Archive of Our Own

Abby Daniels had made a deal with herself. She was going to have a good day. She was going to go to work, do her best, and finally finally ask out Jack Abbot. Not in an unambiguous way, no, no, that would be career suicide. She would ask him to hangout, something casual, just to get to know him better. She’d been telling herself she would do this everyday for the last two weeks and every day she went home feeling tired, sore, but worse of all, a coward. It didn’t help that he was around during the day shift just frequently enough for her to give herself a pep talk in the employee bathroom every morning, but not enough for her to actually steel enough courage to follow through with her plan.

She thought for sure another day was going to slip though her grasp when she clocked in, scanning around the already bustling ED and not seeing the familiar shape of the handsome doctor whose mischievous smile and greying curls seemed to pervade her every waking thought. That was, at least until she stumbled into an unoccupied room, desperate to sit down just long enough to fix the way her sock had twisted on her foot, the seam digging into her flesh in a way that made walking unbearable.

She had just sunk into a chair, groaning unceremoniously at the ache in her legs as she started undoing the laces of her sneaker. Her eyes flickered up in surprise when another, weaker, groan responded to her from behind a privacy curtain. Her fingers stilled when she saw a shadow move behind the curtain, dropping her foot back down to the floor to stand, cautiously pulling back the curtain to see who was hiding behind it.

Lo and behold, there laid Dr. Jack Abbot, his thick forearm draped across his eyes as if that was enough to block out the harsh fluorescent lighting that was in every room in the hospital. She must have woken him up when she’d flicked the lights on.

“Hey,” Abby said softly, her apology written all over her face. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here. Go back to sleep, I’ll leave.”

Abbot groaned as he sat up, the palm of one hand pressing the sleep out of his eyes one at a time.

“No, no,” he insisted, his voice even more gravelly than usual. “Stay. You need a break.”
Abby smiled softly, pausing on her feet when she turned to leave.

“How would you know that?” she pointed out. “You’ve been in here, snoozing away. You don’t know what I’ve done. Maybe I’ve been watching Netflix on my phone all day.”
Abbot chuckled at that, running a hand through his sleep-tousled curls to smooth them back down. How she wished she could volunteer to help.

“For one, I’ve been in here maybe an hour. And two, I don’t need to watch you all day to know you work like your life depends on it.” He smirked. “Part of why I like you so much.”
Abby ignored the way she felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. “Only part?” she teased. “Do go on, Dr. Abbot.”

The mention of his title had him stiffen slightly, and he cleared his throat, sitting up to his full height, rolling his muscled shoulders to relieve some of the tension in them.

“I would,” he said, his even gaze seeming slightly heavier than usual, “but I need to at least try to not show favoritism among my residents. You know, for Gloria.”

If she wasn’t blushing before, she was sure she was as red as a tomato now.

Abby sucked her teeth, making a small tsk sound. “Shame.” She tried not to smile at the tiny nod he gave her, feeling like he could stare into her very soul with those beautiful eyes of his. She shifted slightly, trying to remind herself she was at work. 

“What are you doing crashing in here? Don’t tell me you haven’t gone home yet.” 

Abbot smirked at her scolding tone, sheepishly ducking his head and breaking the eye contact he seemed to enjoy so much. 

“So what if I haven’t?”

“Well then you might be just as much an idiot as you are brilliant.”

He chuckled, glancing up at her through his lashes as he reached for his prosthetic leg where it rested next to the bed. 

“You know I am still your boss,” he reminded her, his smile only widening when she shrugged.

“Actually, the sun is out now, so I’m pretty sure Robby is my boss right now,” she corrected smugly. “You only have dominion over the night, Abbot.”
He hummed his response, fixing his pants so they covered his prosthetic. 

“You are aware I’m not a vampire, right?”

Abby shushed him, giving him a pretend glare. “Hey, I don’t go around ruining your fantasies,” she scolded. “Besides, I’ve never really seen you eat, or in the sun, and you are also around a lot of blood all day.” She clicked her tongue, thinking it over. “I don’t know, Abbot. Feels awfully convenient.”
He groaned slightly as he eased off the bed and only his feet, his amputation wound clearly hurting him as he made small adjustments to its fitting. 

“Well,” he said absent-mindedly, hands preoccupied with fixing his leg, “you’ve also never seen me outside of here.” He glanced up at her, giving her a brief smile, just the smallest upturning of his lips, though she could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. “We’re all prone to confirmation bias.” He straightened back up, standing up to his full height as he stretched. Abby did her best not to stare.

“Or maybe that’s your pre-prepared excuse,” she countered, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. She knew she was clinging to this joke longer than she should, but it was fun, prodding him aimlessly. It was one of the only ways she could have what felt like a moment alone with him, passing jokes back and forth across the ED, even if it made the other doctors roll their eyes and Santos threaten to never work in the same room as them. Abbot seemed to like it too, always responding with his own quip rolling off his tongue, sometimes within a second of her jokes. He never seemed irritated or annoyed by her, and shut her down kindly the few times he needed her to truly focus, always sure to throw another jab her way when the moment of seriousness passed, as if offering an olive branch, a way to return to their usual state.

Abbot was squinting at her now, his head tipped back slightly so he could look down at her. “I’m starting to think the only way to settle this is for you to see me outside of work.”
Abby’s heart flipped in her chest, but she did her best not to show it.

“That does seem efficient,” was all she managed to get out, hoping he couldn’t tell the way the words got stuck in her mouth, though she had a sinking suspicion he could.

“Too bad I’m your attending,” he sighed, half-joking. He started walking, brushing past her with only the smallest lilt of humor in his steady voice. “Gloria would string me up if I toed that line.”

Abby wasn’t able to stop the small frown tugging down her lips when he pulled the privacy curtain back, striding towards the door and disappearing back into the hustle and bustle of the busy ED.

It was a few hours later that she saw him again, spotting him from across the room as he wheeled a patient on a gurney to a trauma room. 

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty, good to see you upright again.” Abby fell in beside the older man, looking over the patient and taking in the lacerations covering his body. “What do we got here?”
Abbot scoffed. “I think I at least warrant being Cinderella," he said, eyes never leaving his patient as they wheeled him into a room. “Besides, can’t keep me down for long.” He flashed her a small smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling just a bit more than they did when he joked around with the other doctors. 

“Don’t I know it,” she responded, taking her hair down to tie it back again to catch the flyaways that surrounded her face as Abbot began dressing in his PPE. “It would take a tank to take you down, at least. You’d still show up for work in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.”
His face screwed up under his protective mask, the sheen of his glasses making his hazel eyes look even lighter. 

“What is it with you and monsters today?” he chuckled. “Is that even supposed to be a bad thing? Have you never seen a zombie show? Doctors are invaluable.”

Abby hummed, tying her own PPE robe in place. “True, but not the ones who get bitten on the first day because they’re too damn stubborn to realize they can’t fix the plague singlehandedly. Which you, my friend, most definitely would do.”
Santos rolled her eyes, letting out a loud groan to interrupt the two.

“Guys, can we please skip the Walking Dead recap and skip to the one interesting part of this job before Robby’s back on my ass about charting?”

Abby smiled sheepishly under her mask. “Alright, fine. But shame on you for thinking I watch that show. I’m a Santa Clarita Diet kinda gal.”
Abbot chuckled, already halfway through intubating their patient.

“‘Course you are.”

Abby’s heart flipped at the way his eyes, squinted from smiling, found hers.

Once the patient was stabilized and moved upstairs for a surgery consult, and Abby had given herself a silent pep talk for what must have been the seventh time that day, she approached Abbot. He was having a rare moment of stillness, leaning against the central desk, his broad hands supporting his weight as his gaze was fixed up on the ever-changing board. 

“Hey,” she greeted, leaning her forearms on the desk next to him.

He glanced down at her, his eyes narrowing slightly in greeting.

“Hey yourself,” he replied, eyes already flickering back up to the board, searching for his next patient.

Abby fiddled with her hands, picking at her nails nervously.

“I have a weird question,” she blurted out.

The corner of Abbot’s lips quirked up just a hair.

“Glad to know you recognize it,” he joked, tearing his gaze away from the board and turning to face her properly, one hand still resting on the desk before them.

Abby rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, very funny,” she drolled. 

His smirk only widened. “Glad you recognize that too.”

She exhaled a short laugh, unable to stop the small smile that found to be on her face, even more when she glanced at him and found he was sporting a similar one.

“What’s your question?” he prompted, tapping the countertop and jutting his chin out towards her.

Suddenly her mouth went dry.

“Well, uh…I was wondering. Would you maybe want to go out sometime after work?”

Abbot paused, and for once his calm and level expression didn’t bring her comfort.

“Go out?” he repeated. Even his hands were still, and she suddenly wished he’d at least tap his fingers on the desk as he thought. Any indication that she wasn’t frozen in time like in a middle school nightmare.

“Y-yeah,” she stammered, absentmindedly toying with her hands again, digging painfully into the soft flesh around her thumb nail. “You know, go do something outside of work. Like some of the docs do after their shift where they grab beers in the park. But just…us.”

His lips moved to one side, giving her an almost unreadable smirk. Abby could feel her face burning, but she couldn’t break eye contact. Better hope he’d pull the bandaid off quick. God, she already felt so stupid. Of all the lamest ways to ask someone one, and her attending no less! Of course he’d say no, he practically had to. She’d had the bright idea to ask him at work too, so she’d have to spend the rest of the shift ducking away from him and hoping he didn’t tell anyone. Who was she kidding, Perlah and Princess would sense the disturbance before the hour was up. She might as well switch jobs now. Of course he’d say no, with that small pitying smirk on his face-

“Yeah.”

Abby blinked, slowly. “Um…Sorry, can-can you just say that again?”
Abbot laughed, leaning back as his large arms crossed over his chest, giving her that humorous but analytical look he specialized in. 

“Yeah,” he repeated, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “Sure, I’d like that. You have something in mind?”

Abby swallowed, hard. Suddenly her mouth was parched. “I’m going to be honest and admit I hadn’t expected to get this far.”
There was that smirk again, but something about the crinkling in the corner of his eyes and how warmly he looked at her didn’t make her feel condescended to. 

“You’d never have guessed.”

She scoffed, turning defensive. “I had a plan!” She insisted. “This,” she gestured to the perpetual chaos around them as gurneys were pushed between rooms, the inevitable shuffling of patients, all coughing and moaning and cursing spilling out into the central room, “wasn’t exactly a part of it. Besides, I’ve done two doubles this week. Just be happy I remember my name and can recognize my patients.”

Abbot nodded, a tight lipped smile showing how humorous he found her flustered state. “And what was the plan?” he asked, his teasing tone threatening her with a second rush of blood to her cheeks. “And might I add that I’ve been here much more than you have this week. How do I even know it’s me you want to ask out if you’re so exhausted? Maybe you’re looking for Robby. You know, I can call him for you if you’d like.” He turned, pretending to look around for the man to call him over.
Abby scoffed out a weak laugh. “You trying to say I have a type?” she asked, tone overly sweet.

Abbot shrugged. “I don’t know, do you?” He uncrossed his arms, shoving his hands into the pockets of his scrubs. She tried not to get distracted by how unfair it was for him to be so goodlooking in an outfit that always made her feel like she was wearing a cotton trashbag. The way he leaned down barely an inch closer made her heart speed up. “Maybe you have a thing for people in positions of authority.”

Abby took a deep breath, gripping her tablet tightly to her chest. The way his voice lowered ever so slightly made her head swim. She could tell he noticed by the way his eyes flickered to her hands before returning to her face, the small flicker of a smile that graced his face.

“If that was the case, I’d have asked out Dana,” she shot back, refusing to drop his smoldering gaze. “Yet here I am with you.”
Abbot laughed, a full laugh that clearly caught him by surprise by how loud it was. 

“Alright,” he said, giving her a respectful nod, grinning wider than she’d ever seen. “Come find me if you need me. I have patients to attend to. And,” he added, already starting to walk past her back into the fray of the Pitt, “let me know when you come up with something. I’m working all this week, but I have Saturday off.”
Abby nodded, unable to stop the breathless grin that spread over her face when he gave her a small smile and a quick wink before turning away. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

He said yes.

“Hey, I was thinking-”
“About your patients?” Abbot interrupted, eyes still on the tablet he held, searching through his patient’s chart.

“Well, yes, but also about this weekend,” Abby began, speaking quickly before someone could come drag one of them off to see another patient.

Abbot shook his head. “We’re on the clock Dr. Daniels,” he reminded her. “Our job is our patients, making sure they have what they need. We can think about ourselves when we clock out.”
Abby chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a pretty well known thing that you never really clock out, Abbot.” He grunted, eyes still on his chart. “Besides, I actually thought of this during the glorious four minute break I got between patients when I finally got to use the bathroom-”
Abbot chuckled, finally looking up to meet her gaze. “How romantic.”
She smirked. “All about efficiency, Doc. Gotta keep those patients moving. Anyway, I was thinking we go to that carnival at the park this weekend. It sounds fun, with the rides and games and all the snacks.” She grinned. “I’ll even buy you a cotton candy.”
There was that famous Abbot half-smile again. “You and your sugar,” he muttered, giving her a false disappointed look. “I’ve seen the rate you go through those Sour Patch Kids. One day you’ll get rolled in here with a blue tongue and need an IV to recover from all that sugar and acid.”

Abby only shrugged. “We all have our vices.” She leaned closer, eyebrows raised expectantly. “So? The carnival?” 

Abbot sighed, tucking his tablet under his arm to give her his full attention. 

“It’s happening where?”
“Schenley.”
“What time?”
“Starts at 4 but goes all night.”
“Am I picking you up?”
She paused. She hadn’t expected to be offered a ride. “I, ah, I figured we could meet there,” she stammered, blinking away her surprise. “I have a few errands to run during the day and don’t want to risk running late trying to get back to meet you.”
Abbot nodded, his face level and his eye contact unflinching. 

“Sounds good. One last thing.” His eyes dropped down for a moment, searching for something before they returned to hers. “We’re keeping this between us, right?” His voice was hushed slightly, not to a full whisper but enough that only someone trying to eavesdrop could overhear. 

“I mean, no need to make a big deal out of it, get Gloria involved, right? It’ll just be us?”

Abby bobbed her head in a quick nod. “Yeah, of course, I won’t tell anyone. And right, just us. Gloria won’t be getting involved, and even if she did find out, it’s not like it would be on you, right? I mean, I’m the one who asked.”

Abbot frowned, his shoulders raising in a shrug. “It’s a grey area,” he confessed, soft voice lowered to a hushed whisper. “One I never had to know much about. Lots of red tape and rules, and talks with Gloria, and who wants that?”

Abby nodded. “Right. That sounds like a drag. So just us then.” She gave him a goofy grin. “No one would ever expect you’d be at a carnival of all places.”

Abbot exhaled a short laugh, giving her a brief smile. “Four o’clock,” he confirmed, nodding his head. “It’s a date. I’ll see you there.” His smile turned playful, his eyes squinting mischievously in the way that usually meant he was trying to make her blush. “I’ll wear something nice.” The moment was broken when Robby walked by, clasping Abbot’s shoulder to get his attention.

“You coming, brother?” His soft brown eyes were crinkled at the corners, cautiously looking over his friend who usually found it so hard to stay still when patients needed him.
Abbot cleared his throat, giving Robby a casual nod as he pushed off to follow him.
“What, like I’d leave these poor souls with you? Who do we have on deck?”
Their voices faded as they walked away and Abby grinned to herself. It’s a date. A sharp cough a few feet behind her drew her out of her thoughts and she shook her head, reminding herself she was still at work, still needed by Pittsburgh's injured. She tried hard to keep the skip out of her step as she walked back to the board, but she felt a thousand pounds lighter, and had to fight to swallow down the smile that wanted to spread across her face.

Abbot meant it when he said he’d wear something nice. Abby watched him walk up from where she waited at the entrance of the carnival, standing between two tall inflatable balloon men, enjoying the extra seconds before he found her with his eyes to admire him. He didn’t go all out, still dressed to be able to walk around a carnival all night and of course he had his familiar go bag slung over his shoulder like always, but damn did he look good. Even in a simple black button up and jeans, there was something about the way he held himself, maybe just the fact that it was him, with his sly smile, charming scruff, and perfect curls that made Abby’s knees feel weak.

She whistly lowly as he walked up to her where she stood, awkwardly trying to dodge being in the background of a group of teenagers’ selfie, a balloon man dancing crazily in the wind above their heads. 

“Damn, Abbot, is this how you usually dress when you’re off the clock?” 

Abbot smirked. “It’s just Jack outside of the Pitt.”

Abby grinned. “Well, Jack, I’m glad we’re doing this. Where do you want to start? Unregulated rides? Snacks with enough sugar to put us in a coma? Games designed to swindle us out of money? Or are you more of a perusing kind of guy?”

Abbot, no, Jack blew out a breath of air, taking in all the options. “Maybe we just walk, see what catches our eye?” he suggested. 

She nodded. “Sounds good.” She beckoned him on with a wave of her hand, walking beside him as they made their way into the carnival. 

“So,” she asked, suddenly desperate to fill the air between them with words so she’d have something, anything to focus on other than the fact that she was on a date with her superior. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, doing her best to not let her nerves show. “You ever been to the carnival before? I read there have been others like this one in the area over the years.”

Jack shook his head. “Nope. This is my first time.” He quirked a brow at her, silently asking about her. 

“Me neither. Actually, I went to one state fair in Kentucky at one point, but I was little and don’t really remember it. I just know my siblings got me to try a ferris wheel and, lucky me, the ride broke down and I got stuck up there for a while.”

Jack gave her a sideways glance, eyes squinted slightly. “Wow. So I guess you want to steer clear if they have a ferris wheel somewhere?”

Abby shrugged. “Eh. I might be scared of heights, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be worth testing it again.”

He nodded. “You’ve also got to consider, if you get stuck up there this time, it’s with me.”

She grinned. “And is that supposed to encourage me or discourage me?”

Jack stopped walking, almost pouting with the exaggerated look of indignation he pulled. “Wow,” he deadpanned. “You really pull out all the stops with your first date charm, don’t you?”

Abby giggled, seeing through the act at his barely contained smile, the small crinkles by his hazel eyes betraying him. 

“Come on.” She offered him a hand, ignoring her hammering heart as she nodded towards further into the fair. “We’ve gotta move quick if we want to do the ferris wheel. Can’t have me losing my nerve before we get there.”
Jack smirked, staring at her outstretched hand for a moment before lightly clapping his hand into hers and letting her steer him through the crowd. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and hope you mean because of the wheel, not me.”

Abby grinned. “Oh Jack. Can’t it be both?”

They made it through the ferris wheel in one piece, something Abby doubted they would by the time they reached the top. She had jolted when the wheel paused in motion, giving Jack a stern look when he laughed at her wide eyes and white knuckles gripping the bar holding them into their seats. 

“You’re alright,” he soothed, the faint glimmer in his eye still showing how much he enjoyed her reaction. “Nothing’s broken, you’re safe. They do this sometimes, stop the wheel so people have time to look around, admire the view.”

Abby nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Her voice came out small, but she tried her best to stop thinking about the height and look around. One small glance down towards the ground had her regretting her choice, eyes screwing shut as she gripped the bar even tighter.

Jack didn’t find it funny anymore. The little squeal she made when the ride had jolted to a halt had been cute, but now she was actually scared. 

“Hey,” he whispered, all humour leaving his voice. “You’re okay, I promise. Nothing’s going to hurt you.” He reached out his hands to hold the safety bar as well, placing one on top of hers and softly running his thumb over her knuckles, massaging them gently. “I’m here,” he murmured. “Nothing bad will happen. You’re safe.” He could feel her grip on the bar loosen ever so slightly, a small bit of pink returning to the fingers that were once alarmingly white. He took this as good news, slowly removing his hand from hers to dip it under her arm, grazing his fingers against the bottom of her own. Just like he’d hoped, she released the bar with that hand, clinging instead to him. 

“There you go,” he encouraged, giving her hand a light squeeze, his thumb already back to rubbing small circles into the back of her hand. “Just try to match my breathing okay?” He inhaled deeply, holding the breath in his chest before slowly letting it out. 

Abby listened as well as she could, willing her heart to stop beating so fast as she tried to follow his lead. Slowly, she began to open her eyes again. This time she didn’t look down, or even outside of their little seat. She watched the way Jack held her hand, gently massaging her, and almost had to look away again when he met her eye, giving her the sweetest smile, even as he coached her breathing. 

She should have felt embarrassed, she told herself. First activity on a first date and here he was comforting her, being guilted into holding her hand and showing her breathing exercises like she was a teenager having their first anxiety attack. But it felt hard to be angry at herself when here he was, holding her hand so softly, taking care of her without an ounce of judgement.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Jack only stared at her, his breathing returning to normal now that she’d calmed, but she didn’t mind his intense eye contact. It was a part of him, something she enjoyed if she was honest with herself. Maybe too much. “It would be easy for you to laugh at me right now, and I appreciate that you’re not.”

Jack’s brow furrowed, a small frown pulling at his handsome face. 

“Why would I laugh at you?” Abby could tell he wasn’t joking, and it made her even more glad he held her hand. “You’re scared. That’s normal. I’ve seen you truly rock some shit in the hellhole we work in, but you did this just to see if you could. That’s brave as hell. And look,” he turned his head, looking around at all the trees around the. “You did it.” He gave her hand a light squeeze. 

Abby smiled weakly. “Well it’s a lot easier this time around. I don’t have my idiot siblings on the ground trying to flick rocks at me, for one.”
Jack burst out a laugh, one he clearly wasn’t expecting. It made Abby chuckle too, even as their seat swung gently from the motion of Jack’s heaving shoulders. 

“They threw rocks?” he sputtered out once his breathing had allowed him to speak again.

Abby gave him a tight-lipped smile, nodding her head. “Yup. And I wasn’t even the only one stuck! A poor woman got hit with a pebble because of their poor aim!”

Jack grinned, still chuckling softly to himself as he looked at her. “Do you miss them? You moved here from out of state, right?”
Abby shrugged. “Yeah, I came out here for my residency, and just never left. And I don’t know. I miss parts of them. Miss my grandparents more than anyone else.” She sighed softly. “I don’t know. I think it’s good for me to be away from my family. Even if I love them. It just wasn’t right for me there, so getting a job out here was a real life saver.”
Jack nodded, his eyes never leaving hers as she spoke. “And now you get to look forward to coming in every day and seeing my pretty face.” The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, like he was simply informing her that grass is green and the sky is blue, sent her into her own burst of laughter. 

“I mean yeah,” she agreed, trying her best to talk through the laughs. “I can’t deny that. I do look forward to it, even if it’s not actually everyday since you have to be so dramatic with your night shift and slink around to work in the dark.”
Now it was Jack’s turn to grin, exhaling a short laugh. “Slinking around?” he repeated. “What am I, the Grinch who stole Christmas?”

Abby shrugged, unable to hide her wide smile even as she tried to play it off. “I don’t know, Jack. I’ve never seen you and him in the same room together.”

The ferris jolted again, and she squeezed his hand tighter, letting out a small yelp before she could stop it. She hadn’t even realized she was still holding his hand, the small circles his thumb had been drawing becoming part of the background to her. Her favorite part. 

Jack smirked. “Instant karma.” He watched her closely, even if his jokes hid it, waiting to make sure she was okay now that they were moving again.

Abby shrugged again, though she was clearly distracted with the new motion of the ride, her eyes fixed downward on the slowly approaching earth below them. “Worth it,” she said, not really paying attention. “Especially if you keep holding my hand. Who knows, maybe this was all an act to have an excuse for you to make a move.”

Jack smiled, even if she wasn’t looking up to see it. He gave her hand another quick squeeze, glad to see that her other hand was only loosely holding onto the guard rail now.

“If that were the case, you should have gone into acting, Abby.”

Once they were safely on the ground again, and Jack had helped stabilize Abby as she stepped off the ride, tactfully ignoring the way her legs shook ever so slightly, Jack suggested they get some food. 

“Geez, did I turn that pale?” Abby joked, willing her legs to steady and her stomach to stop swirling from nerves. 

“No, but you should still eat.”

“Okay. What do you want? I’m buying.” She looked around, scanning the signs hanging off of the various tents, canopies, and food trucks that lined every walk way. “I’m sure there’s someplace that sells real food and not just something dipped in chocolate or fried.”
Jack seemed amused. “Don’t knock the fried food until you’ve tried it,” he said, hands held up defensively. “Deep fried Oreos are lifechanging.”
Abby looked at him skeptically. “You’ve had deep fried oreos?”

He grinned, head tipping to the side as he nodded at her. “You don’t believe me?” His hand found a place above her elbow, gently guiding her to walk with him down the aisle of food trucks parked to their right.

“I don’t know. I mean, you’re a doctor, and not one like me,” she added, already seeing him go to interrupt her as she followed him. “You’re an actually good, non-hypocritical doctor. And you look like…that.”

Jack laughed. “Thank you,” he smirked down at her, a teasing twinkle in his steady eyes. “But I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that I’m not a hypocrite. Clearly you don’t spend much time with Robby, or Dana. They’re always reminding me of how I’d advise clients to act differently.”

Abby poked him gently with her elbow. “Like not working themselves to the bone? Actually sleeping more than 20 minutes at a time?”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “So you do pay attention.”

Abby scoffed, playing up her indignation for effect. “Excuse you, I’m very perceptive.”

Jack only gave her an appeasing hum, but the small smile he wore showed how much he enjoyed their back and forth banter.

“You know, you’re different than I thought you’d be,” she confessed. 

Jack’s eyebrow quirked up. “Because I’m so much cooler outside of work?” he drawled. 

Abby giggled. “Honestly, you kind of are.”
That earned a laugh from the man. “Great, that makes me feel so much better about the student debt, all the years training.”
“No, you’re still cool at work! Almost distractingly so.” Her heart leapt at the smirk he gave her, head tilted in an ‘is that so’ way. “But you’re different out here. More expressive, I think. I like it, it makes me feel like I’m seeing the real you.”

Jack smiled at that. “That makes sense,” he admitted. “In there, in the Pitt, people need calmness. They need stability. So I try to check it at the door, be there for them, not for me. You know?”
Jack Abbot could be very charming when he wanted to be. 

“That’s really admirable.” Abby exhaled a small laugh. “And impressive. I wish I was better at that. I don’t want to be the doctor that’s distracted or thinking about my own problems when someone I’m treating could be having one of the worst days of their life.”

“You’ll get there. You’re a great doctor.”

A small bit of blush crept up her face and she turned, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but knowing that he did. She almost gasped when she noticed which area of the carnival they were about to walk into.

“Jack, look! Games!” Before she could think, her hand was on the sleeve of his shirt, gently tugging on him to pull him over to the stall. He chuckled at her enthusiasm, genuinely charmed by how sincere her excitement was.

“You know these are rigged, right?” He ignored the dirty look the man working the stall gave him. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I’m right though, aren’t I? They’re nearly impossible to win, they’re designed to give you just enough hope to keep you coming back for more.”

The carnie scoffed. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, bud.”

Abby laughed, Jack’s brow furrowing, his jaw setting in a hard line. “Meaning what exactly?” he asked, voice still steady, but with a new edge to it.

The carnie shrugged. “Nothin’. But don’t blame me if you can’t win your lady something. It’s a shoddy craftsman who blames the tools, y’know?”

Jack only stared at him. Abby started to worry that he might actually start something, even if it went against everything she knew about him as a person. 

“Hey, Abbot,” she said, gently trying to pull his attention away from the man. “You know that’s not true. The games are rigged, everyone knows it-” a scoff from the carnie “-and I don’t need any of this stuff. Let’s just keep walking.” Jack finally lowered his gaze.

“But you were excited,” he said softly. Abby’s head tilted in confusion. “You wanted to play, so let’s play.” He gave her a small smile, lopsided and charming as all hell. “I’m not falling for his gimmick, getting me all upset so I’ll spend more money trying to woo you. I swear. But we should have fun while we’re here. If we have to pay an asshole for us to toss some rings, so be it.” He placed his hand on her upper arm, gently leading her a few feet away from the booth as his voice dropped to a conspiratorial hush. “But you’re going to tell me which one of those ugly things you want so I can show this guy up.”
Abby laughed, but covered her mouth with her hand when Jack shushed her comically, his own grin wide. 

“Are you serious?”

“You’ve gotta give me something,” he pleaded. “Anything. I just can’t let this jerk talk like that and not show him up at least a little.”

Abby lost her words for a moment, getting lost in Jack’s eyes, so wide and sincere. “Okay,” she said after a moment, having to blink hard to tear her eyes off of his. “Tell you what. If you’re able to win that little green monkey,” she pointed to a little stuffed monkey with unnervingly realistic eyes that hung from the side of the tent, “you’ll have my respect and admiration.”
Jack cocked his head to the side. “You saying I don’t have that now?”

She giggled, lightly slapping his arm when he doubled down his incredulity, looking at her like she said she’d been to Mars and never mentioned it.

“I didn’t say that,” she protested, trying to sound stern even as her voice cracked from laughter. “All I said was that you would definitely, one hundred percent have it if you won it. You may or may not have it now, but that would ruin the fun of the game if I told you now.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, for you,” he pointed out. He leaned down slightly closer, his voice lowering almost conspiratorially. “If I get this for you, you have to promise I’m your favorite attending.”
Abby grinned. “You’re already my favorite attending,” she stage whispered back.
He smiled, that light twinkle back in his eye. “Good. But it has to stay that way. Doesn’t matter if I blow a hundred bucks here and make a jackass out of myself, if I get you that monkey, I’m your favorite forever.”
He was so cute. Abby got lost for a moment in his eyes, the way the string lights strung up on every surface glimmered in them, and didn’t realize he’d held out his hand to her for her to shake. He chuckled when she realized, giving him a bashful smile as she gripped his hand, giving it a solid shake. It felt good in her own, even better on land, and she was reluctant to let go.

“What do I get if I get you the pink one instead?” Jack was looking at their hands, still gripping each other, when she glanced up at him. 

“What makes you think the pink one is worth more?” she questioned, reluctantly letting go of his hand, hoping she’d get to feel it one more time before the night was over. She glanced towards the prize display, the much larger and even more unsettling looking pink monkey hanging from a few pegs higher than its smaller green counterpart.

Jack smiled. “Because pink is your favorite color. You like green too, but you like pink more.”
Abby frowned, confused. He was right. “How do you know that? I’m pretty sure favorite colors have never been one of things we’ve talked about in the ED.”
He seemed pleased with himself, standing a little taller, his tone a little smugger as he explained. “All your stuff is pink. I mean, not all of it, but everything that you usually get to choose a color for. Your earbuds, your wallet, even that weird thing in your backpack you use to carry travel meds for when you get headaches.”

“Huh.” She smiled faintly. “You’ve got quite the eye, Dr. Abbot.” He grinned at the use of his title. “You keep such a close eye on all of your staff?”

Jack hummed, pretending to think about it. “Just my favorite.” Abby could feel the blood rush to her face, staining her cheeks with blush, but she didn’t mind it as much anymore. “So,” Jack continued, mercifully not commenting on how pink her face had turned and passing up the opportunity to make several jokes in the process, “what do I get if I get you the pink one, the one you really want? And I’ll try not to be hurt you lowballed me with the green one.”

Abby grinned. “What will you want as your prize?” she asked, her cheeks burning even more as she matched his eye contact. It felt easy with him. No judgement or scrutiny ever showed on his face, just a calm curiosity. He only gave the slightest tilt of his head, the corner of his lips pulled up in a small smirk. Her heart skipped a beat when his gaze dropped, only for a second, to land on her lips before going back to her eyes.

He wasn’t going to say it. Stubborn man probably wouldn’t make the move even if they were standing under mistletoe. He was too respectful, too aware of his position over her. The message was clear. If anything were to happen between them, she would have to start it.

“How about a kiss?” she offered casually, thanking god that her voice didn’t shake. She wanted this, she knew she did, but it was still scary. One wrong move and her already stressful workplace would be fucked beyond belief.

Jack’s jaw shifted, his teeth clenching for a moment as he swallowed. “Deal,” was all he said before he turned, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and shoving his hand in his pocket for his wallet. 

“The other deal still stands though,” he said over his shoulder, giving her a mischievous smile, cash held out for the carnie who looked very satisfied with himself. “I win you these and I’m your favorite.” 

Abby nodded, following him to lean on the front of the stand next to him. Watching him with his sleeves rolled up was enough of a prize already. 

“Like I said, you already are.”

“I’m going to be very polite and not bring up how you said it hurt that I lowballed your abilities earlier.” Abby fiddled with the legs of her new stuffed monkey as they walked. It might be her new favorite stuffed animal.

Jack exhaled a forceful laugh. “That’s your way of not mentioning it?”

She shrugged, grinning as she held her new monkey up for him to see. “You did this, Jack. You freed him from the trappings of the carnival. You should feel nothing but proud.”

He smiled, shaking his head at her antics. “He’s horrifying. Those eyes,” he pretended to shudder. 

Abby frowned, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout. “I like him.”

“Makes me wonder what you see in me,” Jack joked dryly. “If this is your type, how messed up am I?”

She scoffed. “Oh yeah, because what kind of a freak is into smart, funny, handsome doctors? God, you must be so hard up for women.”

His eyes gleamed mischievously at her words and she laughed. “Don’t even” she warned, pointing a finger at him accusationally.

“What?” He held his hands up in mock surrender, voice overly innocent. “I didn’t say anything. Anything you thought was your fault.”

Abby huffed. “You’re impossible.”

“So you say to the man who spent so long trying to win you a horrible little monkey to make you happy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because you were after that, and not at all because of the prize on the line.”

Jack played dumb. “No clue what you’re talking about,” he claimed, but she could see the faint smile play on his lips. “Though I think the argument could be made that I went above and beyond in effort and a consolation prize could be on the table.”

Abby gave him a sweet smile. “You already got one, Jack,” she reminded him. “You get to be my favorite attending forever.” She held up her monkey, bending his little arm so he waved at Jack. “And you're his favorite too.”

Jack chuckled. 

“I am starting to like the green.”

It took a while for them to find a food truck they could agree on, with Jack teasing Abby for her preference of sweet over savory, and Abby wrinkling her nose at all the deep fried food Jack seemed to prefer. Eventually, they found the almost universal compromise for easy food- a food truck selling pizza by the slice. Abby had kept her word and paid for them both, though Jack had tried to sway her into letting him pay for his second slice at least, arguing that it was only fair. He had the good sense to shut up when she glared at him, shoving her credit card at the vendor before Jack could even get his wallet out of his pocket. 

They found themselves sitting on a bench for over an hour, talking long past the time it took them to eat. They went over their top work stories from the week, and Jack filled Abby in on some older tales from before she had started working at the Pitt, his chest warming at the way her nose scrunched when she laughed, how she never faltered even under his intense eye contact. They were nearing two hours on the bench when Abby had dragged him back to his feet, saying she still needed to fulfill her deal of buying him a cotton candy. They searched high and low for a vendor selling the fluffy confection, but had to admit defeat when they’d reached the end of yet another row of vendor’s tables.

Abby did her best to hide her disappointment, more upset at her plans being foiled than the cotton candy itself. She perked up quickly when Jack suggested they get funnel cakes instead.

“If you think about it, funnel cakes are even more of a classic fair food,” he pointed out. “I don’t think it gets more American than that.”

Abby rolled her eyes at him, unable to help the easy grin from spreading across her face.

“Sometimes you’re such a vet,” she teased, only giving him a wider smile when he feigned offense.

They started walking back to where they had passed a young woman selling funnel cakes, falling back into an argument about who would pay.

Abby argued that dessert was her idea, so she should pay, but Jack countered that he had been the one to suggest the funnel cakes. She had shook her head, insisting the specifics didn’t matter, and she was paying for dinner anyway, but he shut her down when he pointed out that not only were dinner and dessert two separate things, but his student loans were already paid off, and he had a better salary.

“Wow, rub it in,” Abby drawled sarcastically, tipping her head as she looked up at him, wishing she could be frustrated at how adorably smug he looked. Jack only shrugged, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans, giving her a comfortable but tight-lipped smile as he gazed down at her. They stood so close that his arm brushed against hers when he shrugged, but neither felt any desire for more space.

“Tell you what,” Jack said, tone even as ever. “You can pay when you’re an attending. Until then, be smart, save your money, and let me take care of this.”

Abby could feel her cheeks heat up, but she didn’t drop his gaze. It was too comfortable, like basking in a warm sun ray at the beginning of spring, making every part of her feel light and bubbly with happiness.

“So you’re going to foot the bill for what, a decade? More?” she prodded. “You think you’ll still want to buy me desserts then?”

Jack smirked. “You’re selling yourself short,” he retorted. “You can make attending long before then.” He shifted, breaking the peacefully warm space between them, his broad hand coming to rest on her shoulder as he urged her to follow him.

“You’re dodging my question,” Abby pointed out, trailing after him as he moved to join the line for funnel cake.

“Not dodging,” he replied over his shoulder. “Postponing. Now, why do I get the feeling you’re one of the people who gets all the toppings on their funnel cake?”

Abby pretended to think about it. “Probably because you’ve actually been stalking me. Or you’re psychic. Dealer’s choice.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna go with intuition,” he settled on. “Based off how many candy bars I’ve seen you house during one shift.”
Abby turned sheepish, looking down as she toed a stray rock with her sneaker, trudging after him so he wouldn’t have to wait in line alone. “You know, you should really tell someone before you start noticing all the things about them. I could have made a much better impression if I knew you were watching me this whole time.”
Jack scoffed. “Not watching,” he insisted. “Just…noticing. And no, you actually couldn’t.”

They decided to walk with their funnel cakes, taking in all the elaborate decor and laughing at some of the horribly punny names business came up with. They had just passed a small pop-up selling citrus infused cinnamon rolls called Buns of Peels, barely able to contain their snickering until they were out of earshot, when Abby’s leg slipped out from under her. She yelped as she fell, hitting the pavement hard, and feeling the impact knock the air out of her. It took her a moment to breathe and realize where she was, why everything was so dark and swaying. Her eyes came back into focus as Jack leaned over her, already checking her for injuries. She looked past him and realized the swaying above her was the trees blowing in the wind.

“I’m okay,” she mumbled out, still adjusting to the weird numbness in her body. She started to sit up, groaning sharply when her left leg shifted against the pavement. 

“Oh, that’s broken,” she hissed out between grit teeth. “Definitely broken.” She felt hands on her back, helping her sit up without straining her leg.  

“Did you hit your head when you fell?” Jack was beside her, it was his hands holding her up. He gently felt along her spine, his eyes searching her hair for blood. “Abby?” he prompted again, tone slightly sharper.

“N-no,” she got out. “Sorry, just got the wind knocked out of me. I didn’t hit my head, and my back doesn’t really hurt. I mean, it does, but not more than any other trip. You can stop checking me, Jack, I’m really okay.”

Jack only hummed, his hands still moving, still pressing against her in search of invisible injuries. “I’ll be the judge of that,” he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. “You know us doctors,” he said louder, giving her a small smile. “We’re the worst patients. Worse than Myrna even, sometimes.”

Abby laughed, and she could see Jack’s relief that she was able to without pain. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen you get cuffed so you’d stop trying to take your clothes off.” She smirked. “Then again, who would want to stop that.”

Jack laughed, his hands stilling for the briefest moment as Abby realized what she’d said, quietly cursing herself under her breath.

“Still sure you didn’t knock your head?” he teased. He gave her a sly look as he shifted, removing his hands from her back to take a look at her leg. “It’s your left leg, right?”

Abby nodded. “Yeah, the crooked one,” she joked. “And if I didn’t think you’d strap me to a table for a CT I might say I did, but nope, that was unfortunately all me and my trademark inability to shut up.”

Jack smiled, his eyes meeting hers for a second. “You scared of me strapping you down?” he asked, his tone too innocent to be sincere. 

She rolled her eyes. “Believe me, had I not just wiped out in a way usually only seen on America’s Funniest Home Videos, I might have gotten to prove to you that I’m not.” Something about the pain was making her bolder. She knew she should stop talking, but she didn’t feel like she could. They’d spent enough time together, flirting so easily all evening, it just rolled off her tongue before she could stop it. 

She groaned as she thought about it. Jack froze what he was doing, glancing up at her to make sure she was alright, that the pain didn’t overwhelm her. 

“It’s not you,” she had the sense to tell him. “I was just thinking about how much I’m going to hate myself later and dread our next shift together.”

Jack cleared his throat, digging through his go bag for bone setting supplies. “And why’s that?” His tone was even, too even, like he was trying to keep it that way. A new wave of regret hit Abby when she realized it.

“Shit, I’m just doing everything all wrong.” She chewed on her lip, trying to force the cogs in her brain to turn and give her the right words. “I’m not dreading you,” was all she could come up with, the words coming out awkward and stunted. “Believe me, I never, could never, dread you. I just know that once tonight is over, I’ll get anxious and rethink everything I’ve said tonight, which I don’t have to remind you is a lot, and I’ll feel like an idiot. I mean, we work together, and I…I like you. A lot. Probably more than is good for me given the circumstances.”
Jack didn’t speak, just listened as he set her leg back into place, setting it with a splint on each side and wrapping it until it was secure. 

“I don’t know if this is anything for you,” Abby confessed. “But it is for me. And I’d like it to be something, if you want that too.” She exhaled a weak laugh. “And now I’m just saying everything. Sorry. Feel free to ignore me.”

Jack turned from her briefly, trying to get the attention of the man running the vendor’s cart and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Bless Jack Abbot and his ability to know when to pretend he hadn’t heard her.

“Hey! Hey, buddy!” The man looked over, and Jack gestured to the darkened grease spot on the pavement, clearly the culprit behind her fall. She could see the imprint of her sneaker treads in the semi-solid mess, and the swoop from where her leg had gone out from under her. “You’re gonna want to clean this up, alright? We’ve already had one injury, we don’t want another.”

His attention turned back to Abby, holding his hands out to her to help her up.

“Alright, that should hold you, at least until we can get you better help. Real question is, do you think you can walk?”

Abby sighed. “Only one way to find out.” She grabbed his hands, trying not to feel flustered at how easily he was able to pull her to her feet, the way his arms wrapped around her to stabilize her as she adjusted to keeping her weight on her uninjured foot. She tentatively pressed her left foot to the ground, testing how much weight she could put on it before she let out a high pitched squeal.

“Well, I can do that much,” she said as she exhaled, trying to hide how sharp the pain had hit her. Wiping out on a first date was bad enough already. She’d never want to leave her bed and go back to work again if she ended up needing a ride to the emergency room. She could already hear the rumors swirling among her coworkers if she hobbled in there.

Jack nodded, looking serious as he sized her up, thinking through all their options and deciding which was the best. 

“Alright,” he said after a moment. “I’ll carry you to the parking lot and take you home.”
Abby scoffed out a weak laugh, looking even more incredulous when Jack cocked his head to the side, clearly questioning her.

“Absolutely not.”

“You can’t walk,” he pointed out.

“Yes, I can,” she took a small step to prove it, hiding her grimace as best as she could. “See? Couple more hundred of those and I’ll have made it a full yard closer.” Jack shook his head. 

“You’re just going to hurt yourself.”

“Well then that’s my decision to make,” she shot back. 

His jaw shifted, coming closer to hold her again, to stop her from inching her way to the parking lot and making herself worse. 

“Why won’t you let me help?” he asked, voice low and soft. His grip on her arms was loose, so she could push past him if she wanted to. But she didn't want to.

“I’m not letting you carry me, Jack.”
“Why not? Do you think I can’t?” He smirked. “Baby, I can carry fully grown men, you’re no challenge. I can have you out of here in no time.”
Abby shook her head, finding it difficult to look at him when he looked so handsome and sweet. His use of a petname didn’t escape her either. “It’s not that. I just want to do this on my terms. I can do this, I’m not a total idiot, I know when to accept things that are out of my control. But I want to do this. It’s embarrassing to be carried around, even if…” her words failed her for a moment, but Jack’s even gaze and the sly crinkle at the corner of her eyes showing that he already knew what she was going to say coaxed the words out of her. She swallowed thickly, giving him a sheepish look. “Even if it’s also really hot that you can do that, and that you would do that for me.” She pouted, her bottom lip sticking out sadly. “Please, Jack, just let me do this on my own.”

He searched her face, clearly looking for any sign that she could be persuaded. Not finding any, he sighed. 

“Fine. I’ll help support some of your weight, but I’m driving you home so you don’t hurt yourself any more. And if it hurts too bad, if you can’t do this without yelping, I’m picking you up. Not because I don’t understand,” he continued, giving her a pointed look as she opened her mouth to protest, “but because your health is more important than your pride. Deal?” 

Curse him and his logic. 

“Deal.”

A flicker of a smile crossed his face. “Good girl.” He was already moving her before she could react to the praise, lifting one of her arms to wrap around his shoulders, one of his going across her back, his hand finding her hip to help keep her stable. 

“Wait! Don’t forget my monkey!” She looked around to find it, sighing in relief when she saw it lying on the pavement next to where she had been. 

Jack laughed, unable to believe she cared so much about a silly ball of green fuzz. He walked towards it anyway, picking it up and carefully dusting it off before tucking it into the side pocket of his go bag. 

“There,” he said, slinging the bag back onto his back and wrapping Abby’s arm over his shoulder again. “He gets his own special seat to ride back. And he’s not too stubborn to accept being carried.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “You know, you could be annoying if you weren’t so wonderful.”

Jack flashed her a lopsided grin. “Let’s just be glad that I am then.”

Slowly, they began their trek back to the parking lot.

“Somehow this isn’t my worst first date,” Abby said after a few minutes of near-silent shuffling along, wishing she didn't sound as strained as she did. The last thing she needed was to get hoisted up like a rag doll. As much as she might enjoy it in a way, she still had to see the man at work and take orders from him. She’d never be able to set foot in the ED ever again without turning bright red and swooning. 

Jack hummed. “‘Course not, it’s with me.” He gave her a cocky grin, one that turned more sincere when he saw he was successful in making her smile. “What’s your worst horror story?” he asked. It was good to keep her mind off the pain. He was still fighting the urge to just carry her.

“That’s a tough choice.”
“Never a good start.”
Abby chuckled darkly. “Tell me about it. There was the guy who took me to a movie I chose, then proceeded to talk over it the whole time at full volume and mansplain to me who every character was, even though I was the one who wanted to see it in the first place and it was a sequel.” 

“Jesus. I hope he paid and you brought home popcorn at least.”

She grimaced. “You’re right about the popcorn at least. Unfortunately, I had to swerve to avoid a squirrel on the way home and it dumped all over my car. My roommate gave me shit about it for months, every time we’d pull up at a stop sign more popcorn would appear from under the seats like some weird curse.” She smiled at the memory. “Had to sell that car before too long though, so the popcorn problem is someone else’s issue now.” She looked up at Jack, suddenly so grateful that he was nothing like the others.

“What about you?” She nudged his shoulder with her head. “You have any particularly gruesome stories?”

Jack chuckled. “About more than just dating. There was a woman I saw briefly. You’ll understand why it was so brief. I met her one night at a bar when I was out with Robby getting drinks. He thought she was into me, encouraged me to talk to her, get some human connection outside of stitching people up. Turns out she was into me.”
Abby grinned. “Real shocker there,” she deadpanned.

Jack smiled. “Well, turns out she was too into me. Tried to follow me home after I declined going home with her. Tried to reason with her, but she just wouldn’t stop. Had to threaten calling the cops to get her to go home.”

“Fucking hell.” He spoke so casually about it, like he was describing what he had for breakfast, not being stalked. “I guess there’s the downside of being so handsome.”

He chuckled. “If you say so.”

She smirked. “Oh, I definitely do. And a sweetheart too. Not a lot of people would stick around after a broken leg on a first date, let alone insist on helping like you do.”
He only shrugged. She’d learned that he liked to do that, to just let any compliments roll off his back.

“I’m a doctor. It’s what I do.”

She shook her head. “Nope, not letting you off that easily. You’re a great doctor, sure, a fucking superb doctor, but you’re also a fucking superb man. So just take the compliment, and accept it.”

Jack whistled lowly. “Cursing at your superior,” he drawled. “What are we gonna do with you, Dr. Daniels?”

Abby huffed a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s the moral conflict of this evening. We’re just pretending like you didn’t blow through almost a whole paycheck trying to win a kiss from me.”

“I was trying to win a very important pink monkey,” he corrected. “If the winning of the monkey made you want to kiss me, that’s on you.” 

Abby managed to make it to the parking lot without getting scooped up, though it would be a lie to say she didn’t think about it every couple steps. As humiliating as it would be to be carried through a public space after such a silly accident, she couldn’t help imagining what it would feel like to be held in Jack’s arms, pressed against his chest where she could feel his heartbeat. Even just leaning on him, letting him bear the bulk of her weight as she limped along was enough to affect her. Her skin tingled where his arm pressed against her back, his hand gently gripping her waist to help her along. 

She felt horrible for giving him such a bad date. He probably didn’t even like carnivals to begin with, she should have gone for something more neutral, something that they both would have liked. She should have looked where she was going and noticed the grease pooling on the ground. 

But despite it all, she was glad she had found the courage to ask him out. Because the last few hours had been the most fun she’d had in a long time. And Jack had been so kind, so sweet about helping her. He didn’t act put out or burdened by her, and had even humoured her enough to try to win her a trinket to bring home at the end of the night. Abby felt comfortable around Jack, like she could say any damn thing on her mind, and he would understand her, or at least try to. And it was nice, seeing him outside of the ED, seeing him relaxed and laughing, without the risk of something going terribly wrong at any moment. 

“I’m sorry to make you work on your night off,” she said, looking up at Jack and giving him a sheepish smile.

Jack hummed. “I don’t know what you’ve been doing at work, but my shifts aren’t anything like this.” He glanced down at her, giving her a small smile. “Nothing to be sorry for. Tonight’s been great.”

Abby chuckled nervously. “Even with the ferris wheel panicking? And the extreme wipeout?”

Jack nodded. “Even with those.” He smirked. “Gave me a good reason to hold your hand, didn’t it?” 

Abby could feel her face turn red, and she slowed her walking, ducked her head so her temple pressed against his chest. The way his laugh reverberated in his chest, the fabric of his shirt rustling against her ear from the movement felt like heaven. 

“You don’t need a reason,” she said quietly. Saying it out loud at full volume would feel too real.

The hand holding her waist squeezed lightly, Jack’s thumb ghosting over her side as it ran up and down. 

“Good to know.”

When they finally reached the parking lot, Jack insisted again on driving her home.

“I’m not putting you behind a wheel with your leg like that.” His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.

“I can manage on my own-”

“No, you can’t. You can’t drive in pain like this, it’s not safe.” His hazel eyes sought hers out, refusing to let her drop his gaze. “Not for you or others.”

He knew he got her there, could see it in her eyes, the way she worked her jaw. She might be willing to take a chance on her own health, but not someone else’s, even a stranger.

“Alright.” She said it stiffly, in defeat. “I can still take an Uber though, or call a friend-”
“No need.” Jack gave her a humorous look. “You already have one here. And conveniently, he thinks the perfect end to your date is getting dropped off at home where he knows you’ll be safe. Now, before we start moving again, do you need me to grab anything from your car? You probably won’t get back to it for a day or two.”

Abby exhaled a soft laugh. “I’ve got everything I need, but wow. You’re really something, Abbot.”

He tutted at her, wrapping her arm over his neck again to lead her to where he’d parked. “I told you, it’s just Jack.”

He made sure to help her into his truck when they got to it. 

“I should have known you’d have a truck,” Abby muttered, more to herself than him.

Jack cocked his head at her, placing a hand on each of her hips and lifting her easily into the passenger seat, lifted just high enough off the ground that it would be a struggle to climb to with only one good leg. 

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Abby shook her head as he closed the car door for her. “I don’t know Jack. A vet with a difficult past and a big dick truck? Feels like I’ve seen it in a movie before.”

Jack climbed in beside her, giving her a faux surprised look. “You can tell all that from a truck?”

She almost snorted from laughing. “I mean you do have a lifted one. That just seems a little unnecessary.”

He hummed, double checking she had fastened her seatbelt before putting the truck in reverse. “If it was normal height, I wouldn’t have a reason to pick you up like that.” He was focused on the rearview mirror, the words flowing easily off his tongue. “You still want to complain about it?”

Abby smiled, biting her tongue to keep from saying something stupid.

“What?” Jack teased, shifting into drive and giving her a quick glance. “No clever retort to that one?”

She paused. “Not any I can say on a first date.” She shifted in her seat, steeling her nerve.

“Do you want to come in when we get there? I can make us some tea or something. It’s the least I can do to thank you for getting me home in one piece. Or two, I guess, assuming it’s a clean break.”
Jack didn’t answer immediately. “I want to,” he said, words coming slowly enough that she could tell there was a ‘but’ coming. “But I should probably get back myself. I’m working tomorrow and I should try to sleep before then. Plus, I haven’t watered my plant yet and I told myself I would before I left the house this morning.”

Abby smiled, tilting her head in confusion. “Your plant?”
Jack scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, my plant. My therapist recommended I get one. Something about taking care of something is supposed to help.”

Her brow furrowed. “And being an ED doc doesn’t qualify as helping people?” 

He only shrugged. “Psychiatry’s not my type of medicine. Bodies I can heal. Minds? Who knows.”

Abby nodded. “Well, I hope it helps.”

“It does, I think. I think it’s because I’m taking care of it for me. If that makes any sense.”

Abby hummed. “It does,” she reassured him. “You should do anything that you can to take care of yourself, especially in our line of work. You need to stay strong, mentally and physically, if you want to keep showing up to work everyday.”

Jack hummed flatly. His message was loud and clear. Easier said than done.

“What kind of plant is it?”
A brief silence aside from the rumbling of the engine.

“Jack?”
His voice was quiet when he responded. “I don’t know.” He could feel her quizzical look and blushed slightly, suddenly grateful to be driving and having an excuse not to look her in the eye. “I don’t remember, I bought it because it seemed alright, definitely a plant, but I lost the tag and now I don’t know what it is.”

Abby suppressed the laugh that wanted to leave her chest. He seemed so vulnerable, she couldn’t bear to laugh at him. 

“If you send me a picture of it I can help you ID it,” she offered. “You should have my number already, it’s in the work group chat.”
Jack nodded, the muscles of his jaw tightening again, his own form of showing quiet appreciation. 

“Yeah. That’d be nice. And I might need your number again,” he admitted, sounding almost sheepish. “I don’t have the dayshift numbers saved aside from Robby and Langdon, it just shows up as numbers to me.”
That she couldn’t help but laugh at. 

“I’ll give you my number again,” she promised, grinning stupidly at him like a lovestruck fool. “Looks like we’ll have to have another time outside of the Pitt together anyway, seeing as I still owe you a cotton candy.”

The corner of his lips flicked up. “You and your sugar,” he drawled.

Abby felt a bittersweet sadness when she began to recognize the streets they drove down, knowing every turn brought her closer to home and closer to the end of her time with Jack. They’d spent hours together, and she felt ridiculous acknowledging it, but she wanted more time with him. Especially with her leg being hurt, there was a chance she wouldn’t be allowed to return to work for a few days unless the Pitt was short staffed. Even though that was a regular occurrence, there was still the chance she wouldn’t get to see him for a while. Until she did, this would be his last memory of her, wiping out so badly she broke her leg and made him drive her home. She was a walking disaster. A limping disaster now. What if he changed his mind about her before she saw him again? No one in their right mind would want a second date after tonight. Let alone the weeks of stewing over the possible complications of working together. They might not even be allowed to date. Gloria could throw a fit over it if she found out, might even punish Jack and take him away from the thing he loved most in the world.

Jack was a gentleman, and helped her get out of the truck when they pulled into her driveway. He had just removed his hands from her hips, wrapping his arm around her again to take some of the weight off her bad foot when a face appeared in the only lit room of the house, peaking from behind a curtain before immediately ducking away again. They could hear a brief scramble before the light turned off, followed by a quiet thud and a faint Ow!

Abby groaned at the commotion, covering her face with her free hand. 

“You have a racoon in there?” Jack joked, helping her walk to the door. 

She nodded, giving him a tight-lipped smile. “Practically. That’s my roommate, who is clearly going above and beyond to stay out of the way because I told her I was going on a date tonight.” 

Jack exhaled sharply, breathing out a laugh through his nose. “Shame we can’t take advantage of all her hard work.”

Abby sighed, giving him a sardonic smile. “Don’t I know it. I’m just curious to see how long it’ll take her to realize you’re not coming inside.”

He shrugged, looking at the house with a small frown. “She can consider it a drill,” he offered. “For next time.”

Abby smiled. “Next time?” she asked breathlessly. “You actually want to see me again after this? After I ruined it?”
Jack frowned, his gaze turning from the house to look down at her. “Ruined it?”

Abby looked deftly down at her leg, wrapped in splints and bandaging. 

“You think that scares me?” Jack was teasing her now. “I’ve still got you beat in the leg injury category. Besides,” he shifted slightly closer, his voice dropping to a softer volume, “I still had a good time. Even with the in field training.”

Abby exhaled a short laugh at the smirk he wore. “I’m glad,” she said, maybe a little too earnestly. “Maybe we can do this again sometime? And I promise I’ll be more careful then.” She fiddled with her hands nervously, still having a hard time pushing away her embarrassment despite how sweet he was being.

She was surprised by how warmly Jack was smiling at her when she looked up. 

“Absolutely. And hey, if you do trip again, next time I’ll catch you. Maybe we can spare your other leg.”
Abby smiled. “Cheesy. But also very sweet.” She tapped him on the chest. “And that is what you’re my favorite attending.”

Jack’s smile widened, turning teasing again. “Yeah. That’s the only reason.”

She shrugged. “I never said it was the only reason. Just a reason.”

He shook his head at her, still giving her that soft look that made her feel like she was melting inside. “Goodnight, Abby.”

She smiled sadly. She couldn’t help but wish he could stay longer, that their night didn’t have to end, even if her leg screamed at her to sit down.

“Goodnight, Jack.”

He was halfway back to his truck when she spoke again, calling after him with her key in the doorknob, already turned to unlock it and go inside.

“Text me when you get home safe?” Jack paused, looking over his shoulder back at her, but she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “Please?” She tried to sound extra pitiful. “Don’t make me stay up late worrying, I’m already injured.”

Jack’s jaw shifted, eyes scrunched up humorously. “Okay. I’ll text you when I’m home,” he turned back to face her, still several feet away in her driveway. “And I’ll come by tomorrow to drop off a boot before I go in for work. Until then, just rest, elevate your leg, and take acetaminophen for the pain. But you have to rest, doctor’s orders.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “I’m a doctor too,” she retorted. Jack only raises his eyebrows, staring her down. “Okay, fine. I’ll put off learning to tap dance until after I heal. Guess I’ll just have to lay around eating ice cream and watching beautifully bad movies. However will I go on?”

Jack gave her a small smile, his head cocked slightly to the side. “You’ll think of something. You always do.”

Abby chewed on her lip, finding him far too endearing. “Can I give you something before you leave?”

His eyebrow quirked up, brow furrowing in silent questioning.

“A consolation prize,” she explained, mesmerized by his beautiful eyes. “You did put in a lot of effort tonight.”

Jack smiled, the lopsidedness of it making her want to grab him and kiss him even more.

“Only at ringtoss,” he insisted. “The rest came natural.”
She grinned. “Whatever you say, doc. So, is that a yes?”

He nodded, stepping closer, until only inches separated their chests from touching. 

She brought her hand up to rest on his collarbone, slowly leaning closer to him. The air between them felt electric, like every moment longer they weren’t touching could start a fire from how much they wanted it. Abby almost lost any semblance of self control when she realized the way Jack leaned down to meet her, still levelly holding his gaze, though his pupils had dilated so much she could barely tell his eye color. 

The kiss she pressed to the corner of his mouth was soft but firm, deliberately chaste. She didn’t rush, letting her lips linger against his skin, relishing the feeling of his hands moving up her back to keep her close, the light brushing of his almost-white stubble on her soft cheek. His grip on her was always light, always something she could shake out of if she wanted to, but she craved his touch. 

It took everything in her to sink back down on her heels and pull her face away from his, even if only inches. Jack’s gaze was all-consuming, searching every inch of her soul with an intensity she told herself she shouldn’t be so comfortable with. Her heart pounded in her chest when his gaze dropped, staring at her lips almost hungrily. 

“You can,” she whispered. “If you want to.”

She could see him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat, the small groan he made as he thought. 

“I can’t,” he whispered hoarsely, after what felt like almost an eternity. “Not tonight. Not yet, not like this.”

Abby’s heart did a cartwheel in her chest. She was desperate to kiss him, felt like she almost needed it to survive. But not yet was a lot different than no, and the prospect of another date was all too alluring.

She pouted, letting out a soft whine and letting her head slump forward so her forehead rested against his chest. The speed at which he wrapped his arm around her back, holding her snugly against him made it much harder to pretend to be upset. She could feel his heartbeat thumping loudly, his blood coursing underneath her fingertips that had found their way to the small exposed patch of skin around his collar. 

“Another night,” Jack promised, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “When you’re not injured. Once we’ve had time to think.”
Abby groaned, letting her hands slide down his body to gently push herself off of him. 

“Enough time to change your mind?” she asked, frowning as she looked up at him.

He only shook his head. “Not gonna happen.” He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, tucking it neatly behind her ear. “We just need to be smart is all.”
Deep down, Abby knew he was right. 

“Yeah,” she said, cringing at how pathetic her voice came out. “You’re right. Let’s take it slow.”
Jack smiled softly. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

Abby rolled her eyes, giving him a pat on the chest as she stepped back, releasing him from her hold. “Alright, Jack. Get home safe, and don’t forget to text me when you get there.”

His steady gaze felt like it could scorch her if she wasn’t careful.

“I will. See you soon.”

She waited until he had walked back to his truck, climbed into it and turned on the engine before she opened the door. He had given her a little wave, his eyebrows raised as he indicated he wasn’t leaving until she was safely indoors, effectively ruining her plans to watch him as he drove off. She gave him a brief wave as she ducked inside, resisting the urge to place her fingers on her lips while he could still see her, her mind swimming with thoughts of how good his lips had felt against her own. 

Not tonight he had said. Not tonight. That was a whole lot different than Never.