Heres a piece of that Rabbot fic I was talking about… 👀👀 (featuring Trinity and Dennis. Also lol I made any geography and locations up pls dont trust me #I was stoned lwk.
This morning had.. not been going well- to put it bluntly.
Pittsburg was going through an awful rainstorm season. At first it was just that- a gloomy, wet atmosphere- which could also lead to a multitude of excessive cases in the ER for a variety of reasons. Trinity couldn’t find it in herself to look forward to any aspect of today’s shift.
Putting her hair up as she walked into the kitchen, she was met with Dennis leaning against the counter, Avocado toast in one hand, cracked phone in the other. Last month an unruly patient had flung it from his grip, where, with his luck, it had landed perfectly under the path of an incoming trauma gurney. Dennis was just relieved it worked at all, after that.
He looked up when he noticed her entrance, and grimaced slightly. “Bad news, Trin. I got a notification- our Bus is canceled because it got busted in a ride yesterday.”
“Fuck.” She hissed. “Walk?”
He looked at her in that wet-rat way only he could, holding up the weather app. “It’s a 15 minute walk in pouring rain and 42 mile-an-hour wind?”
“Double fuck.”
“There is some good news though! You know how Dana started a group chat a few months ago? For- ‘emergencies’ and things like that?”
She looked at him blankly, concern creeping up on her features. “Yeah..”
“Well I texted and asked if we were on the way for anyone, and if we could get a ride. Robby said yes!”
“Triple Fuck.”
“Trin? Hey! Hey what do you mean- Trinity! triple fuck? We have a ride-?” Dennis stuttered, scrambling to catch up with her flurried moments.
Narrowly escaping, she checked the chat on her own, and wanted to cry at the message sent from their boss fifteen minutes ago.
Dr. Robby: sure. I can pick you both up, since I’m in my car all week. Do not be late, please, I have to drop something off after I pick you up. I’ll be by the bus stop in front of your apartment complex.
Nurse Dana: Aw! Robby to the rescue
Dennis: thank you so much! Appreciate you, Robby :)
Dr. Robby: yeah.
“Nooo.” She groaned, but she grabbed her backpack and umbrella anyway.
Now here they stood, 10 minutes later, mildly sopping from near sideways rain, squinting at cars driving by. Finally, and-thank god, she might add- a very lovely looking older model Jeep Cherokee pulled up to the curb.
“Come on. The less water outside of my car the better.”
Trinity closed her eyes, took a calming breath, and went to open the passenger door.
“Aht. Both of you in the back. I don’t want awkward small talk from coworkers I’m not meant to be seeing for another half hour.” Robby rubbed his fingers into his temple. A tiny voice let out a brief cry of bafflement, and he winced from a kick to the back of the seat.
“Abba! Be nice to your friends. When I pullded on Sally’s hair that time you and Daddy had me time-in and I couldn’t play outside until I stopped crying. Do we need a time-in Abba?”
They both stared blankly at the little girl in the back, who put her hands on her hips to the best of her ability (while sat in a booster seat). Robby sighed, thoroughly scolded, and turned around to look at her with a smile he couldn’t fight.
“Im sorry, princess. No need for time-ins. Is it okay if my friends ride in the back with you on the way to school?”
“Hmm. Yes, okay. But only cus’ her shirt is purple and I like purple. An’ your other friend looks like the puppy in my book at school.”
Trinity didn’t know whether or not to laugh or cry at the situation, but she truly couldn’t hold back a snicker at the description of her best friend.
Quickly so as not to get any more wet, they clambered into the back- finding it ridiculously clean for a kids’ space- save the perfectly placed sparkly backpack at her feet, and stuffed dragon clipped to her seat.
“what’s your name? My name is Maggie, but my daddy calls me Dash because I talk so fast. I used to get upset because I dont think I talk that fast, but now I actually like Dash, cus I run a lot. Daddy takes me running sometimes. We have to put on his special running leg in our morning rrr.. rou-tine.”
Trinity felt.. so out of the loop. First the bus breaking down, and the pouring rain, getting a ride to work from her boss who has this mystery kid he never talked about?
Not to mention- whaddya know! He’s gay, and she had fuck all to worry about with trauma and paranoia and the like. Theres that at least.
“My name is Dennis. It’s very nice to meet you Maggie.”
At least Dennis seemed to be fairing well. Gleeful, really. Who knew he would be fine around kids? Trinity didn’t. And quite frankly, felt terrified to get water on the car or say something to offended the girl two seats down- or the real papa bear in the drivers’ seat.
Realizing both the little girl and her roommate anticipating her response, she shook her head. “Erh- Im Trinity. Yeah, it’s cool to meet you Maggie. Are you.. excited for school?”
Maggie seemed to beam, nodding. “Today is uhm. Abba? What’s it called?”
Robby, without a glance or thought, turned the corner onto the next street and uttered, “Show and Tell pumpkin.”
“Yeah! I bringed my stuffie to show! He’s Stormfly. Have you seen that movie? With Toothless? It’s my favorite. My Daddy and I watch it all the time-“
“Isn’t Stormfly a girl?”
“Daddy says it’s rude to in-ter-upt. In the movie he is a Girl but he’s my stuffy so I choosed because my stormfly is a boy.” Maggie huffed. Trinity held her hands up placatingly.
“When I was a baby and Abba and Daddy buyed me from the hospital, on halloween Daddy was Hiccup and I was Tooth’ess. I want to do it again this year- but my costume doesnt fit- cus’ im not a baby anymore.” She pouted.
Robby snorted from the front seat, shaking his head. “Daddy and I didn’t buy you from the hospital, Dash.”
She raised a brow at him, arms crossed. “Did you spend money on me?”
“Well.. yeah, we did I guess.” Robby shrugged- nope. Not shrugged. Laughed.
“See? It’s like when Daddy and I buyed Bowie at the green man store.”
“The green man store?” Dennis quirked a brow.
“It’s one of our VA’s offices, the logo out front has a cliche green army guy on it. Theres a program to get service dogs for Vets. Bowie is our German Shepard.” Robby clarified, turning off the click-click-clicking blinker.
“Mhm! Daddy says nobody should pet her without asking- especially while she’s doing her job. So I try really really hard to keep people from petting her. But sometimes, they pet her anyway! Daddy says it’s very frust’ating, because she helps him from when he’s getting scared.” She huffed, shaking her head.
“That’s really rude.” Trinity noted, nodding sympathetically at the 6 year old’s plight.
“Yeah, it makes me sad.” Maggie’s big green eyes got watery, and she let out soft sniffle.
Trinity felt panicked. Fuck. She made Robby’s kid cry? What should she do? Bribery with candy? Make her laugh, try to distract? She hadn’t been with a kid that actually meant something personal to her in some time- what if she fucked up? What if-
“Hey, Dash you okay?” Robby asked, glancing at the mirror to check on her.
“Yes. M’sorry Abba.” She rubbed her eyes.
“No need for sorries, you’ve just got some big feelings, huh?”
“Mhm.. I felt sad for daddy when people don’t listen when he says don’t pet Bowie, p’ease.”
“Yeah? That’s okay. Empathy is a good thing to have. Do you need help with your feelings?”
She took a deep breath, thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, thanks Abba. But can you put on my happy songs please?”
Robby chuckled, and nodded. “Yeah sure kiddo.”
Dennis and Trinity watched wordlessly as Robby slipped a cassette into the player, and up-beat kids’ rock songs filled the car.
Dennis couldn’t help but feel an intense weight in his heart. He couldn’t tell if it was relief, or an odd sense of jealousy at the clear attention and care Robby and his mystery partner gave their daughter. He smiled, nonetheless, and enjoyed watching the girl hum and dance to a song about rainbows.
Trinity watched From the rear view mirror. She noted his thumbs tapping on the wheel, and his voice murmuring in a soft, likely subconscious way, along to the song.
A quiet; “Roy G. Biv is a colorful man, and he proudly stands, at the rainbows’ end..”
She wanted to laugh incredulously. It felt almost comical to her. And despite everything she was learning and feeling this morning- her boss being a surprisingly wonderful parent, driving a car fitting of the old-man jokes she and her coworkers made, and having a remarkably pretty singing voice- she couldn’t ignore her hound-dog sense for the nosy need to know everything about everyone in the world around her.
“Trin-it-y?”
She shook herself out of the mindfog. “Yeah?”
“Do you have a favorite caterpillar? Mine is a Atticus Atlus, and it likes to eat...”
___
When Robby made it to the school, he parked in the round-about, watching kids in rain slickers scramble to hug and kiss parents goodbye, and escape to the safe sanctuary of the elementary school’s classrooms. He hopped out of the front seat and made his way to the back, opened the door and was met with his light and world, beaming up at him with a missing front tooth. She raised her arms up, and as quickly as he could he unbuckled her from the booster and pulled her out of its straps.
“Run ahead under the onning, I’ll be right behind you, Dash.”
“Okay Abba!” She did as instructed, and watched patiently for him to follow.
Quickly, ignoring the grins from his coworkers, he scooped up both her backpack and Stormfly, and rushed to catch up with her.
“You be good today, okay baby?”
“You too, Abba.”
”Tell me how show and tell goes. Daddy will be picking you up on his way to work, and I’ll take you home, okay?”
she stuck her tongue out at him. “I know the shed dull! Tomorrow is a free day, too!”
He chuckled, nodding. “Yup. And- it’s schedule, kiddo.”
“I said that, Abba.”
“Okay, I love you baby. See you later, okay? Tell Mr. Brown if you need Daddy or me, okay?”
“Mhm. I love you, Abba.”
She accepted the backpack straps being pulled on, and clutched her dragon tight. Robby planted a kiss to her forehead, hugging her gently. Maggie returned a much slobberier kiss onto his cheek, and before he knew it, he was standing in the humid parking lot of Pittsburgh elementary, and his daughter was nowhere to be found. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, and made his way back into the car.
Just a few more hours, and his world would be whole for one full day.
He shut the car door, leaning on the wheel with a sigh. Maggie’s They might be giants; here comes science! cassette continued to play on quietly.
“So. Robby. Who’s your husband?” A very smug, curious voice popped up from the back.
He sighed again. Just a few more hours.
(Lmk what you think & if you want more!!)
(Background stuff!!)
- Jack’s late wife passed away 12 years prior from breast cancer. Jack and Robby got together 9, and married 8 years ago.
- Robby is ftm, and they both decided on him carrying Maggie as opposed to adoption or surrogacy. They do still want to adopt in the future. (Baby Jane doe I see you 👀👀👀)
- Maggie was not planned, and despite a lot of heartache and dysphoria that came with having her, Robby wouldn’t change a thing.
- Jack was supplied a service dog when Maggie was 4. An increasing inability to focus/remain calm in quiet spaces made him increasingly anxious for her future. He didn’t want to hurt his baby, after all. Bowie, yes, named after the artist (but also after the Knife!) is a German Shepard who helps Jack with PTSD from the Middle East, S.W.A.T., and the Pitt itself.
- Dana, Frank, Kiara, Collins, and Gloria (because they were forced to tell her when Robby was out for baby leave) are the only E.R. folks who know about/and or met Maggie.
