bertoltblecht - Tumblr blog

bertoltblecht · 15 hours ago

Text

On Call - Four

Characters - Michael "Robby" Robinavitch x OFC , Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Frank Langdon, Dana Evans, Jack Abbot

Summary - Rose Reilly is a surgical resident specializing in trauma medicine under Drs Robinavitch and Abbot. A series of scenes involving Robby and Rose.

Word count: 2168

Rated: Mature

Tags: Angst, Mutual Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Tension, Very Light Suicidal Ideation, Sex, Mutual Pining

A/N: The word count on these keeps creeping up! Tumblr and Ao3 are now all caught up. I'm working on Five now, it's even longer than this one alreaaaaaaady. Enjoy!

In spite of how busy the shift had been, the mood on the floor of the Pitt was pretty light. There were two attendings overlapping in schedule for a few hours and things were running almost suspiciously smoothly.

Rose hadn’t noticed the time at all. Earlier on in the day she’d thought about setting an alarm to remind her to stop picking up new cases because she was determined to leave at the correct time tonight. Then there had been a double hip dislocation and her eyes had lit up when Robby asked if she wanted to help him reduce. The sooner they got the joints back in place, the less likely there would be permanent damage.

When her friend Ben approached the nurses station to ask for her, Abbot’s ears perked up. “You’re asking for Dr. Reilly?” His voice sparkled with curiosity. She’d been there over a year, he’d worked hundreds of shifts alongside her, and he didn’t think anyone had ever come by asking for her. At least, no one who wasn’t clearly a patient. But he’d also called her Rosie.

“Yeah, sorry, I forget that she’s a whole doctor.” The man chuckled and shrugged, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He was a stocky dude and sounded like he was from around Pittsburgh. “Is she around?”

As both men took a glance around for Rose, they found her half-standing on a gurney as she helped adjust sheets around a man’s hips, pulling them up into position and nodding to Dr. Robby. “You got it? You sure?” he asked, giving everything a quick once over.

“Yes, I’ve been doing Pilates, Jessica is going to be so proud of my form.” Rose grinned at him.

“Jesus, what the fuck, how did that even happen?” The muttered expletive made Abbot chuckle and he turned back to introduce himself to the man, whose face was rapidly draining of color. “Jack Abbot, one of the attendings here in the Pitt and a coworker of Dr. Reilly.”

It took a moment for Ben to look away but as soon as Rose nodded to Robby and a resounding set of snap pops echoed, his eyes quickly went back to the older man. “Ben, uh, old friend of Rosie’s, we’re getting drinks and maybe dinner.”

“Old friend? Like college? High school?” Jack asked casually, leaning his chin in his hand. Someone who knew Rose outside the walls of this building. Fascinating.

“Junior high actually, we grew up in the same town, a bit north of here.” Ben said, glancing over again as the other doctor offered Rose a hand to step down. Her eyes caught Ben’s and went wide. “Oh shit,” she muttered under her breath, drawing Robby’s attention.

Ben was watching Rose but Jack was watching his friend who took a series of looks between the two parties and grew stone-faced. Rose didn’t have time to notice the change in demeanor though, as she power walked over to intervene. “Ben, so sorry. I just need ten minutes to get changed and grab my stuff. You don’t need to hang out here though, I can meet you out front.” There was a nervous lift to Dr. Reilly’s voice that Abbot had never heard before.

“Don’t be silly, I have about a thousand questions for someone who knew what you were like as a teenager.” Abbot beamed at his resident who narrowed her eyes at him.

“You don’t get to ask any questions, and he’s not permitted to answer anything.” The overly joking tone and pleasant grin Rose settled on conveyed just an edge of threat.

“Permitted, huh?” Ben’s low laugh did little to hide his casual disdain at needing her permission, but he shrugged and smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll just ask him about how you are now while I wait.”

Rose pretended to groan as she signed her last chart and tossed her pen at Abbot. “Don’t betray me.” She struck a serious tone, pointing at him as she headed to the locker room.

Jack caught the projectile pen and turned back to Ben. “Has she always been that violent?” he deadpanned, making both of them chuckle.

For the next ten minutes, standing at his workstation, Robby half-prayed for incoming trauma. He wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but Jack and Rose’s friend weren’t being very quiet. Ben was not in fact asking anything about Dr. Reilly or her work, he and Abbot seemed to be bonding over a shared teenaged past hanging out in the woods.

“Yeah, we used to go out at night by this creek and drink beers and get high. And there was a night that one of her brothers had some magic mushrooms and man, I barely remember, but Rosie just flipped out. I mean she absolutely lost it. She walked six hours through the woods home and didn’t talk for two days.” Ben laughed, shaking his head. “From then on, she didn’t wanna partake anymore obviously so we used to call her Rosie the Owl because she’d just climb a tree and watch and make sure no one got hurt or nothing.” He was still chuckling to himself as the jovial smile on Abbot’s face turned more cordial and he spared a glance over at Robby who had stopped typing somewhat abruptly.

“Woof, you’ve definitely gotta be careful with all that,” Jack lamented, shaking his head and sharing a look with the other attending. Over Ben’s shoulder, Rose emerged from the hall. She had bothered with something more than athleisure wear for no other reason than wanting someone from the Before Times to see her looking well. She certainly looked well, but an abrupt code from the curtain behind her pulled everyone’s attention as Abbot and Robby rushed past them.

“Have a nice date - or sorry - drinks and dinner, Dr. Reilly!” Abbot smirked at her, pulling on a pair of gloves. There wasn’t anyone to notice Robby biting his cheek hard as he pushed away any emotions he might have had about those words hitting his brain - he needed to lock in again.

Heat rushed to Rose’s face and left her wanting to throw something else at the senior attending. Instead, she forced her gaze to Ben and offered a smile. “Let’s get out of here or I’ll get pulled into something and we’ll never leave.”

He took her bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I’m parked out at a meter.”

When he turned to the exit, Dr. Robby was already in the middle of a trache which momentarily captivated both Ben and Rose for deeply different reasons. A noise erupted from Ben indicating he was moments from making a very annoying mess, so Rose pushed him toward the trash by the nurse’s station where he quickly deposited what remained of his lunch. She held in a groan and tapped him awkwardly on the back. Robby handed off the stabilizing patient to another resident as Jack jokingly offered him a fist bump.

Her eyes met Robby’s and she watched his gaze find Ben recovering from puking, his eyes crinkling as he held back a grin. Rose bowed dramatically and waved at both attendings as she ushered her childhood friend out the door.

It was just going to be drinks. If that.

Sitting across from Ben at a high top, her third beer in front of her, Rose found her mind wandering away from the update Ben was giving on his sisters. A wedding coming up… twins… tiny home on his uncle’s farm. She shouldn’t be sitting there wishing she were at work, that was sick. Was it better to think of it as her wanting to be around people who liked her? Knew her? Saw her skills? Robby, sure, but even Abbot, Dana, Frank, Samira. Sometimes she only felt like a person when she was in the Pitt.

“Rosie?” Ben raised an eyebrow at her. Who even knew how long ago his sentence had ended? “Gone again.” He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to head out actually. See if I can catch some buddies to watch the end of the hockey game.”

Rose softened her expression into an easy smile. “Sorry, long day. A lot of what you saw before we left.” She apologized but couldn’t be happier he was going to leave. “Have a good night. Send everyone my love, I’ll be home next month for Danny’s wedding and I’ll see ya at that.”

Ben tossed twenty bucks on the table and left the bar with just another nod.

Rose ordered fries.

While waiting for them, her hands itched until she eventually opened her text thread with Robby. It consisted largely of short updates about breaks starting and ending, occasional hand-off notes, group order requests (black coffee, cheese pizza, a turkey on rye with mustard), and a few rare call-out texts.

Rose: you hear about the emergency chest wall stabilization in the ct room today?

With the message typed out, she took a deep breath and shook her head. This was stupid, they didn’t text about work that way. She put her phone away, forcing herself to enjoy the end of her beer and her fries without the temptation.

Later on though, as she sat in bed with the buzz of the beers gone and only a dry headache behind her eyes remaining, Rose opened the thread again and hit send before she could talk herself out of it.

It took a few minutes but the typing dots popped up faster than she was expecting and the reply came back a minute or so later.

Robby: jack mentioned it tonight actually. said you did great work thinking on your feet.

Rose: it was very thrilling it took the cake even in a day that also included reducing both that dude’s hips

Robby: good work on that too i’m sure jessica will be very glad to hear that pilates is working or something to that effect

Rose: she’s going to love that story actually

There had been a rush of surprise and anxiety in spite of himself when Robby saw Rose’s name on his phone while climbing into bed. She was supposed to be otherwise occupied. What could she need? The prickle of anxiety didn’t leave when the text was about work, but he was at least relieved it wasn’t some immediate emergency.

By the third reply, he was just confused. Robby had been very ready for bed after dozing off on the couch, but now he was wide awake. He stared at his phone. That could be the end of the conversation. He could leave it there and not satisfy his curiosity. Maybe she was just looking for some positive feedback after a long day? That wasn’t really Rose though. In spite of himself, Robby caved about ten minutes later.

Robby: thought you were on a date tonight

Rose: so did he

Robby: ouch were you that nice about it to him?

Rose: i tried

Why was he having to pull teeth? She was texting like his fucking dad now.

Rubbing a frustrated hand over his face, Robby groaned alone in the dark. “Fuck it.” He muttered and texted again.

Robby: so why’d you text?

Rose: i don’t know… i’m sorry

He definitely wasn’t half holding his breath as she started typing again.

Rose: i had one of those rare especially cool days and i guess didn’t get to talk about it really

Robby: i imagine he wasn’t up for details after how he reacted to what he saw for himself

Rose: nope he talked through a couple drinks and went on his way

Robby thought back to the story he’d unwittingly overheard her friend tell Jack. The indignant part of him had felt a rush of injustice on behalf of the younger version of Rose in the woods. Ben’s mirthful recollection of the events betrayed a lack of respect for her that made Robby more annoyed than he would like to admit. He had no right to feel anything on her behalf. Especially not about something so stupid and far in the past as a teenaged anecdote and a nickname - who knew how she felt about it now anyway? None of it was any of his damn business.

Robby: i hope you at least got dinner out of it

Rose: giant basket of fries that i did end up paying for myself but what can ya do? can’t bat a thousand for the day

Rose: thx for texting back

Rose: have a good night

Rose: i’ll see you tomorrow

A heavy sigh relaxed his shoulders, and he shook his head as he chuckled to himself.

Robby: goodnite see you tomorrow

Robby plugged his phone in to charge and rolled over onto his pillow. Rose had never been here in this space with him, they never came to his place, but he felt like she was lingering there with him. Just over there in the darkness by the phone.

prev/next

#the pitt #the pitt fanfiction #dr robby #dr robby x ofc #on call #writing #Michael Robinavitch #Noah Wyle #doctor robby #Dr. Michael Robinavitch #the pitt hbo #the pitt max #four

14 notes · View notes

bertoltblecht · 1 day ago

Text

The Pitt cast as text posts | Part 1

79 notes · View notes

bertoltblecht · 2 days ago

Text

On Call - Three

Characters - Michael "Robby" Robinavitch x OFC , Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Frank Langdon, Dana Evans, Jack Abbot

Summary - Rose Reilly is a surgical resident specializing in trauma medicine under Drs Robinavitch and Abbot. A series of scenes involving Robby and Rose.

Word count: 1912

Rated: Mature

Tags: Angst, Mutual Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Tension, Very Light Suicidal Ideation, Sex, Mutual Pining

A/N: Here's part three! I'm really partial to this one and the next one! Let me know what you think!

When the majority of your social contact is at work, your coworkers really matter - because in order to have a work-life balance, you have to have a life outside work.

Rose didn’t really have that.

She was the first to volunteer to pick up shifts and the last to leave if the place was understaffed. More than once she’d just parked herself in an on-call room for the 8 or so hours she didn’t need to actually be there.

Her near constant presence in the ER meant that she knew everyone regardless of shift and she tried to make meaningful connections with anyone who wanted to talk to, or, as was often the case, at her. Rose was a fantastic listener and being there gave her a sense of purpose that vanished as soon as she changed out of her scrubs.

There was one other near constant in the Pitt and that, of course, was Dr. Robby. They had been good since their slip up in the hospital, kept their hands to themselves and their debates professional. No romance was happening at all. At least, nothing that was intended to be romantic.

That was the problem though, wasn’t it? Even before they’d muddied the waters at that bar across town, Dr. Robby had made her feel understood in a way that only felt intimate because hardly anyone had ever bothered. He out-mirrored her – in a battle for who could shape-shift faster into someone the other person needed most, he’d been the first to ever best her.

Rose found value in her utility. She was a future surgeon for fuck’s sake. She’d put herself through all the school and debt and work because saving lives was an objectively valuable skill. It had been an easy and concrete motivator for much of her life. And not just for her career. If she was useful to the people she cared about, they would care about her in return. The noisy, messy parts of her mind often pressed the inverse of that logic when she wondered about people’s motivations for getting to know her.

What exactly was her utility to Dr. Robby beyond her competence at work? If he was only making sure she didn’t jump off the roof, he could just keep an eye on the stairwell door. He didn’t need to do such a good job pretending they’d never been anything more than an attending and resident. It almost would have been better if he had decided to treat her differently. If he had suddenly foisted her education off on Abbot, who was more than capable, or if he’d stopped showing her the small kindnesses he had made part of his own acts of utility. Rose had a hard time filing away the feelings that his gestures stirred in her, couldn’t stop herself from associating them with the myriad other acts that she’d let herself get used to.

Rose had the Bering Sea raging inside of her and she left it just outside the doors of the ambulance bay. Sometimes leaving work she could get swept away in the waves and end up on the bench outside for a while. Her legs felt heavy and the list of necessary actions separating sitting on the bench from lying in her bed seemed daunting and endless.

It was cold and damp - not freezing but the sticky kind of cold that made her fingers and toes ache. The fresh air was doing good work on her nervous system though, so she wanted to steal another few moments before getting in her car. And anyway the sun was going to rise soon and seeing a sliver of that before going back inside would be good for her too.

Shift change had happened over an hour earlier and Rose had taken some extra time to finish charting her last procedure of the day, preferring to let people get their things and leave the locker room before her.

She felt her stomach pulse insistently and realized she was insanely hungry. It had been hours since she bothered to put anything in the tank. The last two hours of the shift had actually been the 16th and 17th hours of Rose’s day. She came in early to scrub in on a surgery and then made her way to the trauma center to start her actual day. By the time 5 am rolled around and she parked herself on that bench, she was completely dead on her feet.

If she sat there another 60 minutes, she could stop and get a breakfast sandwich from the coffee place on the corner by the hospital and check that off her list. It was getting colder though and she wanted a hot shower more than anything.

“Lose your car?” Robby's mild voice came from over her shoulder as her internal debate continued. She hadn’t seen him around when she left and she wondered if he’d already skedaddled.

Rose huffed a laugh. “You know I just smash the lock button until it beeps and I find it.” She didn’t turn or elaborate further. He had found her out here before. Sometimes it took a little while to take the day off before she left, so she didn’t bring the icy sea back home with her.

“It’s cold.” His voice was beside her then as he sunk onto the bench. It meant nothing to her at all that his backpack was placed between them. “No one else to help out here.” It was a good try, but ultimately that wasn’t why she was glued here.

“You give yourself too little credit, there’s tons of help we could both use.” Rose didn’t mean for there to be so much bite to the sarcasm, but her tone came out less light than she meant it too. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell he was frowning, his brow furrowed. “I just really want a sandwich and Terry doesn’t open for another 40 minutes and he’s not going to get around to making me a bacon egg and cheese for at least another hour.”

“There are a lot of ways to come by a sandwich, ya know?” Robby pressed, his elbows meeting his knees as he hunched to try to catch her eye.

Rose held in a sigh. She didn’t have the energy to explain, but more than that she knew he knew he was deliberately missing the point.

“I like to support a small business,” she said, turning her head to let him look at her. She was determined not to cave to those almost pleading brown eyes of his, pairing her steely expression with as effortless a shoulder shrug as she could manage. He looked skeptical and tired. What did he want from her? He’d stopped here of his own free will. She didn’t ask him to witness this.

Rose felt a twisting frustration thinking that he’d never seemed exasperated by her before. As soon her mind placed that framework around his imploring look, she had to drop his gaze. He didn’t have to sit on this bench and if he wasn’t going to meet her where she was then…

“You should go home.” The words left her quietly. “I’m gonna be here for a minute and we’ve both had a long day.”

“You should go home.” Robby sighed, shaking his head. “Just go home and shower and order a bacon egg and cheese and go to bed. Let the day be over.” His tone had none of the lightness he usually reserved for pep talks of the mental health variety. She witnessed him talk multiple wavering med students back into being doctors, but his patience for this tendency of Rose’s had apparently run out.

It felt like lidocaine being injected into her chest, watching him react that way. The burning discomfort of the sensation was almost enough to compel her to action, but she couldn’t untangle the mental knot of who exactly she’d be spiting by staying or going. She pictured the finger on a monkey’s paw curling when she remembered her earlier musing about feeling better if he’d just treat her differently. Not exactly what she had in mind really.

The burning sensation faded though, leaving an almost pleasant numbness in its wake.

“Look, I’m not a liability. I am fine. I will be at work again in… 12 hours, give or take. You don’t have to get it, but you do have to respect me and if you aren’t going to do that, then… go.” Rose sounded as tired as she felt as she gestured out to the parking lot.

Robby’s posture stiffened a little. If his thoughts were a radio station, she was certain she’d hear him counting backward from ten.

“I’m just trying to help.”

All the annoyance from a minute ago seemed to have faded from his tone, replaced by something worse - guilt, desperation. Like this was somehow his doing. It was not his best trait, his desire to fall on the sword - to wear the burden of responsibility even when there was no fault to be placed.

“I know, but now you’re in it to feel better about you, so it isn’t going to work for me.” She knew she was being too honest now, but she cut him off as he opened his mouth to refute her. “You didn’t break me, Michael. This is just me. I’m just going to be here until this passes and it didn’t used to make you mad at me.”

Robby clenched his jaw as he sat with her observation. It made him feel worse that she was right. He blamed himself for her pain, assuming that he was at least a contributing factor. He set about trying to navigate the new boundaries by pretending nothing had changed. He centered himself and his guilt when it came to making sure she was okay, because if she was visibly doing well that meant he hadn’t hurt her. He wanted her to leave the bench because he didn’t want to be the reason she was there.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” The sighed admission surprised Rose enough to look at him again. “I’m not mad at you. I just used to be able to help, I thought.” Robby shrugged and looked down at his hands.

Rose wished she had the energy to pretend she was fine. He couldn’t help his impulse toward guilt anymore than she could help hers toward despair. “You did and I’m sure you will again, but today... I’m waiting for the sandwich. Not for you.”

His shoulders sank slightly but Robby nodded, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “Okay, I understand.” He didn’t. “I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“You will.” Rose made sure to confirm in the most assuring voice she could muster. It was the least she could do, he genuinely didn’t need to worry.

Robby stood and picked up his backpack from between them, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder for a moment so short she wasn’t sure it had happened. She offered him a faint smile as she looked up and he nodded again before heading out into the parking lot.

The sunlight coming over the horizon didn’t feel warm yet but Rose knew it would in a little while. It’d be worth the wait to tip her head up into it while she ate that sandwich. It would be good enough.

previous/next

#the pitt #the pitt fanfiction #dr robby #dr robby x ofc #on call #writing #Michael Robinavitch #Noah Wyle #doctor robby #Dr. Michael Robinavitch #the pitt hbo #the pitt max #three

22 notes · View notes

bertoltblecht · 2 days ago

Note

I love your URL. I’ve sent it as a screenshot to all my fellow English literature nerd friends for a good chuckle. 😄👍🏻

Thank you so much! 😂 I’m endlessly pleased with myself over it admittedly!

1 note · View note

bertoltblecht · 3 days ago

Text

On Call - Two

Characters - Michael "Robby" Robinavitch x OFC , Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Frank Langdon, Dana Evans, Jack Abbot

Summary - Rose Reilly is a surgical resident specializing in trauma medicine under Drs Robinavitch and Abbot. A series of scenes involving Robby and Rose.

Word count: 1595

Rated: Mature

Tags: Angst, Mutual Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Tension, Very Light Suicidal Ideation, Sex, Mutual Pining

A/N: Part two for you all! I personally think I start to really settle in after this one. Hope you enjoy!

Differential diagnosis was part art and part science. It was as much about making a judgment call as it was about remembering the actual medicine of it all. Doctors in the trauma department had to not be sensitive about being told they were wrong. There wasn’t time for hurt feelings and no one was keeping score. It wasn’t one doctor’s victory when another person got to leave the ER with their life, it was the whole team.

That had been the gist of at least three Pitt Sermons from Dr. Robby and yet, now there he stood across from her over a patient, his feathers clearly ruffled by Dr. Reilly’s pushback on his plan of action.

She didn’t really want to intubate this man unless absolutely necessary. Dr. Robby was practically insisting, but something told Rose it had more to do with how the patient had been behaving just prior to the breathing episode that landed them in this moment than it had to do with the actual severity of the condition.

It was week three of the whole team being on night shift and Rose really didn’t mind the crazy hours. Leaving the hospital in the greenish blue dawn to go sleep in her cave of an apartment didn’t bother her. It was just a different routine.

The guy was dropped off by his roommate because he’d been sick and hacking up a lung. In spite of needing all the oxygen he could get, he had taken to wasting his breath shooting his best shot with Dr. Reilly as she went about her diagnostic work on him. Rose didn’t really mind, as long as people kept their hands to themselves. What did she care if they flirted with the wall?

After the initial labs and scans came back, Rose grabbed Dr. Robby for a consult. The man had decreased breath sounds on one side but was otherwise stable. His lung was at risk of collapsing and he was going to need surgery to remove the fluid build up. All of that she was sure of. The consult was needed to get Robby’s required sign off for medication adjustments and she wanted to get the patient prepped for surgery.

Dr. Robby nodded when she asked for the consult and gestured for her to lead the way.

“My future wife is back,” rasped the man holding the oxygen mask to his face and smirking as the curtain was pulled back around his bed.

The comment sent Robby’s eyebrows skyward and he caught just enough of Rose’s eye roll he gathered this was the tone of the visit.

“I brought Dr. Robby to listen to your lungs so we can get you scheduled for surgery.” Rose explained coolly, picking up his chart to make a note of his vitals and the time.

“He’s nice to look at but not my type. I’m way more into smart, hot brunettes. I guess he fits those categories, but not like you, Dr. Reilly.”

There may have been a weak hand lifting in her direction, but Robby stepped forward quickly. “Please stop talking so I can listen properly.” He said, his tone flat but with a distinct edge. Robby told himself that patients were mouthy all the time, he wasn’t bothered by a random sick man hitting on one of his residents. That would be ridiculous.

“O2 is down. We should intubate.” Robby said as he stepped back from the bed. Rose couldn’t help but frown. “They’ll intubate after he’s under general. He’s stable right now,” she argued and that’s when Robby’s expression hardened. Maybe it was the night shifts, the timing, the long day, the fact that he hadn’t been sleeping well for a few reasons, but he snapped a little. Robby poked his head out of the curtain and called for Dr. Langdon to come intubate.

“We secure airways before we hand off patients, Dr. Reilly. If he suffocates because he was bumped for surgery, it’s my ass as your attending,” Robby said in a low tone as Frank and a nurse prepared to intubate and they stepped out.

Something hot and righteous flared to life in Rose’s chest. Before she could stop herself, she pushed open the door to an empty consult room and pulled Robby sharply by his wrist into the room. He stumbled, surprised and grunted as she shoved him again. “Jesus, Reilly. What the fuck?”

“You’re intubating a stable patient with good vitals because he’s a mouthy little bitch who dared flirt with me,” Rose said, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with a glare.

It was a sharp accusation and, judging by his uncomfortable and defensive reaction, a true one. “Don’t be ridiculous. His vitals are not good, his O2 is tanking. He’s an hour and a half from being in surgery. When he is intubated is immaterial, my word, my judgment is final here. You can disagree with my assessment, but you cannot and will not overrule me. The work you and all the other doctors on this floor do is my responsibility. My personal feelings have nothing to do with it.”

Rose wanted to be satisfied that he was clearly sputtering a little, but she wasn’t. “Admit it,” she insisted, her jaw tight. “It bothered you. And that impacted your decision. It might not have been your entire thought process, but it was part of it.” She punctuated the sentence with an index finger hitting his chest.

“What the fuck do you want me to say? That I’m some kind of Neanderthal who hated someone else leering at you? Hated him making those shitty comments I’ve heard a lot of people make about you? Yeah, I didn’t like it. Are you happy?” Robby asked, lowering his voice to an angry whisper.

“So happy,” Rose snarled back sarcastically. “It’s a really fun aspect of my career development having to have men behave irrationally because they’re horny for me.”

“Excuse me, Dr. Reilly, I was not behaving irrationally. I made a judgment call based on years of experience and education. I would absolutely never put a patient through something unnecessary simply because I’m horny for you. I took an oath not to harm,” Robby said, his temper really starting to flare. People didn’t get under his skin, he was always level-headed. Especially at work. What the fuck was wrong with him?

“But you are horny for me and it did piss you off.” Rose said, and then she was getting in his face.

“I think I’ve freely admitted to both of those facts. Did you want to continue questioning my authority and judgment or can we both get back to work?” Robby retorted, crossing his arms and leaning in, all but daring her to keep pushing.

His frustration made Rose feel smug as she watched him bristle. She had spent the last few weeks without him in her bed, and the easy professionalism that he treated her with at work had all but convinced her she had been more affected by their time together than he had. She’d been trying to put that feeling in its place and not feel shame about the loneliness that had creeped over her in his absence. She tried not to wonder if he missed her too, for her presence and personality or even just the physical comfort they found in each other.

Clearly he had, and that knowledge alone made her want to shift tactics.

“It’s a little bit hot,” Rose whispered. He inhaled slowly, and the effect of her words rippled through his body language.

Fuck it.

His lips were on hers before the smirk could fade from her face. Once he broke the seal, she became an equal participant as he tugged her body flush to his.

They were quick and quiet, apart from the soft sighs from Rose as she pressed her face to his neck. She wasn’t even on the exam table, just propped against it as they pulled pleasure from each other. The weeks’ worth of night shifts and longing glances released in a rush of poor decision making.

When it was over, the post-orgasm clarity hit them both like a freight train.

“Fuck,” he sighed, his head falling to her shoulder for a moment as they both caught their breath. Her fingers were in his hair and she knew she had about thirty more seconds of physical contact before the panic spurred them both into action. It wasn’t even that long before he pulled away. “That was so stupid.” He exhaled, shaking his head. “We can’t do that here.”

“So stupid,” Rose murmured in agreement as she went about making herself presentable again with trembling hands, the adrenaline making her heart race. “We said we weren’t doing that anywhere.”

“Well we never really said,” he pointed out unhelpfully and then winced when she turned to give him a blank look.

Neither of them apologized though and she was grateful for that because she could live with being stupid but regretting it would have made her sick to her stomach.

“I have to get back to…” she gestured vaguely at the door. “Saving lives. Good talk.”

The hallway was blissfully empty at 3 am and Rose slipped out before him. He took the hint and went the opposite way a few minutes later.

It was easy enough to tell Dana he was catching a 15 minute nap and she believed him because the night shift was the worst and he certainly looked like he just woken up full of anxiety.

previous/next

#the pitt #the pitt fanfiction #dr robby #dr robby x ofc #on call #writing #two #Michael Robinavitch #Noah Wyle #doctor robby

24 notes · View notes

bertoltblecht · 3 days ago

Text

On Call - One

Characters - Michael "Robby" Robinavitch x OFC , Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Frank Langdon, Dana Evans, Jack Abbot

Summary - Rose Reilly is a surgical resident specializing in trauma medicine under Drs Robinavitch and Abbot. A series of scenes involving Robby and Rose.

Word count: 1874

Rated: Mature

Tags: Angst, Mutual Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Tension, Very Light Suicidal Ideation, Sex, Mutual Pining

A/N: Hello! Sorry if you know me in real life and this is weird. Enjoy! This is already 4 chapters deep on Ao3 but I don’t want to flood tumblr like a jerk so I’ll post them over a week here to get caught up. Let me know what you think, please be gentle. Writing is someone’s emotional back window, don’t snipe me. There’s going to be some more of this, not sure how much.

—————————————————

In order to work in the emergency medical field, you have to be able to keep all your shit in neat, tidy mental boxes. Rose had taken a while to adjust to needing such thick walls between her surface emotions and the impossible frustration of their day to day lives.

She did her surgical specialization in the Pitt, trauma medicine. All the other residents conceded none of them wanted her fellowship under Dr. Robby. Idiots. Not only was he the most experienced doctor in the hospital, but he had a commitment to educating the doctors around him. He had certainly committed himself to her education.

It had been more than a crash course in emergency medicine. He’d also caved to her earnestness, her intelligence, and her desperation. He had shown her how to manage the excess of everything that built up inside her and threatened to destroy her. Robby’s boxes were taped shut, he’d been doing this long enough that even when the bones in the closet started to clamber to life, the locks stayed tight. He was impressively good at looking sad but soldiering on and Rose... felt too much for a long time.

Long before things became personal between them, Robby had looked out for her in a way she’d never had a boss look out for her. He was that way with all the people who worked with or for him, she assured herself. And he really was for the most part. After one particularly long, terrible shift, an intern told Robby that Rose was MIA for final rounds. Dana had tried to cover for the girl but pointed the senior attending subtly in the direction of the stairwell to the roof.

It wasn’t like it was high or anything. It was just the trauma center roof which was only three stories. The main hospital was taller. Furthermore, it wasn’t like Rose was thinking about that at all. Well, she was but just in the way she thought about a lot of things - theoretically. It would just be such a huge hassle for her coworkers downstairs and she’d be in, like, a ton of pain. That wasn’t at all why she’d come up here. She just knew after that shift no one would want to climb the stairs to find her and she needed to breathe. Rose needed the locker room to be empty after the shift change so she could change alone and not have to be a human being in front of everyone while they were all exposed, exhausted nerves.

“Dr. Reilly.” Hearing her name from the door wasn’t entirely what surprised her, it was the sharpness with which it left Dr. Robby. The sight of her at the railing of the roof clearly affected something in him. Rose felt something she thought might be guilt bubble up in her at having been up here and inadvertently thinking those thoughts, sending off that energy. Her head was full and sluggish and overwhelmed all at once.

Dr. Robby repeated her name again, his tone more gentle but it still made her go wide eyed for a moment all the same - just long enough that his expression softened as she turned and moved away from the railing to walk toward him.

��I didn’t mean to startle you. Dana said you were up here, you missed rounds.” His tone was light. It wasn’t a question or an accusation.

“I know, sorry. I don’t know why today got to me so badly,” Rose admitted softly. But it wasn’t just that day. It had felt like it had been creeping up on her for a while. They’d had a series of bad weeks in the trauma department. It was easy to admit she was run down that day, and the sentiment didn’t convey any of the devastation lingering just below the surface, the waves thrashing her against the rocks.

“It won’t happen again.” She sounded like she meant it, and he was inclined to believe her. For a moment though, he scrutinized her in a way that made her want to fidget nervously. It felt like having someone glance around you at your front door, peeking to see what you were hiding with the door propped open just so.

Rose lost the staring contest and dropped from his intense gaze. But he seemed satisfied that she was at least going to make it another day, so he nodded. “Try to get some rest. Good work today. I know they aren’t all easy days, but your progress and contribution here is obvious.” The sentiment sounded so genuine, it made her eyes well and her throat tightened in an annoying way.

The earnestness made her feel itchy. “Thank you, Dr. Robby. It means a lot. I’m built for this, I know I am. It’s just taking some time to…put everything in its proper place, label all the boxes to pack the trauma in.” He’d laughed at her joke and hadn’t gone back inside until she had.

After that, it was obvious that Robby was learning things about her as they went, and Rose tried not to be too aware of it. It would be ridiculous to assign too much significance to the person she spent hundreds of hours with remembering things like her tree nut allergy or knowing that if he just talked absently long enough about recent medical studies in the locker room that eventually Rose would stop picking her cuticles and staring at the wall and actually leave the building. He would even walk her to her car, keeping her from getting stuck sitting on the bench outside the ER for another hour, perpetually waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It wasn’t like she was keeping track - maybe he had a whole mental diary of things about Frank’s intricacies and tendencies. He was certainly considerate of everyone she saw him interact with. Making people feel seen was easily something he could be commended on.

Rose couldn’t honestly tell you what it was about her that pulled him in. It wasn’t like she had launched a seduction plan. She had tried not to think about how his attention felt like warm sunshine and it was easier to leave the building when he was beside her. He was married though, so Rose had kept her thoughts and hands to herself. Even when she’d overheard the nurses discussing his separation and divorce proceedings. No one had any real intel, just that they’d heard him on the phone with a divorce attorney and a real estate broker for a new apartment.

The area was deeply grey when they’d finally crossed the line. Her separated-from-his-wife senior attending had closed the gap when they were a touch past tipsy at a bar across town. They’d been stranded by an ambulance that needed to leave them behind and their shift had been over anyway. The details of how they had ended up in the bar’s bathroom sort of escaped her, but the memory of the actual event was captured in stunning technicolor in her mind’s eye.

It was so much easier to sleep after a terrible shift when Rose was well fucked and beside someone who didn’t ask her if she was okay. Sometimes Robby asked it with his eyes, but they were sides of the same coin - of course neither of them were okay.

So for a few months, they stole nights together in her studio apartment, cooking dinner, turning on an audiobook, or listening to jazz records. She took comfort in his warm, quiet presence. Especially after long days of talking endlessly to people, neither of them much wanted to communicate verbally. So they didn’t most of the time. It was easy because neither of them wanted very much from the other.

A single close call had been enough to spook him though.

Robby was in her kitchen making a mushroom risotto when the resounding crack of IKEA particle board against her skull brought him running. “Jesus, shit, fuck, ah!” she hissed, her hand going to her hairline to catch the blood from dripping down her forehead. It broke the skin of her scalp and the resulting bump was already bruised.

“Shit, what happened?” Robby asked, gently nudging her hands away to look. Rose inhaled sharply as his fingers prodded and he murmured an apology as he tipped her head up. “It hit me in the head,” she said, clenching her jaw petulantly and making him raise his eyebrows.

“You need stitches. So we get to go back to work.” He hadn’t sighed but he also couldn’t hide the weary disappointment at the direction of their evening.

The night didn’t improve from there.

Rose slipped into an unused consult room while Robby grabbed a suture tray. He’d been caught by Dana though and even though Rose couldn’t hear through the door, the look shared between them made it clear the woman had not bought whatever answer Robby gave about what was going on.

More than that, the guilty look on Robby’s face spoke volumes. When he shut the door to the consult room behind him, he was Dr. Robby her boss again. It was amazing that just a half hour prior he had been making her dinner and now… he was going to very professionally stitch up her forehead and then quietly break her heart. It was almost like she could watch it happen in slow motion. He finished up the sutures and Rose cut him off before he could say anything. “Well at least I don’t have a concussion. Means I can head home and get to bed. Don’t need to worry about not waking up like Attila the Hun…” Rose trailed off, not making a good case for the lack of concussion. “So if you want to.. also head home. I would just see you tomorrow evening for the start of overnight shifts,” she added, offering him the exit that his posture was all but begging for.

“I think Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed in his sleep,” Robby replied, tying off the last knot. “You really should get some rest and if you have a headache tomorrow take the day.”

Rose nodded, allowing a soft laugh to leave her. What was she supposed to do? Be mean to him? He was protecting himself… his career… her career. To his credit though, he didn’t just speed down the shoulder to the exit. Robby caught her gaze and heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry to just...bolt. I let myself do this without thinking it through. And that’s not fair.”

Robby wasn’t an asshole though. He drove her home, got her settled and, once she was in bed, he cleaned up the mess of half made dinner and built the offending bookcase. The finished product standing beside her couch was the only real evidence that he’d been there at all come morning. That he’d ever been there, for that matter.

Something else to pack neatly away.

They went back to the vaguely defined boundaries that existed before the bathroom hook-up. Robby was still attentive at work, and Rose kept her head down and focused on her residency. That’s what they were really best at anyway. The work.

#the pitt #Dr Robby #the pitt fanfiction #fanfiction #On Call #One #writing #pls be kind #Dr Robby x ofc #Michael Robinavitch #Doctor Robby #Noah Wyle

22 notes · View notes