Chapter Text
7 am
Having finished handing patients over to the day shift after a long and eventful night shift, Dr Jack Abbot collected his bag from his locker. He slipped his phone into his pocket, checked he had his car keys, and walked out through chairs with Dr's Ellis and Shen on either side of him.
"Man, that shift was hell. See you Monday night for another exhilarating shift." Shen gave a mock salute as he walked off in a different direction, no doubt heading toward the nearest Dunkin'. "See you Monday, Jack." Ellis gave a wave and walked off, too. He lifted his hand in a brief wave before continuing down the street to where he'd parked his car twelve hours earlier.
Tossing his bag onto the back seat, he climbed into the driver's seat and inserted his keys. He checked in his mirrors and pulled out, joining the Pittsburgh morning traffic.
It took him almost fifteen minutes longer than normal to get home. Finally, he pulled into the driveway of the small suburban house. Killing the engine, he grabbed his bag and stepped out, locking the car with a beep after he shut the door.
He unlocked the front door and slipped his shoes off as it clicked shut behind him. Jack tossed his keys onto the hook on the wall before wandering upstairs into the first bedroom on the left.
The walls were painted pale blue, with a variety of butterflies, all different colours, painted on the wall. Some were painted perfectly, others were smudged and messy. Several coloured handprints stained the walls in random places. The soft navy carpet cushioned his steps as he crept over to the twin-size bed pushed against one wall.
He crouched down, his prosthetic protesting the movement painfully, so he slid it off. Resting on one knee and his stump, he leaned his forearms on the edge of the bed. Jack stayed quiet for a bit before attempting to wake the lump under the blanket with a whisper and a gentle hand on an uncovered shoulder, "Lena, it's time to wake up."
It pained Jack whenever his mind reminded him of how similar the girl looked to her late mother. The same mixed skin, hazel eyes, and the same soft waves of thick brown hair. Catherine often haunted his sleep, even after five years.
Three whole years.
Three years since Catherine died. Three years since Baz died. Three years of taking his meds. Three years since he took Lena and never looked back. Three years since he stopped being Andrew Cody. Three years since he became Jack Abbot, a Doctor in the ED at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Three years since he legally adopted Lena and made her Lena Abbot.
Three whole years.
A quiet yawn pulled him from his train of thought as Lena rolled over, slowly blinking away sleep, mumbling, "Uncle Pope?" Snapping back to reality, he focused on the tired girl in front of him, gently brushing some hair away from her face, "Morning, how'd you sleep?" He managed a small smile despite his exhaustion.
Even if he'd stopped being Andrew Cody, it was hard to explain to Lena that she wasn't allowed to call him Pope anymore. He'd instead decided that he could still be Pope, but only to Lena. She needed something to stay the same. If anyone asked about it, he'd just say that it was an old family joke from when he was a kid, and she'd picked up on it at a young age.
Changing names, moving away, it was all a hell of a lot for a six-year-old to go through. Even harder when you take into account that she'd just lost her mother and then her father. Of course, she was nine now, but it had become too much of a habit to get rid of.
Lena sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as the duvet fell to her lap, revealing her starry pyjama top. "I slept pretty well," Her words were a bit slurred, she was clearly still waking up.
"Good." Jack stood up, lifting his scrub trouser leg and fixing his prosthetic back on. "You'll need plenty of energy for that birthday party today. Whose is it again, Laila's?" Lena immediately brightened at the reminder, nodding excitedly, "Yeah! Come on, Uncle Pope, we've got to get ready!" She was soon scrambling out of bed and pushing him out of her room so that she could get ready.
He shut the door behind her and headed to the bathroom. He set his towel on the rack and turned the water on as he took off his prosthetic and stump sock, setting both beside the shower. He leaned against the counter edge to steady himself as he lifted his shirt over his head, along with his undershirt, tossing both into the nearby washing basket. He finished undressing from his scrubs and finally hopped into the shower, sitting on the seat screwed into the shower.
He let out a long sigh as the warm water washed over him. He grabbed the bottle of shower gel and started scrubbing away the smell of antiseptic and the feeling of sweaty scrubs.
Jack was pulled from his peace when he heard a small fist banging on the door, which was immediately followed by, "Uncle Pope, hurry up! We can't be late to Laila's house!" A chuckle rumbled in his chest as he finished up, calling back, "Alright, alright, I'm almost done. Go wait downstairs." He could hear her footsteps thumping down the stairs, fading from earshot.
He turned off the water and held onto a railing to hop to the counter. Once again, he leaned his weight against the edge whilst he grabbed his towel and started drying off. He made sure his stump was completely dry before sliding a clean stump sock on and pushing into his prosthetic. Jack tied the towel around his waist and returned to his bedroom.
He pulled on a random shirt from his wardrobe, a purple lavender polo shirt, before taking his prosthetic off to get his jeans on. He rolled the leg up and put his prosthetic back on again, rolling the leg down, before heading downstairs. He grabbed a jacket off the banister and tugged it on, finding Lena already by the front door, shoes on, holding her bag.
She was wearing a white and purple striped t-shirt with denim overalls and her brown boots. Jack moved to crouch behind her with a hairbrush, brushing her hair back into his larger hands, "What are we doing with your hair today? Ponytail? Plait?" He heard a thoughtful hum from Lena before she chose, "Plait!"
He sectioned her hair into 3 and started plaiting, adding strands in between each twist. He finally tied the end, and she was already reaching for the door handle.
"Excited much?" He raised an eyebrow as he slid his own shoes on. Jack took the bag from Lena, heaving it over his shoulder as she nodded, "Duh! I get to spend the day at the party, and then a sleepover too!"
Jack unlocked the front door, holding it open for the little lady, "Come on then." He watched her jump down the front steps, pausing to lock the door behind him, and opened the car with a beep. He set her bag onto the backseat and opened the passenger door for her. He made sure she'd done her seatbelt properly before shutting her door and walking around to climb in his side.
He glanced over at her as he twisted the keys, "You've definitely got everything you need for the sleepover?" She nodded, "Yep! Toothbrush, toothpaste, my pyjamas, my slippers, clothes for tomorrow, andddd my pillow." She counted each item off on a different finger as Jack reversed out of the driveway and started driving.
He turned the radio on, playing some Vanessa Carlton as he drove. He hummed along under his breath, with Lena singing in the seat beside him, "If I could fall, into the sky! Do you think time would pass me by?" Jack found himself chuckling at her excitement.
Whenever he thought about it, he never regretted taking her and moving away. At the beginning, it'd be difficult. He'd gotten Lena enrolled in Propel School Northside, he'd faked a medical license and become a doctor. He'd passed all of the right tests whilst skipping the many years of med school. But now he was a night shift attending, they were stable, plenty of extra money being saved for Lena's future college and university costs.
If he had to make that decision again, he'd make the same one without a doubt.
Admittedly, now and then, he found himself wondering how his brothers and J were doing. Occasionally, his mind would drift to Smurf, but he shut those thoughts down before they could go too far.
He parked along the sidewalk outside Laila's house, killing the engine. He grabbed Lena's bag off the backseat and helped her out the passenger side. He walked her around to the large garden where a banner read "Happy 10th Birthday, Laila!" in pink glittery font. The birthday ran over excitedly, her blonde hair bouncing in pigtails as she came to a stop in front of them, cheering, "Lena!"
Jack crouched down beside Lena, squeezing her hand gently. He noticed how she, despite her excitement, was suddenly more nervous when she saw just how many people were here for the party. Not only were they Laila's friends and classmates, but they were also her family and other relatives. There were well over 50 people standing around chatting whilst children played and ran about in the huge garden.
"Lena, would you rather I stay?" He spoke quietly, leaving the question for her ears only. He hadn't expected so many people either, so he could understand her hesitation now. She didn't answer verbally, just glanced at him and nodded. Jack noticed how she was fading back into that quiet girl from Oceanside who was too busy missing her mom and being ignored by her dad to enjoy her childhood.
"I'll be right over there if you need me at all, okay? And if you change your mind, we can go home." He reassured, not telling that he'd planned to go out with the day shift this evening, since he'd taken the night off for once.
Laila was bouncing from foot to foot impatiently, and as soon as Lena mumbled a faint, "Okay," Laila took her hand and dragged her away to play with the other kids. Jack stood back up, his prosthetic protesting the movement, drawing a sharp inhale from the man. He kept her bag over his shoulder and moved to stand over by the drinks table.
For a few minutes, he went unnoticed as he watched Lena. Thankfully, she was pulled out of her shell pretty quickly, soon joining in with a game of tag and smiling again.
He was soon confronted by a random woman he didn't know, who walked over with a judgmental frown, "Excuse me, Sir? This is private property. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Jack bit back a snappy comment and instead straightened up, replying politely, "Actually, I'm here for the party. My niece-" The woman cut in again, tucking a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as she continued, "Actually, only the parents of children can stay. Unless, of course, they're related to Laila. Which I know you aren't."
"No, I'm not, but my niece was invited, and she'd prefer that I stay. Who are you, anyway?" He questioned, beginning to get irritated. The woman let out an indignant scoff, "Excuse me? I'm Laila's auntie. Now, please leave. I wouldn't want to have to contact law enforcement and have you forcefully removed."
Despite her words, Jack was pretty certain that was exactly what she wanted; regardless, he kept his manners, mostly. "Listen, Lady, I'm not going anywhere. My niece wants me to stay. I'm staying. I'm not in anyone's way, I'm not causing any trouble. I won't be needing any slice of cake or lunch, I'll just be keeping an eye on Lena."
By now, a few other parents had noticed the confrontation, and several mothers walked over to join. "Oh, Jack! I'm glad to see that you and Lena made it!" Laila's mother walked over as well, smiling happily. She had the same blonde hair as her daughter, with greenish-blue eyes. Laila was almost a carbon copy of her mother.
Sighing in relief, Jack returned her smile with one of his own, "It's great to see you, Meryl. Could you please tell this woman that I'm not just some random creep?" Laughing softly, Meryl turned to the woman, "Honestly, Maya, you need to stop trying to send away every man who arrives. This is Jack, he's Lena's uncle. You remember Laila was talking about her friend Lena?"
The judgmental woman, Maya, huffed, lifting her chin, "You can't be too careful nowadays, Meryl." Then she stomped off without another word. Meryl turned back to Jack, "I'm so sorry about her, Jack. She spends too long reading those kidnapping stories on Facebook."
He waved it off, "No worries, better safe than sorry after all."
Jack spent the entire day keeping an eye on Lena, occasionally making small talk with another parent or relative at the party. Finally, it was almost five. People had started to leave, saying goodbye, wishing a happy birthday again, before going. Lena ran up to him, her hair falling out of its plait, still hyped up on excitement, "Uncle Pope! Laila's mom said it's time for dinner, so you don't have to worry now! It's sleepover time!"
Her excitement calmed his nerves, "Oh yeah? Alright then." He handed her bag to her, leaning down with his hands on his thighs, "You promise to be good?" He waited until she nodded before continuing, "And if you change your mind and want to come home, you'll have Laila's mom call me?" She nodded again, smiling, "I promise!"
"Good." He stood up straight again, "You go on then. Have fun." Jack watched Lena run back inside with her bag, calling back to him, "Bye, Uncle Pope!" Once she disappeared from his view, he walked away, back to where he'd parked his car hours earlier.
He sat in the driver's seat, checking his phone. He found 2 missed calls from Robby, 4 missed calls from Dana, and several messages asking if he was still going out tonight. He opened the group chat they all had, sent a thumbs-up emoji, and turned his phone off again.
He drove back home, where he face planted into the sofa and passed out. Having a busy twelve-hour shift, immediately followed by another 8 hours at some kid's birthday party, with only a shower in between, had practically killed the man.
For nearly three hours, he was trapped in restless sleep, repeatedly dreaming about the very moment when he smothered Catherine with her own pillow. Eventually, he woke with a start, sweaty and sticky, his chest heaving with the effort of each panted breath.
Even awake, the feeling of her scratching at his hands lingered, the sound of her muffled pleading echoing in his ears. He was pulled out of his spiral by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out, checking it. Robby was calling him.
Jack answered it, pressing it to his ear as he stood up, "Finally. We've been waiting for you for almost an hour, Jack. Get your head out of your ass and join us. We're at Lefty's." Robby's words felt muted in his mind, but he hummed and muttered something about being a few more minutes. He then hung up before Robby could even attempt to argue.
He stepped into the kitchen, filling a glass with water before raiding the cupboards for his meds, muttering under his breath, "Shit, shit, shit. No, no, where is it?" He dug through everything, searching desperately. When he couldn't find them, he threw the glass across the room, cursing as it shattered against the wall, "Fuck!" He sank to the floor, leaning back against the cupboard.
After a few minutes, a thought came to him. He'd moved his meds to make sure Lena couldn't get them. Jack scrambled to his feet, wincing as the prosthetic pinched his skin. Ignoring it, he hobbled upstairs as fast as he could. He went straight through his room to the ensuite, where he almost tore the mirrored door of its hinges to view the inside of the cabinet.
There, thank god, sat his pills. He turned the tap on, filling a cupped hand with cold water, and tossed two pills into his mouth before drinking the water from his hand. He swallowed both at once, breathing heavily as he gripped the counter.
He'd been making sure to take his pills at exactly 6 pm every day. But he'd fallen asleep on the sofa and slept straight through the hour, leaving the previous dose to start wearing off.
Jack dried his hands and adjusted his prosthetic before walking downstairs, more calmly now. He started to crouch down to put his shoes on, only to realise he'd never taken them off. He straightened again and stepped out of his house, locking the front door behind him.
Fortunately, Lefty's wasn't too far from his house, so he chose to walk. He took slow, deep breaths as he walked, feeling the night air cool his rushing blood. He felt so hot and sticky still, but he tried to ignore it. His phone rang again, Dana this time, "Christ, Jack. I know you're old, but you've never been this slow to join us before."
His reply was a less-than-committal dry laugh, followed by, "I'll be there soon, I'm making my way downtown now." He hung up before the charge nurse could answer.