Thank you so much for the reviews! It really did motivate me to keep writing. I have a lot of ideas for where this story is headed and I'm super excited to share it with all of you!

Sarah woke up drenched in sweat. She gasped, finally liberated from her nightmare.

She dreamt that her and her patient from yesterday's brother were on a gray platform suspended hundreds of feet above a large body of water that looked like liquid silver. A heavy fog surrounded them.

"YOU - KILLED - HIM!" he shouted in the dream, approaching her aggressively. She flinched and put her hands in front of her in defence. She backed up as much as she could, her heels at the very edge of the platform. "How the fuck can you live with yourself?!" he spat at her with hatred. "GOOD DOCTORS KEEP PATIENTS ALIVE!" he shouted, swatting at her. She ducked, causing him to hit air, but lost her balance, awakening just after she began to fall.

She looked over at the clock on her bedside table. 5:47am.

She got up, even though she didn't have to be at work for another two hours. There was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep.

She took a long shower and ate some oatmeal for breakfast. She picked out a pale pink button down blouse which she tucked into black slacks. She stepped in front of the mirror, throwing her hair into a messy top knot, frowning at the dark circles under her eyes.

She checked the clock again. 6:59am. She put on her shoes and coat, grabbed her keys and her backpack, and was on her way to catch the 7:05am bus which stopped at the end of her street. She didn't care that she'd be early. Maybe she could read that book on cardiac arrests until her shift started.

She couldn't stop thinking about her dream on the bus ride to the hospital. She shook her head, snapping herself out of it. This was her job. This was her life. She was going to have countless 12+ hour shifts ahead of her filled with new horrors and she had to find a way to cope with them. Nightmares and baggy eyes weren't ideal.

She was so lost in her thoughts she almost missed her stop.

"Morning, Reese," Will greeted when she walked in.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Did you work the night shift as well?" he asked, scanning her face.

"No, but, thanks," she said, laughing a little.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean - "

"I'm not getting as much sleep as I probably should," she shrugged. "Fourth year medical student problems,"

"I remember the days," he said. "Won't get much better from here. I've got to get back to my patient, but I hope you have a good day," he paused. "And I'm sorry again,"

"No worries," she said. "You, too," she turned to go to the doctor's lounge when she ran right into someone. "I'm sorry, I - " she looked up. "Connor - I mean - Dr. Rhodes,"

"Don't worry," he smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I won't be as mean as Will. And you can call me Connor by the way,"

"Okay," she smiled back, her heart racing. "Yeah, he sure has a way with greetings. He wasn't wrong, though,"

"Did you have a hard time sleeping last night?" he asked, his face now solemn. She didn't feel like getting into it right then. It'd make her feel weak. She was tired of feeling weak.

"No," she lied. "I could've slept for eight more hours if I didn't have this shift,"

"I can't say I believe you, Sarah Reese," he said. "I'd understand if you came in early after a good shift. Good shifts will remind you how enjoyable the work can be," he explained. "But coming in early after a rough one?"

"Well, coming in early isn't a bad thing," she said. "I was going to go keep reading that cardiology book I was reading last night,"

"I see you're trying to change the topic," he said, raising his eyebrows at her. He didn't press the original topic any further, though. "Are you interested in cardiology?"

"I don't know," she said. "I've never really thought about it. I just wanted to know more about it after..." she trailed off. "You know, yesterday," she finished.

"Isn't your match day is coming up?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, dread overwhelming her. "I was originally hoping for pathology,"

"And you're not anymore?"

"I don't know," she said, cringing at herself. "I really present myself as a lost, helpless, and confused girl, don't I?" she bit her lip.

"Not at all," he assured her. She sighed before continuing.

"Psychiatry has crossed my mind," she said. "Dr. Charles said I'd be really good at it and I've enjoyed shadowing him,"

"I see," he said. "We often have cardiology residency positions, you know," he winked. She wondered how someone could be so good looking.

"Ah, I don't know," she laughed. "You did see me asleep with that book," she teased.

"You're right, I did," he laughed, crossing his arms. "It's just something to think about,"

"It's probably a little too late for that now," she said. "I think I'd do better in pathology anyways,"

"Everyone thinks that," he said. "It's less stressful but, at the same time, less rewarding. You have to decide what's more important to you," he then looked at his watch. "I've got to go check on my patient but, just so you know, it's never too late,"

She checked her own watch once he left. 8:02am. How had her shift already started? She quickly put her winter coat in her locker and threw on her white coat.

That day went by far smoother for Sarah than the day before had. She was busy enough that she didn't have any time to think about the dream. She helped Natalie with a 13 year old female cancer patient and Ethan with a victim of drunk driving. She also joined Dr. Charles for every single one of his psych consults when she wasn't busy with Natalie's nor Ethan's patients.

Her twelve hours were up. She rubbed the back of her neck as she entered the doctor's lounge to grab her belongings. She was planning on catching the 8:20 bus.

"Miss Reese?" Sharon said, entering the lounge.

"Yes, Mrs. Goodwin?"

"Would you mind delivering these documents to Dr. Rhodes?" she asked. Butterflies began to swarm in her stomach.

"Oh, I'd rather not - " she started. She was cut off by Sharon raising her eyebrows. "I just - I don't even know where he lives and I - "

"I know, I wouldn't expect you to," Sharon said, looking confused. "I know you make use of public transport and Connor Rhodes' place is difficult to get to with it. I've put his place followed by yours on the shuttle's schedule which is set to leave at 8:30,"

"Right, okay," she said, seeing no clever way for her to get out of this. She was tired and felt gross and wasn't in the mood to most likely embarass herself by being her usual awkward self in front of Connor. Sharon handed her a folder with some documents. On the front of it was a sticky note that said "Floor 19, Unit 4".

"It's confidential information and I'm much more comfortable having one of our staff deliver it in person," she explained.

"Of course," she nodded.

"Thanks a million," she said before leaving.

Sarah got her coat and hopped on the shuttle which was already parked out front.

Her mouth gaped open when they pulled into Connor's neighbourhood. The apartment buildings were gorgeous. They made hers look like low income housing. They all had large glass windows. Sarah was sure that the view of the Chicago skyline would be beautiful. The shuttle pulled into one of the buildings on the right.

"Thank you," she told the driver. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she hopped off the bus and went to the entrance door. An older man in a nice suit opened it for her. His building has a door man? She thought to herself. She walked up to the elevator. Another man in a suit, much younger than the previous one, was standing on the left side of the elevator. Seeing her approach him, he pressed the button.

"What floor, miss?" he asked as they both entered the elevator. What do you call an elevator man? She wondered.

"19," she replied, glancing at the sticky note in front of the folder to make sure. "Thank you," she said to the elevator man as she exited the elevator onto Connor's floor.

Everything about his apartment was beautiful. The floors were made of marble and the colours of the various pieces of beautiful decor were either white, cream or light brown. She was overly aware of her breathing when she knocked on his door. Unit 4.

"Hey," he smiled when he opened the door. He was wearing a white long sleeve shirt with jeans. She cursed herself in her head after looking him up and down. Did she really need to make everything so obvious?

"Hi," she said. "Did Sharon tell you I was coming by to drop these off?" she gestured to the folder.

"Yeah," he said, accepting them. "The things she makes fourth year medical students do," he laughed, shaking his head.

"Well, this was loads easier than treating patients," she said. That was a lie. Dealing with patients felt a lot easier than this.

"I bet," he said, scanning the documents while he leaned against the doorframe. How he became a doctor and not a model she'd never know. He tossed the folder on his entrance table and refocused his attention on Sarah. "I'm sick of work. Do you want to come in for a drink?" he asked.

"Oh," she was caught off guard. "But the driver, he's waiting for me,"

"I'll tell one of the guys downstairs to tell him that I will be getting you a cab home," he said softly. "How does that sound?"

"G - Good," she stuttered. She was one part excited and two parts terrified. The butterflies in her stomach intensified. She wondered if having a drink or two would relax her enough to make them go away.

She seriously doubted it, but there was only one way to find out.