Getting back to "Normal" | Rhekker

Chapter 59- The trunk

He knocked on the door and after a few beats it swung open.
"Connor" Ava smirked, having a feeling he would come over but was still superised non the less. She held her hand out between them and Connor took it, pulling him into the apartment. Ava helped him quickly discharged of his jacket and scarf, draping it around her own neck instead. Their lips found each other immediately and Connor wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against the wall.
"Connor" she exhaled, his scarf tickling her neck.
"I love you" he breathed against her neck, her hand tangled in his hair.
"My girl"
Ava met his lips with an , "I love you"
"I'm-"

"I'm so sick and tired of this!" Lankin complained.
"Huh, oh yeah" Connor muttered having not been following the convosation.
"The ED has been under staffed for weeks, if we keep this up our numbers are going to fall, I'm telling your Rhodes. I would stand for this!" He took a rough sip of his coffee.
"Good talk" Lankin patted his arm before leaving the Doctors lounge.

Connor rubbed the space between his eyes, making himself yet another cup of coffee to keep him going. Checking on some of his patients on his tablet. He made a stop of a few of Ava's long term patients, he'd made a point of visiting in her absence.

Connor rubbed his eyes as he came out of another treatment bay, his pager buzzing.

Dr. Rhodes to the morgue

Connor scratched his head, reading the messed over and over again. He couldn't think of why he'd be needed in the morgue, he'd had a few patients die within the last week so he figured it must be on of their families wanted to talk about it. Connor got the elevator down to the morgue and pushed through the double doors.
"Dr. Nina" he greeted the pathologist.
"Dr. Rhodes" she said solemnly, "this way" she lead him down a corridor.
"Is everything alright Doctor..." Connors voice trailed off as he spotted Jay and Voight at the end of the corridor.
"Jay, Hank, is everything alright?" Connor sped up ahead of Nina.
"Doctor Rhodes, we'd like to bring you in here" Nina nudged him into a room.
Connor legs went rigid as he spotted the figure under the sheet in front of him.
"What is this?" He turned to the three people with him, "what is this!"
"We recovered a body from a burned out car off the 55. We suspect-"
"Ava" Connor said in his head, afraid to voice his thoughts. Everything around him went quiet as he focused on him and the corpse.

"Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Rhodes" he felt a hand on his arm and flinched away.
"Dr. Rhodes did you hear what was said" Nina said softly.
Connor looked from her to Jay and back.
"Do you want to try identifying the body?"
Connor took a moment to think about it, identify, body, Ava, Ava, Ava.
"Yes" Connor said quickly, stepping forward.
Dr. Nina nodded to the two officers and moved to pull the sheet back.
Connor winced at the sight, turning his head away he forced it back to analyse what he was looking at. The body was burned beyond recognition and Connor through he was going to vomit at the sight, the neckline of his shirt suddenly to tight. Everything was wrong in this room, it was too bright, and cold but Connor felt he was burning from in inside out.

"These were recovered from the body" Jay swallowed hard, holding out a clear evidence bag with the burned remains of a hoodie in it. Connor took it in his hands, he remember giving it to Ava, it had been Ava's. Connor glanced back at the body, holding the bag in one hand he reach out to touch her hand.
"Do you have a cause of death?" Connor said in a voice he didn't even register to be his.
"We're not certain yet, we think a mix of exposure and hypothermia. But their were bullet holes found in the back of the truck"
Bullet holes

Connor closes his eyes his he remember the heavy weight of the gun in his hand as he fired at that car. He rubbed a circle on the back of her hand and swallowed the bile in his throat, "It's not Ava" he said gently.
"What" Jay started.
"It's not Ava" he retorted.
"It's not her, her hands aren't the right size and her frame is different, her legs. It's not her"
"Connor" Jay interjected.
"It's not her" he stressed.