For the first time since the collapse, she laughed.
The sound surprised all three men.
It surprised Emily most.
The next morning's MRI gave Porter the detail he needed. The original injury had damaged stabilizing structures in the knee and likely involved an old meniscal injury that had never healed properly. Years of compensating had aggravated the joint. The exact treatment would require planning, but Porter believed surgery could meaningfully restore stability and reduce the episodes of collapse.
"This is serious," he told her, "but it is not hopeless."
Emily sat very still.
"How long off work?"
Porter looked at her over his glasses. "That is your first question?"
"It is the question that pays rent."
Cole shifted in his chair.
Porter laid out the likely timeline honestly. Surgery. An initial period of restricted weight bearing depending on what he found and repaired. Physical therapy. Progressive strengthening. Months rather than weeks before she could safely return to lifting and kneeling on a shop floor without restrictions.
Emily listened with the same expression she had used during the examination until he reached the part about time away from work. Then the fear became visible.
"I can't do three months with no paycheck."
"You won't," Cole said.
She turned toward him. "We've been over this."
"No. You told me no. I ignored you. Different conversation."
"Cole."
He leaned forward. "Your job is waiting. Your pay is waiting."
"You hired me to run parts."
"Not anymore."
Emily blinked.
Cody, who had been sitting near the wall, looked up sharply.
Cole seemed to realize he had said it aloud before deciding how ceremonial to make it. He rubbed his beard once.
"Head mechanic," he said. "When Porter clears you."
Emily stared at him.
"That is not funny."
"I am not joking."
"You have Reese."
"Reese is a good mechanic."
"Marcus has more certification than half the county."
"Marcus also wanted to rebuild an engine because he did not listen to the idle."
Cody coughed into his fist to hide a laugh.
Cole's eyes stayed on Emily. "I watched three men spend three days trying to force the motorcycle to fit what they already believed. You listened to it for less than a minute and knew where to look. Then you did the work correctly in the time it took them to eat lunch. That is not luck. That is the person I want teaching the next twenty mechanics who walk through my door."
"I touched your bike without permission."
"And we are going to have a conversation about that policy when you are not on pain medication."
Porter hid a smile.
Cole continued. "But I am not going to punish competence because my pride got stepped on. I did enough stupid things yesterday."
Emily's eyes began to burn.
"You don't know if I can manage people."
"Neither do I. We'll find out."
"You don't know if the others will take direction from me."
"Then they can learn."
"You don't even know if I want the job."
Cole leaned back. "Finally. A useful objection. Do you?"