Hurts So Good (Neil Melendez (The Good Doctor) x OC)

One Shot: Princess

It's 6pm and at the Saint-Martin Care Home, just a twenty minutes walk from the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, and twenty year old Gabby Melendez is waiting for her usual visitor in the main hall.

Suddenly, Nurse Agnes approaches the girl letting her know that her brother is there to see her.
Gabby starts nodding her head, quietly whispering "Neil, Neil, Neil". He is her hero, because he always comes visiting her and more often than not he brings gifts for her that most of the times can be shared with her friends. However, she doesn't know why her parents don't visit her nearly as much, and she's always ready to ask the painful question to Dr. Melendez, and not only that one: everyday Neil has to face the "when am I going home" question, one that hunts him in his sleep and torment him during the day, because every single time he is asked that question, he has to lie. Her parents will never visit, and she will never return to the home she remembers.

Neil comes in with a visitor's tag pinned to his jacket, he's holding a paper bag with some food in one hand and a carton box in the other one.

"Gabby, mi amorcita. How are you today?" he asks while bending forward to plant a kiss on her forehead like he always does.

"Neil! I-I'm fine. I've been drawing some trees," she says enthusiastically.

"I can see that love, they're beautiful. You're a talented girl. Do you wanna eat something? I brought a couple quesadillas, your favorites" asks Neil, while putting the paper bag on the table, besides the pencils and drawing paper.

"Yes! Did mama make t-them? She makes the best quesadillas," Gabby says while still coloring the trees she drew minutes before.

"No, love. She didn't, I bought these when I got off work, but they're equally good I swear. Try them, c'mon," she puts down the pencils, clears the table with an arm and takes one bite, "it's good! Thank you."

Neil smiles and stays silent while watching her eat all of that he brought. Once she's done, Neil takes out a tissue paper and cleans her mouth and chin.

"You really enjoyed it!" he says while also wiping down the table and removing crumbs stuck in her hair and shirt, "I have something else for you. Do you remember what you ask for the other day?"

"Uhm... No. What d-did I ask for?"

"I was telling you about this girl I met who sells flowers, right? You asked me a flower crown, like the ones that those women in the neighborhood used to wear during El Dia de los Muertos."

"Ah y-yes! The pretty brunette. I remember y-you talking about her, but I don't remember the flower crown, can I see it?" she asks impatiently.

"Of course, it's yours," he says while pushing the box toward her, "open it."

Gabby takes the carton box in her hands, gently looking for a way to open it. In a matter of seconds she finds the lid that needs to be raised in order to open the box, she lifts it up and she exclaims, "this is so p-pretty Neil!!! Thank you! Can you put it on my head?"

Neil takes the flower crown from Gabby's hands and places it on her head, securing it on the back with the pins that Jade put inside the box. Once he's done, Gabby bolts toward her bedroom, "I l-look like a princess Neil!" she yells as she comes back. Neil is laughing, happy to see his sister this excited. It had been a while since he last saw her this active. Then she sits down again and takes the box once again, "there's something else inside!"

The carton boxes from the boutique always came with a business card, but this time the thoughtful Jade Miller had decided to add something to it.

"To Gabby, I hope you love the crown. Your brother will forget the names, so here are the drawings of the flowers and their names!
- a friend"

"She can draw too Neil! J-just like me!"

"Yes, she can," quietly whispers Neil, looking at the business card and putting on a shy smile.

"H-y-d-r-a-n-g-e-a-s it's a d-difficult word, I like her handwriting. You have a n-nice handwriting too, are you gonna marry her?" she then asks all of the sudden.

"Oh baby, no. We're friends, we don't even know each other that well."

"You s-should. Mama will l-love her, mama likes flowers. I like her t-too, she seems nice. W-what is her name?" she asks.

"Jade." he says with a little smirk on his face.

"You like her too, y-you smiled when you said her n-name," she chides him.

"I like her, true. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna marry her, Gabby. Now, you look beautiful," Neil's tactic is always the same: avoid something you don't like by changing the topic. The thing is that this time, this is completely the opposite, he likes it too much. So much so that he feels overwhelmed by Gabby's words stating the truth.

Neil Melendez, the one who never allowed himself to truly fall for anyone, was falling. And he was falling fast.

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Hello readers!
I know you don't hear from me often, and that is because I don't like adding comments at the end of the chapters, but today I have to make an exception.

We're almost at one third of the story I have in mind, and almost at 1k views! That's mind-blowing. When I started writing this I didn't think someone would actually stop by and read the thing, I was doing it more for myself than anything, but I'm really happy and honored to have gathered a little following, I see you and I appreciate you. Thank you for the kind messages and the love you show to this fanfic.

I hope this mix of chapters and one shots is to your liking, I love switching between different POVs and I love writing in third person, and one shots allow me to do all of that.

Let me know what you guys think, even the smallest of feedbacks is appreciated!

FYI: announcements are posted in the convo section on my account! So if I'm skipping a day or anything of the sorts, you'll know by just checking there.

I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story, so much is yet to come.
Love,
DD