
As a struggling single dad, I had no choice but to bring my daughter to my night shift at the hospital. She wanted to help, wandered into a patientโs roomโand seconds later, the entire hospital was running toward that door…..
As a struggling single dad, I had no choice but to bring my five-year-old daughter, Debbie, to my night shift at the hospital. I warned her about the strict department head, Preston, a man who would fire someone for a misplaced coffee cup.
โDaddy, I can be quiet,โ she said, her voice earnest. โDr. Debbie promises.โ
I set her up with a fortress of crayons behind the nurseโs desk. I kissed her head and started my shift, keeping one ear tuned to her soft humming and murmurs.
Chaos erupted. A fall alarm blared. I ran to help a nurse brace a patient. My heart hammered, sweat broke out, and through it all, something in the back of my head whispered, Somethingโs wrong.
It was too quiet. Too still where my kid should be.
I sprinted back to the desk. The chair was empty. Paper scattered. Crayons rolled. That silence slammed into me harder than any alarm.
I checked the breakroom. Empty. The staff bathroomโlocked. My chest went tight. Then I heard it, a tune I knew better than my own heartbeat. That dumb pancake and bandages song. It floated from down the hall, from room 2D. The room of Trevor Maddox. A man who had been in a coma for months.
I followed it, my heart punching against my ribs. The door was cracked open. And Debbieโฆ Debbie stood by his bed, her tiny hand resting on the rail, singing like it was the most normal thing in the world.
โDebbie,โ I hissed, stepping inside fast, already reaching to grab her. Then I froze.
The monitor blinked. Respirations twitched. Then a sharp inhale hissed through the cannula. Trevorโs eyelids fluttered open, then cracked wide, locking right on my five-year-old daughter.
His mouth moved, dry and shaky. โWhereโฆ am I?โ
Debbie gasped, clutching her plastic stethoscope like it was real. โSir, youโre at Riverside. Iโm Dr. Debbie.โ
My hand hit the call bell so hard I probably cracked the casing. Seconds later, the entire hospital was running toward that door…. Watch: [in comment] – Made with AI