Disclaimer: I don't own ER, etc, etc

Note: Again, huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed and enjoyed the story so far. This chapter begins the winding up of reela's day off. Also, I won't be able to update for a bit after this as am off on hols to France's Champagne region (I had to share as am very excited, have always wanted to go there. Of course, am going there for the culture too! lol :p) tho I might get some inspiration whilst away.

Shuffling his feet a little, Ray felt suddenly shy at Neela's compliment. "Hey, it was nothing, anything for my roomie. Besides, I had a blast too."

There was a brief, almost awkward silence that followed which was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. Saved by the bell!Or maybe not? Ray started towards the sofa as Neela answered but he stopped in his tracks when he heard her speak.

"Michael, how are you?"

The quiet elation he had been feeling evaporated like light mist in hot sun. Broad shoulders now slumped, he made his way to his room where he picked up his guitar and sank onto the bed. As he picked at random chords, he tried hard not to listen in on the call but he couldn't help but pick up the odd word or phrase that drifted from the living room on Neela's soft tones. Hope is a cruel, cruel mistress. The words rolled around in his head until he started to hum to himself and decided that it would be a good title for a song. These days, it seemed that all of his new compositions revolved around one thing, the subject of which was in the next room speaking to her boyfriend.

"Get over it, man. Call the guys, go out and party, go home with a hot girl." Ray shook his head, the advice he tried to give himself was no good. 6 months ago, he wouldn't have needed telling twice but now, the only thing he wanted was like his personal Holy Grail – always wanting to grasp it but knowing deep down that it was unattainable.

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Michael! Neela knew she should be overjoyed to hear from him but a small part of her resented that he had interrupted the time she was having with Ray. She quickly brushed away the feeling, telling herself off for being so selfish.

"It's good to hear you. What have you been doing?" As she listened to Michael's voice retelling anecdotes and events, Neela wondered why she wasn't as excited as she should have been especially since they had had no contact for over two weeks. He was nice. He was kind and thoughtful. He reminded her of her eldest brother…NOOOOO!!!And there it was. There was a long pause on the line before she realised that it was her turn to speak.

"Oh, here? Yeah, County's still the same. Weaver's efficient as ever and Gregg's still trying to chat up the ladies and busy as always. Uh huh…yup…I remember that, it was funny…no they left a couple of months ago…He's still there…" Neela tried to keep things light, tried to recall answers as Michael asked after various people he had known during his time at County until…

"What? I mean yeah, no Ray's fine, the apartment's working out fine. No, no, it doesn't clash…no, it's not too noisy…huh? I know what I said but that was ages ago…honestly, it's great." Why was her heart racing as she answered the enquiries about Ray and her living arrangements? There was nothing to hide, nothing had happened. So why did she feel that she needed to not tell Michael about all the stupid things that her and Ray did; the horror films? the Celebrity Poker evenings? Bhudda Belly, even though she knew it would have made Michael laugh and say he wished that he had been there. Neela knew the reason why.

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Ray's ears pricked up when he heard his name mentioned. What was it that she had said? He didn't really need to ask, he could have probably guessed since the early roomie days had been less than serene with their constant bickering about noise, mess, sleep, the lack of and band practice. Now he supposed that Gallant would be returning in the not-too-distant future and he would need to advertise for a new roomie. He let the rest of the conversation fade into an indistinct buzz as he gloomily pondered this prospect.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, Ray heard the phone hang up and…nothing. He let a couple of minutes slip by before casually strolling out of his room and sensing that the lightness of the day had ebbed and was now replaced a quiet sombreness. Neela was sitting on the sofa, just sort of staring into space, only acknowledging his presence when he asked, "So how's Michael?"

"He's fine. Enjoying himself just now. He and his friends had a free afternoon so they got to have a game of football."

"O-kaay. That's good." Ray wasn't sure what was going on and Neela wasn't giving away much. He sat down next to her and mentally braced himself before asking, "What's wrong?"

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Good question.What was wrong? Neela hadn't expected to feel like this after coming off the phone to Michael and she certainly hadn't expected to feel the sense of relief that was washing over her at this present moment. The next question she needed to answer was…Now what do I do?

She started chewing her lower lip, something she hadn't done since she was a child. It was a sure sign that she was, as her afore-mentioned friend said, 'all discombobulated'. The puzzle that was troubling her had now presented himself at her side and there were no solutions forthcoming. Although they were never best buddies, they had got on well at County and asked after each other through her. Now, her dilemma was to try and find out what her once–irritating room-mate would do if she told him that she thought she was more than a little fond of him.

"Nothing, not really." What else to say? There was nothing else for it.At worst, she would just need to move back to Abby's until she found a new place to stay.

Neela took a deep breath and looked Ray square in the eye. "Michael's being reposted. To Europe this time, Italy I think."

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Great, she's going to tell me that she's going to take time off to go see him... Ray felt his mood get distinctly darker.

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"It'll be good for him, " she continued, "much less stressful, no bombings and things." A pause. "And, uh, we've broken up…"

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they'll have babies and call them 'Luciano' and 'Alessandro' or something and…HUH??!...

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"…it's ok though. I think it is," she frowned before carrying on, "it will be. I mean, we are, were very happy. It's just…just…I guess we realised we were better as friends than anything else." Neela was half talking to herself, half talking to Ray.

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Poor Michael…

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"Anyway, we knew we had been drifting a bit for some time and he told me that he had kind of met someone else."

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Oh. Not-so-poor Michael, then…

Poor Neela…

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"It's alright. I'm pleased for him 'cos she sounds right for him and…"

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Hmm…not-so-poor Neela either…

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"…I think I might have met someone else."

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WHH-AAAA-TTT???? Help! … Cardiac arrest! ... Crash cart, STAT!

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"He's funny, sweet, makes me laugh, makes me mad sometimes, but makes me happy all the time…"

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I hate this guy…

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"…he's smart and talented and, " Neela gave a bashful smile.

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HATE him…

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"very good-looking too."

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Did I mention that I hated this guy?... Ray said nothing. He could see that Neela was waiting on a reply. What does she want? A speech on how happy I am that yet again, I'm left waiting around while she sails into the sunset with someone else?

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Realising that she wasn't going to get any reply from Ray, she gently took his hand.

"Ray, " her voice was soft, barely a whisper. She didn't need to speak much louder, Ray was so quiet, she could have heard a pin drop. "I'm talking about you." Her voice shook slightly with this last statement, eyes betraying her nervous-ness.

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WHH-AAAA-TTT?? Ray's eyes widened as his brain absorbed this information.

I LOVE this guy!!!

Note: Ok, am really, really sorry. Ten thousand pardons to everyone! As I finished writing this, I realised that this was the penultimate chapter and therefore, it's at least a week before you will get the concluding chapter. I will write it as soon as I get back.

To appease everyone, another recipe; Whole Orange Cake. Pierce orange with knife then boil whole in water for approx 20-25 mins until soft and sort of mushy. When its ready, chop into chunks, remove pips then blitz in processor until pureed. Cream 175g softened butter with 130g-150g caster sugar (depends how sweet u like ur cakes) until pale and fluffy. Mix in 2 beaten eggs a little at a time until combined. Then mix in 200g self-raising flour a little at a time until combined. Mix in orange puree until thoroughly combined. Pour into lined and greased baking tin and bake in pre-heated oven 160°C or Gas 4 for approx 40 mins, check on it after 30 mins. If skewer or knife inserted into middle of cake comes out clean, it's ready. Leave in tin until cool enough to handle then turn out and finish completely cooling on wire rack. Then decorate with icing or anything else if u want. Or leave it as it is.