Chapter Text
Javadi wasn’t supposed to be there.
She was supposed to be with her patient in room four, but she needed a differential and most of the other doctors were dealing with “A real shit show” according to Robby- so she quickly popped her head in to see if Langdon was free in triage.
Since his return things have been... off.
He did good work, when given the chance, but most of the pitt had deemed him a pariah. Quarantining him in triage for the past month.
Sometimes she’d overhear someone mention it to Robby. But their attending would always lash out-
“Robby, how long are you gonna bench the kid?” Dana huffed.
“How long are you gonna be riding my ass instead of doing your job?” He shot right back.
Dana shook her head, thunking her clip board on the desk in front of Javadi with a muffled, “Jesus.” under her breath.
-Quickly most of them stopped asking.
Personally, Javadi didn’t hold anything against Langdon.
Sure the situation was... rough, but he seemed like a nice enough guy- and great doctor, from the small amount she’d seen of him- Her time with Doctor McKay had taught her a lot about checking her biases at the door and it seemed like Langdon had done the work needed to get clean.
Just a quick question, in and out. She peaked in through the window just in time to see Langdon cut the bandage on the man’s shin.
Perfect timing, her mind supplied.
The door was open a crack, she had her hand on the doorknob when the voices registered.
“-reapply these bandages next time you clean it, keep it dry and come back if theres any irritation.”
“Thank’s Doc, fixed me up all nice.” The man in the chair was older than Langdon by a bit- at least ten years, if Javadi was guessing. “-you always so clean?”
Langdon gave the man a placating smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. Rolling his stool to the counter he pulled off his gloves, “Comes with the territory of working in the E.R.”
“Well, if you ever feel like cuttin’ loose, you could give me a call.” The man stood up, testing weight on his leg and... coming closer to Doctor Langdon.
Javadi couldn’t move, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
She was stuck watching the creep come up behind Langdon and grab him by the waist- then... lower-
The Doctor froze under the touch, the man got closer, leaning into Frank’s ear to whisper barely loud enough for Javadi to catch.
“Bet you’d look real nice on your knees, or riding m-”
The crash startled all of them. The stranger took a step back- though not far enough- Frank was looking at her like a deer in the headlights.
Javadi dropped her gaze to the clipboard she was just holding now resting at her feet.
“Can I help you, Doctor Javadi?” Langdon’s voice was carefully calm.
Javadi knew her eyes were wide, her mouth moved with no sound. Eventually, while bending to pick up her board she was able to get out, “... Diff-Differential?”
“Of course.” Langdon nodded. Without taking his eyes off the patient, he backed up to open the door back to chairs, “I trust you can find your way out.”
“Yeah, ‘lright.” The stranger gave a wink to Langdon before limping out.
Langdon closed the door. Turned away from Javadi he stood for a moment in silence. When he turned back to her, the borderline fear she’d seen earlier with the patient was gone, instead the mask of calm was back. She followed as they both walked out of triage and into the pitt.
“So- What’s up with your patient in four?” He took the clipboard from her hands and began reading it over.
“I just, um-” Javadi frowned, still reeling from what she saw. “I wanted to see if there was anything that could be ruled out.”
Langdon nodded, flipping through her notes. “I’d say you could probably rule out appendicitis- if the pain’s only coming while she’s eating it’s likely gallbladder related, either way you should send her up for a CT, just to be safe.”
“Right, ok- yeah...” Javadi nodded, “So um, that guy-”
Langdon’s nostrils flared just slightly- it was the only sign that he was perturbed by her questioning, “What did you hear?”
“Just the end, but it was... so inappropriate.” She shook her head, remembering. “I’ll grab Dana so you can report it-”
“No!”
Javadi jumped, Langdon seemed similarly shocked at his outburst. Looking around to make sure no one else noticed, he folded his arms over his chest and looked to his feet, “Please, I’d- I’d just rather not make a big deal out of it.”
“But- it is a big deal, that was-”
“It’s fine, really.” Langdon held his arms tighter, knuckled white where he gripped his sleeves.
Javadi frowned, “Are you sure?”
“I am.” Langdon looked around again, sighing and rubbing his brow, “Look, I appreciate the concern, but I really- I can’t risk causing anymore problems right now.”
“I-” She wanted to argue, but he ducked by her and headed back for triage.
So now here she was, staring blankly at her patient log trying to figure out what she was supposed to be doing.
She didn’t want to break Langdon’s trust... But she had to tell someone, right? And he had to understand that.
When he apologized to Santos’ she’d heard him assure her she’d done the right thing, he thanked her for looking out for his- and the hospital’s- best interests when he was clouded by his addiction. She remembered Santos’ face, always so sure of herself, suddenly uncomfortable with the praise from a man she seemed to hate.
Trinity had nodded and quickly hightailed it out of the room and into her desk, writing up charts for the rest of the day.
“Yo, Crash-” As if summoned by her thoughts, Santos’ rounded the counter, peeling her gloves off and tossing them. “What’s got you so pale?” Her smile was wicked, but Javadi knew by now this was her way of actually checking in.
Whitaker followed behind Trinity, looking more obviously concerned than her. “You feeling ok, Javadi?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Javadi tried to wave it off, “Fine just... thinking- and charting!”
Trinity leaned over, looking at the blank page on her desktop and back at her. “Ooookay. Sure.”
“I saw you talking with Doctor Langdon, is everything alright?” At Whitaker’s mention of the older man Trinity’s face reddened, quickly sitting at her desk. While there wasn’t the straight up cruel animosity of their first shift together- the two weren’t exactly friends either.
“He’s fine!” Javadi squeaked. “Totally fine, totally ok.”
Javadi was never a good liar, her father always said it was in her eyes, while her mother said it was in her voice. No matter what exactly it was there was one truth-
She was a terrible secret keeper.
Immediately, her response rose Santos’ heckles, “Did he do something?” Her joking demeanour was gone.
“No! He didn’t do anything he-” Javadi threw a hand over her own mouth.
Shit, shit shit, shit-
This was not good, Whitaker and Santos had definitely jumped to the worst conclusions and she couldn’t explain what happened without breaking Doctor Langdon’s trust-
Santos’ eyes darted over to where Javadi suspected their attending was stationed. “If he did something-”
“He didn’t do anything!” Javadi interrupted, “Someone- ugh.”
“Why don’t you want to tell us?” Whitaker looked between Javadi and Santos.
Javadi dropped her head into her hand at her desk, “Doctor Langdon... asked me not to say anything.”
“Well, that’s bullshit, and he knows it.” Santos stood up, almost certainly to grab Robby or Dana and spill the beans that something shady was going on, definitely getting Langdon it trouble-
“Okay, okay- wait!” Javadi sighed, closing her eyes so she didn’t have to look at them. “I saw a patient grab Doctor Langdon and- and say some... things.”
When she opened her eyes Santos was still in front of Javadi’s desk, her face something unreadable.
Whitaker beside her was more clearly shocked, “What kinds of things?”
“I don’t really feel comfortable saying, but they were- just, disgusting-” Javadi’s lips curled at the memory, “I asked him if he wanted me to grab Dana but he said he didn’t want to report it.”
Whitaker looked over at triage. They couldn’t see Langdon from this angle, but he had to be there. “Oh.”
“We need to tell Dana.” Trinity turned to look for the head nurse.
Javadi chased after her. “But Doctor Langdon said he didn’t-”
“Newsflash! I don’t really give a shit-” Santos didn’t even look at her. “That patient’s a danger to everyone here, someone needs to be notified and he’s gotta know that.”
On any day, Trinity storming towards her was enough to make Dana want a smoke break.
So the sight of Trinity storming towards her, trailed by two very concerned looking coworkers, was enough to make Dana think she should have called in sick for the day entirely.
Instead she sighed, pulled off her glasses, and readied herself for whatever hell was incoming. “Can I help you?”
“A patient assaulted Doctor Langdon.” Santos didn’t stutter.
Dana’s annoyance quickly morphed into worry, she quickly shot a glance towards triage, “What happened?”
“I- I don’t know.” Santos deflated slightly, shrugging a shoulder towards her companions, “Javadi’s the one who saw it.”
Dana turned to the young resident, “Let’s go somewhere private.” Taking her shoulder she quickly steered her into an empty room. The moment she pulled closed the curtain Javadi collapsed onto the cot.
“Alright, kid.” Dana took a seat on the stool. “Explain it to me.”
“I- I told Langdon I wouldn’t-”
Dana tried to hide her frown, “Doctor Langdon shouldn’t be asking you to hide anything.”
“No, I-” Javadi huffed, “He just- He said it wasn’t a big deal, and that he can’t risk causing anymore problems... his words.”
Oh.
That sounded just about right.
See, as much as Robby hated the kid right now, he and Langdon were cut from the same cloth- wannabe martyrs.
Of course Langdon doesn’t want the smoke, he doesn’t want unneeded eyes on him, he already feels Robby’s glare every time he steps foot in the pitt.
Still, “I need you to tell me what exactly happened.”
“Are you sure-”
Dana held up a hand. “Langdon was embarrassed, but he’ll understand.”
Javadi still looked unsure but after a beat of indecision, she began to talk. She told Dana what she saw- what she heard- with every word Dana’s stomach twisted.
That... wasn’t what she expected.
When she was done Javadi’s shoulders slumped, she rubbed her eyes and thunked her head against the wall.
“You did the right thing, kid.” She rubbed Javadi’s knee. “Take a few- the Pitt’ll still be there waiting for you.”
She didn’t want to leave Javadi, just seeing something like that was traumatic- especially for someone so young- but she needed to talk to Langdon.
Resolving to keep an eye on the younger doctor, she left the room.
She found Langdon in triage, applying some antiseptic ointment to a toddler’s chin while the mother frantically insisted it was an accident- something about untied shoelaces and the bottom step of their stupid staircase- She knocked on the door frame and waited for Langdon to turn to her before she spoke.
“Got a minute?”
Langdon rolled his bottom lip in his teeth before replying. “I uh... I need to finish up here, I’ll come find you.”
Bullshit.
“I’ll wait.” Dana wasn’t gonna let him slip away without talking about it.
He sighed, likely knowing what this was all about and why she wouldn’t leave him alone.
Still, after the family left and she dragged him into the break room he played dumb, “Everything alright?”
“I was gonna ask you that,” Two could play at this game, “Heard some rumours, thought I’d check in.”
Langdon shrugged, heading for the coffee maker. “I’m too busy in exile to keep up on the gossip these days.”
Dana rolled her eyes, Langdon had certainly inherited Robby’s tendency for dramatics. “If theres something going on in my ER, I need to know about it.”
“I know.” Langdon had his back to her, busying himself with pouring some cream in his coffee.
“So does Javadi.”
The cream carton hit the counter top none too gently, “So... she told you.”
“She’s a good kid,” Dana kept her tone careful. “Apparently some of her coworkers noticed you two talking- got it in their heads you fucked up somehow and were asking her to hide it- she didn’t want them getting the wrong idea.”
“Jesus,” Langdon turned around, still bracing himself against the counter, Dana couldn’t help but notice the slightest tremor in his hands. “I don’t wanna start this-”
“You didn’t start anything- by the sounds of it the asshole that grabbed you’s the problem.” She stood, walking closer but leaving enough space not to crowd him, “What’s his name?”
Langdon shook his head, rubbing a hand down his face. “It’s not a problem.”
“Sounds like a big fuckin’ problem, and not just yours- the guy could try something with one of my nurses- or anyone.”
“He doesn’t- he won’t-”
Langdon realized his slip the moment he said it, looking to her for a split second before returning his gaze to the floor.
“So... is this is a repeated thing?” The pit of worry that had formed in Dana’s stomach at the start of this whole thing twisted further, “Is there a reason you don’t wanna tell me his name?”
Langdon’s hands left the counter to run through his hair- his nervous tick Dana’s recognized since he started working here. “Look, I keep an eye on him, ok? Every time he comes in I ask anyone he interacts with- they always say he’s polite and respectful.”
“So you think just because he’s only bothering you, it’s fine?”
“Yes- No!” Langdon tried to push past her, but she caught his arm.
Instantaneously, a full body flinch shot through him, he hauled his arm back, stumbling into the wall with a wince on impact. A few seconds passed, before the arms he held to his chest moved to push himself off the wall, “I- I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”
Fuck. This was worse than she thought.
“It’s ok- Here hon, lets just sit down for a sec, yeah?” Carefully telegraphing her movements she reached out again, this time he didn’t flinch back when she touched him, guiding the resident to one of the chairs.
Langdon just, let her.
The stubborn, once golden boy of the Pitt just let her.
“It’s... It was Carlton- Donald Carlton” Langdon’s eyes were far away. His hands were still shaking.
Oh.
Donald Carlton
The Donald Carlton that came in all the time.
Since reconnecting with an old friend-
One Michael Robinavich.
Shit.
Robby had told her once, how they’d met- college, a bar, something like that- though their paths had greatly diverged they had stayed semi close. They had actually reconnected since Donald moved back to Pittsburg soon after Langdon had left for rehab.
That was when Donald started visiting the Pitt. Sometimes he’d stop by with a bag of food for Robby, or he’d hang around the parking garage. A few times he’d brought pastries for everyone-
They all liked him, they looked forward to his visits-
He’d tried talking Dana up soon after she quit smoking- When she’d go out to stare at the roll in her hands- there was something about him that didn’t click, but he seemed nice enough, if a bit desperate.
“You can’t tell Robby.” Langdon was looking at her again, his voice more firm. “Please, please- you can’t-”
“You can’t ask me to do that.” Dana shook her head, sadly.
“Dana, he’ll fire me.” Langdon pleaded.
“He can’t do that- He wouldn’t-” She tried to assure him. But... could she? A few years ago she’d have no doubt, Robby wasn’t a vengeful man, but the way she’d seen him behave with Langdon these past months...
“He will, he’ll- he’ll blame it on my attitude, or something I missed or-”
my addiction went unsaid.
Langdon bit his bottom lip. “Dana, I can’t loose this job.”
“I understand, you’re scared- but I can’t ignore this.”
“What if you-” Langdon had his head down again, rubbing his forefinger against his thumb, “You need to tell the attending, ok- could you just... if you wait until I’m gone? I’ll talk about it when I get back in, Abbot will be on- and talking about this with him will go over better than it will with Robby.”
Dana huffed. She shouldn’t, she really shouldnt-
“Ok, I’ll wait until you’re gone.” When Langdon opened his mouth to speak again she held up a finger, “But, you’re going home early- by that I mean as soon as possible.”
Langdon’s face fell, “But-”
“I need you to go home, get some rest, and come in early tomorrow to discuss this with us.” Dana softened, “You only have a few hours till shift change, it’s not a big deal.”
“Dana, I can’t just-”
“You better- if I see you back in triage so help me god, kid-” She stood to head back to head out of the break room, “I’ll cover for you, but you need to go home.”
Langdon still didn’t seem happy, but with a sigh he left the break room, heading towards the hallway. She watched him stare at his locker until she needed to return to the Pitt.
The next time she poked her head in, he was gone.
She asked McKay and Javadi to cover for him in triage, claiming he wasn’t feeling well. McKay agreed without question- Javadi obviously knew it wasn’t a stomach bug but was smart enough to not ask her in front of the older doctor.
Once that was settled, Dana knew she had to face the music. When the Pitt had settled she took a breath.
“Robinavich!” Dana figured it was now or never. Ticking her head towards the locker hallway, she didn’t wait for him to follow.
Once they were alone, she took off her glasses.
“Is there a reason you dragged me from our incredibly busy ER?” Robby’s hands were in his pockets and his eyes were on the windows.
Dana didn’t want to beat around the bush. “Langdon’s been repeatedly harassed by a patient.”
At her words Robby’s head snapped towards her, “What?” He was searching her face, like he thought she could be joking.
“Javadi saw it, told me what happened, When I spoke to Langdon he lit it slip it’s been going on since he got back.” Dana watched red rise up Robby’s neck the more she talked. “Guy comes in a few times a week- but only targets Langdon.”
“And why the fuck wasn’t I told about it, then?” Robby hissed.
Dana sighed, “You really have to ask? The kid’s petrified of you- he think’s you’ll fire him for it.”
Robby blinked, face twisting in a myriad of emotions- from anger, to anguish, to disbelief- Eventually settling on shock.
“Did he really say that?” His voice was hollow, and his eyes were the glassy deep brown that reminded Dana of a particularly depressed dog.
“Yeah, he really did.” Robby was frozen, She almost felt sorry for what she had to say next. “I need you to think carefully about what I say next-”
Robby sighed, clasping his hands behind his neck, “Jesus, Jesus what else-”
“It was Donald Carlton.”
You could hear a pin drop. The boisterous noise of the ER felt miles away.
Robby shook his head, he looked dazed, “No Dana, he wouldn’t, It had to be a misunderstanding-”
Dana’s jaw nearly dropped, “Are you fuckin’ serious right now?”
“I just- It can’t have happened like that- I’ve known Donald for-”
“Holy shit- you are,” Dana couldn’t believe it. “How can you say that?”
Robby opened his mouth to reply when his phone went off. He checked it only to frown at the message.
“What?” Dana asked, over his shoulder she read the text;
Jack Rabbit:
“need room 2”
Robby typed out his reply, “are you hurt?”
Jack Rabbit:
“not me- bringing someone”
Robby frowned at that, looking between his phone and Dana.
“This conversation isn’t over,” She pulled her clipboard from under her arm, flipping through to check if the room was available. “And if Donald comes into this ER I’m having him arrested.”
Robby shook his head, clearly wanting to argue more but deciding to table it for later.
Less than five minutes later, Dana spotted Abbot hauling a shuffling figure in through the ambulance bay. She waved him over to room two, waiting for them at the door.
Across the ER Robby saw them too. He was mid conversation with Doctor Mohan, Dana watched him dart his head back and fourth between her and Abbot, clearly itching to speak with his friend.
Jack was only wearing a tshirt- even though the weather has been growing steadily colder- what she assumed was the doctor’s jacket wrapped around his companion.
Said companion was shaking. What Dana could see of them was covered in dirt- as the two got closer noticed the tuft of brown hair sticking out of the jacket, and the far two familiar pants and shoes...
No.
No, it couldn’t be.