Chapter Text
Dana knew Robby was a hard headed man. Not in a bad way- well not for others at least, but for himself. Even if he didn’t show it very well, Dana knew every patient he failed to save, every time he had to break it to a family they their loved one was dead, a part of him was rotted away.
Hypocritically he always assured other residents that a patient dying was not a their fault. If he only took his goddamn advice himself.
Dana had worked with Robby for a long, long time. Watched how Robby teaches medical students, met new residents- but this time it was different. Dennis was different.
The kid was remarkable in a quiet way.
Well-more of a clumsy way. He was always getting his scrubs wet somehow, but he was one of the most best patient satisfaction scores scorer. He was good with the homeless, knew how to calm kids down-apparently he had 4 brothers, and he even volunteered on the street team on his free time with McKay. He was one of the most earnest little med students she’d ever seen.
Sadly he and the other medical students had went back to med school, leaving a silent gaping hole in the hearts of the residents. It was blatantly obvious that Robby was overjoyed when the previous med students including Dennis came back to be a resident.
After Dennis became a resident, Robby seemed to keep himself in check- but he still showed signs of favoritism. He would never get mad at Dennis, and when he reprimanded him for his actions Robby always snuck in word of confirmation and care. And Dennis was the only one who could cheer Robby up or comfort him without being pushed away.
That one Dana used to her advantage.
It was a normal day in the ER, no major injuries, no MCI.. until it was just an hour until the shift ended.
A couple had rushed in, the father cradling their infant daughter. Apparently the child had fallen from a table counter on the mother’s notice and hit their head. The infant was also dead silent, always a bad sign in babies. It wasn’t a surprise to the residents when they had to announce the baby’s death, but it had still left a heavy weight on their chest. They could never get used to the young ones dying. Of course, the parents were in shambles, the mother collapsing and breaking down in screams of grief and regret. But the father had been more violent. After a few moments of silence due to the situation, he had come to his senses and began yelling at his wife. Blaming her for the death of their baby. After a few shouts he even began to hit her, and that had been when Robby stepped in. He had quickly put himself in between the couple, threatening to call security if the man didn’t calm down.
Now the man’s anger was directed at Robby, blaming him too for his loss, and shouting that if Robby had been a little better at his work his daughter wouldn’t have died. It was all bullshit of course. But even after the father had been forcefully removed from the ER, Robby had had a dark and tired look on his face.
It was obvious that he was blaming himself.
Dana couldn’t let Robby go home it that state. So she had pulled Dennis over as the shift ended, pointing him at Robby’s direction and told him to give him a talk.
She watched from afar as Dennis went up to Robby and walked with him to the benches just outside the ER. Dennis seemed to give a one-sided talk to the stoic man, and even gave him a hesitant rub to the shoulder - a little mimic of the older mans actions when Dennis had been down. After a few minutes, the two seemed to walk to Robby’s motorcycle together, Robby’s hand on Dennis’s shoulders. Dana could even catch a little smile on his face.
In that moment she had never been this grateful that Dennis Whitaker chose to come back to the ER. Who knows how Robby would be doing without him.
That next day, Dana had pulled Dennis over to interrogate him on his talk with Robby.
“So how did the pep talk go Whitaker?”
“It was great! Dr Robby and I even went to get dinner afterwards. It’s nothing to worry about anymore Dana.”
He had fumbled with his words as he blushed and recalled the day prior.
And Dana just gave him a knowing smirk as she returned to her work.
At least Robby was in good hands.