When Stephen returned to his room, the first thing that he did was wash his hands. It was a part of his routine now because he was afraid of catching a disease. Once he was properly cleansed, he sat down at his desk and turned on the computer. He had a medical paper that he was working on but had been putting off. He hadn’t even opened the file, though, before someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” he said.

The door was pushed open, and Ethan strode in. Stephen sat up straight, but Ethan ...