Medical Center
Patient Room
"Mr. Linden, you're awake! How are you feeling?"
Adam asked.
"Where's my wife?"
Mr. Linden, with a white bandage wrapped around his forehead, opened his eyes and immediately looked around.
"She was taken away by the police."
Adam explained.
"What did you tell them?"
Unlike before the surgery, Mr. Linden was much calmer now. He half-opened his eyes and asked in a tired voice.
"We didn't say anything."
Adam shook his head. "It was Mrs. Linden. She told them everything."
The officer questioning her wasn't a rookie. With just a few words, they managed to provoke her fiery temper, and she spilled everything without holding back.
"I won't press charges against her."
Mr. Linden sighed with guilt. "This is my fault. I let her down. Getting shot by her… I had it coming."
Adam didn't respond to that. Instead, he asked again, "Mr. Linden, how are you feeling? Any discomfort? I mean physically."
"No."
Mr. Linden then asked, "What's going to happen to her?"
"The police will charge her with first-degree assault."
Adam closed the patient's file, signaling the end of the conversation. "Get some rest, Mr. Linden. If you need anything, let the nurses know."
---
Noon – Cafeteria
"Adam, is it true? You got a patient who survived a gunshot to the head?"
Christina asked, clearly envious.
"It's not as impressive as you think."
Adam knew exactly what she was excited about and explained, "All we did was remove the necrotic tissue in his forehead caused by the bullet. The bullet itself is still lodged in his brain."
"Oh."
Christina's excitement faded immediately.
That kind of surgery wasn't challenging at all.
The appeal disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
"See? This is why you should never piss off a woman."
Meredith smirked.
"Heh."
Adam glanced at her and chuckled. "Dr. Shepherd said the same thing."
"What did he say?"
Meredith's eyes sharpened instantly.
"He said he understands Mrs. Linden. If he were in Mr. Linden's shoes, he wouldn't blame her either. Sometimes, if a bullet can bring back love, it's worth it."
Adam repeated Shepherd's words with a straight face.
During the surgery, Dr. Shepherd had randomly brought up the topic, making dramatic statements. Who was he talking to?
Anyone with half a brain could tell he wasn't saying it for Adam's benefit.
"He really thinks choosing between me and her is harder than taking a bullet to the head, huh?"
Meredith, being directly involved and, more importantly, a woman, immediately read between the lines.
"So even though she and his best friend betrayed him, he still loves her more than he loves me."
"…"
Adam twitched slightly.
Dr. Shepherd, it's not that I didn't pass your message along—it's just that Meredith's comprehension skills are off the charts!
But when you really think about it…
One love fueled by passion, the other by betrayal and obsession, yet somehow, he was stuck between the two, unable to decide, even willing to take a bullet instead of choosing.
Yeah… Meredith's interpretation might not be wrong after all.
"Adam, you better be careful."
Liz chimed in. "You never know when you might find yourself in a similar situation."
"Not happening."
Adam smiled confidently.
For one, he wasn't a liar.
And even if he somehow found himself in a love triangle, as long as it wasn't a full-blown battlefield, he could dodge a stray bullet or two thanks to his sharp reflexes.
Unlike Mr. Linden, he wouldn't have to rely on sheer dumb luck to survive.
Besides, he had Juno.
If he ever met an emotionally unstable "friend" struggling with their feelings, Juno could handle it.
When it came to emotional manipulation, no one was better than her.
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---
"Liz, how's your patient doing?"
Christina changed the topic.
As much as she liked gossip, discussing medical cases was even more interesting to her.
"Still no clue."
Liz frowned. "We can't find anything wrong, but she keeps experiencing sudden cardiac arrest."
"Is this her medical file?"
Christina grabbed the file from Liz and started flipping through it.
"Intermittent syncope, irregular heartbeat, history of rheumatic heart disease, mitral valve stenosis… but her electrolytes are normal, no toxins in her urine, and her EKG looks fine…"
"Everything seems normal, but she just randomly passes out. It's terrifying."
Liz sighed. "She's a pharmacology PhD, so if there was a problem, she'd probably have figured it out herself."
"Let me see."
Adam took the file, reading through it while casually commenting, "This sounds like a complex case. Why hasn't she gone to see Dr. House?"
"She never said."
Liz replied, "Dr. Burke wants to do a cardiac ultrasound first, but she's pushing for a heart rate recovery test or even surgery. She's even considering a pacemaker or an internal defibrillator."
"She wants major surgery without even knowing the cause?"
Christina raised an eyebrow. "What kind of pharmacology PhD is she?"
"Her problem might not be physical—it could be psychological."
Adam mused.
"What do you mean?"
Liz looked at him curiously.
"She's been to four different hospitals this year."
Adam pointed out. "She's spent almost the entire year hospitalized, and her symptoms always appear around the time hospitals typically discharge patients."
"You think she's faking it to stay in the hospital?"
Christina caught on immediately.
"What?"
Liz was stunned. "Why would she do that?"
"Her background."
Adam explained, "Her parents are missionaries overseas, and she has no close family. Maybe she enjoys the attention and care from hospital staff."
"Münchausen syndrome."
Christina concluded. "She's pretending to be sick so she can play the role of a patient, imagining that we're her family taking care of her."
"But she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would lie. She's so genuine and cheerful. The nurses love listening to her travel stories."
Liz hesitated.
"How do you know she has a PhD in pharmacology?"
Adam asked.
"She told me…"
Liz suddenly froze.
"But there's no 'PhD' listed in her medical records."
Adam pointed at the file.
Doctors and PhDs, like aristocrats, usually make sure their titles are included in official documents to establish their status.
Even Dr. Shepherd's divorce papers were signed with "Derek Shepherd, M.D."
Liz was completely speechless.
"Everyone lies."
Adam smirked. "Check her purse. If she's carrying medication that can induce palpitations or fainting, you'll have your answer. If she refuses to let you check, well… that's an answer too."
Ring, ring.
Just then, Adam's phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, he rolled his eyes before answering, "Ted, stop dreaming. I already told you—six months means six months… Fine, I'm on my way."
After hearing Ted's frantic voice, Adam immediately got up and rushed toward the ER.