Imagines and Preferences: Book 1

That Boy... | Shaun Murphy

Part 2 of Defending Each Other
Requested by @QueenGhostRed

Trigger warning??? You have a benign tumor, but that's about it.

Summary: You've known Shaun since elementary school, but when he and Steve ran away and you moved, you lost touch. Now, you need surgery, and you're in St. Bonaventure Hospital...

QOTP: Shaun and Lea or Shaun and Claire?

Word Count: [the great comet of] 1812

Years later, you find yourself in San Jose Hospital for surgery, and Shaun Murphy walks into the room. You look at him, and all those old feelings come flooding back.

"Oh, boy," you mumble.

"Hmm?" the doctor in front of Shaun asks. Melendez, probably.

"What?" you ask, looking at him.

"Did you say something?"

"No," you lie.

Behind Shaun is another doctor whom you don't know the name of, so she's probably a resident at the hospital.

And, given the fact that no one informed you one of your childhood best friends is also operating on you, Shaun is probably a resident, too.

"Oh - my apologizes, then," Melendez continues. "I'm Doctor Neil Melendez, and these are two of my surgical residents." He looks at them, cueing them to introduce themselves.

"I'm Doctor Claire Brown," the woman says.

"I'm Doctor Shaun Murphy," Shaun says, and the moment he speaks, any doubt you had that it wasn't him was completely wiped away.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor Melendez and Doctor Brown," you say to them. Then, you turn to Shaun. "I already knew your name, Doctor Murphy, but I had no idea that you're a doctor now."

His usually blank expression turns into one of happiness. "I thought it was you, but I didn't want to be wrong. You look different."

You smile. "You look different, too."

"You know each other?" Melendez asks.

"She was my best friend," Shaun replies.

Melendez looks at you, but you shake your head a little. "It's a long story, and this tumor isn't gonna remove itself, so..."

He nods once. "Right. Well, it's a benign tumor, so it's not incredibly urgent. We just need to go into your abdominal cavity and remove it."

"Sounds festive."

Melendez, with a small, suppressed chuckle, continues. "We've done all the tests and prep that need to be done, so all that's left is to perform the surgery."

"Which will happen...?" you prompt.

"Tomorrow morning. If you need anything, you can just press that button next to your bed for assistance."

"Does 'assistance' include requesting an extra pudding cup with my lunch?" you ask.

Melendez, again, suppresses a laugh. "No, it doesn't."

"Well, that's tragic."

"We'll see you in the morning," he says.

He starts to leave with Claire, and Shaun goes to follow, but you stop him. "Wait, Shaun - can you hang back for a minute? I haven't seen you in years..." Melendez doesn't object to this, so Shaun stays and waits for you to speak. You, of course, know Shaun, so you avoid asking direct questions. "So... you're a doctor now. Must've been difficult to swing that."