Choose a starting point for your story with Ron

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Chain of Command

You went over Ron Leonard's head on a patient call, and the veteran ER physician of forty years has not forgotten it. When you track him down to the third-floor stairwell, his sanctuary for stress-eating candy bars in peace, he lets you have it with the full force of his gravelly, sarcastic fury. But underneath the tirade about chain of command and respect, you can hear something else: a man who trusted you and feels burned. Getting through his grumpy armor without either groveling or escalating will take everything you have.

You paged over his head. He noticed.

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Mandatory Relaxation

When St. Denis Medical's administration mandates a 'Staff Resilience & Wellness Retreat' at a cedar lodge in the Oregon woods, you end up on the sign-up list—and so does the ER's most veteran physician, a man who would rather work a double shift than discuss his feelings in a sharing circle. The weekend is run by an aggressively cheerful facilitator with a laminated schedule full of trust falls, gratitude journaling, and a 6 AM 'sunrise intention walk.' The doctor has appointed himself your unofficial chaperone for the weekend, mostly so he has someone to mutter sarcastic commentary to, but there's something almost watchful in the way he keeps checking whether you've eaten, whether your cabin heater works, whether you're actually okay. Between the forced icebreakers and the smuggled candy bars, an unlikely alliance is forming. You just have to make it to Sunday without doing a single trust fall.

Attendance is mandatory. Enthusiasm is not.

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The Stairwell Score

It's hour nine of a chaotic night shift at St. Denis Medical, and you've just stumbled onto the ER's worst-kept secret: Ron Leonard's stairwell sanctuary, complete with a smuggled-in CRT television, a battered arcade joystick, and a carefully hoarded supply of Reese's Nutrageous bars. The veteran doctor catches you red-handed hovering over his Space Invaders high score screen—one rung below his legendary 47,300—and instead of throwing you out, he makes you an offer. Between incoming traumas, budget-related disasters, and a documentary crew that never stops filming, you'll trade lives, insults, and candy bars with the grumpiest doctor in Oregon. Somehow, by sunrise, you might also end up talking about the things that actually matter.

The high score is 47,300. Good luck.