When It Rains

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Five short fics about Sarah and Ethan, taking place when it rains. Sarah/Ethan pairing

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"Something must be wrong with me," Sarah turned to him in the pouring rain with a broken look. His heart ached in his chest.

He knew how much she was struggling in her profession… how hard it was for her to believe that she was on a way to become a damn good doctor. She experienced every stumble on the way like a failure.

And, unfortunately, her personal life had been a struggle as well. He knew that ever since she declined her position at Pathology, her relationship with Pathology Boy had been rocky. That guy just couldn't understand her… he couldn't appreciate her.

It seemed that that relationship had just come to an end. Good riddance, he thought.

He just wished that Sarah were not so heartbroken, blaming herself once again and seeing others' shortcomings as her own.

"No, Sarah," he told her gently, slowly stepping closer, reaching out for her. "If he can't accept you as you are, it's his loss." He gathered the soaked woman into his arms. "You are perfect," he added, not being sure she'd heard him through the falling rain.

Ethan liked his morning routine. And he liked sticking to it.

And as such, a little rain had never discouraged him from his morning run. He went out early in the morning whether the sun promised a warm day or clouds covered the sky.

It brought order into his life.

And he was just about to go out again when he was stopped by the bedroom door.

"Oh, for God's sake, it's pouring outside," Sarah mumbled grumpily from under the covers. "Come back to bed."

Ethan turned around and smiled at the heap of blankets before doing as he'd been told.

After all, it was quickly turning into his new routine: spending time with Sarah in his bed.

Plus, he had never had problems with following orders.

Ethan was looking out at the pouring rain neither seeing nor hearing the summer downpour outside. He only realized that evening had fallen when the lights were turned up and the grey summer street had disappeared from his sight, its place taken over by the bright sterile interior of the hospital.

He did not even realise until then that all of his friends, all of their friends had gathered by his side, silently waiting for any news.

"Ethan."

Ethan had turned before his name was called, as he saw Connor walking up to the little group in the reflection of the large window.

"She's in recovery," Connor told him as the others gathered around them. They all let out a collective sigh of relief but Ethan could only manage a tense nod, waiting for the rest. "There were complications on the way but she fought like hell."

"Thank God," April breathed.

"She'll make a full recovery," Connor told the group.

Ethan nodded, still tense, his eyes already asking his next question. "Room 8," Connor told him with a small smile and Ethan was on his way.

He stopped by the door and not for the first time he wondered how it could have happened. They had a troubled patient: hostile and violent. He asked for Security and told Wheeler to ask for a consult from Psychiatry, telling them what to expect. He even saw Sarah going into the room. He thought nothing of it at the time, the man was restrained after all. They shared a small smile then he went back to work.

Only Wheeler had taken pity on the sedated man and took of his restrains.

His fists curled at the thought.

He would never forget how the delirious man ran out of the room like a wild animal escaping its cage. He'd never forget how his heart began pounding like mad when he saw his bloody hands… how it stopped when, running to the room, he saw Sarah leaning against the bed staring shocked at her own blooded hand that came up from checking the wound on her stomach.

"Agitated, that was what he told me," Dr. Charles said stunned and uncomprehending as Sarah was wheeled up to the OR.

Ethan shook his head to clear it from all the anger and anguish, then he stepped up to the bed and pulled up a chair.

Gently, he took her hand, mindful of the IV line and only when he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest did he let out a sigh of relief.

She was going to be all right, that was all that mattered.

Ethan had been under the shower no longer than a couple of minutes, soaking up the warmth of the water and letting the day wash away from him when a cold touch made him jump.

"Sorry," Sarah told him with a grimace, pulling back her hands. Ethan raised an eyebrow, his surprise quickly turning into bemusement. Sarah was standing in front of the shower, looking sheepish… and very much naked.

Her damp hair and the way she was pressing her hands together under her chin - her cold hands, he remembered - made his initial bemusement turn into a concerned frown.

"That bad, huh?" he asked as he reached for her and, turning them around, pulled her under the shower.

"It's raining cats and dogs," she nodded, stepping into his arms as he pulled her close and let the hot water warm her up.

Ethan watched with a loving smile as his three-year-old tried to wake up her mother.

Sarah was a heavy sleeper and once she was out, she was out for earnest. A bomb could go off next to her and she would be sleeping like a baby. A trait which helped her through medical school but which caused her great concern after Olivia had been born. Her worry about sleeping through the baby's crying had even gotten to the point that she didn't dare falling asleep while alone with the baby.

But that was years ago and while she was still able to sleep through an earthquake, now he knew that Sarah was awake at the smallest noise their daughter would make. So having the girl, propped up against the edge of the bed, brushing her nose against her cheek and repeating "mommy, mommy" over and over again had surely waken up his wife.

But it was fun and Olivia seemed to have forgotten about the raging storm that had waken her up at the first place, so he thought that Sarah was going with it.

And true enough, after a little while, he could see the corners of her lips curl and her nose wrinkle. He chuckled as the girls let out a giggle.

That was then that a lightning flashed and a loud bang quickly followed which, in turn, made Olivia jump.

"Oh, baby, come here," Sarah shushed her, now fully awake, and lifted the edge of the blanket. Olivia climbed up the bed and settled down next to her mother.

It seemed that with her daughter tucked away safe from the storm, Sarah had fallen back to sleep, but when Ethan didn't move to join them, she cracked open an eye. "He's up, too?" Sarah asked from above her daughter's head.

"Nah, sleeping like a log," Ethan answered with a fond smile, then, with a last look at the peacefully sleeping baby, he pushed away from the crib and went to sit down on his side of the bed. "He can literally sleep through a thunder storm. I think we know someone like that, right?"

"Riiiight," Livvy grinned at him from under the blanket.

"Yeah," Sarah let out a not-so-amused snort. "And she wants to sleep through this storm as well," she threw behind her back and Ethan laughed.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said with a smile in his voice and reached to turn off the bedside lamp before climbing under the covers and pulling his girls against his chest.

THE END

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