I got this idea from a Chicago fie fanfic where Shay was exposed in the field and had to go on antiretrovirals and got sick from it. I can't find the fic now.

Ava and Connor were in an on-call room when their pagers went off. They got called into the ED for a MVA victim. The guy had multiple broken ribs. The best way to treat this would be to go in surgically and plate the ribs. The guy had HIV so it was risky. Connor and Ava decided to do it anyway. They got him up to surgery soon after. It was going well at first but then Ava cut herself on the scalpel halfway through the surgery.

"Ow!" Ava exclaimed.

"She's cut. The patient HIV positive" The scrub nurse said.

Ava walked away.

"Ava?" Connor called.

Connor quickly finished up the surgery and went back out to Ava.

"It just nicked me it barely broke the skin I doused it with betadine," Ava told Sharon.

"It doesn't matter hospital protocol-" Sharon tried to say.

"She's being sidelined?" Connor cut her off.

"because the patient is HIV positive you need to be seen in the infectious disease clinic and start taking antiretrovirals immediately. Now the medication can cause extreme nausea, so I want you off surgical rotation just for a few days until you acclimate" Sharon told her.

"And if I end up contracting the virus what happens to my career?" Ava asked

"There's such a small chance of that happening, you saw the patient's chart, he had a low viral load," Connor told her.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" Sharon added. "Just start taking the meds right away and hopefully there won't be anything to worry about ok?" she told her.

Sharon walked away and Ava was stressed.

"Ava I am so sorry I dont even know what to say," Connor said apologetically.

"It's not your fault I was the one who reached for the tray like some idiot resident," Ava replied.

"Well let me at least take a look at your hand," Connor told her.

"No it's okay I'll be fine Connor" Ava replied.

Ava went to the infectious disease clinic and got blood drawn and was prescribed antiretrovirals. An hour later their shift ended. Connor met Ava in the locker room.

"You ok?" Connor asked.

"Yeah," Ava replied.

They got dressed and started to walk to Connors's car.

"Can we swing by the pharmacy? I need to pick up my antiretrovirals" Ava asked.

"Yeah of course. I want you to stay with me tonight. I dont want you to be sick and alone" Connor told her.

"Ok," Ava replied.

They swung by the pharmacy to pick up the meds then stopped by Ava's house to grab a few things, they got to Connors and changed into pajamas. Ava took the pill and sat down on the couch. They turned on the TV and watched the news. 30 minutes later Ava ran to the bathroom and threw up.

"Ssh your ok it's ok let it all out" Connor soothed as he held her hair back and rubbed her back.

Once she was done he wiped off her face and had her rinse her mouth out.

Connor got her back to the couch and then got her some ice water.

"Drink some water for me I dont want you getting dehydrated," Connor told her.

Connor sat down and pulled Ava into his lap. She threw up again 20 minutes later.

"How are you feeling?" Connor asked,

"Awful I'm getting a headache" Ava replied.

"I'm sorry babe we can go to bed in a minute I'll be right back," Connor told her.

He left her in the bathroom and went and got Advil Pepto and ice water. He went back to the bathroom and had her take the meds. As she took the meds Connor got the first aid kit out.

"I want to change your bandage and clean your finger before we go to bed," Connor told her. He got some antiseptic wipes out of the first aid kit and opened them. He took off her bandage and looked at her finger. It didn't look too bad which relieved him. "This might sting" Connor warned. He cleaned her finger and she winced.

"I know I'm sorry" Connor soothed.

Connor led Ava to his bed. He got water, Pepto, Advil, and a trashcan. He put the water and medicine on the nightstand and put the trash can next to her side of the bed. He got in bed and pulled Ava into his chest. Ava whimpered at the movement.

"Sorry, do you want the heating pad?" Connor asked.

"Yeah," Ava replied.

Connor got up and got the heating pad and brought it back to her. She put it on her stomach and he wrapped his arms around her. Once the heating pad warmed up she was able to fall asleep because of the relief it brought. Ava threw up multiple times that night. Connor helped her each time. They both barely slept. When Ava woke up, she felt worse.

"How are you feeling babe?" Connor asked.

"Awful my head is pounding"

"I'm sorry babe take more medicine," Connor said as he handed her Advil and Pepto.

Connir massaged Ava's head and she fell back asleep. She slept for an hour before waking up. When she woke up Connor made her some toast and they watched Netflix in bed. Ava took her meds again with breakfast. An hour later she threw up. She was lying in bed cuddled up against Connor and got up and ran to the bathroom. Connor was close behind. He knelt down behind her and comforted him.

"Ssh your ok it's ok get it all out" Connor soothed while rubbing her back and holding her hair back.

Once Ava finished he wiped off her face and had her rinse her mouth. He searched his bathroom for a hair tie and was able to find one. He put her hair into a messy bun. Ava was sweating so Connor got her back in bed and turned on the fan as high as it could go. He also went and got another washcloth wet with cold water and put it on her forehead. Ava threw up multiple more times that night and Connor was getting worried. She was getting dehydrated. He grabbed his phone and called Will.

C Hey man are you busy?

W No why is everything ok?

C No avas really sick. Can you do me a huge favor?

W Yeah of course.

C Can you swing by med and pick up some supplies for an IV? Avas really dehydrated,

W Yeah of course.

C Thank you, man.

Will went and got the supplies and brought them to Connor. Connor thanked him and then went back to Ava.

"Hey baby I want to give you an IV you're getting dehydrated. Will brought over some supplies" Connor told her.

He got the IV started which took a couple of tries because of how dehydrated she was. She fell asleep soon after. When she woke up she felt better. Connor made her some chicken broth and she ate it. 45 minutes later, she threw it up.

"Ssh your ok it's ok I'm here let it all out" Connor soothed.

Once she was done she laid down on the floor. She was really hot.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Connor asked,

"No, I'm so hot. The cold floor feels good" Ava said as she sat up a little and slipped her shirt off so she was in her brs. She laid back down on the cold tile and sighed in relief. Connor got up and got the thermometer. He took her temperature and it was normal. She didn't have a fever but she was extremely hot. He grabbed a towel and slid it under her head as a makeshift pillow. She fell asleep for a bit before waking up to throw up. This process repeated for a few hours. Once she felt better she got up and went back to bed. Connor texted Sharon that they wouldn't be in tomorrow. They watched a movie before falling asleep. When they woke up in the morning Ava felt a little better, she was able to keep her breakfast down but was extremely nauseous and almost threw up multiple times. She threw up her lunch and Connor helped her. She only threw up once that day. She was able to keep down her dinner. The next day she was still nauseous but didn't throw up, she had no energy and was weak so she slept most of the day. Connor had to go to work the next day. Ava was still really tired so she slept most of the day. Two days later she was able to go back to work with anit nausea medication. She took it slow until she was better. 6 months later she got tested and was negative. They were relieved she didn't contract HIV.

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