#open requests

A Week Later 

Dennis is transported out of one wing and into the recovery wing . Where everything is exhausting. The walking, the physical therapy, and just the idea of existing becomes exhausting. But he’s alive, and because of that every single day he spends in the recovery wing one of them is there. 

Usually it’s the three of them. Trinity sitting in the chair, Jack standing by the door, and Robby sitting on the couch. It’s an early afternoon when Dennis is wheeled back to his room from physical therapy to find that Robby is sitting on the edge of his bed looking far more exhausted for someone who isn’t going to physical therapy every day. 

“Were you sleeping?” Dennis asks. Robby shakes his head. “You totally were.” Dennis squeaks. “No I wasn’t.” With a slight tilt of Dennis' head and the sternness in his voice. “Robby.”, Robby gives in. “Maybe.” The simple back and forth makes Dennis smile, and for the first time since Dennis had woken up Robby smiles, a genuine smile. 

Then just like that the smile breaks and Dennis notices right away. “Hey.” Robby can’t look at Dennis instead opting for the tiled flooring underneath his shoes. “You don’t get to do that, Robby.” Still without looking at Dennis, “Get to do what?” 

“The guilt thing.” Robby lets out a humorless laugh. “Den…” “No!” For the first time Dennis is the one that is interrupting. “This wasn’t your fault.” “But I should have…” “Stop.” There's a firmness in Dennis’s voice that seems to surprise the both of them. Dennis reaches out, and takes Robby's larger hand. 

“I really need you to listen to me.” Robby finally looks up, the closeness of their shared touch giving him the courage. “This was not your fault.” The words sit heavy between them for a long time, almost as if the words are more necessary now than ever before. 

Maybe for the first time in the past two weeks does Robby actually want to let himself believe it even if it just for a little bit. While Dennis continues to stare into Robby’s eyes with love and admiration. 

Week 1 

Dennis gets discharged a few days later, and honestly nobody asked where he’s going to stay because the answer has become blatantly obvious over the past few weeks. It's Robby's apartment that Dennis will be staying at. 

Trinity doesn’t even fight the idea of Robby and Jack stealing away her best friend because well they’re trained professionals in health care but also she isn’t sure she’d win the fight on keeping Dennis at their apartment. 

Jack moves in quietly with half of his belongings coming into the Robinavitch household within a forty-eight hour period. Trinity shows up a few times uninvited of course with groceries, Dana is texting daily. Telling Dennis about how much the day shift is missing him. 

Yet it drives Dennis up the wall. The frustration of being unable to drive, unable to work, and he can’t even walk up the damn flight of stairs without his entire body giving way to the aching tiredness that is consuming him on the daily. 

Robby on the other hand takes the time to take a month long sabbatical from the hospital. On the surface level it is for official burnout, but unofficially the entire day shift, and night shift understand it’s because of Dennis. 

Because every time Dennis leaves his sight for more than just ten minutes he’s checking everything on Dennis. From there their bond changes, there’s no more need to dance around feelings, or wonder if lines are going to be crossed because frankly they’ve already been crossed. Now that they’re all trying to lean out to live together. 

The first time that Dennis falls asleep on Robby’s couch it is with his head in Jack’s lap, while slender fingers run through short curls, and his feets across Robby’s lap. Large hands, and nimble fingers gently stroking his ankle. 

Neither man moves for three hours after Dennis finally falls asleep.

Week 2 

Two weeks in and Dennis has finally got enough energy to be just the right amount of stubborn again. Which just means that Dennis tries to take on everything all at once. He tries the laundry, then migrates to the kitchens and tries to make himself something to eat along with Robby, then it’s the cleaning and the physical therapy all in just one day. 

At the end of the day, after returning home with Robby from physical therapy is when he nearly passes out. Which in turn causes an argument that is their first ever. 

“Dennis, you are recovering!” 

“I’m fucking fine, it’s already been what a fucking month since I got hurt.” 

“Dennis you have a skull fracture! What are you not understanding about this?” 

“I HAD one, Robby!” 

“Skull fractures just don’t go away, Dennis. You still have one!” 

The argument continues on until Jack returns home, and has to physically but also emotionally step between the both of them. Robby stays in the living room for the rest of the night while Jack and Dennis take the stairs slowly and make their way into the bedroom. 

In the comfort of the bedroom is where Dennis later admits that he’s just frustrated with himself, and with his body. Feeling utterly useless. A few stray tears fall down his cheeks as he nuzzles into the side of Jack's body. It’s hours later when the steadiness of Dennis breathing finally lets Jack travel back down the stairs to find a still awake and red eyed Robby sitting on the couch. 

Robby ends up admitting that he’s just afraid, more like terrified because Robby had already almost lost him once, he knows he won’t be able to go through the trauma again without a part of him breaking into tiny shards of broken glass. 

The following morning when coffee is being brewed and everyone has had enough time to cool down, they come together in the dining room. “I’m sorry for hovering.” Robby says first from across the table. Jack watches and waits. “I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m just frustrated with my body.” 

There is a sympathetic look that gets thrown from both men. “I just… I hate that this was our first fight.” Robby mutters into his coffee cup. Jack laughs from behind his cup. “How about we change a few things to the dynamic?” 

Both men look at Jack with pinched brows. “How about for the next couple of days I take care of all the medical shit, you just be here for Dennis. Can you do that Robby?” Jack asks, with a small nod the plan is set in place. 

Oddly enough the three men feel as though for their first fight instead of it breaking more walls and destroying something. It’s made their bond stronger than ever. Because the result is that nobody left, nobody pulled away. And nobody ran away. 

Week 2.5 

The three men had come to realize that Robby taking care of Dennis was something that was obvious. Loud, and clear, visible in a way that made him hover and argue with Dennis over the tiniest of things. 

Robby would be slaving over the stove for hours in the early morning just to make the younger man soup, and then threaten Dennis when he tried to carry something that was heavier than a coffee mug. Jack is different and Dennis doesn’t even realize how much Jack is doing on the backend until halfway through his recovery. 

Because Jack takes care of people in that quiet way, the way that seems to him to be as natural as breathing, the same way that gravity is quiet. Always there, his care is the sort of thing that is easy to miss until it isn’t anymore. 

It starts with Dennis’s medication. Three different bottles that are always sitting on the kitchen counter. One for the pain, another to prevent the horrible nausea he had felt when he first left the recovery wing, and something else that he can’t really remember. 

Every single morning the pills are arranged on the counter top with a glass of water before he even wakes up, and at first Dennis automatically assumes that it’s Robby’s doing, but then one morning Dennis wakes before Robby.

When the house is still dark, the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen leads him down the stairs. For a military man Jack doesn’t notice that Dennis is standing at the bottom of the stairs. Jack carefully sorts through the pills, and places each pill into a daily organizer. Check the dosages twice before writing down the next time the bottle has to be refilled. 

Jack then places everything exactly where Dennis will find it, only then does Dennis decide to alert Jack to his presence. “You’re such a nerd, Jack.” Jack actually jumps, “Fucking hell Dennis!” With a hand over his heart he settles himself against the side of the countertop. 

“You’ve been color coding my medications?” Jack looks down, then shrugs. “You’ve been forgetting them.” Dennis isn’t sure what he’s supposed to say, because technically Jack is correct. So instead he walks down the rest of the stairs and steals Jack's cup of black coffee, and of course Jack lets him. 

It’s a few days later when the headaches are hitting harder than normal, and the physical therapy is going rough. It’s all just too much noise, and too much everything. By the time that Dennis manages to get home, the pain that is throbbing behind his eyes becomes unbearable. So much that he barely makes it to the couch 

Before Robby is panicking and rambling on. “What’s wrong?” He asks with urgency in his voice. “My head.” Dennis answers quietly. “How bad is it Dennis?” Robby asks. “Really bad.” Robby is already up and off the other side of the couch before he’s reaching for his phone and ready to call somebody. 

Dennis can feel it happening, he can also see it happening. The etching concern on Robby’s face, the fear that is seeping out of him. The memories of the ICU still sitting far too close to the surface, then there’s Jack. 

Calmness, steadiness. “Okay.” A single word that makes the room slow down immediately. Jack kneels quickly even with his prosthetics. “Dennis, baby.” A strong, large hand on his shoulder. That’s somehow grounding, and gentle at the same time. “Look at me, Den.” 

Dennis does, “I want you to take a breath.” It sounds simple and easy, so Jack guides him through it. One step at a time, through the medication, the water. The living room lights getting dimmed, the curtains being drawn, and a cool washcloth being pressed around the back of his neck. 

Only then does the headache eventually ease away, and when Dennis finally does open his eyes again Jack is still sitting there. A book in his hands, closes at the edge of his nose, quietly waiting as if he never even considered going someplace else. 

And when the nightmares come, and get worse not every night but just often enough that Dennis can’t really remember all of them. Just fragments of his blood, the screaming and alarms. The falling onto the cart and then down to the floor. Sometimes when Dennis wakes up he’s convinced he’s back in the trauma room. So utterly convinced that he can’t breathe. 

It’s one night when he wakes up so suddenly that his heart is racing in his chest, disoriented, the room pitch black and for one terrifying moment he doesn’t know where he is. “Dennis.” Jack’s voice calls out from the darkness. Soft, sleepy, but most importantly immediate. 

Dennis turns in the bed, where a shiftless Jack is looking at Dennis. “Are you okay Den?” The question is gentle, and not demanding. Dennis’s hands come up to cover his face. “It was just a bad dream.” He answered from behind his hands. 

Jack just nods, no surprise, and no judgement. Just an understanding. A moment of silence goes by “Do you want to talk about it?” Jack asks. “No.” Dennis answers quickly. “Okay.” Then another pause. “You want some company?” Jack asks as if the man hadn’t fallen asleep next to him hours before. 

Dennis' answers come falling out of his head embarrassingly fast. “Yeah… I’d like that.” THe quickness of Dennis’s words has Jack smiling, and even in the darkness Dennis can sense the warmth from it, as the two get settled together. Dennis falls asleep with his head resting on Jack's large shoulder in less than thirty minutes and doesn’t dream a single thing for the rest of the night. 

Jack trades a shift to be able to take Dennis to physical therapy one day. That day turns out to be the worst day of Dennis' life so far. Everything on him was hurting, he was tired as fuck from the constantly shifting in his sleep. A deep frustration was starting to take root in his bones, and then on top of all of it he felt like he was utterly behind. 

The therapist was making him repeat exercises when Dennis snapped. Not at anyone in particular, just at life in general. “I’m fucking trying give me a god damn break.” The words come out quick and much sharper than intended. The room went quiet. Other patients leering over from their own sessions. 

For one single moment, Dennis was so sure that the therapist was going to yell at him. That someone, hell anyone was going to shout at him. Instead he was greeted with the therapist wisely stepping away for a moment. Dennis lets out a sigh mixed with humiliation, anger, and tiredness. 

While staring at the carpeted flooring, he felt a hand settle on the base of his neck. Jack, he had forgotten that Jack was there, another wave of mortification washed over him. As the younger man waited for the anger to come bubbling up and out of Jack. But instead he was met with a softness that he wasn’t prepared for. 

“Hey.” Dennis closed his eyes. “I really fucking hate this shit.” He mumbled. “I know, Den.” Jack said softly. Rubbing the pad of his thumb back and forth at the base of Dennis’s neck. “I can’t do a damn thing right now, Jack.” At those words Jack’s hold on Dennis grew a bit tighter. “That’s not true, Dennis.” 

With another heavy sigh, “It feels true.” Silence engulfed them, and just like that Jack was crouching down beside the younger man. With patience written all over his face, and a steadiness in his eyes. 

The way that Jack always was with him, and Robby. 

“Dennis, you survived.” The bitter laugh that erupted from Dennis’s chest felt wrong but needed almost. “Yeah barely.” He countered. “No.” Jack’s voice was low but firm, and certain. “You survived.” 

For whatever reason the words just hit differently coming from Jack. Maybe it was because Jack didn’t like wasting his words, or maybe it was because if Jack was saying it then he truly meant what he was saying. Maybe it was because even though they didn’t talk about Jack’s time in the army, Dennis had enough awareness to know that the older man had probably gone through the same physical therapy and rehabilitation years ago after coming back with quarter less of himself. 

“You got through the ICU.” A pause, “And you made it through surgery.” Another pause. Each leaving a more lasting feeling in Dennis’s chest that he forced himself to look away. “You then got through recovery in the hospital.” Then finally. “So no Dennis you don’t have to get everything done at once.” Something in Dennis’s chest cracks. 

Not badly, not in a painful sort of way, just enough so that all the pressure that had been building there could be let out a little. Dennis laughs, weakly. “You’re annoyingly good at this.” Jack just smiles that cocky, happy smile. “It’s just years of practice, and some therapy thrown in for some good luck.” 

Week 3 

A part of Dennis is happy when Dana shows up three weeks after being released from the hospital, but she doesn’t bring good tides with her. Instead tucked away in her purse is paperwork, actual hospital paperwork. From that point forward Dennis knows that he’s in deep shit. “Absolutey not.” He says when Dana slides the thick packet of papers over to him. 

“Absoluey yes, Dennis.” There’s no escape. Trinity is on the other side of the phone staring at him like his mother used to. Jack is standing beside him with a pen, and Robby just looks absolutely smug about this whole endeavor. 

“Dennis.” Jack says. “No.” He tries to put down his foot. “Please Dennis.” Robby tires. “No” Dennis says, sounding more and more like a three year old having a tantrama. Eventually Dennis does give in. Maybe it’s the overall staring into his soul that each person seems to be doing, or maybe it’s the feeling of an actual family that is starting to bloom in his chest. 

Regardless he looks down at the emergency contact section where it sits blank for just a few seconds. Then slowly write. Micheal Robinavitch, Jack Abbot, and finally Trinity Santos. When Dennis lifts his head and sets the pen down, sliding the paperwork back in Dana's direction the room is quiet, nobody mentions the tears and overall relief that has been lifted, especially not Robby. 

Week 4 

Something seems to have settled after that, the nightmares aren’t as frequent, the headaches are becoming more manageable. Dennis starts to relax more now, the laughing returns, his sleep gets better. Dennis starts to eat more regularly too. Robby, Jack, and Trinity start to back away, not hovering quite so much now. 

It’s a few nights before the end of Robby’s month-long sabbatical while the three of them are watching another old western film. Dennis curled into Robby’s side, his arm wrapped around the younger man's body. Jack on the other side of the couch stretched out and his prosthetic lounging against the side of the couch. 

They’re nearly halfway through the film when Dennis quietly says. “I think I was just scared.” Neither man interrupts, instead they just look at each other once and then back at Dennis. “I think I thought that if something did happen to me… well that nobody would really know where the hell they fit in.” 

The living room goes silent except for the listening sounds from the western, Jack automatically reaches for Dennis’s hand, Robby reaches for the other. Dennis breathes in and then out letting them. “You idiots showed up anyways.” Robby laughs, shaking both of them.

“Against some medical advice.” Jack nods, “And repeatedly might I add.” Dennis just smiles and takes it in. For the first time since the accident that fear is gone, not the injury, not the recovery. It’s that deeper rooted fear. The one that had spent the past years telling Dennis that he was utterly and completely alone in this world. 

Now that fear is gone, because well he knows something is different. He now knows that’s no longer the truth. Because even on the worst of days, Dennis knows that that waiting room will not be empty. Never again.

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The Pitt Master List // SMAU My Emergency Contact(s) Series

Posted on: 06/18/26