Chapter Text
Dennis can feel the exhaustion creeping in the closer he gets to the end of his shift.
It’s been a long day on top of an even longer week, and while Dennis has developed a lot of tricks to counteract routine tiredness—just like everyone in their field—tonight feels somehow worse than usual.
More ominous, maybe. Like it’s a sign of things to come. (Or perhaps Dennis is just being dramatic, as Trinity so often loves to claim.)
But dramatic or not, he doesn’t imagine the wave of fatigue that slams into him, sweeping from his head to his feet—he might even sway, which thankfully Trinity isn’t around to witness, seeing as she’s on nights this week. She’d accuse him of being doubly dramatic while fawning over him. (She might have her own patented brand of cheerful hostility, but as his BFF, she loves him to death and wouldn’t rest until convinced he was fine.)
Which Dennis is, by the way—perfectly fine. And Trin isn’t here to call him out over ‘protesting too much’ so he can do that as much as he wants. Besides, is he really protesting anything? No, he’s just reminding himself (and the imaginary voices in his head) that he’s fine.
As an omega, Dennis knows he’s more sensitive to being overworked than the other designations—he’s especially aware of it when he has long shifts several days in a row. Getting enough rest is crucial to staying focused and effective in his line of work, so he always makes sleep a priority, but long and stressful shifts can still overwhelm him.
Dennis takes a steadying breath, letting his eyes fall shut even though he knows he shouldn’t. It’s not good to give in to the tiredness—that always makes things worse, as he’s learned the hard way after grueling all-nighters spent studying for exams.
“You okay, Whitaker?”
He opens his eyes to find Dr. Robby standing a few feet away, watching him with concern. Dennis is filled with warmth, his heart skipping a beat at the way their alpha attending genuinely cares about him—cares about everyone in his orbit.
It might seem obvious that an alpha attending physician would look after people, but Dennis has never seen anyone, not even other doctors, handle it the way Dr. Robby does. His boss monitors every person in the ED—patients and families and staff alike, and he pays particular attention to the med students, who need more guidance than the rest.
As a resident himself, Dennis certainly has a knack for finding himself in unusual situations (which, incidentally, is why Dr. Robby spends so much time on him).
“I’m fine.” Dennis tries for a reassuring smile that doesn’t quite work, judging by the alpha’s deepening frown. “Just a long shift.”
Robby comes closer, dropping his tablet on the counter so he can turn his full attention to Dennis. “Sure that’s all? Because you were swaying on your feet a few moments ago.”
Dennis tries not to grimace (of course his boss had caught that). “This tiredness just…came over me. I’ll grab some coffee when I get a chance.”
Robby conducts a quick visual examination of him, one of his favorite tactics as an alpha. Dennis has been on the receiving end of that scrutiny more times than he can count and he never fails to appreciate it. “Have you been feeling okay?”
“Yes,” Dennis answers, truthfully. “No other symptoms. Of anything.”
“Good,” Robby nods while studying him, “and you’ll let me know if that changes.”
It’s not a question, it’s a roundabout order, and Dennis feels even warmer. “Yes, sir.”
“Take a break if you need one.” Robby sets a hand on his shoulder, squeezing to emphasize his point. “I don’t need one of my best residents collapsing in the middle of his shift.”
Dennis tries not to beam too obviously at the praise (though how can help it when Robby says things like that?). “Will do, boss.” It’s all he can do not to lean too much into the older man’s hand still on him. “I’ll wait until I get home to collapse.”
Robby’s look is censuring, but he’s smiling a little. “That’s not the kind of joke you want to make to me—I might follow you there.”
“If you want to stalk me in your free time, that’s up to you, sir. My bus will be here about a half hour after shift ends.”
“What?” Robby’s amusement is quickly fading. “I thought you were taking ride shares since Santos is on nights for the rest of the week.”
Dennis shifts his weight, self-conscious, but Robby only tightens his grip. “I was, but… Well, some unexpected expenses came up, and…they add up fast.” The price of his suppressants had doubled, for one, and insurance wouldn’t pay the difference. (It’s not like Dennis has a choice in taking them, unless he wants to go into heat every other month.) “It’s way cheaper to take the bus and I need to save money. I don’t mind.”
Robby is shaking his head against the very idea. “It’s too late and it’s freezing out and—no, I’m giving you a ride from now on.”
“You really don’t have to do that. I wasn’t trying to—”
“It’s already done,” Robby informs him, glancing at something—or someone—right behind Dennis. “Direct all further arguments to Dana. She’s pretty good at talking sense into you.”
Dennis twists to find the blonde woman lurking behind them, and she must have been blatantly eavesdropping from the way she jumps right in.
“Let him help you, kid. Please.” She graces Robby with a smile that’s both sweet and scathing. “He’ll be impossible to deal with if you don’t.”
“Hey, watch the commentary!” Robby tries to scold her. “I’m not impossible, I’m persistent.”
“Persistently impossible,” Dana sighs, with a commiserating glance at Dennis that makes him chuckle. “How come you never offer me a ride, huh?”
“Because I’m not crazy enough to be alone with you in an enclosed space for that long.”
“But we could have so many enlightening conversations…”
“No, we couldn’t.” Robby’s denial is laced with a warning that only makes Dana laugh. “Don’t you have work to get back to?”
She crosses her arms in challenge. “Don’t you?”
Dennis gets the feeling he’s missing something as he glances between his alpha attending and the omega charge nurse—part of the reason the two of them get along so well is their complementary dynamics, but Dana can be more intimidating than most alphas Dennis has met. She doesn’t put up with anything, not from the alphas on staff, and especially not from Dr. Robby. (Though God knows the man still tries to get away with as much as he can.)
Instead of answering Dana—perhaps sensing an argument he’s bound to lose—Robby turns his attention back to Dennis. “Check in with me throughout the rest of your shift, alright? We’ll meet back here afterwards and I’ll bring you home. No arguments.”
Dennis nods in agreement, unwilling to fight him on this. (In truth, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of Robby’s protective instincts, even when it’s something the alpha would do for anyone in need.) “Okay, sir. Thank you.”
Robby squeezes his shoulder again, thumb brushing lightly over Dennis’s scent gland in a move that’s both deliberate and comforting. His attending has been doing that since the day they met—and Dennis is pretty sure he lights up every time.
But he tries not to think too hard about that, knowing it will lead him to places he shouldn’t be going.
(It’s a ridiculous notion that Robby might care for him as more than a resident, or his mentee, or the poor, lonely omega who had quite literally been alone in the world until he joined PTMC.)
“If you’re sure you’re okay…” Robby waits for Dennis to nod at him again, then loudly claps his hands in wordless signal. “Then we have patients to get back to.”
Dana seizes that moment to remind him, “Can’t run from me forever…”
Robby’s grin for her is all teeth as the nurse hands over his tablet. “Watch me.”
As his boss strolls off to his next patient, Dennis wonders if he imagined the man’s reluctance to leave him. Does he really look that bad? Robby is protective by nature, but never more so than when he’s on shift, working to ensure everyone’s safe and well taken care of—the key components of a smoothly-run Emergency Department. Dana handles most of the practical matters related to patient intake and management, but as the senior attending, Robby is in charge of the staff and any issues that may arise, especially when dealing with all the interrelated dynamics and relationships among them.
(Dennis can count on one hand the number of shifts he’s gone through where Robby didn’t have to mediate some sort of disagreement, argument, or even physical fights among staff and/or patients.)
He’s seen firsthand the exhausting reality of Robby’s job, the weight of responsibility that rests on the alpha’s shoulders. Dennis really has no place in thinking he has it tough when it’s nothing compared to everything Robby deals with on a daily basis.
Dennis has immense respect and admiration for what his attending accomplishes—what he makes look easy—and after witnessing it for nearly a year now, Dennis can safely say that overseeing a hospital department as chaotic as the Pitt is not the type of role he’d ever want…but working alongside Dr. Robby?
Yes, Dennis could easily do this every day for the rest of his life. Securing a permanent spot at PTMC has actually become one of his top goals—how could he ever leave this place, these people, or the sense of belonging that he’d spent his entire life trying to find?
Dennis shakes off his thoughts before Dana can call him out for standing around (and staring after his attending). He makes the rounds between patients for the next few hours, interns in tow, checking off one malady after another. He runs into Dr. Robby a few times, the most memorable exchange being when the alpha shoves a thermos of coffee in his hand a half hour after their last chat (a thermos which belongs to the alpha and which he brings every shift, refilling it periodically throughout the day). Dennis tries to wave him off, but Robby just looks at him with an alpha authority that’s impossible to refuse, so he gives in with an appreciative grin.
Dennis perks up immediately afterwards, though he can’t say if it’s the caffeine that gave him a surge of energy or Robby’s continued attentiveness, even as they’re both insanely busy trying to stay on top of everything. Either way, Dennis hopes it will help him get through the rest of the evening.
There’s only a couple hours left of his shift when Dennis takes on an alpha patient presenting with a high fever and abdominal pain. The interns who usually shadow him have been called off on a task for Dana, so he’s left by himself, though he has no cause for concern—not at first.
“Good evening…Mr. Lancaster?” Dennis checks, as he enters the exam room, the door shutting behind him with a soft click.
“Trevor is fine,” the alpha groans, from where he’s sitting in an exam bed, slightly hunched over and clutching his stomach.
“Trevor,” Dennis confirms, with a nod. “How are you feeling this evening?”
“God awful.” The man sits up straighter, though it’s clearly hurting him to do so. “Been feeling off for days, but this pain came on all of a sudden this afternoon, and now I feel… I don’t know. I swear I would’ve thought it was a breakthrough rut except I just had my regular one three weeks ago, and it never hurt like this before. Plus at intake, they screened me and said it wasn’t.” He gasps and digs a hand harder into his abdomen. “Look, can I get some Percs or something?”
“I’ll get you something for the pain after we do a quick exam, but I have a few standard questions first, if that’s okay?”
Trevor sighs, seeming put out, but nods in reluctant agreement. Dennis asks about the onset of his symptoms, which had rapidly intensified over the last 24 hours—but especially over the course of that afternoon, which is what had finally spurred him to go to the hospital.
Despite the alpha’s suspicion and symptoms consistent with a breakthrough rut, Dennis has no worries that he might actually be suffering from one, thanks to the safety protocols mandated by law at all hospitals across the country. Alphas and omegas in their mating cycles can pose a danger to others around them, losing all ability to see reason, especially if they’re unmated. When instincts completely take over, which isn’t uncommon, people might go after those they see as a potential mate.
As such, Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center follows the required protocols when it comes to alphas and omegas, all of whom are screened at intake with a simple blood test to determine hormone levels. Anyone found to be experiencing a heat or rut is sent to a secure wing with specially trained staff and much stricter safety measures to keep them isolated from other staff and patients.
Due to the system in place, Dennis has always felt completely safe while at PTMC—safer, by far, than he feels outside the hospital where he’s not afforded any protection from alphas who’ve gone into rut (a situation which he’s run into several times in his life, though luckily he’s always been able to escape unharmed).
The probable diagnosis for Trevor Lancaster is that he has an illness or condition which mimics the symptoms of rut, of which there are plenty to test for and eliminate. Dennis orders a battery of tests, assuring his patient that the results will be back soon, and finishes up with some pain meds to ease the man’s symptoms.
It’s not until he’s about to leave the room that the situation takes a turn.
“You an omega?” Trevor asks, as Dennis turns around at the door to face him. He’s used to such questions from patients—stereotypes and prejudices are hard to ignore, even in modern society. Outside of nursing positions, omegas haven’t been accepted in the medical profession for very long, though they’ve been making major strides in the past couple decades.
“Yes, I am, and I assure you that you’re in good hands.”
“I have no doubt,” Trevor says, attempting to climb out of the bed, though not without a struggle.
“You shouldn’t do that!” Dennis rushes back over to try and stop him, worried he’s going to hurt himself further. “Stay in bed, please, you could make things worse.”
One moment Dennis is urging the man to lie back down, the next he’s tackled to the floor with a suddenly aggressive alpha on top of him.
“Hey—wait—stop!” Dennis tries to scramble out from under Trevor, but the alpha has draped himself over him, effectively pinning him to the floor. “What are you doing?!”
He keeps trying to throw the man off him, but it feels like Trevor might weigh twice what Dennis does, muscularly built in contrast to the omega’s smaller and more wiry frame. They both embody the physical stereotypes of their designations, which means Dennis is unable to move or escape no matter how desperately he tries.
“Can’t—can’t help it,” Trevor mumbles, burying his face in Dennis’s hair and taking a deep breath. “You smell so damn good.”
“Get off me!” Dennis gasps, to no avail. He tries to draw a deep enough breath to shout for help, but can’t manage it—Trevor is holding him down so hard that getting enough air is a struggle, so there’s no chance he’d be able to scream loud enough to alert anyone outside the exam room.
His mind starts racing—fear, panic, and anxiety swirling around in a chaotic mix, his instincts realizing before his conscious mind what a dangerous situation he’s in: held down by an alpha who seems to be losing his mind and going into rut, against all odds and safety precautions. With Trevor this close to him, Dennis is able to get his first real scent of the man, and it confirms his worst fears.
Not only is this alpha going into rut, but it’s hitting him hard and fast.
Dennis’s window to escape is quickly closing… It might even have shut already.
But Dennis keeps struggling, even though there’s nowhere for him to go. He’s completely helpless in this prone position, and the more he fights, the harder he’s held down with Trevor beginning to growl in displeasure above him. The man keeps muttering into the back of his head, some of it unintelligible, but Dennis catches pieces—how much Trevor wants him, and can’t get enough of his scent, and that he knows Dennis wants this, too, deep down.
“Nononono,” Dennis whimpers, still trying futilely to buck up enough to dislodge the alpha, but his struggle only serves to make the man hold him tighter, incredibly strong even though moments before he’d been agonizing in pain (or so he’d claimed).
Trevor switches his attention to the side of Dennis’s neck, his next warning growl accompanied by the scrape of teeth over his mating gland, which makes Dennis freeze in paralyzed terror.
Being forcibly mated is one of the biggest fears for any omega—it’s illegal, of course, but that has never stopped predators, and it’s especially horrifying because there’s no practical recourse to dissolve a bond. Biology doesn’t differentiate: forced bonds are just as permanent as consensual bonds.
Physically, only alphas have the ability to end a mating bond by claiming another omega, which naturally dissolves the first bond. Dennis would remain mated to his attacker—to his eventual rapist—for the rest of his life, unless the other man chose to claim another or died before Dennis did. Even if the alpha was imprisoned (which almost never happens in their alpha-dominated society) Dennis would still feel bound to the man and be easily compelled, commanded, and controlled by him.
Trevor switches to the opposite side of his neck, pressing his face to Dennis’s scent gland, right where his neck meets his shoulder. After only a single breath, Trevor growls loudly and snaps his teeth at Dennis’s ear, making the omega jump. “Who’s been fucking scenting you?” he demands, with an undercurrent of fury. “Who’s been scenting my omega?”
“Not…yours…” Dennis manages to wheeze, finding it more difficult to breathe—he has the delirious thought that he won’t have to suffer being forcibly mated if he passes out and dies before it even happens.
“I’ll tear their fucking throat out,” the alpha rages, pressing his mouth right to Dennis’s ear. “Fuck this—getting rid of all trace of them.”
“No—no—stop—” Dennis is filled with newfound horror, because the scent on him is Dr. Robby of course, the only alpha who regularly scents him. The only alpha Dennis has ever allowed to scent him.
No one else has the right to scent him, certainly not this man, and all Dennis wants is his alpha—
But Michael Robinavitch is not actually Dennis’s alpha, no matter how much his most deeply suppressed instincts might wish otherwise. More critically, Robby isn’t here and Dennis still can’t move, so he’s helpless as Trevor begins licking right over his scent gland.
Dennis starts to hyperventilate, which isn’t helping when he’s already lacking oxygen, but he’s feeling blind panic at the man’s actions, which are telling of an alpha preparing to mate.
Crazily enough, it’s not even another alpha scenting him that triggers his spiral (though it certainly doesn’t help), but rather the removal of Robby’s scent.
“Gonna make you mine,” Trevor hisses, while licking over the back of his neck, careful to cover every spot Robby has ever touched him. He ignores Dennis’s broken pleas to stop until every trace of Robby’s alpha scent has been removed from the omega’s face and neck.
“Please, you don’t have to do this,” Dennis begs, though his words fall on deaf ears.
“Gonna mate you—bring you home—get you all up on my knot—”
Each option sounds worse than the last and it’s a measure of his fading hope that Dennis starts imagining what comes after this. He doesn’t think he could live with being mated to the wrong alpha for the rest of his life—he’d either jump off a roof or hire a hitman to take care of his ‘mate.’ (He could never risk killing his bonded alpha without immediately being suspected, but if he kept it cryptic enough, he might find someone willing to help—he’s heard rumors of omegas who could assist each other in that regard, especially in the medical field.)
“Scent’s gone.” Trevor mumbles more to himself than Dennis, getting more lost to his rut. “That alpha’s gone and I’m the only one left—you’re mineminemine—”
When Trevor moves back towards his mating gland, Dennis gives one last ditch effort—it feels like his heart is going to explode from adrenaline when he shoves himself back and upwards with all his strength, letting sheer panic and desperation fuel him. By some miracle the ploy works, Trevor grunting in pain when Dennis’s elbow hits somewhere in his chest, the man taken completely by surprise at Dennis’s renewed fight after several long minutes subdued under him on the floor. Dennis is able to dislodge Trevor enough that he’s able to flip over and wrench his legs up, kneeing the alpha as hard as he can in the groin.
Trevor doubles over with a shout of pain and Dennis scrambles backwards, trying to put distance between them. The man starts swearing and screaming threats at Dennis, so far gone he doesn’t realize he must be alerting most of the ED outside the exam room—or so Dennis hopes.
Dennis is too out of breath to call for help himself, sliding back towards the wall with a vague idea of using it to help him stand up, but Trevor is gathering himself enough that he abandons the idea. The alpha is advancing on him—still shouting mostly incoherent threats—and Dennis prays he can hold the man off until someone investigates the commotion.
Dennis braces himself, expecting another imminent attack, but the exam room door slams open and oh thank God, Robby is there, registering the scene before him with horror and a quickly growing rage.
It’s a testament to Dennis’s faith in Robby that even with his attacker looming only a few feet away, he feels nothing but sheer relief, letting his guard down in that split second of distraction.
Which is right when Trevor lunges for him again.