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After the second defibrillation, Jay knehat had to do done So she’d only done once The patient had died then

“She needs an eency thoracotomy”

It was Jay’s heart that stopped this tiain

It couldn’t be It couldn’t Not here Not hi around, breathless,aht

Malek Her soul made flesh, ned herself to existing without

His hand took her ar

“Let’s do this,” he whispered as he snapped on gloves, turned to the nurses ere gaping at hiher medical authority “We’ll need a scalpel with a 10 blade, curved scissors, rib spreader, Gigli saw And a full he her permission to follow this unknown person’s orders Jay only nodded, not knohat she was nodding for, and stared up at his she heard, saw, knew He pressed her arain and it was only her paralysis that stopped her fro herself into his arms

“I’e sht and unnatural then turned to the nurses “Prep the field” He looked down at her “Shall I do it?”

She nodded again, and he immediately made an incision from the sternum to the mid-axillary line then murmured, “Rib spreader” She automatically handed it to hili saw” She handed it to him too He divided the sternum, moved the rib spreader to the midline He made a ser, evacuating blood and clots

The sight of the cardiac wounds oozing blood brought her out of her stupor She juest one with direct finger pressure while he sutured lesser wounds In under two minutes he’d perfor aorta and one in the left atriuain

“You do internal cardiac e,” he murmured “Your hands are the perfect size for it”

She nodded, did a two-handed technique for a better cardiac output and to avoid the risk of cardiac perforation The heart restarted, and this tiain

It was a blur as they concluded the procedure

As orderlies took their patient to IC, all she wanted to do was collapse To weep her heart out at the shock and disbelief of his sudden reappearance