Racing Hearts

AU. When Sarah's father returns to her life years later claiming he wants to make amends she struggles a bit with the decision of letting the man who once betrayed her into her heart again? Will her family make her see there's forgiveness after all?

I own nothing.

"A patient?" A voice said behind her. She looked up to find her own father staring back at her. Robert took a closer look at Ollie. "No, he is your son isn't he? He looks just like you at that age."

Sarah froze. "Listen Sarah, I was wondering if we could have a word? I know I don't deserve it but..." Reese turned around and she properly face to face with her father for the first time in years.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Waiting for you." He said softly. "I realize it might not be the best time but you seem to have your hands full most days." He smiled but she didn't. She hadn't dared to think of him all day as she had been dealing with her ill child, with her argument with Connor the other day and the fact that she wished she had all her three boys home.

"Sarah?" Natalie came back in that moment. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, I was just leaving..." Robert said. "Take care Sarah."

Sarah let out a breath she'd been holding. "I need to call Connor."


He'd taken the boys to bed with him when Amy had told him they hadn't been able to sleep. He placed some pillows around both boys so they wouldn't roll off bed.

Connor then watched them sleep, back when he'd been young he didn't really thought much about having children, not after his mother had been taken from him in such a tragic way.

He often thought if he'd seen what was wrong with her. Could he have helped her? Being a better son and not complain about school or piano lessons? He remembered the day before Elizabeth had died, in fact it haunted him. She'd spent the day in bed and just like any saturday morning he was told not to bother her until she came out of her room, but that day as his father had left for a meeting, Connor hadn't listened to him and he'd sneaked in to see her. He'd gotten into bed with her and his mother had held him and told him she loved him.

Connor never imagined that would be the last time he'd hold his mother.

"Sarah?" He answered as quickly as he could when her name came into the screen. "Did something happen?"

"Ollie's gone up to a room, he's stable." Sarah said softly. "How are you?"

"Pissed." He told her. "Ava had no right to told me off like that."

Sarah sighed. "She kind of did babe, Goodwin would have had your head for treating your own son."

"So, you're on her side?" He asked, hurt.

"No, I'm just saying, treating people who are important to us, it clouds our judgement." Connor smiled, he was exhausted and mad but Sarah was right. "Are they boys sleep?"

"Yep, I'm watching them right now, cuddled in our bed. " He told her.

"I wish we could be there too." Sarah said as she pictured the moment perfectly in her head. "Ava says she'd like Ollie to stay a few days, just to be on the safe side, she's getting Dr. Latham to consider having Ollie moved up on the list."

Connor sighed. "I could call Marco..."

Sarah bit her lip. Connor's best friend Marco, worked in non prolific organizations back in Mexico and Latin America and the world as a trauma fellow, he'd have connections with almost every specialist in the world as he moved around a lot, he could pull a few strings just as Dr. Latham could, not that he would move Ollie up just because he was their child, but Ava could.

As much as Sarah hated to admit it, she'd come to respect the woman as she'd been working with Ollie for a while assisting Dr. Latham, it was a job for which she was more than qualified and she had her head cold not like Sarah and Connor. "Hey babe?" She wanted to take his mind off Ava.

"Yeah?"

"My father showed up." Connor tensed up. "He keeps insisting I talk to him."

Connor bit his lip. He moved from the bed not to wake up the boys. "Connor, are you there?"

"There's something I need to tell you."


Ollie came back home a few days later. Sarah hadn't seen Robert again but she knew he was being considered for a transplant and that he'd requested Connor. She truly didn't know if he knew about her connection to him but Connor had said he seemed clueless and he didn't want to give him a reason to suspect.

"Sarah? We are home!" Connor called. Reese had come early from work so he'd agreed to pick up the boys from daycare so they could welcome their brother home.

He led the boys inside. "Mommy!"

"Mommy!"

"Hey guys." Sarah said softly. "Come here, I've missed you."

"Mommy, where's Ollie?" Luke asked, his blue eyes wide. "Hospital?"

"Nope, he's got a surprise for you, why don't you go find him?" Finn looked curiously over at his brother before going to find Ollie. "I'll be right there, okay?"

"Tired?" Connor smiled.

"A litte, most of all I'm relieved he's' home. Did you talk to Ava?"

"He's at the top of the list. An artificial heart could be the option if there's a crisis, his heart is a little tired out." Connor explained. He saw the defeat in Sarah's face. "Hey, this doesn't mean anything."

"How long could he live on the artificial heart?" She asked as he tried to reach for her.

"At least a year."

"In the hospital?"

"We could hire help." He told her. "We're not there yet babe."

Sarah smiled. "Right. Come on, let's go." She led Connor to the boy's room. Ollie was there with his brothers as they were hard at work with their playdoh. They watched as Luke would make sure Ollie was sitting down and if he dropped something Finn would pick it up.

Clearly the boys hadn't noticed them standing there because they were so immersed in their game. Luke suddenly turned around and a wide smile painted his face.

Sarah and Connor joined them in their creative spree and as Sarah watched her boys laugh and pay attention to Connor's instruction on how to make bunny ears, her mind drifted back to that moment in which she knew Connor Rhodes would become her family.

Much more than the family she'd envisioned for herself growing up.


"Seriously guys, I have to review my cases for tomorrow." Sarah dragged her feet over to Molly's as Maggie, Natalie and April pushed her inside.

"Dr. Charles is here too, he's not going to care." April told her. "What are you drinking?"

Sarah felt her stomach turn into nodes at the smell of alcohol. "Just water."

"Are you sure?" April asked. Sarah sighed, she and Connor had gone to one of his mother's galas a few weeks back and she couldn't drink since then, it made her sick to even think of it, she was sure she'd not be drinking for a while.

Maybe it had been all the drinks she'd had that night as she watched Connor's father disapprove of everything in his son's life.

Including his relationship choices.

"Positive..." She smiled. April then followed Maggie and Nat down to the bar as Sarah sat down on their kept table.

"Hello there Dr. Reese." Herman smiled as he came carrying a few boxes. "You're not by yourself, are you?"

"Nah, I've been dragged down to a girl's night out." Sarah huffed. Herman raised an eyebrow at her."What?"

"Nothin'..." Herman smiled and walked away just as the girls were coming back. She really wished she could go home or at least sneak into the surgical floor with Connor as it was their anniversary. He'd been called in for an emergency by Dr. Latham as Ava was in a conference somewhere.

They'd officially being together for two years but as always work had come in the way for Connor, the kiss he'd given her that morning had seemed to promise a lot of things but then she had gotten his call. He'd be in surgery all night

And of course her friends had seen her mopping, hence the trip to Molly's.

"Cheer up Reese." Maggie smiled. "Want to dance?"

"Or Karaoke? We should do Karaoke!" April said. Sarah gave her a puzzled look. "Let's go!"

"Guys, really..." Sarah begged. "I'm not in the mood."In that moment she saw Connor from the corner of her eye.

"I bet your mood's improved by now." April hissed. Sarah rolled her eyes at her.

"Hey." He smiled. "Guys do you mind if I steal Sarah?"

"By all means" Maggie smiled. "Do something so she stops being moppy."

"Will do." Connor smiled. "Good night."

She walked hand in hand with Connor. "I thought you were pulling an all nighter."

"You don't seem happy to see me." Connor huffed.

"Of course I am!" She hissed. "So happy.." He leaned to kiss her on the lips. "Even more after that..."

He laughed. "It's a little late for reservations but what do you say on us staying in?"

"Connor, please don't tell me you passed up on a double bypass with Dr. Latham..." She told him.

"Okay, I'm not telling you." He smirked.

"It's not funny..." She frowned. "It's your chance to impress him, not to show him he can't depend on you..."

"Sarah, slow down that brain of yours for a minute. Surgery got moved up a little, that's all." He said.

"Oh." She bit her lip. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"I promise." He kissed her again. She could just argue so he could shut her up like that.


"No wine? Are you feeling okay?" Connor smiled as he poured himself a glass.

"I'm fine. I guess we had too much to drink at the Gala the other night." Sarah told him. "

"Oh, yeah..." He said cheekily. "Fair enough, but when it comes to my father..."

"Your father gets on my nerves too babe, don't worry." Sarah reached for his hand. "I know we go to those events for your mom but once I wish he wouldn't look at me like I was the biggest mistake you've ever made." Connor turned serious.

"Don't do that Sarah, you are the most important person in my life, alright? And nothing my Cornelius says or does is ever going to change that." She was crying and honestly didn't know why.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. Connor stood up from across the table to stand behind her as he wrapped around her. "This was not how I was planning this night to go."

She laughed and he kissed her forehead. They were too perfectly messed up for their own good.

"Honestly, neither did I." He admitted. Connor fiddled with something in his pocket for a moment before turning his attention back to Reese. "Wait here."

She watched as he disappeared into the back of the apartment. Sarah wondered what that was all about.

"Connor?" She called but she didn't hear anything other than his guitar in the moments following.

"So, I had all of it planned out." He began to explain. " I wanted to make it better than this but now I'm realizing that this is where our lives really begin."

Sarah froze for a moment. Was he about to do what she thought? Oh.

"Connor, what are you doing?"

"Praying 5 years of guitar lessons my mother made me take serve me for something." He smiled. Sarah sat there watching him as the chord echoed in her head. Her mind was racing all over as he played and sang.

He'd kill her if she told the boys about this but she was too lost in his voice to even care.

Time, is going by, so much faster than I,
And I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you.
Now I'm, wondering why, I've kept this bottled inside,
So I'm starting to regret not telling all of it to you.
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know

You're never gonna be alone!
From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall,
You're never gonna be alone!
I'll hold you 'till the hurt is gone.

And now, as long as I can, I'm holding on with both hands,
Cause forever I believe that there's nothing I could need but you,
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know

You're never gonna be alone!
From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall,
When all hope is gone
I know that you can carry on
We're gonna take the world on
I'll hold you 'till the hurt is gone

Oh,
You've gotta live every single day,
Like it's the only one, what if tomorrow never comes?
Don't let it slip away,
Could be our only one, you know it's only just begun
Every single day,
May be our only one, what if tomorrow never comes?
Tomorrow never comes

Time, is going by, so much faster than I,
And I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to you.

You're never gonna be alone!
From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall,
When all hope is gone
I know that you can carry on
We're gonna take the world on
I'll hold you 'till the hurt is gone

I'm gonna be there all the way,
I won't be missing one more day,
I'm gonna be there always,
I won't be missing one more day.

She had tears in her eyes as she held her breath. He'd taken her to a Nickelback concert in one of their first dates, because she said she'd loved them.

And now he was proposing to her after singing to her.

"I love you Sarah Reese and I want to be lucky enough to get to wake up with you by my side for the rest of my life, because the truth is babe." His voice was breaking. "I battled with a lot of demons my whole life, but Sarah, You make me want to be better... You make me better and I hope I can continue to be worthy of you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?"


I was thinking of a more cheesy way to do the proposal scene but I ended up with this, I hope it's not too OCC. What did you think? Please review!