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Adam: "George, this is strike one!" 😠
In the observation room for the surgery.
Adam and two others are performing the operation.
Shorty and Carter earned so brownie points by holding the leg steady earlier. After re-administering anesthesia and letting go, they naturally stayed by the operating table. They're closer than Cristina's lackeys—numbers 1 through 4—getting a pri view of this rare surgery.
Carter's grin is practically uncontrollable. 😏
Shorty's trying to play it cool, but when he glances at the spine being reattached, his eyes are burning with excitent. 🔥
If you cropped this mont and turned it into a GIF, it'd totally be a classic .
Up in the second-floor observation room:
Chubby George O'Malley's plump face twists a little.
He's been an intern for a whole year and barely seen a handful of these ultra-rare surgeries.
And don't get him started—his very first shift, Dr. Burke made an example out of him. A simple appendectomy sohow got slapped with the ominous "007" code na.
Now look at his newbie colleagues! Less than 12 hours in, and they're already part of two high-level surgeries. anwhile, he's stuck out here with redith's sister, punished by Adam, twiddling his thumbs.
Sure, Lexie blocking redith—who was being rushed in—at the ER entrance was a bad move.
But co on, the sisters had never t before!
A little excitent is understandable, right? 😅
And what did he do to deserve this?
All he did was fill Lexie in on her sister's situation and didn't yank her away fast enough.
Adam's not cutting him any slack.
After grumbling to himself, George has a mont of clarity—and a sigh.
He used to think Dr. Bailey was tough as nails, but compared to Adam? Bailey's basically a sweet mom. 🥰
"George, I'm sorry," Lexie says.
After cooling off for a while, she's finally pieced together what happened. She glances at the two smug colleagues in the OR, then at George—who's stuck in this ss because of her—and her face fills with guilt. 😔
"It's my fault you got punished by Dr. Duncan too."
"…It's fine," George replies.
eting Lexie's sincere eyes, his warm-guy mode kicks in automatically. He gives a helpless, bitter smile. 苦笑
"It's on . 'Don't block the ER entrance'—that's basic stuff. I should've warned you sooner."
"No, it's my fault," Lexie insists.
"I dragged you into asking about my sister while we were waiting for the ambulance. That's why Dr. Duncan's got a problem with you now."
"…Uh."
George doesn't know what to say.
Because, honestly, he hadn't even thought of that part.
"George, what do we do now?" Lexie asks, her tone urgent.
She feels a bit better seeing George quietly accept her apology. But then she glances at Adam in the OR—coolly operating and chatting away—and panics.
Adam's her idol. 🌟
She even ditched Mass General's residency program to join the dical Center for him.
Sure, she'll say the dical Center's catching up to Mass General, but even with Adam's rising-star status, it's still not topping the teaching hospital rankings.
This was a huge career-and-life decision for her.
Her admiration for Adam runs deep.
She made it as an intern under him, getting closer to her idol. But then she got hit with the "no close relationships with superiors" rule—and now, thanks to her unprofessional slip-up, her idol's punishing her.
The thought of her image in Adam's mind being tarnished forever? It's killing her. 😭
"Don't worry," George says, slipping back into nice-guy mode to comfort her.
"Once this surgery's over, we'll apologize to Adam and…"
He almost says they could ask redith and Cristina to put in a good word, but then he rembers Adam joking once, "You telling how to do my job?" So he switches gears mid-sentence.
"…we'll just own up to it. Be sincere, promise not to ss up like this again, and that should do it."
Emmm.
One, redith might not even want to vouch for Lexie.
Two, Cristina probably wouldn't stick her neck out for him.
Three, even if they did, the punishnt might not just stick—it could get worse.
Better to just take the L, admit fault, and roll with the punches.
Adam's strict, sure, but he's not a savage like Cristina with her sharp tongue.
"Got it, got it!" Lexie nods eagerly.
Her admiration for Adam isn't about chasing so fling like her carnivorous, seasoned-pro sister.
Since Adam's set the rules, she's quietly vowing to follow them to the letter, stick by his side, master her skills, and make him see her in a new light.
As for the future?
The rule's just "no close relationships with superiors," right?
After her internship ends in a year, she'll be a resident like Adam—equals!
Of course, she doesn't know Adam's already gunning for Chief Resident.
Otherwise, she'd stretch that tiline to seven years—since that's how long surgical residency takes.
Only then, as an attending, could she stand on equal footing with him.
Emmm.
Assuming Adam isn't the surgical chief or dean by then.
Anyway, as the saying goes:
"Young Lexie Grey, you know nothing~" 😂
---
Two hours later:
The surgery wraps up smoothly.
The OR erupts with cheers and applause—miracles of life always hit different. 🥳👏
"Dr… Duncan!"
George and Lexie scramble out of the observation room, racing to et Adam outside the OR. They blurt out in unison: "I ssed up!" x2
"Hm," Adam doesn't even break stride. "Where'd you go wrong?"
They jog to keep up, launching into serious self-reflection.
"Heh," Carter chuckles smugly.
Fresh off his high, he watches them grovel and can't help but laugh.
"Carter!" Adam stops and turns to him.
"Yes, Dr. Duncan!"
Carter wipes the smirk off his face, looking at Adam expectantly, awaiting orders.
"ER needs a surgeon to cover a shift. You're up."
"Huh?"
Carter's jaw drops. He didn't see that coming.
"Problem?" Adam raises an eyebrow.
"N-no problem…" Carter forces a grin. "I'll head over now…"
"lendez, you too," Adam says, glancing at Shorty.
"Got it!" Shorty replies calmly, no hesitation.
Carter trudges behind Shorty toward the ER—the place he hates most.
To him, it's dirty, chaotic, exhausting—not work for a real doctor.
Surgeons are the real deal.
That's why he applied for surgical residency!
But now Adam's tossing him back into the ER pit.
"lendez, you know where the ER is, right?" Carter says at the corner, unable to hold it in.
"You go ahead. I've got sothing to do—be there in a sec."
With that, he bolts toward the nurses' station.
He's gotta grill the flirtiest nurse he knows—what the heck just happened?!
"George, this is strike one!"
Adam holds up a finger at George. 😤
"You're not a clueless newbie like Lexie. After a full year as an intern, you should know what to do and what not to do.
Since you're my friend, outside of the five unbreakable rules, you get three chances. Three strikes, and you're out. Got it?"
George: "…"
(End of Chapter)
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