The Unwritten Rule | Randolph Bell

Chapter 6

Every scenario possible played out in Jacqueline's head. She was now on the fast track to some sort of rumor or scandal, but it was all to protect herself from her sister. She knew that her sister was worse than some stupid rumor. Even while she was performing surgery, the same thought was in her head. In a way, it distracted her from doing her actual job, but just to the point of her not speaking the entire time she worked. That was normal, just like her. However, it still begged to differ on the situation at hand.

As she went over a chart for her next patient, the thoughts still spun. No matter how hard she tried to focus, she just couldn't. It was nearly impossible and she hated it, she was never so badly distracted during work.

"Doctor Black, I will be your resident today." A young girl, mid-twenties with blonde hair walked up to her. "Doctor Bell told me you'd need the help."

Jacqueline sighed, handing the chart off to the resident. "Check with the patient, check pain levels and come get me. I'm going to get a coffee." She walked away from the resident, leaving the resident to go over the chart she had just read.

Maybe coffee would do the trick. Jacqueline stuck her hands in her coat, walking to the cafeteria. She didn't look at anyone, focusing on the coffee as best as she could. It was the one good thing in her day, regardless of how the surgeries were going. If the OR couldn't keep her focused, maybe the coffee would force her to focus.

She grabbed a cup, pouring herself a cup of pre-made coffee and took a sip. It was bitter, it stung like a bitch, but it brought her back to real life. She took one more drink before making her way back towards her patients room. There were no more surgeries scheduled for her, just the rest of the day checking in on patients.

All she needed was a good case to keep her focused, all night would be even better. As she walked back to the room, the same blonde caught up to her. "Doctor Black, I just had a few questions-"

The blonde began and Jacqueline could only shake her head. "Did you check on the patient?" She interrupted.

"Yes but-"

"How is his pain level? Anything I need to know about?" Jacqueline asked.

"No, but I thought-"

"Then there's nothing to talk about, no questions you should be asking." Jacqueline took another drink of her coffee. She was never a difficult doctor, but she focused on the care of the patients, not the questions in between. Everything she needed to know was told to her and anything that came up, well, she would deal with it.

The resident sighed, "understood. Now where to?"

"Now, we make more rounds." Jacqueline smiled at the resident before continuing her thought train as to which patient was next.

***

Why did it feel like she went from work to lunch and back to work? Maybe because she did, every day was like that. The only difference was the patients, the lunch and the weather. The weather was still the same, the lunch was the same, but the patients were different. This time, this lunch, she ate alone.

The first time she had been alone all day really and it felt refreshing. As she ate a piece of her sandwich, she leaned back in the chair. Her mind was beginning to wonder again, wonder about her sister and thought mess.

That hell.

"Doctor Black, glad I caught you."

The chief of surgery always knew where to find her. So far, even after one day, if she wasn't working, she was eating. He pulled a chair out across from her and sat down. "I have a surgery for you, I think you'll be pleased and want in."

Jacqueline set her food down and crossed her arms, "well, you have my attention. What is it?"

Randolph smiled, "heart transplant. We were working on it when you arrived and the heart just got here. I need someone to scrub in with me and you are the chief of cardiothoracic so what do you say?"

A heart transplant? In her career, she had done maybe a dozen. They were complicated, but they kept her hands busy. However, it seemed like Randolph had decided to do it himself before she had arrived. If she was scrubbing in, would she be doing it? "Well, will I be performing the surgery or watching you?"

Randolph smiled, "I'll just be watching and helping you if you need help. You'll be doing the transplant yourself. What do you think?"

Slowly, Jacqueline nodded. "Alright, you got yourself a deal." She smiled, uncrossing her arms. "I've done a few heart transplants, when does the surgery take place?"

"Few hours, think you're ready?" He asked.

Jacqueline nodded, "I'm always ready for a transplant, Doctor Bell. Looking forward to it."

Randolph put his hands on the table and stood, "well, I will leave you to your lunch then. I'll see you in a few hours."