Chapter Text
Dennis woke up this morning thinking it was going to be another ordinary day at PTMC.
but the moment his stomach started cramping he knew he was deeply mistaken.
Being a vampire and a doctor has its downsides and its upsides, being able to scent issues in the blood before anyone else can and help with the course of treatment, a downside is that he is required by law to wear scent patches and a hunger inhibitor to avoid any “incidents”.
The scent patches are itchy and the hunger inhibitor makes his tongue feel funny but if it helps patients feel comfortable then he’s willing to do anything he can to keep his job.
“Huckleberry, come on where going to be late” Trinity yells moments before banging on his bedroom door with her fist.
“I’m up, I’m up” he yells back as he rolls over and sits on the side of his bed.
“I have toast and coffee ready for you on the counter when you're ready for it” she yells moments before the bathroom door slams closed and the shower starts running.
Dennis sits there for a moment before standing and rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he walks from his bedroom and into the shared living space, smelling the coffee and toast before he sees it.
Vampires live of a mixed diet of regular food and blood, some vampires have a what is lovingly referred to by the government as a “feeder”, a designated person who they drink from as fresh human blood is more sustaining than bagged or the synthetic stuff some vampires prefer and some drink animal blood.
Dennis doesn’t have any of that.
He fed from bagged animal blood when he was growing up, having animals on the farm made it easy and cheap so they didn’t have to buy any.
His scholarship for pre-med covered a food/other stipend so he could eat, they offered bagged donated blood.
When he transitioned to Medical School and had to start taking out loans, which eventually led to his homelessness and staying on the abandoned wing of the 8th floor.
He resorted to stealing almost expired blood from the hospital's blood storage when he could or he simply went without a lot of the time.
He silently grabs the coffee mug and toast, leaning against the counter as he eats trying not to grimace as the toast and coffee sit in his stomach making the cramping worse.
Even though vampires can survive on both regular food and blood, most of the nutrients Vampires require are food in blood.
Dennis finishes his coffee moments before Trinity exits the bathroom wearing a fresh pair of scrubs currently in the middle of tying her hair back.
“Showers free, keep it short Huckleberry” she says as she walks back into her bedroom to finish getting ready.
He quickly cleans his mug and plate before running to have one of the quickest showers of his life.
He throws on new scrubs, grabs his phone, wallet, ID badge and backpack, meeting Trinity at the door.
“You feelin’ okay, you look a little paler than usual” she asks as she eyes him, scanning his face for any sign he shouldn’t be going to work today.
“I’m good, didn’t sleep very well” he answers simply and smiles sheepishly at her.
It wasn’t a total lie, he didn’t sleep well on the count of the blood starvation he is currently going through.
Trinity nods, he knows she doesn’t totally believe him but he’ll take what he can get at the moment.
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The drive to PTMC was mostly silent beside the stereo playing Trinity's pre-shift playlist.
Dennis doesn’t mind the fact that they aren’t speaking.
He knows the moment they exit Trinity’s car, she’ll be Dr Santos not his roommate.
“Remember we're going out after shift with Mohan, Javadi and Mel to the new bar that is opening…don’t give me the wounded puppy eyes Huckleberry you're going you promised” she says over her shoulder as they walk towards the emergency entrance of the ER.
She wasn’t even looking at him. How did she know he was making a face?
The energy was basically vibrating when they stepped inside.
Shen and Ellis are speaking to Charge Nurse Lena Handzo, Samira is checking the board as she sets her things down, Victoria is speaking to Dr Mckay and Langdon is hovering around Mel showing her pictures of his kids.
They were stuffing their stuff in their lockers before joining everyone at the main desk for rounds when a very familiar hand fell on Dennis’ shoulder.
“Morning Whitaker” the voice of Dr Robby says from behind him as he walked.
“Morning Dr Robby” he says simply before scurrying after Santos who was trying her hardest not to laugh at the slight reddening of Dennis’ cheeks.
The feeling of Robby’s hand on his shoulder longer than I think he would care to admit, just the faintest lingering traces of the older man's scent makes his fangs itch.
“Good morning everyone, Night shift fortunately didn’t have any major emergencies and the waiting room looks manageable, you all have your sign outs? Okay go save some lives” Dr Robby says as he does every morning before dismissing everyone.
Victoria scurries over, her soft glittery purple butterfly fairy wings bouncing as she walks at speed.
“So what's the plan? Are we meeting at your place tonight to get ready? Or are we meeting at the bar?” she asks as her eyes sparkle in excitement.
“We’ll meet at ours since it's closer to the bar, Mohan said she was bringing stuff to pre-game with and Mel is picking up food, I will picking Huckleberry’s clothes and no he doesn’t have a say in what I put him in because he sucks at styling himself” Santos says as she turns to Dennis the moment he makes a sound of protest.
Dennis sighs and walks away from them.
He only managed to get about five steps before a different but equally familiar hand grapes the back of his neck and directs him towards where Dana stands with a bottle of water and a pill cup.
Dr Jack Abbot leads him over until he is standing directly in front of Dana, the charge nurse’s soft white and grey tipped angel wings fluffing at the sight of Jack’s hand on Whitaker's neck.
“You know the drill kid, down the hatch” she says as she hands him the water and the pill cup containing his hunger inhibitor.
Dennis makes the slightest grimace before tossing the pill into his mouth and swallows it down with a lot of water.
Only when the pill has been swallowed and Dana checks under his tongue, does the warm hand move from his neck moments before patting his back once.
“Have a good shift Whitaker” Dr Abbot says quietly before making his way over to Dr Robby.
Dennis turns and finds Samira, Mel, Victoria and Trinity staring at him with knowing looks.
He sighs and walks away, grabbing a tablet to find his first patient of the day.
He knows in his gut that this is going to be a long shift.
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"Hey Robby do me a favour and keep an eye on the kid today, he's looking a little peaky" Jack says to Robby after he left Whitaker to get to work.
"I noticed, kids been working himself into the ground recently and I barely ever see him take a break" Robby replies as he watches Dennis walk away from the station and into one of the south rooms.
Jack nods and begins to collect his things.
"I'll see you at shift change" Jacks says before giving Robby a chaste kiss on the lips and heads out of the ER.
Robby's eyes trace Whitaker as he speaks to Jesse before presenting his case to Mohan.
The pale skin, darker bags under his eyes and his scent, it smelt off this morning but he wasn't able to put his finger on what he was smelling.
Jack is the one with the better nose of the two, he'll remember to ask if Whitaker smells funny when he comes back at shift change.
for now he'll keep an eye on the little vampire that caught his and his husbands eye.