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Vincent lay on his back in his room, sleeping serenely. His muscled body making ripples, below the white sheet that covered him as he inhaled and exhaled. The room around him in hushed shadows as a white light diffused into the room, from the half-opened bathroom door. Glaring down on Emanuel whose eyes were closed--out like a light.

The dawn of the early morning peered through the drawn curtains of the window, to the far right of the Room, brightening their faces. Emanuel hadn't noticed that he had fell asleep in the armchair beside an unconscious Vince. Who was still under the influence of the anesthesia.

After undergoing a surgery that was successful but challenging. Adding to a growing list of setbacks that wouldn't ever be pleasing, once Vince was to regain consciousness. There was sure to be arising restlessness, if not disquieted unease from the man, who's profession seemed quite ponderously paramount.

There was a stunning concord floating around them both as the click of the Klaxons, the beep of the heart monitor, and the steady flurry of Doctors and Nurses, echoed in muffled tones around them.

Gurneys and beds flowed in and out of the OR, as Patients piled in from the dawn shift. Emanuel's eyes fluttered but stayed closed, as his placidly incoherent breathing filled the room. His face appearing composed, if not somewhat tired from working 12 hours. Which had led to him falling asleep, forgetting he had to pick up Elias from his loathsome ex-girlfriend.

Vince on the other hand had been cleaned up quite nicely by the Nurses, and the inflamed swellings in his face had subsided. The bruises on his face, patched as well as the one over his eyes that sported three fresh stitches. A wound that would surely leave a scar for the coming years, but in retrospect it would be a bit daunting.

A moment passed but Vince began stirring and his eyes fluttered open, giving him a blurred view of the Room he was in. For a second Vince was confused, but as the seconds passed he grew more conscious of his whereabouts. He conjectured the Surgery had went well, having passed out from the pain in his arms just hours before.

He took a minute to gather his thoughts, raising his left hand that was hooked up to an IV. Morphine dripping into the tubes, alleviating the pain that had racked his brain and body throughout the whole ordeal. Emanuel stirred in the chair beside Vince's bed, capturing his attention at once.

Vince swiveled his head to his right, watching as Emanuel slept quietly, despite the apparent discomfort etched into his peaceful features. Vince immediately thought it sad that neither of his Family members sat there in that chair, waiting for him to awaken from his sleep. It saddened him that he woke to a stranger instead, who he recollected as the Doctor that had treated him before his surgery. A personable man, with quite the graceful and clean-cut charm, that made Vince feel subtly ambivalent.

Vince thought it was perhaps the drugs he was being fed by the IV, that had clouded his cognition into being somewhat drawn to the Doctor. Yet his thoughts felt as vivid and conspicuous as the white light that illuminated the Room. Bathing their faces in it's glaringly amicable luminescence. Vince grunted as he shifted on the Bed, but his rigorous attempts to comfort himself woke Emanuel from his cat nap--that lasted longer than he intended.

He watched in silent contempt as Emanuel's eyes fluttered open, and for a second. Vince saw a disquieted connotation of dejected melancholy, in the man's big brown eyes. A disdain for life that had led him to a point of harrowing solitude, that begged for the amenity of something or rather, someone.

Their eyes met and for a few fleeting seconds, Emanuel peered at Vince with a slightly startled gaze. He wiped at his face, angling his body forward as he sat upright to clear the grogginess that had settled within him.

"You're awake," Emanuel muttered hoarsely, his voice a mix of annoyance and weariness.

"Am I in heaven?"

Emanuel found it hard not to chuckle at the Man's sense of humor, that didn't seem to waver, even after undergoing surgery and anesthesia. Cordial as it may have appeared, Emanuel grew frantic with anguish as he thought of Elias. He immediately checked his Wristwatch, frowning as it finally dawned on him that an hour had passed since he fell asleep.

"Heaven is relative. How are you feeling?"

"Very tired and drowsy, but I think I'll be ok. Some rest and Food would do me well." Vince remarked groggily as he tried sitting up.

Emanuel immediately flew up from his chair, resting his right hand atop Vince's shoulder blade. A touch that calmed Vince, but awakened a sudden uneasy yet satiating and sympathetic sentiment in Emanuel, that had him flummoxed and abashed.

"Take it easy, you'll pop your stitches." Emanuel chided and Vince grimaced but complied, figuring it best to listen to the Doctor.

He gazed at his swollen hand, hoisted up by a harness to keep it in place. Raising an eyebrow at the dozen or more stitches that held the skin of his forearm in place, emitting a small throb of afflicted soreness.

"How soon can I be out of here?" Vince seemed impatient and restless, but equally demanding and distressed.

"As soon as it takes, I'd advise that you stay put though. No sense in the rush to leave, your Ulnar artery was challenging to suture back together but we got the best surgeon on the night shift to fix you up. That however doesn't permit you to overextend the use of your arm until complete recovery."

For a second, Vince gazed up at Emanuel and felt calmed by the small smile on the man's face. The man who had saved his life, and he was quite certain he was responsible for him breathing. Though he couldn't dismiss the forlorn connection he felt with Emanuel, that had him dazed and alert. There was something about Dr. Rosario that had inspirited a feeling he never knew to exist inside him, but perhaps it was just his gratitude alone.

"Can you at least give me an estimate?"

Emanuel hesitated as he calculated the possibility of a full recovery in just weeks, but the Ulnar Artery would take months to return back to normal. Vince would have to get frequent check ups, to ensure the progress of his healing and prevent any mishaps, in the first few weeks of recovery.

"Blood vessels tend to be vulnerable when it comes to healing, but the incision in your arm will be healed in a matter of two to three weeks. The Artery however will take much longer, and as long as you don't apply too much pressure on your arm for the first two months, it'll make a full recovery. That much I can guarantee you."

At this discovery Vince grimaced, certain that going back to Work wasn't a choice he had for the first couple months after his surgery. For his Job was the only thing that kept him grounded, in a world where he didn't have much to himself in terms of his personal life. After years of doing what he did best, he only knew one thing and he somewhat feared not being able to do that one thing to distract himself.

"You don't seem pleased," Emanuel asserted as he watched the scowl of indifference on Vince's face.

"I'm not, but I don't have a choice in the matter right now. So I guess for the next three months, I'll be taking it easy," Vince shrugged and Emanuel pursed his lips, nodding down at him, somewhat pleased that the man had accepted his fate instead of appearing stubborn and impatient.

"At least you're rational, normally after surgery people get so riled up. Though in some cases, Patients seem rather relieved that they don't have to do anything, which brings me back to the matter of this Job that requires the use of both your hands."

Vince shifted his gaze to Emanuel, and thought it wouldn't hurt to tell him but they were interrupted only seconds later by Dr. Brandan Chasity. Emanuel's co-worker, who had a penchant for arrogance since he deemed himself a know-it-all in the medical profession.

"Dr. Rosario, you're still here?" Dr. Brandan Chasity asked with furrowed brows as he entered the Room and Emanuel shuffled away from Vince, too quickly.

Dr. Brandan Chasity, a brilliant Doctor and a thorn in everyone's side, brought on by his insufferable cockiness. His blue eyes twinkled as they regarded Emanuel for a short second, his fingers raking through his perfectly trimmed hair. Emanuel frowned, but couldn't help but feel his attraction for the man biting at him.

Vince had grown accustomed to Emanuel's hand, rested on his shoulder blade and the second it was removed, he felt cold. He fought the urge to protest, but knew better than to comment on it. Seeing that it would have been awkward, if not a bit too personal.

"I kind of fell asleep,"

"Here?" Dr. Chasity asked as his hands folded over his chest, crushing his tall, white lab coat under his bulging arms.

Emanuel gave Brandan a blank look, and considered lying to the man about his reason for being there, but he wasn't the type. He'd had rather lied about his emotions, but not about trivial things such as falling asleep in a Patient's room. Which seemed a little appalling and preposterous, but Emanuel Rosario wasn't the first Doctor to fall victim to such a thing.

"I was checking up on the Patient, took a seat and just nodded off, and I'm kinda glad I did too."

Emanuel shrugged dismissively and Dr. Chasity nodded, passing a glance at Vince, who felt cornered by the man's chastising gaze. With no effort of communication from the two, a tension rose that was thick enough to be sliced with a steak knife.

"You look like crap," Brandan stated and Emanuel shot him a glare, but he was irrefutably nonchalant about it.

"Thanks, I just worked an 11 hour shift so excuse me if my hair and face isn't on fleek." Emanuel grimaced as sarcasm dripped from his dry tone.

Vince tried not to laugh at the banter, but it was Emanuel's use of the word fleek, that made his stomach flutter in amusement.

"Ahh that's nothing, we could grab some Coffee on the way home." Dr. Chasity suggested with a wry smile, but Emanuel gazed away from him, deep in thought.

Vince immediately saw the connection between the two Doctors, but he failed to see the importance of their relationship to him. Despite the idea bothering him in the slightest instant, that only confused him more than he wanted it to.

Dr. Brandan Chasity was a good Doctor, albeit arrogant and exasperatingly relentless in his approaches. Born into a rich Family, who had made their name in the medical profession years prior to Brandan Chasity's breakthrough. He had followed in their footsteps, both in profession and personal traits. Traits that didn't shy from his generation of siblings and other Family members.

"You don't have to babysit me you know?" Vince mused and Dr. Chasity shot him a skeptical glance.

"He's right, you don't." Dr. Chasity mentioned begrudgingly as he and Vince exchanged challenging gazes, that Emanuel was too oblivious to notice.

"I wasn't, but ok."

"Come on, you look tired and we both need to get Home. I'm dying to just sleep right now, it was a long night." Brandan groaned as he clutched his forehead.

With that said, Vince gazed up at Emanuel who seemed uncertain of the choice he had to make but, he soon sighed. "Ok, well as I said, Mr. Kelsey, just take it easy. You'll be out of here in no time," Emanuel assured Vince who smiled up at him with a minute nod.

Dr. Chasity passed another glance to Vince as Emanuel turned away and brushed past him, leaving Vince laying there with his thoughts. There was an awkward silence between both men, who seemed to be having a stare down.

"Mr. Kelsey," Dr. Chasity nodded.

"Doctor," Vince said with a tight smile as Dr. Chasity spun on his heels, leaving the room.

Brandan exited the room and lumbered off for the west corridor, through a press of activity to catch up with Emanuel. A Janitor, mid fifties with grating blond hair, bespectacled gaze and a confident gait trundled a creaking portable cart past Brandan. Nurse's Aids and Attendants popped in and out of Rooms clutching file jackets and clipboards. Doctors and Nurses in Scrubs, ambulating along the hall, as they went about their respected businesses.

Morning rounds had finally begun, which was confirmed by the sprawling group of white-jacketed, white-trousered young Doctors gathered in a gaggle at the far end of the corridor and in the hallways.

It only took Brandan a moment to catch up with Emanuel, who strode down the corridor towards the Elevator at a steady pace. "So, my Parents are having this little Soirée at their estate outside of Sanbridge and, I'd really like it if you came with me."

Dr. Chasity grinned at Emanuel, who didn't hear a word he said due to being highly distracted by his thoughts and the many Patients. Families and Children walked back and forth, some distraught and others with faces full of relief and content. An amalgamation of despondent empathy, that both excited and bereaved Emanuel.

"Earth to Emanuel," Dr. Chasity announced again and Emanuel flashed his gaze to him, seemingly confused.

"Huh? I'm sorry, Brandan, my mind is just kinda preoccupied at the moment. What were you saying?"

"My Parents are hosting a Party, with Guests from Chicago General and, some other people that I don't know or care to, but it'd be a lot easier if you were there,"

Emanuel thought about going to the Party, and what it would mean for them both, for he would finally meet the Parents. It wasn't a comforting thought, because Emanuel had met his Sister, Janice Chasity, a woman with questionable morals and a nauseatingly brisk tone of voice. There were rumors about Brandan's Parents being upright and too rich and classy, to communicate with anyone below their social stature. A wealthy Family, with a Wealthy name and equally Media Wealthy Children, that Emanuel loathed entirely.

"I'll have to think about it, you know I'm not exactly fond of Parties, Brandan," Emanuel remarked with a slight frown and Brandan sighed heavily in turn.

"Ok, think about it but pick out your best formal wear. Who knows who you might impress,"

Emanuel scowled at his feet as he and Brandan crossed the foreground group to the Staff elevator. He pushed the down button as Brandan apparently waited for an answer. They only stood there quietly in the hallway and Emanuel scowled at his own thoughts.

the Elevator slid apart, its ding loud and echoing as Emanuel still reeled from his short nap. Two female orderlies in blue scrubs brushed past Emanuel and Dr. Chasity who greeted the women with a bright smile as they passed.

"Even if I do make up my mind to come, I'm not exactly doing so to impress anyone at a Party, filled with rich, stuck up Doctors who believe that their bank accounts are more important than the lives they were trained to save."

"Hey, I'm one of those Doctors," Dr. Chasity protested agitatedly as they both stepped into the moderately sized elevator.

"Exactly," Emanuel remarked, gaining a look of disapproval from Dr. Chasity.

"Ok, ok I get it but can you at least think about it?"

Emanuel pressed the fourth floor button, shifting his gaze to Dr. Chasity for a second who flashed him a bright, hopeful smile.

"I'll think about it, Brandan, now about that Coffee."

"I got you," Dr. Chasity smiled pridefully as the Elevator doors slid shut.

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