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There were strict rules about the roof. No patients, no medical students, no interns, no going past the guard rail. Rules put in place for safety reasons and enforced religiously. Which didn't explain why Jack Abbott was on the other side of the guard rail. If the outgoing charge nurse was to be believed, it was the second time today. “It's not cool for you to jump when I come on duty, man.” Robby stated quietly, aware that the other man had known he was there.
Jack swore softly, not looking over at him. “I know, I know.” He had been aware that if he got caught again, he would be in trouble. His charge nurse had given him a verbal lashing earlier but Jack knew Robby's wouldn't be so verbal. The guilt was just getting to him today.
“I need you to come back over Jack.” The fact that Jack didn't even respond, didn't move, told Michael a lot. “Now, Dr. Abbott.” He ordered firmly. At least the night attending turned his head to look at him this time.
“I will, I just need a minute.” Jack answered quietly, shifting his weight to his good leg. He was tired, it had been a rough shift, and his leg hurt. He needed to help with handover so his residents could go home. He didn't really want to deal with the look Robby was giving him.
“If you were a resident, I would have already dragged you over the railing. Last warning, Dr Abbott.” Robby stated firmly, holding out his hand to the other attending.
Jack brushed the hand off, ducking under the railing. He didn't have it in him to step over today. The tight hand that grabbed his elbow was surprising. “I'm not one of your med students, Michael. I'm not going to run.”
Robby hummed softly, keeping a steady grip on Jack's arm. “This is the second time today you have broken this specific rule. I think you need a good cry, Jack. It would be easier if you just asked for it but here we are.”
He didn't need to cry, he didn't need to scene, he didn't need the paddling he knew he had coming. What Jack needed was a glass of bourbon, a hot shower, and to take his leg off. “I'm fine, Michael."
“Do you want to add lying to me to this? Because we can.” Robby raised an eyebrow at the snort, stopping at the door to the roof.
“I can give you the list of all the rules I broke today if you wish. I can walk down on my own.” Jack didn't want to do the walk of shame today. He wasn't a resident, he had earned the respect he got. And he wasn't going to run, his leg hurt too much.
“Alright. If you will wait in the office, I will do the handoff and then we will handle this.” Robby answered, sighing at the look Jack gave him. “Surgery is using the office, aren't they?” surgery had their own office upstairs but they tended to handle things that happened down in the ER in the er office.
“They were when I came up. Someone didn't consult their attending before attempting a surgery they had never done before. They didn't consult me either.” That resident was getting one hell of a paddling. Jack had already handled Shen for the part he had played in that case. It was a mess.
“Then wait in the hallway until they are done.” Robby sighed at the look that got him, shaking his head.
“I'm not an intern, Michael. I will be in the staff lounge until you are done.” Jack answered after a moment. He wasn't waiting in the hallway like a naughty intern. He waited for the nod before moving to the staff lounge. Jack sighed softly, studying the young man who looked close to tears. “Shen, come here.”
“I'm fine, Dr Abbott.” Shen mumbled, taking a step back from the senior attending. He knew he had fucked up today and he just needed another minute to shove his emotions back down.
“If you make me come get you kid, I will smack you.” Jack warned, gesturing toward the worn couch.
Shen hesitated for a moment before taking a seat on the couch. His backside was already sore, he didn't need Jack to reignited it. “I am sorry. I fucked up.” He tensed when Jack sat down beside him, relaxing when the older man leaned forward to take his leg off.
“You made a mistake, kid. This is how you learn. You won't make that mistake again, will you?” Jack leaned back, wrapping an arm around the younger man. He fully expected to have a lapful of young attending and it didn't even take a minute for Shen to claim his lap space.
“No sir.” Shen was always going to check with a senior attending before doing a risky procedure. He didn't want the guilt or the paddling that happened today. He stopped fighting his tears, resting his head on Jack's shoulder.
It took Robby longer than he liked to get back to the staff lounge. He wasn't quite as shocked as he should be to see Jack holding one of the younger attendings. “I need to borrow Jack for a little bit, Dr Shen.”
Shen groaned, pulling away from the older man and moving to his feet. “It's okay. I'm going to head home.”
“Get some sleep. If this is still bothering you tomorrow, we will discuss it again.” Jack stated firmly, patting the young man's backside before reaching for his leg. He fitted it back over his stump before pushing himself to his feet. He just wanted to get this over with so he could go home.
Robby let the young attending go past before moving to Jack. “Do I want to know what happened there?” He was sure he would read it in the discipline logs later but those were never extremely detailed.
“Just a surgery mishap. Kid has a lot of guilt over it.” Jack wouldn't be surprised if he did have to paddle Shen again to get him to let go of the guilt.
“Speaking of guilt, you want to tell me what caused the rash of rule breaking today? You know I don't care if we blur the lines sometimes, especially in emergencies, but you vaulted over the lines repeatedly.” Michael questioned, stopping outside the office door. He flipped the sign to occupied before opening the door and gesturing Jack inside.
Jack didn't bother to answer, moving into the small office. Technically it was Robby's office but it was pretty much solely used for matters of discipline or private conversations. Or usually both. “Can we just get this over with?”
“That's not how this works, Dr Abbott.” Robby locked the office door, moving to the small couch. He had seen the way Jack was walking, there was no way he was making him go over a desk, especially for something like this. “You are clearly carrying guilt. We can talk about it now or after, but we will talk about it.”
“After, please.” Jack answered after a moment, moving to stand beside the other man. While he would usually protest going over Michael's lap, he was in a lot of pain today. Unfortunately, Michael knew him well, he would know that he wasn't fighting this because of the pain and the guilt.
“Do you need to take your leg off?” Robby questioned quietly, studying the head night shift attending for a long moment. The head shake wasn't very reassuring. He knew his partner well. They had been platonic partners for several years, he knew the other man as well as he knew himself. “When you get home, you will soak in some epsom salt. It's not an option, Jack.”
“It's not work related, Michael." Jack grimaced at the look he got, not pulling away from the hand that grabbed his wrist.
“Since when has our relationship stopped at the hospital doors? Unless you are safewording and we are reviewing our contract, you will take care of yourself. And that includes a warm soak to loosen the muscles in your leg.” Robby stated firmly, guiding the other man carefully over his lap.
“I'm not safewording.” Jack whispered, sighing when his scrubs and underwear were tugged down. “I need more than your hand, Michael.”
“I decide what you need.” Robby was pretty sure he did need a hard paddling but that would have to wait until he got off shift. The week before he had needed a hard paddling and Jack had given him the decency to have it at home. He was going to do the same.
Jack grimaced at the first couple of hard swats but made no sound. This was a spanking he would give to one of his med students. But he trusted Robby to know what he needed.
Robby had started focusing on one spot, laying down several hard smacks to that spot before moving to the other side. The dark red splotches were a contrast to the pink of the rest of Jack's bottom. He started aiming for his sit spots, focusing on one side for several swats before switching to the other. He froze at the pained yelp, knowing that noise well. “Check in with me Jack.”
The muscles in his stump spasmed again, causing him to swear softly. Jack should have taken his leg off, he knew that. Clenching the muscles in his ass was causing spasms in his leg. His options were to either stay completely relaxed or take his leg off. “Spasms. I just needed a minute. We can continue.” Jack answered after a few minutes. He hated that he could hear the tears in his own voice. He was just going to have to keep from clenching.
Michael hummed softly, gently massaging the man's thigh muscles for a moment before bringing his hand back down on his sit spots. “You are definitely doing a long soak.”
Jack let the whine slip out, groaning when Michael chuckled. “I'm sorry.”
“For? Breaking rules that are in place for a reason? Being a jerk to your charge nurse? Lying to me? What are you sorry for Jack?” Robby questioned firmly, continuing his pattern of several swats to one spot before switching to another spot.
“All of it.” Jack answered softly, ignoring the tears that dripped down his face. As much as Robby was right, that he needed a good cry, he couldn't do that right now.
Michael slowed down his swat when Jack seemed to have given up what little fight he had, landing the hardest yet to his sit spots. He needed Jack to have a sore enough bottom that he would go home, soak his leg, and sleep. He didn't need him wallowing in guilt until they managed to handle it fully.
Jack flinched when he was lifted off of Michael's lap and up onto it. “Paddle me when you get off?”
“I'm planning on it.” Robby didn't have enough time right now for the type of aftercare Jack would need if he broke him down like that. He knew that Jack needed him to break him down but they both knew it would have to wait. Working opposite shifts didn't make it easy. “You want to tell me what caused this?” He was pretty sure he wouldn't get the full answer just yet but he could guess. He knew the cases that tore Jack up inside.
“Not right now.” Now Jack really did want to just go home and take a nap. He was exhausted and sleep would help.