Work Text:
Robby patted Whitaker’s shoulder and walked away. They had just gone through a very tough case. A little girl got into her mom’s pills, they didn’t think she was going to make it, but she did. They saved her. Whitaker smiled at Robby as he walked off.
“It got you too?” McKay walked up next to Whitaker.
“What?”
“Don’t worry, Whitaker, it happens to the best of us.” She sighed and walked away.
“What?” Whitaker said again, confused, and this time to himself.
“Whitaker, you ok?” Dana shouted from the nurses’ station.
“Uh, yeah.” He shook his head and walked over to her.
“Why do you look so confused, then? Need a patient?”
“No, no. McKay said something and I don’t know what she meant by it.”
“Tell me, maybe I can puzzle it out for you.”
“She said that something got me and that it happens to the best of us?” Whitaker shook his head, “I really have no clue what she meant.”
Dana laughed, “Was this after you were making goo-goo eyes at Robby?”
“I- I was not making goo-goo eyes at him!” Whitaker stuttered and looked around to see if anyone else heard. Princess and Perlah were whispering to his left, so, obviously, they had.
“Don’t be embarrassed, kid. It happens to most of the newbies. Robby’s an authority figure who’s nice to you. It messes with your head.”
Whitaker blushed and ducked his head.
“Give it time. It’ll pass.” Dana pointed up at the board with all of the patients, “In the meantime, South 18 needs a doctor.”
Whitaker nodded and walked off. Somehow he had a sneaking suspicion that today would be a long day for him.
— — —
“So… I heard you have a crush.” Mohan said while they were both in the staff lounge trying to get coffee.
“Oh, God, you too?” Whitaker groaned.
Mohan smiled, “Yeah, you know how nurses gossip.”
“Kill me now.”
“Don’t be ashamed. Lots of people go through it.”
“Did you?”
She laughed, “No. I always saw Robby as more of a mentor than anything else.”
Whitaker sensed there was more she wasn’t letting on, “But?”
“But… I did have a crush on Abbot.”
“No way. Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you do about it?” Whitaker asked.
Mohan paused, sighed fondly, and then said, “I didn’t do anything about it. He asked me out.”
Whitaker’s mouth fell open in shock.
She smiled, “Yeah. Don’t tell anyone though. I trust you to keep that a secret.”
“Yeah, of course. Hey, I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Don’t get your hopes up for the same to happen to you, though. I don’t know if Robby even likes men.” She said, opening the door to the staff lounge, “The best thing for you to do is move on.”
Whitaker nodded and she walked out.
— — —
“A little birdie told me you have the Robby fever.” Santos sidled up next to Whitaker as he was finishing up his charts for the night.
“Don’t you have charts you could be doing?” He said, rolling his eyes at her.
“Nope. I actually got them done today.”
Whitaker looked over at her and clapped quietly, “Good job.”
“So, about this whole Robby crush thing?” Santos grinned in a way that made it clear she was up to no good.
Whitaker knew she didn’t start the rumor. That was his own fault. But he knew she’d take it too far, so he decided to mess with her.
“You know, I think another little birdie might have told me about a certain doctor’s big feelings for a certain surgeon.”
Santos glared at him and looked around to make sure no one heard, “Shut up!”
Whitaker smiled at her and went back to typing his charts.
“You know we’re just keeping it casual right now. I don’t want her to know how I feel.” Santos whispered, “And besides, I didn’t even start the ‘you having a crush on Robby’ rumor.”
“I know.”
She shook her head, “You’re more vicious than everyone thinks, Huckleberry.”
He laughed.
“So, any clue when you’ll be done? I’d prefer to get out of here sooner rather than later.” Santos looked at her phone’s clock.
“You can go. I’m getting a ride from someone else.”
Santos wiggled her eyebrows, “Your mystery man?”
Whitaker didn’t respond.
“You seriously need to let me meet him at some point.”
“Mhm, sure.”
“And…” Santos paused, “Lose the crush on Robby if you’re serious about your guy. It’s not fair to him.”
Whitaker looked over at her, “Will do.”
“See you at home sometime?”
“Yep.”
“Bye!” Santos got up and walked off.
— — —
Whitaker grabbed his bag out of his locker and went outside. The fresh air was nice. He hadn’t gotten to come outside a lot today, seeing as how everyone else beat him to the ambulance runs, and he hadn’t had time to take a break outside. He took a big breath. Today had been a lot, what with everyone speculating about his crush on Robby. He tried to stay out of it, but he saw how the nurses gave him pitying looks. It was like they were trying to tell him that Robby could never like him. Honestly, it kind of hurt his feelings.
He shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts. No use dwelling on a day he couldn’t change. He took the long trek out to the parking lot where no other doctors parked unless they were desperate. Waiting for him there was a truck he knew very well. He opened the back door and threw his bag in, then went up to the front passenger side and hopped in.
“Apparently I have a crush on you.”
Robby looked over from the driver’s seat, “I would certainly hope so.”
Whitaker smiled, “Also apparently everyone else has had a crush on you too.”
“What?”
“Dana told me about it. Most of the new people who come in get feelings for you.”
“That can’t be true.”
“I’m sure it is. You’re very appealing.” Whitaker leaned over.
Robby smiled and leaned over, planting a quick kiss on Whitaker’s lips. Then, he pulled out of the parking spot and started the drive to his house.
“It’s all your fault, really.” Whitaker said, pulling out his phone to check the notifications he missed during the day.
“What, your crush? I take full responsibility for that.” Robby smiled.
“No, that everyone knows I like you.”
“Everyone knows?”
“How did you manage to go the whole day without hearing the nurses gossip?”
“I have a talent.”
“Sure.”
“But seriously, everyone knows?”
“Perlah and Princess.” Whitaker said, as though that was the only explanation needed, and it was.
“Of course. But how is it all my fault?”
“You need to stop touching me at work.”
Robby raised his eyebrows and looked over at Whitaker.
“Shut up.” Whitaker swatted his arm, “You’re always manhandling me. And, like, patting my shoulders. You don’t do that with other people.”
“I do too.”
“Not as much as you do with me.”
“Fine, I’ll try to stop. But people are going to know at some point. Secrets don’t live long in the Pitt.”
“Speaking of, Trinity wants to meet my ‘mystery man’.”
Robby chuckled, “If Trinity knows, then Garcia will know, then everyone will know.”
“Maybe they should know. I seriously can’t take any more pitying looks from people who have ‘gone through the same thing’.” He said, doing air quotes, “And that was only one shift of that. I can’t imagine more.”
Robby laughed.
They drove off into the night, Whitaker beside the man everyone had been telling him to move on from all day.