Elena's POVI found my access badge on Monday morning.It was sitting on my desk in the surgical prep area, placed there sometime over the weekend, no note, no explanation, no formal reinstatement letter. Just the badge, face up, exactly where it always sat. I stood in the doorway for a moment looking at it. Then I walked in, picked it up, clipped it to my scrubs, and went to find the locker room.Linda had done this. I knew without asking. Linda, who knew the shape of this institution better than anyone and who understood that sometimes the cleanest way to fix something was to simply undo it quietly, without making the undoing into an event. I made a note to thank her. Not today, not where anyone could see, but soon.I changed into my scrubs and stood at the sink and looked at my reflection the way I had been doing every morning for weeks. The same ritual. Same dark circles, same careful concealer, same hair pulled back tight. The mask of a competent surgical assistant going about he
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