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 4: Don't let go

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Connor was having a good morning at the ED that day. There hadn't been any serious cases and he was just finishing with a patient when out of the corner of his eye he noticed the ED main doors open and he saw his father being helped inside by a paramedic. He was just about to get closer to the man when he realized he was holding onto the side of a gurney. And his blood run cold when he saw who was lying there, nearly unconscious.

"Young woman, mid-twenties, ran over a couple blocks from here. GCS 4. Pregnancy confirmed by her on site…" one of the paramedics called, while directing the gurney to an available treatment room, Will and another doctor following him and beginning to work on her.

"Sarah!" - Connor yelled, trying to push his way into the room, Maggie and April trying their best to keep him back. Soon, Will left the treatment room to help them as Connor kept fighting them off in his hurry to reach his fiancé – "Let me through! Sarah!"

"Connor, calm down and let us do our job!" - He held onto the man's arms, making his focus on him. Once he was sure he would stop struggling, he let him go, promising to let him know anything that happened to the young resident and going back in to continue the check-up.

Connor stayed very still for several minutes, unwilling to look away from Sarah for fear that something worse would happen to her if he did. It wasn't until he heard his father's voice from another treatment room that he dared to look around and locate him, practically running in his hurry to get answers.

"Dad, what happened?" - He asked once inside.

"Connor. How is she?" - He looked worried, which made his son frown. Since when was he worried about anyone except himself?

"Dad, what happened?" - He repeated, getting closer so his father would focused on him. He knew he had his attention when the man looked him straight in the eye, uncaring of the doctor currently cutting his pants to check his injured leg.

"We were talking and she was just about to leave when that car came out of nowhere." – he stopped, groaning in pain when the doctor raised his leg. – "I pushed her aside, but it still got her. She… she was just lying there and I…" - he couldn't keep talking, suddenly remembering her words and finally understanding them.

"Dad?" – Connor shook him lightly, trying to draw his attention back to him.

"Is she okay, Connor? What about the baby?"

"The baby?"

"She said… she mentioned a baby. Is she pregnant?" - He asked, serious all of a sudden.

"Yes, she is. Nearly four months." – the surgeon admitted.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" - Cornelius questioned his son with a frown. "Go and find out how they are." – Connor was speechless. Had his father hit his head or something? – "Connor, move!" Cornelius shouted, scaring the doctor tending to him, but getting his son to leave the room.

Connor went back to the nurses station, looking intently into the room where his fiancé was. As soon as he saw Will leaving, he stepped closer, waiting to know any news. Natalie was still inside the room and talking to Sarah.

"How is she?" - He asked the redhead.

"She was a little disoriented at first, but she's doing better now. She hit her head on impact so we are taking her for a CT in a bit. Mmm… we also did an ultrasound to make sure everything is fine with the baby." He said, lowering his voice, still amazed by the news of Sarah's pregnancy.

"Are they really okay?"

"Yes. Still, Nat may want her to stay overnight for observation. Just as a precaution, so don't worry." - Will added before Connor could say anything.

Connor felt like he could breathe again. He hadn't lost his Sarah. She was fine and so was their baby.

Once Natalie left the room to order the needed exams, Connor entered the room, smiling slightly at his fiancé and seeing her smile at him too, relaxing him even further.

"How are you, babe?" – he asked her, sitting next to her and kissing her hand.

"I feel like I was ran over by a car." - She joked, making him frown. – "Sorry, bad joke."

"Terrible joke, Sarah." – he told her, his face a mask of gravity.

"I'm sorry, baby." – she caressed the hand he had rested on her abdomen. - "But we are fine, I promise." – she smiled at him, not liking it when she saw him worry.

"I could have lost you, Sarah. Both of you." – Now that he knew she and their baby were going to be fine, he couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face, burying his head into her abdomen, hugging her as close to him as possible.

"You are not going to lose us, my love. You, me and our baby are going to be together for a very long time." – she reassured him, running her finger through his hair in a soothing move. – "I promise." She repeated over and over, letting him cry so he could relieve himself from the terrible moments he had just been through.

Unbeknownst to them, Cornelius heard their conversation, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Sarah Reese was going to be fine.

And his grandchild too.

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The following months were quite interesting for the couple.

After the accident, Connor had insisted in Sarah taking a few days to recover and despite her opposition, she was overruled by Sharon, who send her home for the next week, with Will and Nat backing her up.

Connor would call her several times a day, making sure she was comfortable and resting at their apartment. She would laugh at his many calls, always reassuring him she was feeling fine and for him not to worry. She couldn't say she wasn't enjoying her free days, but in was during those days that things started to become strange.

She had already started with her pregnancy cravings, so she had ordered some food from their favorite restaurant, but when she went to open the door, she was shocked to see not the delivery man, but her fiancé's father.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Reese." – he greeted her cordially.

"Mr. Rhodes." She looked at him suspiciously.

"May I come in?" – he asked. She was too stunned to say anything, simply moving aside and letting him in.

"Umm… Connor's at the hospital." - She said, closing the door and accompanying the man towards the living room.

"I know. I was actually hoping to talk to you." – he had barely finishing talking when she tensed up.

"Look, Mr. Rhodes. The last time…"

"It's not about any of that, Miss Reese. Please sit. I'm sure you should be resting." – to her surprise, he even helped her get comfortable on the sofa, before sitting in front of her.

"Then what is it, Mr. Rhodes?"

"Please, call me Cornelius. After all, very soon we will be family."

"Look, Mr. Rhodes…"

"Cornelius." – he reminded her.

"If you have come to tell me I'm not the right woman for your son and to try to get rid of me again, you're wasting your time." - She remarked, wanting the man to hurry and leave. Especially before Connor arrived and both men started arguing.

"I simply wanted to know if you and the baby are alright." - Sarah was shocked for the second time in so many minutes. Now the man was concerned for their health? Hers and the baby? – "Miss Reese?"

"Yes. We are both okay." - She answered swiftly.

"I'm glad." – he replied and after that, both remained silent for several minutes, simply looking at each other. "Well, I'd better get going. I have meetings all day."

Both stood up and he left, but not before staring at her one more time, leaving her even more confused than before.

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Such swift interactions continued for the rest of her pregnancy and contrary to their first unpleasant conversations, Sarah would comment to Connor about the man's frequent visits to her at Med. She tried to downplay their conversations so he wouldn't get moody or try to face his father, but that didn't stop him from frowning every time he saw the man walking around the hospital.

But all his animosity changed when Sarah came for a checkup with her OB. She had been feeling little cramps since she woke up that morning and decided to see her doctor to make sure everything was going according to plan. She was already eight months pregnant and was starting to freak out as her due date grew nearer.

She had already started her maternity leave a week before and was grateful for it. Her back, legs and ankles hurt and she wasn't sure she could have been able to keep working in the ED feeling that miserable. Of course, her father-in-law had seen it fit to make sure any pregnant woman employed by the hospital had less working hours and a closer monitoring, which had been quite the godsend to her. She knew he had done it with her in mind, but she hadn't said anything to him and neither had he.

So it was by chance that both of them were in the same elevator that morning, exchanging cordial greetings when the lift suddenly stopped. Cornelius tried pushing buttons to try to restart the machine with no success. Sarah tried to remain calm, taking her phone from her purse to try to call someone. Unfortunately, she didn't have any signal, so she put it back inside with a huff.

"Well, it seems we are going to be here for a while." – Cornelius commented.

"Looks that way." – she said, trying to take deep breaths. Her cramps were suddenly becoming more painful now.

"Sarah, are you okay?" – the man stood up next to her. he was sure he had seen her flinch in pain.

"Yeah. Yes, I'm fine..." – she had just finished talking when she bent over in pain, barely avoiding falling to the floor only because of Cornelius' hurry to catch her.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" - He asked anxiously.

"It… hurts…" - she murmured, trying to catch her breath, holding her belly in an effort to calm herself.

Just as he was about to talk again, he noticed it.

There was blood between Sarah's legs.

And Cornelius started banging furiously at the door, yelling for help.

They needed to get out of there. Now.