When The Ward Fell Apart

I got pregnant at the same time as a doctor from another department. But right after my nuchal translucency scan, the charge nurse came to see me. "The hospital is short-staffed. Leadership says only one female employee can be pregnant at a time." "This time, the slot goes to Dr. Valerie Stone. You need to terminate yours." I froze. "Dr. Stone and I aren't even in the same department. Our work doesn't overlap. "And I'm a nurse. She's a doctor. Our schedules are completely different." But the charge nurse only tapped stubbornly on my desk. "This is hospital policy. No one gets to be the exception. "Either you terminate the pregnancy, or you transfer to logistics. Your choice." A transfer to logistics meant my career would be over. No promotions. No clinical path. Just a rock-bottom base salary, barely above minimum wage. My fingers slowly tightened. I had worked at that hospital for eight years. I was one of the hardest-working nurses on the front line, and I won performance awards every year. Yet I was not even allowed to be pregnant. I took a breath and looked calmly at the charge nurse. "I agree to transfer to logistics." Less than a week after I left, the whole department fell apart. Chapter 1 The charge nurse changed her tone and gave my back a deliberately gentle pat. "Grace Walker, you know the hospital has always been short-staffed. "You're a senior employee here. That means you should set an example and cooperate with the arrangement." I stared at the eight excellence certificates on my desk and said nothing. The first certificate was earned after spending six months on the pandemic front line. The second came from assisting in nearly a thousand surgeries without a single mistake. The eighth came from working the overnight shift every New Year's for eight straight years. I had already set enough examples. I had already cooperated enough. When I looked up again, my voice was very quiet. "I'm going to speak to the director." The charge nurse finally stopped smiling. Her face turned cold. She said, "Suit yourself. The result will be the same anyway." I took a breath and knocked on the door of our department director, Martin Blake. Dr. Valerie Stone was actually inside. She was a doctor from the department next door. What was she doing in my department director's office? But I soon had my answer. Valerie placed two bags of gourmet coffee on Martin's desk and gave a light laugh. "Uncle Martin, this is gourmet coffee from back home. Try it. "My dad said this is your favorite." Martin wore a kind expression I had never seen on his face before. "My cousin knows me best. "Valerie, go back and get some rest. I've already arranged for you to have fewer shifts. "Early pregnancy needs careful care. I'm still waiting to start a college fund for my grandnephew." Valerie turned around. As she brushed past me, she glanced at my stomach as if she were looking at a piece of dead meat. "Grace, what are you doing here?" Martin immediately returned to his official tone. "Director Blake, I think the hospital's decision to make me terminate my pregnancy is unreasonable. "Dr. Stone and I do not have overlapping duties. She isn't in our department, and I'm the only pregnant employee in ours. The schedule can be arranged." But Martin only lifted his eyelids lazily. "Grace, this is the hospital's decision. There's nothing I can do." I clenched my fingers. "Then why am I the one who has to terminate? Why not Dr. Stone?" The moment I mentioned his niece, Martin shot to his feet. "Grace, what is that supposed to mean? "Dr. Stone is a properly educated physician, a rising star at this hospital. Her pregnancy is perfectly natural. "Who told you to wait until your age to have a child? Aren't you embarrassed?" But he knew better than anyone why I had not tried earlier. When I was younger, I had thought about having a baby. He was the one who said the hospital was short-staffed. He was the one who said I was the most reliable. He was the one who told me to dedicate myself to medicine. I listened. And what did I get in return? I grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open a crack. "If you won't handle this, I'll ask the hospital administrator for an explanation." Martin said nothing. His face was very calm, too calm. When I knocked on the administrator's office door, I finally understood why. On the administrator's desk, two bags of the same gourmet coffee were sitting in plain sight. They were exactly the same as the ones Valerie had given Martin. Before I could speak, the administrator pulled out a chair and spoke to me in an earnest tone. "Grace, I know you're here because of the pregnancy issue, but my hands are tied too." "The hospital does have a rule. Only one internal pregnancy slot per year. After all, we save lives here, and we don't have enough staff." "Then why isn't Valerie Stone the one terminating?" I asked again. The administrator frowned, as if he thought I was being completely unreasonable. "Dr. Stone is a young backbone of the hospital, highly educated and highly skilled. How can a nurse like you compare to her?" "Grace, you're an experienced employee. Be sensible. Have some spirit of sacrifice." I spoke calmly. "Is it because Valerie Stone is Martin Blake's niece?" The administrator immediately snapped. "Grace, what nonsense are you on about? "Our hospital has clean practices. We do not engage in nepotism. You had better not make unfounded accusations." "Fine. I understand." I stood up. "Mr. Dalton, I won't terminate the pregnancy. I agree to transfer to logistics." The administrator pushed up his glasses. I could not see his expression clearly. "Have you thought this through? Is it worth ruining your career over a child? "If you want a baby that badly, I can specially approve next year's slot for you." I said nothing and left his office. He had misunderstood. Transferring to logistics was not surrender. It was a declaration of war. Since they all looked down on nurses, I could guarantee one thing. Within a week, the department would fall apart. Chapter 2 Early the next morning, the official notice transferring me to logistics was sent to every department. At the morning meeting, the charge nurse slammed the table so hard it shook. "Some people damage the entire department's reputation for their own selfish reasons. And now you can all see the result. "Don't learn bad habits from her. Don't think that being a senior employee means you get special treatment. Everyone in this hospital is equal." The young nurses did not dare breathe too loudly. They only stole curious glances at my still-flat stomach. I ignored all of it and focused on packing my things. The eight excellence certificates I had once been so proud of went into the bottom of the box. When I carried my things out, not a single person came over to help. Even though I had covered countless night shifts for them. Even though I had taught them, hand by hand, how to work in the operating room. Only the charge nurse looked up at me. She said, "Grace Walker, you'll regret this. But it'll be too late." What I wanted to say was, I would not regret it. The ones who would regret this were them. As I placed the box onto a small cart, Valerie Stone swept into our department. It looked like she really had fewer shifts now. Otherwise, she would not be this free. Valerie held a handful of chocolates and handed them out to the young nurses one by one. "I wanted to celebrate the good news with everyone. Take some—a little treat to share the baby's good luck around." For a moment, everyone in the department started speaking. "Dr. Stone, don't worry. Your baby will definitely be born safe and healthy." "That's right. You're so pretty. Your baby will be beautiful too." The charge nurse was the loudest. "In my opinion, some babies really do know how to choose their mothers. "Being born to Dr. Stone means a lifetime of blessings. Being born to someone else? Not necessarily." I gripped the handle of the cart, my lips pressed tightly together, and said nothing. Valerie walked over with a smile and shoved the last few chocolates into my hand. "Nurse Walker, I heard about what happened to you. Take some for good luck. "Good luck with your next pregnancy." "It's not my next pregnancy," I said calmly, lifting my head. "I've already applied to transfer to logistics. I'm going to give birth to this child. "Dr. Stone, your uncle reduced your shifts for you, so of course you weren't working and didn't hear the news." Valerie froze. Her face turned red, then white, as if she had not expected me to say that relationship out loud. I did not look at her again. I pulled my things and walked out. But before I could take another step, the charge nurse's furious voice rang out behind me. "Grace Walker! Wait! "Did you take something you shouldn't have? Put it down!" Chapter 3 I stopped and looked down at the cart. Three full boxes, all of them my own belongings. But before I could speak, the charge nurse rushed over in front of everyone. "Grace Walker, open your boxes. I need to check them." I stood in front of the cart. "You do not have that authority." I said it to the charge nurse, but my eyes stayed fixed on Valerie. Because she was the one who had whispered to the charge nurse, and then the charge nurse had called me back. Besides, I had packed my things right under the charge nurse's nose. Valerie stroked her stomach and met my gaze calmly. But the charge nurse had already shoved me aside and dumped everything from my boxes. "You can't take this plaque. This is the department's honor, not yours personally." I pointed at the words on the plaque. "The department's honor? Nurse Parker, my personal name is written on it." "Still no." The charge nurse tossed the plaque aside carelessly. "And these operating manuals and training notes can't be taken either. These are department materials. "The preserved flowers a discharged patient gave you can't be taken. She only gave them to you because of the department." Eventually, the charge nurse even took the half-used notebook and pen I had been using. "These are also department property. Grace Walker, don't be a workplace thief." I looked at the mess on the floor. I had no doubt that after I left, all these things would be thrown into the trash. The charge nurse did not care about them. She only wanted to humiliate me. Finally, she found the eight excellence certificates. After thinking for a moment, she fed them straight into the shredder. "Grace Walker, you earned these honors through our department. How can you have the nerve to take them away?" I listened to the shredder at work. Crunch. Crunch. In ten seconds, eight years of my effort were destroyed. But I did not argue. I did not even move. After all, I did not care for scraps of paper earned through self-sacrifice anymore. "Check carefully. Don't miss anything," I even said with a smile. The charge nurse seemed not to expect that reaction. For a moment, she froze. At that exact moment, Valerie suddenly stepped forward. "Nurse Parker, I know it isn't really my place to get involved in your department's affairs, but since we're all friends, I should just say this directly. "The nurse uniform Nurse Walker is wearing still belongs to your department, doesn't it? I wonder if you'll need it later." As soon as she said that, the whole department went silent. I looked at Valerie. Her expression was innocent, but her eyes were full of malice. The charge nurse immediately reacted and pointed at my nose. "Dr. Stone is right. Grace Walker, take off that uniform now. It belongs to the department." When I did not move, the charge nurse even tried to grab at me. I stepped back slowly, took off the uniform, and placed it over a chair. "Good. Very good. I'll remember this." After saying that, I pulled my nearly empty boxes and left. I had just turned the corner when footsteps came from behind me. "Nurse Walker, wait." It was Valerie. She hurried over. The politeness she had shown in front of everyone was gone. She frowned at me. "Grace Walker, who told you to go to the administrator and talk nonsense? Who told you to make this whole thing bigger? "Do you know what people at the hospital are saying about me now? They're saying I used my connections to force you out." "Oh." I suddenly laughed. So that was why Valerie had targeted me today. "Isn't that the truth, Dr. Stone?" Valerie did not hear the humble apology she had imagined. Her face instantly flushed. "Grace Walker, I really don't understand what gives someone with no background like you the right to be so arrogant." I did not answer her again. I slowly turned around and left. Valerie thought she had won this silent war and secured her right to have her baby. The charge nurse thought she had won her authority and could step on me, the senior nurse of the department. But they were wrong. I did not care. I had no interest in competing with them. I was only waiting for the moment when the show truly began. Chapter 4 The logistics department was mainly responsible for purchasing and distributing basic office supplies, so there were not many people. Other than me, there were a few interns and older employees waiting for retirement. The person sitting beside me was named Maya. She was a senior-year intern. She was naturally friendly and efficient. She helped me move my boxes down and clicked her tongue. "Grace, I heard you transferred to logistics because you wanted to have a baby?" I lowered my head and kept organizing my things. I did not answer. Who knew whether she would be like the nurses from my old department, only interested in watching me become a joke and kicking me when I was down? The silence was awkward, but Maya continued talking as if nothing had happened. "Honestly, I think that rule is really unreasonable. Don't you think so? "You and Dr. Stone aren't in the same department. Your work isn't the same either. Both of you being pregnant doesn't really affect anything. I don't know what leadership was thinking. "But logistics has no future. Grace, what are you going to do after the baby is born?" "Maya! Don't talk so much!" someone beside her reminded her. "Have you forgotten the time you complained to leadership about the low pay in logistics and got lectured for an entire morning? "If it's not our business, don't talk. Do you still want this job or not?" Maya kept working with her hands, setting up my desk for me while pouting. "I just think it's unfair. It doesn't affect the department's work. What's wrong with being pregnant?" I finally looked up at her. She had a likable, round face. "It's fine. Logistics is pretty good," I said. For the next three days, I went to work and came home calmly, doing only what belonged to my job. There was no more endless overtime. I no longer had to deal with patients. Life did not seem that hard to endure. Occasionally, people from my old department came to pick up office supplies. When they spoke to me, they were no longer polite like before. Instead, their voices carried disdain. The kind of disdain registered nurses had for logistics staff who were seen as coasting until retirement. "Grace, it's such a pity that you've fallen this far." I handed her the supplies with no expression. "I think it's pretty good." The young nurse curled her lip. "I think you're just trapped by the baby. Do you really have to give birth? Pregnancy hormones are terrifying." But she did not know. This was not about hormones. It was not even only about this child. What I wanted was fairness, justice, and true equality. Not a world where someone could rely on connections and cut off every path I had. The turning point came on the fourth day. I had just gotten off work when my phone vibrated. It was a message on WhatsApp. Then a second, a third, a fourth. It vibrated eighteen times in total. Eighteen messages. That was the exact number of nurses in our department. Each message represented a difficult problem they could not handle. Before I could open the chat, the charge nurse called me. On the other end, the department was in complete chaos. "Grace Walker, reply to everyone's messages right now! Hurry!" I tightened my grip on the phone. My voice was quiet but firm. "Why should I?" Chapter 5 The charge nurse's voice changed pitch. "What do you mean, why? Grace, when I tell you to reply, you reply! "If the department's work is delayed, can you take responsibility?" My voice remained calm. "Nurse Parker, you've misunderstood. I'm only a logistics employee now. "What does your department's work have to do with me?" I hung up and turned on Do Not Disturb. After returning home, I slowly ate the pregnancy meal my husband had cooked, took a shower, and only then picked up my phone again. My WhatsApp messages had already become 99+, and there were countless missed calls. I opened the chats one by one. They were indeed all messages from my former coworkers. "Grace, the patient's vitals are normal, but he's sweating cold. Should we put him on oxygen?" "Grace, how should this line on the patient information card be filled in? The charge nurse is asking for the schedule." "Grace, the patient's hands are swollen. How did you manage to get the IV in last time?" Every message was packed with questions. Every message was their problem. But I did not deal with any of them. I did not reply to a single one. My husband came over with a cup of warm milk, his face full of worry. "Grace, have you been mistreated at the hospital lately?" My expression finally softened. I gave a light laugh. "Of course not. The ones being mistreated, the ones in trouble, are someone else." The next day, I still went to work at my own pace and sat down at my desk in logistics. But before I had even warmed the chair, the office door was pushed open. The charge nurse stormed in, full of anger, and knocked on my desk. "Grace Walker, why didn't you answer your phone? Why didn't you reply to your coworkers' messages? "These are life-or-death issues. If you don't even care about patient safety, what right do you have to be a nurse?" I calmly swallowed the last bite of bread and wiped my mouth. "Nurse Parker, don't put such a heavy label on me. I can't carry it. "I'm only a logistics employee now. My coworkers are all logistics staff. My duty is to purchase and distribute office supplies. "If your department is out of pens or paper, you're welcome to submit a request through the proper process. "Besides, the person who doesn't care about patient safety isn't me. It's the leadership that transferred me to logistics." Those four sentences left the charge nurse's face livid. For a long while, she could not say a word. She glared at me for a long time before leaving, slamming the door so hard it shook. Maya clicked her tongue behind me. "Grace, she's terrifying." I smiled and handed Maya a piece of bread. "She's just the first soldier. More people will come." Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, Martin Blake appeared at the door. He wore a formulaic smile of concern for a subordinate and placed a bag of apples on my desk. "Grace, your charge nurse was really out of line. How could she shout at a pregnant woman like that? I'll apologize on her behalf." I said nothing and only looked at him quietly. Martin did not seem bothered by the awkward silence. He looked around at the simple logistics office. "Oh, Grace, this environment is a little rough. You've suffered these past few days." I looked up. "Director Blake, I actually think this place is perfect for pregnancy." Martin rubbed his hands together and finally revealed his true purpose. "Grace, I know you're a good employee. I also know you won't ignore patients. "After you left, those young girls have been causing me nothing but trouble. I was thinking, could you come back and train them? "Once they're trained to be as excellent as you, I can finally relax." I smiled. "Director Blake, you think too highly of me. I'm just in charge of logistics now. How could I train your department? "Besides, the hospital has already provided standardized training for these basic professional skills. You know that." After being openly refused, Martin's expression became strained. He grew impatient. "Grace, do you really have to do this? What good does it do you to make everyone lose face?" I handed the irritating bag of apples back to him. "Director Blake, you're wrong. I was never on anyone's stage, and I don't want to be. "If there's nothing else, please don't interrupt my work." "Fine, Grace. You've got nerve." Martin threw the apples heavily into the trash. "Don't think the department can't function without you. Who do you think you are?" I watched Martin leave with a calm expression. I knew he would come back again. Because without me, the department really could not function.