Thanks to my heroes for pointing out the plot hole, I've fixed it and reposted here

The next morning, he woke up alone and after stretching out his arm looking to make contact with her warm body, he was disappointed to find the other side of the bed cold. She'd been gone a while.

He rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair which was likely already sticking up in all directions after their liaison last night. Eventually focusing on the chair by the window, he smiled when he saw her clothes in a pile and found himself grinning when he realized that she was still here. Swinging his legs out of bed, he pulled on a shirt and padded out into the living area to look for her.

As he opened his bedroom door, his nostrils were hit full force by the smell of a strong, rich coffee with underlying tones of something burning. He walked quietly into the kitchen to find her standing there in his shirt from yesterday, cursing as she dropped a smoking pan into the sink and turning on the faucet and he couldn't help but smile.

In the commotion, she didn't notice him stepping up behind her and startled as he put his hands in her hips and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Muy Hermosa" he mumbled as he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. "That was one of my best pans" he teased earning himself an elbow to the stomach.

"What did we say about the lovey..."

"I've taken an executive decision to not stick to that rule" he interrupted, smiling at her reaction.

"Have you now?" she said turning to face him. "Do I get a say in that?" she asked.

"Nope" he said without hesitation. "I'm a grown man capable of making my own decisions" he smiled as he dropped his head to begin another assault on the bare skin of her neck. She had only done up the buttons absolutely required leaving plenty of kissable skin available and he was absolutely sure that his shirts looked better on her any day of the week!

"As long as you don't expect it in return. I think that's a bit beyond me" she smiled before whispering "mi guapo" in his ear before closing her eyes.

X

Audrey found her self settling right back into hospital life without too much trouble at all. She'd ventured down to the Emergency Room for a consult or two in her first couple of days back and after a follow-up meeting with Andrews, they decided that she would be ready to get back to full duties the next week.

That coming Monday, she found herself on the rota covering the ER. It had been close to 3 weeks since the quarantine incident and the place didn't look any different as she stood surveying her domain. She was pulled from her musings by the bustle of an incoming gurney with a teenage girl on board.

The EMTs presented Karen who has been in a car accident with her mother. She presented with a GCS of just 5, for them to quickly deduce that she had a bleed on the brain. Once the techs then informed them of the difference in blood pressure between her arms Lim called a 'head and heart' situation and shouted to page Melendez to meet them in the OR.

Viewing the scans on screen while patient was being prepped behind them they could see that the aorta hadn't ruptured yet and Melendez suggested to treat the head trauma first. Lim disagreed and pushed for them to treat the heart first after they confirmed there were no major bleeds on the images. Melendez compiled without question.

"That's one fire out" she commented as Melendez confirmed the graft was holding and they got ready to alter Karen's positioning to tackle the second procedure. Almost as soon as Lim requested the drill, alarms began to sound and the theatre nurses rush to confirm the patients pupils are blown. Sitting her up, they open her skull but within two minutes they confirm no brain stem activity and Melendez said the words that none of them wanted to hear. The patient was brain dead. The only noise left in the room was the drawn out tones coming from the monitors as they all stood in silence. There were no words.

X

She sat at her desk trying to focus on completing the patient notes when she heard her door open. She looked up to see him standing in her doorway, the sadness in his eyes mirroring hers.

"You were right to insist we're deal with the aorta before the brain" he said, stepping inside without invitation.

"I appreciate you saying that" she said, sounding flat with a serious look on her face. She turned back to get screen without saying anything further, she wasn't really in the mood for a conversation, even with Neil.

"Don't let guilt let you second guess yourself" he continued in what turned out to be a futile attempt to improve that mood.

"Why would I have guilt?" she asked sharply.

"You shouldn't, that's my point" he carried on, not realising the hole he was digging for himself.

"Good" she replied sternly turning back to her screen a second time to try and focus on the job in hand. Taking this as his cue to leave, he turned and went without another word.

X

Thanks to a perfectly timed elevator ride by Browne and Reznick, Karen's mother agreed to the procedure that Dr Andrews had asked her for. He had been cautious in his approach and as sensitive as possible but there was no easy way to ask a parent that question. She understood that now.

Andrews presented the case for the face transplant to the team which was a lot larger than usual. As usual, Lim and Melendez were stood together, shoulder to shoulder but there seemed to be a mood radiating from them felt by those who stood closest. She looked at him quickly before looking away then he glanced over at her but found her staring stoically ahead, not acknowledging him at all. Both of them missing each other's looks of concern.

"Cancel all personal plans and all hopes of sleep. This is your home for the next two days" Andrews says. "Let's get Molly a new face."

Preparations were intense and almost the entire surgical staff was involved in one way or another. They practised on cadavers and studied diagrams, they were only going to get one shot at this and it needed to be perfect.

They staff stood stoically down both sides of the corridor to the operating theatre's, paying their respects to Karen and her mother and thanking her for her sacrifice. The team that would actually perform the procedure stood waiting, watching as the bed was wheeled towards them with the precious gift on board. Melendez bowed his head in a brief private prayer as they approached before they took her through those sliding doors where they would change Mollys life forever.

Neil would be the one to make the first cut and after asking for a ten blade, he took a deep breath before beginning. He glanced at Audrey again and this time she was looking right back, willing him on, he let out the breath and smoothly ran the scalpel around the line they'd made. There was no turning back now.

With everything ready, everything clamped and dissected as needed, they removed Karen's face with the most reverent of touches, placing it gently onto the tray they had prepared as if it were the Holy Grail. As it was taken away to Dr Andrews, Audrey stepped away and back to Karens form lying on the trolley, looking down at the drapes with sadness and disappointment.

Neils eyes followed her, while Reznick focused on his reaction before following his gaze. Eventually Audrey looked up and nodded at Reznick who moved to turn off the life support and as the monitors beeps turned to that constant tone they all dreaded, a wave of sadness washed over the room.

Dr Andrews had been preparing Molly in the theatre next door and before they could dwell too long on what had just happened, they were scrubbed back in to assist on the next procedure. After seeing the new face placed gently in place, Andrews smiled at Melendez before continuing.

"As rehearsed, veins, arteries then nerves in that order from the chin up, yes" he announced as they pulled the apparatus they needed to get started.

"Damn it" Audrey muttered a little while later. "I tore part of the donor artery. I need more interrupted sutures" she announced.

"Let's keep our focus people" Andrews announced in his usual authoritative voice before dismissing her for a break, asking Dr Park to step in.

Neil gave a worried glance over his shoulder at her retreating form, knowing that she would not have appreciated being sent out in that way but right now there was nothing he could do. Timing was critical to maintain blood supply so he turned back to the field in front of him.

X

"I'm supposed to tell you to get back in" Neil said as he walked into Audrey's office again without knocking. She was sat on the couch drinking a coffee that she had desperately needed. "Don't let him get to you" he said perching on the arm, looking down at her with concern.

"It's not him, it's you" she said leaning to put her cup down on the side table. "Your advice that I shouldn't be second guessing myself is making me think you must be second guessing yourself. "

"About what?" he asked defensively. "You're the one who insisted we're deal with the heart before the brain."

"And you didn't fight me" she said. "Why not?"

"Because you were right" her argued.

"I was right. But you have never thought anyone other than yourself was right in an OR since you first set foot in one" she said getting up to look at him face on. "You backed off because we're sleeping together" she said angrily before waking past him and out of the room before he had time to respond.

He stood a moment trying to process what had just happened, his brow furrowed and feeling a little angry himself. Shaking his head, he headed back towards his own office to take a much needed break and to top up his own caffeine level.

A while later, they were all scrubbed in for the final steps and they looked at each other with smiles as they saw Mollys face pinking up, confirming blood supply had been successfully restored. The final stage went smoothly and eventually the long and testing procedure was complete. Andrews and Browne liaised with the family and everyone else was free to go to catch up on their lives. They had all just lost two days of their lives.

X

Neil changed back into his civvies quickly, hoping to catch her before she left for the night. As he approached her office, he could see her packing her papers away, already wearing her jacket ready to leave. He walked straight in to be greeted with one of the most stern Audrey looks he had ever received, and he'd seen a few over the years.

"I apologise" he said solemnly. "For telling you how to react to losing a patient."

"Thank you" she replied sounding weary. "When I accused you of second guessing yourself, that's because I'm doing it too. Our relationship has me questioning everything I do, and everything you do."

"You're making this way more complicated than it has to be" he said moving around her desk to stand closer to her, eager to reach out and touch her but knowing this wasn't the time or place.

"It is complicated" she replied sound exasperated. "The fact that we're seeing each other changes the context of all our interactions. I guess that's why there are rules against it" she said turning away to attend to her bag once more.

"I think I can keep being a jerk to you at work if that's what you want" he said perching on the end of her desk, not ready for this conversation to be over. She smiled softly at him at the suggestion. "Do you think we should end it?" he asked looking her in the eye, making her hold his gaze.

"No" she replied after a long pause, her face softening slightly.

"See you tomorrow" he said as he rose from her desk with his own little smile and walked towards the door.

She watched him leave, before zipping up her bag and heading out herself. She was expecting a suggestion that they go out for a drink or something similar and was a little surprised that he had just left.

X

Collecting his own bag, he headed out for the evening. As his foot hit the bottom step he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Before starting the crossing the lobby to the exit he unlocked it to see a message from Audrey.

'Want to go to Crowley's for one?'

He smiled, it looked like she wasn't ready to throw the towel in on this after all and smiling to himself he sent a quick reply.

'Meet you by the car?'

Minutes later, he walked towards his parking spot and saw her silhouetted in the streetlights as she leaned against the passenger door of his car. He hit the fob to unlock as he approached, startling her and she threw him a grin before she opened the door and got in before he's even reached the vehicle.

The drive was quiet and after parking at the kerb, they walked in silence to the door. He reached around her to open it, putting his hand casually on the small of her back as she went inside. A casual gesture which didn't go unnoticed by some people already sat inside.

"Dr Lim, Dr Melendez" they heard and their heads snapped around to see Reznick, Park and Browne sitting in a booth near the door. "Would you like to join us?" Morgan asked, indicating towards the extra seats available at their table. They had obviously decided that a few drink were in order to celebrate today's success and Crowleys was one of the bars nearest to the hospital. They had a good head start on them with a number of empty glasses already cluttering up their table.

"Sure" Audrey replied, glancing at him trying to gauge a reaction. "We'll just grab our drinks" she smiled and he dutifully followed her to the bar after throwing the group a wry smile.

They stood at least a foot apart at the bar to order their drinks and whispered to each other.

"So they are kinda cramping my style" she said quietly looking at him out of the corner of her eye with a smile.

"Kinda" he sighed. "Good job we were only coming for one. Suppose we've been lucky not to run into anyone before today really? This is probably the closest bar to the hospital. "

"True. We need to find a new bar" she said, stifling a grin "Now let's go be social" she smiled giving him a wink.

They sat a while with their residents, smiling as they went over the days events with such excitement it was infectious. By the time they had finished their beer, they were smiling along with them.

"Would you like another?" Park asked gesturing to Audrey's empty bottle.

"Thanks, but no. We just stopped for one" she replied. "I'd best bet going, my Uber is two minutes out" she said catching herself just before she referred to them as 'we' for a second time.

"I'm in early tomorrow, I'll walk you out" Neil confirmed tipping his bottle to catch the last mouthful. "Goodnight" he smiled.

"Goodnight" the group chorused back as the pair stood to leave.

They walked towards his car, consciously keeping a good distance between them just in case. He opened his door and stood just inside as he waited with her for her car to arrive. "I suppose a goodnight kiss is out of the question" he smirked, knowing exactly what her reaction would be and she did not disappoint.

"You suppose right!" she exclaimed with a laugh, leaning a little and putting her hand on top of the door next to his, their fingers touching so lightly that they could barely feel it but it was there.

"Let me know when you're home safe" he sighed. This run in would have spooked her so he didn't even want to suggest that she stay over tonight. She rolled her eyes at his request before he continued "you know I hate ride services, they drive to fast."

"I know, and I will" she smiled. "See you tomorrow" she said turning to greet her car and thanking the driver for opening her door.

He got in the Tesla and started the ignition before waiting for Audrey to pull away first. The driver did a quick u- turn to head to her place and Audrey raised her hand in a small wave as they passed him.

Pulling up at the kerb outside his apartment, he checked his phone to see a message from Audrey flashing on the screen.

'I'm safe'

He shook his head before smiling to himself tapping out his reply.

'He drove too fast'

Letting himself into the lobby, he picked up his mail and headed upstairs thinking maybe he'd pour himself a large bourbon when he got in to celebrate by himself. On turning to the corner he stopped dead in his tracks. She was casually leaning against the door frame waiting for him. He smiled and approached slowly with a smile and a questioning look on his face.

"Mrs Cohen let me in" she started. "She likes me" she shrugged.

"I like you too" he smirked as she stood more upright to stand toe to toe with him.

"And I decided I might want my goodnight kiss after all" she smiled back.

"Happy to oblige" he said leaning in and capturing her lips. She draped her arms around his shoulders as his hands came briefly to her hips before he wrapped his arms around her completely, pushing her back against his door.

"Goodnight" he mumbled as they broke apart.

"Goodnight" she smiled, dropping a few more light kisses on those thoroughly kissable lips."I should go" she said eventually.

"Where did you come from?" he asked as they stepped away from each other. "I didn't see a car waiting? "

"Maybe down the next block, just in case" she shrugged when she saw him shaking his head. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"So that really was goodnight?" he asked, unlocking his door and standing to one side to give her space to pass if she wanted.

"It was" she smiled, leaning back in and kissing his cheek. "Goodnight" she said again.

"Goodnight" he replied kissing her one more time before she turned and headed to the stairwell. He understood this evening would have spooked her so was very surprised and happy to see her standing at his door afterwards. For Audrey Lim, it was actually quite the romantic gesture but he'd never put his life on the line to point that out.