Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ) Chapter 33 - Taking out the bullet
🕑 Added 2024-01-04 16:20:33 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
When the group arrived upstairs, Adeliya seemed to sense his curiosity since she commented with a smile. “The two of you have never been up here, right?” They both shook their heads but kept silent. “There's not much to see, actually. I just didn't want you guys to bother my patients. Not because I care more about them, but simply because some of them can be rather tricky to deal with if annoyed.”
“I get it, don't worry,” Demian replied, while Sera kept silent but had an expression of understanding on her beautiful face. With her smile growing a tad bigger, the mature redhead continued while gesturing for them to follow her. “The floor's layout is simple. That door over there leads to a staircase which itself leads to the parking lot behind the building. It's used by those people who‘d rather not be seen by others.” She pointed toward a door close by that previously went unnoticed by the young man. “Besides that, there are three main rooms. One operating room with all the needed equipment, one room with scanning devices, and one 'recovery' room where the patient can rest after an operation. Although most of them tend to leave quickly after the operation.”
Curious, Demian asked. “Isn't that dangerous?” The woman nodded her head before shaking it as she answered. “Yes and no. Most of them have their own surgeons on call. It's just that I'm the best one in town and they'd rather pay more to get me. But that doesn't mean that they need me for the recovery period. At most, they'd come back from time to time for some post-surgery check-ups.” The woman paused before adding. “My office is not a hospital after all and all of these...” She gestured vaguely toward the whole floor as they arrived at the door of the ‘scanning room. “...are not supposed to be here.” Turning toward her two daughters, Adeliya instructed. “You two girls can go to the recovery room over there. There are a few chairs you can use to wait while I take care of Demian’s injuries.”
Her two daughters did not argue with her, knowing perfectly how out of their depths they would be if asked to perform any kind of surgery on a live subject. A dead one as well, for that matter. While the two left for the recovery room, Adeliya took Demian's hand and guided him inside the scanning room. Less than half an hour later, his Aunt was finally done with all her check-ups, letting him breathe a sigh of relief. ‘It’s really as annoying as I remembered.’ He pondered silently as a few memories of past visits to a hospital surfaced in his mind. As his mind was distracted, Adeliya brought him to the Operating room. Once inside, she made him change into a hospital gown, but with only the lower part of the clothes, unlike the usual ones, while she cleaned herself and put on the standard surgery attire. The two then disinfected themselves thoroughly before she led him toward the second part of the room, separated from the two rooms by two swinging doors. “Unlike where we just came from, this one is sterilized to avoid infections. It's basically what you can find in a normal hospital.” Adeliya explained as she noticed the curious look on his face.
“Should I go lie down over there?” Demian asked, prompting the older woman to respond. “Before you do, I’ve made a plan for your surgery, so we’ll go over it together. I’ll keep my explanation simple, but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate.” After a brief nod from the young man, she continued while gesturing toward his side wound. “The first step is local anesthesia. It will take care of the pain and avoid any involuntary muscle cramping due to said pain.” Immediately, the young man remarked playfully. “Makes your job easier and I don’t suffer? I’m all for it!” With an amused smile on her face, the older woman continued. “The second step is...” A few moments later, she finally finished her explanation with a simple query. “Do you have any questions?” Seeing him shake his head, she gestured toward the operating table and instructed. “Go lie down on the operating table while I prepare what I need for this surgery then.” Nodding his head, the young man followed her instruction and calmly laid down, waiting with some slight apprehension for his Aunt to ready herself. A few minutes later, the woman was back by his side with a table full of surgical instruments close by.
“Ready?” She asked. “Go ahead.” He responded, while unconsciously tensing his body. Chuckling at his obvious reaction, she added. “You don't have to be so tense. I've done this kind of surgery dozens of times without anyone dying on me, so you'll be fine.” The dark humor coupled with her casual tone lowered his tension a bit, making him chuckle briefly. Now that he was visibly more relaxed, the woman continued. “I'll start with the injection of the local anesthesia first.”
“Let's start, then.” At those words, she took a syringe with some kind of fluid inside. 'Anesthesia...' He thought as she gently jabbed it in close to his side's injury. Once she was done, she put back the syringe on the table by her side and waited in silence for a while. 'Yep! That’s the anesthesia!' He inwardly exclaimed as he felt the lower part of his upper body becoming increasingly numb.
“Do you feel anything around that part?” She asked while pointing toward his stomach area. “Nope. It's done its job.” Despite the surgical mask hiding her charming face, he could easily spot the amused twinkle appearing in her eyes from his bravado. She did not joke back though and instead declared. “I'll start the surgery properly then.” As those words left her lips, she then began to operate. He was not able to see everything since he was the one being operated on, which was a good thing in a way, but he could still see the instruments she grabbed from the surgical table as the operation went along.
She took out the old bandages first which she put in a special container before disinfecting the wound. Once done, she grabbed a scalpel, moved it carefully toward the wound, and proceeded to ‘do her magic’. Once done, she took a strange item with its end in an L-shape and brought it close to his injury. Then, she took some sort of thin pliers, and a few moments later, she lifted it in the air, but this time there was a bloody metal item between the 'pincers'. The metallic item had a vague bullet shape, bringing a feeling of relief to the young man. ‘Finally out! Having a bullet inside you is really not as fun as it’s cracked up to be.’ He joked inwardly while following the older woman’s next actions. Adeliya, who did not notice his mood swings, let the bullet fall inside a small metallic container before putting back the pliers on the table.
Once that was done, she swiftly grabbed what looked like suture needles and threads before starting her ‘knitting’ work. After a few minutes, she put her instruments back on the table, grabbed what seemed to be needed to clean the wound, and some bandages. Done with all of that, she finally declared in a slightly relieved tone. “It's done.” At her words, he felt his body relax deeply. “That's great.” After which she instructed. “I'll be cleaning everything, so you can go with the girls to wait for me.” Nodding his head, he replied tiredly. “I will.” Pausing for a second as something came to him, he turned back in her direction and asked. “Don't you have someone who cleans this room for you? That sounds like a lot of work if you've got to both do the surgery yourself and clean everything afterward.”
A small chuckle escaped her at his words. “Don't worry about it. I'm just doing basic cleaning. The rest will be done tomorrow by the specialized cleaning staff I employ.” A sudden realization came to him. “So, Magdalina is not your only employee!” While they were chatting, the mature woman started cleaning the instruments she used during the surgery. Shaking her head softly, she explained. “If I was only a general practitioner, it'd be enough. But if I want to do surgery, I need assistants and cleaning staff. Otherwise, it'd be impossible to do it safely and efficiently.” Cocking his eyebrow, the young man asked in a confused tone. “I get the cleaning staff, but why do you need assistants? Didn't you just do the surgery alone?”
“Your surgery was a relatively simple one, the kind I performed so many times that I could do it in my sleep. But for other, more complex surgeries, I'd need some nurses to assist me. It's just a matter of safety and efficiency.” Her words made him ponder for a while about how little he understood her, despite previously thinking the contrary. Keeping silent for a few seconds, he then left a few words before leaving the operating room. “In the past, I believed you were great, but I only now found out that you're actually even more amazing than I thought. I'll be waiting with Bryn and Sera.” While leaving, his mind did not register the brief moment when she froze before immediately resuming her tasks silently but with a new spring in her steps.
Once in the changing part of the operating room, he removed the gown, leaving himself completely bare if one did not take into account the bandages covering his two wounds. Demian however did not really mind since he was alone in the room and instead focused on carefully wearing his old clothes back. He was careful because of his injuries and thus took a bit more time than usual to be entirely clothed.
'I really can't wait to be all healed up. Always having to pay attention to my movements is quickly getting old...' He thought in slight frustration and exhaustion. Rubbing his face softly, a mutter escaped his lips before he left the room. “The surgery really did a number on me...” As soon as he left the changing part of the operating room, his feet led him to the recovery room close by.
Opening the door, he instantly spotted the two girls chatting in a low voice on the side. They were both seated on some comfortable-looking chairs looking so comfortable that Demian had an immense urge to sit on one of them. And sit he did. While the young man was enjoying the softness of the piece of furniture, Bryn asked in a relaxed voice. “How did it go?”
Chuckling tiredly at her question, he responded. “Perfectly. But I'm beat. I won't stay up late tonight.” Giggling, Sera retorted. “You're never up late recently, Dem.” Scratching his cheek absentmindedly, he replied. “Now that you say it... I've been going to bed quite early... Is it because I’m growing old?” His small joke made the sightless woman chuckle while the tall redhead smiled but did not quip back. Shaking his head, Demian added. “Aunty's cleaning her gear and should be out quickly.” The other two nodded their heads and the three then started chatting casually, with Bryn seemingly calmer than in the morning. Fifteen minutes later, they heard the door of the room they were in opening, and from there, they could see Adeliya with a warm smile on her face.
Gazing at the three, the redhead asked. “Shall we go home?” After they all agreed, the group moved to the garage where the car was parked before driving toward the penthouse in the North of Damovotsk. After around fifteen minutes of a relatively smooth drive, they reached their building's garage where they left the car. A quick elevator trip later and they were in the penthouse, prompting Demian to state while stretching carefully. “I'll cook. Do you guys want anything in particular?” The three girls swiftly decided on what they wanted to eat before Adeliya and Bryn left to freshen up while waiting for the food to be ready. Sera instead kept him company but did not participate in the meal's preparation for obvious reasons.
Around half an hour later, the family of four found themselves eating the meal Demian prepared. “It's delicious, sweetie. You've really improved.” Adeliya commented as the two others nodded in assent. A small feeling of accomplishment appeared in the young man's heart at her words prompting him to reply in a slightly embarrassed tone. “Thanks! As long as you all like it...”
After the meal was over, the girls cleaned the dining table, washed the dishes, etc. It was the 'division of labor' as his Aunt liked to say. Once that was done, Adeliya warned the young man. “Demian. I forgot to tell you earlier, but you should avoid doing any strenuous movement for at least two days. Normally I would prescribe a whole week of no physical effort, but with your special condition, two days should be enough.”
Pausing for a second, she added. “Of course, even after two days, you should be careful about what kind of movement you're making. In any case, I'll check on your healing process and I'll tell you of any changes. In the meantime, you can focus on your language learning and guitar playing instead.” Nodding his head, the young man replied. “I'll listen to you. Whatever I do will make me improve in all aspects anyway.” Pausing for a brief moment, he resumed. “By the way, thank you, Aunty. For everything.” Smiling back at him, she patted his right shoulder and retorted. “That's the least I can do as your Aunt.”
Shaking his head, Demian responded. “Kindness is not owed, even among family members. So, I mean it. Thank you!” Gazing silently at his face for a while, she then instructed in a gentle tone and smile. “You're welcome. Your body needs rest so it’s best you go to bed now.” With a satisfied smile, the young man replied with a teasing remark and a mock salute. “At your order, Ma'am!” Before leaving toward his bedroom with Sera in tow. Once there, the couple changed into their sleeping clothes, which were loose underwear for Demian and a thin shirt and a short pair of shorts for the redhead. The two then lay down in the bed, with the petite woman lying on the right side of his body.
The brown-haired man then kissed her tenderly on her lips and said to the blushing woman. “Good night, my Love.” Closing his eyes, his ears caught a whisper coming from her before he lost consciousness. “Good night, babe.”
