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There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and Dr. Kit Navarro was almost certain it wasn't a train.
Metaphorically speaking, that is.
It was almost 7 am, meaning the day shifters would be there soon to relieve the night shift, but unfortunately, there was something Kit had to do before she could leave the Pitt. Rounding the corner towards the nurses' station, Kit saw Dr. Jack Abbot leaning against the counter. His shoulders hunched over, face in his hands for a second so he could breathe. It had been a hard day for her boss; losing a kid on the table would always be difficult, no matter how long someone works in the E.D.
Lena slides some forms in front of Jack, not saying a word.
From his spot, Jack Abbot straightened his back. The few seconds he allowed himself to feel exhausted were over; he still had a few more minutes before he did hands off with the day shift attending, as it was Robby's day off, lucky bastard.
Still it would be good for Jack to go home to his husband.
Pulling a pen out of his pocket, Jack started to fill them out, not noticing whose pen he grabbed.
Like the cat that caught the cannery Kit sauntered over.
Stopping next to Jack, close enough to bump his shoulder good naturally. Besides Shen, Jack was Kit's favorite person in the E.D. He was more than a mentor to her; he was the father figure Kit wished she had growing up. So when the opportunity to brighten his day…. or annoy him.
Well, she just couldn't help herself.
"Can I help you, kid?" Jack asks, fatigue lacing his voice. Not bothering to look up, as there was only one person in the E.D that brave enough to bump into him.
But when Kit didn't response Jack looked up, thinking for a second that in his exhaustion, he misread who would be dumb enough to bump into him. Yet there was Kit grinning at him.
"What did you do now?" Jack sighs, turning his head back down towards the paperwork.
"You're using my pen." Kit replies, then as if speaking to the pen."I feel betrayed, Gertrude."
"You named your pen?" Jack asks, with a slight chuckle.
"Of course, Gertrude isn't just any pen…she's magical," Kit tells him, plucking the purple pom-pom pen from his grasp.
"Right." He replies, stretching the word out.
"Hush, non-believer." Kit twirls the pen in her hands as if she's the fairy godmother from Cinderella. She even says, "Bippidi Bobbidi Boo."
She boo-ed him on the nose with the pom-pom of the pen. If it had been anyone else, Jack would have broken the pen, but it was Kit, and Kit knew exactly what she could get away with.
"Still got it."
"Got what?"
"Your wish," Kit says, as if it's the most obvious thing.
Jack rolls his eyes, fondly "Okay, shenanigans are over, Kiddo, I've got to get back to work."
"No, you don't, it's 7 am." Kit tells him, leaning in close and whispering conspiratorially. "And guess who's behind you."
Jack frowns faintly. “What are you talking about?”
Kit just smiles wider.
“Jack,” she says sweetly, “if you turn around slowly, you might find the universe has delivered your emotional support husband.”
Jack froze.
“…What?”
Robby’s voice came from directly behind him.
“Emotional support, what?”
Jack closes his eyes for a brief second, then turns.
Robby is standing there in his street clothes, coffee in one hand, brow lifted in amused confusion.
Kit waves cheerfully. “Good Morning, Dr. Robby. I summoned you with Gertrude.”
Robby glances at the purple pom-pom pen, then at Jack. “I leave you alone for one night, and this happens?”
Jack rubes his face. “I need coffee stronger than laws allow.”
Robby steps closer, his free hand settling briefly at Jack’s lower back.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
Jack nods once. “Rough night.”
Robby leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. Quick, soft, and entirely unconsciously.
Kit clutched her chest dramatically. “I did not sign up to witness domestic tenderness at seven in the morning.”
“You most certainly did,” Robby says dryly.
Jack snorted.
And for the first time since losing the kid on the table, his shoulders finally eased, because he was home, even before he ever left the Pitt.