(no subject)
Apr. 25th, 2005 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guppy_sandhu“What’s the matter with you then?” asked Harry, watching his depressed SHO looking at X-rays. “You’ve had a black cloud over your head all morning.”
Guppy debated how much to say, bearing in mind that Harry knew nothing about Milliways, and intending to keep it that way. He could see that his boss wasn’t prepared to let the matter drop without some form of explanation.
“Somebody I know died on Saturday.”
“Sorry to hear that. Were you close?”
He shook his head.
“Not particularly. It’s just he knew what he was going to do was dangerous, and I was asked to be around. But I couldn’t be.”
“Because you were here?”
He nodded. Harry clapped him on the shoulder.
“No point in dwelling on it. You can’t be everywhere at once. This chap obviously knew that what he was doing carried risks. And there were others there to help him, right?”
“Yes.”
“As qualified as you?”
“Probably more qualified.”
“Then to be honest, you probably wouldn’t have made that much difference.”
Guppy looked at Harry and saw that he wasn’t just saying it to make him feel better.
“You need to learn Guppy. We can’t save everyone. Sometimes it’s just people’s time to go. And you still don’t have a lot of experience. You are a good doctor, you just need time.”
“Does it get easier? Coping with death?”
Harry looked at him in a ‘speaking from experience’ way.
“It always hurts, especially when it’s someone you know. But you do learn to deal with it, to block it out of your mind. There’s no other way. Stop feeling guilty about your friend and start supporting those around him. You were here, saving lives, that is what you do.”
He walked off, taking the X-ray with him, leaving Guppy to think it all through.
Guppy debated how much to say, bearing in mind that Harry knew nothing about Milliways, and intending to keep it that way. He could see that his boss wasn’t prepared to let the matter drop without some form of explanation.
“Somebody I know died on Saturday.”
“Sorry to hear that. Were you close?”
He shook his head.
“Not particularly. It’s just he knew what he was going to do was dangerous, and I was asked to be around. But I couldn’t be.”
“Because you were here?”
He nodded. Harry clapped him on the shoulder.
“No point in dwelling on it. You can’t be everywhere at once. This chap obviously knew that what he was doing carried risks. And there were others there to help him, right?”
“Yes.”
“As qualified as you?”
“Probably more qualified.”
“Then to be honest, you probably wouldn’t have made that much difference.”
Guppy looked at Harry and saw that he wasn’t just saying it to make him feel better.
“You need to learn Guppy. We can’t save everyone. Sometimes it’s just people’s time to go. And you still don’t have a lot of experience. You are a good doctor, you just need time.”
“Does it get easier? Coping with death?”
Harry looked at him in a ‘speaking from experience’ way.
“It always hurts, especially when it’s someone you know. But you do learn to deal with it, to block it out of your mind. There’s no other way. Stop feeling guilty about your friend and start supporting those around him. You were here, saving lives, that is what you do.”
He walked off, taking the X-ray with him, leaving Guppy to think it all through.
