He opens his eyes slowly and stares up uneasily at the cold white ceiling that sits above him, and takes a stuttered breath, before slowly casting his eyes downwards. She stands at the end of his bed and smiles softly, her eyes swollen from what he can only speculate is a large amount of crying.

“Hey you,” she says softly, griping herself tightly as fresh tears cascade down her cheeks.

“I-It’s not that b-bad is it?” he stammers.

“N-No,” she so sobs loudly. “I-I, I’m upset over something completely unrelated t-to you,” she says with an uneasy smile.

“I-Oh, s-sorry I j-just assumed t..”

“Of course I’m FUCKING crying about YOU! What else would seem more important than this?” she asks with words thrust upon him more than spoken.

“I-I, I’m sorr…”

“Stop APOLOGISING! You don’t need to be sorry about anything, it’s me, it’s me who should be sorry, after all, you’re then one who…” her bottom lip trembles and a new sea of tears escape her eyes.

“F-F-FUCK, w-what happened, he says as he looks down at himself nervously, before pulling the sheets back to reveal the remainder of his body, all still intact. He looks up at her confused. “D-Didn’t the surgery go ahead?”

She shakes her head as she presses a shaking hand against her lips as she tries in vain to muffle her sobbing.

“WHAT! B-B-But why? I-I, I was all p-prepared, D-Doctor Watt had gone through everything with me, and t-the, the FUCKING nurse even had me sign some BULLSHIT form wavering my rights to sue if anything went wrong, w-which she promised w-wouldn’t! A-A-And now I wake u-up to find nothing t-took place a-anyway! W-WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Please dear, calm yourself down, I-I, I think someone will be along shortly to tell you exactly what happened,” she says quickly as she rushes to his side and grips his hand tightly. “J-Just be patient, t-they have so many new arrivals it takes time f-for them to get around at a-a…”

“What the hell are you talking about! Why should it matter how many new patients are arriving! I had an appointment, weeks in the waiting if you want the truth, years, and I won’t be shifted just because of NEW patients! I’m hurting! I’m struggling! T-This operation is going to CHANGE my life! This operation is going to make me whole again, help me get some semblance of normalcy back into the tired arms, so if you don’t mind, I WON’T BE CALM!”

“P-P-Please honey, t-trust me, t-they’ll answer all your question in a moment,” she says as she casts an nervous glance over to the doorway.

He stares up at her, and his brow furrows, “W-W-What are y-you doing here a-anyway, w-where is e-everyone else? A-A-And aren’t you supposed to be de…” His words catch themselves in his throat, and for the next few short moments he repeatedly opens and closes his mouth, while she gently nods her head as tears anew stream down her cheeks, and his now as well.