Note: Hi! Notice lang na this chapter will have lots of medical jargons. xx

//

"Good morning, Tims!" Tims greeted back as he packs his bag. Inayos ko naman 'yung bag ko sa locker at tinaas 'yung buhok ko habang nakatingin sa salamin. "Daming patients kagabi?" I asked, biting my ponytail.

"Wala namang emergency cases kagabi, though may limang na-admit for surgery," he said and took a bite from his shawarma. "Kape?"

"Baka naman manginig ako. Nagkape na'ko kanina," I said as I turn on my laptop. Ang daming endorsement ni Doc kanina kaya kailangan ko ring i-update 'yung census ng patients. Dumating na rin 'yung lab reports kaya kailangan ding i-check. No'ng dumating na si Amelia, saka umalis si Tims. Ang daya-daya no'ng taong 'yun, duty pm pero mukhang hindi haggard lagi.

"Grabe, chill lang ba kagabi? Ba't mukhang fresh 'yon?"

"Fresh naman 'yun lagi, baliw," I said and chuckled, "Lima lang daw na-admit kagabi. 'Di ko na inasar baka ma-jinx pa mamaya," sabi ko. Amelia nodded at mabilis na kinuha 'yung charts no'ng ibang patients na kailangang i-check ngayon since may mga naka-sched for surgery ngayong araw.

"Hi Brianna, tapos na ba 'yung census? Paki-check naman ulit 'yung EMR ni Padayao." I slightly bowed my head no'ng lumapit 'yung senior resident na assigned sa'min. I immediately accessed CHITS at sinearch 'yung record bago pinakita kay Doc. Tinignan niya lang saglit bago tumingin sa'kin.

"Nice, okay naman na final order for discharge and monitored naman ang vital signs within 24 hours. Puntahan mo na sila sa ward for the discharge instructions, and then write the discharge summary after, okay?" Tumango naman ako at ngumiti.

"And, don't forget the surgery at 11:30. See you at the OR. Keep it up," she said, patted my shoulder and smiled before leaving. Napatingin naman ako sa relo bago kinuha 'yung steth at dumiretso sa ward.

"Good morning, po," I said.

"Ay, doc! Good morning po!"

"For discharge na po si Trevor... and may mga antibiotics pa po na need i-take. We'll also be prescribing ibuprofen for the painkiller... and 'wag niyo po muna siyang hayaan na gumalaw-galaw, or gumawa no'ng masyadong mabibigat na tasks, since kahit laparoscopic surgery lang po and it wasn't an open surgery, ay kailangan pa rin po nating mag-ingat. Normal lang din po na magkaro'n siya ng shoulder pain, and it'll go away within a few days," I said. "We already gave the prescription to the pharmacy, so after settling the bill you can proceed na po for the prescriptions. And balik po kayo after two weeks for a follow-up appointment po to check the improvements."

"Thank you, doc." I nodded my head and headed straight outside. Nakasalubong ko naman si Tims kaya sabay na kaming bumalik sa reception.

"Surgery?" Amelia nodded.

"May surgery rin si Doc Pretty?" Natawa naman ako sa sinabi niya. Lahat yata ng residents dito sa ospital may nickname siya.

"My God, last month na natin sa surgery rotation 'di ba?" I nodded. "Ano na next? Grabe, stressful! Ayaw ko ng surgery, jusko."

"OB," I said, updating the census. "Kain muna tayo?" I asked checking my clock. Parang jinx naman na biglang tumunog 'yung telephone kaya sinagot ko kaagad. Mabilis na nanlaki ang mata ko.

"Stab patient," sambit ko bago mabilis na tumakbo papuntang ER. The hospital we applied to... well, it's capable and enough for us to finish internship, pero kulang din ng manpower. They were all asking me to apply to a bigger hospital, but I didn't want that...

"What happened?" I asked as they move the patient from the stretcher to the bed. We immediately placed cardiac monitors, a blood pressure cuff and oxygen-saturation probes on the patient.

"Away sa utang, Doc," sambit ng nurse. "Nagkasagutan daw hanggang sa nasaksak siya no'ng nangutang sabi ng imbestigador." Napailing na lang ako.

"Vital signs?" I asked and put on my steths as I check for the breathing of the patient. Pagkatapos ay ginunting ko 'yung damit para ma-examine ang injury. After examining ay kumuha ako ng syringe and looked for his median antecubital fossa. "Hold the arm," I ordered as I put on the tourniquet at pinunasan ng alcohol pads 'yung site before extracting blood from the patient.

"BP 130/70, P 90, RR 25, T 34.83." I nodded. Napabuntong-hininga naman ako no'ng tinapik ako ni Doc at nginitian ako.

"Secondary suvery, doc?" she uttered.

"Ah... doc, single stab wound sa left chest sa mid-auxiliary line in the 4th intercoastal space, no bleeding, no crepitus, but decreased breath sounds at the left base. RRR, normal S1 and S2. GCS 15," I said. She nodded.

"Amelia, request for a chest x-ray and an echocardiogram," she said. "Brianna you're assigned for the lab tests. Request for CBC, coagulation profiles, ABG, toxicology screen, and we also need blood typing for possible blood transfusion. STAT," she said. Mabilis ko namang sinulat lahat sa notes ko. "How much blood is drained?"

"300 cc, doc." She nodded. "Kamusta po kayo? May masakit po ba?"

"S-sa may likod doc, masakit..." Napatingin naman kami sa isa't-isa at napailing. Shit, subscapular pain... that might exhibit diaphragmatic injuries and irritation mula sa dugo...Napatingin naman ako sa asawa niyang umiiyak.

"Okay, sir kailangan po namin kayong operahan for possible complications... Thea, paki-call 'yung OR and ask them to prep one. Thank you." Tumango naman si Thea. Mabilis naman akong umalis at pumunta sa lab at binigay 'yung tests na kailangan.

"STAT," I said. Tumango naman 'yung medtech at kinuha 'yung papel at 'yung in-extract kong blood. After giving the lab tests, I immediately went to the locker room and changed in my scrubs bago pumunta sa ER at naghugas ng kamay.

"Laparoscopy," I said to Amelia after I was donned with a surgical gown. She nodded as she jots down notes. Minutes later, tumawag na rin 'yung lab at binanggit na 'yung tests, and ABG indicated hemorrhage. Nanood na lang kami ni Amelia sa screen habang tinatahi nila 'yung perforation sa anterior surface ng stomach. After no'n, chineck din 'yung pericardium no'ng patient, at no signs of bleeding naman na.

"Okay, that's good," Doc uttered. "Brianna, Amelia. Close him up and punta agad sa OR 2, mag-11:30 na." I nodded.

Amelia chuckled, "Tayo yata na-jinx." I laid my head back in frustration bago kami nagsuot ng gloves at tinahi 'yung patient.

It's going to be a long day.

***

We all had a long day so we didn't really care about this old myth about pancit for snack, though I was really glad we got to jot down a lot of notes today, kaya sulit din. Pag wala namang surgery medyo free rin kaming makapagbasa for the upcoming PLE, kaya 'di naman gano'n ka-stressful at toxic, tsaka puro sa stitching pa lang naman din kami tumutulong since interns pa nga lang.

"Grabe, buti ngayon 'yung pansit?" Natawa ako sa sinabi ni Amelia. We were eating like it was our last meal already—halos hindi rin kami nakakain kasi may isa pang trauma patient na dumating, e hindi naman available 'yung trauma surgeon since nasa conference kaya sa team muna namin na-assign 'yung mga cases.

"Dahan-dahan naman," Tims kid and sat beside Amelia. Inirapan na lang niya si Tims at tahimik na kumain kaya natawa na lang kaming parehas.

"Grabe nasakto pa talagang wala si Doc Quinto tapos nagkaro'n kayo ng trauma cases," he said before chugging on his Coke. "Pero sana all."

"Nagka-trauma patient ka na, ah."

"Isang beses lang kaya," he said. "Kita ko pala sa TV si Uno, Bran. Grabe, high-profile agad 'yung case ha." Napangiti naman ako sa sinabi ni Tims. It was true, he was assigned to a high-profile case—but it wasn't politics. I mean... I didn't say anything to him. I wasn't restricting him, but he said he didn't want to put me into a much more complicated situations, so as much as possible he'd avoid civil cases and go for criminal ones, pero whenever a politician is involved, he'd really pass it to another. Being the BAR topnotcher really helped him.

"They're... not really coming back together, no?"

I smiled bitterly, "They're all busy with their lives now, and Uno's done with the phase already. He's already a lawyer, anyway," I said. It's true—they disbanded after Uno passed the BAR a year ago. Zach married Sofia and they're living in New York already, and he's also teaching music at an academy, Dash pursued his studies, and kuya Kirk already has a child. Their fans understood naman... it's not like they can't live their lives just because they're public figures and musicians.

We still communicate, but we really don't have all the time in the world. Grabe... adulting sucks so bad.

"Uno will be picking you up, or sabay na lang tayo pauwi?" Amelia asked before checking her wristwatch. "My driver's on the way naman na."

"He'll pick me up," I said. "It's our 3rd anniversary."

Amelia pouted, "Sana all," she uttered kaya natawa ako.

"Humanap ka naman kasi! May mga nagta-try namang manligaw sa'yo, pero hindi mo naman pinapansin."

She chuckled, "I just like sana all, pero eh, I think I don't really need one," she said. "Siguro sa residency na. See you tomorrow!" I nodded my head and waved my head at pinanood siyang lumabas. I drank my Sola while waiting for Uno, and a couple of minutes later, a black SUV stopped in front of the hospital and then Uno went out, still wearing his suit while fixing his eyeglasses upwards.

"Hey," he greeted and kissed my forehead. "How was your day?"

"Had a long one," I said. He opened the door for me before getting in on the car. We just talked about how both of our days went, his hand holding mine and dined in a fancy restaurant for a third anniversary.

It was just a normal day for us.

Our normal day.

"How was the case?" I asked. He handled a high-profile rape-slay case and it wasn't really easy since the defendant was falsely accused, seeing him overwork himself the past few days and then hearing he won the case makes me really proud of my Uno.

He's come so, so far.

"It was really hard to get the witness to testify for the court, but we eventually did," he said. "Apparently, he was paid... but, the witness said he couldn't bear seeing an old friend of his suffering."

I smiled.

I was beyond happy... it wasn't just because I'm so close to becoming the Doctor I've always wanted or Uno being one of the best lawyers in the making out there, but because peace has come a long way, and for three long years... it was there.

No dramas... no bullshit. Well apparently, they respected my marriage with Uno and just called the screwed up engagement with Fallon off. He escaped the country, well, I let him. The Juarez still has something up in their sleeves waiting for all that to let loose so I eventually had to let him go—besides, justice could be bought anyways.

They all have the means to.

I'm still scared of them... of what they might do.

But I know how to fight already.

I'll never back down—and if that means having to take all of them, then I'd be willing.

The real game hasn't begun, anyway.

//

Terms used:

BP- Blood Pressure
P- Pulse
RR- Respiratory Rate
T- Temperature
RRR- Regular Rate & Rhythm
GCS- Glasgow Coma Scale (15 is mild)
CBC- Complete Blood Count
ABG- Arterial Blood Gas