Chapter Text
Dennis didn’t like to keep his daemon out in the open. Definitely not after the rat incident on the first day. He still wonders if one of those rats had actually been the daemon of that man.
It wasn’t like his daemon was particularly creepy or special, he was just the wrong size. Too small to let walking around loose along the floor. Afraid people will step on him. And too big to easily hide under his clothes or rest on his shoulder. Maverick was a desert kangaroo mouse.
The gender of his daemon had been much discussed by his parents. They didn’t think it proper to have a daemon of the same gender. And somehow worse was the fact it was a meagre mouse compared to the farm-typical animals all his older brothers presented as, like the giant bull his eldest brother presented as, or the sheep-herding dog Arthur, the daemon of his closest brother Benny. Somehow, he knew this was a sign he wasn’t really meant for the farm life. His mother always said he had more of a knack for helping people than for large grunt work.
Because Maverick wasn’t female, he sort of started keeping him hidden from a young age. Most folks were okay with it, if you ignored their disgusted staring, but still he felt uncomfortable. Like it was something to hide. His mom and dad didn’t help in that regard, often gesturing to keep him hidden or away.
So it was no surprise that after working for half a year in the Pitt, no one aside from Santos, his roommate, had actually seen Maverick. Trinity didn’t seem to mind. During the first time he left his pocket while watching a movie, Trinity even joked, “Hey, is this your way of coming out to me? Ha, I already knew you were gay, doofus.”
He just grimaced and settled into the sofa some more.
Despite the occasional snarky remark, he did feel safe enough around them both to have Maverick out hopping around. Trinity’s own daemon, Justine, was equally a case on its own. A black raven almost permanently perched on her head.
“People say it is an internal defense mechanism, to keep her always close by,” is what she said during their first few days working together.
Justine and Maverick seemed to get along. Eventually, like Maverick, she seemed to perch on other places occasionally, even right next to him on their couch. He saw it as her way of being comfortable with him. It made him feel nice inside. And it gave him so much satisfaction whenever he could lord it over Trinity that she felt so comfortable with him that her daemon liked snuggling up beside him. She would always deny it with a huff, but next movie night Justine would be there again, perched right next to his shoulder on the back of the couch. Right out of reach, of course.
Daemon touching, is a big no-no. His mom had always taught him that it was only something for after marriage.
After coming to the city and experimenting a bit with dating around, he quickly learned other people had very different ideas on that subject. Still, it is not something to be done in polite society. Let alone with strangers.
The ER made the concept of daemons way more difficult. People rushing from one patient to the next...
And yet it also made daemons a blessing. Not only did it bring comfort for a mother to touch her child’s daemon while they were being prepped for surgery, as a way to confirm to each other that yes, I am still here with you, it also helped in the medical field.
Dennis still felt immense guilt and stupidity for, one, not catching Mister Milton’s heart attack, but two, not noticing that his daemon had already ashed right at the foot of the bed. A scruffy Yorkshire terrier. She was sweet. While most daemons didn’t talk directly to other humans, she had offered a brief, “You are doing good, hon,” as encouragement after he told them it was his first day in the ER.
Leana, Dr. Robby’s golden retriever daemon, similarly had tried to offer him some words of peace after.
“I just... I shouldn’t have missed it,” he tried.
“These things happen, kid. That is part of being a doctor,” she said coldly, but honestly.
Dennis had found that he liked talking to her. Or at least on the rare occasions she acknowledged his presence.
She was always busy. Rushing with Dr. Robby from here to there through the ER, calling out medicine and status updates back and forth to Robby like his personal assistant, keeping track of everything and everyone moving around her.
Even occasionally offering condolences or comfort to loved ones of bad-condition patients, both to their daemon and directly to the human. From what Dennis could tell, it seemed to lift the burden on him to not always have to be the one to say everything.
They made a good pair.
He wonders if he and Maverick can be as great a team as them.
When he is alone or thinks no one is watching, he also catches himself wondering what her fur would feel like between his hands. Whether it is as soft as he can imagine, whether Dr. Robby would let him get that close again.
Dr. Robby himself seemed to touch him as much or even more as HR probably allows for, much to Trinity’s chagrin. Yet Leana is always out of reach.
Dr. Robby had told him once, “Always keep your daemon close and try to touch patients as much as possible with your own hands. Likewise, no touching the daemon unless they are either fully sedated or it’s an emergency relocation.”
Hence Dennis kept his habit of always keeping Maverick in his upper right scrub pocket.
He seemed fine with it, aside from the occasional internal remark that he would like to see the action firsthand.
In his words: “I didn’t join you through medical school just to sit in a pocket all day.”
Dennis would usually just shove him deeper in, particularly while in the middle of working on a patient in trauma.
Except today that was not the case.
It was only morning and he already felt claustrophobic, and his shift hadn’t even officially started.
He noticed Dr. Abbot standing next to Dana, his beige sand cat sitting smugly on the counter, looking at him. It seemed like Dr. Abbot was still waiting to do the night handover, leaning casually with his back toward the main door while facing the big screen.
He and Dana were chatting about their upcoming weekend. What they have planned.
Dennis figured it was still calm and his shift technically didn’t start for another five minutes, so he decided he felt comfortable enough to let Maverick out of his pocket for a second to sate his incessant nagging in the back of his head.
He didn’t know how he felt doing it right in front of Dr. Abbot’s daemon, who seemed very interested, following his hand with her eyes while he reached for his pocket.
Dennis had had a crush on the older attendings — both actually, but don’t tell Trinity that — since the first day he started working here.
The way Dr. Abbot had skillfully saved all those people during Pitt Fest, one after the other, calm under pressure, muscled arms for days...
He really should stop thinking about those muscled arms touching him with similarly intentful delicate precision and passion while he was literally staring his soul in the eyes. His soul daemon, whose name he didn’t even know yet.
Dr. Robby’s daemon’s name he knew. It was the word he kept repeating over and over again, along with the Jewish nursery rhyme he had been singing back on his first day in Peds when Dr. Robby seemed to have an episode.
He still remembered how he got so close to touching her in a naïve attempt to calm Dr. Robby down. Luckily, before his mind could drift further into what could have happened if he had done that, Dana spoke to him.
“What do you need, kid?”
“Oh, I need to get my new badge for the system.”
“Oh ho, you finally a real doctor with us, huh?” she said, chewing her gum.
“You finally one of us now, huh,” Dr. Abbot added with that look he now shared with his daemon, who was still intent on staring at his pants. His pants pocket, he tried convincing himself. She was interested in Maverick. He tried convincing, though that thought didn’t make the blush forming on his cheek any better.
“Ye-ah,” he replied nervously “if I ever get through all the paperwork!”
“Aw, but isn’t that just the fun part? Why save lives when paperwork needs to be done?” he joked sarcastically. “Don’t worry, I know you’ll do great.”
“Thanks.” Dennis tried to look anywhere other than those deep blue eyes staring intently at him, making him blush.
God I hope they don’t notice you blushing.
He tried distracting himself by finally taking out Maverick and placing him on the desk near Dana’s computer.
Maverick seemed to settle comfortably outside on the desk, licking his paws and stroking his fur back over his ears. The feeling of constant fabric rubbing his fur all the wrong ways was a sensation that unfortunately got transmitted to Dennis, giving him an itch and uncomfortable feeling all day.
“Just stay here for a second, hon. Perlah can go grab the paper form you need,” Dana said. “By the way, trauma incoming. Woman versus sauna.”
“Oof, at this time of day?” Dr. Abbot replied, looking up at the screen. “Lucky me, but that’s where my shift is ending today.”
“What, you don’t want to see a naked, hot, bothered woman coming in here?” Dana joked.
“Hah! Maybe next time.” He gave a short wink to Dennis.
God. Speaking of saunas, your cheeks really are red. Maverick said internally. Not helping! Dennis replied. I’m sure if we just ask nicely, our sir attending wouldn’t mind hot and bothered in need of cooling down. Maverick smirked back in reply.
He needed to get out of there before Dr. Abbot really noticed the very not-HR-appropriate thoughts he was having about him.
He really didn’t want to start the day by thinking about Dr. Abbot sweaty and naked from a sauna.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll just wait here for a sec,” he said, trying to keep his voice level.
He was trying to look at everything and everywhere except the main desk where Dr. Abbot continued to rest calmly.
In the distance he could hear the sound of an ambulance pulling up.
That must be the incoming trauma.
Right when they entered and started shouting, Perlah was back, pushing the folder into his hands.
“Here you.” she said.
“Yeah, sure. Euh, can you hold on to that for a second? I should really help with the oncoming trauma,” he gestured to the incoming gurney rushing up to the patient.
“Sure, I’ll leave it here,” she said, quickly placing the file on the desk.
“Jane Alister, 37-year-old female, poodle as daemon, spent too long in the sauna, temperature 41 degrees, unresponsive, daemon also unresponsive, blood pressure 150 over 50. No meds taken.” The ambulanceer called out while pushing the gurney inside.
“Her temperature is waay too high, to Trauma 1!” shouted Robby, coming from up behind him, Samira hot on his tail.
“Withaker, you are with us. Get the Arctic Sun ready! Perlah, can you go grab 2 kilos of ice bags, pronto?” they all rushed into the trauma room. Perlah, right behind him.
“On it!” she said, running back out in haste.
Dennis got to work on undressing what little swimwear the woman had on, placing the heart monitors on her.
“Still 41 degrees, and dry as a bone,” Samira called. “Pupils still pinpricks.”
“Diagnosis, Dr Withaker,” Robby asked, directing his attention.
“Euh… severe heatstroke. We will need sodium and fluids. And cooling her down.”
“Exactly. I want 2 bags of saline and water mix wide open.”
“On it,” Jesse replied, already holding both bags ready and trying for a vein.
“Where is Perlah with that ice?” Dr Robby said restlessly. His attention was diverted to the main hall, stretching his neck to look out into the central hall. “What is the commotion going on there?” Dennis noticed Leana jump from the gurney down to the floor toward the door.
“I’ll check,” she said, rushing to see what was happening.
But before Dennis could glance toward the door himself, his breathing stopped. It was as if someone had clawed into his chest and ripped out his heart, holding it between their hands. A feeling of wrong enveloped him. A feeling of wrongful touch closed in around him, blocking everything out. He tried focusing on the patient but couldn’t. Frozen by pain and agony. Like his veins were on fire, burning him inside out. Ironic, considering the heatstroke victim he was trying to save.
Outside he could briefly hear the commotion Dr Robby had mentioned before sinking to his knees. The woman and the outside forgotten, Dr Robby rushed to his side.
“Hey kid! Hey, you good?” he asked, checking his pulse along his neck.
Dennis couldn’t answer. Couldn’t think. He saw white. Then black. Then white again. An eye test? he briefly wondered. All noise and light around him was too much, too bright to properly think of what could be wrong with him. The all-encompassing feeling of pain and squeezing too much. Only one thought managed to wiggle its way to the front of his mind. He quickly patted his pocket. Fuck, where was Maverick?
Leana seemed to catch on, rushing up to him away from the door, sniffing his pants pocket briefly before saying something he couldn’t catch to Dr Robby.
“Fuck! Dennis, can you stand? We need to get you on a gurney! Hey, look at me! Dennis!” he yelled, holding his face, trying to get Dennis to focus. Softly and pained, he quietly said, “Just focus on me, okay.” But Dennis couldn’t focus, his head feeling woozy, like tunnel vision. The only thing he could focus on were claws squeezing in on his very soul. The one time he finally got to be in the arms of the man he adored, and it was the worst circumstance.
“Old lady, Dr King’s patient has a daemon in a vice lock!” Perlah yelled while rushing the door to Trauma 1 open.
“Fuck, that is Maverick, Dennis’ daemon. Push morphine! His daemon is literally getting ripped away. He is in a lot of pain right now!” he could hear Dr Robby say. He knows his name, he thought. What a nice way to die, with my soul’s name on his lips.
“Oh fuck, okay,” she answered back.
“Paging Daemonology!” Samira yelled from behind him.
He couldn’t make out what was happening aside from the insensate pressing feeling from all sides. A panicked, trapped feeling he could feel from Maverick’s side. In the distance, like under water, he heard shouting, both from through the door and all around him. Ah, must be Maverick’s perspective I am feeling.
It hurts so much, he heard his voice say in his head.
Despite trying to focus on the nice feeling of Dr Robby’s hands on him, the painful squeezing got worse.
He was going to throw up from the pain.
Oh god, he was going to throw up on Dr Robby.
He felt feverish, heat rushing to his head while his stomach and belly felt cold, like a cold rolling running along his spine.
Two breaths later and he was dry heaving.
Dr Robby managed to hold him where he sat on the ground, trying to calm him.
Briefly between heaving he noticed Jesse—or who he assumed was Jesse—trying to put a needle in his arm.
“We’re giving you something to stop the pain and nausea.”
“I’m… Dr Robby? It hurts…” he managed to croak out, holding onto Dr Robby’s arms, trying to steady himself.
“Yeah, nausea from the pain likely,” he replied, trying to pat his head dry and feeling for his temperature.
While looking up at him, he was reminded of the woman with the heatstroke. Dr Samira in the background managing the helm, occasionally sparing a pitiful glance his way.
Ugh, this is what he gets from the one time he let Maverick briefly out of his sight.
“Feels like squeezing,” he said, hoping to make Dr Robby understand. “It keeps getting worse.” Dr Robby himself was looking panicked at Dennis. He couldn’t help him where he was sitting; he just had to hope the others could defuse the situation.
“Fuck, okay, we have you, okay kid. Dana and Abbott are dealing with it, okay. Just hold on.”
“Dr Robby, it hurts,” he said before succumbing to the pain, falling unconscious in Dr Robby’s arms.
- ❦ -
Meanwhile, outside Trauma 1 in the main hall.
“Ma’am, please,” Dana tried, holding her hands up in what she hoped was a non-threatening gesture. Her Persian blue cat daemon edged carefully toward the woman, slow and cautious.
“Ma’am, that is not a pet you are holding. That is someone’s soul,” Dr Abbott added, voice tight but controlled.
The woman looked around in blind panic, her hands clenched around something invisible to everyone else. Whatever she held, she kept tightening her grip on it, pressing it closer to her chest with every second.
“No… nooo. He is mine. Please, you can’t take him from me,” she despreratly called out, panicked.
The nursing staff around her started to form a large circle, everyone on edge. No one saying a word.
“Ma’am, that is not your daemon. That is one of our doctors’,” Dana tried again, walking ever so slower towards her. Trying to calm her down.
“No, no!” the woman screamed, shaking now, tears spilling down her face. She hunched over protectively, pressing Maverick tighter against her chest, as if she could fuse him there. “I have a mouse daemon. He is mine. He’s mine. Don’t touch me!”
A sharp cry echoed from inside Trauma 1.
“Fuck, that is Dennis,” Abbott cursed under his breath.
“Hang in there, kid. We’ve got you.” Seereya, Dr Abbott’s daemon said, jumping from his shoulders, darting toward Trauma 1 and squeezing through the door to assess what was happening inside.
The woman flinched again, voice rising into panic. “No, no—I have a mouse daemon! He is mine. Please—I know it!”
“Dr King, talk to me about her!” Dr Abbott called out over the chaos to the large crowd forming around them.
“Uh—uhm—Beatrice Burman, 86 years old, late-stage dementia, came in with a painful back, confused. Her daemon—a long-snouted mouse—was with her last I saw it.”
“Dementia daemons wander. Someone go find it and bring it back to her!” Abbott ordered sharply. She and the surrounding nurses scurried away running down the halls looking for the missing mouse. “She is likely as in as much pain as Dennis, being as far away from her daemon. She is just trying to feel whole again.
“Oh the poor thing” Dana mumbled, not being able to help herself.
Deep in the clutches of the woman, Maverick was struggling. The woman’s fingers digging into his belly and around his legs, pressing them together. They would have broken by now if daemons could break and get hurt. He heard people yelling, he could feel her heart beat a mile a minute right next to his hear, where she was holding him to her chest. It felt wrong to have someone who wasn’t Dennis’s hands on him. If it weren’t for Dennis already throwing up, he felt like he might do the same.
The pain was getting worse and worse. Not just the intrinsic existential pain of him-a soul- being touched but her squeezing to getting worse and worse by the second. He couldn’t escape. He tried biting, he tried pushing with his strong kangaroo like legs against her fingers. But each time the woman let up, she recovered and then squeeze back harder, holding him tighter and stronger. He heard her yelling. He heard Dr Robby through his soul bond, trying to talk with Dennis, trying to coo at him calmly and comfortingly, but it was no hope.
Jack and Dana, meanwhile were still calmly trying to approach the woman to no avail. “Let’s grab her arms already!” a nurse snapped from the back.
“That will make her panic even more! Everyone back up!” Dana barked immediately. “For God’s sake everyone stand back and calm!”
“I can taze her!” Ahmad called, already raising his device.
“No—no, please don’t hurt us!” the woman cried.
“No for FUCKsake! That’ll trigger a full muscle spasm—she’ll clamp down harder. Everyone back the fuck off! Rest of you go check on your patients! Let’s all try remain calm okay. No sudden movements. Just slow and steady” Dr abbot started yelled. He forced his own voice to a more calm and stern level. He could feel himself getting worked up, way more than he should be.
Dana turned back to the woman, softer now. “See? It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you.”
From the crowd, Dr King suddenly shouted, a little too brightly, “Found him!”
She pushed through the row of hospital staff and on lookers on the scene. In her hand on top of a towel as to protect from unwanted touch sensation, a small grey form age long snouted mouse was sitting, looking dazed at his surroundings.
The woman zoned in on the mouse, “But, noo..” she whispered, tears in her eyes, “No.. I have Bernard right here… he.. no, that isn’t..” she fell down on the ground, all energy leaving her. Confusion struck on her face and tears running down her cheeks. A panicked glace around her at the others. She didn’t know where she was. She thought she was at work, with her colleagues, but now, she didn’t know who these people were. What time it was.
“I.. i.. I don’t know anymore…”
Dr King moved quickly to her side, gently angling the towel closer. When the woman saw the mouse clearly, she gasped—hands flying open in shock.
At the same moment, Maverick who by now was unconscious, due to the pain and suffocation, slipped out of her hands and started falling towards the floor.
Dr Abbott lunged forward instantly, hitting the floor and sliding forward, managing to catch him carefully in the cup of his hands just before impact.
Dana rushed in, steadying the woman as Dr King guided her away from Maverick. Dr Abbot, held him close in his arms, similar to how the woman had done not even a minute earlier. Seereya crawled in his lap. She started to sniff him as best she could. Nudging him with her nose, as if he were a baby kitten, to see if he would move, visibly shaken.
“Cold. Unresponsive. Probably knocked out from the pain.” She said softly but sternly. Jack himself seemed to still not be fully there yet. Too focussed and paralyzed by the realisation of what he was now holding- Dennis’ soul in his hands. Likely hurting him too. “Fuck.” He tried to scramble upright. Dana pushed him on his back towards Trauma 1. “Go. We’ve got it from here! You get them back together.”
“Yeah…” Abbott muttered, dazed, feeling Maverick’s weak heartbeat against the skin of his palms.
Perlah who was still by the doorway since the debacle began, pulled the door open wider for him. Inside, Dennis lay unconscious on the gurney, fully wired up to monitors.
Out of habit Abbott’s voice defaulted to routine “Heart rate? Blood pressure?”
“95. 120 over 80. Oxygen levels stable,” Jesse answered immediately.
“We gave him morphine, a relaxant, and something for nausea,” Dr Robby replied. Standing in the middle between the two beds. On his right the woman with the heatstroke, now slowly cooling off and recovering due to the ice from earlier, and on his right, their very own newly made R1 Dr Dennis Withaker.
“You haven’t gone home yet?” Dr Robby joked dryly, managing a smile trough his own rabbit heart breathing and worried look plastered to his face.
“Was about to. Thank god, I hadn’t.” he replied equally out of breath and with a worried pained smile, slowly and very carefully lowering Maverick to Dennis’ chest. When he finally let go and both body and soul made physical contact they both simultaneously let out a big sigh. The tension bled out of them in an instant, like something finally snapped back into place. Dennis’s breathing evened slightly.
“Yeah…” Dr Robby said quietly. “Good thing you didn’t.”
Jack didn’t have a reply. That was too close he thought. What would have happened if Dr King didn’t step in. He worried. Don’t go there. Seereya responded, while jumping on the bed next to Dennis.
“Okay,” Dr Robby continued, recovering his tone. “Let’s give him some rest and peace. Transfer him to central, pick a quiet room please.” Dr Robby gestured to Jesse nodded and began rolling the gurney out through the back.
In the main hall, Dana and Dr King were helping the elderly woman into a wheelchair. Her daemon still resting on the towel but now placed in her lap. Ahmad stood beside her, securing her right hand to the wheelchair.
“Is that really necessary?” Dr King asked.
“Yeah kid. No one of the staff is getting dusted on my watch… fuck.” Dana replied still shaken up and trying to catch her breath. She looked up behind her, looking straight at Robby with that worried but angry and frustrated look in her eyes. The same one she gave him not even 24 hours ago after another patient tried to get handsy with Princess while doing an exam and she tried to give Robby a stern talking to on how she couldn’t handle seeing this kind of behaviour anymore towards her nurses.
Robby acknowledged her starting and frustration, with a quick nod, before turning back. Dennis now already have left the room, it was just him Jack, Dr Samira and the heatstroke patient. He felt emptier for it.
His hand shook and his own breath difficult was difficult to get under control. Next to him Leana pressed against his leg, and without thinking, he rested his shaking hand on her head. Combed his fingers through her fur. She bumped his hand with her head giving a confirmation, yes I’m still here. We’re okay. He felt Jacks hand patting his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go check on the other patients for a while. Okay? Dana will call if he is waking up” Before Seereya had the chance to rub her head against Leana, Jack nudged them both to move forward and Michael could only nod a quick yes. While walking through the back exit together. As they passed, Samira quickly looked away from the display of affection focussing back on her computer charting. She wished she hadn’t noticed that.
- ❦ -
20 minutes, two incoming ETA 10 min trauma calls, Dennis’s paperwork, and five different patient presentations later, Dana finally called Michael back to tell him Dennis had woken up.
“Central 5, sweetie. He is doing much better,” she said softly, with that pitying look in her eyes.
He quickly ended the conversation he was having with Dr Santos and her patient and fast-walked to the room.
There Dennis was, laying on a bed, blanket pulled up, machines behind him humming. Maverick was still sleeping in the hollow of his neck. Dennis’s hand reached up to him, softly stroking his side where he lay. With bright eyes, but still woozy and in pain, he looked at him. “Dokter Robby!”
“Hey, easy there, kid. Gave us all quite the fright,” he said, gesturing for him to remain lying on the bed and not to get up.
“Sorry,” Dennis replied, not meeting his eyes, looking away in guilt.
“Look,” he said, sitting down and taking his hand in his. “It is not your fault, okay.” Leana sat herself neatly next to the bed, her face resting on the mattress next to his arm in a big poof. Her nose centimeters away from him as she turned her head in a show of concern, her eyes looking concerned at Maverick.
Dennis smiled at her, and for a second in his dazed state started reaching his hand towards her, before stopping himself. Dr Robby seemed to notice and quickly squeezed the hand he was holding before letting go, leaning back in the chair and gesturing for Leana to do the same. In a rare moment of shyness, he saw her pull away from the bed as well and try to compose herself next to Dr Robby.
“How are you feeling now?” he said softly, concern still etched on his face.
“Euhm,” Dennis gulped. “Better, yeah. A lot better. The morphine is probably helping,” he said with a lazy smile.
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” he replied with a small smile, before looking to the floor more seriously. “Look, uh, Dennis, we are going to have to do some tests. Likely they’ll make you feel a lot worse during them. It is possible we will have to keep you overnight for monitoring.”
Dennis could only reply with a hum. Before looking away again. “What kind of testing?” he asked hesitantly.
“Aah, that is something you should know, my little padawan,” Dr Abbott’s voice sounded from the open doorway.
Dennis sat up and gave him a confused little smile. “Dr Abbott,” before relaxing back down on the bed, carefully pulling Maverick a little higher where he had slid down.
“Damn kid, Santos is right, you really need to brush up on your movies,” he said, walking to the opposite side from where Robby was sitting and resting his hand on his shoulder. “So, how are you feeling? The woman, Miss Bruman, she has been calmed down. She won’t be able to hurt you anymore, okay?”
The touch was nice and warm. Comforting big hands keeping him grounded from where he lay on the bed. Seereya jumped onto the bed and nestled herself next to his leg. For a moment, he was too flustered to speak.
Behind Dr Abbott, Princess was pushing something into his IV line and joked with Perlah, saying something in Tagalog. “Ha, kid is getting the special treatment it seems.” Before both of them left with knowing grins, leaving the three of them alone.
“Euh, yeah, much better. The morphine is working. But Maverick hasn’t woken up yet.” At that, both attendings briefly looked at each other, concern in their eyes, before Dr Abbott focused back on him, while Dr Robby looked down at where he was clasping his hands above his knees.
“Yeah, that can be a side effect of the morphine,” Dr Abbott tried to reassure him.
“What about the woman with the heatstroke?”
Dr Robby looked up suddenly, eyes tearing away from someplace dark. “She is fine. We got her in time. Don’t worry about that, okay.”
“Dr Robby, you tried to explain those tests?” he asked hesitantly.
“Right. Let’s… euh, let’s wait a bit to see when Maverick wakes up, best to not turture you with unnecessary testing if it is not needed,” he said hastily, trying to get up and leaning over to briefly wipe the hair from his forehead in an act of affection. It didn’t escape Dr Abbott’s notice, who was now watching Dr Robby with a knowing frown.
Dr Robby nodded toward the door. “Let’s give you some space and peace to rest. Have one of the nurses come get me if Maverick wakes up, okay?”
Dennis could only nod. He watched them both shuffle out of the room. Then he rested his head back against the mattress, dipping his chin down so his cheek rested against it, trying to get a bit of rest.
In truth, he felt okay. He felt fine, like he could go back to work. Frustrated, a bit useless just lying there while all his colleagues were working, taking on patients should have gotten assigned, making more work for others. On the other hand, as a doctor, he also knew the severity of the situation—if not from his studies, then from that look in Robby’s eyes. The one he always got right before he had to tell someone their kid had died, or wasn’t going to wake up from a coma.
- ❦ -
Outside the room, Michael directed himself to Jack. “So, you think on staying?” he said, stuffing and unstuffing his hands from his jacket pockets before clasping his arms around himself.
Jack just gave him that head-tilted look. “You serious? Of course I’m staying. I’m not leaving before seeing he is alright. And no, before you say something, don’t think for a second you wouldn’t be the same if this happened to him at the end of your shift,” he whispered intensely.
They could both feel it—both were aware of it too. Their daemons staying behind in the room with Dennis, like they weren’t ready to leave yet.
In a mirror of what he had done with Dennis earlier, he grabbed Dr Robby’s shoulder, as he had done so often before. “Look, take Leana with you. Go outside, try to clear your head a bit. Focus on the other patients. Seereya and I can keep watch here now that my shift is officially over. Afterward, you can come coddle him as much as you like.”
Before Dr Robby could answer, Perlah appeared next to them. “Three car crash victims all coming in 1 minute of each other, ETA 5 min.”
Dr Robby gave her a quick nod, assuring he would be there soon. “Prep Trauma 1 and 2, please, will you, Perlah,” he said softly.
“Sure thing, boss.”
“See? As per clockwork! Go! You have lives to save. The kid will be fine,” Jack said with his iconic cocky smile, before slapping him once more on the shoulder and pushing him forward.
Robby started walking to the trauma rooms before quickly turning around. “The minute he changes, you come get me!”
Jack just thumbsed-up in reply before ducking back into the room with Dennis. Seereya had never left her place on the bed next to Dennis’s leg.
- ❦ -
One by one, his colleagues all came to say hi and check in on him while he was laying in Central 5. Trinity, after making sure he was physically fine, spent multiple sessions in his room yapping away about the woman who had held his daemon. Giving him status updates on her condition, but mostly just complaining and worrying about the concept of daemon touching.
“Like who does that? This place is going tits up. Seriously, even if you are demented you shouldn’t go around grabbing random people’s daemons!”
“She didn’t know any better,” he tried to reassure her each time.
After a couple of minutes chatting, she was chased out of the room again by a passing nurse telling her to focus on one of her own patients. It made Dennis wonder how he was listed on the big board.
In between Trinity’s visits, Victoria joined him twice. Once to have lunch with him and check his vitals (as these doctors couldn’t seem to help themselves), and the other time to escape from her own patients. She seemed more level-headed than Trinity, though she got her frustrations in here and there.
“Yeeaah, I knew you liked getting close to patients, but that was too close. I was really worried. Felt kinda stupid, us all standing there,” she said, biting her lip nervously. “You know, I wouldn’t have known what would have happened had Dr Abbott not been there,” she added cheekily, even giving a wink while nudging toward the sleeping doctor in the chair next to him. An odd sight, given all his visitors had come and gone talking to him as if he wasn’t even there.
“Victoria!” he chastised, flustered while looking at Abbott. The only reason he wasn’t getting more flustered was that he knew he was asleep—Seereya still fast asleep, rolled on her back drooling next to his leg. Abbott himself lay almost unnaturally still, sleeping upright with his chin on his shoulder.
It warmed his heart to know he was still there, trying to keep vigil over him, although his age and a 15-hour shift seemed to have caught up with him.
While Victoria talked about her patients and tried to ask for his advice—clearly trying to make him feel useful—he occasionally glanced at the desert cat laying by his feet, itching to pet the soft-looking fur on her belly. Much to the chagrin of Victoria, who caught him staring each time and joked, “You know you could, he is sleeping.”
Yeah, he really didn’t need any more teasing on this subject. One non-consensual daemon-touching episode today was already enough.
Besides, he was sure Dr Abbott and Dr Robby’s worry for him was just medical, just doctors doing their job. Yet he couldn’t help lingering in the feeling of having them near. Of Seereya so close against his leg, with only a thin blanket separating them. Of the way they both looked so soft and caring when he first woke up.
By the one-hour mark, almost all of his team had visited. Dr McKay and Dana both, on separate occasions, came in to give him a talk about inappropriate behaviour and his duty to report, as well as telling him to rest and take it easy should he return to the floor.
Likewise, a police officer had come in, accompanied by Dr Robby, to take a statement about what he experienced.
“Dr Robby, I am fine, I feel fit. She had dementia. I really don’t want to press charges,” he tried to argue.
“Sorry, kid. Standard protocol, I’m afraid,” he replied. “Maverick awake yet?”
“Oh… no, not yet.”
Dr King was the last to visit him. She also gave a long monologue about how sorry she was and what she could and should have done better to prevent another situation like this. She was also the one who finally properly explained exactly what happened in those brief five minutes between when he entered Trauma 1 and when he fell unconscious.
“You know, I happen to actually take quite an interest in Daemonology. Did you know that some people are even severed from their daemon?” she said enthusiastically.
“Like witches in fairy tales?” he joked, sitting up and moving Maverick to rest on his crossed knee.
“Oh no, for real. You see, there is this—”
Dennis’s attention drifted away when he felt Maverick stirring against his knee. He could feel his own knee under Mavericks cheek and his own hand petting Maverick’s ears.
A bit woozy, he tried to say, “He is awake.”
“Oh!” Dr King jumped up from her chair, “I’ll go get Robby.” And she dashed out of the room.
A minute later, footsteps rushed through the hall and Dr Robby appeared in the doorway, slightly out of breath.
“Hey. How is he doing?” he said quickly, moving toward the chair Dr King had just been sitting in. He spared a quick glance—and a soft blink and you’ll miss it smile—at the sleeping Dr Abbott and Seereya next to his leg. The fact that Robby noticed, not that it was unoticable to anyone, her laying so close made him blush a bit.
Leana followed closely behind Robby and seated herself in front of both men’s knees right next to the bed, looking up expectantly at Dennis.
Suddenly, all that attention on him felt like too much. With seereya next to his leg so close, Robby almost hovering over his other leg, and leana boxed in so close as well. It was too much. And yet, despite almost at deaths door from someone literally squeezing his soul, he felt like he would be completely okay… even better… if Michael—Dr Robby—would just reach out and touch Maverick himself instead of waiting for him to explain how he felt.
And like the traitorous soul he was, Maverick got up and hopped right along the bed until he and Leana were mirrored, sitting right next to where Dr Robby’s hand rested on the mattress.
Dennis mostly just stared, surprised by his actions and own bravery deep inside.
“Sorry, sir. We didn’t mean to worry you. After some rest, I am feeling much better,” Maverick proudly declared. “oh and nice to meet you. I am Maverick.”
Dennis started feeling the blood rush to his face, probably a tomato by now. Oh god why are you saying it so? He called from across the bond. After a brief silence, Maverick added awkwardly, “But you knew that already.”
Luckily for Dennis, Dr Robby looked just as flustered—worry gone from his eyes, and now wet from relief. Leana jumped half onto the bed, her front paws resting on the edge. Her nose only a few centimetres away from Maverick as she sniffed him, then smiled dopey at him.
“Nice to officially make your acquaintance,” she said.
Dennis couldn’t help but feel his face smile at her. God, he was down bad for these two old men.
Then on his right Seereya slowly started to move and wander, settling herself in between Dennis’ knees, likewise her nose and face only a few centimetres from Maverick.
“Idiots, the both of you,” Dr Abbott said teasingly.
Both Dennis and Michael scoffed, leaning back, flustered, maverick jumping back out from between the two. “okay, back to work,” he said slapping his hands on his thighs , then pointing at Jack. “And you need to go home and sleep in an actual bed.”
“Fine, but mine or yours?” Jack joked to Michael, giving a cheeky wink to Dennis.
Yeah that just made his heart spike on the traitorous monitor- a fact both attendings definitely noticed. Omg I should have died.
Before he could hide under his blankets forever, Michael looked at him. “When you are feeling better, I want you back on the floor. Best way to bounce back is to get right back in there.”
And like he couldn’t help himself “yes, sir”. Which earned him a laugh from Jack and a faint blush from Michael. Maybe there is a chance for hope after all, Maverick thought.
Yeah. Looking forward to it.