Dr. Nicolas Kokoris

This webpage will remain on hiatus due to my poor health, it will re-open when I can devote the time to it I feel it deserves. I apologize to those who follow it.

JD

My apologies on the silence of this muse, it's been a bad year for me. A slow healing broken arm and ill health have temporarily put most of my writings on hold, I'll be back once we get a handle on things again.

Thanks for reading,
JD

The patient that Nicolas Kokoris was currently performing surgery on was his fifth in 18 hours, and from the conversations that were drifting into the room as other doctors finished the possibility existed that he might not be his last. Passing off the scalpel he held in his hand, the Greek stepped back from the table to allow himself room to first roll his shoulders, and then stretch in an attempt to loosen up his tightening muscles.

"Are you feeling all right Dr. Nic?" The Congolese nurse voiced her concern as she rinsed the tool off, then laid it on the tray for him to use again. While only in her mid 30's, Abebe had been working in the hospital for over ten years, and most if not all of the doctors and other nurses accepted her mothering of them as a natural extension of who she was.

"I'm fine Mama Abebe, I just needed a little breather." Nic's use of the familiar address brought a smile to the woman's face.

"You work too long, you stop after this one, yes?" The nurse checked the cleaned instruments a final time as the surgeon moved back to the table.

"I can't promise that, there are more patients, anything could happen." Nic took a moment to study his re-familiarize himself with what he'd already done before saying anything more, "Scalpel, and have some gauze ready, I'm going to try and go for the stray metal now, and let's hope we don't get any fresh bleeds." As his concentration narrowed to the work at hand, Abebe let the subject drop, though both knew the discussion was not finished. It was in fact a reoccurring one between them, and the nurse knew she would need to call on her back-up if she were to win. When she was sure that Kokoris was fully absorbed with his work, and a need for more gauze grew apparent, Abebe saw her opportunity to slip out for a few minutes.

"Doctor, I need to go for more supplies, I will be only a few minutes." While her words brought nothing more then a slight nod of acknowledgment, it was enough for her, and as she slipped out of the room, she set her sights on locating Dr. Falconiri

Nicolas Kokoris and Joanna Falconiri had been at the Médecins Sans Frontieres-run hospital in Rutshuru town in the North Kivu area of the Congo for going on two months. Where unlike those in some hospitals and clinics the threat of the fighting between Congolese troops and Rwandan rebels wasn't a constant threat, the two still were kept busy enough, and surgeries of upwards to fifteen a day were not unusual. Neither were novices to the work they were doing, but, in the last two months, their working situation had changed and it was that arrangement which Abebe was hoping to use to her advantage now.

It took the resourceful nurse only moments to locate the Italian surgeon in one of the wards, and once she had briefed her on both her concerns and what she hoped the woman would assist her with, she gathered the need supplies and returned to the surgery. From first glance things didn't look good, bloodied gauze and other debris littered the floor under the operating staff's feet, and while mask's covered the majority of their faces, from what Abebe could see from their eyes, they were not hopeful for their patient's outcome. As Kokoris muttered something in Greek half under his breath, then shook his head, the nurse quickly washed and gloved her hands and re-entered the field.

"I can't get a handle on these bleeders, every time I get one stopped a fresh one opens up." Nic cussed again as he lost his hold on the vein he was trying to suture.

"Maybe I'll have better luck." Under her mask, Joanna Falconiri smiled as she heard his curse.

"That's not going to help, by the way, sleep however will. Time for you to step out and get some."

"I'm in the middle of surgery if you can't tell." Kokoris' eyes moved between the two women sensing the conspiracy at hand before he returned them to his patient.

"Nic," Joanna moved up behind him before lowering her voice. "No one doubts your abilities or your loyalty to your patient, but you know, and I know that after so long on your feet your work can suffer. Are you ready to accept the consequences if you lose this boy because you were too tired to see everything you should have?" Maybe it was the tone of her voice, maybe it was common sense finally kicking in, whatever the reason, the Greek surgeon reluctantly nodded and as he did he stepped aside to allow Joanna to take over the work he had begun. As he moved out of the field completely he could help but catch the look that Abebe passed his way and after sliding his mask off his face he passed her a weary smile.

"You win, sleep, I know." Unfortunately, as he exited the room, he knew tired as he was, he wasn't quite ready for it. In fact, he had other plans, and with Joanna occupied, now was the perfect time to set those in motion.

In the end, Nicolas Kokoris had slept, in fact he was still sleeping when an exhausted Joanna Falconiri pushed the flap aside to enter the tent that the two surgeon's shared.

"Oh, Nic, what have you done?" The woman's hand went to her mouth as she stared in disbelief at the transformation that the small canvas tent had undergone in her absence. In the corner stood an IV stand, wired with hangers meant to act as branches, from which were suspended an assortment of medical instruments, and a garland of gauze. To complete the illusion of his makeshift Christmas tree, a paper star was taped to it's top, and finally, underneath sat two packages wrapped in newspaper with still more gauze used for bows. Leaving the doorway she approached the occupied cot and knelt beside it.

"Time to wake up, Il mio campione." While she knew that Nic needed his sleep, she found herself unable to keep from acknowledging his efforts, so, while trailing her fingers across his brow, she repeated the words quietly until he began to stir. As his eyes finally opened she found herself smiling.

"Hey, been busy have you?"

"Sleepin'." The Greek's words were slightly slurred as he lingered in half-sleep.

"I meant that thing in the corner, I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when I left." Joanna pointed to the IV stand.

"Your Christmas Tree?" As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand, he propped himself up on his other arm.

"That is not a Christmas Tree."

"Sure it is, well, maybe you have to use your imagination a little but, it's hard to find fir trees in the Congo. Look again." As he spoke, Nic reached across the bed and grabbed something off of it before returning to his previous position and holding his arm over her head.

"Does this help?" As he opened his hand he revealed a small branch with what looked like broken, red tinted q-tips tied to it. "Now you have to kiss me."

"Now I know you've been working too hard. That is not Mistletoe. Eew, do I even want to know how you made those red." While she was able to snatch the branch from his hold, she didn't resist his kiss, and after tossing it aside she leaned in to give him another.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Nic smiled and coaxed her to lie beside him before folding his arms around her.

"For doing this, despite the creepiness of some parts." She shot another glance to the discarded branch.

"You're welcome, I think. So, are you too tired to share a little Christmas cheer?" A stolen kiss left no doubt that alcohol would not be necessary to proceed.

"Christmas cheer hmm?" Joanna returned his kiss before settling comfortably against him. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 1159

A special thanks to Christina for the loan of her muse medico_bella in this Christmas Story I gift to her. I hope you like it.

Il mio campione translates to: My champion

Post picks up after this post and RP with medico_bella that began here.

The sun was just beginning to drop as Nicolas Kokoris made his way onto the patio atop the d'Alessio's villa. The day had been a busy one, full of Joanna and Roberto's family, and well-wishers, and while most had tried to welcome him into their conversations he could no longer deny the strain that inclusion was having on their conversations. He'd needed time to himself, not just to clear his head, but, to rest. If it weren't for the constant reminders from the pain of his back, he might very well forget that only 24 hours earlier they had been in a war-zone. If not for that and Roberto's death that was. Now, sitting on the patio wall, he'd found that.

"I don't know how I'll keep my sanity through all of this." At the sound of Joanna Falconiri's voice, Nic stood and turned toward her.

"It's not that bad, is it?" The Greek couldn't help smiling at her complaint, having been very close to wondering the same thing himself.

"That's what you think, they're not your family." As she reached where he stood, she accepted his kiss before motioning his to sit again.

"You should be inside resting, your back." Her brow furrowed slightly in concern as she swept her eyes over him for signs that he was in more pain than he was showing her.

"My back, is fine." He did however comply with her request before looking back out over the City.

"I could get you something for the pain." Laying her hand on his arm, she attempted to draw his full attention back to her.

"Joanna, I'm okay, it doesn't hurt that bad, when it starts to get bad, I'll tell you. You've got enough to worry about without adding me to things," Leaning over to her he gave her a light kiss and while it lightened the mood for the two of them, for Michael, who watched from a window, it only further fueled an anger that had begun at the airport.

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 337
A special thanks to Christina for the loan of her muse medico_bella in this post.

For the past few weeks, the activity in the camp had been chaotic at best. Seemingly endless shellings and car bombings had driven a steady stream of patients through the surgical tents and a night where any doctor was able to sleep more then three uninterrupted hours had become a luxury.

When the latest round of surgeries ended near dawn, it wasn't at all surprising that most chose to head straight for their beds rather then the mess tent. For Nic, despite his need for sleep, coffee was his priority. A necessity in fact if he planned to carry through on an idea that had been placed in his head by a family member of one of his most recent patients.

After brewing his own pot of coffee, the surgeon filled a thermos and tucked it under his arm, then, for good measure, he grabbed several fresh pastries from a tray on the corner of the table before heading to the tent he was sharing with Joanna Falconiri. As he drew back the flap, he wasn't surprised to find the woman already burrowed deep under the blankets on her cot.

"Joanna." Adopting a sing-song lilt he called her name, then, after setting the pastries beside her, he opened the thermos while fanning the aroma of the small meal toward her. . "Joanna..."

"Go away, I'm sleeping."

"Come on, you can sleep later, I have something to show you." Reaching for a cup that sat near the other doctor's cot, Nic filled it before pulling the blanket from her head so he could hand it and one of the pastries to her.

"Dr. Kokoris, do you know how many days it's been since we had a chance to get a reasonable amount of sleep?" Even as she voiced the complaint, Joanna couldn't resist the offered breakfast. "It smells wonderful though."

"Um hmm, so you need to drink up while it's hot, and then get dressed because we have somewhere we have to be." As she took the first sip of her coffee he rose to find a cup for his own.

"You're not serious? The only place I have to be today is here, and if you had any common sense you'd be sleeping as well." Pulling the still warm pastry apart, she placed a bite in her mouth.

"Trust me, you won't regret this, and..." After taking a sip of his own coffee, Nic sat his cup down so he could retrieve a duffel from under his cot.

"I've packed some things and arranged for us to get two days away from the camp." Setting the bag on the top of his own cot, he returned to his cup.

"Nic, you're crazy, as busy as it's been? They can't afford to have both of us gone." The woman's disbelief at his even making the suggestion resounded clearly in her words.

"No, I'm not, just think about it. We're no good to them if we're exhausted, and a new group of volunteers is due in this morning, it's the perfect time. Now, put some clothes on, we have to meet someone in an hour." Seeing that Nic was not going to change his mind, Joanna pulled another bite of pastry off and tossed it at him.

"Oh, fine, you win, but, this had better be worth my losing sleep over because otherwise you are so going to pay."

Despite her continued efforts to pry the details of where they were going from the Greek, the man remained secretive as they wound their way through the streets outside the camp. As they entered a neighborhood marred by the rubble of a recent bombing she found her doubts about his plans growing stronger.

"Uh, Nic? She looked from the first of the buildings to him and back again.

"It'll be fine, trust me, it's been weeks since they've had any activity here." As he offered the reassurance he approached a gated house and slipped the latch so he could swing the door open.

"This is it." Stepping aside, Nic waved Joanna through before following only to then skirt around her again so he could unlock the front door.

"Go down the steps, there should be a green door to your left, which was left open for us." A Cheshire-like grin spread across the Greek's face as he watched the woman for her reaction.

"Um, okay. Should I be worried about this?" Joanna walked up to him with the question. When the only response he gave in return was a shake of the head and a further deepening of his smile she gave up on him.

"You're awful, you do know that, right?" Rising up on her toes, she kissed him before he could react, then disappeared down the stairs.

"What, now you're not coming?" Her voice carried back up the stairs to him as she reached the bottom.

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 806

Thank you to Christina for the loan of her muse medico_bella for this prompt,

To be continued...

"For the first time in my life, I feel old." Nicolas Kokoris released a deep sigh as he stood in the tent's doorway, staring at the sprawling camp before him.

"Why would you say that?" Joanna Falconiri glanced up from the chart she was making notes in at her companion's comment. "That's not like you, Nic."

"Nothing changes, or if anything, it only gets worse, what's the point?" Without realizing it, one hand went to his low-back to knead a sudden ache.

"Nic, it does change, think of all those we help, those who are alive because we're here, it has to count for something." It was her turn to sigh, and after marking her place with her pen, she closed the folder and rose to join him in the doorway.

"Does it? I used to think so, now, I don't know." When she moved in close behind him, then slid her arms around his waist, he remained immobile except for dropping his own hand, for some reason not quite ready to accept the comfort of her words or touch.

"Days like today, I feel worthless, and I just can't get past it, it wasn't like this when we were here all those years ago. Have I changed all that much?" An explosion in the distance sent a tremble through him, and again his hand moved to his side. "I never felt afraid before, afraid that everything we were working for would end in failure, and I don't think I can handle feeling like this." As his words continued they grew much quieter, becoming almost lost to the sounds of the chaos outside the tent.

"Joanna. I don't know what to do."

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom:Presidio Med
Words: 234

Thank you to Christina for the loan of her muse medico_bella for this prompt, if you'd like to read the original prompt and the RP that are referred to, you'll find those here: Look Out!

"You wanna do what?" The Chief of Surgery sitting across from Nicolas Kokoris stared at the man in disbelief before dropping his eyes to the letter that had found it's way into his in-box that very morning.

"I think my letter of resignation was quite clear." Nic released a soft sigh, the argument was one he had already been through no less than three times since he had made the decision to close his practice in Greece and move to San Francisco, and likely it would not be the last of them before he boarded his plane.

"Nic, we've known each other too long for you to leave me with just that, there's more to this then that, you know it and I know it." He released the sheet of paper and let it flutter to his desk as he focused his full attention on the surgeon.

"If it's just a matter of needing more time for your work with Medecins Sans Frontieres, we could hire an additional surgeon or two to allow you that flexibility." Before he had fully finished, Nic was already stopping him.

"Ignatius, it's not that, in fact, it doesn't have anything to do with my practice, or work at all." Even as he skirted around the real reason for his decision for leaving he wondered why he was being so secretive about it.

"Then what is it, Nic? Tell me, because what you've given me here is about as far from the truth as a child in school telling their teacher that their dog ate their homework." As much as he hated watching the other man's reaction to his questions, Dr. Basilius was determined not to allow him to walk away without revealing the truth.

"All right, fine, it's Rae, we've talked about her. I want more then two weeks twice a year with her, so, I've accepted a position with a hospital in San Francisco so I can see more often." There, it was out, so why then wasn't he feeling a sense of relief? He found himself watching the other man's face for his reaction.

"And what if nothing comes of it, you'll have thrown your career away for nothing." The older surgeon's words were heavy with annoyance.

"Maybe I think it's worth the risk, that she's worth the risk, I do know I'm tired of being alone, and I'm ready to start thinking about settling down." There, he'd said it. Nic almost smiled as the thought surfaced, though, reading the other man's expression suppressed it almost immediately.

"What does she say about your decision?" Ignatius' question was likely the one Nic feared most.

"I have no idea, but, I guess I'll find out when I get there." Any further discussion would have to wait, and as his pager vibrated at his hip, Nic reached for it.

"I need to go, I'm being paged for an emergency." He motioned to the door as he spoke.

"Go, call me when you finish, so we can work out the details." Dr. Basilius reached for the top folder on the corner of his desk.

"I will." As he left the room, for the first time since he'd made the decision to leave, Nic felt hopeful, maybe this was the start of things going his way. Or at least he could hope for that.

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 559

the mun and muse are honored.

It was everywhere, the blood, I should have been prepared for it, but I wasn't. Sure, I'd seen the reports on the news, I'd read the briefing statements that had been sent to me before I'd made the decision to accept this assignment for Medecins Sans Frontieres, but, none of that prepares you for your first actual encounter with all of the violence, all of the blood.

I'm not really sure what prompted me to accept a placement in Palestine, probably the same that had drawn me to Bosnia, and would eventually draw me to Afghanistan, but once there the reality of it was unlike anything I had read or seen anywhere. As a surgeon I'm used to seeing blood, but not like this, and certainly not when it's evidence of a crime that takes so many lives before their time.

I don't think anything could have prepared me for my first suicide bombing. To know that so many people were caught unaware, their lives interrupted as they moved through life in the only way they could, under circumstances they had no control over. To see the randomness of the act, the victims whose lives were cut short, or worse who would live out the balance of their days forever changed.

I've no time to think of any of that though. For me, all I see is the blood and the devastation beneath it as I struggle to find ways to repair the damage that has been done, and if I'm lucky, I'll find a way to save them, a way to give them more time on this earth, and maybe with it, a reason to hope that one day all the violence will end so no one else is forced to face what they have to face.

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 298

A year after his death and Nicolas Kokoris still couldn't find the words he wanted to say as he started the letter to Joanna Falconiri on the anniversary of her husband Roberto's death. Granted he'd been with her when she'd received the news, he'd made the trip back to Italy as she took his body home for burial, he'd even stood at her side as they'd laid him to rest. None of that made what he wanted to say come any easier, and in the end he would likely settle for what was expected, the words that would be easiest for the family to hear.

Joanna... Well, that was the easy part of things...he glanced at the sheet of paper in front of him and debated just what he was ready to put on it.

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've written, I could probably excuse it by saying I've been busy, but, we both know that's just an excuse when the truth is, I just wasn't sure what to say. It's hard to believe an entire year has passed, though I know for you it likely seems that time has stood still. I'm in the process of getting ready for my bi-annual tour, and I guess I wondered if I'd see you. Maybe it's too soon for you to even think of going back, I can imagine that the wounds are still fresh, and returning could only make that worse. I just want you to reconsider, maybe going will in fact allow you to heal, if you give yourself a chance to see once again what you and Roberto had devoted your life to, what he gave his for. Just think about it. Remember, I'm here if you need me, take care.

Nic

Just words, but, hopefully ones that would help. He folded the paper and slid it in the envelope. Time to get back to work.

Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom: Presidio Med
Words: 342