Disclaimer: never will I ever, ever own ER
Note:this is a bit AU as there is no specific time-line and events that might be familiar to you are not specifically in order. neither is my knowledge of proper hospital protocol (yes i could ask my brother but he thinks i'm a bit mad anyway and he would be bemused that i would want to know for a fic :p) . Therefore, please just enjoy this story for the piece of fluff that it is and excuse any discrepancies that i may have inadvertently made.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she walked down the corridor after leaving the lab where she had gone to collect results for a patient with chest pain that she had been asked to look at in case of any surgery needed. Having spoken long enough to the techie who confirmed that there were no serious causes apparent, Neela found the young woman pressing her number into her hand alongside the results and asking her to pass it on to "that hot doctor you share with".
Since any rumours that her and Ray were 'roomies-with-benefits' had been long ago been denied or quashed, it always seemed to be open season for her room-mate and it seemed that a lot of girls thought it perfectly acceptable to try to use Neela to put in a good word for them. In the beginning, Neela had found it amusing and didn't mind the occasional passing on of numbers but as word spread that she had done it for one or two potential suitor-esses, it began to happen more and more frequently. Now, thought the surgical resident, it was way beyond a joke, especially now that she thought of Ray as more than just her roomie – "even though he doesn't know it", she added mentally.
Neela thought about tearing up the folded note of paper in her hand and throwing it out a window but after brief consideration, she decided against it. Neela Rasgotra was, always would be, too honest a person and she would feel too guilty about doing something so underhand.
Taking the stairs, she made her way down to the ER to break the news of the results to the chest patient which she knew would likely lead to more lengthy and costly tests if they didn't get better soon. As she entered the department, Neela immediately felt relaxed despite the constant hustle and activity so different from the relative calm of surgery. As Crenshaw so often commented, she really was a surgical step-child as she always felt more at home in the ER despite her chosen direction.
Heading towards the desk, she spotted Ray studying a chart with another few tucked under his arm and she had to admire his multi-tasking skills. In the midst of his busy-ness, he was still able to casually flirt with the pretty nurse who stood with him as he went over the notes with her. Frowning a little, she decided not to stop after all and continued her way to the beds.
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Ok, Ray had to say he enjoyed the attention he got from women, it was something he had gotten used to since his college days and especially with the band. Ray was constantly mystified at how well the words 'I'm in a band' worked on women - he had seen it happen many times where a guy who wouldn't be looked at twice in the street suddenly became a grungy Adonis backstage at a gig.
Now, as a bona fide professional doctor, he had tempered his use of such charms but he wasn't averse to occasional use of it at work, especially if it got his patients seen to faster, as demonstrated here. The patient whose chart he was currently studying had been waiting to be moved for ages and after much unsuccessful arguing with the relevant department, Ray realised he would make far more headway through sweet-talking the female doctor on duty there. The consequence was that eventually, they agreed that to send a senior department nurse down to look over the patient before making a decision.
With his task completed, he was simply indulging in banter with the nurse when he saw Neela breeze swiftly by without even glancing his way. Ray felt a twinge of hurt before deciding that she must be too focused on her work to have seen him so with a hurried excuse to the nurse, he half-loped to catch up with her.
"Where's the fire?" he joked behind her.
Deep brown eyes looked round to regard him coolly. "You were otherwise occupied so I thought it best not to disturb you."
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Shit,where had that come from? It didn't even make sense as a reply! Neela felt as if her brain had developed a malfunction and had gone into some strange jealous mode.
Jealous. There, she had admitted it but looking into the puzzled eyes of her roomie, she knew she had to recover some kind of composure and to take away the mean tone of her statement. Neela came out with a half-smile that just managed to not turn into a grimace. "Sorry, Ray," she apologised, "I, uh, just had a lot on my mind with this patient I've got."
It was a rubbish excuse/explanation, call it what you will, but it seemed to do the trick as he shrugged almost imperceptibly and carried on in his usual light-hearted manner.
"I got plans for us when we're done. Movie, they're releasing 'The Exorcist' for a limited showing then steak and ribs afterwards." The look on his face was nearly childish in its enthusiasm and anticipation of her answer.
Neela felt her heart leap. He had made plans for them! It was true, vomiting horror films and big hunks of meat didn't constitute the most romantic of evenings but it was still, technically, movie and dinner. A date? She tried not to read too much into it, went for as much nonchalance as she could.
"I'm not sure that I'd feel like eating after seeing that but, yeah, you're on." She stuck out her tongue as she remembered how queasy she had felt after the last time he had made her watch it. Never in a million years would she ever have thought that horror films would be a regular part of her life, considering she had always steered well clear of them. But then, never in a million years did she think she would ever share an apartment with noisy, messy, groupie-shagging Ray Barnett – and like it!
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Ray was taken aback by her terse reply, he had no idea what had brought that on and he started to question the wisdom of what he was about to suggest when he recognised her poor attempt to excuse herself. Even better, he was stupidly happy when she agreed to the evening's plans. He had spent a long time at the beginning of their roomie days deliberately winding Neela up just for the hell of it, heck, he was a rocker wasn't he? Eventually though, he came to hate seeing the pained look appeared on that gentle, dusky face and he attempted to keep the chaos of his lifestyle down, not always successfully but the point was he tried. Nowadays, despite the odd gig here and there, he had moulded into his profession and more often than not, all he really wanted at the end of a long day was to hang out with a beautiful Indian doctor who had an almost unhealthy obsession with Celebrity Poker.
"Great, I'll meet you at 7.0 at the desk." A date by any other name. Ray sent up a mental apology to Shakespeare for his poor attempt at paraphrasing.
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"Oh, before I forget, this is for you. From Trish at the lab."
Ray looked down at the slip of paper Neela handed to him and gazed at the wall as he tried to put a face to the name. A grin appeared slowly as he recalled a pretty blonde. He had no intention of using the number given to him but he was pleased to see he still had the ol' Barnett magic. When he turned his attention back to Neela, the grin faded as all he saw was her retreating back.
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She would have stayed to find out more about his reaction to 'Trish at the lab', but seeing the lop-sided grin was nearly too much for Neela and she had to walk away as her heart sank, the thought of that evening not quite so appealing anymore. Definitely not a date, just two friends catching a horror flick and some steak.
Let me know your thoughts x