She knew the question was coming, of course. Knew for the several days they were apart that this would come up when they got back together and had their heart to heart. And yet when he finally asks, the words stick in her throat. She looks away, having to take a moment just to get it out.

"I killed a patient," she answers finally, her eyes still averted. "The man who died...he was nice. I met him, met his family. He and I would talk about his hopes for his son." She shakes her head slightly. "During the surgery, I nicked his inferior vena cava...that's the large blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart. I don't know how it happened. But he lost his entire blood volume into his body cavity in seconds."