EPILOGUE
Connor looked at his watch, growing restless. Time seemed to crawl by. While he could've grabbed his cane and the small duffel bag his sister had brought him from his apartment, the thought of walking through the hospital and waving down a cab just felt too daunting. He wasn't a fan of wheelchairs but there was something to be said about hobbling about with a broken leg when one wasn't able to use the crutches. At least not with both hands. Not to mention, his ribs were still mending, along with all the bruises he didn't even know about until the day after his fall.
Grimacing, Connor let out a sigh and leaned back on the bed. He was at least already dressed and ready for his release. All he needed now was someone to come spring him out and help him get home. Of course that might take a bit of time, seeing as his colleagues shifts wouldn't end for another hour.
He couldn't help but spend the time thinking about the last three days. What he remembered of them at least.
The night of his unfortunate fall had been a blur for Connor. After Ethan patched up his arm and the pain had finally lowered to acceptable levels, Connor was floating on the edge of sleep. He was only barely aware of someone throwing a thicker blanket over him, easing the cold he was feeling. He still shivered, but he wasn't freezing anymore. He was slipping in and out of sleep, hearing hushed voices nearby. Sometimes they sounded concerned, but never panicked. That was good, because Connor wasn't sure he could handle panic right then. He had trouble just opening his eyes when a familiar voice called his name from time to time. Connor wanted to ignore it, but the voice was persistent and if he was too slow, painful stimuli followed. That happened only once though. Connor's mind might've been fuzzy, but he was aware enough to realize he didn't want to be pinched or nudged if he could help it.
There was a point when he woke up to the room in semi-darkness. There was a small lamp turned on somewhere in the corner, but the harsh overhead light was off. He was a bit confused at first. The silence along with darkness made him unsure of his location, but an attempt to move quickly reminded him of his state. Hissing, Connor froze.
"Are you in pain?"
Will's face appeared from the side and Connor startled then let out a shaky breath, trying to calm down his racing heart.
"Halstead," he uttered, grimacing. "You startled me," he admitted.
Will's lips twitched.
"Sorry about that," he said, checking over the reading from the small portable monitor they had him hooked up to. "You didn't answer though."
Connor found he had to actually think about the answer. His whole body ached and he felt as if just opening his eyes was a chore. But unless he tried to move, or take in a deeper breath, most of the aches were muted. Besides the throbbing inside his temples, but he expected no less after whacking his head. His focus turned to his left arm. The crushing pain from before was gone, thank god. However, it was now replaced by a dull burning ache over his whole arm and numbness. That scared him more than the phantom pain of the tourniquet above his elbow. He had a feeling that one would last quite a while. The numbness though...
He tried to move his fingers but he couldn't really see the result. He felt some movement, but his fingers felt like they were thrice their size, skin taunt and joints stiff. As if he had put his hand into a bucket of ice and forgot to take it out.
"Numb. My hand... it's-" he muttered, his words sounding choked.
Will's own hand wrapped around his wrist and Connor had a fleeting sensation of fingers rubbing his palm and joints.
"Felt that?" Will asked, sounding calm and patient. Connor envied him that calmness, because he felt anything but.
"Barely," he answered, his voice cracking slightly.
"Hey, that's okay. You know the numbness is to be expected. As long as there is some feeling, and I can see your fingers moving. It will just take some time for it all to come back."
Connor blinked, trying to take the words in. Will checked the bandage over the wound and when he was satisfied that it wasn't bleeding, he moved Connor's arm back under the blanket.
"I'm sure once Ethan wakes up from his own coma," Will said this with a smirk and a glance somewhere to the side, "he will tell you about several case studies with soldiers who had a tourniquet on for quite a longer time, yet they still recovered full function. The numbness lasted for several days as well. So like I said... no need to panic."
Connor looked at Will, trying to discern if he was being truthful or just reassuring for the sake of keeping him calm.
He couldn't really tell. His sight was blurry as it was, in the semi-darkness of the room and his mind wasn't as sharp as usual, but his gut was telling him that Will wasn't one for false platitudes. Knowing that, he made an effort to push his doubts and apprehension to the back of his mind and decided to trust the man.
"Okay. I... thanks," he said sincerely.
Will nodded then yawned.
"Sorry. Long day and the coffee around here sucks."
Connor's brow furrowed. He had no clue what time it was or why they were still there. And then his brain caught up with what Will said before and he remembered the scary moment of Ethan hanging by his fingertips on the rock, almost crashing down.
"Ethan okay?" he asked, his worry back.
"Huh? Yeah. Just sleeping. I have a feeling he was running on fumes for the last few hours at least."
Connor let out a sigh of relief. Good. A tired Ethan he could handle. As long as the man didn't get hurt on his account. Still, there was one more person unaccounted for.
"Natalie?"
"Sleeping in the other office. The local quack had camped out in the waiting room. Think he wanted to be close to the exit in case Ethan blew a fuse," Will chuckled somehow gleefully. Connor wasn't sure what it was all about, the previous quarrel lost from his memory, but he didn't ask. Figured someone would be more than willing to fill him in later on.
His eyelids started to feel heavy and a yawn broke through his face.
"You should try to get back to sleep," Will commented, settling down in a chair next to the stretcher Connor was on.
Connor wanted to shake his head, to nudge away the sleepiness, but he was still mostly stuck in one position.
"Home?" he managed to ask, his eyes already closed.
"In the morning. We got finally through. As soon as the sky clears, you will be getting a ride in the helicopter straight back to Gaffney."
And surprisingly, it went just as Will said.
When Connor woke next time, it was to the sensation of being moved and to the noise of people around. People he didn't know. Combined with the feeling of movement, his confusion only grew. Was he still on the hill, just being pulled up? He swallowed, eyes wide. He tried to move but for some reason he found himself to be strapped down more than before. He couldn't move a limb and panic reared its head again, or at least tried to. It was fortunately stopped by one of the strangers noticing his return to consciousness and the movement halted.
Unfortunately, the abrupt stop just made his dizziness reappear and Connor had to close his eyes, swallowing convulsively.
"Dr. Rhodes? Can you stay awake for a moment?"
Connor grimaced but when he felt a touch on his shoulder, he opened his eyes.
"What's going on?" Connor asked, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He wasn't in the building anymore, he could see the sky right above. It was clear and devoid of any clouds. The sun wasn't high up yet and the air was cold. At least what Connor could feel on his face. The rest of his body seemed to be wrapped up in a blanket, held down by the familiar restraints.
"We're taking you to the hospital. Everything alright or are you in pain?"
Connor thought about it, but even though everything hurt nothing was screaming at him.
"Nah. Just tired."
The man in the rescue garment nodded.
"To be expected. Okay, let's move it," he turned to someone else who was by the foot of the stretcher and Connor felt the world lurch again. He closed his eyes, wishing the travel was done and he could finally rest in a comfy bed, free to move however he pleased.
He tried to ignore the occasional tug or lurch as they seemingly reached their destination. He opened his eyes to a slit when he felt the stretcher stop and heard a metallic click of a door opening.
Right above him was a set of propellers. Moving his head as much as he was able to, he took in the impressive sight of the chopper. Well, no one could say he wasn't going home in style, he thought with slight amusement.
"Which one of you is coming along?" he heard the man ask and blinked when he heard Will speak up from somewhere behind.
"Only one of us can come?" he sounded a bit disappointed.
"Sorry pal, not that much space there."
Will grumbled something under his breath, but then seemed to shrug it off.
"Ethan then. He was the one doing the surgery on his arm so it's better he goes along to fill in the admitting."
Connor was a bit surprised that Will gave up that easily, although it made sense. Seeing Ethan already hop into the cabin and start helping move Connor was a clear sign he wouldn't have accepted anything else.
"That's settled then. What about you two?"
"We can drive back home. We survived getting lost in the woods, I think we can handle a few hours long drive in a car," Will said and Connor thought he sounded positively joyful about the prospect. He heard Natalie give a sigh, but no protest.
"Take care and try not to get lost again," Ethan called out as the door to the chopper closed shut. If Will or Natalie replied something, it was promptly lost in the roar of the engine coming to life. Connor grimaced as the headphones were put on his head. While it muffled the noise, his headache didn't appreciate the added pressure.
"Okay there Connor?" he could hear Ethan from the headpiece and he cast him a glance.
"We heading home?" Connor asked, and while he couldn't really hear himself, Ethan must've read his lips, because he grinned.
"Back to Gaffney," he said and Connor closed his eyes, satisfied.
It was only a day later, once all his injuries were sorted out and the orthopedic surgeon assured him the numbness should pass and he would most likely get back full function of his arm and hand that he found out it was his father who sent the chopper.
Well, it was Sharon Goodwin, but his father's position in the board made sure he got transported straight to Gaffney and not just to some local small hospital.
"Why did you bother?" Connor asked when on the morning of the second day his father actually stopped by for a quick visit.
The man gave him a look that Connor might've interpreted as arrogant, but lately he recognized it was something close to... caring. At least as far as his father ever allowed himself to reach that type of emotion.
"How would it look if I didn't make sure you got the best care?" Cornelius said with an air of self importance.
Connor's brow rose in amusement.
"Ah right. It would be bad press," he noted.
His father scoffed, looking offended even as he was looking around the room, assessing.
"I see they at least gave you a private room."
Connor nodded.
"Yes. I'm sure they were scared you would throw a fit if I had to share with some 'commoner'."
Cornelius huffed, realizing Connor was taking the Mickey out of him.
"Perhaps I should've let you enjoy the hospitality of one of those small town dives after all," he sighed, standing up. Finally his eyes settled back on his son and there was a glint of something that made Connor pause.
"I'm glad you didn't... plummet to your death," he spoke with a strange tone. Was that caring? Connor wasn't sure.
"That's... sweet?" he said and Cornelius cleared his throat.
"Yes. Perhaps you should invest some time and take a few... climbing lessons. Or try to keep from ledges in the future," he said with pursed lips and the tone he used brought back a memory of the night, decades back, when Connor heard a thud and wanted to run outside of their house, only to be stopped by his father, looking white as a ghost.
That was the night his mother jumped off the roof.
"I'm sure at least Miss Goodwin was convinced how much of a farce this whole teambuilding business was-" his father kept talking and Connor shook his head to force back the grim memories.
"Uh that... it was hardly her fault, dad," Connor put up a token of protest, his head still reeling from the thought how close he came to ending up like his mother... a splat on the ground. Was that how she felt when she jumped? That feeling of one's insides moving where they were no place to be, the feeling of imminent death?
"Son? Are you listening to me?" Cornelius said, annoyance coloring his voice and Connor blinked.
"Yeah. Sorry dad, I'm still kind of... tired."
Cornelius nodded, lips tight.
"Of course. You lost a lot of blood as I heard. Well, I won't keep you up. I have a meeting to attend soon anyway," he said looking at his watch.
"Let me know when they spring you, I can send my driver to pick you up."
Connor shook his head.
"No, that's... that's okay. I'm sure someone will give me a ride."
Cornelius shrugged. Then he gave an awkward pat to his shoulder, which was as close to a hug as either of them would allow right now and with a wish of speedy recovery, he left.
Fortunately, Connor wasn't left alone for long and the visit from Maggie and April quickly lifted his spirits. Especially their mention of witnessing the first shift of Will and Natalie after their return from the trip. April pursed her lips and wiggled her eyebrows, as she recounted the day, giggling.
"Looks like the team building worked at least," Maggie noted with a quirky smile of her own. "Haven't heard them arguing yet."
April rolled her eyes.
"How could they. With all those googly eyes."
"Well, that car drive home must've been... eventful," Connor muttered, glancing away as both nurses seemed to catch his words and burst out laughing.
Connor wasn't sure what had transpired between the two, but he had to admit, when they finally appeared, pushing the wheelchair and holding a silly balloon, Will and Natalie kept eyeing each other with little smirks.
Connor shared an amused look with Ethan, even though it turned into a grimace as he tried to settle himself in the chair. Sharon Goodwin had just knocked on the door.
"Ah, I see I caught you in time," she said with a smile as Connor finally found an acceptable position.
"Just about ready to spring our favorite lemming out of here," Will said and Connor raised a brow.
"Lemming?"
"Well, they are the ones jumping off cliffs, aren't they?"
"I read somewhere actually that it was just an experiment and the results were fixed," Ethan noted.
"And I did not jump off, anyways," Connor added, half offended.
Will rolled his eyes and waved a hand.
"Whatever. You ready to go?"
"Am I?" Connor looked at Goodwin. "Did you need to talk to me?" he asked.
Sharon suddenly looked a bit... awkward. This was strange, because Connor hardly ever saw Sharon Goodwin as anything but a self assured and kickass woman.
"Well... seeing as you're all here..." Sharon sighed, shaking her head then looking up. "I'd like to say I'm sorry for what you all went through, especially you, Dr. Rhodes," she said. Connor nodded, though all four shared a somehow guilty look. They each knew that perhaps things would've turned out differently if they 'went with the program' so to speak, right from the start.
"I think we can say that... things got a bit out of hand. And that we ran out of luck for a while there."
"Au contraire, I think we were lucky as hell," Will protested then blushed. Natalie looked as if she wanted to elbow him, but she was too far away. "What I meant... despite the situation being dire, we all got out alive."
Connor snorted, shooting him an amused glance.
"Be as it may... while I might regret the unfortunate events, I must say, what I heard from everyone involved, you all did a great job at overcoming difficulties and working together. You made me proud," she added with a genuine smile.
All four blushed. It was Natalie who broke the sudden silence.
"So... does that mean you are planning on more team building exercises?"
There was another moment of shocked silence, before Connor cleared his throat. He looked up from the wheelchair, face all serious as he stated:
"Next time, we are going to the beach."
Ethan snorted.
"Of course, because there's nothing that can go wrong there," Natalie rolled her eyes. "Will being swept off by the waves," she noted with a smirk.
"Hey! I'm a pretty good swimmer," he protested, only to be interrupted by Ethan.
"Nah, there would be a shark attack."
"Or maybe venomous octopus attack?" Connor jumped in, good natured.
Will rolled his eyes.
"Sure. Let's go with that one. I get attacked by an octopus. Natalie steps on a sea urchin. Ethan here can fight off some sharks and you can be swallowed by a whale... did I leave anything out?"
"Sunstroke."
"Drowning-"
"Being attacked by a flock of seagulls-"
"Alright alright, I get it. No more team building exercises for the bunch of you," Sharon exclaimed with pretended frustration, though her eyes twinkled as she turned around, giving them a dismissing wave. "Carry on. I'm sure Dr. Rhodes would love to leave this establishment before it's time for dinner."
The group chuckled, sharing a look of easy camaraderie, before pushing Connor out of the room. They were still coming up with possible team building exercises going wrong as they left the building, laughing and joking. They were back home and all was well.
THE END