By the time she settled behind the desk, the hospital had grown quieter. The emergency cases had slowed to a trickle, leaving the halls hushed except for the occasional scrape of chairs or the soft beeping of machines.
Julie began organizing the night’s paperwork, flipping through patient files and jotting down notes. Her coworkers drifted in and out, chatting in low voices about their plans for the upcoming holidays or lamenting the latest burst of snow.