Disclaimer: All characters and material related to the ER belongs to NBC, the writers and all others associated with it. On this story, the plot is down to AceSpade, not me, as is the character of Jake.
Author's Note: Yes, I know, another new fic. I have by no means given up on any of my works in progress, but I have all these ideas plaguing me, begging to be written, and I've been spending so much time jotting down notes on them, I thought I might as well get on and write them. After this, there will be another chapter of Back to the Beginning, I promise. This story probably won't be as long as some of my others, but the idea was pitched to me by AceSpade a little while back, and I liked it, so here it is. Hope you enjoy.
Spoilers: None, this is an AU I guess. Set vaguely in a Michael free Season 12, although timescale isn't really relevant.
'Tea or coffee?' Neela called out from the kitchen.
Over the sounds of the shower, she heard Ray's muffled reply of 'tea please,' as she flicked the kettle on. She got out the mugs and spooned in the necessary ingredients for tea for him and coffee for herself, then she began to rummage in the cupboards for ingredients for pancakes. She was bending over, head stuck in the fridge looking for milk, when she heard a wolf whistle behind her.
'Nice view.'
Neela extracted herself carefully from the fridge and turned round to find Ray standing there, a towel wrapped dangerously low around his narrow hips and his hair looking endearing fluffy from having been towel dried and not yet attacked with the normal handful of gel. She let her eyes travel over his body, rather enjoying the view herself. As he gave her a lazy smile and stepped towards her slowly, she felt a blush flood across her cheeks.
'I'm glad you appreciate it,' she smiled.
His hands slid around her waist, pulling her to him, and he lowered his lips to her neck, playfully nibbling at the delicious skin there.
'Mm, Ray, stop, we have to go to work soon.' Then his tongue started the game his teeth were already playing, and she felt her entire body turn to liquid. She leaned into him for support, winding her arms around his neck to hold herself up. 'Mm, Ray,' she moaned.
Then the kettle began to whistle behind them and Ray pulled himself away from her reluctantly. 'I think my tea might be ready,' he murmured, his lips curling into a grin. Dropping his hands abruptly from her body, Ray looked at her with one of those amazing intense gazes of him, and turned towards his bedroom. 'I'll go get dressed, then I'll get started on those pancakes you seem to be hinting at.' He'd spotted the flour, eggs and milk lined up on the side next to a frying pan.
Neela watched him as he disappeared, her pulse slowly retuning to normal. They had been together for about a month now, though it had been brewing a while longer. It all started during one of their infamous rows when, to shut her up in yet another of her tirades against his mess, laziness or whatever it was she was berating him about that time, he simply grabbed her and kissed her. Her initial thought was to slap him hard – he'd been heading for one anyway – but as his hands tangled themselves in her hair and the movement of his lips gradually coaxed her own open, all thoughts of animosity began to melt away, and she found herself completely overtaken by the feel of him, the sensations he set tripping off one after the other, radiating out from the pit of her stomach to every extremity of her body. Once the kiss had eventually finished, her mind had been a little blurry, but she vaguely remembered Ray apologising for whatever he'd done to make her mad in the first place, then smiling that incredible smile of his at her. After that, she was fairly sure there had been more kissing.
They had soon progressed from that to a relationship. In many ways, she supposed even before the kiss, they had been together in all but name as it was. But after two dinners, a gig, a hockey game, and being caught by Morris pressed up against the lockers in the doctor's lounge, it was official, she was actually dating Ray Barnett. She had to say, she still had her reservations, but every time she saw that smile or the look of utter happiness in his eyes every time he looked at her, she managed to put aside her insecurities and just be happy for a change.
At the moment, things were still in the relatively early stages, but she liked the way they were heading, and was pretty sure Ray did too. Although they still ostensibly had their own rooms, they now almost always spent the night together, in one or the other, depending on who had to be up the earliest the next day. In fact, they were falling into quite the little routine now, and she didn't think, in all honesty, she had ever been happier or more content in her life.
Ray wandered out of his bedroom again, dressed now in jeans and a t-shirt. To Neela's delight, he had forgotten to do his hair, and he still had that gorgeous fluffy puppy look about him. Smiling at her, leaning in for a quick peck on the lips as he passed her, he started beating up the things she had laid out into a pancake mix. She watched him as he did so, fascinated by the way the muscles in his arm moved beneath the skin as he whisked the mixture and the look of absolute concentration as he did so. All his movements were so quick, so confident. Had he ever been unsure of anything in his life, she wondered. She couldn't imagine it.
When the pancakes were made, they took them into the lounge to eat and sat on the sofa. Ray felt his heart do a little flutter as Neela made herself comfortable, lifting her legs up off the floor and resting them over his lap. Sometimes, he was still tempted to pinch himself, just to check whether or not it was all real. Neela was actually his girlfriend. Beautiful, amazing, intelligent Neela had become his Neela. And the reality most definitely more than lived up to the fantasy. Of course, he was still just a little bit in shock that he had a girlfriend. Proper adult relationships were not his forte. Up until Neela, he had been more than happy with his procession of brief flings; they served a purpose and he got to carry on with his life unhindered and uninterrupted. Neela was different though. Right away, she had just gotten under his skin and seeped slowly into his consciousness until every thought he had was of her. And now they were actually together, well, he hadn't quite realised that one person could make you quite so happy.
Before she saw the inane grin on his face that he always seemed to suffer from when she was around, he flicked on the TV and scanned quickly through the channels, settling on the morning's news.
The newsreader was talking about an item about child homelessness in Chicago. Apparently there were literally hundreds of minors living rough in this city alone. Often from very troubled backgrounds, they had turned to drink and drugs, and were disillusioned with the social care system, preferring to make their own way, even in the middle of winter.
'It's dreadful, isn't it?' Neela mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.
'Yeah, poor kids,' Ray said. 'Makes you wish you could do something, doesn't it?'
'It doesn't seem right, that there's no way of reaching out to them,' she agreed. 'They must have gone through some terrible things to make that look like the best option to them.'
Then the item changed to some senator or other who was apparently having an affair with his secretary and they switched it off, not remotely interested in the sordid affairs of politicians. When they finished eating, Neela gathered up the empty plates and mugs, and took them to the kitchen. She emerged again a moment later with a smile on her face and slipped her hand into Ray's for the walk to the station.
They hadn't even reached the doors when they knew they were in for a nightmare shift. As they made their way down the steps from the station and crossed the street, making their way over to the entrance, they suddenly saw that there were no less than three ambulances backed up in the bay. They glanced at each other briefly, and groaned, before they ran over to the action.
'What's going on?' Ray asked as soon as they were within earshot.
'Four vehicle MVA out on the freeway. Two criticals already brought in by chopper, one critical and two serious here. Take your pick,' the paramedic offered.
Several of the other members of the team were already outside, each at a different ambulance. Kovac was directing operations. 'Jane, broken femur and dislocated hip, are you all right with that?' He didn't wait for a yes. 'I'll take the head injury, and Morris, the critical is all yours.' He looked up for long enough to see the new arrivals. 'Ray, Neela, you're with Morris.'
They ran over to the ambulance they were pointed at, and joined Morris, Chuny and Malik. Zadro was giving the patient history. 'Female, late forties, back seat passenger in a car that was hit head on. Abrasions and lacerations to head and face, probable whiplash, displaying signs of alteration before she became unconscious but pupils responsive to light and gag reflex present. BP is 112 over 85, pulse 98.'
As one, they started wheeling her in. As they passed the desk, Morris called out to Frank 'where's free?' and received a gruff 'trauma three' in response.
As soon as they parked up the gurney in trauma three, Morris took control. 'All right. I need a CBC, head CT and a tox screen to make sure there's no other reason for her alteration. Neela, can you do a physical work-up please, make sure there's nothing else we haven't spotted. Ray, central line please.'
After a couple of minutes of working on her in relative calm, Abby appeared in the doorway. 'Do you guys need any help in here?'
'Don't you have one of your own?' Morris asked, ever possessive over his traumas.
'Lost him,' she said simply. 'In full cardiac arrest by the time the helicopter landed. We worked on him for over twenty minutes, but we weren't going to bring him back. Luka said you had the crit.'
Morris quickly filled her in on the details. As he was doing so, Malik suddenly interjected, 'Guys, right pupil has just blown.'
At his words, utter chaos descended. Ray and Neela both abandoned what they were doing and tried to fight their way to the top of the bed. Abby was already there, and Morris was distinctly unwilling to give up his spot at the patient's head. Chuny and Malik were keeping up a constant commentary on the woman's condition, detailing each new deterioration loudly.
As noise filled the room, Morris shouted, 'Quiet.' There was immediate silence as everyone looked at him. 'There's too many of us in here. I can't hear myself think. Ray, you go out and get to work on the board. If we're all working on traumas the waiting room must be packed out.'
'Why me?' Ray asked petulantly. 'Abby was last in, Abby should go.'
'You, because I say you. You've been so damn happy ever since you got it on with Neela that you're annoying the hell out of me. Now go push charts.'
Although he was put out by Morris's crazy, and he had to say, slightly unfair logic, he didn't argue. He'd much rather be working on a trauma, but Morris was right, someone had to clear the board, and he was the fastest doctor at streeting patients in the department, so he might actually be able to make an impression on it. Besides, Morris was Chief Resident, and although he might be a jumped up little disciplinarian at times, Ray knew he had to follow his orders.
Sighing, he peeled off his gloves and trauma gown, bundling them up and tossing them away. He made his way back to the admit desk, and grabbed the first chart he came to. Seeing that the patient was in curtain two, he made his way there, flicking through the history to see what he was dealing with. Fifteen year old male, apparently having taken a pretty severe beating. No internal damage, but plenty of bruises and lacerations to clean up. Hmm, could be worse, he thought. He liked dealing with kids, they were far more interesting to talk to than the adults that came in here. Less demanding as well.
Pulling back the curtain, he took a look at the kid in the bed. He looked a little older than his chart said he was, until Ray caught a glimpse of his eyes, one narrowed by a swollen, purple lid, and he realised that the poor kid was terrified. That look made him appear about twelve.
Smiling warmly, he stepped towards the bed. 'Hey there. I'm Doctor Barnett, but call me Ray. It's Jake Ford, right?'
