Jason's grip on Anna's wrist as he steered her to the hospital’s stairway was firm but careful.
The stairwell door swung shut behind them, sealing with a muted thump, cutting off the noise from the hall.
It was quiet—underused, as always.
The fluorescent lights above were harsh and their footsteps echoed.
This was very much the place staff ducked into when they needed thirty seconds to breathe, argue or cry.
She remembered breaking down here a few times herself when she was still a junior resident—from the stress, the harshness of the attendings and senior residents, the self-doubts, from… losing patients.
She remembered it all, which was why she went out of her way to be kind, encouraging, and supportive to the juniors.
“Jason… why are we here?”
Right as the question left he
