Only Us

Chapter 11

Fall had arrived and with it, the chill of the Chicago weather, more so Connor's birthday was also around the corner and Sarah was going crazy to try and make everything perfect for him, they had officially decided to move in together and she knew he was struggling to come to terms with leaving his friends.

The only family he'd ever known since he was 16 years old.

The move wouldn't take long; they had found this nice apartment near the clinic and near enough to the Halstead household.

Friday though, Connor thought it would be a good idea to take the kids out for ice cream, he had Arthur drive them and as he sat across Owen, Connor felt as if he was about to have one of the hardest conversations of his life.

"But why can't Sarah move in with us? She can stay in your room." Owen was saying. Connor tried to look at this the kid's way, he should have accepted Natalie's offer to come with them because he was sure he'd cave in.

"Uncle Connor is going to marry Sarah Owen… that's why." Lily reasoned beside her brother. Owen rolled his eyes.

"You are?"

"I don't know buddy, but if that happens, it's because I love Sarah and I do."

"I love her too Uncle Connor." Lily chipped in.

Connor had Emma on his lap as he fed her ice cream. "I know Lils."

"I, I mean I like her too, she's nice and doesn't look at you like something is wrong. I hate when people look at you like that, but...I don't want you to go."

"I know, it's not going to be easy at first bud, but you can come over anytime, okay?" Owen nodded but Connor knew he wasn't entirely convinced.

Yet, he would take that as a victory.

Claire had wrangled up a moving team to make the transition easier, she knew Connor had always watched people beingable to carry things over and it made him feel useless, especially, because when he had been younger, he had been their mother's special helper, even with all the people working at the house.

"So, I think that's the last of it." Sarah said, sighing as she joined Connor on the couch, after placing a small box on the kitchen counter.

Bass was by Connor's feet, refusing to go back into his bed, he too resented change. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Connor said with a smile. "I'm just worried about Owen."

"Babe, we did tell him he could come visit anytime, he's going to be okay, he just needs to get used to the idea.

Connor had been there though, when Natalie had gotten pregnant, when she had broken down because at 21, she didn't know if she'd be able to balance medical school with raising a baby on her own, not after what had happened with Jeff.

Then, Will, the guy who had been in love with Natalie forever, Jay's big brother had been her best friend, helping her through medical school and babysitting whenever he could. Connor had always been grateful to Will but was too proud to admit it, the guy always seemed to get under his skin and yet he had always been there for him, even if sometimes, it had been reluctantly.

But Will had been able to do what Jeff couldn't and for that, Connor would always respect Will Halstead.

Sarah's hand at the back of his head called his attention back to her. "So, my Mom is coming to Chicago on business and wants us to go out to dinner."

Connor smiled. He hadn't met Susan Reese, the woman had been too busy to make an appearance in her child's life in the months they had been dating, Connor wasn't sure if a 2 hour dinner would be enough to impress her and yet, it also meant this was even more serious, well, he was already officially moved in with Sarah, yet it hadn't completely sinked in yet.

"You are meeting Sarah's Mom?" Erin said as they all had gone out for drinks, Sarah having excused herself to get a call from her uncle. "Wow, that's big."

"Bigger than moving in together?" Jay mused, "I don't know..."

"Oh, will you all drop it? It only made sense he'd move in. He's a grown man." Erin chided, Natalie looked at Connor.

Will hadn't arrived yet.

"How nervous are you?"

"Not too much." Connor said. "People have always said I'm a charmer; let's just hope that works enough to win her over."

"Oh hey, I meant to talk to you about the other night, Owen didn't tell me much and I didn't want to push it."

"He's still upset?"

"Yeah, but he'll be fine."

"That's what Sarah says." Connor said.

"Listen, you can't please everyone Connor, no matter how hard you try, I know you want to, but you can't..."

"Reese?" Sarah jumped at the sound of Will's voice behind her. "What are you doing out here in the cold?"

Sarah smiled, for some reason Will was the only one to call her that and it had stuck.

"Oh, my uncle is picking up my Mom from the airport."

"Right, when are you guys having dinner?"

"Tomorrow, Connor's taking us to some restaurant, one of his friends owns. He just opened."

"Oh, right, Mouse's, he's an old friend of Jay and Connor." Will said. "I hear it's pretty good."

"I hope it's good enough for my Mom, she's not the easiest person to be around." Sarah said, Will smiled.

"Come on, she's going to love Connor, everyone does." He said and Sarah looked at him quizzically. "What? It's the truth... "

"You two are like oil and water, aren't you?"

"Well, I only want what's best for him, I do, and unlike Nat or Jay, I know he can get it on his own, you know? He's already gotten this far with you, it's one step closer of him having a normal life."

"His life is never going to be normal, not entirely, and I'm not only saying it because of the CP, he's a Rhodes, I know his father expects things from him in some way. Still, it doesn't mean it can't be a good one."

"Exactly." Will replied. "Looks like both your parents have standards, but you seem to have fitted into Cornelius's pretty well."

"He's a bully, his Dad; I have had my fair share of those in my life…" Sarah admitted, looking back inside as Will turned to look at his buzzing phone. "We should probably go in;they're going to think we are talking about them." Will smiled as he held the door open for her; Hermann shot them a look as they walked past him at the bar and over to the table.

Daniel had agreed to come with them to dinner, which Sarah was beyond grateful for. He could mediate between her and her mother just like he'd always done.

"Dan, how's Hannah?" The little girl happened to be Daniel's child from his third marriage, he also had a son he didn't see much because he lived in Texas, but Hannah was the baby of the family and about Owen's age.

"She's good." Daniel smiled, they greeted each other, Sarah and Connor hadn't arrived just yet.

"So, Sarah, she seems happy to you?" Susan asked her brother.

"Yes, Connor is a good man and he loves her." Daniel said.

"He's a writer?" Susan said. "That doesn't seem as promising, but I did some digging of my own." She added in. "He's a Chicago Rhodes."

Daniel sighed; of course his sister the lawyer would have done her own inquiries over Connor. "You'd be surprised about what you find online."

"Like I said, Connor is a good man, last name or not and he cares greatly for your daughter." Just on cue, Sarah and Connor appeared by the door, spotting them easily.

"Mrs. Reese, it's a pleasure to meet you." Connor smiled. " ."

"Nice to meet you too." Susan said, returning the gesture. Sarah helped Connor put his crutches beside the chair and sat beside him after she had greeted them.

"So, Connor, you met Sarah while you were attending the clinic?"

"Yes." Connor smiled. "She's the only person in a while that has managed to keep me going back to PT, she's persistent."

"That she is." Susan said with a nod. "On her career especially, I'd always thought she didn't have the touch for it all, psychology would have been a much better fit for her."

"Mom…"

"With all due respect Mrs. Reese, Sarah loves what she does and I think that's what's important. You can't really spend your life doing something because you need to, you have to love it."

"Unless you have money." Susan said with a knowing look and Sarah felt herself gripping her fork. "Then you can do pretty much what you want, isn't it?"

"I don't see it that way." Connor countered. He took a deep breath. "I know you are saying that because of who I am, or rather who my father is."

"Intuitive."

"Well, you learn to be." Connor said with a small smile. "I didn't think you'd meet me without knowing who I was, you want what's best for Sarah, I don't doubt that." Susan smiled.

"And, are you?" She said.

"Mom, don't… I thought we'd be cordial about this, you promised…" Sarah hissed, Daniel spoke too, but Connor stopped them.

"I think she's the best thing that ever happened to me, yes and if she'll have it, I'd like to be that option for her."

Sarah felt her heart sink into her chest as Susan nodded again, they were interrupted by Mouse just in time asking them how their food was and Susan excused herself and so did Daniel, leaving Connor and Sarah alone.

"I'm sorry about this, if you want to get this over with and leave…." Sarah began. Connor smiled though.

"She's your Mom, Sarah, she'll always want what's best for you, trust me, I can handle it, in fact, and I think she and my father would get along just fine." Sarah let out a small laugh as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She hoped to get through the night without falling out with her mother but she was failing miserably. When Susan came back though, it was Connor's turn to excuse himself, pulling his crutches over; he glanced at both Reese women and walked away.

"Sarah, really, what are you doing? Falling for your patients now? Do you what kind of lawsuit you could get into?"

Sarah huffed. "I can't believe you."

"Honey, listen to me, he's a nice boy, but he's a liability, you understand that, don't you?" Susan continued. "He's not for you."

"Why?"

"Because, you deserve someone who can take care of you properly." There it was, Sarah had to know that was, what it was all about. His disability.

"You can't stand it, can you? To see me happy? This has nothing to do with his limitations Mom, enough people in his life look down on him because all they can see is his disability, and I can't believe you could be so narrowminded."

"Honey, I'm being realistic here, do you really want to take care of him for the rest of his life? Because that's what you'd get yourself into, you are a doctor Sarah, you know I'm right. What if you decide to get married or have a family, have you thought of that? You'd be caring for a child and for him."

"And unlike you, I wouldn't mind." Sarah put in, trying to control her temper because Daniel was finally making his way over. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, fine, Jenny's mother called, she had a fall and she might need surgery, she asked me if I could do a consult."

"Her hip?"

"Yes, that's the main concern." Daniel said. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to go."

"I'll come with you, Arthur is right outside, I'll just tell Connor…"

"Alright." Daniel said. Honestly, Sarah was just glad to have to put an end to the conversation.

They drove to the hospital. "Connor?" Will spotted him easily in the ED. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's a patient of Sarah's from the clinic, Jenny Miller? She might need surgery."

"Oh, yeah Noah first saw her when she came in, come on I'll check." Will said as he moved to the nurse's station. "So, how did dinner go?"

"I'm not sure to be honest." Connor admitted. "Susan Reese is one tough woman to get through to, I know she's just looking out for Sarah but, well I heard them talking…" When he was done telling him what he heard, Will smiled. "Well, yeah it's a lot, but come on man, we all come with stuff, even if it's not physical or noticeable, that doesn't mean you can't have a full and happy life with Sarah, if that's where this is going…"

"What if she wants kids?" Connor asked. Will smiled. "I mean, if she's pregnant and something happens…"

"You are not alone Connor and, you've taken care of kids before, plus there's nothing wrong with you if you wanted to have a baby."

Connor rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, you and Sarah would figure it out, and it doesn't mean anything, really, if she wants that with you, then you'll find a way."

"There you are." Sarah said as soon as she spotted Will and Connor who had now sat down in the nurse's station. "Well, she won't need surgery but they are still keeping her overnight." Connor sighed. Sarah knew he was tired. "Will you keep me posted?" She asked Will who smiled and suggested they'd go home.

Sarah knew something was bothering him, but didn't say anything until they were home, she said she had to take Bass down and she'd be back, so Connor sat in bed, thinking about what Susan had said. He and Sarah were getting serious and maybe it had happened very fast but it was real, for the first time in his life he had a real relationship with someone that cared.

And they weren't shy about being intimate either, Sarah was a doctor, she knew all the implications of CP and she'd used her medical knowledge for him to slowly feel more and more comfortable in his own skin, intimately and physically.

Sarah came back to find him lost in his own thoughts. "Hey, what's up?" She asked sitting beside him on the bed.

"I heard you and your Mom talking, maybe I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it Sarah…"

"Connor, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"But she does Sarah...God, when I was little it was all about the money and after the accident it became about CP and what it had meant for me from that moment on, I want to be happy but not at the extent of someone else, not of you."

"Connor, you make me happy okay? You said it yourself, if you made me happy then than should be enough." She leaned into kiss him softly.

Connor pulled back though. "I really don't want you to regret this…"

"What?" Sarah asked, watching attentively. "Being in love with you? I don't think I could help it if I tried."

He laughed and looked up to look at her. "I'm in love with you too, in spite of myself I think." Sarah smiled.

"Lay back."

"What are you...?" She kissed his chin.

"This is real Connor, whether or not you believe it is, look at you, you just moved in with me, and you met my Mom, how much more serious can this be?" He smiled as she straddled him and kissed him, Connor responded rather quickly, pouring all his insecurities into that kiss.

They ended up in bed a while later, wrapped in each other's arms. Sex with Sarah was always so new to Connor, because in her own right she studied all she could so he could be comfortable with the intimacy and the physicality of it all. But Connor was not a virgin, Ava hadn't been his only relationship but his first serious one of sorts, he had actually had been attending a youth program when he had met Chloe and they had been each other's first, he was 21 and pretty sure she was the woman for him, until she had had to move away because of her treatment and he hadn't seen her again.

Yet, Sarah had been his second chance at happiness at this point and with his luck, he wasn't sure he'd get another one.

"Connor?" Sarah spoke into the pillow as his arm wrapped around her waist as they were nuzzled in bed.

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home babe."

Rheese is officially moved in! Why did you guys think?