Planes & Fairies | Sen Çal Kapımı

Planes & Fairies | A Thousand Years

Previously on Planes & Fairies:

"They're names are Engin Sezgin, and Eda Yildiz."

I'm coming home.

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"Eda? Eda, we're here," Engin calls, touching Eda's forearm and snapping her out of the contemplation that's consumed her since leaving the airport.

"I'm sorry, Engin...thank you," she replies as he helps her out of the van, him stroking her back in solidarity as they look up at the hospital sign.

Their flight from Istanbul has been a mix of excitement that Serkan was alive and trepidation for what state he'd be in upon their arrival. The hospital, when they called, had given very little information making it hard for them to prepare. They didn't mind; both were just desperate to reach him as fast as possible and hold him again.

Directed to the hospital check-in, an orderly arrives and escorts them to a quiet room. "The Doctors will be with you shortly," he confirms before leaving them again.

They're here – in Slovenia of all places. Eda blows a tense breath out of her mouth and finds a chair, wringing her thin hands. Engin walks around the room, frenetically picking up anything not bolted down – their own nervous energy feeding the other.

Suddenly, the door opens, revealing the tiniest blonde woman Engin thinks he's ever seen! Dressed in blue scrubs, she can't be more than 5 feet tall, and that's on a good day! Despite her diminutive stature, there's something commanding about her presence that makes him quickly take a seat beside Eda. A very regal-looking woman in a white lab coat follows closely, closing the door.

"Hello, my name is Nurse Iryna, and this is Dr. Novak. You must be Eda and Engin?" she asks, both silently nodding as they offer tense handshakes.

"Well! Boy, are we relieved to finally meet you!" Iryna claps her hands, trying to break the mood, the sharp noise startling Eda.

"I gather you're here for Joseph? Joseph Pugliese," Iryna nods in confirmation, pretending to read from the chart in her hand and looking back at the two stunned faces in front of her.

Eda falters, her slender fingers shooting up to press her temples on either side of her face, "Ah, um, no, I think there's been a mistake. We're here for Serkan. Serkan Bolat," she stammers.

Nurse Iryna chuckles, baring a row of impeccably straight teeth, the glint in her crystal blue eyes now evident, "I know that! I'm just teasing."

The shock of the joke releases a surprised snort from Eda. It's been a long time since she heard her own laugh. Eda looks over to Engin, who is smirking and shaking his head at the nurse, unable to find his words.

Dr. Novak smiles, knowing this is Iryna's superpower: disarming fraught situations and guiding patients and their families through the turbulence ahead of them. It's the reason they assigned Iryna to Serkan in the first place. The medical team quickly understood that their very battered, unknown soldier would need special care – if and when he woke up.

"You'll get used to Nurse Iryna's humour, I promise." Dr.Novak says with a dry smile. "Iryna has been the primary nurse on Serkan's medical team, and we wanted to take you through his experiences up until now."

Eda and Engin shift uncomfortably in their seats as they listen to the shocking litany of injuries Serkan endured, his extended comatose state, and the last three weeks awake. It's a miracle he's alive, and the thought of how close they came to losing Serkan brings tears to Eda's eyes. While she didn't doubt that Serkan would be injured, she also didn't expect to this extent.