Max sat down for a sandwich at nine pm. He had the overnight shift which was a nice change of pace, although he had been called down to the emergency department twice to consult. One was a girl just seventeen with a suspect gallbladder. He had just enough time to choke down the sandwich before the labs came back. He would have to talk to two scared parents and explain why he was recommending to cut into their daughter. After five years of surgical residency, cholecystectomy was a routine procedure, but not for the patient and her parents.

A paper slammed down on his table. He looked up to see Steph. "What the hell is this?"

The paper had his handwriting advertising for his share of the apartment. "My ad. I'm tired of living in a commune."

"You have like five months left couldn't you stay?"

"Honestly, no. I need to act like an adult." His phone buzzed. "I'm needed in the ED."

He took one more bite and threw the rest of his sandwich in the trash. He didn't regret leaving. Steph was never more than a warm body. His new place was small, but perfect for one. He had eaten cereal in his boxers while watching TV and looked forward to going home to sleep in his own bed.

As he stepped into the ED, he found the attending emergency medicine doctor looking at the lab results on his tablet. Max nodded, "I recommend going in. I'll break the news."

"I'll go with you."

As he walked towards the room, he texted to let the OR coordinator know he needed a suite. Max had to convince the parents their most precious child was safe in his hands.

Max greeted the parents with a genuine smile after successfully removing the pesky organ. He handled tears of joy and let mom hug him before he slipped back into post-op. At six am rounds, Max was the blurry eyed one.

Trish whispered, "Rough night."

"Quiet. Boring. I caught up on my charts between ED consults. You look rested."

She nodded. "I slept."

Jeff said, "No whispering."

"Trish is just bragging about her restful sleep."

"Okay. Let's start. Our first stop is the cholecystectomy performed by Dr. Steele. What were the findings indicating surgery?"

Max answered as they entered her room. He was glad to see her parents had left to get some rest. Jeff frowned because she was sleepy and not ready for jokes. Rounds continued and Max was the one who was heading home. He walked with Trish and Jeff towards the elevator bank.

"Good call on the choley." Trish nodded.

"It was textbook." Max didn't like to take credit. Jeff waved and headed for the stairs and Trish rolled her eyes.

Max chuckled. "You look happier."

"I love my job. Focus on the positive. Maybe when I finish, I'll find things will work out."

"Is it ever really going to be easier? Surgeons and relationships don't work."

Trish pouted as they stepped on the elevator. "It better get easier. We shouldn't have to average eighty-five hours a week. Seriously."

"Maybe just eighty. I need to get a job first. Are you staying here?"

She nodded. "Even if I don't get the fellowship. You're still trying to compete with the Harvard grads?"

"It's probably the dumbest thing I've ever done. I should have pursued a Boston fellowship. I'll end up a general surgeon locum after this grueling hell."

Locums were the equivalent to temps. They were doctors who filled in where needed which wasn't a great way to start a career.

"At least you'll set your own hours. For the record, I think you're wrong about having no life."

She could think what she wanted, but he saw the toll her training had on her marriage. She cried on his shoulder every other week. He preferred happy tears. Trish wanted the peds program and her marriage had become the casualty of her career goals.

He sighed as he entered his own apartment. Lifting his shirt over his head he dropped it on his dirty clothes. Shower, sleep, then laundry. At the flophouse, he wouldn't walk from the bedroom to the bathroom naked, but he could and did. Once he was clean, he towel dried himself and climbed in the large queen sized bed. It felt like floating as sleep quickly pulled him under.

He woke after four hours with a headache and hunger pains. Coffee and food. It would have to be cereal, but he considered shopping so he would have healthy food to eat, maybe even cook a meal occasionally.

Too tired to shop, he called his mother. "Max. Do you have the day off?"

"No, I work tonight. I'll have a day off before I switch to days, but I'll sleep most of it."

"Are you eating?"

"Yes. Tell me something new."

"Nothing is new. My brother's party has morphed into a fundraiser for the shelter, so no gifts."

"I think it's a great idea. How's dad?"

"Works too hard as usual. You know about that."

"He may work hard, but he had time for us. My friend in the surgical program is having a tough go with her marriage." It looked unsalvageable. "Our schedules aren't cut out for that life."

"You say that now, but the right girl will come around."

"I'm not Zach."

She laughed. "My boys are different."

"Yeah, Zach would pass out at the sight of blood."

"Very true. Just like I don't see you falling head over heels. Love will sneak up on you. Like your father. It took him a while to realize he was interested in Kurt's younger sister."

Suddenly he felt too warm, as his mother's words made him squirm. "I need another nap before I go back."

"Okay, darling. Get some rest."

Sleep proved elusive while he ran through his conversation with his mother. He put in for the weekend off for the party. Hopefully, Graham wouldn't be there. Olivia deserved a guy who lit her face up and made her laugh. He dozed off to the memory of her laughing in the pool with the sun shining down on her like a spotlight.

Like groundhog day, he arrived at the hospital and changed into scrubs. His first stop was to check in on his teen. Her mother was hovering when he stepped in the room with a smile.

"Oh, doctor. I thought you forgot about us."

He smirked and shook his head. "I had to rest up after last night. I'm here until morning." Directing his attention to his patient he asked, "How's your pain on a scale of one to ten?"

"Another doctor came in and asked the same question."

He nodded as he peeled back the gauze bandage to see her incision. "We can be annoying in that way."

"He told some jokes."

Max smiled. "I bet he did. He stole them from me. It's healing nicely. You are a model patient." He turned to her mother. "I'll be here all night, so you can get some sleep. We'll probably spring her tomorrow. She'll have to take it easy so you can dote on her then."

He found Jeff working on his charts. "How was today?"

"Slow, but it's a full moon."

Max laughed. He didn't buy into superstitions, but the full moon concern was common in the ED.

Three hours later, he considered the full moon theory as he sat suturing a teen who had fallen through a plate-glass window while high on bath salts. The young man had been sedated and physically restrained before they called Max.

Lacerations covered the kid's body. Some still contained shards of glass. He worked on the deeper wounds first. A first year surgical resident came in to help. As Max removed a piece of glass and flushed a wound, he looked over at the intern concentrating on the task.

"Relax. He won't hurt us and we can't hurt him more than he hurt himself."

"Why would anyone do this?"

Max shrugged. "The why is not for our specialty. We fix his body and leave his mind to other experts."

The kid pulled a shard, and blood squirted. He jumped back. Max jumped forward. To apply pressure before suturing.

"Wow!"

"What?" Max looked over at the kid who went pale.

"You weren't startled."

"Kid, in the OR we have to be ready. Why did you choose surgery?"

"It's dope."

"Dope. Seriously?"

"My surg rotation was fascinating. All the surgeons are so cool, like you."

He shook his head and chuckled. "I don't feel cool. Most days I work sixteen hours. I haven't been on an actual date since undergrad."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. This residency is hard. Do it because you love it, not because you think it will make you look cool. Nothing about my life is cool. This is not cool."

He stretched his back and continued suturing a wound. "This is good for suture practice. Nice clean even sutures so it will heal with minimal scarring."

"Do you have any regrets?"

"Regrets about surgery? No. I love it. These last two years have done me in. My friend is practicing, pulling in six figures and finds time to date. When I have a day off I sleep."

"You need a life."

"That's not a newsflash. Don't pull too tight. Nice and even. Good."

The kid smiled. Max enjoyed helping. His dream job was at a teaching hospital. Boston Children's Hospital was on the top of his wish list.

"Where are you from?"

"Western Mass. My dad is Internal Medicine. He was surprised when I picked surgery. Kept harping on the grueling program, but I want to do it and get good like you."

"Keep working. If you have the drive, you can do it."

Max's pep talk invigorated himself. He could count down the months, or days or even hours, but instead he would focus on learning as many skills as possible to prepare him for his career. His next day off, he needed to follow up on his applications. Once he had a job lined up, he would feel better.

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