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At the medical center.
Pediatric ICU.
The surgery went off without a hitch, but things are still dicey. Whether Dr. Bailey's son, little George, pulls through and bounces back fully depends on if he can ditch the tube and breathe on his own.
Adam hangs out with Bailey for a bit, watching over the kid, then gets ready to bounce. No surprise—Bailey's pulling an all-nighter tonight.
"Meredith, what're you up to?"
Right then, Meredith wheels in a female patient.
"This is Elizabeth Archer. You've probably heard of her—she's Dr. Burke's patient and a faith healer," Meredith says, flicking those classic heroine eyes at Adam and Bailey with total sincerity. "Hold the judgment, okay? Let her try her faith healing on little George. Maybe we'll get a miracle ✨."
"…"
Adam glances at Cristina trailing behind, smirking like she's here for the drama. He's speechless.
Of course he knows Elizabeth Archer! She just showed up last night, but her rep's already blown up across the medical center—causing a bit of chaos, too.
She's a faith healer.
Even though her own coronary artery could rupture any second, needing a major incision surgery, she's zipping around the hospital—risking cardiac arrest—to "heal" patients with her mystical vibes.
"Ms. Archer, please," Bailey says, standing up, giving her the desperate-parent look she's so used to seeing from others.
Ugh, Adam thinks, sighing inwardly.
Poor parents, man. Bailey's a God-fearing woman, sure, but at work, she's all about hard science. Now, with her son's life on the line, she's tossing that out the window, pinning her hopes on a faith healer she'd normally scoff at.
"Of course, no problem," Elizabeth nods at Bailey, then turns to Adam. "You don't believe in me, do you?"
"Doesn't matter if I do," Adam says with a slight smile, impressed by her sharp read. "What matters is Bailey believes in you. Little George is in your hands."
"You're pretty open-minded," Elizabeth grins. "That's rare. I like it."
"Thanks," Adam chuckles. "I really hope you can bring the same magic you've used on other patients to little George."
"I think I will," she nods confidently. "Everyone's got chakra energy. All we need to do is follow its flow, balance it out in the body."
"Chakra energy?" Adam's mouth quirks. "That's what you're rolling with?"
"Yup! You know about chakra too?" Elizabeth's genuinely shocked now. "It's the perfect blend of mental and physical energy. Hardly anyone knows about this amazing power!"
"So that faith healing you pulled on Mr. Greenwood—was that actually Palm Sage Jutsu?" Adam asks, dead serious.
"Exactly!" Elizabeth's eyes light up as she stares at him. "Dr. Duncan, you know Palm Sage Jutsu?! Are you a believer too?"
"Nope," Adam shakes his head, forcing a straight face. "I've just heard it's this legendary trick—releasing your own chakra to mess with the patient's energy flow, healing internal and external wounds crazy fast."
"Dr. Duncan, you're seriously well-read," Elizabeth says, shaking her head. "Too bad you're not a believer—you'd be an incredible faith healer, bringing so much light to the world."
"…"
Adam stays poker-faced. He can't keep talking—he'll bust out laughing.
At first, he wasn't sure if her "chakra" was some Three Kingdoms reference or the ninja kind from Japan. Now he's certain.
Come on! Does she think he's never seen Naruto?
Chakra Palm Sage Jutsu? Really? Like putting your hands over someone's gonna spark special effects? It's 1999—Naruto just hit shelves in Japan. Barely anyone knows about chakra or Palm Sage Jutsu yet.
But that's no excuse to rip it off this blatantly!
He's half-tempted to drop "Dragon Life Reincarnation" and watch her jaw hit the floor—Naruto hasn't even gotten to that medical ninja move yet.
Still, it's freaky! Elizabeth's "Palm Sage Jutsu" has no glowy effects, but somehow, a bunch of patients have gotten better—total wild card stuff.
Take Mr. Greenwood. Guy was stuck in atrial fibrillation hell, blue alerts popping off in his room nonstop. Elizabeth swoops in, one hand above his forehead, one over his heart, pulls her "jutsu"—and bam, his heartbeat steadies without any emergency intervention.
Greenwood looked at her like she was God incarnate.
That's why Bailey's buying in. Even if this chakra jutsu's bunk, Elizabeth's got some next-level luck vibe going.
Yup—neither Adam nor Bailey truly buy it deep down. They chalk it up to her being a walking good-luck charm.
And that insane luck? It's exactly what little George—stuck in Schrödinger's recovery limbo—needs most.
Shift the odds from 50/50 to 100% with her lucky aura? All it takes is playing along, letting her do her harmless "jutsu." Why not?
"I need the full surgery rundown so I can tailor my healing vision for him," Elizabeth says, looking at Adam.
"Sure thing," Adam replies, glancing at Bailey before breaking down the procedure step-by-step.
"Got it," Elizabeth says when he's done. She struggles to stand, and Adam quickly grabs her arm to help.
"Thanks," she smiles, then, with Adam and Meredith steadying her, shuffles to little George's bedside. She leans over the tubed-up kid.
"I need you to hold her hand!" Elizabeth says, grabbing Bailey's hand and reaching for Tuck's, who's been sitting there, silent.
"Why?" Tuck resists.
His head's a mess—his son's hurt, and it's all because his wife's a workaholic, never home. Even when she is, she's holed up in the study, forgetting to lock the baby gate. Little George missed his mom, toddled in to grab a medical book like her, and got crushed by the shelf.
He's done. Divorce time.
"There's not enough energy here for him to heal himself," Elizabeth says with earnest guru vibes. "So I need you two to hold hands, pour in all your love. For these few minutes, try to forgive each other."
Bailey, the mom, stretches out her hand first.
"Can you do it?" Elizabeth asks Tuck.
Reluctantly, he takes Bailey's hand.
"Perfect. We're starting," Elizabeth says. "Your total, heartfelt love will boost his self-healing. Give it everything you've got."
She extends her hands over little George and kicks off her "Palm Sage Jutsu."
Anyone who believes in God shuts their eyes. Chakra might be heresy to the Big Guy upstairs, but no one cares right now.
Bailey and Tuck, Meredith—even Cristina, the ultimate pragmatist—close their eyes. She idolizes Bailey and, for her sake, sets aside her cynicism to pray for little George.
Adam's about to join in, eyes closing for a quick blessing, when he catches Elizabeth's gaze. She's smiling like, "I know you wanna laugh, but what's the harm? I'm not hurting anyone, right?"
Adam grins back and shuts his eyes.
She's way more likable than your average con-artist preacher, he'll give her that 😊.
(End of chapter)
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