Work Text:
If summer meant anything, it was staff shortages. Everyone deserves a holiday, but that rarely crosses the mind of a workaholic. Covering the day shift had become something of a habit for Abbot, but he found himself oddly ready for the oncoming day knowing his star resident would be joining him to fill in for the gap left by annual leave and those smart enough to take it.
He’d made a point not to berate her for letting her leave days remain untouched, knowing full well that would come back at him full force, given he wasn’t any better at taking a day off than she was. But it also meant he rarely had to go a day without working with her, so he had little to complain about.
Walking into the ER at 7am rather than out always felt odd, strolling up to the central terminal to greet Dana, eyes meeting Robby’s across the room as Abbot scans the area.
“Looking for someone?” Robby joins them at the counter, his eyes dragging tiredly over Abbot as he sips a coffee that would likely go cold and unfinished once the day commences.
“Just checking you haven’t pissed off my resident already. Is she around? She usually beats me in.” Robby rolls his eyes and sets down the takeaway cup, glancing to a spare room.
“She’s been in since 3. Think she’s taking a nap after helping with the tail end of the pile up from last night.” Dana gives Abbot a reassuring smile as he checks his watch, pushing himself off of the desktop he had been leaning on in response to Dana’s words.
“Better wake her then. Never sets an alarm, that one.” He catches a frown from Robby as he steps away, turning back to assess the man who doesn’t drop the judgement from his eyes as Abbot faces him again.
“What? Got something to say, brother?” Robby takes a moment before replying, shrugging lightly as he glances over at Dana.
“Don’t you think it’s better for Dana to go get her? Give the girl some privacy whilst you get up to date with the board.” He tries his best not to insinuate anything, watching as Abbot blinks before nodding.
“I suppose so… If you’ve got a minute, Dana?” The woman beside them nods, putting aside what she had been doing to round the desk, shooting Abbot a knowing smile as he responds with a curt, unknowing nod before the trio separate ways to begin the day.
-
The lights flicker on, causing her to jerk her face hurriedly into the pillow with a muffled groan.
“Mornin’ sunshine. Shifts bouta start, so nap times over.” Dana pulls the curtains from around the bed, smiling quietly to herself as the body in the bed writhes against the sheets for a moment before turning to glare up at her.
“Could of given me a kinder wake up…” Dana shrugs, gesturing for the woman to sit up, which she does if very reluctantly.
“Ellis said you’d been down since 5, 2 hours sleep is kind.” As the drowsy woman kicks her legs off the bed, Dana nudges the shoes that had clearly been haphazardly kicked closer to her feet as her socks hit the floor.
“Well, Ellis is a liar. Try 45 minutes, if that. I don’t know why I came in early…” The resident rises slowly once her shoes are back on, smoothing down her hair with little actual care for her presentation as she finally stands beside Dana, who is putting the room back into working order.
“We both know you do, doll.” Silence falls over the room as their eyes meet, knowing eyes dragging over the younger woman’s face until she has to break the connection, beelining for the door.
“Sleep is for the weak anyway. Better get the day going, sure it’s already gone to shit out there without you.” Dana watches as the woman disappears out of the door before she has a moment to reply, a soft sigh falling from her lips at the all too familiar demeanour of tension threaded through the young woman’s shoulders.
In some vain attempt to distract herself, the night shift resident finds herself staring up at the board in search of work, but the morning is quiet, and even then the words she’s reading are doing little more than dancing past her eyes unregistered.
“Sleep well?” A hand clasped over her shoulder snaps her out of her daze, glancing up to the older man beside her as the tightness in her shoulders melts away.
“Not really, but I’d be worried if I slept well in those linoleum walls.” This elicits a soft chuckle from Abbot, who squeezes her shoulder before his hand slips away. There’s a comfort that settles over the interaction that she hadn’t felt for the last several hours of her time in the ER.
“You’d be better off sleeping at home, you know. Need that head of yours in top form.” A firm palm meets the top of her head, scrunching her hair in circles without making any harsh knots, but messing up the smoothed form and causing her to duck away with a faux scowl.
“A little lost sleep won’t faze me. I’m almost disappointed you’d think so, Dr Abbot.” The hand still over her head moves to smooth her hair back down as he chuckles, shaking his head in disagreement.
“Hardly, though don’t make a habit of it. I’ll come watch you sleep if I have to.” There’s a soft pout in response to his words as her own hands moved to swat his away, smoothing down the mess he was hardly solving before scooping her hair into a rough ponytail.
“I’ll have to skip out on that offer. Though I’d rather you wake me than Dana. She’s meaner than you, just turned the lights on and told me to move my arse…” Abbot chuckles as her hands return to her side, moving to press his fingers into her back to guide her away from the board and towards the other side of the nurse’s desk.
“Trust me, I tried to avoid this mood of yours, but the day shift isn’t so accustomed to not being tightly wound at all times.” Robby approaches the duo as Abbot pats his resident’s back firmly before ceasing his contact, turning to acknowledge his arrival with a smirk, knowing he had heard his comment.
“If anyone knows what tightly wound means, she’s right beside you.” Though the tension had lessoned, some comments that the night shift resident had previously made to Robby had struck a nerve and she was still working her way back into his good books.
“Right on the money, Dr Robby. I-I better go check my patients from handover.” The tension returns to her shoulders as she scuttles off, leaving Abbot to look up at Robby with a looking of discontentment.
“I had a hold of that until you came around.” He shakes his head, turning away from Robby to assess the room before the chaos kicks off.
“I could certainly see that. I think the whole ER could.” Abbot’s attention snaps back to Robby with furrowed brow at his words.
“And what’s that supposed to mean, brother.” Robby shakes his head, leaning against the counter to cross his arms as he shoots an incredulous look at Abbot like he ought to know the answer already, but Abbot only looks back in mild confusion and a modicum of irritation.
“You touch Ellis and Shen that much?” There’s a moment of silence between the pair as Abbot takes in the accusation before a sharp laugh cuts through as he glances back at Robby.
“You talk like you don’t treat your resident the same.” It’s Robby’s turn to look confused, glancing around the room to figure out who Abbot could be talking about.
“Come on, Rob, let’s not play coy. You’ve got your hands on farm boy over there every chance you get.” Abbot waves over at Whitaker, who looks a little taken aback by the attention before waving back sheepishly and hurrying off to his patient to avoid the attention.
“That’s different and you know it. She’s a young woman.” Abbot scoffs, crossing his own arms to imitate Robby as his gaze moves to form a challenging steely stare.
“Whitaker’s a young man. We’re not being sexist now, are we brother?” Robby scowls at Abbot’s words, leaning in slightly to quieten the conversation as the world bustles around them.
“We’ve already had a conversation about how you talk to her, I’m just warning you to be careful.” Abbot just shrugs and turns to watch her from across the room, Robby’s gaze following to see her meet with Whitaker, a small conversation starting as the pair share soft smiles between them.
“I could do exactly the same with Whitaker and you wouldn’t say a word. Her being a woman doesn’t change a thing. I reckon if you treated her like farm boy she wouldn’t say a thing. It’s a close workplace, Rob. Got to be familiar with your colleagues.” Robby’s gaze doesn’t leave the younger pair, watching their interaction with an unreadable look and barely registering Abbot’s words.
“You know what, fine. Have at it. I’ll treat her just like Whitaker and nothing will happen, and you can grab him all over and watch him file a report to HR.” Abbot snorts lightly, unconvinced but nods in agreement.
“And when nothing happens at the end of the day, you’ll see that we’re just having very normal working relationships with our residents and you’re overthinking it because she’s a younger woman. Bet you wouldn’t say a thing if I was handsy with Dana.” As if summoned, the older woman pops up beside them with a scowl.
“Either of you touch me and I’m kicking you where the sun don’t shine. Now shoo, you’re getting in the way my nurses.” Dana’s snippy words have the two scattering in opposite directions, the two younger residents across the room none the wiser to the mess that was about to ensue.
-
The first time, it felt kind of nice. She faltered for a moment as Robby offered his fists out to her before dragging herself back to her senses to knock her knuckles back against his, a sheepish giggle falling from her mouth as he wandered out of the room after successfully bringing a patient back from the edge. The gentle beep of the heart monitor rang out against the silence as her hands dropped back to her sides, feeling a sense of appreciation she hadn’t gotten from Robby any time she had worked for him in the past.
“I, kind of get it now.” Whitaker glanced over at her as she appeared at his side, looking a little confused at the announcement as he closed to tab he had open on the tablet in his hands.
“I got a Robby fist bump, somehow. It felt good. I see why you always look so chipper after.” She elaborates a little on her statement, glancing at Robby across the room. Whitaker is quiet for a moment, watching her before following her attention to the chief attending.
“Yeah, I guess so.” When she doesn’t get the response she had expected, the night shift resident turns back to Whitaker with lips pressed together to suppress a smile.
“Not getting jealous, are you? Thought you were the only one who got them?” This snaps Whitaker’s gaze back to hers, looking a little like a deer caught in headlights.
“N-no, of course not. I’m glad you’re getting recognition, it was a good save…” She rolls her eyes at his recovery, nudging him lightly with her shoulder.
“I’m only pulling your chain, Huckleberry. Bet I won’t get another for a whole year, if that.” She laughs lightly to herself, Whitaker relaxing beside her and chuckling quietly with her. A third body joins the pair, smiles glancing up at the greying man as he assesses the duo.
“Dr Abbot! How can we help you?” There’s a slight song to her voice as she grins up at the attending, causing him to falter for a moment as his hand raises, forcing himself to swerve from his usual path towards Whitaker’s shoulder instead.
“I’ve got to steal Dr Whitaker, sorry to interrupt your catch up.” All three look confused at the interaction, the duos eyes flickering to Abbot’s hand as Abbot tries to ignore as the corners of the night shift residents lips tighten for a moment. She forces the smile to stay on her face, shaking off the surprise to step out of their way.
“Of course! I ought to get back to my patients…” She starts off towards her rooms, but her steps falter, turning around to watch Abbot guide Whitaker away by the shoulders. Something keeps her stuck in place, an odd feeling eating away at the back of her mind until a pair of hands clap over the sides of her neck, moving her feet towards trauma one.
“No time for dawdling, Dr. I need you on this one, care to join.” Robby is moving her feet for her, so she barely has a choice in the matter, but she nods anyway as she shakes off her brain fog.
“Sorry, Dr Robby, I’m with you…” She gets to work swiftly, and Robby does have to note that whilst she may not have been his first choice, she certainly was a good choice. Even though the patient is barely conscious, she asks the right questions with the little attention she has to maximise the small amount of information she can get out of the man on the table before he crashes and they have to intubate, relaying the responses concisely as they work on stemming the blood flow to his abdomen. He can see Abbot’s teaching in the way she moves around the room, making small quips and requests, checking her actions with Robby before acting, though he could probably have let her go it alone with little worry.
So the second time felt confusing. It wasn’t undeserved, per se, but the win was easy, and somewhat underwhelming. She’d done many like it in front of Robby, so when this earned her yet another fist bump, she responded a little less enthusiastically as it didn’t elicit the same sense of achievement as the first.
“You alright? You seem a little out if it.” The statement has her looking up at the older man, blinking for a moment at his attention before shaking it off, averting her gaze.
“Y-yeah, all good. Guess I needed more sleep after all… But the day shift always feels weird.” He takes it at face value, leaving her to recite a few orders off to the nurses before moving to the nurses station to catch up on her charting.
Santos slides in beside her, twiddling a pen between her fingers with a clear want to speak. The night shift resident sighs, ending her sentence and swivelling around in the chair to face her, egging her continue.
“Abbot’s been all over Huckleberry today.” The statement is short and confuses the woman as to the relevance, so she can only scowl lightly at Santos for interrupting her work for idle talk.
“He’s always like that. Guess Huckleberry’s just todays victim.” She turns back to the computer, hoping that by breaking her gaze Santos will leave her in peace, but unfortunately that was not how it was going to work out.
“He’s always like that, with you. You piss him off or something?” The woman across from Santos falters for a moment, glancing back up at her reluctantly.
“No. A-and it’s not always me… He, does the same thing with Mohan… Just because you’re not one of his favourites.” The slightly bitter tone that creeps out at she mentions Mohan makes her wince slightly, hoping Santos doesn’t catch her slip. Fortune is not on her side today.
“Jealousy is a cruel mistress, Switch.” Santos always sounds like she’s having too much fin when speaking, and it grates on the woman sat at the computer a little too much.
“I have Abbot all to myself on the night shift, so he just likes to branch out when he gets a shot to torment the rest of you.” After a little berating from the last time she snapped, she was doing her best to keep her temper sated, though Santos always tried to push her luck, even when she was being civil.
“All yours, huh? Guess he must get bored of people easy if he doesn’t care to bother Ellis and Chen and jumps to pester the new blood the first shot he gets. Seems like he’s getting bored of you already then.” She hates to admit it but the quip cuts deep, and she’s half a second from ripping into Santos when a hand settles on her shoulder. What may have been a welcome interruption on a normal day was marred by the hand belonging to the wrong attending, and she’s left to smile politely up at Robby as he cuts her off.
“I need you again, got a patient in 6 that won’t answer questions and you’ve got a way with those types.” She can only nod at the request, glancing at the hand on her shoulder and over to Santos who seems equally confused by the action.
-
She ducked out of the way as the next hand brushed her shoulder, her eyes meeting those of a mildly surprised Whitaker. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, sighing harshly as she shook off the interaction.
“Sorry, guess I’m jumpy today…” He nods, settling beside her at an odd lull in the middle of the day. They stood silent for a moment, glancing at each other as if wanting to say something but both holding back.
“Um… Does Dr Robby still have an issue with me?” The question catches Whitaker off guard, and he takes a moment to reply.
“Not that I know of. He speaks fairly highly of you, all things considered.” She lets out a harsh, breathy laugh, knowing what he was referring to.
“No one would talk to me for ages after that shift, at least not outside of cases. I do appreciate that you pushed past my outburst.” Whitaker nods slightly, a small smile cast over at the woman beside him.
“I didn’t think you were wrong. Plus, Robby seems to have moved past it, given how much he’s asked for you.” She frowns at this, assessing Whitaker’s face for long enough that he starts to shrink away.
“Christ, is it obvious? The guy’s been leading me around the ER like a dog all day. I’m not sure I have a choice where my feet go today.” Whitaker just chuckles lightly, glancing over at Robby who seems to be heading towards them.
“He does that. I wouldn’t think too much into it, he does it to me all the time. If I’m honest, I feel like Abbot’s been doing the same today. I’ve barely had a moment to myself.” They laugh quietly, thinking about their own grabby attendant in comparison to todays, which rationalises a lot of both of their strange thoughts.
As if on cue, just as Robby appears in front of Whitaker, Abbot appears in front of his own resident, and they falter for a moment as each of them block their path to their intended target. There’s a look shared between them, and though there was an easy option, both of them were far too stubborn to take it. The names of the duo ring out, though each calling for the one not stood before them.
Whitaker, ever the man to please, seems to take it as it is, glancing at Robby for a moment before starting to move towards Abbot. The other resident however keeps her gaze on Abbot, and the older man falters for a moment as the woman below him looks almost hurt before she finally tears her eyes away to swap sides with Whitaker. Robby’s hand meets her shoulder as they walk away from Abbot and Whitaker, and Abbot has to force a frown from forming at the contact. A curt cough sounds from beside him, alerting him to Whitaker still waiting for his instruction.
“Oh, right. Patient in 4 needs an ultrasound for kidney stones. Ogilvie’s in there already, if you could supervise.” Whitaker nods, moving to head towards the room before Abbot catches his attention once more.
“Can I-… Is she doing alright? I know she gets weird on the day shift.” Abbot looks oddly concerned, and Whitaker turns his feet back to face the attending, glancing over at the aforementioned woman as she disappears into a room with Robby.
“She’s usually a little worried about her outburst. She did ask me about Dr Robby, but he seems pretty happy to work with her today, so I said it was nothing.” Abbot nods slightly, trying to seem as nonchalant as he can at the questions.
“Though, she has seemed kind of jumpy this afternoon, Dr Abbot. She ducked away from my hand like she didn’t want to be touched? I don’t think she’s had enough sleep, I know she was in early this morning. O-or at least that’s how I feel as a friend, not trying to get her in trouble with her attending.” Whitaker curses himself for being a little too open, but there was something about the way Abbot seemed genuinely concerned that made him feel like he could be a little honest, at least when it came to her.
“I’ll keep an eye on her, she’s always been a bit negligent of her own health, but that’s hardly uncommon in our profession.” Whitaker laughs quietly at the remark, though he’s cut off as Abbot rubs a firm palm against his hair before nudging his shoulder towards room 4 and wanders off without another word.
Whitaker falters for a moment, his own hand raising to touch his roughed up mop of hair as his gaze raises to meet that of the night shift resident watching him from across the room with an unreadable look.
-
The third time has her staring. She’d done little more than give a correct differential on a jaundiced patient, and there were two fist outstretched towards her as she left the room. She blinked for a moment before looking up at Robby with furrowed brow, causing him to draw back his hands slightly at the less than expected response.
“Am I being ‘dealt with’ again?” She spoke quietly against the bustle of the ER, but her words were short and indelicate.
“Dealt with?” Her scowl furrows at the ignorance, taking in a deep breath to try and stop herself insulting the chief attending. Again.
“I get these forced compliments and support when you and your day shift lot are trying to avoid ‘setting me off’. But that’s exactly what sets me off!” She has to snap her mouth shut as her temperature rises with each frustrated word, trying to stay professional in front of her superior.
“I am not stupid enough to repeat a mistake we already made once, I promise you that, Dr.” She doesn’t look convinced, but her shoulders untense slightly as she nods, looking a little embarrassed to have even asked.
“Sorry. It just feels like I’m getting your attention for doing nothing out of the ordinary. Dr Abbot would have given me a nod, at best, for that. I guess I’m just a little on edge during the day.” Robby’s hands settle back down by his side at her words, looking her over as she shrinks slightly under his gaze.
“Abbot talks as if he spends his shifts doting on you.” The statement came so matter of factly that she freezes for a moment, a slight heat hitting her cheeks as she averts her eyes to the floor.
“Dr Abbot makes his appreciation known, but I’d hardly call it doting. You and I both know he’s a fairly nonchalant person. I’m lucky to get a passing comment when I do well.” She glances back up at Robby, looking somewhat sheepish under his increasing attention.
“So, I’m being more forward than Abbot?” The confusion that crosses her face is obvious, but she covers it with an awkward, polite smile and a curt nod, which has Robby looking just as confused.
“Well, if I’m making you uncomfortable, I apologise. I suppose I was just treating you as I treat my own residents and didn’t think much of it. As much as Abbot insists compliments keep you happy, a lot of your work is deserving of them in the first place.” The sentiment seems genuine as Robby smiles down at her, and she can feel her skin starting to burn under the meaningful compliment that has her clenching her hands together to maintain her composure.
“O-oh. Well, thank you. I have seen you like this with other people, s-so I guess I was just a little tense today. Glad we cleared this up.” She pauses for a moment before offering out her fists, lips pressed together in a careful smile which draws out a chuckle from Robby as he taps his knuckles back against hers.
She takes the opportunity to scurry off as Robby’s hands drops back to his sides, and he finds himself watching as she leaves. There’s more of a skip in her step, like when she arrives at the start of her shift, and for a moment Robby understands what Abbot means about praise keeping her in line.
His gaze follows after her form until he spots Abbot, who’s own eyes are fixed on the tint over her cheeks with a slight furrow to his brow. The pair of attendings sight joins across the room, just watching each other silently before Robby breaks the tension and turns away to get back to work.
-
Abbot is caught off guard when his night shift resident squares up to him as he rounds the corner. Her steely gaze is locked on his and he feels a little worried for a moment despite the stature of the woman he has to look down on to meet her gaze, though he looks down on most people.
“It’s your fault.” He waits for her to elaborate, knowing that she would given how if he tried to talk he’d likely be cut off anyway.
“You’re the one telling people how to ‘deal’ with me. Dr Robby admitted so himself.” She jabs him in the chest with her finger, and he winces, though more so at the accusation than the action.
“It’s not what you think. You’ve just, got a reputation and I got asked how we work with you on the night shift is all.” This doesn’t seem to placate her, and it almost seems like her eyes are reddening slightly as she vents her frustration.
“So what, you tell them to treat me like some child who needs constant praise? You don’t even do that, so why would they? It’s overwhelming enough switching shifts but having all these people treat me like glass feels awful and I’ve told you that!” She’s still jabbing at his chest, and he has to catch her hand in his to get her to stop, moving to use this grip to tug her into the breakroom beside them.
“Calm down, what’s happened? Something’s got you worked up, and you need to get it together, Dr.” He looks almost stern, and something switches in her mind as she yanks her arm free from his grip to take a step back.
“You’re not my dad, stop telling people how to talk to me like you know better.” This seems to strike a nerve, and Abbot takes a step forward to meet her movement.
“I am your superior, so I do know better. I’m sorry for overstepping but this,” he gestures to her and her current manner, “is not something we need on top of ER work.” Her body untenses, arms dropping to her side in the shock of his words. The thought that he saw her reactiveness as a problem hurt to her core, and she took in a shaky breath to maintain what little composure she had left.
“Right. I am the common denominator. Forgive me, Dr Abbot. It won’t happen again.” Her words are quiet, and Abbot finds himself regretting his words almost instantly as her fire goes out in less than a second, leaving her silent in front of him like a scolded child.
“You should get back to Whitaker, I’m sure your new buddy is looking for you.” She lets out a short quip as she scuttles past him, beelining out of the door before he has a chance to catch her.
“Fuck.” Abbot drags his hands over his face in frustration, turning on the spot to see Dana stood in the corner, chewing nonchalantly on a protein bar.
“Seems like you’ve got that handled well.” Dana seems almost smug as she speaks, earning her a slight scowl from Abbot as he moves to lean against the counter next to her.
“She never gets this bad on the night shift. For a while I didn’t even understand what Robby meant about her temper.” Dana just shrugs, taking a sip from the cup wedged into the hand not holding the bar.
“These kids have a lot on their shoulders. She doesn’t need whatever that was on top of it.” Abbot’s brow furrows as he looks over Dana, not quite getting her meaning.
“I’m her attending, I can’t just ignore her attitude, especially when she thinks she can berate her superiors.” Dana rolls her eyes, dumping the empty cup and wrapper into the bin before walking back to look up at Abbot.
“You and Robby both need to get your heads straight about your residents before you hurt one of those kids.” She leaves without another word, leaving Abbot cursing these women for not letting him get the final word in.
-
She lets out a groan, her forehead dropping against Whitaker’s shoulder.
“I basically called him my dad, how can I look him in the eyes again?” Whitaker chuckles and she can feel the shake of his shoulders against her face as she mopes.
“I’m sure at his age he hears it all the time. It’s not as if you actually see him as a father figure.” Her head jerks up and she shakes it a little too vigorously.
“God, no. That’s so weird. Please tell me you’ve called Dr Robby dad by accident so I don’t seem so crazy.” Whitaker laughs slightly, rolling his eyes as Santos wanders over, clearly looking to get in on the gossip.
“I saw Dr Abbot drag you into the breakroom. Marital spat?” The grin on her face has her target feign annoyance but she can’t hide the faint tint to her cheeks.
“Hardly. I got told off for being a child. I swear that man forgets I’m half his age. But he’s right, I just cause problems by getting worked up. Overemotional.” There’s a hurt to her words, and Santos loses her momentum for a moment.
“It’s no fun to tease you when you’re actually hurt, Switch. Cheer up so we can get back to the friendly fire.” Santos’ response has the night shift resident snorting quietly in amusement, looking over to Santos with a faint smile.
“We’re friends now? I thought the constant attempt to test my patience was a surefire sign otherwise.” Santos rolls her eyes, glancing over at Whitaker.
“I can’t be too nice or everyone will think I’m a pushover. You’re alright, Switch. Don’t let those old men get in your head. They’re way too boring for that.” Santos gives her a reassuring smile, watching as her shoulders relax.
“You guys have to stop being so nice before I start genuinely debating switching to the day shift.” This has the trio laughing between them, not noticing the fourth body approaching them.
“I hope you’re not plotting to steal my resident over here.” Abbot stands over them, assessing the group as the laughter cuts out to see what the attending wants. Abbot notes the tension as he arrives, cursing the bond that comes with youth as all three of the younger residents look up to him in polite silence.
“Right, well I’ve got a patient in 7-” Abbot looks over to Whitaker as he speaks, and before he has the chance to poach him the woman in between him and Santos links her arms around Whitaker’s and tugs him off to the side in a tight embrace.
“We have a case, Santos is free.” Abbot and Santos are left standing in silence as Whitaker is whisked away and Abbot finds his gaze fixated on the tight grip his resident has that holds Whitaker’s arm against her in an almost too familiar fashion.
“So, you have a patient, Dr Abbot?”
-
“What’s the verdict?” The question snaps Abbot out of his thoughts, glancing over to Robby as he joins him at the nurses station. He takes a moment before he understands what he’s asking about, shaking his head as he thinks over his actions over the day.
“Whitaker seemed about as unfazed by my actions as she usually is. I told you there’s nothing odd about the way I treat her. What about on your end?” Robby sighs as Abbot speaks, pondering his own day as he crosses his arms.
“I’ll admit, she got a bit jumpy as the day went on, but she’s a forward woman and did ask about my treatment of her. Seems like you’re not as doting as I thought since I came across as more forward as you do, somehow. But I’ll surrender to my judgement, you may be right.” Abbot seems satisfied by the response, and both older men succumb to their ignorance, chatting idly as the shift winds up. A familiar backpack draws Abbot’s attention, calling over the owner who is followed by Whitaker as the pair had been walking out together. A glance is sent over to Robby who gets the hint, drawing Whitaker’s attention so that Abbot can have an aside with his resident, who still looks a little wary of the man as they wander off to one side of the counter.
“I just wanted to apologise for being hard on you today. You’re a good doctor, and I just don’t want your temper stopping other people from seeing that too.” He reaches over the side of the counter, fumbling around for a moment before tugging out a canned drink and tossing it over to her.
“I know you like those. Sugar free, so it won’t keep you up. I’m not having you half a sleep like today tomorrow night, got it?” The woman in front of him looks over the drink for a minute before looking up to him and nodding obediently, the tension melting from her shoulder at his show of kindness.
“Good girl. Now, go to bed. Don’t let farm boy stop you from going straight home.” She smiles as she tucks the can away in her bag, shaking her head slightly at his instructions to hide the blush forming.
“You don’t have to worry, he’s staying over, so we’ll had straight home. I’ll see you tomorrow night, Dr Abbot!” She grins up at him with little thought as his brows furrow, watching her as she meets back up with Whitaker and the pair of them disappear out of the door.
“Are they-?” Abbot glances over at Robby, who seems oddly just as concerned.
“Surely not…”