Code blue romance: Episode 1 - First Day Nerves
The summer sun glinted off the skyscrapers of New York City, but Gisella Flores barely noticed. Her stomach was a tangled knot of excitement and nerves, a feeling mirrored perfectly in the expression of her best friend, Morgan, walking beside her.
"Manuel Hospital," Morgan read the sleek, silver letters on the massive glass building aloud, her voice a mix of awe and terror. "The top neurological center on the East Coast. We're actually here."
"Just breathe, Morg," Gisella said, squeezing her friend's arm. "We aced our exams, we nailed the interviews. We belong here."
At 22, fresh out of nursing school, they were about to start their internships. This was the big leagues. The hospital was a city within a city, a sprawling complex of wings and atriums that buzzed with an energy that was both intimidating and thrilling.
Their first stop was a large, sterile conference room for orientation. They weren't alone; a group of other new interns, a mix of nurses and junior doctors, filled the seats. It was there that they met Oliver. He had messy brown hair, a friendly, open face, and a smile that immediately put them at ease when he accidentally took the seat reserved for a senior consultant and had to be hastily redirected.
"Rough start," he whispered, sliding into the seat next to Gisella with a self-deprecating grin. "I'm Oliver. Nurse intern."
"Gisella. And this is Morgan. Also nurse interns," she replied, feeling an instant connection.
"Looks like we're the three musketeers of chaos," Morgan quipped, and just like that, a new trio was formed.
The orientation was a blur of HR policies, hospital layout maps, and stern warnings about protocol. But the main event was the introduction to the heads of the neurology department.
And that's when she saw him.
Dr. Taylan Vance entered the room, and the air shifted. He was younger than Gisella had expected, only 24, but he carried an authority that silenced the room. Dressed in a immaculate white coat over a dark suit, his sharp jawline was accentuated by the stylish glasses perched on his nose. His hair was perfectly styled, and yes, from even across the room, she could see the surprising softness of his pink lips. He was, without a doubt, the most devastatingly handsome man she had ever seen.
He didn't smile. He simply took the podium, his cool gaze sweeping over the new interns as if assessing a batch of new, and likely inferior, equipment.
"Welcome to Manuel Hospital," his voice was deep, clipped, and devoid of warmth. "Here, we deal with the most complex organ in the human body. There is no room for error. Sentimentality is a distraction. Excellence is the baseline. Remember that."
He spoke for five minutes, each word a chip of ice. He introduced his best friend and colleague, Dr. Jayden Miller, who stood beside him. Jayden offered a warm, contrasting smile and a joking, "Don't worry, he only bites if you mess with a patient's chart." The joke landed flat under Taylan's unwavering sternness.
As Taylan left the podium, his eyes briefly scanned the room. For a fleeting second, Gisella could have sworn his gaze landed on her. A shiver, equal parts fear and something else entirely, ran down her spine.
Later, assigned to the neurology wing for their first shadowing shift, the reality of their new jobs set in. The pace was frantic, the machinery beeped a constant symphony, and the doctors and senior nurses moved with a precise, urgent grace.
Gisella, determined to be the picture of competence, was tasked with delivering a patient's file to the head nurse's station. She focused, walking carefully in her new, slightly stiff shoes. She saw Dr. Taylan and Dr. Jayden walking towards her, deep in discussion. Her heart did a silly little flip.
Don't be clumsy. Don't be clumsy, she chanted internally.
But fate, it seemed, had other plans. Her foot caught on the edge of a loose floor tile. With a gasp, she stumbled forward. The patient file went flying, papers scattering like confetti across the highly polished floor. She landed hard on one knee, right in the path of the two neurosurgeons.
The world stopped. Heat flooded her cheeks.
Jayden was immediately at her side. "Whoa there! You okay?" he asked, his voice kind as he helped her up.
But her eyes were locked on Taylan. He had stopped walking. He looked from the mess of papers on the floor to her, his expression one of pure, unadulterated annoyance. He didn't say a word. He simply adjusted his glasses, let out a quiet, dismissive sigh, and stepped over the scattered pages as if they were litter, continuing down the hall without a backward glance.
Jayden gave her an apologetic look before hurrying after his friend.
Humiliation burned through Gisella. Oliver and Morgan rushed over.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked, helping her gather the papers.
"I'm fine," Gisella mumbled, her voice thick with embarrassment. She looked down the hall where the formidable Dr. Taylan had disappeared. He was cold, harsh, and clearly thought she was a mess.
But as she stood up, brushing off her uniform, a spark of defiance ignited in her chest. He thought she was just a clumsy intern? She would show him. She was Gisella Flores—brave, intelligent, and she wasn't going to let a frosty doctor with a god complex and pretty lips ruin her dream.
Little did she know, the man who had just dismissed her so completely was hiding a profound vulnerability of his own, a secret sickness that only one person in the entire world knew about. And their paths were about to become inextricably tangled.