At the medical center.
The ward.
"Mr. Shawley, I'm so sorry…" Adam broke the devastating news to Eileen's dad.
"No!" Mr. Shawley couldn't handle it. He let out a gut-wrenching scream, clutching his chest as the monitor blared a shrill alarm.
"Code blue!" Adam jumped in, starting resuscitation.
The guy was already a heart patient, admitted and waiting for a transplant. This kind of shock? His heart gave out on the spot. Lucky for him, Adam was right there, working fast to pull him back from the edge.
"I don't get it… How did this even happen?" Mr. Shawley mumbled after coming to, dazed and lost.
"It was an accident," Adam said, keeping it vague. He wanted to blurt out it was those damn reckless kids, but he stuck to the safe, watered-down script.
No point in piling on. Too many details would just make it worse—especially for someone as fragile as Mr. Shawley. Even if he spilled the truth, what could the guy do? Beat himself up, make himself sicker? He couldn't track down those brats who'd long since bolted, and he sure wasn't about to curse God. NYPD wouldn't bother investigating—and even if they did, catching a bunch of tweens wouldn't change a thing. It'd just leave him angrier, more broken.
Death's random as hell. Life's cheap. Even Adam got chills thinking about it. 😬
"These things usually happen fast," Lexie chimed in softly. "She probably didn't feel much pain."
Mr. Shawley didn't say a word—just tears streaming down his face.
Adam sighed inwardly. Eileen's case? Her brains were literally bashed out by those kids. By the time she got here, she was in a level 3 coma—past feeling anything. But before the ambulance showed up? No one could say she didn't suffer.
"Mr. Shawley," Adam chose his words carefully, keeping his tone steady. "Eileen's license shows she's an organ donor. As her next of kin, if you agree to stop life support, her heart could go straight to you."
Mr. Shawley froze, staring at Adam like he'd just suggested something demonic.
"Please… can you leave?" His voice was polite, almost pleading, despite the horror in his eyes.
"Okay," Adam nodded, glancing at the grieving old man. "If you want, Dr. Grey can take you to see your daughter." He shot Lexie a look and stepped out.
Eileen was brain-dead, but her body was still healthy, holding steady on support. Mr. Shawley couldn't stomach the idea yet—he was drowning in grief. Giving him space was the best move right now.
Lexie waited 'til he calmed down a bit, then wheeled him to Eileen's room.
"She's still warm… That doesn't make sense," Mr. Shawley said, holding her hand, brushing her forehead, voice cracking with pain.
"I'm so sorry," Lexie said gently. "She's only alive because of the ventilator. The Eileen you knew… she's gone."
He fought to keep it together, gazing at his daughter, recounting sweet father-daughter memories from her childhood—trying to wake her up. But even after Adam saved three wild emergency cases and swung by during a break, Eileen didn't pull a TV miracle and open her eyes.
If Adam weren't 100% sure she was brain-dead, he'd never have floated that idea.
"Get the papers," Mr. Shawley finally gave in, forehead pressed to Eileen's hand, voice breaking as he forced the words out.
"Right away," Lexie nodded quickly.
"You can donate her organs," he said, lifting his red, swollen eyes to Adam. "It's what she wanted."
"And her heart?" Lexie glanced at Adam, taking the lead.
"Give it to someone else," Mr. Shawley said flatly, staring at them both.
Adam met his gaze for a long moment, then nodded to Lexie to get the consent forms. Without another word, he left.
"Dr. Duncan, maybe we should talk to Mr. Shawley again," Lexie said, catching up outside. "George might sway him—emotions connect, right? His dad doesn't have long either…"
"No need," Adam shook his head. "He's made his choice. We respect it."
He could argue that if Eileen's spirit were watching, she'd want her heart to save her dad. George could pour his heart out and probably hit home harder. But survivor's guilt is bad enough—asking a grieving dad to take his vibrant young daughter's heart? That'd haunt him forever with unbearable guilt.
Even if they convinced him now, post-surgery, facing an empty home without her laughter, he'd likely regret it. Sleepless nights, endless torment—why put him through that? Besides, he was already top of the transplant list, waiting for a heart any day. If he didn't want Eileen's, Adam wouldn't push.
Let her heart save someone else, and another heart save him. That's the best way.
---
Halloween brought a flood of bizarre cases. Eileen wasn't the only victim of reckless kids.
A homeless guy, full and drunk in the park, passed out. Some brats saw him, doused him in gasoline, and thought a "holy fire" would be hilarious—leaving him with massive third-degree chest burns. Lucky for him, his dog freaked out, couldn't fight the armed kids, and ran barking to a cop, dragging them back to scare the punks off and save the guy from being burned alive.
Then there was the city kid playing "trick or treat" with his dad—smacked by a hit-and-run car, critically injured.
Adam worked straight through to 1 a.m., past Halloween's end. The thrilling door-knocking game he'd planned? Canceled. 😞
Back at his apartment, Adam wasn't exactly Mr. Zen. After a day stacked with this much crap, he was pissed. He didn't want to dump it on Paige, though.
So he made a call—to Black Widow.
This spy-versus-spy, infinite-matryoshka game? Still worth playing.
Emmm.
Sandra, already coasting on autopilot, couldn't dodge digging into Adam's secrets even if she wanted to.
This was a hard mission!
Non-negotiable! 💥
---
(Chapter End)