Chapter Text
Connor raked his hand through his hair, sighing as he signed the death certificate. They shouldn’t have lost Trevor Keys. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what to do. He knew exactly what he needed to do, he just couldn’t get to an OR fast enough.
And it cost Trevor his life.
“We shouldn’t have lost Trevor,” Ava murmured beside him as he slid the paperwork over to her so she could sign it as well.
Obviously, she was thinking about the same things he was.
He shook his head and pocketed his pen a little harsher than usual, “If we had even been minutes earlier, we could have saved him.”
“It wasn’t like he was bleeding out in the field. He was in the hospital before his aorta ruptured,” Connor declared in frustration.
Ava nodded wearily, “I know, I know,”
She sighed sadly, “If we had gotten his heart on bypass, we probably could have repaired the damage.”
“God Ava,” Connor hung his head, “We robbed that man and his wife of a future all because we weren’t fast enough.”
She briefly placed a hand on his arm, “We can’t blame ourselves,” He turned his head to look at her and Ava shook her head, “Don’t blame yourself, Connor. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We tried our best.”
Connor straitened and faced her completely, his brows furrowed in irritation, “Our best wasn’t good enough this time. We could have saved his life while we were still in the ED!”
Ava arched an eyebrow, “With what equipment? We don’t have the proper surgical instruments, there’s limited lighting, little to no visualization let alone techs and an anesthetist. And did I mention, we don’t have a bypass machine in the ED.”
“Exactly! That’s the problem,” Connor rubbed his face.
She bit her lip in partial confusion. Yes, she knew that was the problem. Hadn’t they already established that?
Ava watched as he shifted his weight and crossed his arms. She could tell his mind was running through everything that had happened and trying to find a solution.
Connor tapped his foot and murmured, “We needed to fix it in the ED.”
Ava looked at him in disbelief and slight perplexity before slowly reiterating, “Yes, but we don’t have a bypass machine in the ED.”
Had he been listening to her at all? They just didn’t have the proper equipment to save Mr. Keys whether they liked it or not. A look of dawning realization as well as excitement crept into Connor’s eyes.
He looked at her pointedly, “But what if we did?”
Ava’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “You’re saying essentially an OR in the ED?”
Connor nodded, looking at her confidently, “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“You’ve certainly had some big ideas in the past but this,” She shook her head incredulously, “This is insanely huge.”
He looked at her imploringly, “Come on, Avey,” He clasped his hands together in a pleading motion, “Just think about it. We’ve both lost patients we could have easily saved if we had been able to do surgery in the ED. We could save so many more people. There don’t have to be anymore Trevor Keys. I could really use you on this.”
Ava smiled wryly, lifting her hand to stop his spill. She shook her head, “You don’t have to convince me. I think it’s a great idea. I’m in.”
Connor lit up, “Really?”
She chuckled, nodding her head, “Really.”
Ava’s smile diminished slightly as it hit her. They were going to have to do this fast if Connor wanted any part of bringing this idea of his to fruition because he was leaving. He was leaving Med, leaving her.
Today was his second to last day. Neither one of them had acknowledged it yet except for her little quip this morning when he was packing up his stuff. He seemed content to ignore it which worked for her. She wasn’t going to think about it until she really had to, and he was gone.
She felt a pang in her chest as she realized yet again that once he left, she would never have moments like these. She would never see his endearing smile or hear him call her ‘Avey’. He was the one that coined the nickname and he was the only one that called her that. It would always be his.
She smiled mischievously before Connor could notice her melancholy state.
He was leaving as much as it pained her to admit it and she couldn’t do anything about it. But she could help him with this project, however ludicrous it sounded, and she would do it with a happy heart because it made Connor happy and excited. They would have one last seemingly impossible project to accomplish before he left, and she would cherish these memories forever.
“So,” She sighed, grinning happily, “How do you propose we go about getting an OR in the ED?”
Connor grinned back, his eyes sparkling as he pushed her towards the elevator, “We convince Ms. Goodwin.”