#aseconddatefic

Matthew:

Grace:

Their relationship dynamic:

My hand slowly made its way to her chest, feeling her heartbeat as it vibrated through her skin. It felt stronger than last time I had checked, to my relief. I started slowly removing the cables, and unpeeling the ecg pads, before removing the pulse ox and pressure cuff.

There were three pads left on her chest; one on her right clavicle, another on the left, and the last was just below her left breast. I intended to keep monitoring her until she was awake. I closed her patient gown around the front, and gently lifted her into my arms.

We left the room, climbing two sets of stairs until we arrived in my room. I set her down gently on my bed, before I pulled open a drawer of my bedside table. Inside was a handheld heart monitor with the leads attached, an ambu bag, and a grey Sprague. I quickly attached the leads to the pads already on Grace’s chest.

The monitor showed a sinus rhythm of 61bpm. She was probably close to awakening soon. I pulled a blanket over her and sat beside her, gently rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand. I felt myself succumb to slumber, as I shifted myself to lay down beside Grace.

“Matthew?...Matthew! Wake uuuuuuup!” I was stirred from my sleep as soft hands shook my shoulders. I opened my eyes. Grace was looking at me, pouting a little. Damn it, she’s adorable. I sat up, “Huh...Is everything ok?”

Grace stuck her tongue out at me, before whining “I’m huuuuungry!” I checked my watch. 8:35pm. Shit. I looked up at her again. “Does pizza sound good?”

She nodded. That was all the invitation I needed before I grabbed my phone and put in a quick delivery order. It would be here in 20 minutes. I walked over to my wardrobe before pulling out a hoodie and tossing it over to Grace. “Here, put this on, it’s warmer.”

While Grace got changed, I took the opportunity to head into the bathroom with my own change of pyjamas. I left my scrubs and coat on the floor, I’ll do the laundry later. Grace had stepped out into the hallway as I left the room. My hoodie swamped her smaller frame, hanging down to above her knees. She’s just so cute. The small monitor was tucked away in the front pocket.

I led her back into the living room, before turning the tv on. A knock was heard at the door. I handed the remote to Grace before rushing to get the pizza. I sat beside her, watching as she picked a British drama series.

We sat together, munching pizza and getting absorbed in the plot of the tv show. Grace shuffled into my lap once we had our fill, leaning her head on my chest. I glanced down at her, feeling the familiar sensation of butterflies once again. There was just something about this whole moment that felt so right.

Grace had soon picked up on this. “Matthew? Your heartbeat is a bit fast. Are you alright?” Oh shit, the butterflies were in full swarms now. She leaned up so our faces were level. “Matthew? Is something wrong?”

Oh fuck. She’s just so wonderful, just sat here with me and listening to my heart. I think I’m in love, I can’t even think straight. Fuck, infinite monkeys with typewriters could probably write Shakespeare faster than I can even find the words to convey how I feel. I have to just show her.

One of my hands slowly cupped her cheek, before the other one made its way to her waist. I tilted my head and leaned in close to her, before softly pressing my lips on hers. A barely audible moan escaped her as she kissed me back, running her fingers through my hair while the other hand felt my heart.

I leaned back so Grace was on top of me, our soft panting escaping our mouths in unison. Her hips rolled back and forth on mine. I could hear the heart monitor, beeping away as it gave away Grace’s fast heart. Oh Fuck...I need her...I love her. My hand slowly slid up under the hoodie, feeling her bare skin pulse rapidly from the life-giving organ underneath. Oh Grace...

She broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against mine. “Mmm, what was that for? That kiss felt so different...Not that I mind.” I ought to tell her. I struggled to get my words out. “Grace....A-Ah....I wa-...I would like to— Ah f-fuck, I...I-ireallywannabeyourboyfriend!”

Grace stared at me with her mouth agape. I hid my face under my free hand. Tears started streaming down my face. Fuck! What if I messed up? What if Grace is just content with how things are now? I’ve fucked up the one good thing I had now! My hand was suddenly brushed away.

Grace reached for my cheek, gently wiping my tears away. “Oh Matthew...” She pulled me in for a kiss. It was slow and soft, like mine. I whimpered a little bit, nervously anticipating rejection. She smiled as her lips left mine, before they trailed down my jaw line. They stopped at my ear, as she whispered to me.

Grace’s chest creaked as I worked on beating her heart between her sternum and spine. Her shoulders pulled inward while her abdomen puffed outward during every pump.

I could feel every contour of her body under mine through my scrubs and coat. My stethoscope was hung over my shoulders, swinging with every beat delivered to Grace’s heart. A bulge was forming between my legs, stimulated by rubbing against Grace constantly. Fuck, not now!

I hopped off of her, and gave her more air from my own mouth. I reached for the ambu-bag, deciding that it was better looking. I decided to start announcing everything I did aloud, as if Grace had coded and I was in a team working on her little heart. “No good, I’m bagging her!” I yelled, before I strapped the mask over her face.

The compressions continued once more as I circulated the oxygenated blood around her body. Another 3 cycles were delivered, with no change to her lack of cardiac rhythm. “Doctor Phillips, she’s not getting better! Damn it! Give her some Epi, stat!”

I reached for a syringe of epinephrine, and deposited its contents into the iv line. “Administering Epi! Continue compressions!”

My hands returned to her chest once more, pumping her heart as the drug made its way through her body. A messy line wiggled on the screen of the patient monitor. “She’s in V-Fib! Charge paddles to 200J!”

I reached over to activate the defibrillator, hearing it whine as it gathered the necessary electricity. It beeped, and I grabbed the paddles hurriedly. Conductive gel was applied, and the paddles met Grace’s chest. “Everyone off! Shocking...Clear!”

I discharged the electricity, causing her chest to twitch hard. I looked to the monitor, her rhythm hadn’t changed from the scribble that ran across the screen. “She’s still V-Fib! Charge to 250J!” My hand reached for the dial and turned it up.

Time seemed to slow as I waited for the charge to finish. But there it was again, that beep. “Everyone off! ...Clear!” The paddles were held hard against Grace as the biphasic shock was released. She jerked, and fell as still as her heart.

“Fuck! She’s asystole! Doctor Phillips, we’re losing her! Start compressions!” I straddled her once more, using my body weight to add more force behind the pumps. I forced oxygen through her airway with the ambu-bag, before resuming my work on her heart.

Another 5 cycles had passed, but no changes had taken place. My arms were starting to hurt, I used the last of my strength to carry the LUCAS machine over to the table and strap Grace in. I set it to pump her chest hard and fast, and watched as it delivered force to her heart over and over.

I shook out my arms, trying to relieve them. Once I was sure I had enough strength in them, I rushed over to inject another Epinephrine. “Administering Epi! Come on Grace! Come back to us!”

The LUCAS was doing a fantastic job, and it had soon managed to get the drug through Grace’s veins fast enough. Her heart was quivering uselessly, shown as a chaotic line on the monitor. “She’s back in V-Fib! This has to be the one! Charge to 300J!”

The defibrillator squealed as the charge built up once more. The beeping tone was music to my ears as I snatched the paddles and held them aloft. “Alright everyone off? Clear!”

I pressed down on Grace’s chest once more with the paddles, holding her down as the current travelled through her quivering organ. I looked at the monitor once more.

Nothing...! A small peak appeared, followed by more. They were weak, my fingers felt her carotid just to make sure. Her heart was beating again. I swapped the ambu-bag for the ventilator, watching as my patient greedily gulped oxygen with deep breaths.

I took my stethoscope from my shoulders and pressed it to her apex. Her heart was slow, and quietly beating, but I had still brought her back. I stifled a yawn. It was best if I started unhooking all the monitors. I looked to the camera, which had been recording for god knows how long.

“This is Doctor Matthew Phillips. I have subjected Patient 0 to a number of cardio-centric experiments, and I am pleased with my findings. However, I will perhaps revisit these experiments in the future.”

I ended the recording, and set about removing the unhooking Grace from the monitors.

I returned to her side and embraced her, as I began running my fingers through her hair. Grace leaned closer to me,angling her head so it pressed against my heart. Damn it, she can hear it racing. If she wasn’t aware of the effect she had on me, my now stumbling heart was the biggest giveaway.

She softly chuckled, sending another wave of butterflies through me. Fuck, why is she so perfect? I could tell by the way she spoke that she had that smirk across her lips. “Well, somebody is certainly excited. Perhaps they would like to proceed with conducting more experiments?”. I’m certain that my heart skipped hard against her ear.

I was hesitant, however. “Grace, I don’t want to push you too hard like in our last session. I’m terrified of losing you. We’ll do one last experiment today, I’ll let you pick.” Grace looked up at me, before quietly nodding. “Okay, I’d like you to put me under anaesthesia before inducing fatal bradycardia”.

Sounded safe enough, I thought. I readied the necessary tools; a syringe of Atenolol, and the ventilator system with oxygen and Sevoflurane. Grace had laid back down again, watching me with a poker face. But her little heart was being broadcast around the room, and it became slightly rapid as soon as I wheeled the ventilator over.

“Nervous?” I murmured, reaching to touch her carotid with two fingers. She looked away. “Ah no...I...I kinda got a little turned on the last time you put me under. It was the feeling of placing myself completely into your hands”. My cheeks grew warm. Oh my...

My hands made quick work of the dials, turning them to the appropriate settings. I slowly reached for the thick rubber mask, making sure Grace could see it as it edged its way into her line of sight. She took a deep breath to calm herself, as one hand tilted her head back, whilst the other held the mask.

I wanted to drive up the suspense for her, now that I knew how she felt about being put under. My hand slowly descended, bringing the mask with it at an agonisingly slow rate, until it met with her soft skin around her airways. I held the mask tight to her face, causing her to moan slightly.

“There’s a good patient, you have nothing to fear while in Doctor Matthew’s capable hands”. I grasped the mask tighter, ensuring that no gas would escape. “Now breathe for me, nice and slow. Good girl, take another deep breath”.

Grace was having a hard time focusing, looking up at me with her doe eyes, her cheeks flushed slightly. I lowered my head to her ear, before talking quietly. “Can you feel your control ebbing away? You look so tired, just take another deep breath...That’s it, submit to me”.

Her eyes were now closed, and I reached over to switch to just oxygen. I glanced at the monitor, the beeps were slow and steady, at 56 beats per minute, slightly slower than her usual rate. I prepared the syringe full of Atenolol, ready to plunge it into her IV port. I took a moment to just take my eyes over Grace’s unconscious form. She was so beautiful, as her chest would periodically rise and fall at a snails pace.

I injected the drug, gently massaging up the vein to get it to her heart faster. The beeps of the monitor were getting more spaced out over time, as her heart succumbed to the Beta-blocker. The alarm signalling bradycardia sounded, as I hurriedly turned it off. I waited patiently as the beeps suddenly stopped.

A quick look at the patient monitor showed a flat line, signifying the endless silence in her chest. Time for the show to commence.

“Fuck! Don’t do this to me!” I cried out. Grace would need more than CPR to come back to me. I dragged the LUCAS machine from the corner, and set it up over her chest. Both of her arms were freed from their restraints and fastened to either side of the machine, before I set it to pump her chest hard and fast.

It was odd, watching her chest being compressed by something other than my own hands. I was mesmerised for a few seconds, before snapping out of it. I hurriedly set up an IV line in her forearm, and plunged a syringe of Epi through the line.

I watched the monitor anxiously, waiting for the Epi to work. A chaotic squiggle soon replaced the flat line; Grace was in V-Fib. My hands met the dials and buttons for the defibrillator; hurriedly setting it to charge to 200J, before I paused the LUCAS machine.

All I could do was wait for what felt like forever. The screaming tones of the defibrillator startled me, as I grabbed the paddles and discharged the current through Grace’s quivering heart. “Clear!” I yelled, though nobody was assisting me. There was a hard ‘THUNK’ as the muscle in Grace’s chest jerked in unison, throwing her upper body upwards before letting it fall with as much force.

I hesitated before looking to the patient monitor. A flat line started showing briefly, before a weak beat spiked on screen. The pulse was getting slightly stronger with each beat. I quickly listened to her chest to make sure. The slow but steady thumps were reassuring to me.

I retrieved an ambu bag from the crash cart, and secured it over her face. Grace could breath on her own, but I wanted to be sure. It felt like hours, squeezing and reinflating the bag over and over, watching as her chest rose and fell.

A soft chuckle prompted me to look down. Grace was awake, with her brown eyes half open. A smirk crept onto her soft lips, before she quietly spoke.

“Well, Doctor Matthew, I was right. You looked absolutely fucking hot doing that”.

She looked at me in confusion. I smiled before explaining to her. “I want to know how it sounds when the current passes through your heart.” Grace couldn’t help but bite her lip slightly.

I did a quick check of all the audio feeds before starting a new recording on the cameras. I explained that I was going to administer shocks of increasing strengths with the AED, going through 1J all the way to 200J, after which I would repeat the experiment with the defibrillator at the request of Patient 0.

I turned my attention to the AED, turning the dial down to 1J, before letting it charge. My finger slowly pushed the button, discharging the current through Grace’s chest, causing it to barely twitch.

I continued the cycle over and over. Set current, charge, clear. Each increment took longer to charge, giving me time to watch Grace as she reacted to each shock. We were soon at 100J, waiting for it to charge once more. The blaring tone alerted me to the AED’s readiness, prompting me to discharge the electricity.

Grace’s chest twitched as her back left the table before slamming down again. Her heart was beating rather hard and fast, a quick glance at the patient monitor told me that she had reached 155bpm, while my eyes skimmed over her chest, watching her heart slam visibly against the microphone.

I turned on the speaker, curious to hear how it sounded while the AED charged to 150J. Grace’s eyes met mine as she gasped quietly, enamoured with the sound of her racing organ. I was lost in the hard thumps, closing my eyes to take in the sound better. The shrill tone of the AED’s ready alert snapped me back to reality, as I pressed the button once more and listened to her heart.

BA-BMP *Thud*... BA-...BA-...BABMPBABMP

Oh fuck, it sounded so good. Grace’s breathing hitched as her heart faltered and sped up further. Fuck the experiment, I need to shock her with the paddles. I need it so badly. I hurriedly removed the AED pads from her chest, and set the defibrillator to charge to 200J. Grace bit her bottom lip, watching me as I grabbed the paddles and spread an even coating of conductive gel between them.

I pressed the paddles firmly against her chest, causing Grace to moan as the cold gel soothed the slight burns where the pads once were. I looked directly into her eyes, trying my best to appear serious. My thumbs slowly met the discharge buttons, causing Grace’s breathing to hitch again.

My tone of voice became low and sensual as I held the paddles hard against her chest. “Shocking at 200J. Clear!” I pressed the buttons, causing Grace’s upper body to jerk as the biphasic shock coursed through her heart.

The patient monitor indicated a series of skips as Grace’s heart recovered from the sudden shock. She looked up at me, panting as she uttered one word, “More.”

I obliged, as I waited for the defibrillator to charge again to 200J. It felt like a slow and agonisingly long period before the paddles were ready once more. I snatched them and slammed them onto Grace’s chest again, maintaining an air of professionalism for her pleasure.

“Shocking again at 200J! Everyone off! Clear!” Time seemed to slow down as the current caused Grace’s upper body to jerk upwards and slam down against the table. I watched the monitor as her heart stopped temporarily, only to give a weak spike before the line fell flat, as the shrill noise interrupted all thoughts.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

Oh fuck.