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chicaotaku-fanfics · 1 month ago

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There's Three of You?! Pt. 18

Now, finally, FINALLY, part 3/3 of the arc... which ended up being longer than I ever thought, so, my bad on that front. Stillo, hope you enjoy.

Also, yes, this pic if from the actual YouTube promo pic of the trial scene.

Warnings: foul language, might be some medical inconsistencies .

CHAPTER 18

I was standing outside the courtroom, trying to comprehend what had just happened when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist and a voice whispered in my ear.

“So dear wife, what should we do about this seemingly huge problem of people assuming we’re married?” Jay asked me, I leaned on him.

“No idea. I mean, we do share our mom’s face shape, but your hair color and mine are two tones apart. Not to mention you have green eyes and mine are brown.” I paused for a second, we heard footsteps approaching us, we turned as one and we were face to face with Erin, Dr. Charles, Al, Ruzek and Atwater.

“Do we really look so different that people can confuse us with a married couple instead of seeing we’re siblings?” we asked at the same time.

“When you do that, you’re clearly siblings.” said Erin.

“Hell, even your expression’s the same.” Ruzek added.

“But then you act like that…” started Atwater, pointing to how Jay was hugging me from behind. “and I can see why people think you’re married.” he added.

“I honestly thought you were a couple the first time we met Lilly.” said Al, I blushed and then groaned, at the same time Jay groaned too.

“Anyway, where’s Voight?” asked Jay, going into business mode again.

“He’s speaking with Dana about taking the stand.” said Al, we nodded, just then we heard a phone ding, one of us had a text message, we all checked, it was mine. I raise my phone to indicate it was me who got a text.

From: Big Red ❤️

Why did I have to hear from the hospital’s rumor mill that you’re at court today?

To: Big Red ❤️

To be honest, no one should’ve known

But when you have someone like Doris in the ED… news fly

From: Big Red ❤️

Fair point.

Still… what are you doing there?

Is this because of Jay’s call the other day?

To: Big Red ❤️

It is.

I’ll explain as soon as I can.

From: Big Red ❤️

Very well. Take care, please.

To: Big Red ❤️

I will.

Love you Will

❤️

From: Big Red ❤️

Love you too LilyBloom

❤️

To: Big Red ❤️ ❤️

“Excuse us.” we heard, making us all turn to see who wanted our attention. To our surprise, some of the former patients of this… monster approached us, and I listened to each and everyone of them. I extended my business card, the hospital one, to all of them.

“I know it’s not much, and you all may not even trust doctors at this point. But if it’s worth something, here’s my card. You call me and I’ll make sure you are referred to the best oncologists Chicago Med has to offer.” I said, extending the card to the sixth woman of the group standing before me.

“Not only that, on my part, I can offer free therapy sessions with the best psychiatrists and psychologists Med has to offer.” Dr. Charles said, extending his business card. They all took the cards.

“Thank you. It’s nice to see that not all doctors see us as a way to cash a paycheck.” said one of them, I nodded.

“«If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.»” I recited the exact part of the Hippocratic Oath that always resonated with me, since even before entering med school; to always stay humble and understand I’m not God to save everyone.

Everyone looked at me, the Intelligence Unit were all shocked, Jay looked at me with pride in his eyes, Dr. Charles looked satisfied and proud, the women smiled, I smiled at them. One of them walked to me and took my hands in hers.

“Thank you, Dr. Halstead… for giving us back hope that’ll we get better.” said the woman, I squeezed her hands.

“You have nothing to thank me for.” I said, the smile still on my face. Then, the woman pulled me into a hug. I was surprised for a second, but hugged her back.

Not long after we were all called back inside, I guided the woman I was hugging, and the rest followed her lead. We all let them go in first, then we entered and it was then that Voight was called to the stand.

“All three victims were in contact with each other, comparing notes. We know this from their phone records.” Voight started to explain “After their December 10th meeting with Dr. Reybold, they agreed to an experimental treatment which, in actuality, was simply twice the usual dose of chemo.” he continued. “The following week, he upped it to three times the amount. By the time they wound up in the hospital, it was at seven times.” he added.

“Because they confronted him about what he did, and he was afraid of being exposed.” Dana said, I wanted to facepalm myself, but couldn’t.

Don’t say it like that or they’ll say you’re…

“Objection. Counsel is testifying.” said Reybold’s lawyer.

“Sustained.” said the judge.

“In your investigation, did you find it suspicious three patients met with the doctor one day…”

“Objection. No one knows what transpired in this meeting.” that woman interrupted, again.

“That's because everyone in that meeting besides Dr. Reybold is dead or in a coma.” said Dana, looking at the jury.

“You Honor.” said the dirty blonde woman.

“One more time, and you're in contempt.” said the judge, I started to worry.

“Could the amounts the patients received have been lab mistakes?” asked Dana.

“No, Dr. Reybold's signature was on every order.” Voight answered.

“Well, what about a dosing error?” she asked this time.

“His staffer testified that Dr. Reybold personally administered those doses.”

“But the staffer cut a deal.” said Dana.

“That doesn't mean it wasn't the truth.” said Voight, I bit the inside of my cheek not to laugh.

“Objection. Improper opinion.” said Dr. Reybold’s lawyer.

“Sustained.” said the judge.

“What about any other witnesses who…” Dana started but was, again, interrupted.

“Asked and answered.” said the doctor’s attorney.

It’s starting to get really hard not to slap her.

“Yes, Ms. Shelby, move on.” said the judge, I believe two seconds away from slapping Dana.

“Your Honor, someone has to speak for these victims.” she said.

“You don't speak. You ask questions. And if nobody else saw the doctor dosing…” said the judge, before he was interrupted by Voight.

“Someone else did.” he said, making everyone turn to him. “Me. I saw Dr. Reybold dose a patient. My wife. I saw Dr. Reybold dose my wife Camille who died of cancer under Dr. reybold's care six years ago.” said Voight, leaving me speechless.

I turned to see Jay asking if he knew about it with my eyes, his expression told me it was a first for him too.

“Sergeant Voight…” started Dana

“I'm a witness. I saw him dose a patient.” he said.

“The state has no further questions for this witness.” she said, going back to her seat.

“Well, I have a few.” said Dr. Reybold’s attorney.

Oh no… Lord help us all.

“Losing your wife to cancer must have been very painful, sergeant.” she made a pause. “Can you talk about your wife's illness?” she asked.

“Camille was referred to Dr. Reybold when her ovarian cancer returned. He recommended an aggressive course and then a second round when that didn't get it all.” Voight started to speak. I was in absolute shock, and by Jay’s expression, I could tell he was in the same state I was. “She was cold all the time… Couldn't keep food down. Memory went in and out. She… She was depressed. She fought as hard as she could, but…” he continued, but had to pause.

“She sounds brave.” the woman said.

“She was.” he added.

“You're still in mourning over your wife's death.” said the lawyer, taking a step forward. “Isn't that what this is about?” she asked, my jaw almost hit the ground.

The AUDACITY?! Have some respect, lady!

“No.” Voight said firmly.

“How gratifying would it be to help convict Dr. Reybold?” she asked.

“It would be very gratifying.” said Voight.

“No further questions.” she said, sounding smug as if she had won, while going back to her seat.

“For all his victims.” Voight added, making the woman turn to him again.

“I said no further questions. You answered exactly as I expected you to.” she said, as if explaining her reasoning would make a difference.

“Redirect? What other victims are you referring to, Sergeant Voight?” asked Dana, and I could finally see the pieces falling into place.

“Objection.” said the dirty blonde lawyer.

“Ms. Green questioned my witness about one prior patient, Camille voight. Now she opened the door to the other 42 patients he treated.” explained Dana.

Oh… so that’s her name.

“She's right. Overruled.” said the judge

“What other victims?” Dana asked again.

“Helen Graham… Nia Felten… Priya Parvati… Anne Gamerman… And 38 other people this doctor diagnosed with cancer they didn't have and treated with chemo they didn't need.” Voight said, listing four women literally making me want to strangle Reybold.

“And how do you know this to be true?” asked Dana.

“Because he said so himself in court under oath.” Voight answered with zero hesitation.

“Objection!” exclaimed Ms. Green.

Not so confident now, huh?

“Overruled. Continue.” said the judge.

“Dr. Reybold confessed to personally poisoning 42 patients, ruining their lives, terrifying them and their families, and he did it all for a payout, and he admitted to all of this as part of a deal he made with the state of Illinois, copping to fraud." Voight pretty much accused Reybold, looking directly at the jury.

As he did that, Dana walked to her seat and grabbed a stack of papers.

“This deal, Sergeant Voight?” she asked, as she made her way to Voight, only to show him the deal.

”That's the one.” he said.

“The state would like to enter into evidence case number 111 496 and amend its witness list by 42 people.” Dana said, as she went and handed a copy of the deal and updated list to the judge, and then going towards the side where Reybold and his team are seated to practically slam that same document in Ms. Green’s seat.

Oh my God… it looks like we’ll actually win this thing.

We were allowed a break while the jury deliberated the verdict, and I could only hope for the best. Just then, Ruzek walked over to me, standing at my side.

“Hey.” he said, hands in his pockets.

“Hey Ruz.” I said, a coffee cup in my hand.

“What you did was really brave. Helping us by going undercovered, and now testifying against this… monster.” he said, I turned to look at him.

“I’m a firm believer that, if you see someone doing the wrong thing and you don’t speak up, then you’re just as guilty. This man caused three women to land in the hospital, the exact same day, two of them dying because of an overdose… that’s a very long shot away from the « First do no harm » part of the Hippocratic Oath.” I said, he turned to look at me, I turned to look at him.

“Still, I just wanted to say, great job. And thank you.” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I nodded and smiled at him.

Al was the one to come get us for the hearing of the verdict.

“On the count of narcotic induced homicide of Danielle Frank…” asked the judge.

“We find the defendant guilty.” said the jury.

I let out a sigh of immense relief, Jay mirroring it, and reached out to hold his hand. He grabs on to me without hesitation, I turn to him, and he turns to me. Our eyes say it all.

We got him.

“On the count of narcotic induced attempted homicide of Carol Shepperd…” the man asked again, this time with another woman’s name.

“We find the defendant guilty.” said the jury again.

“On the count of narcotic induced attempted homicide of Leah Kamen…” asked the judge, again with a different name.

And that was the last one.

“We find the defendant guilty.” said the jury a third time.

I nodded my head once, glad that we got justice for all these women.

“Defendant is remanded into custody until such time as a sentencing hearing is scheduled.” he slammed his gavel down, finally putting an end to this torture, “Bailiff.” he added, calling on to the court officer.

“Hank, your wife did not suffer needlessly. You have to believe me. The cancer did come back. I never harmed Camille. These patients, I was their only hope. They got years because of me. You can't put someone away for saving lives.” Dr. Reybold started saying, desperation clear in his voice and expression, even more so apparent when the officer put the cuffs on him to take him away. “You can't!” he practically growled at Voight. “I wasn't harming them. I was helping them. Helping!” he exclaimed, even as he was led away from the room.

I stood up as soon as Jay did, looking down at my blazer to fix it.

We all walked out the courtroom, Jay behind me, and I said goodbye to all the victims of the man we just got sent away. As we continue to walk out of the courthouse as a group, I suddenly feel Jay’s presence fade, and eventually, only Dr. Charles and I are walking out of the place, only to be surrounded by news reporters.

That little shit… of course, Voight’s number 2 rule: never show your face to the media.

It takes about 20 min to finally manage to escape the reporters, because yes, even if we tried stopping them from asking us questions, they know which buttons to push to get answers, like the last question they asked me.

“Dr Halstead do you think those women are at fault here?” asked one of the reporters.

“Excuse me?” I asked back.

The fuck he just insinuated?

“Yeah, I mean, they trusted Dr. Reybold for their treatment. Shouldn’t that make them responsible for how their life’s turned out for the worse?” asked the man. I took a deep breath.

“First of all, that was rude as hell, and I will not tolerate any disrespect towards the victims of Dr. Reybold’s horrible schemes.” That sentence alone seemed to make all the idiots shut up. “Second of all, have some empathy, imagine if one of them was your wife, or your mother, your aunt, your daughter, would you dare ask such a morbid question?” half of them had the decency to look ashamed of themselves. “And third of all, they were deceived by a psychopathic doctor who has a God complex and absolutely no remorse for his actions, even going as far as still claiming he was helping these women as he was escorted out of the courtroom.” I made a pause, looking to my right when I noticed movement, it was the women. I turned back to the crowd. “As a doctor, I took an oath to do no harm, and what Dr. Reybold did is an insult to that oath. So no, these women are not responsible for what that monster did to them. And if you believe that for so much as a second, then I recommend you reevaluate your life choices so far… because somewhere along the way you chose to become a self-centered asshole who only looks after himself.” I said, turning to leave, then I turned again to see them all. “Sorry for the crude language.” I said with the fakest sweet smile I could muster and then just walked away.

We all made it to Molly’s for a drink, as soon as we entered Herrmann called the attention of everyone there.

“The heroes have arrived! Please give a round of applause to the elite team who got a psycho out of the streets!” he exclaimed, everyone started cheering, I then noticed that not only were the members of 51 present, but also Will, Connor, Sarah, Ethan, April, Ms. Goodwin, Maggie and Natalie were here too. “And please, an even bigger round of applause for Dr. Lillian Mariane Halstead, who humbled a bunch of reporters on national TV!” Herrmann added, unmuting the TV just as the reporters appeared back on the screen, there were two women -Camille Robinson and Dianne Johnson- and a man -Bill Klint-, watching the end of my outburst, waiting to give their opinion.

“That was Dr. Lillian Halstead, giving a statement earlier this afternoon after the trial against Dr. Dean Reybold, and she couldn’t be more right. What happened to the victims of this unfortunate case is nothing short of a horror movie, but thanks to the Intelligence Unit from CPD’s District 21, Dr. Daniel Charles -head of psychiatry at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center-, and Dr. Lillian Marianne Halstead -a junior resident emergency medicine physician at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center-, these women can finally put this nightmare behind them. Our condolences go to them and their families.” said Bill, then Dianne turned to him.

“Absolutely Bill, but not only is Dr. Halstead right, she proved that there are still doctors who see their patients as human beings and not another paycheck, which personally, gives me back hope in the people working in the medical system.” she said.

“And not only that, we also got footage from inside the courthouse, where Dr. Halstead can be seen comforting the victims and reciting, by heart, part of the Hippocratic Oath.” said Camillethis time.

“No way! By heart? Really?” asked Bill.

“Really, let’s check it.” said Camille. The image on the screen changed, I could immediately tell that the person recorded this from the corner of the hall where our courtroom was.

“«If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.»” and indeed there was I, reciting my oath for the victims to see that not all doctors are a lost cause. The scene ended with the woman hugging me, and me hugging her back.

“Woooow!” exclaimed Bill, seconded by Dianne.

“Well, that was just beautiful.” said Dianne.

“Not to mention inspiring.” Bill chimed in.

“I know right! Guess we now know that Gaffney’s the place to go in case of emergencies.” Dianne spoke again.

“Definitely, I can honestly say that if I want anyone treating me in case of an emergency is, hands down, Dr. Lillian Halstead.” said Camille.

“I second that!” exclaimed Dianne.

“Me third!” Bill exclaimed. “It’s nice to know that there are still doctors out there that are not all ego.” he added, then he turned to the camera. “Dr. Halstead, if you’re watching this, thank you for being an example of what a good doctor should be like.” he said, starting to clap, Dianne and Camille joined him.

“Indeed.” said Dianne.

“Maybe you won’t be able to hear this, but everyone at the studio is giving you a big round of applause Dr. Halstead. Thank you for helping the people of this city regain their trust in medical professionals back.” said Camille, and with that Herrmann muted the TV again, I was as red as a tomato.

“Come on doc, give a little speech.” he said, I declined, not really feeling like I did a big thing, but everyone started chanting, so I calmed everyone.

“Okay, okay. Uhm… I honestly don’t know what to say. I just… I saw these three women arriving in the ED, two sadly passed, still having their whole lives ahead of them, and a greedy doctor cut those lives short. I wasn’t gonna stand there doing nothing when someone was breaking the most important part of THE oath every doctor takes before practicing… we could say that I just acted. And I’ll continue to do so, for the benefit of my patients, and the city.” I said, everyone cheered again, Jay hugged me from the side, Will stood up and walked over to us to hug me too.

Well one of the reporters was right. Finally, the nightmare is over.

FINALLY! The arc is over, and with Lilly appearing on the news, she'll be benched from UC work for a while, meaning, she'll focus on her doctor work! Yey!

#one chicago #fanfic #oc #halstead sister #jay halstead #will halstead #fanfiction #halstead brothers #chicago fire #chicago med #chicago pd #hank voight #erin lindsay #alvin olinsky #adam ruzek #kevin atwater

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