It's funny how time flies when you don't realise it. The month of recovery that Kerry and Luka wanted me to have flew by. Admittedly, both Ray and I thought it would never end. It led to some fights and led to some make-ups.

"You never want to do anything anymore, Ray." I whined.

"I just worked a double, Neela. I'm not feeling much like going out. Not tonight, anyway. I just want to sleep."

"I have no one else to go out with."

"Abby?"

"Working."

"Pratt?"

"Working." I sing songed.

"Why don't you go out alone?" Ray's voice was exhausted.

"No fun." I pouted.

"Jesus, Neela. What do you want me to do?" He was now not just exhausted, but frustrated and that was never a good combination with Ray.

"Never mind." I knew not to push it when Ray was like this. "I'll just sit in my room, bored. Like I always do."

It hadn't been easy for Ray to work doubles while I sat at home on my arse doing nothing. I had cleaned every ounce of that apartment until it was so clean you could eat out of the toilet, but I was going crazy. The one day I had decided to go out by myself, I ended up in the ER. As a patient.

"Where'd you find her?" I heard Abby's voice.

"She was passed out on a park bench in Millennium Park." The paramedic replied before rattling off my stats. I had my eyes semi-opened. They didn't want to stay opened or closed.

"She okay?" I recognized Ray's voice, full of concern.

"She'll be fine, Ray." Abby's voice echoed his concern. "Luka and I have her, Ray."

"I can't just…"

"Ray." Luka's voice was stern. "Abby and I will take care of her.

It seemed like forever before I was in an exam room, Ray sitting at my side. "What were you thinking, Neela?"

"You told me to do something by myself."

"I know." Ray rolled his head. "I'm sorry. I just…"

I put my hand on his. "I know."

I smiled at some of the highlights of the past month. Ray had been more instrumental in my young recovery and even attended a required therapy session with me. He was hardly impressed by Dr. Kavecki and his approach to 'treating his patients'.

Ray sat quietly next to me as Heather Tomlinson spoke. He studied Dr. Kavecki closely as Heather told her story. When she concluded, Dr. Kavecki made no attempt to pull more out of her and Ray was gob smacked. "Nothing else?" Ray's voice was quiet, but his attention was on Heather.

"Dr. Barnett, I'll have to ask you to leave if you talk." Dr. Kavecki's voice was stern.

"That's it? You merely nod and that's it? No trying to figure out why she's battling this?" Ray's voice was strained from trying to maintain control.

Dr. Kavecki looked at him. "Dr. Barnett, it is not up to me to figure out how it all started, but up to me to fix it."

"You don't think that trying to find out why each of these young ladies has an eating disorder has anything to do with anything?"

"No."

"How can you fix a problem if you don't know what the problem is?" Ray now focused his attention on Dr. Kavecki.

"I'm not here to fix problems, Dr. Barnett. I'm here…"

"Isn't that our job as doctors?" Ray challenged. "To fix the problems that are put before us the best we can?"

"I'm doing the best I can, Dr. Barnett." Dr. Kavecki tapped his pencil against his pad of paper.

"Doesn't sound like it to me."

"Dr. Barnett, if you don't like how I'm doing this, why don't you try to do my job for me?" Dr. Kavecki may have meant that as an I'll-show-him stunt, but Ray wasn't going to back down.

Ray sat back, crossed his ankle over his knee and looked at Micah Griffith. "What's your story?" Micah relayed her story and she looked at Ray. Ray smiled at her and pulled more information from her. "What makes you feel as though you're not important to your family?"

"I'm the youngest and with four older brothers, no one really has time for me." Micah softly replied.

"What do you think would happen if you just disappeared?" Ray leaned forward.

"Nothing. No one would miss me."

"I think there's a few young ladies in this room that might miss you." Ray smiled. "Look, I know this isn't easy on any of you, but you each must believe you are special and important and someone loves you and will miss you when you're gone. You have a choice here. You can control your eating or let your eating control you." He looked at me. "Sometimes, in order to have control, you must be willing to let it go."

Needless to say, Ray was never invited back and I stopped going. I didn't need therapy sessions with Dr. Kavecki as long as Dr. Barnett was around. I sat in the doctor's lounge, waiting for Ray to get off shift. One more night and I'd be back on shift. But my illness meant a delay in my surgical rotation. Kerry, Luka, and Dr. Dubenko thought it would be best for my health if I worked in the ER with Ray.

"Hey." I heard Abby's voice.

"Hi." I looked at her.

"How's everything going?" She sat next to me. "Baby food? Something you and Ray aren't telling us?" She smiled.

"Ray and I haven't really officially started dating, Abby."

"You should, you know."

"I know."

"But seriously, baby food?"

"Yeah. Ray thought I should get back onto solids very slowly. Baby food is full of nutrients for a growing person and he thought it would be a good idea for me. He's right, you know." I took a spoonful. "Baby food is, in an odd way, good."

Abby laughed out loud. "You're something else." She looked at the door. "I should get back to work, but we're all proud of you, Neela. You're going to be okay."

"Yeah, she is." Ray's voice was soft, but still powerful.

Abby smiled at him. "All because of you."

"She did it, not me, Abby." Ray closed the door behind him.

"True, but she couldn't have done it without you." She stood up. "We'll see you tomorrow night, Neela. We'll have plenty of patients for you."

"You better!" I yelled back as she walked away.

"Well, excited?" Ray sat next to me.

"About returning to work? Yeah. I can't wait." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I just wonder how long it'll be before I can do it right again."

"Not long. You're a great doctor, Neela. I wouldn't be surprised if you handled twice as many patients as I do tomorrow night and do it with better success."

I smiled. Ray had grown as a doctor and he had more rights than wrongs and I was proud of him. He had, in the past couple of months, learned to deal with what he hid and he and I spoke often of his healing and of mine. It seemed to help both of us. "Ready to go, Ray?" I asked.

"You bet." He helped me up and we left, everyone in the ER staring as we held hands. "See you all tomorrow night!" Ray yelled.

"And I expect a big huge fat cake!" I yelled as I laughed.

Cake or no cake, I was returning to work and I was excited.