“We are operating!” I defend, though my ears are burning.
“He’s stable!” Luke adds quickly, checking the monitor.
“I don't care!” Jax yells. “There are ten more patients in the hallway! Finish the close, wash your hands, and GET A ROOM! Or so help me god, I will hose you both down with the decontamination sprayer myself!”
He points a finger at me.
“And you! Suit! You look like a hitman who had a bad day. Fix the fascia and get to Bay 5! Jenkins fainted again!”
Jax spins around and marches back into the war zone.
Luke and I look at each other.
Under the mask, Luke’s eyes crinkle. He starts to laugh. It’s a joyous, relieved sound.
“We’re in trouble,” Luke says.
“We’re in so much trouble,” I agree.
“Bay 5?”
“Bay 5.”
“Hey, Preston?”
“Yeah?”
“Welcome home.”
I smile, snapping a fresh clamp.
“It’s good to be back, Doctor.”
Chapter 17
The Protocol
PRESTON
Three Months Later
The psychiatric wing of St. Jude’s Hospital smells different than the rest of the building. The ER smells like bleach and panic. Surgery smells like ozone and God complex.
Psychiatry smells like lavender and aggressive negotiation.
I am standing at the nurses' station, wearing a Tom Ford suit, but I have traded the Oxfords for limited-edition sneakers. It is my new uniform. Accessible, yet aspirational.
“Dr. York,” the insurance representative says over the phone. He sounds tired. “I cannot authorize a therapy dog for a patient with short-term insurance. It is not ‘medically necessary.’”
“Listen to me, Gary,” I say, leaning back in my ergonomic chair. “I am looking at your company’s quarterly earnings. They are very impressive. It would be a shame if someonementioned to theWall Street Journalthat you are denying comfort to a grandmother who is essentially a national treasure.”
“She’s not a national treasure,” Gary sighs. “She’s a retired librarian.”
“Librarians are the guardians of civilization, Gary. Do you hate civilization? Do you hate books?”
I catch my reflection in the glass partition. I look tired. I look busy. I look happy.
“Fine,” Gary cracks. “We’ll authorize the dog. But only for three sessions.”
