I let out a bark of laughter at his question. There were a lot of things I needed.
I needed the clock in my head to stop ticking for a few seconds.
I need patience to deal with everyone at work… and at home.
I need to be able to trust my mind again. I had a huge fear that I was becoming paranoid, seeing conspiracies where there was none, and I really thought I was becoming insane.
But I couldn't tell him any of that.
"I need you to follow me and not speak until we are in my office," I said instead. Turning around, trusting that he would follow me, I walked back to the entrance of the ER department.
"This is not according to the protocols as set out by the Center for Disease Control, but fuck it," I grumbled as I separated his hazmat suit from mine. "Please put this on, and then don't move while I make sure everything is okay."
Cheng Bo Jing nodded his head and started to get dressed.