A Twist of Fate (Dhoombros included) under MAJOR editing

Collective Hopes

Chapter 11

It was 12 AM when I was doing my rounds, in the pediatric ICU wing of the hospital, all set to sleep in the On-Call Room as soon as I checked up on the patients. It was quiet, almost gloomy; the breath of each child taken with such great fragility, such strength, as if snatching something from the very hands of a being. The night was cloudy, the moon hidden behind the grey overcast.

It was raining, heavily. Thunder could be heard every few minutes, and if you were lucky, you could see the lightening sometimes, the electricity shining brightly against the dark, cloudy sky through the wall sized windows. But there was a power to this night, one that only the Almighty could give. There was something about this night, something that even the best of the poets had a hard time capturing, the best of the thinkers tried devouring but failed to do so. Their frustration matching with the shouts of the sky. It was a night of mysteries, an enigma that I couldn't even begin to decipher.

I tried to ignore the way my heart fluttered, knowing I would be reaching Zaki's room to check on him. I knew that Rehan had offered to stay the night with his nephew, but I didn't know what his parents had decided. I shook my head at my thoughts and continued to go around each room, charting their vitals and medicines, with my attending Dr Sloan supervising. I let out a small yawn and he smirked. "How many hours have you worked this week, Aliyah?" I took a breath, trying to count the hours, and looked up at the ceiling. When I couldn't find the number, I looked at Dr Sloan and pursed my lips. "I saw you Monday the entire 24 hours and then I saw you yesterday the entire day, and, well now I'm seeing you again tonight?" That's not healthy and you know that." I sighed and looked down guiltily. He and I had gotten along well because of being stuck to his service for a month. I hated it and him at first, but when I was transferred, all I wanted to do was to go back to working with him. We'd grown an acquaintance of a sort through all the late night calls and daytime patients. "I promise I will sleep in the On-Call Room tonight as soon as I'm done with rounds."

He frowned. "If it will not be occupied by other people. I'll try and save it for you." I smiled and said thank you, just as we entered the second last room. I saw Zaki's small frame cuddled to a huge teddy bear that his Maamu had gotten him. The teddy bear was life-sized and so adorable. It had a small bandage on its temple and a 'WE LOVE YOU ZAKI' on its t-shirt. Zaki looked so safe in the arms of the teddy bear, I let out a small 'Aww' and looked towards Dr Sloan. He smiled and began to check his charts while I gave a small smile to Rehan. He looked exhausted, with bags under his eyes and a small pout on his face, but he was still working on his laptop. I began to check Zaki's vitals and noticed that his BP was still a little high. I told Dr Sloan and he frowned. He took me to the side and said, "It should have stabilized by now. Tell the nurses to watch out for a possible collapse." I nodded and my heart took a lurch, looking at Zaki. I nodded slowly and backed out of the room.

"Aliyah?" Dr Sloan called me, and I looked towards him. "Ya?" "You coming to the Med Conference tomorrow?" I shrugged pretending like I didn't care. A shameful no.

"Well, are you free tomorrow evening?" I was speechless. I knew that each attending doctor got to choose one resident or intern to take with him or her to the conference every year. Whoever that resident was, in the attending's eyes, they had a bright future and needed to be introduced to the medical gods for more opportunities. "U-um.. I-I.. yeah?" It came out more like a question. "Ok, I will pick you up tomorrow at 9, be ready, alright?"

"Umm.. okay?" My cheeks were on fire and he smirked. "I insist." "Oh, umm.. thank you. Thank you so much!!!" I don't know what came over me, but just the thought that I was going to the conference, that tomorrow, my career will take a flight, made me wrap my arms around him. I smiled through my tears. This man would kill me with his surprises. I realized I was hugging him and backed away, not wanting to turn things awkward. My cheeks were burning and my hands were shaking. "You look so flustered, Ahmed, lighten up!" And my face turned even red, before I looked around quickly, making sure no one saw. "Shut up, Sloan!" He smirked and winked. I gasped and burst into laughter and he joined me. "But seriously, thank you so much for this. But do I deserve it, really I mean?" He took a second to ponder it and I almost regretted my words. Stupid Aliyah, now he will choose someone else!