McRaider
Summary: Dennis is sick as hell, and it all comes to a head, and they realize Dennis doubts heâs lovable.
A/N: Pitt Whump Week Prompts Day 5, Alt prompts used for this day: Collapsed | âStop Lyingâ
             Itâs just a headache, Dennis assures himself as another wave of dizziness crashes over him. The floor tilts violently as he shrugs out of his jacket and shoves it into his locker. His hands fumble, uncoordinated, like they belong to someone else entirely. Heâs had a headache all morningâand a lingering chill, even now, after being inside for several minutes. Exhaustion tugs at him as he grabs his badge and clips it onto his shirt.
Heâs been covering doubles off and on all week. Too many people out sick with the flu or a nasty cold. Winter has taken full control of Pittsburgh, and it feels like everyone is suffering from somethingâpatients and staff alike.
Jack is just starting to recover from a brutal bout of the flu he fought for nearly a week and a half. Heâs barely on the mend; his color is still off, his voice rough, and heâs been sleeping whenever he gets the chance. Robby only clocked back in yesterday after a week spent nearly unconscious with fever. At one point, Dennis and Jack were so worried about him that they brought home banana bags and saline, doing everything they could to keep Robby out of the hospital.
âWhitaker, everything alright?â Dana calls as Dennis makes his way toward Central.
Dennis glances up and forces a tired smile. Sheâd been in early too, helping everyone else juggle the constant callâoffs. âYeah, just busy,â he says.
Itâs true. Heâs busy enough to ignore the sweat trickling down his spine, busy enough to ignore the ache in every jointâlike heâs been taken apart and put back together wrong.
Busy enough that he doesnât notice Robby watching him from his desk, eyes tracking his movements with growing unease.
By midday, the headache has morphed into a roaring pressure behind Dennisâs eyes. Every sound grates. Every trauma takes a beat too long to register, like his brain is lagging a step behind his body.
When he stands up from charting, the world lurches. The room sways violently, dimming at the edges as darkness creeps inward. His hand shoots out on instinct, gripping the counter to keep himself upright.
âDennis?â Robbyâs voice sounds distant, distorted. A hand lands on his shoulder, another sliding under his arm.
âIâm fine,â Dennis insists, even as the words come out slurred and hazy.
He takes one more stepâand the fever finally takes him.
The world pitches hard. His knees buckled without warning, strength draining out of him like a phone left uncharged for too long. He never even feels himself falling.
Hands catch him before he can hit the floor.
âDana! Call Jackâshit, heâs burning up!â Robby shouts, panic cutting through his voice as coworkers rush in. Perlah and Donnie sprint over with a gurney. Robby hooks one arm under Dennisâs legs and another behind his back, lifting him carefully before laying the younger man onto the bed.
They push him into trauma two, Robby is tracking his heart, âHeâs tachy.â He did a sternum rub as they brought him to a stop, his team began looking Dennis over. âTemp?â
McKay called, â103.5, how is he even up and moving?â
âI mean, he kind of isnât anymore,â Donnie pointed out, bringing in the ice packs.
Robby ran his knuckles over Dennisâs sternum, âDennis, I need you to open your eyes,â he called loudly. âShow me those baby blues.â
Blue eyes fluttered open and Robby felt a wash of relief as the feverish, hazy eyes slowly tracked to him. âRâby.â
âYeah, you collapsed, baby. How long have you been feeling sick?â
Dennis cracks his eyes open. The room swims. âDidnât⌠mean toââ His tongue feels thick; words slow to form. âJust tired.â
Robby snorts, sharp and humorless. âYeah. No shit.â Shaking his head. âDennis, you have to take care of yourself.â
They get the IV insertedâDennis hisses weakly as the needle goes in, then barely reacts as cool saline starts flowing. Fluids first. Treat dehydration. Then fever.
âBlood glucose?â McKay called out
âNormal,â Perlah replied.
Good. That at least rules out one thing. Someone swabs his nose, quick and practiced, for a rapid flu test. Another voice calls out ordersâacetaminophen, antiemetics on standby. Oxygen cannula under his nose when his sats dip, just briefly, before stabilizing again.
âFlu test is positive,â someone reports several minutes later.
Robby exhales slowly, heâd expected as muc, âOf course it is.â
Dennis hears that, even through the fog. âTold you,â he murmurs faintly. âEveryoneâs sick.â
Robby glares at his partner, shaking his head, his hand tightens briefly around Dennisâs wrist, right over the pulse thatâs finally starting to slow. âYeah. Including you,â he says. âAnd youâre done pretending otherwise. Letâs get him settled into Central Six, ice packs on and off every twenty minutes. If his fever doesnât start to drop in the next hour, weâll consider an ice bath.
He steps back, letting Donnie, McKay and Perlah take the gurney away. He strips off his gloves, rubbing the back of his hair in his usual self-soothing fashion. âFucking idiot kid,â he grumbled, before he strode out into the hub.
âJackâs on his way, should be here in about ten minutes. Howâs the kid?â Dana asked.
âHas the flu, confirmed. Heâs running a fever of 103, weâre going to try ice packs for now, if it hasnât started dropping in thirty minutes, can you get the ice bath started for me?â
She nodded, âSure thing, Cap. You eaten today?â
He glanced at her, and chuckled, âYeah, had a hearty chicken soup about thirty minutes before this all started. You mind if I sit with him for a bit, at least until Jack gets here?â
âNo problem, weâve got this covered.â
He moved over to central six, pushing inside, McKay and Donnie had left. Perlah was finalizing everything, making sure Dennis was comfortable and taken care of. âHeâs being busting his ass for everyone else, donât be too angry at him,â Perlah whispered.
âI know, Iâm not, not really anyway.â He sighed and took a seat on the stool by Dennisâ beside.
âIâll come change the ice packs in a bit.â
âThanks, Perlah.â He watched her step out.
The room wonât stay still. The ceiling swims above Dennis, blurring at the edges like itâs being dragged under water. His skin burns and chills at the same time, heat pooling heavily in his chest while his hands shake against the thin hospital blanket. Somewhere close by, a monitor beeps in a steady rhythm, too loud, too sharp.
Someone is talking. Robby.
Dennis knows that voice even through the fog. He feels it more than he hears itâa presence close to his side, warm fingers wrapped around his wrist like an anchor.
âHey,â Robby says softly. Too soft. Like Dennis might shatter if heâs not careful. âStay with me, okay?â
Dennis squints, trying to focus. Robbyâs face is wrongâtoo close, features melting and reforming as the fever messes with his depth perception. He tries to pull his hand away, but his arm feels like it weighs a hundred pounds.
Robby tightens his grip just slightly. Not restraining. Just⌠there.
âYou scared the hell out of me,â Robby murmurs. âDonât you ever do that to me again.â
Dennis breathes out a weak, shaky laugh. Or tries to. It came out wrong. âDidnât mean to,â he slurs. âWasnâtâwasnât worthââ
âHey,â Robby says, sharper now. âDonât. Donât say that.â
Dennis turns his head, eyes unfocused but intent. âWhy?â he asks quietly. âItâs true.â
Robby swallows. He leans closer, free hand brushing sweaty curls back from Dennisâs forehead. âYouâre not expendable, Dennis. You matter. Youââ His voice breaks, just a little. âI love you. We love you.â
The words hit wrong. Dennisâs brow furrows, confusion twisting into something sharp and defensive. His heart rate spikes, the monitor reacting before anyone else can. ââŚstop lying,â Dennis whispers.
Robby freezes. âWhat?â
Dennis stares at him, glassyâeyed but suddenly intense. The fever has stripped away whatever filters he usually keeps in place. Whatever soft excuses he tells himself on better days. âYou donât,â Dennis says. His voice wobbles, then steadies with bitter certainty. âYou canât.â
Robby shakes his head, alarmed. âDennis, youâre not thinking clearlyââ
âI am,â Dennis insists, trying to sit up, failing immediately. He grimaces, breath hitching. âI know what I am.â
Robby presses him gently back down. âNo. No, you donât.â
Dennis lets out a thin, humorless laugh. âIâm a toy,â he says, slurred but precise. âIâm fun. I help. Iâm filling in. And when you and Jack get boredââ He swallows hard, eyes shining. ââyouâll put me back.â
Robbyâs face goes pale. âJesus. Dennisââ
âYou love him,â Dennis presses on, words tumbling faster now, feverâfueled and unguarded. âYou have him. And Iâm justâextra. I donât get to be loved like that.â
âThatâs not true,â Robby says hoarsely. âThatâs not whatâs happening here.â
Dennis turns his head away, tears slipping unchecked into his hairline. His voice drops to a whisper. âDonât say it if you donât mean it.â
Robby looks helplessly toward the doorwayâtoward Jack, toward anyoneâbut thereâs no one else who can fix this. This isnât medical. This is old damage surfacing at the worst possible time. He squeezes Dennisâs hand, grounding, steady. âI mean it,â he says, low and firm. âEven if you canât understand it right now.â
Dennis doesnât respond. His eyes slip closed again, body sagging back into the mattress as the fever pulls him under. The monitor slowly settles, beeping back into a calmer rhythm.
The door opened a moment later and Jack stepped inside, âHey, howâs our Mouse doing?â Jack asked, he looked tired, but better than he had this morning.
âHe thinks we donât love him, that we canât.â Robby whispers, his voice rough.
Jackâs brows furrow as he moved closer to the bed, âIâm sorry, what?â
Robby scoffed, âYou heard me. Heâs delirious with fever, but I think he believes it. He just told me to stop lying because he canât be loved like that. Jackââ
âHey,â Jack starts, gently gripping Robbyâs shoulder, âTake a breath. Like you said, heâs delirious. We can address it when heâs coherent again.â
Robby nodded, âI need to get back on the floorââ
âIâll take care of him, go on.â Jack takes Robbyâs spot, leaning heavily on the bed, keeping the railing down, he reached out and gently ran his fingers through the sweat-damp curls. He hears Robby close the door as he leaves, quieting the room to just the two of them. Jack glances over the monitors, his fever is still high, but itâs at 102, which, based on what Robby had texted him fifteen minutes ago, was down.
Blue eyes fluttered open and met Jackâs hazel eyes. âJack, I donât feel good,â Dennis whined, shifting on the bed.
âI know, baby. Weâll get you home when Robbyâs shift ends, settled in bed and comfortable.â He promised, keeping his steady movement through Dennisâs curls. âGet some sleep.â
âFeels nice,â he mumbled before drifting off to sleep again.
It was another two days before Dennis started to return to a semblance of coherency. They returned to Jack and Robbyâs condo that first evening after Robbyâs shift ended. His temperature had settled around 101, so the two men took home a couple bags of saline and took their boy home.
Dennis managed to shuffle out to the kitchen late the second night, still shaky, a blanket wrapped around his narrow shoulders. âHeeey, there he is,â Jack chuckled softly looking up from where he was making more chicken soup.
Robby was sitting at the kitchen table, reading quietly, he glanced up and smiled as Dennis managed to get to one of the chairs and slump down in one. âOkay, that was my exercise for the next week,â he grumbled, his voice rough from coughing and not speaking much.
âYeah, Iâd say thatâs fair,â Robby smirked as Jack dished out a bowl of soup and brought it over to the kid. âDo you remember anything you said when your fever was high?â Robby asked after a few minutes.
âNotâŚnot really,â Dennis whispered quietly. âWhy, did I say something embarrassing?â
âYou said you didnât believe Jack and I loved youâŚthat we couldnât,â Robby offered in reply as Jack sat down between the two men. Dennis went quiet, poking at his soup, unable to look up. Because he didnât look up, he didnât notice the two men sharing a look of concern.
âDen, baby, please tell us that was the fever talking, kid?â Jack pled.
Dennis shrugged, âI mean, come on. You guys are twice my age, you canât possibly love someone with myâŚlimited experience. Iâm just a stupid kid in your eyes, maybe a bit of funââ
âHey,â Robby snapped quickly. Then he paused, realizing heâd shouted a bit. He took a deep breath, âDennis, look at me, at us.â He waited until the blue eyes finally met his face. âDo you know how many people Jack and I have invited into our house, our marriage and our bed?â
Dennis shook his head slowly.
âNone. Literally, none.â Jack replied simply.
âBecause youâre different,â Jack answered. âKid, from the minute both Robby and I met and saw you, we knew you were different. We both felt this innate pull towards you. We wanted to get to know you. Look, neither of us can explain it, but we realized you added something to our relationship and love. You were sweet, and funny, and made us feel alive again.â
âReally?â Dennis asked quietly.
âReally, kid. We know youâre half our age, and at any point you could get out of this relationship too, you donât have to pick two men half your age, who are constantly tired and a little sore. But we want you, and thatâs worth whatever hurt it may lead to.â
Dennis shook his head, âI donât want anyone else, I want you guys, for as long as youâll have me.â
Jack gently grips the boyâs wrist and pulls Dennis towards him, pulling him into his lap, âBaby, weâll take you forever, we love you so much,â he murmured, cuddling the boy close. Robby took a moment to scoot closer and wrap his own arms around the two men.
âWe love you, Mouse.â