Chapter Text
Dennis Whitaker. 10 months after his first shift at the ER. 4th year medical student is now officially an R1. More confident, rocking a new hairstyle, and doctor Robby's new favourite. Who would've thought his first day as an R1 would end up much more awkward than he could have ever expected?
“Ah, Dennis! There you are!” Dr. Shen called out to the recently graduated year 1 resident as he strode down the hallway. He held a large plastic cup in his hands with a bright pink straw sticking out at the top. More than half of the coffee had already been drunk. Dennis stood outside of the locker rooms as he was looking down at the watch on his wrist. He had just a second ago come out after changing into his scrubs. The intern looked up at Dr. Shen when he heard his words and smiled. “Good morning, Dr. Shen.” He greeted the man, his voice much calmer than John's. Compared to Dr. Shen, Dennis looked a lot more exhausted and he certainly wasn't the odd one out of the two. It amazed him how the night shift attending always seemed so full of energy, no matter whether his shift was ending or just beginning.
“Quite early today, huh? There's still 15 minutes left till your shift begins.” Dr. Shen playfully teased Dennis as he approached him, taking a sip of his coffee to keep himself going. Dennis couldn't help but let out an awkward chuckle at the comment. He had indeed been recently coming to the ER last minute. “I figured I would go to the office today and get my new card. But alas, it was still not ready.”
The intern gestured towards the hanging card on his hip which had his name written on it, as well as “Medical Student” on the bottom with quite big and eye-catching letters. “Don't worry, you can check tomorrow. Or better yet next week. They always take their sweet time with such things.” Dr. Shen tried to reassure Dennis with his best efforts and the R1 could only give him an odd smile in response, wondering from where this attending got his people skills from.
“Today is a big day for you.” Dr. Shen started off as the two began to walk together towards the nurses’ station, taking another sip of his coffee. “We have two med students joining us for the day shift, and guess who has the honour mentoring them?” The man's voice was quite obvious with the hinting. “Me?” Dennis asked, still a little unsure and hopeful that someone else was chosen. He wouldn't be upset if he had to take care of med students, but he did not expect this to happen on his first day as an intern. He still wasn't used to calling himself a doctor without adding the word ‘student’ before the title.
“That's correct!” Dr. Shen confirmed, holding the plastic cup of coffee in his hands like it was the only thing still keeping him alive. “But… Why me? Wouldn't the other residents be more capable at this?” Dennis expressed his doubt to the night shift attending.
“Why shouldn't it be you? Javadi is still a med student herself and you know that Santos is a little… too forward at times. Besides, you've been doing great work these past few months. Everybody has noticed your efforts and skills. Aaaaand you have a way with people.” John added as they neared a corner leading to the nurses’ station. The buzz of the ER was already palpable. Nurses rushing back and forth, a janitor cleaning one of the bloody rauma bays, a patient wailing in pain behind a curtain.
It was a familiar environment to Dennis at this point. Like a second home. Chaotic, but at the same time full of comfort. At home, he couldn't escape the issues plaguing him. Yet here, all he had to do was work and take care of the patients. No time to think about anything else besides medicine. He found comfort in that. It was a way to escape his own reality while helping those who needed it the most.
“A way with people?” Dennis felt like he was a first year med student again, answering his attending only with questions. However, it didn't seem to bother Dr. Shen. “You know. You don't look all scary and threatening. And you're good at comforting others. The med students would do well to learn such things from you. Oh, and don't forget. Medical knowledge is also important.” John explained before taking yet another sip of his coffee.
His words had only made Dennis even more confused. He didn't think that he actually had such qualities. But a compliment was always welcome. Just as he was about to reply to the attending, the two turned a corner and the nurses’ station came into view. The night shift charge nurse Lena was holding a phone in her hands, receiving a call regarding an incoming trauma. In front of her stood two new med students. Dennis’ eyes immediately landed on the tall man with wild and curly hair. He froze for a split second.
James.
Memories began to resurface at a fast speed, ones which Dennis thought he had done well enough to suppress. The late night calls, the soft touches under the dimly lit lights, the sweet kisses stolen in between lectures. How James' hands felt as they caressed his soft skin, all of the sinful things they did to each other. And it wasn't just the sweet memories which resurfaced, but also the unpleasant ones. The fights, the unanswered calls, the weeks of silence.
“Dennis?” Dr. Shen snapped his fingers right in front of the intern's eyes. “Dennis, are you here with us?” The attending asked as Whitaker finally blinked for the first time in this long quiet minute. “Huh? Oh, yeah– Sorry.” He apologized awkwardly to Dr. Shen, peeling his gaze away from the new med student. “No worries, but you definitely concerned us there for a second. Maybe you really shouldn't be getting up early for work again.” The doctor joked, assuming that this happened simply because Dennis did not get enough sleep last night. Dennis did not intend to correct him.
“Let me introduce you to the new med students you'll be taking care of.” Lena spoke up with a smile on her face as she put the phone down. She terrified Dennis just like Dana did. Both women seemed so strong and caring, yet at the same time intimidating. Much like the mama bears of the ER. Will always be there for you whenever you need them, but sure as hell scary whenever they need to be.
“This is the 4th year med student James Ogilvie, and 3rd year med student Joy Kwon. They are starting their emergency medicine rotation today.” Dennis nodded along as Lena spoke. He was avoiding looking James into his eyes, afraid of those memories resurfacing again. He just needs to suppress them again. To forget that they ever existed.
“And this is Dennis Whitaker. He's starting his first year as a resident in the emergency department. He will take good care of both of you. Be sure to follow him and learn from him well.” Dennis offered a little smile to the two students, definitely not begging for the ground to swallow him whole.
He knew this might happen. Both of them were in med school, just Dennis one year ahead of James. He knew there was a chance of them meeting later in life in a hospital. They shared the same interest in emergency medicine, studied together and talked about their futures. He simply hoped that they both wouldn't end up working in the same hospital, but it seems like fate had other plans for him and James.
“We also have a new attending starting today.” Lena continued her speech. This was a much more interesting topic to Dennis than meeting his ex boyfriend in scrubs in the same department as him. He had heard previously of a doctor coming in to replace Dr. Robby during his sabbatical.
“No need to introduce me. I am already here.” Dr. Al-Hashimi suddenly approached the nurses’ station with a smile on her lips. She had a friendly looking demeanor, but Dennis could already tell what sort of doctor she was. One which always played by the rules, never took risks, and took the reins into her own hands instead of guiding the students and helping them learn on their own. “My name is Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. I have previously worked in the VA with Dr. King and Dr. Mohan. I'll be here replacing Dr. Michael Robinavitch for the duration of his sabbatical. It is a pleasure to meet you. I can't wait to get to know the doctors and students of the ER.”
Her introduction was quite formal, polite, yet also friendly and inviting. Dennis couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. Not only was he just paired with two med students, one of them ended up being his ex boyfriend, and before he could fully digest this news, he got to meet the new temporary attending of the ER.
“I shall leave y'all to her now. I still gotta finish writing my reports.” Dr. Shen added before retreating to his computer. Dennis just smiled at Dr. Al-Hashimi, not wanting to offend the new boss. “It's nice to meet you as well, Dr. Al-Hashimi.” The two med students echoed his words back to the attending. “Javadi, Jesse, and I are about to do a mock test. Join us in for the fun.” Dr. Al-Hashimi offered, but Dennis was smarter than that. He knew it wasn't an offer but an order. He wasn't in the mood to be participating in a mock test first thing in the morning, but agreed and ended up following the new attending to the trauma bay which was set up for the test.
Once they entered the room, Victoria and Dennis greeted each other as the med students followed them inside having no other choice. Dennis' eyes soon landed onto the mannequin laying on the gurney and some memories came back of his earlier years in med school. Back when training on such mannequins was a daily occurrence. Slowly, he shifted his gaze towards James who just stood still in the trauma bay, his eyes glued onto their “patient”.
“He's still in V-fib. Push it to 400 joules.” Dennis ordered and the girl standing by the defibrillator nodded. She turned the handle to 400, the monitors on the screen showing a quite wavy and messy line. The small lecture room was rather small besides a few med students crowding around a mannequin hooked up to machines. “You're going to quite literally burn him to death. This will cause damage to the myocardium and will surely kill the patient.” James interrupted Dennis’ call. “We should push more epinephrine and continue with CPR. Then we shock him again after a minute with 200 joules.” He gave another option to the team, but it seems like Dennis was the one leading it. The girl glanced between the two, waiting for a decision to be made. The machines continued to show the “patient” was in V-fib.
Dennis bit his lower lip and shook his head. “We've been doing this for the past 20 minutes. Let’s push it to 400 joules.” He decided and the girl nodded. “Clear!” She barked out an order and the students took a step back from the mannequin. The electric shock soon caused the “patient” to jump a little and the monitors showed a flat line. There was a moment of silence before James let out a sigh in frustration. “I told you, you were going to kill him.” He threw a jab at Dennis. “Or he would've died either way 10 minutes later.” The older student didn't back down.
“Calm down, now. You've both done well. Let's take a seat and discuss what went wrong and what was done correctly.” The professor butted in before the two students could start fighting. Dennis and James only nodded in response before going to sit with the rest of the students.
“You really should listen more to me.” James spoke proudly as the two walked down the hallway. Dennis shook his head as a chuckle escaped past his lips. “You were also wrong, let me remind you of that. Oh, and don't forget the last time I listened to you. Ended up dying the entire load of laundry red.” His words were more playful rather than hurtful. This clearly was meant as just a non serious jab than anything else. “Hey! You saw yourself what it said on the bottle. Safe to wash colorful clothing together.” James replied with a smile on his face, still defending his foolish mistake. Dennis shook his head again before taking James' hand in his. Their fingers intertwined together as they headed towards the exit of their university. “I really should just stop listening to you.” Dennis smiled.
“Stop the compressions. Your patient has died.” Dr. Al-Hashimi spoke up after another round of CPR. A sigh escaped past Dennis’ lips as he looked down at the mannequin. What a way to start off the shift. The first patient of the day is dead.