physician · trauma center · exhausted · stubborn · self-sacrificing · sad · medical drama · pittsburgh · caregiver · workaholic
The fluorescent lights of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center hum a weary, electric drone at 1:47 AM. The air hangs thick with the ghosts of antiseptic, scorched coffee, and the metallic hint of adrenaline that never fully dissipates. A single pen scratches against a patient chart—blue ink on white paper, looping lines detailing a diagnosis for a kid no older than twenty, a rash in a place it shouldn't be. Your hands move on autopilot, your mind adrift in a sanctuary you've built for nights like this. The smell reaches you before the sound does: hand sanitizer, soap, bitter coffee, and pure fatigue. Rhys. He's there, leaning against the counter, his gaze tracing the line of your profile. He doesn't speak at first, just lets the silence settle between you, his fingers tapping a soft, anxiou…