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

Don't Put It There!

The following days pass in a blur.

Since Neil has suggested he move in with me in my apartment everything has been crazy: I've tried to clean every little corner of my house, but being pregnant with a huge baby hasn't really helped. I called Kelsey to help me, then Tammy and last but not least even Claire, who gladly accepted saying "so I can think about something else."

In the meantime, Neil has been bringing over some of his stuff, mostly work attires, underwear, and toiletries. 

"Don't put it there!" I exclaim when I see where he was about to put his bottle of perfume, "That's Bee's space, it's better if it remains neutral in odor for the time being."

Neil laughs and nods and puts it away in between mine, "You said the same thing last night," he says and I blush (I mean, I love experimenting, but my butt is a no-no and I had to make sure he understood that quickly). He steps outside the bathroom and continues, "we're tight and cozy in here. Let's focus on the bright side."

A heartfelt laughter comes out of me, "yeah, let's focus on that. We can pretend to be... what? Cats or something? The tighter, the better."

"Bunnies are much more fitting animals in our case..."

"Neil!"

"Anyway! I should bring my sofa as well you know, just to make sure we don't have any more floor space to walk on," he says and I burst out laughing again. 

Thinking back on this summer feels weird now. I was constantly crying, not being able to move on after my mum had died, and now I'm living my best life: I have the best friends I could ever ask for, I have the most amazing man by my side, a bun in the oven and a job I love. Of course, all the joys come with a price, that price being Brennan being present again in my life and not being able to do anything about it, but I'm not alone in this. I can overcome this situation just as I overcame everything else.

*

"Has the process been as stressful as it was for me?"

"What do you mean?" I ask Lea, when she comes over one day.

"Shaun was so... Overwhelming when I moved in... moved in, you know? He also told me I was hanging the toilet paper facing the wrong way, can you believe it? I didn't even know there was a right way to hang it! It was a lot to get used to and it stressed me out a little, I perfectly remember getting quite a few pimples during those first few weeks."

"My experience has been... Interesting? I think you could say. The apartment is little as it is, I was already making space for the baby's arrival, but now I have to create double the space, so I also had to take some old stuff to the second hand store a few blocks away from here and I took my time reorganizing... Thank goodness Tammy and Kelsey helped me with that."

"You're lucky Neil isn't breathing on your neck for everything. There had been days where I felt incompetent and wrong. Then I just faced the truth: Shaun isn't blaming me for anything, it's just the way he sees the world and... I love him. So now I try to see the world through his eyes and make adjustments as we go."

"That's so beautifully said, Lea. I'm happy you're finding your balance," I tell her and I see a smile blooming on her face, but the second I say "How's... Everything else going by the way?" alluding to the baby, her face changes.

"I... Wanna keep the baby. I wanna carry this child and bring them to life, but... I've got so many questions and doubts, and concerns and... My parents are coming to town around Christmas time and I have no idea how they'll react when they'll meet Shaun."

"I suppose you don't want to discuss your doubts and such with Shaun..."

"Oh no, absolutely not. He's been suffocating me with information and everytime he opens his mouth saying something about the pregnancy my brain blocks everything out and I feel nauseated. It's... Horrible, but I really need someone I can empathize with, someone who fully understands my feelings even if I'm not saying a word. I don't need him to be a doctor, I need Shaun to be my partner, but he doesn't get it. Not yet," she finishes while also finishing folding up some of my shirts.