Jack Hunter was in unfamiliar territory as he stood at the head of the table in one of the hospitals senior offices. These offices were usually only used if the board were having a meeting or if there was a big operation coming up where a very thought out plan was needed for the surgical team.

He looked around the table and saw Lee and Carly looking at him with suspicion whilst Summer and Charlie looked at him wide eyed and entertained, like they were back in their medical school classroom. Chris was also sitting there with a similar look on his face. He couldn't really judge what Mark's expression meant and Shinsuke seemed to be sleeping with his head planted firmly on the table. He had just finished working overnight after all, so Jack decided to start without him.

"You're probably all wondering why you're here" He began. "But I assure you, this is important"

"Look, if this was about the dancing, I swear we didn't mean to see anything" Charlie raised his hand but spoke up without being prompted anyway.

"What? No" Jack shook his head, not really sure what the youngster was talking about. "I've called this meeting here because I need your help. All of you"

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" Carly joked.

"I need your help" Jack said without hesitation. He needed them to know that he meant business.

"What's going on?" Lee asked, remaining as professional as ever.

Jack turned on the projector that was sat on the table and brought the audience's attention to the screen on the wall that showed a smiling little girl. She had shoulder length blonde hair and thick green eyes. A face that defined innocence.

"Aww she's so cute" Summer beamed.

"Who is she?" Mark asked for everyone.

"This is Hannah Black" Jack told them. "She's five years old and was brought in this morning"

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Chris.

"She was brought in by her parents after they realised that she wasn't going to the bathroom anywhere near as much as she normally does. She's also got a rather low temperature and seems to be constantly out of breath, even when just lying down. Her blood pressure is low and it's starting to clot in several different places" Explained Doctor Hunter.

"So what does that mean?" Asked Carly, all joking finished on her part.

"Yeah, I haven't seen that before" Charlie nodded.

"She's also covered in bruises as a result of this" Jack added, as if that would answer their questions.

"I still don't get it" Mark told him.

"Sepsis" Lee muttered before anyone else could speak up.

"Bingo" Jack pointed to Doctor Dawson, although he knew Lee didn't really want to be right on this occasion.

"What is sepsis?" Asked Chris, hoping that despite being the only non qualified medical professional in the room, he wasn't the only one that wanted to know.

"Formerly or more commonly referred to as septicaemia" Jack began, "Sepsis is a condition that can arise when the body reacts the wrong way to infection and begins attacking its own tissues, cells and organs. She already had a poor immune system and suffers from diabetes, and recently suffered a kidney infection which I believe has led to this"

"Can we treat it?" Asked Charlie.

"We can, but we need to act fast. It's already been too long for her and much longer could see her spiral into septic shock, which will cause all of her organs to fail".

"How serious is it? For her?" Lee asked, remaining impassive.

"The risk of death from a condition like hers is about thirty per cent" Jack said grimly. "If she goes into the shock, it could be as high as eighty, and with a medical history as poor as hers, I don't think she'd make it"

"Well what are we waiting for!?" Summer cried, shooting up from the table. "We have to help that little girl!"

"I called you all in here because I've been watching you all" Jack told her. "This is our ward and that girl's future lies in our hands. You all bring a special quality to this team and I need you all in on this"

"Name it" Carly told him, joining Jack and Summer in standing up. "You're the boss"

"I'm in too" Charlie piped up.

"Of course you are, you have to be" Mark chuckled. Ignoring them, Jack began again with his commands.

"Doctor Wilson, you specialise in paediatrics and so you're going to take every note that you need to take from her and her family. Nothing isn't important do you understand?"

"Yes sir" Mark saluted his general after he also climbed to his feet.

"Doctor Dawson and I will study his data and decide on the right doses for her. She's going to need plenty of antibiotics and intravenous fluids and because of her young age, we need to get the treatment completely accurate. We'll get her transferred to the ICU just in case as well. I've seen this before and it doesn't waste any time in taking a hold. Chris, you know what to do. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep her parents as informed and as calm as possible. As bad as it sounds, this is serious and we can't afford for them to get in the way"

"You got it. I'll go now and get a head start" He suggested. Jack nodded and Chris dashed out of the room.

"Doctor Dolan, Harrington" He moved on to the newest doctors. "I don't believe I'm saying this but you two are the most approachable doctors we have here. I hate kids and they hate me. Same goes for Doctor Dawson. She won't respond to me the way that she would to you two and so once Lee and I have agreed on a treatment plan, I want you to be the ones that do the heavy lifting"

"Are you serious?" Charlie asked in awe.

"You both need to learn, and despite everything, this is a massive task for you. Show me that you both belong here. Carly, you have a similar . . . etiquette to those two so I want you to be her nurse, twenty-four seven. No one knows how she's going to react to the medication and we need someone there at all times. If you need to leave for any reason, i trust that you will find the most capable nurse to take over. Everybody clear?"

"Uh sir?" Charlie squealed.

"Yes?"

"What about Shinsuke?" Doctor Dolan pointed over to the, now drooling and snoring, Doctor Nagatomo.

"He's not supposed to be here"

"What?" Mark huffed.

"Yeah, he was here when I got here. Already asleep. We'll just have to leave him. We have work to do" Jack shrugged before brushing them all out of the room.

On the way out, everyone dispersed into whatever direction their task needed them to go in, but Lee cornered Doctor Hunter first.

"Hey Doctor Hunter, I'm not here to complain about this little operation of yours or anything. I just want to say thanks for keeping me in the background. I hate dealing with cases like this. I've never found it easy dealing with sick kids" He whispered, not wanting any more of his colleagues to hear this guilty confession.

"I know" Jack smirked.

"What? You know? How? How do you know that?" Lee was flabbergasted. Carly was really the only one who he'd spoken to about his disdain for children.

"I know because . . . I'm just like you" Jack winked before progressing down the hall with everyone else.

After the initial shock of what had just happened had worn off, Lee found that he was able to smile, even just for a few seconds, during this dark and uncertain time at the hospital.

*

The team all got on with their tasks without any fuss. They all felt that regardless of their personal opinions, the life of this young girl took precedence over everything else.

Whilst Summer and Charlie moved the girl and made her as comfortable and as happy as possible, Chris sat down with the worried family and explained what was going to happen next. Mark joined him and interrogated them until their exhaustion prevented them from saying any more.

From these notes, Lee and Jack spent almost half an hour debating on what would be a safe yet effective dose for Hannah to take and remain anything resembling comfortable.

Once Lee reached Carly to drop off his recommendation, he saw that she was grimacing and holding her forehead.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm fine, I just feel a little bit . . . blugh" She didn't know how else to describe whatever ailment she was suffering from.

"Is it because of the case? Hannah? Or CSI last night?" Lee laughed.

"No I don't think it's anything like that, although both of them probably aren't helping. I threw up this morning" She sighed.

"I didn't know, I'm so sorry" Lee wrapped his arms around her, making sure not to hug her too tightly in case she decided to regurgitate again.

"I managed to drown out my vomit-induced howls by turning the shower on. I didn't want to ruin breakfast"

"And that's why I love you" Lee laughed. Reluctantly, Carly did too.

"I'll be ok though, this is nothing compared to what Hannah is going through"

"Here's the dosage" Lee handed her a manila folder. "Make sure Charlie and Summer get this and administer it as quickly as possible. I don't want to even think about what will happen if we screw this up"

"I know. She's five years old, Lee" Carly couldn't wrap her head around this. Although she'd treated several children in her career so far, none of them were this close to death. If Hannah died then she didn't know if she'd ever be able to put on her scrubs again.

"If you need a minute, I can take them to the kids" Offered Lee.

"I'm fine, honestly. I'll feel a lot better once we get an idea how she's progressing" Carly replied, forcing down her queasiness and shaking off whatever was dragging her down.

"You and me both. Go get 'em" Lee encouraged, trying not to show how nervous he really was.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Man this was a tough chapter to write. I found it so uncomfortable writing about a sick child but as is often the case with these stories, I wanted to remind the reader how difficult a job that a doctor or nurse really could have. If I can barely write about this, how could I ever treat one? They really have my ultimate respect!

Apart from all that, what did you guys think about the chapter? For me this is a rare opportunity to show off everyone's character development at the same time.

Once I sent the staff out to do their different jobs, I decided to insert the song "Hero" by Skillet. It's one of my all time favourite songs by one of my all time favourite bands. It also fits in perfectly with the thoughts running through everyone's heads whilst they are trying to save Hannah. I also thought that the rhythm of the song really shows the urgency of what they are doing.

If you even slightly agree, or just don't hate me for writing this chapter, please vote and comment your thoughts.

Now quickly head to the next chapter yelling "GET WELL SOON HANNAH!"