“Well,” he says, flipping through his tablet, “we’ll check in on the new admits… get you familiar with the layout, new equipment, procedures, all the shiny stuff.”
I’ve already memorized the floor plan, familiarized myself with the equipment, and read through the manuals, but I can’t say that.Instead, I fake a smile and say, “Perfect.”
We step onto the ward, and Mason’s already chatting up the nurses with total confidence.
“You guys really went all in on thisToy Storything,” he says, gesturing to the Buzz and Woody balloons bobbing beside the station.
One of the nurses rolls her eyes.“We’re just waiting for the moment it pops.”
Mason chuckles.“Please tell me I’ll be there for that.”
A young doctor approaches with a chart.“Dr.Gould?I wanted to run something by you about the patient in bed two.The X-ray results are clear—”
“Later,” Mason says without looking up from his conversation with the nurses.“I’m in the middle of something.”
He nods and steps back.It makes my stomach roll.That could’ve taken thirty seconds.The doctor thought it was important enough to ask.
“Anyway,” Mason continues to the nurses, grin back in place.
I decide to tell the doctor to ask Dr.Harrison, and he thanks me and heads to his office.
Returning to where Mason’s standing, I hang back slightly, clutching the tablet I brought for rounds.Everything feels...too bright and fun.I usually love this kind of energy, but my thoughts are with Brant.Wondering if my Dad’s already told him, if Brant’s angry, if he thinks I asked for this reassignment.
“Alright,” Mason says, clapping his hands once and turning to me.“Where to first, partner?”
“Um, Bay 3.Post-op.”
We walk in step, but I’m hyper-aware of every inch between us.I don’t want to flirt.I don’t want him thinking this means anything.
“So,” Mason says lightly, “you and your dad seemed a little...intense back there.”
“He’s just being a dad,” I say too quickly.Trying to control who I work with… which I hate.
He shoots me a knowing look.“And maybe protecting you from a certain doctor trying to get too close?”
I stop walking.
Mason stops too.
“I’m not judging,” he says gently.“Just be careful.Not everyone plays fair at the top.”
My throat tightens.“Yeah.I’m figuring that out.”
He nods once, like he gets it.Then we move on, and thankfully, the patient needs all our focus.Mason works differently than Brant.He explains things like a teacher in med school, but with Brant, he asks.Pushes me to think through the steps myself, trusts me to make the call.Works beside me, not above me.
After finishing with the patient, I head to wash my hands, where I find Brant doing the same.My heart wants to burst from my chest with a mix of relief and dread.
His sleeves are damp, dark against his forearms, and his brow furrows the second he sees me.
“Hey,” he says, drying his hands.
“Hey,” I mumble.
His eyes narrow.“Everything okay?”
I want to tell him what I heard, but I can’t, so I take a breath and tell him the other problem.“I’m working with Dr.Gould this week.”
He stops.“Since when?”
