Medical Center
Conference Room
The monthly patient mortality seminar was in full swing.
"Dr. Duncan still isn't here," Lexie muttered, glancing toward the door.
"Stop looking—he's not coming," Cristina said, lazily tossing a potato chip into her mouth. "Didn't you notice Sloan's MIA too? Bet the chief dragged them off to smooth things over.
Ugh, life sucks sometimes!
A perfectly good showdown, ruined!" 😒
"Cristina!" Meredith hissed, trying to rein her in. "We're all colleagues here—quit acting like it's a reality show. It's better if Adam and Mark don't duke it out. Don't forget the chairman's still in the hospital. If he caught wind of this, it'd put the chief in a tough spot."
"Tough spot? Pfft, why?" Cristina shrugged, always up for some chaos. "The chief's retiring soon anyway. Whether they fight or not, it's not his problem anymore.
And if it does go down, Sloan's the one who'd eat dirt.
Adam's got nothing to worry about—we don't need to sweat it."
"Don't be so sure…" Meredith trailed off, shaking her head.
"Don't be so sure? It's obvious—wait a sec!" Cristina started to argue but froze mid-sentence, whipping her head toward Meredith. "Hold up, do you know something I don't?"
"I don't know anything," Meredith said, eyes glued to the doctor presenting onstage.
"Nah, you definitely know something," Cristina said, slipping into full detective mode. "You said 'don't be so sure.' I only said two things: one, if it blows up, Sloan's toast—which we all know is a lock, no doubt about it.
So the only other thing you could mean is the chief retiring…
Did he tell you something?
Is he not retiring anymore?"
Say what you will, Cristina's double PhDs weren't for nothing. One offhand comment from her bestie, and she'd already cracked the case. 🕵️♀️
"Shh!" Meredith slapped a hand over Cristina's mouth. "It's just a hunch, okay? Nothing's set in stone—don't go spreading it!"
"So the chief's actually thinking about it?" Cristina shot her a look, signaling to let go. Once Meredith did, she leaned in close and whispered, "Spill."
"Maybe…" Meredith hedged. "He's only in his early fifties, still in great shape, and one of the best surgeons here—well, among the best. He only wanted to retire because his wife was pushing him.
But now… you know how things are. It's not weird he's second-guessing it."
This all came from a private chat the chief had with Meredith after her patient mix-up. He'd let his guard down, hinting at his real feelings.
See, he'd never been keen on retiring. His wife had kicked him out, and after some soul-searching, he figured he'd owed her too much over the years. So he'd planned to step down, travel the world with her, maybe even start a family.
Uh, yeah—kids.
All these years, the chief had been obsessed with hospital admin and surgery, never making time for a family. He was over fifty now, and his wife was in her forties, but she'd always wanted kids—he knew that.
He didn't love the idea of her being an older mom, but if she insisted, he was willing to roll the dice. He figured he still had it in him.
So, feeling all inspired, he rushed home to surprise her. Except she opened the door in her pajamas, didn't even let him in, and—get this—there was a strange guy's voice inside.
"You're too late," she'd said, no filter. "I waited twenty-plus years, gave you an ultimatum, then waited another month. Did you think I'd just keep waiting forever? I'm almost fifty—I don't have time to waste!"
The chief wanted to blow up, but then he thought about it: his affairs, barely being home, making her book time with him through his secretary, never giving her the kid she wanted…
He sighed, turned around, and left. He got why she'd done it.
But now his retirement plan was a mess. Go home to what? He'd already announced he was stepping down, and his four attendings were already jockeying for position. Without a solid excuse, he couldn't just say, "Nah, I'm staying."
So he was torn. While chewing out Meredith—whom he saw as a daughter—he couldn't help but let some of his real thoughts slip. She picked up on it.
"Huh, makes sense," Cristina said, nodding but staying quiet for once.
"Dr. Duncan's here," Lexie piped up.
"Over here!" Cristina waved him over.
Adam slid into the seat they'd saved for him, flashing an apologetic smile at the attending onstage. "Sorry about that—carry on."
Ahem! The chief, lingering by the door, cleared his throat.
Every head that'd swiveled toward Adam snapped back to the stage. Though, judging by their darting eyes, their minds were elsewhere.
No surprise there.
Adam Duncan vs. Mark Sloan.
Word had spread like wildfire through the hospital. The conference room was packed to the gills—everyone who could show up did, all here for the drama.
Who cared about the actual seminar?
The chief saw it, grabbed the mic from Chief Resident Callie, and called Mark Sloan up to present.
All eyes locked in—showtime.
Mark took the stage, droning through his patient death case like he was reading a script. Then he shot an awkward glance at the chief and Adam before switching gears, using Adam's take on it.
"…So that's my latest takeaway. Next time I get a patient like this, I'll try this new approach—could've changed everything. Gotta give a shoutout to Dr. Duncan for the inspiration. Guy's as talented as they say…"
By the end, his half-hearted praise doubled as a white flag. Once he said it, the tension in him melted away, and he looked… chill about it.
No big deal. First to fold, but not the last.
Clap clap clap!
The chief led the applause. Adam followed, then everyone else joined in. The room buzzed with a cheerful vibe.
Couldn't not be cheerful—the chief was up there glaring, scanning the crowd like a hawk. 👀
"Well said, Dr. Sloan!" the chief boomed into the mic, eyeing everyone. "What's the point of these seminars?
To learn from mistakes, brainstorm, and grow together!
But somewhere along the line, that got twisted. People started showing up with non-academic agendas, waiting for a chance to tear into someone, attack for no reason…"
At that, Adam and Meredith both slid their eyes toward Cristina.
Yep, talking about you!
"What?" Cristina squirmed, shrinking into her seat. "It's not like I started it… Just listen to the chief!"
Adam and Meredith shared a quiet laugh.
The chief kept going.
"…We're doctors, not gods—we're not perfect!
You go after someone today, they'll come for you tomorrow.
Let's ditch this toxic cycle and get back to the basics: pure, no-BS academic discussion, no feelings attached.
Got a good idea? Speak up!
No pressure, no holding back!
Even you new interns—every one of you's got a legit medical degree. Who here isn't a rockstar in their own right?
Look at Dr. Duncan. Who'd dare say intern-era Duncan couldn't drop game-changing ideas that helped residents and attendings level up?
No one, right?
If we all focus on medicine—helping each other, growing together—we'll be the best teaching hospital in the U.S., maybe the world.
We've got one Dr. Duncan—why not a second?
This medical center's gonna shine bright, legends unlimited!"
Clap clap clap!
The applause roared again, just as loud but way more genuine this time.
The new interns especially were lit up, eyes blazing, all dreaming of being the next Duncan.
The chief let the clapping die down naturally. Easy enough—surgeons don't overdo it; those hands are too precious from all that scalpel work. Even the hyped-up ones tapered off quick.
The interns were the last to stop. Bet their supervising residents would chew them out later about protecting their hands.
"Dr. Duncan," the chief said, "I know you've got a ton of wild ideas but hold back to spare our egos.
Starting today, I want you to let loose at these seminars—say whatever's on your mind, no filter.
We all know what you're capable of, and we all want to keep improving.
Lifelong learning, right?
If we pick up something today, we might save a life today—no waiting for tomorrow.
Dr. Duncan, come on up.
Let's kick things off with my surgical case. Everyone, dig in—share the wins and the lessons."
"Together," Adam said, hopping up without hesitation.
For one, the chief was using himself as an example to let Mark save face. If even the boss was in on it, Mark's public backdown didn't sting so bad.
For two, this was the heart of the seminar: learn, brainstorm, grow.
It's what Adam had always wanted. Back in Alice Grey's open class, he'd begged Burke and others to dive deep into cases with him. But Burke wouldn't budge, and Adam didn't push—didn't want to ruffle feathers.
Now, with the chief leading the charge, Adam was all in. Time to take that step, spark real talks with the top dogs.
Once they got past the initial ego hiccups, it'd be pure medicine.
Win-win for everyone—especially the patients.
How great is that?
(End of Chapter)