ᯓ★ lucky star — jack abbot
pairing: jack abbot x senior resident! reader
summary: after receiving an invitation to your ex’s wedding, you make it everyone else’s problem. until jack decides he’s had enough and offers a solution.
word count: 3.5k
after a uni and work induced hiatus i am so happy to be back ive missed you all lots and lots xxx
You cursed yourself and whatever higher power encouraged you to scan through your junk email whilst taking a breather from the ER. The stupid, cliche pdf invite and rsvp stared up at you from the screen as you resisted throwing it off the roof altogether.
It had been sent a few months ago and you had managed to miss it. Until now, at 2am, just after halfway into your shift.
Your jaw clenched. You didn’t even feel sad, only anger at the nerve of them. It must’ve been her idea, you had seethed on the phone to your sister, there’s no way he would’ve even thought about having you there.
This news couldn’t have come at a worse time, it was slammed downstairs with drunken idiots and mysterious ailments you couldn’t imagine what people were doing to contract.
Your sister allowed you to rant at her down the phone until the heavy fire escape door opened behind you, one of the nurses was coming to retrieve you.
“We really need you downstairs.” He called out, and you heard the door shut once more. Clearly no time to waste in this retrieval mission as his steps retreated down the stairs.
You should’ve been flattered. Should’ve. That the place couldn’t last 15 minutes without you as you caught your breath but in that moment you couldn’t concentrate on anything but what you had found.
Your ex had invited you to his wedding. That was next week. Conveniently on your day off.
You let out a groan, then a huff and a quiet scream before running a hand through your hair and deciding to brave the ER once more.
It was basically the same as how you left it before you went up to the roof to catch your breath. A patient in every room, and even more in the waiting room and chairs. It was borderline suffocating, but nothing you hadn’t faced before.
Making your way over to the hub, you stopped beside Ellis and put your phone down on the side, sliding it to her.
“Hide this from me, please.” You stated, she let out a dry chuckle.
“You good?” She questioned, turning to look at you and clocking the expression on your face.
You attempted to un-clench your jaw and cleared your throat, nodding as you didn’t trust your voice. Quickly, you looked up at the board and picked the first free case you saw and made your way over to Central 7.
The patient was a seven year old girl who had come in with her father with chest pains that had worsened over the last few days.
You painted the best smile you could across your face as you entered, introducing yourself before beginning to ask the girl about her symptoms.
You sat down on the stool next to her and listened intently as she spoke, determined to not let the email mess with you or your work.
“From what I’m hearing I’m thinking it could be an inflammation of your ribs where they meet in the middle.” You noted how the girl’s eyes widened and her small hand fisted the sheets beneath her. You also noted how her dad did nothing but stare down at his phone, scrolling as various video audios played too-loudly for a hospital room.
“It’s nothing to worry about, I promise. It’ll go away by itself in a couple weeks and we’ll set you up with some painkillers to ease any discomfort.” You assured, looking back at her.
Her dad remained silent, still on his phone but typing something instead.
“Are you listening, sir?” You asked him, your voice curt.
He waved a hand dismissively, “yeah, inflammation or whatever.”
You sighed and stood, opening the door. “Step outside with me for a second?”
He stopped for a second before rolling his eyes and following you.
“Is there a problem?” You asked, arms folded.
“You tell me, you’re the doctor.” He scoffed.
“Well, you’re her dad, I just thought you might care a bit more-“
“Excuse me? Who do you think you are?” His voice raised, people looked over. Jack was one of them.
As attending, Jack made it his business to know everything going on within the ER when it was his, and raised voices was definitely his business.
He glanced up from the computer he was sat at in an attempt to catch up on charting when he heard it, when he heard you. He looked up to see you in a heated discussion with a man who appeared angry from a distance.
Jack watched as the guy threw his hands up at you and then pushed open the door to the room you were stood in front of. He watched you pinch your brow and sigh before making your way to check up on other patients in the north section, your mouth moving as you muttered to yourself.
It was nearing 4am when the madness finally began to calm and the waiting room was cleared out by the efforts of the night shift. You found the time in between patients to set up at a computer and catch up on some charting.
You had managed to keep the invite from your mind and yourself cool and calm - other than the dad earlier but he was being a dick, so that totally wasn’t on you.
That was what you told yourself. The rest of the Pitt came to disagree though. Abbot, Ellis and Shen watched from the Hub as you harshly typed away at the keyboard before you with your jaw clenched and brows furrowed.
The trio attempted to trace the root of your bad mood, with various nurses and student doctors having come to Abbot asking if you were alright - your usual kind and friendly disposition having disappeared.
Shen recalled how earlier he had gotten you a coffee, and you hadn’t even looked at him, just a very dry ‘thanks’.
“I do not wanna poke that bear, I’ll be steering clear for now.” Shen chuckled as he walked off to check up on the queue for CTs.
The final straw for Jack’s concern didn’t come until later, when you snapped at one of the student doctors right in front of him.
“Come on Soto, you should’ve known! I went through this with you yesterday - you gotta be better than this!” Your voice was harsh and uncaring, Soto’s face was drained of colour, humiliated.
Jack watched on in shock, removing his gloves as you stormed out of the room. He trailed closely on your heels.
You were almost at the bathroom door when two hands grabbed you firmly by the shoulders from behind. You startled and turned to see who it was. Jack. Shit.
With his hands still on your shoulders, you allowed him to guide you out into the ambulance bay, parking you by the flower beds. You leant against them and bit your lip, looking sheepishly up at him as he stood over you, arms folded.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s up with you tonight or are you gonna make me guess?”
You felt your cheeks flush, mortified as your behaviour throughout the night dawned on you. You had been so nasty, so rude to everyone, to your friends. How could you let this affect you so much?
Jack watched over you, his expression softening as he noted the quivering of your lip and the sadness that invaded your lovely features.
“Woah now,” He said gently, leaning to sit beside you, his gaze not leaving your face, “look at me, what’s going on?”
You breathed in shakily, unable to bring yourself to look at him just yet as you picked at your nails.
“I-uh- stepped out for a few minutes earlier and saw that my ex invited me to his wedding.”
Jack huffed out a breath at your words. “Jesus, is this the uh- ex fiancé?.” You nodded.
“He left me for another woman, his new fiancée.” You finally looked up at the man sat beside you and watched his face contort in disgust.
“What a shitbag.”
You allowed yourself to laugh, nodding and happily accepting his defence over you and disdain for your ex. You noted the weight of it all lifting as you sat next to your attending, enjoying his company for a quiet moment the manic nature of the PTMC.
“Are you going?” He asked, voice low - cautious almost.
You scoffed a laugh, then bit your lip at the thought. You could go, but you could also sit in pity the whole night with a bottle of wine for one, a tub of ice cream and Sex and the City reruns. Both tempting offers.
Jack noted your hesitation, “I think you should.”
You glanced up at him, brows furrowed and a look of disbelief painted across your face.
“Really?” You asked, he nodded. “Why?”
The attending shrugged, coyly looking out at the rarely-quiet ambulance bay. “Show em what they’re missing.”
“Yeah I’ll show up, alone, probably get too drunk, knock the cake over ‘accidentally’ and make a fool of myself.” You both laughed at the thought of an elaborate tiered cake toppling to the floor of your enemies’ wedding.
He nudged your shoulder with his own, grinning “oh come on, I’m sure there’s a queue of guys - or gals - just waiting for their chance with you.”
You chuckled and thanked him for his faith in you, but nonetheless you were much in the same position. The pair of you remained silent for a moment.
“Hell, I’ll go with you if need be.”
The words shocked you. He said it so casually. You had rarely seen him outside of the hospital, not in scrubs at the occasional Christmas-do or group night out. The thought of being with just him, outside of work made your stomach flip.
“You’d do that for me?” Your voice came out quietly.
He shrugged, “if it means I get my best senior resident back and friendly.”
Your cheeks flushed, and you laughed dryly. “I have been a bit of a dick tonight. God I need to apologise to Soto.”
“You do, but it’s a shitty thing so you’re excused a little.”
You nodded, unable to ignore the pit in your stomach at how shitty you had been to everyone.
“So I’ll pick you up next week?” His head was tilted to one side as he looked at you expectantly.
You nodded, allowing a smile to grace your face, which Jack mirrored as he stood. He placed a warm, reassuring hand on your shoulder as he made his way back inside.
“I’ll tell Soto you’re looking for her.”
—
The wedding venue was about an hours drive outside of the city and, as promised, Jack picked you up the morning of. The two of you had agreed to skip the ceremony and go straight to the reception that was being held at a ridiculously expensive hotel.
Despite your initial worries of spending one-on-one time with Jack, there was no need. There was no opportunities for awkwardness or silence as you two road tripped to the location on the invite, singing along to songs together and chatting as friends.
There was however plenty of opportunities for you to admire him out of his scrubs and combat boots, which had been swapped out for an all black suit and shirt. His greying hair was also combed differently and somewhat styled. All welcome changes in your mind, you hadn’t thought it possible for him to get any more attractive.
As you eyed the arrival time on the maps edging closer, Jack noted your demeanour change. Where you had been giggling and singing along to the music, you now sat and fiddled with the skirt of your dress and remained silent. The reality of where you were going settling in.
Keeping his eyes mostly on the road, he stole glances at you when he could and clenched his jaw at your discomfort in his passenger seat.
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He reminded you, as he had done every so often since he initially offered to go with you.
You shook your head, looking at him even when he couldn’t look back.
“No, I want to it’ll give me closure and I do want to it’s just-“
“Scary?” He finished your sentence, you nodded.
“Well there’s no need, the second things aren’t going how you need them to, we are back in this car. You are smart, successful and an amazing doctor.” He paused as you took in his words, your heart filling with appreciation as you understood how he saw you.
“Not to mention drop dead fucking gorgeous.” He grinned over at you, his eyes raking over your figure.
You laughed loudly at his boldness, accepting the compliment. “I’m sure all the ladies tonight will agree that I’m the lucky one in this pairing. You should start wearing that to work” You wolf whistled to get the point across and he laughed in return.
Glancing out the window, you allowed yourself to appreciate Jack and what he was doing for you, unable to ignore the growing butterflies in your stomach that appeared whenever you seemed to look at him.
You had been able to ignore these feelings for a long time, owing it to the close proximity of the PTMC and his charming nature. But outside of that setting, realising he was giving up his day off for you, going out of his way to dress up and be with you, support you. Could he feel the same way?
The wheels of the car crackled against the stone pebbled driveway and entrance to the hotel as Jack looked for a spot to park, the wedding party clearly filling in most of the spaces. The remainder of the drive had been largely uneventful, your nerves having been put at ease by him and his presence.
It was relatively easy to find the reception, the pair of you trailing behind other guests just arriving and making their way through the lobby of the hotel and into a large dining hall.
In the entryway, Jack offered you his arm which you graciously took, doing your best to hide the blush that had coated your cheeks. You didn’t hide it very well and Jack couldn’t help but feel smug.
After analysing the seating chart, you found yourself and Jack tucked away in the far corner, furthest from the family tables and the bride and groom themselves. What a relief.
The room began to fill up as the rest of the guests filed in from the ceremony, all seats occupied except the final two at the very head of the room.
You looked ahead and watched as people began to stand and applaud. They were making their grand entrance. Jack rested a reassuring hand on your thigh and you couldn’t even find it in you to be flustered or scream internally at your work crush touching you so because your stupid fucking ex was walking into his stupid fucking wedding with his new stupid fucking wife.
They whooped and hollered as they entered, clearly loving all the attention, Jack noted. He analysed the two of them. Your ex was much shorter than he was expecting, and his teeth were yellower than in the photos he had seen. His new wife was nice looking, he had to admit, but her dress was enormous and swamped her entirely, puffing out so much the pair had to lean awkwardly over layers of tulle and satin to kiss.
She looked like a cupcake, Jack thought. His hand remained on your leg, his thumb stroking delicately against the fabric of your dress as he looked back at you.
After the initial shock, and downing the glass of wine a waiter had brought you moments before, you seemed alright. Your breathing was less erratic and your jaw brows weren’t furrowed as Jack had become so used to seeing during the whole affair.
You felt fine. You weren’t happy, of course but you didn’t feel much else. All these pent up emotions, the fear of seeing them both after all this time was no longer there. Acceptance rolled over you, smiling to yourself as you placed your own hand over Jack’s that sat on your leg.
You saw him grinning out of the corner of your eyes.
The reception went on as expected, an okay but definitely overpriced meal, small talk with the others at your table - distant aunts and kindergarten friends of the couple. The speeches were painful though, you and Jack agreed, with the bride’s dad having misplaced his script and trying to replicate his on the spot, and a much too-detailed recollection of the groom’s college frat days from the best man.
You watched out the windows as the day melted into evening then night, the sky darkening as the moon rose and the stars began to shine. And with nightfall, the tables were moved aside, giving way to the dance floor and a DJ deck.
Unwilling to let you sit down all night, Jack had attempted to lead you to dance a little, but accepted your protests of being too sober and instead leading you to the bar. Ever the gentleman, he once more offered his arm which you accepted.
“How you feeling?” His voice was soft, caring.
You nodded, “I’m alright actually, I guess I built it all up so much over the last few years and then they’re just there, no devil horns or pitchforks just, fine.”
“I feel like you had every right to build it all up, but I’m glad you’re okay.” He smiled, and you reciprocated.
At the bar, Jack joined the small crowd waiting to order as he attempted to flag down the clearly flustered bartender whilst you wandered over to a window that looked over the hotel grounds.
Jack joined you once more, handing you another glass of wine whilst he nursed a glass of water for himself, conscious of the drive home when you wanted to leave.
You both stayed silent for a while, taking in the scenery and allowing your shoulders to brush every so often.
“What a beautiful-“
“Now this is a handsome couple.”
A new voice had cut you off, you and Jack both turned to face the photographer who you had previously seen running around the dance floor attempting to get ‘candids’ of the bridal party to no avail.
You smiled politely, squealing internally at him calling you and Jack a handsome couple. You and ultra mega ER hottie a couple.
The photographer raised his camera, ushering you both to place your drinks on a nearby table and into position next to one another, his hand finding its place on your hip as you placed your own on his chest. It felt so right as you both molded to one another.
The camera flashed a few times, you looked up at Jack and the two of you couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.
“Ah! The look of love!” The photographer cooed, you and Jack both tensing slightly at the outright statement of it, both understanding that it could be true.
“Just one more, with a little kiss?”
You thought your brain short circuited for a moment as you both stood, slightly gaping at one another.
“We don’t have to-“ Jack murmured, but you turned to face him, sliding your hands up to rest behind his neck as you pulled him to you, with plenty of room for protest.
He did not, instead, his own hands found refuge around your waist as he met you in the middle. Your lips connected, tentative at first until you both realised what was truly happening; he tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss as his grip around you strengthened.
You let out a surprised squeal and felt him smile against you before you melted into one another again; until camera clicking pulled you back to the photographer watching on, sheepishly pulling yourself away from Jack to look back at him.
“Such passion.” He grinned with a wink, offering his business card which Jack slipped inside his jacket pocket, “for when you two tie the knot.” Before traipsing back into the main hall to rejoin the festivities.
You cleared your throat, glancing back at Jack who still held you in his strong arms. You laughed softly, raising a hand to wipe his lips where your glittering lipgloss had transferred.
“What? Not my colour?” You had never seen Jack smile so widely as he looked down at you, laughing at his own joke.
You hummed, pulling him back down to you once more, “I guess we’re just gonna have to keep trying.”
The kiss was gentler this time as you both smiled into it, until he pulled himself away much to your dismay.
“Does this mean I’m gonna have to book a meeting with HR?”
You pushed his shoulder away playfully, scoffing and rolling your eyes mockingly as he laughed, drawing you back into him once more.
“You’re right, it can wait.”
-
a/n: omg this was so long and entirely self indulgent i do apologise, but please let me know what you guys think !! i love reading your comments xx