Fresh from a good nights sleep, Neil was scrubbing in ready for the scheduled surgery he was assisting on. The attending in charge was an experienced lady who was very keen to have her junior doctors get hands on experience. She was an excellent teacher and Neil had learned a lot so far.
The patient was wheeled in and the procedure began. All was going well and Neil had just positioned the catheters with the wires into the patient's heart. The next thing Neil was aware of, was the senior surgeon leaving the room while tearing off her surgical gown.
"Oh, no" was the last thing he heard as she ran out if the door.
Neil waited a while, watching the wires just hanging out there pulsating along with the heart beat. He had never made to this point in the procedure alone before so he stood there a moment longer, looking at the monitor's thinking 'crap, what do I do now?'
He was starting to worry a little. The attending had gotten food poisoning and made a run for the bathroom and would not return any time soon. The cardiothoracic fellow was taking a break and was not returning pages or calls so it was down to him.
Finally he looked to his theatre tech who had been assisting on procedures like these since before he was born. She gave Neil a nod and guided him to flush the catheters to prevent blood clots. And after a few more minutes they properly removed the catheters and wires and Neil closed up the surgical field.
Neil thanked everyone for their work and the patient was taken into recovery while the surgical team continued with their usual procedures. Neil hung back afterwards to speak to the theatre tech, he caught her coming out of the scrub room.
"I wanted to say thanks" he said smiling. "Your guidance was invaluable in there, I really appreciate it."
"Oh, you'd have got it done eventually" she smiled back. "The knowledge is in there Dr Melendez, you've just got to streamline it so it's easy to get to. You're one of the most arrogant residents we've ever had, but for once, you actually have the skills to back it up. Have more confidence in your abilities and you'll go along way here" she said before she turned to walk away.
X
News of his successful solo procedure travelled around the hospital and he found himself sitting in front of Dr Glassman that afternoon. He was just finishing up a call but invited him in to take his seat.
He was hoping that he didn't look as nervous as he felt and was making a conscious effort not to fidget or tap his feet. He eventually hung up the call and turned his attention to Neil.
"I've heard good things about you today Dr Melendez" he said. It was the kind of thing that you would expect to be said with a smile but his expression was neutral.
"Thank you, Dr Glassman." he replied nervously. "I couldn't have done it without the rest of the theatre staff though, especially the tech, Sue."
This caused Glassmans face to break into a wide smile. Neil raised his eyebrows.
"Well it's true!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "It would appear you really are the nice guy they say you are" he continued.
Neil immediately relaxed but stayed quiet.
"A bit of humility goes a long way around here Dr Melendez. I just wanted to say well done" Glassman reiterated. "That'll be all, I'll see you at the Gala this evening."
"Thank you Dr Glassman, see you this evening" Neil replied, rising from his seat.
"One more thing" he said stopping Neil in his tracks.
"Yes Sir" Neil replied turning back.
"I understand that you and Ms. Preston are no longer an item?"
Neil opened his mouth to answer but was met with a raised hand. "I wanted to assure you, that my personal relationship with Jessica will have no effect on our professional relationship, Dr Melendez" he continued.
"Sure, thank you" Neil replied again, feeling that he really could have said a bit more during this meeting. "See you this evening."
"Yes Dr Melendez, see you this evening if we are able with all the ladies queuing up to dance again" he laughed.
"Yes Sir" he laughed and headed back down to the wards.
X
The rest of the afternoon passed without incident and soon enough they were getting ready for the evenings event.
The guys showered quickly and Neil was currently teasing Kevin about how long it was taking to do his hair. He was precisely smoothing down every strand while Neil just quickly rubbed some wax through his and left it looking perfect.
"I hate you, you pretty boy" Kevin teased.
"Your just jealous that you'll be propping up the bar while a dance up a storm!" Neil joked.
"Hardly a storm" Kevin laughed. "If I remember right, only one of your dance partners hadn't had a hip replacement last year!"
"That's brutal" Neil laughed. "Brutal, but true."
"It's she coming this year?"
"Not this year," he replied. "Jessica and I aren't seeing each other right now. She thought it might be awkward. "
"Can't say I'm sorry" Kevin said. "I don't think she was a good fit for you. I get a sense of these things, you know" he smiled.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we stop gossiping like girls and get a drink" Neil smiled, shaking his head. "Let's go."
The friends headed out of the locker room and took the elevator down to the lobby. They had been watching the space change over the last couple of days, and the lighting and the music tonight made it look special.
Their first stop was the bar, Kevin for a glass of red and Neil for a large bourbon. They wandered over to a free table and stood waiting, Jo and Audrey would be along soon to keep them company.
When they eventually arrived, almost thirty minutes later, Neil was already taking his first turn on the dance floor with one of older ladies. He had ignored Kevin's jibe about hips as he passed and spent a couple of dances entertaining her.
"No, thank you Mrs. Gunther" they heard him say as they parted ways at the edge of the dancefloor. As he arrived back at the table he shuffled in next to Audrey, bumping her arm to get her to move along a little.
"Started early tonight stud!" Jo laughed.
"Come on, your turn" he said surprising her and grabbing her hand. "I've got to dance with someone under 50 tonight!"
"You're such a charmer!" Jo said smacking his arm. "But ok, let's go."
They chatted idly as they moved around the dancefloor, catching up on each other's day and such.
"So, are you going to ask Audrey to dance tonight too?" she asked
"Think I should?" he replied.
"I do" she replied smiling.
"Maybe I will" he smiled back.
X
The night was getting on and the donors were starting to leave after a successful evening for the hospital. Plenty of money was pledged and the management was very happy with how the whole event had gone.
Neil looked around to try and find Audrey in what was left of the crowd. He spotted her across the room, sat in a stool looking poised and elegant in a long black dress.
He made a beeline for her and started smiling as he made his approach. She was shaking her head, and looking like she would rather be anywhere else right now.
He stopped in front of her and held out his hand.
"Would you like to dance" he asked.
"I don't think..."
"Please?" he pushed, with a small smile. "I think I've danced with everyone he except you. And you're the one I want to dance with the most" he said, getting a little embarrassed and looking to the floor. "Sorry, too much bourbon."
She smiled back at him and she slid down from her seat. She took his hand and led him into the middle of the dancefloor as the first notes of 'The Way You Look Tonight' by Frank Sinatra, rang out.
They stood close, but not too close; they touched, but just the right amount and they smiled at each other shyly as they moved with the music.
"You look beautiful this evening" Neil whispered in her ear, giving her goosebumps and making her smile a little more.
"Thank you," she replied. "You don't scrub up to badly either."
Neither of them wanted the song to end. They didn't speak as they moved around the dancefloor, but they did get a little closer, and they did touch a little more.
Kevin and Jo had made their way back to the table and were watching their friends in their little bubble, unaware of anything or anyone else.
"When will they get their heads out of their asses?" Jo said sounding exasperated. She got her cell phone out of her pocket and began to fiddle with it.
"Glad to see I'm such good company" Kevin said sarcastically.
"It's just a little project I'm working on" Jo said mysteriously as she casually raised her phone and snapped a picture of the dancing couple.
"What are you doing?" Kevin asked looking surprised. "That could be trouble for Audrey if the wrong people saw it."
"They won't, don't worry. I've just got a feeling, that's all. Call me an old romantic."
"Ok, old romantic" he said earning himself a slap on his hand. "Let's go make it look like all the residents dance like that" he said nodding towards Neil and Audrey, taking her hand and leading her back to dance.
They were lost in their own little world when eventually, the music stopped and the lighting was turned up a notch. They startled apart like they had received a shock and Neil opened his mouth to apologise.
"I should go" Audrey said, jumping in. "Kash will be waiting. Thanks for the dance, I enjoyed" she smiled.
She said her goodbyes to her friends and headed quickly to the door. Hopefully Kashal was running a little late and hadn't seen her and Neil dancing so closely.
She was relieved to see him sitting in the drivers seat, tapping away on his laptop, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.
"Hi" she said as she got in.
"Hi" he replied. "Did you enjoy?"
"Yes thanks" she said, holding her breath, waiting for more. But nothing came, he pulled away from the kerb and they drove home in silence.
Back inside, Neil was finishing his drink with Kevin and Jo. He hasn't said much after Audrey dashed out, he hadn't even responded to Kevin's jokes which was very unusual.
"You ok?" Jo asked.
"Yeah" he replied, sounding a little forlorn. "I don't know why I do this to myself."
"Do what?"
"Give myself unattainable goals" he said trying to be non-committal. His friends knew exactly what he meant.
"I've got good money on you two ending up together, so don't get too down about it. Frowning gives you wrinkles, you'll spoil that pretty face" Kevin said, making them all laugh out loud.