"Deal. Your next brew's on me."

Being a doctor hadn't always meant being a person of "status"; there was a period of time when doctors were merely skilled individuals with the desire to heal others. Then, as society "progressed", the medical profession became another way people could compete. Doctors competed for prestige, for salary, for the chance to work in hospitals such as the one they were approaching now, a gleaming technological hub boasting all the latest advancements. The latest machinery, the latest treatment, the best doctors. It was a cutthroat place, but the cutthroat side was a side most of its patients were blissfully ignorant of. 

"Connecticut, huh? Never been there, honestly..." If he'd been [i]completely[/i] honest, he'd barely had the finances to even leave his neighborhood as a kid, struggling to even attain a scholarship. He'd been a constant, insistent presence at the local library, becoming almost the adopted son of the resident librarian, a woman he still remembered to this day. She'd allowed him to take whatever he wanted, as long as he kept the books in good condition and returned them when he was done. Sometimes, things at home kept him so isolated that he'd spent his hours in the library itself, reading in some secluded corner. The chance the librarian had given him - it'd been invaluable. 

"...and nope; I'm from California." He allowed himself a small grin at his answer. Most people associated California with amazing summers, beaches, celebrities and the rich and beautiful. All those things you saw in the movies, the television shows, the commercials. Few people actually acknowledged that there were poorer areas there, where people fought tooth and nail just to keep living. His neighborhood had been a particularly dangerous one, and there had always been a note of trepidation each time he'd been forced to walk home alone. That experience growing up had bolstered his spirit, however, and boosted his independent nature. 

By the time they cleared the crosswalk, the hospital lay right ahead; passing through the sliding glass doors, Gabriel was greeted by that all-too-familiar sight of immaculately polished floors, well-maintained walls and impeccably dressed staff. Some of them greeted him as they passed, or acknowledged him with brief, curt nods. Stretchers, attended to by clusters of nurses, trundled noisily past, bearing patients in varying states of consciousness. There was an energy in the place; and though sometimes lives weren't necessarily saved, the fact that work went on round the clock in attempts to save these lives...well, that was good enough for him. 

Turning towards his ever-cheerful new acquaintance, Gabe gave a brief, but amused smile, wondering how this place went up against whatever medical establishments James might have worked in before. "Welcome to your new home. And by "home", I mean it quite literally. You'll probably be spending most of your waking life here."