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Since Dennis’s first day in the ED, he was close with his cohort of residents. With a [traumatic] memorial first day like that, who wouldn’t be that close? One person that he had seemed to be drawn to was (Y/N) (L/N). She finished school and was placed at Pittsburgh's Trauma Medical Center for her residency. The more that they worked together, the closer the two got.
The entire group would hang out outside the hospital walls. Dennis and Trinity would have a movie night, and Mel and her sister would host a trivia/ game night, and Victoria would host a dinner at the end of the month (everyone needs a home-cooked meal that they didn’t cook), and (Y/N) would happily show up to all of them, ( sometimes even early to help set up). They would bug her and ask her why she never hosted anything at her place, and her response was always ‘my dad works long hours and being at my house just wouldn’t work’.
Dennis somehow always ended up in her orbit. Whether it was during a code, lunch break, or just at one of the group hangouts. (Y/N) never pushed him away or poked fun at him, she embraced him.
After a particularly long shift, Dennis and (Y/N) walked out of the ambulance bay. The night air hits them just right.
“Can I ask you something?” Dennis stammered. She hums and turns to him.
“Do you want to do something? Just the two of us?” he asks, holding his backpack strap tighter.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise, her mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. Dennis started to panic.
“Sorry if I overstepped, I was just wondering cause...” he started, quickly tripping over his words.
(Y/N) regained herself and put a hand on his shoulder, grounding him.
“Hey, it’s ok. I would love to do something with you,” she smiles.
Dennis’s face grew hot as a blush spread across it.
“We’re both off tomorrow, how about then? We can meet up somewhere?” She offers. “There is a cute little used book store and coffee shop that is the Natural History Museum, we can meet at the museum and then walk over,” Dennis, casually, but also nervously, nods along.
“That sounds great. Do you want to meet at 12:30?”
“Sounds like a perfectly planned date,” she says with a smile.
They say good night again, (Y/N) walks off, leaving Dennis behind, awestruck that it went as well as it did.
“I didn’t think you had it in you, huckleberry,” Trinity comes up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Me either,” he mutters, eyes not moving from where (Y/N) was just standing.
~~~~~~~~
Dennis got there early. Not super early, but early enough that she began fidgeting with anything he could get his hands on. His buttons on his flannel, his hair, his phone, etc.
“Dennis!” she called out. He looked up and just admired her.
Not seeing her in scrubs for the first time was refreshing. (Y/N) wore a medium-washed jean skirt that fell about mid-thigh, a cropped striped knit sweater that looks well-made and well-loved, tights, and platform Oxford shoes. Her makeup matched perfectly, just the right amount to mid blemished and unevenness, but nothing overly heavy for the day.
Dennis quickly snapped out of his daze and hugged her. Her perfume fitted her perfectly, nothing overpowering, a hint of cherries and musk.
“Ready to go?” she asks.
On their walk to the cafe bookstore, they talked about everything that wasn’t work. Stories from school, family stories, and shenanigans that would never be heard by parents.
As they walked up to the door, and ever the midwestern man he is, he opened the door for her. She giggled and felt her face heat up just a bit. They stood in line, looking at the chalkboard, looking at all of the tasty options that the cafe has.
“What would you recommend?”
“Usually, I like to get the coconut milk matcha with lavender syrup. But when I would come here to study for an exam, I would get their macadamia shaken espresso.”
“I might skip the matcha, tastes like grass,” he mutters the last part softly.
(Y/N) gently shoved his shoulder, giggling again. Dennis looked at her dearly. He could listen to her giggle like that all day. They got to the counter and ordered their drinks (she just had to try a cookie butter latte) and split a coffee cake. Denis went to pay, but her card was faster.
“I was gonna-,”
“My dad gave me some money for this. You can get it next time,” she smiled.
“I already get a next time?” he questioned with a smile.
“So far so good,” she replied as their drinks came out.
They found a table in the sunlight, not so much that it was blinding, but enough to warm them both. They tried their drinks, tried each other's, and the stories continued to flow. More med school stories, more childhood stories, and the more they talked, the less they felt like colleagues, the more their feelings towards each other grew.
The door chimed as it opened. (Y/N) gaze went over to see who walked into the cafe. Dennis saw her eyes flicker with concern quickly. He was confused before–
“Oh, hey, Dad,” she spoke up. Dennis turned in his chair; he felt like he was about to pass out. Standing just behind him was Robby.
“Hey, sweety, Whitaker. What are you two up to?” he questions.
“Just a date,” she says with a smile.
Robby looked Dennis up and down, sizing him up. Robby wasn’t looking at him the way he would at the hospital, as an attending and a student, but he was looking at him like a father protecting his little girl. Dennis tried to look him in the eyes but was freaking the fuck out (internally and a little outwardly). (Y/N) saw the look and rolled her eyes.
“Dad, will you stop?” She waved him away.
“Ok, ok, I’ll leave you two love birds alone,” Robby said. He placed his hands on Dennis’s shoulders, giving a squeeze before walking to the bookshelves.
“You didn’t tell me that Robby was your dad,” he said once Robby moved out of earshot.
“I didn’t have to tell you, plus when I signed up for this placement, they told us that I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone,” she said, sipping her latte. “Is my dad gonna be a problem?”
“Problem?”
“Dennis, I like you, probably a lot more than I let on.” Dennis felt his face heat up. “But I do not want my dad to be an issue.”
Dennis thought about it. When he first met Robby, he felt intimidated by him, but as the first shift went on, he saw a lot more than most students would ever see. Robby trusts Dennis a lot, and vice versa.
“Not at all,” he says with a small smile. (Y/N) returned the smile.
“Good,” she moved closer to him and placed a kiss on his lips. Dennis was surprised, but quickly returned the kiss.
When they broke the small kiss, Dennis looked absolutely love-sick. She caressed his cheek, placing another kiss on his lips.
“Ready to get out of here?” she questions. Dennis didn’t trust his voice and just nodded. She grabbed his hand before leaving the cafe.
Little did they know that Robby was texting a photo of them to a group chat between himself, Jack and Dana.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Picture of Dennis and (Y/N) being cute]
Roby: I owe Santos $10
Dana: They’re so cute
Jack: He'd better treat her right
Dana: This is Whittaker we’re talking about
Dana: Why do you owe santos
Robby: Because I thought he wouldn’t have the balls to ask her out, and she would have to ask him
Dana: Lol
Jack: Do I have to intimidate him the next time I see him in the ED?
Robby: No… not until she brings him for dinner