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

Tequila Boom Boom

I hear my phone ringing, I look out the window and I see Claire waving at me, she's waiting for me outside her car so I take my coat, scarf and hat and I get ready to head out.

"Hey Claire," I chat while making my way to her car, "feeling any better?"

"I'll be better with a couple of shots into my system. Melendez called literally thirty minutes ago and gave me and Shaun a day off tomorrow, so I'm getting as many as I can."

"Only thirty minutes ago?" ugh, that man. 

"Yeah... I wonder what made him change his mind like that," she banters while giving me a side eye, I roll my eyes and we get into the car, she starts the engine and we're on the road.

*

"Shaun! Over here!" Claire puts her hands in the air trying to get Shaun's attention. He is with a short brunette, the famous Lea I can only guess. 

"Hi Claire, hi Jade. This is Lea, my girlfriend," Shaun introduces us to his girlfriend and then we're all sitting at the table. Immediately Lea takes over the situation.

"What do you say if we start off the night with the heavy, sad stuff and then we try to move on with the help of alcohol?" she is so forward, so lively and... so different from Shaun that I have a hard time believing they're together for real, but from the looks they share, it's impossible to deny the fact that something is there, and they're loving it. 

Claire nods to Lea's suggestion and starts talking, but not before taking a deep breath, "we were operating a six years old boy this morning. It was supposed to be an easy surgery, one hour in the OR, nothing more, quick recovery," I see tears in her eyes, and Shaun... Shaun is looking at something, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover that he isn't really seeing anything. Then Claire continues, "then his heart stopped. No warning signs, it just... stopped. We were halfway through the surgery, and we had to stop everything in order to try to reanimate him. We ceased trying after nearly fourty minutes to absolutely no avail."

"I've been thinking about what could have gone wrong all day, and the only conclusion I got to is that he had an old heart. Literally. No one knew, 'cause it probably worked just fine until the anesthesia," Shaun interjects, "Dr. Melendez was right, there was nothing we could have done to prevent it."

Claire and Shaun share a quick glance, then we order our drinks.

"Now that all of that is out... We try to move forward," says Lea, but then she's also looking at me, like she needs help.

"Yes, we try to move forward, but before that... we are sorry guys. It most definitely wasn't your fault and we're sure you tried everything in your power to make it go the right way," I say and Claire snorts, but then she also adds, "thank you. Now, can we do what we actually came here to do?"

*

"Shall we play a game?" Lea asks. 

"What kind of game? I don't agree to any game if I don't know the rules first," says Shaun pragmatically. 

"Let's do... Never have I ever!" Claire exclaims, her alcohol level already high. 

"But if I can't drink..."

"You can drink whatever you want, your punishment will be having to go peeing every five minutes for the next eight hours," guffaws Claire.

"Ha ha ha, funny. But I'm in. I'll start," I take a few second to think about what I wanna say and then I go, "Never have I ever... played strip poker."

Claire and Lea gulp down their shots, "college rules," the two say at the same time. Claire's next.

"Never have I ever... faked sick from work." This time around Shaun is gulping down his shot, and Lea follows shortly after. But I'm so surprised about Shaun faking sick that I need to know more.