smultronställe

IV.

By the time Jeno gets there, Lucas, one of the other orthopedic surgeons, is already laughing and talking with the four year old Ra, who's been changed into a hospital gown to appease schematics. Jeno raises an eyebrow, only to receive a thumbs up from his colleague before both of them settle, crouching down in front of the hospital bed the young boy is sitting on. A nurse - Dejun, Jeno's sure his name is - looks the two of them over before moving on to the patient in the next bed, finally sure that Ra's in good hands.

"Hey, Ra," Jeno starts, beaming at the young boy. "My name is Dr. Lee, and I'm friends with Dr. Huang, here. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay!" Ra responds to the inquiry with a grin that matches Jeno's own in wattage. Both doctors visibly see the boy stiffen slightly, though, and his shoulders drop slightly before he continues speaking. "I want my mommy. I cried earlier but then mommy says that I should be pre- be pre- be ready and strong so I tried to help and that made me stop crying."

From the way Lucas nods along diligently to Ra's rambling, Jeno can only assume he knows what's going on. From the way Jeno's brow furrows, Lucas can only assume he has no idea what's going on. He pulls Jeno close to give him a quick, whispered run-down of what Ra means.

"They couldn't find him originally because he got out of the damn car after the crash," Lucas mutters, muted disbelief still present in his tone and in the inquisitive, shocked noise Jeno makes in response. "He was relatively unscathed but I don't think Mrs. Singh was responding to him, so he went to go find another person, I guess, and ended up meeting someone who called 911 for them. That's why he got brought in after his mom did. It's kind of insane for a kid that's so damn young. How's his mother doing, by the way?"

"Your mommy's okay, Ra," Jeno turns to the young boy, his voice as soothing as possible. He gives Lucas an almost imperceptible nod to show that he's processed all the information he's been given. "I'm sure she wants to see you too, but we just gotta fix her up a little bit, okay?"

"Okay," Ra nods slightly, though Jeno doesn't miss the wince the boy makes at moving his head. The doctor's smile droops slightly, and he stands up.

"Have all of his scans come back-"

"Ra!" A booming, harried voice interrupts Jeno, forcing him to look away from his patient to see what must be Ra's father bounding towards them. His grip is tight around his cellphone, so tight that Jeno can see the individual tendons moving underneath the skin. Still, he gives his son a strained, but elated, grin upon seeing him. For his part, Ra smiles back at his father easily, though the wince he allows himself this time has Jeno and Lucas both focused once more.

"Haven't gotten his cranial ones yet," Lucas states, and Jeno can feel panic rise in him. Still, he turns to the terrified father first, working quickly to get over with his bedside manner necessities before getting back to work.

"Mr. Singh, I'm Dr. Lee, an orthopedic surgeon. I know you have many questions about your wife and children, and I'll be happy to allow you to speak to them, to me, and to the doctors on your wife's case soon, but I'll need you to step back for a moment so I can inspect Ra more closely." His tone is soft, calculated, and he makes sure his gaze is as softened and as gentle as he can make it. Mr. Singh only nods, teeth gnawing at his lower lip, before he listens to the doctor and steps back. Lucas, after sharing a quick glance with Jeno, moves to stand by the father, engaging him in quick conversation while Jeno inspects his son.

"Ra, I'm going to need you to stay perfectly still for me, okay?" He requests of the young boy, getting a quiet 'yes' as a reply. Jeno moves so he's looking at the side of Ra's face, and immediately sees the one thing he'd been ardently hoping against.