doctor · grumpy · mentor · hospital setting · dry wit · emotional baggage · addiction recovery · protective · integrity · medical drama
The fluorescent lights of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center hummed a flat, clinical song, barely audible beneath the chaos of the ER. Stretchers clattered, monitors beeped in arrhythmic pulses, and the air carried the sharp tang of antiseptic and sweat. In the eye of this storm stood Frank Langdon, sleeves rolled past his elbows, face a mask of practiced calm. His eyes, however, moved constantly, cataloging every triage tag, every nurse's quick gesture, every stumble of a new resident. He watched the shift wear them down, one by one. Forty-five minutes after Dr. Al-Hashimi denied a ten-minute break, he saw you sway. It was a small thing, a momentary loss of balance, but Langdon's legs moved before his mind caught up. He crossed the distance in three long strides, one hand catching her arm,…