At Princeton Teaching Hospital:
"Dr. Stevenson," Burke said, noticing Liz's shaky mood. Worried she'd tip off Dr. Hahn if she stuck around, he frowned. "Head back to the hospital. We don't need you here anymore."
"I…" Liz trailed off. After Adam and Chief of Surgery Richard had laid into her with threats, she'd finally cooled off a bit. But now, seeing Burke's dismissive vibe, she felt a pang of bitterness.
She knew what she'd done was messed up. She knew she shouldn't have. But somehow, like she was possessed, she'd gone and done it anyway—pushed herself to this crazy point. For Danny? Maybe not entirely.
Lost in her thoughts, she followed Burke's orders, left Princeton, and took a cab back to the medical center.
At the medical center. Emergency room.
The couple who'd been caught in the earlier shooting stood face-to-face, gazing into each other's eyes with sappy affection.
"Huh? You two made up?" Cristina walked in, totally thrown off by the scene.
Earlier, when the shots rang out, the guy had panicked hard—grabbed his girlfriend and used her as a human shield. A bullet ripped through her right arm and still hit him. Naturally, she'd been pissed, cussing him out nonstop after they got to the hospital.
But this dude? Total coward on the inside, yet his mouth wouldn't quit. "It was instinct, babe, out of my control! You know I love you. We both got hit—that bullet went through you into me. It's a sign we're meant to be together forever…"
Sweet talk actually worked. He'd smoothed it over.
"I'm giving him another chance," the girlfriend said with a smile.
"I told her she didn't have to," the guy said, dripping with fake humility. "Today changed me. This bullet's gonna remind me to always do right by my babe."
"That's it?" Cristina stared, dumbfounded.
"I chose forgiveness. It feels so much better than anger," the woman said, all self-righteous and teary-eyed.
Cristina just rolled her eyes and gave up talking.
Next room over:
"I'll give you a few days off," the sleazy manager said, his shoulder freshly bandaged. He noticed a young employee nearby, looking wrecked over losing a friend in the shooting, and decided to play the "compassionate" card.
"I'll talk to the boss, make sure you keep your job. Getting shot wasn't your fault—well, not mine either, right? I didn't pull the trigger, ha!" Seeing the kid's head drop, eyes burning with anger, the manager got nervous—last thing he needed was another shooting. "It was Pete who fired… Look, people love blaming management, but we did our best…"
He slinked off awkwardly. The reconciled couple trailed behind him.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
As the manager stepped outside the hospital, gunfire erupted again.
The couple, lagging a few steps behind, didn't make it out. The guy bolted for a corner, instinctively yanking his girlfriend in front of him as a shield—again.
"We're done. Completely done," she said calmly, dodging to the corner too. Once safe, she stared at her trembling boyfriend. Sweet words couldn't save him this time.
"Gunshots!" Adam's face tightened.
"Dr. Duncan, stay here and keep watch," Chief Richard said, already moving to check it out.
"Chief, let me go," Adam cut in. "You stay and keep an eye on things—make sure Liz doesn't pull anything else. I've got this. I'm better suited for it."
"Alright," Richard nodded. He remembered Adam surviving shootings and even a bomb scare—his weird knack for sensing danger gave Richard some confidence. Plus, compared to gunfire, he was more worried about the fallout from a scandal.
Adam sprinted off.
When he got there, the staff were still cowering inside, too scared to step out.
And who could blame them? The morning's shooting left four dead, four injured, and the gunman got away. Now this? Everyone's first thought was the same: that psycho tracked them down to finish the job. No one doubted how ruthless he was—who'd risk sticking their neck out? The shots had been ringing for a while, and still, no one moved.
Adam didn't get any bad vibes, figuring the shooter was gone. Still, he scoped things out carefully. Outside the hospital, three bodies lay sprawled. One guy, gun in hand, had blown his own head off—brain matter everywhere. That had to be the shooter.
"Shooter's dead," Adam called out, stepping forward. He checked the pulse of the guy with the bandaged shoulder—yep, the sleazy manager. Dead as a doornail.
Then he looked at the third body, off by the roadside.
"Liz!" Adam froze when he saw her.
There she was, shot in the right shoulder, already in shock. Who else could it be?
"Get a stretcher, now!" Adam ripped open her shirt, pressing one hand to stop the bleeding while the other started CPR. Good thing he was strong—one hand was enough to get it done.
Liz's dazed eyes slowly refocused. Adam brought her back, hoisted her onto the stretcher, and rushed her to the ER.
After X-rays, neurosurgery chief Dr. Shepherd got called in. The bullet was lodged in her spine—super dangerous spot.
"Adam, how's Liz?" George intercepted him.
"The bullet's stuck in her spinal nerves. Even ignoring possible complications from the gunshot, surgery to remove it could easily damage those nerves," Adam explained. "Even Dr. Shepherd isn't 100% sure he can pull it off."
"She can't be a doctor anymore?" George stood there, stunned.
As a doctor himself, he knew what that meant.
"Could be a silver lining," Adam said coolly. "Better than getting fired. If her arm doesn't fully recover and she can't hold a scalpel, it's a solid excuse—no one can talk smack."
"She's in this state, and you're still ragging on her?" George's face flared with anger.
"Am I wrong?" Adam shot back, ice-cold. "What she did—was that human? Zero ethics! Dragging you and me down with her, no regard for friendship! We've worked our asses off to get here. You really wanna throw it all away 'cause she lost her mind out of nowhere?"
"But…" George flushed, knowing Adam was right but still feeling bad for Liz in her condition.
No helping it—he was that hopeless nice guy. No wonder women flocked to him.
"No buts," Adam cut him off. "You didn't tell anyone what she asked you to do, right? Keep it buried, or you'll be the medical center's biggest screw-up!"
Truth is, Adam didn't know the original timeline—how Liz's recklessness got Burke shot, nearly killed him, and almost cost him his prized surgeon hands. If he did, he'd have added:
"That's karma right there!"
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