Stitches in my Heart

Chapter 6

A sudden page from the ER made both Neil and Claire rush to tend to an emergency. They were joined by Shaun. A 61-year-old blonde woman had been in a car accident.

"Patient's name is Julia Hall. BP is 145/100, pulse rate is 120 and rising. She has a possible concussion and injuries to her abdomen and chest due to a car accident. She was driving. It is likely that some of the glass has pierced its way into Julia's body" The paramedic yelled. Neil yelled "Get her into the trauma room 1 now" and pulled out his stethoscope, "I need a portable CT scan and X Ray here stat!".

Neil, Claire and Shaun tended to the 61-year-old Julia, just when they heard a young woman behind them say "Neil?". Neil turned around and looked at her, "Mia?". While Claire and Shaun looked at her and then each other.

Following a CT scan that showed a piece of glass possibly rupturing her aorta, Julia was taken into immediate surgery led by Melendez and assisted by Browne and Murphy.

Shaun: "Julia got lucky. If the piece of glass was even an mm thicker or dislodged an mm to the right, it would have tore right through her aorta."

Neil carefully removed the glass. "Suction. Dr. Murphy is right. Julia did indeed get lucky. Lets make sure we keep her luck that way."

The surgery was a success. "Dr. Murphy, take the lead on closing. I will go notify Mia"

Turns out the young woman was Julia's daughter. Using the patient's family's first name was something Melendez never did. It made Claire even more curious of how Mia and him knew each other. She had pushed all those questions to the back of her head when they scrubbed in, putting her entire focus on the patient and the surgery. She had been careful to not ask any personal questions in a room full of surgical staff and Shaun.

As Shaun and Claire scrubbed out, he blurted out "are you jealous?"

Claire scoffed and feigned cluelessness. "Jealous? Of what Shaun?"

"of Mia." Shaun responded deadpan.

Claire: "Why would I be jealous of Mia? She is the daughter of one of our patients."

Shaun: "Because she and Dr. Melendez know each other and may have a romantic history"

The fact that Shaun's deduction could very well be true did sting Claire. She brushed that feeling aside and probed Shaun "Even if that may be true, why would I be jealous?"

"Because you are in love with him", said Shaun with a hint of a smile forming on his face.

"I am not in love with him Shaun" Claire said in a hoarse whisper raising both her arms, watching him walk away with a determined look on his face. God, she knew it was a lie. She was in love with him. She knew it. Her therapist knew it and her best friend Shaun knew it too. Claire only hoped that no one else knew it.

Shaun and Claire went over the post-op regimen with Mia in the patient's room while Julia was still unconscious from her anesthetic, just as Neil walked in. All three looked at him.

"Dr. Browne and Murphy were just bringing me up to speed about mom's recovery"

Neil looked at Claire with a comforting smile. Mia grabbed his hand, "Thank you again for everything Neil." The sight sent a surge of jealousy through Claire. Neil was too decent to brush his hand away from Mia's so he used the excuse to look at Julia's chart on the tablet.

"Everything looks good. We will discharge her by tomorrow night. Take some rest. If you need something let me know." Mia jumped into a hug which took Neil and Claire both by surprise.

"hey, that's what we are here for at the hospital" Neil said letting out a small laugh. He didn't hug her back. Every fiber in Claire's being was telling her to shut up and not ask them how they knew each other. It wasn't the time nor the place.

"How do you two know each other?" Claire was so thankful for Shaun's intervention. He was still learning social cues. Before Neil could answer, Mia responded looking at him "Neil and I dated in med school. He was the one that got away." Claire's cheeks flushed hot in jealousy as she tried to look at anything but Neil. A part of her understood it though. He was the epitome of a dream man. How could a woman ever resist him?

Neil interjected before it got too awkward, "we will let you both rest. The nurses will be here every hour to check her stats"

Neil, Claire and Shaun walked out. She joined Neil at the nurse's station and couldn't hold back. Maybe it was the recent counselling sessions making her be brave.

"So you two dated in med school? That's nice." She said while updating the patient chart and slightly pursing her lips.

Neil couldn't hold back a smile. Was she jealous? The logical part of him was thinking, no way. She is your resident, why would she be jealous of an ex? And your ex? Not a chance. But a tiny part of him, let himself believe it and so he tried to test his hypothesis.

Neil: "Yes. We dated for about two years before mutually calling it quits. She says I was the one who got away but that's not true." Neil said, observing Claire ever so keenly.

Claire: "Two years? That's a long time"

Neil: "Yes it is. We had a good time but its just one of those things that you know wont last so you call it quits at the right time. She uh, she asked me out. Tonight, earlier" He was telling the truth, Mia had asked him out but he had said no. He wasn't going to let Claire know that last part just yet.

Claire was taken aback and she couldn't feign her shock: "Oh. She did. That's.. nice. I mean you are single so why not."

Just before leaving, Neil still keeping his gaze fixed at Claire, teasingly whispered in a casual tone, "I said no to the date."

Claire gulped and her breath got deeper and she looked away from Neil to the chart, successfully failing at hiding a small hint of a smile forming on her face. Neil observed. He didn't let himself read into her expressions. Because reading into them would mean deducing that she was indeed jealous. Like he gets jealous of Dash and he damn well gets jealous of Dash. Admitting this would mean that maybe, just maybe, she reciprocates his feelings. And that seemed even scarier than his own irrevocably growing love for Claire.