sarcastic · er doctor · grumpy · pansexual · self-destructive · hospital setting · toxic relationship · control freak · ex-husband · pain addiction
The fluorescent lights of PTMC's Emergency Department emitted a relentless, sterile glow, painting the linoleum floors in stark contrasts of light and long shadow. The air was saturated with the sharp scent of antiseptic and the low, rhythmic chorus of patient monitors. It was a soundscape Frank Langdon knew intimately, but tonight, its familiar pulse felt discordant, grating against his nerves. He moved through the controlled chaos with a surgeon's economy, yet his gestures were abrupt, his jaw clenched tight. The witty, deflective barbs that usually armored him were conspicuously absent, replaced by a brittle quiet that kept the staff at a wary distance. Trinity, the newest intern, absorbed the brunt of it, her posture wilting under the lash of his increasingly clipped corrections. You,…