He went to find her in her department the following week and asked her to dinner much to the entertainment of her colleagues who were eavesdropping on their hushed conversation just outside the door.

They exchanged numbers and agreed to meet at a restaurant on Thursday night. They were both in work that day but Neil was sure that the three hour window he had given himself would be sufficient to get changed and there in time.

How wrong he was. Thursday arrived and an hour before Neil was due to finish for the day a gentleman in his twenties was admitted through the Emergency Room with severe chest pains and numbness down his left arm. Keen to get as much experience with all things cardiac, he jumped on the case with no consideration of the time.

After a thorough examination and tests it was found the patient had a 95 per cent blockage of the right artery and total block of the left anterior descending artery giving a diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis. It was absolutely critical that the patient underwent surgery as soon as possible and preparations were made. Neil was summoned into the OR to assist and did so without a second thought.

On cracking the patients chest, Neil was amazed to see that the heart had actually started to turn blue due to the extremely limited blood supply and lack of oxygen. There were also signs of other potential blockages which needed urgent attention. The surgical team performed three bypass grafts to restore blood flow to the heart again and were relieved as they watched the organ pink up again. The patient was going to be in hospital for around a week afterwards which was a small price to pay considering the alternative.

The surgery had taken around five hours to complete and as Neil scrubbed out, he noted the time and swore under his breath. Dashing off to the locker room, he retrieved his cell phone and let out a sigh. Two missed calls and a text from Louise. She had waited at the restaurant for half an hour and had eventually gone home. He imagined that she was not amused.

He called her back straight away to explain, but instead he left an apologetic voicemail when she didn't pick up. He wasn't surprised at her lack of response, she was probably thoroughly pissed off with him and had every right to be. It hadn't even crossed his mind to call her before going into surgery. He didn't usually have to think of someone else and he honestly felt bad and a little embarrassed at his lack of social awareness.

Heading home for the evening after stopping for takeout, he started to think of how he could apologise. He didn't know her well enough to know her likes and dislikes, that was the whole point of this evening's date. He shook his head thinking if this was even worth the effort.

X

He headed in early the next day, hoping to drop off his apology in the Radiology department before Louise and her colleagues arrived for the day. He had settled on a decent bunch of flowers. Nothing too extravagant as to make it awkward, but definitely nice enough so that she knew he was actually sorry. He was going to drop them at the front desk and leave, hoping that she didn't suffer from allergies and she'd give him a another chance.

Sheepishly peering around the door, he caught the eye of another technician, took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Can I leave these here please?" he asked the young man. "They're for Louise" he added.

"Sure Dr Melendez" he replied. "She'll be here in about ten minutes if you wanted to wait?"

"I think it's best I don't" he said with a half smile. "Thanks anyway."

Stopping in the lobby for a coffee to try and wake himself up a bit, he was accosted by Kevin and Jo.

"How was the date last night?" Kevin asked excitedly while Jo stood by with a stern look on her face.

"Non starter" he replied. "I got caught up in the OR and couldn't let her know. She probably thinks she was stood up" he said shaking his head.

"But you called her afterwards to explain right?" Kevin quizzed.

"I did, but she didn't pick up and I don't blame her. This dating thing is not for me right now Kev, I don't have the time. I honestly didn't give her a second thought as I stepped into that OR last night. She must think I'm an arrogant asshole. I think all the interest will wear off once word of that gets around" he said with a sarcastic laugh.

Jo's face cracked a little smile that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Neil asked, looking at her curiously.

"Nothing" she said smiling wider.

"You women are crazy" Neil blurted out, feeling frustrated. "I've got no idea what's going on, or why everyone is so interested in my distinct lack of love life. You haven't signed me up to some dating site have you?" he asked Jo accusingly.

"Oh, this isn't my doing" Jo laughed out loud. "This is aaaaaall Audrey" she spilled before clapping her hand over her mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he exclaimed leaning in. "What are you talking about?"

"Calm down Neil" Kevin said quietly, putting his hand on his arm. "You're causing a bit of a scene."

"Nothing" Jo said, trying to keep the peace. "She just told one of the nurses that you guys weren't an item and that you were single. That's all."

"That's all" he huffed. "That's all!"

"She didn't know you'd become mister popular overnight" Kevin added. "It's not like she was pimping you out."

"Hhmmph" was the only response he gave as he snatched up his cup, turned and stalked off into the depths of the hospital.

"Should we warn her?" Kevin asked.

"I don't think it'll help. She figured this would happen sooner or later" Jo replied. "I was just hoping for later. This idea of yours was rubbish, you know."

"Yeah, I can see that now" he agreed. "It wasn't exactly what I had planned but neither of them did what I thought they would do. He was meant to date a few people and realized that he needed to give Audrey another push. Not my most successful plan" he grimaced.

X

A hour later Neil's phone buzzed in his pocket. Checking the screen he smiled when he saw a text message from Louise.

'Apology accepted. Thank you.'

'Think we could try again?' he tapped back. He waited a few seconds to see if she replied quickly and when she didn't, he slid his phone back into his pocket.

Looking up, he saw Audrey approaching, head down focused on a patient record.

"So you're my personal matchmaker now are you?" he challenged, stepping directly into her path.

"What? Who? What are you taking about?" she replied, snapping the file shut to focus on him. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking agitated.

"Just as I thought we were doing good at the friends thing, you tell people I'm fair game? I'm looking to date? Well I'm not" he hissed not taking any notice of the look of shock on her face.

"That's not what happened" she started. "I..."

"Save it Aud. You've got no say whatsoever in my love life, or lack of. It's none of your business" he snapped before turning and walking away leaving her stunned.

X

Kicking himself for being so harsh, he sat down heavily on the bench in the locker room. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw a message.

'Sure' it simply read.

'Tomorrow night? I get off at noon.' he tapped after he doubled checked the schedule.

'Think you'll have enough time?' came the response, making him smile to himself.

'I think so' he replied.

'It's a date'

'It's a date' he typed back, smiling as he put the phone in his locker while he changed into scrubs. He was scheduled to assist on a surgery straight after rounds today so took the opportunity to change now instead of rushing later.

He heard the door to the locker room open and someone step inside. Thinking it was nothing out of the ordinary, he carried on and as he stood in just his pants, hanging his shirt up, he heard her say his name.

"Aud! What are you doing in here?" he asked, grabbing his scrub top and pulling it on quickly.

"I want to apologise" she said. "You caught me by surprise out there so I didn't get the chance to explain myself."

"I've got to get going, can it wait?"

"No" she said forcefully. "I want to explain. Like you said, the friend thing is going good for us. I don't want to spoil it."

"Okay, I'm listening" he said, pulling his white coat on over his scrubs and sitting back down on the bench. She sat next to him, her hands clasped in her lap and started to speak.

"I was asked if you and I were... you know" she started, not looking at him while she spoke. "We'd been spotted looking 'cosy' at the movies according to Jo. I said no, and when they asked if you were single I just said yes. Nothing more to it, honest."

"That's it?"

"That's it" she repeated, eventually looking at him and seeing that his face had softened since their earlier encounter. "Sorry if it's caused you drama" she said with a wry smile.

"Maybe a heads up would have been good?" he suggested. "I just accused Jo of setting me up for online dating" he said shaking his head, laughing to himself. "She's going to kill me!"

Audrey snorted, she couldn't help it and Neil grinned at her reaction.

"Friends?" he said offering his hand. "Back to normal?"

"Back to our normal" she smiled, accepting his offer. "Whatever that is" she laughed as they stood and headed out onto the floor.