THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 30: FALSE ALARM

Chapter 30: FALSE ALARM

"Can I get the defibrillator please? Someone get me the defibrillator!" Alexander screamed, as he dashed into the room.

The chaos he expected to meet, was unlike the silence he did actually meet. The nurses and interning doctors stood with their heads bowed in shame. His eyes went to the bed, and found Fay still in the same position he left her.

"What is this?"

No one spoke for fear of being used as a scapegoat. The scowl on the doctor’s face, which was an expression they hardly ever saw, told them all they needed to know about the current state of his temperament.

"I believe I asked a question," he tried again, gentler this time.

"I— I swear the monitor beeped. She heaved for breath. But when I called out for help, she suddenly stopped. I didn’t have the time to announce it was a false alarm, before everyone trooped into the room," One of the brighter students of her graduating class, Sarah Davis said.

The disappointment in his eyes instantly tore her heart. She had worked so hard to emulate his journey in the medical world. Being one of the youngest doctors in the hospital, everyone looked up to him. She felt horrible that she made this kind of silly mistake.

"Everyone get out," the doctor suddenly said.

They didn’t need to be told twice. As swift as the order was given, they scampered for safety, from the fury that could possibly be meted on them, if they delayed.

"Except you, Sarah," he called back, before she could join in.

With her head down, she returned to the exact position she was standing before.

"Look at me."

She didn’t want to, but there was something about his tone that made her oblige. It wasn’t harsh or sneering. On the contrary, it was very mild.

She looked up, and fortunately, didn’t find any trace of disappointment in his eyes.

"I’m so sorry. I really thought it was a heart attack. I should have observed first before raising an alarm." Her fingers twisted around each other, as she apologized.

He sighed, and shook his head. "It’s good you apologized, but I’m not going to scold you. In any other case, you may have saved a life with your prompt alarm. But you need to also know you’re going to be in charge of cases someday. A doctor cannot afford to make mistakes. We’re not given as much grace as you may think. Do you understand me?"

She bobbed her head, her throat too clogged with tears to respond.

"Also, even when patients are in coma, either induced or natural, they get knee jerk reactions too. Now turn to the monitor."

She quickly did as she was told. "Observe it. What do you see?"

"Uhmmm, oh my God!" She gasped.

"You see? Do you understand now?" He smiled behind her.

"Her heart is stabilized. She may wake up sooner than expected." She covered her mouth with her hands, and turned her head to Alexander with widened eyes.

"That could have also played a huge part in that reaction. I hope you’ve learnt a lesson today?"

"Yes sir!" She nodded.

"Good, now leave me alone with the patient. I’d like to make further observations."

"You’re the best, Dr Alexander!" She gave him a thumbs up on her way out.

He chuckled, as she closed the door behind her. His eyes went back to Fay, and before he could stop himself, his legs carried him to the side of the bed. Sitting on the empty space beside her, he watched her.

He still hadn’t gotten over his shock when he entered the room, and saw the emergency patient was her.

His heart had skipped several beats, and almost ripped off his chest. Barely six hours ago, he had seen her. She looked healthy, happy, and smiled a lot too.

But to see her in that state, broke his heart into tiny pieces. A lot of things went through his mind at that moment. What could have happened? What if he somehow had a hand in it, because he had paid for her clothes? Was her husband abusive? If yes, didn’t she have any family around to rescue her? He could have tried to drown her.

Right there, he vowed to do everything to save her life. But just after he fulfilled his promise to her, he saw her husband.

"I can’t believe you’re married to Ace Atticus," he said, pulling her pale hands into his. In comparison to when she was brought in, there was some color on it now. "I mean, you’re really pretty, so I understand. Who wouldn’t want someone with your spirit? Pretty Fay."

He kissed her hand, and gently placed it back on the bed. "This is against ethics, but I desperately needed to talk to you alone. To tell you you’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of that. Do you understand me? Can you hear me?" He gently stroked her forehead.

"I have to leave now, but first, I’ll give you a bit of hope. Your vitals are stable, and in about thirty minutes, we can remove the oxygen tank to let you breathe on your own. After that, you should be waking up soon." He smiled, and gave her a good tap in the shoulder, before rising to his feet.

"I’ll see you when you wake up, Fay," he whispered, and walked out of the room.

He went through the hallway, and found Ace just outside the door, pacing back and forth. He took a deep breath, before approaching the man.

"Hello sir."

Ace turned around when he heard the doctor’s voice. "Are you going to finally tell us what is happening? The staff all came out of the room, and none answered our questions. Why are you keeping me in the dark?" He asked, unable to hide his frustration anymore.

"Sorry for the inconveniences sir, but they’re just following protocol. However , I do have good news to give you. Her organs are stable. She should be waking up very soon," he said.

"Very soon? Could you be more specific?"

"I wish I could, but these things are not set in stone. Just because I say very soon, doesn’t mean she can’t exceed the limit of what that means. All I can a hundred percent assure you is, your wife will wake up," he said, giving him a confident nod.

"I’ll have to take your word for it then." He eyed the gentleman pointedly, before turning around to look for his workers.

It was strange Marilyn hadn’t made a comment yet, despite all the eavesdropping she has been doing. But her face quickly went down when he spotted her. He squinted suspiciously.

She has been acting strange ever since the doctor arrived, and it bothered him.

"I’ll leave you to give the good news to your family. Please excuse me." The doctor’s voice brought his attention back to him.

"Yeah, later I guess," he said, and watched the doctor walk away.

"Marilyn, come here." He beckoned on the woman who had suddenly raised her head, as soon as the doctor left.

She drew close to him, her eyes filled with caution.

"Sir?"

"Where’s Cam?" He was going to ask her why she was acting strange, but decided against it. Secrets usually didn’t take time to reveal themselves, and he wasn’t the kind to intrude.

"Here sir."

He turned to see Cam standing behind him.

"What’s the situation outside? Are we safe?"

"For now, yes. The media hasn’t gotten wind of anything yet. To be more certain no leaks get out, we could make them sign an NDA. What’d you think?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "Let’s not go that extreme yet. The chief said nothing would leak. I’m trusting his words."

Cam threw him a skeptical look, but didn’t say anything. In his head, he wondered when Ace Atticus had ever freely given anyone the benefit of doubt, without using legal backup.

"Okay sir."

"Where’s my keys? I need to clear my head. The doctor says Fay is in stable condition now. She may wake up soon, or not. Whatever the case is, I don’t want to be in this hospital for one more second."

Behind him, Marilyn felt pity. The fact he had stayed this long surprised her beyond words could express. He was probably thinking about his father. She knew how much he hated anything that reminded him of his father’s last days on earth.

"Here," Cam stretched the key. He wanted to suggest he drive him around instead, but he had known his boss long enough to know when he needed to be alone. "You have to be careful though."

"I’m not a child, Cam." He snatched the keys out of his hand, and walked out of their sight.

The exit door slid open for him, and he went straight to the parking lot. He didn’t waste time entering into the car, and shutting the door behind him.

A huge sigh of relief escaped his throat, as he felt the first batch of non-hospital air filled his lungs.