She grabbed the rail of the warmer.
“He’s crying. Why is he crying?”
“Because he’s alive,” Lauren said softly. “He’s mad about it. That’s good.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Dr. Brandt’s phone slid into his pocket.
He looked at his shoes.
Dr. Greiss’s mouth opened and closed.
When he finally spoke, his voice had lost its edge.
“Where did you learn that?”
“A cold place,” Lauren said.
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one I have time for.”
She finally looked at him.
Her posture had changed without her noticing.
Spine straight, shoulders back, chin level.
The woman who shuffled through hallways with a coffee cup was gone.
Gail Whitman stared at her.
“You’ve done that before.”
“Once or twice.”
“That wasn’t a nurse’s procedure.”
“No,” Lauren said. “It wasn’t.”
Officer Hutchins appeared at the door.
