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Chapter Fifty-One

MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL

Seven smoothed her hands down her scrubs with a light sigh. It was her first shift back, and she couldn't contain her nerves. She felt new, and she hated that feeling. It had been a year since the last time she worked a long, straining shift at the hospital, but she knew this was what she asked for.

Seven glanced down at her work phone that was clipped to her waist. Hours had passed, and it had yet to light up with an alert indicating that she was needed. Seeing her husband and everyone else scurrying around to treat their patients while she was just lingering definitely bothered her. She was starting to regret even coming back in the first place. It seemed as if she wasn't needed.

"Sev," her husband’s smooth voice nestled into her ears.

Turning on the heels of her running sneakers, Seven faced her husband with a tight-lipped smile. "Hey." She waved at Henderson awkwardly. "Where did you just come from?"

Henderson chuckled lightly while questioningly raising his brow at her. "Surgery.”

"Good." She smiled. "How was it?"

"Successful." Henderson nodded with a proud smile etched on his face. "What have you been doing?"

Seven exhaled a deep breath before shrugging her shoulders. "Uh, I moved some stuff back into my locker, and I gave one patient some medicine for a cold." She smiled up at him. "I think I'm getting back into the swing of all this."

Henderson draped his arm around Seven's shoulder while he laughed. "I love the energy, baby," he commended her for the positive attitude as they walked down the halls of the hospital.

Seven let out an exasperated sigh as she leaned her head against Henderson. "This isn't working out," she muttered in defeat.

"Yes, it is. It's just your first day back.”

Seven smacked her lips. "Don't try to cheer me up.” She proceeded to brush his arm from her shoulder as she sported a pout.

Henderson laughed while pulling her back so she could reclaim her spot within his hold. "Listen, things are gonna pick back up for you," he encouraged. "Just give it a few more hours. It's pretty calm in here today."

Seven pursed her lips as she side-eyed her husband. "There you go lying again," she shamed him with a shake of her head. "You had two surgeries, and I’ve only been here for six hours."

"They were prescheduled surgeries," he corrected her. "Don't assume."

Seven laughed lightly, weaving her fingers with his as his arm draped from her shoulder. "Sorry, Dr. Jewel," she teased. Seven looked up at him with her beautiful smile. "Do me a favor and find me a surgery."

Henderson furrowed his brows together. "You sure you ready to jump back in like that?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't ask," she told her husband with a cutting side-eye. "Get me that damn surgery, Henderson.”

Henderson sighed before nodding his head. "Fine. I will."

Just as he agreed, the double doors to the side of them went flying open as paramedics rushed an urgent care victim in on a stretcher.Henderson and Seven immediately sprang into action, running right behind the paramedics to catch up. Once the stretcher came to a halt, Seven eagerly pushed through the crowding EMTs to assess the situation.

"We have a gunshot wound to the abdomen with excessive bleeding. We can't get it to stop," one of the paramedic technicians announced as she grabbed some nearby gauze to soak up some of the blood that was oozing from the patient.

"This surgery is all yours," Henderson said to Seven upon noticing who the patient was before walking away.

Seven’s attention drifted from the open gunshot wound to the face of the patient. She felt a tightness in her heart as her throat seemed to grow restricted and unable to take in air. Jeremy laid on the stretcher, his eyes shuttered closed with his breathing shaky and hollow. Immediately, Seven retracted her hands from the wound, applying her two fingers against his neck to check his pulse.

"His pulse is faint. Take him to the first operating room you can find," she instructed the EMTs and surrounding aids with deep urgency.

As they fled down the halls with Remy, who was in critical condition, Seven marched toward Henderson. Her nose was flared while her jaw clenched. Standing below him in height, Seven used her finger to scorn him.

"You never walk away," she sternly jeered at him while shoving him in his chest. "No matter who it is, you do your damn job and never walk away."

Henderson didn't know what had come over him. The sight of Remy instantly caused some mild jealousy to sink in. His doctor’s instincts had completely gone out the window, and he began thinking personally. That wasn't like Henderson at all, and he hated he had walked away from Remy, who was a patient in dire need of medical attention. Henderson simply had no words to utter to his wife. He had completely blurred the lines between being her husband and being Dr. Jewel.

A look of disappointment and shame filled Seven’s warm brown eyes. She shook her head at him before proceeding to jog down the hall to get to the operating room they had wheeled Remy into. She hurriedly stripped from her white coat, remaining in her blue scrubs. She pinned her hair back, stuffing her hair inside of a surgical cap. At the sterile sink, she scrubbed her hands and forearms, ensuring that she was safe and ready to operate. With the help of a few fellow scrub nurses who would be at her aid, she got dressed in a surgical gown and a mask, along with a set of sterile gloves.

Inhaling a deep breath, she tried her hardest to shake away all the nerves that piled onto her body. This was her first time seeing Remy since they parted ways. The last conversation was a failure that ended with tensions and unsolved issues. Seven would have never imagined the next time she came in contact with Remy would be on her operating table, his life in her hands.

She was weary. Weary that she wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of having Remy's life in her hands. Weary that the chances of him not being able to get off that operating table with breath still within his being were higher than her saving his life. Seven couldn't understand why she was so afraid at this very moment. She had done hundreds of these surgeries, some even more severe and limited.

She inhaled a deep breath before praying to herself inwardly. "Lord, my baby girl would be devastated," she sighed. "Protect him. Let my hands be the reason he sees another day. We're not finished yet," she asserted, finalizing the short prayer as she shouldered through the door and straight into the operating room where Remy laid on the table.It was her first surgery since coming back. She truly didn't expect it to be this heavy and hit so close to home.

The surgical team had already scissored through Remy's clothes so Seven could operate safely. He had already been administered the anesthesia to be taken under. She maneuvered to the left side of Remy, letting out a deep breath. Reaching her right hand out, she cleared her throat before requesting the first surgical instrument needed.

Out in the waiting room, Kaymen and Priest sat slouched in their seats. J'Ru had been taken into immediate surgery just like Remy. As much as Kaymen tried to convince Priest to leave the scene so it wouldn't bring more negativity to his name, Priest refused. He couldn't stomach leaving J'Ru and Remy behind when they were in such critical conditions.

Priest definitely expected some heavy tension when he finally came face to face with both Leonard and June. He had snatched away every leg of their operation, and he was sure the money Leonard thought was owed to him was just a petty way to strike a nerve. Priest had the money. He could've given it to Leonard in cash and in any denominations he preferred, but Priest wasn't going to do that. He didn't owe Leonard shit, and he wasn't going to cough up some cash just because Leonard came in guns ablazing.

He just knew it wasn't about the money. It was all about leverage. The control and who was on top at the moment. June just couldn't handle the pressure Priest, Kaymen and J'Ru were applying, so his and Leonard's first instinct was to shoot first and ask questions later.

Priest was disgusted by Leonard's blatantly cowardly ways. He fired at Remy from behind. That was the start to bullets flying back and forth while Priest carried Remy back inside to prevent him from getting punctured with another bullet. With Remy's life in his hands, along with the worry of making it out alive, all Priest could think about was Britain.

He couldn't show up to the penthouse with the heart wrenching news that Remy didn’t make it. Remy had to survive. Britain wouldn't be able to handle it if he didn't. "How the fuck are we getting ourselves out of this one?" Kaymen asked in a hushed tone so only Priest could hear.

Priest sighed. "First, them niggas better make it out alive," Priest let out in a hopeful tone. "Then, I call in a favor with the Chief. Leila will understand."

"You’re using Leila too much. She might not understand this one," Kaymen told Priest.

"Who the fuck else am I supposed to use?" Priest scoffed lowly.

"Think higher," Kaymen instructed Priest while glancing at him.

Priest eyed Kaymen. He had a point. He couldn't prematurely exhaust Leila completely. This was big, and in order to keep this shit out the fucking media and out of the knowledge of the nearby precincts, Priest had to think bigger and better.

"What the fuck can we get on the governor by eight tomorrow morning?" Priest asked as he checked the time on his watch.

"His daughter," Kaymen let out with a light shrug.

Priest shook his head, refusing. "I'm not kidnapping no fucking kid, Kay."

Kaymen smacked his lips. "Who said anything about kidnapping? His daughter’s into all that activism shit. You plug her in with Paula, and then you call in a favor with her pops.”

"You handle that. I can't get in with Paula like that," Priest declined. He couldn't be around Paula more than he had to. She was persistent and would find any opportunity to leech herself onto him.

Kaymen nodded. "I'll handle it."

They continued to sit and wait. It had been a full hour since J'Ru and Remy got rushed into surgery, but it felt like time was moving so slowly. Although he was keeping face and holding onto his faith, Priest was festering in anger. Leonard and June were two crooked-ass niggas who just wouldn't be able to step in the paint with him or his guys. They shot at Remy and J’Ru from behind before speeding off. Priest was beginning to regret not shooting a hot one right between Leonard's eyes when he had the chance.

He should have known them low down weak-ass niggas were going to pull some sly shit like that.

Priest was shaking from his heavy thoughts when he felt Kaymen nudge him. "You're fucked," Kaymen said while pointing his finger. Priest's attention casted in the direction Kaymen was pointing in. He was able to set his eyes on Britain, who was striding toward him flaming in anger.

"Shit," Priest cursed as he stood up from his seat. He knew it would be no use in running from Britain, so tackling her anger head on would be best.

" Gioia —" he uttered in a somber and guilt-ridden tone.

"Save it," she gritted at him as she pointed her finger in his face. Peering down at her, Priest could see the tears she had wiped from her face, along with the restricted tears that were brimming her eyes. "I fucking trusted you, and you let this happen." Her words were cold and lacked any sign of empathy.

Priest pursed his lips in guilt. He deserved this. She did trust him. He was supposed to keep shit in order, and he fucked up. "I'm sorry," he croaked with his head hanging low in shame.

"Fuck you, Priest!" She angrily pushed his chest. "He's here because of you! All this shit is because of you!" Her shaky voice rose as her body scorched with anger. The tears she once restricted had now cascaded down her face as she lashed out in pain.

Priest suppressed his pain by swallowing down his argument back to Britain. His responses would have just made matters worse. He believed he deserved this type of reaction from her. Her emotions were all shaken up, and she was afraid. Priest made her trust him as if he had everything under control. He was supposed to make it back to her safely with no issues. When she got a call from Henderson, she felt her heart puncture with deep pain. Priest had let her down.

Brushing past him, she stormed off. She never looked back, leaving Priest with the unbearable heaviness of her pain, along with his own guilt. It was evident that Britain didn't want him around. Glancing back at her, Priest watched as she wrapped her arms around Henderson, crying into his chest.

Priest's heart tightened in regret.

He had just lost Britain.