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Dennis Whitaker has a crush. A big crush on one of the night shift nurses on the pitt. She also happens to come by early, smiling very brightly, making him forget he has work to do sometimes. They are close, but Dennis has had a load of things to do in the last weeks when he’s not working.
Truth be told, he had put in a little distance after he figured his little crush on his dear friend. But, after a talk with Santos a few nights ago, he came to his senses that his feelings would only hurt more if he stayed so distant from her.
So, when Robby asks him to find her so they can pass shifts, he has never loved him more.
He walks around the ER like a high schooler, sweating and repassing all he’s gonna say when he sees her. Then he does. With Mateo. With a really hot and bearded Mateo. And she’s laughing at him like he’s so so funny, and he feels his jaw tight. She turns to look at Whitaker, her eyes sparkling while she makes her way to him leaving Mateo behind and suddenly, he feels the need to go to a corner and thank God just by how beautiful she looks today.
– Hey Den! Is it time to pass shifts? – she asks, tilting her head so slightly he feels like a creep by noticing.
– Yes… – that’s it. That’s all Dennis says, the point of his ears becoming red. She laughs, amused.
– Well, let’s go then! Y’all are already very late to go home, – the nurse grabs his sweaty hand and guides him to the station, like he hasn’t been there all day.
She asks about his shift, about Trinity, about his patients, and his responses were…well, minimalist. “It was nice.” “She's okay.” “They’re doing well.”. He could say how pretty she is, and how delighted he would be to walk by her side to the nurse station. How sorry he was he distanced himself, how he wanted them to be close again. But her hand on his was making all of his thoughts became a mush on his head.
When they get to the station, she stands near Dana’s side, murmuring something to her. Whitaker notices Dana slightly looking at him, proceeding to smile and pat her nurse’s head, like a child, saying something back to her.
A few minutes later, Dennis is ready to go home, bag on his back and leaned on the wall outside the ambulance bay, waiting for Santos, when someone else appears, looking for something. Whitaker, in his stupid mind, can’t find what she could be looking out for, until she looks at him, marching in his direction.
– Den, can we talk? – he nods. Her chest rises in a fast motion, worrying him. – Did I do something?
That startled him. Her eyes were so full of worry and sadness, he felt like the worst friend ever. It wasn’t her fault she was the prettiest girl ever, or that his heart could melt every time she smiled at his direction.
– Obviously not. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, I… – he puts his hands on her shoulders – I’m really sorry, I really am.
– Why? I thought that, when you came to get me, we would talk, and everything would be the same as it was! But I…I don’t understand why we have not talked! – she yells at him, taking his hands out of her – Will you tell me why you treat me like I'm so hard to be around?
– I’m in love with you! – Dennis yells back, the tightness on his neck loosen just a little.
The time stops. All of it. She frozes, looking at him like she’s seeing him for the first time. Whitaker has his heart served on a plate for her.
– I could not stand talking to you and not being able to hold your hand, or to kiss you, or to…anything! I could not stand it! – he put his hand on his face, cleaning the sweat off of his forehead, closing his eyes shut – I tried to talk to you today, but…when I saw you and Mateo…I thought that…maybe it was useless. It hurts me not being capable of talking to you like a normal person and…
Dennis can’t hear anything else, just feels gentle hands on the sides of his face. He opens his eyes to find her beautiful smile on her face, with her pretty eyes wet with the tears she’s been holding back since he stopped replying to her texts.
– I’m in love with you too, Dennis. I am. That’s why it hurts so bad. – she sniffed.
He grabbed her waist, pulling her to him and kissing her like it’s the last time they have together, with the kiss becoming salty by their tears and needy, since they had been waiting just for this moment. He leaned back in the wall again, pulling her even closer to him.
Her hands intertwined in his red curls, pulling his head slightly while she kisses his jaw, he mumbles something and a scoff can be heard. They separated as fast as they could, Dennis having to use her as a shield while looking at Trinity.
– Are you kids done? – she smiles, looking up and down at them.