Max sipped his coffee waiting for rounds to start. Bored, he picked up his phone. No one had texted him the night before. He had crashed early having not slept well since his weekend away.

He opened his social media account. Because Lilli posted often, it was a good way to find out about his brother. Lilli only posted about her author's new book, which meant they were busy working and having sex. According to his brother tying the knot didn't negatively affect his sex life. He scrolled through to see Seb comfy with Lindy. Mandy posted a picture of Olivia and Graham. She looked happy with her lemon drop. He would know she hated him the day she drank a watermelon martini.

The two looked cozy, but Max knew the truth. Date five was on Tuesday night, so the cracker served meals. Max hadn't volunteered in years, but Zach went the four years he was in college. Adult Olivia deceived people with her closetful of shoes and three suitcases for one weekend. The real Olivia talked to homeless people and swam like she could qualify for the Olympics. Her life was firmly entrenched in Manhattan.

He slipped his phone into his lab coat and fell in behind the other surgeons gathered, most were surgical residents on their pediatric rotation. Their first stop was four week old baby Emily who had a congenital birth defect in which the bile from the liver wasn't draining properly. Max had performed a Kasai procedure to allow proper drainage. Max smiled at the exhausted mother. Glad to see the baby's color looked better already.

As they moved on, he touched mom's arm and smiled. "She looks good. I'll be back."

They moved on to a five-year-old who had abdominal tumors removed by a pediatric surgeon, and their last stop was a thirteen-year-old who had an appendectomy overnight. Max hadn't performed his surgery.

"Why are all these doctors here? Am I dying?"

Max smiled as Jeff, the resident, who opened the kid, said, "You survived me cutting into you, you can't die."

Max asked, "Do you have brothers or sisters?"

He nodded. "Both."

"Lucky you because you'll get all the attention and they can fetch things for you while you recover."

Jeff, who was busy checking under his bandage, added, "Doctor Max is right and you'll miss some school too."

"Can I go home?"

"You just had surgery. We're stuck with you a little longer."

Max winked at Jeff and said, "Doctor, how is that little girl doing who swallowed 10 quarters last night?"

The boy's eyes grew wide. Jeff winked at him. "No change yet."

He looked from Jeff to Max and smiled. "You were joking."

Trish said, "Be careful. They have more."

"I'll take another."

Max smiled. "Okay. This one's for you. What don't you want to hear in the middle of surgery?"

He shook his head. Jeff said, "Where's my watch? Wait a minute where is my watch?"

Max said, "I hear ticking." He put his stethoscope on the boy's chest. "I can't tell if it's just his heart."

"Oops. I found it in my pocket."

As they moved on, the surgeon in charge said, "Okay, Laurel and Hardy. One of you gets to sleep and the others need to scrub in."

Jeff said, "I'll take the sleep. Have fun."

Max loved kids as patients, but their conditions made him question human development. It was a miracle until it wasn't. At work, he never met the parents who had perfect kids. Growing up, no one he knew had congenital defects. As he thought it he knocked on the wooden trim and kept walking. JJ's wife was pregnant.

Thirteen hours later, he checked in on tiny Emily for the third time. Her mother jumped as he approached. He squeezed her shoulder.

"You need to take care of Emily's mother."

She shook her head. "I can't leave."

"Have you eaten?" She shrugged. "If I stay, will you go eat?"

Her eyes widened. "You've been here for hours."

"Just a day in my life. Honestly, I ate earlier. I'll just go home and look at my phone before I go to bed. I can do that here."

"You must have a wife." He shook his head. "Or girlfriend." He paused slightly before shaking his head.

"You hesitated."

He sighed. "Get some food and maybe I'll tell you."

She stood and stretched. Then she put her fingers on Emily's heart before walking away. Max could tell her a hundred times Emily was recovering and in no danger, but she wouldn't believe him. He guessed the Wordle on three attempts and scrolled through his phone. Bored, he texted Zach. What's up?

His brother called him. "I can't talk long. I'm sitting with a patient whose mother went to eat something."

"You are a living saint."

"I'm anything but. How's Lilli?"

"She's good."

"Hi, superhero!" Lilli's voice sounded nearby.

He smiled and laughed. "She's crazy. Just so you know when Lilli gets pregnant I'm going to worry. I've seen how things don't always come out right."

"Max, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just tired."

The baby squawked. "What was that?"

"My patient. She's waking up."

"Sounds like a bird."

"She's a newborn."

"Jesus. No wonder you sound down."

"She has a good doctor."

"There's the brother I love."

Max chuckled. "Bye."

He missed his family. He missed life. Truthfully, he felt stunted having been a student since he was eighteen. He saved lives but lived in a flophouse. Maybe he could change one thing. Not until he checked on the baby. She had an IV hooked up for fluids. He checked the drain he inserted. The discharge had slowed. Instinctively, he gently stroked her head. Even with a perfect procedure, she may need a liver transplant later. All because she hadn't developed just right in utero.

Her mother returned and froze when she saw him standing. "Is she okay?"

"She stirred a little. I was talking to her. Telling her how lucky she is to have a great mom."

"I don't feel like a good mother with two at home who miss me. I hadn't really wanted a third, but once it happened I was happy. Still, I would have been none the wiser, if I hadn't gotten pregnant the third time."

Max shook his head. "But she's beautiful. She'll bless your life and make you laugh. She's meant to be here."

"I love her so much."

"Of course you do. My uncle's wife got pregnant at nineteen with a one-night stand. There were a lot of options for her, but she didn't consider them. Her son is in his thirties now. Do you know what she found the hardest about it?"

"What?"

"Sharing her son with his father who lived in another state. It wasn't being his mother, but when she missed him."

She studied him. "Why are you single?"

"Four years of medical school, five of surgical residency, and almost two as a pediatric fellow equal years of fourteen to sixteen hours days. It doesn't leave time for a social life."

"But you paused."

"There is someone, but the cards are stacked against us."

"Why?"

"She has a career she loves in Manhattan. My family is in Boston, so I've been pursuing jobs there."

"New York?"

"I don't want to live there. I know it's selfish, but it's too big and loud. Too many Yankees fans."

She smiled. "My husband."

"I should go. I need to sleep. Make sure you get some."

She smiled. "Thanks Dr. Max."

He brushed his fingers across the silken newborn hair. "Sleep well. Sweet Emily."

Max took a hot shower and went home. There were two empty beds. He sat on one and opened his phone to check Airbnbs in the area. He found an apartment in a private home close enough to the hospital with parking and a washer and dryer. Scrolling through the pictures, it looked luxurious compared to the dump he lived in. Moving out was one step closer to becoming an actual adult. Without debating his decision, he set up an account and booked it until the end of June.

Max set his alarm fifteen minutes early. Instead of dressing and heading to the hospital after he brushed his teeth, he put his belongings in his laundry basket with his clothes (most were dirty). He didn't bother to get his near empty box of cereal. He hadn't bought milk in a couple of weeks. Although he left without a goodbye, he would have to continue to pay his portion of the rent until he found a replacement.

Max arrived early for rounds and crept into Emily's room. Her mother was asleep, and a nurse was hanging a new fluid bag. He looked at the small body and back at the nurse. She nodded, and he followed her out.

"How was her night?"

"Fine. She slept."

"And mom?"

"She was asleep when I went in at three."

Max frowned. "Rounds will wake her."

Once again, he stood ready for rounds as Jeff approached. "I've got some jokes."

Max smiled. "Doctor Haggerty." The older doctor turned. "I just checked on the Kasai baby, Emily. Both the baby and mother are asleep. She'll have blood taken later."

"We'll stop there last. I appreciate your empathy."

He nodded and frowned. Trish, squeezed his biceps. He nodded as she hummed her favorite song from Frozen. Max never saw the movie but knew the chorus, Let it go.

They started with the patients they had in the operating room the day before. Next was the thirteen-year-old. "Can I go home today?"

Jeff said, "That's our plan, but who will I tell my jokes to."

"Another sick kid."

Max laughed. "He stayed up all night practicing."

Jeff laughed, but it went over the kid's head.

Jeff held his phone to his ear. "Doctor, there's a patient on line one, who says he's invisible." Jeff used a deeper voice. "Well, tell him I can't see him right now." Max groaned, but the kid smiled. Jeff tried again. "Why are doctors always calm?"

The kid shook his head. Trish answered, "They have a lot of patients."

Max rolled his eyes, and the kid laughed. Secretly, he planned to use them in the future.

When they reached Emily's room, her mother was still asleep. Trish made eye contact with him. The mother woke up with a start. Max wouldn't enjoy waking up to a crowd hovering nearby.

"Is she okay?" She jumped up. The front of her shirt was wet. The baby couldn't nurse so she had to pump milk.

"She's fine." Max answered calmly.

They discussed the treatment plan. Trish smiled. "I'm glad you got some sleep."

Max smiled, as the group moved on. "Dr. Max."

He turned back. "What?"

"Is it her?" He smiled and shook his head. "She has a husband who complains he's forgotten what she looks like."

She shut her eyes. "You said she's in New York. When you come back, you can show me a picture."

He chuckled and pointed to the door with his thumb. He had to jog to catch up. Maybe he'd show her the picture of Olivia with Graham, the cracker.

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