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Medical Center.
"Elena…"
Peter couldn't believe his luck when Elena made her choice—pure joy hit him like a lightning bolt.
Then—
Jack, fuming with rage, swung his elbow straight at Peter's face.
Peter had no chance to dodge.
But Adam? He stepped in effortlessly, blocking Jack's elbow and holding both guys back to cool them down. As the attending doctor, he had to keep things under control—especially with all the big-shot bosses watching.
It took a while, but with Adam's calm persuasion, Jack finally chilled out. He sat there, stone-faced and silent, looking every bit like one of those "30 years east, 30 years west" revenge protagonists from a breakup drama.
Elena was ushered out.
Her presence was a spark waiting to ignite more chaos.
Cristina stayed behind to monitor things while Adam joined Chief of Surgery Richard and the others in the imaging room. They pulled up Jack and Peter's CT scans and started hashing out the surgery plan.
"I'm against doing the surgery."
The challenge was separating the nerves, and Dr. Shepherd, the lead neurosurgeon, voiced his objection. "Their spines are fused below the L4 vertebra, and their blood vessels are a tangled mess. The risks are way too high."
"Your patients are demanding this surgery," Chief Richard shot back, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Derek, why are you backing off? This isn't like you! Unless you've got undeniable proof this can't be done, we're moving forward!"
Dr. Shepherd sighed, frustrated.
Sure, the surgery was insanely tough, but the real kicker? He'd have to work with Dr. Sloan, which grated on him for reasons he couldn't even say out loud.
With Chief Richard dead-set on it, though, Shepherd had no choice but to give it a shot.
This was a high-stakes, complex operation.
The team moved to the practice room, setting up a model to rehearse.
"Once we cut this artery, all sensation in the nerves will be gone in under two minutes," Shepherd explained as he worked.
"I'm confident we've got enough nerve grafts to patch any gaps. We can totally pull this off," Dr. Mark Sloan said, his eyes locked on Shepherd with a fiery intensity—like they were finally back in the trenches together.
Shepherd's irritation spiked.
"Damn it!"
His practice run ended in failure. "The nerves in a real body are way more fragile. If this were life-or-death, I'd say let's go for it. But it's not—it's not worth the risk."
He dropped the instruments in defeat.
"Dr. Shepherd, can I give it a try?" Adam asked politely.
"…"
Shepherd froze, giving Adam a complicated look.
"Yes!"
Chief Richard wasn't ready to give up. Shepherd was the neuro expert, and even Richard couldn't outright dismiss his opinion. But seeing Adam step up? He was all for it.
For one, Adam might just be an intern, but he'd earned the "miracle doctor" rep—his skills were undeniable.
For two, even if Adam couldn't do it, it might light a fire under Shepherd, snapping him back to his peak neurosurgery glory days instead of this weird hesitation.
"Guide Adam through it. Let him try," Richard said.
"Fine."
Shepherd lowered his eyes and agreed.
Adam stepped up, flashing Shepherd an apologetic smile. "Dr. Shepherd, could you walk me through the whole procedure? I'll memorize it and run a simulation."
"…"
The room collectively twitched.
Even these top-tier doctors couldn't help but envy Adam's freakish talent.
Under Chief Richard's watchful eye, Shepherd swallowed his annoyance and laid out the full procedure step-by-step.
Adam asked a few clarifying questions.
Shepherd answered.
Then—
Adam closed his eyes.
Emmm.
Not because he needed to—open eyes wouldn't mess with his mental simulation.
Nah, it was just for show.
Without it, no one would even know what he was up to. A simple eye-close made it clear: something epic's happening.
It'd even started a trend—tons of doctors now closed their eyes for a few seconds before surgery, opening them with a "steely gaze" like it gave them superpowers.
Chief Richard watched with anticipation. He'd heard the rumors too.
Adam picked up the instruments and started the simulation.
It was smooth as silk—pure perfection.
Where Shepherd had messed up, Adam breezed through like it was nothing.
Fast. Flawless.
Shepherd's face betrayed a flicker of helplessness.
"Perfect!"
Chief Richard was the first to clap and cheer when Adam finished.
Adam gave a modest smile. 😊
"Derek, with Dr. Duncan backing you up, no issues now, right?" Richard grinned.
"Nope."
What else could Shepherd say?
"Great—"
Richard was about to seal the deal.
"Chief," Adam cut in. "Could Dr. Sloan walk me through his part too? He's handling the nerve grafts. I'd like to simulate that as well, just to be fully prepped."
"…"
Mark Sloan's face darkened instantly.
This was basically Adam saying, I'm your backup, ready to step in.
Worse? Mark didn't even have the confidence to outshine Adam and put this intern in his place with some attending-level swagger.
Talk about humiliating.
He was sure Adam did it on purpose.
"I think that's a solid idea," Richard said, glancing at Mark. "This is a massive surgery—22 doctors in sync. With Dr. Duncan's talent, we can rehearse everything and nail it."
Worried Mark might balk, he doubled down. "Doctors, these are conjoined twins—adult conjoined twins! Separating conjoined infants is rare enough, but adults?
You know how the media will eat this up and what it'll mean for the medical center. As part of this team, we've got to go all in!"
Mark suddenly understood how Shepherd felt when he'd first joined—reluctant but powerless to stop it.
The practice dragged on.
The results? Pretty darn good.
On his way to the patient room for a final check-in, Adam got a call from MAX.
"Inviting me to go horseback riding?" Adam asked, surprised. "With Caroline?"
"Yup!"
MAX groaned over the phone. "Real horseback riding, not whatever you're thinking. Caroline's got this horse pet named Chestnut. We're heading to the stables to see it. You in or out?"
"Uh…"
Adam hesitated. "When?"
"When are you free?" MAX shot back.
Caroline was still waitressing, so she could ditch work anytime. MAX mostly stayed home painting—her schedule was wide open too.
"Is it urgent?" Adam mused. "I'm swamped right now. The exam's coming up, and it's a big deal. Why don't you two go? Is she short on stable fees for Chestnut or something? Help her out if she is."
"You're really not coming?"
MAX teased. "You sure?"
"Not sure," Adam admitted, catching her tone and perking up. "MAX, you know me—exams are a breeze for me. 😎
Now that I think about it, we haven't lived it up together yet—riding horses, chasing the good life, sharing the world's hustle and bustle.
This time, I'm making it happen. No one's stopping me!"
(End of Chapter)