Chapter Text
It starts as an ordinary day. A shift like every other else.
In the afternoon a young woman is brought in with a suspected overdose. The needle marks on her arms are telltale signs of addiction and her unnaturally thin frame and hollow cheeks tells them she's likely lived a hard life.
There isn't much they can do for her, she's too far gone by the time she's brought in.
But they try. Dennis tries so hard to get her back to life that he's trembling with the effort of doing CPR even if they all know it's too late and eventually Robby has to make the call to stop resuscitation and physically guide Dennis away from the woman's body.
She's too young. Too young to die. Too young to already be this deep into addiction. Too young to not get a chance to turn her life around.
The intern is visibly shaken afterwards but when Robby asks if he needs a break he resolutely shakes his head and even takes it upon himself to locate the young woman's emergency contact.
Robby knows his time with the street team has only made his already empathetic and kind heart grow kinder and more understanding.
He knows Dennis cares about the people that society has turned their backs on a lot which is why he sign up to be on the street team on his very first day. After he got peed on.
He lingers by the woman's side long after everyone else has left.
Robby wants to properly sit down with his intern or take him to the side to see if he's really okay but there's no time right then because he's quickly called elsewhere.
By the time he sees Dennis next the intern is treating another patient.
It takes a few hours before the ER has calmed down enough for him to be able to pull Whitaker away for a little while but he can't see the intern anywhere.
“Have you seen Whitaker?” he asks Dana as he passes the charge station.
“The boyfriend of the woman with the overdose arrived. I think he took him to see her in the viewing room,” she says. “I've not seen him since then.”
He nods.
Delivering news to loved ones is definitely the hardest part of the job. Something they all need to learn. And now that Dennis is an intern he's going to have to do it.
He glances towards the corridor that leads to the viewing room with a small sigh.
He should probably go check on them. See if everything is alright. He trusts Dennis to handle the situation with dignity and grace but he wants to make sure everything is all right.
He can't see anyone as he tries to peek inside, just the bed with the dead patient but an unpleasant feeling settles into his stomach.
“What's going on?” he asks as he opens the door to the room but before he can react a man comes at him.
It happens quickly and he vaguely registers pain in his shoulder, a grunt escaping from his lips. The breath is suddenly taken away from him with a searing pain in his chest and he doubles over, knees buckling as he crashes to the floor.
New pain rips through his entire arm and shoulder as he lands on the hard ground and every breath comes out painful. He vaguely hears the door close but it sounds distant compared to the pain ringing in his ears.
He can feel something warm and wet spreading on his shirt, he moves his fingers to his side and glances down, and gasps. His fingers are coated in blood. Red, warm and sticky blood. As the pain takes hold of him his mind starts to realise what has happened. He's been stabbed and the blood is rapidly spreading on his shirt. He takes a painful breath and feels his cheek land on the cold floor as his arms collapse with pain and exhaustion.
“Help!’ he tries to call but all he can manage is a gasp of pain.
He blinks slowly and tries to breathe but every breath is full of pain and the room spins violently. For a few seconds there's nothing but pain but as the dizziness subsides he spots something across the room.
What he sees makes his racing heart skip a beat.
Dennis is lying in the corner of the room, curled up on his side and covered in blood. His skin is pale and his eyes are closed. Even through his own haze Robby can see the rapid fall of his chest.
“Dennis,” he whispers and lifts his head.
Robby presses up onto his elbows and gasps at the pain that instantly explodes from his shoulder and side. Breathing in hurts just as much and the room continues to spin as he crawls towards the intern’s lifeless body.
He struggles to make his arms and legs move, every breath laboured and gasping. But even if he can barely move all he can think about is making it to Dennis' side and he drags his body across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
His arms give in underneath him again and he collapses in front of the younger man. He blinks against the dark spots in front of his eyes as he shuffles closer and reaches out and places his hand on Dennis cheek, feeling the cold and clammy skin underneath his fingers.
“Dennis, wake up!” He calls.
Dennis' eye lashes flutter and he opens his eyes and looks at Robby with glassy and unfocused eyes. His breaths are laboured and rapid and the pool of blood is growing underneath him.
“Robby…” he whispers faintly, the pain visible on his face.
“Hey, you are okay,” Robby says. “We are going to get you help.”
He scans the other man's body for injuries but there's too much blood. There's blood everywhere, coating the front and side of Dennis' blue scrubs and spilling onto the floor.
Dennis blinks at him, fingers moving weakly.
“You're hurt,” Dennis says, voice shaky and every breath wheezy and painful.
“Just stay with me,” Robby grunts and moves his arm to Dennis' side in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
He ignores the pain, ripping through his own body. Ignores the anguished gurgle from Dennis lips.
‘‘Keep your eyes open. Stay awake for me, he pleads
Dennis moves weakly before he goes still and quiet and Robby taps Dennis cheek again when the blue eyes in front of him closes again.
“Hey!” he coughs. “Don't sleep!”
Dennis draws a shuddering breath, his body trembling violently. His eyes open again and he coughs weakly.
Robby tries to lift his head but he's too weak. He coughs again, and closes his eyes against the sharp pain in his chest.
When he opens his eyes again Dennis' eyes are closed and his breaths are faint.
“Wake up!’ he says and slaps Dennis cheek but Dennis remains unconscious and Robby forces himself to lift his head again.
“Help!’ he calls but his voice is weak and strained, barely louder than a whisper.
He lifts his arm and shakes Dennis' body, ignoring the pain in his own body but Dennis remains still next to him, face pale and cold.
He can feel the strength leave his body, his vision graying out by the second. The pain is blinding. Every breath he takes makes his whole chest explode in pain. He's cold. There's no energy left in his body. But he can't let Dennis die so he moves his legs and arms, pain dizzying and blinding.
His whole body is trembling and when he tries to push up onto his arms again he ends up falling again.
“Help!”
His eyelids are heavy and he can barely keep them open.
He looks at Dennis' closed eyes and ashy face. Dennis' hand lies stretched out in front of him and Robby gathers the last bit of strength he has and takes the smaller hand in his.
“I'm sorry,” he whispers as his eyes close and he feels the darkness take him.