Audrey Lim knew he would be waiting for her outside of the hospital. She had never really thought about being his girlfriend until she had gotten sick with that respiratory virus. Sure, they had had that one-night stand the night before the quarantine, but they had both agreed that it couldn't happen again for the sake of their friendship and their careers. But once she had discovered she was infected with that deadly virus, her entire thought process had changed. She wouldn't have lived if it hadn't been for Morgan's ballsy idea of putting her on ECMO, but since she had, Lim knew she couldn't be cautious anymore. She had tried her hardest to push him away; she knew he wanted more by the looks he gave her. He had even told her he'd wait to be able to drink bourbon with her again. She had sworn to herself she would never fall for someone again after her divorce with Kashal. But then he came along, and that one night came along, and that virus came along, and she realized she just couldn't let him go. Her feelings for him were too deep to do so.
When she was wheeled out of the front entrance door, she stood and swung her black bag over her shoulder. Sure enough, he pulled up to the front entrance in his Tesla, looking around to make sure no one was watching as she got into the front seat next to him. She gave him a little smirk and he tried to hide his satisfaction, but he ended up grinning from ear to ear like a high school teenager. He drove away from the hospital towards his house and got a good ways away from the building before he turned to her and said, "It's great to have you back, Audrey."
Lim chuckled and shook her head, "I never left, you asshat; and you were in my room every day for the past week. I'm surprised Andrews isn't already suspicious."
Melendez chuckled, "I was worried about you, Audrey. You were pretty sick for a while there."
"It's not me you should have been worried about. Murphy was the one who was overwhelmed," admitted Lim, "Though I heard he performed a successful emergency c-section while we were quarantined," Melendez took Lim's hand and squeezed it, "So what are our plans for tonight since I'm now virus free and all yours?"
"Well, I figure you probably want to spend your first night out of the hospital alone just the two of us, so I've been working on a couple little surprises for you," he said, trying his hardest to keep his face neutral.
"Does it involve that thing we said shouldn't happen again?" she asked knowingly.
Melendez shrugged, "Not necessarily. Though if what I have planned does lead to it, I won't complain," his facial impression implied that he was indeed hoping for what happened a few nights ago.
"You're a horrible liar, you know that right?" she eyed him jokingly.
When they arrived home, Lim went to go to the front door before Melendez stopped her, "When we get inside, I want you to wait downstairs for a little bit while I get everything set up."
Lim was confused, but nodded in agreement, "Okay."
Melendez unlocked the front door and set his keys down on the little table right inside the living room. Lim set her bag down next to the table and went to take a seat on the couch, "Wait, here; I'll call you up when I'm ready."
Melendez went upstairs while Lim pondered on what he was planning. She sure as hell hoped he hadn't stopped by some adult store and bought some sort of cheesy crotchless underwear or some sort of toy he wanted her to use. She was usually up for anything, but she was still fatigued from having been in the hospital for several days. She didn't know if her best performance would come any time soon. She heard him puttering around upstairs, and it sounded like there was a herd of elephants with him, "Neil?" she called out to him.
"Just a few more minutes, Audrey," he shouted.
Lim was tired of waiting, so she slowly made her way up the stairs, though Melendez wasn't in his bedroom, "Neil, where are you?"
"In the bathroom; just hold on," Melendez said firmly. Patience wasn't exactly Lim's strong suit, so she tried to barge into the bathroom, though it was locked, "I knew you'd try to come in, Lim; that's why I locked it."
Finally, Lim was tired of waiting, so she knocked loudly and shouted, "Neil, open the damn door."
Melendez finally opened the door, but it wasn't what Lim was expecting. The lights were off, the room only lit by the soft glow of several vanilla scented candles. The bathtub was filled with water and was brimming with bubbles, and there was a bottle of sparkling cider with two glasses already filled, "Neil," she whispered softly.
"I know you had some quick showers while you were in the hospital, but I figured tonight what you'd really want would be a nice long soak in the tub," Melendez explained.
Lim did have to admit that a nice romantic bubble bath sounded wonderful. She was stiff from lying in a hospital bed and her chest was sore from having coughed so much for the first few days. She could use a good deep tissue massage and some rest and relaxation, "Will you be joining me, Dr. Melendez?" she asked hopefully.
He held up the cider and asked, "Why do you think there are two glasses? I figure it was safer to go with sparkling cider over champagne tonight since you still are recovering some."
"That's alright. I can drink alcoholic beverages soon," she kissed him slowly, "Now we better get our asses in that tub before the water gets too cold."
They both slowly undressed before sinking into the water, the warmth enveloping both of their abdomens and chests. Lim would be the first to admit that she wasn't one to overly enjoy baths and that she much preferred showers, but somehow, being in the same tub with Melendez made the concept more enjoyable. She grabbed her glass of sparkling cider and clinked it with Melendez's, "To beating a killer virus and showing it whose boss."
Melendez couldn't help but laugh at her toast, "To the virus that brought us together, otherwise you'd still be denying that you like me."
Lim sighed, but then smiled and nodded, "Probably."
"Not probably, definitely," Melendez said and laughed.
"Okay, definitely," Lim leaned back against him, Melendez setting his glass down and absentmindedly rubbing her shoulders, "But I will admit, this is nice. Who knew you of all people could be Mr. Romantic?"
"I can be romantic when I want to be. I just reserve it all for the women in my life who I really want to impress. Just wait until you see all of the tricks I have up my sleeve," Melendez continued to massage her shoulders.
"A little lower, Neil," Lim instructed. Melendez moved his hands lower down her back between her shoulder blades, "Mm. Right there is where it's really tense."
Melendez grabbed the soap and lathered some on his hands before he continued, "Audrey, have you ever thought about doing something to release the tension in your muscles?"
"I do, most of the time, either with a run or at the gym. I've just been stuck in the hospital for five days and haven't gotten the chance," she informed, "But I have to admit, this method works too."
"Good," Melendez kissed the top of her head.
"Do you want me to return the favor?" she asked seductively, pulling out of his embrace and turning to face him.
Melendez didn't answer verbally, but nodded, so Lim slathered on some soap and began to rub vigorously, attacking all of the knots, "Geez, Aud. I'm not that tense."
"I've seen you in the operating room; you need this," she asserted.
They both couldn't help but laugh, "Believe me, I don't think cardiothoracic surgery is as intense as trauma surgery."
"Fair point. But being a surgeon in general is stressful," she said, "Plus with the whole quarantine, I think everyone needs some much needed relaxation. I'm just glad I get to relax with you."
"Me too," said Melendez as he enveloped her once again, "I'm glad we finally have each other."
"We had sex once, Neil, and to be honest, I'm not up for it tonight," said Lim.
"I know, but we've agreed to move forward, even if it is in secret. I don't know about you but I've wanted this to happen for a really long time," he admitted.
Lim was silent for a long time, so Melendez was worried he had said the wrong thing. She finally answered, "I have too. Now, I admit this was really nice, but I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a while. Nothing would make me happier than to snooze about twelve hours straight without interruptions."
Melendez laughed and grabbed the towels. He stepped out of the tub and held out Lim's for her, which she promptly accepted his embrace, "Okay, but on one condition. We do what we did the night before the quarantine sometime again soon."
Lim tilted her head up and placed a kiss onto his lips, "It's a deal."