She Gave Birth Alone but Moments Later the Doctor Saw Something That Made Him Break Down

The automatic doors opened with a hiss and let out a gust of over-heated hospital air that smelled of antiseptic and coffee. Outside, the sky over Charlotte was a pale, colorless gray that made the city look unsure of its own identity in the winter.

Inside, everything was warm and procedural as though bodies had to be coaxed into believing that pain could be made orderly with enough clipboards. Joanna had packed her bag three times before she finally left her apartment that morning.