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Weekends were always more lively in the ED, but certain ones were consistently worse than others. And the first Friday of college football season was without a doubt one of those weekends. The first pregaming intoxication cases started rolling in just after lunch, and by mid-afternoon, the entire department was beginning to smell more like a bar than a hospital, blood and sweat and alcohol and vomit all permeating the air more than normal and clinging to the humidity in the late summer air.
Around five o’clock Dennis caught sight of yet another frat boy being rolled in through the ambulance entrance, and he approached quickly as he snapped on his gloves and called for Jesse over his shoulder. And when Dennis called for Jesse, Trinity was never far behind. She was convinced that Dennis was using his position as a newly minted doctor to keep Jesse close due to what she had dubbed his “big fat gay crush”. Dennis, however, insisted it was no more than mutual respect and an easy working relationship, because of course he wasn’t going to admit that she was right.
Once he was flanked by the two of them, Dennis looked to the EMT nearest the patient’s head. “What am I looking at?”
“Highly uncooperative caucasian male, 18-to-20-years-old, no ID and refuses to identify himself as anything other than Big Dog-” He was cut off by loud, drunken barking by the young man on the gurney, punctuated by the sound of an empty BuzzBall bottle tumbling from the pocket of his shorts and onto the floor. “Unable to get vitals or breathalyze. Obvious intoxication and penile fracture.”
Trinity was the first to crack, snorting loudly and bringing her hand up to her mouth a little too late to muffle the sound of it. Dennis’s elbow jammed into her side as he spoke. “And how did-”
“I was minding my business- taking care of my business,” the patient stopped, raising his fist to Jesse as he sought out some sort of validation. When he received none, he continued with a scoff. “And lost my balance a little. But I finished the job, because I’m not a fuckin’ quitter.”
“Maybe you should consider quitting some things,” Trinity offered. “Starting with drunk sex.”
Jesse looked at Dennis and nodded behind him. “South 19’s open.”
“South 19 it is.”
They made the quick walk to the room and transferred him to a bed, even as Big Dog continued drunkenly gloating and shouting. The relief on the face of the EMTs was near immediate once he was out of their hands, and the same one Dennis had been speaking to clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. “Good luck with this one, doc. He’s been a real peach.”
Dennis nodded with an already-exasperated sigh and turned toward the patient. “Alright, sir, I’m going to need your name so we can pull up your medical records and get you out of here as quick as possible.”
“I already told y’all all you need to know.”
Trinity rolled her eyes . “You’ve not told us anything, dude. You want to get better and go home?”
“Hell yeah I do. Didn’t even want to fuckin’ come but apparently getting hurt at the house is a liability.” He drew out the last word, emphasizing it with over-the-top air quotes as he did, and capping it off with a loud raspberry.
Dennis piped up then as he walked toward the phone. “I imagine the underage drinking has something to do with it, too.”
“I’m an international student. Alberta Canada, bitch.”
“So you can drink in Alberta, not in Pennsylvania. Legally anyway.” His hand rested on the phone, and Dennis looked to Jesse before picking it up. “Go ahead and get an IV going so we can do a blood draw and get him on fluids, and work on getting his vitals. I’m going to call radiology to get him in for an x-ray and then get him in line for urology. And Doctor Santos, if you could try to get our upstanding citizen’s information so we can see if we’ve been graced with his presence in the past.”
The three of them got to work, backs all turned at once, and within seconds an odd, sweet smell filled the air. Jesse was the first to notice, turning around as a plume of smoke floated above the patient’s head. “Aboslutely not, man.” He reached out and easily snatched a vape out of the man’s hand and shoved it in the pocket of his scrub top with a groan before peeling his gloves off and reaching for a fresh pair.
“Yo, what the fuck, bro?! Doc, are you seeing this?!” Dennis turned around to find the patient pointing at Jesse’s pocket. “Your fucking fruity-ass dude-nurse stole my shit!”
It hadn’t taken more than a few days in emergency medicine for Dennis to learn that the patience he’d developed over years of teasing from his older brothers was a virtue, but he also just as quickly learned his limit, and this kid had him nearing it at lightspeed. “Okay, well, one, you’re not going to disrespect the people who are trying to help you, so keep that in mind next time you have an observation to make. And two, he’s holding it for you for safekeeping. In fact, Jesse will get you a bin, and we’ll go ahead and have you empty your pockets so we can lock up your personal effects. We’re going to have to get you in a gown and send you upstairs for x-rays anyhow.”
Jesse dropped a small plastic container onto his lap, nodding toward it wordlessly, before going back to the tray where he was setting up the IV. “Man, fuck this. This is bullshit.” Suddenly the plastic bin was clattering to the ground at Jesse’s feet as the man clumsily pulled himself back upright. “I’m leaving.”
“Sir, please-” Jesse rolled his eyes and rounded the foot of the bed, stepping in front of the patient as he stumbled toward the door. “Lie back down, alright? We’ll grab you some water and-” Above the waist, it seemed, the patient was still right as rain, and he reared his arm back and swung, fist connecting just under Jesse’s eye and sending the nurse quickly to the ground.
“Holy shit!” Trinity practically leapt out of the room, darting into the hallway and calling for Ahmad. The kid continued to wobble, rocked by the impact of his own fist against the taller man’s face, but before he could right himself, Dennis rushed him. It didn’t take long for Trinity to return with both Ahmad and Donnie in tow, but by then, Big Dog was flat on his back and groaning next to where Dennis was knelt next to Jesse. “What the fuck happened, Den?! I was gone for two seconds.”
“I, uh… neutralized him.” Dennis had his eyes on Jesse, who was sitting upright, propped up by his own palms pressed flat on the floor, and was shining his penlight in the nurse’s eyes. “Stick him in BH1, B-52 and soft restraints, hang a bag of saline and monitor until either radiology or urology is ready to take him off our hands. And get me gauze, a compress, sterile saline, a butterfly stitch, and ibuprofen and get Jesse in line for a CT.”
Jesse gently swatted Dennis’s hand away and laughed. “I’m fine, it’s just-”
“You were assaulted, Jesse.” A small metal tray clattered quietly on the ground as Trinity sat down the supplies he’d requested, and Dennis picked up some of the gauze, pressing it gently to the wound on Jesse’s face while Donnie hauled his assailant up and into a wheelchair and shoved him out of the room behind Trinity, leaving Dennis alone to tend to Jesse’s wounds. “Bleeding’s not too heavy at least.”
Jesse’s fingers came to rest on the gauze, holding it in place while Dennis soaked another piece in saline. “He’s a dumb kid. I’ve taken harder punches from my first-grade niece.”
“Sounds like your niece needs to get into MMA.” They shared a laugh, and Jesse pulled the dry gauze from his face. Dennis came in behind it with the saline-soaked piece, and he began dabbing at his skin, Jesse hissing slightly at the ache, despite Dennis’s best efforts to be gentle.
“My fault for having immaculate cheekbones I guess.”
“Well, beauty is pain. At least that’s what I’ve heard.” The saline-and-blood soaked gauze was dropped onto the tray, and Dennis picked up another dry piece, dabbing Jesse’s skin and pressing it carefully to the wound, checking for any additional bleeding. “Might get a cool scar out of the ordeal at least. Hopefully not, but your doctor’s a newbie, so no promises.”
“So much for my modeling career.”
“I don’t know about all that.” Dennis’s hand fanned over Jesse’s cheek, hurrying the drying of his skin now that the bleeding had stopped. Once he was content, he reached back to the tray, speaking as he opened up and prepared the butterfly. “You’re still the best looking guy here by a long shot.” His hands and breathing stopped simultaneously, and his eyes shot back to Jesse’s. The smile he was met with put him at ease, despite the resurgence of butterflies in his stomach at the sight. “Sorry, that was- I don’t know why I-”
Robby’s voice cut him off as the older man hurried into the room. “Jesus, Jesse, are you alright?”
“I’m good. Doctor Whitaker’s getting me patched up.”
Dennis finished applying the butterfly and nodded toward the bed. “Hop up there for me, Jesse.” He finished gathering up the mess, piling everything onto the tray and standing up with it in hand while turning his attention to Robby. “That kid was a dick. Has Ahmad called the cops yet?”
“Doing it now.” The attending’s lips curled into a smile, and he waited, watching as Dennis disposed of the mess, the silence becoming just shy of awkward before Dennis looked back at him while tugging off his gloves. “So what’s this I hear about you laying out our new friend?”
“I, uh… Shit, I guess I did, huh?” A nervous laugh caused Dennis’s shoulders to jump, and he shivered slightly at the memory, the gravity of the situation only starting to really sink in. “Is he hurt? Am I in trouble?”
“Nah.” Robby waved his hand dismissively and shook his head. “Self defense. He was coming your way and you thought he was going to hit you next.” A statement, not a question. “And he’s fine. Rung his bell a little at best. Probably won’t even remember by the time the liquor is out of his system. Donnie’s drawing blood as we speak. Go ahead and place your bets now on his BAC.” Robby started backing toward the door and looked to Jesse. “You’re in good hands.”
“The best.” The sound of his voice caused Dennis, too, to look back at Jesse, smiling and propped up on the bed and holding a compress to his face. The eye not obscured by it flashed a quick wink to Dennis, and the younger man’s skin flushed and warmed at the sight of it, his gaze locked with Jesse’s until Robby spoke again from the doorway.
“I’ll let you know when the cops get here so they can get statements from you guys.” They exchanged a quick nod. “Good job, Whitaker.” With that he slid the curtain shut and stepped out, closing the door quietly behind himself and leaving the two men alone.
Dennis turned back toward Jesse and approached the bed. It creaked slightly as Jesse scooted toward the head of it, making room for the doctor, who sat down next to him with a nervous, almost bashful, smile. “So how’re you feeling?”
“Flattered.” Dennis’s blush only seemed to burn hotter, and he dropped his face toward his lap, relieved that Jesse was laughing with him. “Complimenting me and defending my honor? You know how to make a guy feel special, Whitaker.”
The bed shifted as Dennis pulled one knee up onto it, facing Jesse directly despite his inability to make proper eye contact as he bashfully stared at his own shaky hands. “It was nothing. Really.”
“I saw that takedown, that wasn’t nothing. That was deliberate. Was that some sort of jiu jitsu or…?”
Dennis looked up at him and shook his head as a seemingly endless string of nervous laughter continued fluttering between them like confetti. “No. No it was just a, um… Just a basic double leg takedown.”
“Oh is that all?”
“I did varsity wrestling in high school. Guess it’s kind of like riding a bike.” The muffled hustle and bustle of the ED buzzed outside of the door, voices and monitors and shuffling feet carrying on like normal, but the world around Dennis was at a beautiful crawl, every moment more fulfilling than the last the longer they sat together. “What about you, did you do anything? Sports, I mean. In school?”
“High school and undergrad, yeah. I got my bachelors on a volleyball scholarship.”
“That’s awesome! Do you still play?”
“Occasionally.” Jesse switched hands, his fingers nearing numbness from holding the cold compress against his cheek, and pulled his legs up toward himself to cross them and open up more space on the bed. Without thinking, Dennis drew his own legs up underneath himself and faced Jesse, their knees bumping up against one another and staying there, the gentle contact letting loose a rabble of butterflies in his belly that only increased their overwrought fluttering at the sound of Jesse’s voice as he continued. “I didn’t really have time during my masters, because I was already working full time, too, so I got a little rustier, a little older… but there’s a group of us that play at the Y sometimes. You could join us if…” He let his voice peter off, even as his inflection curled upward with a curious, playful tone.
Dennis shook his head with a nervous chuckle. “Oh, no, I uh- I never was any good at team sports. I’m a team player, I’m just not particularly athletic.”
“You can still come. Maybe just hang out on the sidelines and cheer me on.”
“Yeah?” They exchanged a soft smile, and Dennis reached out, resting his hand on the back of Jesse’s where it held the compress in place to gently ease it down. He used his other to cautiously trace the outline of the wound with his fingertips. “Hopefully this’ll nip the swelling in the bud. And, um, yeah. No, yeah, that sounds fun. I’d love to.”
“Probably won’t be for another couple weeks, but we could, uh- I mean, in the meantime…” He tilted his chin, neck stretching as he leaned his face upward toward the light and Dennis’s gentle touch. “Maybe I could repay you for your chivalry with a coffee?”
“That would be nice.”
“Well, you’re nice. So it’s the least I could do.”
At some point, it seemed, they’d begun leaning in toward one another, their voices lowering as they spoke. Dennis became aware of it when he felt his eyes beginning to flicker -certainly more noticeably- back and forth between Jesse’s eyes and lips, and his heart felt like it was going to fly from his chest when he noticed the older man doing the same. His thumb dragged along Jesse’s cheek again, parallel to the wound, under the guise of feeling for any swelling but fooling neither of them. “You don’t owe me anything, you know. This is literally my job.”
“I know.” Every word between them was softer than the last, and when Jesse finally spoke again, it was a near whisper, floated up the long column of his throat on a crackling, besotted lightness, a subdued version of the distinct brassy timbre Dennis had come to recognize even over the usual roar of voices and alarms and squeaky wheels on tile flooring. “Maybe I just want to take you out for coffee.”
Dennis’s thumb on Jesse’s cheek quickly turned into a palm cupping his jawline, and the space between them vanished, both of them consuming as much of it as they could on their way to one another, finally meeting in the middle with a slow kiss. No sooner did the tip of Jesse’s tongue slip past Dennis’s lips did the door open and the curtain slide back as Robby stepped back up to the foot of the bed. “Hey guys, I’m- Oh wow, sorry. Hold on, how long have you two…”
Dennis’s hand fell to his lap and his head whipped around, looking at Robby with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. “A-about ten seconds.”
“No, I mean- It’s not a problem, just…” He pointed back and forth between the two men quickly. “Since when are you two a…”
Jesse and Dennis looked at one another again, beaming and blushing like nervous, young lovers, before Jesse turned his attention to Robby. “About ten seconds.”
“Oh. Shit.” There was a shared laughter amongst the three of them, something as nervous as it was relieved, and Robby spoke again. “So I just…”
Dennis nodded. “Interrupted our first kiss.”
“Right. My bad. I’ll, uh- Cops are here, so just- I mean, when you’re ready to- Tell you what, I’ll park them in the staff lounge and…” His voice faded out as Robby backed toward the door and slipped out of the room again after tugging the curtain back into place.
“Anyway…” Jesse’s fingers curled around the ends of Dennis’s stethoscope where it hung over his shoulders, and he tugged at it, pulling the younger man in close and pressing their lips together again. And once again the world was all quiet accompaniment to the melody erupting between them, a beautiful song that both were ready to keep on repeat for as long as the other was willing to sing along.