Chapter Text
It wasn’t until Robby pulled them aside that Trinity finally considered the contents of the email. As soon as she’d seen it was from Gloria with the trauma counselor cc’d, she’d brushed past it. Irrelevant.
But now here they are– King, Mohan, McKay, Langdon, and Robby– a pretty ill-matched group, she thinks. Robby was there to follow-up with them about the aforementioned email.
The trauma counselor had “recommended to Gloria that a few of the nurses and physicians that worked during the Pittfest mass-casualty attend a nature retreat to foster connection and combat burnout.” Robby reads from his phone. He looks up and pulls his reading glasses down to focus on all of them.
“Apparently it’s paid, at a place they use for corporate retreats about forty-five minutes outside the city.” He nods his head slightly as he restates the details apathetically.
Samira tilts her head, looking perplexed. “Is this because of certain behaviors demonstrated in the talks with the counselor?”
Trinity sighs in her head. She doesn’t really understand why the counselor would have selected her. Langdon or Mohan, sure. They have actual issues.
“It seems that it could be because of the severity of the experience described to the counselor, other factors regarding previous traumatic incidents, plain lack of attendance to the counseling appointments–”
He looks at Trinity and raises his eyebrows on the last part. Her eyes slightly widen and she opens her mouth to speak in defense, but she’s interrupted. Robby puts his hand up in front of him.
“Ah. Just take a look at the email, check your calendars. Gloria can’t force you to do anything, but it’s really in all of our best interest if we all just go along with this and get through it. Okay?”
They all nod. Even amongst residents who rarely have to deal with her, it’s an unspoken fact that Gloria’s a difficult person to please without doing things her way. Unfortunately, so is Robby, meaning they’ve witnessed their fair share of disagreements between the two.
As they all walk off to resume their days, Trinity thinks about what she would’ve even said about not attending the counseling appointments before Robby interrupted her. Kind of a straightforward offense, she just never went.
Throughout the rest of the shift, she finds herself getting worked up over the thought of the retreat. That she’s essentially been assigned group therapy with people who probably have way worse issues than her. Especially Langdon.
She wonders why Dennis wasn’t also assigned to the retreat. At least if he was going, they could spend some time together.
When she finally gets a moment between patients, she runs to the bathroom. While she releases the pressure that’s been building in her bladder for hours, she pulls out her phone and scrolls to the email about the retreat. It’s subject line reads: “ReTREAT Yourself, PTMC!”
While she skims the obnoxiously-flowery language of the email, a text from Robby appears at the top of her screen.
Robby: Hey, kiddo. Is Dennis going to Amy’s for the weekend?
Trinity looks at the date in the top corner of her phone screen next to her dwindling battery, and exhales. It was Friday. And Dennis was, in fact, going to Amy’s. But she doesn’t want to come off like she’s some creep who memorizes Dennis’s schedule.
Trinity: prob idk tho
Robby: Want to come over to mine?
She types a response and deletes it. There’s no kind way to say that she doesn’t really want to hang out with Robby tonight, no fault to him.
What she really wants is for Dennis to stop going over to Amy’s all the time, and for Yolanda to stop ditching her for other plans. For her other coworkers her age to want to hang out with her, classmates from med school to reach out more.
Because who wants to hang out with the guy who’s basically their dad every weekend?
But she does love spending time with Robby. They’re similar. Kindred, Robby once said. So she agrees.
Trinity: sure. i have to meet you there, i have my car
Robby: Ok. Now, get off your phone and get back to work! ;)
God, he texts like an old person.
She washes her hands and goes back out to the floor. Four more hours, she thinks.
Four hours come and go pretty quickly. A few broken legs, a kid with an allergic reaction, a woman with a dislocated shoulder.
Trinity leaves without saying goodbye to Dennis or telling him where she’s going. She hops in her car, and drives off to Robby’s.
She listens to Lizzy McAlpine’s Spring Into Summer on the drive over. She wants to pretend it came up on the radio on its own, but she chose it.
When she arrives, Robby’s beaten her there. He’s always taking some odd shortcut or detour, zipping through alleys on his motorcycle.
She makes her way up the stairs of Robby’s building, and when she exits the stairwell to his floor, she’s met with Robby talking to the older couple that lives next door. Nice people, they’ve met Trinity a few times before, in passing. The wife is a short, outgoing woman. Her husband is a tall, quiet man that nods along as his wife talks. As she approaches, they wave and Robby smiles. He looks about ready to end the conversation.
“Oh, hello, sweetheart! We were just talking with Michael about the hospital that you two work at! Sounds like an awfully stressful job, especially in times like these!” The woman says, grinning.
Trinity nods and chuckles.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a challenging workplace, but– uh– rewarding.” She smiles, talking in her ‘customer service’ voice. Robby notices, appreciates the effort she’s putting in even after a long day.
“Well, we don’t want to keep you. You two have your fun.” The woman says as she ushers her husband towards their door.
As they walk off, Robby and Trinity hear them murmuring to each other.
“Nice family, always like to see them.” Says the man as they cross the threshold to their apartment.
Robby and Trinity turn to each other as soon as they hear the couple’s door click shut, Robby with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
“You want a drink?” Robby proposes.
“Fuck, yes.” She replies.
While Trinity settles herself, Robby grabs drinks. He used to only keep beer, it’s really all he drinks. But Trinity has opened his eyes to the world of girly canned cocktails, specifically Absolut Berry Vodkaritas.
He always tries to keep a case in the fridge for her, no matter how silly it makes him feel to buy such a girly looking drink at the grocery store.
Trinity emerges from her bedroom in a pair of plaid pajama pants and an oversized hoodie. It’s not until Robby puts his glasses on that he realizes it’s his Beers of the Burgh hoodie. Ironic, considering that she doesn’t even drink his craft beers.
“Nice hoodie. Where’d you get it?” He asks sarcastically as he moves toward the couch.
“Some old guy. He’s alright.” She says as she follows.
He picks up the remote as he sits, softly grunting at the stiffness of his knees. “Good Mythical Morning?” He smiles.
Trinity nods as she sits next to him, watching as the screen lights up with their favorite show. They always watch it together, and if they don’t, Robby always texts Trinity about the episode. It’s their thing.
“So–” Robby starts, and Trinity can almost sense that it’s something about work or the retreat, “not keen on the idea of the retreat?”
She groans as she turns her body toward him, starting to tune out the television.
“What I’m not keen on is that hoebag trauma counselor.” She snaps.
“Hey– hey. The trauma counselor’s just doing her job.” He corrects with careful inflection, worried that he’ll strike a nerve.
They pause.
“And always remember that Gloria is the real hoebag.” He says, quietly, like he’s afraid Gloria will hear.
“I kind of see why they chose us for the retreat.” She says in resignation as she looks down and takes a sip from her drink.
“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t go to any of the hospital’s counseling appointments, either.” He tells her sheepishly.
“Really? After all the nagging on me to go?” She questions.
“All my issues aren’t just about one mass casualty. It’s like a culmination. Counseling regarding one won’t fix the whole problem. An R2 like you, on the other hand, could probably get something good out of it.” He says. She wants argue, but he’s probably right.
“We’ll see how it all goes. As long as there’s no stupid trust falls or ropes courses.” Robby says as he leans back into the couch, turning up the volume on Good Mythical Morning.
“Fine.” She sighs as she leans back and puts her feet up on the coffee table.
“And get your feet off my coffee table.” He demands.
—
Trinity’s tires crunch against the gravel of the retreat’s driveway, elusively annoying her by reminding her that she’s no longer in Pittsburgh, and that she’s at this stupid retreat. She’s only brought out of her thoughts when she brakes a bit too hard and is interrupted by her meddling passenger’s hand on her shoulder.
“Hey–hey. Easy on the brakes, kid.” Robby scolds, resting his arm back onto the center console. It took a bit of convincing and three rounds of rock-paper-scissors for Trinity to drive rather than Robby. And still, he’s still skeptical.
“I know how to drive, Robby.” Trinity asserts disgruntledly as she pulls to park next to one of the other cars. She thinks it’s Cassie’s. She’s seen it around.
“Mhm.” Robby nods along, smirking. She scoffs and shifts the car into park.
“Well. Here we are.” She announces with dread. She stares out toward the pavilion in the distance where a few of their coworkers are standing with luggage. Eventually, Robby disturbs the silence with the unclicking of his seatbelt and the universal signal that fathers use to communicate that it’s time to leave.
“Welp.” He grunts, opening the door and placing his hands on his knees as he stands. Trinity follows suit and climbs out of the car, notably more gracefully than Robby.
They both make their way around their sides of the car to the trunk to unload their luggage. Until now, Trinity hadn’t gotten a good look at Robby’s entire outfit. An objectively hideous outdoor hat, some band shirt from the 90s, cargo shorts, and the crown jewel of the collection:
“Oh my god. What the fuck are those?” She gasps while looking down at his feet. Robby looks down at the large, chunky, brown shoes on his feet.
“My hiking shoes! What’s wrong with them?” He demands.
“They look like fat bricks, Rob.” She laughs.
“Don’t call me that. Address me with some goddamn respect.” He snickers.
“My bad, Big Mike.” She smiles.
“All good, Lil Trin.” He replies as he pulls out their suitcases. He’s absolutely beaming, so proud that he matched her wit.
“It’s only funny when I do it, Robby.” She states with disgust, rolling her eyes. Robby pauses and stutters while trying to formulate an equally snappy response.
Finally he just replies with, “Whatever, c’mon.” He starts toward the pavilion authoritatively, hoping that Trinity follows behind. He’s always subconsciously worried that he’ll lose his charm. That she won’t need him anymore.
But he doesn’t brood on it once he hears the sound of her shoes crunching the gravel as she walks behind him.
When they walk up to the pavilion, Trinity mentally evaluates their coworkers. They’re all seated at a few beat-up picnic tables. They, unlike Robby and Trinity, seem fairly neutral on being there.
Except for Mel, weaving a friendship bracelet off the handle of her water bottle. She seems quite thrilled, Trinity thinks.
Samira and Cassie are sitting together, making small talk about the books they chose to bring with them on the trip. Cheesy romances, she assumes.
And then there’s Langdon. He sits across from Mel, facing the parking lot. He waves and smiles when he sees Robby and Trinity approach. Robby nods and half-smiles. Trinity just stares. Eventually, he breaks the eye contact and returns his focus to Mel’s bracelet.
Not long after Robby and Trinity get to the pavilion, a few people in matching tan polos walk towards their group. They all look obnoxiously cheerful. One of them steps further forward than the others, her name tag reads ‘Erin - Director of Events’.
“Hello there, folks! We are the staff here at this lovely preserve and we hear you’re doctors at a hospital in Pittsburgh!” They all nod enthusiastically in confirmation.
“The point of this retreat is to do some exercises that build connections and encourage you guys to– to transcend the limitations and struggles of your profession and bond as humans in nature.”
Samira, Mel, Cassie, and Langdon are nodding along excitedly. Robby and Trinity, not so much. They’re more so staring judgementally. Erin remains unphased and continues speaking.
“Your staff counselor has worked with us to match you guys up into pairs that you’ll be doing exercises with throughout the retreat. This could be based on similar interests, previously existing workplace friendships, or even somewhat random. You’ll also be sharing a bunk bed with this person.”
Robby groans quietly, he’s sincerely shocked that they make grown adults sleep in bunk beds.
“Okay– the pairs are as follows: Frank Langdon and Samira Mohan–”
Trinity and Robby both sigh in relief that they’re not paired with Langdon.
“Michael Robinavitch and Trinity Santos, and Melissa King and Cassie McKay. If you’ll follow us over by the lake, we’ll show you to the cabin you’ll be staying in!”
Erin and the other two staffers follow start off the trail that runs next to the lake.
They all fall into a disorganized line and follow behind.
“Nice shoes, Robby! Mine look just like them!” Mel exclaims, pointing to her equally dorky hiking shoes. Trinity cackles behind them and Robby turns around to warn her.
“Watch it, bud.” He says in a false-threatening tone, grinning.
The cabin is a fairly small building with a rustic stone base, wooden oak walls, and a little porch with two rocking chairs looking out on the lake.
Robby’s eyes light up when he sees it. He’s always wanted to take a camping trip, or something like that to get away from work. Secretly, he’s a bit excited by the idea of them fishing for one of the exercises. He’s always dreamed of catching a fish and cooking it himself.
The interior is cozy, a few clunky wooden bunk beds, and the world’s smallest AC unit on the window furthest from the beds.
“Here we are, everyone! Your hospital break room away from home!” Erin exclaims. They all collectively sigh, the magic just slightly dampened.
“Go ahead and decide with your retreat partner who will be top bunk and who will be bottom bunk, and we’ll give you guys some time to get settled in!” She smiles as she exits the cabin.
Trinity and Robby turn towards each other, locking eyes. Robby points at one of the bunk beds and Trinity nods in agreement. They both bolt towards the bottom bunk, Robby trying to shove Trinity out of the way.
“Oh my god, Robby. Are you seriously shoving people over a bunk bed?” Asks McKay.
“I have back problems!” Robby shouts as he hurdles toward the bed. The rest of their coworkers are laughing as they watch their charade.
Astonishingly, Trinity catches up and lands on the bottom mattress, rolling across the sheets. She’s closely followed by Robby, who rolls onto the mattress, and straight into Trinity.
“Oh. O-ooh.” Samira, Cassie, Frank, and Mel, smiles fading as they watch Robby crash into Trinity, shoving her into the wall.
After a long pause, Trinity speaks. “Robby. Please make your nasty hiking shoes stop touching my leg. Right now.”
“Okay, heard.” Robby says as he climbs out from the bed, looking down at his feet in shame.
“I’ll– I’ll take the top bunk.” He says in resignation as Trinity chuckles in victory. Everyone else resumes unpacking their bags and settling as Robby climbs up to the top of the bed.