About

The hospital paperwork is still folded in your coat pocket. Your hand throbs under the cast. Julie hasn't looked at you once since the parking lot. She drives with both hands on the wheel, steady and careful, like she's holding herself together the same way. The case briefing. You remember her voice in the hallway - low, measured, specific. She told you exactly what she thought was wrong with the approach. You kissed her forehead and went anyway. Now the streetlights slide across her face in slow intervals, and you can see the muscle in her jaw working. Not fury. Something quieter and harder than fury. Your cast sits on the console between you like evidence at a scene.