Chapter 4

"Kashal,"

Neil read the unfamiliar name aloud. He found an envelope lying on the ground one morning upon entering their on-call room. Someone must have accidentally dropped it while rushing to an emergency case last night. He picked it up and brought it with him during breakfast time with some of his co-residents to ask them who owns that thing. Unfortunately he only found one person inside their break room.

"Do you know someone named Kashal Miller?" he decided to ask her anyway.

Audrey had been ignoring him since he entered the room, too focused on reading a journal while eating a burger. Upon hearing the name she looked at him wide-eyed.

"Judging by your face you know him," he walked towards her side giving him the envelope. "You must have dropped this,"

Audrey took it from him and held to it like it holds a precious information he doesn't deserve to know. Curious, he tried his luck.

"Who is Kashal?"

He thought she's not going to answer him when Audrey didn't respond after a minute of silence. But then she placed the journal down the table and faced him with a resigned expression.

"He's my husband,"

"You're married?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, what is so surprising about that?"

"N-nothing. I just didn't thought about it," he replied. "We've been working with each other for over a year yet I barely know stuff about you,"

"To make it fair, I don't know the basic things about you too," she tried to console him. When she noticed his solemn expression she added, "Don't be sorry about it. Residency is still a long journey for us. Who knows? We might have a lifetime to tolerate and get to know each other," she teased.

"Lifetime?"

Audrey chuckled as she picked her journal and started reading again, "Once Dr. Glassman picks me after our residency, I have no plans of leaving this hospital. Lifetime…that is if you managed to steal the second spot from Dr. Collins," she smirked.

"That second place is mine for your information, but brace yourself I might get yours too," he answered accepting the challenge.

"Dr. Melendez?" he was pulled back to present time by Kashal's deep voice. Staring at the face of former husband of his ex-girlfriend he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Although the breakup was still fresh, he's obviously still deep in love with her so he is sure this uneasy feeling within him is called jealousy. But he can't let his personal feelings cloud his judgment for his patient.

"Can we talk outside?" Kashal requested as Morgan and Claire were examining his mother. Neil led him out of the room to a quiet corner. A lot of things were in his mind.

'Why would he need to talk to me privately? Does he recognize me? Wait, does he know me?' While he talked about Kashal a lot of times with Audrey throughout the years of knowing her, he was sure he never had a chance to talk to him in person. He just knew what he looked like through the photos he saw from Audrey.

'So what if he knows me?' Why would he worry? Audrey had cut off her communication from him many years ago so he wouldn't be aware that the doctor in front of him was his former wife's boyfriend. 'Ex-boyfriend,' his conscience reminded him.

"Sorry if I have to pull you out here. I just don't want to have mom worry about surgery by hearing specific details about it," Kashal said.

Neil mentally scolded himself. 'Of course he wants to know about the surgery, not you Neil,'

"I understand. It happens a lot with my patients," he told Kashal. "So, about the surgery..." he put his best professional self considering the situation. "... we will do the whipple procedure to your mother,"

"Surgery is still possible?" he asked. Neil raised his eyebrows. 'Looks like he knows more about this stuff than what I think,'

"We will do a large incision on her middle stomach and take out the head of the pancreas and part of the body as well," he continued to explain the details in specific to him and he was surprised by his eager interest and knowledge at what he says. When he was done explaining Kashal thanked him.

"Please take good care of my mom doctor. My sister would be very devastated if we lost her too."

"We will try our best," Neil replied.

"I appreciate you telling me this. Actually this is weird, but it's been a long time since I heard someone telling me stories about surgeries, it brings back some old memories."

Neil didn't know what to reply to that statement for he was sure they were thinking of the same person. "Is that why you seem calmer than my other patient's relatives when I tell them about the procedure?"

"Maybe," he hummed.

"But I know this hospital has the best surgeons in the state so I trust you all with my mother. Besides…" he said and then glanced at the hallway as if expecting someone to pass by, "this hospital already took someone I love, surely they wouldn't do the same thing twice," he whispered to himself.

"Besides what?" Neil prompted.

"Oh… I just want to ask if there's still a Dr. Lim here,"

Neil momentarily froze. He wants to lie and say no. He wants to prevent them from meeting each other again at least not at this moment where he doesn't know where he stands in her life. But he knows lying would only worsen the situation. Soon Audrey will discover who his patient is and they'll eventually meet each other.

He nods weakly before confirming. "Yes. She's actually my…boss. Our Chief of Surgery."

"Chief of Surgery? Wow. Audrey did it after all," Kashal smiles genuinely. Neil notices how he warmly mentioned her name and it made him feel weak all of sudden. 'Be professional Neil.'

"She's the best Chief this hospital ever had. And I say that from experience,"

"Oh so you've been here for long as well? I mean, I know Dr. Lim works here for more than ten years already," he explained not really revealing the important detail of his connection to her.

"Since residency," Neil admits. "And, I know Dr. Lim very well,"

"Really? Then we might have unknowingly met each other years ago. I must admit your name sounds familiar to me,"

"It's raining hard, you sure you're going home like this?" Neil asked as he watched Audrey pack her stuff in her bag as her shift ends.

"I need to. I feel like a stranger in my own home nowadays so I need to go home whenever I can… "

"But the rain-"

"I'll take a bus okay?"

"He's not going to pick you up?"

"I didn't tell him I'm going home actually. Wanted to surpise him for a change," she smiled. Audrey wore her coat and grabbed her bag but before she dashes out the door she reminds him, "call me if there's progress with our patient? I want to know even if it's my day-off,"

He didn't even had the chance to respond to her because she was in a hurry. Neil looked out the window and predicted that the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon. She didn't have an umbrella so he was worried she'll get sick.

Despite the competitive atmosphere that remained whenever they were at work, it has gradually became friendly as they got to know each other. He took the effort to get to know her and found out that there's more interesting stuff about her aside from her obvious love of comic books.

Releasing a deep breath, he grabbed the key to his car that was a birthday gift from his parents and ran after her.

He saw her from a distance waiting alone under the waiting shed. As he drove nearer, another car stopped in front of her. The man driving the car came out with an umbrella and ran to escort her towards the car.

Although he didn't clearly saw his face because it was a rainy night, Neil knew that was the first time he almost met Kashal.

He didn't feel anything during that time but as he reminisce that memory right now it pains him a little bit. He glanced at Kashal and decided that its better to come clean right now.

"I think I remember now… Kashal…" Neil paused telling a half lie for he knew it all the time. "You're her ex husband," he pointed out.

Kashal was caught off guard but smiled, "I guess you really know her well. I didn't think she tells personal things to her colleagues."

"Actually she didn't. I just annoyed her for a decade, enough to be a close friend,"

…

"I already told you I'll review that case after its done and for your peace of mind I'll do the same with Andrews' surgeries. I have more important things to attend to right now," Audrey told him off as he entered her office that same day.

"I know but I think you will be interested with this case," he insisted. "I don't want you to learn this from anyone but me so I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you right now."

He sat down on the empty seat infront of her and placed Mrs. Miller's file on top of her messy stack of papers. Staring face to face with a pile of journals, cases of patients and medical charts brings him back to their days as young residents. When they would work under the same case with Dr. Glassman, he remembers the late night research sessions they did together.

Audrey knew he wouldn't back down once he wanted to do something so she listened to him for now. As she opened the file Neil spoke.

"My patient is your former mother-in-law,"

She looked at him wide eyed but worry was evident in her eyes which intimidated Neil a little. 'Why is she worried for her? Was she close with her before?'

No words were spoken between them as she read the patient's record. No questions needed to ask for now about the treatment procedure. Either it was written there or both of them knew what it is and how it is done. But there was one question hanging between the two of them, both afraid to address it.

She reached the end of the file and with her eyes downcast she asks him, "is he… ?"

He painfully nods before she finished asking.

...

I wasn't satisfied by the Shore and his team's idea of a 'mature relationship' so this is my take for that. All we got were fights without proper reconciliation. I believe limlendez could have made it work but the writers were too busy to do it (lol i'm calm right now but if you've seen all my rants at IG/twitter you'll know i was very mad). Anyway, forget those people they'll just ruin my day. hahaha Limlendez got a long way to go learning about loving each other here *winks*

PS. Thank you Faye for choosing the names for me, I was so indecisive haha.

Btw thanks for all the reviews! Hope you enjoy the story guys :)