A CHANGE OF HEART
Summary: Cornelius Rhodes likes control. But when it comes to his son and his new girlfriend, nothing he does can break the young couple. And when things start getting serious he has to choose whether to keep messing with their lives or to finally accept his son's choice.
A/N: My first Rheese story. I 've only recently started to watch Chicago Med and I have to say I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do. Having said that, I just die for all the Connor/Sarah scenes, and this little story wouldn't leave me alone for the past few days. So here I am, adding to all the other great Rheese stories in this site.
I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.
P.S.: Sorry in advance for any mistake, English is not my native language.
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Chapter 3: Opposition
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News of their engagement spread like wildfire throughout the hospital, with nurses and doctors alike happy for the young couple and wishing them a happy life together.
The morning after their engagement, they had decided to keep their other news to themselves for a while longer, wanting to make sure Sarah was in her second trimester before letting their friends know about the unexpected but welcome addition to their little family. Of course, they also kept silent because they wanted to enjoy knowing something that was a secret to the rest of the world.
But not everybody was happy with the wedding news.
Once Cornelius Rhodes heard about the engagement he was irritated for two reasons.
The first was the engagement itself. He simply couldn't understand why his son was so smitten with a woman who, in his opinion, had nothing to offer him. She was beneath them, even if he begrudgingly had to admit she was a terrific doctor, hardworking and quick to act during an emergency. And according to the reports all Board members received, she worked seamlessly with his son, neither letting their relationship interfere with the attention they paid to their patients.
The second reason was having had to hear the news from Sharon Goodwin herself and not from either of his children. Since Claire had become even closer to Doctor Reese, she had stopped telling him everything that happened in the doctor's life, as if she instinctively knew he was only asking so he could have some leverage over the young woman. So when he had found out, he had had to pretend to be informed of all the details of the engagement and the wedding preparations. Worst of all was having to continue that charade not only in front of the other Board members, but also with people doing business with him.
So a month after he first heard the news, he was on his way to his stores when he saw Doctor Reese walking down the street and he thought this was the best opportunity to let her know what he thought of her wedding. He had his chauffeur park the car and he walked swiftly towards her.
"Good morning, Doctor Reese. Quite a lovely day, isn't it?" – he greeted her. Considering it was a cold November day, she was sure he was simply choosing to be sarcastic.
"Good morning, Mr. Rhodes. A nice day, indeed." - She answered in kind.
"It has come to my attention, Miss Reese, that you didn't understand our last conversation." - He said, going straight to the point.
"Oh, I did understand, sir. And I made my decision." - She told him with a smile.
He grabbed her left hand, staring at her engagement ring. Sarah, not wanting to attract too much attention, tried unsuccessfully to free her hand. Despite his age, Cornelius was quite strong and she didn't want to cause a scene.
"Yes, I can see that." - He commented, still looking at the ring. It wasn't small, but neither was it too big. He could admit his son had exquisite taste when choosing the ring, it looked lovely on the woman's finger. But it wasn't enough to make him change his mind about her.
"Is there something you need, mister Rhodes? I need to get to work."
"I want to make it clear one more time that I do not approve of this relationship, Miss Reese. So for the last time, I advise you to end it as soon as possible and to disappear from my son's life."
"And you think I will just do as you say? You don't own me, Mr. Rhodes. Or Connor."
"Need I remind you that I am in the Board? I could easily dispose of your job and then where would you be?" - He inquired.
"If that were the case, you would have done that a long time ago. Have a good day, sir." - She said, resuming her walk. Seconds later, however, she returned.
"Don't you get tired of this, Mr. Rhodes?"
"This?"
"Of this game you are trying to play." – she explained. – "Wherever Connor goes, you are there. But it's not to encourage him or to show him you are proud of the incredible man he has become, but to harass him. To anger him to the point of self-destruction. I don't know if that's your way of showing him you care, but it certainly doesn't look so. You are only driving him further away."
"Who do you think you are to talk to me that way?" – Cornelius was incensed. 'How dare she?'
"I am Connor's fiancé. Very soon we will be a family, whether you like it or not."
"What would you know? You grew up fatherless."
"That's right. My father left us and my mother was more focused on building a career than on taking care of me, so I know how sad it is to live without one of your parents around, let alone the two of them. And from where I'm standing, you are doing the same to Connor. He's already lost his mother, but if you keep doing these sort of things, he is going to end up losing his father too.
He was about to retort to her comment, but the sound of tires screeching made him turn just in time to see a car moving directly towards them. Instinctively, he pushed Sarah out of the way and tried to move as fast as he could, but the car still hit them both.
His chauffeur came running towards him and helped him stand up, moving him away from the accident. But just as he was about to get him in the car, Cornelius freed himself from his hold, limping towards the crashed car, gasping at the sight in front of him. Uncaring of his expensive suit or the people witching him, he knelt next to Sarah, pressing a hand on her forehead.
"Miss Reese… Miss Reese, can you hear me?" – he questioned, holding her hand to get her attention. She remained silent, simply staring at the sky. – "Somebody call an ambulance!" - he barked at the people surrounding them. – "Miss Reese, can you hear me?" - He got closer to Sarah, not daring to touch her until the paramedics arrived.
Sarah finally looked at him and tried to talk, but nothing came out of her mouth, making her anxious.
"Don't talk, Miss Reese. Help is on the way." - He rest his hand back on her forehead in a reassuring gesture.
"Conn… Connor…" - she whimpered. – "Connor…"
"Shhh, Miss Reese. We'll be to going to Gaffney soon. Don't you worry." - He continued talking, trying to keep her calm and awake.
With great effort, she moved her left hand slowly until she grabbed his, getting his attention once more.
"The baby… Connor… the baby…"
"What?" - Cornelius was sure he must have heard wrong.
"The baby… my baby…" - she kept whispering, holding tight to his hand, tears running down the side of her face.
"Sir, I need you to step aside." - He had been so shocked by her words, he didn't hear the ambulance arriving, or the paramedics trying to work on Sarah.
Very carefully, they placed a brace around her neck and gently laid her on a gurney, moving towards the ambulance. Cornelius stood up as quickly as possible, following them.
"Sir, you have to stay back." - One of the paramedics told him.
"No, I have to go with her." - He explained, trying to push the man aside.
"Do you know her?"
"Yes, she's my daughter-in-law."
"Ok, let him come." - another man helped him into the ambulance where he sat as close as possible to Sarah and held her hand again, the only thought running through his head being that she and his grandchild had to be okay.
They had to be okay.