Dancing in the stars

72 hours before

It was just after two in the morning when a movement started to form at the hospital entrance. Demir coming from the cafeteria next to Merve was surprised by the sudden turmoil. They had not received any reports of an accident or any natural catastrophe that could have left a large number of victims to justify the excessive movement around Azmiye.

Approaching the reception in a hurry, Demir can preview the scene. Standing inside the hospital was a tall, bald man who wielded a gun and pointed it in the direction of the doctors, nurses and security guards who were there. The man was shouting nonsense and Demir realized that by then the police had already been alerted, but the man would still have time to try any kind of movement.

— Where is he? — Roared the man, pointing the gun at the nurses. — May he appear and face me like a man!

As the man circled himself, pointing the gun at everyone present, Demir saw a dragon tattoo on his neck and recognized him. This was the husband and assailant of one of the victims he had received the day before. The woman had arrived as a case of a domestic accident, but Demir had recognized the patterns of wounds and fractures she had and at great cost convinced her to report to the police.

Luckily, the woman had been transferred to another hospital, at the request of the family, since the man had been reported as a fugitive. But apparently, he wanted to settle accounts with Demir.

— Patron... — Merve called out in a whisper, next to Demir. — Is he...?

— Exactly. — Demir agreed with disgust.

— You should hide. — The blonde suggested apprehensive.

— And leave everyone here in the hands of this bandit so that he can make other innocent victims? — Demir asked. — I don't think so.

— Patron!

Too late. Demir had already passed through the crowd and stood face to face with the man.

There were few things that Demir Erendil feared in life. Death was certainly not one of them. If that man really had the courage to pull the trigger and fire at him, Demir would die in peace knowing that he had done what was right.

The man looked at the doctor and smiled coldly:

— Exactly who I wanted to see.

— You have a problem with me, I understand. — Demir said calmly. — We will resolve this elsewhere. There are very sick people there. People who need emergency surgery. There are women in labor. I will not let you disturb these people because of me.

— Ah doctor, you really are a hero, aren't you? — The man mocked. — I bet it was thanks to that pretty face and those sweet words that you managed to convince my wife to slander me.

— What you call slander, I call domestic violence and attempted femicide.

— You have a lot of courage for a man who is about to die.

— Your criminal record is no longer clean, do you still intend to shoot a doctor inside a hospital with dozens of witnesses? — Demir replied. — Unless, of course, that your plan is to kill me and then kill yourself. Typical of a coward.

— Watch who you call a coward. — Alerted the man wielding the gun towards Demir's face.

— You are no longer brave because you have a gun in hand. And you don't become a man anymore because you hit your wife. On the contrary, I would say.

— Yeter! — The man raged. — I will show you who is not a man here.

The first crack of the gun was followed by the sound of the glass shattering after being hit by the bullet and the horrified screams of those present. The second crack was followed by the entrance of the police who managed to disarm and immobilize the man. It looked like everything had worked out until Merve saw the vivid red trail running towards her.

— Blood! — Azmiye shouted the first thing that came to mind.

Merve hurried to run, fearing it was too late. She barely managed to stop the scream when she saw Demir lying on the floor leaning against the couch with his coat full of blood.

— Patron, sakın ol. — Merve asked.

— D-did... the bullet... crossed? — Demir asked in complete pain.

Merve lifted the doctor's torso so he could scan his back for the projectile wound.

— Crossed. — Merve confirmed.

— Great. — Demir whispered before closing his eyes.

Merve shouted for the nurses to hurry up and take Demir to the operating room. She accompanied them and took it upon herself to examine and operate him if necessary.

A few hours later, Merve left the room with the news that Demir had been very lucky, as the bullet went through his shoulder a short distance from one of the main veins. After the bleeding had stopped, Merve was sure that the bullet wound would leave no damage. But Demir would need at least a month's rest and a few physiotherapy sessions to be able to get back to work.

— Patron? — Merve called Demir who had just returned from anesthesia.

— Merve ... — He replied in a weak voice. — I was going to say that I had a very strange dream, but from the pain I'm feeling I think it was all very real.

— How many times do I have to tell you to stop playing the hero?

Demir quickly recognized the person behind the extremely furious tone:

— Vedat?

— Evet. The only person who would cry at your wake if you hadn't survived. — Vedat replied angrily. — Oğlum, you are no longer a teenager, don't do stupid things.

— Allah aşkına, Vedat nothing happened. — Demir refuted, finding his friend's reaction unnecessary.

— In fact, you could have died if the bullet had moved a little further to the left. — Merve reported looking at her co-worker almost friend with a startled expression.

— Are you listening?! — Vedat exclaimed, completely nervous.

— Merve... — Demir tried to call the blonde doctor.

— I don't want to know Demir, when the doctor here discharges you, you go to my house.

— Vedat, saçmalama! — Demir protested. — What is the need for this? I might as well handle myself.

— Oğlum, umurumda değil. — Vedat declared in a tone of censure. — This is not a topic that we are going to discuss. You go to my house, end of conversation.

— Don't worry Vedat Bey, before signing our patient's discharge I ask tho them to inform you. — Merve assured him without taking her eyes out of Demir. - I, as his doctor, think that going through this post-operative phase with a friend will contribute a lot for the recovery to be quick.

— You see, oğlum, listen to your doctor.

— Tamam. — Demir gave up. — As a patient I must trust my doctor's judgment.

— Harika, Patron! — Merve celebrated. — Now I'm going to make you comfortable, the hospital is in chaos and we need to calm the patients and most of our doctors.

— Geçmiş olsun, Demir Bey. Görüşürüz!

As soon as the doctor walked away towards the door, a burst went through Demir's mind, causing him to shout:

— Merve!

— Evet? — The blonde ran back to the doctor's side. — Are you in any pain?

— Hayır. — Demir quickly denied it. — Take the care of Selin while I'm gone. — He asked. — At that point if we put an unknown doctor to look after her, all progress will be lost. She's a friend of yours, I'm sure she'll be more comfortable with you.

— Don't worry, Patron. I will do my best to replace you.