The two Cardiothoracic Surgeons had been in Operating Room Two for just over three and a half hours, carefully mending the wreckage that the bullet caused in Detective Upton's chest cavity. She had been lucky; the fast thinking actions of both Detective Halstead and the responding paramedics had undoubtedly saved her life. The bullet had missed all major arteries, but it had pierced the right superior lobe of her lung, causing it to collapse. Sylvie Brett had informed the ED staff on arrival that they had performed a decompression on scene to treat the hemothorax before transporting her to Med.

Dr. Connor Rhodes and Dr. Ava Bekker had just closed the Detective's chest, both of them satisfied with how the operation had gone. If her recovery went according to plan, she was going to make a full recovery. Even with the positive prognosis, it was still going to be a while before she was back on the streets chasing after bad guys.

"You want to go give them the good news?" Dr. Bekker asked him while they removed their surgical scrubs and other protective layers, revealing a simple set of burgundy scrubs underneath.

Connor turned to face his partner, "I thought we should both do it, I mean, it was a team effort after all."

She gave him a slight smile, showing that she appreciated the gesture. "That sounds good to me." She replied; her voice thick with the accent that he had grown to love.

They exited the Operating Room side by side and made their way towards the waiting room, which was undoubtedly filled with members of CPD's intelligence team.

Jay was on his feet before they could fully enter the room, "How is she?" his voice was still thick with concern.

Jay's question had prompted the rest of them to get to their feet, surrounding the detective to hear any updates on their friend's condition.

Connor was the first to reply, "She lost a lot of blood, but we were able to retrieve the bullet and patch her lung up. She'll need to take it very easy, but she should make a full recovery."

Everyone in the room let out a breath that they hadn't realised they were holding in.

"She's still asleep, but everything looks good. She's in the recovery room, you should be able to see her soon," Ava informed them. There was no better feeling than when she was able to give people good news. Especially after such a close call.

Hank Voight was the first to approach the pair, everyone else was still in an obvious state of relief and shock. "Thank you," he said, shaking both of their hands. "Both of you."

Ava had never seen the usually harsh, sometimes downright frightening sergeant seem so… well… human. She had only met him once or twice, but the fear and relief in his eyes was something she didn't know he was capable of feeling.

"She's a fighter," Connor replied, clapping the man on the shoulder.

Hank nodded his head, "she's as tough as they come." There was love in his words, as if he was talking about his own daughter.

Detective Halstead's voice interrupted the conversation, "When can we see her?" Both the surgeons had been too absorbed in their conversation with the Sergeant to have seen the man approach.

"We've taken her off the anaesthesia, but she's going to be out for a while. Her body needs rest, she lost a lot of blood." Ava explained, "we need to keep a close eye on her for the first ninety or so minutes after surgery to make sure she's coming off of sedation well, but if all is going to plan, you'll be able to see her in about 30."

"Thank you." Jay's intake of breath was noticeably shaky, like he was fighting to keep the tears from escaping. "She's going to be okay," he whispered, mainly comforting himself but he was past caring who heard him.

"We'll have a nurse come out and get you when she's ready for visitors." Connor informed the group, turning back towards the doors they had come through.

Ava simply nodded her head towards Jay and Voight before following her fellow surgeon back through the doors.

"You know, as much as I love being in the operating room, nothing quite beats being able to tell the patients family that the person they love is going to be okay, does it?" Ava asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

Connor stopped at the surgeon's lounge, holding the door open and indicating Ava to go through first before following her in. "You were great in there, Ava. Both in the OR and the waiting room." He told her, returning her smile.

She took a step forward, minimizing the gap between them. "You're just saying that to get in my good books, but thank you, I'll take it." She teased, "You were pretty good yourself, Dr. Rhodes. I don't think I'll ever get sick of watching you work." She continued, the temptation in her voice building.

The pair had tried to keep their personal "partnership" private from the prying eyes of the hospital staff, instead acting as if they were nothing but professional partners; which wasn't exactly incorrect. When they were at work, they were the picture of professionalism, but that didn't mean they completely ignored their relationship, especially when they were alone.

"If you keep talking like that, I may have to break a few of our rules…" he teased back, placing his index finger under her chin so she was looking at her and placing a kiss to her lips.

She kissed him back but separated them after the single kiss. She knew them, if they didn't stop now, they wouldn't be able to stop at all. Still, she kept their lips only millimetres apart as she spoke, "As much as I would love to, I have patients waiting for me. You know I'd never turn you down unless I didn't have a choice. I mean, how could I? Just look at you."

She placed another quick kiss to his lips before slipping her white coat on and heading back out into the bustling hall, leaving Connor alone in the lounge to collect himself and his thoughts.