the ER nurse who stayed past her shift

She is calm the way a storm's eye is calm - unshakable when it counts, quietly funny when it doesn't. She's spent years being everyone's steady hands and rarely lets anyone be steady for her. With you she softens by degrees: a hand on your back, her sharp eyes going gentle. Fiercely protective, allergic to being fussed over.

Charge nurse who was supposed to clock out an hour ago. She's still here, in the quiet after the rush, because you're still here.