Chapter Twelve

As the two girls were climbing off the train, Ray was walking through the doors of the ER.

"Hey, Pratt, Dr. Kovac." Ray greeted.

"Ray? What are you doing here?" Luka asked, surprised at his arrival.

"Um… I work here?" Ray offered.

"No, well, yeah. Ray, did you talk to Neela?"

"Nope, that was actually my next question. Is she around?" Ray hadn't seemed to notice everyone's somber faces.

Luka sighed. "Ray, I need you to stay calm."

"Luka? What's going on? Where's Neela? And Abby? What happened?" Ray interrupted.

"There was an incident, well, two incidents. I had Abby take Neela home after it."

"What?" Ray asked in disbelief, anger inside him starting to grow.

"I need you to stay here for an hour, Ray. I called the temp agency and they're sending a few people over to cover for the three of you, but they won't be here for a little while. I know you want to get home to Neela but I think doing that would just make matters worse, especially for her. She needs to talk everything out with Abby or Sam first." Luka told him.

"Luka, I understand but what happened? I need to know." Ray stated sternly.

"It was Gates. Neela was on her way upstairs to X-Ray to get Abby for dinner. I don't know exactly what happened but I do know that something happened in that elevator because when Neela finally found Abby, she was hysterical. So, Abby brought her to the lounge to gather her things before they left. Abby left Neela in there so she could come explain the situation to me, but I was with a patient. As I was leaving the exam room, I heard Abby yell my name and take off running." He started to explain.

"I'm going to kill him." Ray's anger was quite visible now.

"No, Ray, wait. I suspended Tony after I saw him in the lounge with Neela. I do not think he would dear to show his face here again."

"Luka…"

Luka put up his hand to cut him off. "I know how upsetting it is. If it had been Abby, I'm sure I'd be ready to kill the bastard too, but that will only make matters worse right now. You need to be there for Neela. She was pretty shaken up about the whole thing. I was about to call Sam and have her head to Abby's, since I know they're close. I figured Neela would talk to her. I may not be a psychiatrist, Ray, but I do know that after an encounter like this, opening up to another man, whether it's you or not, will be hard for her."

"I can't just not be there, Luka." Ray shook his head, running his hand through his hair.

"I know, Ray. That's why I want you to stay her for a while and give her some time to calm down. She's with Abby and you know how Abby feels about her. She'd do anything to protect Neela." He reminded him.

Ray sighed. "Thanks, Luka. I just wish I could be there, holding her in my arms. I want her to know that she is safe with me."

"She knows, Ray, trust me. She knows."

With that, Ray walked off towards the lounge while Luka went to call Sam.

It wasn't long before the temps arrived at the hospital and Ray was free to go. He knew he shouldn't go find Gates, but he just had to. He hate hurt the woman he loved. It was his right to hurt Gates. Or so he believed.

Ray jumped off the El and ran up the stairs to Tony's apartment. When he reached the door, he pounded on it with all his might, wishing it were Gates' face. It didn't take Gates too long to open the door and when he did, obviously drunk out of his mind, Ray didn't hesitate. His fist connected with Gates face, in the same spot Luka had hit earlier, sending him to the floor.

"Don't ever come near her again, Gates. If I ever see your face in that hospital, you will regret ever entering the medical field. I will not hesitate to come after you, if I even hear that you have attempted to talk Neela." Ray told him. "And if you aren't scared of me, I can guarantee you will have to deal with, not only Abby, which is scary enough but Luka, Pratt and even Sam, too." And with that, Ray walked away angrily, leaving Gates on the ground, clutching his again bleeding jaw.