ᯓ★ to ease you — jack abbot
pairing: jack abbot x EMT!reader
summary: after unexpectedly running into the handsome emergency doctor outside of work, you can’t help but look out for him at the Pitt on your next visit.
word count: 2.1k
It was, at last, your favourite time of year in Pittsburgh. The slow shift as Spring gave way to Summer, the chill lifting from the air as the days grew longer.
It was a Saturday, and a rare day off for you which you decided to spend as a solo self-care day, as your friend had raved to you on the importance of looking after yourself to look after others.
As a result, you had woken up late, read your book in bed with a coffee and caught up on a tv series a colleague had been suggesting to you for at least a month - he was right, it was amazing.
You had called your mom over breakfast and then done some light shopping; a new dress you’d had your eye on for a while now and some cute tops.
Then, by late afternoon, bleeding into evening you decided you’d go for a walk around the park near your apartment. The sun hung low in the sky, warming your face nonetheless as you made your way down the path.
You watched the world around you, children pulling their parents in the direction of the play park and others in the midsts of tantrums after being pulled away from it; there were runners and cyclists enjoying their sports without need for heavy layers at last.
Your favourites though, were always the dog walkers. You noted a woman walking by with a small chihuahua that yapped happily alongside her, and an older couple with a boarder collie proudly carrying a very large stick that you had to mind out of the way for as it passed.
One stood out to you, a large and fluffy, three legged German shepherd bounded towards you, pulling its owner along on the lead as he chuckled, unable to fight against its strength.
A laugh escaped you as the dog bounced up at you, placing its only front paw on your stomach for balance, tail wagging and tongue lolling the whole time. It looked up at you expectantly.
“Well hello to you too.” You grinned, running your hands over its face and ears, scratching gently as you went.
“I’m so sorry - she’s not normally like this I swear.” A man’s voice brought you out of the petting session as you followed the lead to its owner. You recognised him.
“I don’t mind, she’s gorgeous.” Still panting, her face almost looked like a grin as she looked back defiantly at her owner.
Accepting a few more seconds of coddling from you, she hopped down and began sniffing around your legs and feet, poking her nose into the shopping bags in your hand.
“Hey!” He scolded, though there was no real malice behind his words, gently tugging her away. “She’s a retired bomb sniffer, old habits die hard I guess.”
You chuckled as your mental light bulb lit up, realising you knew him from work - he was a doctor at the Pitt! One of the attending on night shifts you had seen occasionally, who had immediately garnered your respect with his quiet authority.
“Well, I left all my bombs at home so there’s none in there. I promise.”
This elicited a loud laugh from the doctor and a cocky smile from you at making the usually stone-faced attending break his facade.
“Does she have a name?” You then knelt down to her level, and she turned to face you happily, licking your cheek before you could dodge it.
“This is Kota.”
The dog then turned her attention from you to her owner at the sound of her name, looking up at him in adoration as she rested her head against his thigh. The sight almost melted your heart, something about men with dogs.
You stood up once more, adjusting your hair and bags as the doctor watched politely, digging a treat out of his pocket which Kota happily accepted.
“You’re an EMT in the area, right?”
The question caught you off guard and you paused, watching as his eyes widened and mouth gaped.
“Fuck that sounded like such a stalker question, I’m an emergency doctor-“
At his panic, you chuckled, holding a hand out like an olive branch, “it’s okay! I thought you were, not stalkerish at all. And yes, for about a month here.”
His face was slightly flushed, which you couldn’t help but enjoy. Though not wanting him to be too humiliated; you held your hand out and introduced yourself.
“Jack Abbot.” He accepted your hand, “I thought that was your name but I didn’t want to get it wrong and creep you out anymore than I maybe already have.” You laughed again, enjoying how he was lit up in the low sun in a way that the sterile lights of the ER couldn’t.
“Seriously, it’s fine-“
A loud bark from Kota cut you off, clearly unimpressed to no longer being the centre of attention. It had made you jump slightly as it was Jack’s turn to chuckle, used to the dog’s antics as he leant down to pat her back and butt.
“Greedy girl wants all the attention, all the time.” He muttered, smiling still.
“I’m sure she deserves no less.” You chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s damn right.”
The two of you stood, smiling at one another for a moment when your phone rang in your back pocket. It startled you both a little as you reached to grab it.
You glanced at the caller id, shit. You’d completely forgotten your mom saying your brother was going to call you when he got off of work.
“I’m so sorry, I gotta take this.” You smiled sheepishly as Jack nodded, patting his leg for Kota to follow him.
“I’ll see you round.” He waved.
You hoped so.
—
About a week had passed since your run-in with Jack and Kota, and you couldn’t help but be a little disappointed every time you dropped a patient off at the Pitt and missed him.
It seemed a cruel twist of fate that decided to keep you two apart with him attending to other patients or simply not there at all when you were.
However, this luckily changed soon after.
It had been a relatively quiet night when you and your partner received the call that led to you pulling into the ambulance bay of the Pitt with your hand held securely in that of the young boy you had picked up.
He and some of the neighbourhood kids had been playing with one of their dad’s hunting rifles, not realising it had been loaded. They had all scrambled after it went off, all except the one who had been hit.
“You’re gonna be alright.” You assured him, holding tightly to his hand as you kept your voice steady for him.
He whimpered as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the ER, blinking up at you for security. Your heart broke, he looked so small on the gurney.
Jack watched intently from the hub as you and your partner entered, smiling internally for being able to catch a glance at you without being needed at a patient’s bedside. He looked on as Shen and various nurses and med students approached and guided your group towards the trauma bays.
He watched as you remained firmly at the young patient’s side, even as your partner exited and flagged down Mateo to brag about the latest baseball scores.
Your hand remained held tightly to the boy’s, your other coming to delicately brush the hair from his forehead as he squirmed uncomfortably under the prodding of hands and needles around his stomach where the bullet had struck him.
Jack noticed your lips moving and attempted to read any of what you were saying to no avail - he had always sucked at lip reading. Instead, he admired how you were able to anchor the young boy in such a traumatic moment for him.
Fingers snapping by his ear cut off his staring as Lena peered around him, following his gaze to you and grinned knowingly.
“That board unfortunately is not going to clear itself Doctor Abbot, got a new one for you in south 20, should be nice and quick.”
Jack cleared his throat awkwardly and stood, moving towards south 20 when Lena stopped him with a gentle hand to the shoulder.
“Hang on, I think you got a little-“ she dabbed at the corner of her mouth, “some drool just there from staring-“
She grabbed a tissue from the desk beside her and moved to dab the corner of his mouth but he caught her wrist gently and playfully pushed it away as she laughed evilly. He couldn’t help but crack a smile.
The young boy was going to be just fine. The bullet had gone all the way through and managed to miss anything major and he was quickly and expertly patched up by Shen and his team before being moved into a room.
You couldn’t help but be relived, your last manager had always scolded you for getting too involved with patients but you just couldn’t help it with him. All alone with his parents on vacation and his sister sneaking off to her boyfriend’s and unreachable. Why shouldn’t you comfort him?
Comfortable in the news he was going to be alright and that someone had reached his grandmother who was on her way to meet him, you left his side to grab him some water.
After finding and filling a glass for him, you were turning the corner when you collided with another body. You both called out in surprise as the water spilled down your front.
“Shit! I am so sorry!” It was one of the med students.
You stifled a laugh, “just a little water it’s no biggie.” Definitely not ideal but no need to be ripping off any heads.
You left the red-faced student to enter the staff room beside you and wandered in, grabbing some paper towel from by the sink and beginning to dab yourself dry as best as possible.
“What happened to you?” Someone chuckled from the doorway.
Jack.
You laughed, in an almost self-deprecating way, suddenly more embarrassed about it under his gaze. “I can’t see around corners, and neither can your med students.”
He nodded in understanding, making his way across the room to you, fidgeting with his stethoscope as he came closer.
Once you were face-to-face, he spoke softly.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” You said back, mirroring his tone as you smiled at one another.
“Here,” he took the paper towel from your hand and patted the water from your neck and chest - not too low though, he didn’t need anyone misinterpreting and running off to Gloria that he was a deviant.
The room remained quiet, aside from the noises of the ER sifting through, and his gentle breathing as he dried you off as best he could. You admired the focus on his face, his slightly furrowed brow and the way his greying curls fell across his forehead.
Jack finished up, you were still considerably soaked but he did what he could. He stepped back to throw the paper towels in the bin, silently cheering as he threw them and they landed perfectly inside.
“Y’know I was hoping I would run into you sometime.” He looked back to you and a smile painted your face at his words.
“That so?” You asked, coyly.
He chuckled, nodding his head. “We always seem to miss each other and now, here you are.”
“Here I am.” You were grinning now, as his hands once more moved back to his stethoscope, pulling it taut against his neck.
“Kota would love to see you again, she keeps barking about the pretty EMT she met at the park.” He met your gaze, almost shy.
“Well I’d love to see her again, though I do wonder - is it just Kota who wants to see me again?”
Jack smirked, “you caught me.”
“Wow, using your dog to get to my heart, that’s dirty.”
“But it worked, I hope?”
“Entirely.”
He laughed, and you both spared a glance to the door as Lena poked her head in the door, warning of an incoming trauma three minutes out.
The two of you nodded and looked back at one another after she had disappeared into the sea of people once more.
“If you’re free tomorrow, I know this great bagel place. We could get lunch?” Jack looked at you, a small smile gracing his handsome face.
“Is it dog friendly?”
“Of course.”
“Tell Kota I’ll be there.”
You grinned at one another as your partner came to collect you, ready to go on another call. You forced yourself away from Jack, unable to wipe the smile off your face for the rest of your shift despite your partner’s relentless teasing.
You decided the teasing was worth it if it meant there was an adorable German shepherd and a very handsome doctor waiting for you at the end of it.