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It's a long, hard night in the ED, as most Saturdays were.
Connor's shift should have been over by now, he laments as he makes his way to the next treatment room, but in between the mass influx of patients and a lack of staff, the ED needed him to stay.
He checks his phone again, no response from Will. His boyfriend is out with his brother tonight, grabbing drinks at Molly's. Connor didn't really expect him to check his phone, but spares a moment to hope that Will would realise that the surgeon wouldn't be home until later than expected.
Connor walks into his patient's room, Johnathan, a loud college student who had one too many and smashed his shoulder on the edge of a bar. They'd stitched up his injuries, so he's good to go, and Connor can clear another room.
"Dr Choi, incoming!" He hears Maggie call out from behind the desk, "Going to trauma three!"
Connor smiles down at Johnathan, clapping him on the shoulder, "You're gonna be just fine," he tells him, "We'll keep the saline drip going to see if we can't sober you up at all."
Johnathan looks up blearily at him, "Thanks doc," he slurs out.
Connor gives him one last smile before leaving the room. The ED doors burst open with Ethan's patient, the mass of blood striking Connor before anything else. Ethan is at the patient's side in a second, listening to the paramedics shouted explanations. Connor goes to turn away, until the patient's hair catches his eye. He feels his whole world narrow around him, as if the pressure drops to zero. Underneath the blood, is a familiar mess of ginger hair.
Will.
He rushes over on shaky legs, shoving his way through the crowded ED to the other side. "What's going on?" He demands, out of breath.
Ethan fixes him with a look, but before he can respond, someone else pipes up behind Connor.
"Some creeps wouldn't leave this girl alone, and Will had to go and get involved." He turns to see Jay, who has a cut across his nose and what is almost certainly going to be a nasty bruise forming under his right eye. Jay sets his jaw, eyes blazing, and adds, "They're down at the station. I'll take care of it."
"Bilateral chest sounds," Ethan chimes in, winding his stethoscope back around his neck.
It's enough to get Connor moving again, jerking forward until he's at Will's side. He places his hands on Will's ribs, feels for any irregularities, but everything seems fine. Ethan is gently moving Will's head side to side, until it elicits a low groan from the man in question.
"Spine clear," Ethan says.
Connor feels his heart fall in his chest, relief coursing through his system. "Will?" he asks, frantic.
He can hear Jay from behind him, yelling questions, until April gently steers him out of the room.
Will moans again, moving away from Ethan's gently prodding hands. "Fuck," he lets out, low and pained, "What happened?"
Connor lets out an inappropriate laugh, the tightness in his chest easing. "You're in the ED," he tells him, "Just had to go and get into trouble, huh?"
"Con..." Will slurs, reaching for him. Connor grabs his hand tightly, the onlookers be damned.
Ethan pulls out his torch, shining it into Will's eyes, who blinks forcefully at the intrusion before following his instructions.
"Pupils dilated and responsive," Connor notes, running his thumb soothingly over a vein in Will's hand.
There's a moment of silence when April and Ethan watch their exchange with incredulous eyes. Finally,
"He's got a laceration on his forehead, and some contusions," Ethan informs him. "It's a lot of blood-"
"Head injury," Will interjects, as if they wouldn't all know that.
"But after I stitch him up, he should be fine." Ethan continues, as if Will hadn't spoken.
"Let me do it." Connor says, moving toward Ethan.
"Dr Rhodes," April warns from behind him.
Ethan appraises him, "This is my patient, Dr Rhodes."
Connor opens his mouth to protest, then pauses. What would he even say?
Hey, I know he's your friend, but we've been together for a year! Surprise! Hand over the needle!
Not happening. He'd given them enough. Besides, he knew that if he admitted his relationship with Will, Ethan would be even more reluctant to let him help. Instead, he nods firmly, squeezing Will's hand.
"Why don't you go and tell Jay?" April suggests, gently.
He knows she's just trying to get him out of there, wants a bit of space given his previous outburst, but it's not a bad idea, all in all. He brushes Will's blood soaked hair out of his eyes, has to stop himself from leaning down and placing a kiss on the unaffected skin.
"I'll be back," he tells him, and Will blinks back, a little dopey from the pain meds that have been steadily trickling in through his IV.
Connor turns out of the room, finding Jay pacing back and forth just in front of it. "Hey," he says, grabbing ahold of the other man's arm to steady him, "Let me take a look at that eye, huh?"
"I'm fine," Jay tells him, but he tips his head back and relinquishes anyway.
Connor gently presses around the socket, "No bleeding, socket's in tact," he informs the officer.
"Told ya," Jay raises his eyebrows, leaning back against the wall, "How's Will?"
Connor sighs, his shoulders moving in a little shrug. "He's gonna be fine, just a few stitches and some pain meds." He looks up to see Jay's eyes on him, serious. "What?"
"How long have you been with my brother?"
Connor sighs, "He told you?"
Jay shook his head, "He didn't have to. I saw that look on your face when he came in. It doesn't take a detective to work that one out."
Connor blew out a breath, shaking his head at himself, "It's been a year."
If he's surprised, Jay hides it well. "You're good for each other. You should hear the way he talks about you."
Connor ducks his head to hide his smile.
"I gotta go," Jay tells him, flashing his cell phone, "I'm gonna go sort out these assholes. Keep me updated?"
Connor nods, and Jay claps him on the bicep in acknowledgment, before breezing past. He turns to the nurse's desk with a sigh, scrubbing a hand over his face. Fuck. What a night.
"Well, that was certainly interesting," Maggie says, a smile playing on her lips as he looks up.
Connor groans, "You heard?"
Maggie looks at him sympathetically, "Honey, it wouldn't matter if I heard or not, after that show, I don't think there's a single person in this ED who doesn't think you're in love with him."
Connor has both his hands over his face now, he can feel it heating up even as he tries to keep his cool. Maggie places a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, you weren't all that subtle in the first place."
"Connor," Ethan says from behind him, standing in the doorway of Trauma 3. He knows something is different as soon as Ethan calls him by his first name. "We're all done, you can come sit with him now."
Fuck. He's talking to him like the family of a patient. Which, Connor thinks inwardly, he guesses he is. Connor walks past him, clapping him on the back in gratitude as he goes.
Ethan grabs Connor's forearm just before he slips away, and they turn to face each other in the entrance.
"You're good," Ethan tells him warmly, "It's good."
It's not the most eloquent, but it gets the job done. Connor relaxes, feels the tension he didn't even realise he was still carrying slip away as he smiles at Ethan again.
Will's up on the bed, the blood has been washed away, and the shock has clearly worn off, as his dark eyes are lucid and fixed on Connor, who can't stop staring at the line of black stitching across the doctor's forehead.
April is dialling down the medication hooked on his IV. She fiddles with it for a moment, before quietly exiting, and pulling the curtains shut behind her.
Almost instantly, Connor's moving forward, as if tugged by an intervening force. His hand reaching to cup Will's cheek.
"They wanna get a head CT," Will says, his voice is wrecked, and Connor realises that there must have been shouting before the two groups exchanged blows. "Just to make sure I don't have any fractures."
"What were you thinking?" Connor interrupts, "You were literally with a cop! You didn't have to have a fight!"
Will looks inappropriately indignant, "It wasn't like that, they just clocked me out of nowhere. Jay and some of the other boys took over from there."
Connor sighs, his shoulders rolling up to release some tension. "Okay," he tells him, not really wanting to get into a fight right now.
"So," Will says, his tone a little lighter, "I'm guessing our secret is officially out, huh?"
Connor looks at him flatly, and it makes Will laugh. He swings his legs to the side until he's sitting on the edge of the bed, Connor's hands immediately flying to his shoulders to stabilise him.
"I admit," Connor says, slowly, "That some people may have seen past my carefully constructed, calm demeanor."
"Calm demeanor?" Will questions, a laugh already rising in his chest.
"Hey! You did not help the cause, you called me 'Con' in front of everyone."
"Don't blame me," Will exclaims, "I was injured!"
"Which was entirely your fault," Connor reminds him.
The curtain drawing back open interrupts them, and Ms Goodwin fixes the pair with a look. "Gentlemen," she intones, "Am I interrupting something?"
Connor bites his lip to stifle a laugh at Will's caught-in-the-headlights expression. "No, Ms Goodwin."
"Good. Dr Halstead's CT is ready," she tells them.
"I'll bring him up," Connor offers immediately, causing her to look at him with calculating eyes.
"Okay," she relents. She turns to leave, before quickly rotating back. "Dr Rhodes, Dr Halstead, in this hospital we do have a policy that partners and family not treat each other. Perhaps that is something you would do well to remember." She has amusement in her eyes as she looks at them. "Goodnight gentlemen," she offers as she leaves.
They both stare after her in tense silence until Will breaks in with a long groan.
"We're never gonna hear the fucking end of this."
"Hell of a way to tell the hospital," Connor agrees. They look at each other for a moment before breaking into stifled laughter.
"I love you," Will tells him, softly, leaning across to brush a kiss against Connor's lips.
"I love you too." Connor gently pushes Will back onto the bed, leaning down to pull up the barricades once he is situated. "Now let's go and get your CT, hero."
"Oh!" Will exclaims, grinning, "Now I like that nickname!"
"Mm, don't get used to it." Connor leans down and presses a kiss to the top of his ginger head, breathes in the familiar smell with a sigh. Will's hand comes up to clasp over Connor's, and they hold each other, grounding themselves once more.
Then Connor moves to start pushing the bed, April and Ethan at his side in a moment to assist.
"Got you all fixed up, lovebird," April teases, and Will looks up to Connor as if to say, I told you so.
"See? Never gonna hear the end of it."
Connor laughs again. It was worth it.