Mistakes of our past | Rhekker

Chapter 9- Left in the Dark

"Looks like the universe agrees with you there" Connor chuckled from the dark.
"We won't risk it, we'll do a practice"
Ava peered our the kitchen window across Chicago as one by one the lights went out.
"Looks like a mass power out, 51's going to have their hands full tonight" Ava whispered.
"I'll call my sitter, make sure Sophia's okey"
Ava went into the living room so Connor couldn't hear her Conversation.
"Hello? Goodwin"
"Hi Ava hun, is everything okey over their?"
"Yeah, how are you two holding up"
"We're fine, I got Sophia settled before the black out hit"
"Oh okey, I'll come get her when I can" Ava breathed a sigh of relief
"You will not, their urging everyone to stay in their homes, so don't get any ideas about going to med either, their fully staffed for this. Just stay and Connors tonight and wait it out"

"Okey" Ava agreed, staying the night at Connors was the one thing she was trying to avoid tonight but it seemed like Chicago had other plans for her.
Going back into the kitchen Ava told Connor the news. "Goodwin wants everyone to sit tight, med is fully staffed and traffic lights are out"
"When did you have time to talk to Goodwin?" Connor asked while washing the dishes.
Ava leaned against the doorway, remembering Connors words "Every step of the way you have lied to me Ava".
Ava took a deep breath, knowing she couldn't tell Connor everything, but she could tell him this. "Goodwin is watching Sophia, she's her god mother"

Connor looked deep into her eyes before returning his view to the dishes. "Any reason?"
"She reached out, about a year after I left med. A good friend of her was running Capetown hospital at the time. Mentioned the great new surgeon they had gotten, trained in Chicago. She heard I'd been struggling and offered to be Sophia's god mother"

Connor gave some more short nods as Ava picked up her wine glass. Connor came to join her on the sofa, lighting several candles in silence. They couldn't work on the surgery notes given their was no WiFi, so the pair sat in silence, struggle to think of something to say.
"I hate blackouts" Ava lead her head against the back of the sofa, before exhaling noisily.
"You never had an issue with them when we were dating" Connor stated, remember the first black out they had spent together. They had dinner together on the balcony before several rounds of monopoly on the floor of Connors bedroom and finally falling asleep in each other's arms.

Ava felt a smile creep over her face at the memory, opening her eyes she kept focused in the light fixture above her head. "Sophia was born during a blackout"
Connor looked to Ava, waiting for her to go on. Ava suddenly broke eyes contact with the light above her, shifting uncomfortably. "Sorry, you don't want to hear about" Ava rambled putting her empty wine glass on the table.

"It's fine" Connor assured her. Ava spoke of Sophia frequently when they were alone, but she never delved into their life in South Africa, until tonight.
Returning her head to the back of the sofa Ava began.
"There was a mass black out, heat killed the gird. I was living in an apartment near where my house is now. I was alone, obviously" Ava laughed to herself. Reflecting on her isolated life.
"I was due in a week. I'd just come back from shopping when my waters broke. I was in the stairwell to my apartment block, when the power went out I couldn't get the electric door to open." Ava stoped suddenly, letting out a shaky breath.
"Nearly bled to death in that stair well. If it wasn't for my neighbour, he was a firefighter, went to go check on everyone and realised I wasn't in my apartment. Found me barley conscious and delivered Sophia"

Connor look over to Ava, his heart broken from what he had just head. Ava cheeks where damp as she stared up at the ceiling, the house was dead quiet. So much so Connor questioned if Ava was really here with him.
In one swift movement Connor picked Ava up and pull her onto his lap, rest her head against his chest. Connor felt responsible for what Ava hand been through, if he hasn't of forced Ava out of Chicago, she never would have been left bleeding on a stairwell floor.
Ava rested her head in the crook of Connors neck, running a gentle hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry Avery" Connor whispered into Ava hair.

Ava felt her heart flutter at being called that, Connor was the only one who ever called her that. A sweet term of endearment that Connor had come up with during their first month of dating, a name that was saved for empty doctor lounges and apartments. Connor had only every called her that in public as a tease once during a general surgery, with everyone brushing it off as a new form of rivalry between them.

"It's not your fault" Ava said looking up at him.
"See this is why I hate blackouts" Ava sniffed before breaking into a smile "to many tears"
Ava wiped Connor check lightly with her thumb. "I missed that smile" Connor grinned before planting a lip kiss on Ava's lips. "Connor" she breathed.

Taking her hands in his, "no more lies" Connors said kissing her again. "No more lies" Ava smiled through the kiss. Her lips against his, knowing the deceit that had just fallen from them.

Picking Ava up by the hips he carried her to his bedroom. "I miss travelling like this" Ava joked, snaking her arms around Connors neck. "You'd better get used to it"