Sorry guys that it took so long for this chapter! I've been in and out of the hospital. I'm gonna need a heart/lung transplant sometime in the future but doctors are working with me to hold it off as long as possible. Anyway, here is the chapter.

Part 3

Neela sat up against what was left of a wall in Aunt Rajah's kitchen. Her eyes were closed as she tried to catch her breathe from the struggle of trying to sit herself up. The sound of the water still in the house reminded her of what had happened. A tsunami had hit. Never in a million years would she have guessed she'd experience this.

If only mom and dad stayed in England for Christmas.

Hunger and thirst were powerfully coming down on her. The salt water of the sea would give her no satisfaction, but she desperately reached out for a stray apple floating near her. Immediately she bit into it, moaning in pleasure as she began to satisfy her need for food.

"Macaroni and cheese for a snack?" Neela asked incredulous.

"It's cheesy," Ray answered with a big bright smile as he stirred cheese into the pot of macaroni.

"It's not sensible."

Ray sighed and shook his head, "What can I say? I'm not really a sensible kind of guy."

Neela scoffed, "right." She grabbed a Gala apple from the basket of fruit nearby. "How about an apple?" She offered.

"How about you go to hell?" Ray said and nudged her teasingly.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know having an apple was such a sin?" Neela replied, slightly hurt by his joke.

"Yeah. Ask Adam and Eve," Ray answered and grabbed a bowl of Mac n' Cheese then headed for the couch.

Once he sat down, Neela turned to see the back of his head as he watched the tv. It was just too tempting and she couldn't hold back. Ready, aim, fire! The Gala apple smacked him right on the back of the head.

"Ouch! NEELA!"

Neela bolted for her room, locking the door.

She clutched at her sides when the pain came. The memory had brought on a chuckle. A painful one at that. Damn Ray. He's a pain even when he's not around. She thought to herself. But, oh, how she really wanted him around at this moment. She held back a good cry as she thought of how much she just wanted to go home.

Back at the ER…

"Come on Weaver, cut me some slack!" Ray practically yelled in frustration. Weaver, cane in hand, didn't even miss a step as she continued to walk on, picking up and dropping off charts.

"Look Barnett, we're all worried about Neela but there is nothing we can do," she said, paying more attention to the charts. "I understand--"

"You don't understand!" Ray cut her off. She finally looked up at him, knives in her glare but he wasn't going to back down on this. Nobody understand and he'd be damned if somebody would belittle the way he felt right now. "Neela was just another doctor to you. You barely speak to her so I find it hard to believe you're losing any sleep. So, no. You don't understand how I feel."

There was a silence before Weaver finally replied. "You're right. On it all Ray. I don't know how you feel. Yes, I am worried for Neela, but I'm not losing sleep. And do you know why?"

Ray waited, flames ready to ignite from his breathe.

"Because a Tsunami occurred. It's been 3 days and we haven't heard anything. I'm not going to have or give false hope. We all have to be prepared for the fact that Neela has probably died."

And with that a blinding pain seared through Rays chest. Weaver stared at him, regret over her words screamed through her eyes, but it was too late to take it back now. Instead, she watched as Ray crumbled though still trying to remain stoic. For the first time, Weaver didn't know what to do. She couldn't even act like her usual stone wall. So instead, she turned and walked away, shame coursing through her.

"Ray?" Abby studied the ghost of a man she knew to be Ray Barnett. When he wavered to the side and grabbed on to the counter to steady himself, she knew something was definitely wrong. "Ray."

He mumbled.

"What?" Abby asked, struggling to hear him.

"She's dead, isn't she Abby?" He said and regained his composure to look at her.

It hurt to look at him yet it he also surprised her. She never realized how much Ray cared for Neela, but it was obvious she was all he thought about. Was she dead? Abby didn't know for sure. It had been 3 days and most would say she probably was. But how could she give up on her best friend? How could she expect Ray to give up on her. "I don't know, Ray," Abby whispered.

Ray didn't say anything.

"I guess…we'll just have to wait," Abby offered.

Ray swallowed back his pain and shook his head. "No."

"No?"

"No." He looked at her. "We can't wait."

Abby took in a breathe. "Well, what else is there Ray?"

"I'll go there."

"You'll go there?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Brahmapur, India. That's where she went. I have the address to her aunts house. She wrote it down for emergencies." He paused. "She always does that, you know."

"Ray."

"I'll go there." He said, sure of his mission. "I'll go there and I'll find her."

To be continued….