Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews. You've all been so wonderful :) and great at catching onto all of the references I've made to incidents in the past with our favorite pair of roomies. Keep em' coming so I know if I should keep going with this... Thx, again.
Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own these characters or anything associated with ER... please don't hurt me.
Ray carried Neela into her bedroom and gently set her down into a standing position right next to him and the bed. She noticed the room was dimly lit
and took a moment to look around and adjust to the new surroundings. Ray had decorated the room with white candles that smelled of vanilla which
were all lit and burning dimly. Next to her bed, on her bedside table she noticed some bottles of some sort of lotion or cream. She cocked an eyebrow and looked up at him.
"So I see you really thought of everything now didn't you... what if the wine, pasta and chocolate covered strawberries hadn't wooed me?" she kidded smiling at him.
"Oh well then you would have underestimated me. Lie down please, on your stomach." he said gesturing towards the bed.
"What?" Neela questioned perplexed.
"Come on, just lie down already" Ray pleaded.
"You really need to work on your bedside manner " Neela said confused as she lay down
"Uh huh. I'm sure I'll have your mind changed about that in a few minutes" Ray said smoothly from above her.
"Ray?" Neela started to question him and lifted her head to turn around and look at him.
"Sheesh, would you relax... Neela, please" Ray begged pushing her back down on the bed.
"Umm... if this is supposed to be some kind of foreplay it's not work—" Neela was suddenly silenced as Ray's strong hands began to rub her shoulders
and then down her back.
"This is supposed to be a surprise massage, for my hard working surgeon girlfriend" Ray whispered in her ear as he oiled his hands with warming
massage oil and continued to massage her.
"Mmmmm" Neela murmured suddenly lost in his touch.
She felt like she was about to burst. Ray was doing everything right tonight and it was driving her nuts, she couldn't take much more of this. She bit her lip in frustration.
"Aww come on, we're not in any rush right? I thought this would help you to unwind a bit" Ray's voice cooed from over her.
"Oh it's working..." Neela said just above a whisper.
Ray continued to run his strong hands over her back for a while and Neela relaxed and let go for once. This felt like absolute heaven right now. Ray was
such an amazing person; she questioned why it had taken them so long to get to this point.
Nevermind, you're finally here with him. Enjoy it.
She snapped herself out of it before she allowed herself to get lost in thoughts of regret over the past and the tragedies it held for the two of them.
Suddenly, she felt Ray undoing the clips of her bra and sliding it off her body as he continued to massage her. She soon felt his hot breath near the
back of her neck as he started to drizzle soft kisses down her neck and back. Neela groaned in anticipation and frustration as he turned her over and
took in the sight of her lying there below him waiting for him.
"Neela, you're so beautiful, I've waited so long for this moment it all feels surreal right now" Ray said with baited breath.
"I'm here Ray and I'm not going anywhere and neither are you" Neela smiled cheekily as she playfully slapped him on his butt through his jeans and reached up to lower him onto her.
"Whoa, Neela... I always knew you were an animal in the bedroom" he joked as he kissed her lips and began trailing kissing down the rest of her body.
Neela closed her eyes and allowed herself to get caught up in the moment.
Yes, this truly is heaven.
Ray and Neela made love three times that night. It was beautiful and full of the passion they had both held so long for each other.
It was three am when Neela awoke suddenly and thought she should jump in the shower as she had yet to wash away the day at the hospital from
her body. She hesitated for a moment as she sat up and tried not to disturb Ray. She could smell Ray's cologne on her did she really want to wash
that off? She smiled to herself as she remembered what had gone on in her bed and apartment that night. She gently lifted herself up off of the bed.
Suddenly she felt an arm sling around one of her legs and pull her back.
"Just where exactly do you think you're going?" Ray asked sleepily.
"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you. I was just gonna sneak off for a quick shower" Neela whispered back.
"Oh a shower eh...? Need any company?" Ray smirked at her in the darkness.
"No, you are an animal! I'm calling a timeout" Neela threw a pillow at him as she walked away towards the washroom.
"Okay, but leave the door unlocked just in case" Ray joked.
"Go back to sleep Ray" Neela said as she stepped into the washroom. She turned to look at herself in the mirror, her hair looked like a bird's nest, her
cheeks were flushed and she had the hugest smile she had ever seen plastered on her face, and somehow he still finds this attractive? she thought to
herself while looking at her reflection. After her shower, she managed to get back into bed without waking Ray. She took a moment to observe him as
he slept. He had a very peaceful look on his face and she just stared at his chest as it moved up and down with his breaths. She gently ran her fingers
through his hair and cupped her hand to the side of his face. She kissed the tip of his nose. He stirred and she worried she had woken him up and froze
for a moment. But instead of waking up or opening his eyes he just smiled and wrapped his arm around her and said
"I missed you, welcome back".
A brief silence passed and Neela thought Ray might still be awake.
"Ray..." she whispered into the dark silence. She figured he had fallen asleep when she didn't get a response.
"I love you" she said to what she thought was his sleeping figure as she cuddled up to him.
"I love you too Neela" he said.
She smiled into his chest as she felt his grip tightening around her. They held each other close and fell into a blissful sleep that night.
Ray felt the daylight beating down on him the next morning as he groggily rubbed his eyes and looked around Neela's room. A shy smile came to his
lips as he remembered the wonderful events of the night before. Neela's surprise at his visit, him cooking for her, the massage and what had followed.
The best night of his life and the first night of their new scratch that semi-new life together. He turned to lie on his back and instinctively reached out
and felt for Neela on her side of the bed. He sprang up into a sitting position as soon as he realized she wasn't there.
Had it all been a dream? Nope, can't be I'm lying here naked in her bed he rationalized.
What if she thinks it was a horrible mistake and she's waiting for me to wake up to tell me it's over and it'll never work out...
Ray let his fears get the worst of him. He'd come to not expect much from Neela over the years. Since he professed his feelings for her while she was
still a married woman the two of them had been on one hell of a crazy, twisted and often cruel ride of emotions. Just as Ray began to talk himself over
the line of reason Neela walked into the room with a tray.
"Good morning sleepy head..." she said smiling at him.
"Since you were so wonderful last night, I thought I'd return the favour and make you breakfast in bed" she said approaching the bed with a tray that she slid onto his lap.
"Don't worry, it's only toast... I didn't actually attempt to cook. And I made you tea with honey just how you use to like it, hope that's okay" she smiled coyly at him.
They had spent many a morning together as roommates but this was new territory for them. Essentially this was the morning after, and try as they
may there was bound to be a slight amount of awkwardness in the air. But it was just the right amount of awkward, the kind that made you feel kind
of giddy and dizzy all at once, and the kind that accompanied a new and beautiful beginning to the rest of their lives together.
"Mmm, perfect, thank you" Ray said taking a sip of his warm tea.
"What about you?" he asked concerned.
"Oh I had some coffee and half of a bagel while I was making your toast" Neela smiled.
"Do you want some juice or water or anything?" Neela asked about to get up from the bed where she'd sat down next to Ray.
"Nope" Ray said grabbing her wrist and pulling her back down to the bed,
"Everything I need is right here" he grinned as he intertwined his fingers with hers.
A blush rose to Neela's cheeks and she looked down.
"Hey, you okay?" Ray asked concerned.
"Never better" Neela smiled back as she looked up at him.
"So I was thinking maybe we could take a run down by the lake this morning" Neela suggested.
"Oh, up for some exercise are we?" Ray asked provocatively as he slid his breakfast tray onto the nightstand beside the bed and pulled her towards him.
"You are a machine!" Neela exclaimed as she laughed while he pinned her down on the bed.
"Is that a complaint?" Ray asked with a laugh as he looked down at her.
"Absolutely not" Neela giggled back as he swooped down to kiss her.
An hour later, they were still in bed. Neela was reading the morning paper as Ray played with her hair.
"You know, we are gonna have to get up at some point and re-enter the real world" Neela deadpanned.
"I dunno, this feels pretty real to me" Ray said looking into her eyes.
"How long are you visiting for?" Neela asked the question she'd been dying to ask since the moment she saw him.
"Well, I managed to get five days off for now... may be able to stretch it out into a full week if we're lucky" Ray answered.
"Really?" Neela dropped the paper and sat up and spun around sitting cross-legged to look right at Ray.
"I thought you'd only be in town for one or two nights... that's great!" Neela was so happy.
"Well, I figured we'd have some talking to do, some uh, you know planning... we don't have to talk about this right now Neela" Ray seemed desperate to change topics.
"What do you mean... are you talking about us and our relationship? Like what does the future hold? You make it sound so morbid" Neela pressed.
"Naw, but yah that's pretty much what we need to discuss. BUT, I'd really like to enjoy the day before we get caught up in all of that stuff... You still up
for that run?" Ray asked as he attempted to switch the topic again suddenly swinging his legs over the side of the bed and reaching for his prosthetics.
He put them on and stood up,
"Well I'm gonna take a shower... I'll leave the door unlocked" he winked as he ran his hand up Neela's back before he left the room.
What was that about? Neela thought.
He couldn't seem to get out of here fast enough just now when the future came up she worried.
He had said that they needed to talk but why not now? Why later? What about? What was Ray hiding?
Well... I had to throw some angst in there near the end. We all know how our roomies love their angst. It'll all be okay in the end though, promise. :)
Got the idea to refer the the morning after "right amount of awkward" from a new Lily Allen song I'm loving right now called "Who'd have known", so I can't take credit for that line, it's hers.