Tzosis

He guesses that the rooms are upstairs, because he finds the kitchen, with windows and a door open to the garden Dennis knew he would find. There’s a dining table and a big kitchen island. Everything is black and dark wood, but it doesn’t feel dark with the light coming through the windows.

Everything is also a fucking mess.

There’s a half drank cup of coffee on the kitchen island, dirty pans on the ignition (turned off, thank God), there’s also some white powder on the counter, dirty dishes in the sink. Is this how Doctor Robby was going to leave his kitchen for three months? Because yuck. Maybe he was already planning on asking Dennis to housesit, even if it had seemed like a last second idea at the moment. Either way, leaving the kitchen like that for Dennis to clean is not cool, but Robby is the boss, and he is giving his house to Dennis for three months so, Dennis can’t complain.

He sets to work, wiping the counters and washing the dishes and pans.

He is thankful he didn’t put music on when he hears the front door opening.

A thousand scenarios run through Dennis’s head in a second. Maybe it’s Doctor Abbot? But he was there at the hospital when Dennis left, taking over the night shift. Maybe Doctor Robby has a cleaning service? That would explain the dirty kitchen, but he would have told Dennis, and he wouldn’t need him to take care of the plants and housesit if that was the case.

There is only one possible explanation.

Burglars.

Someone is breaking into Doctor Robby’s house.

Dennis’s hand reaches for a knife from the holder on the counter, but he pauses. They can use that against him and he could kill them accidentally if they get into a fight.

The sounds keep coming from the foyer.

Dennis hand settles around the pan’s handle.

He stalks to the entrance, as quietly as he can. There’s a man with his back turned to him. Just one. Dennis can do this.

“Don’t move!” Dennis shouts.

The man startles and turns back and- oh.

“Whitaker, you scared me,” Doctor Robby says. His eyes fly down to the pan in Dennis’ hands, now dropped down. “Were you going to hit me with that? I appreciate the commitment to keeping my house safe.”

Oh, Doctor Robby is amused. Dennis feels his heart skip in his chest, like every time he looks at him with that twinkle in his eyes.

“I-” Dennis starts, but he doesn’t know what to say. He settles on, “I thought you had already left?”

“That was the plan, but-” Doctor Robby doesn’t finish talking, interrupted by a soft sound, something close to a cry but that can’t be.

Doctor Robby turns around and- there’s a stroller behind him that Dennis had totally missed. Next time Robby turns around, there’s a baby in his arms. He is soothing them with soft sounds while Dennis stands there in shock with his mouth open.

“It’s okay, baby girl,” Doctor Robby whispers and okay, what the fuck.

He tells the head nurse that he is going for a nap. She will let the others know so they can get him for anything important. The people doing a single shift can handle the er for a couple hours and if not, they can wake him up any time. He takes a quick look at the board. There’s no one in the behavioural rooms. They are his usual spot for naps, close to the trauma bays so he can jump in at any time and less likely to be needed.

The curtains are already drawn when he gets to the room, hiding the interior, but he assumes it's to keep patients out of it, to make it seem in use.

There is a person in the bed when he closes the door and pushes past the curtains. The lights are off, but he can see the silhouette of someone lying on top of the covers. He is about to make his retreat and look for another room, inform that there is a mistake with the board and there’s a patient missing but he stops.

This is not a patient.

The figure is facing away from him in the dim light of the room, but they are clearly wearing doctor scrubs and the hair… as soon as Abbot takes a good look, he knows who this is. Dennis Whitaker. Intern.

Abbot had sent him to rest almost an hour ago and the kid had protested, even when he had dark circles under his eyes from being in the middle of a triple shift. A triple shift. That is the best testament of how young he is. Still has that energy around him. Passionate, willing to help, empathetic. He’s a good doctor, a breath of fresh air when Jack is feeling the burnout.

Jack stands there, looking at the way his chest rises with his breath. He should find another room.

But the nurses know where to find him here, it’s his spot.

It's not that difficult of a choice. Whitaker lets himself be pushed to the side without a stir, enough that there is room next to him for Abbot to lay down on his side.

He leaves his stethoscope to the side—on the side table next to Whitaker’s—and sits on the bed. He takes his prosthetic off before lying down but leaves his other shoe on, always ready, or as ready as he can be without it being too uncomfortable. Not like the boy next to him, his shoes off and off to the side, but he'll wait to teach him about keeping himself ready even when he's asleep for when he wakes up.

Now he just puts his prosthetic next to the shoes and lays down, his chest to Whitaker's back, just enough room for them not to touch, but he still can feel the heat from his body. This will make gossip go crazy in the hospital, but that's a worry for later. Now he just closes his eyes.