Rescue and Redemption [ON-HOLD]

Prologue

The hospital's emergency room was a storm of controlled chaos. Sirens wailed outside, punctuating the tense atmosphere inside as paramedics rushed in one after another, wheeling in the victims of a massive traffic accident that had just occurred on the highway. The fluorescent lights bathed everything in a stark, unforgiving glow, highlighting the urgency in the air.

Dr. Ling, a dermatologist by training, wasn’t usually in the thick of the ER, but tonight was different. The hospital had received a blue code—a rare and serious alert that meant every available hand was needed to handle the influx of patients. Ling had just finished suturing a young man’s forehead, the result of shattered glass, when the head doctor, Dr. Bow, approached her.

"Dr. Ling,"he called out, his voice cutting through the noise.

"We’ve got a critical case in Bay 7. Suspected third-degree burns. I need you on it, now."

Ling wiped her hands and handed her current patient off to a nearby nurse. "I’m on it,"she replied, her voice steady, but her heart was beginning to race. Something about the way Dr. Bow had looked at her—an urgency beyond the usual rush—had set her on edge.

As she moved swiftly through the ER, weaving past gurneys and other medical staff, a strange, creeping sense of dread began to build in her chest. It was irrational, she told herself, just the stress of the situation. But with every step, the feeling intensified, making her breath shallow, her pulse quicken.

Finally, she reached Bay 7. The curtain was drawn, concealing the patient within. Ling paused for just a moment, trying to calm the storm brewing inside her. She’d been through countless emergencies before, seen people at their worst and brought them back from the brink. But this felt different—wrong, even.

Pushing the unease aside, Ling drew back the curtain. The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold.

There, on the stretcher, unconscious and horribly injured, was Orm—her ex-girlfriend. The one person Ling had thought she would never see again, and the last person she had ever wanted to find like this.

Ling felt as if the world had tilted on its axis. Her professional mask slipped as she stood frozen, staring at Orm’s face. Even beneath the burns and bandages, she could recognize her. That same delicate curve of her jaw, the way her dark hair curled slightly at the ends—things Ling hadn’t allowed herself to think about in two years.

"Doctor?"The voice of the nurse beside her jolted Ling back to the present.

"What should we do? She needs immediate attention."

Ling blinked, forcing herself to focus. She was a doctor, first and foremost. She had to be, for Orm’s sake.

"Vitals?" Ling asked, her voice firmer now, though her hands still shook as she reached for Orm’s chart.

"Blood pressure is low, pulse is weak but steady. She’s got severe burns on her left arm and back. Possible internal injuries from the impact, but we won’t know the extent until we get her into surgery." The nurse’s report was clinical, detached, but Ling could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on her.

She nodded, barely able to tear her eyes away from Orm. "We need to stabilize her and prep her for surgery. I want full labs and imaging done as soon as possible." Ling's voice was calm, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging inside her.

As the nurse moved to follow her orders, Ling stepped closer to Orm, leaning down so that only she could hear her words.

"Orm," she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of emotions she had buried for so long.

"I’m here. I’m going to take care of you. Just hang on, okay? Please, hang on."

Orm didn’t stir, didn’t give any sign that she could hear Ling’s desperate plea. Her chest rose and fell slowly, the only sign of life amidst the damage.

Ling straightened up, steeling herself. "Get her to the OR. I’ll be right behind you."

She watched as the team wheeled Orm away, her eyes following the stretcher until it disappeared around the corner.

For a brief moment, Ling stood alone, gripping the curtain she had just drawn back, her knuckles white. Memories of their time together flashed through her mind—their first kiss, the nights they spent talking until dawn, the way Orm used to look at her with so much love in her eyes. And then, the day it all ended, when they had walked away from each other, thinking it was for the best.

Now, fate had thrown them back together in the most horrific way possible. Ling didn’t know what she was supposed to feel—fear, anger, sadness? But there was no time to dwell on it. Orm needed her now, and that was all that mattered.

Taking a deep breath, Ling pushed the memories aside, locking them away as she had done so many times before. She had a job to do, and she would do it, no matter the cost to herself.

With one last glance at the empty bay, Ling turned and hurried after Orm, her heart pounding with a mix of dread and determination. The past had come crashing back into her life, but tonight, she was determined to save Orm’s future—whatever it might hold.

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AN: New story.