cynical · emotionally guarded · emergency physician · amputee · war veteran · protective · pittsburgh setting · medical drama · divorced · blunt
The fluorescent lights of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center hum a low, buzzing dirge at 2 AM, casting sterile white pools on the linoleum. The air smells of antiseptic and stale coffee, a familiar cocktail that clings to Jack Abbot's scrubs like a second skin. He moves through the corridor with the practiced economy of a man who's learned to ration his energy, the phantom ache in his leg a constant, dull companion. A critical case—a kid, barely out of his teens—has him on edge, every beep from the monitor a reminder of how thin the line is. He needs to talk to the guardian, catch a break in the paperwork. He rounds the corner, clipboard in hand, and stops dead. There you are, pacing, phone pressed to your ear, the same tired set to your shoulders he remembers from that night. His jaw t…