Lean On Me
Chapter 1
"Pffftttttt." Sarah blew a chocolatey lock away from her face. Nearby the charge nurse, Kimmi Liu, chuckled.
"Like that today Dr Reese?" Sarah rolled her eyes to the ceiling and groaned. It was days like today, where the summer temperature spiked, that Sarah missed Chicago's freezing winters.
"It's just too hot. When will they have the air working again?" Kimmi shrugged and answered her suddenly blaring phone.
"Yup- Oh Dr Reese, ambo incoming, sounds like it's one of yours, Treatment room 4."
Just like that, Sarah forgot the heat and got lost in her work, concentrating on listening to her patient and evaluating. So much so she barely heard the whispered conversations of her colleagues.
"I've heard he's rich-"
"Gorgeous-"
"He can warm my bed right up, sugar-"
"I wonder why he's moving out here-"
"-Job offers from Mayo and-"
"Chicago Med have lost out-"
Sarah's head sprung up and looked at Dr Coolhan.
"Who are you talking about?" Sarah hardly acknowledged her own rudeness as Dr Coolhan's eyes steeled.
"Connor Rhodes. Admin have had to pay an arm and a leg. Certainly worth more than some people's wages." Sarah didn't notice the tone as she returned her gaze to her computer, people around her were a mostly used to her awkward social skills with fellow doctors. That was ok, she was here for the patients after all. Speaking- or thinking of- Sarah tore her thoughts away from the handsome, charismatic man she remembered and started her charting for her new patient. If her hands shook a little as she typed, well, extreme heat made strange things happen.
"Ah, here we are Dr Rhodes, the jewel of Baylor, our ED." Connor scanned the ED from his placement high on an overlooking platform. Connor nodded. He was finding it difficult to be his usual self. It was strange, after so long in Chicago he was unused to the heat. Well, that and the events at Chicago Med. His eyes fluttered closed, recalling Ava on his surgical table. He wasn't sure if he would ever heal from that awful experience. The Chief of Surgery, (Dr Cabel? Dr Corin?) continued to waffle, talking about implementing a hybrid OR at the heart of the ED. Connor's eyes continued to glance until he saw a mass of curls, tumbled over a doctor's shoulders. He squinted, that hair pulled at a thread in his memory. That soft, silky looking hair that he suddenly ached to run his hands through. Sarah. He blinked. He had forgotten that Sarah had moved here. He watched as she was called to a patient, one who was clear dysregulated with flailing arms and shouting nonsense about how the government were burning the earth and cleaning out human minds. He listened hard and heard bits of Sarah soothing tone. He was too far away to hear her exact words, but what he could hear relaxed some of the tension in his shoulders. Connor had forgotten how gifted Sarah was at that, how she didn't know the impact she had on tattered souls, including his. As Sarah disappeared from his sight into a treatment room, Connor discreetly took a deep breath and started listening in to the Chief's words again. For the first time in days, he felt more like himself.
That was a tough day. Sarah's colleagues chatted around her in the doctor's lounge as she collected her things for the day. Double shifts were not her friend. Neither were her colleagues, not really. She hadn't found it easy to connect with these Texan folk, not like in Chicago. There was no Maggie to sternly, but kindly, teach her. No April to pull her out of her own head. No Will to joke with her, or Nat to nurture her. No Dr Charles…Well the less thought, the better. She didn't really have the energy to be angry right now. It had been a year, it was time to move forward.
"Doctors, can I have a moment?" Sarah turned round and her heart skipped a beat for a moment. Shock. She took in Connor's dark waves, his piercing blue eyes. The beard was new, she thought. She'd always remembered him as clean shaven for some reason.
"This is Dr Rhodes, who will be working with us from now on. He is an experienced double certified trauma and CT surgeon. Make him feel welcome please. He starts tomorrow. Connor, I'll let you go now, feel free to meet some of your new colleagues."
Connor's eyes met Sarah's and he gave her a warm smile. He began to make his way towards her, stopping to shake hands and introduce himself to the other doctors on shift today. Time seemed to slow as Sarah was frozen to her spot.
"Sarah, I mean Dr Reece. It's been too long, how are you?" Connor reached for her and pulled her into a hug. I didn't think we had this kind of relationship. Despite her nervousness, returning the hug felt right, yet brief as Connor pulled away.
"I'm well. And you? How is everyone back home?" Sarah winced at her own words. It was hard not to think of Chicago as home, even now. Connor half smiled, as though he knew the feeling.
"Well, for the most part I guess. It's been a really tough year since you left. Are you finished? Maybe we can grab a coffee or a drink? You like wine right? Catch up?" The hair on the back of Sarah's neck stood up as he was suddenly aware of eyes on her, a few jealous eyes at the attention Connor was paying her. Fuck them. The sudden vicious thought gave Sarah confidence as she smiled and nodded shyly. Connor waved her forward, through the door as they walked together and talked about hospital coffee versus the local bar.
"No please, let me buy the drinks, you're new in town!"
"Sarah, you're a resident and you know I can afford it right?"
"Oh I forgot, you're a Rhodes of the Chicago Rhodes." The heavy sarcasm in Sarah's teasing tone had Connor laughing and holding up his hands in defeat as he let Sarah pay for their drinks and they settled at a table on the little patio area at the bar's garden. They were alone outside, most people eager to get to their air-conditioned homes in this heat. Connor could see how Sarah relaxed as soon as she exited the hospital. She clearly hadn't expected to run into him. He smiled. He'd taken a risk being so familiar with her, the hug was a mistake but he was so pleased to see her looking well. The last time he'd seen her… well she was pale, withdrawn, he imagined her heart breaking as she stood tall and proud leaving Chicago Med. He recalled being sorrowful for her, but oh so proud of how she'd grown in the few years he'd known her.
As for now, he felt as though every nerve he had was standing on end. Lavender. She smelt like lavender. Strangely, it suited her. Even more strangely, his body reacted with a twinge of desire. He desperately wanted to pull her hair down, like it was earlier before she scraped it into a bun in the lounge. To watch those curls tumble around her shoulders.
"What happened Dr Rhodes?" Connor pushed the desire away.
"Call me Connor, Sarah, we have an awful lot of history." She smiled somewhat awkwardly, yet he found it charming on her. He considered what to tell her, but he was so tired of hiding things. "It's been pretty awful. My dad died. Ava killed him. Then she killed herself." Sarah's eyes widened in shock as she took his hand, almost without thinking. He could see the wheels turn, the conscious choice between being a friend or a shrink. He took the moment to glance at from her warm brown eyes to her slightly pink parted lips.
"That is so awful Connor. You came here for what? A fresh start?" Connor squeezed her hand. Friendship then. He let his thumb glance over the hand of her hand as they talked and shared a drink. Hope gently opened within him as they talked for hours, talking about what had happened within the last year and all the people at Med.
