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The clock in the living room signed 12:38 AM when Connor finally heard the sound of a key being stuffed into the patch and the door being opened as gently and silently as possible.
Maya entered on her tiptoes, her shoes in her hand, careful to not make any sound. Connor put down the book he was reading, walking towards her.
“Hi, he fell asleep around 9:30.” He greeted Maya whispering, helping her take off her coat.
“Hi, thank you so much. How was your evening?”
Maya dropped herself on the sofa without even caring about switching on the lights; the light that came from outside was enough to move without getting hurt anyway.
She was devastated; she knew Natalie had only good intentions in trying to help her find a new boyfriend, but it had been a while since the last time she had worn heels for so long and her feet were aching in pain. Anyway, it hadn't been a lucky “hunt”, but, lord, how much they had laughed when that one “I-don't-know-what-no-means” boy, trying to impress Natalie, had fallen onto a chair, spilling a cup of ketchup all over himself.
In the meanwhile Connor had opened the fridge, looking for something.
“We ate the steak and the peas, he ate all of them - Maya made a surprised and pleased face - and then we played pirates. Beer?”
He dragged out of the fridge a brown bottle, looking towards the living room.
“Oh, yes please!” She begged, taking the cold alcoholic beverage from Connor's hand.
“Did it go so badly?”
Maya took a sip making a little bit of space for Connor to sit next to her before answering.
"It was okay until the moment any guy found out about Dylan. Then they all suddenly had urgent matters to attend to."
Connor chuckled, drinking from his own bottle.
“That's the world we live in - she kept going, resting her head on Connor's shoulder - a single father is attractive, a single mother something to avoid.”
They remained in silence for a while, their gazes fixed on the breathtaking view of Chicago at night, but their minds clearly far away.
"And how are you holding up after everything with Ava?" Maya asked after a while, looking up.
Connor shrugged, a genuine smile forming.
"Surprisingly well. Just enjoying my paternity.” He winked, making Maya chuckle.
They looked at each other in silence: it was just like back in Saudi Arabia. The unbearably hot temperatures from which the two of them found comfort in a cool drink as they talked freely, finding in one another a safe place.
Maya had always loved particularly Connor’s eyes in the dark: how his blue shades changed reflecting the night sky outside the window.
“I should probably go check on Dylan.” She whispered.
The air had become suddenly heavy on their lungs, more difficult to breathe. Maya knew she couldn’t stay there with him much longer: she didn't know what might happen, and that frightened her.
“You should…”
If their time together had taught Maya something it was recognising when Connor was lying. Still, it was the best thing to do, for both of them.
She looked away, getting up from the couch, walking towards the little one’s room. She made just a few steps before she heard the sound of another person getting up from the couch.
Maya froze in the middle of the room; her heart pounding throughout her body. She needed to leave, but couldn't find the will to do it.
A gentle touch caressed her arms, sweetly guiding her to turn towards. Maya kept her gaze low as Connor brought her closer to him.
“I- I wanted to tell you before how gorgeous you look in this dress but couldn't find the courage.”
He revealed, a bit uncomfortably. Maya couldn't help but look up, trying to understand whether he was telling the truth or not.
Connor was looking at her as he had looked many times before in another country.
“Mi estrella del norte.”
There was just too much sincerity, too much devotion in his tone.
A smile as a hint of what - deep in her heart - Maya knew would happen.
"Checkmate Dr Rhodes.”
Before they knew it, their lips met in a soft, lingering kiss.
And even if they couldn’t go back to those years spent together in Saudi Arabia, they could still try to rebuild on what they had left behind but never forget.
As they parted, Maya stared in silence at Connor, caressing gently his hair.
“What?” He asked with a laugh after a while, tightening her even more to him.
“Nothing.” She smiled, looking at him in the eyes before closing the gap between them again, letting Chicago’s night be the only witness of that reunion.
“And he left.”
Natalie finished her story of the night before, putting a sugar packet in her coffee and turning it nervously.
“Poor thing, she must be devastated.” Maggie commented, her face expressing genuine sorrow for the young single mother.
“What a disaster.” April added, sighing slightly.
“What was a disaster?”
Maya’s voice signalled her entry into the break room to get changed before her shift. The three women turned around ready to console their friend, only to find a more than radiant Maya looking at them puzzled.
Maggie, April and Natalie exchanged a glance: clearly, Natalie and Maya's idea of disaster was different, very different.
“We are pretty joyful today, aren’t we Dr Henderson?” Maggie tried to ask as subtly as possible: she had the distinct feeling that there was a cause behind all that happiness, none of them had ever seen her so happy since she arrived.
Maya shrugged, her eyes still gleaming with happiness.
“Well, Dylan ate all his peas last night. Small victory, but I'll take it.”
And she was off, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared, leaving a cloud of happiness behind her.
Natalie, Maggie, and April exchanged puzzled glances. Maggie laughed.
“If Dylan eating vegetables makes her this happy, I hope he becomes a vegetarian.”
Natalie and April chuckled before all of them went back to their work, the reason for Maya's sudden happiness still unknown.
“Good morning, Dr Latham.”
Isidore turned around looking at the surgeon who had just walked into the department, taken aback by the sudden glow of contentment.
“Good morning, Dr Rhodes. You seem particularly cheerful today.”
He observed as Connor picked up his pad and went through his schedule.
“Dylan ate all his vegetables last night.” Connor responded, his smile widened.
Isidore, unfazed by the seemingly mundane news, nodded.
“That's good to hear.”
“Yeah, that’s very, very good…”
Connor’s tone was far away, lost in the sweetness and the happiness of some kind of memory that played on repeat in his head, and for some reason, Isidore had the distinct feeling that it was not about Dylan eating all his vegetables.
“Ready to work?”
But he didn’t ask; did it really matter what made Connor so happy or was it more important that he was happy? He would have told him when he thought it best.
Connor suddenly snapped out of his trance, that smile refusing to leave his face for the day to come.
“Absolutely.”
But until then the source of his happiness would have been Dylan eating all his peas.