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"Fucking asshole!" Trinity cursed at her phone as she stood alone in the ambulance bay. The Lyft driver she ordered had just cancelled on her… and her car was with Dennis.
Dennis wasn't even supposed to go to Amy's tonight, but she called unexpectedly and summoned Dennis to the farm for some… "cattle-related emergency". So he took Trinity's car and left her behind.
It was technically her fault—that is, she hardly put up a fight this time and just groaned in his face before throwing the keys in his hands. In urgent and stressful situations like these, Trinity could hardly bring herself to say no. If sad puppy eyes were an entire person, it would look like Dennis Whitaker.
"What's going on here, Santos?"
Trinity whipped her head over, startled to see Dr. Robby. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder just like she did.
"I, um…" Trinity scoffed and threw her hands in the air in defeat. "Fucking Huckleberry took my car and drove off to Amy's because of an emergency. And then my Lyft cancelled on me."
Robby nodded. "I can offer you a ride," he suggested coolly.
Trinity's stomach dropped. She'd rather wait another thirty minutes for another driver than ride behind a motorcycle with her boss, who didn't even wear a helmet.
Robby laughed after noticing the horror on her face. "Don't worry. I brought my car this time."
The scales tipped, and a free ride easily swayed Trinity's mind. She followed Robby to the parking lot, but kept a few meters of distance from him.
The car radio played softly in the background. Robby was humming and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel along to "Can't Stop." Trinity leaned against the window and looked out into the street. She was just glad Robby wasn't a talker.
"You hungry?" he asked out of nowhere.
Trinity grimaced. "I'm good."
"Come on. My treat."
Free food did sound good right about now. During the span of her shift, she had only consumed a cup of coffee, a snack bar, and a shared ham sandwich with Dennis.
She sighed. She might as well.
Robby took them to an old-fashioned diner named Rocky's. This was my go-to diner while I was doing my residency, he said. As they stepped inside the establishment, the smell of pancake batter and fried food made her stomach grumble.
They sat in a booth where the bright red leather seats were already cracked and torn. Trinity thought back to her childhood, where she would have a bad habit of peeling them as she waited for her food.
The waitress arrived, and she and Robby seemed to know each other. Their conversation was polite, but somewhat playful. Robby ordered a steak and some Parmesan fries for an appetizer. Trinity ordered from their all-day breakfast menu and got pancakes and bacon. She also added a chocolate milkshake at the end.
But after uttering her order, she made brief eye contact with Robby—she suddenly felt like a child. Then again, she might as well indulge in such junk before she loses that luxury (Robby probably already has). When the waitress left, Trinity had the urge to peel the seat.
"How was your day?" Robby asked.
"Fine," she replied coldly. Why the hell would Robby be interested in her day? He was there the whole time; they even shared a few cases.
"You said something about Whitaker ditching you?"
"N-No." Trinity strangely felt offended by the wording. "I mean, I technically—willingly—gave him my keys. She needed him for an emergency… Something about an injured cow? Who was also pregnant…"
Robby scratched below his beard contemplatively. "He's still doing that, huh?"
"Yep," she replied, popping the 'p'. Trinity's fingers fell to the cracks of the seat and didn't even notice herself picking at it. "You can take the boy out of the farm, but the boy will just keep coming back."
"This will always bother you, won't it?"
Something about Robby's tone gave away that even he was getting sick of it, too. Dennis was his subordinate, one of his little ducklings he had to keep in line. The house-sitting plan hardly moved him, and if anything, it only gave Dennis more things to occupy his life with. At the time, if he wasn't at Robby's, he was at Amy's. If he wasn't in either, he was helping out in the Street Team.
The apartment hadn't been cleaner since Dennis started living with Trinity.
"I don't think I'll ever accept it. He's pushing himself too much," Trinity confessed. "When he just started living with me, he used to do this thing where he tried to minimize himself to the smallest possible degree. When he had trash, he'd made sure they could be crumpled up into a ball or squeezed into a tiny box. When I would share food, he'd take the smallest portions. Even when he went to sleep, he'd only rest for a few hours before he got up and started doing chores before our shift. I think he just got so used to a life of impermanence that he thought he couldn't savor what I was actively trying to offer him.
"But, y'know, at some point, he finally got comfortable enough to leave a mess and eat my food." A smile sneaked itself on Trinity's face, but she retracted it before Robby could notice or point it out. "But the apartment is so clean nowadays."
"I get it." Robby nodded slowly. He suddenly shifted the way he sat as he changed his tone. "You two are close friends, though, aren't you? You two are glued at the hip, gossiping and bickering in between cases."
Trinity shrugged. She could do the same with the likes of Dr. McKay or Perlah, but that never meant they were friends—they would just be co-workers. And given how absent Dennis had been outside of work, then possibly, by definition, they were hardly friends.
"You should just tell him how you feel," Robby suggested.
Trinity's eyes widened. "Oh, no, no, no. He will never let me live it down."
Robby huffed out a laugh. "He won't do that."
"Yes, he will," Trinity insisted. "Like, there was this one time, he nearly scared me half to death by protecting me from this wild street cat. He got scratched all over—"
"I remember that one." Robby smiled fondly as if Trinity hadn't almost ripped her hair out from worry. It was possibly one of the very few times in her life that a person bleeding out made her panic.
"Now, he has this whole bit where we walk somewhere together and teases me about a stray cat hiding in a corner." Trinity's voice grew soft and whiny. "He'll then mimic how I sounded to him that night in a trembling, high-pitched voice."
Robby shook as he laughed. "I'll tell you what, Santos, I find these stories of Whitaker being a brat quite amusing."
Trinity furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"Well, during my sabbatical, he was nothing but polite, attentive, and hardworking." Robby relaxed, lying back in his seat. "During the first week, he texted me nonstop about house rules, cleaning supplies, repair tools, etcetera. I just told him to treat the damn place like it was his own for a couple of months. As long as it was standing on all four walls, he could do whatever the hell he wanted with it. That being said, he kept our interactions abrupt and formal—updates about my plants, my mail, and some fixes around my house that I didn't even ask for."
"Yeah, he does that," Trinity commented.
"I found myself wanting to talk about other things, like…" Trinity noticed Robby's face turning slightly pink. "I dunno, himself? The kid just wanted to show me how good a job he was doing around my house."
Trinity sat back and crossed her arms. "Yeah, well, he's a sucker for your praise."
Robby's face got even redder, and Trinity nearly rolled her eyes until Robby decided to change the subject.
"Y'know what? I'll bet you Dennis just wants someone to worry about him. I mean, have you ever bombarded yourself with work so that people will ask about you?"
"Isn't that what you're doing?"
"This isn't about me—"
"It's definitely what you're doing."
Their food was served, minus Robby's steak.
"It's not." Robby took a fry from the basket and nudged it towards Trinity. She took it as a gesture that she could have some. "My point is… Dennis has been through a lot. He isn't shy about it either. He wants people to worry about him. And you're perfect for that. You've got a keen sense of smell and a good heart."
They stop talking for a moment as they eat. Trinity also took the time to absorb what Robby told her. It only took a couple more minutes until Robby's steak was served.
Trinity attempted to check up on Robby—not out of some "savior complex" motive, but just out of courtesy. "So how was your day?"
At first, she thought Robby didn't hear her because of his lack of response, but it simply took him a moment to reply with: "Fine."
Now she understood why Robby felt the need to pry.
"'Fine' as in better than you could've expected, or 'Fine' as in all the horrors of the day were balanced with the good, making it a completely average and equalized day?"
"I like your wording on the latter, so let's just go with that," Robby said as he took another bite of his steak.
Trinity didn't like how he stopped making an effort to look her in the eyes as they spoke. It reminded her so much of how her best friend went from excitedly detailing her days at school to avoiding talking about herself completely.
"Y'know," she said, "I don't think it's any secret by now that I had a best friend who killed herself. Am I right? The Pitt's a small place."
"No, I don't think I've heard that one."
Trinity blushed, although she couldn't tell if Robby was telling the truth or just lying to protect her peace. She picked the latter.
"Well… It manifests like that… 'How was your day?' 'Okay.' 'What did you do all day?' 'Nothing.'"
An amused smile makes its way on Robby's face. "Keen nose."
"Good heart," she echoed, before she took a bite of her pancake.
Robby put his fork and knife down. "You can't know everything that's going on with me. You'll reach my age before I'm even done."
"You don't have to tell me everything. It's not my place. I just… don't want to feel like I didn't try." Then Trinity added, "Dennis is worried about you."
"Nothing new." Robby shrugged. "There's just nothing a therapist can tell me that I don't already know about myself. They just don't move me. Even if you hired the best of the best, they just don't move me."
"It's not exactly the best solution people think it is, huh? People just seem to think it'll get rid of your problems like a repellent." Garcia's comment about Trinity replayed in her mind like a record. It bothered her so much like a thorn, as if Garcia couldn't handle her most obvious workplace secret without wanting Trinity to extinguish it. It unexpectedly brought her lightness when Dennis carried her burdens like he was just carrying another sack of fertilizer. Someday—in any way—she hoped that she could do the same and more for Dennis. "But I think… what will save you will happen outside of a therapy session anyway."
"Your friend?"
She nodded slightly. "Sorta. Like, I'm glad I didn't follow her." For if she did, what would've happened to Dennis Whitaker? "Quite selfish of me, isn't it?"
"I don't think so. Not with the number of lives you've saved," Robby said earnestly.
Trinity allowed herself to smile, even just a little bit.
Robby picked up a fry and pointed it towards Trinity. "You're a wise ass, Trinity Santos. You remind me of Jack, but fiery and younger." He threw the fry in his mouth and chewed. "Fuck, kid, you should be enjoying your youth, not lounging around with an old fart like me."
Trinity snorted. "You invited me."
They returned to eating, and as Trinity finished her meal, she thought about her youth. It's crazy how youth can anchor itself with a person and die with them. No doubt Robby knew what that was like. Losing someone who brought you light, laughter, and inspiration.
But youth wasn't tied to age. It drips from the laughter spilled from telling stories of the past, and it collects into that life-saving antidote that keeps you from jumping off that roof.
As the rest of the night played out, Trinity keeled over from laughter as Robby recounted stories of Jack Abbot from their days as med students—how Abbot got food poisoning during finals season, or the dumb things he used to get up to as a frat boy. There were also stories about Dana and Collins—in the ED, they were an untouchable, fearless duo, but before that, they used to be horrible flirts at bars and scream at spiders.
Trinity even shared some of her own about Dennis—his awful dancing skills, his loud snoring, and his clumsy accidents at clubs. Time slipped like sand, and hours had already passed before they knew it.
As Robby stopped the car in front of Trinity's apartment, she had silently hoped that a night like this could happen again, even if that sounded too good and too awkward to be true.
"Goodnight, kiddo," Robby shouted through the window after Trinity had stepped out of the car.
"Goodnight, duh—doctor Robby." Her heart dropped as she caught herself almost calling him 'dad'.
She watched as Robby drove off, then smacked her forehead multiple times when he was finally gone.
She entered her apartment, and of course, it was empty. She remembered Robby's suggestion and thought, in an ideal world, she had already confronted Dennis about Amy a long time ago and in a very direct manner (just like how she's dealt with other people and problems in the past). But she also thought about how much easier it was to confront someone if you had nothing to lose.
Dinner at Rocky's happened again two weeks later.
Amy drove into the ambulance bay after their shift and picked Dennis up this time. And even though Trinity had her car, she was craving some pancakes.
"He leaves with the urgency of Cinderella quarter before midnight," Robby quipped as he appeared promptly behind Trinity.
She turned around, and right then, an unspoken contract made itself known the moment they made eye contact.
For every night Dennis went to ditch Trinity for another errand at Amy's farm, she and Robby would have dinner together… and talk about Dennis.
"That implies he comes home to the farm where he talks to mice and birds," Trinity added. Robby chuckled at that. "Does that make me the evil stepmother?"
"No, just one of the stepsisters."
"Ah, right, cause you're our boss." Trinity grinned. "You're the evil stepmother who puts Cinderella to work."
Robby held his hands up in the air. "I don't like how scarily fitting this is all becoming…"
"Then Amy must be the fairy godmother!"
At the diner, Trinity ordered the same things as she did last time.
"You have the food palette of a twelve-year-old," Robby muttered as soon as the waitress left with their orders. He got a burger this time, but not the kind Trinity would crave, which would have an overload of cheese and bacon. "As a doctor, you should know what eating that stuff does to your body." Robby feigned the tone of a stern parent.
Trinity shrugged nonchalantly. "Better than smoking or drinking my life away. I'm here for a good time, not a long time."
As they waited for their food, they spoke about work, about friends, and of course, about Dennis. It wasn't gossip, at least, they didn't think it was. It was Trinity recounting "annoying" or embarrassing things he had done around the apartment and in the ED. She liked to groan and moan about it like it was a crime against her existence. It would then transition into her ranting about Dennis' safety and mental well-being regarding his side-quests at Amy's farm or the Street Team. Robby, on the other hand, liked to feel included by doing the same, only instead of harmless annoyance, it was a quiet fondness.
He recounted a story of receiving a phone call from Dennis, hysterically ranting about having watered a fake plant in Robby's bathroom for an entire month. He said that he named it Craig and even spoke and sang to it when he took showers there. He was offended upon realizing it was fake, and said it would be like talking to someone who you didn't realize was wearing AirPods the entire time.
Robby told the tale as if he were in a trance, unaware of his ears, which grew increasingly red as he went on. Trinity felt the urge to bring up the possibility of a crush (coming from either of the parties). But it wasn't her place… both as Dennis' best friend and Robby's subordinate.
It started with Trinity sending Robby memes.
She would risk sending him some during her break just to witness him fish out his glasses, pull his head back, squint, and read aloud the photo she just sent. She would always burst out laughing watching him do that.
Trinity:
Us.
Robby:
👍
It then evolved into pranks in the ED. Sometimes it was shooting gloves, other times it was faking and accusing each other of farting. Neither of them was shy about it either. When Victoria had worriedly warned Trinity not to hide some of her "100 little toy babies" that she bought online among Robby's stuff, she said that Robby found the prank amusing when she showed him a TikTok of it.
Victoria's follow-up response was, I thought Robby didn't have a TikTok.
To which Trinity replied, Oh. Yeah. I made him one.
Everybody else seemed to notice their closeness as well, but they did no more than raise an eyebrow. The only person who ever bothered to inquire about it was Dennis…. which was about time.
Trinity and Dennis were unloading their stuff from their lockers when Dennis cleared his throat. She turned her head.
"You and Robby seem… close," Dennis said, with a twinge of suspicion and maybe even jealousy. Trinity fought a smug smile from appearing on her face. "I heard from Vicky that you made him a TikTok account?"
"Yeah," she replied like it meant nothing. "What of it?"
"I'm just… shocked, is all." Dennis averted his gaze from Trinity. She could tell he was feeling some sort of envy he couldn't quite place.
Trinity adjusted her backpack to one shoulder. "Jesus, Huckleberry, I'm not stealing him from you. Relax."
Dennis blushed. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not—I don't think that."
"Buddy," Trinity said as she put a hand on Dennis' shoulder. "I know all about your big fat crush on Ro—"
"Okay! Okay! Enough!" Dennis attempted to cover Trinity's mouth with his hands, but she was able to escape quickly enough—she was even cackling while doing so. "How did you know?"
"Like it's a secret—"
"Trin, I'm serious."
Trinity sighed. "I'm just speculating… obviously. But Robby has told me stories about you during shifts and even during his sabbatical. And actions speak louder than words, brother."
"D-Does he know…?" Dennis' voice grew small.
Trinity rolled her eyes. "No. If anything, he's completely oblivious… or in denial."
The two continued their conversation outside. Dennis was keeping his voice low, revealing to Trinity his unfortunate, accidental, slow-burning, and totally inappropriate crush on Dr. Robby. Trinity just listened quietly… because she already knew all of this.
Trinity's eyes suddenly widened. "Well, speak of the devil!" Dennis' rambling came to an abrupt stop when Trinity decided to call Robby over. Dennis looked completely horrified.
"'Speak of the devil?'" Robby repeated.
Trinity pulled Dennis closer by his sleeve. "We were just talking about Whitaker's cravings."
"My—My what?" Dennis squinted.
Trinity nudged him on his side. "C'mon. We were just talking about pancakes, weren't we?"
"Pancakes?" Robby smirked.
"And I was saying," Trinity said slowly, "he should totally check out this diner called Rocky's that Robby likes."
"Ah!" Robby exclaimed in delight. He looked at Dennis. "I mean, I'd love to take you there—you two, that is—for dinner tonight." He then faced Trinity. "But are you sure you're okay with that, Santos?"
"It was about time we invited the talk of the town."
"I still don't understand what's happening," Dennis grumbled uncomfortably.
Trinity and Dennis sat on the same side of the booth, while Robby sat opposite them.
"Well, this is… quite nice, I guess," Dennis commented under his breath.
Billie, their usual waitress, arrived to take their orders. She noticed the new addition to their party and smiled at Dennis. Robby ordered fries with cheese and bacon bits, a burger, and a Diet Coke. Trinity stuck with her usual.
"I'll get the waffles and sausages. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake too," Dennis said to Billie. She wrote down their orders on her notepad and walked away.
"I thought you were craving pancakes," Robby pointed out.
"That—that was Trinity. She probably just wanted an excuse to go here."
She stuck her tongue out in response. Dennis mimicked her back. Robby laughed at the two.
"How long has this been going on?" Dennis asked.
Trinity pursed her lips, thinking. "Like a month or so."
"Jesus. And you didn't tell me?!" Dennis looked back and forth between Trinity and Robby, and they both gave him sheepish smiles. "Neither of you did."
"Probably because you're usually the point of conversation."
"Y-You're kidding."
"She's exaggerating," Robby interjected.
"Nope. I told Robby a lot of things. I told him about that one time with the hot dog and the sink drain." Trinity grinned.
"What…?"
"I also know about that one time you drunk-texted Robby—"
"What?!" Dennis was as red as a tomato. It also didn't help that Robby was laughing along with Trinity. He groaned as he covered his face.
Robby reached over the table to ruffle Dennis' hair. "Lighten up, bud. It might just be what your generation considers a rite of passage."
"What, drunk-texting your superiors? You're just making that up."
"Hey, listen," Trinity spoke up. "I did drunk-text Dr. Abbot once when I was out with Mohan."
"You did what now?" Robby's eyes widened with his smile.
Trinity pointed at him. "You were the one who told me he was in a frat! I wanted to prove it to Mohan, so I asked if he had photos. And he did deliver, but it was clear from my spelling that I was drunk. But when I told him it was for Mohan… I got away with a slap on the wrist."
Dennis laughed. "You must've been awfully drunk to do something that bold."
"Hold on, hold on." Robby put his hand up. "None of that is nearly as rebellious or embarrassing as that time I got wasted and pissed on my professor's mailbox."
"What?!" the two residents exclaimed in unison.
Robby told the story, but he would giggle between words and sentences. The whole booth shook with laughter, and they started to feel like they were drunk.
"Did you ever get caught?" Trinity asked, half worried, half amused.
Robby shook his head. "Only other person who knew was Jack. I didn't have the guts to tell anybody else until after I graduated."
When all their orders arrived, they were only quiet for a moment as they took their first bites. It didn't take long before Robby raised another story from his college days. To Trinity, it seemed like he never ran out of those—stories from his childhood, to med school, to his early years as an attending—recounting something embarrassing, or something tragic that turned into something funny. She would indeed reach his age before he finished.
When they exited the diner, Dennis whispered to Trinity.
“You’ve really been getting these free dinners without me, huh?” he teased.
Trinity smiled. “Beats having to wait for you to bring home food from the farm.” It was a subtle jab meant to make Dennis laugh, but instead, his expression faltered.
As Trinity and Dennis were getting close to their car, Robby held his fist out for fistbumps from both of them. Trinity rushed to be first, like it was a race.
"Goodnight, kid," Robby said.
"Night, old man."
"Goodnight, Huckleberry." He pointed his fist at Dennis.
Their knuckles met. "G-Goodnight, sir," Dennis muttered as his ears turned red.
When they were finally alone in their car, Dennis said, "You both seem… younger."
Trinity started the car at the same time, so she pretended like she didn't hear him properly. "What?"
"I mean, you both look happier."
Trinity didn't fight his sappy sentiments this time. "Y'know… I actually wanted to talk to you about something."
Dennis held his hand up to interrupt her. "I already know what you're gonna say."
Trinity raised her eyebrow.
"And I just wanna let you know," he continued, "that I helped Amy hire a nanny closer to her. I won't go back as much as I used to…"
Trinity's face actually lit up, but Dennis was too focused on his confession to notice it.
"Besides, I feel bad for missing out on a lot… Like… Why did you watch Fight Club without me?! I saw it on your Letterboxd!"
Trinity barked out a laugh. "Robby made me watch it. Did you know he has it on DVD? He has, like, a whole collection and everything!"
"I already know this, Trin. I went to his house every day for months." Dennis rolled his eyes as Trinity continued to snicker. "You replaced me…"
"No, Huckleberry, you will always be my number one movie buddy."
"Even if I pause the movie to ask questions?"
Trinity sighed dramatically. "Especially if you pause the movie… It makes me feel smarter than you."
"Wow." Dennis laughed. "You ruined the moment."