Chapter Text
No one could remember the last time they saw Dr. Robby. Their shift should have been over hours ago, but the pileup on I-279 had the ED stretched thin. Dennis was exhausted. He was on his third Red Bull of the shift, but somehow he knew the shaking in his hands wasn’t from the caffeine. He had been looking for Dr. Robby for thirty minutes. Dana said she last saw him in the ambulance bay, but that had been an hour ago. It wasn’t until Dennis saw Dr. Langdon with his head between his knees that he started to feel a stir low in his gut.
“Is everything okay, Dr. Langdon?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual, but there was a distinct crack in his voice. Dennis and Frank had never been friends—it mostly had to do with the Trinity of it all—but Dennis couldn’t walk away in good conscience.
“Whitaker,” Frank sighed, looking up at Dennis through bloodshot eyes. “Yes, everything is fine. Do you need something?”
Hesitantly, Dennis asked, “Have you seen Dr. Robby?” He knew immediately it was the wrong question. “I think I saw him duck into Central 18.” Dennis mumbled his thanks as he walked away.
As he approached the door with the curtains drawn shut, he hesitated as he reached for the handle. It wasn’t until he heard the distinct crashing noises that he knew he had to go in. It wouldn’t be the first time he found Dr. Robby having an episode. Hell, on his first day he got to see what this place could do to a man. Dennis knew it wasn’t his job to look out for Dr. Robby—if anything, the roles should be reversed—but he knew deep down that when he was at his lowest, it was having someone in his corner that made the difference.
Dennis opened the door discreetly, not wanting to draw any more attention than necessary to the scene he knew would be unfolding before him. However, nothing could quite prepare him for what he found waiting in Central 18.
Dennis froze, his mouth slightly agape. He wasn’t sure where to focus. His eyes found Dr. Robby first—the man he was looking for—but Dr. Robby wasn’t weeping on the ED floor like Dennis expected. He was pinned against the wall with Dr. Abbott’s hand wrapped around his throat. Dennis stood there as if time stood still. He wasn’t sure if he was even breathing. He let his eyes flick to Dr. Abbott. His strong face was contorted into a deep scowl, but there was something light dancing in his eyes—eyes that immediately cut over to Dennis, who suddenly found himself gasping for air.
Dr. Abbott didn’t remove his hand from around Dr. Robby’s throat. Dennis knew he should leave, should walk away and pretend he never saw anything. He was just about to do so when Dr. Abbott spoke, his voice low and icy.
“Do you see what you did now, brat? You’re too busy running that pretty little mouth that you forgot I’ll put you in your place no matter where we are.”
Dennis’ head spun as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. Before he could think about what he was saying, Dennis spoke up. “I’m sorry, Dr. Robby. We’ve been looking for you for an incoming trauma.”
Before Dr. Robby could reply, Dr. Abbott started to speak. “Robby, apologize to Dr. Whitaker for disappearing.”
“No, that’s okay, he doesn’t need—” Before Dennis could finish his thought, Dr. Abbott cut him off with a tsk. The three of them entered an uncomfortable silence. It was Dr. Robby who broke it.
“Whitaker, fuck, I’m sorry,” he started. Dr. Abbott slowly lowered his hand from around his neck, and Dr. Robby stood up to his full height.
Before he knew what he was doing, Dennis turned on his heels and bolted from the room. He could hear their voices calling after him, but he didn’t stop until he made his way out of the ED and into the fresh air.
Today had been long. Between difficult cases and their late stay, Dennis was sure this all could be explained by sleep deprivation and caffeine overdose.
“There you are, Huckleberry. Are you done with your charts? I’m thinking we go out and get drinks,” Trinity sauntered up to his side, wrapping an arm across his shoulders.
“Trin, we just finished a fifteen-hour shift. The last thing I want to do is go out for a drink.”
She let out a small laugh. “Well, Huckleberry, I hate to break it to you, but I’m your ride, so unless you want to spend the night walking home, you’re coming out with me.”
Dennis rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. They didn’t even bother driving to the bar. The two walked arm in arm across the street to Jack’s Bar. The bar was packed as usual, mostly ED staff and a few women he knew had a thing for doctors. Though he initially didn’t want to go out, he knew it was good for him—good to step away from the insanity that was his day-to-day life and pretend to be a normal person with his friend out at the bar.
Trinity wasted no time flagging down the bartender. It was Ryan. Ryan was cute in a boy-next-door kind of way. He had a dark head of curls that grew past his deep brown eyes. Dennis knew he was cute; he even knew that Ryan thought the same of him. The two of them had a routine for nights like these: they flirted, exchanged a couple of looks, but Dennis always went home alone. He knew his time with Ryan was no more than a little fun, but he couldn’t remember the last time he got laid. Between residency and bouncing between places, he never really found the right time.
As Ryan slid the beer across the bar to him, his fingers lingered and brushed Dennis’. He could see Trinity rolling her eyes next to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. She was the one who wanted to come out tonight anyway.
As usual, the bar was hosting Friday night karaoke. Dennis wasn’t a fan, but Trinity couldn’t contain her excitement as she ran over to sign herself—and probably Dennis—up. He sat at the bar by himself, slowly sipping his beer when someone sat down next to him.
“Whitaker, I think we need to talk.”
Before he turned his head, he knew it was Dr. Robby. Truthfully, he didn’t know if he could look Dr. Robby in the eyes, but he knew they couldn’t go on like this forever. When his eyes met Dr. Robby’s, he couldn’t quite pin the look on his face. His eyes looked almost sorrowful.
“There’s really nothing to talk about, Dr. Robby. I should have knocked before coming in. It won’t happen again.”
“Dennis,” he started.
“Seriously, Dr. Robby. And I promise I won’t say anything about what I saw.”
“And what exactly is it that you saw, Dr. Whitaker?”
Dennis found himself at a loss for words for the second time tonight. What exactly did he see? Dr. Abbott with his hand wrapped around Dr. Robby’s throat as he called him a brat. Dennis really didn’t know what any of this meant, but he knew he had found himself in a hole he couldn’t seem to dig out of.
As if Dr. Robby could hear the thoughts firing in his brain, he spoke up. “I can explain.”
Dennis let out a low chuckle.
“Hey Dennis! You want another?”
Dennis’ eyes snapped away from Dr. Robby to find Ryan standing across the bar from him.
“Um, yeah, thanks, Ry.”
“Anything for my favorite customer,” he quipped back. Ryan slid the beer over once more with a wink.
Dennis couldn’t stop the flaming in his cheeks as Ryan walked away. He turned to find Dr. Robby watching him with a look in his eye that he once again couldn’t describe.
“You two seem familiar,” Dr. Robby sniped. Though Dennis couldn’t quite catch the emotion Dr. Robby was displaying, he did not look pleased, to say the least. What they should be talking about is what he walked in on earlier, but instead Dennis found himself babbling, trying to find the words to describe who Ryan was to him.
Thankfully, Trinity sauntered over, beer in hand and a wide grin plastered across her face. “Huckleberry, you’re up. Oh, Dr. Robby, I’m so glad you are here to witness this.”
Dennis tried to protest as Trinity dragged him from his seat and toward the stage in the center of the room. He never knew what song Trinity would pick—it could be anything from dad rock to musical theater. When he got on the stage, he almost felt relieved when he saw the words “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. He could hear Trinity laughing to herself in the distance.
Dennis didn’t love karaoke, but he did love Trinity, so on nights like this, he did what he had to do—which was give his all to his performance. The music started, and Dennis let the day's craziness fall away from him. He didn’t need the lyrics dancing across the screen as he began to belt. Dennis had never been the best singer, though he loved to sing while he worked on the farm or while he practiced a difficult suture in the med lab. Dennis gave the song his all, swaying back and forth across the stage, getting the crowd involved. He waved his arm above his head, getting a movement started when he locked eyes with Dr. Robby. His smile filled most of his face, and he shook his head slowly. He raised his beer in Dennis’ direction before taking a large swig.
As the song came to an end, Dennis found himself caught up in a crowd of strangers. A mixture of praise and taunts surrounded him, but he couldn’t help but let his gaze fall back to the bar. Dr. Robby no longer sat next to the open seat, and Dennis couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He didn’t let himself hang up on it for too long before turning back to the small group in front of him. He found himself laughing and drinking, and for a little while everything felt okay.
It wasn’t until his eyes snagged on Trinity, who had her arms wrapped around the waist of a gorgeous girl by the door. The two whispered and giggled, and Dennis’ feet started moving in that direction.
“Trinity, I thought we were going home after this,” he protested, already knowing where this was going.
“Call an Uber, Huckleberry, the night is young.”
“Trinity, we need to be in the ED for 7 a.m.—the night is far from young.”
“Cry me a river, Huckleberry, I’ll see you in the morning.” Before he could protest any further, the two women made their way across the street.
Dennis threw his hands in the air, whirling around to stare at the bar that was slowly losing patrons.
“I can give you a ride.”
Once again, Dennis found himself face to face with Dr. Robby.
“You don’t have to do that. She’s right, I can call an Uber.”
“I know that you can, but you shouldn’t have to. Let me take you home.”
Dennis, exhausted, a little tipsy, and ready for sleep, couldn’t bring himself to protest. He and Dr. Robby walked side by side in silence. Unlike earlier tonight, the silence was not uncomfortable—it was almost peaceful.
It wasn’t until Dennis’ eyes landed on Dr. Robby’s motorcycle that he rethought his decision. Wordlessly, Dr. Robby took the helmet from the bike and handed it over to Dennis.
“You need to be wearing that, not me,” he protested.
Dr. Robby scoffed and continued to get onto the bike.
“Get on the bike, Whitaker,” he bit out, his tone stern.
Dumbfounded, Dennis continued to hold the helmet and stare.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Put on the helmet and get on the back.” Dennis snapped into action and did as he was told. He found himself awkwardly reaching around Dr. Robby to interlace his arms around his waist. The ride was short, with Trinity and Dennis’ apartment being a short ride from the hospital. Dr. Robby never asked him for the address, but he knew exactly where he was going as he pulled in front of their brick apartment building.
Hopping off the bike, Dennis slid the helmet off his head and handed it back to Dr. Robby.
“Thank you, Dr. Robby. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Call me Michael.”
“Thank you, Michael.”
The two stood there grinning for a minute before Dennis finally turned to walk away. He noticed that Dr. Rob—Michael—didn’t drive away until he looked out his apartment window and waved.