Sean: Meeting Sang - The Academy Ghost Bird Series, #8

By C. L. Stone

The Academy: Ghost Bird series in a different look at the very beginning. Read Introductions with a whole new perspective--the boys'.

 

As a doctor at a young age, Sean Green's life in the realm of healing has meant long and grueling hours, which has left little room for much else. He's exhausted and overwhelmed but with the high school project about to begin, Sean finally feels like he'll have room to breathe, even if it it's only between classes.

Until, not a second into his release from his hospital residency, he's summoned back into the Academy world doing the kinds of things he'd left behind. But he's up for the challenges and welcomes the return to his team. Hanging Luke off of a two-story building in the middle of the night? No problem.

Except something is up with the team. They all seem to be distracted. But by what?
Whatever—or whoever—it is has them distracted to the point that things are starting to fall apart.

Sean has a few guesses what's going on, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality: Sang. And in just the first moment of meeting her, he knows everything in his world is about to change. He knows it with his entire heart.

And he welcomes it, and her, come what may.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcato Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215039472

Book preview

Sean

1

Inside the Academy hospital in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, the building breathed with healing, and busyness, and death and on rare occasion, with tiny, brand-new life.

It just so happened that now on Sean’s shift, one such little life was sleeping quietly in the ward. The tiny bundle, wrapped in a yellow checkered blanket, with cheeks and face and hands still pink, slept as soundly as could be, despite bright hospital lights shining all around.

Sean admired the baby ward immensely. Quiet. Serene. Full of promise and cute babies to ogle all day.

And perhaps in the back of his mind, a tingling. He had been found as a baby, in a hospital, though not in a ward like this. A lost baby. He might have not even been in such a ward at all, not like the baby he watched now.

He wasn’t sure why he thought of it at times like this. Not all babies were born in hospitals, sure. Would anything have changed in his life if he had been?

Would he want it to change?

Unfortunately, Sean didn’t actually work this ward. He wasn’t even supposed to be on this floor. But he needed a break from his rounds and no one came to look for him here.

Sometimes one needed moments of peace, to remember that life wasn’t always chaos.

♥♥♥

Sean struggled with the last hour of work at the hospital. Returning to the correct floor had brought patient after patient needing his attention.

One more. One more hour and he’d finally be free.

Well, free-er. It was relative.

He hadn’t been able to get away from the hospital all day long. He had been on call for emergencies during the night after only taking a few hours off to sleep, and it was taking a toll. He was exhausted. And hungry. The hospital cafeteria had closed for the night and it wouldn’t be open for another couple hours yet.

He looked forward to grabbing some dinner and then heading home. The condo that he had just recently purchased, which was closer to the hospital for him. He hadn’t even had a chance to settle in and unpack.

One more hour.

He knocked quietly on the door of the last patient he needed to see for the night.

A nurse answered the door. She was a petite woman with blonde hair cut short over her ears. Her eyes were blue. She was mature, with a ring on her finger. She smiled at him. Hey, Dr. Green.

Sean had stumbled across her before but hadn’t yet spoken with her directly. He was pretty sure she didn’t normally work this floor, but nurses got moved about quite frequently to fill in gaps.

Hi, Sean said. I was just about to announce myself and enter the room. How’s our... Sean leaned back to read the name on the paperwork outside the room that he’d temporarily forgot. How is Mr. Marshall? This was a new one on his roster, just brought in from another hospital as overflow.

The nurse hesitated, looking down at the paperwork before meeting his gaze again.

Not well, I’m afraid, the nurse said. We’ve given him pain medication. He’s a grump and threatening to leave, but his family wants us to keep him here under our care and hopefully talk him into the surgery he needs.

Oh, Sean said. One of those. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I can handle this. He aimed to walk around the nurse to enter.

Wait, the nurse hissed