"Nurse!" Aspen yelled at the top of his lungs when Seth fell backward onto the bed. Then he remembered that he wasn't the doctor in charge, so he stretched out his hand and pressed the bell to alert the nurses. Soon, a nurse came into the room and asked what was happening, but Aspen was too busy giving instructions to listen to her.
"Prepare for surgery immediately!" He ordered as he examined Seth's once again shirtless upper half. He remembered that Seth mentioned something about heart problems, and after his examination, he had speculations on what the exact problem might be, but he chose to keep checking for now. He turned around only to see the nurse standing there and looking straight at him, and he arched a brow. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Prepare for surgery immediately; the patient is in a critical state."
The nurse creased her brow, wondering what was wrong with this man. Who was he to give orders in a hospital and make speculations about a patient's health just from physical examination? Was he a doctor? Even if he was a doctor, he wasn't a doctor at this hospital, so he had no right to do what he just did. "I'm sorry, but only the doctor in charge can decide if surgery is necessary." She said politely, but it only made Aspen's mood worse.
"Why the heck are you still standing here?! Find the doctor and bring him here immediately!" He yelled again, making the nurse shiver from his loud, icy voice. She happened to look in Seth's direction, and her eyes widened when she saw his hands and lips covered in blood. She dashed out of the room immediately to get the doctor, and when he arrived, he said the same thing as Aspen, "prepare for surgery," with a tinge of urgency in his tone.
The nurse was quick in her steps, and before long, Seth was carried in a stretcher to the surgery room with Aspen following, but he was disallowed entry since he was unauthorized by the hospital. So he could only stand and wait outside while the surgeons went inside to do their business.
After a short nap, Berry was back with Stuart. He was worried about Aspen's sudden disappearance but did not dare show it, as it would probably upset Stuart. Fortunately, he saw a nurse coming out of Seth's room, and he stopped her to ask about Aspen. When he heard her mention the surgery, his pupils dilated, knowing very well how Aspen could be with a patient. That man loved his job to a fault.
Just as Berry thought, when he saw Aspen, he was engaged in a heated argument with another nurse who looked terrified. "Just give me the damn files already!" Aspen ordered, stretching out his hand as if expecting the nurse to do as he said. But she shook her head stubbornly and threatened to call security on him. Aspen did not mind. He kept asking for Seth's files, going as far as looking through all the files on the nurses' desk.
He only came back to his senses when Berry came to his side and told him to stop. He did stop but that was because he was frustrated from not finding the files he was looking for. "I want to transfer to this hospital!" He said the moment his eyes met Berry's. Berry nodded, since he did not have much of a choice, but that assuring nod was enough to lift Aspen's hopes. He looked back at the nurse who was starting to wonder what was wrong with him, "will you give me Seth's files now?"
"Who is Seth?" Berry asked in confusion because he found it quite difficult to reason with Aspen right now, especially since he was yelling.
"That boy's heart condition got triggered by the accident, and he is in the surgery room because of me," Aspen answered calmly when met with Berry's questioning gaze. His eyes went back to the nurse, an eyebrow arched as if asking why she was still here and not rushing to bring Seth's files to him.
"Is that the reason you are creating a scene?" Berry questioned in slight anger. "Of all places to make so much noise, you chose a hospital. Did your brain stop working, or what?"
Met with Berry's stern gaze and scoldings, Aspen could only keep quiet. A part of him knew that he would not be getting what he wanted, probably because he was acting like a rabid dog, and also because he wasn't a doctor in this hospital, and the protocol won't allow him access to the files. But he was so worked up that he couldn't reason properly.
Berry sighed again when he saw Aspen's downcast expression. He only left him alone for a day, and so much has happened. "Take a seat first and wait till the surgery is over; then we can start the transferring process." Even he didn't know what he was saying right now, but as long as it helped to reduce whatever madness was going on with Aspen, he would say anything.
Fortunately, Aspen obediently went to sit, his eyes fixed on the bright red bulb in front of the operation theatre, patiently waiting for it to turn off. He couldn't help but feel disturbed after seeing Seth's pale skin and the numerous stitches on his body. Some of them were even yet to heal, yet he was back in an operation room. All Aspen knew was that he had a heart condition from what Seth had said, and other than that, he had no other information.
Still, the nagging feeling that the surgeons in there could be making a mistake was haunting him. He was not supposed to doubt other doctors' expertise, but he couldn't help it.
The surgery took longer than anyone expected and eventually it was completed. Aspen was the first to stand up when the red light went off, and he bombarded the first surgeon that came out with questions.
"He is at the end stage of heart failure. We have implanted a mechanical circulatory support device to support the heart in pumping blood, and he was only bleeding because the liver was congested, which is common with people who are suffering from a failing heart."