Crazy Stories With The Crew

The Good Doctor - Hairspray: Part 5

After a long talk with Dr. Browne, Dr. Melendez decided to talk to Shaun and potentially apologize to him. He felt his opinion was still justified, but the least he could do was apologize for causing him to have a panic attack.

He found Shaun in the same room, still sitting there rather quietly. Dr. Melendez knocked on the door and opened it. He closed the door and walked up to Shaun slightly cautiously.

"Hi, Shaun. Can I sit?" Dr. Melendez asked. Shaun tapped the chair beside him with his hand, signaling for Dr. Melendez to sit. Dr. Melendez took the gesture and sat down. They sat in silence, for a little longer than expected. Dr. Melendez decided to be the one to break the silence.

"So, I'm not exactly sure what happened in the room when you told Stacey the news. Could you please explain to me what happened?" Dr. Melendez asked.

Shaun stayed silent. He didn't feel the need to explain what happened. Dr. Melendez wasn't aware of this, but Shaun longed for an apology from his boss. But by the sounds of it, it could be a while until he gets to the apology part.

"Please?" Dr. Melendez asked. Again, he received silence from his resident. He waited a couple extra seconds, but no sounds escaped Shaun's mouth.

"Why are you not talking? Is this how you treat your colleagues when you're angry?" Dr. Melendez asked, trying to understand Shaun better. Shaun replied with silence once again.

"Okay. I'm gonna go on a limb, and personally guess that yes, you do give your colleagues the 'silent treatment' when you're mad." Dr. Melendez said. Shaun continued to stay silent. This was starting to tick off Dr. Melendez.

"One word? Just one word, and I'll get out of your hair. Okay?" Dr. Melendez compromised. Unfortunately, the compromise appeared to be a failure once again, because Shaun was still not talking. Dr. Melendez sighed.

"If you're not gonna talk, could I just leave?" Dr. Melendez asked. Shaun looked away a bit but spoke nothing back. Dr. Melendez decided that this method of conversation was pointless. He stood up from his chair.

"Alright. I'm gonna go. When you feel like talking, just find me. I'll likely be in the lab or Stacey's room." Dr. Melendez said. Shaun looked in Dr. Melendez's general direction but made no sound. It was when Dr. Melendez began to walk away, that Shaun decided to break the silence.

"The day that the blue bed sheets smelled like sweat and hairspray..." Shaun started. Dr. Melendez stopped in his tracks and turned around to listen to the rest.

"...I...broke a child's heart. For the first time." Shaun concluded, feeling tears come to his eyes again. Dr. Melendez thought about Shaun's words for a split second. Then, he turned and walked away.

Dr. Melendez decided to talk to Dr. Glassman about it. He walked up to his office and knocked on his door.

"Come in." Dr. Glassman said. Dr. Melendez walked in and sat down.

"Hello." Dr. Melendez said.

"Hi. What do you need?" Dr. Glassman asked.

"Well...I'm concerned about Shaun. Earlier today, I told him to tell Stacey that she might not be able to dance. When he walked out, he looked at me and then just left. Now he won't really talk to me." Dr. Melendez explained. Dr. Glassman thought about it.

"Oh. I've rarely experienced that with Shaun. The only other time he's been quiet, was on his first day of living with me. Although, I wouldn't really blame him. He did experience a traumatic experience that day, and he completely lost it when he was outside his parents house." Dr. Glassman explained.

"So...He goes completely quiet during a traumatic event?" Dr. Melendez asked.

"I guess, ya." Dr. Glassman replied. Dr. Melendez stood up.

"That explains a whole lot. Thanks Dr. Glassman." Dr. Melendez said.

"You're welcome. Dr. Glassman replied and watched Dr. Melendez leave the room.

Dr. Melendez walked up to Stacey's room, knocked on the door and opened it.

"Hey Stacey." Dr. Melendez said. Stacey turned off her phone and looked at him.

"Hi." Stacey said.

"So, I have some explaining to do. I was the one who told Shaun what to say. He is now refusing to talk to me, which is a pretty big problem right now because I'm his boss." Dr. Melendez said.

"So, I should technically be mad at you then, not Shaun?" Stacey asked. Dr. Melendez sighed at the terrible truth.

"Ya. Be mad at me, not him." Dr. Melendez said.

"Okay. Why did you make Shaun tell me unconfirmed info?" Stacey asked. Dr. Melendez grumbled at the repeated question.

"Because your Achilles tendon is not only ruptured, but it's degenerating." Dr. Melendez replied. Stacey's face changed from an angry face to a devastated face.

"Degenerating? Like, falling apart?" Stacey asked, scared of the response.

"Well, more like decaying, like a corpse." Dr. Melendez corrected. Stacey made a disgusted face and her eyes began to well up with tears.

"I know this is a bad time to ask, but why are you specifically mad?" Dr. Melendez asked. Stacey took a couple extra minutes to wipe her tears.

"Because I have been told my entire life, that it's super hard to create a career out of dancing. I've worked my ass off in order to get famous here, in San Jose. I finally proved that becoming a professional dancer is possible! Now my heel tendon is decaying and broken, and I'm stuck in square one, unable to move up a level. I can no longer do the one thing I never got tired of." Stacey said through her sobs. Dr. Melendez started to understand her struggles and started to think of a way to help her...