Chapter 42 : Starting new

They had a few days off before going back to the hospital. But this morning, they were in Bonaventure. They had an appointment with Mrs. Lynch. It was really weird to be back there. Nothing had changed except the color of some walls. As they were walking through the corridors, people looked at them. They didn't even know how to interpret those eye contacts.

They finally arrived to the HR office and waited for Mrs. Lynch, she was in a meeting. When she joined them a half hour later, she found them talking about flowers and bowling.

"That's an interesting combo!"

Claire and Neil jumped as they heard Mrs. Lynch's voice. "I didn't want to scare you." She let out a laugh. "If you like to follow me in my office."

They enter her office and sat at the exact same place they did 6 months ago when they decided to take a break, away from Bonaventure. It was both weird and funny. They had so much changed since that moment. This trip in Thailand transformed them. Mrs. Lynch explained them how their return in the hospital will take place. Neil will have two new interns to supervise, while Claire was from now on the lead trauma surgeon in the ER. Both were surprised to have kept high positions in the hospital despite being gone for so long.

"Apparently you're difficult to replace." She winked at them. "Your colleagues specifically ask for you to be back at your former position, Dr. Melendez. And for you Claire, Dr. Lim is back at her position in the trauma service. But she and Dr. Andrews explicitly insisted on the fact they needed you in the ER to run a new trauma unit… If you agree of course."

"I do… Of course…" Claire stumbled on words. She was so surprised. Neil just nodded to Mrs. Lynch.

"Your shifts start on Monday at 9 AM. Come to see me then and I'll give you all you need: parking cards, badges and keys to your offices. Anything to add?"

Claire and Neil shared a conniving look. It was better to say her about them right now. At least, the administrative part, the less pleasant one will be done. Anyway, it had to be taken care of.

"Actually we're married now… We tied the knot while we were in Thailand…" Neil proudly announced, taking Claire's hand.

"Congratulations!"

"Is there anything to do?" Claire asked anxiously.

"I just add this mention on both your files. But as you've already made your relationship official, there's nothing more to do."

Neil and Claire shook Mrs. Lynch's hand and thanked her for her kindness. They left Bonaventure in a hurry, they didn't want to see anyone and they were late. Morgan and Alex were waiting for them to lunch. They met them at Veronica's thirty minutes later. Morgan and Alex were already here, standing next to each other.

"Things are getting interesting." Claire gave Neil a mischievous look.

"Don't start again. Let them alone."

"Not doing anything, just saying they are standing very close."

He smiled at her. She was so cute when she was curious about her friends' private life. He liked to see the sparkles in her eyes as she was watching at Alex and Morgan. She waved at them as they came closer. It was Morgan who saw them first.

"Heyyyyyyyy" Morgan ran towards them and hugged Claire. "I'm so glad to see you!" Alex joined them and shook Neil's hand. Morgan couldn't stop talking, she was so happy to see her friends again.

"She's waiting for this day since weeks!" Alex spoke in a low voice to Neil. "She was sad when you called to say you stayed a little longer in Thailand... She'll never tell you because she's too proud to say it out loud."

"Sorry but we really needed this moment more with Claire."

Alex smiled to him. "You both look well."

Claire came and hugged Alex. She was glad to see him. "I miss you." He hugged her back. It was good to see their friends again. They entered the restaurant and ordered food. Neil and Claire told them about their adventures in Thailand. The caves, the rice fields, the endless beaches, the monkeys… So many gorgeous landscapes. Claire showed them some pictures on her phone when Morgan stopped her.

"What is this?" She said pointing at her finger.

Claire blushed and shared a look to Neil. He got his hand that was under the table to unveil his fingers. He took Claire 's hand in his.

"We may have something else to tell you…"

Claire told them how Neil asked her to marry him in Erawan National park next to a heart-shaped gap Neil found when he was something like 20. "And we finally tied the knot in Talay Bua Daeng, just the two of us, a priest, Neil's oldest friend and his wife."

Morgan was both so happy for her friends and sad not to have been there. Claire noticed right away her friend was a little disappointed. "Don't worry Morgan, we plan to make a small party here to celebrate. Alex and you are cordially invited."

"Am I allowed to organize something during this party?"

Claire laughed. "Why not? But remember we don't like big fancy things. Stay sober."

Morgan nodded, her mind was already somewhere else, looking for the perfect event to plan. Alex punched her with his shoulder. She stroke his forearm. Claire smiled looking at Neil. No doubt their friends were together. They were just not ready to tell it out loud.

"So when do you return to Bonaventure?" Alex asked as if he knew Claire and Neil were suspicious about something.

"On Monday. But we already have seen Mrs. Lynch and the good news is that we have kept our position in the hospital. Claire has even been promoted. You have in front of you the new trauma lead surgeon in the ER!"

Morgan and Alex congratulated her. She was finally recognized for who she was, for what she was worth. Her years of hard working despite a complicated family history finally paid off. Claire thanked them for being so supportive with her.

"You deserve it, Claire, that's all." Alex smiled at her. He was a really good friend. The only person she could talk for years about everything. He had understood she had feelings for Neil, even before she had figured them herself. He read her minds. And always had been there for her. She was glad to have met these people, she always had been a solitary, a lonely girl fighting for her life and now she was married to the best man in the world and had the most amazing friends. If only her mother could see this…

They spent the rest of the lunch to talk about what had happened in San Jose when they were abroad. Morgan told them about the awful heat wave, Alex focused on the internal stories of Bonaventure hospital. How the new residents were. How the hospital had been renovated. They also talked about the clinic. Morgan had done a great job, developing new workshops, recruiting new volunteers.

As the lunch was over, Alex came to talk to Neil privately. "I just wanted to tell you that Gabbi is a really cool girl. If you don't mind, I'd like to go and see her from time to time. We're good friends now…"

Neil gave a tap on Alex's shoulder. "Thank you for taking good care of my sister while I was away. It means a lot to me… You're a very good friend, Alex. I'll never forget what you did for me."

"My pleasure, Neil. And Gabbi is a really great person. It was a pleasure to go and play with her every week."

Morgan and Claire came to join them, sometimes later. They had their own moments going to the toilets together. They all left the restaurant and went to their cars to go back home. Neil and Claire promised to come to the clinic as soon they will have taken their posts and the rush of the beginning will be finished. When they arrived near to their car, Neil bent to Claire with his puppy eyes she loved so much.

"I was wondering if you'll agree to go and see Gabbi… It's been a while since…"

"Of course!" She took his hand and smiled to him." I'll be glad to see my sister-in-law slash best friend. And I was telling myself just some minutes ago that I really needed some unicorn hair clips to go back to work on Monday."

She definitively knew how to make him laugh.

"I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably nothing, or bad things…" She stuck her tongue to him. He loved when she did this. It was their thing, their way to communicate. He came closer to her and dropped a sweet kiss on her lips. "Thanks for being part of my life."

She answered his kiss before putting her head against his chest and hugging him. "Thanks for having saved me, Neil."

They got in the car, went back to the apartment to get the gifts they brought back for Gabbi and drove to the institution she was taken care of. The nurses recognized Neil right away and asked him how he was doing.

"Long time, no see, Dr. Melendez. Your good friend Alex told us you were taking some time off. How was it?"

Neil told them about Thailand, the awesome places he visited with Claire, the animals they saw. "But the most important part of this trip is that I married this woman." He paused a moment to look at Claire in the eyes. They smiled idiotically at each other as if the world around didn't even exist.

"You two are so cute! Don't ever change a thing… A love like this happens only once in a lifetime. Please don't waste it… We were talking with the colleagues the other day about you two… The love you share seems so obvious, so easy… You've made us believe in true love and soulmates again… And both of us are divorced!"

Claire and Neil thanked them for their kindness and went to Gabbi's room. They asked the nurses not to tell her a word. They wanted to surprise her.

"Hello kiddo!"

"Neil!" Claire could see the sparkled in Gabbi's eyes. She jumped in her brother's arms as soon as he was next to her. They hugged for a while. Claire stayed two steps forwards, not to disturb their reunion. It was nice to see a man like Neil Melendez being so emotional in front of his little sister. She loved this kind of intimate moments, they made her love Neil even more.

"Claire, you are here too!"

"Yes, I'm here, sweetie." She came closer to Gabbi so she could hug her too. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Me too! We can play to the princess again?"

"Of course ! But before, look at what Neil and I bring to you."

She gave her a bag with a lot of little souvenirs they bought her in Thailand. She was filled with wonder each time she got a thing out of it. As soon as she finished, Neil asked her some minutes. He had something very important to tell her.

"You know that I love Claire very much, Gabbi." She nodded with a smile. "So when we were in Thailand, I asked her to marry me and she said yes. So we got married there and now she's my wife."

"So she is like my sister?"

"Yes Gabbi, she is."

"So my sister is a princess?"

Claire smiled to Gabbi. "If you want me to be a princess, I am!"

"But you are a princess!"

Neil and Claire shared a conniving look. "So now I know two princesses and one of them is my sister. Wow!"

Claire and Neil looked at each other. Who was the other princess she was talking about? Gabbi told them about Alex and the new princess she knew, Morgan. She often came with Alex to play with her. And when she didn't come, she was sad because she couldn't comb her long Rapuntzel hair.

"But she was often there, and that was super cool. And Alex is super cool too. He brought me puzzles and books."

Claire and Neil glance at each other, one of those looks only them knew about. They smiled. They couldn't wait for their friends to confess them about them being a couple. But they did know this situation better than anyone and they knew it required time to finally admit to the world their true feelings.

They stayed with Gabbi the rest of the day. Gabbi combed Claire's hair while Neil looked at them. "Don't even look at me this and don't laugh, Neil."

"What?! You look perfect with all these unicorns on your head... I let you for a moment, girls, good luck with your hair problem, I have something to do."

Neil left the room, letting Claire and Gabbi talking about which princesses were the best. He reached the nurses station and asked to see Mrs. Kays. She came out of his office. "Mr. Melendez, you ask for me?"

"Mrs. Kays, so sorry to bother you. I just wanted to know if I could bring Gabbi with me for the evening. I'd like to go to the restaurant with her and my wife to celebrate our wedding. I'll bring her back before 11 PM, I promise… I'd like her to share this special moment with us…"

Mrs. Kays looked at him scornfully before nodding. "Of course, but not later than 11 PM. She has some activities tomorrow in the morning and I don't want her to be tired."

"I promise." He left the office and ran to Gabbi's room. Gabbi and Claire were still talking about princesses but this time, they had dolls in their hands. He remained at the doorstep for a moment looking at them. Claire would be a perfect mom… So calm, so patient. He hoped one day they will have at least one child. He hadn't been lucky with children in his previous relationships. He wanted to be a father more than anything, her girlfriends never allowed him to. He wished it will be different this time. Because he was really happy and having a kid with Claire will be the perfect way to seal their union.

"Look at who he's spying on us, Gabbi." She pointed Neil. "Not very fair, Mr. Melendez, to listen to women while they're sharing their secrets!"

Gabbi giggled. It was nice to hear for Neil. "In fact, I went to see Mrs. Kays to ask her if we could all go to restaurant tonight…"

Gabbi started to applause. "And she said yes, but I have to bring you here before 11."

Gabbi ran in Neil's arms and hugged him strongly. Claire smiled looking at them. She loved her complicity, her connection. She gathered some of Gabbi's toys to tidy the room and joined them giving Gabbi her jacket.

"Time to go to eat, sweetie. What would you like? It's all about you tonight."

As she helped Gabbi to dress up, Neil glanced at her. He planned to celebrate their wedding and she was leaving her night to give Gabbi her special night. She was very one of a kind and she was his wife. Each one took one of Gabbi's hands and they went to the car. They brought her to her favorite fast food, she wanted French fries and nuggets.

A great night with the two women he preferred in the world. Once the meal was over, Gabbi started to yawn. She was very tired. It had been a long day for her, but he could see by the way she was looking at Claire and he that she was happy and it was all that mattered. They dropped her at the institution at 11 PM as promised. Claire kissed her on each of her cheeks promising they will be back soon. Gabbi hugged her. Then she hugged her brother before vanishing in the corridor.

"Thanks for giving our special night to please Gabbi… It was very nice of you…"

"My pleasure, and I was glad to share a moment with Gabbi, outside the institution. She's very nice…"

"Like her brother."

"Don't bring everything to you. I told she was nice, I don't know about you yet."

For any answer, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He embraced her and kissed her hair. "You are amazing, Claire Browne. And even if we don't agree on how to handle a house, I swear I won't ever let you go."

He hugged her stronger. "That's good to know"."And she lay her head on his chest. Her best place on Earth and for a long time she hoped.