Taking Sides

"George, can you just listen to your son? Why aren't you saying anything about it?" Doctor Escobar asked George for some support. 

Sadly for him, it looked like George was ready to take sides with Derek. The look on George's face says it all. He might not have uttered a word, but he managed to send a message across that Doctor Escobar understood perfectly fine. He needed no one to explain further.

"What a show of disgrace. Just when I thought you'd be different from your brother. You turned out worse," Escobar hissed and walked away.

Derek wasn't bothered by the gesture towards him. He would rather focus on the issue that brought him to the hospital.

"Derek, that was rude. 

After this conversation, you need to apologize to the Doctor. I didn't raise you to be that rude," George demanded and Derek obeyed without any argument. Even on his sick bed, he still has some sort of authority over Derek. 

"I just found out about Dexter's arrest from one of the nurses. Why haven't you done anything about it? And why did no one tell me?" Derek went straight to the point without beating around the bush.

However, for the sake of George's health, Derek decided not to speak with a harsh tone to avoid worsening his Father's health issue.

Doctor Escobar kept mumbling like a lost soul as he returned to other wards to check up on other patients who were admitted to the hospital. After a few minutes with them, he was already acting funny. He ends up making mistakes every second.

His attitude didn't go unnoticed by some of the nurses who were with him. When Doctor Escobar saw that he wasn't getting it right, he decided to walk away to avoid embarrassing himself. 

As he approached the reception, the first person he saw was Nurse Elizabeth. She was trying to go into hiding. Unknown to her, Doctor Escobar saw her first.

They both shared a telling look like Elizabeth stood still, waiting for the worst to happen. Her legs were intact, yet she was unable to leave.

After the constant stare, Doctor Escobar finally spoke. "See me in my office this minute," he didn't even wait to hear from Elizabeth before walking away.

Where Elizabeth stood, she wasn't seeing herself as a human anymore. A part of her went missing that she couldn't fathom.

Without going to see Doctor Escobar, Elizabeth was already aware that he wanted to discuss Dexter's arrest. It even got worse now that Derek has discovered that Elizabeth was the one who ordered the arrest. Now she risks losing her job. 

You just gotta go see him. You can't escape this," one of the nurses passing by told Elizabeth.

It was meant to piss Elizabeth off but instead, it gave her some sort of strength and confidence to face her fears.

With an open heart, she dashed to Escobar's office unannounced. The pressure has eaten her up to the point where she didn't knock was a good idea.

"You sent for me sir,"

Elizabeth said and faced the ground. She placed both of her hands behind her.

"Be seated," Doctor Escobar ordered. That was quite unlike him.

"Sir, you said what?

Sorry, I didn't hear you the first time,' Elizabeth spoke with fear. It was strange for her to hear Doctor Escobar speak in such a manner, especially when it was obvious that she was in serious trouble.

"You are not going to make me repeat myself, are you? If you aren't ready to sit, feel free to keep standing or leave my office. I got other important business to tend to," Escobar got furious.

It was at that moment that Nurse Elizabeth knew that he wasn't kidding the first time. Immediately, she sat down. However, a few traits proved that she wasn't comfortable. She just couldn't wait for Doctor Escobar to be done with the conversation before she developed high blood pressure.

Do you love your job?" That was the first question that the Doctor asked after she sat down.

"Of course, sir.

More than anything in this world," Nurse Elizabeth admitted with a faint tone. It took her a while to respond. She needed to be certain of her response before it got her into bigger trouble.

"I see.

Then why haven't you made plans to withdraw the charges against Dexter? Why fold your arms and watch him spend more nights in detention?" Escobar queried Nurse Elizabeth. On the left side of his desk lies a brown envelope, and Nurse Elizabeth hasn't gotten her eyes off it. She had every reason to believe that it was her sack letter. 

That's not true boss.

You won't understand," She started to speak in her defense.

It didn't take too long for Doctor Escobar to interrupt her. "Shut the fuck up! Do you know how influential his Family is? I get the point now. You are quite relaxed because his Father hasn't made a move yet?'"

"Sir, you just need to listen to me. I did speak to my boyfriend to release Dexter immediately, and he refused. I even had to fake a pregnancy to make him scared. He still refused to listen to me. I have a feeling that he's got a personal beef with Dexter," Nurse Elizabeth explained without a pause because she knew that Doctor Escobar might not give her another chance to speak further. She didn't hesitate to make the best of the opportunity. 

This is insane. 

Who does he think he is?" Doctor Escobar fumed at Nurse Elizabeth. He wished to go back into George's ward and discuss the issue. The only reason he had a change of decision was Derek. He wasn't ready to be disrespected by Derek for the second time. 

"Do you know the address of the station where Dexter was arrested?" Escobar asked as he began to dip deeper. 

He wasn't doing this for Dexter's sake. He never liked Dexter for once. He was just trying to protect the image of his hospital. He wouldn't want the public to find out about what is in his hospital. It might lead to the revocation of his medical license or the closure of the hospital.

Of course, I do. 

I will just forward it to your phone immediately. Do allow me a few minutes to get it done," Nurse Elizabeth urged. She didn't hesitate to send that address. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to redeem herself again and also save her job.