Work Text:
Dennis is going to tie Robby to the bed when they get home, he swears.
Which, isn’t how he meant that to come out. Doesn’t mean he isn’t going to do it, though. They have restraints, and he’s fairly certain they’re already on the bed, he could do it. No, screw that, he is going to do it. He’s going to take that man home and strap him to the bed. Isn’t going to let him up for at least forty-eight hours. Is going to force-feed him Tylenol and chicken noodle soup, too.
Cause his stubborn, bullheaded boyfriend is working with a fever.
Noticed it this morning, when he woke up sweating from the amount of heat Robby was throwing off. Robby, who usually runs on the cool side of warm, was generating enough heat to start a fire. He’d tried, when he realized he was getting sick, to get him to stay home. But he insisted he was fine, that he could work. Got lives to save. So he’d come to work. And has been working like everything’s normal, despite clearly running a fever. And the worst part, the worst part is that Dennis can’t even do anything about it. Can’t show too much worry, can’t hover, can’t stand next to him menacingly until he at least takes some meds and has some tea. Because they still aren’t, out yet.
Their relationship isn’t exactly public knowledge. Dana knows, because as much as she calls him Bloodhound, she’s the real one. It’s impossible to hide things from her. And Trinity knows, because Dennis had too many shots of tequila while watching reality TV one night and told her. After she made sure that there was no coercion and that there was nothing shady going on and that Dennis was happy, she’d been surprisingly cool with it. If you count threatening to cut off Robby’s dick, cool with it. Which, it could have been worse, so he does. And Abbot knows, because of an unfortunate incident involving him using his spare key to come over to Robby’s with no warning while Dennis was over. An incident they all swore never to talk about again.
Other than that? No one knows. And it’s been nice. Fun, not having everyone know. Because he isn’t stupid, he knows what’s going to happen when they come clean. Knows they’ll be comments, looks. Knows he might have to go on the night shift. Knows people are going to look at Robby like he’s doing something wrong, will look at Dennis like he’s sleeping his way to the top. Even though they got together while Robby was on sabbatical and not technically his boss. Even though it happened months after Robby wrote the letter of recommendation that got him his residency. They know how it’ll look, so they decided not to deal with it until it became clear that this was going to be something that was gonna last.
They have plans to go to HR next week, on their one-year anniversary. Paper is one year right, Robby had joked, how about some HR paperwork, does that count? Remembers responding, that’s for wedding anniversaries, dork. Robby had only hummed back, a thoughtful look on his face. Dennis has spent the last three weeks since then not thinking too hard about that look. Which is to say he’s thought of it every chance he’s gotten. But that isn’t the point, the point is that his boyfriend is going to pass out from dehydration, and he can’t do anything but watch it happen. Which leads him back to his original thought.
He’s going to tie Robby to the bed when they get home, he swears.
“Feeling okay, Dr. Robby?” he asks as he approaches where Robby’s leaning against the hub desk.
“This is the fifth time you’ve asked me that, Dr. Whitaker.”
Which isn’t really an answer, he can’t help but notice.
“But you are? Feeling okay?”
“As good as I was when you asked me an hour ago,” Robby lowers his voice, “why the sudden interest in how I’m feeling?”
“I always care about how you’re feeling.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” decides to hit fuck it, “you’re not though.”
“Oh, I’m not?”
“You have a fever.”
“I don’t?”
“You do. You shouldn’t be here sick. Call Al-Hashimi, you know she’d come in on her day off if you needed her to cover for you. Go home, rest, I’ll make you soup later.”
“I’m not sick? I feel fine.”
And he wants to believe him, he does. Because he sounds genuinely confused, like he doesn’t understand why Dennis thinks he’s sick. Except he can see him. Can see the flushed cheeks, the way he keeps shivering despite being in his hoodie, despite the fact it isn’t cold in the ED. Knows he has a fever, knows he probably feels like shit right now. And it hurts, a little, that he won’t just admit it. Because he thought they were past this, the pretending to be okay when they aren’t thing. Clearly not, and that hurts.
“You have a fever. Please, go home.”
“I’m not sick. I wouldn’t be here if I was. I’m stubborn, not an idiot.”
Robby spins on his heel, no doubt to storm away. But something about the change in position doesn’t sit right with his illness-ridden body. He turns, sways, and Dennis has just enough time to get his arms under his armpits before he collapses. Is lucky, that Dennis is as strong as he is because otherwise they’d both have hit the ground. Hard. As it is, they don’t because Dennis takes his weight. It’s not easy, Robby’s bigger than him, but he does it. Manages to get them both to the ground without anyone braining themselves on the desk. Small miracle.
“Need some help over here,” he calls, hears footsteps come running
“Jesus Christ, what happened?” Dana demands, shouting for a gurney.
“I think he has a fever.”
Langdon appears beside him, along with Donnie and Jesse. Princess and Perlah arrive with a gurney, and between all of them, they get Robby off the floor and on the way to North 6. Princess and Perlah bring ice packs, the rest of them start prepping to lower the fever. Figuring out what’s causing it can wait. What matters is getting it down. Dennis lays packs on his groin, Langdon on his wrists, Jesse the sides of his neck, Donnie tucks some into his armpits. Dennis takes the last one, moves to his head. Places it gently on his forehead.
“Temps 104,” Dana informs them, “BP 110/80, pulse is 84, sats at 97 on room air.”
“84?” Langdon repeats, looking to the monitor.
“What it says.”
“Relative bradycardia,” Dennis and Langdon say at the same time.
“I wonder if he started any new medications lately."
“He started a new blood pressure med about a week ago,” Dennis says, doesn’t even think that it’s weird that he’d know that until everyone turns to look at him, “He, he mentioned it.”
Dana smirks at him from behind everyone else, winks when he makes eye contact. He looks away, back down to Robby. Realizes that it fits. Drug fever. An adverse reaction to his new medication. No wonder he sounded so confused earlier. He didn’t feel sick because he wasn’t, isn’t. Has a fever, yes, but not because of an infection. Just a weird, fluke thing. Holds the ice pack to his head, is glad that no one seems to find him doing it odd. At least he can do this without it seeming suspicious. Robby shifts on the bed, and they all look, wait for him to wake up. His eyes flutter open, and he smiles up at Dennis. Tilts his chin until he can press his lips to the inside of his wrist, where it hovers over his face.
“Mmm, morning sweetheart,” he hums, smile not dropping.
Dennis freezes, body going rigid. Blinks down at him because he’s afraid to look up. Knows they aren’t alone in here. Knows there’s no way everyone didn’t see that. Dana, no help, snorts from across the room. Looks up from under his lashes, just a little. Princess and Perlah both look like Christmas came early. Donnie has his mouth half open, Langdon has an eyebrow quirked, Jesse looks unsurprised. Looks back down at Robby, has no idea how to respond. Takes away the ice pack, just to have something to do.
“Sweetheart? Is everything okay? You look upset.”
“I’m okay.”
“You look upset, don’t be upset,” Robby reaches up a hand to pat uncoordinated at his face.
“I’m not upset, it’s okay.”
Robby looks around the room, for the first time seeming to see where they are, who else is there, “Hurt? Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not hurt,” puts a hand on Robby’s chest when he tries to sit up, “No, stay lying down. I’m not hurt, baby, you are.”
Hears Princess make a sound like she choked on her own spit. Only then does he realize he called Robby baby. Oops. All well, the cat was already out of the bag, he’s pretty sure. What’s one more thing. Isn’t sure how Robby’s going to feel, when word gets around that Dennis calls him baby. But that’s not something to worry about now. No, now it’s time to worry about the still too high fever and the fact that Robby’s got himself worked up thinking that Dennis is hurt. The rest can wait.
“You need to lie down, let the ice packs work, okay?”
“Okay?”
There’s a poke to his chest to accompany the question.
“I promise, I’m okay. But you aren’t.”
“Stay?”
“Yeah, I’ll stay.”
“Love you,” Robby mumbles, sounding like he’s going to fall asleep.
“Love you too,” Dennis says back, because he isn’t going to not, no matter who’s there to hear it.
Robby settles then, relaxes back into the bed, eyes slipping closed. Knows he must be tired, with a fever that high. Especially since he hasn’t stopped moving until now. Brings a hand up, without thinking, brushes his sweaty hair back from his forehead. Remembers only after he’s done it that they still aren’t alone. Shit. Looks back up, wills his face not to turn red even though it really, really wants to. Perlah and Princess both have expressions on their face he’s only seen people make at puppies. Or babies. Like it’s just so precious. Donnie, Langdon, and Jesse all look varying flavors of gobsmacked. Dana, in contrast, looks like she’s about to sprain something trying not to burst into laughter.
“It’s not what it looks like?” He tries, knowing he doesn’t sound at all convincing.
Dana makes a sound between a snort and a scoff. Princess and Perlah both shoot him looks clearly meant to mean bitch, please. Donnie and Jesse only raise an eyebrow each, at the exact same time. Langdon makes a face he thinks is supposed to convey really that’s what you’re going with? Yeah, he knew that wasn’t gonna work. But hey, can’t blame a guy for trying.
“Alright,” Dana announces, taking mercy on him, “Show’s over. Back to work.”
Perlah and Princess both object, clearly wanting to get all the details. He sends out a prayer to a God he’s sure doesn’t give a fuck about him to not let them find Trinity. Because he knows for a fact she’s been wanting to gossip about this for months, and will jump on the opportunity to do so with the enthusiasm of a dog with a bone. Has already accepted that everyone is going to know about everything that they’ve seen in here before the end of the shift, but the last thing they need is Santos adding to it. Because she will add to the rumors, not in a way that will hurt them with HR, he knows she’d never do that to him. But he also knows she will be all too eager to tell the story about the time she walked in on Robby in their kitchen in his underwear because she was supposed to be out of town another night.
Even Donnie, Langdon, and Jesse object to being thrown out. Which makes him shake his head. Because he knows the look on Donnie’s face. Knows he’s going to go straight to Ahmad, and they’ll be a betting pool up and running before Robby’s even woken back up. Wonders what the categories will be. Who asked who out, maybe. How long they’ve been together, probably. Who said I love you first, a likely one. Prays that it’s nothing embarrassing. Please, God, if you’re there, no bets about my sex life, please.
“No buts, out,” Dana commands.
And because everyone knows you don’t mess with the charge nurse, they listen this time. Princess and Perlah rush out the door, giddy smiles on their faces. Hears them holler for Trinity and groans. Donnie and Jesse file out behind them, both whispering to each other. Yeah, the betting pool is definitely happening. God, if you’re there, seriously, be cool about this, please, I’m begging you. Langdon lingers in the door frame, and Dennis offers an unsure smile. He looks between Robby and Dennis for a second before speaking.
“I’ll take over your patients.”
That wasn’t what he was expecting at all.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s okay. It’ll let you spend time in here without feeling guilty.”
“Thank you,” and he hopes his tone sounds as genuinely grateful as he is.
“You’d do it for me.”
And leaves before Dennis can even respond that yes, he would. If, heaven forbid, something happened to Mel and Langdon needed to be with her, Dennis would happily take over his patients so he could do it without feeling guilty. Because they’re... friends? Something like that. Brought together by their mutual affection for the same person. Even Santos hangs out with him for Mel, which is saying something since she still finds him annoying more often than she doesn’t. No longer outright hates him, not after he’d thanked her, really thanked her, for what she did. For getting him the help he needed, for saving his life.
“Monitor him for us, kid. Call me if you need anything,” Dana jerks her head to the call button by the bed, before leaving too.
And then it’s just him and Robby. Checks his temperature, 103 now. Good, it’s coming down. Brushes the damp hair from his forehead. Leans in to press a kiss to it because he doesn’t have to worry about being seen anymore. Knows that as he stands here, word is already making its way through the department. They’ll have to deal with that. Later, they’ll deal with it later. Replaces the ice pack on his head. Starts an IV and fluids. Gives some IV Tylenol too, to help lower the fever more. Sits in the seat by his bedside. Takes his hand in his, careful not to dislodge the ice packs resting there. Plays with his fingers, because it’s really the only thing he can do.
Checks his temperature again after twenty minutes. Prays that between the meds and the packs, they won’t have to put him in an ice bath. 101 and some change. Good, that’s good. Knows the Tylenol won’t be fully kicked in yet, the transfusion having only finished fifteen minutes before. Removes the ice packs, sits in the chair to wait for the meds to finish kicking in. Rests his head on the side of the bed. Watches his chest rise and fall with every breath. Wills his body to relax, for the adrenaline of something being wrong to leave. Repeats he’s okay, he’s okay, he’s okay, over and over until he feels less like he’s going to cry.
Checks again when the meds should be fully working. 99. Lets out a sigh of relief. Has spent the whole day worried, somewhat justifiably, and it’s over now. He’s okay. He’s actually okay. Makes a sound that wants to be a sob, would be if he’d let it. Doesn’t. Because there’s no need, he’s okay. Doesn’t realize how scared he’d been until this moment. Watching him drop like that, catching him. Hadn’t had the time, in the moment, to feel scared. But he had been. It’d been buried under a layer of help, fix, save that comes with that kind of thing. Feels it now, though. The fear. Feels it like a vice around his chest.
Steals the air from his lungs. The fear does. Hates it, for a second. Not the fear, but the caring. Because caring means having something to lose. Means having something that can be taken away. Something that can be ripped from his hands in a flash. Taken from him by something as simple as an adverse reaction to a new medication. By a fever. And for just a second, he hates that he cares. But then Robby snores, just a little, and he takes it back. Because without the caring, without the fear, he wouldn’t have the love either. It’s all worth it, for that.
Hears Robby make what he calls his activation noise, the one he makes when he’s about to wake up from a really good nap. Like a cat that’s been sleeping in a sunbeam. The one that never fails to make him grin. Stands up, takes one of his hands in his. Watches as he opens his eyes, confusion on his face. Tips his head to the side. Feels his heart grow three times bigger in his chest at the way his face lights up when he sees him. Yeah, it’s worth it. One hundred percent worth it. More than one hundred, even. For the way he trusts that everything is okay simply because Dennis is with him.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey, baby, how you feeling?”
“Good,” he rubs a hand over his face, “I had a fever.”
“Sure did.”
“I didn’t notice. I felt fine.”
“Drug fever. That new blood pressure medication, probably. You’ll have to call Dr. Walton about stopping it.”
“You noticed.”
“I notice everything about you,” He says, only half teasing.
Robby smiles at that, and Dennis can’t help it. Falls forward, catches himself with a hand on the bed, by Robby’s head. Bends down enough he can catch his lips in a kiss. Kisses him like he loves him because he does. Kisses him like he isn’t afraid, or rather like the fear is worth it. Kisses him because he’s okay and he can, so he does. Robby makes a choked-off sound in his throat, kisses him back. Wants to kiss him forever, but after a few seconds, Robby pulls back. Dennis tries to chase it, tries to keep it going, but he doesn’t let him.
“Sweetheart, as much as I enjoy this, we’re at work. Someone might see.”
“Let them. They know now anyway.”
“They what?” Robby squawks, flailing to sit up more.
Right, he forgot he wasn’t wholly with it for all that. Probably doesn’t even remember, as high as his fever was. Pulls back enough he can look in Robby’s eyes. And he knows it isn’t funny, knows they’re gonna have to deal with the fallout of everyone finding out the way they did. But he can’t help the laughter that bubbles up at the expression on Robby’s face. And once he starts, he can’t stop. Knows it’s just the adrenaline finally leaving. The literal relief valve on his emotions releasing. Is aware he sounds slightly manic, doesn’t care. Thinks Robby understands, too, if the way his face softens in answer tells him anything. Given the way he doesn’t try to stop him from giggling and just lets it happen, he knows exactly what’s going on.
“Everyone,” he starts, laughter still bubbling up occasionally, “everyone knows by now. Probably. It’s been long enough.”
“Explain?”
“You woke up earlier, after you passed out. You called me sweetheart.”
“I’m guessing we weren’t alone.”
“No.”
“So, everyone knows now.”
“One hundred percent.”
“Fantastic.”
“I also may have called you baby.”
“Okay, probably one of the better pet names to use in front of our coworkers if we’re honest.”
“True. There may also be a betting pool about us now, so prepare yourself for that.”
Robby shakes his head, his own slightly manic sounding laughter spilling out. Dennis doesn’t try to stop his laughter either. Just lets it happen. Knows it’s just him processing. Even joins in, when it shifts from mildly frenzied to something more like genuine amusement. Because it is kinda funny, when you think about it. It’s also kinda nice, that they don’t have to come up with a way to tell everyone now. They’ll have to move up telling HR, should probably do that today if he’s honest. Better to get ahead of it before any rumors make their way up to the ivory tower.
“We should tell HR today,” Dennis says, before he can chicken out.
“I agree. Get ahead of it.”
“My thoughts exactly. You ready for that?”
“Been ready.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Whatever happens next, we've got it. Together?” Robby holds out his hand.
“Together,” He links their fingers.
“Even if there’s a betting pool.”
“Especially if there’s a betting pool.”
There is one, because of course there is. Dennis is just glad none of the questions have to do with his sex life.