Chapter Text
Samira is nine hours into a twelve hour shift that she already knows will bleed well into thirteen by the time she completes her charting. Another long shift full of broken bones and stomach pains with the occasional heart murmur thrown into the mix. Her feet were killing her, her back was sore, and there were bags under her eyes.
The ED wasn't always intense and chaotic, sometimes it was repetitive and consistent and she found herself enjoying both aspects, as tiring as it could be. It was draining sometimes. Okay, most of the time, but she knew that deep down, beneath all of the stress and exhaustion, there was a passion for medicine that continued to drive her.
She found herself finally off her feet at one point, seated at a desk, Santos and Whittaker each snacking on a protein bar next to her. She can't remember when she ate last - maybe breakfast if she counts the burnt toast she choked down on her drive in.
Samira groans in frustration as she tries to chart, her fingers moving aimlessly across the keys while her head tries to keep up. A snack wrapped in foil appears in front of her face.
"Take a break today?" Trinity asks and drops the bar on the keyboard. Samira pushes it aside in annoyance. "I'd like to be able to just finish my charting so I can actually get out of here when my shift ends," she says and it comes out much harsher than she intends.
Thick skinned as ever, Santos shrugs it off. "Someone needs to chill… when was the last time you took time off?"
"I'll take time off when I'm no longer a resident."
Dana passes by, busying herself with some charts a few feet away. "Gotta make time for you, Mohan. Find a way to decompress to make sure you don't burn out."
Santos nods in agreement. "Get a hobby, read a book, listen to new music like huckleberry here," she pats him on the back, chuckling. "Right, funky white boy?"
"Or you could just have a frequent visitor…" he mumbles, earning a slap to the shoulder from Trinity who looks around to make sure no one heard. She lowers her voice. "He's not wrong though, when was the last time you got laid?"
Samira's eyes bug out at her question. She thinks back… was it grad school? A drunk and disappointing half hour with a friend of a friend on the night she turned 23. She's about to be 31. "Not that long ago," she answers.
"What's not that long?" Trinity pries.
"A year," Samira lies through her teeth.
There's a low whistle from Whittaker. "That's a long time without any," he says lowly and Samira glares at him.
"Nothing like a good lay to turn your brain off," Trinity winks.
"I barely have time to take care of myself, let alone manage a relationship."
"Who said anything about a relationship?" Santos scoffs.
"Wow," Samira sighs. "I really do not want to talk about my sex life at work."
Dana walks back over. "Good, because we have an incoming trauma."
Samira hustles into Trauma 1, Santos by her side, and finds Dr. Abbot already working over the patient, three nurses by his side. "Here early today, Dr. Abbot?" Santos asks as she puts her gloves on.
Dr. Abbot shrugs his broad shoulders, eyes locked on the ultrasound running over the patients torso. "You know me, can't stay away."
"What do we have?" Samira asks.
"Patient is a woman in her twenties, arrived via EMS after high-speed vehicle accident. Sustained multiple injuries to the jaw and neck, including a crushed mandible and significant oral hemorrhaging," Princess explains.
"No internal bleeding that I can see here, Dr. Mohan. What do we do next?" Abbot asks and Samira looks over the patient.
"Intubation," she orders immediately. With clear respiratory distress and large amounts of blood, it was the obvious next step and Santos begins the procedure.
"I can't get a clear view," she says. "Vocal cords are blocked by blood."
"Oxygen is dropping," Princess informs them.
"Let's get a valve mask," Samira says next, looking to Dr. Abbot who has stepped back, giving her a nod of approval. When the valve mask doesn't seal due to the jaw fracture and her oxygen dips lower, Samira's confidence begins to waver.
"What's next, Dr. Mohan? How do we adapt?"
She thinks on her training. Cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate. Brain damage or cardiac arrest possible within minutes.
"Cricothyrotomy?" She doesn't give the order with confidence like the others, her voice is shaky and unsure. It's not a procedure done routinely, let alone something she's ever done outside of a lab.
Dr. Abbot nods, moving back over the patient. "Let's do it, Dr. Mohan."
When Princess arrives a minute later with the tray of necessary items, Samira stares at it and Dr. Abbot, sensing her hesitation, speaks up. "Have you done one before?"
She shakes her head. "No."
"I'll talk you through it."
She swallows and nods. "Okay."
"Palpatate the neck to find the thyroid cartilage and the cricoid cartilage below it."
She firmly rubs the patients neck until she locates the area he's described.
"Good, now stabilize it and make a four centimeter vertical incision over the membrane."
Holding the location with a firm grip, she picks up the scalpel and makes the first cut.
"Now a horizontal puncture through the membrane."
Another cut through a thicker layer.
"Use your pinky, make sure you're in."
Samira uses her left pinky and confirms. "I can feel the trachea."
Dr. Abbot hands her a bougie.
"Slide it along your finger until it's completely in the trachea."
She slides it in, feeling the thin material slide along her blood covered glove.
"Perfect," he says lowly, barely loud enough for her to hear.
He places his hand on hers and takes a size six endotracheal tube and threads it over the bougie and into the windpipe.
"Slowly remove the bougie," he orders, tone laced with concentration.
"Good, and inflate the cuff." Samira does and sees a perfect seal. She puts her stethoscope on over and listens to the patients lungs. "I have breath sounds."
"And oxygen is up," Dr. Abbot looks up and meets her eyes, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. "Great work, Dr. Mohan."
That night in bed, instead of researching new medical procedures and things that would actually help her career, she delves into new research she'd looked at sporadically in the past, a second glass of wine in hand.
Her conversation with Trinity hadn't stopped replaying in her head.
Nothing like a good lay.
So it had been a while since she'd been with someone. It's not a big deal. Truly, Samira didn't want a relationship - her primary focus was her work and that's exactly where she wanted it. But even she could recognize that there was some intimacy missing in her life. Over the last year she'd grown closer to Trinity and Victoria, even spent time with Cassie, but those relationships were nothing more than platonic.
She'd been on dates with guys she'd met on apps and none of them were even worth a kiss, let alone a night in her bed, so she'd given up on dating as a whole and looked into alternatives. Which is how she found herself on a new website:
Bond and Bound
She scrolls through, dark backdrops with gray and red writing. Simple, clean text with no images, just pure information.
About
A private, members only BDSM/kink centric lifestyle club. Discreetly located in downtown Pittsburgh.
A better alternative to swiping - meet real humans and share real conversations. We're built around connection. Partners and singles are welcome.
Safe. Sane. Consensual.
Memberships
Apply here.
Get approved pending background check.
Attend an event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there pressure to do anything?
Absolutely not. Observe, flirt, or play. What you choose to do is up to you. Anything that is outside respectful behavior is addressed quickly.
Are cell phones allowed?
Cell phones and any other recording devices are taken upon arrival and are strictly prohibited on the premises.
How should I dress?
In general, we recommend you "dress to impress." Please remember to be wearing street legal clothes when outside, including our patio area.
Do you provide alcohol?
While we do have a full bar, members may be cut off at any time if our employees feel that is the best option for the safety of all members.
Maybe it's the large glass of Pinot she had, but the excitement of showing up to something like this has Samira filling out the application eagerly.
She types in all of her info, provide photos of her license, and attaches her most recent STD panel.
And she waits.