Chapter 9

They finally managed to pull themselves apart. Just before Natalie came to show some of the guests Owen's new room, fortunately.

Sarah was still quite in shock. Connor Rhodes liked her. And kissed her. And wasn't about to let her go anytime soon.

"Sarah, there you are! Do you remember where we put the spare balloons?" April nearly knocked into Sarah at the bottom on the stairs and she had to let Connor's hand go while April dragged her off to the kitchen.

"I think we put them…" Sarah talked out loud before searching through one of the boxes and finding the missing objects.

"Oh thank God, Owen's cousins? Cute but they take a lot of energy." April huffed.

"Aww." Sarah tried to sound sympathetic but she found that she couldn't stop smiling. She felt like she was practically floating, while her heart still called Connor's name. April turned back and tipped her head to the side.

"Okay…" She dragged out, "What is up with you?"

Sarah half shook her head, "What…what do you mean?"

"Something happened…" April pointed at her, and a smile grew on her face too.

Sarah shook her head but didn't blame April for suspecting something, she couldn't stop smiling, "No, nothing, I mean, no..." But she had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing with happiness, because it was surreal in the best possible way. After weeks of being in the dark it was like somebody finally turned on the light switch.

Will came into the kitchen, carrying empty plates, "Hey you two" He said while practically beaming at Sarah and she felt like she was a toddler again, after being caught doing something she didn't want to be caught doing. The blush crept into her cheeks, she was never a big fan of PDA.

"What is going on?" April demanded to know.

But Will hand't gone around declaring it to everyone like she expected, just to get a reaction out of Connor. But then it clicked. Hadn't he been in their very position? Liking Nat for so long, she supposed that he wouldn't want everyone shouting about it either. For that, she was grateful, she wasn't sure where her and Connor stood in regards to everyone else.

"I don't know." She said and then excused herself. Because she might be floating, but she started analyzing it all. Just like her sisters had always told her to stop doing. She wondered how they would date with work being involved, what was it going to be like to date him, what would everyone say, would it all fizzle out like it had with Joey? Her smile remained intact but a small frown worked itself onto her face.

She was just starting to look around for Connor when he appeared at her side.

"Hey." He smiled and her frown seemed to disappear, because her heart had never fluttered in her chest like that when Joey had been near her.

"Hey." Her smile just grew, if that were possible.

"So," He said, glancing around, "How long do kids parties usually last?" He raised his eyebrows and she noticed that his smile wasn't going anywhere either.

While she didn't want to run out too early on Natalie, the presence of Connor at her side was very alluring.

"Hey, cake's good." Dr Charles wandered past them, holding his plate up but then stalled and looked back at them. He glanced quickly between the two of them and nodded his head, "Good for you." And kept walking.

"Did everyone know?" She turned to Connor and asked him.

"He's a psychiatrist, he knows things." Connor shrugged.

"As well as Kate. And Mrs Danes. And who knows who else."

"Mrs Danes, the DNR patient?" He asked.

"Yeah that's her" Sarah cursed herself for bringing it up, because she saw the regret flicker across his features, if only for a second. "A lovers tiff she called it. She recommend time together away from work."

"Smart woman." He wove a hand around her waist. "You know there's too much work people here, I mean, I think we should follow patients requests, and we can go grab a coffee…"

"You know, I think I agree." She laughed, "Good plan of action."

"I think so." He then leaned down to whisper near her ear, "Meet you by the door in ten." He then placed a kiss to her temple and went on about saying goodbyes.

She tried to gather her thoughts, and then reminded herself not to fall apart every time he was close. And then she went to find the people she knew, saying goodbye, and nearly jumping for joy when some of Owen's family were leaving too, so her absence wouldn't cause too much notice.

"Thanks so much for your help Sarah." Natalie hugged her, the last person on her list to say goodbye to. Will had just continued to smile at her and told with a wink not to have too much fun.

She turned away and began her walk to the front door, a blush on her cheeks and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Connor standing there, waiting for her. And a smile crept onto his face when his eyes landed on her. And she wondered if it were all real.

He opened the door for her and closed it behind them and fell into step beside her. "So…how does coffee sound?"

"Good, as long as I don't have to make it." She admitted.

"I think that can be arranged." He laughed, guiding her over to his car. She got in and suddenly the silence felt overwhelming, like she would be choked on her own doubts. Where did they stand now? Girlfriend and boyfriend? Causal daters? Were they going to tell people?

"What are your sister's names?" He asked, cutting into the silence.

"What?" She turned from staring ahead of her over to the man that was driving, just an arm's length away.

"You mentioned, last night, that you had younger sisters and you looked like you were thinking too much…I'm just venturing into first date topics..." He said.

"I wasn't over thinking." She argued while he stalled a red light

"You were, you look cute when you do, I can see the cogs turning in your head." They pulled off again and he turned his attention back to the road in front of them, with a smirk was firmly in place.

"Yeah, well, you brood." She realised she sounded like a five year old but she needed a comeback.

"I didn't mean it as an insult Sarah, I admire it about you." He smiled. "What's got you analyzing?"

That was new, mostly because everyone always told her she thought too much, over-analysed and that being a lab geek had suited her.

"You!" And her outburst made him laugh. "And me. Us. I mean I don't know if we should mix this in cardiology, they're only starting to like me. And they were jealous of me before this. But I don't know if you like public displays of affection. I don't know how you want to play this. What if it all fizzles out and we're left not talking again? You won't find me cute when you've spent more time with me…"

"You don't have to worry about." He said firmly, pulling into a free space.

"Well, everyone says I get annoying when I'm stressed and I'm stubborn and I'm giving you a chance to run while you can." Her words were coming out faster than she could process, because her heart was aching, she didn't want to push him away before they even started.

"Well if you don't think I'm as stubborn as hell too then we really do need to re-evaluate this." He said and despite herself, it made her smile. "Do you still want this?"

"Of course." She said, "I just don't like uncertainty."

"You like ED work." He said, before getting out of the car and then around to her side to open her door.

"Yes. But that's logical, I know how to deal with that." She said, standing beside him, "I don't know how to deal with us." She motioned between them. "An hour ago, we weren't talking." She reminded him.

She didn't mean to add her doubts to his. But he scared her, in a good way, and she wanted to be with him. She just wanted to know how they would do that.

Connor was just about to reply when his phone rang. He frowned before answering it.

"Yes. Yes. Alright. Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can." He sighed in frustration before turning to looking at Sarah. "The on-call surgeon has ironically called in sick. They need me in now. I'm sorry. We'll fix this afterwards, I promise."

"It's fine, don't worry about me, I understand, go prep." She practically waved him away.

"Okay." He had a ghost of a smile on his face before kissing her quickly and rushing back down the street to his car. She ambled over to the train station to go home for an hour or two.

It had been three hours and she was starting to miss him. Four hours and even her study couldn't keep her mind occupied and distracted. Five hours later, and it was getting a bit like Joey, and she had given up all pretence of doing anything but wait for him. She had always rolled her eyes and chastised her sisters for going silly over a boy. She had always been a hopeless romantic but her rational side had always won. There was no point waiting over the boys who never paid her much notice.

She wondered if she had pushed him away with all her worries. That wasn't really what people talked about before a first date was it? She was terrified that he wouldn't turn up. That he would push out again.

A knock came to the outside door and one of her housemates opened it. Sarah didn't take much notice of knocks on the door anymore, she never had guests.

"Sarah, it's for you." She was called and left her room, her phone still in her hand, waiting for Connor to call.

"Coming, thanks Lauren." She said, coming around the corner from the stairwell.

"Not a problem." Her housemate smiled mischievously and walked back down the hall, leaving Connor standing by the door.

"Hi." She said, stopping in her tracks. "What are you…?"

"I'm sorry about the delay. Surgery ran over, and Goodwin wanted a word on it, and my phone died, and I wanted to see you, so I figured this was the best thing..."

She smiled and couldn't help it, she closed the space to place kiss to his lips, he had put in effort to see her. Nobody had done that much. It surprised her and calmed her nerves. Because he hadn't ran a mile at her conversation topics. And he hadn't pushed her away again.

"I can get delayed again if that's what happens…" He laughed softly. "I brought coffee and doughnuts." He held up the bag between them.

"Sounds good." She smiled, leading him into the kitchen.

They sat at the breakfast bar and their knees kept knocking off each other, not that she was complaining.

"How was the surgery?" She asked, taking a bite out of her doughnut.

"Complicated." He cringed. "What's your favourite colour?" He turned the conversation and smiled.

"Blue." She laughed softly, "What do you work as?" She rolled her eyes in jest. "This is hardly a first date."

"You're right, I'll bring you out to dinner whenever it suits you." He said, sitting up straighter, his tone becoming more serious.

She scoffed, "I don't trust your choices in food." Then she smiled, needing him to know she was only joking, "No, I meant we know each other…"

"We do." He nodded.

"So…I mean, we can skip the awkward first date thing right? I was never very good at it anyway." She blushed.

"I like making you blush." He said before sipping his coffee.

"What am I supposed to say to that Connor?" She laughed and swatted at his arm.

He shrugged, "I was just making an observation. So you want to keep this low-key in cardiology?"

"I don't want to hide this." He had to know that. "But they are only warming up to me. And you have a lot of admirers there..." She practically mumbled.

"I get it. I never want to ruin your chances Sarah." He said, then he smirked, "So I can't go around telling everyone you woke up in my clothes this morning then?"

She shook her head, "I looked horrendous."

"You looked beautiful." He said, leaning over to kiss her softly.

He didn't move too far away afterwards, something she liked.

"So we just don't go flaunting this around in work." He said. "And I don't think I'll ever get fed up of you." He referenced her earlier worry and it made her heart skip a beat.

"That's a deep conversation for a first date Connor Rhodes." She whispered, their foreheads meeting again.

He chuckled, and she could nearly feel the vibrations in his chest as he did. "Someone mentioned us having to talk…."

"That person sounds smart."

"Very smart." He whispered back.

"But I like the sound of that plan." She confessed, she was glad that she wasn't chasing him away with her worries. That he listened to her.

So she told him the names of her sisters, and what her favourite colour, book and movie was. Because he listened and because he was genuinely interested. She loved the fact that they could swap stories back and forth. And he didn't cut across her. He watched her with eyes that lit up when she got excited and rushed out a long winded story about her two sisters, a neighbourhood cat and the fire brigade.

He told her about his decision to go to medical school, his favourite books, his preference of vinyl over CDs and how his grandfather was his biggest fan, under the tough exterior he had.

He acted distraught when she mentioned not seeing much of the city since she moved there. Either spending her time studying or working, hadn't left her much time to sight-see. She didn't mention that Joey had always thought she was childish for wanting to see the touristy sights, and not just the seminars and specialist museums he had wanted to see.

"Okay, next shift we have off, I'm taking you out for the day. I'll bring you to all the tourist spots, we'll take too many pictures and eat too much food. How does that sound?"

It sounded like music to Sarah's ears.

"That sounds great." She smiled but then yawned. She didn't mean to, but tiredness was setting in. The evening had passed so quick in his company. House-mates had come and gone, the sun had set, and blinds drawn, and she didn't realise how late it was until she yawned. They had been talking for hours and then she remembered that she had volunteered for a double shift the following day.

"I'll take that as my hint to leave?" He smiled.

"No, I'm not bored, I just…" She tried to argue.

"I'm messing Sarah. I didn't realise it was so late, I better get going anyway. I have to check in on my surgery patient before my shift tomorrow anyway." He said, shrugging his jacket back on.

"Yeah, I have a double shift tomorrow. Volunteering for an extra shift had sounded like such a good idea last week." She sighed, following him to the door. She had signed up just so she wouldn't have to think about her previous predicament of trying to avoid Connor.

"It can be tiring alright. You'll take care of yourself though right? Drink lots and rest and don't let the other doctors annoy you." His tone was worried and it made her heart warm, he was worried about her.

"I will, I promise."

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" He smiled.

"Definitely."

"Good." He said before he pulled her close to kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her flush against him and she wound her hands around his neck and into his hair. They only broke apart when air became a necessity and she idly wondered if the effect he had on her would ever fade. But by the hammering of her heart in her chest and the blush in put in her cheeks, she highly doubted it.


AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

I just want to thank everyone who is reading this story, the support is awesome! I wasn't expecting so many people to read my story and I'm delighted you seem to be enjoying it.

I hope I didn't make Sarah too OOC in this chapter, I figure she would be delighted they got together but I thought she would like some clarity. Personally I think jumping from friends to strangers to a relationship would confuse matters a tad.

More chapters coming soon...we're back to Med next!