Hurts So Good (Neil Melendez (The Good Doctor) x OC)

Dr. Young

"I've realized your apartment got colder these last few days," says Neil on a friday morning. I've been keeping the window in my mum old room open almost 24/7, I probably should have mentioned that.

"Oh yeah, I know. I swear it'll only take a couple of days more. I raised the heater temperature, but it seems like it doesn't do too much, I should probably go take a look at the pumps in the basement and see if we need a technician to investigate further."

I sit down at the table and have breakfast, soon followed by mi hermosísimo hombre.

(Yes, I'm learning spanish. Apparently it's as much of a turn on for me as it is for Neil to hear me completely butchering the language.)

"What 'will only take a couple of days more'?"

"Some days ago... I woke up in the middle of the night and," I set the spoon inside the cup in front of me and then look at him, "I went into my mum's old bedroom."

Neil widens his eyes, then puts on a preoccupied face and leans on the table, reaching for my hand, "are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I am more than okay, you know? I think I had a sort of...epiphany, if you will."

Neil was listening attentively, nodding his head when needed and never interrupting me.

"I was walking towards our bedroom and this flash of light illuminated the door to her room and... I just had to open it. I opened it and realized that I didn't want that place to smell like medicines and death forever. I want it to be both my mum and Bee's space, so I opened the window and then went back to sleep," I pause a second and then say, "it's been open almost everyday since. I only closed it when it rained the other day."

"I'm so proud of you, Jade," he says squeezing my hand lightly, "when you'll feel like it, maybe I could help you cleaning it?"

"I'd love to, and thank you," I lean forward and kiss him. I let my lips linger there for a few seconds and then we both go back to our meals.

"So, what's today's agenda?" Neil asks me, although I should be the one asking him. He has an agenda to stick to, I don't.

"Well, you know... nothing special. As I told you, these are a bit of a down time, unless until Christmas gets closer. We do the usual stuff now, funeral wreaths, house bouquets, birthday bouquets... same old, same old. We don't even sell plants in this period, it's too cold outside," I take a biscuit and dive it into my capuccino, "what about you?"

"I... will have to talk to Dr. Andrews and Dr. Glassman about something we've started discussing yesterday and then I have two surgeries waiting for me. A simple heart valve replacement and then a quintuple bypass."

"I have no idea what the latter is."

"The medical term for it is 'coronary artery bypass graft' we abbreviate it as CABG and basically it involves the removal of a blood vessel from the chest, arms, or legs and we use that blood vessel to create a detour or bypass around the area of a blockage in your blood stream. This allows blood to reach the heart again and what I'm performing today is by far the most intricate heart bypass surgery there is, because it includes all five of the major arteries feeding the heart."

"Anatomy class during breakfast, I could get used to this."

"You like the subject?"

"I don't despise it. I'm all in for learning new things, everyday, but my favorite area is everything involving language and its structures and uses."

"Sound fascinating."

"Just as much as your anatomy class."

"Let's teach one another new things everyday."