Rhekker | We are one with you (Rhekker story)

A little carelessness

 thirteenth week

As soon as the emergency room shift was over, Connor was called in for emergency surgery, and Ava stayed in the locker room, a little slack. They were going to have dinner in a quiet, cozy cafe after work on the eve of the New Year , and now she had to go home alone.

Natalie, who came in at this moment, noticed her depressed mood, giving her a knowing look: "Ava, your pair of sweaters with Connor is a real charm. I will now try to persuade will to buy us something similar". The attempt to cheer her up was successful.

Forgetting about wool sweater with the reindeer, Ava ran her hands gently over it, just touching her belly. Natalie just smiled: "Baby Rhodes is growing, isn't he?" 

Ava nodded, looking down lovingly, returning her smile in an instant. After all, Connor had promised to finish quickly, which meant they would still be together until midnight.

"Happy New Year, Nat" Ava smiled gratefully as she slung her backpack over one shoulder and headed for the exit. 

The last week of the year was so slow and smooth that Ava felt like she was in a happy dream. In the morning, she was no longer sick, and for the rest of the day, her physical condition did not fail. In general, it seemed that their baby thought to give a little rest to his mother. 

 Deciding it would be best to take a taxi home and leave the car with Connor, Ava headed closer to the road. Without stopping, she tried to call a taxi through the app, noticeably frowning when she saw the high demand for it. Of course, it was the last hours of the year, and everyone wanted to get home as soon as possible. Sighing, Ava shoved the phone back in her pocket, turning back to the hospital. The idea of sitting in the car until Connor arrived didn't seem strange. That's why Ava went to the parking lot. It was cold outside, and the main thing was that the morning snow had melted, and now it was frozen again, now it turned into a terrible ice, burdening walking.

After taking a couple of steps, only for a second looking at the boy, who screamed loudly, startling her, Ava lost her balance and only felt her right leg turn on the ice. Leaning sideways, afraid to touch the hard surface with her whole body, she managed to grab the hood of a car.

Ava couldn't get up because of the sharp pain in her leg. There were even tears in her eyes. Unconsciously, one hand touching her stomach, she continued to lean on the car, not knowing how to move.

"Ava! What happened?" Natalie ran up to her, barely managing to avoid slipping on the ice as she caught her arm. Will came up after her, helping Ava on the other hand, is also taking a hand. 

"I slipped badly" Ava breathed in frustration, squinting at the pain, but patiently pursing her lips. 

"Okay, let's check it out" Natalie nodded gravely, leading the affected to an empty exam room, nodding to Maggie to notify Connor as soon as possible. 

Carefully placing Ava on the bed, will helped her stretch out her leg, removing her boot, also carefully feeling the sore spot. 

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Natalie asked worriedly, seeing Ava's frightened hand pressed to her belly.

"No, I don't think so, I mean, I didn't fall" Ava muttered incoherently, biting her lip, gasping as will checked her ankle and then applied a cold compress to it.

"Congratulations, Dr. Rhodes, you have the most common dislocation" chuckled good-naturedly Halstead. He was visibly nervous about Ava himself.

"That's good" Natalie breathed, squeezing Ava's hand and smiling at her. She decided to check on the baby just in case, so she ran a quick scan, also exhaling with relief, not noticing any abnormalities. 

"I was so scared, thank you for helping me" Ava said quietly, feeling the headache that was the result of the recent incident.

"It's good that we noticed you and that everything was fine" Halstead nodded, putting his arm around Natalie's waist, still looking at the woman with concern.

"You can go home. I fell so badly, right on the holiday, so I don't want to keep you any longer" Ava said guiltily, immediately interrupting the objections of her friends: "I'll stay here until Connor is free, so you can go".

"Be careful" Natalie agreed as she and will left the room, exchanging a brief account of what had happened to Maggie.

Ava exhaled noisily and lay down on the bed, closing her eyes. Thanks to the cold, her ankle hurt less, and that was good. The fatigue of the entire work shift made it clear that Ava had fallen asleep. 

Feeling a warm hand on her palm, Ava slowly opened her eyes to meet Connor's worried gaze. His tousled hair and the fact that he was still in the doctor's uniform showed how scared he was when he ran to her right after the operation.

"Connor, I..." Ava's voice was weak after the dream, which made the man even more worried.

"I know you'll say you're fine, but you're not. Your ankle swelled up and you almost fell. You could have been hurt more, Ava" Connor interrupted, squeezing her hand without breaking eye contact. 

"I was afraid for the baby" Ava sobbed, immediately finding herself in the necessary embrace, going limp in them.

"I was afraid for you two, my girl" Connor whispered, kissing her hair, soothing her, running his hand down her back. 

When Ava stopped crying, Connor got out of bed to wrap a tight bandage around her ankle. He constantly watched ava's changing emotions, seeing that She was in pain, he tightened the special bandage less. 

"That's it, now let's go home" Connor smiled a little, seeing that his beloved was still tense. 

"You didn't change" Ava reminded him, seeing that he was putting a jacket on top of it.

"It's okay, I'll change at home" Connor chuckled, not wanting to leave Ava alone. So he helped her put on her coat, picking her up easily without even letting her try to walk on her own. 

Carefully exiting the hospital, he lowered Ava into the front seat of the car, gently buckling her seat belt as he got behind the wheel. It was one hour until midnight when they reached the house. 

 Ava knew that there was nothing at home, because they were planning to celebrate the holiday at the cafe, but when Connor carried her inside, she blinked in surprise when she saw various dishes sitting on the table next to the sofa in the living room.

"When did you make it?" was all Ava asked, smiling happily. Connor sat her down carefully, helping her undress, handing her a prepared black evening dress that she was going to wear at the cafe. 

"I ordered food when I went to the operation, because I was afraid that we would not have time to go to the cafe. Only I thought you were going to pick up the food, but you ended up in a hospital bed, so I asked Will" Connor smiled, leaving a light kiss on her lips, finally getting rid of his work clothes.

"Don't tell me you're hiding the keys to our house in some typical place, like under a rug?" Ava laughed at Connor's skeptical look. "Seriously, Connor?"

"Not under the rug" Connor grumbled, unable to help but smile. He leaned over to light the candles on the table, then turned on the lights and TV throughout the house, adding to the new year's atmosphere.

"Thank you" Ava said, pressing her lips to Connor's, putting all her boundless love into the kiss. 

"Happy New year, honey" Connor smiled as they drank juice instead of champagne, looking happily into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Connor Rhodes" Ava breathed, kissing him again and again, forgetting everything except the sound of fireworks outside the window.