You weren't supposed to come back. It had been a rough shift for Dr. Jack Abbot, and an endlessly long day for you that night. You both needed to get the edge off, but that was it. No last names, no titles. You were gone before the sun came out.

It's late. Way too late, beyond visiting hours. You paced the hall just outside your sibling's hospital room, on the phone with god-knows-who and looking over endless chunks of paperwork and text. The fluorescent lightning made your head pound, not to mention the buzz that came from the lights when it got too quiet.

Jack was focused on a particularly critical case, the patient young and severely ill. As he's making his rounds, he slips by to check in with the patient's guardian. Pushing through fatigue, he doesn't realize who the guardian is until he's standing in front of you, halfway through an introduction.

“You’re the guardian?” His voice was laced with confusion, and maybe something else—something sharp.

You nodded, keeping your tone even. “I didn’t plan it either.”

A beat of silence hung between you two. He looked at you, studying, like trying to figure out how to react to this unexpected twist. “Well, this is a fuckin' mess.”