season 3 is gonna psych us out by starting with a pov shift from robby to whitaker. dennis is locking up robby’s house and walking to the pitt on a chilly, snowy november morning. we follow his trek to ptmc as he’s bundled up in his nifty street team jacket, and as he’s walking to work a car pulls up next to him and rolls it’s window down, and the pov shifts back to robby since he’s now back on his way to work like in the previous seasons.
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“hop in kid. i’ve got the feeling that we’re heading towards the same place.” robby says.
a foggy cloud escaped whitaker’s mouth as he gasped in surprise at the car that had just pulled up next to him, but after seeing that it was just robby he quickly gets in, eager to get out of the cold. he looks over the man as he pulls away from the curb. robby was wearing his usual black scrub top and work pants, olive green today instead of his brown or black ones.
“i thought you’re first day back was tomorrow?” dennis said, buckling his seat belt and relaxing in the warmed cabin of the car. he pulled off his gloves and beanie, starting to overheat from the dry air being pumped into the vehicle.
robby’s eyes were locked straight ahead, driving carefully down the freshly plowed roads. “yeah it was supposed to be, but that locums doc that was supposed to be on shift with al-hashimi just got in a car wreck on their way to the hospital. they said they’re fine, but their car is totaled.”
robby turned down a street and stopped at a red light. dennis saw that they were only a few minutes away from ptmc.
“that sucks, but i’m glad they’re okay at least.” dennis looked at robby. “are you ready to jump back in the saddle, dr. robby? i can’t imagine you missed the hectic energy of the ed while you were relaxing on your sabbatical.” whitaker looked at the older man.
robby raked a hand down his jaw, scratching at his beard as he answered, “honestly, i did miss it.” he returned his hand to the steering wheel as he signaled to change lanes. “maybe not the noise or the frustrating patients and their families,” robby chuckled, “but i missed helping people. driving around and experiencing life outside of the pitt helped though. it made me reorient and look at my life from a different point of view.” while he was talking they had arrived at the staff parking structure, and robby pulled into one of the doctor reserved spots, killing the engine. the older man turned to dennis, “and don’t tell abbot,” he motioned the young resident closer, a conspiratorial smirk on his face, “but he was right, i really did get so bored while i was away.”
whitaker smiled, he understood robby perfectly.
“but, one of the things i really missed most was everyone we work with. life just doesn’t feel the same if i’m not getting ribbed by dana and jack. i’m excited to see what new wagers are on the betting board. and,” robby reached out and clapped his hand onto whitaker’s shoulder, “i missed teaching you guys. i’m sure the other attendings did a fine job, but maybe i’m a little possessive. i like knowing that my teachings helped guide you into being the great physicians i know you can be.” robby pulled his hand away only to slowly return it to readjust a curl that had apparently gotten messed up when dennis took off his hat earlier.
dennis held his breath, scared that robby would pull away if he realized what he was doing. the loud sound of an alarm on his phone going off disturbed the intimate moment between the two men. dennis startled and robby pulled his hand back quickly. dennis slipped his gloves and hat back on and slid out of the car, grateful for the sharp sting of the icy wind since he could explain away the sudden flush on his cheeks as coming from the cold air and not the charged moment he had just had with robby.
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robby closed his eyes and let out a sigh as the passenger door shut. he steeled himself and got out of the vehicle more sedately, pulling his backpack from the backseat and locking up the car. they both turned and made their way to the ed.
dennis broke the silence first, “well, i’m glad you’re back too, dr. robby.” he waved robby closer like how the attending had done earlier. “and don’t tell abbot this, but you’re my favorite teacher to learn from. he’s great, so are al-hashimi and shen, i’ve learned a lot from all of them, but i feel like you and i just…” he trailed off, looking for the right word. after a moment, he found it. “i feel like you and i just click, you know?.”
robby looked at the young man in front of him as they stood outside the entrance to the emergency room. the rosy red flush painting his cheeks and the bridge of his nose was so endearing to robby. but what most distracted robby was the red of his lips, starting to chap from the cold and dry air. robby wondered what they’d feel like under his thumb, dry, but not yet starting to flake. he makes a mental note to swipe the younger man a packet of petroleum jelly from the supply closet.
he readjusts his backpack on his shoulder, nodding his head as he tries to get his mind back to work appropriate thoughts. “yeah kid, i know.” he steered the shorter man into the building. “now, lets get clocked in. it wouldn’t be a good look for your chief attending to show up late on his first day back, now would it?”
robby missed a lot during his time off, but what he didn’t tell anyone is that the one thing he truly missed above all was the feeling of the young man’s warm body underneath his palm and the looks of adoration that whitaker seemed to, unbeknownst to himself, give robby.
his shift hadn’t even started and robby had already gotten a dose of both of them, so he knew that no matter what kind of shit the day threw at him, he at least had this. not to mention the boy was going to go home with him tonight after their shift. whitaker says it’s to pack up his things to fully move out now that the older man is back, but robby is wondering if there’s a way he could persuade him otherwise, maybe just for a while.
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