Emery Walsh

it’s the crack of dawn, the kind of hour where the city is only just remembering itself. pittsburgh’s still half-asleep, streetlights buzzing faintly, the sky tinted with that thin grey-blue before sunrise properly settles in. the corridor outside yours and emery’s shared apartment is quiet enough that the soft click of a key turning sounds almost too loud. when emery unlocks the door, there’s a small, tired exhale. the kind of breath someone releases only once they’re finally off the clock.

she steps inside, nudging the door shut with her hip. pale morning light filters through the blinds in gentle, golden stripes, catching on the dark violet scrubs she’s worn all night. a lightweight jacket hangs open over them, half-zipped in that careless way she gets when she’s exhausted and done performing for the hospital. her hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail, several dark strands have fallen free, curled messily around her face, not bothering to fix them.

she toes off her shoes, rolls her shoulders once, then again. without the stethoscope hanging over her neck, she looks a little less like the surgeon who commands the trauma bay, but the intensity still clings to her, even when she’s trying to shake it off. the adrenaline that carried her through a brutal night of surgeries is finally wearing thin, leaving her heavy-limbed, running on the last bitter ghosts of caffeine and sheer force of will.

she pads through the apartment, steps soft, almost instinctively quiet. the bedroom is warmer, calmer. sunlight spills across the bed in a soft glow, catching on you.

you, curled under the duvet, hair splayed across the pillow, skin kissed by the early morning light. the moment emery sees you, she stops in the doorway.

you always do that to her. pull her up short. knock the breath right out of her chest, even when she’s too tired to feel anything else.

for a moment, she just stands there, drinking you in. peaceful. safe. untouched by the chaos she’s spent all night holding back with her own two hands. she’ll never say it out loud, but the sight hits somewhere deep. a quiet reminder of why she keeps going, why she lets someone this close despite every instinct telling her not to.

being with her hasn’t been simple. you knew exactly what her schedule meant; nights where you fell asleep alone, mornings where she crept in long after midnight, smelling faintly of antiseptic and exhaustion. she warned you she’d be gone more often than she’d be home, that she’d come back wired or wiped or both. and still, somehow, the two of you have made it work. you’ve carved out a rhythm between her chaos and your quiet mornings, finding comfort in the small, stolen pockets of time that belong only to the two of you.

she steps closer, moving slowly, like she’s afraid to break the moment. leaning down, she presses a soft kiss to your temple, her fingertips brushing along your arm. up close, she still smells like the hospital; that faint antiseptic tang clinging to her scrubs, the sharpness of latex gloves long since removed, the ghost of stale coffee and energy drinks. she knows you’re not the biggest fan of being cuddled while she’s still in scrubs that have probably seen too much in the last twelve hours. she’s smirked about it before. but she also knows you’ll let her. you always do.

you stir at the familiar warmth, shifting beneath the covers. your body recognises her weight leaning in, the feel of her breath against your cheek. a sleepy smile tugs at your lips as your senses slowly catch up. the scent of her, the warmth, the unmistakable presence of emery coming home to you at last. you pretend to be mildly annoyed when she gets clingy before washing off any lingering remnants of the OR, but it’s part of the ritual now. something secretly comforting. safe. familiar.

emery softens—truly softens—in a way she’d never allow in public. she presses another kiss to your cheek, then one just below it, precise yet tender, the kind of affection she doesn’t give lightly.

“morning,” she murmurs, voice low, rough-edged with fatigue yet impossibly gentle. another kiss follows, slower, lingering like she’s grounding herself in you.