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Robby takes the phone from Dana slowly, thinking about what to say; how to answer. She's barely gotten the name out when handing the phone over, just as surprised as he is.
He hasn't talked to this Langdon in a while. Dana's eyebrows are drawn together; she's worrying the clipboard in her hands, picking it up, setting it down again, watching him.
"Hello?" Robby asks carefully.
"Hi, Robby!"
"Hey, Tanner. How are you doing?" It's a silly question. Tanner is four. Small talk, for him, is talking about animals he saw at the zoo when he visited last. Besides, if he sounds like that, voice thick and high with emotion, he's not doing well. Robby hurts for the boy.
"Is my dad with you?" Tanner asks. His voice is wobbly and teary and he's pulling snot up through his nose.
"No, sweetheart, he's not here."
Dana raises her hand halfway to her mouth before dropping it again. The corners of her mouth are turned down, her lips are pressed together tightly; she's trying hard not to cry. She shakes herself, waving someone behind Robby away from him, telling someone not now, not right now. He's busy with a teary four-year-old who misses his dad and Robby—for all that happened—is the next best thing in that boy's life.
"Can you… can you get him?" A hiccup escapes, breath catching in Tanner's small ribcage. "I want to talk to Dad."
Robby pushes away from the hub and shields his face with his free hand. Tanner's pain burns deep in his chest and he wishes he could take this conversation to the stairwell or outside. But he can't, not on the landline. Around him, the ED goes about its business. What does he say? What can he say?
"I'm sorry, Tanner. I can't." He takes a breath. "Is your mom there?"
There is rustling on the other end, then a quieter "No." He's hiding from her with the phone.
"Well, can you go to her? Please?"
"She's mad at me." That seems to be a no, but it worries Robby in a different way. He's pretty sure it's not Tanner she's mad at. He can imagine what happened—Tanner asking for his dad, Abby unable to tell the kid that his dad's in rehab, Tanner insisting or crying, Abby helpless to give him what he wants. It's a mess.
"I'm sure your mom isn't angry at you, sweetheart."
"She says I can't talk to him."
"She's right, Tanner. Your dad… he's sick right now and he needs to get better first, before he can talk to you again." He doesn't miss the way Dana's eyes snap to him, sharp and challenging. Because that's something she hasn't heard him say out loud until now. He looks down, hides from her piercing gaze, because he's not even sure he sees it that way.
But he's angry at Frank, not at Tanner, and the boy is hurting.
The next time he looks up, she nods at him before she tips her head and goes back to whatever she's doing on her computer. She slides her readers back on her nose, busying herself to let him have this conversation in peace.
"I have to go," Tanner says suddenly. "Tell Dad I miss him? And—"
Before Robby can even think about what to answer, the line goes dead. He slowly takes the phone from his ear and slumps against the counter, holding himself up by his forearms. "Shit."
"You did good," Dana says quietly. "You did good, you hear me?"
"I didn't do anything. I just… what if Abby told him something different and—"
He hears her sigh and suddenly, her warm hand finds his. He tilts his head up just enough to see her fingers wrap around his. "Call her. Call her and talk to her and remind her that she and the kids didn't lose you because of this."
Robby frowns.
"Come on now. Let's not pretend you're a stranger to that family." Dana snorts out a laugh and Robby flushes. Not a stranger is one way to put it. "You thought you hid that well, didn't you," she murmurs and lets go of his hand to use the computer mouse.
Yes, actually, he thought he did.
Tanner flops down next to Robby and bumps his whole side into Robby, from hip to shoulder, until Robby reaches out and pulls the kid close. He's gangly, limbs too long and growing fast. His wiry frame is hidden under his bulky winter clothes. A scarf Robby recognizes as Frank's is covering half his face. The shock of brown hair flops with the movement, reminding Robby of the way Frank used to wear his hair during his residency. Garcia used to call him ER Ken for it. Robby loved to run his hands through the long strands. He was sad when Frank came home with a much shorter cut one day, after deciding it was going out of style.
"Hey, thanks for coming," Tanner says, pressed into Robby's side. He still gets that quiet, shy tone sometimes; even after all those years of being assured of Robby's love for him.
"Of course," Robby answers. "Frank called you, yeah? He's really sorry, but he was the only one who hadn't already pulled a double." They're stretched too thin right now. One more sick doctor and they'll have to borrow from upstairs which never goes well.
Robby almost didn't come. He was ready to stay in the on-call room just in case, but Frank insisted. One of them has to be there. Even so, Robby took a taxi to the stadium because he didn't trust himself to drive. Now, with Tanner smooshed into his side and the pre-game excitement, he's glad he came.
Tanner nods. "I told him that it's fine. He… he believed me, right?"
"Hm?"
"When you saw him before you left, I mean." Tanner clears his throat. "Because sometimes he doesn't believe me when I tell him…" Tanner sighs and tips his head back. He gets that from Frank. Those gestures, the sudden drops or tips of his head.
"That's not your problem, though, is it?" Robby says gently. "Him not believing you when you tell him it's fine, I mean."
"I know." Tanner straightens against him. "And I told him I'd rather have him save a life than come watch me play."
Robby is so horrified by that, he can't help but laugh out loud. Tanner's head whips around, eyes wide, nervous. "Jesus, kid," he blurts out. "That's… that's not…" He schools his expression—he doesn't want to scold Tanner. But he tries to impress how serious he is about this when he tells him, "Please don't say that to him again, yeah?"
Tanner's eyes are still wide with surprise. Robby only ever 'parents' when it's about Frank. Abby rarely needs defending. Frank usually shuts down any negativity regarding her or Robby, but for whatever reason he thinks it's okay for Tanner's love to be conditional when it comes to him. Robby remembers the exact moment he decided he wouldn't ever let that slide again.
He rubs his hand over the boy's head, through the long, brown strands. He tugs him close to press a kiss to the mop of hair. "Please. I know you said that to reassure him, but…" How to tell the kid that that isn't helping Frank feel any less bad about disappointing him.
Tanner nods. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I know why you said that. You probably didn't mean anything by it." At that, Tanner nods. Robby sighs. "Just, please, don't tell him you'd rather not have him here if he can be useful elsewhere."
"That's not what I meant, though."
Robby pulls Tanner close and rests his cheek against the boy's head. "I know, Tan, I know. But… that's probably what he heard. And I assure you, if he hadn't had to step in last minute, he wouldn't have missed your game for the world."
Tanner nods vigorously, knocking his head into Robby's cheekbone. "Yeah, yeah." He sounds breathless with how serious he is. He gets that from Abby. "I know."
A siren goes off somewhere and Tanner straightens. That seems to be the alarm to call the players to the locker room. He gets up and pulls out his phone. "Mom says they're running late. She'll come find you."
"Alright."
He watches Tanner hastily scoot out, stepping over knees and hopping over bags on his way to the end of the row, and groans quietly. That kid.
He texts Frank. 'Wish you were here.' Because it took years to convince Frank to let go of the notion that the best thing a father can do is stay away from his family.
He gets the handshake emoji and a fire emoji back. Damn right his hands are cold and he wishes Frank were there to warm them up.
When Abby and Parker arrive, he gets a thermos and then has his hands full with a wiggly ten-year-old while Abby gets a break. The way she leans into him tells him her day was long, too. They take a selfie to send to Frank and receive one of him with Jack and Lena in return. When he shows it to Abby, she snorts and shakes her head. He feels as tired as they look. She elbows him softly and bumps into him when she catches him brushing his thumb over the screen. When he looks over, she's beaming at him with sparkling eyes.
"Hey, Robby?"
"Hm?" He puts the bicycle chain down and half turns.
Half the reason he started doing these repair workshop afternoons with Tanner and sometimes Parker, is that they get a lot of talking done during them. He takes his time wiping his hands on the rag lying next to him and waits for Tanner to open up to him.
"You and Dad… how long has that… how long have you been together?"
Robby shifts, unsure how to answer. Their relationship is an odd one. The constellation of him and Frank and Abby has lasted over fifteen years now, even if the last ten or so have been more him and Frank, after Abby met someone she didn't want to share with them. Someone who gave her what she was missing with them. Support and someone stable; someone who was there for her in a way that the other two adult men in her life weren't. It happened organically, no one was sad or hurt or angry. They just shifted into a new form of loving each other.
"What are you asking?" he wants to know.
"Pax calls you pops," Tanner says slowly.
Robby smiles. "Yeah."
"You never asked me to… call you that."
Robby shakes his head. "I never asked Pax to, either." It just happened and fuck it if he didn't cry in Abby's arms afterwards. Frank always calls him the kids' dad. He's overheard 'Ask your pops' often enough to know Frank truly thinks of him as their dad, too.
Tanner nods to himself and suddenly shoots up from his crouch. He clears his throat and looks away. "I think of you that way, though. Just so you know. Dad is Dad. But you're my dad, too." He rushes inside on long legs before Robby can react which tells him he's not meant to. He takes a deep breath and allows himself to feel the warmth spreading through him. He knows he's Tanner's dad, he's been feeling that way for years now. He gets Father's Day cards from him and Parker. But Tanner has never really said those words before. Robby doesn't know what happened, he doesn't need to. He listens into the house to make sure Tanner's alright. The kitchen cabin opens and closes, then he hears the faucet. He decides a little break can't hurt. They can continue this later.
He goes to wash his hands in the sink at the back, before stepping through the other garage door, outside into the backyard. Frank is sleeping in the garden bed in the shade, having come off a night shift.
Robby hesitates for a moment, but Frank moves and scoots to one side before he can second guess himself.
"Hey, you," Frank rumbles with a gravelly voice. He clears his throat and pats the mattress. "Join me?"
"If you've got room."
Frank's smile is wide and inviting. "Come here." He lifts one arm.
Robby lies down and immediately gets embraced by Frank's limbs; a hand finds his own, fingers interlace with his. He closes his eyes. Frank's breath is warm against his neck, steady and calm. "Good," Frank murmurs and Robby can feel him relax and drift off again.
He dozes a while, listens to the birds and Frank's breathing, before he decides Frank has rested long enough. He rubs his fingers through his lover's hair. Frank stirs and rolls a little more on top of him, protesting with grumbling sounds. Robby presses kisses to Frank's head, which gets him a laugh. An uncoordinated hand fumbles around until it covers his mouth to prevent further kisses. Robby has none of it. He grabs those spindly fingers and presses a kiss against the palm.
A protesting groan is the answer he gets.
"You'll sleep too long," Robby murmurs close to the shell of Frank's ear. "We'll never get you back into a normal rhythm."
When he flops back down, his eyes fall on the entrance to the garage door, where Tanner is sitting with his phone. At the moment, his attention is on them, though, head shaking quietly, amused at their display. Robby smiles back.
* * *
Abby opens the door just wide enough to peek through. "Robby?" she asks quietly, like she doesn't want her voice to carry inside.
"Tanner called me."
"He did?" she asks, surprised, and instantly opens the door wider. She automatically looks back over her shoulder as if to check if the kid's there. "When?"
"Yesterday. He called the nurses' hub, asked to talk to Frank."
"Oh no." She slumps and covers her eyes. "Robby, I'm sorry. I didn't know, or I—"
"Don't be sorry. I thought I could… I don't know. Come in, play Legos with him? Read a bedtime story? We could order pizza and talk?"
Abby sniffles, her smile is sad and watery. "Yeah?"
Robby nods. "I missed you. Tanner and Pax, too."
"I thought…" Suddenly, she pulls the door open and steps through to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. "I thought you didn't want… that you were done with us."
"Never, you hear me?" He holds her tightly, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Never. He's sorry it's taken him this long to realize that.
From the doorway to the hall leading to the bedrooms, a pair of piercing blue eyes look up at him. He doesn't miss the way Tanner's eyes search behind Robby.
Over dinner, he allows himself to ask. "Have you heard anything?"
It's a first step.