He turned to Rowan, who was still watching the closed door with a mixture of amusement and concern.

“I’ll be right back,” Ren said, his voice low. Rowan nodded, a silent understanding passing between them.

As Ren walked away, Rowan turned to face the group of nurses who had been whispering about Hana and Ren. His expression was stern, his eyes cold. The playful demeanor he usually wore was replaced by a serious, almost intimidating aura.

The nurses, caught off guard by his sudden change in demeanor, fell silent. Rowan’s reputation as the charming and easy-going doctor was well-known, but there was a different side to him, a side that few people had seen. This was that side.

“I suggest you all mind your own business,” Rowan said, his voice low but carrying a clear warning. “Any further gossip or rumors will not be tolerated.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the nurses stunned by his outburst.

*****************************

Dr. Lia, fresh from surgery in the OB/GYN unit, strode purposefully toward the front desk. Her eyes locked onto Rowan’s hunched form at the front desk, who was engrossed in a patient file.

With a mischievous grin, tiptoeing behind him, Lia’s fingers darted out, poking Rowan’s sides. He yelped, nearly dropping the patient file he’d been poring over.

“Got you again!” Lia laughed, her eyes twinkling with amusement and dimples deepening.

Rowan’s exasperated sigh couldn’t hide the fondness in his eyes. “One of these days, Lia, I swear...”

“How do you keep falling for this trick?”

Rowan shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. “Because you keep doing it when I’m unaware.”

“Oh, come on,” Lia teased, leaning against the desk. “Where’s your sense of fun?”

Glancing around, she asked, “Speaking of which, where’s our resident Ice Prince? I’m looking for that nurse he mentioned last time. ”

Rowan raised a brow. “Shizumi? What do you want with her?”

“Yes! Do you know where she is?”

A nearby nurse, who had been eavesdropping, chimed in. “Why are you looking for Shizumi, Dr. Lia? Did she mess up something again?”

Confusion flitted across Lia’s face. “What do you mean by ‘mess up’?”

Audra, another nurse, spoke up hesitantly. “Well, you know... Hana can be a bit... accident-prone.”

“More like a walking disaster,” Clara scoffed, rolling her eyes from her perch at the nurses’ station, her words sharp enough to cut. “Don’t get me started with the panic attacks”

“Clara!” Audra shot Clara a reproachful look. “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

Lia held up her hands, silencing the chatter. “I wanted to thank her for her quick thinking today.”

A hush fell over the group, followed by a flurry of whispers.

Rowan leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Lia’s face softened, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “This morning, I had an emergency C-section. Shizumi was the one who recognized the urgency, called it in, and personally rushed the patient to the OB. That woman and her baby...”

Lia’s voice caught for a moment, “They might not be here if it weren’t for Shizumi’s quick thinking. The patient’s family wanted me to extend their appreciation to her.”

The group fell silent, exchanging looks of surprise and, in some cases, embarrassment.