Chapter Text
"You should go home,"
Dennis looked up from the bright computer screen, his eyes burning from how long he had gone without blinking. "What?"
"You heard me, Whitaker. You stayed over long enough," Robby had leaned over onto the counter, his elbows pressing into the surface to give his back a much needed break. Even if for just a moment — That's all Dr. Robby seemed to need. A few seconds to gather his bearings, and then he was as right as rain once again.
He was right, however. There had been a call off and Dennis was quick to speak up, offering that he could stay over to help out for at least half of the vacant shift. That alone was a little over five hours ago, and Dennis sure did feel it.
"Are you sure? I don't mind—"
"Whitaker, take this moment to go before you can't."
Leaning back in his seat, Whitaker's blue eyes had trailed down to the corner of the computer, the time brightly displayed as 8:37pm. Originally, his shift was five to three.
Closing out of his screen, and logging out of the computer, Dennis pressed his lips together with a slow nod. "Okay. Yeah - I guess I should."
Dr. Robby smiled softly at the younger doctor as he stood up, reaching over to press a hand to his shoulder with a light shake. "Alright. See you tomorrow?"
"You know it,"
—
Dennis had pressed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. Picking at his fingertips was an old habit that he had never been able to break, especially on nights like this. Staying to work despite the dull ache in his knees, the rain pelting on the staff room windows drawing his attention more than the squeaky wheels of the gurney just outside the door.
Dennis pulled his hood up, standing underneath the covered entryway to the hospital. The wind was harsh - blowing the unrelenting rain all different directions, and he knew that he would be soaked to the bone before getting halfway to the bus stop.
Reaching up to his ear, he placed his headphones in, and soft music had overtaken the sound of the rain hitting the pavement below his feet. He couldn't ignore the way his toes had already begun to feel cold, and he simply couldn't wait for careless drivers to splash water up to his knees while he was walking.
Rubbing his hand over his eyes, he had let out a small sigh. Was it better to sneak into the top floor of the hospital again, or to show up at Dr. Santos' apartment soaked and dripping, with the chance of her denying him a spot on her couch for the night?
Dennis chewed on his lip, before a familiar hand on his shoulder had caused him to flinch back to reality. Quickly, he reached up and pulled one of the wired earphones out of his ears, turning his head with wide eyes. "Sorry! — Were you calling for me?"
"I was," Robby stood beside him, his dark blue jacket zipped up halfway. He removed his hand from the shorter man's shoulder, pressing it deep into his pocket as he cleared his throat.
"The hell are you still doing here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well - your shift ended nearly an hour ago. Have you been standing out here in the rain this entire time?"
Dennis furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. There was no way it's already been an hour — Has he really been standing outside for that long? No wonder his toes had gone cold. He pulled his arm up, looking at the watch on his arm, and sure enough...
"Oh."
Dr. Robby had laughed under his breath, shaking his head at the young doctor. "You're something else, Whitaker. Do you need a ride home?"
Dennis had pressed his lips together, his eyes looking away from Robby and to a cigarette butt not too far away, on the ground - still smoking from use. It must have been Dr. Robby's. Did he even smoke? Not like Dennis ever got close enough physically to figure that out.
Dr. Robby pressing his lips together and turning his eyes to face Dennis was just enough to get the man to make eye contact with him once again, "Uh— No, that's alright. The bus is going to be here soon, anyways.." Dennis scratched the back of his head through his hood, unsure of how to simply say 'I don't have a home for you to take me to.'
"Come on, Nebraska. The bus is dangerous at night, let me take you."
Dennis' eyebrows raised slightly, having no idea how to get himself out of this now that Dr. Robby was walking away, assumably in the direction of his vehicle.
Dennis shifted on the balls of his feet for a moment, before stepping out from under the covered entrance to follow Robby out into the staff parking lot.
It wasn't too long before they had made it to his truck - which Dennis quickly climbed into and shut the door beside him. Robby turned the key, looking over to the blond as he got ready to ask where they were headed. He had paused, however, watching the man as he leaned forward with a soft shiver.
Instead, he had silently reached toward the dash, adjusting the heat to blow onto Dennis rather than himself.
Dennis pressed his thumb nail into his pointer finger, his eyes rolling over a fake notification from his even faker landlord. "Uhm— Hold on, sorry.." He shook his head, doing his best to make something up on the spot.
"What's wrong?" Robby asked softly, And Dennis found himself not wanting to lie at all — but he swallowed that feeling down, letting out a shaky sigh.
"... My landlord said that a pipe busted in one of the apartments.. That they had to shut off the water for now." Dennis ran his hand through his short hair, pushing his hood down in the process.
"Can — Can you just drop me off at the truck stop on 7th avenue? I need to shower tonight- It's just down the road, so.."
Robby tilted his head slightly, his eyes searching Dennis's face as if he was trying to find the truth to this whole duck-and-weave game that Dennis was playing.
"Do you want to shower at mine? No sense in paying for a shower if you don't have to,"
Dennis felt like he was going to explode from the way Dr. Robby kept insisting all of these nice things. The man cursed himself out silently for even letting himself get into this situation in the first place. If he hadn't gotten lost in the rain earlier, he wouldn't be here at all. Wouldn't be stuck trying to dodge bullets that shouldn't even be there in the first place.
"Plus, the water could be cold. Drains could be clogged from all that greasy trucker hair.."
"Eugh. Don't make me think about it. Stop."
Robby had laughed, a small snort coming from him as he breathed in abruptly. "Is that a yes, Whitaker?"
"... I guess."
"Alright," His laughter settled into a soft grin as he put the vehicle into drive, heading towards his house.
—
The car ride was peaceful. Filled with the occasional chatter and debriefing from two separate perspectives, there was the occasional laugh and the soft groan of annoyance that came with the stories of stubborn patents that acted like they were too good to be in the hospital in the first place. They both found themselves easing into the conversation as time went on, becoming more and more comfortable with one another as people rather than just coworkers.
Dennis followed Robby into his house from behind, looking around the spacious living area after he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
He knew that Robby had money, all attendings did. but having enough for your own house on just one salary was something that Dennis struggled to wrap his mind around. Hell, he wasn't even able to stay afloat with his debt, and here Robby was - a nice car, a nice house to go with it. Nice furniture too.
Dennis felt like he was walking in his dream.
"Alright, the bathroom is down the hall, second door on your left," Robby's voice brought him back to reality as he kicked his shoes off by the door, Dennis following suit.
Dennis gripped the strap of his backpack as he nodded, "Uhm — Thank you, Dr. Robby,"
"You make me sound like a prestigious asshole," Robby laughed, "Drop the formalities, Dennis, I hate to be reminded of that damn hospital if I don't have to be,"
"Ah— Right," Dennis pressed his lips together and glanced away for a moment, before squeezing past and shutting the bathroom door behind him.
—
By the time Dennis had gotten out of the shower, dressed into the pajamas that he had packed into the bottom of his backpack, and out the door, he had found Robby, sitting on the couch with his eyes half lidded, staring off into space.
"Robby?" Dennis' Soft voice broke the silence, and He felt the need to apologize for the way Robby had turned his head so quickly. He must have startled him.
"Ah.. Dennis, I'm sorry — I'm getting really tired. I don't feel comfortable driving right now," He groaned softly as he stood, and Dennis shook his head. "It's fine— I, uh, don't mind to walk. Thank you for letting me use your shower,"
"Well.. How about you just stay the night? It's cold outside, anyways, and you'll get sick if you walk in the rain with wet hair. I can get you a blanket really quick."
"Oh— That's not necessary, Robby, you don't —"
Robby put his hands up, and Dennis knew him well enough to know that meant not to argue with him on this.
Dennis sat on the soft couch, and the immediate wave of tiredness washed over him like waves at a beach.
By the time Robby was back with a blanket and a pillow, Dennis was already half asleep with his head propped up on the arm of the couch.
Robby shook his head with amusement, unfolding the blanket and tossing it over Dennis's shoulders.
"Goodnight, Dennis."
"Night, Robby.."