Chapter Text
Gloria didn’t have time for whatever this was.
Despite what the strange collection of loose cannons in the emergency department seemed to think, running a hospital was a damn difficult job, and the fact that she’d not only kept PTMC afloat, but also pulled them out of the hole dug by her predecessor all while a global pandemic raged around them. Well. That was something Gloria would be proud of for the rest of her life.
Some thanks she got for it.
Gloria steepled her fingers on her desk. It was mahogany, a beautiful piece, the one thing she was grateful to her predecessor for, because if she ever tried to make such an extravagant purchase for her office, the board would rake her over the coals for it. Must be nice to be a white man.
Speaking of, she watched the man sitting in front her.
Dr Jack Abbot. Marginally less of a pain in her ass than Robinavitch, only due to his not being responsible for the logistics of the department. Gloria couldn’t remember a time that Jack had been in her office willingly. The fact that he had emailed her requesting a meeting was bone-chilling.
He was probably about to quit, wasn’t he? That was a complication Gloria didn’t need right now, but it was fine. She’d handled worse. As long as she could convince him to stay until they’d trained a replacement, all would be well. Well, she’d try offering a marginal raise to try to keep him longer, but she knew he’d have no trouble getting a better offer at another hospital. The fact of the matter was, PTMC did not pay well. Gloria wasn’t proud of that, but the alternative was every single employee being put out of work and the population of Pittsburgh suffering the loss of a much-needed medical center.
Gloria was a pragmatist. She’d always do what was necessary.
Abbot shifted in his seat.
If she didn’t know better, Gloria would say he looked uncomfortable. Nervous, even. But that couldn’t possibly be right, she’d sooner believe he was here to request time off, and the last time Abbot had taken a vacation must have been pre-covid.
Maybe she could convince him to take time off before he quit. The payout of his accumulated days off would be a severe blow.
Abbot remained silent.
He’d copied Robby on the email requesting this meeting, but Dr Robby was just getting off duty. No doubt some crisis was keeping him in the emergency department. It was always something down there in what Robby had not-so-affectionately nicknamed ‘The Pitt.’
Alright, this had gone on long enough. Gloria cleared her throat.
“Perhaps while we wait for Dr Robby, you could tell me what exactly it is we’re here today to discuss.”
Abbot tapped his thumb on his knee, staring back at Gloria intently. She’d never gotten the hang of reading him. Robby was easy, anything he didn’t say was written plainly across his face. The man would have no chance as a card shark. Abbot on the other hand…
Abbot stared. Abbot smirked. Abbot glared.
As far as Gloria had figured out, those were the only three facial expressions he was capable of.
Right now, Abbot stared. His thumb stilled on his leg, and he opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Gloria called.
Robby pushed open the door, flushed and flustered. “Sorry, we had a potential TB case, had to get cleared before—Anyway, it’s not TB, we’re good.” Robby pressed a quick hand to Abbot’s shoulder before claiming the second chair before Gloria’s magnificent desk.
The corner of Abbot’s mouth twisted into a smirk. Expression number 2.
“Glad to hear it,” Gloria said, “Now, what would the two of you like to discuss?”
Her question was met with a resounding silence. Robby looked to Abbot. Abbot stared at Gloria, reverting to expression number 1.
Gloria rounded on Robby, considering him the more likely to break of the two. “Dr Robby?”
His eyebrows jumped at his name, glancing over at Gloria before returning his attention to Abbot. Robby’s mouth narrowed into an ‘O’ as he waited for Abbot to chime in. Abbot remained silent, so Robby said, “Well, Jack had something he wanted to share with you.”
Abbot shot Robby a millisecond of a glare. There was expression number 3.
Returning his gaze to Gloria, Abbot took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he held out the folder clutched in his hand. The one Gloria was assuming contained his resignation letter.
Gloria took the folder, placed it on her desk, and opened it with a slow deliberation. Jack Abbot had done good work over the years. She felt this moment deserved a certain gravitas.
It was not a resignation letter she found inside.
“What exactly am I looking at?”
Abbot sat up straighter, to a near militant attention. “A relationship disclosure form. I’ll be passing it along to HR following this meeting.”
They never used language that formal down in the wild west of the emergency department. Either he was trying extremely hard to appear professional, or…
“I suppose you find this amusing?” Gloria asked, letting her disapproval drip from ever syllable. Contrary to popular belief, she did have a sense of humor. But this? This wasn’t comedy. This was making a mockery of two things she took very seriously: her job and the diverse group of employees she was tasked with protecting. If this white man seriously wanted to come into her office and make jokes about this like it was still the 90s, then she’d bring the hammer down on him. She’d thought he was better than this. Robby, certainly, she’d always thought better of.
As that thought crossed her mind, Gloria’s eyes flicked over to the other attending.
Robby inhaled sharply at her words, chin dropping slightly, jaw shifting to the side. Eyes wide. Expressive.
Apprehensive.
Robby turned his head to look over at Abbot. Abbot, who’s stare seemed to be focused not on Gloria anymore, but past her. Through her.
Robby could never have been a poker player. If Robby was taking this seriously, then that meant…that could only mean…
Oh. Oh no.
Abbot’s stare did not waver. He jutted his chin slightly forward and spoke a soft but firm, “No ma’am.”
Ma’am. Like this was the goddamn army. Like Gloria had ever had any control over what these ER cowboys got up to. No, ma’am.
It wasn’t a joke.
Gloria looked down at the form before her. In her peripheral vision, Gloria could see Abbot shift in his chair again.
He started talking. Now that she’d broken eye contact, words seemed to pour out of him.
“I’ve also included a change of address form, as I’ve moved in with Robby. If you’re worried about special treatment, I’d like to recommend having an independent party review all shift scheduling before its posted, that way you can be sure I won’t be getting any advantages from…from this. That and the fact that we’re hardly ever on the same shifts, there shouldn’t be any conflict of interest. I’ll keep on nights. It should probably be Robby doing this part, I know, but it’s sort of my therapy homework to tell someone. Sure, it would have been better to pick a friend, but with my pathetic social life it mostly came down to the folks down in the Pitt, and they all already know, so that just didn’t leave very many—”
Gloria held up a hand to try to stop the flood of words. Abbot broke off. Robby watched Gloria in silence, anxiety written all over his features. Pleading with his eyes.
She would have hoped he’d know her better than that.
“Thank you for looping me in.” Gloria flipped the file closed and held it out to Abbot. “Looks like you have all the paperwork under control, I see no reason to add any unnecessary complications to scheduling. Let me know if you require any support from the institution.”
The two attendings stared at her, dumbstruck. What exactly had they expected, a parade? She wasn’t their friend, she was the director of this hospital, so unless their relationship impacted their job performance, this was really none of her business.
Robby’s eyes softened. Seriously, what did he take her for? Hopefully it wasn’t a comment on her working relationship with the man and just an abundance of concern for his…what? Boyfriend? Partner? Surely if they were married this would be a different flavor of conversation.
This clearly held more weight for both of them (well, she was judging solely based off Robby’s reactions, but she trusted he had a clearer read than her on what went on in Abbot’s mind) than a simple workplace disclosure.
She supposed she'd have to do a bit better than her professional response, to make sure they knew where she stood. For the sake of the hospital, of course. Wouldn’t do to have two attendings in emotional distress.
As Abbot reached for the folder, still staring inscrutably at Gloria, she held on to it for a moment longer, keeping Abbot’s attention.
“On a more personal note,” Gloria managed, “I’m happy for the two of you. You have my congratulations."
A soft smile grew on Robby’s face. Abbot kept staring, with a laser focus that made Gloria feel as if she was being tested. Apparently, she passed, because he gave her a slight nod. Gloria took it as appreciation. It didn’t seem like she was getting anything else out of him, so Gloria released the file.
“Enjoy your evening off, gentlemen.”
Jack smirked.
Expression 2.
As the door drifted shut behind them, Gloria caught a few words of their murmured conversation.
“Not so bad, was it?”
“Uh huh. Derek will be jumping for joy.”
What a strange pair they made. Good for them.
Gloria tried not to think about the constant itch below her skin. Tried not to think that it must be nice, knowing someone would be waiting at home for you. Someone to tell about your day.
A calendar notification popped up on her lock screen informing her that her next meeting started in three minutes. Gloria took a breath and pushed away every irrelevant thought in her mind.
She always did what was necessary.