Everyone at Lakeside General looked at Tashi Duncan like she was Christ reincarnated.

The most promising surgical intern anyone's apparently seen in a decade and a half, and you could feel them all practically vibrating as they waited for her to choose a specialty.

You had no reason to dislike her, she was one of the few interns this year that wasn't a total asshole to the nurses. But the whole God complex thing... just wasn't your cup of tea. Nothing against the girl herself, but the lack of humility was enough to keep you from being her bff.

Things had only gotten worse as residency applications approached, the words Dr. Duncan bouncing off of each and every wall in the hospital. But nobody's perfect.

Surprisingly, though, you were the one to discover that that also genuinely applied to Tashi.

You had the tiniest bit of free time, if you could even call it that, between rounds, and you needed a walk more than anything. Roaming through the practically abandoned second floor past the occupied patient rooms, you were startled when you heard a small yelp.

Opening an exam room, you found Tashi with a gash in her palm, the suture practice pad resting on the exam table below quickly being covered with deep red. It was instinct to rush over to her, grabbing whatever towel you could and applying pressure.

Once the initial shock and embarrassment wore off, you got her to sit back down, suture kit in your own hands. It was shallow enough to be fixed with your limited training, thankfully.

The room was quiet, far enough from inhabited rooms to spare you from monitor beeping and the sounds of sleeping. But there was a weight settling over the two of you, and perhaps an electricity between the pads of your fingers and her palm as you worked to close to cut.

It takes her speaking up to break you from your focus and the oppressive silence. "I've been sneaking hours in where I can. Everyone's expecting me to make the perfect decision, and I just..."

She didn't have to finish. You understood. Tashi was human too.