Title: Hero
Fandom: The Good Doctor
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dr Shaun Murphy, Vera, Lea.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 500
Spoilers: I Love You.
Summary: Shaun has a life to save.
Content Notes: Talk of amputation.
Written For: Challenge 393: Amnesty 65 at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 62: Trapped.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Good Doctor, or the characters.



This is very scary. Shaun is afraid; he does not want to die. Shaun is dirty, and cold, and very wet, and he could leave. He could save himself. But Vera can’t leave. Vera is trapped, with a rebar through her leg. This is a problem.

Shaun has tried to free her by sawing through the rebar, but it isn’t working. The metal is too hard, and the saw is getting blunt. Vera is going to die, not from blood loss or shock, but from drowning. Vera thinks Shaun should leave, but Shaun doesn’t want to because Vera is still alive. Vera shouldn’t have to die. If Vera dies, she won’t have the chance to move on from her ex-boyfriend and find someone new to love.

Vera thinks Shaun needs to move on and find someone new as well. Shaun doesn’t want to do that either, but he can’t think about that right now. Shaun is a doctor, a good doctor, and Vera is his patient. Vera is trapped, but only by one leg. Vera can live with only one leg, so the answer is obvious. All Shaun needs to do is remove the leg that is stuck, then the rest of Vera will be free, and they can both get out. They will both be alive.

He doesn’t have an operating theatre, and nothing is sterile. That is not good. But he does have scalpels, bandages, morphine, and a saw. Shaun can do this; he knows how. Vera’s leg is under the water. That will complicate things, but there is nothing Shaun can do about it. Soon all of Vera will be underwater, and then Shaun will need to breathe for both of them. It will slow down the amputation, but if Vera drowns, then removing Vera’s leg will be pointless.

Vera wants Shaun to promise her something before he starts the surgery. It is not a promise Shaun wants to make, but he makes it anyway. If Vera dies, Shaun will move on and find someone else to love, someone who isn’t Lea. Shaun makes the promise because the water is getting deeper, and Vera will die if Shaun doesn’t remove her leg.

It takes Shaun longer than three minutes. Shaun can hear Lea counting over the radio. Lea keeps stopping. Shaun knows Lea is scared. Shaun is scared too, but Vera is underwater, so he has to breathe for her. That is difficult, Shaun must put his head under the water and breathe into Vera’s mouth, because Vera is still alive.

Shaun leaves Vera’s leg under the water and pulls the rest of Vera out, onto drier ground where Shaun can bandage Vera’s leg. Then Shaun drags Vera to safety. Lea is there, waiting for him.

Vera made Shaun promise to move on if she died, but Vera didn’t die, so Shaun doesn’t have to keep his promise. That is good, because Shaun loves Lea, and now Lea loves Shaun too. Together, they make each other… more.


The End