"It's an amazing opportunity for you Dr Melendez" Dr Glassman said leaning forward on his elbows to try and express the gravity of what was being asked.

This was not what Neil had thought it would be when he received the meeting request the week before. He had assumed it was just a formality heading into his fellowship and was certainly not expecting this turn of events.

"They are developing a pioneering new technique and we have a foot in the door at ground level" Glassman said enthusiastically. "This would look great on your resume, you could surely publish on it and it definitely won't hurt you're career path here. If you decided to stay, that is."

"Why me?" he asked, regretting the question the moment it had left his lips.

"It wasn't you originally" Glassman shaking his head, surprised that the ambitious young man hadn't just grabbed the opportunity and run with it. "It was Dr Lopez but something personal has come up and now it's you. Is it a problem?"

"No Sir" he replied quickly. "No problem at all."

"Glad to hear it. You leave on Thursday" Dr Glassman said casually. "Finish up your shift and take until then to get yourself packed and organised, we'll redistribute your caseload. There is a car booked to drive you to the airport from here in two days time."

"Thank you Dr Glassman" he said rising from his seat and putting out his hand.

"Make the very best of this Neil. It's a fantastic opportunity and will be very good for you and St Bonaventure."

"No pressure then" he smiled.

"No pressure" Dr Glassman replied. "Embrace it, but most importantly, enjoy."

X

"But you're meant to start your fellowship?" Jo said looking confused as they sat opposite each other eating their lunch a couple of hours later. "Why are they sending you?"

"Something personal came up for Dr Lopez so they asked me" he replied as Jo nodded her understanding. "Dr Glassman has assured me my fellowship is still mine and that this is nothing but a good thing."

"So when do you leave?" she asked.

"Thursday. I've got to get my stuff together and visit Gabi, then it's a car from here in the morning" he said.

"That's not much time" she said, sounding surprised. "What are you going to do with your apartment?"

"Try and sublet it I suppose" he replied. "I've not even thought about that yet. Two days isn't very long to get things squared away. "

"You could let me and Matt move in?" she suggested, not sure how he would react. "We've been thinking of getting somewhere together, saves us all looking?"

"That would be great" Neil agreed, feeling relieved and a smile spreading across his face. "I'm not sure I'd want a stranger moving in, especially as I won't have time to pack away all my stuff. You guys would be perfect. Thank you."

"Trust me, not a problem, it'll be a good trial run for us to check we're past the 'sleepover' stage. It'll save us so much time and fuss and you know we'll look after the place" she said.

"Are you going to see Audrey before you go?" Jo ventured after a short pause.

"Not intentionally" he sighed. "I'm still...I don't know" he said shaking his head still feeling the after effects of the recent night at the bar.

"It's six months in London, Neil. You should speak to her before you go. You need to talk."

"About what in particular? How she seemed to think this was all about sex and nothing more this whole time?" he hissed, finally expressing how agitated he was by the whole thing, but trying to keep his voice lowered in the busy canteen.

"You know what she's like? She probably doesn't understand how someone could think of her like that" Jo replied.

"I'm sorry, after all this time she really still thinks that? I don't think I can do this again? I don't understand why she thinks she's so unlovable and I'm not going to let her hurt me. Maybe it's a good thing that I'm going. Give us some space from each other."

"Come on Neil, she would never hurt you on purpose, you know that. And look how much she has changed since we first met. Miss 'I'm not here to make friends' has done the exact opposite."

"And this is the second time we've come close to something and she's been the catalyst in it gong in totally the opposite direction. First Washington, now this. If I see her, I'm sure we'll talk. That will have to do" he sighed, standing to leave and picking up his plate. That was the end of that conversation.

X

Neil was both nervous and excited about heading to work at Guys and St Thomas Hospital in London for the next six months. They were developing a new procedure to be known as PEARS (personalised external aortic root support) and the cardiothoracic world was very excited about it. The theory was to fit a personalised mesh sleeve over an enlarged aorta caused by disease, supporting it so it does not grow any bigger and is then unlikely to rupture.

The hospital was in their last stage of testing and with the influx of capital offered by St Bonaventure, they were advancing at an amazing pace. The six month period would see Neil taking part in the first procedure on a young lady called Lily Hennesford.

Lily, a medical student herself, had been diagnosed at birth with Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. The end procedure would prevent a potentially fatal complication from the condition which affects people who are particularly tall. The aorta can stretch and gradually enlarge, risking a life threatening rupture. If the aorta grows to a certain size, patients require open-heart surgery to replace or repair the vessel. Lily's scans showed that her aorta had been steadily growing and was approaching the size that would usually require mechanical valve replacement and then need to take the blood-thinning drug warfarin for life.

Unlike conventional surgery, PEARS was intended to be carried out while the heart is beating so a heart-lung bypass machine would not be needed, reducing the risk of stroke. The procedure was going to be quicker overall and there was then less chance of needing to replace the valve on the affected part of the aorta. She would then be able to live her life without worrying about her aorta getting bigger, or the side effects of taking warfarin.

Neil would earn himself some serious clout at St Bonaventure being a pioneer of this technique and it could secure his future there for the foreseeable future.

X

He hadn't been actively avoiding Audrey since that night at the bar, but he certainly hadn't gone looking for her to talk about what had happened. When Jo had told him about the divorce papers the afternoon before they'd gone out, he'd suddenly felt nervous and she found it extremely amusing that the ever confidant Neil Melendez was lost for words.

When Jo had explained Audrey's reasons for not telling him herself, he'd initially felt disappointed. Disappointed that she couldn't tell that he still had feelings and that she felt it would be presumptuous to just announce that she was 'available'.

He'd thought of nothing else for the rest of the day and when they had finally met for dinner in a nice steak house in town, he tried his hardest to not make it obvious that he had something on his mind.

The drinks had flowed liberally and through the course of the evening his confidence had grown, no doubt fuelled by alcohol. When he'd pulled her away to dance, he had been surprised at how easily she followed him and feeling bold, he'd kissed her. He'd half expected a clip around the ear for his efforts, but when she reciprocated he was lost.

But then came the words that cut him like a ten-blade.

"Let's get this thing out of our systems" stopped him in his tracks and snapped him back to reality. It took every ounce of his self control to pull himself away and the look he saw reflected in her eyes nearly broke him.

He felt sucker punched that she thought it was a one time thing and nothing more. Leaving her standing there was the hardest thing he'd ever done but he was not going to take advantage of their drunken state. They had to be on the same page or this was never going to work.

He had dwelled on it for the days that followed and when they inevitable crossed paths in the hospital during their shifts, he was his usual self but he found Audrey was a little withdrawn.

X

The news that he was leaving knocked the wind right out of her sails. She'd heard it through the hospital grapevine that he'd been chosen to go to London for a prestigious research placement and she felt a mixture of disappointment and pride. She was conflicted. She wanted to speak to him, but didn't know what to say. She was more about action than words but she didn't think that would work this time around.

She didn't actually see him until the Thursday morning that he was due to leave. He was sat outside on a bench with his case at his feet waiting for the car to the airport. She sat herself down without invitation and blurted out "I'm sorry."

He turned to look at her, the look on his face totally unreadable to her for the first time since she'd know him. The way he wore his heart on his sleeve was one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place.

"I'm sorry" he replied eventually.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry I walked out" he said quietly. "It was just... what you said was..."

"It was wrong" she agreed. "It just came out in the spur of the moment. I didn't really mean it like that."

"How did you mean it Aud?"

She shrugged but no words came.

"Then I'm sorry" he repeated, looking disappointed. "I'm sorry that I got so used to the way we were, hanging out and going to movies that I didn't make you feel more wanted."

"I wish I knew what to say to you" she replied, sitting back heavily and sighing. "But I don't. What if this thing we've buried for years was just physical? What if we go there and lose what we have?"

It was his turn to be quiet. He didn't want to say what was coming next, but he wasn't sure where else this could go.

"We need some space, that's for sure" he started, not able to look at her to see her reaction fearing it would mirror his own. "Maybe this trip is a blessing in disguise. I want us to be friends, but I don't think that I can do that with this 'thing' bubbling beneath the surface."

She nodded mutely.

"Do you actually agree, or do you not know what to say" he said, a little frustrated by the one sided conversation.

"I agree" she whispered. "I'd rather have you as a friend than nothing at all."

"Good, okay. That's decided then" he replied sounding more harsh than he intended and feeling a pang of guilty when she grimaced at his words. "Sorry."

"You have to stop saying that" she smiled, bravely reaching out and putting her hand on his as it rested on his thigh. "We're both sorry and we both know it."

They sat a few minutes longer in silence and waited for Neil's car. When it pulled up to the kerb, their moment was over as he stood to give the driver his bags.

Turning back to face her he boldly stepped forward and hugged her, feeling relieved when she felt her tighten her arms around him, hugging him back. As they parted, he kissed her cheek lightly and smiled softly.

"Let me know when you land" she said with a smile. "That's what friend do right?"

"I will" he replied, letting himself into the car. He watched her through the tinted glass as they pulled away to merge with tar traffic. She waited until the car was almost out of sight before turning to go back inside.

'It's going to be a long six months' they both thought to themselves as they went their separate ways.