Chapter Text
Dennis Whitaker had heard a lot of questionable things in the ER, but right now, he had the sudden, horrible feeling that everyone had missed something important.
And if I don’t come back, you’ll have a swinging bachelor pad.
What the hell kind of thing was that to say?
It had been tossed out so casually Dennis almost wondered if he had imagined it. Afterall, Dr. Robby had been smiling when he said it. Everyone smiled when they said things that were meant to be jokes, dark humour and all.
Except something about it didn’t land.
And now he had walked away while Dennis was trying to come to terms with the realisation that something could be very wrong.
Dennis was still staring at the door when a voice from the hallway said, “Swinging bachelor pad, huh?”
Olgivie came into view and leaned against the doorframe, arms folded loosely across his chest, looking as though he had been there for a while. Dennis usually hated that about him. The way he hovered in doorways, absorbing other people’s conversations without invitation. On any normal day Dennis would have told him exactly where he could take his eavesdropping habits.
But right now something else cut through that irritation.
“You heard that?” Dennis asked.
“Sounds like a pretty sweet apartment to me,” Olgivie said casually.
Dennis shook his head and recalibrated. “What – no, didn’t you hear what he said?”
“Hm?”
“About not coming back.”
Olgivie’s expression didn’t change. If anything he seemed mildly amused by the whole thing. He simply shrugged. “Yeah, but if his place has one of those fancy espresso machines? Worth it.”
Dennis just stared at him, not even deigning to answer. He looked past Olgivie toward the corridor, as if Dr. Robby might still be somewhere within sight, about to tell him this was all some sick joke.
Olgivie pushed off the doorframe, getting closer. “Seriously though,” he added, “if that apartment has one of those espresso setups with the little milk wand, you need to invite people over.”
Dennis pulled a face without meaning to. The same face he gave Trinity when she hinted that he had farm benefits with Amy.
Having this conversation with Olgivie was not the right call, he needed a trusted adult. He pushed out of his seat and walked back into the chaotic ER. He wasn’t even sure where he was heading until he saw Dana.
Dana had been doing this for thirty years; if something was wrong here, she was usually the first person to notice it.
“Dana?” Dennis asked, gently leaning on the nurses station.
She glanced up immediately. “Whitaker. Labs from North Six are back. Have you taken them in yet?”
“Not yet, about to do it,” he said quickly. “I just, have you – er – spoken to Dr. Robby today?”
Dana snorted. “Whitaker, half the department’s spoken to Robby today. The man’s getting a full send-off. Don’t tell him, but there’s cake.”
“Right,” Dennis said, picking his nail and looking around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “He said something weird to me a minute ago.”
Dana glanced up properly. “What’d he say?”
Dennis hesitated. “He asked me to house-sit for him. Then he said if he doesn’t come back, I’ll have a swinging bachelor pad.”
Dana barked a laugh. “That sounds exactly like Robby.”
Dennis waited but given the smile on his charge nurse’s face, she didn’t seem to hold the same concern he did.
“Dana,” he said carefully, “I don’t think he was joking.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Honey, the man has been working nonstop for years. This sabbatical is the healthiest decision he’s made in a decade.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, I think-”
“He’s exhausted,” she continued, already moving back toward the clipboard. “Burnt out doctors make mistakes. Taking time off is a good thing.”
“But-”
“He’ll sleep, he’ll ride that ridiculous motorcycle somewhere nicer than here, he’ll drink too much coffee and annoy a few small towns for a few months. Then he’ll come back.”
Dennis stared at her.
She softened. “You’re worried about him,” she said. “That’s a good instinct. It means you care about people, but Robby’s tougher than you think.”
Dennis’s stomach twisted.
“Dana, I really think- ”
The phone on the desk rang, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Dana reached for it automatically, already turning away from him as she answered. Whatever the voice on the other end said was enough to shift her attention completely. A moment later she was calling out for the trauma bay to be cleared, the quiet order at the nurses’ station dissolving into movement.
People scattered and a gurney was wheeled past.
Dennis knew perfectly well he should have gone to North Six.
Somewhere between the nurses’ station and the hallway, however, his feet had betrayed him.
He found Trinity at one of the computers doing charting, half turned in her chair with one leg tucked under her, typing steadily with the kind of focus that suggested she had settled in for a while. A coffee sat beside the keyboard and the screen was filled with patient notes.
Dennis hovered there for a second, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Then he cleared his throat.
“Trinity?”
“Unless this is life or death, Huckleberry, I’m busy.”
Dennis hovered there, thrown slightly by how close that felt to the problem he was trying very badly to articulate. His mouth opened, closed again. For a moment he wasn’t entirely sure what the correct answer to that question was.
Something in the silence must have registered because she paused typing, her fingers hovering over the keyboard before she finally glanced sideways at him. The look she gave him was quick but assessing, her eyes moving over his face like she was checking to see if he was the one dying.
In a way, it kind of felt like it.
She leaned back in her chair a little.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Dennis fidgeted. “Did Dr. Robby seem… okay to you today?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Spoke to him like twenty minutes ago. Look, if this is about your whole farm benefits thing, I only told him because-“
“No, I don’t care about that,” Dennis said quickly. “But did he seem… normal?”
Trinity raised an eyebrow.
Dennis isn’t sure how to articulate why he thinks Dr. Robby’s mental state may not be the best. He can’t exactly tell her about the man’s moment of silent reflection last year. Instead he opts for the basic truth.
“I’m worried.”
Trinity scoffed. “He was literally gossiping with me earlier, he’s fine, Huckleberry.”
“I really don’t think – “
“Oh relax,” she said. “You’re just upset your work crush is going on vacation.”
Dennis folded his arms. “You’re not taking this seriously.”
“Look, before you continue this very concerning trajectory,” she said, “aren’t you supposed to be checking on that weird guy over in North Six?”
Dennis hesitated.
Trinity pointed down the hallway.
“North Six,” she said.
Dennis groaned and collected the clipboard and walked away from the desk, feeling dismissed once more.
Everyone was happy Dr. Robby was taking a vacation and Dennis hated it.
Dana was organising cake, Trinity was gossiping with the man and worst of all Olgivie was wrangling for an invite to his new bachelor pad.
Part of him wondered, briefly, if Trinity was right. If this was all just projection. Of course he didn’t want Dr. Robby to disappear for three months. Of course he was going to miss him. Anyone would.
But that didn’t change the fact that Dr. Robby had stood in that room and said, very clearly, If I don’t come back.
North Six would have to wait a few more minutes, Dennis felt like he was going to throw up.