Chapter Text
Without needing to check the time, Trinity already knew that it was 5 p.m. The time where the anticipation becomes the driving force of everyone's step. The question of "will we or will we not?" settling into everyone's bones. A quiet mantra that attempts to soothe the stress each of them carried throughout the day.
Will today be the day where everyone can countdown the last few hours until 7 p.m without holding their breath? A day where we can all wrap things up without having to carry its leftovers for another hour longer or will today be a constant reminder that the "7 p.m." end of shift time written on their contracts is an estimate rather than an end?
Everyday Trinity plays the same game and each time she loses. She should have known from the start that it's a lost cause, especially given the chaotic first day she had ten months ago. However, today she can't help but feel optimistic. She's been on a roll today. Accurately diagnosing patients at record speed which earned her a smile from Yolanda which doesn't happen often, being ahead of her charting and the hospital isn't as packed as usual. Though she rather not think about how things will look like in a few weeks.
After taking care of a case of food poisoning, she's back at her workstation typing away when she suddenly feels a presence. She looks up and sees Victoria trying not to bump into any gurneys as she speed walks towards her direction with wide eyes. A sudden groan leaves her lips as she looks back down at the counter.
"Damn, I've lost again."
She suddenly hears the creak of a stool as she senses Victoria scooting to sit beside her. She looks up and meets eyes with the worried girl and raises an eyebrow.
Victoria takes a moment to look around before she leans in and quietly asks, "Have you heard what happened?"
Trinity thinks for a moment then tilts her head to the side, grinning as the thought came to mind. "Yeah, that you're little boyfriend Mateo transferred to the night shift recently." She says, bumping her shoulders with Victoria.
A light shade of pink develops in Victoria's cheeks, she groans while rolling her eyes at her, "For the hundredth time, he isn't my boyfriend. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
Trinity lets out a laugh, but suddenly that comes to a halt when she sees Victoria looking down, fidgeting with her fingers.
Oh shit.
"I—"
“Dennis screamed at a patient.”
Trinity pauses.
Dennis?
As in Dennis Whitaker?
The one that thinks that no one can hear him singing in the shower. The one that tends to leave his clothes on the floor, swearing that it's some elaborate organizational tactic. The one that's always eating her weekly supply of avocados, but the one that remembers to buy them when he's out running groceries.
Even though he's able to kill a rat with his bare hands, he refuses to correct the restaurant worker whenever they mess up his order.
That Dennis?
Not believing a word she said, she crosses her arms while raising an eyebrow, “Seriously?”
Victoria winces and moves her head side by side, “Okay, not at a patient but … her family.”
Santos nods, processing the information, “Go on.”
Victoria clears her throat, “I don't know the full story, but I was working on a case across from where it all happened..."
“Uhuh…”
“...teen girl with sinus tachycardia caused by possible dehydration and stress.”
"Okay..."
“I-...okay so I didn't see any parents ... just what I'm assuming to be her brothers. From where I was standing it seemed pretty packed. Next thing I know I hear screaming coming from the room."
Brothers.
Trinity squints at her, "How does this have to do with Dennis though?"
Victoria rolls her eyes at her and continues, "Well, when I ran up to see what was happening, that's where I see Jesse holding him back as Ahmad was holding back one of the brothers. Dr. Robby rushed in telling everyone to leave and handed the case over to Samira. Last I heard, Kiara was called over to talk to the patient."
Trinity blinks, taken a back. She grimaces as the sensation of bile hits the back of her throat.
"Where is he?" She asks, already getting up.
Victoria looks around at the hub before looking up at her and shrugs, "Break room, maybe?"
Trinity nods, turning to finish typing up her last sentence and saving her chart. She then gets up and heads towards the break room.
"What did that motherfucker said for him act like that?"
"Did he get enough sleep last night?"
"He has been spacing out a lot lately."
A bunch of thoughts were filling up her mind like the tabs on her laptop she refuses to exit out of. She tries to shake them off once she's in front of the door, telling herself that she'll figure it out. What matters most right now is Dennis. She takes a deep breath as she pushes the door open only for there to be no Dennis in sight.
"Okay..." She says to herself as she shuts the door on her way out.
Stairway? No.
Locker room? No.
Abandoned wing? Thank God no.
With each step, Trinity couldn't help but feel the weight in her stomach grow. In a span of half an hour, it felt as if she was carrying a bag of bricks across the hospital than intestines. The thoughts in her mind multiplying as if one possibility couldn't simply be a possibility without another possibility within it.
"Where the hell is he?" She says to herself, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her arm. She lets out a curse while taking another look around the ambulance bay. After walking for who knows how long, she decides to head back inside and that's where she spots him with McKay at the hub.
His curls a bit matted down, eye bags more pronounced and being laser focused as he types away at his workstation. Typical end of shift Dennis. Besides the fact that McKay is standing besides him as she holds onto the back of his chair. For a moment, she can't help but think that perhaps everything Victoria said earlier was a lie. A small "gotcha" moment for eating her ice cream mochi the other day. Then again, she did told her she'll pay her back (eventually). If we're comparing offenses, using Dennis for something so small seems a bit harsh.
Though as she walks closer, perhaps Victoria wasn't a menace after all once she hears pieces of their conversation. Well, if you would call it that given that McKay did most of the talking while Dennis was fixated on the computer in front of him, typing away.
“...it’s okay we all have our moments.” she says softly leaning downwards to slide a candy bar near his workstation, explaining how sweets tend to help her when she feels worked up.
Cassie looks up, giving her a small smile as she stood at the counter before turning her attention back to Dennis, “I’m here if you need anything hmm?” she says while putting a hand on Whitaker’s shoulder squeezing it.
Trinity sees that for a moment, Dennis doesn't look back at McKay. He proceeds to finish whatever sentences he was typing, one hand slowly bawling into a fist, resting on the counter. Dennis lets out a sigh, "Thanks" is all he says, looking up at her with a small smile, tapping his fist gently on the counter.
Ah.
"Alright people, I need hands! Incoming trauma, North 12" Dana shouts.
"On it!" McKay shouts back, turning to nod back at Dennis and then towards Trinity before rushing to the case, telling Victoria who just stepped out of a patient room to tag along.
Trinity sees Victoria spring into action, running behind McKay. She then shifts her attention at Dennis, who seems to act as if charting was the most interesting thing in the world. She crosses her arms, taking a deep breath hoping it'd keep her from grabbing him by his shoulders and shake the answers out of him.
Nothing was said between them. As if they're frozen in time in the midst of all the chaos around them, Santos staring at Dennis. Dennis staring at the computer screen. That was until Dennis slowly looks up at her. He lets out a faint laugh at the realization that she has seen him push the same keys, backspace and push the same couple of keys for the past five minutes.
He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, "What?"
"What?" Trinity asks, letting out an incredulous laugh. She walks around the counter, snatching the chair next to him and sits down. "Don't what me! What the hell was that all about?"
Whitaker furrows his eyebrows, but immediately soothes them out. He lets out a sigh, giving her a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about." He states, turning back to continue typing.
In a quick swift motion, Trinity leans forward and takes the keyboard. "Can you quit it?" She hisses.
Dennis didn't flinched. His voice low and steady, "Trin, I'm in the middle of chart—"
Trinity takes in a sharp breath, "Bullshit! Answer the question, what's—"
“Whitaker, got a minute?” They both turn to see Robby, arms crossed while tapping his foot on the tile wearing an unreadable expression.
Trinity turns to see how Dennis' eyes sharpened, lips pressed into a flat line. The bile once again reaches the back of her throat, as if teasing her. She tries to reach her hand out towards him, but before she knows it Dennis is already up and follows Robby to an empty room.
She squints, squeezing the hold of the keyboard in her arms, hoping to see what's happening through the window but Robby immediately pulls the curtain.
"Never knew he could get so mad." Perla says, leaning against the counter, following Trinity's line of vision.
"Something is definitely up." Princess says back from the other side of the hub, flipping through some charts.
Trinity's head snapped up, narrowing her eyes. "What happened?" Slowly putting the keyboard back on the counter.
Perlah stared at her then leaned forward, whispering. "Patient's family being difficult."
Trinity makes a face, "That's it?"
"Well, you know how they can be. It was probably his last straw of the day." Princess says while Perlah simply shrugs, already stepping back from the hub to head towards a room. "That's all I heard from Jesse."
Trinity looks back at the closed room, feeling her stomach turn into knots. Until Dana's voice snaps her back into reality.
"Santos, what is this? Happy hour? I know you're worried for Whit, but we got patients to take care of."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "On it!" She says back, getting up to walk towards the patient board. Taking a final look back at the room before looking up the board to pick her next patient.
I'll ask him later.