We know we're taking a long time between updates...please bear with us. RL is intruding really rudely here lately and we're trying to find a way to deal with it...lol. We want to thank everyone for all the reviews we've gotten on the previous chapters. We really appreciate your kind words. :D We hope that you'll continue to let us know what you think. As always...

Yours,

butterflyswest and Erin Allen

3

Neela stood at the back of the couch, staring down at him as he slept. A small smile curved her lips at the sight of the uncomfortable position he was lying in. His neck looked as if it was about to break, snugged up against the armrest at an impossible angle. One leg hung off the side dragging the floor, and the other was thrown up over the back of the couch. What caught her around the heart was the sight of his hand curled up under his cheek. He looked like a little boy who had stayed up past his bedtime and collapsed.

She shook her head and went to the kitchen to make coffee. He was going to need it along with a good amount of aspirin. She remembered well Brett's loud complaints about that couch and the lack of comfort in it. She had just flipped the switch on the maker when Emily came out of her room, yawning.

"Oh, I so love you," the girl said as she saw the coffee dripping into the pot.

"You really shouldn't drink this," Neela said as she set out a bowl for Emily's cereal. That was all the girl would eat in the morning. At least, it was when it was Neela who was cooking.

"I was up too late studying," Emily said, covering her mouth as she yawned again. She took the offered bowl and fished a spoon from the silverware drawer. "Is Ray up yet?"

Neela shook her head, pulling three cups from the cupboard. She hoped that her emotions didn't show on her face. She felt awful about making him sleep on the couch. She had, yet again, let her temper get the best of her. She had just been so angry…and yes, she had to admit…afraid. Whenever her parents were involved, it threw her completely off balance. She couldn't seem to get past the dutiful daughter role when she was around them. It made no sense. She'd been living on her own for years. She was a capable doctor. She had her own life, but when her parents were around, she felt five years old again.

"He's still asleep," she told Emily, her tone carefully neutral. Emily hesitated and turned to look at her.

"He didn't," she said incredulously with dawning realization in her eyes. Her mouth dropped open then shut again. "He did. He called didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," Neela admitted, pulling the carafe from the base. She took a deep breath before she began to pour the coffee into the mugs. "I made him sleep on the couch last night."

Emily clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"I told him not to," she said. Neela couldn't help but smile. She sounded like any other kid, tattling on her brother. "I told him he shouldn't do it."

"He told you that he was going to call?" Neela asked.

"Last night. I told him that it was his funeral."

Neela laughed softly. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like I did," she said with a smile.

Emily shrugged with a grin and took the cup that Neela held out to her.

"It's good for him," she said, blowing on the hot liquid. "Just don't let him off the hook too soon. He needs to be taken down a notch or two."

Neela laughed again shaking her head. She would have thought that the two of them could have grown out of the sibling squabbling. Ray was an adult for the love of God, and Emily was nearly fifteen. In point of fact, Neela suspected that the two of them sat around thinking of new creative ways to get under each other's skin.

"Get your breakfast," she said with amusement, taking Ray's filled cup from the counter. "You have to be to school in an hour."

"I know, I know," she said turning away. "Mind your own business, Emily."

Neela ignored her mumbling and went to the living room. She knelt beside him and waved the cup under his nose. He breathed deeply, turning his head toward the scent of freshly brewed coffee, but flinched and groaned as the movement pulled at cramped muscles. His eyes fluttered open and fixed on Neela smiling at him.

"Good morning," she whispered.

He made a face and pushed into a sitting position. Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, he took the cup she offered with the other.

"I wish I could say it was," he grumbled. "But someone made me sleep on the couch last night."

She offered a small smile.

"I'm…"

"No," he said, leaning forward to kiss her lightly. He touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "Don't apologize to me. I should have talked to you about it."

"Yes, you should have," she said sardonically. "But, I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"Emily warned me…"

"Yes, I did, but did you listen? Of course not. Why would you listen to me? Who the hell am I?"

They both raised their heads as Emily's voice faded down the hall to her room, still grumbling about Ray not listening to her, nobody listened to her, she was just some kid and her opinion didn't matter. Ray grinned as he looked at Neela.

"She's getting entirely too mouthy for her own good," he said.

"But was she right?" Neela couldn't help asking with a grin. He rolled his eyes and kissed her again.

"Don't remind me." He rose stiffly from the couch, his hands going to the small of his back. "We really need to get rid of this thing. It's murder on the back."

She let him help her to her feet and snorted.

"Try being pregnant," she said sourly. "Then we'll talk about murder."

Ray said nothing as he limped toward the bathroom. At the moment, he was just happy that they had called a truce, albeit an uneasy one. He wasn't about to remind her that they still had several months to go. If any of the stories he'd heard were true, murder could very well be in his future. He'd only narrowly escaped that fate the night before. He shut the bathroom door and groaned again when he bent to turn on the shower. He was really getting too old for this shit.

Neela smiled as she listened to the shower begin and went back to the kitchen. She was hungry, and she was certain that Ray would be too when he finally had himself in order. She popped two slices of bread into the toaster and started rummaging around in the cupboard for something else to eat. Brett had made short work of the groceries they had once had. Pretty soon, she was going to start charging him rent if he didn't lay off their food stores. Her stomach growled as she found a jar and a can, and she snatched them off the shelf. Now that sounded good…

"So I take it you didn't kill him?" Emily said as she stepped off the stool. Neela grinned at the disappointment in her voice.

"No, I didn't kill him," she said, setting her prizes on the counter. "He's on probation so to speak."

Emily nodded, her expression looking slightly smug. Then her eyes widened as she took in the containers on the counter. "What are you doing?" she asked as Neela pulled the toast from the toaster.

"Making my breakfast."

"You're kidding right?" The girl crossed the kitchen and picked up the jar of peanut butter and the can of anchovies, staring at Neela incredulously. "You're not really going to eat this."

Neela plucked them from her hands and set them back on the counter. Emily watched in sick fascination as she smeared peanut butter on the toast and dropped anchovies on top before smashing the whole mess together.

"God, I'm outta here," she said, turning slightly green when Neela took a bite. "Tell Ray I'll see him when I get home." With that, she was gone, the slamming of the front door slightly louder than was strictly necessary. She continued to munch her 'sandwich' and shrugged. It tasted perfectly fine to her. Who would have thought that anchovies and peanut butter would go together so nicely?

"Was that Em?" Ray said from behind her. Neela turned and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. He was only half dressed, his shirt thrown over his shoulder and the button of his jeans undone. He looked positively delicious. He was toweling his hair and stopped dead when he caught her staring at him. "What?" he asked warily.

"Nothing," she said quickly, trying to sound nonchalant. She didn't have time to go where her mind was leading her. They both had to get ready and go to work. If they were late, then Dr. Weaver would skin them. She complained already that Ray was a bad influence on Neela; sucking her into his bad habits. She took her sandwich with her, giving him a light kiss as she passed. She could feel his confusion at her back until she closed the bathroom door behind her.

Ray shook his head and went to the kitchen. Some days he wondered if Neela wasn't going crazy. He paused, frowning as his gaze lit on the items on the counter. His stomach rolled unpleasantly at the sight of the anchovies. He hated the things, but why would Neela…

Suddenly, he understood his sister's abrupt exit from the apartment. He swallowed hard as he replaced the lid on the jar of peanut butter and returned it to the cupboard. He just held the trashcan under the counter as he swept the empty can of anchovies in. He wasn't hungry anymore. Pouring another cup of coffee, he sat down to wait for Neela, doing all he could not to think of what she was eating.

God, this was going to be a long day.

000000

Abby was waiting for them when they walked into the ER an hour later. She glanced at the clock then down at her watch.

"You're on time," she said, feigning shock.

Ray ignored her, shaking his head as he moved on to the locker room. Neela made a face at his back and raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Yes, we're on time," she said. "Would you expect anything else?"

"From the two of you anymore? Yes. Maybe a bit of fireworks between you and Weaver to start the day off right."

Neela grimaced.

"That's the last thing he or I need this morning," she muttered, heading down the hall. Abby fell into step beside her.

"Why? What happened? Did you tell him about your parents?"

"Yes." Neela cringed. "So, he decided to call them and break the news himself."

Abby sucked in a breath.

"You're kidding right? Holy shit! I never would have thought he had it in him."

"Well he did. Without talking to me first," Neela told her sourly. "I made him sleep on the couch last night," she admitted sheepishly.

Abby bit her lips to hold in laughter.

"Oh my God! No wonder he looks like shit today."

"Thanks, Lockhart," Ray said as he emerged from the locker room right in front of them. "I hope that your bedside manner is a helluva lot better than that."

He pushed past them and headed toward reception. Neela and Abby exchanged a look and grinned. It was kind of funny, Neela had to admit, though she still felt a little guilty about the whole incident. She pushed through the door to the locker room.

"As if that wasn't bad enough," she continued. "My parents are coming here."

Abby stopped dead in her tracks.

"What exactly did he tell them?" she asked.

"Everything," Neela said irritably as she pulled her lab coat from her locker. "The wedding…the baby, everything."

Abby winced and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you going to do?"

Neela sighed.

"What can I do? The damage is done now. The best I can hope for is that they only stay a day or two. The last thing I need is them harping at me."

Abby nodded.

"At least they aren't coming here to kill you."

Neela smiled grimly, pulling on her coat and wrapping her stethoscope around her neck.

"I almost wish they were. Outright hostility I could manage. Guilt trips I can't."

Abby grinned, following her to the door.

"Then let Ray deal with it. He threw the lure, he can reel it in."

Neela laughed and headed out to start her day, feeling better than she had before. Her laughter died however when she saw Ray at reception, rolling his head to ease the muscles in his neck. Taking a deep breath, she moved to stand near the desk in front of him.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Peachy," he answered sourly with a wince.

"I'm sorry, Ray."

His expression softened at the sincerity in her voice, and he actually smiled, sending her heart to racing. God, she loved it when he smiled!

"So does this mean that I'm completely forgiven?" he asked sidling closer to her.

"You knew you would be," she answered glancing around nervously to see if Weaver was around. She grimaced when Morris came into view. He wasn't Dr. Weaver, but he was just as annoying.

"Break it up, kids. Daylight's burning."

Ray rolled his eyes and gave her a hot look.

"We'll finish this later," he said. "You can give me a back rub as an apology."

She raised an eyebrow, feeling a flush rise to her face. Oh, would she now? Ray grinned as if he knew exactly what she was thinking before turning away to pay attention to Morris and take the chart he offered.

"Oh, this is war," Neela muttered under her breath as she too began her day.