Page 33 of Stand By Me

The lady at the front desk smiled at him when he introduced himself.

"I didn't know Ben had a brother," she said, as if that was something that would make anyone feel good to hear. "He's been working too hard," she went on, picking up the phone, "but it's what the interns often do, you know? Work themselves into the ground to impress their bosses."

She notified the person on the other end of the line that Ben's family was here to pick him up, then instructed Clay how to get to the emergency department.

A young nurse was waiting for him at the entrance and he introduced himself as Kevin.

"We tried to make him wait in one of the exam rooms, but he insisted we needed the bed and he was fine waiting in the rec room." As he talked, he led Clay through the busy department, seemingly unbothered by the constant rush of staff moving in every direction, machines beeping, people shouting, phones ringing. Clay, in turn, was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. "He was right, we needed it, but we wouldn't have moved him if—" Kevin stopped talking abruptly. "Sorry. What I meant was, he's fine. Exhausted, clearly, but fine. I should've led with that."

He should have, yes, but Clay wasn't about to make the guy feel bad when he was trying to be helpful.

"Don't worry about it," he offered. "I'm just glad to hear he's fine."

Kevin paused by the door at the end of the corridor, where the noise level was much more manageable.

"Here we go. Come on in."

As Clay followed Kevin into the room, he quickly took stock of the space. There were a few people inside, most of them sitting on or next to the large couch where Ben was situated, holding a red cup with both hands and smiling at something the black-haired woman sitting next to him was saying.

Then he turned his head, noticed Clay, and his smile disappeared.

Of course.

Clay opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Kevin got there first.

"Everyone, this is Ben's brother, Clay. Clay, this is everyone."

Smiles and greetings followed, but soon most of the group dispersed, probably assuming that since Ben's ride was here, it was safe to leave him be.

"Don't let him out of your sight until he's in a bed," a stern-looking nurse in her sixties told Clay as she passed him by, basically confirming his suspicions.

"I can take care of myself," were the first words out of Ben's mouth since Clay had gotten here.

A few people shook their heads and the black-haired woman next to Ben—who had introduced herself as Erica, a fellow intern—jabbed him with an elbow. "Obviously not."

"Nothing happened!" Ben protested.

"Low sugar, elevated heartbeat, obvious signs of sleep deprivation—"

"I'm in the first year of my residency," he cut her off. "That describes every last one of us."

"And yet," she said, showing off her teeth. "Not all of us get caught."

Leaving the couple to their flirting for the moment, Clay glanced at the man standing next to him, who had introduced himself as Gustavo Sanchez, the chief resident of the hospital's emergency department.

"Is there anything I should worry about the most?" Clay asked in a low voice, not wanting to bring Ben's attention to himself.

"He's been pulling double shifts too often, but that's about it. He's not wrong about all the interns not being at their best, so he needs to sleep and stay hydrated, and he should be fine."

Clay nodded. "I'll sic our mother onto him. That should do it."

"If she's anything like mine, it sure as hell will." The man squared his shoulders. "Jackson!"

Clay straightened out of habit, but Ben actually shot up to his feet. "Yes, sir."

"Go home with your brother. I don't want to see you until Monday or I'll personally handle things. And you don't want to waste my time, do you?"

"No, sir."

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