Linden, Viola, Court, Bell | Operating Theater
Viola silently donned her gloves and mask as Linden made his observations, and took another breath of chemically-scented air. It wasn't necessarily a surprise when he called the Major by his title and her by her first name. It nettled her the way she was sure he'd expected it would, and though she dearly wanted to dig in her heels and correct him, she chose the path she'd often chosen whenever he'd done this during their many years together. Let it go, avoid the conflict, don't be petty. It might have been worth it to correct him at the dinner table, but in the operating room, to care about something so small just made her seem childish and unfocused.
And he knew it.
So she bit her tongue, selected the appropriate instrument, and did as she was told. "Scalpel," she said as she handed it to him. "Doctor."