Rambling Fools Dungeon

TW: Death.

Jack and Robby always thought they'd be the first to go: whether from old age or their own demons, they'd leave this earth one day soon, and the thought of leaving Dennis alone terrified them a little.

And then, one Friday afternoon like any other at the hospital, a patient is in pain and very angry, too angry, so much so that his first instinct is to punch the first person he comes across.

And Dennis, who was walking calmly and chatting with Victoria, doesn't see the punch coming, barely feels the blow directly to his jaw as he's propelled forward by the force of the blow, slipping on his own feet and crashing into the edge of one of the hospital desks.

He doesn't notice the warm, dark and thick blood, pouring like a river from the wound on the back of his head. His vision is poor, only shadows, his ears are ringing but he can almost hear Victoria's crying and Trinity's desperate cry for help, trying to staunch his wound with her own shirt until someone brings her some bandages.

He thinks of Jack, of the fact that the man was probably sleeping in their bed right now, blissful and unaware of what was happening at the hospital. 

He thinks of Robby and blames himself a little, because, damn it, Robby was probably out saving lives and now Dennis would have bothered him just because of a small cut on his head.

He thinks of Trinity, his first and best friend. He thinks of Victoria, Mel, Samira and Mateo, and he thinks of his bad luck, because that night they had planned to go bowling but now his head hurts and he doesn't think he'll be able to play.

He thinks of his mother and brothers, and strangely, the thought of his father doesn't even cross his mind.

And then, as the ringing in his ears gets louder and louder and the light above him grows whiter, the tingling in his body intensifies and his mind returns to Jack and Robby.

He was getting his first paycheck that week and he had promised to himself to treat the two to dinner!

By the time Michael "Robby" Robinavitch arrives, running with his heart already aching in that wing of the hospital, Dennis Whitaker has already been dead for two minutes.

Robby begs, screams and digs his nails into his arms as he curls up in the staff bathroom, weeping desperately, making no effort to hide his sobs.

Jack arrives an hour later, shaking and with bloodshot eyes. He screams and screams and demands to see Dennis, to see his boyfriend's body, because he can't believe he's gone. Not like this, it should have been him, he thinks, while Dana, with tears in her eyes, tries to reason with him.

Robby and Jack don't speak to each other for two weeks after Dennis's death, their mutual silence broken only when Robby finds Dennis's crucifix hidden in a book in one of their drawers, hugging Jack so tightly it hurts and crying harder than he's ever cried before.

The funeral is held a week later, attended by all the hospital's doctors, and a shiny, silver plaque reading "Dr. Dennis Whitaker" is hung opposite Dr. Adamson's.

Trinity leaves, choosing a faraway hospital, as far away from Pittsburgh as possible. When someone asks her if she has a best friend, she waits a few seconds before replying that she used to have one.

Victoria gives in to her mother's pressure; Dennis's death is what pushes her to switch to surgery. From then on, she never makes friends with any of her colleagues again.

And in time, years after Robby, Jack, Dana, Cassie and many others have retired, none of the new doctors will know who Dennis Whitaker was, a country boy, a friend, a doctor and a boyfriend.

But the plaque remains, perhaps a little dusty over time, but Dennis is there, with his scrubs and his smile, as he would have wanted to be remembered.