Still don't own Trauma Center characters. I just have a copy of the games.

CHAPTER TWO: THE OPERATION BEGINS

Derek arrived at the US branch of Caduceus as quickly as he (legally) could. He went directly to the operating room, where he saw Angie. Her skin was pale and was cold and clammy to the touch. Her eyes had glazed over, and she was hardly breathing. Derek laid his middle and index fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. He found one, but it was so weak that he hardly even recognized it as even existing until he felt the familiar "lub-dub, lub-dub" of the heartbeats.

As Derek observed his patient, he thought back on how critical she was of him at first, and how he saved the car crash victim from certain death with the Healing Touch. Then, a familiar voice brought him back to the present.

"Derek!" Dr. Hoffman said. "It's a good thing you're here. I don't know what I would do without you in a situation like this. We still need Dr. Weaver here, but I'm sure you can handle the majority of the GUILT yourself."

"Thank you sir," Derek said as he let go of his surgical glove with a snap. "I'm starting the operation."

BEGIN OPERATION

Dr. Stiles began with the Paraskevi. By carefully cutting the tapeworm-like creatures, he was able to get them under control. He then used the laser to stun each one, then quickly remove them, without the use of the Healing Touch. That had to wait for Savato.

"Hang in there, Angie," Derek said, "I don't want to lose you; not like this."

Derek sutured his initial incision, then made another closer to Angie's lungs. He injected the nanomachine into the Pempti's core several times, then primed the laser to combat the Pempti itself. After several rounds of laser fire on the babies, the Pempti was defeated. He then quickly eliminated the smaller Pempti bodies attacking Angie's nervous system.

Next was the Triti. These little buggers gave Derek a real headache at first, but he was able to figure out their patterns easily. When two thorns were only touching one triangle at the same time, the Triti would replicate. Also, the third thorn would vaporize into toxic gas if it was the only one left. By the time Derek had reached the Triti, Angie's bronchial tubes had nearly petrified. With quick action, Derek effortlessly restored Angie's breathing.

The next most immediate threat that Derek could handle on his own was the Tetarti. By quickly injecting the serum into their bodies several times, they were easily dispatched. The Deftera in Angie's spleen, on the other hand, were a different story. Derek had to be extremely careful in handling them, since the body depends on the spleen to get rid of waste. Dr. Stiles, however, was very skilled at eliminating Deftera, so they still were not much of a problem.

When Derek examined Angie's appendix, he was shocked to see that it had been overrun with Deftera. It would take too long to eliminate them all, so Derek had no choice but to perform and appendectomy. This was done very carefully, as Dr. Weaver had not yet arrived from Europe. Careful scalpel work and a steady hand kept Derek from cutting anything necessary. Since the appendix was not a vital organ, it was more practical to remove it than the Deftera infesting it.

Finally, there were the Kyriaki. These creatures created lacerations as they moved, and were very hard to hit with the scalpel at times. Derek still could not use the Healing Touch, because he was afraid that he would not be able to recharge it enough for when the time came to fight Savato. Quick suturing, an itchy trigger finger on the laser, and a sharp eye were Dr. Stiles' greatest allies in the battle with Kyriaki.

"Derek! I'm here!" a voice called from behind. It was Dr. Weaver. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," Derek said. "Let's finish this." After several rounds of web cutting, Savato was finally weak enough to begin attacking directly. Both doctors concentrated their lasers on the virus, and it's armor was quickly shattered. As Derek worked on killing Savato, Dr. Weaver was concentrating on restoring Angie's vitals. After a long operation, Savato went down for the count.

OPERATION COMPLETE

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Two hours later…

Angie Thompson was very groggy. She could hardly open her eyes at first, but slowly her strength returned.

"D… Derek? Nozomi? Dr. Hoffman?" she asked wearily.

"We're here, Angie," Dr. Weaver said. "It's alright now. You're safe."

"Thank you all so much," Angie said. Derek then embraced Angie, tears welling up in his eyes from relief.

"It'll be a while before you'll be out and about again, Ms. Thompson," Dr. Hoffman said, "but I expect a full recovery."

"Me too," Derek said.

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Author's note: Wow! Two chapters in two days! That's probably a record for me! Hope you liked the ending! I know I did, lol.