Seattle Move

8. The Tumour

"I used to have game," Amelia sighed as she operated on her patient, "I used to be fun, and cool, and sexy. I'd go to bars and do this thing where I'd make eye contact and then look away."

Callie chuckled. "What was your secret?"

Amelia looked up at her. "Drugs. I was on drugs..." she mumbled, "But ever since I've been off the drugs, I have totally lost my game. No fun, no cool, no sexy." In fact, she was the opposite; nervous, lame, and desperate.

"Yeah, that's me," Callie agreed and Maggie also nodded in agreement, "All emotions, no mystery."

"I blurted out my entire life to my boss," the neurosurgeon continued, "And now he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"What? I thought you guys were getting along?" Callie exclaimed, "Owen told me you guys went to the carnival last week?"

"Yeah we did," the Shepherd mumbled, "And then I ruined it by word vomiting all over him and telling him I was secretly in love with him."

"Ooh, ouch," Maggie commented, "What did he say?"

"He did not feel the same," she announced, still feeling embarrassed, "Dating is the worst."

"Agreed," Callie affirmed.

"Dr. Shepherd?" Stephanie called as she entered the OR with a mask over her mouth, "Are you going to be done soon?"

"Yes, Edwards," Amelia replied, "What's the hurry?"

"It's Nicole Herman," the resident announced, "She says her vision's going dusky." Amelia immediately looked up at stared at Stephanie.

Nicole Herman was a brilliant surgeon, but she had been diagnosed with a stage four glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer that was notoriously aggressive and almost always fatal. Nicole had been given only a few months to live, but she was determined to fight it with everything she had after Arizona had convinced her. And that's where Amelia came in.

Amelia was staring at the MRI results of Nicole Herman with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The tumour had finally invaded the optic nerve; it was time.

With the help of her team, she prepared Nicole for the operation, making sure to explain every step of the procedure to Edwards one more time. Then, they did their superhero pose, and they prayed to God that he was listening. Nicole was nervous but had complete trust in Amelia's abilities.

She took a deep breath and looked around the room. All the top surgeons and doctors were gathered, along with the Chief of Surgery.

As the surgery began, Amelia's hands moved with precision and speed, her mind fully focused on the task at hand. She could feel the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, knowing that Nicole's life was in her hands.

She cut, injected the dye, and came face to face with the tumour. Some hours into the surgery, she began to realize that firstly, she was taking too long, and secondly, she didn't know how to go any further without losing a part of the brilliant surgeon.

"Her shoulders are tense," Richard commented to Owen as they observed the surgery, "Something's bothering her."

"What do you think it is?" Owen asked. No one had moved or operated in 15 minutes.

"I don't know, but her game face is slipping," the older man mused. He got up and left.

A few minutes later, he was in the OR, offering Amelia his support in any way he can. Amelia appreciated it and asked Stephanie to kill the intercom and to step away, and for Richard to step up.

"You could be a big help by calling Derek," Amelia confessed to the seasoned surgeon, "I'm in over my head." Richard watched the fear in her blue eyes. "I took on an impossible task, and now my hubris is going to kill this woman. Get him on a plane. Get him here. Now."