ARIA'S POV
The morning started the way all good mornings did....with coffee she didn't have time to finish, a missed call from Damien she'd return on her lunch break, and a seven-year-old boy named Aaron. who'd decided that Dr. Chen was his absolute favorite person in the world and was not shy about expressing this.
"Dr. Aria!" He waved from his bed as she entered the pediatric ward, his other arm still hooked to an IV. "I drew you something."
She crossed to him immediately, accepting the crayon drawing with the gravity it deserved. It appeared to be a figure in a white coat standing next to what might have been a dragon, or possibly a very large dog. Either way, she loved it.
"This is exceptional work," she told him seriously. "I'm hanging this in my office."
Aaron. beamed. His mother, sitting in the chair beside his bed, mouthed thank you at Aria over his head.
