O.K, I know that I should be updating "

Title: I'll be Fine

Author: DocRock06

Rating: K+ for mild swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

Spoilers: None

Content Warning: None

Summery: Ray gets sick and tries to convince Neela that he's fine. Will his roomie see the truth before it's too late? AU set in season 11. Roomie Fluff.

Prologue

Walking through the front doors of Cook Country General, Ray let out a small sigh of relief at the welcoming warmth that the hospital gave. He had been out late last night after a gig, and had woken up that morning with a banging headache and a nauseous stomach. He knew that he should probably try to cut back on the groupies and the nights out, especially in the middle of the week when he was working, but Ray was young, still only 26 years old, and wanted to enjoy himself.

Walking past the admit desk, smiling to himself when he saw the desk clerks, Jerry and Frank arguing over the last doughnut, Ray made his way to the doctors lounge to shed his coat and bag and get his white lab coat. Pushing the door opened, he smiled when he saw that Neela was there, and looked at her as he said,

"Hey roomie"

Turning around from her spot at the sink where she was standing preparing herself a cup of coffee, Neela offered Ray a smile as she said,

"Hey", no longer hating the way that he called her "roomie" all though she would admit that it had irritated her when she had just moved it…but now she thought that it was quite sweet that he thought of her as much of a friend as he did to give her a nickname.

Stuffing his coat into his locker, Ray pulled on his white lab coat over his sleeve-less grey t-shirt and blue jeans as he asked,

"What time you off?"

Throwing her coffee down the sink after taking a sip, guessing that Morris must have been the one who had prepared the sludge, Neela looked at Ray with a weary smile as she said,

"Six thirty, you?"

Throwing his stethoscope over his neck, Ray looked at her with a similar expression as he replied,

"Eight. So I'll see you at home then?"

"You're not going out tonight?" Neela asked. God, that sounded a lot more uptight that I meant it to…it's not like I'm his mother…or his girlfriend. Neela chagrined herself before quickly adding, "I mean, you don't have a gig or anything?"

Shaking his head, Ray smiled at her as he said,

"Nope, just me and you roomie" Jerking his thumb at the door, Ray pulled his famous pout as he said, "But before that…we work"

Holding the door opening for her, Ray let Neela walk out before him and followed her to the admit desk, ready to start another day of work.

"No Mr. O Hara, I assure you, it's just the flu" Ray said to the elderly old man who had presented with a sore throat, but was convinced that he was dying. Smiling at the old man, Ray pulled his prescription pad from his pocket and scribbled onto it as he said,

"I'll write you a prescription for Tylenol to help with the fever"

Handing the prescription to Mr. O Hara, Ray excused himself and walked out to the admit desk, filling in the chart as he did. Setting the chart back in the rack, Ray ran a hand over the base of his neck, easing the stiffness out of it before he went about looking for another chart. However, his search was interrupted by the sound of Luka calling out as he wheeled a gurney through the doors,

"Double MVA, you take the next one with Neela"

Nodding his head, Ray jogged out to the ambulance bay and met Neela with the gurney and helped to bring it through to Trauma 2. Grabbing onto the stretcher, Ray looked at Neela as he said,

"1…2…3!" before helping her, and the other members of staff in the room transfer the patient.

Cutting down the man's shirt, Ray noticed the large abrasions that covered him, most of his ribs probably cracked.

"Get a chest X-Ray" Ray called out as he looked over at Neela, who was working on administering drugs into the man's IV's.

Twenty minutes later, and six litres of blood, Neela and Ray where both walking out of the trauma room, their patient, a man in his early thirties who they discovered was called Karl Donaldson, was being wheeled up to surgery to repair a tear in his spleen.

Stripping of his gown and gloves, throwing them in a near by bin, Ray ran a hand over the back of his neck, trying to ease out the stiffness that had been knotting its way into his muscles all day. Looking at Ray with concern as she disposed of her own trauma gear, Neela asked,

"You Okay?"

Letting his hand drop to his side, Ray gave her a smile as he said,

"Yeah"

Looking at him more closely, making sure he wasn't just telling her that, Neela wasn't so sure. She hadn't been living with Ray that long, and they had been good friends for an even shorter period of time, but she was learning ways to read him. Walking with him to the admit desk, Neela asked him again,

"You're sure…you're not just trying to act all manly and pretend you're fine?" She added the second part with a smirk, earning an indignant snort from Ray as he picked up another chart, handing her one as he said,

"Haven't you got work to do?" a grin on his own face as he walked past her and into exam one.

It was finally the end of his shift and Ray was glad to be getting home. Neela had left not too long ago, having been kept in after an unexpected trauma had come in and they had needed an extra set of hands. Grabbing his stuff out of his locker, Ray felt a shiver run up his back and pulled his coat tighter around him. Putting his white lab coat and his ID back in his locker, Ray slammed it shut as he made his way out of the lounge, saying goodnight to Abby and Pratt, both of whom where standing at the admit desk, just starting there shifts.

Climbing the steps to the EL, Ray felt the ache and stiffness in his neck still there. He had taken painkillers for it during the day, but it still hadn't gone away. He guessed it was probably from the way he had slept the night before, being a bit too drunk to walk properly and just dropping onto his bed, happy not to land on the floor.

I really got to think getting to bed through a bit more…especially if I feel this crap after sleeping on the floor.

Stepping onto the train, Ray flopped down into a seat and counted the minutes until he would be home.

Neela, who was sitting on the couch watching "Celebrity World Poker", was wearing a pair of sweats and a long sleeved shirt. She had her feet pulled up under her, and was eating from a tub of Ben and Jerry's. So engrossed in what she was watching, she didn't hear Ray come in, and naturally let out a yelp when he said,

"Hey Neela"

Laughing, Ray dumped his bag by the door and shed his coat, flopping down on the couch beside Neela. Smiling at her he raised his eyebrow as he asked,

"What's got you so jumpy?"

Smacking him lightly with the back of her hand, Neela gave him a mock scowl as she said,

"I didn't hear you come in…you usually make a lot more noise"

Nodding his head in acceptance, knowing that her statement was true, Ray slouched down into the sofa, closing his eyes as he felt a pounding behind his temples slowing building up.

Looking at Ray, Neela turned slightly in her seat, and placed her hand to his forehead, causing him to open his eyes at look at her. Before he had a chance to ask her what it was she was doing, Neela said with a slight frown,

"You're hot"

Smirking, Ray replied,

"Thank you"

Realizing what she had just said, Neela blushed slightly. Oh my God, I can't believe I just said that! Clearing her throat nervously, Neela took her hand away from his forehead as she said,

"Funny Ray…but you are warm. Are you sure you feel alright?"

Nodding his head, Ray looked at her with a sheepish grin as he said,

"Yeah, I've just a bit of a headache…but it's just a hangover…I'll be fine"

Looking at him for a few more moments, Neela turned her attention back to the television set as she said,

"O.K…but if it isn't, let me know. I'm not having you die in the apartment because your ego didn't want to take a blow by admitting you're not actually indestructible"

Shaking his head with a slight laugh, Ray looked at her as he said,

"I promise I'll tell you"

A/N - Is Ray really as fine as he thinks? Will he tell Neela if he isn't fine? Leave me a review and let me know that you think to find out the answers in the next chapters!