The hospital corridors bustled with the usual organized chaos as Hana made her rounds, distributing meds and supplies to the various patient rooms. Normally she found a calm routine. But today, her mind remained frustratingly scattered no matter how hard she tried to focus on her tasks.

As she emerged from a patient’s room, Hana nearly jumped out of her skin to find Audra hovering nearby.

“Oh! Audra, you startled me...” Hana murmured, clutching her med tray tightly.

The older nurse tilted her head slightly, studying Hana with those perpetually worried eyes. “Are you alright, Hana? You seem...distracted.”

Conflicting waves of relief and apprehension washed over the younger woman. Perhaps Audra held the answers she so desperately sought. But she also feared what revealing her lapse of memory might say about her.

Audra must have sensed her internal struggle. “Did...something happen last night after you left?” she prompted gently.

With a resigned sigh, Hana figured she might as well rip off the bandaid. “I was hoping you could tell me. I’m afraid I don’t remember much after...” She trailed off with uncertainty.

Understanding dawned on Audra’s face as the pieces clicked into place. “Oh, Hana...I’m so sorry. The truth is, none of us are quite sure what happened after you took off so abruptly.”

Hana’s shoulders slumped with disappointment, but she tried not to let it show. She should have expected as much. “I see. Thank you.”

A familiar figure striding down the hallway caught Hana’s eye. Dr. Ren Jenkins, his brow furrowed intently as he listened to the overhead page summoning him elsewhere.

Disorienting flashes exploded in her mind’s eye - tears streaming down her face...strong arms wrapped around her...the smoky-sweet scent of an expensive cologne...

Hana gasped audibly, nearly upending her tray from the force of the memories blindsiding her. Distantly, she heard Audra calling her name in alarm. But all she could focus on was the rapidly retreating figure of the imposing ER Chief.

It had been Dr. Jenkins - he was the one who had found her in such a compromised state and, inexplicably, ensured she made it home safely. Which meant...

Of course, that’s who it was.

The pounding of her pulse echoed in Hana’s ears, drowning out all the other commotion around them as her vision started tunneling inward. How in heaven’s name was she going to approach him about returning the coat after this, let alone look him in the eye?

“Hana, are you okay?”

Audra’s concerned voice barely registered through Hana’s spiraling panic. With tremendous effort, she pulled her focus back to the patient sitting before her, startled by the disruption.

“I...y-yes, I’m so sorry,” Hana managed to stammer out, hands trembling visibly.

It had been Dr. Jenkins who found her in such a compromised state the previous night.

As soon as her duties were complete, Hana found herself practically fleeing to the sanctity of the supply closet.

Without another word, she turned on shaky legs and fled down the hallway as quickly as propriety would allow. She needed to get out of that stifling space immediately before the full weight of her utter mortification came crashing down.

Disappearing into the safety of a supply closet, Hana drew a series of shuddering breaths to stave off her impending panic attack.

Sinking to the floor, Hana buried her burning face in her hands as the first tears started trickling down her cheeks. With trembling fingers, she pulled up Mira’s contact and hit the call button.

“Hey there drama queen, I was wondering when you’d fi-”

“Mira...” Hana’s voice came out in a hoarse croak, cutting off her best friend’s teasing greeting. “I...I really messed up.”

There was a pregnant pause on the line before Mira responded, her tone shifting to one of gentle concern. “Oh honey, what happened? Talk to me.”

And so Hana did.

She pressed her back against the closet door, squeezing her eyes shut as she awaited Mira’s undoubtedly worried reaction.

What she didn’t expect was the sudden laughter on the other end of the line.

“Mira!” Hana admonished, feeling a fresh wave of embarrassment and hurt wash over her. “It’s not funny! I completely disgraced myself in front of my boss and...”

“Sweetie, breathe!” Mira managed to say once her giggles subsided. “I’m not laughing at your pain, I promise. It’s just...from what little you’ve said, I honestly don’t think this hot doctor boyfriend of yours was as horrified as you seem to think!”

Hana sputtered incoherently at that, her cheeks blazing all over again. “B-Boyfriend?? Mira, you don’t understand.”

“When I spoke to him last night to make sure he got your stubborn behind home safe, he didn’t sound the least bit put off,” Mira bulldozed on with a dismissive sniff. “Just...concerned for your wellbeing, really. Like a total sweetheart.”

The line went silent again as Hana processed her friend’s words, dumbfounded. Mira had spoken to Dr. Jenkins. And he didn’t seem upset or judgmental in the slightest? She opened and closed her mouth, utterly at a loss.

Mira, however, simply chuckled again at Hana’s stunned silence. “See? I told you you were overreacting. Your sexy doctor prince seems to care for you just fine, despite your drunken hysterics.”

A tiny giggle finally escaped Hana at that, the first hint of mirth piercing through her thick panic. The glimmer of amusement spread, until soon she was dissolving into helpless laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of Mira’s nicknames for poor Dr. Jenkins.

“Oh my god, I can’t...” she wheezed, wiping at the happy tears now trickling down her face. “He’s going to have me committed if he ever hears you call him those things!”

“More’s the pity then,” Mira sighed dramatically. “But I’m afraid I’ve got to run - snobby riches to cater to and all. You just take a few calming breaths and quit stressing so hard, Nightingale. I’m sure your prince will still want to marry you when all is said and done.”

Hana laughed again, feeling lighter than she had in days. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“And you adore me for it,” her best friend sing-songed. “Chin up, babe! Everything will be just fine.”

With that, Mira’s trademark air kisses echoed over the line before the call disconnected. Hana clutched her phone to her chest, allowing the remnants of her giggles to slowly taper off into peaceful silence.

She took a cleansing breath, letting the lingering vestiges of panic and dread finally drift away on the exhale. Maybe, just maybe, Mira was right - perhaps she truly had been overreacting to the whole mortifying situation. A tiny kernel of hope began blossoming in her chest.

If the kind, caring man she knew Dr. Jenkins to be hadn’t seemed bothered, then surely she could face him again soon with her dignity intact.

With a steadying nod at her reflection on her phone screen, Hana reached for the closet door handle to rejoin the hectic world of the hospital floors. Only to come face-to-face with the startled form of none other than Dr. Rowan himself.

“Well hello there, Nightingale!” the jovial doctor grinned widely at the deer-in-headlights look on Hana’s face. “Fancy meeting you here!”

Hana could only blink owlishly at the cheerful doctor, her cheeks immediately flushing. “D-Dr. Rowan! I was just...umm, looking for something.”

“In the supply closet?” One of Rowan’s bushy eyebrows arched upwards in playful skepticism. “Don’t they usually keep those items on the floor carts?”

She opened and closed her mouth, grasping for a reasonable excuse. But that sunshine-bright grin of his seemed to disarm her skill for prevarication. Instead, Hana simply offered a meek shrug.

Rowan, however, didn’t push the subject. His expression sobered somewhat as he gave her a more appraising look. “Seems like you’ve been having yourself a bit of a tough go lately, Nightingale. You doing okay after your... night out with the crew?”

Hana felt her blush deepen at his oblique reference to her meltdown. Still, she managed a small nod. “Y-Yes, thank you. I’m alright.”

Though his typical sunny demeanor didn’t waver, something softer flashed across Rowan’s features then. “Well, you know where to find me if you ever need to talk things through, yeah? I’m the self-appointed therapist of ER… maybe the entire hospital.”

The kind offer simultaneously filled her with warmth and slight discomfort. Hana still struggled to get used to Rowan’s overly friendly, boisterous personality at times. But she appreciated the sentiment all the same.

“Thank you, really,” she murmured, unable to meet his gaze fully. With an awkward bob of her head, Hana quickly excused herself and brushed past him to rejoin the hustle of the main corridors.

No sooner had she emerged, however, than a small gaggle of eager-eyed nurses swarmed around her like a cloud of hummingbirds. Clara, Julie, and Audra all quickly converged, interrogating her with looks ranging from innocent curiosity to outright smirking knowingness.

“What was that about, Ms. Shizumi?” Clara asked in a tone that could cut glass.

Hana opened and closed her mouth once more, panic rising swiftly in her chest. She wasn’t at all prepared to be put on the spot like this, especially about the already humiliating events surrounding her night with Rowan and the other docs. Mercifully, the man himself cut in before she could stammer out a reply.

“Nothing to see here, ladies!” Rowan announced jovially as he stepped up beside Hana. “Just getting a quick consult from Nurse Shizumi about a patient’s chart is all. You know how us doctors are - we need all hands-on deck sometimes!”

A chorus of disappointed pouts and grumbles met his words as the nurses realized there was no salacious gossip to be gleaned from this particular encounter.

For her part, Hana could only stare at Rowan with an odd mixture of gratitude and uncertainty. She hadn’t expected him to outright deflect for her, especially not about something so innocuous.

But Rowan simply gave her one last wink and buoyant grin before clapping her lightly on the shoulder. “Duty calls, Nightingale! Maybe next time, eh?”

With that parting quip, he strode off down the hall without a backward glance, leaving Hana to shyly tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Well...that had certainly been an unexpectedly eventful trip to the supply closet.

Perhaps she could take it as a sign that her worry over last night’s disaster was truly overblown, at least among her male colleagues. A tiny, hopeful smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she too turned to head back to her tasks for the day.

But first things first, she needed to return Dr. Jenkin’s coat to him.

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