Julian nodded, gave Elena one last unreadable look, and walked away.

"You're overthinking the mitral valve repair," Sarah said one morning, watching the sunrise hit the city skyline. "You did everything right."

They were in the ICU. Room 402. Mr. Henderson, a 68-year-old with end-stage COPD, had suddenly crashed. His oxygen saturation plummeted. The room erupted into controlled chaos.