timeskip fic where Dennis and Robby are established relationship married and Dennis has been away for a week for a medical conference about rural emergency medicine and misses the new rotation of med students
Robby has been in a foul mood all week because his husband has been out of town and he doesnt know how to manage by himself after getting used to their routine. this leads him to be even more grouchy and irritable around the new students and even the regular staff
several threats have been made by Dana, Jack, and Trinity in an attempt to rectify his sour mood:
âRobby, take a breather or Iâm calling Whitakerâ
âYou would hate for Whitaker to hear about how youâve been acting, wouldnât you?â
âOne word to Huckleberry is all it takesâ (They silently question this name but thereâs not much time to dwell on it in the busy ER)
âBrother, relax. Heâll be back soonâ
âRemember what happened last time he heard about you being mean?â
(The students donât know, but last time Dennis was out of town and Robby was being pissy, he made Robby go around and apologize to everyone who called Dennis to complain about his rude behavior.)
They overhear nurses at the hub complaining;
âUgh I canât wait for Dr. Whitaker to get back. He really knows how to whip Robby into shape.â
âSeriously! I donât know how he does itâ
âOh you know exactly howâŚâ
Dana cuts in, âGet back to work, you two! Thereâs still names on that board which means thereâs still patients that need tending to.â
The nurses scurry off with mumbled âyes maâamsâ and Dana sighs. She shakes her head and laments, âCanât wait for Whitaker to returnâ.
After everything theyâve heard, the new med students have started envisioning what this mysterious Dr. Whitaker must be like. They imagine heâs scary if he can intimidate Dr. Robby, the biggest most intimidating doctor in the Pitt.
On Friday, word travels that Dr. Whitaker will be coming in for a swing shift before returning to his regular schedule. They see Dr. Robby perk up at this and observe how he gets more anxious the closer it gets to 1 pm. He glances at the ambulance bay and checks his phone frequently.
Finally, at 12:45 pm, someone shouts out, âWhitaker! Thank God!â
The med students all quickly glance up in a nervous sweat, scanning the floor for anyone who looks even mildly scary. Imagine their surprise when they all look to see Dana walk around the desk at the Hub with her arms raised and tightly embrace a small, 5â7 mousy boy who looks like he could still be in college.
The boyâDr. Whitaker, as theyâve recently discovered âchuckles and drops his bag at his feet before returning the hug.
âWas it that bad?â he laughed.
She pulled back and grabbed him by the shoulders, âLike you wouldnât believeâ
âWhere is he anyways?â Dr. Whitaker looks around the floor and locks eyes with one of the students. His eyebrows raise and he turns back to Dana.
âI didnât realize it was already time for the next rotation, let me go introduce myself.â
âYou go do that, kid. Iâll find Robby. Heâs probably hidingâ
He walks out of Danaâs hold and picks up his bag before making his way toward the students. They straighten up immediately, unsure what to make of the doctor theyâve heard so much yet so little about.
He smiles brightly and waves, âHello! Iâm Dr. Whitaker, one of the senior residents here in the ED. I hope youâve all enjoyed your rotation so far; I apologize for not being here at the beginning of itâ
They all nod politely while taking a second to process. Seriously? This is the guy Dr. Robby was scared of?
As if theyâve summoned him, they see Dr. Robby walking behind Dr. Whitaker. Itâs as though Dr. Whitaker can sense him, because he turns around and says, âAnd where do you think youâre going?â
Dr. Robby freezes. âOh! Hey hun. I was just looking for you..â
âHunâ?? Now theyâre really confused.
âUh huh. You wanna tell me why Iâve been getting texts all week from Trin about you? About how youâve been acting?â Itâs like a switch flipped. Dr. Whitaker lost his friendly demeanor and has turned into something not unlike that of a teacher chastising a child. He looks expectantly at Dr. Robby with his arms crossed.
âUm, well you see..â Dr. Robby sheepishly started but Dr. Whitaker cut him off.
âLook, if you miss me that badly, just call me. Donât terrorize your staff. Especially not while thereâs new students. It gives a bad impression.â
He looks up at Dr. Robby and gives him an exasperated yet friendly smile. Though, friendly might not be the right word.
The students watch in shock as Dr. Whitaker reaches up and outright cups Dr. Robbyâs cheek, patting it slightly before lowering his hand where Dr. Robby catches it and brings it to his chest.
âI didnât want to bother you while you were at your conference.â Theyâve never seen Dr. Robby this shy before. Itâs like heâs a completely different man around this Dr. Whitaker person.
âOh, câmon. Donât pull that. You know you could never bother me. Now go do your attending stuff and weâll talk later. I need to put my bag away and say hey to Trin before she finds me and strangles me for ignoring herâ He rolls his eyes and withdraws his hand.
Dr. Robby nods and looks as though heâs going to say something else but he just grabs Dr. Whitakerâs shoulder and squeezes it before walking toward Central.
Dr. Whitaker turns back to the students, who are all agape taking in the scene that just transpired.
He chuckles and shakes his head slightly, âIâm sorry about my husband. He gets grumpy when Iâm away for too long.â He claps his hands in front of his chest, âNow! How about some introductions?â
Husband! It all makes sense for them now.
They introduce themselves and continue with their shift. Every now and then they look up to see Dr. Whitaker and Dr. Robby huddled together smiling and talking quietly.
After the shift ends, they can understand now how those two would be married. Itâs like theyâre two halves of a whole. During procedures, they worked as if they could predict each otherâs moves. They passed surgical tools before the other even asked for it. During down time, they would catch each otherâs eye across the floor and smile softly before returning to their individual tasks. Dr. Robby has never been more pleasant.
The med students donât know what kind of man Dr. Whitaker is yet, but they sure are glad that heâs back.
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just a little idea I had! I would love if someone actually wrote this and fleshed it out more lol hope you guys enjoyed my little word vomit