Any guesses as to what I'm going to say here? You got it--I don't own them.

II.3. Just a release?

After a little bit Neela started to move, and grumbled something about the bathroom, so Ray let her get up. He took the bowl back to the kitchen. Suddenly, putting two and two together, he called out, "wait, wait…" Her leg was tender, so she couldn't move that fast and thus hadn't gotten very far. He went into the bathroom ahead of her and picked up the steel that had been discarded into the tub. "Okay, go ahead."

"Never mind." She sat back down on the floor in the middle of the room.

"That's what you were going in there for?" Say no, please say no.

"No." She said it definitively. Thank God. He looked at her, relieved. Much more softly and timidly, she guiltily corrected herself, "yes."

Damn it! He wrapped tape around the sharp object, which he would properly dispose of at the hospital on his next shift. He then started stuffing the scattered medical supplies back in his bag. I can't help her with this. I have no idea how.

"Neela…I can't…" He looked up, meeting her pleading gaze. You can't tell her this when she looks at you like that, that's what you can't do…no, focus…I can't help her with this. "I don't know how…to help you with…this."

"I don't nee—"

"Don't even try to tell me you don't need help, Neela." She started to stand up.

"I don—" she was almost shouting, then putting her hand on her thigh, she moaned very softly "oww," and sat back down.

"Case in point." He was frustrated that she was arguing this. She glared at him. "I'm sorry Neela, I'm just saying, look at yourself! You can't go to work like this! I can't, and don't want to, go to work, and leave you like this!"

"I'm not, and I wasn't, trying to kill myself, Ray." She was still glaring at him, and tried again to stand up.

"I'm not saying you are or you were. And I know you aren't—you called me, and that's good. But I know this path too Neela. I've walked it for more than 10 years. You don't know what will happen." He tried to keep his voice quiet and steady, and he was doing pretty well.

"It's a release Ray, that's your word, release! Not suicide attempt!" She was shouting.

"Neela, if you had asked me in 10th grade why I did it, I would have said 'release,' and had the same attitude you have about it right now. But, if you came back 3 years later, you would probably ask me how a 'release' ended me up in the hospital under suicide watch. That's why I became a doctor Neela, to try and keep other people from doing the same stupid shit that I did!" His voice was not loud, but it was decisive. "I'll be here for you Neela, you know that. But, you can only fall back on me, I can't support you myself."

"Yes you can! You said the same thing a year ago about this!"

"And I obviously helped for a while, but, Neela, it's still happening, and I don't know what else to do."

"It was a slip up Ray. You know what that's like."

"No, I know what it's like to cut yourself. I know far too much about it. But I've never lost a spouse; I don't know what that's like. And it seems to have caused a little more than a minor slip up."

"I am…I was married to Michael, and I cared about him very much. But losing him is like losing a very dear friend, not a husband. You are my friend, Ray, and it would be much harder to lose you." She paused, like she was surprised at the words that had just escaped her lips. He thought she was going to leave, but she continued. "If you have ever lost anyone, Ray, you can help me more than anyone else. You know me more than my own husband knew me. My brother can tell embarrassing stories about our childhood that you didn't know, but you know far more about me than Ajit ever will." She noticed Ray hadn't moved since she started talking, and he wasn't looking at her. "Are you even listening to me Ray?!"

"Y- Yes, I just have no idea what to say, Neela." He forced himself to make eye contact.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" finally returning to her normal soft tone.

"I think so, yes, but I don't know if me agreeing to try to help you is going to end up hurting you."

"The only way you can hurt me Ray, is by not trying." Her volume continued to drop, and she said this in a whisper. He nodded, and motioned for her to come over to him. Realizing what he was doing, he got up and went over to her. Sitting down and leaning back against the wall, he pulled her into his lap. He folded his arms around her and grabbed his own wrist behind her back, and she sunk into his chest.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Neela jumped up.

I've got the whole story written, and I know I'm impatient when I'm reading other people's stories...so...depending on how much I wanna distract myself, the rest of this story may be posted very shortly! Don't stop the reviews (postitive or constructive criticism), they all brighten my crappy days :)