In the middle of the night, Regina suddenly screamed loudly from her room, waking Samantha in the other room, who immediately rushed in. She found Regina sitting up in bed, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath.
Samantha sat next to her and gently held her hand.
"Are you okay?" Samantha asked with concern.
"Sam… I had a terrible dream" Regina said shaking with fear. "I'm really scared."
"Can we talk about it in the morning? You don't look like you're in a good state to talk now" Samantha said softly.
"I need to tell Cara about it" Regina said.
"Then we'll talk about it in the morning before we go to work. I'm going back to my room" Samantha said as she started to leave.
"No, please… sleep here" Regina pleaded, her eyes filled with fear.
"Is it that serious?" Samantha asked, surprised.
"Just stay with me. Don't go, please" Regina begged.
"Alright" Samantha said, raising her eyebrows slightly before climbing into bed beside Regina. They both fell asleep there.
The next morning, while they were getting ready for work, they had a video call with Cara.
"Aren't you two doctors running late for work?" Cara teased on the screen.
"We're not late yet" Regina said.
"She had a terrible nightmare last night and was so scared, I had to stay in her room" Samantha explained.
"Wait! Is it the same dream you had before you left here?" Cara asked.
"Yes. The same hairy monster with yellow and blue eyes. It was terrifying, and he kept chasing me" Regina said.
"I've told you to stop watching horror movies" Cara said jokingly.
"Cara, I haven't had time to watch movies since I started working here. I had that same dream again the day I arrived during the day. It's not about any movie. It felt very real" Regina said, her tone serious.
"Well, I don't know what to say" Cara said.
"Maybe she should see a psychologist" Samantha suggested.
"Or you could talk to that doctor boyfriend of yours, Hansel or whatever his name is" Cara added playfully.
"He's not my boyfriend. We're just friends. By the way, when are you coming over?" Regina asked.
"I need to do some handing over before coming and I'll be going to see the Matron today." Cara said.
"Great. Send my regards to her" Regina said.
"Should I tell her about your dream?" Cara asked while Samantha was busy in the background.
"I already did once. She just told me to pray and read the rosary" Regina said.
"Alright" Cara said.
"Babes, we need to go or we'll be late" Samantha called out.
"Talk to you later then" Cara said before ending the video call.
"You ready?" Samantha asked.
"Yeah" Regina nodded and picked up her bag, and they both left for work.
Two weeks later, Ryan and Dr. Cyprus were in Dr. Cyprus' office. At the same time, Cynthia and Mrs. Powers were in the VIP emergency room with Mr. Powers.
"It's been two weeks. When will he have the surgery?" Ryan asked.
"I've scheduled it for tomorrow. His blood pressure is stable now" Dr. Cyprus said.
"I might not be around, but my mum and my fiancée will be here with him" Ryan said.
"That's fine, Captain" Dr. Cyprus said as Ryan stood up and left.
Just after Ryan walked out, Gabriel and Regina entered the office.
"Chief, the patient from last week has been discharged" Regina said as she sat opposite him. Gabriel also sat down.
"We need to prepare for Mr. Powers' surgery tomorrow. Everything's good to go" Dr. Cyprus said.
"Yes, Chief" Gabriel nodded. Just as Dr. Cyprus was about to stand, he suddenly felt dizzy. He grabbed his head with one hand and held onto the desk with the other.
"Chief, are you okay?" Regina asked quickly, standing up.
"Yes, yes. Don't worry" he said weakly, then opened a drawer and took some medication.
Meanwhile, Ryan entered the emergency room where Mr. Powers was holding Cynthia's hand.
"Dad, your surgery is scheduled for tomorrow" Ryan said.
"Your mother told me your engagement is in two weeks" Mr. Powers said.
"I think we should postpone it until you're a lot better" Ryan said.
"Mr. Powers will be fine by then since the surgery is tomorrow and the engagement is in two weeks" Cynthia said.
"She's right. I'll start sending invites to our friends" Mrs. Powers said.
"Ryan, why don't we host a charity gala dinner and announce the engagement there?" Mr. Powers suggested.
"That's a great idea, Dad" Ryan said, nodding his head.
"Tell my secretary to send out invites to our business partners and potential collaborators" Mr. Powers said.
"I'll call her as soon as I get to the office" Ryan said.
"Do you like that idea?" Mr. Powers asked again.
"Yes, Dad. No one will suspect it's an engagement party" Ryan said.
"Invite your army friends too" Mrs. Powers said. Cynthia forced a smile, swallowing uneasily.
"No, I'll invite them for the wedding instead" Ryan said. "Dad, I need to head back to the company. Take care."
"Alright, son" Mr. Powers said.
Ryan took Cynthia's hand and walked her out of the room. They stopped outside, and Ryan gently tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Thanks for being here" he said.
"You don't have to thank me. He'll be my father in-law soon" Cynthia said with a smile.
"I haven't forgotten what I wanted to tell you. I'll tell you after my dad is better, before the engagement" Ryan said.
"I'll wait" Cynthia said.
He kissed her forehead and left. She watched him leave with a smile.
The next day, Mr. Powers was wheeled into the operating room. Dr. Mary chatted with him while giving him anesthesia. Dr. Cyprus and his team entered, already in their surgical wears.
"Hello, Mr. Powers" Dr. Cyprus greeted.
"Good morning, Dr. Cyprus" Mr. Powers said with a smile.
"Your wife and Miss Macaulay are in the reception. They'll see you again soon" Dr. Cyprus said.
"That's good to…" Mr. Powers couldn't finish. The anesthesia kicked in, and he went unconscious.
Dr. Mary helped Dr. Cyprus with his final prep.
"Everything is ready, Chief" she said.
"Scalpel" Dr. Cyprus said. Kate handed it to him while the rest watched. He made the incision on Mr. Powers' head. Regina immediately began cleaning the blood. Suddenly, Dr. Cyprus' hand started shaking, and his vision went blurred. He suddenly paused and blinked, trying to steady himself.
"Dr. Cyprus?"
"Chief?" everyone called out. His knees buckled and then he collapsed.
Gabriel rushed to him, while the rest moved closer.
"He's unconscious" Gabriel said.
"What's wrong with him?" Kate asked, visibly worried.
"Gabriel, get the phone and call the emergency team now!" Dr. Mary commanded.
"What about Mr. Powers? He has been opened" Regina asked anxiously.
"We need to wait for the emergency team first" Dr. Mary replied.
The emergency team, including Dr. Strafford, entered and quickly attended to Dr. Cyprus.
"He's having a cardiac arrest" Dr. Strafford said.
"What?" Regina exclaimed.
"He can't continue the surgery. He needs urgent care. We're taking him now" the other doctor said as they wheeled Dr. Cyprus out, his face covered.
Outside, Mrs. Powers and Cynthia stood up thinking it was Mr. Powers but they were asked to remain seated.
"It's one of the doctors. The surgery is still ongoing" the other doctor told them. They can't know it's the surgeon that was wheeled out.
Back in the operation room, tension filled the air.
"What do we do now?" Gabriel asked.
"We can do this" Regina said confidently though a bit nervous and anxious.
"Do this?" Kate scoffed. "This isn't just anyone, it's Mr. Powers, a VIP."
"We can't leave him open. The cut could get infected, and we can't just stitch it back without doing anything" Regina said, trying to reason with them.
"She's right" Dr. Mary said.
"Well, I was never here. If anything goes wrong, I wasn't involved" Kate said and walked out.
"Can you do this, Dr. Coles?" Dr. Mary asked.
Regina looked nervous but nodded.
"I'll do it" she said finally.
"Let's prep you then" Dr. Mary said.
"Gabriel, get my phone over there. The password is SuperDoctorRC. Open the video player and search brain tumor. Play the video and place the phone near those machine so I can watch from there" Regina instructed. Gabriel followed her directions.
"I've added more anesthesia to make up for the delay" Dr. Mary said.
"Scalpel" Regina said, fully ready.
Meanwhile, Kate entered the CEO's office. Her father, CEO Morgan, was surprised to see her.
"Dr. Cyprus is done already? That was so fast" he said.
"Dad, he collapsed. He had a cardiac arrest" Kate said.
"What?!" CEO Morgan stood up, shocked. "What about Mr. Powers?"
"He already made an incision. Regina is the one still in there" Kate said.
"Oh no… He's a VIP. If the incision wasn't made, we could have postponed the surgery" CEO Morgan muttered.
"That's why I left. I had to avoid seeing Mrs. Powers and Miss Macaulay the moment I was out" Kate said.
"This is the perfect time to get rid of that girl" CEO Morgan said.
"What do you mean Dad?" Kate asked.
"If Mr. Powers dies or something goes wrong, Regina will take the blame. Not us. Someone has to take the fall for this. It won't be the hospital's fault" he said while Kate looked at him, worried.