Medical Center
"Hey, what brings you here?"
"I heard someone's out to kill you?"
"Just another impulsive weirdo. They'll cool off eventually, no big deal."
Adam grinned at Cristina, who was supposed to be off duty. "Dr. Burke didn't show up today? He didn't come looking for you?"
Emmm.
That's what he said, at least.
But Adam had already tipped off the old cop and added this Black Widow fan to the watchlist. Doctor-patient tensions are a global headache—especially in the U.S., where every day's a rollercoaster. Someone bold enough to blurt out a death threat? No way steady-as-a-rock Adam was letting that slide. Sure, the guy couldn't touch him, but what if a friend got caught in the crossfire? That's a risk Adam wasn't willing to take.
"Enough about that!" Cristina rolled her eyes. "Burke's like a clingy shadow I can't shake off. Right now, he's at Meredith's place, teaching Izzie how to cook a turkey dinner using surgical techniques."
"Easy fix," Adam teased. "Just say that to Dr. Burke's face, and I guarantee he'll stop hovering. Question is, could you bring yourself to do it?"
Dr. Burke, a top-tier surgeon, had pride as high as the sky. No matter how much he liked Cristina, if she dropped a line like that, a breakup would be inevitable.
"I'm gonna check if there's any surgery to jump into," Cristina said, dodging the topic. "I told them I was stepping out to buy booze. Can you believe it? Meredith, the booze hound, doesn't have a single bottle at home!"
She clearly wasn't ready to let Burke go. In her career, he was the authoritative expert she idolized. In life, he was the domestic type—breakfast and coffee in the morning, dinner at night. His family owned a restaurant, and he loved perfecting recipes with surgical precision. The food? Delicious. During that whole medical center poisoning scare, Cristina lined up for a checkup, but Burke told her not to bother—he'd only ever been intimate with her. Living that hospital-home grind, he was a rare gem who stayed faithful. And he was always the one making the moves. For someone as passive as Cristina, a boyfriend like that was a gift from the heavens. No matter how much she griped, deep down, she cared too much to let him go.
"You're joking again," Adam laughed. "Does a booze hound have to keep a stash at home? Who's she drinking with—Izzie? George? Nah, she'd rather hit a bar, get wasted, hook up with some random guy, kick him out at dawn, and strut into work refreshed. She's not just a booze hound; she's a seasoned pro. A boozy veteran!"
"Say that to Meredith's face and see if she doesn't come for your throat!" Cristina shot back before heading toward the surgical wing.
She couldn't stand how effortlessly her boyfriend had won over her friend group. It felt like her personal space was being invaded. For someone dreaming of becoming a "god" in her field, it was suffocating. That's why she'd used the "buying booze" excuse to escape to the hospital, hoping a few surgeries would calm her nerves.
"Adam!"
Meredith rushed around the corner, her eyes lighting up when she spotted him.
"You're here too?" Adam asked, surprised. "Aren't you Izzie's biggest cheerleader?"
"I am, but I'm useless in the kitchen. George is helping her—that's enough," Meredith said sheepishly before getting to the point. "Come quick! A permanent vegetative patient from 16 years ago just opened his eyes and looked at me!"
"Calm down," Adam said as he followed her. "Some leftover reflexes are normal. What's the patient's deal?"
Most of the attending docs, like Dr. Shepherd, had already gone home. Even if they were around, Meredith avoided him whenever she could.
"His name's Holden McKee, a firefighter," Meredith explained quickly. "He got hit by falling debris on duty and ended up in a permanent vegetative state. He's been in a nursing home ever since. Today, a nurse flipped him over and accidentally dropped him off the bed. The insurance company wanted him checked out—scalp damage on his skull, plus a hematoma. I was about to clean the wound, stitch it up, and order a CT to rule out brain bleeding or swelling, but then he opened his eyes and looked at me!"
They reached the room. Adam noticed the patient's eyes were indeed open. After a closer look, he saw them twitch slightly, tracking Meredith's voice.
"He's definitely watching you," Adam said with a smile. "Let's get an MRI. You might be his angel today, guiding a vegetative patient back to life. This is straight out of a cheesy drama!"
Meredith's self-pitying vibe faded, replaced by a spark of hope as she gazed at the patient.
MRI Room
"We need to call Dr. Shepherd," Adam said, studying the scans. "His brain hasn't atrophied. He's got minimal consciousness—he's not vegetative at all."
"What?!" Meredith gasped. "Not vegetative? But he's been in a nursing home for 16 years! No one noticed?"
"Surprised?" Adam glanced at her. "Not everyone gets a spot in Dr. Grey's fancy nursing home. He's just a firefighter with standard insurance—nothing fancy. The place he's at isn't top-tier. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen off the bed during a routine turn."
"No one cared about him," Meredith murmured, her voice heavy with empathy. "He's been lying there for 16 years."
"Not much anyone could do," Adam pointed out. "His brain's been slowly recovering all this time. If we hadn't watched him closely, we'd have chalked it up to reflexes too. Imagine 16 years ago—he couldn't even open his eyes. A CT back then would've screamed 'vegetative,' and any doctor would've agreed."
"So what now?" Meredith asked.
"Call Dr. Shepherd, obviously," Adam grinned. "With his condition, we can wake him up with meds."
"Really? That's amazing!" Meredith's excitement drowned out her awkward history with Shepherd. She was genuinely thrilled for the patient.
"Don't celebrate yet," Adam warned. "Waking up might not be a blessing for him. Sixteen years changes everything. He might not handle it."
Emmm.
Think about Yang Guo jumping off a cliff after 16 years, only to find not just Xiao Longnu waiting, but Xiao Longnu, Zhen Zhibing, and their kid living happily as a family of three. He'd probably wish he'd smashed into the rocks on the way down.
Or maybe Xiao Longnu and Zhen Zhibing, feeling guilty, spot Yang Guo first, hide, and send their daughter to trick him into leaving—tying up the Condor Heroes story with a neat bow. Think Yang Buhui—she'd know the playbook. "One look at Yang Guo, and I'm hooked for life." The daughter might feel the same. Otherwise, with Xiao Longnu older than Yang Guo, 16 years later he'd be a weathered uncle while she's still in her prime? Too far-fetched.
And in the author's eyes, Xiao Longnu's real-life inspiration had an unfulfilled life—since she didn't return his love. Emmm. With Yang Buhui's antics in mind and the author's habit of tying real-life vibes into his pervy characters like Yun Zhonghe… it's easy to let your imagination run wild.
Wonder if this patient's about to stumble into his own soap opera twist? 😅
belamy20