"I want you to know that I..."

"Don't."

After a few silent moments, he spoke again.

"You should go. This place still has a crisis going on. Goodbye, Claire."

"Goodbye."

Claire walked out of the room, her brain racing. There must be something they could do, but what? If only she had someone to brainstorm with… But Dr. Andrews and Dr. Glassman were performing surgery after surgery. So was Dr. Lim. Morgan had complained about Melendez favoring Claire over other residents and it almost took a toll on their friendship; she would be damned if she gave her colleague any other reason to gossip. Park and Shaun were still at the brewery helping victims on site, having kept in touch with Lim through the radio.

She stopped on her tracks.

The radio.

It was now or never.

"Shaun? Shaun, it's Claire. Please, I need your help. Can you hear me?"

She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Come on, Shaun… Please, pick up... Please, let it not be too late…

"Yes, I can hear you."

"Shaun, thank God", Claire nearly yelled in relief. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"I am not injured. Vera's thigh was impaled and I couldn't move her, otherwise she will be at risk of bleeding out, but the firefighters told us they'll be with us soon."

"Great, that's- that's good, Shaun, that's really good. I'm sure she will be fine. If you're not very busy aside from waiting for the firefighters, I need your help with something. I need ideas."

"Ideas… For what?"

"A patient who was injured at the brewery during the earthquake. I checked on him when we arrived there and he seemed fine apart from a bruise on his stomach. After he left the building he vomited and passed out; his CT showed nothing, but he was confused and his bruise had gotten larger. His SMA was bleeding and we found injuries all the way up to the celiac trunk. His intestine wall is also damaged, causing the lactic acid level to rise."

"He is going into septic shock", Shaun stated in a final tone.

"He is. But please, Shaun? You always think of something. I'm begging you… I can't let him die", Claire choked through her tears.

"Why is this patient so important to you?", he asked politely, after a few seconds.

"It's Dr. Melendez", she replied in a tiny voice.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Shaun was silent. An eternity seemed to have passed, but, used to her friend's manners, Claire waited dutifully.

"There might be a way to save him."

"It's a delicate surgery", Dr. Lim pointed.

"Delicate? It's a homicidal mission. None of us is in condition of performing it when it's a colleague on the table", Dr. Andrews seemed exasperated.

Claire closed her eyes, already regretting her decision. Her desperation had clouded her judgement. She hadn't taken the emotional factor into account. Not when it came to the possible surgeons, at least.

"Where did that idea even come from, by the way?", Andrews inquired.

"It was Shaun's idea, actually. I… I talked with him on the radio. I wanted to check on him, make sure he wasn't injured in the aftershocks since he was underground. He said he was with Vera, waiting for the firefighters. So I told him about the situation and asked him if he had any ideas."

"Did you tell him it was for Dr. Melendez?", Dr. Lim asked calmly.

"Not at first. I gave him an overview of the case and insisted for him to think of something. Then he…", Claire trailed off, blushing furiously. "He asked why it was so important for me and I told him who it was. But Dr. Andrews is right, this was stupid, I didn't think it through", Claire shook her head. "I'm sorry", she added, getting up from her chair.

"Claire, wait. It's alright. He's the chief of residents and your attendant, of course you would want him to be safe. We know you meant no harm", Dr. Glassman reassured her. "Please, sit back down."

And so she did, watching intently while the three older doctors fell silent. After several minutes, Dr. Andrews leaned back on his chair.

"Fine. I'll do it. Let's see if Murphy's idea pays off."

"Count me in", Lim added.

"Me too. If you're willing to rebuild his mesenteric walls you're gonna need all the trained hands you can have. Claire, please get Melendez ready for surgery and let everyone apart from Dr. Reznick know that their presence at the ER is vital at this moment."

"Why doesn't it surprise me that Shaun came up with a wild idea that could either save a life or end it?", Neil chuckled.

"He doesn't want to lose you. None of us do", Claire's tone was conciliatory.

"He gave us hope", Audrey intervened. "We all know what will happen if we just stand here and do nothing. If we succeed with the surgery, that's great. If we don't, at least we tried."

"Well... Bring it on, then. It's not everyday one gets the chance of having three hospital stars on their surgery", Neil grinned.

The three surgeons went to get ready and talk through their strategy one last time, leaving Claire alone in the room. She stood up and started working on the machines that were monitoring Neil.

"Why wasn't Murphy here?"

"What?"

"The surgery was his idea. It's only fair that he was part of the team to present it to the patient."

Shit.

"He's… Still at the brewery. The firefighters haven't reached him and Vera yet."

Neil frowned.

"How did he know? I mean, at this point all of us have accepted he's gifted, but I have a hard time believing divination is-"

"I called him", Claire blurted out. "I reached him through radio to see if they were still safe. The aftershock was big and he's underground with Vera…" she sighed. "They were fine, and I figured it would do no harm to ask him."

"Why?"

"Everyone else was busy."

"No, not 'why him'. Why was it so important to you?"

Why, indeed.

Claire knew the answer to that already. She had discussed it countless times with her therapist. But this wasn't the time.

"We are doctors", she answered simply. "That's what we do; we save lives."

Neil's face betrayed him for a split second, showing disappointment, but he gathered himself so quickly Claire thought she might have imagined it. After she was done with the machines, she couldn't help but take a seat next to her boss.

"I guess this is it, then", he said.

"You'll be in the hands of three of the best surgeons in the state, perhaps in the whole country. There's nothing to worry about", she affirmed, though uncertain if she was reassuring him or herself.

Neil looked down at his lap for a few moments.

"You scared me", she whispered. "I thought…"

"Claire, it's okay. I'm here now", he looked back at her.

"I can't lose anyone else."

"Hey", he took her hand. "Look at me", Claire raised her green eyes until they were locked with his black ones. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You said it yourself, the best surgeons in California will be taking care of me. I might need to hold back from running for a while, but we can think of something else to do in the meantime. We'll be fine."

His use of "we" instead of "I" didn't go unnoticed, but Claire kept quiet. She took a deep, calming breath and stood up from the hospital bed, but Neil didn't let go of her hand, entwining their fingers.

"I promise", he said with a firm voice. She nodded.

"I believe you."

The stark white ceiling had never been a more welcoming sight.

Neil took in his surroundings. The transparent tube that connected a bag to the spot were there had been a bruise on his abdomen earlier told him that Shaun's idea had worked. He couldn't help a small smile; of course it had, the boy was a genius.

Curled up on the armchair on the far left corner, he spotted Claire, still in her navy blue OR scrubs. He guessed it was not a very comfortable position, but she seemed fast asleep, probably exhausted due to the chaos that had followed the earthquake, so he didn't dare to call her and wake her up.

To his right, he could see part of the hallway and the nurse ward. Hospital workers walking this way and that, going on with their day, with their lives, the low beeping from machines in other rooms, the quiet rustle of papers every now and then… Never before had he valued every small detail so much.

His eyes drifted back to the sleeping form of the girl who saved his life. Almost as stubborn as himself, his brilliant resident had stopped at nothing and crossed several lines on her eagerness to help him.

If it were anyone else in his position, she was likely to face some sort of punishment for favoring a patient to the extent of reaching out for a fellow doctor who was on field even though she knew said doctor was also attending a severe emergency. However, her tenacity had spared them all from parting prematurely with a friend, so he was sure she would get away with it this time.

He had survived, therefore some unfinished business required his attention. His feelings- his real feelings.

It had all started as friendly concern; sweet, amiable, empathetic, great-with-patients Claire had turned bitter, resentful, sometimes bordering rude. A deep sadness seemed permanently etched on her features, especially her shiny green eyes. It had happened out of the blue. Neil hadn't known what it was at first, but seeing her crying hidden in the stairs, he knew it was huge.

Upon finding out Claire's mother had tragically passed, Neil did what he could to be a good friend for her. He gave her advice, kept her company, offered distractions, and slowly but surely, the old Claire, his Claire, started showing herself again. He was more than pleased, for he had sorely missed her friendly, peaceful nature, but time made him realize that he felt something stronger than admiration and friendship for his resident.

He loved seeing her smiles grow bigger with time, and cherished every single one of them. He loved hearing her voice go back to its usual softness. He admired how passionate she was about the cases and the patients, seeing her eyes shine when she talked about possible treatments and surgeries. His heart swelled with pride when someone complimented her professional skills and when he realized how much she had evolved under his tutelage. He admired her friendship with Shaun Murphy, her endless patience to help him overcome his difficulties, even, and perhaps most especially, when the rest of the team didn't reserve him the same courtesy.

There was no use in denying it. He loved her.

"You're awake", a sweet voice reached his ears and brought him back to planet Earth while Claire rushed to the side of his bed. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"

"I'm alive. That's all that matters."

Claire scoffed.

"Neil, I'm being serious. Do your stitches hurt? I can give you some painkillers…"

"You're being serious, well, so am I", Neil took her hand. "Yes, it hurts like hell, but for once I'm thankful for the pain. It means I'm here. It means I'm safe. It means all of it is real."

Claire nodded and they fell silent, the soft beep monitoring Neil's heart filling the room. She sat next to him on the bed.

"Why are you staring at me like that?", she asked after a few moments.

"You crossed a lot of lines today, Claire."

"I know", she sighed.

"But your stubbornness saved my life."

The girl blinked, stunned, and shook her head.

"N-no, the surgery was-"

"Shaun's idea, I know", Neil cut her off. "And I'll make sure he knows exactly how grateful I am for it and how much I appreciate having him in our team. But you were the one who insisted I came in to get tested, you were the one who had the idea to call him and I know you were the one who pushed Lim, Andrews and Glassman to do the surgery."

"Well", she chuckled, "it's only fair that I returned the favor. You saved me."

"No. I was just in the right place at the right time. That was all you. You're gonna be okay, Claire."

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Me too. Can I go first?", Claire nodded in response. "You are… A terrible bowler", he smiled widely, letting her know it was a joke. "Maybe the worst I've ever seen."

"And I wanted to tell you that I hate your tattoo", they laughed through the tears of relief they didn't even realize had formed. "Way too much antler", she wiped her cheeks before choking out: "and I love you!"

"I love you, too."

Claire carefully laid her head on his chest while he stroked her hair and face.

They did not know what the future held in store for their relationship. They knew people needed to be informed, and that it would most likely affect their careers in some way, but none of them wanted to dwell too much on it. For now, all they could think about was how close they had been to losing each other, and vowed to never let that happen again.