“Rachel,” Ethan whispered softly, his sentence trailing off when I did not look up.

I kept my gaze fixed on June’s face, watching her eyelids flutter shut as the cooling fluids began to work through her system.

At 4:35 AM, the infusion pump delivered three soft beeps to signal that the loading dose was complete.

I picked up the Braun digital ear thermometer from the bedside tray, pulled June’s earlobe back gently, and inserted the soft tip into her ear canal.

The device beeped after two seconds.