Work Text:
During the month of October the ER has a different type of insanity to it.
The waiting room is packed long before the clock hits noon, and by the time the night shifts gets there the decorations that had been sticking to the nurses station are peeling from the wall from the sheer heat that is created by the staff, and patients.
A nurse from day shift had dresses one of the rolling IV poles to look like a skeleton, a resident had gone and shown up to work dressed up as a vampire in cape and all. Surprisingly enough the cape managed to stay on their backs for at least three of the incoming traumas they had.
Even Robby had gotten into the holiday sprit of the night, not that his bubba would approve. It wasn’t willingly, exactly. Someone… probably Dana had stuck two little plastic vampire fangs to his badge reel at one point during the shifts.
Robby hadn’t taken notice, but you had.
There you were trying to not laugh about it for the better part of an hour during your shift. Every time you caught them swinging with Robbys movement, you had to just turn away. Eventually Robby did in fact take notice, he gave you one of those looks that encompassed the term of being tired from across the nurses station.
You looked away quickly, making yourself look busy with whatever chart you had in your hand. The corners of his mouth twitched, and the night continued on. It started in waves with the patients. The doors to the ambulance opening and closing. The phone ringing at the nurses station. Monitors beeping annoying that had just turned into background noise. Nurses that were shouting across the floor for supplies.
Someone had turned on a halloween playlist from some random phone behind the nurses station. It was also fading into the background of the chaos of the ER floor. Your paths crossed with Robbys a few times not enough that you could honestly have a moment together.
A few glances here while you were washing your hands, a large and warm hand that was briefly touching your shoulder with a squeeze that you had grown to know so well. There was a show of a tired smile that was thrown across the trauma room.
It wasn’t until much laster, closer to the clock echoing midnight that you realized just how fucking tired, and exhausted you had become. You let yourself lean into the counter for just a few second, closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths before you were excepted to come back to reality and save lives.
It was only just half of a second and when you opened you eyes once more, Robby was standing there. Robby didn’t say anything, he just looked at you his eyes narrowing. Then jerked his head into the direction of the empty hallway.
You followed on instinct.
Robby led you past the rooms that had grown over crowded, and down towards the supply closets where most of the useless items lived. After awhile, Robby slipped into one of them. Holding the door open for you.
You stared at him, Robby raised his brows at you. You followed inside, the door clicked shut behind you. Suddenly the entire sound of the ER perfectly disappeared, well not perfectly but it was enough.
You could still hear some distant sounds of humming voices, the wheels of patients in both wheelchairs and beds moving past. Someone had a loud laughter that was carrying all the way down the hallway. A stupid monitor sound beeping just beyond the doorway.
Regardless that the supply closer was a cramped shape, everything just felt muted. Robby leaned back into the shelving unit and let out a sigh of relief. You followed, doing the same. For the first time since the start of your shared shift, neither one of you were excepted to move. Not needed anywhere else except with each other.
There wasn’t a phone that needed to be answered, no where to rush off too. The two of you just simply stood there, together. A few moments passed, and then your shoulder was brushing up agasint Robbys. He didn’t move away, instead he shifted closer to your heat until your arms were touching on purpose this time.
It was so fucking stupid, and ridiculous how the littlest amount of contact felt oh so comforting to the both of you. You look down towards your shows, while Robby looked over at you. When you look back up he was smiling at you. The one that pulled the lines out around his eyes.
For five minutes that was all you both needed. Five fucking minutes were you didn’t need to be doctors, where the hospital could frankly do whatever the hell it was doing tonight without you being apart of it.
Robby reached over and grabbed your hand giving it a reaffirming squeeze. You squeezes his back, Robby thumb started to rub gently over the tops of your knuckles. Somewhere outside the door, nurses and doctors were hurrying past it.
Neither of you took notice, or moved from your spot. The chaos out there could wait just a few more minutes. For the next five minutes, you two just needed each other. You stayed like that for a while before Robby was glancing down towards his watch. Grimacing at the way the time had pasted so fast.
With his fallen face, you gave him a small sympathetic smile. Robby sighed dramatically in defeat. "Our five minutes are up already.” He told you, you nodded. He looked over towards the supply closet door like he a personal vendetta against it. “I don’t wanna go back out there, sunshine.” He mumbled.
“Mikey, your our attending.” You reminded him, he rolled his eyes. “Right. That’s why I’m very qualified to make a certain executive decision.” You laughed quietly in the cramped space. “And what kind of executive decision are you talking about?” You teased.
Robby looked over at you, his tired face going soft around the parts that you loved the most. “That we should just stay in here for like another thirty seconds or so.” Your brows raised, “That’s not really an executive decision, Mikey.”
Robby shifted in the cramped space, and placed his hands on your hips. “If I say it is, then it sure as hell is.” You giggled, “Mikey.” You murmured, “Just thirty more seconds, please Sunshine.” He begged, you smiled, "Okay, just thirty more.”
Robby leaned in closer, pressing his forehead agasint yours gently. “Happy halloween, Sunshine.” He breathed out, you smiled up at him. “Happy halloween, Mikey.” So for thirty seconds, neither of you made the choice to move.
Then like always the ER broke the bubble. The door opened to the closet, and a nurse was staring at you with large eyes. Robby straighten right away, his mask for halloween slipping back on. Robby morphing back into his attending form. “We are just in here checking the supplies.” Robby mumbled out quickly, the nurse stood there staring and blinking at the intimate moment she had just broken up.
You just stood there and covered your mouth with your hand to cover the laughter that was begging to bubble up. Robby pointed sharply over to the shelving units behind him. “It’s a very important supply check.” He told her, the nurse nodded, and started to slowly back out of the supply closet. “Absolutely, sir.” She said before running off, the door closing behind her with a gently slam.
Once the door was shut, you looked up at him. A wide smile tugging at your lips and he looked over at you with wide eyes like he had been caught. Despite all of what was waiting for you outside the cramped supply closet. The two of you started and shared a laugh.
“We gotta get back now, for sure.” You told him, he sighed in knowingly defeat. “Yeah I know.” He mumbled and reached over to place a kiss to your forehead. “Come on back out to the chaos.” He said putting his hand out to let you hold as you both walked back into the ER floor.