“ First Encounter ”

Closing the white meeting door stood opposite across the 'Don't Replace, Regrow.' poster glued to the wall, a figure started to walk through the hallway connecting the meeting room at the very end of the hallway—which was also the ER doctor station–to the white dominated workstation near the front desk where some of the resident doctors, nurses, and medical staff were stationed. It was not too hectic because today's patients were not really that much except for only a couple of consultations and a new-admitted 52 years old influenza patient. Other than that, everything was running as it was usually like. Some nurses were checking the vitals of the patients at the acute section room while some were treating minor injury patients at treatment bays.

The morning blew fresh and refreshing air from outside into the hospital, which brought a little excitement to her nose, because it was two days since the last time she could actually take a fresher breath. It also brought a little mix of medicine smell within it, making her drew her awareness back.

Hospital smell was always one of a kind. People were sure to quickly recognize it as soon as it came through their respiration system due to its so-called distinctly medicine smell. Many were known to hate it, proving the little time they had to actually deal with hospital or urgent care. Unless that that was not her case. She worked there as one of the ER physicians in Ochsner Baptist Medical Center.

Sol was just on her way to give her pager to a medical staff called Fran, a few steps from where she left the meeting room and her phone rang. She was about to enjoy her day off as she was planning to sleep the whole afternoon and binge watching Netflix in the night while having some popcorn night. The fact that she read the word 'Gwen' as soon as her phone screen came into her view made her question whether or not she would be able to even reach home on time, let alone enjoy the Netflix series. For as long as Sol knew Gwen, she had no doubt that the girl would never call her in their shift change time unless she wanted a cover.

The moment Gwen's voice came to her ear, she flinched at the hoarse voice welcoming her. She swore she needed to stop guessing Gwen's behavior all the time because she knew she had known Gwen for so long that she never had to worry if she guessed wrong. And tonight, knowing the time Gwen was calling and hearing her super cracked voice was enough to ensure herself that she wouldn't be able to watch the first episode of Riverdale season four and whole episodes of Stranger Things season three.

“Sol, can you cover me?” Gwen's low-pitched voice asked from the other line. “I drank too much last night.” She said. Sol never disagreed with Gwen's habit of drinking. She absolutely had no right to say so because she herself also drank when something's gone out of her hand. The only difference was that Sol knew her limit and Gwen didn't. She often passed out from drinking and ended up having Sol to cover up her shift in work.

“You sound like you're dead Gwen, I swear. How much did you drink last night?”

“Don't remember.” A faint of rustling fabric sound could be heard. Sol was totally sure Gwen's couldn't even move out of her bed right now, hearing how throaty she was.

“Kris will kill us both if he knows. Especially you.” Sol ended up taking a seat in the nearby hospital bench that the patient usually used to wait outside the ward. Massaging her bridge of nose, Sol stared at the white wall before her. Kris, the head of the Emergency Department, as well as their supervisor, would totally be furious if he knew Gwen was absent, again.

“Don't tell him about it, please.” She begged. Sol swinged her rubber-shoes-legs back and forth. Even if she kept quiet about it Kris would know eventually because he came to the ER room often and checked their shift all the time.

“I can't believe you're still drinking on your working day.”

The typical and mediocre thing about doctors was that they, too, were also mere human beings. They ate, they slept, they rested, they got stressed, they got sick as well, and when those bad days happened, they would also relieve it in some humanly way. Many doctors apart from them also drank and even smoking was not an unlikely thing. Not all doctors were perfectly innocent in terms of health. However, doctors knew what was good and what was bad that affected their body. It's up them to take whichever choices they thought were better. It's the same as when a designer wouldn't always wear branded clothes. They knew what they're doing.

The only matter here was that Gwen was also wonderfully very hasty. She knew she had low tolerance to alcohol yet she often swallowed up a bottle of alcohol as if she had nothing to worry about the next day.

“I don't think I can work today. My head hurt.” Serve you right, Sol mumbled, and serve me right, I suppose, she added. It's positive she would be in work for the next 8 hours and would be stuck with the hectic of the upcoming patients.

Sol ran her hand through her hair and then massaged her stiff neck. Lately, there were many unpredictable patients, and the ER room hectic condition in the last few days has taken its toll on her health. The fact that several doctors were attending a conference in New York over the past week didn't help her either. Sol and other doctors had to cover up their absence by taking a few extra night shifts.

“Look, Dimitri is a jerk for dumping you.” The buzz sound of the ER room seemed to make her relax for a while. Sol leaned in the back of the bench she was sitting at, reminding herself that this was not a new thing in Gwen's and Dimitri's relationship. “You are fine. Nothing's wrong with you.”

“But Dimitri didn't think like that, apparently.”

Sol pulled her hair in exasperation and nearly cursed out loudly hearing Gwen's stubbornness in keeping her love life unscathed. “Screw Dimitri! You're fine on your own Gwen.” She glanced at the watch in her wrist, 7:15 am. “Get yourself a rest and don't drink again. This is the last time I'm covering for you.” Sol got to her feet and started making her way unwillingly to the workstation, not to give her pager to Fran and went home but to tell Fran that she would stay for the next 8 hours.

“Thanks Sol.” Gwen said before ending the call.

The trip to the workstation felt undeniably long. Sol had to actually force her body to work properly despite the night shift she had taken last night. She couldn't allow herself to make any mistakes for people's life they're dealing with. She waved a tired hand, greeting Fran who was typing on the computer, probably the admission of the cardiac arrest patient who came to the ER last night.

“Going home honey?” Fran stopped from whatever she was doing for a while. She was already reaching out her hand to collect the pager out of habit.

“I'm taking Gwen's shift today.” Sol's reluctant answer made Fran pulling back her hand and instead she responsively turned her chair to face Sol, making a questioning look. “She was drowned in alcohol.” Fran and the others who were there seemed to be not surprised anymore in the matter.

“Fighting with Dimitri again?” Not to belittle Gwen's problem, but almost everyone who works in ER already knew Gwen's complicated love life. Sol and Fran were even mentally and physically tired of hearing Gwen's nagging about what's wrong in their 5 years relationship.

“Worse.” Sol breathed the word in the most miffed way she has ever been in talking about the problem. “He dumped her.” Disgruntled, she set her body down beside Fran and placed her colored satchel bag on the table before tiredly resting her head down above it.

Not long after that, both of them were startled by the alarm on the computer that rang loudly breaking the familiar atmosphere. Sol lifted her head up to see the ‘Incoming Call’ pop-up menu appear in the bottom part of the computer screen, flashed up brightly in red. Anxiously, Fran answered and put it in loudspeaker mode so that Sol and the other medical staff could hear it. The caller ID said that it was the EMS radio call from ambulance unit NOEM 107.

“Ochsner Baptist, this is NOEM 107.” Although Sol had already guessed the matter, she couldn’t stop herself from withholding her breath, readying herself for the worst. She stood alarmed beside Fran. Other residents and nurses came close as well.

“Ochsner Baptist unit call, go ahead with the report.” Fran answered the line while grabbing her note to write out the report. Sol and a resident and two nurses there nervously listened to the report as well.

“We got mass casualty trauma for you. Two busses got head-on collisions. Eight are last priority, four are first priority, six are second priority, and five are third priority. Two of first priority are having LOC due to blood loss. One of each has a metal object stuck in their abdomen. One first priority had his left side head de-gloved and he got some fractures on his left arm. Blood pressure 150 over 113, one fifty over one one three. Pulse is 58 on the monitor. Another one has several deformities and head laceration, blood pressure 130 over 74. I repeat one three zero over seven four, pulse is 104 due to shock, sinus tach on the monitor.”

“Is there a possible STEMI sign within the first priority?” Sol asked with caution, voice filled with worry.

“No. Four ambulances are heading there. ETA is about 15 minutes, we will give details upon arrival.”

“Very good. We will see you on arrival.” Fran said, ending the call. A second later, she started to type the report quickly on the other computer.

“Inform trauma center, Fran. Seulgi and Wendy, you guys go prepare x-ray rooms.” The said nurses immediately ran through the hallway to prepare the rooms. They might need to get radiology physician assistance later.

“I will find other nurses to prepare the OR room.” Jeonghan, two-year-senior resident, added, before making his way to the wards where the nurses were probably on duty.

“I'll go get Kyuhyun and other doctors.” Sol hollering to Fran while grabbing a white coat lying in there. In seconds, she shoved a stethoscope to her white coat and has already run towards the doctor station to look for other doctors and nurses to get to prepare the transfer.

It’s a race against time. Sol tried to arrange her mind, not letting herself be overwhelmed by the attacking panic that started to eat her away. She managed to dash back to the doctor station to inform the other doctors about the incoming ambulance.

Sol opened the door with a jittery feeling. Fortunately, Kyuhyun—who was a trauma surgeon–was also there, making it easier since she didn’t have to make her way