PRODIGAL SON.

you  are  not  your  father.

[docrhodes]

❝ my  grandfather  was  the  one  who  started  the  business.  salt  of  the  earth  kind  of  guy.  he  used  to  say  to  me,  "  you're  gonna  have  to  work  harder  than  everybody  else  ...  "

a  selective   one chicago  adaption  of   connor  rhodes  from  dick wolf's   chicago med,   established  in  2023  /  rebooted  in  2025,  lovingly  taken  care  of  by  britt.   YOU  CAN  EXPECT  TO  SEE  injuries  &  mature  rated  content  with  discussion  of  death  /   dying  ──   because  of  this  i  will  not  be  following  any  mun  /  muse  under  21.

"  be  better  than  everybody  else  so  that  you  don't  turn  out  like  everybody  expects  you  to.  so  that  you  don't  turn  out  like  your  father.  "  took  me  a  while  to  get  that  message.  ❞

*   IT'S  IMPORTANT  TO  NOTE  that  i  haven't  seen  anything  after  connor's  departure  at  the  beginning  of  season  6  &  have  no  intention  of  doing  so.  if  your  character  was  introduced  past  the  point  i've  seen  please  reach  out  for  plotting.  thank  you  !

    [  CARRD.  PLAYLIST.  BOARD.  AES  SIDEBLOG.  HCS.  ]

[docrhodes]

It's not drama, it's 💥digorno💥

i  hate  whoever  sent  this  in  because  i  just  snorted  my  coffee  this  was  so  bad.

[docrhodes]

hi. can ya'll tag your drama please ?

[docrhodes]

[  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  11:05  AM  ]:  did will tell you that ?

[  SMS,  @x51163,  11:12  AM  ]:  sorry, i think you have the wrong number.

[  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  4:10  PM  ]:  yeah, i don't think i do.

[docrhodes]

when i tell you connor doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to communication i genuinely mean it. his whole job depends on his ability to communicate, that doesn't stop outside a professional capacity. he's blunt, direct, & quick to the point.

[docrhodes]

[  SMS,  @natahlie,  6:32  PM  ]:  have you eaten today ?

[  SMS,  NAT QUINN,  7:01  PM  ]:  i had some time between surgeries ── grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria at one. [  SMS,  NAT QUINN,  7:05  PM  ]:  you free for dinner ? i heard belinda's working downstairs tonight & she makes a mean chicken parmesan. [  SMS,  NAT QUINN,  7:06  PM  ]:  by far the best in a half a mile radius.

[docrhodes]

i'm  so  sorry  but  connor  going  from  "he  needs  an  operating  room  WITH  A  BYPASS  MACHINE!"  to  "you  want  to  kill  the  only  person  who  can  save  her?"  in  a  matter  of  seconds  WITH  A  GUN  pointed  in  his  face  is  so.

[docrhodes]

pretty boy syndrome.

[docrhodes]

[  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  2:12  AM  ]:  are you asking me to go with you or show up to support you ? because those are two very different things, jay.

[  SMS,  @x51163,  2:20  AM  ]:  why are you still awake ?

[  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  2:22  AM  ]:  emergency septal myectomy. i'm heading out now. [  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  2:34  AM  ]:  you didn't answer my question.

[chicagomedgifs]

When he calls you sunshine

[docrhodes]

Connor does leave Chicago after the death of his father & the whole Ava incident. He stays long enough for Atwater to talk to him & leaves a few days after that to work for the Mayo Clinic in London. He’s there for a year before Goodwin contacts him about becoming the attending in the cardiothoracic surgery department, taking over for Latham at his recommendation.

He hesitates for a week, weighing going back home again & what the heaviness of being there would do to him, before finally coming to accept on the condition that he is still consulted with and has a hand in trauma surgery. He doesn’t tell anyone he’s coming home - he’s just there one day like he never really left.

[chicagomedgifs]

[docrhodes]

connor  has  own-occupation  disability  insurance  that  replaces  75%  of  his  monthly  income  should  anything  happen  to  him.

meaning  if  he  couldn't  do  his  job  anymore  he  would receive  full  benefits,  regardless  of  whether  he  chose  to  work  in  another  medical  specialty  or  profession  altogether. 

[armybled-moved-deactivated20250]

goddamn  cardio  surgeons.  always  thinking  they're  right,  always  considering  themselves  godly,  always  sporting  a  massive  brick  wall  of  an  ego.  rhodes  pretends  at  being  a  kind,  humble  guy,  but  caitlin  sees  right  through  that.  she  sees  where  who  he  wants  to  be  ends  and  who  he  is  begins.  this  outburst  isn't  unexpected,  nor  does  it  rattle  her.  goddamn  cardio  surgeons.

❛ i  went  above  your  head  because  you're  not  god, ❜  caitlin  is  quick  to  reply,  tone  biting  and  words  sharp.  she's  not  someone  who'll  shrink  down  in  the  face  of  an  argument.  she  stands  tall,  pushes  her  shoulders  back,  allows  hands  to  drop  to  her  hips.  ❛ and  even  god  actually  listens  to  people  once  in  a  while.  or  so  i've  heard. ❜

lips  curl  to  form  a  sour,  sardonic  smile.  it  doesn't  reach  her  eyes.  ❛ have  you  ever  stopped  to  think  that  maybe  you're  being  trigger  happy  just  because  you  can? ❜  a  surgeon  would  rather  die  than  admit  that.  they're  all  about  precision  and  excellence,  and  rhodes  is  a  damn  good  surgeon  himself.  maybe  her  words  don't  hold  actual  weight  to  them.  maybe  she,  too,  is  allowing  a  long  day  to  plague  this  conversation.  ❛ i  wish  i  could  say  it  wasn't  a  common  motif  among  you  big  -  headed  heart  guys,  but  it  is.  and  boy,  do  i  get  sick  of  stereotypes. ❜

caitlin  challenges  him  rather  than  attempting  to  disarm  him.  she  stares  at  him  without  blinking  with  too  much  guts  for  a  resident.  jaw  is  set  tight,  teeth  clenched.  if  ever  there  was  a  stand  -  off,  this  would  be  it.  ❛ anything  else  you  want  to  get  off  your  chest  while  you're  at  it?  clearly  i'm  the  punching  bag  of  the  day. ❜  remarks  the  doctor  with  a  humorless  scoff.

[docrhodes]

did  she  think  her  insults  were  original  ?  or  that  they'd  cut  deep  enough  to  wound  him  in  a  such  a  way  that  his  apology  would  be  the  first  to  break  through  ?  because  he'd  heard  it  all  before  from  people  in  a  much  worse  seat  than  the  one  she  inserted  herself  in.  doctors  were  god,  surgeons  were  godlier.   men  &  women  taught  to  hold  life  in  their  hands  (  anchor  to  abyss  between  here  &  there  ),   never  to  let  it  slip  from  their  fingers  for  the  consequences  of  doing  so  weren't  just  figurative.  guilt  too  debilitating  to  put  into  words  would  linger  for  weeks  if  they  were  lucky  ──  most,  no  matter  how  little  emotional  attachment they  exhibited,  weren't.  &  when  other  doctors  stepped  in  because  they  thought  they  knew  better  ?  well  ...

upper  &  lower  molars  grind  against  another  before  his  jaw  clenched.  this  wasn't  the  place  for  this.  out  in  the  open  where  half  the  hospital  staff,  waiting  patients,  &  trauma  rooms  could  hear.  doctors  weren't  supposed  to  publicly  disagree  with  each  other,  not  like  this.  that  was  politics  101.  trust  was  everything  ──  even  the  slightest  hint  of  anything  but  would  sow  the  seeds  of  doubt  so  deep  in  everyone's  mind  that  moving  forward  with  anything would  be  a  challenge  &  their  days  were  tough  enough   ...  no  need  to  further  complicate  things.  venom  rested  against  his  tongue,  burning  his  tastebuds  until  the  only  thing  he  swallowed  was  the  bitterness  that  was  their  miscommunication  &  the  accusatory  tone  that  went  along  with  it.

"  i'm  ...  "  sentence  shattered  against  his  own  stubbornness,  crumbling  to  pieces  beneath  their  feet  so  to  be  swept  up  by  someone  not  afraid  of  getting  cut  by  their  jagged  edges.  not  there.  another  mental  reminder  as  he  stepped  back  to  press  against  the  door  to  the  locker  room.  not  much  better  but  it  was  a  hell  of  a  lot  more  private  than  the  middle  of  what  they  could  only  assume  to  be  an  empty  corridor.  "  i'm  her  doctor  which  is  a  hell  of  a  lot  more  than  i  can  say  for  you.  "  there  it  was.  that  bitterness  he  thought  he'd  swallowed  coming  to  play  before  he  smothered  it.  arms  come  to  fold  across  his  chest,  a  distancing  technique.  one  he  never  fully  shied  away  from.

"  if  you  would've  come  to  me  i  could've  explained  that  we  already  discussed  why  TAVR  wasn't  an  option.  "  &  why  open  heart  surgery  was  the  only  one.  "  she  has  two  tears  in  her  aortic  valve  cusps  that  need  to  be  patched  &  ...  "  what  did  she  call  him  before  ?  a  stereotypical  big-headed  heart  guy  ?  right.  remind  him  to  give  that  a  chuckle  when  they  were  done  with  whatever  song  &  dance  they'd  moved  on  to.  " &  i  need  to  reshape  some  of  the  tissue  surrounding  the  heart  so  that  the  valve  closes  tightly.  i  can't  do  any  of  that  with  TAVR,  caitlin.  "  &  now,  because  of  her  misplaced  optimism   (  normally  something  he'd  bask  in,  soak  up  ),  everyone  thought  he  could.

[docrhodes]

[  SMS,  @hellsurvivr,  11:15  AM  ]:  just  saw  i  called  you  last  night.  how'd  that  go ?

[  SMS,  P  BONES,  4:05  PM  ]:  you  mean  other  than  your  impeccable  timing  ? [  SMS,  P  BONES,  4:08  PM  ]:  not  as  bad  as  you  might  think. [  SMS,  P  BONES,  4:09  PM  ]:  how  much  do  you  remember  ?

[docrhodes]

[  SMS,  @x51163,  12:02  AM  ]:  i  need  help  &  i  can't  go  to  the  hospital.

[  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  12:08  AM  ]:  no,  you  can  go  to  the  hospital.  you're  choosing  not  to. [  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  12:09  AM  ]:  &  you're  texting  me  instead  of  will.  how  bad  is  it  ? [  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  12:10  AM  ]:  don't  answer  that. [  SMS,  OTHER  HALSTEAD,  12:10  AM  ]:  where  are  you  ?

[ohisms]

✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝑻𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑵𝑬 .    (  a  collection  of  texting prompts.  feel free to change phrasing.  potentially mature content within.  )

[ TXT ] : why are you still awake?

[ TXT ] : hey, where did you go?

[ TXT ] : it's getting bad again.

[ TXT ] : guess i'll just sit in bed. alone. by myself.

[ TXT ] : you can't ignore me forever.

[ TXT ] : i can't stop thinking about you.

[ TXT ] : just saw i called you last night. how'd that go?

[ TXT ] : i really need someone right now.

[ TXT ] : we need to make plans asap.

[ TXT ] : have you seen the news?

[ TXT ] : you were blackout drunk.

[ TXT ] : testing to see if you blocked my number...

[ TXT ] : do you know anything about doing stitches?

[ TXT ] : just please let me know you're okay.

[ TXT ] : did you forget we had plans?

[ TXT ] : i know you see my messages, your read receipts are on.

[ TXT ] : meet me at [ location ], it's important.

[ TXT ] : do you need comfort, to vent, or a solution?

[ TXT ] : is there anything i should bring?

[ TXT ] : call me. please, it's important.

[ TXT ] : i can't sleep.

[ TXT ] : have you eaten today?

[ TXT ] : you are always going to be my priority.

[ TXT ] : i haven't seen you around in awhile.

[ TXT ] : i had a dream about you last night.

[ TXT ] : the names are gonna get mean if you don't text me back.

[ TXT ] : at the risk of sounding cliche, what are you wearing?

[ TXT ] : just say the word and i'll drop everything.

[ TXT ] : do you seriously not remember?

[ TXT ] : come to the front door.

[ TXT ] : have you been drinking?

[ TXT ] : how do you feel after last night?

[ TXT ] : are you up? please be up.

[ TXT ] : you looked beautiful today.

[ TXT ] : i have so much to tell you.

[ TXT ] : no one's heard from you. are you okay?

[ TXT ] : who is this?

[ TXT ] : are you taking care of yourself?

[ TXT ] : thought i'd reach out and see how you're doing.

[ TXT ] : i miss the taste of your lips.

[ TXT ] : that kiss was really nice.

[ TXT ] : stop acting so high and mighty.

[ TXT ] : i left my [ item ] at your place.

[ TXT ] : are we still fighting?

[ TXT ] : i need help and i can't go to the hospital.

[ TXT ] : are you thinking about me too?

[ TXT ] : call me, i wanna hear your voice.

[ TXT ] : i don't want to talk to you.

[ TXT ] : what do you have to lose?

[ TXT ] : you don't have to ask, i'm already on my way.

[ TXT ] : i want to take a nap on you.

[ TXT ] : even if you called 6 months later at 3am, i'd answer.

[ TXT ] : what's my name in your phone?

[ TXT ] : how's trying to forget about me going?

[ TXT ] : i have nobody else to ask.

[ TXT ] : what do you mean you're at the hospital??

[ TXT ] : sorry, i think you have the wrong number.

[ TXT ] : good morning! you up yet?

[ TXT ] : do i sense sarcasm in your tone?

[ TXT ] : you start your day at 2pm?

[ TXT ] : you need MY help?

[ TXT ] : stop texting me.

[ TXT ] : i'll leave that up to your imagination.

[ TXT ] : are you asking me to sneak out?

[ TXT ] : when will i see you again?

[ TXT ] : if you come over, i'll order us a pizza.

[ TXT ] : are we ever going to talk about it?

[ TXT ] : can you come get me out of here?

[ TXT ] : you mean like ... a BODY - body?

[ TXT ] : it's just been one thing after another lately.

[ TXT ] : forgiving and forgetting is harder than it sounds.

[ TXT ] : i want your legs wrapped around my head.

[ TXT ] : call me when you wake up.

[ TXT ] : what are you doing that's more important than me?

[ TXT ] : i'm out of town right now.