Chapter Text
The next morning was a new morning for Neil
He was deemed capable of coming back to work and he was honestly excited with going back
He walked towards the ER station where he knew his residents would be, his pride high and his confidence mighty as the new day signified a new start in his new change of pace. It had been so long, he was just happy to be walking down the hall wearing the lab coat this time
As expected, he saw his three residents looking all the better. Jared and Claire perked up when both spotted him, like puppies when their master returned home. Can't say the same on Shaun's case however...
"Good morning, everyone" Jared pulled a mock salute with his posture straight and towering over Neil. Claire could only giggle at his antics
"Good morning"
"So how's everyone on this lovely morning?" Both Claire and Jared were clear on the answer, nonsensical words began dropping from them. Neil, however, did not pay much attention to the two but instead glance at Shaun who was still sitting on a chair nearby while rubbing his left leg. He had forgotten all about the prosthetic when he walked in as it had been covered by his own long pair of trousers
"Hey" He called the other two out of their conversation and into the main focus, his voice low as to prevent the particular person from hearing
"What's up with Shaun?" Neil could see Jared and Claire's excitement immediately die out. Jared sighed heavily, looking over his friend who's still dragging his fingers along his hidden mechanical leg
"It's not new really... He's been like that since the accident. He's bummed out about Lea, I guess the whole 'losing a leg' thing really adds on to his problems when the hype died out" It took Neil a few minutes to connect the dots until he remembered a particular event with a patient and Shaun being an asshole
"He's still upset about the whole Lea thing?" Jared nodded
"Yeah. See, the only reason he went down was to rescue Lea just so that she could see he wants to be with her, but things went spiralling down. And then he lost a leg. First, losing the woman of his dream, then losing a limb, anyone would lose motivation" Neil couldn't help but grimace at the thought. He admired Shaun for his determination, something he had learnt from him. Would he go through great lengths like Shaun did for someone he cared about? He'd probably be too logical and cowardly to do so. To think he would go through such disaster for such a thing was odd and very worrying. For Shaun, he had lost everything and more, and it made him feel bad for the guy
"Well, is there anything we can do?" Jared shrugged with the same worry in his expression
"Not really. Best thing to do is to give him space, or a distraction. When he was still hospitalized, we at least spent like 5 hours playing Animal Crossing and Mario Kart, that's enough distraction I guess" Neil sighed. What was he supposed to do? First day of being back and they had nothing, he was just planning on sending them to scut work, now it just didn't seem proper
"Look, there's not much to do right now, I was just about to send you three to scut work but I supposed that's no longer an option" He began brainstorming for ideas. He could hand paperworks for him to work on-
"Claire, I need you to go with him and look through some patients' datas, at least his brain has something to do in the mean time" Claire didn't hesitate one bit before approaching Shaun with the same peppy smile and bouncy feet. Shaun just looked up, the same sadness in his face. It didn't take them long before Claire dragged him from his spot and towards the doctor's lounge, Shaun reluctantly follow while still trying to adjust to the new mechanical leg
"He'll be okay" He said mostly to himself but he could see Jared nodding. Neil knew how much Shaun meant to Jared even though the latter would try to hide it. He guessed his reassurance applied to both of them
He decided to treat them to lunch in the cafeteria
After long hours of going through patient archives while trying to forget everything, Neil guessed Shaun at least deserved some other distractions. And it had been easy for them, just sitting and eating while Jared ranted on and on about some terrible TV show he saw last night
It would've been easy if it weren't for the fact Lea still worked in the hospital
"Shaun..." Neil was honestly worried. Lea had just passed through, not noticing the group at all, and Shaun had shut down moments after. The older doctor sighed, he's really not the best in these types of situations. He looked at the other two only to see them looking as worried and confused as he was
"I have to go-" Before he could move, Jared grabbed the sleeves of his lab coat and tugged him down
"No, Shaun, don't. You've risked enough for that woman" Neil could sense the spite in Jared's tone. Jared had always been fond of Lea but ever since the incident, he had looked at Lea with an expression he could only identify as pure hatred and rage. Neil knew Jared had a thing for Shaun and kept it buried for the sake of the younger resident, so it would make sense he would be acting so passive aggressive towards the woman that indirectly caused his friend's lack of limb
"She's-"
"She doesn't care, alright? She doesn't care what you did or what you sacrificed! She made up her mind, she doesn't, can't, whatever, be with you!" With that, Shaun deflated on his seat, eyes looking a bit glossy. Jared sighed, he didn't mean to make his best friend cry
"Look, Shaun, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out harsh. I just... Don't want you to get hurt again, alright? You deserve so much better than her, someone that will treat you with value, appreciate you, and care for you!" Like I would... But the last words were left unspoken. Shaun didn't seem any better but he straightened his back at least. That's got to be progress, right?
"Okay" With a simple answer, Jared could sigh in relief and smile fondly
"Okay" Neil watched their exchange closely. Jared had sounded so genuinely worried and angry after what happened, though he could tell there was another intention under that, but he knew it were only secondary. There was a type of intimacy he saw in their dynamic, something about it brought joy and with that came support. He glanced at Claire to see her warm smile that she shared with him.
It was so odd seeing how they came to be. The first moment Neil met Claire he thought she would be the death of him from how peppy she was, but then time went on and both were sharing a kiss. The kiss last night was like something Neil had not felt ever since he went out with Audrey. It sparked newfound joy and warmth inside of him he wished to keep. He knew there would be the point with HR and everything, but he convinced himself it's 'future Neil's problems.
For now, he would enjoy every second he could spare with her
He was in his room reading books on prosthetics when he heard a knock on the door. It was late at night, 12:37 AM to be exact, and he had already put away his prosthetic for the night. He reached for it once again and strapped it on his remaining stump of a leg. He's still trying to get used to the whole standing up and walking without support so he stumbled a bit before dragging himself towards the door where he could hear familiar voices. And when he opened the door, it was a bit surprising to see the faces he was met with
"Mae govannen, mellon-nin!" Jared and Claire perked up when he saw him. Jared put his right hand and place it on his left chest, a sort of elvish greeting the two of them picked up when doing a Lord of the Rings marathon. Shaun returned the gesture with his right hand also to his left chest. It made Jared happy to see him exchange something only known to the two of them. He liked seeing Jared happy
"What are you doing here?" The two glanced at each other before holding out their... Bags? What?
"Well, we just thought that maybe-"
"You'd want some company!" The two were surprisingly energetic at these times during the night. Shaun was still staring at them, unsure of what and why
"Why?"
"You're going through a hard time and it's not good to be alone at these times. So as your friends, we want to help you by being there for you! Literally and emotionally!" Ah. That made sense.
Shaun wanted to turn them away, something about this made him find comfort in being alone, wallowing in his own sadness. But... He would admit, it could feel unbearable sometimes. The silence, lack of friendly voice of either Lea and Carly were taking a toll in his own mental state. Maybe having some company wouldn't hurt, and Claire and Jared were right there offering. Maybe it would even be fun! He could feel excitement bubbling as the thought came up
"Okay!" He responded in a surprisingly excited tone as he let the two into his abode. Both Claire and Jared skipped inside of the apartment room
"Cool place!" Jared said as he set his bags near the TV. Shaun took a peek at what's inside as Jared opened one of the bags. It was his Wii set
"We can play Wii tennis-" The thought brought new energy and fear into Shaun. On one hand, it would be fun to beat Jared in Wii tennis again because of his terrible hand-eye coordination when it came to virtual tennis. On the other hand, he remembered the last time they played Wii resort and Jared threw his controller in bowling so hard it broke his own TV. He would want to keep his TV for more years thank you very much
"Jared, it's 12 AM" He silently thanked Claire for interrupting the thought
"Fine, but tomorrow, I'm challenging you two to Just Dance!" Ah. That he could do
"Let's just watch a movie"
"Right! Lord of the Rings it is!"
"The film version-"
"THE EXTENDED CUT!" And thus they spent 3 hours in front of the TV screen. Halfway through at exactly 2:27, the three of them passed out on the couch
It felt nice to have new energy, new voices accompanying his empty apartment. A side of him felt as if he would regret having so many people near him at these moments, but he couldn't care less. Their presence comforted him, and it felt great to have a distraction from the sadness
Claire's warmth and kindness was a welcome comfort, like a mother's. And not his kind of mother, the kind of mothers he saw on sitcoms and whatnot, the comforting one that wouldn't look at him weirdly but instead gave him reassuring looks and words. Her voice calming and so were her gestures
Jared... Jared was an odd presence for him. His buzzing energy and excitement were infectious and would sometimes make him feel the same way. But there was somehing else; Longing and something similar to fondness. He never shied away from Jared's touch, touch that were most of the time grinding his skin uncomfortably with other people, with Jared it was soft and soothing. He liked the feeling. Intimacy was something he struggled with and the feeling from his and Jared's contact were new but welcomed
Their voices, their laughters echoed through the room, and it felt less empty with them. Not too crowded and not too hollow, something he appreciated very much
For the first time in awhile, he slept peacefully in their makeshift human pile