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Trinity Santos connected the dictate device for the millionth time today. She had barricaded herself behind the north wing nurses station.
To be honest she hid from Dr. Robby and Dana, to catch up on some charting. R2 really kicking her ass. While the system booted, she let her tired eyes drape over her souroundings.
Something caught her eye. An irregularity.
Pushed into the corner agaisnt rhe backboard. Hiden by tablets. A black metal ring. She fished it out.
It sat on her palm like a treasure. Shining mystical. She starred at it. Inside the letters JA&MR where engraved. "Hey Jesse?" She spoke, the nurse turned to her. "Did a patient forgot their wedding ring?"
Interested Jesse took the ring from her. "I dont know. Not that we were aware of it. Where did you find it?" "Behind there." He shrugged and put the ring back in her palm. "Put it in lost and found then." With that he left towards triage.
She looked back at the ring in her palm. Odd. Dennis strolled by and took a beeline to her. "Everything alright?" Trinity clicked to him. "Yeah sorry. I found this ring. Strange right." He also took it in his hand.
"Did a patient leave it?" "Jesse said no. I feel weird about putting it into lost and found." Dennis smirked slyly. "You're never seeing stuff from lost and found ever again." She nodded knowing what he meant.
"We could find the owner?" "Uh scavanger hunt. You know how to appeal to me." She patted his shoulder and took the band from him. Dennis sprinted after her.
"How do we start?" "Hell if I know." She joined the other residents at the board. The next attending that finds her slacking will tell her off again.
She mumbled to herself. "JA&MR." Dennis looked lost at the board. "What." "The initials in the ring you Huckleberry." "JA and ?" "JA and MR." Santos stretched her shoulders. "Take your pick Huckleberry." "Nothing appealing?" Robby spawned behind them. They got interrupted by two traumas, crashing through the bay.
She found Dennis after their shift at the lockers. "Jack Abbot." Dennis jerked so hard his locker fell shut. "What?!" "Jack Abbot." She repeated. "JA."
He looked between her eyes. "What are you saying?" She opened her own locker. "Thickberry. The ring is his. Or-" she made a vague hand motion, "allegedly."
"I dont know Trinity. Could still be a patient." She shook her head. "Noone asked for a ring or told us they lost one. I checked." They strolled towards the exit. She leaned on him.
"And I asked Parker if she would keep an ear out for it." "Aha." He just made and pushed the door open. It was chilly outside, sky black and streetlights yellow. He pulled his jacket closer, Trinity didn't seem affected by the temperature change.
"You seem really invested." "Iam." She said firm. "I can't explain it." Dennis shrugged. "Valid. Just-" "Just what, Hucklebberry?" "Seems wierd. Alright."
She cocked her head and pressed the streetlight signal. "What it cant be possible be Dr. Abbots ring?" She said comically. "Im not saying this is impossible Trin, but-" "A wedding ring usually comes in a pair." She stated. "Even if its not his personally it could still be the one from whatever partner."
Dennis nodded adiment, stepping more in her view. "Sure. But its weird to me how they lost the ring. Like. How do you lose a ring. Your wedding ring." Santos kept stumm, so Dennis continued. "Pretty sure your gonna notice." "What. So why they haven't been looking? Maybe they have?"
The streetlight didnt turn green. Instead the red light reflected off the wet asphalt in patterns.
"Maybe it wasnt on a finger?" Santos said into the silence. "What? Like-" "In your pocket, On a necklace. Lots of healthcare workers do that. Not uncommon to lose it." Dennis chewed on his lips.
The light gave in and turned green. "We need to find out if it matches Dr. Abbots."
"So?" Withaker leaned too far over the counter of the workstation. "What?" She snapped back, busy with work. "Trin! The ring?"
It took a second. "Oh yeah." Santos changed from exhausted R2 to hunting mode. "I showed it to Parker. She says that is does seem similar like Abbots. Not Abbots." She threw Dennis a scrutinising look. "He has his apperantly. But. But we have to remember that Abbot had a wife. It could've been hers."
"His wife?" He looked around the department. Letting his gaze touch every person. "Do we know anything about her?" He stopped himself, "No. But why would the wedding ring of his dead wife just lay on the nurses stations desk." Dennis spun.
Trinity flicked the pen around in her hand. She pointed with it to Robby joining the huddle at the board. "We could ask Dr. Robby for a name?" Withaker snapped to her. "He's obviously friends with the guy. He has to know who his wife was." "No. No Trinity thats a horrible idea." He sat next to her. "Why? Coward-berry. No sorry that doesnt work. Gutless-berry. Man im losing my touch." She shook her head defeated. "Come on."
"He will definetly ask us why. Why we want to know about the dead wife of his friend." Tinity chewed her lip, eying her boss carefully. "You're no fun Huckleberry."
"I swear to you something bad is gonna happen if we keep on keeping this ring." "Why?" "Because they will look for it." "Again. No fun." Santos closed her locker amd shouldered her bag.
On the way out she nearly bumped into Dr. Robby. "Woa. Sorry. Keep your eyes up Santos."
"Sorry." She smiled obliged and wanted to keep on walking. But had an idea. She turned on her heels.
"Doctor Robby?" He turned back around to her, opening his locker. "Whats up?" She took a few steps closer. Dennis tried holding her back but not enough to be obvious. "If you dont want to be involved, leave." She hissed sharply under her breath at him and he stopped.
"Robby. What was the name of Dr. Abbots wife?" He closed his locker mechanically. Both eyebrows raised. "His wife?... Oh. You mean Miriam." He cleared his troat, looking down for a moment smiling.
The residents looked at each other and then back to him. Robby had returned to his normal face. "Why? Is there a betting pool going?" He pressed. Eyes scrutinising the friends. "No, sorry." Withaker swam under his gaze, "We just- ehm. So we di-" "Im just messing with you." Robby chuckled, shaking his head. He closed his locker and squeezed between the two roommates. "See you tomorrow."
"See!" Santos japped him in the side. Dennis felt sick. "M like Miriam. J&M. JA. MA. No wait a moment. We don't know her maiden name. JA&M- what was it again?"
Withaker had curled into himself, walking next to Santos silently. The cool autumn air hit them. "MR." Dennis complied. "MR. R like Robinson or Ross or-" She stopped dead in her tracks, Dennis bumping hard into her.
She stopped him with an arm. "Robinavitch." Santos blurted out. "What?" He didn't follow her.
"Yes?" Robbys voice answered from somewhere. She snapped around. Eyes darting wild. Robby sat on a bench, legs crossed, cigarette loosly in his fingers. Relaxation itself.
Santos mouth didn't know if it wanted to shut or fall open. So for a moment she looked like a fish. Withaker didnt understand anything and looked bewildered around. She hit him hard in the rips with her sharp ellbow. "Oww. Trin-." Before he could finish, he understood. His mouth clapped shut.
Robby eyed them carefully, pressing out his cigarette. "You guys alright?" He breathed out the last breath of smoke, slowly stepping towards them. But before they could try and utter some incoherent sound, they got interrupted by a car coming to a stop in the laoding zone.
Robbys face lit up. Like slow motion they watched bewildered as Robby walked towards the car, the person on the drivers seat getting out, walking around the tip of the car and embracing him in a hug.
Oh and it was Dr. Jack Abbot.
Just in time Santos snapped to life. "Stop!" Now it was the attendings turn to look bewildered. Santos marched towards them, pulling Dennis uncompromising with her.
"Hold on." She rumaged through Dennis's backpack, who just let it happen. She found it. "Hold out your hand Dr. Abbot."
The man in street cloths threw a deeply questioning look to the man beside him, then back to Santos. Unsure he complied the threatening look from her. She looked closely at the black metal band around his finger. "It fits." She called back to Dennis. Who stood next to her. He looked honestly sick.
"Micheal Robinavitch." He widened his eyes at the full naming. "Are you by any chance married to Jack Abbot?" They looked at eachother. Then back to them.
Abbot looked like he missed 5 steps in a manual. Robby stood as expressionless as a cucumber.
"Is this your ring, MR?" She helped them, holding the metal ring out on her palm.
They both looked on it. For a while. Abbot raised his head first and pulled up his nose. "You lost your wedding ring man?"
Robby widened his eyes. "I did- wa- I mea-. How did you find this?" He instead reflected to Santos. Darting eyes. "We found it. On the nurses stations desk. In the corner." She stated cool.
"You lost your ring!" Abbot wasnt finished. "We havent seen eachother 4 days." He raised his eyebrows higher that ever before, a smirk creeping into his smile.
"The chain broke mid shift. I put it in my pocket and it must've fallen out. I only noticed at the end of shift." He defended himself. "Uh-uh." The other just made dry. He eyed Robby carefully.
Dennis cleared his troat. Breaking the moment. "Can we go back to the hole - married - thing?" Santos looked to the pale white ghost. Abbot sight and took the ring from Santos still out stretched hand.
"We-" he took Robbys hand and slipped the band over his ring finger, "have been married what?" "5 years at least." Robby surrendered. "More like 8. Sweety."
Santos nodded respectfully. "Just-" she cleared her troat, "why haven't you been looking for it? We asked around for it." Robbys smile got wider.
"I told Dana to keep an eye open for it. She's like a bloodhound. Shes one of the only people whos really aware of it." Abbot nodded. "Its not really a secret- just- never mentioned." Robby nodded.
"People think your wedding ring is the one from your late wife." Dennis stated cool, getting his complexion back.
Abbot looked with starry puppy eyes to Robby. "Okay of that I wasn't aware. Sorry." He touched the others chest. Robby laught awkwardly, "Its fine." It wasn't fine.
"Okay, deeply personal question round over for today." He put his hand on the back of Robbys neck, guiding him to the car. "Bye Kids."
Trinity shook her head smiling. "You guys are cute dont worry." Dennis nodded and turned on his heels.
"You're not gonna- shout it from the rooftops will ya?" He turned back to the residents.
Both shook their heads adiment. "Of course not." Abbots eyes where deep and even on that distance they said thank you. Before he turned back to Robby.
"We have plans you know." Abbot spoke warmer than usual when just with Robby. "We do?" "We do. With the couch. What you think im going to share you after we haven't seen eachother 4 days?" Santos bit back her smile as they walked away.
And that was that.
The mystery of the ring solved.
Sometimes the most obvious answer will be true.