The Stars (GTOP)

Chapter Eighteen: Frantic

This chapter has something kind of unrealistic in our modern times, but just roll with it, ok? :)

Though Seunghyun had stayed at the hospital as much as he was able, the doctors no longer told him anything, and they were still vague even with Jiyong's parents. All he was able to do was stand in the hall and watch as doctors and nurses occasionally went in to check Jiyong, and it frustrated him. Jiyong's parents were often confused by the doctors, who seemed to think that they should be vague because they didn't speak much English.

It was nearing the end of non family visiting hours, so Seunghyun knew he'd have to leave and go back to a cold and empty bed that felt so foreign to him that he couldn't sleep. He was standing with his arms crossed, looking into his lover's dismal room. The shades were pulled closed, making the room the unnatural white of the fluorescent lights, and causing the unconscious man to have a pallid, sickly complexion. Though he couldn't physically hear the heart rate monitor, there was a beeping in his ears that matched what he would hear if he were in the room.

As Seunghyun watched the line spike, he noticed a falter. He felt bile burn the back of his throat. He watched closely, and saw the line was staggered and growing slow. He turned and ran down the hall to the nurses station, shouting as he neared them.

"Something's wrong!"

Three nurses followed Seunghyun back to Jiyong's room. The nurses ran into the room, one making sure Seunghyun stayed in the hall so that he didn't get in their way. He stood with his hands on the glass separating him from Jiyong, and watched with fear prickling up and down his spine.

The nurses moved around the room frantically, not knowing what was wrong. One nurse pulled back the blanket and saw that the bandages were soaked with blood. Another nurse grabbed Jiyong's chart and said something to the others. The youngest nurse ran from the room and back to the nurses station. Seunghyun followed her.

She picked up the phone and punched a number. "Yes, we need 3 units of Type A."

"..."

"What? I need blood, we have a patient in the ICU about to bleed out!"

"..."

She slammed the phone on the receiver.

"I'm the same blood type!"

She looked at Seunghyun for a moment. "Are you sure? Are you healthy?"

He nodded and she grabbed his arm and ran back down the hallway to Jiyong's room.

"Where's the blood?"

Jiyong's doctor, a man named Keith Dobbs, asked as he restitched one of Jiyong's surgery incisions. There was a lot of balled up gauze soaked in blood and Seunghyun was amazed at how quickly the doctor had worked.

"There's something wrong with the fridges, they have to toss most of the blood. His fiancé is the same type and says he's healthy, start a transfusion. I'll go call County to see if they can spare some blood until Pathology gets it figured out." The young nurse left the room.

Seunghyun looked at the other nurse who was still in the room. She walked over to a cart and took out two 18 gauge needle and various tubes and equipment for her to begin a direct blood transfusion. She gestured for him to sit in the chair beside his lover's bed, which he did.

"Roll up your sleeve. How sure are you that you don't have anything?"

He did as she told him, quickly pushing the sleeve of his sweater up to the middle of his upper arm. "Where we work, we have to get regular blood work done to make sure no one is doing drugs or anything."