“You really need to get some sleep,” she said, her eyes gentle.

“We have a long day tomorrow.”

“I am fine,” I said, writing the clearance number in the column.

My letters were small and crooked, unlike my usual neat script.

We worked in silence for another twenty minutes, the files stacking up between us like a physical wall.

When we finished, I walked Julie to the employee exit and watched her lock her car.

The street outside the hospital was quiet, the autumn leaves blowing across the asphalt under the streetlights.