Disclaimer: Does anyone even read these…?

A/N: Aaahhh! I can't believe this is the last chapter of this fic! Aaahhh! There is an epilogue, so this isn't the complete end. But aaahhh! Oh, and don't worry. There's plenty more where this came from. :D

Neela entered the unusually quiet apartment. She had grown accustomed to it, but today she could almost hear the silence. Sighing, Neela went into her room to change. It was almost 2 weeks since Neela had approached Ray about his father. His reaction was unnerving. They had apologized to each other about it, but she still worried about him. She and Ray had become close friends.

I need him to open up to someone, Neela thought as she entered the kitchen. After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, she sat on the couch to think. Almost as quickly as she sat sown, she stood back up, grabbing her things and heading back out the door.

"I figured it out," Neela said as she entered Ray's room. He had recently been moved from ICU to the regular hospital floor. "What?" asked Ray in confusion. "Your problem."

"I don't have a problem."

"Yes, you do," Neela answered. "You just don't want to tell anyone about it."

"Have you been hanging out with Bret lately, because—" Neela cut him off by softly hitting him on the arm. "I'm being serious." Ray sighed, saying, "Sorry. I just really need to get out of this hospital."

"Hate being the patient, huh?" Neela asked him. "Yeah, don't rub it in," Ray said smiling.

"How's your relationship with your dad?" Neela asked, abruptly changing the subject. Sighing and rolling his eyes, ray replied, "Not again—its fine Neela."

Also sighing, Neela said, "do you want me to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

"Do what?"

"Get this thing out of you! You're not well, Ray—"

"Well, obviously. I mean—"

"Mentally!"

"So you think I'm crazy?"

"No, just stubborn and proud," Neela stated, turning her back on her coworker. The next thing she heard startled her slightly.

"My father left when I was four. It was just my mother and me." Neela took a seat next to Ray's bed, listening. The young doctor's head was down and he was mumbling slightly. "We were fine for a while, except for the growing hate I felt for him."

Ray sighed. "She, uh…we found out she had cancer. Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I was 16. She died three months after my 17 birthday."

"I'm so sorry, Ray," Neela said, comforting him. She caringly wiped a tear from his cheek. Ray lifted his hand to wipe his eyes. Continuing, Ray laughed humorlessly. "And the worst of it is, after she died, I had to go live with him. I had to live with him, Neela. I had to live with the person I hated most in the world." Halfway through, Ray had begun crying freely.

Reaching forward, Neela cradled Ray in her arms, letting him cry into her, soothing him. "Shhh, it's okay, Ray. It's okay. You'll be okay now." And they sat there like that: Ray crying, Neela soothing, and neither ever knew for how long.

A/N: So, there it is. Ray opened up to Neela. I wonder what will happen next. Hmmm… :thinks: Oh, wait, ha, I know the answer to that! Hehe. By the way, after I finish this fic, I'm changing my username. So I'll post it in the epilogue. See you there.

Don't forget to review, because you know you love me. :D