To let you guys know, I'm now start the spring/summer semester at college so updates will be less frequent
'This is a first. Ava is happily walking.' Connor commented in his head watching his rival speed walk ahead of him and Dr. Latham towards the recovery room.
She walked through the doors first with a happy grin on her face as she directed her attention to the patient on the bed.
"Ava!" The older white-haired gentlemen called. He looked up from his tablet once he heard the doors open.
Ava went straight to the patient's arms to give him a quick embrace and he responded with his right arm around her back.
"Hello."
"Hello, Dr. Jaffrey!"
The two released their hold on one another, but still had a one hand on each other.
"How great to see you."
"Your trip was all right?"
"Well, as all right as an 18-hour flight can possibly be." They both retracted their hands.
She chuckled at his response. "You already know Dr. Latham." She motioned with her right hand across the bed.
"Course." Dr. Jaffrey nodded towards him
"This is Dr. Rhodes, another CT Fellow." She introduced Connor.
"Ah. Great." The elder man saluted him.
Connor nodded towards him.
"Dr. Jaffrey's not only one of the world's greatest heart surgeons but was also my mentor in Cape Town." Ava bragged about her connection to him while Dr. Jaffrey waved his hand off to the side, signaling that it's not a big deal. "Taught me everything I know." She grinned towards the man.
"I have read your book, Dr. Jaffrey. It's an honor to meet you." Said Connor.
"Oh, please." He continued to wave all the compliments aside. "I'm just another patient today."
"There's a tumor on the upper lobe of Dr. Jeffrey's right lung." Dr. Latham directed his attention to Connor as he looked at the scan on his tablet.
"It's invaded his superior vena cava, obstructing blood flow to his head and upper extremities." Ava turned to his direction to further explain the case.
"We'll need to remove a portion of the lung and resect the tumor." Dr. Latham finished.
"And I want my star pupil to oversee the procedure." Dr. Jaffrey placed his hand over Ava's.
Ava grinned at his action and words. "Thank you for our confidence, Dr. Jaffrey. We're getting an O.R. prepped as we speak." She turned to leave the room, till he started talking again and turned back.
"Ah, just one thing. Um...I don't tolerate anesthesia well." He explained.
Connor shifted his eyes to look at Ava then back at their patient. "Well, we can talk to the anesthesiologist about adjusted your cocktail." He shifted his body to leave, till he started talking again.
"Uh, no. Uh, I think I have a better idea." He started to motion his idea with his hands. "Place a high epidural and load me up with bupivacaine." He looked at Ava whom looked at the other two doctors, all unsure what to say.
Till Connor broke the silence.
"Hold on. You would like to be... awake for the surgery."
"Well, strictly as an observer, of course." He nodded towards Ava.
Ava could only respond with an unsure grin.
"No, it's just that we would be taking an unnecessary risk." Connor continued. "The epidural site could hemorrhage from the blood thinners alone..." He shifted his eyes towards Ava.
'Aren't you gonna say something too, Ava?' He thought to himself.
"You...you could be paralyzed." He finished.
Dr. Jaffrey took in his words for a second before looking at Ava. "Not if we do it off-pump." He signaled with his eyes to further explain.
Ava's eyes shifted to look at the side, thinking on what to say. "Right." She made eye contact with him. "We can construct a temporary graft from the brachiocephalic vein to the right atrium,"
Connor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion with her supporting her mentor and looked over at Dr. Latham who was deeply listening to the explanation.
"clamp the superior vena cava and remove the tumor."
Dr. Jaffrey face lid up at her explanation then looked at Dr. Latham.
"Certainly, eliminate the need for a bypass." Dr. Latham finished.
Connor had a 'WTF' facial expression written on his face as he looked at him.
"Exactly." Said Dr. Jaffrey.
"Absolutely. We'll do it... that is, of course, if it's okay with Dr. Latham." She turned to look at him.
"Good." Dr. Jaffrey patted Ava's hands on the railing.
"I think Dr. Jaffrey has alleviated my concerns. I'll make the arrangements." Dr. Latham replied.
"Thank you." Dr. Jaffrey nodded.
Ava and Dr. Latham both walked after, leaving Connor to awkwardly stare at the old man before leaving the room as well.
"I'll let Vorspan know about the high epidural." Ava spoke to Dr. Latham as they exited the recovery room.
"Did we really just agree to allow a patient to by fully awake while we perform open-heart surgery?" They both turned around once Connor started talking.
"Dr. Jaffrey is well aware of the risks and has given us his consent" Ava answered putting her hands in her coat pockets.
"There's no way that we can guarantee we'll neutralize all of his pain, and even if we do, every time his lungs inflate, it'll obstruct our field." Connor countered.
"I have faith in our anesthesiologists and Dr. Bekker." Dr. Latham turned to face her.
She was about to move till Connor started talking again.
"Awake surgery is extremely risky and should only be performed when medically necessary."
Dr. Latham took a step forward towards Connor. "I understand your concern, Dr. Rhodes, but I trust Dr. Jaffrey's judgement and respect his desire to observe. If I were in his situation, I certainly would. Seeing my own beating heat." A small smile appeared on his face then looked over to Ava who then smiled.
The two doctors then walked away, leaving Connor alone in his thoughts.
"This is a terrible idea."
Connor and Ava were in the scrub room scrubbing their arms and hands.
"Any particular reason you tried to sabotage this?" Ava looked over to him.
"How about we're taking an unnecessary risk all so you can rack up a splashy surgery?" He responded
Her lips curved into a grin. "Oh, so it's about the credit. Jealous maybe?" She looked over to him again with a smug look this time.
"No. No, I am just worried about Dr. Jaffrey dying on the table."
"He knows what he's doing." She responded focusing on scrubbing. "Plus, this "splashy surgery," as you call it, will be good for the hospital and the CT program."
"How very selfless of you."
Ava took a quick glance at before washing the soap with water.
Nurse Beth opened the O.R. door. "Dr. Bekker, we're ready." She spoke and went back inside.
Ava shook off some water then walked towards the O.R., back against the door.
"Coming, Dr. Rhodes?" Her last words before entering the O.R.
Connor had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"This woman." He sighed.
"Dr. Jaffrey? Still no discomfort?" Dr. Latham asked.
"Uh, a little pulling. Some pressure." The man on the table replied.
"Yeah, I can believe that." Connor spoke nonchalantly.
Ava looked up to with a slight glare to her eyes.
"Ah, my ventricles. Contractions still look strong. No fatty deposits. My coronary artery is pristine." Dr. Jaffrey commented looking at the monitor directed towards him to see.
"Very healthy heart, Dr. Jaffrey." Dr. Latham commented.
"You eat a lot of oatmeal, Dr. Jaffrey?" Connor joked.
He chuckled in response. "Good one."
Ava smiled under her mask, she nodded seeing they were ready. "I'm ready for the scalpel." She lifted her right hand towards Beth to give her the tool. The nurse handed her the tool, Ava twisted the tool between her fingers.
"Uh, what?" Dr. Jaffrey become alerted. "Why a scalpel?"
Connor gazed at her to see how she'll respond.
"I need to divide the azygos vein." She responded.
"But shouldn't you do the entire dissection first? Save that till last?" He added.
"I...I..." She didn't know what to say.
So, Connor decided to help.
"She's got a good angle on it now."
"Yeah, but what happens if something goes wrong?" The old man stated.
Connor continued to keep his eyes on Ava. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was struggling with her mentor questioning her surgical skills.
"I mean, good lord, you won't have enough collateral blood flow to bypass the obstruction."
Connor looked over to his left for Dr. Latham to answer.
Even Ava looked over to him for help.
"Dr. Jaffrey, I want to remind you that you're awake to observe this operation, not conduct it." Dr. Latham said professionally.
"Oh, sorry." The older man apologized. "Force of habit. Sorry." He turned his head towards Ava's direction. "Please proceed, Dr. Bekker."
Ava nodded nervously before continuing.
Connor kept his eyes on her.
'Is this the same person who was just smiling and was happy earlier when she saw this man? Is Ava Bekker...really scared? She almost looks like she's shaking. I've never seen her like this. Not even Downey was like this. And this is the man Ava looks up to.' Connor observed and spoke his thoughts to himself.
Time has passed by, and as Connor expected, Dr. Jaffrey kept commenting time to time about Ava's performance.
"I'm coming around the anterior edge, just about ready to take the last section. Hand me the bipolar."
"W... surely you don't intend to use a cautery knife." Dr. Jaffrey become alerted by her words.
Ava had the exact tool in her hands and paused when he started talking.
"I thought it would help to..." She stumbled with her words again.
Seeing she needed help again,
"It'll help her keep ahead of the bleeding while she cuts." Connor spoke for her.
'Jesus, she's doing fine. You trained her didn't you, old man!' Connor complained to himself.
"No, no no. You do not touch me with that torture device." Dr. Jaffrey started to scold her. "Did I fail to teach you proper surgical technique?"
Ava raised her eyebrows at his scolding. "You always said it's important to maintain hemostasis."
"Yes, after the cutting and the tying of the vessels individually, not charring them with a bloody cautery knife." He continued his scolding.
"There's a lot of cooks in this kitchen." Connor spoke nonchalantly.
'So that's where Ava gets it from. It was this guy. It all makes sense now. He made her like this when she got here.' Connor discovered to himself.
"Yes, well, my well-being's at stake here."
"I understand, Dr. Jaffrey." She assured her mentor. "I'm fine. Give me the Metz." She instructed and switched tools as he wanted. She proceeded to work and cut the piece of flesh out. "There. I've got everything." She placed it in the tray Beth was holding.
Ava held her hands up front.
"I'm ready to reconstruct the vena cava. Give me a 20-millimeter Dacron graft and a 3-0 Prolene stitch."
"What? No, no, no, no, no." He started to scold again. "3-0 is far too heavy for a graft this size."
Ava raised her eyebrows and blinked. "I thought the 3-0 was appropriate."
"No." He slightly shook his head. "All right, that's it. You're out." He ordered.
Ava raised her eyebrows and jolted at his words.
"That's enough, Dr Jaffrey." Dr. Latham spoke, knowing the man has gone too far.
"It's my heart, and I'll tell you when it's enough." He looked over to Connor. "Rhodes. Rhodes!"
Connor toneless turned his head to look down at the male South African doctor.
"You're in. Take the instruments. Now." He ordered.
Connor looked back at Ava and saw that she was standing still, not moving.
'That's it! I've had it!" He ranted to himself.
"Dr. Latham, I believe that it's time to put our esteemed patient under general anesthesia."
Ava's eyes stretched out wide and looked straight towards him.
"What? No!" Dr. Jaffrey exclaimed.
"I think it's in his best interest." Connor looked over to Dr. Latham who quickly agreed by nodding his head, acknowledging that he's also at his limit with this doctor.
"No, wait a minute. We had an agreement. Come on."
"Allen, if you would please." Connor instructed the anesthesiologist.
Allen took out a dose from his breast pocket.
'And this is why I told Allen to prepare this as plan B.' Connor commented to himself.
"No." The older man continued to argue as Allen proceeded. "Allen, the...you do not..."
Ava stared at Connor the entire time then slowly shifted her eyes downward.
Allen inserted the dose of anesthesia.
"You..." Dr. Jaffrey softly spoke, "What...No.." he quickly closed his mouth, falling asleep.
"How about that? So quiet you can hear a heartbeat." Connor commented on the long-awaited peace and quiet O.R..
His cerulean blue eyes looked over to Ava and contacted her hazel eyes.
"Now, Dr. Bekker, I believe you were about to sew in the graft with a 3-0 stitch." He reminded her the procedure she planned to do.
She stared at him for a couple of more seconds before looking down.
"Suture and DeBakey's" She proceed to do the surgery.
Connor looked over to Dr. Latham, acknowledging that she's gonna be okay.
Allen had placed a ventilator mask over Dr. Jaffrey's face for the remainder of the surgery.
The surgery was successful in the end. Dr. Jaffrey was in the recovery room, up and alerted.
Connor and Ava slowly approached his bed. Connor kept his eyes glued on Ava as she nervously approached closer to the head of the bed.
"We were able to completely remove the tumor and reconstruct the superior vena cava." Ava told him.
Dr. Jaffrey shifted his head but didn't say a word.
Ava waited for her mentor to say something and Connor could tell she was by looking at her face.
"Dr. Jaffrey?" He pushed.
Ava had a small hopeful look on her face, mixed with her nerves.
Dr. Jaffrey finally made eye contact with her and shot her a glare. "You disappoint me." He spoke softly.
His words stabbed her chest as she looked down in sorrow.
Almost ready to cry.
Connor noticed it and started to speak again.
"Dr. Jaffrey, everything went perfectly, all according to Dr. Bekker's plan. You were right to put your trust in her. She is a first-rate surgeon."
Ava widen her eyes and turned towards Connor at his praise. She blinked a few times before looking back at her patient.
"Get some rest, Dr. Jaffrey. I'll be back to check on you soon." She quickly exited the room.
Connor stared at her retreating figure then back at her mentor who leaned back against the bed and closed his eyes to rest.
He then exited the room to find Ava leaning against the wall and staring across.
She looked lost.
And hurt.
He stopped and faced her sideways.
Ava took notice in his presence.
She quickly nodded and looked at his face.
Her eyes were shining,
she was about to cry.
"Connor..." She pursued her lips.
She paused, not knowing what to say.
He could tell she was holding in her emotions.
She didn't want to cry in front of him.
"I have to go put in my surgical notes." She looked away from his eyes as she spoke before taking a quick glance at him and then walking pass him.
He slowly turned around and watch her leave.
This was a new side of Ava he never seen before and was at a loss for words.
'I can't imagine going through what she did under him.'
After Ava's shift ended, all she wanted was to go home after today. She hasn't felt this way since she lived in South Africa.
One of the main reasons why she wanted to do her CT fellowship in America, was because she wanted to start over her life and have a fresh start. It's been about 10 months since and things have been going good for her. Working at Chicago Med has made her forget about her childhood and growing up.
Till today, that is.
When her mentor told her about his condition and wanted her to perform it, she was thrilled.
He had been tough on her when she learned under him, but it was all so it she would be toughing up when performing surgeries and work with other doctors.
She hadn't expected him to want to be awake during the surgery, but it was him, and she wanted to please him as she always has.
Today, was not one of those days.
He chewed her out, disagreed with her choices and decisions during the surgery. To the point where he wanted her out.
It was not the first time he kicked her out of the operating room before. This happened a few times back in Groote Schuur.
And like back then, she felt humiliated. It felt worse here than it did before. Because she wanted a new start here. It felt even more humiliated with her rival who stood across from her and witnessing the whole ordeal.
When Dr. Jaffrey told Connor to perform the remainder of the surgery, she had expected him to do what the famous heart surgeon had instructed him to do, but instead he did the opposite. He ordered the anesthesiologist to put him to sleep to let her proceed with the surgery with the way she wanted to.
The surgery was successful, but even though it was, Dr. Jaffrey called her a disappointment.
But what surprised her the most was Connor.
Ever since day 1, she's been competing with him to prove who's the better surgeon and who will one day take the CT attending position at Med.
She even stole his big case months ago and yet, he still defended her.
He called her a first-rate surgeon right when she was about to cry in front of them.
In front of her role model who called her a failure.
In front of her rival.
She doesn't like to feel weak in front of others, so she quickly left the room to be alone with her thoughts.
She had a feeling that Connor would follow her and see how she was doing. Right then, she didn't know what to say to him.
No one has ever stood up for her.
He was the first.
Thinking about said person, he was standing right in front of her by the nurses' station signing documents. As usual, he was wearing black clothing like he almost does every day.
Ava's legs acted instead of her mind.
Connor sensed her presence and turned to his right to face her. He stood up straight and looked carefully at her face, trying to read her facial expression.
"Ava."
"Hey Connor." Her body swayed a bit and her hands gripped onto the right strap of her backpack she was carrying on one side.
"I... I wanted to say, "thank you" to you for what you said today to, Dr. Jaffrey." She looked down at Connor's shoes, avoiding making eye contact with him. "That was really nice of you to say."
Connor could tell she was still upset about what Dr. Jaffrey did and was trying her best to thank him.
"No problem. I meant every word." He responded with a sincere look on his face. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. It's not a big deal. Really." She shook her head and lifted it up to make eye contact with him.
'No... I'm not. You only know what you heard when you were in the room with him. It's what he said the second time I checked in on him is what killing me right now. And... he's not wrong.'
Connor could tell she was lying.
Her body language gave it away.
She was slightly shaking.
"Would you like to have a drink with me? You look like you really need one and a friend right now." He gave her a genuine warm look.
Ava was about to deny his invitation but bit her tongue to prevent those words from coming out. She slightly bit her lower lip as she gazed up into Connor's warm comforting eyes.
"I know you're tough and strong, Dr. Bekker. Believe me, I know that better than anyone else here at Med. But I do know that you shouldn't be alone right now. At least for a couple of hours. It doesn't even have to be a drink. We can go for a walk, or anything. I just don't want you to be alone." Those words eased out of Connor's mouth, without even thinking about what to say.
Ava felt her heart beating a little faster than normal at Connor's words.
She was at a loss for words that her lips started moving.
"Actually, yes. I could really use a drink right now." Those words softly came out of her soft pink lips.
"Okay, let's go." He gave the nurse the documents, he placed a comforting hand on Ava's left shoulder as she turned around and the two walked towards the elevator. She didn't shake it off, she really needed a comforting hand right now.
Connor commented on Ava being his first passenger in his Porsche, or as she called it, "showy wheels," was enough to get her to slightly chuckle. He considers that his first win tonight of helping her feel better.
He drove them to the nearest bar by her place. He bought them two pairs of beer and stand down at a small table, seating across from one another.
"How do you feel now?" Connor asked after Ava took one drink.
"A little better now after having a drink." She stared at the bottle then towards him. "I really needed this. Thanks, Connor."
"Yeah, of course. It was really a tough day. Was it always this hard back when you were in Groote Schuur?" He was implying learning under Dr. Jaffrey.
Ava took a second to process his words. "Sort of. There would be days where he would praise me on the work I've done, and then there would be days where he would scold me on my actions." She scratched the back of her neck with her right hand. "I've known him since I was a med student and he took me under his wing when I told him I wanted to become a cardiothoracic surgeon and he saw me in the O.R. thought I could become a great one."
"And you are." He complimented, earned what seemed to be the corners of her lips curving slightly.
"Sometimes in his eyes I am." She added.
"He called you his star pupil at the start. Surely you left South Africa on high notes. I mean, Dr. Latham even told me that he wanted you instead of me for the fellowship. He told me that the first day we met. I'm serious!" He exclaimed.
"Really? That's good to know. Even when we haven't met, I was still seen better than you." She spoke in a smug tone.
He took a swing of his beer seeing that she was slowly started to be her old self.
Exactly what he was trying to do.
"Well, since you took my spot, I got to spend more time working under Dr. Jaffrey and he didn't really mind it. He was happy that I stayed in the country. He said he would have missed me if I left. Which he did because he flew 18-hours just to see me." Her words caused her to remember what Dr. Jaffrey last said to her, she took another drink.
"You two seemed really close. A close mentor-pupil relationship."
"Yeah well, he was... like a father figure to me."
Ava kept talking without thinking.
"Especially since everyone in my family are dead."
Her words caused Connor to sit up straight and widen his eyes. "Everyone in your family is dead?"
Ava jolted up at his words, just realizing what she just said.
'Shit! No one's supposed to know that!' She scolded herself.
"Is that why you became a doctor?" He gave her a soft look.
Knowing Connor was gonna keep pushing for it, she had no choice but to tell him.
Ava had a deep look on her face before nodded. "It's a long story."
"I don't have any plans." He looked at her sincerely. "I'm all ears."
Ava blinked a few times before looking down at her beer. "It was 20 years ago. My family and I went to go see a movie. I don't remember what movie it was, didn't get the chance to see it when it happened."
Connor listened carefully, not saying a word to let her speak.
"We were almost at the movie theater when we heard people screaming and then shortly it was followed by sounds of a couple of gun shots." Her mind was slowly recalling that terrible day. "Lots of people were running away from the gunshots, bumping into one another. That's how I got separated from my parents and my older brother and sister. I somehow managed to break free of the stampede and found a small open area. I lost my family in the crowd. I was only 9 years old at the time and I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know what to do. I called out their names, but I was only a little kid, so no one heard my voice. Some bystander saw I was alone and carried me away from the chaos as the gunshots started to get closer. I was taken to the police station where other civilians were taking shelter. The event lasted for 5 hours. It turns out, it was a 37-year-old mentally ill man with schizophrenia in one of the most advance stages. He had an automatic rifle and killed over 3,000 people in one day before getting shot in the head himself."
Connor's eyes lit up at the death toll. "I remember hearing about that. It was all over the news back then. You were there?" He was speechless to know that Ava was there on that terrible day.
She nodded then made eye contact with him. "By the time they located my family, it was a week after the incident." She paused for a moment. "They weren't lucky like I was. While I was saved and taken away from the shooting, they were all knocked down to the ground and the shooter had got to them." She clenched her left fist. "They were all shot in the heart. I lost everything that day."
Connor had a concern look on his face. He lost his mother when he was only 10 years old, but he at least still had a family.
Ava had no one.
"After that I was put into the foster system. Jumping from one house to another, I never stayed at any good homes. One of them was abusive when I turned 16 and had to go to another house cause my foster father tried to sexually assault me." Her eyes dripped downwards to the table.
Connor's heart broke hearing that Ava was almost raped.
"No one wanted me, so I was never adopted and left the system when I turned 18.
Because of what happened to my family was why I wanted to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. So, I was always studying and kept to myself. I went to University of Cape Town with a full ride scholarship.
Since I was always alone, I couldn't make any real friends while growing up. People in school only pretended to be my friend just so I could help them with their homework and projects. Relationships were never real. They were only interested in my appearance rather than my personality.
I had just accepted it without a second thought and continued to study to become a doctor. Eventually, I managed to get Dr. Jaffrey to notice me and he took me under his wing. He trained me closely on everything I did in both in and out of the O.R.. He eventually became short of a father figure to me because he was the only one who cared about me.
No one else cared about me at all.
I was…. all alone in this world."
Connor tried to absorb every single detail; it was a lot for one person to take in. He first wanted to take her out for a drink to make her feel better and forget what Dr. Jaffrey did. But, never did he ever think he would get her to spill her background before coming to Med.
Her story now made perfect sense for her actions since they first met. She doesn't have full grasp on interpersonal relationships, emotions, and vulnerability due to her terrible childhood. All the times she teased, mocked, etc., was her protecting herself from others.
Connor has never met anyone like her.
The fact that she had a terrible childhood and still turned out to become a great surgeon amazed him.
"When I left for the states, Dr. Jaffrey and I parted on good terms." Ava sighed and looked up towards the ceiling.
"He was also the only other person in this world that knows about my childhood. So, after I checked in on him again when you weren't there, he reminded me of my family's death and how if I was the one performing surgery on them, they would have still died because I'm a disappointment." She then looked back down.
Connor felt a huge amount of rage towards her mentor.
'That sick son of a bitch! How dare he say those things to her! After everything she's been through?! Hell! Maybe he should have died from the tumor! I don't care if he's her teacher, he doesn't deserve to be!'
"Hey, forget what that son of bitch said to you. He's doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't even know your parents or your brother and sister. He never met them before. Only you have. Only you would know how your parents and brother and sister were. No one else." He tried to persuade her. "We all have our stories on why we chose this path. Some are good and some are bad. At least yours is more heroic than my story."
"Wait, what do you mean? Ava raised her left eyebrow in confusion by his words.
She told him her story, it's only fair that he tells her his story.
"The System's rugged...and it pisses me off." He clenched his right fist.
"It pisses you off? What are you talking about?"
Connor sniffed his nose before looking at her. "I sat in jail before."
Ava blinked her eyes in surprise.
"My buddy and I... Summer before I went to college, we got busted trying to buy drugs off of an undercover cop."
Ava blinked her eyes even more. "You?" She said in a astonish tone.
"Yeah." He scoffed. "I mean, come on, at that age, many think they're invincible, right? Turns out, only one of us was right." He looked straight into her eyes. "My dad pulled some strings, and he got me off."
"What about your friend?"
"Well, his dad didn't own a department store." He paused to let her process that. "Turns out the lifeboat was only big enough for one of us, so I had a choice. I could stand by my friend, or I could jump in."
Connor had a deep look on his face then looked back into Ava's eyes, waiting for him to continue. "So, I jumped in the boat." He spoke with regret written all over his face.
Ava had a small frown on her face and looked down at the table before opening her mouth. "Have you talked to your friend since after that?"
Sorrow filled his blue eyes. "He died of an overdose before I could..." He shook his head. "Before I could work up the nerve."
Ava slowly processed all that information and had a dismay look.
"We all have different stories on why we decided to become doctors. Some are good, and some are bad. We're just people who happen to be on the bad end, but at the same time, it helped us become great surgeons and good people now is it?"
For the first time during the night, Ava finally genuinely smiled.
They didn't even realize that their hands were touching.
This chapter covers 3x09
*I added a new scene that includes a further development between Connor and Ava's relationship where he learns her story (especially since the shitty writers NEVER gave Ava a backstory after 44 episodes!)
Tell me what you guys think about it!