Every nurse has one case that follows them home and does not let go

Emma thought she already had hers The little boy from the bus crash The overdose The stroke wife But she was wrong The case that stayed found her on a Thursday night shift that did not look special at first

The ER felt heavy but not wild The waiting room was full but not loud Flu season had started and half the board was fever cough body aches rule out pneumonia There were two sprained ankles from a pickup basketball game and one guy who swore he swallowed a toothpick and wanted an X ray to prove it Emma did triage on him anyway because liability is liability

Ryan was on charting duty at the nurses station His posture was slouched from hours on his feet His hair was a little too long and falling across his forehead The overhead lights made shadows under his eyes He caught Emma looking and gave that tired half smile that said I am okay even when he was clearly not

You look alive she said

Thanks he said I am aiming for functional

She leaned on the counter trying to stretch her lower back without making it obvious You eat tonight

He raised one eyebrow Did you

She sighed No

Then we are both lying he said

Before she could answer Nicole’s voice came from down the hallway Emma You are taking Room Four I need you now

That tone was not normal Nicole was good under pressure but had a certain tightness in her voice that showed up only in bad moments It was there now

Emma pushed off the counter and moved fast

Room Four was a teenager Sixteen maybe Seventeen Max Skinny Pale Eyes too wide He was on the bed holding his stomach His breathing was fast and uneven Sweat on his forehead The kind of scared that sits too quiet instead of screaming

His mother stood near the wall arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to hold her heart in place She kept whispering Please help him Please help him Please help him over and over like she was praying and apologizing at the same time

Emma stepped in voice calm gentle My name is Emma I am going to ask you a few things Can you tell me your name

The boy swallowed and whispered AJ

Okay AJ Tell me what is hurting

He pressed his hand lower right abdomen right over where Emma did not want to see his hand

How long

Few hours He winced I thought it was food poisoning but it got bad fast

Fever at home

Yeah Like chills and hot at the same time

Vomiting

Twice

Emma nodded Okay Stay with me Breathe slow I am going to start an IV and get you some fluids and something for pain I will be quick

He nodded almost grateful She loved that look on patients faces The trust The way strangers handed their pain straight to her like Here hold this for me and she did

She started a line Drew blood Called labs Ordered imaging She moved with clean fast hands She felt steady She felt in control

Then AJ sucked in a breath sharp and tight and his face twisted with sudden panic Oh God it is worse it is tearing I cannot

Emma felt a cold drop in her chest

Appendix she thought Rupture

She hit the call button with her knuckle Nicole I need Ryan now

Ryan was already on his way She heard his footsteps before she saw him He pushed the curtain aside and scanned the room once eyes sharp voice already working What do we have

Male sixteen lower right quadrant pain fever rebound tenderness Vitals trending up Abdominal guarding Sudden spike in pain Possible rupture

Ryan stepped to the bedside AJ Look at me Keep your eyes open You are okay We are going to move fast Do you hear me

AJ nodded with a broken sound

Ryan said quietly to Emma Let us hang fluids and broad spectrum antibiotics now Page surgery Tell CT we are coming in two minutes not twenty

Emma nodded moving You got it

The mother finally found her voice Is he dying Is he dying please tell me he is not dying

Emma turned to her Not dying But we cannot wait We are treating this right now You did the right thing bringing him in

The mother shook her head I almost did not He said he was okay He always says he is okay I should have

Emma stepped closer You brought him here That is what matters

They moved fast down the hall Bed rolling monitors beeping Nicole clearing doors with her arm like traffic control Ryan at the head of the bed talking to AJ in a calm low voice that somehow cut through everything Okay AJ stay with us Stay with me You are doing great Almost there

Emma walked on the other side of the bed one hand on AJ’s wrist feeling his pulse It was fast too fast She kept her own voice steady You are not alone You are safe You are okay Stay with us Almost there Almost there

CT took them right away Which almost never happens Which told Emma what everyone already knew This was serious

When imaging finished Ryan did not waste time He did not bother softening it Appendicitis Perforated We are taking him to surgery now

The mother’s face crumpled Surgery Surgery tonight

Emma nodded Tonight Right now That is the best thing for him He is young He is strong He came in early enough This is good timing This is fixable

The mother covered her mouth with both hands and started to cry not loud just shaking silent tears The quiet kind that breaks you faster than screaming

Emma touched her shoulder gently We will update you We will take care of him

What if something happens the mother whispered What if I never see him again What if he thinks I left him here

Emma shook her head No He knows you are here You are going to be right outside He will know

The surgical team took AJ Through the doors and gone

The hallway went still

Emma stood with the mother in that stillness for a long moment She did not move She did not rush to her next task She just stayed She had learned you cannot always fix anything in medicine but sometimes you can stand in the space with someone while they break and that matters more than any med you can hang

He is my only the mother whispered after a long minute My only I raised him myself I work nights at the store and I almost told him to sleep it off first I almost told him we could not afford ER bills I almost killed my own kid to save money

Emma felt that in her bones You did not kill him You saved him You walked in here and said help That is what saved him

The mother nodded a little but the guilt did not leave her face

When Emma finally walked back toward the nurses station Ryan was waiting there leaning against the counter with his arms crossed His expression was calm and clinical but his eyes were not This one had gotten under his skin too

He said Surgery says prognosis is good They are already in He will be okay

She let out a slow breath Good

You did great in there

Her shoulders finally dropped a fraction Do not say that or I am going to lose it

Say what

That I did great

Okay he said deadpan You were average

She almost choked on a laugh I hate you

No you do not

Her smile faded slow She rubbed her forehead with the back of her wrist She was tired in that specific way that does not come from hours on your feet but from holding fear that was not yours

This one is sticking she admitted

Ryan nodded I figured

It is the mom Emma said voice quiet She almost did not come in She almost went back to bed Imagine waking up if he

She did not finish

Ryan’s jaw shifted I know

Emma looked at him You are thinking about that kid again

Always he said

She knew which one he meant The one he had told her about in the break room The one from his first year The one he still could not drive home from in his head

He held her gaze You are going to take this home tonight

Yeah

You are going to replay it and ask yourself if you missed something

Yeah

You did not

She nodded once but her eyes said she did not fully believe it

He lowered his voice Emma Listen to me You kept that boy stable through a rupture You kept his mother upright long enough for him to get to an OR You did your job You did more than your job You need to let yourself say that out loud

That felt like too much It felt like a hand on a bruise It made her chest feel tight

I cannot say that she whispered

Then I will

He did not look away You saved him

Her throat burned She blinked fast and swallowed hard Do not say that on the floor I am going to cry at the desk

He leaned in just a little Not touching Not breaking their line But close enough that only she could hear Then where do you want me to say it

Her pulse kicked She felt dizzy for a split second from the mix of adrenaline and exhaustion and something else that had nothing to do with work

Before she could answer Nicole called from across the unit Hey lovers Your charts are late again

Emma groaned Nicole

Nicole shrugged What I am the charge I am allowed to bully you Now finish your notes or I am writing you both up for being emotionally attractive while on duty

Ryan looked at Emma You heard the boss

Emma sighed and sat down in front of the computer Fine But if I fall asleep in this chair you are responsible for carrying me to my car

He tapped the desk I will authorize a wheelchair transfer

She shot him a look You are not funny

I am extremely funny

The rest of the night moved in waves Small cases Minor complaints A psych hold who refused to sit A hand laceration that definitely came from a fight the patient swore was just me cutting onions at work Right sure People think nurses believe every story We do not We just decide what matters in the moment and what does not

Around three in the morning the floor finally thinned out Lights low Voices quiet Monitors beeping slow and steady Instead of chaos the ER felt like a big animal just breathing in the dark

Emma sat in the break room alone for a minute The vending machine hummed The coffee pot clicked The clock on the wall ticked way too loud for how cheap it looked

That boy AJ was still in her head The way his hand shook The way he tried not to cry The way he nodded fast like yeah I am okay I am fine even when he was in real danger She had seen grown men with less control than that kid

The door opened Ryan stepped inside and closed it behind him He did not turn on the overhead light The room stayed dim

Update he said quietly while he leaned against the counter Surgery went fine They are closing now He is stable

Emma let out air she did not know she was still holding Thank God

Yeah

They were both quiet for a moment

Then Ryan said I know you You are not going to sleep after this shift I am calling it now

Probably not she admitted

So here is what is going to happen after shift You are going home You are showering You are eating actual food not crackers You are not replaying the what if script You are not allowed

And if I do anyway

Then you call me

Her eyes lifted You are serious

Yes

That is not professional

I am aware

She let out a small soft sound that landed somewhere between a laugh and a sigh You really are not subtle anymore

No he said I am not

Silence again but not empty Silence with electricity in it

Emma sat forward hands around her paper cup Ryan

Yeah

Do you ever think about leaving

He tilted his head Leaving this job

Leaving this ER Leaving this whole life The hours The blood The panic The alarms I know you said you tried but I mean now Do you still think about walking out and never coming back

He did not answer right away She watched him consider it for real not just react

Finally he said Sometimes Yeah But then I walk past a room and somebody is alive who would not be alive without us and I think Okay One more year

One more year

That is what I tell myself he said One more year If it is killing me I will walk Then one more year turns into five

You think that is going to happen to me

He smiled a little It already is

Her chest pulled tight in a way that felt like pride and fear mixed together

He pushed off the counter and moved closer to her Not touching but close enough that she could feel the warmth off him The room felt small

Emma

Yeah

You are allowed to care like this But you are also allowed to stay okay You hear me I am serious I am not going to watch you give every piece of yourself to this place

Her voice was quiet This place is where I met you

He went still

For a second neither of them breathed

Then his voice dropped softer lower almost rough Yeah he said Same for me

Her pulse jumped She felt it all the way to her fingertips

She could have kissed him in that moment She knew that She felt it like gravity pulling her forward The room was dim No one else around His face was inches from hers His eyes were tired and open and honest and warm in a way she had never seen back when he was just Dr Hale

She wanted to She really did

But she did not

Instead she sat back just enough to let air return between them

Slow she said

He nodded once Slow

It did not feel like a stall this time It felt like a promise

When morning finally came the first gray light slid in through the thin break room window The hospital felt less like a machine and more like a person just waking up

Emma stood and rolled her shoulders She felt wrung out and wired at the same time But she also felt something else Something that surprised her every time she noticed it

She felt proud

Not because she was strong Not because she held it together Not because she got through another shift

Because tonight a scared kid was going to wake up And his mother was going to get to say I am here I am right here And Emma knew she had helped make that moment real

That kind of thing stayed

That kind of thing was worth carrying

She walked out of the break room with Ryan beside her and for the first time she did not feel like she was walking behind him or next to him just at work She felt like they were moving forward in the same direction

Outside the sky was pale and quiet The air cool The city not fully awake yet She could smell rain somewhere in the distance and coffee from a cart on the corner

She knew something simple and solid

The case would follow her home tonight The fear would too So would the guilt So would the what if thoughts

But something else was following her home now

Not just the ER

Him