Title: Love Knows No Bounds
Rating: FRT
Spoilers: Major spoilers for future season 13 episodes and season 14 episodes.
Summary: This is my take on how I wish for Ray and Neela to end. Spoilers for 13x23 'The Honeymoon's Over'.
Disclaimer: I don't own ER otherwise these spoilers would never be happening.
Chapter 1
I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
that don't bother me
Neela's eyes flickered to the speaker. She couldn't believe she'd agreed to attend the rally but the man Jim had begged her to come and check it out and show her support. She'd gotten to talking to him when he came into the ER with PTSD and naturally Michael had come into the conversation on more than one account. But her thoughts had continued flashing to Ray all day he had been injured and now he had left and she had lost all her chances with him.
"It's your fault this happened to him!" Katey's accusing words played over and over again. Was it really her fault? She had never meant for anything like this to happen to him? She had broken up with Gates but it was too late she had already lost him.
Her thoughts were interrupted as people started screaming.
"I have a bomb!" A voice yelled.
Her eyes widened startled but she didn't have time to think as she saw something flying through the air homing in on the stadium and everybody started running. She followed in suit but it didn't last long as she felt her foot slip on the floor beneath her and she fell to the ground. She felt a sharp pain stabbing in her ribs before everything went black.
OOOOOOOO
"Ray, honey let me help you!" his mother exclaimed as he struggled to get his wheelchair through the living room door.
"I'm fine, Mum." He protested.
"No, let me help you." His mother argued.
He sighed and reluctantly let her help him over to the couch. He was reaching him limits with all the attention him mum and Katey were giving him. He knew the both of them were just concerned about him but all the doting and attention was starting to become unbearable and he'd only just gotten here.
"Do you want the TV on?" Katey asked.
He let out another sigh he was just going to have to get used to it.
"Yeah, thanks." He stated as she switched it on.
His gaze paused vacantly on the TV set as the news came on.
"And in breaking news all hell broke loose at a peace rally for the war in Iraq held in Chicago this afternoon when a protestor set off a bomb. Hundreds of people were trampled in the rush to get out of the stadium, over 20 people are severely injured. Chicago's County General and Mercy Hospital were both flooded with victims with one of County's own being one of the severely injured-…"
Ray felt his breathe hitch in his throat as he stopped listening, the only words running through his mind "With one of County's own being one of the severely injured." There was only one doctor that came to his mind who would attend a peace rally for Iraq.
"Oh my god…" Katey murmured beside him.
"Get me the phone." Ray said.
"Maybe…" Katey began hesitantly.
"Get me the phone!" Ray repeated his voice dangerously low almost threatening.
Katey nodded and handed him the phone.
He quickly dialled in the number that had become so familiar to him.
"County General Hospital, how can I help you?" Frank asked after the fifth ring.
"Frank, It's Ray."
"Oh…"
"Can I talk to Abby? Pratt? Morris?" he asked.
"Uh…Abby's right here…I'll uh...get her for you." Frank said, slowly.
"Hello? Ray?"
"Hey."
"Hey, so…did you get there okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, fine….Abby I saw the news." Ray stated.
"Oh…"
"How-Who was it?" he asked.
"Ray…" Abby began.
"Tell me!"
"Ray…It's uh…its Neela…" she told him, her voice choking up.
Ray felt the phone slip from his grip his worst thoughts coming true.
"Ray? Ray?" he heard Abby's distant voice calling over the phone.
He quickly picked it up again.
"How…how bad are her injuries?" he asked.
"She…she uh…she's been through surgery…she sustained a bad blow to her head, cracked 3 ribs,… broke her leg and she's got some pretty nasty bruises and cuts." Abby informed him her voice wavering.
Ray felt himself let out a pained gasp.
"And…Ray…she's still unconscious…" Abby told him.
"Shit!" Ray said, softly.
"Listen Ray I have to go we're really busy." Abby said.
"Yeah, I'll uh…let you go." Ray said, quietly.
"Okay take care…I'll call you if anything changes." Abby said.
"Okay thanks."
"Ray she'll be okay, she's a fighter." Abby said, reassuringly.
"I know she is…" he said before setting the phone down.
Katey looked at him she had already figured out who it was. It was the only person who could cause Ray to look so hurt and forlorn. And it pained her to think that she could never do that to him, never have that effect on him. Because no matter how cliché it sounded he had given his heart away along time ago to a certain doctor and he had never gotten it back. But she wasn't going to let him go, no matter how hard it was she was going to fight for him. She had him now and even though things were still tense between them she was his present and she was going to make sure she was his future.
"How is she?" she asked, hoping her voice didn't sound as envious as she felt.
He didn't move or look up from where he was staring out the window.
"Ray?"
He still didn't respond.
She let out a sigh.
"Do you want to go back up there?"
He paused and glanced sadly at her.
"What's the point?" he stated bitterly. Gates would be there waiting over her hand and foot and he couldn't take that not right now, not after everything that had happened in the city between them just a few hours before.
OOOOOOOO
Flashback
Ray was sitting in his bed at Mercy, Katey sitting by his side when there was a knock on the door. Both of them glanced up and there stood Neela shocked. She slowly walked in.
Ray glanced at Katey.
"Can we have a moment?"
She reluctantly nodded and left the room.
Neela took a seat in her vacated chair.
"So you're going back to Baton Rouge?"
He nodded tensely at her.
"Okay…I might come up for a visit…" she stated.
"Don't say that!"
"What?" she asked looking up at him, surprised.
"Don't say you're going to visit cause we both know damn well you won't!" Ray said bitterly his voice rising.
Neela looked at him shocked.
"Why would you say that?"
He let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Because Neela that's how our relationship is you give me hope and I'm always stupid enough to believe you and then you always go crawling back to Gates…" he began, frustrated.
"Ray…" Neela began.
"No let me finish! You always gave me hope that we could someday work. I thought maybe after Gallant no! Then Gates! And then after we kissed I thought "Hey maybe she does give a rat's ass about me." but again I was wrong you just went straight back to Gates!" he told her, tears brimming in his eyes.
"Ray I'm…" Neela began again.
"No Neela I'm done with excuses! You always go back to Gates even though I've waited for you, I've fought for you and I even fell in love with you." Ray said softly.
"Ray that's not true…" she said her own tears mirroring his.
"You know damn well it is, but all I can say is Neela I'm done. I've tried so hard but I just can't seem to make you happy…" Ray replied stonily no matter how hard his heart was breaking inside saying those words to her.
OOOOOOOO
Ray thought sadly at the words that had come out of his mouth. He had lost it as soon as they started everything he had been feeling had come out. And look where it got him losing the girl he loved and now her possibly dying hours away. Everything was so screwed. But what could he do he couldn't just go back and act as if everything was fine and dandy because it bloody hell wasn't he couldn't face her not now, not tomorrow and he didn't know when he possibly could again.
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