As the week moved, Amulya and Alaric settled down into a routine. They talked more, a lot more than they used to.

Alaric learnt about her childhood, her family. Amulya had an older brother, Madhan, who lived in the United States, with his wife and their daughter.

Growing up, Madhan was the favourite child and it wasn’t a secret. He got all the special treatment, he got out of trouble easily and his curfew wasn’t definitely at 6:00 in the evening.

Amulya had to work hard in school, and college always trying to do better than her brother when ‘he was her age’.
Sometimes it got too much, but she learnt to deal with it.

Each day they talked, Alaric felt something he couldn’t decipher. He loved talking to her. She now became a part of his life; a part of his daily routine.  He didn’t know what that feeling was, but he loved it.

It was late at night on Thursday, Amulya was on the ER duty and it was almost the end of her shift, when an ambulance came and patients were rushed in.

“What are we dealing with?” Amulya asked the nurse who was with her as they walked to the surgery room.

“Three patients, it was a car crash. They probably belong to the same family; police are identifying them as we speak. Two male and a kid; one died on the way, the other two are in the surgery” Nurse read off the board.

Amulya’s heart started to beat faster when she heard the word kid.

“How old is the kid?” She asked.

“Not more than six. She was pretty bruised up, she may not survive the crash” the nurse said sadly. It was always a gloomy time when they know the patients may die and the chances are very high.

“And the male?”

“Middle aged. Dr. Pierce is taking care of him. He was probably the one driving.”
Amulya nodded as they entered the room. Dr. Stone was already there, working on her injuries.

“Possible brain damage” her mentor said, “Write down an MRI. She probably wasn’t wearing a seat belt, causing her to fly out, when the cars collided” he continued, finally cleaning her wounds, and they prepared the unconscious girl for an MRI scan and a possible surgery.
“Look at this” Dr. Stone said lifting the girl’s shirt to reveal her pale stomach.

These aren’t from today. Some are almost fading. Possible case of domestic abuse”

Amulya couldn’t breathe. The girl was barely six. Who would want to harm a six year old?

The night passed quickly. As predicted, she needed a surgery. But on the bright side, the little girl might survive.
That case was indeed one of the domestic violence ones. Police identified them, and the Child’s mother was contacted.

“They found alcohol in his system” Dr. Pierce told. “He was the one in the wrong lane”

“What about the other car?” Amulya asked.

“The driver was lucky to have survived it. He turned the car in the right time, causing this one to collide into a tree. It was a double collision. He survived with a few broken bones and a concussion.

The child’s mother is here. Waiting for the news”

“Who was the other guy?”

“They belong to the same family, divorced, dad got the custody, drunk and addict, abused the kids, now tried to get them somewhere. I don’t get why...” Dr. Pierce trailed off as Dr. Stone entered. He had the MRI reports with him.

“Prepare for the surgery” he said grimly.

It was almost morning, when they came out of surgery. Dr. Stone’s face was still stoic, as he thanked Dr. Pierce and Amulya for their time and help.

“Do you want to give her the news?” her mentor asked Amulya, who nodded her head dimly. She was tired, all she wanted was to go home and sleep.

As soon as Dr. Stone left, Pierce hugged Amulya.

“Great job today” She said.

“Thank You.  I’m just glad it went good” Amulya said, a few tears escaped her from joy.

“Me either. Now go home and rest” The older lady said. Amulya nodded again and headed towards the waiting room, where a petite woman was waiting for the news on her daughter.

“Miss Luca?” Amulya questioned, causing the lady to lift her head up. Her face was red from crying. She looked like she aged a few decades overnight.

“The operation was a success. The
chances of Rose surviving are high, as we managed to get the swelling down. But we cannot say anything until she wakes up.”

The lady started to cry. She didn’t know if she was crying because her daughter is in this condition, or that she might get better. She thanked Amulya before requesting to see her daughter.

“She is being shifted to a room now; a nurse will come find you when visitors are allowed. Please Mrs. Luca, get something to eat” the woman nodded, before Amulya left.

It was five in the morning, when Amulya got down the cab in front of her apartment complex.

Her phone vibrated, and she took it out to see a text from Dr. Stone, congratulating her again for how the surgery went and giving her a few hours off in the morning for working late. That she could come in the evening, and directly took over in the ER, that is of course after checking in with Rose.
She couldn’t help but smile, her eyes filled with tears. She managed to save a little girl. That’s what she has worked her for eight years.

She took out her phone, giving in the urge to share this news with someone.
She typed out about her day briefly, Mentioning about how happy she was to have saved the little girl and hit send.
She didn’t get a reply.

Of course, it was five in the morning, Ricky would be fast asleep. There was no way he would reply to her.

After showering and settling down in bed, Amulya thought about the events of the night and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

She was happy.

~*~
13.04.20

I have uploaded an authors note in the next part. Please don't skip it. I hate them as much as you all do, but this is important.