Author's note;

Dear readers, first of all, thank you for checking out my story.

This is set somewhere before 3x11. I apologise if it seems a bit AU, especially considering last night's episode (was anyone else disappointed in how it all ended?) Anyways, I tried my best to remain as faithful to the characters as possible.

Any reviews and constructive criticism would be highly appreciated :)

Disclaimer 1: I'm more of that avid reader (that skims all of her duties in favour of devouring one fic after the other) than a writer. However, there are no Ava/Connor fanfictions out there yet *cries*. So, here is my contribution to this underexplored coupling, inspired by true events aka a cold I've had last week. Read with a pinch of salt when it comes to the little details e.g. how long Ava's been in Chicago and where she's from and some stuff I've made up since we don't know much about Ava's background.

Disclaimer 2: I don't own the characters or show. All rights belong to Dick Wolf and co.

Ava Bekker stood in front of the ER doors and stared dejectedly out into the dark night.

It was pouring. Rain was coming down in the most ridiculously dense sheets. She'd never seen it rain like this before.

Whatever had happened to the weather during the day? In the morning, she had been woken by the sun shining through her window, the golden rays meekly illuminating the early day. Ok, they'd been timid rays; it had been a 6 o'clock November morning after all, but they'd been shining steadily. In fact, it had been so gorgeous that she'd biked it to work again. It was just a twenty-minute ride and the warmth on her cheeks contrasting with the bite of the wind had been exhilarating.

Up until now, she'd biked it almost every day to and from work, save for that one stormy week a while ago. However, this was the first time that she'd encountered leaving home in the sun and finding it pouring in the evening.

She sighed; she had no waterproof attire, wellies or umbrella. She'd have to call herself a taxi. There was no way she'd get more than 3 strides out of the building without ending up drenched.

Still standing squarely in front of the double doors, she fished out the cell-phone from the back pocket of her skinny jeans and opened her browser. Even though she'd taken a cab to a hotel that night she arrived at Midway Airport from Johannesburg, she'd been so exhausted that she couldn't remember which company she'd used.

"Flash cab or yellow cab?" she mused aloud, scrolling down the google search results. Her fingers hovered between those two links, and she ended up deciding to go for Flash cabs in the hopes that they lived up to their name. Ava wanted nothing more than to get home as soon as possible, change into comfy sweats and bury herself in her king-sized bed. She had a pounding headache and a sore throat.

Damn this cold, I hope it blows over tonight, she thought glumly as her eyes scanned the website for the company's phone.

"Doctor Bekker" someone called, drawing out the word doctor.

She looked up from her phone and turned to the source. Connor Rhodes was walking up towards the doors, a waist-high umbrella in his hand. He was tapping it lightly against the floor with each step he took, as if it were a walking stick.

She smiled and greeted him in the same manner with a tilt of her head, "Doctor Rhodes."

That man confused the hell out of her. He was so surly, stubborn and untouchable; immune to all of her suggestions, and it drove her crazy. But then, he'd occasionally show his human and compassionate side during vulnerable moments, mostly in surgery.

She honestly didn't know what to make of him. Sure, after almost 4 months of working along side him, their relationship had significantly improved since he'd warmed up to her quirky side and she'd started laying off the meaner jibes. But now she felt that they were at an impasse, stuck.

She couldn't explain it to herself, let alone confront him about it. But she was sure that something was hanging between them, waiting to blow over with some major argument. At least, she hoped so. Because this feeling of suffocation scratching her in the chest every time he said nice job or wanna scrub in or your hands are smaller, you should suture this or any other trivial comment was also driving her crazy.

If she didn't know any better, Ava Bekker might admit that she had a crush on Connor Rhodes. And she did not get crushes. People fawned over her, not the other way around!

He reached her and stopped next to her, eyes flitting up and down as he unsubtly took in her slender, coat-cloaked figure. A shiver ran along her spine and it wasn't because of the chill in the air that ruffled her hair every time someone stepped out of the hospital past them and the automatic doors opened and closed.

No, she shivered because it always felt like his eyes were physically and carefully caressing her body whenever he did those sweep-y glances of his, mostly whenever he saw her out of scrubs. Some subconscious part of her mind was smug however that he got to see her in this outfit. The black skinny jeans, grey sweater shirt, cream scarf and that snug green parka jacket that was tight at the waist and fell to her mid-thighs was one of her favourite outfits that made her feel sexy in Chicago's cold, cold autumn.

How will I survive winter if it's so cold now already, on the9thday of November?

"Where's your umbrella?" his question interrupted her train of thought. He lifted his arm to emphasise that he was holding his. As if she could miss it. She eyed it jealously, it was so big! It undoubtedly had such a big circumference when opened that not a drop of rain would touch her colleague when he got out there in the cold, even if there was wind blowing the rain sideways.

She looked back up at him, "Ai think you meant, where's your car?" and smiled sheepishly as his eyes widened. Oh, he wasn't going to let her live this one down any time soon.

Clearly taken aback, he asked, "You don't have an umbrella or a car?"

She shrugged, "I do have one of both. They're just at home."

He looked at her as if she had lost her mind, so she reassured him, "I'm calling myself a cab. I'm not that stupid. Say, are Flash Cabs any good?"

He continued to stare agape at her. Finally, he shook his head and said, "No, don't bother trying, they'll take forever to arrive given the current conditions. I'll give you a lift home."

And before she could say anything, he was linking his arm through hers. She startled at the contact but allowed him to firmly lead her out of the hospital, his other hand opening the umbrella with a click and lifting it up over their heads as they stepped outside.

The cold breeze and tiny droplets of rain hit her face, and she was suddenly very grateful towards his impromptu decision. As Connor had said, waiting for a cab might very well take ages, 'Flash' or not. Furthermore, she'd have had to walk out to it without any protection from the waterfall overhead. She shivered in the gloom and leaned in closer to him, her shoulder glued against his bicep.

He walked them quickly across the parking lot, their feet sloshing around in the puddles. After manoeuvring them around to a row of cars, he finally stopped in front of one of them. She could just about make it out; it was that showy sports cart she'd seen him arrive to work in a few times.

She felt him move next to her, his arm abandoning hers as he dug through his pockets. Soon enough she heard the click of a car key. The car's headlights gave her a wink and he reached for the passenger door in front of them, opening it for her.

"Get in" he instructed, placing a hand at the small of her back to nudge her forwards. She didn't need it said twice. He held the umbrella over her as she slid onto the wide, leather seat. When her boot-clad feet were safely tucked in, he closed the door on her. Ava quivered, partly in relief that she was sheltered and partly due to whatever she was coming down with.

Moments later, Connor was climbing into the driver's seat, shaking the umbrella before closing his door too. He twisted his torso to stash the umbrella on the floor between the front and back seats, her breath hitched as he brushed up against her in doing so.

He turned back around and they sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the loud splatter platter patter the rain was furiously making against the windshield.

At first, she felt slightly on edge, not sure what to do or say. She was sitting with Connor Rhodes in his expensive sports car and she felt… weirdly exposed. She wasn't in her element here, not like when they were in an OR together.

She shook her head a little to pull herself out of it. Relax, she scolded herself and finally smirked, "Don't suppose I can drive?"

"Ha, no thanks, I'm not sure I trust your judgement. I mean, why on Earth wouldn't you bring your car to work? Did you walk it? In November?" There was a trace of humour in his voice.

He's having a field day with this, isn't he?

"You mean apart from exercise being healthy for the heart, Mister-hotshot-cardio-surgeon? And no, I biked it. After all, I only live about 8 kilometres away from hospital, and I've calculated that I use 1.7 litres of fuel for every round trip. 1.7 litres! For what, arriving comfortably? What about the environmental implications? How can I justify…"

He cut her off, clearly amused at her mini-ramble and wild hand gestures. "You do know that it snows in winter in Chicago, right? Will you bike it then, too?"

Her eyes lit up, she was looking forward to that. Back home at South Africa, it only snowed on the higher altitude locations so she couldn't get nearly enough of it. But she didn't let on and half-heartedly continued the banter, even though she knew that he wouldn't think of her any less crazy than he already did.

"It's not winter yet. And no, I only bike it when the weather is nice, as it was this morning."

He chuckled but to her relief, he didn't continue to add insult to injury by pointing out how the weather had made a 180-degree turn.

Still looking down at her, he blindly placed the key into the ignition, turned it, and asked, "In which direction do I drive for the next 8 km?"

Ava's lips curled upwards, she loved how he'd injected that tiny detail into the question, but before she could reply, her nose's tickling finally won. She turned away from him and sneezed into the crook of her elbow, eyes screwing shut for a split second.

He had the audacity to chuckle at her again. She glared at him, hand covering her mouth and nose till she was sure it had been a dry sneeze. However, she was mostly annoyed at herself for how freaking dainty she sounded whenever she sneezed. Ugrh.

"Didn't know a sneeze could sound that cute" he said, eyes glinting mischievously.

She rolled hers; she really didn't have the energy to find an appropriate comeback. Instead she said, "Take the second exit at the roundabout across hospital."

Her voice sounded thick even to her own ears. As Connor gripped the steering wheel and started reversing, he said, "Do you have a cold?"

She winced, "Think so. I've had this sore throat and headache for a couple of days. Still waiting for them to pass."

He tilted his head, "Hopefully you'll wake up just fine tomorrow."

"Yeah" she agreed enthusiastically.

After that, they mostly drove in silence, save for the thumping sound of the rain against the car and the wipers relentlessly scraping at the windshield.

The car quickly warmed up and she found herself feeling so comfortable that she had to fight her body's will to fall asleep. Several times she slipped out of consciousness but woke right back up when her head drooped to her chest. She quickly forced it upright again each time it happened, hoping that he hadn't noticed.

She gave him further instructions every now and then, before he could ask. He drove extremely cautiously, not speeding over 30km/h due to the conditions.

He has a good taste in cars, her brain mused as they finally, smoothly turned into her street. Its tires easily gripped the road without skidding despite the puddles. She blinked her heavy eyes, relieved that she'd survived the ride without falling asleep.

"Pull over there, in front of house number 12" she said softly, pointing towards the empty parking space in front of her home.

He nodded, parked the car in and switched off the engine.

Ava ran a hand along her seatbelt, following it all the way from her chest to the buckle at her waist to free herself. He too undid his seatbelt and twisted around to face her better as she stretched herself, a yawn breaking out on her face.

"Thank you, Connor. I really appreciate this" she said sincerely, bringing her hand to rest on the door handle after her little cat-stretch.

He smirked, "What, no digs? No, 'thank you Connor, but I could have walked it faster. What do you have a sports car for if you drive so slowly?'"

Her mouth mirrored his, "Am I really that bad?"

He tilted his head and gave a little shrug which she took as a, you know…

So she rolled her eyes and promised, "Since you seem to be immune to normal compliments, I'll throw in a dig next time."

He laughed at that. Then, he changed the subject, "Want me to walk you to the door? It's still raining heavily."

She felt her heart stutter as he glanced past shoulder her to look at her house, but she quickly shook her head. Her porch had a little overhang that was just 5 or 6 long strides away from the car.

"It's ok, thanks. I don't want to keep you any longer from… well, whichever one of your myriad girlfriends gets Connor Rhodes tonight…"

He grinned and those sporadic lines on his forehead that she'd come to recognise as worry lines disappeared. Her little tease seemed to have put him at ease. Had he been worrying about her quiet demeanour during the car ride? As she tried to consider this and weigh the probabilities, her head protested. She decided to file this whole evening away until she was up to analysing it all.

His grin evolved into a hearty chuckled, "Tonight it's just me and Jimmy Fallon. I've gotta pace myself, ya know?"

She grinned back, even though she had no idea who Jimmy Fallon was. She was just kind of relieved that she didn't have to deal with any stupid jealous thoughts tonight, even though at the same time she hated that she felt this way in the first place.

"Good night, Connor" she said simply once her grin died down enough to form the sentence. Still smiling fondly, he replied, "Good night."

Her hand dragged the handle down and as she pushed the door open, a gust of wind and rain hit her golden locks. She broke eye contact, slipped out into the darkness and slammed the door shut behind her.

She hurriedly jogged it to the overhang, head bent downwards. Once sheltered from the rain, she walked it the rest of the way to her door, fingers searching her hips for the right pocket containing the keys.

She could feel his eyes digging holes into her as she pushed the key into the keyhole.

The door swung open before her, and before closing off the world for the night, she turned around and waved towards the car. Despite the rain, she saw him raise his own hand before he drove off.

She ducked inside, safe from the cold exterior. As her fingers worked to open her coat and hang it by the door, Ava grinned like an idiot to herself. Connor Rhodes just drove me home, she thought happily.