Chapter Text
Dennis was prepared to intubate two patients in less than an hour, he was prepared to give 20 stitches to a stupid teenager who had decided to jump the school fence, he was prepared to perform CPR on an 80-year-old man who he knew would not survive, he was prepared for someone to urinate on him, to be vomited on (the night shift was lucky enough to witness his misery), to be covered in blood and various fluids...
But he wasn't prepared for Robby's stern voice calling them all to the nurses' station. It was a miracle they could gather there without any critical patients requiring their attention.
“It has come to my attention that food from the break room has been disappearing”
Robby's voice was tense; the morning had left him exhausted, and Dana's warning about the food thief had been the last straw.
“Seeing as the person has been shameless enough to steal from their colleagues, I hope they won't be embarrassed when we all see them doing it.”
Perhaps it was a disproportionate consequence, but the tension in Robby's mouth indicated that he was about to yell at someone Langdon-style.
Dana looked at him through her glasses but made no comment, instead turning her monitor toward them.
Dennis didn't know the break room had cameras. But there it was, frozen in an image, Dennis and Mel sharing a salad sitting across from each other, Javadi eating a peach sitting in one chair with her feet up on another facing Santos, who was standing.
Whitaker felt his cheeks flush as he remembered the conversation they were having. At least it was a security camera, so there would be no sound.
“I mean, I'd kneel for Dr. García, but she'd have to make me. You know what I mean?” Trinity's voice echoed through the speakers, and when Dennis looked back, his roommate's eyes were wide and her face a little pale. Next to her, Dr. García had a surprised, yet somehow smug, expression on her face.
“What about you, Crush?”
Santos' voice continued to speak in the video, everyone too stunned to do anything.
“You know who I would kneel for.”
In the video, Javadi smiled with humor; in the present, she covered her face with both hands.
“But he wouldn't have to make me.”
Victoria, in the video, mocked Santos.
Santos, in the video, chuckled, “Because you're a good girl, Crush.”
And then she had looked around the room for another victim.
Oh, no, Dennis thought, no, no, no. But nothing stopped Trinity in the video.
“Not like Huckleberry, who still wants a spanking from Robby.”
In the video, Dennis turned with an incredulous look on his face toward Santos.
“I was here minding my own business. Why are you dragging me into this?” he complained.
Victoria in the video chuckled. Victoria in the present let out a sound of pain.
Mel in the present covered her mouth as if that would stop Mel in the video from speaking.
It was futile.
“The real question is why denying that you want it wasn't your first reaction,” said Mel in the video mockingly.
Whitaker gave her a betrayed look before responding.
“Because it's nonsense.”
If it had been Santos who responded, there might have been some hope of salvation, because Trinity liked to tease him.
But it was Javadi who spoke.
“Sure, you naughty boy.”
At that moment, Dana managed to silence the video, but the damage was already done. They continued watching it, if not to maintain a little normality, then at least to calm their thoughts after that.
No one gave a damn when they discovered that the food thief was a patient, but when Dana turned off the video, no one moved.
Robby cleared his throat, his face still red.
“First, I want to apologize to everyone for assuming the thief was among us, and second, I want to apologize to Dr. Santos, Dr. Javadi, Dr. Mel, and Dr. Whitaker for invading your privacy. I'll talk to Gloria about the cameras; they won't record sound again, even if it's the last thing I do in this place.” He looked at everyone. “You may leave.”
Everyone quickly dispersed. Dennis ran to the first room he found. When he looked back, he saw Robby leaning on the counter, his face in his arms, while Langdon patted him encouragingly on the back and Dana looked at him with a slightly amused expression.
The last thing he heard before closing the door behind him was her laughter, halfway between amusement and disbelief.
For the rest of the shift, Whitaker endured Jess and Donnie's comments, Cassie's amused smile, Samira's pitying looks, and Perlah and Princess's meaningful glances.
Robby had decided to take things with humor, but the amused smile he gave Dennis every time he presented a case made Whitaker start to avoid him.
Of course, Robby didn’t allow it, and Dennis was condemned to suffer his attending’s hands on his shoulders, guiding him like a disobedient cat every time Robby managed to catch him.
When Dennis saw Dr. Abbot, he almost knelt down and kissed his feet. His shift was about to end.
Dr. Ellis and Dr. Shen arrived next, and Dennis hurried to finish his notes.
Robby's strong voice resonated behind him, and the day shift gathered around him.
“You've all done an incredible job today, I couldn't be more proud of all of you,” Robby smiled at them. “Now, if you're not out of here in less than 10 minutes, I’ll fire you.” He threatened, without losing his smile.
Dennis hurried to grab some papers for the poor soul who would be taking over his patients, and when he returned to the nurses' station, he was met with Jess's amused expression.
“Come on, Whitaker, before Dr. Robby spanks you.”
Dr. Abbot, who was on the other side of the counter, looked at him in surprise. Dennis slammed the papers on the counter and looked at him with a forced smile.
“Well, that must be my cue to go to the roof and jump.”
“What happened, kid? Was Dr. Robby too hard on you?”
Dennis heard a soft laugh to his right. McKay looked at him as if challenging him to explain himself.
“Nop,” Dennis denied, “there's no problem, really.”
McKay ignored Abbot's incredulous look and focused on Dennis.
“You realize they'll find out about this in half an hour?”
Dennis turned to her.
“That means I'll be half an hour away when they do. Far far away from their comments.”
Dennis hadn't even finished speaking when Shen approached them, sugary abomination in his hands that he sipped through a straw, a placid expression on his face.
“Hey, guys, did you hear that Whitaker confessed he wants Dr. Robby to spank him?”
McKay laughed again as Dennis turned to the attendant, surprised by what he had said, while Shen just took another sip, unconcerned about the consequences of his words.
“What?!” Dennis exploded. “I didn't confess to anything!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in despair. “The only confession in that video is Santos saying she would kneel for Dr. García.”
Shen looked at him with interest, the straw still in his mouth.
“There's a video?” he asked, ignoring everything Dennis had said except that.
Staring at the ceiling as if seeking divine intervention, Dennis sighed and gave up.
“I'm out. May you,” he said, looking at Shen, “have a quiet shift.”
Shen gasped, as if Dennis had just cursed his entire family, but it was Abbot, in a stern voice, who caught Dennis's attention.
“Be careful, kid, or I'll be the one putting you over my knee.”