The Beauty in Eternity

Chapter 89.

I grab my bag and jacket, each step hurting my feet more and more. It's been a long day, I'm exhausted, sore—overly emotional. As I make my way outside I catch a glimpse of one of my interns; perched on a bench with her head in her hands.

I sigh, I just want to go home. I need to be alone. I try to walk away, but before I know it I'm sitting on the bench beside her. "Everyone makes mistakes, Mendez." I say.

"Not Adams, she put in a chest tube on her own." she sighs, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Not on her own, with guidance," I correct her. I place my hand on her shoulder as she turns to look at me. "Which is exactly what you should be doing at this point. There is no such thing as gaining points when someone's life is in your hands. That's what I'm here for, to help."

"He could have died." she tells me with a quivering lip.

"But she didn't," I raise my brow. "You're lucky that you haven't lost a patient yet. You will, and it'll be horrible—but it comes with the job."

She stays silent, but her face is full of guilt and sadness. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, Julie shouldn't have left you alone with a patient. You shouldn't have had to try and do that alone." I tell her.

"I'm so sorry, Doctor Woods. I should've paged you, or at least called for a nurse." she tells me with tear filled eyes. The overwhelming guilt and fear in her eyes reminds me of me when I first started, and I still feel that sometimes.

"Come with me." I say.

"What?"

"Quickly, I have things to do." I raise my brow with a smile.

She wipes her eyes and follows closely behind me. We arrive outside the room. I watch as she peers in the window, becoming visibly choked up as she watches the boys grandmother sit by his bedside holding his hand. "Why would you bring me here?" her eyes glisten.

"Look at his vitals," I say, motioning towards the monitor. "Strong and steady."

"But he's- he looks so frail."

"And he is," I sigh. I turn her to face me and wipe the tear from her cheek. "But you're going to get it together, because you're going to take over his patient care starting tomorrow morning. You're going to monitor him and feed back to me, and you're going to make sure that little boy gets back to his mother—she already lost one child tonight." my lips fall into an involuntary frown.

"She has? The daughter didn't make it?" her face falls in sadness.

"No," I sigh. "So, can you do it?"

"Yes. Thank you Doctor Woods"

"Don't let me down, and don't let her down," I say with a smile. "Now go home and get some sleep."

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a few minutes." she mumbles with her eyes set on the bed.

I pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Alright."

I make my way to the elevator, waiting for my floor to light up. I just want today to be over. As the doors open, so does my mouth—in shock. A second intern, standing with two of, who I assume, are her friends; gossiping about today's events. "...Grace Garcia, she came in with a pneumothorax, which is a collapsed lung by the way I had to—"

"Miss Adams." I assert in an angry tone, her shoulders tense up as she notices me.

"I think this is your floor." I tell her with a furrowed brow. She nods nervously and steps off. her fingers intertwined in front of her.