Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters linked to the series. They belong to Dick Wolf and Matt Ormstead. I also do not own any of the Chicago Fire, Chicago Med or SVU Characters that might appear.

Gianna Marino - Rachael Taylor

Chapter Seven: The Charity Ball.

Climbing out of the car, Gianna handed the keys over to the valet as she stared up at the fancy hotel were the charity ball was being held; she took a deep breath knowing that she was doing this for the hospital. In an effort to raise money for the hospital, it had been decided to host a charity ball with all the doctors, nurses and patrons in attendance to raise money; the hospital had bought tickets so that the staff could attend.

Gianna made her way into the hotel, almost relieved to be out of the cold December night air and wishing that she could have stayed home rather than trek across the city for this event. The hotel had been beautifully decorated for the occasion and Gianna nodded to those she recognised as she made her way into the ball room for the occasion.

Pausing for a moment, she stared at the seating chart that was by the door to find out what table she was seating on; she smiled finally finding her name and she saw that she recognised a few of the people on her table. The room was filled and there was a band playing music in the background, it seemed like no expense had been spared and she had no doubts that they expected to make a lot of money this evening.

Shaking off her nerves, Gianna made her way across the room to the bar and ordered herself a drink; she thanked the bartender as she turned to look around the room trying to spot anyone that she recognised. She could see Ms Goodwin from where she was stood, she was talking with some investors and seemed to be pointing out members of the staff to them that they should speak to.

Collecting her drink, Gianna made her way over to her table greeting people on the way; she could see a lot of heads of departments about and she was sure that she would see a lot more of her co-workers this evening. Arriving at Table 19, Gianna smiled at the two people that were already seated before setting her drink down by her name card and taking her seat.

It appeared she was one of the first to arrive as she didn't recognise the two people sat across from her and she peered at the name on her right not knowing them either. On her left was Dr. Robin Charles and it appeared next to her was Connor, at least she was seated by two people that she knew as she could see Maggie a few tables across and it appeared she'd been stuck between two donors. And she didn't have to wait long for Robin and Connor to arrive, the two had their arms linked as they made their way through the table to their seats; the two of them in conversation and flashing Gianna a smile.

"I guess this is the lucky table," Connor joked pulling out Robin's chair for her, they had bumped into Robin's father on the way in and he appeared to be stuck on a table by himself with a lot of donors. It seemed the case across the board from what Connor could tell, he was almost relieved that it was Gianna that he ended up with especially given the tensions that were growing with Dr. Latham. The man had made it more than clear that Connor was not his choice for Cardiothoracic Fellow he would have chosen someone else for the position but because of Dr Downey, it had been okayed for Connor to move across from trauma.

"I guess it is," Gianna replied with a smile, she didn't know Robin that well since she had only recently moved into the area as well but they had seen each other a few times around the hospital. "I can't believe they planned this for the coldest night of the year. I would have rather stayed home," Robin complained with a shake of her head, even with the wrap around her she couldn't shake the cold that she had felt from getting out of Connor's car.

Connor laughed and shook his head, it honestly wasn't that cold and he didn't know what Robin was complaining about as he'd even offered her his jacket but she'd declined. It wasn't as cold as it normally was for December in Chicago, it was only going to get colder and it was actually rather mild for December so they had really lucked out.

"I hear they're predicting snow for next week," Gianna said leaning closer to Robin, who almost looked horrified at the idea especially knowing that they would have to work in the very cold ED where the doors always open. Connor laughed at Robin's horrified expression, teasing her about if she's actually lived in Canada at all if she was afraid of a little snow.

"Would you like to dance?" Connor said offering his hand to Gianna, he felt bad that she had been stuck on her own most of the evening since the meal had finished; he knew how dull these things could be and she deserved to have some fun. Robin had disappeared off somewhere with her father, Dr Charles looking none to pleased with the idea that his daughter was dating Connor Rhodes of all people.

"Sure why not," Gianna said taking his hand and allowing Connor to lead her to the dance floor, a slow jazzy number was playing and there were a few couples on the dance floor. It wasn't like any of the parties or charity events that Gianna had attended with Michael, he always seemed to know what to do in these situations and she wished that some of his charisma had rubbed off on her. Swaying easily to the music, the two fell into an easy silence for a moment as they danced; there never seemed to be an awkward silence between them and they could enjoy each other's company.

"You look nice by the way, the colour suits you," Connor complimented Gianna's off-the-shoulder pink gown; she had complimented it with softer pink accessories that went well with her dress. Connor didn't think he'd seen Gianna all dressed up before, most of the time they were at the hospital in their scrubs although he had heard Maggie and April talk about how she dressed for night's out.

"It was a gift from my mother-in-law… Nancy always loved a good party," Gianna said with a smile, she felt a little guilty for not calling her back and she knew that she couldn't avoid them forever. Nancy was like the mother that Gianna had never had, she had loved her like one of her own daughters; she had always been so supportive even when it came to her fertility issues. Nancy had been the shoulder that Gianna had turned to when Michael had died, his death bringing them closer as they arranged his funeral and prepared to say goodbye to him.

"She has good taste," Connor complimented, sensing that he was entering uncomfortable territory with Gianna; it was rare to hear her talk much about anyone in her family other than her sister these days. Although it was no secret that like Dr Manning, she was a widower except Gianna had no part of her husband to keep her going while Natalie had Owen to keep her busy.

"She does," Gianna beamed making a mental note to send Nancy a picture of herself wearing the dress, she was sure she'd be thrilled to know that Gianna was wearing it instead of it being stuck in a closet somewhere.

"You have a really pretty smile," Connor blurted out before he could stop himself, it was rare to see Gianna give a smile where her entire face lite up and her eyes got this gleam to it. He didn't think he had ever seen her looking so carefree, her green eyes seeming to get lighter when she was happy and he had never noticed that before. Gianna laughed, her smile growing even bigger and she couldn't help the blush on her face; she didn't remember the last time that someone had complimented her in such a way.

"You have a nice smile as well," Gianna complimented back, she had to admit that it wasn't entirely a lie; he did have a nice smile especially when he was being himself and not just splashing the cash around the ED. Connor grinned, giving Gianna a little twirl as they swayed to the music; the two of them obvious to the outside world as they carried on dancing.

"I mean it. You should smile more, it brightens up a room," Connor encouraged her, he knew that Gianna didn't have much to smile about these days and he wished that there was something that he could do to take away her pain. There was something about her, from the moment that she came to Chicago Med that had changed how he felt about coming to work; he enjoyed working with her.

"I'll do my best," Gianna replied, she didn't think she was that gloomy but the way that Connor was looking at her made her think that maybe she had let her sadness get the better of her at times and she didn't want that happening at work. It wasn't easy to forget what had happened with Michael, she just couldn't let it control her life especially knowing he would not want her to stay sad forever.

Across the room, Robin paused as she watched the sight before her of Connor with Gianna; a frown setting upon her face as she took in the pair in a slow dance. The two of them weren't doing anything wrong but the way that they were looking at each other made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

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