Trauma Center belongs to Atlus.

This is set after my AU: Pathogenic War.


Do You Trust Me?

"Sorry, excuse me…" Derek spoke as he pushed his way through security and towards what he could only assume was a barricaded door. Angie had paged him and brought the surgeon to the ward from his break before he had been informed on what was going on. He had managed to persuade his patient to have an operation, it had taken a while to persuade and multiple opinions was called before the patient finally agreed. "What's the situation?" Derek asked nurse Sally who was standing by the door.

"While prepping Mr. Edwards for his operation he freaked and locked himself in the room," Sally admitted to Derek, turning her attention on the surgeon. "How you managed to get him to agree for an operation is beyond me…"

"Alright, everyone just be quiet for a moment!" Derek called and silenced everyone. With everyone now quiet he gently knocked on the door and spoke, "Mr. Edwards, can you please open up?" Derek asked calmly. Mr. Edwards was already stressed coming to Hope Hospital but as his conditioned worsened his wife brought him in.

"Doctor Stiles…I can't do it…" Mr. Edwards spoke from the other side of the door.

"Do you mind if I came in? You can barricade the door, is that okay?" Derek asked and started to hear shuffling from the room.

"Just you…okay?" The panicked voice spoke up.

"Just me, I promise." Everyone waited outside as they heard furniture being moved from the room and the door opening slightly. Derek caught the wide eyes from Mr. Edwards and shuffled around the door and slid into the room before being roughly shoved to the side so Mr. Edwards could barricade the door once more, trapping the pair of them inside. "Can everyone out there please return to your stations? I'd like one member of security out there to redirect others who may try and come into the room."

Derek really hoped that everything outside was okay and none of his other patients needed his immediate attention while he handled this situation. He had left Caduceus with Angie after the eradication of G.U.I.L.T and returned to Hope Hospital. It wasn't that didn't like working at Caduceus but he felt that they only noticed him because he successfully treated a G.U.I.L.T patient. So much had come out from his time working there, his past came to light and his connection to the parasites, his own parasite that lived inside of him, the fusion…but something he missed was his interactions with the patients. The building of trust between doctor and patient was Derek's favourite part of his job. Right now his patient needed him.

Mr. Edwards, a 45-year old male with short black hair, pale skin and average height and weight. He came into Hope hospital with a tumour on his stomach, Derek had worked hard to get Mr. Edwards to sign the consent forms for the operation. While that had been a success, Derek himself knew that things wouldn't go smoothly as he would have liked the closer the allotted time for the operation approached. Mr. Edwards got more and more agitated and finally exploded and sealed himself in the room.

"How can you be so calm?" Mr. Edwards asked Derek as he noticed how calm the surgeon was. Derek simply watched, pondering to himself how to approach this sticky situation. "You don't know what it's like…the fear of never waking up from an operation…I just can't do it…I have a fa-" He stopped when Derek held his hand up signalling for him to quiet.

"Just take a few deep breaths please?" Derek spoke calmly and smiled when Mr. Edwards started to take in deep breaths. "As for why I'm calm is because I will do everything in my power to make sure you do wake up after the anaesthetics have worn off. I've removed multiple tumours from a variety of patients and overcome any complications that can rise."

"Still…I'm scared of going under…"

"I was too when I had multiple operations performed on me. I know what it feels like to place your life in someone else's hands and it's a scary thought," Derek spoke gently as he leant against one of the walls and knew that he had his patient's attention. He knew he had to continue, "I was at a conference when I still worked for Caduceus. During the conference there was an outbreak of G.U.I.L.T and I treated one of the infected patients. The mask I used was laced with G.U.I.L.T and infected directly. Instead of one strain though, I had all seven strains. I'm aware that this isn't remotely similar to your case but hopefully you'll get the message." He paused for a moment, allowing Mr. Edwards to digest the information Derek had given him. It seemed to have worked and calmed him down, but he had paled at the thought. He was around during the G.U.I.L.T pandemic and saw how it terrorised others.

"What…happened?" He felt himself as the doctor, his surgeon.

"It took what felt like weeks…operation and then recovery before another operation, rinse and repeat until my body became G.U.I.L.T free. They informed me that complications rose and they handled it professionally. They held my life in their hands and they treated it well. I wouldn't be around if it weren't for the pair of them."

"You're lucky…" Mr. Edwards commented as he looked down at himself. He heard Derek come over and offer his hand.

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked.

"You sound like a brave man…I trust you," Mr. Edwards put on a brave face and took Derek's hand.


Thanks for reading~