Rookie 2 | Ethan Ramsey

Chapter 24~ New Equation

New Equation

"See you too."
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Blue paced anxiously outside a closed office door on the top floor of Edenbrook.

She chewed her lips nervously, her eyes darting continously towards the door to The Chief's office, a very familiar image she remembered from her intern year whenever Harper had paged her regarding the lawsuit against her.

It almost felt like a twisted parallel, her own intern, getting caught up in a similar scenario as her. The only thing that she was not sure of, was if Esme had done it on purpose like she had.

After what seemed like forever, the door opened and Zaid stepped out. Blue caught a glimpse of Esme being interviewed inside before he closed it.

"Zaid, what's happening in there?" Blue asked the chief resident. "Esme made a terrible mistake of administering those painkillers. Mr. and Mrs. Coates are likely to sue both Esme and the hospital." Zaid responded, his face distraught.

Blue froze for a second. She knew that the minute Naveen had stepped in earlier, Edenbrook was automatically affected. However, she felt more concerned for Esme in that moment. "But what would that mean for Esme? She doesn't come from money, she can't afford a lawsuit, let alone another debt." she said.

Zaid suprisingly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, though his eyes remained worried. "I'm afraid she'll have to find a way." his voice sounded grim, a stark contrast to his usual bellow. "What about the hospital? She's an intern who made a mistake...will they stand by her?" Blue could not help but ask.

She had been fortunate enough in her intern year to have the support system of her friends, Zaid and Ines and even Ethan, who had gone far and beyond to make sure that all the false accusations on her were cleared. However on the other hand, she knew that Esme was a lone wolf, and she barely hung out with her fellow interns. Moreover, her situation was much different. She had either accidently overdosed, or deliberately did it to end his pain.

"Blue, if this goes forward, I'm not sure there'll be a hospital." Zaid responded. "What? But the Mass Kenmore deal--" "That's not guaranteed yet, though some of the department heads have already been holding meets to discuss. I'm afraid that a lawsuit for gross negligence could be just the thing to scare them off." he interjected, letting the reality set in.

"...All because Esme made one mistake?" Blue looked up at him, and Zaid could not help but feel bad. After everything he knew that she had been doing to keep the hospital afloat, from pitching the idea to solicit for high-profile patients, the karaoke gala, the research grant, the senator with whom she almost lost her life, the hospital was already still standing for a longer time than it was percieved to, because of all her efforts. However, now with one mistake, everything was being demolished again.

"You're a doctor. You know better than anyone, sometimes one tiny mistake can have huge consequences." he replied, before walking off to resume his duties.

Troubled, Blue headed to the cafeteria, not even bothering to watch where she was going that she ended up almost running headfirst into Bryce.

"Whoa. Are you okay? You kinda seemed like you were sleepwalking there." Bryce mused, frowning with concern as he saw Blue's distraught face. "Just...distracted." she replied giving him a rueful smile. "The news Dr. Tanaka just gave me might change that. I get to take the lead on a hemicorporectomy tomorrow." Bryce mused excitedly.

"...You're going to cut someone in half?" Blue asked bewildered. "I sure am. They've only performed about 600 of them worldwide. I'm gonna get a paper published on this one, just you wait." he smirked, making Blue smile. "That's great, Bryce."