Woo! It's my first ER fic!
Plot: (At the risk of sounding cheesy) Ray and Neela begin a relationship, but Ray starts to worry…
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places you recognise from ER. I just play with them!
It was going to be a normal, regular day at the ER. People rushing in, people rushing out, people complaining about the people rushing in…Neela Rasgotra grabbed her coffee and tried in vain to fight off a headache that threatened to take over. Great. Just what she needed: another thing to enjoy on a day at work, and she hadn't even set foot into the building yet.
But…if she was perfectly honest with herself, Neela would have admit that she wouldn't be anywhere else. At all. Her doubts about becoming a doctor seemed stupid now she looked back at them. And besides, could she just give up now, after all that trying through her life? Her GCSEs and A-Levels all chosen with being a doctor in mind. Extra-curricular activities that her parents enrolled her in. Could she give up? The answer, it seemed, was no. She liked it here. She liked the people here. Hell, she even liked a few of the other interns here!
As if on cue, Ray appeared next to her, hopping off his skateboard and smiling with his usual, and very infuriating, energy. When he spotted the caffeine-loaded drink in her hand he raised an eyebrow. "Trying to wake up?"
"At six in the morning? What do you think?" Neela took a sip of her coffee, trying not to smile. Even if Ray did continually make smart-arse comments, and was irresponsible in most things – he was still fun to talk to…
"I'm awake."
…Even if he was an insufferable prat at times…
"That's you, Ray. Are you ever tired?"
"Uhh…" He went into a mock-thoughtful expression. "Probably not."
They stepped through the sliding doors and were plunged, as usual, into the heat and noise of a morning in the Emergency Room at County General. Managing to make it to the lockers without being waylaid by an attending who needed help with something was a very rare occasion, but they managed to get there with no mishaps.
"Neela…" Ray stuffed his things into the locker, looking over at the other intern as she folded her coat.
"Yep?"
"How'd you like to grab something after this shift?"
She turned and raised one eyebrow at him. "Are you asking me out, Ray?"
He nodded smugly. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Alright." Neela shut the door of her locker and walked out of the room, Ray following her.
"Is that all you've got to say? Alright?"
"What am I supposed to do? Fall at your feet?"
"It would be nice…"
"If you want a girlfriend whose sole purpose is to flatter your ego, don't pick me." She grabbed one of the charts and swept off in another direction; leaving Ray to stare at her for a moment.
"You've joined the rest of us now." Frank remarked from his position on the desk.
"What?"
"It always happens. You can get any girl you want, and then you make the mistake of asking out one who makes you feel like dirt." The man smiled his most annoying smile. "Congratulations: you are now a man."
Shaking his head, Ray picked up three of his own charts. "Now a man…Okay…I'll bear that in mind…"
