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God, it had been such an awful shift for Dennis. He had woken up with that disgusting buzz under his skin, the one of anxiety. It made him feel sick to the deepest pits of his stomach. He knew he had a tic attack coming on, in the way his hands trembled and the goosebumps formed on his neck. Pushing it down, Dennis eyes the clock. Only four hours. He could manage four hours of the easier cases. He practically begged Trinity to go on an incoming trauma instead of him. She eyed him warily, agreeing with a furrowed brow.
“Yeah, Huckleberry. I’ll do that for you, but you gotta lemme know what your deal is later, alright?” Dennis could’ve hugged her with how grateful he was. He nods. “Yeah, Trin, of course. Once we’re home, deal?” Trinity nods before grabbing a pair of gloves to join the trauma currently rolling through the doors. Dennis lets a breath out before going back to his patient. Someone with a broken elbow. Easy. He can fix her up quickly and send her on her merry way.
Dennis pulls back the curtain and gets to work. He’s able to breeze through the next three hours of his shift. The anxiety still vibrated in his chest but he was good at pretending it wasn’t there, until it was suddenly started to make his neck tingle. Uh oh. He rushes past a worried Jack Abbot who was there early to talk with his husband, Robby. That’s a can of worms Dennis refuses to open. The can, of course, being that he is mega crushing on his very much married attendings. Dennis all but slams the bathroom door shut before sliding down onto a floor that is probably not the cleanest and he definitely shouldn’t be sitting on.
The tics hurt, like always. Neck twitching sporadically, his hands itching to hit at his head. He sits on his palms but he couldn’t do much for his neck and head, accidentally bouncing his head harshly against the wall as he tries to muffle the weird squeaking noises being ripped from his throat without his consent by biting on his lip. He moves to try and stand, attempting to push through it which in turn makes him hit the palm of his hand against his temple repeatedly. Dennis was really getting sick of this shit. Maybe his mom was right, maybe he should’ve prayed harder. Begged more to God to fix him.
Instead, Jack is rushing in, followed by Robby. “Hey mouse.. woah, hey, Dennis?” Jack’s hands are immediately on his shoulders. “Okay, hey, Robby’s gonna hold your hands alright?” His eyes fall on Robby’s own panicked expression before nodding his head toward Dennis. “I— I’m sorry—“ He’s able to squeak out between hiccups and whimpers. Other than that, he doesn’t say much. Not like he could say much. Jack hushes him quietly as Robby holds his hands so he can’t bash his head anymore. “Tics?” Robby asks Jack quietly when Dennis’ involuntary twitching stops to which Jack nods and murmurs a ‘probably’ in response. Dennis slumps against Jack’s shoulder, his neck is killing him. It always did post-tic episode.
It takes Dennis a moment to come to, his eyes still a tad glassy and hazy but he was more back in his head. “Shit, I’m really sorry! I tried to hold it off ‘till my shift ended but I.. can’t really control..” He trails off, his rambling stopping when he sees the looks he's getting from the pair of men. Jack opens his mouth first. “Is it Tourettes or — ok,” He cuts himself off. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll interrogate you later. Robby’s gonna take you home and make sure you’re alright.” Robby hums in agreement as he tugs Dennis to be tucked in his side. “Wait! I didn’t finish my charting..” The pure panic in his eyes breaks the older men’s hearts, their chests clenching oh so painfully.
Robby quickly shakes his head, “None of that, Dennis. You wanna come home with me tonight or do you want to go with Santos?” The option made him chew harshly on his bottom lip, which made him wince because he had abused it during his fit earlier and it was now extremely tender. Dennis knew he should go home with Santos so he could crash on the couch with her while watching a shitty TV show but he also knew that Trinity would absolutely slaughter him if she found out that he didn’t go home with Robby. His brain and mouth apparently didn’t want to work together because his head just lolls against Robby’s shoulder with a groan as he tugs at the older man’s shirt.
That earns a chuckle from both men and they nod. “Home with us it is,” Jack murmurs before leaning over to give his husband a kiss. “Be good, mouse. Get some food in ya, you’re paler than usual.” That earns an exhausted groan from Dennis who pads alongside Robby as they exit the bathroom. Trinity eyes him but says nothing for a moment when they stop in front of her. Dennis truly and honestly isn’t listening when Robby explains the situation to Trinity who just, very weirdly, accepts the answer with a small, tight smile. Her attempt at not getting in trouble for saying something slick. “Bye Huckleberry, I expect proof of life at some point tomorrow since you don’t work.”
For a moment, Dennis honestly doesn’t even acknowledge he’s being spoken to until the words register. He very quickly nods, “Sure Trin.” Yeah, he sounds about as shitty as he feels. Trinity just pats him on the back and Dana is ushering the two of them out of there before Gloria sees what is basically a walking HR nightmare. “Bye..” Dennis croaks, voice tiny as he waves to whoever was behind him. He barely had the energy to turn over his shoulder. Miraculously, while Robby was filling Trinity in on what was going on, Dana (the angel she is), had gathered their bags from the locker room. Dennis isn’t sure how she knew their locker combinations but he isn’t going to question their precious charge nurse.
Robby helps him into his car, even going as far as to buckle the seatbelt as Dennis tries not to doze. He wanted to stay awake because Jack had told him to make sure he ate and he didn’t want to let either of them down. Not now. Not when they’re done so much for them. “Thanks..” The younger man murmurs, exhaustion clear as day on his face. Robby quietly hums in acknowledgment, “Of course, mouse. No need to thank me.” That gets a tired and small pout from Dennis. The drive home is relatively silent, save for Robby attempting to get Dennis to talk about his Tourettes (or that’s what the older man assumes that was) and getting half-decent responses that dodge his questions.
Dennis walks behind Robby once they get to the shared home, his feet dragging with bone-deep fatigue. He barely blinks as he’s coaxed into sitting and then again a few minutes later when a very lazy dinner of a ham sandwich and a cup of water is placed in front of him. Clearly, Robby isn’t the one who can cook in his marriage. Dennis scarfs it down before following Robby to the master bedroom without even thinking about what it could mean. Until he thinks about the implications of his coming up here. Despite his tiredness, panic shoots up in his chest. Dennis’s big blue eyes look around the room nervously and Robby catches on immediately.
He gently places a hand on Dennis’s shoulder, pushing him to sit on the bed as he hands him clothes. Lord bless, clean clothes. The younger man goes to open his mouth but Robby beats him to it. “Whatcha thinking about? I can practically taste your anxiety,” That gets a tired giggle out of Dennis. “Just.. worried if you were wanting, uh, something in return.” He murmurs before looking to his feet. Robby stares for a moment before shaking his head. “No, God no, Dennis. I would never ask something like that from you, mouse. Especially not when you’re so exhausted I’m just gonna let you change and get in bed. I thought you’d be more comfortable here, is all.”
Dennis stares up at him for a moment, “Oh.” Is all he utters. “Do you want me to change in the bathroom or..?” Robby huffs a laugh and nods, “Go for it, sweetheart.” Despite the way, his cheeks get red very quickly at the new term of endearment, he very quickly beelines for the bathroom to change. When he gets back, holding his dirty scrubs awkwardly, almost protectively, Robby gestures to the hamper. Dennis deposits all his dirty clothing, saved for the binder still clutched protectively to his chest. The older man says nothing about it, gesturing to the bed as he goes in the direction of the bathroom. “Feel free to go to sleep while I’m showering, Jack would kill me if he knew you weren’t in bed yet.” That gets a tiny laugh from Dennis.
While Robby showered, Dennis did just that. He made sure he wasn’t taking up too much space as he got cozy in the bed. The sheets smelled like the couple, which soothed his anxiety. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he did eventually hear the bathroom door open and Robby’s footsteps on the carpet as the bed creaked. It roused him from his half-asleep state, which Dennis was very grateful for because an arm looped around his waist before he gets tugged against Robby. He died, for sure. That’s gotta be it. He died and went to Heaven. Dennis is tense against the older man’s chest before melting.
He very quickly finds sleep. It must be morning by the time Jack gets in the house. His eyes blearily look at Robby and panic fills his chest. “Robby? Don’ you have work?” Dennis sleepily slurs. The married couple shares a look, “Robby's gonna take today off to look after you, mouse.” Jack murmurs, running a hand over Dennis sleep tossed curls. That soothes Dennis enough for him to fall back asleep as the older men begin to have a hushed but urgent conversation. Whispering to one another, “He has to stay, baby.” That was Jack, “I know, honey but we can’t force him to open up.”
About an hour later, once Jack has climbed into bed in front of Dennis, he feels another pair of arms wrap around him. Safe. The younger man felt a sense of safety he hadn’t felt in his whole life. Not when he lived in Broken Bow and not when he moved in with Trinity. (Who he loves very much, don’t get him wrong!) But being sandwiched between the married couple, no matter how much it would piss HR and Gloria off, he felt so sure and safe, wanted. It made Dennis smile as he slept, a soft noise leaving him as he curled closer to Jack. As the three sleep, they’re not sure what direction their life would be going in, but whatever it ends up being would be fine as long as they were with each other.