ER, Neela/Ray, #4
Title: What Goes Around Comes Around 3/?
Author: Emony
Fandom: ER
Pairing: Neela/Ray
Prompt: Inertia.
Rating: FRT
Disclaimer: The names of characters contained herein are the property of the copyright holder of "ER." No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and said characters are used here without permission.
Spoilers: "The Honeymoon is Over"
Word Count: 1,031.
Beta: shadow_diva, thanks, hon.
Summary: Ray's first day back at County doesn't go quite the way he expects.
***
Abby Lockhart was sat in the sun washed kitchen area of the apartment she shared with her son and Neela Rasgotra. She sipped at her mug of coffee, the only breakfast she would have that day, and smiled at Joe as he attempted to eat his breakfast.
"You realise that would work better if any of it got into your mouth, right?" She asked as his favourite of mashed bananas were smeared across the plastic table of his high chair. She hid a smile as he giggled and showed her his open hands as evidence.
"I guess not." She told him as she picked up his spoon and began feeding him, leaving the cleanup until after he'd finished.
"Is he painting with the mashed bananas again?" Neela shouted from the hallway between the bathroom and the living area.
"Yeah. I thought you'd got him to stop doing that."
"Maybe he wants to show his Mommy his special trick." Neela commented as she limped on by in a towel headed for her room to get dressed.
"Great." She turned to Joe, who was once again painting, "Is that it, little man? Huh, is that it?"
His only answer was a giggle.
By the time Neela was dressed and ready to have her own breakfast Abby had finished feeding Joe and was getting on with the long process of cleaning him and the highchair.
"You guys have plans for today?" she asked Neela.
"I thought we'd do some actual painting this morning and then someone is going to visit you and his uncle Greg at work whilst I have my first week check up on this crutch." She answered; gesturing towards the crutch leant against the table.
"Sounds like you're going to have fun this morning then, little man." she said as she put a clean Joe in his playpen, kissing his forehead, and then headed towards the bathroom to attend to her makeup. As she stared into the mirror, applying makeup, she carried on the conversation.
"Are you going to talk to-"
"Abby!"
"What, I'm just saying-"
"I don't want to talk about this again."
"You can't avoid him forever, if all goes well today you'll be back to work in a few weeks. How's it going to work then?"
"We'll find out when we get to it."
Abby rolled her eyes at her reflection.
"Do you have to be so stubborn, Neela?"
"Abby." Neela growled, warningly.
"Don't Abby me. It's been two years, you need to deal."
"I already have."
"Sure." Of course.
"What goes around-"
"Comes around... I get it. It’s the karma thing again. You need to stop that. You know as well as I do that it's not true."
"It-"
"No. You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"He didn't know."
"He what?"
"Katey didn't tell him about your accident."
"But she said-"
"I know what she said, Neela. But that's not what she did. He's been giving her the freeze off even more than anyone else when she's down in the ER."
"Still, that doesn't mean anything."
Abby sighed as she put the finishing touches to her makeup and left the bathroom. Walking to stand in front of Neela, she put her hands on her roommate’s shoulders and looked her in the eye,
"Neela. Really, you need-"
Neela glared at her,
"Well, what about you?"
"Me?"
"If I'm in denial and need to get over with it and move on-"
"Which you do."
"What about you?"
Abby moved had hands away and took a step back, crossing her arms. Neela continued,
"If I need to realise it's been two years, so do you. Luka's been out there two years; you need to see that he's not coming back anytime soon. All he is to his son is a voice on the other end of the phone, a voice that speaks to him in a language that no one else he knows even understands."
"I don't want to talk about this again, Neela."
"And I don't want to talk about Ray."
***
Ray leant against a stall door in the men’s toilets, hiding from the stares and from Abby who looked like she meant business every time she headed in his direction. He leant down and rubbed the aching muscle of what was left of his right leg below the knee. It would be only two more hours before he could take some meds. He tensed as the main door opened, then realised that no one would see who it was in the end stall. He was still safe.
"Can you believe the nerve of the guy?" Great, just what he needed, Gates.
"Tony, man. You need to let it go. I've only been here six months and even I've heard her tell you to keep away and out of her life a billion times." The new guy, Chase.
"But still, he saunters back in like he owns the place."
Ray heard Chase snort at Gates' words,
"You're kidding, right?"
"No." He could feel the man’s puzzlement from where he was.
"The guy is back somewhere he hasn't been for years, back somewhere where he was last a totally different guy. People he's known forever are ignoring him at best. I'm not even going to go into the amount of pain he must be in. And you think he's acting like he owns the place?"
"What are we having this conversation for anyway, like a couple of girls in the bathroom?"
"You started it."
The voices faded as they left the room.
Ray was not looking forward to his next meeting with Gates, it was like every time they were forced to work together the other man was barely keeping his thoughts to himself. At least it looked like the new guy wasn't so bad.
Taking a deep breath Ray stood up and left the bathroom, ignoring the look on Chase's face as he saw him exit. As he continued on down the hall he heard Katey's voice from an exam room, about to change direction to avoid her he heard Neela's voice answer back and he carried on towards them. Katey was not what Neela needed right now.
End part.
Author: Emony
Fandom: ER
Pairing: Neela/Ray
Prompt: Inertia.
Rating: FRT
Disclaimer: The names of characters contained herein are the property of the copyright holder of "ER." No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and said characters are used here without permission.
Spoilers: "The Honeymoon is Over"
Word Count: 1,031.
Beta: shadow_diva, thanks, hon.
Summary: Ray's first day back at County doesn't go quite the way he expects.
***
Abby Lockhart was sat in the sun washed kitchen area of the apartment she shared with her son and Neela Rasgotra. She sipped at her mug of coffee, the only breakfast she would have that day, and smiled at Joe as he attempted to eat his breakfast.
"You realise that would work better if any of it got into your mouth, right?" She asked as his favourite of mashed bananas were smeared across the plastic table of his high chair. She hid a smile as he giggled and showed her his open hands as evidence.
"I guess not." She told him as she picked up his spoon and began feeding him, leaving the cleanup until after he'd finished.
"Is he painting with the mashed bananas again?" Neela shouted from the hallway between the bathroom and the living area.
"Yeah. I thought you'd got him to stop doing that."
"Maybe he wants to show his Mommy his special trick." Neela commented as she limped on by in a towel headed for her room to get dressed.
"Great." She turned to Joe, who was once again painting, "Is that it, little man? Huh, is that it?"
His only answer was a giggle.
By the time Neela was dressed and ready to have her own breakfast Abby had finished feeding Joe and was getting on with the long process of cleaning him and the highchair.
"You guys have plans for today?" she asked Neela.
"I thought we'd do some actual painting this morning and then someone is going to visit you and his uncle Greg at work whilst I have my first week check up on this crutch." She answered; gesturing towards the crutch leant against the table.
"Sounds like you're going to have fun this morning then, little man." she said as she put a clean Joe in his playpen, kissing his forehead, and then headed towards the bathroom to attend to her makeup. As she stared into the mirror, applying makeup, she carried on the conversation.
"Are you going to talk to-"
"Abby!"
"What, I'm just saying-"
"I don't want to talk about this again."
"You can't avoid him forever, if all goes well today you'll be back to work in a few weeks. How's it going to work then?"
"We'll find out when we get to it."
Abby rolled her eyes at her reflection.
"Do you have to be so stubborn, Neela?"
"Abby." Neela growled, warningly.
"Don't Abby me. It's been two years, you need to deal."
"I already have."
"Sure." Of course.
"What goes around-"
"Comes around... I get it. It’s the karma thing again. You need to stop that. You know as well as I do that it's not true."
"It-"
"No. You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"He didn't know."
"He what?"
"Katey didn't tell him about your accident."
"But she said-"
"I know what she said, Neela. But that's not what she did. He's been giving her the freeze off even more than anyone else when she's down in the ER."
"Still, that doesn't mean anything."
Abby sighed as she put the finishing touches to her makeup and left the bathroom. Walking to stand in front of Neela, she put her hands on her roommate’s shoulders and looked her in the eye,
"Neela. Really, you need-"
Neela glared at her,
"Well, what about you?"
"Me?"
"If I'm in denial and need to get over with it and move on-"
"Which you do."
"What about you?"
Abby moved had hands away and took a step back, crossing her arms. Neela continued,
"If I need to realise it's been two years, so do you. Luka's been out there two years; you need to see that he's not coming back anytime soon. All he is to his son is a voice on the other end of the phone, a voice that speaks to him in a language that no one else he knows even understands."
"I don't want to talk about this again, Neela."
"And I don't want to talk about Ray."
***
Ray leant against a stall door in the men’s toilets, hiding from the stares and from Abby who looked like she meant business every time she headed in his direction. He leant down and rubbed the aching muscle of what was left of his right leg below the knee. It would be only two more hours before he could take some meds. He tensed as the main door opened, then realised that no one would see who it was in the end stall. He was still safe.
"Can you believe the nerve of the guy?" Great, just what he needed, Gates.
"Tony, man. You need to let it go. I've only been here six months and even I've heard her tell you to keep away and out of her life a billion times." The new guy, Chase.
"But still, he saunters back in like he owns the place."
Ray heard Chase snort at Gates' words,
"You're kidding, right?"
"No." He could feel the man’s puzzlement from where he was.
"The guy is back somewhere he hasn't been for years, back somewhere where he was last a totally different guy. People he's known forever are ignoring him at best. I'm not even going to go into the amount of pain he must be in. And you think he's acting like he owns the place?"
"What are we having this conversation for anyway, like a couple of girls in the bathroom?"
"You started it."
The voices faded as they left the room.
Ray was not looking forward to his next meeting with Gates, it was like every time they were forced to work together the other man was barely keeping his thoughts to himself. At least it looked like the new guy wasn't so bad.
Taking a deep breath Ray stood up and left the bathroom, ignoring the look on Chase's face as he saw him exit. As he continued on down the hall he heard Katey's voice from an exam room, about to change direction to avoid her he heard Neela's voice answer back and he carried on towards them. Katey was not what Neela needed right now.
End part.