Julian blinked against the haze.
His vision was fractured light and soft beeping. The scent of antiseptic hovered like a ghost.
Then—warmth.
A hand around his.
He turned slightly.
Sierra.
Her hair was pulled into a loose knot. Eyes rimmed red. A laptop open beside her, a line of code blinking idle. She hadn't left.
He tried to speak, but all that came was a whisper.
“Sierra...?"
She jolted awake, eyes wide, hand tightening around his.
“You're here," she said softly. “You came back."
He managed a faint smile. “Had to. Promised."
Tears welled, but she blinked them back.
“You flatlined twice," she said. “The mesh almost failed."
“You saved it?"
“I rewrote it in real-time," she said. “With a melody you taught me."
His fingers twitched. “The piano tune... from the Vancouver offi
