At the medical center.
While Meredith was contacting Dr. Shepherd, the pagers started going off like crazy.
Adam checked his and immediately rushed to the ER.
The TV screen at the nurses' station was broadcasting a car accident.
"At the south exit of the highway, 28 cars and 3 trucks were involved in a massive pile-up. According to reports from the scene, the crash was caused by a car suddenly making a U-turn, hitting surrounding vehicles. At least 41 people are injured, and several are still trapped..."
"Time to get to work!"
Susan Lewis, who was in charge of the ER, walked over and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Activate the disaster response plan!"
The nurses sprang into action, following the emergency drills they'd practiced. Wheelchairs, stretchers, IVs, surgical gowns, common medications, and surgical tools were all pulled out of storage and stacked together to save time when patients started flooding in.
Adam and the other doctors put on their surgical gowns and waited at the ER entrance.
"Wow, an actual accident—and a big one! This is great!"
Christina, also in her surgical gown, ran up next to Adam, lowering her voice but clearly excited.
"Watch yourself," Adam warned. "This is a humanitarian disaster. Can you not act so thrilled about it?"
"What? Don't tell me you're not excited!" Christina shot him a sideways glance.
"That's not the same thing," Adam said, brushing it off. "This kind of major accident is already being broadcast on TV. Reporters are definitely going to show up with the injured, filming how the hospital handles it.
If they catch that excited look on your face, congrats—you'll overshadow the entire accident and become the star of the show. You'll be socially dead in no time!
And, uh, if there happens to be a hot-headed family member among the patients... you might not even make it to social death. You could just be... dead."
"Is it really that dramatic?" Christina said, but the smile had already vanished from her face.
She knew Adam was right.
With the media's habit of stirring up drama, if they caught her smiling, she'd go viral overnight—and not in a good way.
Sure, she wanted to be famous, but as the best cardiothoracic surgeon, not like this.
"Green for minor injuries, yellow for serious, red for critical, black for deceased!" the head nurse reminded the newer nurses not to forget the triage system.
"Duncan, you're handling the red patients!"
"Yang, you're on green!"
"I'll take yellow," Susan Lewis instructed. "The attending physicians and other residents are on their way to the hospital. Until they get here, we need to stabilize things. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Got it."
Adam's response was enthusiastic, while Christina's was laced with disappointment.
She didn't want to deal with the minor green injuries.
Adam gave Susan a smile, but she turned her head, avoiding eye contact.
Adam gave a wry smile to himself.
It seemed like the last time, with Susan's sister, his cold attitude had really hurt her. Now she was all business with him.
Still, he was grateful.
He loved working on the critical red patients the most. Saving one of them was like adding 0.01 to his lifespan, after all.
Susan clearly remembered his preference and hadn't let their strained relationship stop her from assigning him what he wanted.
Of course, it also helped that she knew her skills were far behind his.
Regardless, Adam appreciated the favor.
After all, in this world, weren't there plenty of people who thought, "If I'm not doing well, neither should you" or loved to drag others down for no reason?
Ambulances started speeding in.
"25 years old, truck flipped, no seatbelt, lost his heartbeat on the scene."
An EMT was straddling the stretcher, continuously performing CPR on the patient.
"Alright, I'll take it from here," Adam said, stepping forward to take over.
Once that patient was stabilized, he moved on to the next.
"Second to third-degree burns, 25% of the body surface, low blood pressure."
"Unconscious, T4 spinal injury, step deformity, relaxed muscles in both legs."
"Derek Jones, 25, run over by a van, left leg amputated below the knee, already lost several liters of blood."
One critical patient after another was brought in. Adam stabilized their conditions before sending them off to the appropriate departments.
"Juno, Karen, what are you guys doing here?"
In the middle of the chaos, Adam suddenly spotted Juno and Karen coming in with the EMTs. His heart skipped a beat. "Did you get caught in the accident too? Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Juno shook her head. "Do you need help?"
"You don't have medical licenses for this center..." Adam glanced at the chaotic ER. Many minor patients weren't getting timely care, and the cries of children echoed everywhere. After a moment, he said, "Follow me!"
He found Susan and quickly introduced them. "Dr. Lewis, this is my friend Juno, a Harvard Medical School graduate. She's currently an intern at Mass General. Can she help with treatment?"
"Sure," Susan said, glancing at Juno. "You can help with the green-tagged patients."
"Got it." Juno didn't hesitate.
Karen, meanwhile, grabbed a surgical gown from the hallway, swiftly helped Juno put it on, and went with her to treat patients.
They were busy until nightfall.
More doctors arrived, and all the patients were properly treated. The tense atmosphere finally eased.
"That's Dr. Duncan's friend, huh? She's amazing."
"Yeah, she seems way better than Dr. Yang!"
"Figures, being Dr. Duncan's friend and all!"
"She's a top student from Harvard Medical School and interning at Mass General. Of course she's amazing!"
"What do you think their relationship is? They seem so in sync."
"Either his girlfriend or someone he's flirting with. Didn't you see the way she looks at Dr. Duncan? So lovey-dovey."
"No way, didn't you notice the girl with her? The way she looks at Juno is off. They're probably the couple!"
"That girl seems like a nurse too. She looks pretty professional."
After the chaos, the gossip started flying.
Juno and Karen's teamwork instantly took some pressure off Christina.
But it also sparked Christina's competitive side.
Without a word, she silently started competing with Juno, trying to see who could treat patients better and faster.
But to her frustration, it felt like facing Adam all over again: she was completely outclassed.
Just a few months ago, she and Juno were classmates.
Back then, Juno didn't seem this good.
Was Mass General's training really that much better than the medical center?
Had she made a mistake coming here with Meredith?
Then she dismissed the thought.
"It's definitely because of Karen!" Christina thought sourly. "Having a nurse like her, who knows exactly what to do with just a glance, would make anyone way more efficient..."
She wasn't the only one feeling jealous.
After finishing in the OR, Adam watched Juno and Karen work together for a while and couldn't help but feel envious.
They were too in sync.
It was like watching a perfectly choreographed dance.
If only he could have a personal nurse like that too.
😏 belamy20