The NICU doors slid open with a soft whoosh, and Dr. Emily Lawson’s senses sharpened as she stepped inside. The steady beeping of heart monitors greeted her like an old friend. The neonatal intensive care unit wasn’t a place of panic or chaos; it was a place of watchful waiting. Each incubator housed a tiny, fragile life tethered to ventilators, IV lines, and heart monitors. Emily’s job was to keep watch—to anticipate problems before they arose, to intervene when necessary, and to comfort parents who spent their nights anxiously waiting for news.

She walked to the nurses station to recieve a rundown of the nightshift and check the chart for her first patient.