Over my dead body ~James Barnes~

Part 37

"You wanted to speak to me?" I say as I knock on the door on the Chief's office. It's 6pm, just had a surgery of a little kid who had 7 marbles in his stomach... anyways I'm working till 12 today, 3 surgeries and I'm working on my project again.

"Hi Dr. Russo, yes come in." She says while turning her chair to face me. "How was your surgery?"

"Oh, I got the marbles out within two hours, poor little guy thought they were chewing gums." I say as I take a seat in front of her.

"I just wanted to say that I'm very proud of you and your project. You're really doing something here." She says, referring to my metastatic tumor project. I keep calling it project but you know... it is.

"How's it going so far?" She asks and she leans forwards. "I wanna know your plan. You could really change the hospital." She says with a sweet smile.

I grab some scans of a tumor and hang them up on the wall behind me as I stand up. Before I could start, I hear a knock on the door and two men walk in. Two very important people in suits... that's all I know. I assume they're important.

"I'm sorry to bother you two but we would like to join you. We've heard about you and wanna know what a young surgeon like you is up to." This man says and I'm starting to get nervous.

It's just an idea, I mean, these ideas are based on facts but still. I haven't completed my research and with the Chief and these two men in front of me who probably are the boss I don't know. I don't care. This is just nerve wrecking. But I'm doing it anyways.

"Alright..." I say while they all 3 sit in front of me while I stand next to the wall with the scans.

"This is a massive grade IV astrocytoma, just take a look at it. Look at the size..." I say as I point to the tumor in the brain.

"Look at the way it invades healthy tissue. Look at its vasculature. It is blood and tissue and flesh... Its growing." I grab a pen with a red light as I shine to the tumor. I can see them all 3 looking like I'm the one teaching them things. Like I'm a teacher.

"Adapting to its environment, struggling to survive, to stay alive." I say and walk to the other side of the scan.

"It is alive" I add, and they nod at me as a sign that I'm off a good start.

"This tumor is smart; this tumor is playing with the brain. It's alive, a living creature." I say and I point at it again.

"I don't like to think of it that way but it's nested in the womb of a human brain. Feeding in its host, growing and growing and growing." I say as I walk a bit forward, moving with my hands while talking.

"And that's the problem. Nobody wants something that nasty in their head." I say with a smile, and they smile back. I'm nervous but I'm doing the best I can. A bit afraid I'm saying the wrong stuff but I'm learning.

"I'd like you for one moment to consider the idea. I wanna stop it, destroy it. Without destroying the other functions of the brain."

"How do you remove it without destroying the brain around it?" I ask myself, while looking to each one of them.

"I've been staring at these scans for months, them staring back at me... daring me to try something."

"This tumor is bold and harsh and hates me. It absolutely hates me." I say and they all let out a chuckle. But it's true, I've been working on this stupid tumor forever.

"This tumor is in charge of the body." I walk back to the scan and show them how far the tumor has been spread.

"This tumor owns this brain. It makes the body do everything the tumor wants it to do."