AN: and here is the last chapter! Thank you everyone for your reviews, they make my day! I hope this ficlet has satisfied your cravings for Rhekker stories for now. Stay tuned ;) and feel free to message me with any requests/ideas to inspire me.
Ava soon discovered that the smell of coffee could wake Connor. As she took her first sip, eyes trained on him, his nose twitched. She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising.
There goes my plan!
He opened his eyes soon after that and spotted her instantly. He rubbed them briefly and sat up, blinking in the dim light.
"Good morning" she said, still smiling over her mug. Her voice was not as rusty as the previous day.
He pressed his knuckles into the small of his back while bringing his feet to the ground to settle himself into a sitting position. "Morning" he replied, picking up his mug and raising it slightly in a prost motion, "And thank you."
He eyed her, taking in her damp, curling hair and attire.
She waved a hand, "That's the least I could do after everything you did for me yesterday, Connor. So, thank you."
He smiled, "You're welcome."
Then he brought the mug to his lips. Her heart fluttered as he moaned ever so quietly, it was just a throaty mmh in the back of his throat but it sounded so sensual.
"This is… how did you know how I drink my coffee?"
She chuckled, "I could ask the same about how you knew my medical history."
He grinned at that and chose not to answer. Instead, they drank their coffee together in comfortable silence.
His coffee didn't last long. Once he set the mug down, he leaned over towards her and his hand descended onto her forehead without warning. She couldn't help it; her eyes fell shut at the cool contact.
"I think you're still running a fever, but nothing compared to last night" he informed her.
When he pulled his hand away, she opened her eyes and found him smirking at her.
"How are you feeling?"
She tilted her head, "I've been better. But compared to yesterday? It's indescribable how good I feel. I can talk without croaking, drink and walk properly now."
"You may not be croaking, but you still don't sound quite like Ava."
"Eh, it'll take a few days, but I can definitely see the light at the end of this horrid tunnel."
He grinned, looking relieved. "Good, cos you had me worried. You measured 40.1 degrees C just before I gave you the meds."
Wow, that was impressively high.
"What time is it?" he asked her, frowning as he glanced around. The room was quite dark but he couldn't tell if it was because of the time or weather.
"About 20 past 7. You won't be very late for work if you leave now."
He nodded, "Are you ok if I leave?"
It was her turn to grin, "Connor, I'm a 29-year-old woman. I think I can handle recovering from a cold now that my kitchen is stocked with delicious soup."
Chuckling, he stood up and grabbed the belt. She gulped involuntarily as he hiked the jumper up so that he could thread it through the loops in his jeans. Her eyes trailed downwards momentarily.
"Ok then. By the way, those're some interesting pictures you have there."
Before she could say anything, he was walking towards the wall-unit, still tugging the belt through the loops. She scrambled up and followed him, mug in her hands.
"It never occurred to me what a different life you had before Chicago!" he said while buckling the belt blindly.
She watched his eyes flit over the different photos. Not to her surprise, he seemed to be lingering on the photo in the silver frame.
She gulped again. That one was her least favourite, she only had it up as a reminder of all the good and bad in South Africa. Just that one picture summed up why she'd packed her bags and was enough to remind her that she regretted nothing about the choices she had made in her life, even when she was feeling homesick.
She forced herself to look at it too, to see what Connor was seeing.
That photo was set at Noordhoek Beach, Cape Town, about 5 years ago. It depicted her with her ex, Mattheu, on white sands with gorgeous turquoise waves behind them. Her arm was carelessly slung around his shoulders while his snaked around her waist. They were both dressed in swimwear; Ava in denim shorts and a pink bikini top, the type that was just two triangles and string and could be untied at about 4 different places and would fall off with the lightest tug. His dreadlocks were flying all over his face and he was gazing adoringly at her. Her own hair was short; its ends barely reached her chin, and even curlier than it got now. Her head was thrown back in the middle of a hearty laugh and drops of seawater glistened on both of their bodies. Neither of them had been aware the photo was being taken, which made it feel so intimate.
"You develop quite the tan, huh?" he said, turning to her. She half-smiled. "It's, uh, been a while since I spent a whole summer at the beach. Don't know if I'd still become so golden."
He chuckled at her choice of words. "How old were you here? 23? 24?"
"Yeah, something like that. That's… that's my ex-boyfriend, Mattheu" she said a bit reluctantly.
"You both look so happy in this picture" he said with a tinge of sadness in his voice, as if he knew how bitterly it had ended. "Why do you keep a photo of your ex in your wall unit?"
She bit her lip, contemplating whether she should give him the truth or some wishy-washy answer.
Eventually, to her own surprise, she blurted out, "Because if it weren't for… everything that… transpired… between the two of us, I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't have left Cape Town to continue my residency in Johannesburg, I wouldn't have met Doctor Jaffrey and I wouldn't have decided to take up a fellowship in CT. I wouldn't be here right now, recovering from this cold with you standing next to me, Connor."
Her sincerity and willingness to tell him that scared her. Even though she knew that Connor wasn't going to use this against her or anything and enough time had passed that she should be able to talk about this, it was still a very sore subject. Her life had been so close to looking so different than it was now. One tiny mistake had blown it all up and sent her flying completely off-rail. And the alternative that had almost been her reality still scared her.
He seemed to sense her inner dilemma and didn't push her further on it. All he asked was, "Are you happy though, where you ended up?"
That was easy. She smiled widely, "I couldn't have dreamed of a better outcome. I have achieved so much already, and Mattheu was not just a catalyst for that, he was a reactant. If only my 24-year-old self knew that it would all turn out well. Would've spared me a lot of heartache!"
He reassured her, "Yeah, I get you. As a teenager, I was in some sticky situations and dark patches without a clue as to what I was doing or what would become of me. I was even arrested once."
She smirked smugly, "Oh, I know."
He did a double take, "What? How!?"
She made a show of taking a sip of coffee. "I have my sources" she said huskily.
He laughed, "You seem to know so much more about me than I do about you. I mean, before today I had no idea..." he helplessly gestured at all of the photos.
She grinned up at him, he had a point.
"Let me help you even out the score. That is my mum" she pointed at a portrait of a 40-something woman. "Best mum ever. Too religious perhaps, didn't approve of any of my boyfriends, except for Mattheu because of how serious we were. But growing up with her… Wouldn't trade it for anything. She took us to the beach every day, even in winter."
"She looks just like you" he mused. Their eyes and hair were identical. "What's her name?"
"Netta."
She didn't miss the wistful look that crossed his features. He was undoubtedly thinking about his own mother whom he didn't get to enjoy the way she did.
She briefly placed a hand on his bicep and gave him a small smile.
His eyes conveyed his gratitude for her sensitivity.
"What about that picture?" he broke the moment, nodding at the photo that showed the woman she'd identified as her mum, Ava herself, a young mixed-race guy and an older black man. They all had their arms around each other and were grinning.
"This is our most recent family portrait, taken just before my departure for Chicago. That's my older brother, Kai, and our dad. Kai's protective as hell and we're very close, we FaceTime once a week. He was the one that helped me escape Cape Town and set me up in Johannesburg when... things fell apart. Don't think Mam ever forgave him for that!"
She was appreciative that he didn't address the clear racial differences between herself, her brother and dad. There would be better, unhurried times for that.
She skipped the picture of the 18-month-old girl with dark skin and adorable puff of hair that resembled a halo more than an afro. Instead, she pointed at a picture of a little spotted fish. "That little bugger may not look like much but is actually a shark I rescued. The first one I rescued."
His eyes popped, "What?"
"Yup. Some sharks lay eggs, such as this species. I found its egg-case washed up on the beach after a storm. I could just about make out the embryo within, it was tiny! I convinced my mum to let me set up an aquarium and let it hatch. 4 months later, little Dory was born. We released her back into the sea eventually. Until I left home, I continued to do this every time I found a washed-up egg-case… I miss saving them sharks."
"Is this why you have an aquarium in your kitchen?" he asked, amused, pointing in its direction, "Because you've had one for so long in your child- and teen-hood and miss it?"
"Yeah. It's my little reminder of home."
He laughed, "That's a very satisfying explanation, thank you!"
He glanced back at the pictures and pointed at the final one. "This is you as a kid?"
"Yes, uh, diving for the first time. Think I was about 12. You might've picked up by now that I love the sea."
"Hmm, not sure what gave it away first; your pillows, the ripple blanket, your mug or the fact that half of these photos feature the sea in some way" he said playfully.
She grinned sheepishly.
"I'm surprised you didn't become a marine biologist or something" he added.
"Actually, I had seriously considered becoming one. But I chose medicine after my brother was in an accident and the doctors brought him back to us from the brink of death. I wanted to be able to do that for others, too."
"Ahh" he breathed at that clarification, still studying the last picture carefully.
"That's all you get for today" she teased when a minute later, he was still staring at the pictures.
He looked down at her, his eyes were shining brightly.
"That's ok, I have a lot to work with and digest. Just, wow! You have such a vibrant past!"
She shrugged modestly, "Mostly, I guess."
They fell silent for a minute. Connor's eyes shifted from one photo to the next, again and again.
After a while, she said lightly, "You owe me now, though. I may have my sources, but they're not very… detailed accounts. Just a rather stark sketch of some aspects of Connor Rhodes."
He glanced at her again and laughed, "Well then, you'd better take it nice and easy and get back to work soon. We'll have many surgeries to discuss it all…"
"That sounds like a plan" she concurred happily.
Then she snuck a look at the clock on the wall, "Connor, I don't want to throw you out, but it's almost half past seven…"
He glanced at it, too, "Oh, right. I'd better get going before Doctor Latham wonders if he got me sick, too."
But he turned right back to the photos.
She smiled at that and decided to take the lead by walking towards the door, setting her mug down on the table on the way.
She leaned against the wall next to the door and watched him reluctantly tear his gaze for good from the pictures and pick up the cloth bag. He then walked towards the coat hanger, slipped his feet into his shoes, unhooked his jacket and pulled it on.
He looked up from where he stood, ready to leave, just a metre away from her.
She broke the silence first; "Connor, thank you for everything. I… Thank you. Why, though? Why…?"
Her question died on her tongue and hung unfinished in the air as he slowly started taking small steps towards her. Ava held her breath as he came very, very close to her, closing her in against the wall.
Her heart started to gallop and her mind whirred. Does this mean what I think it does, what I want it to? It must, right? She kept her eyes trained on him.
With a little shrug he nonchalantly said "No particular reason, just that I hate winning by default."
She grinned, hadn't she said that to him once?
"And cos we're friends, wouldn't you do the same for me?" his tone was light, so she rolled her eyes and said, "No, I don't know where you live."
He laughed at that. He was still oh so close. She licked her lips as her eyes drunk in all the details to him. He was so close that she had to crane her neck upwards and could see the light stubble grazing his cheeks and the gorgeous hue of his eyes.
She wanted nothing more than to close the little distance between them that in this moment actually felt like a huge canyon, to rise to her tiptoes and pull his face down to hers.
No. Not now. It wasn't a good time. She couldn't keep him from work. If she started anything now, it wouldn't do any of them good; he was in a hurry and this was something they needed to thoroughly explore together. She needed to be patient, soon she'd be well and would return to work, then they could resume their banter and hopefully pick up from here.
"So, uh, you'd better keep a safe distance…" she added quietly.
He grinned and glanced down at her lips. His gaze lingered long enough for her to be sure that he had looked in the first place.
She stood her guard, heart still racing.
He didn't move in any further, but continued grinning, "Ok. Until you're better, that is" he promised. She grinned back, hope flaring in her chest.
As he opened her door and took half a step out, she found that she could breathe again. Before he was out of earshot, she called, "Try not to enjoy my absence too much, and don't you dare get any interesting cases without me."
"Wouldn't dream of it" he replied without turning around.
Still grinning, she gazed after him until he was in his car and driving off.
This has definitely been the most eventful cold ever, she decided happily as she closed the door.