Y/n was moody, tired and hopelessly in love. Her feelings for Dr. Melendez were taking over her mind, but she couldn't let them be a distraction. Her job was very important to her, and even though she worked for and with the invader, she had to keep it from affecting her job. 

"Y/n, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Claire sighed, having noticed her rubbing her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Claire. I've just had a rough night, and this headache is adamant in staying. I'm sorry, can you repeat?" 

"Why don't you just tell him?" That seemed to have waken Y/n up. 

"Tell who, what?" She answered, trying to cover up the fact that she knew who the 'who' was, and what the 'what' was. 

"Y/n, you know what I'm talking about. Maybe Dr. Melendez hasn't noticed, but I have. You like him, and it's clearly affecting you." Claire insisted, making Y/n look down. It was useless telling him, he would never feel the same. And he was her boss, it would be wrong and problematic in more ways than one. 

"Claire, I-" She paused, not even trying to deny it, more like trying to name her conflictory emotions and feelings. She knew Claire was trustworthy, and not a word of what would be said would be out of that room.  "- it's just wrong, you know? He's our superior and the chances of him liking me back are zero to none. So, I'm saving myself the pain and humiliation of his rejection."

"You would nev-"

"The scans are ready." Shaun interrupted them, kind of relieving Y/n from the conversation. Claire gave her a look, meaning the conversation wasn't over. "You smile a lot when you are around Dr. Melendez." Murphy pointed out, earning a laugh from Claire.
The damn trifecta.

*-*-*-*

"Me and my team will make sure everything happens accordingly." Dr. Melendez explained the procedure to the patient, who listened attentively. "Of course, there are risks, but we are confident we can help you get your life back." 

After discussing a few last details, Shaun, Dr. Melendez and Y/n got prepped for the surgery. 

"Alright, Dr. Murphy, you wanna do the honors?" Dr. Melendez offered, which made Y/n smile. She knew how much Shaun was longing to be respected and recognized as a competent surgeon, and that just seemed to boost his confidence. 

"I would very much like to do that. Scalpel, please." 

The rest of the surgery went smoothly, but it left them totally exhausted. 

"You should tell him." Shaun piped in, as Y/n and Claire made their way out to the parking lot. 

"Jesus, Shaun, a head's up next time." Claire chuckled. 

"You should tell him." He insisted, making Y/n's inner turmoil more difficult to manage. 

"Shaun, stop, please. I'm not going to. It's pointless, he doesn't like me back. And I'm not even supposed to like him, it's not right. "

"You can't control who you have feelings for, Y/n." Claire butted in.

"No, I can't. But I can control what I do with them. Depending on me, he will never know."

"What if it gets too much for you?"

"I don't know, maybe I'll resign and go to another hospital."

"You want to resign?" His voiced boomed from behind, startling the three residents. They all turned around, now scared of how much of the conversation he had heard. 

"Dr. Melendez, hi!" Y/n said, nervously. He just kept looking at her, brows furrowed, expecting her to continue. "No, of course, I won't resign. It was a joke, I love working here!" 

"Are you not happy here?" Dr. Melendez insisted, having trouble believing in her answer. 

"I am, Dr. Melendez. I was just messing with Claire and Shaun." Y/n answered, which seemed to relieve some of the worry plastered on the attending's face. 

"You know, if there's anything bothering you, you have to tell me. As your superior, it's my duty to help." Y/n couldn't lie and say his words didn't affect her, but then she remembered he was saying that as her superior. Professional. Looking around, she noticed both her colleagues were nowhere to be seen. Just great, she thought. 

"There's is nothing bothering me, Dr. Melendez. But thank you." She smiled, and surprisingly, he smiled back. 

"I wouldn't want you to go, you know?" He said, in a low voice, as if he didn't want Y/n to hear his vulnerable stance. At the sound of his words, her heart hammered inside her chest. 

"Really? Dr.Melen-"

"Our shift is over, we're out of the hospital. We can go first name basis, don't you think?"

"I mean-" She stuttered. "I guess so." She smiled, blushing slightly. 

"Wanna grab a bite?"

"Why not?" 

*-*-*-*

"Y/n L/n, 29 years old. Multiple fractures, possible head trauma." Two paramedics announced, warning everybody on the ER. Shock took over the hospital staff, once they saw Y/n being brought in a gurney, unconscious and bloody. Jared was the first one to snap out of his trance.

"What happened?" Claire asked, having joined Jared to intervene on Y/n. 

"Car crash. Circumstances are being investigated, but eyewitnesses said the other driver ran a red light." One of the paramedics explained, leaving both residents stunned.

"Alright, let's move, let's move! Page Dr.Lim!" Jared shouted out.  

"Hey, what's going on?" Seeing the commotion, Dr. Melendez wondered what was going on. He had just started his shift and his pager was clear of any calls and warnings. When he got closer, he felt like the floor had fell under him. 

"Y/n..." He whispered, almost not believing what he was seeing. He tried to compose himself, she needed him to be alright, so he could help her. 

Exams, blood work and other medical procedures later, Y/n was out of danger, much to everyone's relief. Everybody liked Y/n, but the people she worked closely with genuinely cared for her. 

"Look who's awake." Jared said, grabbing the attention of everyone gathered in Y/n's room. 

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Claire asked, carefully, trying not to overwhelm her right away. Looking around, Y/n felt weird. She saw her residency friends and Dr. Lim. Why was she in the hospital?

"What happened?" Y/n asked, groggily. 

"You were in a car crash. " Jared explained. 

"Your three bottom left ribs are fractured, you have a mild concussion, your left shoulder was dislocated, but already put in place and you have bruising on your left thigh." Shaun listed the damage sustained, earning a chuckle from Y/n. 

"Thanks Shaun."

"Good news is that you are going to be ok. The healing will take some time, but you're a tough cookie." Dr. Lim reassured her with a smile. 

"That you are." Dr.Melendez added, getting into the room. Just by seeing him, Y/n instantly felt better. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. A bit sore, and still trying to process everything."

"We, hum, we have some rounds to make, right?" Dr.Lim interfered, gathering the other doctors to leave the room. 

"Thanks for taking care of me." Y/n said, gratefully, as they were exiting the room, leaving her and Dr.Melendez alone.

"How long do-"

"You scared me, Y/n." 

"What?"

"I-" He paused, not really making sense of his feelings, but not being able to hold them inside anymore. "I can't lose you. Just the thought of anything happening to you-" He took a deep breath. " I can't."

"Dr.Mel-"

"Neil." He corrected, laughing slightly.

"Neil." She repeated.

"I know it's wrong, I know the policies and guidelines, but honestly,  is it so wrong to give into what the heart wants?" Neil proclaimed, his eyes never leaving hers, showing the vulnerability and emotion that matched his words. 

"And what does it want?" Does it want the same as hers did?

"It wants you. I want you." Neil confessed, feeling both relieved and frightened. It was out there, there was nothing that could be done now. Y/n wasn't expecting him to feel the same way, and hearing him saying that sent her into an emotional rollercoster. 

"Neil, I-" He looked at her, expectant, and what he saw tugged on his heart strings. If he wasn't already in love with her, he just fell deeper. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears, but she wore the most beautiful smile. "I just can't believe it." She laughed, incredulously. "I swore that I would never act on my feelings for you." Y/n admited. "And it was killing me to keep them to myself. But-" She paused, taking a difficult deep breath. "- I want us to give it a try." Hearing those words made Neil the happiest man on earth. He gently took her hand in his, trying not to hurt her, the mere gesture being enough to break big smiles on their faces, their happiness hard to contain.

"Shaun was right, after all. You really have a crush on me." Neil admitted jokingly, but with a proud undertone in his voice. Y/n blushed furiously, laughing slightly. 

"I thought I wasn't being obvious. I guess he took the flirting classes Claire gave him too seriously." 

The damn trifecta.