This chapter contains mature and sensible content revolving around race, organ donation among other subjects about the health care system that may be triggering to some

🚨Readers Discretion Advised🚨

September 22, 2025
Rochester, New York

Traffic is packed, there are no alternate routes to take, they are stuck and there is nothing that can be done. The driver keeps honking and shifting the siren's sound on and off, but nothing happens.

A couple of minutes pass, they manage to make a little bit of progress, but, the rain has intensified, the weather outside in mid-day, looks as if night had fallen.

As thunder echos through the sky, lightning bolts illuminate the clouds, they all look at each other as a call comes through the ambulance radio from dispatch

"There's been an accident near the highway exit, assistance required, I repeat, there's been an accident near the highway exit, assistance is required"

Doctor Melton once again looks to the paramedics in the front "What is going on out there?"

The driver looks at him "We are getting details, it seems like a car just crashed into a lightning post and it came down."

Kyle pops his head forward "So, what do we do? We need to get this baby to the hospital as soon as possible, she is already decompensating."

The other paramedic pushes him a little for him to get back in his sit "As of this moment we are the closest medical assistance if the opportunity presents itself we need to check and see how many injuries there maybe"

Kyle sits down back in his place "I'm sorry but aren't you supposed to transport the patient you already have inside the ambulance before you make a rest stop to check on another?"

The driver turns to both of them "This is an emergency, the baby is being transferred but she is still in a stable condition"

Kyle sarcastically looks at Melton "I don't think he heard me when I said she is decompensating"

The second paramedic flares her nostrils while looking outside "We heard you, but there is two of us, a doctor and a nurse, not all of us need to make it to the hospital to hand her over"

Melton shrugs "They're right"

Kyle looks at Melton and sights "Alright, let's get out and see if we can make way for the ambulance to continue and go assist the crash sight while we wait for the other ambulances"

While they're in a conversation, the other hospital calls in "Doctor, the organs have successfully been recovered, how far along are you?"

Doctor Melton looks at Kyle and then the baby

"We're stuck in the middle of a traffic jam, but we're already working on it"

"Doctor, there are other patients on the list awaiting a heart as well, if you are not here soon and another donor moves to the top of the list the organs are going to that recipient."

Melton puts a hand on his forehead "Look, I know how this works, but we're on our way, the surgeon that will perform the transplant is already in your hospital, talk to him and try to hold them off as long as you can, a lightning post went down, dispatch is already re-routing us"

Melton then refers to the driver while muting the phone "Did dispatch give you any options? They are about to give the organs to someone else."

The driver points to the radio "They said we have to wait until the power is cut off and the firefighters and paramedics clear the scene."

Kyle makes an aggravated sound, doctor Melton looks at him, they both look at the baby in front of them, their sight.

"Hand me the phone" Said Kyle while extending his hand

Melton looks at him and frowns "What are you going to do?"

Kyle hurries him with his hand "Guilt them? I don't know, whatever we need to, to try and keep those organs from going to another recipient"

Doctor Melton proceeds to hand Kyle the phone while keeping the hopes of the organs not being given to another recipient.

"Alright, you and I both know how UNOS works, all I'm asking for is time, this baby has suffered a great deal of pain and she has only been in this world for two weeks, we are on our way, the mother of the patient has already been transferred to the hospital, the surgeon is also there, and I don't think you want to be the one telling a brown woman in America that you are about to give the organs of her very ill baby to another child, first of all, because we all know how that looks especially with how the health care system treats people of color and other minorities i. This country, secondly, there is a period for which you can hold them as long as you follow protocols and there shouldn't be a problem, and before you say that other people are waiting for it, the truth is, I care about my patient, who will soon be your patients, so I'd advise you start looking after her best interests because we can't control the weather and we'll be there soon"

He hears a sight from the other end of the line "Sir, we will do our best but if UNOS calls that another patient has moved up the list, I don't care how bad it may look, the organs are going to the other recipients"

The person on the other line hangs up the phone abruptly and Kyle looks at the screen

"Ugh, the bitch hang up on me"

The paramedic on the passenger seat looks at him "Well, let's go and see what we can do to help"

Kyle gets out of the back of the ambulance, shuts the back door of the ambulance, and walks with the other paramedic as the driver and Melton wait to put.

Kyle is walking alongside the paramedic "So, how does this work?"

She looks at him "We go in, see if the patient is conscious, and start assessing by priorities, just like in the ER just with a lot of people watching with cellphones and recording every move you make"

Kyle tilts his head backward

"Great," He says with very little enthusiasm

The two of them make it to the crash site, as Kyle is going to give another step the paramedic pulls him back

"What the hell," He says while looking back at her with a startled face

"There is a live wire touching the grown, you step on that water and you'll end up like her" The paramedic points to a woman laying on the floor with white foam coming out of her mouth. She then grabs the megaphone

"Alright people, please remain as far away as you can from the car and avoid touching the water"

A strange voice echoes

"Somebody need to help them, he has a baby aboard"

"As long as they remain inside the car they should be fine from the electricity, we will get to them as soon as we can, now please move away from the vehicle" Replies the paramedic

As they stand there, a fire truck pulls over along with two ambulances, and from the passengers sit the Captain of the 415 gets down

"What do we get"

The paramedic shakes his hand

"Male maybe in his thirties, from afar he seems to have a small cut in his forehead"

Kyle walks up to them and joins them "I asked him if the baby was okay and he verbalized that the baby was crying which in his situation is a good sign"

The captain looks at him "How is that a good sign?"

Kyle swipes the sweat off of his forehead and cleans it off on his scrubs "Crying is a sign of distress and as long as the baby cries it means it's still alive. We won't know anything on the extent of the injuries if any until we get a look at it"

After that, the captain gives instructions and the firefighters moved in to assist the patient and as others help to move the traffic the ambulance they were in passes them by.

After thirty minutes the ambulance makes its way back and they took Kyle and Melton back to the hospital.

After finishing what turned into an exhausting and aggravating transfer, they sit down outside the hospital Melton runs his hands over his face "I'm so tired of this system, of unfair life, tired of the work, of everything we do for nothing" Melton takes a deep breath and continues "I just want one day, one single day for everything to go right"

Kyle looks at him, almost knowing where he comes from, and claps him in the shoulder "Well that's just stupid, one day would mean 364 days of death, sorrow, and pain, 364 days of injustice by a system that profits from the most vulnerable. And that my friend, is not why we do this, yes, we're not going to save everyone, but that baby is not dead yet, and neither is that man, the three of them have a fighting chance, and that is up to the new doctors to handle, all we can do is keep taking care of the ones we have under our care and make sure they make it out of that NICU, on to their parent's arms and homes"

Andrew looks at him "When did you become so not dark and twisty?"

Kyle lets out a laugh "Oh this is dark and twisty me, didn't you hear the part where I said they're not dead YET? But seriously, I know today was not a usual day, but we did the best we could with what we had."

Melton straightens himself "Ok, there is seriously something wrong with you, you are usually sitting around waiting for the bad news, the bad outcomes, but not today"

Kyle looks at him with an open mouth "Ok, just because I don't go around expressing my eagerness to watch the tiny humans leave this place doesn't mean I want them to stay"

Melton pats him on his leg "I know, and as usual, you're right, still, that doesn't make it any less exhausting"

Kyle slides down on the bench next to him "Well then doctor, sit down and take a break cause we still have six hours left of work, and we have to be here very early tomorrow"

Melton groans "Ugh, hey, by the way, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Kyle looks at him "Huh? Oh, it's nothing, we can talk about it later, let's just sit here in silence for a little while, just the two of us and the sound of birds in the sky"

Melton looks at him and pats him on his thigh "I love you you know that right?"

"I do, and I love you two you little shit" Kyle replied
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Andrew's afterwords for this chapter

"Sometimes we hope for good outcomes, but it doesn't matter what we may hope for, somethings are just out of our control, and that's okay, it's frustrating at times, but all we're left to do is hope and wait that everything will happen as it should"
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*Kyle and Melton have come a long way since their beginning, but what is it that Kyle wanted to tell him? And how is it affecting his other relationships?*

Continue reading chapter six of
🗽Abroad Liberty🗽
To find out