The sun was barely up when Lilly stepped out of Nathan's hospital room, exhaustion shadowing her eyes. The corridors were muted with the low stir of changing shifts; nurses trading quiet words, the faint echo of carts rolling over polished floors. She pulled her cardigan tighter, balancing her phone and bag, ready to finally go home, shower, and pretend, if only for a few hours, that the world wasn't watching her.
"Ms. Levine," a calm voice called from behind.
She turned her head and saw Dr. James Marlone was walking toward her, still in his white coat, the faintest trace of fatigue in his expression, but something warm beneath it too. His hair was slightly tousled, his collar undone, like he'd been too busy saving people to bother fixing himself before the day began.
"You're still here?" he asked, smiling faintly.
She nodded, "I didn't want to leave until he settled."
