"I just saw Joey swanning around with some Pathology Fellow in the canteen?" Will Halstead informed Sarah, as well as the entire staff lounge, in his outraged loud tone. "Reese, what's going on?"

Dr Sarah Reese had always appreciated Will's brotherly affection but she really didn't need him unintentionally announcing her recent and raw breakup to everyone in the staff lounge. It was currently packed with nearly everyone that she worked with on her shifts as they all were finishing up paperwork and taking things from their lockers to get home.

Sarah had been having a quiet chat with Maggie and April about her break up as they were rechecking paperwork before leaving for the night.

She hunched her shoulders as it felt like everyone moved to focus their attention onto her.

"I didn't want to say anything but he was in Molly's with her last night too." April added with a sympathetic grimace.

"But I thought Joey never wanted to come to Molly's with you?" Natalie asked as she closed down the computer she had been working on. Sarah felt sorry for everyone else in the room who presumably couldn't not hear what was going on, including the group of nurses at the next table and Ethan and Connor who were pouring over some case on a computer beside Natalie.

Discussing a resident's dismal love life was hardly what they wanted to listen to at work.

"He didn't want to." Sarah clarified. "But apparently Rachel is dedicated to her profession, exciting and better for him than me." Joey's words tasted sour on Sarah's tongue.

Will looked personally offended and Sarah was getting slightly worried he would set Jay and the Intelligence Unit on Joey. "I need to have a word with that piece of…"

"You really don't." Sarah interjected. The last thing she wanted was to give Joey the satisfaction of knowing that she was upset.

"No, we need something more subtle than that." Maggie contemplated out loud, patting Sarah's hand in support.

"We don't need to do anything. Just let it be. I'll be fine." Sarah said, trying to convince herself and her unintended audience.

"Of course you'll be fine, you don't need that guy." Will told her. Natalie put a calming hand on Will's arm to stop his next rant, something that Sarah was very grateful for.

"I've got it!" Maggie declared, "Connor? Didn't you say that you needed a plus one for the gallery opening this Friday night?" Maggie called to the surgeon who was putting his bag on his shoulder to leave after finishing talking to Ethan.

"Yeah. Did you find someone?" He raised his eyebrows in question.

Maggie grinned like a Cheshire cat before pointing at Sarah, "Dr Reese can go with you."

Connor looked to Sarah, his expression neutral, "You can?"

"I can?" Sarah echoed the question towards Maggie.

"Yes and Connor can pay you back by letting us spread some rumors for Joey's benefit."

"What rumors?" Ethan asked, as the moral compass of the ED and chief resident, Sarah guessed that he felt the need to monitor such things.

"That Sarah's moved on and moved up the food chain and now dating mysterious, millionaire, Fellow Doctor Rhodes." Maggie declared and Sarah noted Doris' head perk up, it was no secret that she loved good gossip.

"No. Really, that's completely unnecessary. No. It's…" Sarah argued, mortified at the prospect of drawing Connor of all people into the insane plan.

"Sure." Connor shrugged as if it wasn't all crazy.

"No, seriously you don't have to…" Sarah finally met his eyes.

"Yes he does." Will interjected and Sarah shot him a glare. Where she had associated Will and the ED staff as family, Connor remained something of an enigma.

"I grew up a Rhodes in Chicago, what's another rumor?" Connor said.

"Exactly." Maggie declared with a grin as if the entire situation had been solved. "So Sarah can go with you to that gallery opening and…"

"We can take Joey down a peg or two with the rumors." Doris declared, earning herself a high-five from Will.

Connor seemed to have a bemused smile on his lips at their mutual friends antics and let his eyes linger on Sarah's before leaving them to it and disappearing out the door.