So, it was my third day of work at the hospital and two days since the day that man came to the emergency room and now I'm just hearing that the man literally put himself in danger and saved one of the women in the big crash that day.

I was annoyed because now I saw him differently, he seemed like a really good guy all of a sudden. I urged myself to relax and not to think about him.

Gabriel Morelli.

I wondered what he did for a living. Maybe that could give me an accurate representation of what kind of person he was.

I could ask Dr. Ferrari.

But then he'd think I was distracted because of it.

Or maybe he'd understand.

I'm just looking for a relationship and Gabriel seems like he could have potential. So, I could just ask and it wouldn't look like I wasn't focused enough on work, right?

Ugh, just decide what the hell you want, Ava!

"Dr. Dara, one of your patients from the other day has come into the emergency and would like to speak to you." One of the nurses said as I took my first bite of my lunch.

My blood ran cold all of a sudden. I was afraid that I'd messed up in my first week of work and now a patient was coming back to get me.

I'm just going to be fired or something.

I messed up, didn't I?

Maybe I really wasn't cut out for this. Oh, no.

Wait, a patient from when?

"Hold on, who is this patient?" I asked.

"A woman with her kid." The nurse said, making me relax and then freak out again.

I thought it might've been Gabriel for a second and then it turned out it wasn't and the fear of having made a huge mistake came back.

"Do you know what's wrong?" I asked in fear of this sudden and unexpected situation.

"No. Not sure." The nurse shrugged.

I started making my way towards the emergency room, then Dr. Ferrari saw me and smiled.

"What's going on?" He asked me.

"I think I messed up." I said.

"What? How?" He asked me.

"There were these patients from a few days ago that just came to the emergency and now they're asking to speak to me." I said.

"I see. Everything has a solution. Go see them, and relax." Dr. Ferrari said.

Seeing him relaxed made me more relaxed. I went and saw the patients. It turned out the little boy had a little accident and just asked for me specifically because he knew me from last time.

I took a look at what he'd done and found out that he'd been running around his Dad's workshop barefoot. His mother was very worried, but I assured her it was alright and it was nothing major. He had a nail in his foot.

It wasn't bleeding, which made sense, since the nail was still in there.

"Alright, Little Guy. Have we learned never to go into Dad's workshop without permission?" I asked him.

"Yes." He cried.

"It's ok, Sweetie. It's nothing to worry about." I assured the little guy.

"What about getting sick?" He asked me.

"Getting sick?" I asked him.

"Yes. My teacher told me that if you get cuts and they get dirty that you can get sick... that's why you need to use that stuff that makes it sting when you get cut." The little boy said.

"Your teacher is right. But I'm going to make sure it's all clean and all wrapped up nicely so that you don't get sick... but I promise not to let it sting this time, because I have doctor magic that your teacher doesn't have." I chuckled.

"Can I get a Batman bandaid?" He asked me.

"Yes you can." I nodded with a smile.

I got to work quickly, taking the nail out as quickly as I could. It was in there pretty deep, but luckily it wasn't bleeding, which was definitely a good sign. I disinfected it anyway and I asked about his immunization history. His mother said she was pretty sure he has his tetanus shot, but I checked his medical record anyway.

Turns out he did have the shot and he was good to go. I had an MRI of his foot taken just so I could check for sure that there was nothing missed, his mother was the kind to like everything checked out and I would do that for her.

His MRI was all clear, no fractures or anything wrong. I bandaged it up nicely for him and put a huge Batman sticker on the bandage. I told his mother to make sure that he kept the foot fairly clean until it was healed properly. Then I gave him a little lollipop and let him go with his mother.

She was very happy with how he was doing since he was only limping slightly when he left. I warned her that he might have difficulty walking on it for the next few days, but he seemed to be doing well.

"Mr. M!" The boy called out happily, rushing over to a tall man in a light blue hoodie.

"Jay!" I heard the man chuckle, but the sound of his voice was awfully familiar and made me sigh, wanting to disappear.

I still hadn't decided what my opinion of Gabriel was and he was already back. I wished I'd had more time to make up my mind about what I wanted to say.

"That doctor was nice! She told me you were right about the dirty cut making you sick!" The kid said.

"Did she?" The man chuckled.

"Yeah! Are you hurt, Mr. M?!" The kid asked.

"No." He answered.

"Well if you're ever hurt, you should go to that nice doctor! She makes it not hurt so much! She also has Batman stickers!" The kid said happily.

"Hello, Mr. Morelli." The woman said to Gabriel.

"Hello, Ma'am... is everything alright?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, this little one just went to Dad's workshop without asking and he wasn't wearing any shoes, so he got a nail in his foot." The mother sighed, sounding exhausted.

"Hm... I thought we already had a lesson on how important it is to listen to Mommy and Daddy even though it might seem annoying." Gabriel said, melting my heart.

"I know. I was just too excited." The little one said.

"I know how you feel... I'm a pretty clumsy guy too sometimes." Gabriel chuckled, getting up from his crouched position and ruffling the little boy's hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. M!" The little one said happily.

"You sure will!" Gabriel chuckled before turning to me.

I quickly turned away from him and I heard him approaching but didn't turn around.

"A beautiful, smart doctor who's good with children?" He asked me, shaking his head.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked with a sigh.

"There's nothing wrong with it... there's a lot right with it though." He said, going to lean against the desk that was still a meter away from him.

He almost fell on his face when he missed the desk, but then he caught himself and turned red, smiling at me.

"You're really strange, you know that?" I asked him.

"Thank you, Doc." He smiled.

I sighed, not really having meant that as a compliment. I was annoyed that he was so cute. I mean did he have to be a complete idiot but also be one of the most adorable people I'd met.

"Hey, Doc... I have a problem.... I think it's medical." He said to me.

"Oh... really?" I asked him.

"Yes. Can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked.

"Sure, what's going on?" I asked, deciding to humour him.

"Well, it only seems to happen around one specific doctor." He said, smiling brightly.

I sighed and crossed my arms, turning to him in slight annoyance.

"My heart just skips a beat whenever I see her and I just can't help but lose my mind a little." He told me.

"You're irritating." I sighed.

"What's your diagnosis, Doc?" He chuckled.

"My diagnosis?" I asked. "Let's see... have you heard of apoptosis, Mr. Morelli?"

"Isn't that cell death?" He asked.

"It's when your cells actually program themselves to die. It's basically cell suicide... and I think that your brain cells are so fed up with your weirdness, that they're programming themselves to die." I told him.

"You're really mean." He pouted at me. "But your insults are the best insults I've ever heard."

"Why are you here?" I asked him.

"To watch you fail at flirting with me." He chuckled.

I just stared at him, making him aware how unimpressed I was.

"Fine... To bring my brother some lunch. I heard you would be around here and I thought I'd come see you... ask you if maybe you'd be interested in a simple coffee date... but I guess since your diagnosis is apoptosis in my poor brain cells, I have my answer." He laughed.

"I don't understand why you bothered coming here. I don't date patients and I already said no." I sighed.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be like... creepy or anything. I just really think there could be something between us. And I'm not a patient, not yours anyway." He told me.

"Why do you want a date so badly? Because I'm pretty?" I asked.

"I'm glad you're aware of it... I want to be with you because of that and other things as well." He told me. "But how do I know we would actually work without getting to know you? That's why I want to take you out just once."

Suddenly, my watch beeped, meaning I had a patient to see or I was needed somewhere.

"Ah, duty calls. I'll see you around, Doc." He said to me, smiling and walking away.

My God! Why is he so... perfect?!

"Hey, Dr. Dara!" I heard someone call me.

I turned to face the nurse and they handed me a clipboard. It was time forget this man and get to work. It was a lot easier not to think about people when you had lots to do. That's why it was a good idea to move out and live on my own while doing medical school. All the things that happened to me in the past couldn't haunt me when I had a billion things to do at all times.

Sure, I had a few mental breakdowns, but that's normal for most medical students. It would have been easier if my parents moved with me, but even then, it would've been harder to forget everything that happened.

But I loved what I did now, I had achieved my goal of becoming a doctor and I was ready for a relationship. I wanted one really badly. But I was very skilled in the art of self sabotage. And while this amazing man was presenting himself to me and offering me exactly what I wanted, I was turning him down and being quite rude. Somehow he tolerated it.

I don't know why I was so defensive. He was just so cheeky and it scared me a little. I wished he'd be a little more serious. But it was all fun and jokes and sometimes it felt like it might always be that way. I needed someone who could be serious for me at times.

I knew that eventually things would work out for me, I didn't know if Gabriel would be who I decided to open up to, or if it would be someone else. But I hoped it would be someone like him.