[Jaykobell]

Cybele breathed when Neil pointed out that he'd just been pulling her leg. "Yes... of course," she replied, sighing, as she looked back down at her papers.

Meanwhile, Neil grinned at Cybele's reaction, and he bent over her desk just a little. "But hey, if you say I'm charming, I'll take it," he pointed out, laughing it off; but he was disappointed to see Cybele not playing along.

"Really, though; what's wrong?" he pushed, knowing right away that something was genuinely tormenting his nurse from her behavior alone. It wasn't like Cybele to be fidgety, nor to be almost secretive. "Something bothering you?"

"Ah. No, it's just..." Cybele started, but her mind had to stop her from going any further. She valued honesty, considering her career, but she couldn't bring herself to question Neil about what she'd found in his bag earlier that day. Not only would he be upset that she'd snooped around — although that hadn't been her initial intention — but she also had to remember which one between the two of them was the doctor. Surely, if Neil had hemophilia or any kind of blood disease, he would take the necessary steps to keep it under control.

"I'm just thinking about that surgery we have coming up," she finally settled on saying, although she knew perfectly well that it was a lie. "That's all."

[Jaykobell]

"Oh," Neil replied, and Cybele could tell he thought it was an unusual explanation coming from her. After looking back at her with a bit of confusion, he seemingly accepted it, simply saying, "Don't worry about that; it's a simple procedure to remove from cysts. It won't be so bad." It was going to take little time, and it would be such a simple procedure that it would be only him and Cybele in the operation room.

"No, I know," Cybele said, and she slowly started going back to putting her papers back in order so she could leave for the day. "I'm always just a little worried when it's just you and me," she ended up admitting, and that actually wasn't a lie. She was used to bigger teams in operating rooms, and when she had to help Neil perform surgery on her own, there was always the doubt that maybe she wouldn't be good enough to help him. "That's all."

Neil wasn't entirely sure how to interpret that comment, and his neutral, slightly confused expression was clear proof of that. His first thought was that being alone together made Cybele uncomfortable, if only for the fact she was a woman and he was a man; some basic sexual tension. He quickly struck off that thought, however, when he realized they worked alone in his office every day; the operating room wasn't any different. "Why, though?" he eventually asked, since her answer did confuse him.

[Jaykobell]

Cybele was getting a little bit more nervous every time Neil pushed her, because she didn't trust herself to consistently lie. Even though he was asking why she was nervous, which was a fair question, part of her anxiety rested in the fact she'd seen that prescription in his bag, and the dangers of handling sharp tools like scalpels when the surgeon on task was a hemophiliac.

"I'm just scared I might make mistakes," she eventually settled on, and she hoped her flickering eyes weren't too noticeable as to how nervous she was getting. "Scared I might not be able to help you properly," she added, and while they were genuine concerns she had, they were made worse by the possible fact Neil might be suffering from something. Therein lied the problem: she didn't know if he suffered from anything, specifically because he hadn't told her.

Neil listened to Cybele quietly, and his reaction went from confusion to surprise; and then he laughed. "Really? Why?" he asked, and it was Cybele's turn to be confused. "There's no reason for you to feel that way; you work perfectly fine." Part of him wondered where that lack of confidence came from; Cybele was such an efficient and competent nurse, and yet she always felt the need to say she wasn't good enough. "You put me to shame, seriously," he added with a chuckle, though that was definitely true.

[Jaykobell]

"That's not true," Cybele argued, and she regained some confidence now that they had turned the subject around just ever so slightly. "You're still the doctor between us. I couldn't do what you do here." It took a special kind of person to be capable of handling the title and responsibilities that came with being a physician, and Cybele didn't feel herself capable of going beyond the responsibilities of a nurse. Assisting the surgeon during surgery was fine, but performing it was a completely different story.

Neil didn't bother to argue back, instead just laughing it off as he walked away from her desk. "Keep telling yourself that, Cybele," he hummed, taking his coat and his bag, and turning around to look at her again from his own desk. Granted, there wasn't much distance between the two. "Ready to go?"

Cybele had been sporadically putting her things in order as they were talking, but she hadn't gotten very far. "Ah; not really," she said, looking up at him with a few papers in her hands. "You've been distracting me this whole time," she pointed out, though the words weren't meant as her criticizing him; just as stating a fact.

Neil looked over her desk and her papers for a moment before saying, "Oh," with a small chuckle. "Sorry. Need any help?" he offered, putting his coat and his bag back down. "We can finish up and then I can give you a lift home."

Cybele had tried to speed up the process, but she was stopped when Neil offered to help. "Oh, well... If you really want to."

[Jaykobell]

Before long, the two had been done for the day. Neil had helped Cybele pack up her things and putting her papers in order for the next day, and after everything was said and done, the doctor had offered her a lift to her apartment.

The days following went by fine, although Cybele subconsciously kept an eye on Neil, trying to pick up on habits that could hint at whether or not he did suffer from a blood disease or not. He wasn't particularly more careful with papers, and while he seemed to avoid utensils, he wasn't against using them, depending on the food he was eating. Nothing truly set off any red flags, in her mind, and she gradually forgot about it all. At the end of the day, she trusted his judgement, both as a person and as a doctor.

Nothing unusual had happened over the next days, and before long, the day of their surgery came. It was a simple procedure to remove cysts that were starting to grow and inflict pain on the patient, and one that wouldn't require much time or effort. While it had been planned that they would have an anesthesiologist as a part of the surgery team, their one staff member was often stretched thin between multiple surgery rooms. Bigger surgeries required their attention instead of small ones, where it was judged that the surgeon and the nurse on task could handle the anesthetics on their own. Thus, it was up to Neil and Cybele to make the surgery a success, and to make sure the patient would recover properly.

[Jaykobell]

Every surgery was a major task, regardless of how simple or quick it was in theory and practice. Neil and Cybele both washed their hands deeply before moving on and dressing up in the sterile surgery gowns. They tied each other's gown by the back; slipped on their scrub caps; put on the surgical masks; covered their feet with extra scrubs; and finally, both put on clean gloves. Cybele was ready, and Neil put on one final touch, slipping on a small pair of glasses specifically for surgery and to help with vision. While he figured he might not need it, having it was safer than leaving them behind.

Once ready, the two stepped inside the operating room, the doors shutting behind them. The anesthesiologist had done their job by putting the patient to sleep shortly before Neil and Cybele had come in, and it would be Cybele's job to keep an eye on the patient's vitals as they slept during the surgery.

It was a small operating room, about half the size of what St. Lazare could offer. Considering major surgeries happened daily, the bigger rooms were reserved for bigger surgeries while the smaller ones that could afford the tighter space were relocated to the smaller operating theaters.

"Everything looks good," Neil said as he walked up to the patient, adjusting the lights overhead and looking over the patient laying down on the operating table. "Let's get started."

[Jaykobell]

The patient had multiple cysts growing in their body, but they were benign and small. Still, the accumulation had been causing discomfort, and they'd decided to proceed with taking them out. The surgery would call for multiple openings and lacerations, but in and of itself, they would be small incisions and that would require few stitches.

Over the course of the first fifteen minutes, Neil was almost done retrieving the first few cysts they were supposed to take out. Cybele kept an eye on everything; she gave Neil the instruments when he asked for them; she watched over the patient's vitals; she made sure the anesthetic levels were normal; and she made sure the patient wasn't on the verge of suddenly waking up during the surgery.

"First area is clear," Neil said a few minutes later, at which point Cybele walked back to him to assist him. "Let's stitch them up here, and then we can move on," he instructed, and he put his hand over so Cybele could hand him the stitches. She did so, as instructed, and the stitching took little time; with that done, Neil moved along the patient to go for the next area that had to be opened.

Considering Neil was about to cut through with a scalpel, Cybele turned her attention to the monitors and machines to keep an eye on the vitals. Although she had initially been nervous, now that the surgery had started and that everything was going smoothly, she found herself relaxing just a little.

[Jaykobell]

The patient's condition was stable; but as Cybele kept an eye on the vitals, she jumped when she heard noise coming from nearby, including Neil yelling in pain. "Ow! Shit!"

Cybele immediately turned around, and her heart stopped when she saw Neil clutching his hand, blood oozing through the vinyl glove he was wearing. "Doctor! What happened?!" she gasped, and she immediately went to his side to help with the bleeding.

"Ugh," Neil grunted, closing his fist in and out as Cybele joined him. "The tray was in the way. I stuck my hand on the scalpel trying not to fall." It was a stupid mistake to make, but the smaller operating theaters were prone to clutter, and he hadn't expected the rolling surgical table to be so close to him.

"Doctor," Cybele breathed, and she quickly went for the bandages they had in their supplies, "you're bleeding." As matter of fact as it sounded, Cybele's stomach twisted as memories of that prescription came back to her, and it took everything in her to keep herself from jumping the gun and panicking.

"It's just a scratch," Neil insisted, and he took the bandages that Cybele had grabbed to wrap them around his hand. "Get me another scalpel; I can't use this one now that my blood's on it," he asked while maintaining pressure on his injury, and his normal reaction was the only thing that gave Cybele the courage to do as instructed.

[Jaykobell]

Upon bringing Neil one of the spare scalpels they had, Cybele found herself unable to truly focus on the patient, as negligent as it was. Her eyes quickly wandered to the machines whenever she had a chance, but her main worry was now with the doctor. Although the bandages were helping with soaking the blood, Neil's cut seemingly didn't want to stop bleeding.

Cybele continued to assist him as he instructed her, but she grew increasingly restless the more he bled. At some point, he visibly began to shake as he forced himself to keep the scalpel and the other instruments steady, and Cybele didn't know what to do. The bandages were getting soaked, and the blood eventually started to seep through them. "Doctor," she breathed, and she quickly stopped him for the time being so she could attend to his injury, "your cut is still bleeding; I have to change the bandages."

She was moving in to take the bandages off his hand when Neil quickly and forcefully pulled his hand away. "No," he said flatly, and his tone legitimately surprised Cybele. "Don't be ridiculous. It's fine."

Up until that point, Neil had always been reasonable. It wasn't the first time Cybele was trying to help him, but never before had he reacted so coldly. "You— You can't continue the surgery if you're bleeding," she pointed out, and she once again grabbed onto his hand. "You could bleed on the patient if you're not careful."

[Jaykobell]

Once again, Neil forcefully pulled his hand away, and he even frowned at Cybele. "I know all that," he snapped, and he looked back at the patient. "I'm a doctor! And I'm going to finish this stupid surgery just fine."

His complete change in personality left Cybele dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open behind her surgical mask. Certainly, Neil wasn't in such strong denial that he thought he didn't have a bleeding disorder; not when he was bleeding so much from just a small scalpel incision.

She figured the injury was stressing him out, and that the blood loss was making him a bit more aggravated than usual. "Doctor, please," she asked, this time almost sounding like she was begging; but if Neil didn't stop to treat his injury, he could be putting both himself and the patient at risk. "You could put the patient at risk — and yourself, too, if you don't—"

"For God's sake, Cybele, shut up!" Neil snapped, and for the very first time, Cybele heard genuine anger in his voice; and his glare alone was making her so nervous that she would even go as far as saying that he was starting to scare her. "I know what I'm doing!" he insisted, and Cybele was slowly starting to panic. "Just do as I'm telling you to do!"

[Jaykobell]

There was conflict in Cybele's mind at that point. Although she respected Neil both as a person and a doctor, she had to put the patients first and foremost. Having Neil perform a surgery that involved cutting tools when he couldn't steady his hands and when he was quickly losing blood was putting their patient in danger.

She was at a loss, and the panic was starting to take over her logic. "You should've told me," she said to him, and she did her best to ignore the growing fear in her stomach that she felt towards Neil's increasing anger. "You should've told me you have hemophilia." Thoughts started to pass through her mind faster than she could process, but fear took over as Neil's expression completely changed.

"I don't," he replied flatly to Cybele, and her heart stopped. "I don't have hemophilia," he insisted, and at that point, he was gritting his teeth behind his mask, his voice almost sounding desperate. "Stop saying nonsense! Why would you even think that I—"

"I saw your prescription!" Cybele admitted, screaming it out in Neil's face from the panic and the urgency of the situation. His face went from anger to fear, and Cybele actually felt genuine fear when his expression went back to something that went even beyond rage. "I—I saw your prescription from doctor Donato for prophylaxis!"

[Jaykobell]

"You were looking through my stuff?" Neil asked, and his tone was so harsh that Cybele stepped back from him. "Who do you think you are, Cybele?" he added, stepping closer to Cybele to close the gap.

At that point, it was the first time Cybele had ever felt genuine fear. She was afraid for the patient, she was afraid for Neil, but she was also afraid for herself and her own safety. Whether from sheer anger or from blood loss, Neil was growing aggressive, and she was terrified that he would turn against her if she gave him the chance to do it. "I-it was an accident," she explained, continuing to step back, but she was smaller than the doctor; a few steps of hers were easily covered by one or two steps of his. "I was looking for a file, and I—I didn't mean to see it—"

"And you never saw it," Neil interrupted, taking a particularly large step forward to catch up to Cybele. "There was never any such thing. Now, either you stop and you start helping me with the surgery; or you leave!"

"What?" she breathed, and while that also stood for his claim that she'd never seen the prescription; she was also genuinely confused at his ultimatum. "But you—you can't continue the surgery!" she insisted, and her sounding like a broken record was what broke the last straw for Neil.

[Jaykobell]

"Fine," Neil snapped, and he quickly went for Cybele, "then get out of here and go work elsewhere!"

Cybele's first reaction was to try to continue stepping back, but at that point, Neil was coming for her, reaching for her. "Doctor, please stop—" she begged, almost running backwards as she tried to avoid him. "You—You're scaring me!" Never before had she seen that side of him, and her heart was beating out of her chest from the fear.

When she hit the doors to the operating room, there was nowhere else for her to run. Her first reaction was to scream when Neil grabbed her by the shoulders, and a million thoughts went through her mind. That alone wasn't enough to snap Neil out of it, and with one hand tightly holding onto Cybele's shoulder, he used the other to open the door. "Get out!" he hissed, pushing her out with both hands with so much force that Cybele nearly lost her balance. "I have a surgery to finish!"

It took Cybele seconds to catch her breath and to process what had just happened. By the time she had turned around to look back at the operation room, she saw Neil looking down at the door, and a small click sounded. "Doctor! Stop!" she insisted, and she frantically tried to force the doors open, but to no avail. "Doctor!" she screamed from outside the room, looking in horror inside the room from the small rectangular windows just to see Neil going back to the patient, on his own, with his hand dripping blood on the floor.

[Jaykobell]

No matter how much Cybele banged on the doors and tried to force the handles open, Neil never looked back to the doors. "Doctor!" she continued to plead, but her panic was quickly overriding her logic and she, too, soon started to shake from the fear. "Doctor, please...!" she begged from beyond the door, and at that point, her emotions welled up inside of her. "Open the doors!"

She rested her head on the locked doors, defeated, and she breathed hard as the tears started to fall. He wasn't going to listen to her, and he wasn't going to open the doors; but if he didn't, then Neil ran the risk of putting the patient in great danger, and he ran of risk of dying. If he didn't take care of his bleeding, he would just slowly bleed himself to death.

Her mind went to the first thing she could think of: she had to go find help. She tried to breathe, though it did little; but it was enough for her to remember that Neil did have multiple superiors above him. The thought of leaving the operating room terrified her, for fear that Neil might collapse the moment she left, or worse; but if she stayed by the doors, helpless, it would actually happen.

She looked through the small windows one last time before making a mad dash for it, running through the halls and taking turns and stairs faster than she ever had before. She cared little for the looks of others, she cared little for her heart that beat increasingly faster; and she cared little for the blood that sat on her shoulders.

[Jaykobell]

Even when the other staff tried to ask her what was wrong, Cybele ignored them. She barely heard their words, her mind racing with thoughts, and with her trying to keep her mind on where she was supposed to go. She wiped her eyes and her nose as she ran, too panicky to realize she'd just dirtied her sterile gown even more.

She could almost remember to breathe when she finally reached the door of the doctor she needed. She barely stopped in her tracks, almost literally crashing into the doctor's door as she started to loudly banging. "Doctor Wolfgang!" she cried out, banging as much as she could, regardless of whether or not he could hear her. "Please open the door! Please! Doctor!"

She felt hope when she heard noises coming from inside, and Murray's aggravated expression was nothing terrifying compared to what Neil had just made her feel. "What in the hell is going on, Cybele?" he snapped, and seeing her in her surgical gown, his face soured all the more. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be in surgery with Endzela!"

"I was!" she insisted, and she grabbed onto the head doctor out of impulse; scared that, for any reason, he would go back into his office. "You have to come, quickly! Doctor Endzela, he—he cut himself," she explained, speaking as quickly and as clearly as she possibly could. "I-I've never seen him like this—H-he'd kicked me out of the operating room, and he won't let me back in!"