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Dennis stared at the board. He wasn’t even reading any of it. He didn’t know if he could. The thought of making his eyes move back and forth and putting letters together to form words sounded exhausting. He was pretty sure he could fall asleep like this, eyes wide open and standing in the middle of Central. It had been a rough shift to say the least. They were short-staffed thanks to a nasty wave of C. diff that had taken out about half their nurses and doctors. Mohan had gone home sick a few hours ago and by the look of McKay, she was next.
“Just pick one,” Dana said, not looking up from whatever form was in her hand. Her glasses were balancing precariously on the end of her nose. She was in no mood for any bullshit. Not like she ever was.
“Right. Sorry.” Dennis rubbed his face briefly before looking back up at the board. There was only an hour left of his shift and he was in desperate need of an easy case. Chest infection? No. Uncontrollable vomiting? Definitely not. Dana was right. He needed to decide fast. It wasn’t like a case was going to drop into his lap.
“I’ve got a 22-year-old male experiencing severe psychosis after consuming an unknown substance.” The EMT’s voice rang out through the ED along with the sounds of shouting and a gurney rolling.
“Dr. Whitaker,” Robby called, seemingly appearing out of thin air. He stuck his hand under a sanitizer dispenser and pointed at him with the other. “You want to jump on this with me?”
Dennis blinked. “Y-yeah,” he stammered, pushing away from the central desk. Truthfully, it was the last case he wanted to be on but he couldn’t say no to Robby. It was always nice having him supervise and his calm demeanor was soothing in such a crazy place. They jogged toward the gurney and found a young man with blonde hair laying limp on it. His eyes were wide and unfocused and his pale skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.
“Do we have a name?” Robby asked, moving to the other side of the gurney. A female EMT held up a battered wallet.
“Jamie Kerr,” she said. “He’s a college student.”
“Could be an overdose,” Dennis said, more to himself.
“We can assess that once we get him to a room.” Robby looked up. “Dana, what’s open?”
“Central Seven,” she answered, a phone receiver to her ear. Robby waved at her and steered the gurney in the right direction.
“Jamie, do you know what day it is?” Robby asked as Dennis shined a light in the patient’s eyes.
“Pupils reactive.” Thank God. That didn’t change the fact that they were completely blown though. Jamie’s head lolled in Robby’s direction.
“I’m not telling you. You’ll give my veins to the wolves.”
Robby raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything.
“Heart rate’s 120,” the female EMT’s said. “He wouldn’t let us get a BP.”
“Great,” Robby muttered. “Let’s get him moved onto the bed on three. One, two, three.”
Jamie was completely limp in their arms. Honestly, Dennis preferred it that way. Transporting patients was much harder when they were kicking and scratching.
“Here.” The male EMT handed Robby a syringe. “Five milligrams of Versed.” He shrugged. “We were going to give it to him but he calmed down once he saw the needle.”
“Huh,” Robby said. “Normally you get the opposite effect.” He looked down at the patient. “You made the right choice, Jamie.”
Jamie just stared. Jesus, those pupils were huge. He was calm though, which was a good sign. Maybe it was something easy, like a small dose of LSD. That would be amazing. Obviously not for Jamie, who was probably going through a drug-induced ordeal, but great for his doctor, who wanted to shower and watch Great British Bake Off with his roommate.
“Dr. Whitaker?” Robby prompted. He had an amused grin on his face like he knew exactly what his resident was thinking. “What are our next steps?”
Dennis jumped and realized he’d been standing still for too long. “Uh he’s tachy,” he said, rushing to pull out supplies. “Let’s get a repeat heart rate and the rest of vitals since he’s calmer now.”
“Sounds good.” Robby leaned against the bed, keeping the syringe out of sight. He nodded at the EMTs as they filtered out of the room. “What are you thinking?”
Dennis looked up from untangling the BP cuff. A nurse usually did this but they were short staffed and needed vitals ASAP. “It’s too early to tell,” he admitted. “But with pupils like those-” He suppressed a shudder as soon as he caught sight of Jamie staring again. His eyes were like black voids. It was really fucking creepy. “-Could be illicit substances.” He cleared his throat and moved closer to Jamie even though he really, really didn’t want to. “Mr. Kerr, did you take anything before coming here?” Dennis’s stomach clenched at his blank stare. “Any pills or-or powders.” He looked down at Jamie’s twitching hands nervously.
“You have eyes,” he said seriously. He sat up slightly, which made Dennis flinch back. “Don’t take mine.”
“We weren’t planning on it,” Robby said helpfully. He made a go-ahead gesture and Dennis continued his work with setting up the BP cuff.
“Ok, Jamie. I’m going to put this around your arm.” He undid the velcro very slowly. The EMT’s had said he’d calmed down but they must’ve not noticed the shaking or the erratic breathing. Dennis moved slowly, looping the cuff around Jamie’s sweaty but muscular bicep. “It’s going to squeeze you for a few seconds and then I’ll know a little bit more on how to help you.”
Dennis didn’t hear any protest. In fact, Jamie smiled, in a horror movie villain kind of way where his lips stretched too wide. Dennis tried to smile back. It was hard to do with the cold tingling on the back of his neck. He turned on the machine and focused on the loading screen. He probably should’ve been more focused on the patient. Maybe then he would’ve dodged the punch to the face.
He didn’t process the fact that he’d been punched until he was falling sideways. He didn’t process the fact that he was falling until his head hit a cart so hard he saw stars.
And then he passed out.
He felt like he’d only had his eyes closed for a second before he felt someone rubbing his chest, hard. He groaned and cracked one eye. It was Robby. Why was he doing that? It hurt like hell. His head also hurt like hell. Why was that? What was he doing with Robby in the first place? The questions made Dennis’s head hurt even more.
“Stop it,” he said, weakly, batting Robby’s hands away. Robby leaned back and sighed in relief. It was only then that Dennis realized he was fully in Robby’s arms. He could feel his hand in the back of his neck literally cradling him. In spite of the situation, Dennis couldn’t help but blush. Especially when he noticed half the ED in the room.
Donnie and Jesse were restraining the patient while he screamed and thrashed. The sound was an unwelcome addition to the ringing in Dennis’s ears. McKay was frantically drawing up another dose of Versed.
“Are you ok?” Robby asked, moving to block Dennis’s view of the room. Dennis blinked. He couldn’t focus; why couldn’t he focus? He was a doctor, for God’s sake. He brought his hand up to the side of his head and winced. It felt raw to the touch. There was blood on his hands.
“Am I bleeding?” he slurred. Nothing made sense. It was like he was watching a movie with every other shot missing.
“Jesus Christ.” Dana’s voice was like a gunshot in the room. “What the hell happened in here?”
“Altered patient attacked Whittaker,” Robby replied, not taking his eyes off Dennis.
“Sir, you’re going to feel a small poke here,” McKay said over the chaos.
“Well get him out of here,” Dana ordered. Dennis was seeing two of her.
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do?” Robby snapped. “He was unresponsive.” He tried to smile reassuringly at Dennis but it looked pained. “Let’s go.”
“What about the patient?” Dennis asks, grimacing when Robby sat him up. It made the room spin in a way that made him feel like he’d caught the C. diff. “We haven’t even gotten his…” He trailed off. He couldn’t remember the word. “Vitals.”
“We can worry about that later.” Robby patted his shoulder. “Let’s just get you into a different room.” He tried to stand up and immediately fell forward, barely catching himself on the bed. He blinked, looking as dizzy as Dennis felt. Dennis’s eyes drifted and found a syringe sticking out of Robby’s shoulder.
“What’s that?” Dennis asked, pointing. There was medicine in there. God, what was it called? Robby looked at his shoulder and swore under his breath.
“What?” Dana asked, her arms outstretched like she was prepared to catch him. Robby rolled his eyes and pulled out the needle.
“Looks like our patient stuck me with his own Versed,” he said in a tight voice. Versed! That’s what it was. Why couldn’t Dennis remember anything? And why was he on the floor? Right, he’d been punched. At least he could remember one thing.
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Dana said, rubbing her temples like she was the one with a killer headache. She stuck her head out of the room and waved someone over. “Santos. Come help me with-”
“Got it.” Trinity! Dennis was so happy to see her. She remembered things all the time, unlike him. She squeezed her way into the room past all the other bodies and looked at the bed, expecting to help with a patient. Then she noticed Robby leaning heavily on the frame and Dennis on the floor.
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah, ‘oh shit,’” Dana said irritably. “Grab him and start a chart. West 13 is open.”
“Oh my God,” Trinity sighed. She grabbed Dennis’s arm and hauled him upright with surprising strength. His head swam and everything tilted slightly sideways. Trinity wrapped an arm tighter around him as he stumbled.
“What’s my name?” she asked as soon as they were out of the room.
“Trin.”
“What’s your name?”
Dennis squinted at the bright lights of the ED. She was asking too many questions. “Huckleberry.”
Trinity smiled. “Close enough.” She reached into her breast pocket and shined a flashlight in his eyes like he’d been doing only a minute ago. Dennis tried to pull away from her but she had an iron grip.
“Stop,” he complained. “It’s too bright.”
“Pupils sluggish.” Her mouth was tight.
“I feel sluggish,” he said grumpily.
That got a laugh out of her. “I bet,” she said, opening the door to another room. She left the lights off (thank God) and guided Dennis to the bed. “Seriously, I can’t leave you alone for two seconds.” She pulled on a pair of gloves and grabbed a stool. “What happened?”
“Impaired patient,” Dennis explained, closing his eyes. The brain fog was clearing a bit but his head was still throbbing. “He just snapped.”
Trinity tsked softly. “How do you feel now?” She laid some gauze on the bed along with a pan and saline. “Any dizziness, nausea, confusion?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.”
“Awesome,” she said in a monotone voice. She scooted the stool closure and gestured at him. “Lift your hand. Let me see.”
Dennis didn’t even remember covering the wound with his hand. Applying pressure was just second nature. He obeyed and Trinity made a face. That wasn’t good. “Jesus, what did you hit?” she asked, leaning in closer to get a better look.
“A cart.” The whole thing felt more embarrassing now that he was able to remember more of it. It had taken a single punch to completely take him down. He used to get in unwilling boxing matches with his brothers all the time; how was he so weak now? Maybe he’d lost his touch. City life must have made him soft.
“Yikes.” She moved his head gently to get all the angles of the cut. “You’ll probably have to get a stitch or two or else you’ll end up with a crazy scar.”
Dennis sighed. He tried to stay still as she began flushing the cut with saline. It stung but he knew they wouldn’t use any anesthetic until it was time for stitches. There was no point when it would wear off by the time someone was available for the procedure. Besides, he could take it. “So I’m a patient now?” he asked miserably.
“Oh, most definitely.” She softly probed the cut with the end of a metal thing he couldn’t see. He grimaced. “I’ll order a head CT too.” Her brow furrowed in concentration.
“Why?” He sounded whiny, even to himself. He couldn’t help it. This whole situation was enough of a hassle. They didn’t need to add CT drama on top of it. Trinity stopped what she was doing.
“Are you serious?” she demanded. “You can barely walk and—wait.” She moved his head so that they were looking at each other. “Did you lose consciousness?”
Dennis was tempted to lie to her. Waiting hours for a CT in the loud, bright ED sounded like a nightmare. “Only for a few seconds.”
Trinity shook her head and resumed cleaning the wound. “You’re killing me, Huckleberry.” She glanced at him and the concern was clear in her eyes. “I don’t want to take any risks here,” she said quietly, her voice full of meaning. They held each other’s gaze for a few moments and Dennis’s stomach filled with guilt. She looked so worried. He didn’t want her to worry about him.
“I’ll be fine,” he promised. Then, he put a tentative hand on her arm. It was a risk but he could blame it on the extremely likely concussion. She didn’t smack him away so it must have worked.
“Good.” She pressed the gauze to his head. “Someone needs to do the dishes tonight and it’s not going to be me.”
“You guys got room for one more?” Donnie propped open the door with his foot and pushed in a wheelchair holding a very irritated Robby.
“What happened?” Trinity craned her neck so she could look at him without lifting her hands off the gauze.
“Accidental injection of an unknown amount of Versed.” Donnie locked the brakes on the wheelchair. “Same patient.”
“Jesus, who is this guy?” Trinity asked. “Some kind of MMA fighter?”
“It didn’t say on his chart,” Dennis said absently. He then realized that he’d never even started a chart.
Trinity looked at him sideways. “That wasn’t a real question, Huck,” she said with a small smile on her face. Donnie parked the wheelchair and stepped out of the room. Trinity nodded at Robby as the door shut. “How you feeling?”
“Like I got stuck with a sedative,” Robby replied, rubbing his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself. “Don’t worry about me. Finish up with Whitaker.” He’d barely gotten the words out before Dana appeared in the doorway. “Or not,” he sighed.
“MVC five minutes out.”
Trinity’s jaw dropped. “What about these two?” she asked, jerking her head at them. Dana didn’t look much happier.
“They’ll have to wait.” She crossed her arms. “A car hit a church van, pushed them into some guard rails.”
Trinity sighed. She looked down at Dennis sternly. “I’ll be back,” she promised. She grabbed his hand and pressed it on the gauze. “Keep pressure on it. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Says you.” Dennis hissed as she pushed his hand harder against his head. “You’re probably going to do a solo REBOA again.”
“Again?” Robby asked. Oops. He was supposed to take her risky operation from the Pittfest shooting to the grave. She didn’t acknowledge either of them and left the room quickly. Robby stood to help them before Dana pushed him down with ease.
“Absolutely not.”
“I’m fine,” Robby insisted.
“Imagine the lawsuit,” she scolded. “The hospital putting the lives of patients in the hands of its sedated attending.” She bent down to his level and continued in a softer voice. “I’ve already called Abott. He’ll be here soon.” She straightened and clapped her hands. Dennis grimaced at the noise. “Here’s how this is going to work,” she began. “We need at least one attending on staff which means although Robby can’t work, he needs to be available in some capacity in case things go wrong.”
“I can work-”
“Zip it.” She took a deep breath and pointed at Dennis. “That means I need you to keep him awake, understand?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly. Dennis was pretty sure he understood. It was hard to tell though. Everything had a vaguely fuzzy quality to it. Still, he managed to nod. “Excellent. The Versed is going to make him drowsy but you can’t let him sleep.”
Robby sighed. “I don’t need Dr. Whitaker to-”
“And you.” Dana turned her sharp gaze back to Robby. “You need to keep Whitaker awake also, at least until his CT. He has a head injury.” She glared, waiting for more arguments. None came and she nodded to herself, satisfied. “I’ll check in on you boys as much as I can but I’d cancel any plans tonight.” The authority in her voice was kind of terrifying.
“Thank you, Dana,” Robby said, closing his eyes. She snapped in his face.
“Awake, Robinavitch.” She shut the door softly behind her. Dennis wanted to hug her for that. Robby grumbled underneath his breath and unlocked the wheelchair brakes. He wheeled over to Dennis’s side and looked at him critically, the way he did with all his patients.
“How are you feeling?”
Dennis couldn’t stop the wry smile that spread across his face. “Dana just told you you can’t work.”
Robby put up his hands in defense. “I’m not working,” he insisted. “I’m just asking a coworker how he’s doing after being assaulted by a patient.”
Dennis groaned. He still couldn’t believe that had happened. “Embarrassed mostly,” he admitted. Then he asked hesitantly, “Did I look stupid when I fell?” His ego had taken a bit of a hit (no pun intended) as a result of the incident. He’d been KO'd by a patient who couldn’t even remember his own name.
Robby shrugged. “He caught you by surprise.” Like that was any better. He leaned forward in his wheelchair. “I gotta tell you, that was the cleanest sucker punch I’ve ever seen.”
Dennis perked up a bit. “Really?”
“No.” Robby laughed. “I had a crazy guy in ‘07. He was a heavyweight champion. Almost broke my nose.”
“Jesus.” Dennis stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. “I was in second grade.”
“Wow.” Robby rubbed the back of his neck. He was moving at a fraction of the speed he normally did. “That doesn’t make me feel old at all.”
“You’re not old.” Dennis didn’t know what he was talking about. Everything seemed distant and fuzzy and was still tilted sideways. He wasn’t in a position to be giving accurate opinions on Robby’s age.
Robby snorted. “Thanks.” He then groaned and leaned over so that his head was between his knees.”
“Dizzy?” Dennis asked.
“Yeah. You?”
“Definitely.”
Robby lifted his head at that. His face went back into critical doctor mode. His eyes scanned every inch of Dennis until they landed on the hand pressed to his head. “Your gauze is soaked through.”
Dennis lifted his hand with a grimace and saw that the white cotton had indeed turned completely red. “Scalp lac,” he said miserably. “Bleeds like crazy.”
“That it does.” Robby wheeled himself back so that he could open the drawer behind him and pull out some fresh gauze. He stood up and Dennis sat up a little straighter.
“You’re not supposed to-”
“Calm down, Whitaker.” Robby carefully walked to bed, wobbling slightly, and gestured for Dennis to scoot over. He lowered himself next to Dennis and began rolling up the gauze with expert hands. “It’s about an inch,” he said, completely focused on Dennis’s face.
“What is?” Dennis asked stupidly. His brain was struggling to catch up but he had a feeling it had nothing to do with the concussion.”
“The scalp lac.” Robby reached over and grabbed a glove out of one of the dispensers. Dennis tried to stay still so that they wouldn’t touch. He never realized how narrow hospital beds were before. Robby put on the gloves and began gently prodding at the cut. Dennis tried not to make a face.
“Tender?” Robby asked. Dennis shrugged noncommittally. He could feel Robby’s breath on his face. It was a weird thing to notice. “I’m going to make a wild prediction and guess that you have a pretty severe concussion.”
“What gave it away?” Dennis asked. He kind of meant it. His brain was too fuzzy to realize that he wasn’t acting like himself. If he was, he wouldn’t have let Robby get nearly as close to him.
“Have you had a concussion before?” Robby asked, his voice conversational even though he was slurring a bit.
“Yeah, two.” Dennis closed his eyes. “I had brothers.” Brothers who acted like beating their little brother up was their God given right. He’d never gone to the doctor for any of them though. Why waste money on a co-pay for a little bump on the head? His brain was clearly fine, considering the fact that he’d put himself through med school.
“Mmm.” Robby reached up and peeled the blood soaked gauze off Dennis’s temple and replaced it with a fresh roll. The soft sound of surgical tape being pulled was the only sound in the room. Outside sounded like chaos but West 13 was blissfully quiet. Dennis expected Robby to lift his hand and continue dressing the wound. When he didn’t, he cracked his eyes open. “Dr. Robby?”
Robby was leaning forward, his head resting against the bed rails. Somehow, he was still applying pressure to Dennis’s head. A spike of anxiety shot through Dennis. What if Robby was having a reaction to the Versed? Dennis couldn’t do anything about it in this condition. Should he press the call button? He reached out and shook his attending’s shoulder. Robby’s head shot up and he blinked sleepily.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “The drugs.”
Dennis took the tape from Robby and began applying it himself. “Abbot will be here soon.”
Robby chuckled. “Yeah.” He pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed but his head still drooped. Their knees touched. “He’s never far away.”
Whitaker smiled. “You guys have been friends for a long time?”
“Too long.” Robby shook his head. “He’ll be happy to see me high out of his mind.” As if realizing just how high he was, Robby flopped back against the pillows. He was shoulder to shoulder with Dennis and looked completely out of it. “Talk to me,” he ordered softly. “Dana’s right. I can’t fall asleep.”
“O-ok.” Dennis wracked his altered mind. “My first concussion happened when I was 10.” He looked cautiously at Robby. Neither of them had shared much of their life before the Pitt. It had never been relevant. Robby’s bleary eyes were fixed on his though so he decided to continue. “We had a trampoline in the backyard.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “The thing was so busted up, no nets or pads, but it was the cheapest my mom could find on Facebook Marketplace.” It had still been way too expensive. Dennis’s dad always managed to sneak bitter comments about the purchase into every conversation. “One day my brothers wanted to try triple bouncing me.” He cringed, remembering where this story was going. “I was small for my age and they were all older so I flew.” He rubbed a spot on the back of his neck. “My head hit the railing when I came back down.”
“Jesus,” Robby breathed. He was definitely more awake than he had been a few seconds ago.
“I know,” Dennis agreed. “I can’t believe I didn’t die.” He realized he’d never told anyone about this, except for his mom who wanted to know why there was a giant lump on her son’s head. “I didn’t actually remember any of it.”
“Concussion,” Robby said gravely, as if Dennis didn’t already know. He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Jake’s mom wanted to get him a trampoline when he was young.” His face was sad. “I convinced her not to, much to his annoyance.”
“How is Jake?” Dennis asked. He was too out of it to realize that the question was a mistake. Even in his drugged up state, Robby tensed.
“Fine. We don’t talk much after–” Robby cleared his throat. “Tell me about the other concussion.” His droopy eyes were desperate. Dennis frowned. It almost hurt to think. He couldn’t remember anything useful either, just brief flashes. Someone had been mad at him. And then there was a red dirt bike—oh. He remembered now.
“It was stupid,” he prefaced. Robby perked up a bit which was good for him but bad for Dennis.
“And the trampoline wasn’t?”
Dennis managed to smile. He didn’t know why he was so apprehensive. The concussion was preventing him from thinking that complexly. “I was 14. My brothers and I were trying to do X Game bike tricks.” He frowned. “And I wasn’t wearing a helmet.” Of course he wasn’t. Helmets are for pussies. Are you a pussy, Denny? He’d wanted to show them that they were wrong. His entire life had been one long battle to prove that he was as much of a man as his brothers. He wasn’t a bitch, he wasn’t a pussy, he wasn’t gay. Except, he was. No amount of football or girlfriends could change that. “I hit a wheelie, fell back, and hit my head.”
“I’m sure your doctor was pleased,” Robby said, his beard twitching.
“I didn’t go to the doctor.”
Robby’s eyebrows shot up. “Jesus, Whitaker,” he groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“I know,” Dennis sighed. Things could’ve turned out a lot worse. It was a stupid risk to take but most 14 year olds were stupid enough to take it.
Robby crossed his hands over his stomach and leaned back into the paper-covered pillows “You’re lucky to be as good of a doctor as you are.”
It took Dennis a second to understand the compliment. Warmth bloomed in his stomach. That warmth quickly froze over. “What’s going to happen—with the patient, I mean. And the whole-” He gestured vaguely. It was too hard to string words together. But he knew he was in trouble. He’d allowed himself to be knocked on his ass. He’d allowed his attending to get injected with a sedative. Was that grounds for termination? It couldn’t be, right? This type of thing happened to plenty of other people. Oh God. He couldn’t lose his job, not when he was just starting to feel at home.
“Patient assault?” Robby squinted, thinking through the haze. “We’ll have to fill out a bunch of forms.”
Dennis was exhausted at the thought. Or maybe he was exhausted from the 12 hour shift followed by head trauma. Sleep sounded like heaven. “You’ll probably get out on leave for a few days to recover,” Robby continued.
That woke Dennis up. “A few days,” he yelped. “I can't afford that.”
Robby waved a dismissive hand. “Workman’s comp will make up for your lost wages. Treatment too.”
Dennis sagged in relief, unintentionally leaning against Robby. “Oh, thank God.”
Robby laughed but didn’t pull away. “Don’t worry Whitaker.” He shifted so that the side of Dennis’s face was pressed into his shoulder. Dennis wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. “Jamie should be the one concerned.”
“So I’m not in trouble?”
“You’re not in trouble.”
“Good.” Dennis stared at the ceiling. He wished it would stop spinning. “What do you think Mr. Kerr’s on?”
“Well it’s not LSD,” Robby said. “He was too aggressive.” He glanced at Dennis’s head. “Clearly.”
“Methamphetamine?” Dennis’s voice was starting to slur again. He was so tired. It was a fight to keep his eyes open. He finally understood why Dana has made such a big deal about keeping him awake.
“No. He was too lucid.” Robby frowned. “Bath salts maybe.”
“Maybe,” Dennis repeated. There was shouting outside their door. The MVCs must have arrived. He couldn’t see anyone but he heard gurney wheels squeaking as they raced past. He felt Robby sit up straighter. It must’ve been torture for him, not being able to help. Dennis couldn’t bring himself to worry too much. He was starting to lose his fight to stay awake.
“You’re so warm,” he told Robby without meaning to. Robby stopped craning his neck to see what was going on and looked down.
“Probably a side effect of the Versed.”
“Mm.” Dennis closed his eyes. It was too bright, even though they were in a dark room. Robby patted his face gently.
“You have to be awake for your CT,” he chided, sounding equally exhausted.
“I’m just resting my eyes.”
Dennis heard Robby chuckle. Time got weird after that. He was fading in and out of consciousness. It would’ve been nice except every time he fell blissfully asleep, the pounding in his head woke him up. The next time he woke up, it was to the sound of Abbot’s voice.
“You look like shit,” he said, sounding amused. Dennis cracked an eye open and saw Abbot leaning against the doorway, a backpack slung over his shoulder. He quickly shut it again.
“Thanks.” It was only after Robby spoke that Dennis realized their bodies were fully flush and that Robby had an arm wrapped securely around him.
“Dana told me what happened. How you feeling, brother?”
Robby sighed. “High as a kite.”
Abbot chucked. “I bet.” He walked in and shut the door behind him. “How many migs did he get in you?”
“I don’t know.” Robby rubbed his eyes. “Maybe one.”
Abbot clicked his teeth. “You’re losing your touch, old man.” He was quiet for a moment. “And him?”
Dennis felt Robby’s beard on the top of his head as his attending looked down at him. It didn’t register to Dennos that they were basically cuddling. At work. In a hospital bed.
“Concussion and a scalp lac,” Robby answered. “The patient threw a punch and knocked him into a cart.”
“Ouch.” A monitor from the room next door began beeping. “Is there a reason you’re spooning your resident?”
Robby tensed. Dennis couldn’t understand why. Everything was so distant, like he was watching it unfold from a dusty rearview mirror. He wanted to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes again, hoping he’d be able to drift back off again while they talked. Screw the CT scan. He heard the stool wheels squeak under Abbot’s weight as he sat down.
“I’m keeping an eye on him,” Robby said. He slid his hand so that it rested on Dennis’s back instead of his arm.
“Maybe too close of an eye,” Abbot replied, a thousand different underlying messages in his tone.
Robby sat up slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Robby.”
“Jack.”
Abbot exhaled slowly. The sound of his fingers drumming against his prosthetic leg echoed rhythmically. “It’s no secret that you have an… attachment to this kid.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Robby’s voice lacked any real heat thanks to his drugged state. “He’s a coworker, a competent coworker. That’s all.”
“I work with plenty of competent people,” Abbot argued. “And you don’t see me making heart eyes at Shen.”
“I don’t-”
“Look,” Abbot interrupted. “Now isn’t the time for this conversation.”
Robby huffed. “We don’t need to have a conversation.”
“Let me finish.” Abbot’s voice was sharp. Dennis had never heard them argue like this. They had play fights all the time but nothing that went below surface level. He still couldn't understand what they were talking about but it sounded serious. He opened his eyes again to see Abbot leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was fiddling with a ring on his finger. “I have nothing but love for you,” he said softly. “But you’re kind of an asshole.”
Robby snorted. “Thanks.”
“I mean it.” There wasn’t any malice in Abbot’s face, just desperation, like he was trying to warn his friend. “You don’t have the best track record when it comes to stuff like this.”
Dennis couldn’t see Robby’s face but he knew it probably wasn’t pleased. Abbot continued twisting his ring. It was the only indication that he was nervous. “Be careful with him, ok?” He nodded in Dennis’s direction. Dennis quickly closed his eyes so they didn’t catch him eavesdropping. “You can really fuck things up with him.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Robby said curtly. His shoulder was tense under Dennis’s head. “Now get the fuck out. You have patients.”
Abbot groaned dramatically. “I can’t believe I had to come in early for this.”
“Believe it.” Robby relaxed a bit. “And check on the kid who put us in here, Jamie Kerr. I think he’s on canthiones.”
“On it.”
The door shut behind him and the room was quiet again. Robby took a slow, deep breath. He sounded upset but why? It was getting harder to think through the fog. It didn’t seem fair. Dennis had been doing alright earlier. Was he getting worse? For the first time all day, he began to actually worry about his head injury. He had taken a hard hit. Paired with his long list of symptoms, it was definitely a cause for concern. He could have a fracture or even a brain bleed. As if reading his mind, Robby gently shook him.
“Wake up, Whitaker.”
Dennis pretended to be groggy, which wasn’t hard. He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself away so that his back was pressed up against the bed rails. He needed to put space between them, even if he couldn’t remember why. “Sorry.”
“It’s ok.” Robby moved so that their legs were no longer touching. “How are you feeling?”
“Worse,” Dennis admitted. He couldn’t believe how suddenly everything had hit him. He was in real danger of throwing up and his head was throbbing.
Robby looked sympathetic at least. “The adrenaline must have worn off.”
“What adrenaline?” Dennis asked irritably. He’d been blindsided by the punch. His body hadn’t had any time to release anything before he’d been knocked out. But the human body was anything but logical and there was probably norepinephrine leaking out of his system as they spoke.
“They might keep you here overnight for observation,” Robby said. Dennis groaned. That was just his luck.
“I just want to go home,” he complained, sounding whinier than he meant.
“Me too, kid.”
Abbot had been right: Robby looked like shit. The bags under his eyes stood out against his pale skin and his head was leaning against the bed rails like he couldn’t keep it up on his own. When all of this was over, Dennis would have to ask him what being on Versed was like. Maybe he could write a research paper on it or something.
The door opened abruptly at the noise of the ED filtered into the room. Dennis barely had time to react before the light was flicked on.
“Ow, Trin,” he complained, shielding his eyes.
“Shit. Sorry.” She quickly shut the light back off. Her hair was coming out of its ponytail and her eyes were puffy from exhaustion. That didn’t stop her from glancing at Robby and then sending Dennis an inquisitive look. Dennis would be hearing about this later. He was too out of it to care. He probably wouldn’t even remember most of this. Trinity composed herself and grabbed the wheelchair. “CT time.” She looked over her shoulder. “Dana got you moved up in line.”
“Why?” Dennis asked, a bit grumpily. “I’ll be here all night.”
“Because Dana likes you,” Trinity answered with a fake smile. “For some reason.” She wheeled the wheelchair over to his side of the bed. “I’m stealing this,” she told Robby. “Let’s go.”
“I can walk,” Dennis insisted.
“No, you can’t,” Robby said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving.
Trinity smirked. “Yeah, listen to your attending.” She put the brakes on and offered a hand. “Don’t be a hero, Huckleberry.”
Dennis didn’t have it in him to argue. He let himself be guided into the wheelchair and the movement was enough to make his head spin. Trinity leaned against the handles. “Dana said you can go home if you Uber,” she told Robby conversationally. “If you were going to have an allergic reaction, you would’ve had it by now.”
Robby nodded. “How was the MVC?”
“Abbot’s got it.”
Robby gave her a look. “That’s not what I asked.”
Trinity shrugged and began pushing Dennis out of the room. “Sorry, my hands are tied,” she said over her shoulder. The door to West 13 shut before she could be pressed with any other questions. “Abbot swore me to secrecy,” she whispered to Dennis. “He said Robby would drive himself insane if he knew the details and couldn’t help.”
“Was it bad?” Dennis asked. He wasn’t really paying attention. His focus was still on Robby, or rather the thought of Robby leaving. Dennis really, really didn’t want him to, which was bizarre. If Robby could recover at home, that was exactly where he should be. But Dennis didn’t want to be alone.
“Not as bad as it could’ve been,” Trinity said, interrupting his thought spiral.
They wheeled past the central desk and Dana peered over it. “How you doing, hon?” she called, holding the phone receiver against her chest.
“Fine.” Dennis didn’t even try to make his tone light.
“They did a tox screen on your patient, tested positive for cathinones,” she informed him. “He’s settling down now.”
Robby had been right. Dennis nodded at her gratefully and let himself be wheeled to the elevator.
“Bath salts, huh?” Trinity pressed the button for the third floor, radiology. “Makes sense I guess.” She looked down at him. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m-“
“For real,” she interrupted. “Not whatever strong man shit you’re trying to pull.”
Dennis sighed. He couldn’t lie to Trinity, not in his current state at least. “I’ve been better. Splitting headache, nausea, light sensitivity, the works.”
“So you’re definitely due for a CT.”
Dennis rolled his eyes. “It’s just a concussion.” He knew it was. A CT was just a precaution.
“Don’t fight me on this,” Trinity warned. She sounded serious, which was rare. “I don’t want to deal with Robby if you get a brain bleed and die.”
Dennis frowned. What did that mean? Trinity noticed his confusion and smiled. “Oh, Huckleberry,” she sighed. Instead of an explanation, she wheeled him into radiology and knocked on the second door down the hall. A surprised looking radiologist poked her head out. Trinity flashed her a smile. “Delivery.” She looked down at Dennis. “I’ll come find you after my shift, ok?”
“I’ll be here,” Dennis grumbled. Trinity was about to ruffle his hair but stopped herself at the last second. She wasn’t wearing gloves and there was blood in his curls. The radiologist didn’t give him a second glance, which was a nice change. He cringed at the thought of his medical bills as he laid down to enter the CT machine. Except he wouldn’t have any. It was a workplace injury and would be covered. He sighed in relief as the machine started up.
Ten minutes later, he was being wheeled back to West 13. He was surprised to find Robby still there, slumped over in a chair.
“Robby,” he exclaimed. He let himself be guided back to the bed. “You stayed.”
Robby smiled at his overjoyed tone. “Yeah. I, um-” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I wanted to make sure you were doing ok.”
This made Dennis’s stomach do a weird flip. “Just waiting on my CT,” he said as if they weren’t both doctors.
“Good.” Robby pushed himself out of his chair unsteadily. “Well, even though I wish it was under different circumstances, it was nice spending time with you, Whitaker.” He looked uncharacteristically awkward. “You can text me if there are any complications.”
“Abbot and Shen are both here,” Dennis pointed out.
“I know. Text me.” Robby pushed the door open and nodded. “Get well soon.” He moved aside to let Trinity inside the room. She gave him a once over.
“Leaving so soon?”
He smiled ruefully. “I have a dose of Versed to sleep off.”
“Good luck, Cap.” She mock saluted as he left the room. Then she turned to Dennis. “Suture time.”
Dennis groaned and leaned his head back. “Aren’t you off?” he asked as she pulled the stool over to his side. She handed him a paper cup with a small white pill.
“Here.” She watched him put it in his mouth and handed him another cup full of water. “Ibuprofen. Princess made it specially for you.”
Dennis almost choked on his water. “Princess knows?” he demanded. Now the whole ED was going to hear about his unfortunate situation.
“It wasn’t exactly discrete,” Trinity said, laying out her materials on the bed. “Everyone could hear Robby yelling when it happened.”
“He yelled?”
“Yeah. Sounded super worried too.” Trinity smirked. “Worried enough to wait for you to get out of CT even though he’d been cleared.” She held up a syringe to his temple. “Pinprick and some burning.”
He didn’t even process the needle going in. He was too busy turning over her words in his mind. Robby worried about him. He cared. It was probably the same for all his staff but the thought still made Dennis feel special. Oh God. He was really concussed, wasn’t he? He couldn’t wait to sleep it off and gain his cognition back. Maybe then he’d stop having all these confusing feelings for his boss.
“Hey.” Trinity snapped her fingers in front of his face, the sound muffled by her latex gloves. “Stop thinking so much. You’re going to hurt your brain.”
“I’m fine,” Dennis said for what felt like the millionth time. “Radiology didn’t seem too concerned with my scan.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Trinity loaded the needle and removed the gauze from his head. She frowned at the wound. “You’re definitely going to have a scar.”
“Great.”
She nudged him playfully. “On the bright side, you could go home in a few hours if your results are good.” She grabbed Dennis’s chin and moved his face so that he was looking straight ahead. He saw her pick up tweezers but didn’t feel them as it touched his numb skin. “Hold still,” she warned.
She worked quickly, which was a relief. Even with the anesthetic, the tugging sensation of the sutures was weird. She dressed the wound with equal proficiency and stood back to admire her work. “I have a few charts left,” she said, standing up. “But I’ll stick around until you’re discharged to give you a ride back.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Dennis didn’t want to make her wait hours. He could Uber. The thought of looking at his phone screen long enough to order one made him nauseous.
“It’s fine.” Trinity started cleaning up her mini workstation. “I’ll steal one of Ellis’s nap spots; it’ll be great.”
“Thank you,” Dennis said instead of arguing. He really didn’t have the energy. Trinity gave him a small smile, a real one.
“Just stay away from bath salts, ok?” she teased. “If you get another concussion, I’ll leave your ass here overnight.”
“Noted.”
She left the room, taking care to close the door softly behind her. No one knew how sweet she really was under that hard exterior. Dennis closed his eyes. He was alone, in the ED. That never happened. He was always with a patient or talking with a coworker or running alongside EMTs. Now it was just him and his pulse ox monitor.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He debated ignoring it but curiosity got the better of him. He was glad he’d checked because the message was from Robby.
I hope you’re resting and don’t see this until tomorrow but I wanted to tell you that you’re a hell of a doctor and we’re lucky to have you. Please don’t let this incident scare you off from emergency medicine.
Dennis smiled. It was the second compliment he’d gotten from Robby that day. All rational thought went out the window as he opened his camera and snapped a selfie of his sutures with a thumbs up.
Never
Robby’s typing bubble appeared a few times before he simply hearted the photo. Dennis held his phone against his chest, like a teenage girl with a crush. Crush. Oh no. Dennis closed his eyes again. That was a thought for another day.