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Damn it He'd worked plenty of twenty-four-hour shifts He should be able to pull this off

Only, this was about a hell of a lotit off” This was life and death for an innocent ten-year-old girl Every second counted in the ER He'd already wasted too many

If the girl died it would be his fault He'd have to face her parents and tell theive himself

“Robert,” his said in a low voice, “go ahead and take over”

His friend quickly stepped in, taking not only the instruments from Luke, but his control over the situation as well

For the first ti that was clear was that he was no longer needed Robert and the nursing staff had everything well under control

They'd save the girl They had to

All he knew for sure was that if he'd stayed, if he hadn't stepped away and finally handed over the reins, his hands ht have slipped at a crucial moment

He could have killed her

On leaden feet he left the OR, walked down the hallway, and entered the locker room He ripped off his scrubs and threw the hamper in the cluttered locker room at San Francisco General Hospital No surprise, the bundle of blood-laced green fabric missed the basket By a mile

He should have gone ho—no one—to go home to

He dragged his hands over his face, through too-long dark hair that was just beginning to curl at the base of his neck Standing in front of the scratched and dirty mirror in the corner of the locker rooly

He'd been on the verge of overstepping his bounds as a doctor

Because he'd thought he could play God instead

Luke wanted to tell hiht was a fluke, a one-time deal That he was in control of his life

In the past few years he’d pushed hier hours Saved more lives Sewed up more chests Pulled out more bullets

But for some reason, they were eto do with co home to an empty house No wife No kids

So far, however, he hadn'taround forever

His last girlfriend was a business analyst orked nearly as many hours as he did She'd been attractive, but cold, and even though she'd alar that they just weren't a good fit Even though she should have been perfect for hiht, attractive, ularly for the Chronicle But she hadn't cared for his hours and when she'd given him an ultimatum - her or his job - the choice had been easy Goodbye Christine

The truth hen he looked back, all of his ex-girlfriends blurred together Attractive Driven Mature Sensible

Boring

He stripped off his boxers and white T-shirt and stepped beneath the hot spray in the shower stall, barely feeling the water pelt him across the chest as he quickly shampooed and soaped up He felt broken, used up Miles beyond exhausted

He shut the water off and shook like a dog in the small laminate cubicle He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower

Elizabeth, a new resident, said, “Hello, Luke,” to let hier alone in the room She was exactly the kind of woman he'd usually ask out A cool, reserved blonde, she turned away quickly so that he could have his privacy getting dressed