In Memoriam - An AJR Fic (Everything Clicks - Book 2)

Prologue - Break My Face

It was a quiet night at the hospital.

In each room, a patient slept. In each room, a unique and different case. Some were injured, some were ill, and others were something else entirely. From the flu to heart attacks, the hospital's patients were a mix of people with all sorts of stories, and the staff was committed to helping each of them.

Dr. Dorian Harlow had been working the night shift at the hospital for years now and had seen his fair share of interesting cases: teenagers being irresponsible, deadly diseases, even straight-up attempted murder. There were some times where it was more of a challenge to name something Dr. Harlow hadn't seen. However, in recent months, Harlow's shifts had become a bit too...uncomplicated. There was no ulterior motive to it; he loved his job and all of his patients, and he wanted each of them to heal as much as the next. That wasn't the issue. It was the monotony. The sameness and simplicity of it all. The difficult cases were where he thrived. To him, there was nothing better than a good challenge.

He was just exiting the room of a patient with a sprained ankle, due only to childhood recklessness. Harlow sighed to himself as he approached the reception desk and looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Another slow night, Dorian?" The woman at the reception desk asked, glancing up from her computer.

"Another slow night," Dr. Harlow muttered frustratedly, leaning his arm on the desk.

"Hm, something interesting will come in soon. You've just gotta give it time."

"That's what they all say."

"Hm, and it's true," The receptionist smiled at him. "It may take weeks, months. Hell, maybe even years. But you'll get a good case sooner or later."

"I'm not waiting years for something good to crop up, Daphne," Harlow said with annoyance. "I mean...I love the people, and, the work...it can be good. I just hate that it's all the same, all the time."

"You work in a general hospital. Most cases here are common. Sniffles, heart attacks, broken bones. Keep your eye on the emergency room, something will happen eventually."

Harlow turned away from the desk and began walking down the hall. There had been an ambulance call only a few moments ago, but there were no details about it yet that he had heard. He started to make his way toward the break room to grab a cup of coffee. It seemed it was going to be another long night.

Same as usual, by now.

He could just barely smell the bitter aroma of the coffee pot when he heard the intercom turn on overhead.

"EMERGENCY - Dr. Harlow needed in ER Room 174 immediately."

The ambulance call.

"Dr. Harlow!"

Harlow turned to see one of his RNs sprinting toward him, a clipboard in hand.

His brow furrowed. "August?"

August slowly came to a stop, placing a hand on the wall and huffing. They locked eyes with Dr. Harlow hopefully.

"August, what's the matter?" Harlow repeated.

They took a couple more heavy breaths to center themselves before pointing to their clipboard.

"...I've got something."

Harlow's eyes lit up hopefully. August motioned for the doctor to follow and the two sped back through the halls.

"Fill me in," Dr. Harlow mused as the two of them walked. "Who do we have?"

"Glad you asked," August chirped. "Nineteen-year-old male, came in from the ambulance call just now. Witnesses say he dodged a train and took a nasty fall down a hill; hit a lot of rocks, branches, things of that nature. The report says he's got two broken limbs and possible spinal damage."

Dr. Harlow was in awe. "You were right. That is something." He reached for the clipboard. "Lemme see that."

The report was astonishing to say the least. Maybe Harlow had just had too many common cases recently, but this was one he definitely wanted to look into. This was someone he wanted to help. It wasn't every day a case like this came in, and by the sound of it, this kid was in pain. There were things to be done.

The doctor knocked on the door of Room 174 before creaking it open slowly.

A young man lay in the bed, scratched and beat up almost beyond recognition. He blankly locked eyes with the doctor.

"Hey there, I'm Dr. Harlow, you've met August," Harlow introduced. "Am I correct in assuming you're Jack?"

The man nodded gently.

"Well, you've got quite the story, kiddo," Dr. Harlow mused. "I'm not sure how you ended up out there on those tracks, I'm not gonna pry. But we're gonna get you cleaned up and feeling better, alright? We just need some basic information first."

Jack simply nodded again, saying nothing.

August leaned close to Dr. Harlow and whispered, "That's pretty much how he's been the whole time. He hasn't said much, just nods or head shakes for the most part."

"We might have a trauma case on our hands," Harlow whispered back.

He pulled up Jack's medical records, then turned to face him once more.

"Date of birth?"

"Um..." Jack whispered. "August 16th, 1997."

The doctor nodded as he entered the date into the computer. "Are you on any medications?" 

Jack's eyes widened. He hesitated for several moments, then stared at the corner of the computer desk. "...It's complicated."

"It's alright," August comforted, moseying to the side of the bed. "We treat elderly patients who take 20 medications a day. There's no need to feel embarrassed."

"No, it's...not that," Jack shook his head. "It's...It's a really long story, and I don't know if anyone will believe me."

August and Dr. Harlow exchanged concerned glances.

"I guess..." Jack continued, "I guess that doesn't matter right now, but...at one point during all of it, I remembered someone mentioning a drug name I've never heard of, and I think it might be in my system now. It's like...canesadrol or something?"

The name didn't ring a bell to either of them. But companies put out new meds all the time, so it could've been something that slipped by them. Dr. Harlow turned back to his computer and punched it into the system. After only a minute or two of searching, Harlow fell back in his seat, a flabbergasted expression spread across his face. He looked back at Jack.

"What did you say happened to you?"

Jack glanced away for a moment. "I didn't...why? What did you find?"

Harlow ran a hand through his hair.

"...Canesadrol is an experimental drug, it's still extremely early in its testing phase," He said worriedly. He sighed and locked eyes with August.

"...No one should even have access to it."