Chapter 2
He regretted walking out the moment the elevator doors closed. He was having a bad day but he didn't mean to walk out from her like that. His ego wouldn't want to admit but he acted on impulse as his pent-up frustrations from the whole day got piled up, and it all fell on her. A part of it was him being confused of his feelings. She broke up with him and now she's having second thoughts?
He wants to resent her for breaking his heart but he knew that he can never stay mad at Audrey for long. History had proven it for everyone. No matter how many arguments they get on, work related or not, they always make up at the end of the day. Could this be what finally breaks them apart? Neil hopes the answer is no.
When the elevator door opened, he stepped outside still thinking about her. He didn't have any destination in mind and just let his feet wander in this hospital that had become his second home. Touring St. Bonaventure at the moment brought him back a lot of memories from the past and he can't help but regret his previous actions more.
"I feel guilty whenever I see you two nowadays," Glassman said as he found him staring at the spot where he and Audrey had their last kiss. "It feels like I was the villain in your story,"
Neil gave a wry laugh. "Please don't be. It's our fault."
"It wasn't my intention to break you two. You and Audrey went through a lot together as residents and now as senior doctors that I'm proud of. It was nice seeing you two come together knowing your history," He listened to his mentor while his eyes were looking at ground. "For so many years I saw you fight at day and then having drinks together at night just like nothing happened. What changed now?"
"I don't know," he said sadly. "It was her decision," he said referring to their breakup.
"And you let her go? Without any complaints?" he asked surprised. Neil's silence was his confirmation. "This is not you. The Melendez that I know wouldn't always surrender with Audrey when he thinks something is wrong."
"Sir, this is different. I respect her decision. I don't want to get in her way as Chief."
"Neil, you should learn to recognize it whether you're talking to your boss or your girlfriend. Also, respect is sometimes about stopping fighting with her and fighting for her instead," he emphasized.
"Oh dear, you two got a lot of things to learn. I hope it won't be too late by that time," he sighed.
...
He spent the following days discussing and planning with Dr. Reznick and Dr. Browne about the course of treatment of their patients. At one moment he became infuriated at the constant bickering of those two. Not because he doesn't find their arguments worthy but it reminds him of what he used to do with Audrey before everything went wrong between them. Speaking of Audrey, Glassman's short talk with him gave him a little courage to start fixing this mess with her. But finding her these days is a task on its own. She was always so busy with meetings and their free time clashed with each other. Time is such a mischievous thing.
"We're trying to buy him some time," Claire stressed out and Neil's focus went back to these two bickering residents in front of him.
"At least carboplatin will preserve his nerves. He is a surgeon so he needs his hands," Morgan insisted. "Studies had already proven that."
"And studies tells us cisplatin is better tolerated," Claire argued.
"At the expense of his hands? We don't have assurance if therapy can fix the damage that it might bring,"
"Why are you so obsessed with his hand?"
"And why you don't care? Between the two of us you should be the one empathic of him. I'm supposed to be the bitch," Neil looked at his resident, surprised at her frank admission.
"I care about his life during and after the chemo. That's why I want the one where we can have better results,"
"Losing his greatest asset as a surgeon is not called 'better result' Browne,"
"It's just the hands! And so what if he loses it but prolongs his life Reznick?" her voiced raised.
"Both of you that's enough," Melendez decided to butt in before the debate escalates to something more destructive and personal. "Whatever the decision is, it won't change the prognosis. Besides, it's his right to choose and we will just follow it."
"As doctors we are here to lay down all the choices for the patient's treatment. We try our best to get them better. But we should never engage ourselves in their personal lives. That's where the lines get blurry," He stood up and gathered the files of his patient to bring in his personal office. He needs a peaceful place to think.
"Before the day ends I want you two to get his decision. We need to get started with his treatment fast. Bring the report on my desk tonight," he said before turning towards the door.
...
In the end the patient choose the one Claire suggested. Morgan can't help getting so personal about the situation so she excused herself from the case and went to do her own work alone with the other patients. Melendez didn't mind it as it was just minor cases and the resident could use this as a learning experience alone.
He spent an awful amount of time at work, most of it were cases with Claire which made him get to know more about his resident. He later learned about the death of her mother after the embarrassing situation she was involved with a previous patient.
As her mentor he felt the need to give her mental support in order for her to deal with the complicated grief of losing her mother. It began with early morning or late night workouts at gym which later turned into hanging out at restaurants.
These were just innocent friendly gestures he did to help his lonely resident but he didn't realize that it had an impact with his other residents.
...
"We need to talk," he was surprised to see Audrey seeking him for the first time in weeks. When she showed up that day, his face immediately lit up in happiness to see her. She will always have this effect in him no matter what happens.
"About what?" he was confused when she suddenly closed his door and walk closer. 'Could this be what I think it is?' Neil thought.
"It's awkward but we need to deal with this. I received an anonymous favoritism report," she paused trying to keep a serious face against his intense gaze at her. "About you and Claire,"
Melendez frowned at first, finding that report ridiculous. "You can open that door," he told her confidently with a smile. "There's nothing going on with me and Claire."
Audrey looked at him in the eyes with a blank expression for a long moment before replying. "Okay I believe that. But I need to make sure all the residents feel it -- equal treatment."
"Who filed that report?"
"Of course I can't tell you,"
"You know about Claire and that scandal before," Neil reminded her. "I'm just try to help her cope,"
"I'm aware of that. And I don't have any issues about you becoming friends with anyone. My point is, if you're going to be supportive of her, do it with all of your residents. To me, it seems like some of your residents felt neglected."
'Are you jealous?' he wanted to ask her but she looks so serious at the moment he thought he might create more damage by asking.
"Fine. I'll take note of that," he only said but he had different plans in mind once Audrey left his office minutes later.
...
Neil was busy reviewing a patient's MRI with Claire when his secretary interrupted them. "Food is here, should I bring it now?" she asked.
"Sure, thanks," he said and she brought up boxes of pizza and some soda inside the room. The amount of food caught Claire's attention.
"Are we going to eat all of that?" she asked. Neil didn't answer her and instead instructed his secretary to call all the residents for a lunch break. "Oh okay, it's for everyone…" Claire sounded dejected.
When you call with food for the hungry and tired doctors, expect them to be inside the room within seconds just as fast as they respond to emergencies. Morgan, Alex and Shaun soon arrived and devoured the free lunch from their senior.
"What is the occasion Dr. Melendez? Is it your birthday?" Shaun asked.
"No, but I think you guys deserve a free lunch from me one of these days for working hard," he replied watching them eat.
"Oh there's some burgers here?" Morgan mentioned.
"I love burgers," Claire commented.
"Oh I forgot, that's for someone," Melendez held out his hand to take them from Morgan. "I should probably deliver this now to its owner," he smiled before excusing himself.
When he was finally out of the scene Morgan chuckled. "I bet that's for Dr. Lim,"
"They broke up already. Haven't seen them eat together since then," said Claire.
"Those burgers and this pizza screams Audrey Lim to me. This might be what they used to eat between breaks when they were like us," Morgan guessed.
"It doesn't matter that they're not together anymore. Those two were still longtime friends before the romance. You can't just ignore that history especially when they are working in the same hospital. Their relationship goes deeper than attraction to each other," Park said.
"Wow, look at you analyzing relationships as if you didn't go through a divorce himself. So how's you and Mia now?" Morgan teased.
"We're doing fine," he replied. "Just taking effort to make the communication work,"
"You should give Dr. Melendez and Dr. Lim some tips," Shaun suddenly said and his fellow residents looked at him in surprise.
...
He could feel the rapid beating of his heart as he approach Dr. Lim's office. He took the fact of her seeking him out few days ago as a sign that she's done playing hide and seek with him. Maybe the breakup phase is done and they can now go back to the normal times.
He was being sincere when he told Audrey that he was not okay with the idea of her not being around. Even if they were no longer together, just knowing that she's somewhere inside the hospital makes him feel at ease. Audrey had been the one constant person in his life for the last decade and losing her would make a big shift in his life. He doesn't know why but he didn't feel like this when he lost Jessica. When she left St. Bonaventure, he just simply accepted it and moved on with his life.
Knocking softly on her door, he heard her voice telling him to come in.
"Hi," he said giving her that same smile he only reserved for her. She glanced at him and for a moment he thought she's going to grin back. But she kept a poker face instead.
"What's the matter?" she asked before looking back at the paper she's writing at.
"Nothing I just brought you these," he said holding up her paper bag of burger and soda. "The other residents are eating right now and I thought you might want your fair share of food." He caught her off guard and speechless so he added, "Sorry for disturbing you. I'll just leave it here for when you're hungry," he said placing the food at the side table beside the doorway.
"Wait Neil," she stopped him before he makes his exit. He turned to her again. "Thank you," she said with a faint smile.
'Anything for you Aud,' he wanted to say out loud but was afraid she'll run and start avoiding him again. And so he settled with a nod before rejoining his residents again.
Maybe in the future, they'll go back to eating lunch together just like the old times.
...
PS. While I might reference some important facts and scenes from the show, starting from Chapter 3 I will deviate from canon :) Hope you enjoy the story.