I’m broken. <br>I’m well aware of this singular fact of my life. Even as I stitch up patients, correcting their perceived imperfections, I know that there is no cosmetic surgery that will fix what’s broken inside of me. Which is why I don’t let anyone get too close. I learned early on, most people can’t be trusted. The ones who were entrusted with protecting you can do the most harm. <br> <br>So I deal with life the only way I learned how. I fight. On the days when work gets to me, or the memories from my past become too much, I head to the Underground. A place where even a plastic surgeon such as myself, can let my guard down and give in to my base emotions. It works, for the most part. <br> <br>But then in walks Grace. <br> <br>She is the very embodiment of her name. A new nurse on the surgical unit. All bets are off. The sparks that fly between us don’t end once we exit the operating room. For the first time, I’m challenged to give in to the feelings I never believed myself capable, and all that comes with it, or push her away to save her from an ugly past I worked long and hard to forget. <br>