Pairing: Jack Abott x M!Reader
Summary: Jack has a rough night, and reader has to talk him off the roof.
Tags: Angst, fluff, resident!reader, male reader, trans friendly, first kiss, no use of y/n, widower Jack Abbot, past Jack Abbot x Original male character, Reader is roommates with Santos and Whitaker
Tw: Age gap (Reader is late 20’s Jack is late 40’s), mentions of mental health, thoughts of suicide
Jack had come in with one of those rare upbeat moods. The ones that make his friends ask if he’s getting laid or if he made it a full night without a nightmare (though, those comments usually came from Robby). Partially, it had been because of a full night of sleep he desperately needed, but also because of you. You swapped to nights 2 months ago, and he’d been wooing after you since. But dating a colleague isn’t professional, especially a resident.
You two met when you were still an intern during pittfest. You joined him and the others for a beer after that. Something about you lingered. Maybe it was your smile, or your eyes, or that stupid hair of yours that always found the best way to lay with the given lighting in any room. Your presence made working in a non-stop ER better. You made him better. He hasn’t met anyone like that since his husband. He hasn’t dated since he died either, and for good reason. No one wants a broken soldier, and those who do are too good for him.
His mood had stayed that way until ¾ of the way through his shift. But then a 12 year old girl died, and he had to break the news to her parents, and a man had a heart attack in front of his wife and didn’t make it, and a woman died while Jack was trying to save her, and his good mood hit a wall and fell flat onto the ground like a bird hitting a window. Day shift came in, and he passed all of his patients on to Robby like usual before he went up to the roof. Just for a moment he told himself.
Then a moment turned into 15 minutes, and you still couldn’t find him. You’d been searching for 10 of those minutes, determined to make sure he was okay. The older man always seemed to be positive, making the best out of the worst situations. He says he had to learn that skill when he was serving or else he would’ve gone mad. But by the end of the shift he was quiet. The kind of quiet that doesn’t come from exhaustion or phantom pain, but the kind of pain that comes from a shitty day in the pitt. This place had that effect on people. You learned that when you were an intern.
You’re not sure when this thing for Jack happened. I mean yes, you thought he was handsome, you had eyes. He’s a good looking guy. You’re a flustered mess every time you see him, and Santos and Whitaker don’t care to keep their comments to themselves.
“Robby,” you say, a little out of breath, as you walk up to your attending. Your bag hangs low on your back, and you’re now out of your scrubs. He turns, raising an eyebrow at you. His glasses are a little lopsided on his nose, and his hair is in every direction it can possibly be in. In his hand is an iPad. “Do you know where Jack is? It was a rough shift.”
Robby’s face softens and his brows furrow. It’s like he could tell the other man’s mood as well. He nods and gestures towards the doors that lead to the stairs. “He might be on the roof.”
Something about his facial expression makes your stomach twist. You knew that sometimes he and Robby would go up there, but it never seemed like anything more than getting fresh air. You nod and scramble off, heading up the stairs faster than you thought your legs could carry you.
You push the door open, arms heavy from both your lack of sleep and the weight of the events from your shift. The chilly air hits you the second the door opens. You make a sound as the light from the sun hits your eyes, burning them. Your eyes focus a few seconds later.
“Dr. Abbot?” You call out for him. Your heart all but leaps from your throat when you see Jack on the wrong side of the railing, blood now cold. You take a few steps forward, eyes wide.
“Hey, kid,” he says, not turning back to look at you. His voice is rough but soft.
“What are you doing up here?” You manage, pushing your panic down. “Shift ended almost 20 minutes ago.”
“Needed some air,” his voice cracks. You take a few steps to be right behind him, leaning on the railing. You try not to stare.
“Rough night,” you state, looking at the view. He nods quietly. “But that wasn’t your fault.”
He turns towards you, eyes wet with tears. You meet his eyes. He looks angry. You hope it isn’t at you for coming up here and bugging him.
“I could’ve done more,” he attempts as tears start to slip. You realize the anger is directed at himself. His eyes dart away from you as his body turns to face you completely, back now facing the edge instead of his front side. “I should’ve-“
“Don’t play that game,” you say softly. Your hand moves on its own, cupping his face and wiping away the dampness from his cheeks. You realize it’s a bit unprofessional, but you don’t care. “You did what you could. You helped so many other people today.”
You stay like that for a while. The sun is now fully risen, and the streets are loud and full of life. He slowly pulls away, and you sober up enough to realize that this is, in fact, very unprofessional. You clear your throat.
“We should probably get down,” Jack suggests. You nod and step back.
“Mind stepping back to the right side of that railing?” You say, attempting to joke to ease the tension. It doesn’t help. He chuckles and listens, but it’s different. You get the feeling you’ve ruined this. Whatever this is. You’re not even sure the other man swings this way.
You watch as he steps back to the correct side and your heart settles back into its normal rhythm. He walks in front of you and opens the door for you. As you both walk down the stairs you avoid Jack’s eyes. He doesn’t seem to notice.
You wait for him by his locker as he grabs his stuff before the two of you walk out together as per usual. Once you’re both past the door outside you speak up.
“Do you usually go up there and do that when Robby comes with you?” You ask, a bit selfishly jealous if you’re being completely honest with yourself. He nods and you nod and it goes silent again. You walk to your car, watching Jack follow to the one next to your own. In the morning, it made your heart flutter. The idea of him parking next to you in the parking lot with several other spots open. Now it makes you cringe.
Jack is climbing into his car when you make a split second decision. “Jack?”
He turns to look at you, his eyebrows raised up. “I’m sorry if that was unprofessional or you didn’t need my help and I was just being annoying.”
“You’re a really good doctor and I understand if you need to report me to HR or something that was totally-“
“-crossing a line and I hope it doesn’t affect our friendship or anything-“ you don’t realize he’s now pulling away from his car, stepping closer to you. You keep your eyes fixed on the floor as you continue. “-you’re a great-“
“Jesus, kid, shut up,” he laughs and you look up, face flushing as he leans down for his lips to meet yours. You’re frozen for a second, half convinced this is a dream, before you kiss back. He pulls back. “You didn’t do anything.”
You nod rapidly, unable to speak. He chuckles again and kisses your cheek. “You’re so flustered,” he teases.
“No I’m not,” you blink rapidly to allow your brain to focus in on everything in front of you again. “You just caught me off guard is all.”
“Mhm,” Jack smiles, pulling away slightly. You stare up at him like a fish out of water. “My place?”
You swallow and agree, and watch as he turns back to his car. “I’ll text you the address.”
