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she did n't know if she should try to go to him or not . |
she regretted her decision when he turned to face her in the elevator . |
his expression was agonizingly broken . |
as the doors closed , her heart ached for him . |
she knew any doctor hated to lose a patient , especially a young one , but this went far deeper than that . |
from his behavior , megan knew that mary 's death had exposed a raw nerve in pesh-one that after two years still had n't healed . |
somehow he had seen his wife in mary , and once again , he was n't able to save her . |
after she had escorted mary 's body back upstairs to wait on the funeral home , megan went in search of pesh . |
she could n't find him in any of the exam rooms , nor was he in the doctors ' lounge or break room . |
finally , she went to kristi for answers . |
`` did you see where dr. nadeen went ? '' |
kristi gave her a sad smile . |
`` you 'll probably find him on the roof . '' |
megan 's brows shot up in surprise . |
`` the roof ? '' |
kristi nodded . |
`` whenever he has a really bad day about his wife- '' she sucked in a breath when she realized she might have said too much . |
at the thought of pesh 's grief , megan 's chest tightened in agony . |
he was too good of a man to have to suffer like he did . |
`` so he goes up to the roof ? '' |
megan finished for kristi . |
`` he likes to be alone to clear his head . |
although none of us would say anything , he usually ends up pulling another shift to make up for the time he was gone . '' |
of course pesh would do something like that . |
he was honorable every moment of his life , even after those of immense grief . |
even though she knew he probably wanted and needed to be alone , megan wanted to check on him . |
she could n't bear the thoughts of him suffering so much . |
`` um , if it 's okay , i think i 'll go ahead and take my dinner break . '' |
kristi gave her a knowing look before nodding . |
`` sure , honey . |
go right ahead . '' |
megan smiled before brushing past kristi . |
she bypassed the break room where her purse was . |
instead , she kept going . |
after a brisk walk down the hall , she got to the authorized personnel only stairwell . |
she did n't dare use the elevator shaft where trauma patients were brought in from being airlifted . |
without hesitation , megan swiped her access card . |
when the lock clicked , she flung the door open and started up the flights of stairs . |
she was winded when she reached the top . |
cautiously , her hand hovered over the doorknob . |
she could n't help wondering what she might find on the other side . |
would pesh be an emotional mess ? |
would he be angry that she had interrupted his private grieving ? |
shaking the thoughts from her head , she flung open the door . |
as she stepped onto the roof , the air grew cooler . |
a breeze rippled her scrubs . |
her gaze spun around frantically until she found him . |
pesh stood at the edge of the roof . |
his usual ramrod straight posture was slumped , his broad shoulders drawn in . |
although she could n't see his face , his gaze seemed fixed straight ahead into the night sky . |
to add insult to injury , clouds blotted out the stars , cloaking everything in darkness . |
tentatively , she started over to him . |
`` hey , '' she said softly . |
he whirled around in surprise . |
her heart clenched at the sight of the tears sparkling in his eyes . |
even in the darkness , she could see a blood-red flush entering his cheeks . |
his hands quickly came up to swipe away the moisture from his eyes . |
`` hello , '' he finally replied in a hoarse whisper . |
they stood in an awkward silence , staring each other down . |
finally , megan took a step forward to close the gap between them . |
`` how did you know i was up here ? '' |
he asked . |
`` kristi told me . '' |
`` hmm . '' |
unable to stop herself , she reached out to touch his arm . |
`` i 'm so sorry , pesh . '' |
`` it is n't necessary . '' |
she shook her head . |
`` yes , it is . |
you 're in pain ... you 've been in pain . |
i ca n't help but feel sorry for what you 're going through . '' |
his usually warm eyes took on a cold look . |
`` you were in that elevator , too . |
you have every right to be emotional . |
maybe you should be more concerned with why you are n't weeping . '' |
`` do n't , '' she murmured . |
`` do n't what ? '' |
`` do n't try to mask your pain by being someone you 're not or by pointing fingers at others . |
that is n't you , and you ca n't fool me . '' |
with a ragged sigh , pesh jerked his hand through his dark , wavy hair . |
`` i 'm sorry . |
that was completely uncalled for . '' |
`` it 's okay . '' |
`` no , it's- '' she silenced him by bringing her hand up to cover his lips . |
when she pulled her hand away , he sighed . |
`` talk to me , '' megan pleaded . |
the clouds above them opened up , causing a slight drizzle to fall . |
`` the death of a patient is never easy . |
any doctor of worth , or nurse for that matter , must possess compassion . |
then it is inevitable that the same compassion you possess will come back to haunt you-it may even cripple you . |
when death comes , you ca n't help feeling for the life that has been lost and for the family members left behind . '' |
his voice choked off , and megan drew herself even closer to him . |
she knew that his last statement held personal meaning for him . |
`` what exactly happened to your wife ? '' |
she questioned softly . |
pesh 's eyes closed . |
`` jade had an undiagnosed clotting condition . |
she was adopted , so she did n't know anything really about her family history . |
she 'd always been in perfect health-she rarely even went to the doctor with the sniffles . |
and after we 'd been married for three years , we decided it was time to have a baby . '' |
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