"A jack of all trades?" She couldn't help but show a bit of admiration. Immortal though she was, she hadn't yet found the time to study many of those subjects. It was her own fault, she supposed. She'd made choices about how to spend her off-duty years. And none of those choices had involved literature.

Mina removed her blazer, tossing it over the back of a chair. She rolled up her sleeves. On her left arm, halfway between her wrist and her elbow, there was an old scar. A P-shaped burn, leftover from her mortal days. Once upon a time, she'd been self-conscious about it. Now, she gave it no thought at all as she took out her stethoscope, draping it around her neck, prepared to do work.

Life was always easier with a task at hand.