I'm sorry this took a while to update!
The end of their second year was approaching at the speed of light and the eighty hour weeks were taking a heavy toll on their personal lives. None of the group were disappointed to hear that Neil's dalliance with Nicola had fizzled out. After the first few hook ups, the excitement wore thin when they could never find time to see each other and he didn't seem particularly bothered by it.
Sat in the break room together before the start of shift, the conversation shifted to Audrey and her need to find somewhere new to live for the coming year.
After Kashal left part way through their rental agreement, he had continued to pay his share of the bills. In typical fashion, spending all her focused on the hospital had left her little time to find something before this lease ran out.
"You can't take a place without looking at it, Aud" Jo said sounding horrified after hearing Audreys intentions.
"When have I got time to go looking" she replied with a sigh. "Anything decent is getting snapped up before I can even get an appointment" she said feeling frustration with the whole situation.
"You can't be serious about this one" Kevin said jabbing his finger at the listing she was looking at. "It's not safe around there at night. The thought of you living there by yourself is freaking me out a bit."
"You don't need to be so dramatic" she smiled at him. "In an ideal world, I'd go and look at a few, take a friend for second opinion and talk it over but I'm not sure I have that luxury."
"You've got friends" Neil teased, nudging her side. "You shouldn't think like that!"
"Shut up" she snapped back with a smile.
The conversation came to a natural when they were called to the Emergency Room. Two of them stood to leave and the others headed out to check on other patients.
X
Neil and Audrey arrived in the ER to a patient who thankfully had a sense of humour when his fishing trip went wrong. His fish hook didn't grab any fish in Los Gatos Creek County Park this particular day but caught onto a big piece of his scalp. He had come in, under his own steam, with a big fish hook lodged in the right side of his head.
They were both very aware of how much the scalp can bleed, but for the time being, the hook was controlling that so they had time to prepare the patient for the procedure.
"Mr Edwards, we're obviously going to have to remove the object" smiled Neil.
"Yes please, Dr Melendez" he smiled back. "Not sure I could get a hat to fit this old bean otherwise!"
"One we start the extraction, there could be quite a bit of blood but please don't be alarmed. It's just because of the high amount of blood vessels around the site" Audrey said as they draped the area.
"Not a problem Dr Lim, you two just go about your business, I'm a fisherman, I'm very patient" he chuckled, making them both smile.
Removing the fish hook came with its own challenges due to its shape. It had a circular curve with a barb and gap, which causes them to do real damage on what should be fish. Fishermen will just rip them out after they capture fish, but they obviously couldn't just rip it out of his scalp.
"I'll come with you if you want?" Neil asked Audrey over the top of Mr. Edwards head as they waited for the local anaesthetic to take effect.
"Where?" She asked.
"To look at some places" he said, testing the area with a sharp point. He nodded at Audrey when the patient didn't flinch. They were ready.
"You wouldn't mind?" she asked.
"Course not" he smiled. "All you had to do was ask. Check out the rota and book some stuff for when we're both off, okay?"
"Thanks Neil" she replied smiling back. "Let's sort out Mr. Edwards here so he can get back to his fish."
They coached the patient through the process so he could relax as much as possible. After numbing the area, they initially had to widen the incision around the entry of the fish hook to be able to rotate and wiggle it out. Using a little epinephrine, the bleeding after extraction was minimal and Neil was called away leaving Audrey to suture the would and dress it.
"He's sweet on you, you know?" Mr Edwards said with a little smile.
Audrey just smiled, not committing to a response.
"Don't leave it too long" he continued. "The good ones always get hooked, and that saying 'plenty more fish in the sea'... not quite true."
"Thanks Mr Edwards" she replied. "I'll try to remember that" she said looking up to see the nurse almost upon them. "Thank you, you were a model patient" she smiled as she said her goodbye.
X
A few days later, Neil sat at the kerb, leaning against the hood of his car waiting for Audrey. He had considered knocking the door but thought better of it and dropped her a text to say he was outside and a couple of minutes later she appeared.
"Thanks again for doing this" she said as she got into the passenger seat.
"Not a problem" he replied with a smile closing her door before heading around to his side with a little jog.
Following Audrey's meticulous directions, they arrived at the first place ten minutes later. It was an individual property on a small complex and as they walked up towards the entrance, she began to check off a list she held in her head. Decent street parking and obvious security were high on the list.
"Looks like a popular choice" Neil said as they stepped inside and saw a number of people milling around.
"Good morning!" the realtor exclaimed, sounding very enthusiastic. "Can I give you a plan? Feel free to look around and come back with any questions!"
"Thanks" Neil smiled taking the papers on offer. "We will."
They took their time, it was already vacant so Audrey thoroughly checked all the closet space and cupboards. She didn't actually have enough stuff to fill this place but it seemed to be the right thing to do.
"What do you think?" she asked Neil who was stood looking out of the bedroom window.
"It's a nice place" he replied, turning to smile at her. "Looks safe, clean and a bit closer to work. All good things."
"I'll get an application" she said.
"But Aud" he started, putting his hand on her arm to call her back. "Don't sign anything yet, we should still look at the others."
"Sure" she smiled at him.
"This place is perfect for young couples" the realtor said with gusto as they headed to the door. "I'll look forward to your application"
"Oh, we're not..." Audrey started before Neil took her hand in his.
"Thank you!" Neil interrupted reaching out to shake his hand.
As they left the complex, Audrey shook her hand free. "What are you doing?" she scolded.
"Sorry, those things are like job interviews. You've got to give them what they want and if that's a young, upcoming couple, you need to go for it" he explained.
"Bit of warning would have been nice" she sighed. "Maybe I wouldn't have looked so much like a startled deer then" she smiled softly, knowing he was right.
Three listings later, they were at their final stop for the day. They approached the front door which was propped ajar by an old plant pot.
"Hello?" Neil called.
"Come on in" the voice answered.
They followed it through to quite a dark sitting area where they found the source of the voice. A man in his forties was stood by a side table with a stack of printed applications next to him.
"I'm Steven" he said shaking Neil's hand quickly. "Nice to meet you" he said looking at Audrey with a faraway smile and holding on to her hand a little more than was necessary.
Feeling instantly uncomfortable, she reached over and took Neil's hand, intertwining their fingers. It was a move that made Neil smile and Steven frown a little.
They followed him around while he pointed out all the 'features' of the property, nodding and making appreciative noises where it seemed appropriate.
"What's in here?" Audrey asked as she tried a closet door finding it locked.
"Oh, that's just the stairs up to the rest of the house" Steven replied.
"And who lives in the rest of the house?" Neil asked casually.
"That'd be me" Steven confirmed. "So will you be filling in an application as joint tenants?" he asked, holding out a form, seemingly oblivious that they were uncomfortable.
"Ummmm..." Audrey started.
"We would Steven, but I'm not sure there is quite enough space for us" Neil piped up. "Thanks for showing us around" he smiled as they headed for the door.
"Thanks for stopping by!" he called after them.
Only when they reached the kerb, did they notice that they were still holding hands, looked down and smiled at the ridiculous situation.
"Why did you even book that place?" Neil asked incredulously.
"He just said private rental. He didn't put his creepy resume on there!" she laughed, finally letting go of his hand. "I'm so glad you came."
"So am I!" Neil exclaimed. "He'd have locked you in a closet, no doubt."
"Seriously, thank you Neil" Audrey said with a smile. "I'm glad you came" leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek before dropping into the passenger seat.
'So am I' he thought to himself as he walked around to drive her home.