Stages of Confrontation
by: Eyes-of-Pearl
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: ER doesn't belong to me.
Author's Note & Synopsis: Another one. I'm in the midst for angst and this is what I came up with. No spoilers for Season 13. The rating is for one swear word that I have in there, otherwise it's safe.
Reela centered. First stage was Insecurity followed by ... What exactly happen when Neela told Ray about Michael's proposal?
Stages of Confrontation
First stage was Insecurity.
She didn't know how to initiate the conversation. She knew without a doubt that a confrontation of sorts was coming. She went as far as thinking of calling in sick for the rest of the week and then crashing at Abby's until the whole thing blew over. She feared his reaction, even more scared of losing her composure. She just wished that it was all over.
To his credit, he wasn't stupid. He knew something was up when she stayed up late with him to watch him channel surf. She had the morning shift the next day and she needed the sleep. Yet she stayed and they made small talk. Actually, it was him who did most of the talking. She grunted and sighed in all the right places and avoided his eyes in all the wrong ones. Finally, he let her have it.
"Ok, Neela. Spill it. You have been walking on egg shells around me the whole night."
The Insecurity stage peaked at this point.
She had two choices: one was to laugh it off and the other was to tell him the truth. The latter was the only option that she really had because he had essentially caught her red handed. Not to mention the fact that Ray Barnett was nothing if not persistent. Right on cue, he mumbled, "Neela."
"I'm getting married, Ray," she blurted out.
"Married," he echoed.
All of sudden, she felt oppressive, caged in. She jumped from the couch and paced the length of the centerpiece table in front of the TV.
"Michael proposed, Ray."
"I don't think you are the type to accept a random proposal from Joe Smoe," he tried to laugh it off. It seemed that they had jumped to Stage 2: Make a joke when the going gets tough.
"Ray, please."
"I guess congratulations are in order. When is the date?"
Apparently she was wrong, they had proceeded with Stage 3: short and direct, quit beating around the bush. She chalked that up as the Official Confrontation Phase.
In rebuttal, she felt the need to be defensive, "It was a hard decision to make."
"Things like marriage always is," he concurred.
With Stage 4 came Acceptance.
Before she could put forth another front, he spoke up,"Listen Neela. When we did this roommate thing, I knew that it wasn't going to last. You're an intelligent and beautiful woman and one of these days, a guy will come along who sweeps you off your feet. It's just sooner, rather than later, but we both know that this day was coming."
She wanted to scream in the face of his seemingly neutral facade. "You're mighty certain about all of this. I don't know what kind of mood I should be in right now, except that I feel like sh-t."
Pulling her until they were at eye level, he wrapped her in the cocoon of his embrace. "Hey, don't cry. That comes after the happily ever after. This door is always open to you, day and night, rain or shine. Just say the word because for me, you're always the one and only Roomie."
She felt calm and secured by the knowledge that their relationship wasn't going to suffer by this latest development in her life. Her insecurities ebbed away and she asked tentatively, "Promise?"
"Promise."
Last and final Stage: False Hopes.
End