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English
Series:
Part 7 of The Whitaker Distribution System
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Published:
2025-10-24
Updated:
2025-10-31
Words:
1,517
Chapters:
3/?
Comments:
11
Kudos:
151
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Distribution System Drabbles

Summary:

Drabbles that take place in the same universe as The Whitaker Distribution System series, where Jack Abbot finds Dennis living in the hospital and he and his husband take him in.

Notes:

I have lots of little ideas for scenes in this universe that don't add up to full stories so here you go. I will update tags as I go.

Chapter 1: Cheesy Like Sunday Morning

Chapter Text

Dennis had a plan. In the months that had passed since his match the idea would pop into his head every so often, and each time he’d think of a different way to do it. He knew that Jack and Robby would be nothing but touched, but sometimes he didn’t know how to handle the line between the family that he’d built and the realities of the hospital. He could do it at home, sure, but their schedules made it nearly impossible lately.  He wanted it to be a surprise, so he’d stayed at Mateo’s last night to avoid driving in with Robby. As much as he wanted to sleep in with his boyfriend on a Sunday morning he needed to get to the fancy bakery by campus and to the hospital before they finished handoff and Jack went home. 

He shuffled into the staff entrance, his hands full of a bakery box and tray of coffees. He swept past Dana, just getting settled into her station and handed her the extra coffee from the tray with a wink. 

“Thanks, sweetheart. Are you here for Jack?” He didn’t know what they’d been telling her about him, but she too had become rather protective of him. Having her in his corner for his residency was a huge win. 

“Both of them, actually. If they have a minute, I just wanted to do something for them today,” he said with a grin. She looked at him curiously for a minute, before the pieces clicked in place. 

“Oh, kiddo. Yes, I’ll go make sure they have a few minutes.” She took off in the direction of the central rooms and he waited at the hub, feeling a bit more at ease. He’d thought a quick stop would make it less of a thing. Maybe. 

It wasn’t long before Robby and Jack returned, Robby pointing out something on a patient’s chart on the tablet he was holding. 

“Hey, there. Dana said you were here to see us? Is everything okay?” Robby put the tablet down, and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Everything is good. I can’t stay long, um, I just really wanted to bring you breakfast this morning. Today,” Dennis said. He knew his cheeks were a bit red, he really hoped they’d understand without him spelling it out. It was still awkward for him to acknowledge sometimes. 

Thankfully they seemed to get it. Robby’s head tilted and a soft smile overtook his features, while Jack cleared his throat. “Thanks, kid. I…. yeah, thanks.” 

Dennis excused himself quickly, he knew the handover really couldn’t wait. He wasn’t currently on staff, so they wouldn’t talk about patients in front of him, besides he had Mateo waiting on him for the hike they’d planned for their day off. On his way out the door Officer Ahmad gave him a wave. 

He returned it with a smile, “Hey, Happy Father’s Day. Did the kids treat you right this morning?” 

“Hell, yes. I got waffles with sprinkles, those girls wrecked the kitchen but it’s not my problem today,” he said with a grin, ”you gonna call your dad?” 

“Already taken care of,” he said, smiling as he headed out.  

Chapter 2: Mail Bag

Summary:

Dennis gets something unexpected in the mail.

Notes:

This one is short, but I love the idea of Jack having a big family who is totally open to adding to the crowd.

Chapter Text

The envelope in his mailbox was thick, white paper with perfect handwriting on the outside. It was addressed to Mr. Dennis Whitaker, but he hadn’t been expecting anything like it and he opened it while still standing in the lobby of his new building. 

The inner envelope said Dennis and Guest, and the invitation inside started with Mr. Kevin Hafner and Mrs. Michelle Abbot-Hafner invite you to the wedding of their daughter Madison Marie Hafner…

It went on from there with the details. Madison was Jack’s niece, he had met her and the rest of the family a few times now, but this was too much. It has to be a mistake.

He’s just seen Jack at handover and he hadn’t mentioned anything about it. He snapped a picture and sent it with a text. 

Dennis: This came today. They didn’t need to do this. 

The reply didn't take long, and it sent a rush of feelings thorugh him. He wondered if he'd ever get used to this. 

Jack: Quoting Maddy “Tell Dennis I saved room at the cousins table and he'd better bring his cute boyfriend.” 

Well, not a mistake. When he'd left home for the last time he couldn't have really imagined this level of acceptance. 

Dennis: Oh, okay. 😳

He was definitely going to have to do some shopping, maybe Dana could help him pick something appropriate. Jack and Robby weren't really into that sort of thing, and he kind of wanted to surprise Mateo. 

Jack: She also threatened Mike to make sure we all had the day off.   

That sounded on brand for the Abbots he'd met.

Dennis: 👍😂😈😂

 

 

Chapter 3: Vintage and Variety

Summary:

A little Mateo POV, because Dennis isn't awlays the one who has to pine

Notes:

Just a fun little Mateo POV on Call It Teambuilding

Chapter Text

Mateo couldn’t remember having such a bizarre day. He had been telling the truth when he said he didn’t date coworkers, but he was also pretty sure he was being followed around by the wrong med student so maybe it was time to reconsider that policy.

It’s not that Victoria was a woman, like that guy from the tv show had said, “he liked the wine, not the label”. The problem here was the vintage and variety. She seemed sweet, and he was sure she was brilliant, but she was 20 fucking years old and he only babysat for Harrison. He was 28 and had been paying his own way for a decade. He invited her to the park anyway, because someone should. It had been a hell of a day.

He spent the next couple shifts dodging her and trying to get assigned to more cases with Whitaker. The new guy was cute, and surprisingly good under pressure. There was the rat thing on the first day, and the fact that he came back at all after the shift from hell, but he also really listened to people. He was especially good with kids, which was endearing, but he’d never seen someone get the older ladies on his side faster than Dennis Whitaker. Even Myrna behaved when Dennis was nearby.

He was minding his own business getting some coffee when the scary new intern cornered him in the break room.

“Hey, hot stuff,” she said. He wasn’t quite sure what the hell was happening, he’d noticed her flirting with Dr. Garcia multiple times this week. Still, he wasn’t the only flexible one in the hospital. She wasn’t his type either, competent he did like, but she was seriously over-confident for an intern. The nurses learned to spot the type quickly because they’d spend the first few months cleaning up after them.

“Can I help you, Dr. Santos?” He’d noticed she’d been spending a lot of her downtime with Whitaker, so maybe he shouldn’t write her off just yet.

“Relax, pretty boy. You don’t do anything for me, but some of us are going out for drinks after work. You should come, feel free to bring friends.” Oh, well, that was nice. A lot of the doctors forgot the nurses existed once they clocked out. Maybe a night out wouldn’t hurt, but he had some questions.

“Where are you going?” He dumped out the rest of his coffee and rinsed his cup, he needed to get back on the floor pretty soon.

“Donovan’s down the street.” Well that was a plus. They were strictly 21 and over and checked IDs. “So no, she’s not coming, but Dennis is.”
Oh, she didn’t miss much did she? She seemed pretty invested in convincing him to go along, and he was curious to find out why.

“Well, okay, I could use a night out. Thanks,” he said, “now if you’ll excuse me I have patients to check on.”

Later that evening he wasn’t surprised to find he was the first one to arrive, his handovers usually went pretty quickly as the night shift nurses were mostly long-timers who didn’t need much. He was quickly joined by King and Mohan and grabbed a beer before settling into a booth with them. It wasn’t long before Santos and Whitaker showed up, and he quickly scooted in to make room next to him for at least one of them to sit. Dr. Santos shoved Dennis in that general direction before sitting next to Mel on the other side. Was it possible this was her goal the whole time? He wasn’t going to complain.

They talked about the doctor’s match process a bit, so he didn’t have much to say, but he was impressed when Dennis made an effort to include him in the conversation and asked about his hobbies while they were all giving suggestions for Samira. It turned out both he and Dennis enjoyed running, and Dennis indulged his ranting about the Pirates when the women’s discussion turned to the reality tv they used to decompress.

The more he saw of Dennis the more interested he was in learning more so he didn’t wait long before texting. He knew med student rotations didn’t last long, he could wait.

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