Normal | Rhekker

Chapter 2- That Someone In The Crowd

Connors plane landed in J.F Kennedy international airport and he stepped off it into the warm New York air. It was late August and the air was crisp and dry. The trip to New York was some sort of an impulse, he was up for an award for best male CT surgeon. He'd been given time off to attend the event but hadn't planned on going. He needed some time to get away from Chicago.

Connor felt a warm sensation in his chest as he entered his hotel room, this was the closeted he'd been to Ava in years and he hadn't even told her he was coming. He opened the window to his room and unpacked his things. He was only here for four days before returning to Chicago to get some things in order at home. Connor got changed a loosed button down shirt and some shorts being going out on the town. He hadn't been to New York since his collage days, his mother had taken them for Christmas every year for a week before she died. Connor walked through the streets now, visiting some old shops. He wandered into a flower shop he'd spotted near his hotel.

"Hi"
"Hello there, what can I get for you?" The man behind the counter asked.
"Can I get a bouquet of orange crythsamumns" he asked, fiddling with his wallet,
"Of course, are they for a family member, partner?"
"Old friend" Connor nodded.
"Ah, there you go sir" he handed him the bouquet and Connor paid with his card. Connor got the train over to Matthaten, tapping his foot as the train sped along the rails. The trained stopped and he got off, walking to the entrance to Langone. Connor ran a hand through his hair and walked through the ED doors.

"Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Ava Bekker, is she in today?" He asked at the nurses station.
"Yes, I'll check where she is for you, can I ask your relationship to her?"
"I'm a friend" he smiled.
"Okey, well it looks like she's in the psych ward" the nurse read out.
Connors face fell into a cold panic, "oh, not like that, she volunteers there, helps out with painting classes on her breaks"
"I think someone close to her was admitted at some point" the nurse explains quietly.
"Oh, right, thank you" Connor breaths a sigh of relief.
"Go up the lift to the ninth floor and take a left" she directed him.
"Thank you" he walked down the hall.

Connor hit the button in the lift and was lifted into the sky. The doors pinged opened and he stepped out, looking around the halls. Connor heard the a door swing open down the hall and he looked up. Ava had just stepped out of a room, wiping her hands with a cloth she ran her hand through her short blond curls. Connors mouth hung slightly open in awe, there she was. Someone followed Ava out and she turned to face them, smiling softly. Ava said something to him with a smile and he laughed at what she said. Ava touched his arm briefly before moving to turn down the hall and Connor quickly turned back into the lift, hitting the down button rapidly.

Connor hurried back into the ED, "hi, sorry she was in a meeting, can you give these to her when she comes down"
The nurse looked to the women next to her, the head nurse.
"Sure" the nurse sighed, waving her hand as she wrote something down.
"Thank you" Connor hurried out of the hospital and back onto the train.
Connor ran a hand through his hair, placing a hand on the back of his damp neck. He didn't know what came over him, but he couldn't do it, he could go say hi to her. Connor internally groaned at his actions, knowing he didn't even leave a note.

When he got back to his hotel he showered and began getting ready for the award ceremony. He cleaned up his beard, put on his navy suit and cufflinks. The events started at seven thirty and Connor was there just on time, the room already filling up with people. He ordered a drink and slipped away at, he spoke to serval surgeons who recognised him or he Recognised.

"So where did you say you were from again?" A surgeon he had met at the bar asked.
"Gaffney, Chicago"
"Ah yes, you have that hybrid OR room, the new technology we come up with is wonderful, isn't it"
"The fields really changing everyday with all the new technology we have" Connor took a sip of his whiskey. Connor sensed a familiar smell in the air, turning his head slightly before someone bumped into him from the other side.
"Sorry" the women apologised, touching his arm briefly.
"That's..." Connors voice trailed off as he watched the women walk through the crowd, leading another women by the hand.
Ava