Chapter Text
Three months have passed since the conjoined twins’ surgery and things since then have changed at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. With both the work environment and relationships among the first responders. A lot changed the night of the conjoined twins' surgery.
Will proposed to Natalie in a "not so great setting" according to her when she told Ava, but she eventually accepted his wedding proposal a week later. Now they were getting married. Details are still yet to be decided when and where.
Ethan decided to take back his sister after refusing to let her go be taken to a shelter or group home to get help, leading to April breaking up with him.
Sarah's father suffered a heart attack the night of his discharge and was revealed by Dr. Charles that he was a serial killer from the past decade. He was sent to prison. The incident forced Sarah to transfer to another hospital in Texas to finish her residency to avoid the gossip and public coverage of her father that became top news.
As for Connor and Ava, the night they got together and went out for dinner, the two went back to his condo and spent the rest of the night getting to know each other in a way they couldn't before. They stayed in the next day on their day off. Mostly spending time in his bed or on his couch. Since then, the two spent most of their nights together at each other's places. The only times they mostly sleep apart were when they worked different shifts. During the summer, they took July off. First week they went to go Turks and Caicos Islands, and the rest was a European trip. Being envied by other female doctors and nurses for taking an all expenses paid trip to paradise and visiting amazing sites.
With the new expansion to the ED and hospital, many new doctors and nurses were hired, and some senior doctors were promoted. A new OBGYN program was now included in the ED, introducing them to Hannah Asher from upstairs, a Hybrid O.R. per suggestion by Connor and backed by their surgeons, more patient and trauma rooms, hallways & waiting room equipped for emergencies, a new meeting room, new locker rooms and a larger doctor lounge. The new bunch of new doctors and nurses have come to Med with their expansion, and the next batch of med students. This change also affected other departments where they now have a larger staff joining them.
Connor, now being chief of the Hybrid O.R., was back on the Trauma service as an Attending position. Ava was now an Attending for Cardiothoracic Surgery. Natalie was now an Attending in Pediatrics in ED. Crockett Marcel transferred to the daytime shift and was promoted to be an Attending in General Surgery. New Attending physicians to the ED included were Stevie Hammer and Mitch Ripley. The new residents joining the ED included were Dylan Scott, Zola Ahmad, Kai Tanaka-Reed, Zach Hudgins, and John Frost. The new doctors that arrived to do their fellowships include Nellie Cuevas, Loren Johnson, and Justin Morris. Along with the larger staff, the hospital now has more room to allow more med students. Students such as: Elsa Curry, Terry McNeal, Vanessa Taylor, and Naomi Howard.
The large, expanded ED was now upgraded to include a total of 40 rooms, 20 each were regular treatment rooms, and the others were trauma-related injuries. The 40 rooms were divided into four areas, 10 rooms each. The areas were identified as A-1 and A-3 for regular treatment rooms; A-2 and A-4 were for trauma-related cases.
Because the ED was now much larger than before, more chiefs were hired in place to help cover those areas.
The previous sole chief of the ED, Dr. Stanley Stohl oversaw A-1. Now sharing the space were three new doctors joining as co-chiefs.
Dr. James Lanik, the new chief of Trauma in charge of A-2.
Dr. Caitlin Lenox, a General Surgery surgeon in charge of A-3.
Dr. Dean Archer, an old Navy colleague of Ethan's was a Trauma surgeon in charge of A-4.
The grand re-opening of the ED was big news, which was why the hospital was hosting a big press conference opening today. Those three months spent renovating and hiring new employees was a long and tough process but was finally done in time of the deadline set. All the daytime shift workers were required to be there for the grand re-opening like the first time the new renovated ED was prepared last time 3 years ago. Meaning everyone had to be dressed in their white coats and look sharp in front of the cameras. Goodwin had Connor scheduled to do interviews to promote the new Hybrid O.R. both before and after the press conference. The new O.R. was the most expensive upgraded in the entire ED, so they were going to go wide with the promotion.
And that's what Connor was doing this morning. He was in the new O.R. with the group of reporters and photographers for his presentation. Goodwin was standing in the back watching.
"Look, I am not bragging when I say that this hybrid O.R. could revolutionize trauma surgery's interaction with emergency medicine. It's set up for interventional and open procedures. We've got surgical lights, we've got a C-arm, case carts. There is a scrub room right outside." He used lots of hand gestures and movements as he talked. He paused for a few seconds after he realized what he was saying. "Okay, maybe I'm bragging just a little bit." The pitch in his voice slightly went up as he realized he was bragging to the audience as he carefully looked at them.
The press lightly laughs.
"Doctor, can I get a shot of you in front of the operating table?" A female photographer asks holding up her large professional camera.
"Yeah, sure." Connor agreed and took a step back as he smiled towards the camera.
"All right, thank you everyone. The hospital's PR department will forward you complete press kits." Goodwin ends the presentation, signaling to the press it was over.
"Thank you." Connor thanks them as they all leave in a line towards the waiting room outside for the upcoming press conference of the grand re-opening.
They looked at each other after the group leaves. Goodwin starts to talk. "So, I'm going to bring the "Trib" through about 10 mins after the press conference here shortly. Then the local NBC affiliate after that." She reminds him.
"I'll be ready." He nods and shrugs his shoulders.
"I really appreciate your putting on the charm." She smiles at the end.
"Ms. Goodwin, you built me Xanadu. I would sing and dance for you if you wanted." He praised her.
"Oh, I'm gonna hold you to that." They both laugh. Goodwin pats his left arm before turning to head to the waiting room.
Connor slowly turns around to admire the new surgical suite. The walls were mostly white with the upper parts painted blue with some LED lights. The lighting in the entire room was upgraded more compared to the surgical rooms upstairs, though those have also been upgraded as well in the last three months.
"Oh my god, It's Doctor Connor Rhodes. Can I have your autograph?" A familiar sarcastic voice appeared on his left side. He slightly turns his head to see a familiar blonde haired woman dressed in her white coat and usual black scrubs with grey long-sleeve underneath.
"You're gonna have to get in line. I'm kind of a big deal around here." He plays along.
"Aw~. I thought I was allowed to cut in front of the line. No special privileges for sleeping with the doctor?" She looks at him with a playful smile.
"Well, I guess I can make an exception."
The two made eye contact and lightly scoffed with smiles on their faces.
Ava playfully shakes her head with a grin and stares at the room. "I've gotta admit, this is an impressive space."
"Yeah. Feels right." He answers.
"Well, I guess I don't need to remind you. You're no longer on the CT service, but back to Trauma now." She reminds him of his status.
"Yet, you did." He pretended to be irritated but then grinned.
"From now on, when you bring a patient upstairs, I decide the course of treatment." She stares at him with a smile.
"Well, this should be an interesting dynamic now. I'm back down here with all my buddies and catching up on the latest gossip, and you're up there torturing and ordering around your fellows and surgical residents. I'm not sure if I should be grateful or jealous they get to see you 24/7 now compared to me."
"Hey." She playfully elbows him.
He laughs and rubs his left arm. "I didn't think I would see you down here for the press conference. I thought you were busy up there."
"They need an Attending rep for each department for the conference. Latham sent me. Those fellows and residents up there are getting acquainted with him."
"I remember the first time I met him. He straight up asked me if I killed Downey." Connor had a blank facial expression to recall that first meeting.
Ava laughs. "Really? You never told me that. The only thing you told me was that he wanted me instead of you for the fellowship when you first met him."
"That part is true. He said it right after we cleared up the whole Downey thing and walked right out the door." He nods. "That reminds me, have you met the new fellows? What were their names again?"
"Uh, I know one of their names is Justin Morris. I haven't met him yet. I know he was assigned under Latham for the fellowship. I got Dr. Bardovi and um a new doctor whose name escapes me right now, he appears to worship Dr. Morris? A rumor I heard from the nurses. Something about some surgery he did while he was still a general surgeon in London before moving here. I don't know. But I heard he has a pretty big ego. Jury's still out if he's more arrogant than you." She smirks.
"Ha ha. Very funny, Dr. Bekker." He says dryly as he stares at her. She giggles.
"Hey lovebirds." A familiar female voice called out to them. They turned to see it was the charge nurse. "Goodwin says it's time to come out for the press conference."
"On our way, Maggie." Ava tells her.
"Guess it's show time." Connor puts his right hand on the small of her back as they head towards the waiting room.
In the waiting room, Goodwin was standing at a large acrylic podium stand in front of the ED entrance at the front desk area. At the sides of the room by the walls were the medical staff and some people dressed in suits watching with their bodies turned sideways at her. Filling up the remainder space in the middle of the waiting room were the press with recorders, mics and cameras pointing towards her. Everyone was applauding.
"Thank you! We owe a great debt of gratitude to one man in particular. He championed us, supported us, and was with us when we first opened this department three years ago. Without his help, this incredible brand-new upgraded emergency department would never have become a reality. Our Mayor, Rahm Emanuel." Goodwin raised her left hand towards a tall man dressed in a dark suit with short grey-haired.
The mayor stands next to her to shake her hand as the photographers start taking pictures. Goodwin stands aside to let the mayor stand behind the podium.
"Hello everyone, my name is Rahm Emanuel as you were just told. The idea of upgrading hospitals such as Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, came to be after the unfortunate Millennium Park shooting earlier this year. A total of 776 innocent lives were lost that day. As a result, hospital leaders in this city all came together, as did many generous donors of the city, and decided it was time for a change to the times we live in today. We need to be prepared for what's to come. On behalf of all the people of the City of Chicago, all the families, all the parents who will be bringing their kids and their family members here in dire need of care, I want to thank you ahead of schedule for what you do every day to make sure that everybody counts in the City of Chicago. Thank you."
The crowd applauses.
Goodwin stands by next to him when she is handed a large pair of scissors by a man dressed in a suit.
The crowd cheers louder as the two of them grab hold of the scissors and start cutting the blue ribbon for the new ED to officially re-open.
"Whoo!" "Yeah" The crowd cheers as the ribbon falls.
A few seconds later, all the doctors' and nurses' pagers and phones start to go off. The press starts to be concerned about what was going on. The happy moment fading away, just like that first time around when they opened the ED 3 years ago.
The mayors' guards in black suits come forward to the front to escort him away.
Maggie comes in through the sliding doors. "Apartment building complex downtown is on fire. Multiple smoke inhalation and burn patients’ minutes away. Let's go!"
Doctors and nurses start rushing back into the ED as the press starts to pick up their things to leave out the doors to cover the fire incident.
"Maggie, what apartment complex downtown?" Ethan calls out, taking off his coat in the ED.
"Around The Loop, at 361 North Michigan Ave, a residential tower." She answers.
"What?" Will pauses as he hands his coat to Natalie to quickly put it in the doctor's lounge as well were many others.
"Dr. Halstead?" Goodwin asks as she walks nearby.
"Did you just say a residential tower on 361 North Michigan Ave?" Will asks for confirmation.
"Yeah." Maggie answers.
"My dad lives in that building." He stares.
"Wait your dad lives there? I thought he still lived in your family house in Canaryville?" Connor walks out of the doctor's lounge, having heard the last part of the conversation.
"Old man couldn't take care of the place so Jay and I sold the house and made him move to an apartment." The red-haired doctor pulls out his phone. "He goes for walks in the morning and comes back for lunch. It's about to be lunch so he should be back there, dammit." Will holds his phone to his ear as he walks away.
"Damn." Maggie says softly as she watches him.
A few hours have passed since the hospital was first alerted to the apartment fire crisis. Nurses and doctors were all over the floor treating burnt and inhalation patients. Unlike the Millennium Park shooting, they were more prepared this time around for a crisis.
"Got another wave of patients coming in. Let's look alive!" Maggie looked up from her large pager and alerted out loud to the ED staff. She walks towards the nurses' stations where some of the nurses were organizing supplies. "Monique, what do we have?"
"I triggered the mass casualty protocol." The young nurse replied.
"Yeah?"
"Everyone's prepped and ready to go."
"All right, let's continue to decompress all the remaining rooms up in the ICU and PICU. Luckily for us since today was the grand re-opening that we didn't admit any patients in the ED." The charge nurse ordered the two nurses.
"On it." Monique replied and walked away.
Maggie walked towards another nurse. "All right, Doris, talk to me."
"I'm getting real-time updates from the Office of Emergency Management." Doris replied putting a hand over the phone speaker end.
"All right, I want to know how many are still down at the scene and how many we've got coming."
"Copy." Doris looked down at her notepad and wrote it down.
"All right, Dr. Manning." Maggie walked towards the pediatrician Attending. "Status on your burn patient?"
"I need to get her up to the O.R. to have her burns excised. Have you been able to reach her parents?" The brunette asked.
"We're still trying to track them down." The nurse furrowed her eyebrows in regret and turned around to look at the patient across the floor. "Poor kid."
"Maggie." Will pokes his head out behind the curtains of a treatment room and calls out to the nurse.
"Yeah?" She turns around.
"You page Dr. Rhodes for my dad?"
"He's almost done performing surgery in the hybrid O.R., you're gonna have to wait a bit longer." She informs him and turns back around and heads towards the firefighters from 51 standing outside of one of the Baghdad rooms. One of the own, Stella Kidd, was suffering from an inhalation injury when she ran out of oxygen in the fire. "Hey, how are you guys doing?"
"Choi kicked us out." Kelly turns his head right to look at the nurse. Informing them the chief resident had ordered the nurses to close the door to let them work without any distribution.
"Yeah, he needs room to work, Kelly. Try to be patient." Maggie comforts him and walks away.
In a treatment room, Will was treating his father after spending the last couple of hours worried about his whereas during the fire. It was presumed that he wasn't in the building since he wasn't in his apartment, but no one had heard from him to confirm it. Eventually they learned he was friends with a wheelchair bound resident in the building on the top floor. CFD managed to locate him in his friend's apartment and managed to rescue them both. Jay was in the room with them, after spending half of his day standing outside and, in the lobby, trying to locate his father.
Their father, Pat, was sitting on the hospital bed with his shirt off, connected to various wires and parts of his upper body were covered in soot. He was coughing and was holding onto a tray for his vomit. Will was checking his father's lungs on his back with his stethoscope.
"Pop tried to play hero. He forgot he was in his 60s with a bum ticker." Jay commented.
Their father looked up at him then sighed as he leaned back against the bed. "Yeah, well. This is your fault to begin with." His voice sounded tired and out of breath.
"Me?" The detective slightly wrinkled his forehead.
"Yeah. Stick me in that fire trap." Pat continued.
"Pop, stop talking." Said Will as he moved his stethoscope to his father's chest.
"You said you liked the place." Jay countered.
"You close on the EKG?" Will took the tool out of his ears and asked the nurse on the other side of the bed.
"Just about." The nurse replied, adjusting the wires on the patient's chest.
"What's the point of this?" Pat shoved the nurse with his right arm. She ignored it and continued her work.
"Easy. Paramedics said you were complaining of chest pain. Did you forget you had a quadruple bypass a few weeks ago?" Pat groaned and spitted out more vomit into the tray. "Come on, stay still." Will reminded and scolded his father about his health.
A few seconds later, Connor walks into the room with a tablet. "Hey, if it isn't my favorite patient. How you doing, Mr. Halstead?"
"Fine." The older man answered.
"So you felt some tightness in your chest, huh?" The dark-haired surgeon kept his eyes down on the tablet.
"It's nothing." He raised his right hand up to shrug it off that it wasn't a big deal.
"Well, you might be right." Connor looked up at the monitors and hugged the tablet underneath his left arm. Will walked over next to his friend to stare at the monitors. "I don't see any ST elevation or depression. No left access deviation. Looks like a strong and healthy heart to me." The surgeon turned his head to look at the family.
"Yeah, good. We done?" Pat wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Nope, not yet. You still have a pretty nasty inhalation injury." Connor reminded him, looking down at the patient's notes on his tablet.
"Can I get a CBC, CMP, and a carboxyhemoglobin?" Will asked the nurse.
"And add a full cardiac workup." Connor added to the list of tests to run. He handed the nurse his tablet.
Maggie steps into the room. "Dr. Rhodes? Dr. Choi needs a consult." She then turns around.
"Yeah. Mr. Halstead, a pleasure as always. Connor said farewell and proceeded to leave the room.
"Thank you, Connor." Will gave him a quick pat on his shoulder as he left.
Connor got a quick update on Stella's case from Ethan to get all caught up. He was standing outside room next to 51 with the door now open for them to hear what's going on.
April sighs standing at Stella's bedside on her left suctioning out blood from her intubation tube. "Blood's coming too fast. Every time I suction the tube, it fills back up again."
"Hang another unit and just do your best to keep up." Ethan leaned forward as he gave her an order on what to do.
"Where's the X-ray?" Connor called out to the technician.
"Here you go." A nurse answered as the X-ray technician turned on the machine.
Everyone turned to look at the large monitor hanging on the side of the wall to the x-ray of Stella's lungs. The monitor showed one lung was dark compared to the rest of her chest.
"She's got a massive hemorrhage in her right lung. It's impossible to say where it's coming from." Connor stated what was on the monitor. "All right, call the blood bank, trigger the MTP." He ordered.
"Can you stop the bleed?" Kelly turned to his left to ask the surgeon.
"First I've gotta find it. Let's set up for a bronchoscopy." Connor ordered the nurses as he walked into the room.
"Okay." Said a nurse.
In another room nearby where Natalie and Ms. Goodwin were treating her burn patient's injuries. Maggie then walks into the room with a couple.
"This is Leslie and Ryan Scott. Blair's parents." She introduced them and waited a few seconds before leaving.
"I'm Ms. Goodwin. This is Dr. Manning." Goodwin introduced themselves.
"Hey." Natalie greeted softly as the two were bandaging the girl's brunt right arm.
"We were both at work. Heard there was a fire at the apartment, but... never expected this." The father explained as his wife cries softly. "Is she in pain?"
"No. We've given her medication to make sure she's comfortable." Natalie assured the parents.
"You've got to save her." The mother pleaded.
"We're going to do everything we can for her." Goodwin answered.
Ava then walks into the room looking down at a tablet. "I've reviewed the imaging." She looks up at the two, standing across the patient's bedside
"This is Dr. Bekker. She's a cardiothoracic surgeon we asked to consult." Goodwin introduced them to the surgeon.
The blonde turned to face the parents. "One of your daughter's injuries is to her right carotid artery." She informed them.
"What does that mean?" The father asked.
"The artery is damaged. It's blocking blood flow. Don't worry, I can repair it while her burns are being excised." She explained.
"Is Blair going to..." The mother's voice cracked as she tried to talk.
"No." Natalie answered. "Blair's burns cover almost 80% of her body. Once her blood pressure is stable enough, we will take her up to the O.R. to begin excision of her burn tissue. I am afraid she will need to remain in the ICU for several months." She explained what will happen to their daughter after the surgery.
"Several months?" The mother asked.
"While the doctors continue to excise and graft her burns." Goodwin added.
The mother cries a little louder.
"But then can she come home?" The father asks.
Ava kept to herself, feeling uncomfortable listening to them explain to the parents about the unfortunateness of their daughter's condition from the fire.
'These types of talks don't get easier. Poor kid, she didn't deserve this.'
"Yes, however, your daughter is going to need physical and occupational therapy to regain her ability to walk, talk, eat, even dress herself." Goodwin further explained their daughter's future during her recovery.
"No..." The mother cried.
"We understand there are many challenges ahead, but with proper treatment and patience, Blair can recover." Natalie assured them there is a silver lining. She stared at the mother for a few seconds and then proceeded to remove the gauze on the right side of their daughter's face.
"Oh, my baby." The mother cried seeing the current state of her daughter.
"Oh..." The father said softly as he covered his mouth with his right hand. His wife then fell into his arms and cried. "Hey, it's..." He tried to comfort her.
Ava gives Natalie a quick nod. "Excuse me, I have more patients to consult on." She nods towards the parents and leaves. "Some grand re-opening day this turned out." She said to herself softly.
A few hours later, Natalie and Ava both pushed the curtains aside and walked back into the room.
"Hi." Natalie greeted the parents who were both standing at the daughter's bedside on her right side. "Good news. An operating room has opened up. We'll be able to take your daughter upstairs for burn surgery."
"And repair her carotid artery." Ava added.
Natalie walked towards the other side of the bed and just as she placed her hands on the railings about to move the girl....
"No. Please stop." The father spoke up causing the doctor to stop what she was doing.
"No treatments, no surgeries." The mother spoke holding back her tears.
"What?" The ED doctor furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"We don't want any surgeries." The mother continued.
"I don't understand." Said Ava.
"But if we don't take Blair up to the O.R. now, she won't survive." Natalie explains the situation.
"My wife and I have talked about it. Blair wouldn't want this." The father stares at her then back at his daughter.
"But with proper treatment, she could still have a life." The brunette tried to get them to change their minds.
"Look at her. What kind of life?" The mother spoke in a dejected tone.
"These last few years have been so hard for Blair. She struggled with body issues, bullying. Just recently, she was able to lose weight, change schools, and..." His wife starts to cry. "She finally felt good about herself. And now this." The father explained what his daughter had been going through. He couldn't stand to see her suffer for more years to come.
"Everything she's been through... We can't do this to her." The mother forced herself to speak.
Natalie looked over to Ava who looked back in sympathy at the girl's story.
"But... people react differently to trauma. You don't know. Surviving this might actually make your daughter more resilient." Natalie continued to push.
"We know our little girl." Said the mother.
"Mr. and Mrs. Scott-" Ava starts to speak but gets cut off.
"No. We have to let her go." The father looked at the doctors, they were adamant with their decision.
Natalie looked over at Ava unsure what to do. The South African woman had a flabbergasted facial expression and pulled the curtains behind her as she exited the room.
Standing at the nurses’ station was Ms. Goodwin who turned around after hearing the curtain sound and saw the doctor with an upset look.
"That was a complete waste of our time and resources. I could have used that time to consult other patients instead of this one." Ava turned to leave.
"I'm sorry?" Ms. Goodwin was confused about what was going on.
Ava turned back towards her. "They're withholding treatment." She explained and walked away.
Ms. Goodwin nodded, understanding why one of their top surgeons was upset. "Maybe I can help change their minds." The older woman proceeded towards the treatment room.
Going on at the same time, Connor and Ethan were discussing Stella's case behind closed doors and came to a conclusion. One they weren't happy with but had no other choice. Connor opened the sliding door where Kelly was waiting outside for them for an update on his girlfriend.
"She's lost a significant amount of blood." Ethan started to talk.
"Unfortunately, the only way we can be sure to completely stop her bleed is to remove her entire lung." Connor informs him what's going to happen.
"What?" Kelly blinked at his solution
"Yeah." Connor spoke softly.
"Kelly, it's the best chance we have of saving Stella's life." Ethan tries to get him to understand.
"She can't be a firefighter if she only has one lung. There's gotta be something else you can do." The squad lieutenant looked between both doctors who had blank facial expressions and shook their heads. "April?" He looked at his childhood friend who was standing behind the doctors. They all looked towards her.
"What if we tried ECMO? It would rest her lung so we have enough time to locate the bleed-" April suggests another option but gets cut off.
"No. We'd have to give her anticoagulants to keep the lines open." Connor explains why they can't go through with that option.
"It would make her bleed even worse." Ethan added.
"Isn't it worth a shot?" She asks.
"She's too unstable." The Asian American doctor concluded.
Connor turns his head to look back at the firefighter. "Believe me, Kelly, this is the best course of action."
"Sounds to me like you've thrown in the towel before you even tried to save her lung. Being a firefighter is the only thing Stella cares about. I'm not gonna let you do it." Kelly stood firm.
"I'm sorry. But it's not up to you. We haven't been able to reach her family, so it's our decision." Ethan explains that he has no power of attorney to make medical decisions for her on her behalf.
"We can't do it down here in the Hybrid O.R., get her upstairs." Connor tells April as he starts to leave to book an operating room.
"I won't let you do this." Kelly steps in front of Connor to stop him.
"Kelly, please." The surgeon moves to leave.
At the exact moment, Ava who was walking away upset with her patient saw what appeared to be Connor in a confrontation with Kelly up ahead.
"Connor?" Ava starts walking towards the scene.
"No. No." Kelly wasn't going to let the surgeon leave and take away his girlfriend's career. He placed his right hand on his chest to stop him.
"Kelly, you have to let me-" Connor took his hand off him.
"No! No." But the lieutenant wasn't giving up putting both hands on him to get him to stay and reconsider.
"Hey! Get your hands off him." Ava finally arrives at the scene standing behind Kelly and pulls him back with her left hand.
Ethan came up between them, standing on Ava's right side and holding Connor's left shoulder back. "Get off! Hey! Security!" He called out to the guards.
"Whoa, whoa, Ethan? No!" April came up, nothing happy her ex-boyfriend wanted to throw out her childhood friend. "Kelly..." She says his name to get him calm down.
"Come on!" Kelly stares at Connor. Behind him a security guard came up.
"Ethan..." April says softly.
"Please escort this man out." Ava tells the guards.
"Ava..." April says softly.
"This is a hospital. We treat patients, not get into fights." Ava stares at her.
"Sir, come with us." The guard behind Kelly placed a hand on his back.
"Don't-don't touch me." The firefighter flinches at the contact and slightly moves away from the guard. He stares back at Connor and the others next to him.
"I'm sorry, Kelly." Ethan apologized.
"Don't do this." Kelly points his right index finger at Connor.
"Please, sir." Another guard came forward and touched the firefighter's right arm, signaling him to leave.
No argument this time, Kelly listens to the guards and follows them out of the ED.
April closes her eyes and sighs as she watches her close friend be taken out.
Connor takes a glance at Ava who came forward to help deescalate the situation. She nudges her head left for them to talk. He talks a quick glance at Ethan before leaving with Ava.
The two walked towards the entry way of the ED by the elevators and stood off to the side.
"Things aren't looking good for Stella, aren't they?" She leans on her left against the wall, facing the elevators behind Connor.
"No, they're not." Connor frowns, shaking his head. "Her right lung is hemorrhaging badly, and we can't find the source of the bleed. She's also too unstable to consider ECMO."
"So the only option left to save her life is to remove the lung. Ending her career as a firefighter." Ava closes her eyes and sighs regrettably. Since the first night she hung out with the other group of female first responders, she's gotten close with them. She knows how much being a firefighter means to Stella, but sometimes it comes with a terrible cost that can last a lifetime.
"Yeah." He whispers.
"It can't be helped. I would have made the same call as well. I don't want Stella to die." She agrees that it's the best option they had. It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. She rubs his left arm for comfort.
"Yeah, thanks."
"I'll scrub in. My schedule's free now that my other scheduled surgery was called off." She decides to join the case.
Connor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What happened to your case? Natalie's patient, wasn't it?"
"Patient's parents don’t want us to save their daughter. Said she's been suffering for the last couple of years and doesn't want her to live with more obstacles from being happy. Says that she's been through a lot."
"Sorry, sounds rough."
"Kind of took my anger on Goodwin a bit by indirectly blaming Natalie for wasting my time." Ava thought back to what she said and admits she was a little harsh when talking to Goodwin.
"We're all having a bad day today. Everyone's feeling stressed out." He assures her.
"Molly's tonight?"
"Yeah, I really need a drink today." He turns his body around to face the elevators. "Let's prep the team and get ready now." They both start walking to the elevators.
Due to Ava's pre-planned surgery being cancelled, they scheduled Stella's lung removal to take that open slot. Within the hour, Connor and Ava prepped the team on the surgery and were about to get ready. Connor first had to check on another patient in the ICU before changing scrubs. Just as he entered the waiting room area of the surgical floor, up ahead he could see April talking to some people from 51. It appeared they were in a heated discussion.
"I'm trying to help you. There's just been-" April spoke before getting cut off.
"There's he is." Mouch points with his right index finger when he notices Connor.
"Dr. Rhodes." Herrmann calls out to the doctor. The group approaches him.
"Sorry, guys, I gotta get scrubbed." Connor says knowing what they're here to talk about.
"We just want to talk to you about Stella." Said Mouch.
The group stops before him, causing him to plant his feet. Connor sighs and looks at the nurse. "Really April?"
"Just hear them out." She tells him.
"We don't want you to remove her lung." Said Casey.
"There has to be another option." Said Brett.
"Look, guys, I understand your concerns. But as her doctors, we've decided on the best course of treatment, and only Stella's family can override that decision." Connor explained they don't have power of attorney.
"Dr. Rhodes. We are her family." Herrmann argues otherwise.
Connor doesn't say a word. He carefully stares at the members of 51.
"That's true. She'd tell you the same thing, Doc." Mouch pushed the doctor to reconsider.
He still doesn't say a word to them and just proceeds to walk through the group. Passing by April and Brett and heads straight through the O.R. area door entrance. The group stares at him in disbelief.
"Another walk-away." Said Herrmann.
Inside the operating room hallway, the surgical team was moving Stella, still intubated, on a gurney as they moved her to the O.R., passes by Connor. He stares at them carefully as they disappear behind the doors.
He was deep in thought. The words of Firehouse 51 were getting to him.
He knew from many interactions he had with the firehouse from the past few years that Stella loved being a firefighter.
He's also seen firefighters after getting injured on the job where they're no longer within CFD's regulations to be on the job.
From bad lungs to loss of vision to losing a limb.
Some who can't handle life without the job fall into a depression or even take their own lives.
He doesn't want any of that to happen to Stella, but at the same time they don't have another option to find the bleed....
.... or do they?
Connor started to think outside the box as he headed towards the scrub room where Ava just arrived in to scrub their arms and hands.
A couple of minutes into their scrubbing, Connor was thinking of an alternative solution where both parties can be happy with. He turned his head to take a quick glance at the unconscious firefighter.
'That is an option we could try first.' He thinks to himself.
"There's another way." He says to get Ava's attention.
She slowly turns her head right to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"The majority of lung bleeds originate in the lower lobes, right?" He turns his head left slightly to look at her as she goes back to focus on her scrubbing.
"So?"
"So, what if I clamp at the base of the pulmonary artery?" He suggests and looks back forward to focus on scrubbing.
Ava blinked at his words and looked down for a moment before looking back at him. "Connor, you made the right call. We have a good surgical plan."
"But what if we resect the lower lobe first? If the bleeding stops, we won't have to remove the entire lung."
She shook her head. "No, it's too risky."
"If it doesn't work, we can still remove the lung." He suggests they can still go through with the lung removal if things don't work out.
"After wasting precious time. Have you forgotten we're trying to save her life?" She may be used to his crazy ideas but now is not the time to try them.
"I think we can do that and give her the life that she wants." He pushed.
"She's a young woman. She can find another career."
Connor looks back at Stella then back at the sink as he washes off the soap. "I have to try. I owe it to her. I owe it to them."
"Connor, being a firefighter isn't gonna mean a damn thing if Stella dies on the table. And I really don't want my friend to die." She looks at him to try and get him to reconsider his plan.
He takes a long look back at Stella then back at Ava who stares at him, pleading with him not to go through with it. "I can do it." He takes a step back.
"Don't-Connor!" She calls out but he ignores her and enters the O.R.
Ava internally sighs as she faces forward and frowns, washing off the soap.
"I just had to fall in love with a surgeon who loves taking a gamble on everything."
In the O.R., the team were currently in the beginning stages of the surgery. As much as Ava didn't like it, they were going with Connor's new plan and were currently looking for the source of the bleed in the lower lobes of Stella's lungs.
"Time, Dr. Rhodes. Where are we?" Ava asked. holding the camera tool that was inserted inside of Stella.
"I'm almost there, but every time the lung inflates, it obstructs my view. Marty, can we deflate the lung any further?" Connor replied holding other tools that were also inside of her. Both doctors kept their eyes on the monitors to see inside Stella's chest.
"No way, I'm barely keeping her oxygenated as it is." Marty replied.
"Take it down another 20%." Connor ordered.
"It's too risky." Marty still didn't like it.
Ava slightly wrinkled her forehead, more concerned with his plan.
"I only need to reach the lower lobe. I'll find the bleed and make my resection before you know it." Connor stated.
The anesthesiologist darted his eyes right to stare at the CT Attending for her approval. Ava just slightly shook her head and looked down, signaling that Connor wasn't gonna back down.
"Make it fast." Marty gives in as he turns at his station to deflate the lung.
Inside the monitor room was April who was watching the entire surgery and was soon joined by Ethan.
"You're quite the patient advocate today. Did you do it for Stella or for Kelly?" He asks.
"I've known him since we were kids." She replies, staring forward into the O.R.
"You didn't answer the question." He furrowed his eyebrows and turned left to look at her.
"I did it because it was the right thing to do." She turns her head right to look at him.
Back inside the O.R., the machines started beeping that something was wrong. The team looked at the monitors.
"Marty?" Connor asks.
"BP's down to 88 systolic." Marty replies.
"I'm close." Connor tells them.
"Let's hope so." Ethan says in the room before getting paged to head back down to the ED.
Ava shook her head. "You are not going to make it. We have to open her up and remove the lung." She looks at Connor.
"BP's at 82." Marty tells them.
"Up her pressers." Connor orders.
"Can't, I'm already maxed out." Marty replies.
"Connor please." Ava pleaded with him to stop.
"Just give me a second." He tells her.
The beeping starts to become louder.
"Sats are at 78. That's all she can tolerate. I'm reinflating the lung." Marty moves in his work area ready to reinflate the lung.
Ava furrows her eyebrows and stares down at Stella with lots of anxiety.
"No, wait." Connor gets the team's attention and Ava looks back up. "There. That's it. That's the bleed." He points out to the monitor showing a large area of blood leaking out.
'Okay, there you were right. It was down there but...' Ava thinks to herself.
"You found it, but do you have time to fix it?" She asks him about the small window they have before Stella dies.
Connor doesn't say anything but keeps his eyes on the monitor.
Outside in the waiting area, April joined 51 who were waiting for an update. She informed them Connor found the bleed but it's touch and go given the limit time left. She told them to be patient until the team was done.
Some time has passed by until they’ve gotten an update. It felt like an hour had gone by until Connor appeared through the hallway entrance of the operating rooms. April stood up once she saw him and walked towards his side. This led to 51 taking notice of his presence and stood up as well.
"You guys put me in a terrible position." Connor started off, feeling exhausted. "But... we were able to isolate the bleed, and we only had to take out a portion of her lung. It was a thoracoscopic procedure, minimally invasive. That's all to say that... she should be back to work in no time." He smiled. From behind Ava appeared and headed towards the nurses’ station to sign some paperwork.
"Oh, thank god." Mouch says softly as he patted Brett’s back with his left hand.
51 were relieved with the news. Herrmann walks up towards Connor to shake his hand.
"Hey... Dr. Rhodes... you're the man." He tells him.
"Yeah, you guys are okay too." The dark-haired surgeon replies as the group starts to leave.
"Thanks." Casey shakes his hand with gratitude as he passes by.
Brett passes by Ava at the counter and places a hand on her left shoulder. "Thank you, Ava."
"Of course." She smiles and nods. Unknowingly to the paramedic, it was actually a fake smile.
'Oh, they have no idea she literally almost died in there.' She thought to herself.
"Why don't you bring Kelly back in?" Connor looks at April who smiles and nods. She places a hand on his left shoulder as she leaves.
"Thanks, Doc." Mouch thanks him.
"You got it, bud." He replies as he watches the group walk away. His eyes soon fall on Ava doing paperwork at the counter. He walks towards her.
Taking notice of his presence, she turns to face him. "You were extremely lucky in there, you know that?"
"Extremely." He nods in agreement.
"You know, technically you're my emergency contact since I don't have any living relatives."
"You gave me power of attorney?" He raises his eyebrows at the sudden information. But then again, he shouldn't have been surprised. Like she said, she doesn't have any blood relatives anymore, and he's the one Ava spends the most time both in and out of work.
Ava places aside the paperwork to face him again. "I'm sure you know me well enough that my hands are most precious to me. Like any other surgeon."
"I do. You wouldn't ever risk your hands. They're your life." He nods. "But I also wouldn't want to lose you." He admits.
"I'm sure you'll find a way to save both my hands and my life. I know you wouldn't give up without a fighting chance. I learned that back with the conjoined twins. And right now." She gave him a small smile.
"And me? Am I on the same level as your hands?" He asks, wondering where he stands between her hands.
Before she could say a word.
"Dr. Bekker." A female nurse calls out her name, causing the two of them to turn their right. "Dr. Manning paged you during surgery. Her patient's parents decided to go through with the surgeries. She's in O.R. 3 right now with her burns being excised. They're waiting on you to repair her carotid artery."
"All right, I'll be there shortly." Ava nods to the nurse as she leaves and turns to look back at him. "Guess I better get scrubbed up again."
"I'll come find you later. I need to go find Will, haven't given him or Jay my condolences about their father." Connor frowns, recalling hearing the hospital gossip that Mr. Halstead was pronounced brain dead.
Ava solemnly nods. "Yeah. You give them my regards as well." She says softly as she pats his chest before heading back to the operating room again.
The new ED pediatrician resident, John Frost, walks back into the ED and collides with a patient being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse.
"Oh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" He apologizes.
"That was a close one!" The red-haired patient grins as she points at him.
John looked confused then flicked his eyes up towards the nurse to see her reaction. She brushed it off. "Yep." He replied. The nurse then proceeded to push the patient towards the elevators.
John walked towards Maggie at the nurses' station.
"That was weird." She commented watching the whole exchange.
"People are weird. How's Zoey's surgery going?" He asked for an update on his patient.
"Oh, just got an update from the O.R., Abrams should be done within the hour."
"Good. All right, that's good. What she's been going through, and now with this fire... I hope she ends up okay."
"You really care about her." She looked carefully at the new resident.
"The cases with kids really do get'cha. Thanks." John nods and walks away.
From behind, Doris walks up towards the charge nurse. "He looks awfully familiar, doesn't he?"
"Yes, because he was hired last month along with several other new doctors and nurses joining the family." She reminds her.
"No, no, that's not it. Mm-mm." Doris shook her head. There was something about Dr. Frost that she couldn't put her finger on.
Before Maggie could say anything, April and Monique walked up to them. "Did you hear? The fire was an arson." Said April.
"Arson?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah, turns out Dr. Halstead's dad's death was actually a murder." Monique explained.
"Damn. How is he and Jay taking it?" Maggie asked.
"Goodwin made Will go on leave. Natalie says her parents are flying in to help with the funeral services." April had a solemn look.
"That really stinks, losing your parent just before getting hitched." Said Doris.
"Lives ruined today, all for a cartel hit." Said April.
"In the wise words of Sam Abrams, "People suck."" Doris says before walking away.
"Yep." Maggie says before pulling out her bag from underneath. "I'm done for the day. A bunch of others are heading to Molly's tonight. You two are coming?"
"Yeah sure." Monique says before walking away.
"After what happened with Kelly, I really need a drink after today." April groans walking away.
After the shift ended for the day, like the nurses, many of the first responders headed to Molly's. Wanting this day to be over with. Not the Intelligence Unit though, they were busy hunting down the arsonist responsible.
"Hey, you hear anything from Trudy or the others on the investigation?" Brett asked Mouch as they along with other members of 51 were sitting at the bar counter.
"Not since they found out the reason why the whole fire happened in the first place." He replied. "They're working overtime to find him. Wish we could help."
"Yeah, our girl almost died because of him. All for what? A cartel hit?" Herrmann scoffs filling up more drinks. "Cartel bastard deserves to get his balls cut off."
"Pretty much. And a baby died in that fire." Said Brett.
"Sure it was the mother's fault for going in that elevator when Otis told her not to, but she was just worried like the rest of the others. Sometimes people's fears are louder than hearing logic." Said Cruz.
"It's the sad truth in our line of work." Said Otis while refilling drinks, trying not to remember finding the deceased mother and baby in the elevator.
"All that matters is Stella is gonna be okay and be back on Truck once she's all better." Mouch added holding up his glass.
"I'll drink to that!" Herrmann held up a shot glass along with the others to cheer.
Behind them were doctors and nurses sitting at the tables. One of them had Connor sitting with other doctors closest to the door.
"You hear from Will?" Connor asked Ethan and Archer sitting across from him. Crockett was sitting on his right side against the wall.
"Natalie took him home. Quality family time. Wasn't really feeling like coming down here for more sympathy and condolences from everyone." Ethan answered.
"I get that. It happened so fast, he hasn't had time to take it all in. He still needs time to process it. I know that feeling." Crockett took a swing from his beer.
"And Jay? Being part of the investigation hunting down the guy who killed his father." Connor brought up.
"Probably isn't the healthiest thing for him to do to get closure." Archer comments.
"Definitely not." Ethan shook his head.
"You flying solo tonight, Rhodes?" Crockett asked Connor, not seeing a certain blonde-haired woman with him.
"Bekker's stuck in surgery still?" Archer asks.
"She should be done now." Connor looked down at his phone to see that he missed a text 5 mins ago from her.
✉️ Just got pulled in for another surgery. Need to supervise my new fellow. Won't make it to Molly's. Gonna head back to my place right after. ✉️
"I take that back. She's stuck doing another surgery. Guess I'll be drinking alone with you guys." He starts to text her back.
✉️ Don't worry about it. Tell me when you're heading home, I'll head over there. ✉️
"At least you'll be in good company." The southern surgeon smiles.
"Spend my night drinking with the ED playboy and two single navy docs. I must have won the lottery or something." Connor jokes as he stands up. "I'm gonna need to get another drink for this."
"Hey! Don't take your anger on us that your girl left you hanging high and dry tonight." Crockett fired back.
"But didn't you say your date tonight cancel on you last minute?" Ethan points out by pointing his drink towards him.
"Shut up, Choi. At least I didn't get dumped because of my sister." Crockett threw back at him.
"Yeah, I suggest you guys stop talking about women and just keep drinking fellas." Archer comments watches from the sidelines.
"That's probably a good idea." Crockett says putting his lips back on his beer.
Back at the bar counter, Herrmann notices Connor walking towards him.
"Hey doc, here for a refill?"
"Yep." Connor places his empty glass down.
"The second one's on the house." Herrmann takes the glass to make his drink.
"Really?"
"Yeah, you didn't give up on Stella. Our girl is gonna be okay thanks to you."
"It wasn't just me in that O.R., Dr. Bekker was also there."
"Yeah? She coming tonight? I haven't seen her."
"She was supposed to be but got pulled into surgery at the last minute. Gonna meet her at her place later."
"Ah, that explains why you're alone tonight."
"Herrmann." Otis comments from behind.
"What? The two of them almost always come to Molly's together as a pair." Herrmann exclaimed as Otis walked away to take another order.
"She got called into surgery. Couldn't make it." Connor explained.
"That's a bummer." The older firefighter shrugged.
"Yeah, what can you do. Gotta goes save lives." The surgeon shrugged it off as it was normal in their line of work.
"That's why we do this job." Herrmann stares at him for a few seconds before his voice drops to a sarcastic tone. "Course, not all of us can afford med school debt, let alone not have to worry about it because they already have a trust fund."
"Yeah, yeah." Connor playfully rolled his eyes. "Ava had a full ride at University of Cape Town."
"I'm not surprised one bit. She's the smartest female surgeon I've ever met here in Chicago. She's on her way to making a name for herself."
"No doubt about that. It's at the top of her 5-year plan since she moved up here for her fellowship."
"That so?"
"Yep."
"Are you now a part of this 5-year plan?"
Connor pauses for a few seconds to think. "Hm? Hopefully."
"You plan on putting a ring on her already, Rhodes?" Herrmann playfully raises his left eyebrow.
"Only a few months in and you're already asking me if there's gonna be another wedding for everyone to attend after Will and Natalie's."
"Hey, we need more happy things to celebrate around here. Especially after today."
"Then shouldn't you be asking Severide this? Weren't he and Stella together like a month before Ava and I started seeing each other? And he's pretty much in love with her based on what I've seen."
"Yeah well, it's kind of complicated and a long story that I don't want to get into right here, right now. Here you go." He placed the full glass in front of the doctor.
"Thanks, and for the record, Hermann. I do love Ava." He smiles picking up his drink and leaves.
"No kidding. You guys went to Europe this summer and now Cindy wants to plan a family vacation trip for us next year. It would be nice to have that trust fund." Herrmann wines before going back to serving drinks.
-One hour later-
"Wait? Ethan did what?" Crockett raised his left eyebrow.
"You heard me. He had the hospital call me back in while I was at a charity event to operate on a panda." Connor explained.
"A panda? You're joking right." Archer asked in disbelief.
"I wish I was. Google it if you don't believe me. I still don't and I was the one doing it." Connor took a snip from his drink.
"Ethan? Are you for real? A panda in Chicago Med? What was the animal hospital full that night from a stampede by the hippos?" Archer turned to face his old friend.
"The panda needed a cardiothoracic surgeon, and Connor was one that I could trust to take care of her." Ethan explained the urgency of the case.
"But I'm not a veterinarian, as I stated back then." Connor stares at him.
"You still saved her life and was good publicity for the hospital." Ethan replies.
"Which I remind you, that is the first and last time I play veterinarian for you. There's a reason why we don't have panda blood in the blood bank with use." Connor held his hands up.
"I can't decide if I'm jealous you got to work on a panda case or glad that I wasn't a part of it in case things didn't turn out well." Crockett laughs.
"I can tell you straight up that I'm glad I wasn't a part of that case. Now I'm glad Ethan recruited me into Med later on and not earlier." Archer took a snip from his drink.
"To think all of that happened a couple of months before I joined Med. I was just looking for a place to start over after leaving New Orleans." Crockett comments.
*Phone vibrates on the table
Connor flips his phone over on the table and sees it's a text message from Ava:
✉️ Just finished. Getting ready to head home. ✉️
He texts back right away.
✉️ Yeah I'm done with the guys now. I'll see you there. ✉️
"Okay, time to call it a night." Connor finishes the last of his drink and stands up from his seat.
"What? The night's still early. Bekker have you on a short lease?" Crockett asks.
"Remember, she was supposed to be here, but it looks like I'll be spending it at her place." He puts on his light jacket.
"At least one of us needs to see some action." Crockett stretches his arms backwards. "Be sure to use protection."
"Uh-huh, I'll take the tab. Night fellows." Connor heads towards the bar counter.
A few seconds from behind, a tall handsome dark-haired pale-skinned man walked in wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and grey pants and black sneakers.
The men not noticing each other collided as they headed towards the bar.
"Oh! I'm so sorry about that." The stranger apologized right away. He spoke with an accent.
"It's no problem. I should be the one apologizing man. I should have watched where I was going. I was just going to pay the tab." Connor held his right hand to his chest as he apologized.
"It's not a problem man." The stranger replied.
The two parted ways as Connor quickly paid with Otis and left. The other gentlemen caught Herrmann's attention as he sat at the bar.
"Hey man." The stranger held up his right hand to greet.
"Hi there. I've never seen you before." Herrmann walked towards him on the other side of the counter.
"That's because I'm new to Chicago. I arrived a few days ago. It's for work. Went on Yelp to find a good friendly bar to break in and this firefighter bar seemed like a good fit." The man explained.
Herrmann was pleased with the stranger's compliment. "You damn right it is! I'll tell you what, the first drink is on the house."
"Yeah?"
"Damn straight. Hey, what's your name pal?"
"Joshua. You can call me Josh."
"Okay Josh, where are you from originally."
"South Africa."
"No kidding? I know someone from South Africa. Moved here recently too, a year ago."
"Really? Someone I knew moved to Chicago a year ago. But probably isn't the same person. Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the U.S."
"That's true. Anyway Josh, welcome to Chicago. What can I get'cha?"