After he headed out the door and down to his car, he sat a moment before he started the engine. He'd had quite an emotional day so far with his friends and hoped that the shift tonight would not throw any curveballs his way.
He looked up to the window of his apartment that faced the street and sighed. He would have given a handsome sum to have been able to stay with them tonight, but duty called.
The mood inside had fallen a little flat in the moments after he'd left for work. The three of them sat quietly, sipping at their drinks until Jo decided that the celebrations needed to restart.
"Come on" she said to Audrey. "Top up our glasses. We're not sitting here like this on Christmas Day!"
Happy to oblige, Audrey stood and headed to the fridge. She poured both of them a healthy serving of the extremely nice wine they were working their way through. A thought briefly entered her mind that they were hitting it a little too hard but that thought left just as quickly and she handed a glass back to Jo.
Kevin sat with a coffee and watched as the ladies got more chatty as the wine released their inhibitions.
"So whats the deal with your folks" Jo asked Kevin. "Have you spoken to them recently?"
"Not since I shared my news" he said with a tinge of sadness. "I think it'll be a while until that happens" he said.
"Well they are idiots" Audrey said boldly. "You're one if the most amazing guys I know and you should be able to love whoever you want."
"Oh really!" Kevin replied laughing as he got ready to pounce on the chance to change the subject. "You think it's easy to love whoever you want you little hypocrite!"
Audrey cringed as she realised what she had opened the door too.
"So how are things with you and Kash?" Jo asked.
Audrey dropped her head onto the back of the sofa and groaned. "Same old" she replied.
"So, still a glorified roommate then?" Kevin asked causing Jo to snort into her glass. "What! Sharing the bills and no sex, right?"
Audrey couldn't help but laugh at Kevin's brutal honesty. It was one of the things she loved about him, but it did hurt a little.
"So remind us again why you're still with him?"
"I've no idea" she answered honestly. "Security?"
"How long are you going to stay with him if he's not what you want?" Jo asked with a frown.
"I don't know" replied Audrey. "It's hard to just call it quits. Neither of us wants to admit it" she smiled sadly.
There was a brief pause and they both watched her as she struggled with whether to share something more. Eventually, it came.
"He's been offered a job in Washington, and he's going to take it" Audrey said looking in to her glass. "He's been working on a big case for a while and it put him up for a great promotion."
"Okay" Jo replied, trying to stay calm. "Are you going to go with him?"
"I'm going to stay behind to finish this year, for sure" she replied, not committing to an answer.
"But then what?" Jo pushed. "You can't leave."
"There are great hospitals in Washington for my third year" she started but her friend just began shaking her head.
"Don't" Jo snapped, holding up her hand. "What about us? What about Neil?"
"What about him? I'm married to Kashal, not Neil" she snapped.
"Don't we know it" Kevin added, rolling his eyes. "Why follow him if he means nothing to you? Stay here with people who care about you. Not just Neil, us too" he said, gesturing at the group.
Audrey put her head in her hand and rubbed her temples, not sure of what to say. She knew they were talking sense but the stigma of ending her marriage weighed heavily on her. It was not a decision she was taking lightly.
"I can't let Neil be any part of my decision" she said at last. "I can't put that pressure on whatever it is we have."
Jo and Kevin nodded in agreement but they weren't quite done.
"Ok, but in the interest of full disclosure, to help you decide, you should know why Neil and Jessica called it quits."
"That's not important" Audrey argued.
"But it is" Kevin argued. "It has a little something to do with you two sharing a bunk on the night of the Mass Casualty in the summer."
She looked at him with a confused frown.
"Jessica heard at the nurses station that you two were cuddled up and stormed off" Jo confined. "By all accounts, she didn't like that and decided she didn't want their relationship to stay casual. She didn't like the idea of him and you."
"Him and anyone" Audrey suggested.
"No" Kevin confirmed. "Him and you."
Audrey shook her head.
"She wanted to commit, he said no" Jo finished.
"He told me it was because of the distance and the pressure from work" Audrey said.
"Of course he would" Jo laughed. "You're both as bad as each other."
"Just stay Aud, see what happens. We both know we disturbed something earlier when our little plan backfired" Kevin admitted.
"I knew it!" Audrey exclaimed. "I knew I could hear you when I called Jo. You two are incorrigible!"
"Can't say it wouldn't have worked though, given another five minutes" Jo teased.
Audrey blushed furiously and found her the bottom of her glass very interesting as they gentle ribbed her.
"If we hadn't shown up, would you have?" Kev asked.
"What?" she asked feigning innocence.
"Kissed him?" he pushed.
"In a heartbeat" she replied using his phrase from earlier. She laughed while Kevin and Jo congratulated themselves on a successful plot with a series of 'I told you' and 'I knew it'!
"Right" Kevin finally announced. "Time for me to get going. Patients await" he said as he stood to gather his things.
A look of panic passed across Audreys face which they both caught.
"We won't say a word, don't worry. Not our place" Kevin said. "But don't leave it too long, if he hears a rumour..."
"I know, I know" she replied.
"Thanks for today, you wonderful people" he said as he kissed them both goodbye. "Try not to get to drunk" he teased.
"To late for that" Jo announced, holding up her glass.
X
Around 4 a.m., Neil stumbled up the stairs and fiddled with the lock on the door to his apartment. The shift at the hospital had not been particularly challenging but he had found it difficult to concentrate. He was looking forward to falling face first into his bed and sleeping for a solid eight hours.
He quickly got himself a drink of water before turning in. He looked around the apartment and apart from a couple of wine glasses left on the counter, the place looked perfect. A wistful smile crossed his face as he recalled the days events.
He started untucking his shirt as he walked to the door of his bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot and squinted into the darkness, his bed wasn't empty.
Two fully dressed forms were sprawled on top of his sheets and were both snoring away. He smiled at them and shook his head, grabbed a blanket from the trunk at the bottom of the bed and headed back to the sofa. Kicking off his shoes, he tried to get comfortable. After a few moments, he ditched his shirt and pants leaving him in his underwear and settled in for a good few hours sleep.
He was woken a few hours later by the smell of fresh coffee permeating his dreams. Audrey had woken around nine, looked over at Jo and figured they would definitely be needing some strong coffee this morning. She groaned as she lifted her head but powered through.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him, curled up in a ball on his sofa and felt a tinge of guilt. His bed had been very comfortable and he was stuck out here after a long shift, on a sofa that was too short to lie on properly.
Creeping past, she put on a pot of coffee and turned to rinse the glasses in the sink. When she turned back, he was watching her.
"Morning" he mumbled with a smile as he attempted to stretch out to get rid of the knots from sleeping on the sofa. Giving up, he stood and stretched up on his toes, reaching towards the ceiling and letting out a groan.
She watched. She took in his form from top to toe. His strong arms as they reached up, the gap that appeared between his under shirt and his waistband, the toned legs and finally back up to his face which currently held a cocky smirk.
"Coffee ready?" He asked as he sat back down to pull on his trouser pants. He didn't think that walking around in his underwear was the best idea right now.
"Just about" she smiled as he came to stand next to her. She looked as he took a sip and closed his eyes as the hot liquid soothed him.
"Enjoy last night?" he asked with a smile, nodding towards the collection of empty bottles next to his sink.
"Yeah, but paying for it this morning" she smiled at him. "Sorry we stole your bed."
"Not a problem having you in my bed" he replied casually then looking alarmed as he realised how it actually sounded out loud. "You know what I mean" he stammered trying to gloss over the statement.
"Sure" she smirked, seeing the cool, calm Neil Melendez a little flustered was fun. She'd like to see that again.
They both relaxed again and were stood there when they heard a knock from the inside of his bedroom door.
"It's it safe to come out?" Jo asked, trying to hide the fact she was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Of course" Audrey called. "We're decent."
Neil's eyebrows almost hit the ceiling.
"She's gonna think we weren't at some point now, you know what she's like!" Neil whispered.
"I do" she whispered back.
And that's what Jo saw as she came out. Her two friends, stood shoulder to shoulder whispering to each other with smiles on their faces. Happy to see them happy, that would have to do for now.