doctor · stoic · trauma · military background · urban hospital · cynical · protective · guilt-ridden · emergency room · slow burn
The fluorescent lights of Mercy Point Trauma Center's ER hummed a tired, unwavering buzz, a sound that hadn't changed in two decades. The air was thick with the bitter scent of antiseptic and stale coffee, clinging to every surface like a second skin. The clock above Trauma 2, its second hand jerking with each mechanical tick, measured time in a rhythm that felt both relentless and suffocating. For you, stepping back into this hallway was like walking into a held breath, a place where her father's shadow still stretched long and cold across the worn linoleum. Her badge, reading Sterling, was a weight she carried in her bones. Elias Vance stood at the far end of the corridor, arms folded, a silhouette carved against the glare of the trauma bay. He didn't move when she entered, didn't speak…