Serenity | Fragile Hearts

chapter 24-first day

I walked out of their office with a huge smile on my face. Sofie had an even bigger one.

"Mommy they are so nice. Lottie is my friend!" she beamed excitedly as she held my hand and we walked through the hallway.

We got to the elevator and I let her press the button. As soon as it opened, we both slipped in and selected the ground level.

However, another person slipped in behind us too.

"GREY!" my daughter yelled excitedly. She went up to him and hugged his leg, barely reaching his knee.

We made eye contact for a second, his stone cold eyes seeking some sort of permission.

After I nodded subtly, he picked her up and his entire demeanor changed. "Why hello there Sofie." He said with a bright smile as he brought her close to him.

It was hard to believe he could change that stoic look he just gave me earlier to this happy one.

"I made a new friend!" She began to tell him all about how she met Charlotte and Ronan and their new plans for an ice cream date.

I stood still in the corner watching my daughter interact with the man who made a mountain of emotions rush through me.

He listened intently, giving his full attention to her, listening to her babble off about the most random things with a huge smile on her face.

"That sounds wonderful Sofie." He smiled back to her. All of a sudden my daughter paused. Her face changed to sudden excitement.

"Wait! I have an idea! You can come too, Grey!" my daughter yelled out.

My eyes almost bulged out of my head as I was taken aback. I internally pleaded to the gods above that he wouldn't take us up on that offer. God knows where we stand, now that he's my new boss and all.

"I would love that." He responded, his gaze focused directly to me.

Great.

We finally got to the ground level before he set her down gently. "I'll see you later, Sof."

"Bye bye Grey!"

He then turned back to me with that stone cold look.

"See you tomorrow Aila. Don't be late."

Yes sir.
...
It was my first official day of work. I got to the building an hour early just to make sure I knew my way around.

I made sure to familiarize myself with all of the stock rooms, EMR (medical records) system, and the other work stations.

I needed to be prepared as possible. God forbid I mess up. I couldn't afford that right now. Couldn't give Mr. Grumpy something else to complain about. I have to show him I belong here.

I was reading some of the hospital policies when I heard the door bang open.

"INCOMING TRAUMA IN BAY 4" I heard a nurse shout.

I looked over and saw a set of people running down the hall pushing a stretcher.

The charge nurse looked at me, signaling to jump in, so I immediately began to scrub up.

I ran in the room and immediately began to assess. Ronan and Grey were already there both moving quickly.

The room was chaos. The patient had his entire thoracic cavity open on the table. How? I couldn't tell you, but it didn't look good.

I'd never seen this much before. Nursing school only exposes you to the surface level, not like this.

My adrenaline was running high.

"Aila I need you to come here and hold this clamp for me." Ronan said as he motioned for me to come over to him.

Without a second thought I ran over to him and held the clamp he showed me firmly. As I did so, another artery started to bleed.

"Shit. He's going down fast." Grey mumbled. "Try to see if you can find the artery, Aila. He said as he worked on the guy's abdomen.

Shit.

I shook all those doubts out of my head and did what was asked. I searched around for a minute before I found it.

"Got it!"

"Don't move your hand. You move, and he dies." Grey said firmly as he bore into me with those dark eyes.

I nodded.

Ronan and him both began to stabilize the patient. The room was still upturned as everyone tried to make sure he was stable enough to move to an OR.

It had been over an hour and I was still standing there, terrified to move one bit.

Ronan shook his head, frustrated. "He's not stable enough to move yet." He spoke out to the room.

My hand was getting tired.

"I know, we don't have a choice. The only option is to cauterize the bleed in his stomach and then we go back and fix it." Grey said, looking to Ronan for confirmation.

Ronan sighed and shook his head. "We don't have another choice."

Fear struck through me. How was I gonna hold the clamp and the artery at once any longer? My hand began to cramp.

"Aila you have to continue to hold steady." Ronan said.

"I-I'm trying. My hand is beginning to cramp." I said nervously.

"You're holding his life in your hand. You move and he will bleed out." Grey said firmly as they both continued to work on him.

I shook my head and took deep breaths. I could do this. I took a deep breath and looked down and closed my eyes. I tried to focus on my breath. Calm and steady.

Before I knew it, almost 1.5 hours had passed, and I was beginning to shake.

"Grey" I heard Ronan say, but I didn't look up.

Before I knew it I felt two arms on the side of me, holding my hands steady. It didn't take me a while to figure out who. His musky scent filled my nostrils.

As I looked up, I saw two large arms circle around mine, gently holding them up. It allowed me to relax a little, making a sigh of relief slip through my lips.

"Ro how long." I felt him ask behind me.

"Not sure, it's taking a while to cauterize." He said in an unsure voice.

It's been almost two and a half hours of me staying still.

I was getting antsy and I knew they could both tell.

Another tired sigh released from me. I felt stiff and my muscles were beginning to hurt. I closed my eyes and leaned back a little.

"Relax your head." Grey told me softly.

"What?" I asked him confused.

"You have to stay completely still, and I know you're getting tired. Lean your head back on me for a little." He told me.

And without argument, I did.

A/N hello! :) I'm back! If you've stayed along for this long, thank you so so much. I'm so grateful for you guys <3

Apologies for my late start as I've been sick, but all better now!

This chapter wasn't edited, so excuse the mistakes! I hope you guys enjoy <3

also, I don't know when the next chapter will be out! updates are inconsistent! However, I will let you know if I won't post for a while ! Hoping to get one out soon!!

as always please vote & comment! :) could use all the motivation!

Love you guys!
-Alayna