I was beginning to get fed up. And not with Gabriel, but with myself. Why was I so cruel to him? He was such a nice guy.

"Hey, Ava. I got you your coffee." He said softly, handing me my favourite coffee order.

"Thank you." I sighed, taking the coffee from him.

It had been five months since we'd met in the emergency room and I had an unbreakable record of being horrible to him every time he came around.

I was used to work here now. My schedule had fallen into place and worked well for me. I was getting good amounts of sleep, eating well and even getting some exercise in. But Jordi's wedding was getting closer and for some reason I was beginning to get stressed out about it. My mother really wanted to go, and I felt like I might die if she did.

The only time I was able to forget about it was when I had my mind on the handsome man who couldn't seem to leave me alone. Not that I genuinely wanted him to. I just wasn't sure if I should be bothered or flattered by the fact that he wouldn't take no for an answer. I mean he seemed determined that I was special and right for him, but he also should've been able to understand that I didn't want him when I said no the first time.

Somehow, Gabriel had found out my coffee order as well as the coffee orders of every other doctor and nurse in this department. He brought us all coffee in the morning, and he made sure to get each person their exact order with their names on it and everything.

The man wasn't an idiot, he was smart, he was kind, helpful, handsome, and so sweet. But, for some reason, my brain was malfunctioning a little bit and I kept turning him away. I hated myself for not being able to agree to a date like I'd decided to a long time ago.

He didn't push me, but he asked every day before he left. It was about time I just said yes and gave us both what we wanted. This man was persistent. He showed me that he wouldn't walk away from me easily. I had rejected him over a thousand times already and he still wouldn't go away.

"Hey, Ava... I just need to know if you hate me." He said to me as we stood by the receptionist's desk.

"I don't hate you. I don't really hate very easily." I sighed.

"Alright. Perfect. Then go on a date with me... come on, Ava. I can't be that bad... I mean, what're you afraid of?" He asked me.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I just don't want to date you." I sighed.

"Alright. Well, why is that?" He asked me.

"I don't like it when people can't understand the simple two letter word, no." I told him, remembering the number of times I said no to sex and had Noah continue to pester me about it. Then in the end he just cheated on me.

"I understand the meaning of no. There are certain things that I would immediately drop if you said no to them... but this isn't really fair... you have to give me a little bit of a chance." He sighed.

"No. I don't have to give anyone anything I don't want to give them! Leave me alone!" I said.

"Alright... I'm sorry. I'm gone." He said, turning and leaving the hospital.

Of course, he wasn't actually gone, because he came back the next day, with coffee for everyone, including me. He smiled at me, told me I looked beautiful, and then he talked to Dr. Ferrari and left.

Then the next day, he came to the hospital, he had a bunch of healthy breakfast options for us and all of our coffees. He put them there for us in the breakroom and I found him in there talking to a few doctors.

"Hey! Ava! Come eat with us." Dr. Lee said, calling me over to sit beside her.

I walked over, sitting beside her. She handed me a breakfast wrap and I smiled at it. This man really was perfect, and I hated it.

"Have you met Gabriel, Ava?" Dr. Lee asked me.

"Yes. I have." I sighed, wishing that I'd met him in a different way or that he was a jerk so I didn't have to feel like an idiot about all those rejections.

"I don't think Ava likes me very much." Gabriel chuckled.

"Nonsense, you're too loveable." Dr. Lee told him. "How are Arabella and the kids?"

Arabella?! The kids?! I do not like the sound of that.

My hands started shaking vigorously.

How on earth could he ever ask me out if there was an Arabella... and kids?!

"She's doing great!" Gabriel smiled. "I'll have her come visit with me someday."

"This is a hospital, idiot. Not a social gathering place." Dr. Ferrari said, smacking him on the back of his head with a laugh.

"Do you guys see this? He's such a bully. I'll just have to tell Sophie how mean you are to me." Gabriel said.

Sophie? Kids? Arabella? What is this? And why are those two so close.

"Sophie always takes my side. You're the annoying little brother." Dr. Ferrari said.

"I hate you." Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.

"I haven't seen the girls in forever, how are they?" Dr. Ferrari asked Gabriel.

"They're perfect little angels... Arabella can't relax sometimes though. She's too protective." Gabriel chuckled. "I get it though. She's afraid they'll get hurt if she isn't around."

"She's a mother, Gabriel. Give her a break. And you're even more protective than her. When the other guys hold them you freak out like they're gonna drop them or something." He sighed.

Gabriel chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Leave me alone, Bro." Gabriel said.

I felt hurt. I didn't know what they were talking about, but it sounded like Gabriel had children. I just wasn't sure I even wanted to know what was going on. I had decided that I was right to reject him. But why would Dr. Ferrari find it so normal that Gabriel was asking me out if he knew about all this family stuff.

I was confused, but I convinced myself that I didn't care enough to stick around and listen to it all. I left the breakroom and went to one of the computers behind the receptionist's desk. I just wanted to check some records and imaging before I saw my next patient.

Then Gabriel walked over to me and the receptionist let him come back and talk to me. He brought me the sandwich that I'd left in the room and he smiled down at me.

"Wow... looks.... Lovely. What's your diagnosis, Doc?" Gabriel asked me, pointing to my screen which had an X-ray image on it.

"Arthritis." She said to me.

"Shoot. That's horrible. You can't treat it, can you?" He asked me.

"You can give the patient immunosuppressants to stop the body from attacking their joints.... But anyways, I have work to do." I said to him.

"No 'thank you for the sandwich'? No 'you're so sweet, Gabe'. No asking me to stay a little while longer because you maybe really like me deep down?" He asked.

"Nope. Go away." I said, still very irritated with him.

"Alright, and I assume that means no to coffee with me after your shift?" He sighed.

"Yeah. It's definitely a no... get lost now please." I said to him.

"Cool. See ya." He smiled and I saw Federico smiling at us in amusement.

I knew Dr. Ferrari would never support a man cheating or attempting to cheat on his girlfriend or wife. So why would he support this? I was so confused.

I went to see my next patient, still feeling annoyed. I hated how guys felt so comfortable walking around doing less than decent things. I mean I didn't know for sure that Gabriel was in a relationship, it sure sounded like it though.

Whatever it was, there was something fishy and questionable about him now.

"Good morning." I smiled, walking into the room with my new patient. "I'm Dr. Ava Dara."

The elderly woman smiled at me. She seemed very healthy other than the arthritis.

"Good morning, Dr. Dara." She smiled at me.

"So I've looked over your scans and I've found the root of your problem." I smiled at the lady.

"Perfect. What's going on, Doctor?" She asked me.

"Well, I've noticed that you have arthritis. Which just means that your body is attacking your joints the way that it would attack anything that's foreign to it." I told her.

"Oh dear." The woman said.

"Don't you worry, though. We can start working on treating it. It's not something we've found a cure for, but we can treat it and hope that it helps you out." I told her.

"Alright. What would the treatment look like?" She said to me.

"Well, you'd be put on an immunosuppressant and that would stop your immune system from attacking your joints." I told her.

"Alright. But if it suppresses my immune system, won't it stop me from battling normal illnesses?" She asked me.

"That's a great question. It does suppress your immune system, but it won't be strong enough to stop you from battling a cold or anything simple. And we will be very careful. We're going to have you meet with a rheumatologist and they're going to follow up with your medication closely. You'll be able to contact them at any time if you have any questions or concerns or if something is happening to you that you think shouldn't be." I explained to the woman.

"But it'll take a while to meet with the rheumatologist... right? So what do I do in the meantime?" She asked me.

"Well, let's see." I said, spinning around in my chair and checking on the times I could schedule her with a rheumatologist.

"Alright. So your first meeting with the rheumatologist could be as early as next Monday. Would that work for you? Monday at noon?" I asked her.

"That's perfect." She said.

"Alright. I'll go ahead and schedule that for you, then." I smiled, booking her appointment for her. "And now in the meantime. If you want some relief, I'd say to massage your joints with maybe some oil or something. It'll relieve the ache and make them a little more flexible until you can start taking your medication." I said to her.

"Alright. That sounds great, thank you, Doctor." The woman smiled.

"Perfect. Any other questions or concerns before you go?" I asked her.

"Well... I was wondering if you could check my ear. It's been bothering me." She said to me.

"Alright. Let's see." I smiled, grabbing an otoscope to check her ear.

I checked it and saw evidence of an ear infection. It didn't look like it was too serious or developed.

"Alright, no worries at all. It's a simple ear infection. I'll just get you on some antibiotics for the next little while. If you notice anything becoming more serious with the arthritis you can contact your family doctor." I told her.

"I don't have one." She told me.

"Oh, I see... uhm... here... let me go see if I can find you someone you can follow up with since you haven't yet spoken to your rheumatologist." I said, getting up and opening the door.

"Nurse Andrews!" I called out.

"Yes?" The small brunette asked me.

"Could you see if Dr. Ferrari is free, please?" I asked her.

"He doesn't have any appointments, would you like me to get him for you?" I asked her.

"Yes, please." I said.

The woman was smiling at me kindly. I was glad she was happy with me as a doctor so far. I was still fairly new when it came to handling patients. I liked to see smiles on their faces and know I wasn't a failure like everyone once thought I would be.

Dr. Ferrari came over and I asked him who I could appoint to dealing with her questions. He told me if I thought I could handle it, she could contact me. So I gave her my email and told her to email me if she had questions.

After that, Dr. Ferrari insisted that I go finish breakfast. I did that, but while I was eating, I got a text from someone I thought I'd never have to speak to again. My ex best friend. Jordi.

I looked down at my phone and decided I should actually check what she was saying to me.

J - Hey, you're coming to the wedding, right?

I laughed in disbelief and put my phone on silent. I finished my breakfast and then put my phone in my back pocket for the rest of the workday.

I saw over fifty patients and and then I was finally off work. When I checked my phone on my way home, I found that I had a lot of messages from Jordi.

J - Ava, can you please text me back when you see this message?

J - I'd really love to have you at my wedding.

J - I know that I've messed up, but I really need you, you still are my best friend, even if I'm not yours.

J - Ava, please. Don't throw away all those years of friendship.

J - Alright, if you want to throw away our friendship, then you can do that, but please, I want to talk.

J - Ava.

J - I'm sorry for the horrible things I said to you.

J - You were the only one of all the girls that had her head screwed on straight. The rest of us were being childish and stupid.

J - Ava?

J - Alright, I'll just wait for you to respond. I hope you do.

I sighed as I looked down at the messages. My heart was aching. She didn't sound alright. She sounded like she really needed someone. Jordi would never act this desperate about anything.

"Hey, Ava." I heard Dr. Ferrari say from behind me.

"Oh, hi." I smiled, turning to face him.

"Would you like a drive home?" He asked me.

"Oh no, that's alright. I can walk." I smiled.

"Nonsense. My sister is coming to pick me up. Come, we can drive you." He insisted.

I smiled and saw a curly-haired brunette pull up and start yelling.

"Rico!" She yelled out.

I smiled, seeing how comfortable she was yelling at her brother.

"She's a little annoying, but it's fine. I'm sure you won't find her as annoying as her older brother does." He chuckled.

"Oooh, who's the pretty lady. How would Sophie feel about this?" The woman said.

"God, she's so annoying." Federico chuckled.

"I'm kidding, how old are you, kid?" His sister asked me.

"Don't pester her, Em." He sighed.

"Did I talk to you, Loser? No. I addressed the beautiful young woman beside you." She said to her brother.

"I'm twenty five." I chuckled.

"Ooooh. Do you have a boyfriend?" She asked me.

"No." I laughed.

"Ahah! Strong, single woman with her mind in the right place. I love it!" Federico's sister said, opening the passenger's door and waving me in.

"I'm being shunned to the back. That's fine." Federico sighed.

"Your twin is in the back, it's your duty to sit beside him and let the ladies take charge up here in the front." His sister said.

"You have a twin?" I asked him.

"Sure do." Dr. Ferrari chuckled.

"Forget those idiots, I'm Emelia. What's your name?" His sister asked me.

"I'm Ava." I smiled.

"Are you a doctor?" She asked me.

"I am." I laughed.

"Cool! Get in, Ava. Where do you live?" She asked me.

"Emelia.... you're being so irritating today." A man said.

I turned to see Dr. Ferrari's twin. I could tell it wasn't him because of the way he was whining and looking playful.

"Hi! I'm Ric. The funnier, more likeable Ferrari twin." He told me, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Shut up, Idiot!" Federico growled, smacking his brother on the back of his head.

I love how they all still acted like children around each other.

"So, Ava.... you're single. But are you looking for a relationship?" Emelia asked me.

"Uhm... I guess I wouldn't be opposed to one. I just have trouble trusting men." I told her.

"I don't blame you, honey." She said to me. "But anyway, I have a whole group of amazing men that I could introduce you to."

"Nah, Gabriel has his eye on her." Federico said.

"Ooooh... I support that." Em laughed.

I frowned in annoyance. I still didn't know if he actually had children and a partner or not. I needed to clarify this whole thing before it drove me insane.