¶¶Chapter Song-Half a Man¶¶
*By-Dean Lewis*

Around three at night, an emergency was rushed into the hospital by the Sheriff.

"Call the Doctor nurse! She needs a Doc." The Sheriff announced.

Within a few minutes, the whole night staff was running here and there.

"What's going on Samantha?"  Dr. Miller inquired closing the door of the room behind very carefully.

"Sir, we were looking for you only. The Sheriff has brought an emergency. I think you should look at her as we are unable to trace Dr. Luke, it seems like he's out for some personal reasons." Sister Samantha replied with concern.

"Luke! It was his turn of night shift where's he?" Arthur groaned in annoyance while stepping ahead of the nurse to see the patient.

"Sir, I think we should call Dr. Meril too," she mentioned following his quick steps.

"She isn't working for us. Why should we call her? We have other doctors on duty too." Arthur replied, this time bit angry at her suggestion.

" No Sir, not as a Doctor. But…"  she paused her sentence as they entered the room where that emergency patient was kept. 

"Is She our staff? She seems known." Arthur wondered gazing at the face of a faint female lying in front of them, soaked in her blood.

Her face was specially covered in blood as the injury was on her forehead only.

"Someone has struck her with something, I will say, a glass bottle." Arthur declared wiping the blood off her face and plucking glass particles pierced through her skin. Instructing nurse for getting ready a few injections.

After a few minutes of initial treatments Arthur felt, the patient wasn't a stranger to him.

He looked at sister Samantha, "Isn't she  Mother of Cora?" 

"Yes Sir, and that is why I suggested to call Dr. Meril as Miss Hailey told me once that Dr. Meril is the only companion she has." Samantha supported her thoughts.

"Ok, that's reasonable. Go call Dr. Meril, if she is available."  Arthur said adjusting his white coat before turning to leave the room but before he could the door of the room flung open.

"Hailey! Jesus! What happened to her?" Meril entered the room and started to cry at the very sight of her friend.

Arthur opted to talk to the Sheriff first, completely avoiding Meril.

"It's a case of direct attack, who so ever attacked her might have tried to sexually molest her first as she has several bruises and but seems like he failed in doing so. So he struck her with a bottle in frustration. Her clothes were torn too." Arthur told the Sheriff as he was waiting outside to be sure that it was an assault.

"Was she drunk?" He inquired.

"I will say no. But if you want I can get you her blood reports." Arthur replied professionally.

"That will be great. How is the patient?" The Sheriff inquired further.

"The blow must be hard but She might be very lucky as there is no fatal injury, she can recover in a few days. I guess it wasn't a direct hit at her skull. She might had covered with her arms as there's a deep scar at her forearm."  Arthur finished his observation about injured Hailey.

°•°•°

"Hey Arthur, you saw Hailey?"  Luke inquired entering the room of Cora.

"Shu…"  Arthur immediately rose from his chair, next to Cora's bed, and almost dragged Luke out of the room.

"Can't you see she's sleeping?"  He chid at Luke.

"Oh really? Don't you think she should know what her mother is going through? " Luke questioned Arthur.

"No! Because she needs rest so that we can operate her in this week only." Arthur gave his excuse of hiding the incident from Cora.

"Oh really? Is this the reason Mr. Arthur Miller staying up all these nights at the hospital? Even when it's not your turn of night duty?" Luke questioned his intentions.

"Yes! Because I have to! Because it's your night duty and you were out with that Dr. Meril!"  Arthur growled at Luke venomously.

"Shut up Arthur! You know it well why Meril was not there with Cora, it's because you asked her to take a rest as you wanted to look after Cora, so I took her for coffee." Luke retorted.

"So does that mean you got right to disappear from your responsibility? Let me remind you, Dr. Luke Scott! It was my off and your turn for night duty. That was the reason I was relieved." Arthur scolded Luke in a harsh tone.

"Arthur, I knew you were here at the hospital that's why I was relieved. And let me inform you we were not out for coffee, we were in the cafeteria of our hospital only." Luke gave his excuse.

"Is that your excuse for negligence of your responsibility?" 

"Come on Arthur! I'm not like you. Always duty, responsibility, and all. I like Meril, She likes me, you were in the hospital so I got relieved. You told Meril that you will take care of Cora so she was going. I asked her to stay as it was late at night. We were in hospital only. What we did wrong? Why are you so angry with me? What's the problem Arthur?" Luke exhaled in irritation. 

He had never seen Arthur like that, so angry, so anxious as if he had lost something precious to him.

"Problem is, that I am also a human Luke! I asked Meril to go because I wanted to look after Cora. I wished to spend some time with that baby just as me, just as Arthur, not Dr. Arthur!" Arthur retorted this time.

"Arthur, stop befooling yourself." Luke stepped close to Arthur, placed his hand over Arthur's shoulder, "She is not your child. Your daughter couldn't…"

"I know she never existed. But that doesn't mean my parental instinct has died with my child." Arthur replied furiously, shrugging away Luke's hand and stepping away, to go back into the room.

"Arthur…. Arthur listen to me!" Luke tried to talk further but Arthur glared at him which was a sign for Luke to give up and leave. He did the same. But as soon as he took a few steps and looked up straight he found Meril standing in front of him with tear-filled questioning eyes.

On other hand Arthur sat at his place in the room, his misty eyes fixed at Cora while his hand stretched out to caress her head.

"You don't deserve a child, Arthur. And I never needed it either. I have my career and so do you. Why don't we better concentrate on making it than making babies."

His ex-wife's voice echoed at the back of his mind. As if taunting him for not being there on time. 

"Relax Arthur, it wasn't even a proper fetus and you are crying over it!" 

Her lie echoed just behind.

"Yes, you are not mine. But you are a baby, a sweet, smart, and brave baby. I couldn't save my child but I assure you nothing will go wrong with you, till I breathe."  He wiped his eye with a determination.

"She lied, She always lied. Since the beginning. And it ended with a fact only." A tear rolled out of his eye which he wiped ruthlessly.