Lily was in hospital for about a week after the procedure being closely monitored by the whole team. The care at St Thomas' was incredible, second to none and she made a speedy recovery. Around a month later she had returned to university and she was now in the fourth year of her course. She had experienced so many hospital visits in her life it had helped her decide on her future career in healthcare. A career she could now pursue without worrying about aortic ruptures or the long term side effects of taking warfarin.
The hospital was now progressing with its plans to become the biggest centres for PEARS in the world and was putting a lot of effort into courting Dr Melendez in his final weeks in attempt to get him to stay a while longer. They had been impressed by his work ethic from the start and wanted him to help promote the considerable advantages of the procedure to others and be the face of the campaign.
He had politely declined the offer, citing family reasons and started packed up his bags ready to head home to San Jose. Christmas was around the around the corner and he really was looking forward to seeing his family and friends and quite frankly, he was looking forward to being in warmer climes. The cold and wet British winter was not something he really wanted to experience any more than he already had. During this last weekend, they were experiencing a particularly cold snap and he'd been photographed in a thick woolly hat and a bulky coat which prompted a number of social media comments from Kevin about his new style which he'd accepted with good grace.
He'd posted a number of pictures of his own from his time in London and Audrey had been watching with interest, but minimal interaction. She had been secretly pleased when she hadn't seen any significant female presence other than Lucy who she had met briefly during a rushed Skype call one afternoon before she had to excuse herself to answer a call.
He spent his last few days in the city cramming in the last few tourist activities he could think of in the company of Ryan and Lucy. They'd enjoyed a great day together and their final stop was The Tower of London. After browsing the exhibitions and marvelling at the fantastically ornate crowns and jewellery, he browsed the gift shop for something suitable for Gabi. She would have loved the beautiful pieces so he picked her up a guide book and was about to join the line when something else caught his eye. He stopped and ran his fingers down the display, smiling at the tinkling noise they made as they gently moved back and forth in the rack.
Picking one up off the stand, he smiled as he looked at it in the palm of his hand. 'She'd like that' he thought, before adding it to the items he'd already picked and joined the line to pay. He'd given himself the task over the last few months of buying his friends the most obnoxious souvenirs he could possible find and was very pleased with his choices. Kevin was set to receive some underwear emblazoned with a detailed map of the London Underground; Audrey was getting a kitchen apron garishly decorated with the most popular London landmarks as a dig towards her aversion to cooking and Jo was getting what was actually an ashtray printed with a Union Jack which he thought they could use to throw their keys into by the front door of their new place.
His flight back to San Jose was early Monday morning and as they parted ways after dinner that evening, the farewell was bittersweet for them all. Ryan and Lucy had been good friends to him over the last six months but he needed to get back to his life in California and it was likely that they would not see each other again despite the generous offers to host each other on either side of the ocean. They promised to keep in touch in one form or another with Lucy requesting updates on his "complicated" relationship with Audrey. He had opened up about the whole situation after some encouragement and he had found it quite cathartic. They had listened to him intently when he needed it, and offered advice whether he wanted to hear it or not. He was heading home feeling refreshed and ready to face whatever was coming next.
X
His flight back into SJC was uneventful and when he landed at 11 PM he could think of nothing he wanted more than to get home. Jo and Matt had vacated the apartment a week before after finding themselves a nice little condo to share in a more official capacity - both their names were on the rental agreement which for them, signified the next big step in their relationship.
He pushed open his front door with his foot, balancing his bags best he could. He found a lamp enjoying a soft glow in the sitting area so he could find his way and he smiled. Dropping his bags just inside the door, he wandered into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Checking the refrigerator as he passed, he smiled when he saw his friends had obviously stocked it earlier in the day and found a small note stuck to a six-pack of beer saying 'Welcome Home'.
Breaking one out of the box, he twisted the lid and dropped it casually into the sink. He sat back on his couch with a sigh and took a long drink from the ice cold bottle. He didn't dare close his eyes for even a moment, quite sure that the tiredness from travelling would send him straight to sleep.
Smiling to himself, he thought about the last six months - the people he had met and the experiences he had been part of. He was grateful for them all, but he was glad to be home and most certainly looking forward to seeing his friends. With a couple of days leave planned, he was going to visit his family but straight after that, he would be back on the rota at St Bonaventure and was raring to go.
X
His first shift back, he found himself working alongside Jo on a case which would take up most of their time for the next few days. He thanked her for the supplies that had been left in his fridge but she graciously brushed it off, saying he'd done them a much bigger favour and invited him over to see their new place as soon as he had some free time.
Almost ten hours later, he was more than ready to leave and go home and sleep for a week. It turned out that he wasn't fully recovered from the jet-lag and his feet felt heavy as he dragged himself towards the front door of the hospital. Waiting to cross the street to the parking lot, his focus was drawn as he saw a car pull up to the entrance and stop briefly in the restricted zone just by the door.
The internal light came on as the passenger door opened and he saw her for the first time since he'd been back. They'd exchanged the obligatory 'Welcome Home' messages but not much more. He saw her lean over and kiss the cheek of the driver before getting out and closing the door. Before she could look up and see him, he turned away and started towards his car again, his shoulders slumped. He wasn't sure what he would have done if she had called out to him so was relieved not to hear his name. It had been six months of group text messages and moderately frequent video calls and he knew she had been dating but it turned out, he wasn't ready to see it in action.
The drive home seemed to take forever and after summoning the energy to make eggs for dinner, he pushed them around his plate for a while before throwing what was left into the trash and heading to bed. He didn't lay awake thinking about Audrey or how they would react when they saw each other, he was just too tired. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and if he did dream, he didn't remember any of it.
They finally saw each other the very next day as she burst in the door of the break room to find the other three sat, talking quietly. They shushed her as she dumped her bike helmet and keys on the table, much to her chagrin and as she was about to respond with some sarcastic remark, she noticed them gesturing to the sleeping form on a bunk in the background.
"Sit" Neil said quietly. "I've got something for each of you all but I wanted you to be together."
"You didn't need to" Jo started as she eagerly opened her bag and actually being quite pleased at what she found inside. "We could put it by the door for our keys" she said without any prompting, earning herself a big smile from Neil.
"Honestly, you shouldn't have" Audrey laughed as she held up the most hideous apron she'd ever seen. "That will not encourage me in to the kitchen at all!"
"For all our safety" Neil quipped, earning himself a slap on the arm.
"These are amazing!" Kevin exclaimed as he brandished his new underwear proudly. "I'll be wearing these on my next date - they can be my new lucky pants!"
They all sat shoulders shaking, trying to stifle their laughs as not to wake the sleeping resident. They all remembered quite clearly how dangerously asleep deprived they had been in those early years and had every sympathy.
They were disturbed by Kevin's page and he excused himself to go and attend to his summons. As he walked out the door, a surgical nurse poked her head in and whispered to Audrey.
"I need to sign some paperwork" she grimaced, it was her least favourite part of the job. She always thought it would have been much more exciting and efficient if they didn't have to complete the endless reams of charts and instructions.
As she let the door close behind her, Neil reached out and grabbed her keys much to Jo's confusion.
"I know you won't tell her" he smiled at her, trusting her. He dug in his pocket and found the key chain that he'd picked up on his last weekend in London. The size of the item was discreet, but the high shine and small jewel decorations on the little crown were glaringly obvious. She would know exactly where it had come from but he doubted she would say a word about it.
"She's missed you, you know" Jo said with a soft smile.
"In her own special way" he smiled as he admired his handiwork before tucking the keys back where she'd left them. "We'll be fine."
Both their pages sounded together and they smiled at each other as they rose from their seats to attend the Emergency Room call. Passing Audrey just outside the door, they called to her that they'd catch up with her later.
Picking up her helmet off the table, she noticed it immediately. The new addition to her keychain almost glowed in comparison to the other impersonal keys and fobs and she smiled to herself. She'd worked hard on her self over the last few months and she was happy that he hadn't come back expecting her to be ready for anything more. She saw this gift from him as exactly what it was. A reminder from someone who cared that he was still there and she could live with that for now.