Come Get Me
I know I've been slow on the Pitt imagines lately, but here is a Dennis Whitaker imagine for you all.
Any feedback always makes my day!
Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyje @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra848484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17
@mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @eleventhdoctorsangel @kniselle @senjoritanana @shauna-carsley @dottierose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1 @reneinii @bellsbomb @western-pyro @itsgigikay @harry-satellite @midsummereve1993 @babyqueen17 @buckyyyismahhlife @sammiejane22 @mrsyixingunicorn10 @talicat713 @niamhmbt @strawberry-canyon @bieberhoodforever @911fangirlie @hollandxxmix @jasmineee05 @creat1venat1onn @devilslittlehelper @darlingcharling-blog @bear8585 @nickie-amore @elliott-calls @person-005 @mbioooo0000 @amara-mars @shypy92 @nikfigueiredo @sabsthedoll @rach2602 @itshamleth @ladespedidas @devilslittlehelper @buckslifeline @wanniiieeee @jaydaaasworld @theelementofsurprisee @andrewgarfieldislife @lover-rep-fanfic @spideysimpossiblegirl @danah-20 @ilocuras24 @peeekabo0 @brown-eyes-cello-and-books @alexisann143 @darknessofhell666-blog-blog
@ughyna @winterreader-nowwriter @natashamea18 @rayasromances @ilocuras24 @livd03 @abbott976 @kitkatrina
The Pitt Masterlist
Summary: While Dennis's shift runs late into the evening, he gets a call from his wife. Something happened on a night out and she needs his help.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For what must have been the fifth time in the last minute, Dennis found his eyes levitating up towards the clock on the wall and his hand shifting to hover over the deep pocket in his scrubs where his phone was tucked away.
He tried to resist the urge to pull his phone out, but he couldn't fight the overwhelming need and found himself digging his phone out. Again.
Both forearms were slumped on the nurse's desk in front of him, one knee pushed forward against the counter while his other leg was stretched behind him, as straight as a ruler.
Something between a smile and a longing sense of sorrow washed over his face when he looked at his lockscreen. He glanced from the picture lighting up the background, to the notification that was startlingly bright across the middle of the screen. A text he'd received almost half an hour ago from the one person who had been on Dennis's mind since he got to work this morning.
*Hey babe, don't worry about running late. Just let me know when you're leaving. Love you. xx
He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve her. She should be angry at him. She should be calling him right now telling him that he was almost two hours late, that he promised he would try and be on time, that he said he was excited about tonight but clearly he was still staying longer at work, like he normally ended up doing.
It was all true. Dennis had been eager to go out tonight even though it meant going out after a twelve hour shift- that had blended into an almost fourteen hour shift. He had been happy at the thought of leaving this place and the drama and the mess, putting it all behind him for one night, and going out with (Y/n) and their friends.
But things didn't seem to work out for Dennis very often, something always had to go wrong to counter out the few good things he had in his life or when everything seemed to go on track.
He slid his phone back in his pocket without replying; he knew if he did then he was only going to get himself worked up. Dennis was waiting for the right moment to call it a day, when things properly slowed and seemed under control and he could tell Dana that he was calling it a night and leaving. He wanted to have at least one drink with (Y/n) tonight before they ended up going home.
His only consolation was that she seemed to be having fun while she waited for him, and that was the main thing. That Dennis wasn't ruining it or holding her up by being late.
Another fifteen minutes ticked by where Dennis dealt with a drunken patient from triage, got him on some fluids, took some blood samples for the lab and cleaned up the cuts he sustained in a bar fight.
He could feel his eyes burning as he walked down the corridor, trying to stick to the shadows and the sidelines so he didn't get collared for any other traumas or patients tonight. He was done, he wanted to leave while he still had some reserves of energy left within him.
Both hands reached out to run up and down his face and his fingertips scratched and dug into his eyes as he stiffled a groan against the base of his hand.
Dennis was allowed to call it a night, right? He could say that his shift was well and truly over, couldn't he? There was nothing in his contract that binded him to stay, not when the night shift was here and the freak accidents were being taken care of now. He could go-
His nails scratched into his eyelids and his body jumped from the floor when a sudden vibration started to buzz in his pocket and sent shivers and adrenaline all throughout his body. His nerves sparked right to the tip of his fingers and he gasped into his palm, snapping his aching eyelids open as he rummaged around in his pocket for his phone.
It was (Y/n). She was calling him. She was probably going to ask what was keeping him, if he was on his way yet or if he might not be able to make it after all. Well Dennis was determined to make it for at least one drink, to show his tired face to their circle of friends and prove he wasn't a complete idiot for standing (Y/n) up on a night out like this.
Despite the anxiety in his stomach about disappointing her, Dennis found himself smiling as the picture of her lit up his screen. The picture of (Y/n), sat in a cafe with an extremely large mug of hot chocolate clasped between her hands and a sickly sweet smile on her face with a dash of cream coating her top lip like a moustache.
He answered the phone, his free hand moving to scratch the back of his neck out of nerous habit even though he knew deep in his heart that (Y/n) wouldn't be angry with him. She hardly ever could be. And it wasn't like he was talking to her face to face to apologise and say how sorry he was that he was later than ever.
"Hey baby, I promise I won't be too much longer-"
"Denny?"
He cut off immediately, his lips parted in a silent O shape while his brows started to narrow. There was a strange undertone to (Y/n)'s voice, like she was holding the phone faraway from her face or there was a distinct crackle to her voice that made it sound different from normal.
But the way that (Y/n) said his name, sounding rather confused as if she didn't know who she had dialled or as if she thought he wouldn't pick up the phone, that cut something depe within him.
"Yeah, you okay?" He was rather uncertain what kind of answer he was going to get.
He waited rather impatiently, pressing the phone harder against his ear to try and listen for a response while he chomped down on the inside of his cheek and moved his free hand down to curl around his hip instead of his neck.
Finally, she seemed to take a deep breath and whisper an answer down the line. "Something w- was in that drink," she breathed in a way that told Dennis she was trying not to slur her words.
How much had she had to drink? Was she that drunk already? It wasn't like (Y/n) to get sloshed like this or become confused when she was drunk. Ususally she got tipsy, she had that distant look in her dilated eyes and a lazy smile that always made Dennis's stomach do summersaults.
But she didn't sound like this. Had someone given her a strong drink or a bad shot? Had she had a bit too much vodka in her drinks or a few too many shots with the others?
He almost felt like smiling at the subtle hint of defiance in her tone, but he forced a placid look onto his face as he answered her.
"What d'you mean, baby? Do you feel sick?"
If she felt sick then he would hae to meet her there and take her home, unless someone got her into a taxi. Although Dennis didn't like the thought of her being in a taxi on her own if she was in a state like this. He would rather someone be with her to watch out for her and make sure she was okay and didn't pass out. If she wasn't too bad then she could wait there for him to come and get her, he would be as fast as he could.
"Woozy a- and sluggish… not good, Denny." The whimper at the end of her voice and the hitch to her breaths made Dennis's heart drop to the pit of his stomach.
Oh God. Oh no.
She wasn't overly tipsy or drunk out of her mind. Her drink had been spiked. Someone had put something in her drink, she was having a reaction to something or coming under the spell of a drug.
No, no this was the last thing that was supposed to happen, especially when Dennis wasn't even there to look out for her or help her. He should have left on time, he should have been there before now and then this might not have happened. Or at least if it had, then he would be there in person to look after her and make sure (Y/n) was taken care of.
"Who gave you the drink?" His voice dropped down a tone as his frame went rigid and he moved to the left until he was pressed up against the wall like he was about to collapse.
The thought of someone getting his wife a drink and possibly drugging her, made his blood boil. Either someone who bought her a drink had done that, or someone had managed to slip it into her drink while her back was turned. (Y/n) wasn't the kind of person to leave her drink unattended, she was too smart for that. She was cautious, wary.
"Lia did, from t- the bar-" a quiet mewl broke off (Y/n)'s words and a clatter rattled down the line as she slumped her head against the wall of the toilet cubicle she had locked herself in.
A soft whimper of Dennis's name passed (Y/n)'s lips as she closed her eyes and clung tighter to the phone, just in case she dropped it or she couldn't quite hear his melodic, sweet voice properly.
the plastic of the cubicle wall was cool against her flushed, clammy skin and (Y/n) could feel the tremors rattling through her which in turn made the wall rattle too. Her legs were full of pins and needles from how she was slumped on her knees on the floor with her heels digging into her bum to stop her from falling or wavering on the spot.
She wanted Dennis. She wanted to go home now. She wanted to feel better, not feel drowsy and unusual and so unlike herself, so out of touch and out of control in her own body. This wasn't right.
"Baby where are you? Please tell me you're still at the bar with everyone." The pleading tone to Dennis's voice was drowned out by the anger fuelling every one of his nerves in his body.
He prayed she hadn't tried to leave the bar already and was stumbling down the street on her own. Anyone could follow her and hurt her or try and kidnap her or take advantage. The possibilities were making Dennis flush beet red while his skin turned burning hot to the touch.
He was already pushing off the wall and turning round, aiming for his locker so he could grab his bag- and more importantly his keys. He had been planning to get a taxi down to the club and a taxi home with (Y/n) tonight, so he could leave his dingy, second hand car here at work and pick it up tomorrow afternoon.
The plan had changed now. He would have to drive down there, get (Y/n) and possibly bring her right back here to the hospital, depending on how her situation was.
"Toilet, a guy was g… was grabbing at me… feel dizzy, Denny. Come get me?"
(Y/n) hadn't paid much attention to it before, but the pushy guy on the dance floor hadn't been pleased when she wouldn't dance with him. And he had been hovering around her like a fly for most of the night.
Lia had bought the last round of drinks at the bar and by the time (Y/n) joined her at the bar, there were dozens of people crowding round, pushing to get a drink. And their drinks were already lined up and sloshing all over the bar, and (Y/n) had turned her back for a few seconds to try and locate the rest of their group.
Someone could have- must have- put something in her drink then, because up until that point she had felt just fine.
Then the world started to spin, her balance left her completely and her legs went hollow. Her brain felt like it had turned to mush and she could barely see straight as she wobbled her way to the toilets to get away from everyone. Away from the pushy guy who had been there when she started to feel funny. All she wanted was Dennis to come and take her home.
"I'm coming right now." He promised, slinging his bag from his locker on his shoulder before he spun and started to speed walk, knowing he couldn't run without drawing attention or causing an accident.
He pressed the phone tighter to his ear to try and listen in to his wife, noting the way she was breathing heavy and panting, how she groaned every few seconds and sounded like she was pushing or hitting her head against a wall.
"Stay on the phone with me baby, okay? Stay awake, talk to me until I get there." He urged as he hurried down the hall. If she went unconscious then Dennis would have no connection to her, he wouldn't know if she was okay. She had to stay awake.
(Y/n) had to stay on the line, had to keep talking to him and stay conscious so she didn't pass out and vomit and choke or aspirate or have someone try and get into the toilets and hurt her or get in the way.
A gasp tumbled past Dennis's lips and he almost dropped the phone when his elbow suddenly clipped someone's midsection and they both repelled like magnets. He stumbled back two steps before he found his balance, his brown eyes going wider like bowling balls as he stared up at the charge nurse in front of him.
"Woah, kid where you going in such a hurry?" Dana's hands moved to her hips and she looked down her glasses at him over the bridge of her nose. It was a motherly look that would have made Dennis flush and stutter on any other occasion.
But right now, his panic for his wife was overwhelming everything else. She was his priority, nothing else mattered or came close.
"I got an emergency." He huffed as he weaved around her, ignoring the raised brow and rather surprised look on her face. Like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or clip him round the ear.
"This is the ER, everything's an emergen-"
"Personal one!" He hollered, barely looking back over his shoulder before he was aiming for the ambulance bay doors. It was the quickest exit.
Dennis couldn't be faffing around rushing through triage, unlocking the door to the waiting room and then slowly weaving through or beside the metal detector to get outside. He had to move fast, and this was his nearest and least time-consuming exit.
His wife needed him.
By the time Dennis got himself into the car and revved the engine, he realised he hadn't heard (Y/n) whimpering or muttering anything for a while. The thought sent his heartbeat spiking and he set his phone on speaker before he began to pull out of the carpark.
"Baby, you still there?"
"M'sick."
He tried not to sigh in relief and have it misconstrude; he was glad she was still with him, still awake and relatively safe where she was while she waited for him to turn up.
"That's alright, you might feel better if you throw up. Are you still at the same club you texted me to meet you at?" He paused at the junction and scrolled through his messages to find the name of the club he was supposed to meat her at almost two hours ago.
He prayed she was, because (Y/n) clearly wasn't in any fit state to be remembering or telling him the name of whatever club they might have wandered to in the meantime. She might not even know where she was if they had moved on from the previous club.
"Yeah."
Another burst of relief swelled through him, especially when he figured that he would be there in less than ten minutes, if the traffic lights were on his side tonight. "Good, I'm on my way now."
It was hard for Dennis to catch a proper breath when he pulled up on the curb and tripped over his feet in his haste to get into the club. He'd just ended the phone call with (Y/n), promising that he was outside now and he would be there in person within the minute.
But now that he was here, he was really starting to panic. What state would she be in when he found her? Would she be okay? Was he going to hae to take her back to the hospital? Probably. If she was that bad he might have to call for an ambulance; God he hoped not though.
Why did this have to happen now? Why did this have to happen to (Y/n), of all people?
The music was pulsing down the street and when Dennis headed inside, he felt awfully overwhelmed and certain that he would be deaf once he walked out. How on Earth had (Y/n) and the group managed to last in here for over two hours? Two seconds was enough to have Dennis desperate to turn and flee.
He winced before trying to put on a stoic expression and hide the panic rattling through him. The loudness of the ER was horribly different to this; no sobbing family members, no patients shouting and demanding to be seen. No machines blurring in the background or feet bashing on the floor, no trolley wheels squeaking and people yelling for help or charts or an extra pair of hands.
Dennis tried to stick close to the wall as he weaved around the drunks aiming for the dance floor and the loud couples kissing and groping in the corners.
He knew he stood out; if anyone looked his way they would stop and stare at the man who had come to the club wearing hospital scrubs. Not the best attire unless he was here for a fancy dress party. Especially with the flecks of fluids and beads of sweat soaked into his clothes.
Terror continued to pool within his eyes and darken the circles beneath them as he panted like a rabid animal, aiming for the green illuminating toilet sign that was pointing to the corridor on the left.
"Dennis!"
His head snapped sharply to the right, eyes locking onto Lia, (Y/n)'s friend from college. The one who had been at the bar with her when her drink must have been spiked. Clearly she was well, it had only been (Y/n)'s drink that was affected.
That was a good thing, Dennis tried to tell himself. He didn't exactly wantn any of their friends to need a hospital visit either, or to have to ferry them all down in the car for check ups or call a round of ambulances if more people were affected or drugged. But it grated Dennis's nerves to think why it was only (Y/n) who was the one suffering.
"Hey doc, you made it." Dane hollered from the dance floor with an arm strewn in the air. He looked like he was about to aim in Dennis's direction, to reel him into a sideways hug and steer him to the bar to get him drunk- that was usually his method of greeting.
But Dennis didn't have the time for either of them, despite how happy his friends looked to see him finally arrive. He waved a quick hand in their direction before he pointed to the toilets and fled. He needed to get to (Y/n).
Without thinking twice, Dennis blundered through the heay oak door that led into the women's toilets. He tried to ignore the strange look he got from the two ladies pressed up against the sinks, reapplying their make up. They glanced at him through their reflections in the mirror but didn't make a sound or a fuss when he flicked the hospital ID badge clipped to his top pocket.
He knew he was in the wrong bathroom, but he was here in both a professional and personal capacity. He needed to look after (Y/n), and he wasn't some freak trying to mess with any women or upset them, he only wanted to find his wife and help her.
With his teeth sinking down into his lower lip, Dennis took a deep breath, braced his hands on his knees and crouched down. He tried to peer beneath the stall doors to try and find out which one (Y/n) was in.
He rapped his knuckles gently on the first locked door, uttering her name but he jerked back when a gruff "Get lost!" snapped back at him.
Side-stepping to the right, he moved to the next door and tried again. Utter relief circulated through his stomach and up to his chest when (Y/n) mewled his name and he heard the door bashing as she tried to reach up for the lock.
The moment the locked click, Dennis grabbed the door and swung it wide so he could scuttle inside and go down on his knees beside (Y/n).
Tears had already been trickling down (Y/n)'s face since the moment she called Dennis, but to see him now, to finally have him here with her, made a torrential downpour cascade across her features.
Her eyes barely managed to stay open, but (Y/n) caught sight of Dennis's worried orbs staring down at her. The look of utter panic written across his face, his red lips parted and his jaw loosened while his hands instantly reached out for her.
(Y/n) tried to push herself up from the wall, but her balance was no longer proportionate. As soon as her head leant forward towards Dennis, her entire body was flowing with it and she crashed against his chest with a thud. Both hands tried to scrunch up in his shirt, but (Y/n) found herself shaking so hard that she could barely hold onto him.
"Denny," whatever else (Y/n) wanted to say faded out on her tongue and she could feel the burning sensation within her eyes that just wanted to close and let her rest for a few minutes, hours, days even.
She felt his hands cupping either side of her neck, and the firm press of his fingertips beneath her jaw told her that he was checking her pulse, something he didn't often do unless she was feeling particularly unwell.
"I'm here now, it's okay." He hushed before gently tilting her head away from his chest so they were now face to face. "Let me look at you."
His voice was so soft and lulling that (Y/n) found herself closing her eyes once again. Her head bent back until his fingers were there at the base of her skull to stop her head from flopping all the way back to her shoulders like her neck had been broken. He held her head up, analysing her clammy skin, the beads of sweat flushed across her face.
He took note of how she was shuddering against him like she was frozen cold, how her breaths were shallow and weak. And when Dennis lifted one hand so his thumb could peel back (Y/n)'s eyelid, he noticed her pupils were tightly constricted; he was surprised she had been able to see him at all.
"Oh baby," he sighed as he leant forward on his knees until his lips were smothering her burning temple and (Y/n) whimpered into the touch. Reaching out to flop her hand over his wrist like she wanted to pin him there and keep his touch from disappearing.
"We need to get you checked out, can I take you back to the ER with me?"
As much as (Y/n) didn't want to, she knew she didn't have much of a choice when she felt like this. Her stomach was rotating and twisting like a washing machine. Her head was splitting apart at the seams and felt like it had tripled in size. She could barely keep her eyes open, let alone keep herself awake. And she was burning up. Her body was overheating like she had been stuffed into an oven, all the fluids she intook were going to be secreeting from her skin as the sweat dripped off her in buckets.
Sitting here felt suffocating with how much heat her body was producing, the bathroom was probably frosted cold with aircon but (Y/n) couldn't feel it at all.
"Let's get you looked after, hm?" Dennis reached out and shoved (Y/n)'s phone into her bag which he then hooked onto his left shoulder, not wanting to leave any of her things here to be pinched.
He was careful when he looped her arms around the back of his neck and bound his arms around her waist, slowly pushing up from his knees as he pulled (Y/n) along with him. Once she was up on unsteady feet, Dennis tucked her into his side, his left arm around her waist and his right hand clutching her arm to keep her from collapsing.
(Y/n) let her head loll against Dennis's shoulder, eyes closed because it was easier than trying to keep them open. She kept her arms loosely draped around his neck as her way of clinging to him and making sure that she didn't drop to the floor.
Rather than lifting her feet and walking normally, (Y/n) found that all she could do was drag her feet against the floor, her feet bent and set oddly on the floor like they were trying to flop and fold in on themselves. It was all that she could manage, the only way she could help Dennis get her out of here. She didn't want to become a dead weight for him to have to lift and carry.
(Y/n) felt just how strange her body was now becoming because as her husband practically dragged her towards the exit, she realised the blasting music wasn't affecting her. It wasn't thrumming in her ears or pulsing through her veins or sounding too loud in her head. It was background noise she couldn't focus on. She couldn't recognise one word that was sung through the speakers.
The cold night air hit her like a truck. A gasping breath stuttered past (Y/n)'s lips and her nails scratched into the back of Dennis's neck as she pushed into him. It felt like ice had penetrated through to her lungs that stuttered and seemed to stop.
"Shh, I know, I know it's cold baby I'm sorry. Just a little further to the car, come on." Dennis soothed with his lips meshed against her temple breathing warm breaths against her already clammy skin.
He knew in her overwhelming, overheated state, going from extreme warm to violent cold was going to shock her system, but he didn't have any other choice if he wanted to get her to the car and down to the hospital. His hand ran up and down her arm as he trudged towards the car, pulling her along with him until he could unlock the car and yank open the passenger door.
By the time he leant over and managed to get (Y/n) into the car, she had started to gasp and pull in a few shallow breaths.
Her arms shook and coiled to her chest and she began to curl up in her seat. The smallest flicker of a smile danced across her lips when Dennis leant over her and she felt his warm chest rubbing against hers as he pulled her belt around her and buckled her in with a wet kiss to her cheek in the process.
When the door closed, (Y/n) slumped to her right and lolled her head against the door frame, shuddering every now and then despite the warm air inside the car.
She managed a smile when she felt Dennis's hand brush her thigh when he dropped her bag on the floor between her feet, and his fingertips brushed over her skin and gave a comforting squeeze before he started up the car.
"Th- the others," (Y/n) mumbled, unable to look in Dennis's direction as she wondered whether she had spoken loud enough for him to hear her or not.
They had just left everyone else in the club. They hadn't said goodbye or told them what was happening. They would be worried, wondering where (Y/n) had gone if Dennis didn't tell them that they were leaving.
"I'll text Dane in a while and tell him what's happened. He saw he go in, he'll know you're with me when they can't find us."
If Dennis hadn't of seen Lia or Dane when he went in, he would have debated calling one of them or rushing back in to quickly tell them what was happening. But they had spotted him. When they couldn't find (Y/n) anywhere and realised Dennis had gone too, they would assume he had found his wife and copped off with her somewhere in the club or that they had disappeared together.
Their friends shouldn't be to worried about them for now, they would know both of them were safe and together. He would text them later to explain what had happened and make sure the rest of them were all okay too.
"Don't fall asleep on me, beautiful." Dennis chided softly after a few minutes, and he reached out to brush his finger against her cheek and jaw to gain her attention.
He got a small hum in response, but that was enough to tell him that (Y/n) was still conscious. He didn't want her falling asleep until he'd got her back to the ER and under observation.
Dennis could feel his heart pounding and hammering against his ribs and by the time he pulled back up in his parking space, his whole body was thrumming and vibrating. He could feel a sheen of sweat glistening on his skin in the moonlight from utter panic and sheer exhaustion, despite being more than wide awake.
He scrambled out the car, making sure his keys and phone were in his pocket so he didn't have to bring his whole back pack into the ER again.
"Alright baby, we're here now."
He crouched beside the open door, leaning over to unclip her belt before he helped swing her legs out of the car.
He didn't like how unresponsive and loose-limbed (Y/n) had now become, she looked positively knocked out. Reaching one hand out, Dennis pinched her earlobe sharply, breathing in relief when she took a sharp breath and tried to twist her head away from his touch although she couldn't move far. She was still awake.
He looped (Y/n)'s left arm around the back of his neck, slid his right arm around her back and hips, and lifted her up from the car. With the door shut with his heel, he locked it up and slid the keys into his pocket before he aimed for the ambulance bay.
Again, it was closer than trying to get through to the waiting area and having to weave through all the waiting patients and buzz himself in which would surely cause an uproar from all the people he would be cutting in front of. He needed to get to an assessment room, not run through triage and make his journey longer.
Once they got through the double doors and stumbled into the main floor of the ER, Dennis debated whether or not to just scoop his wife up in his arms if that would be easier than dragging her like this. He looked like he had some kind of hostage situation going on.
His grip on (Y/n)'s hand tightened to keep her arm around the back of his neck and his other arm pinned her tighter into his side, holding her close. (Y/n) hadn't been lifting her feet properly before, but she was barely shuffling them across the floor anymore. Her knees were bent forward, her legs bent and wavering towards the floor as her cheek nuzzled into Dennis's shoulder, telling him she was still awake. Mostly.
Robby couldn't quite believe what he was seeing when he turned to his left. He had to take a moment to rub his exhausted, sore eyes and pull in a deep breath before he did another once-over. Sure enough, he had been right in what he had seen.
Dennis, stumbling into the ER with a woman hanging off of him like she was about to flop down to the floor. There was no blood on either of them, and she wasn't crying or screaming or seeming in any agony, but she wasn't talking or looking around either. She was barely even walking, it looked more like she was being hauled around by Dennis.
"Whitaker, is this the emergency Dana was talking about?" Robby snatched a pair of gloves from the desk before he rushed towards them to try and give some help.
(Y/n)'s head slid down from Dennis's shoulder until her cheek was meshed against his chest instead. Her arm was becoming loose around the back of his neck, but it was her legs that concerned her the most. They were starting to tingle, like they had been flooded with bubbles, no bone or tendons and ligaments left within them.
"This is (Y/n)," Dennis let go of her arm that was around his neck in favour of gripping her waist a bit better. "Someone spiked her drink at the club, I need a ro- oh shit!"
His body surged forward when (Y/n)'s legs finally gave way on her and she spiralled down towards the floor. Her head rebounded off of his sternum which made his entire diaphragm quake but he tried to ignore the sensation and dig his fingers into the flesh of her hips and waist, pulling her up before she had chance to hit the floor.
With one arm bound around her back, he slid his other arm beneath her knees and with a clenched jaw Dennis straightened up with (Y/n) limp and unconscious in his arms.
"Central five is free."
His eyes locked on Trinity who was already rushing towards them with a gurney and a rather worried look in her eyes. She had never met (Y/n) before, but she had seen the pictures on Dennis's phone and lockscreen. She knew this was his wife.
"Let's get her in." Robby nodded and reached out to steady (Y/n)'s head and neck while Dennis eased her onto the gurney.
It seemed that their already stretched shift was going to extend even longer, and Robby didn't want to think how long he was going to be here. Maybe until morning at this rate, but it didn't matter. (Y/n) was clearly family to Dennis, and they looked after their own.
"Transfer on three. One, two, three!" Between the three of them, they moved the slide sheet over until (Y/n) was onto the bed rather than the gurney which was pushed out of the room, discarded for someone else to shift or use.
Dennis found a new pair of gloves but he couldn't help but smooth a few tendrils of hair back from (Y/n)'s face that had gone soft and relaxed now that she had passed out.
"Do you know what she took?"
Dennis shook his head, a large lump now forming in his throat. "She called me, she felt drowsy, she knew someone spiked her drink. She'd been sick when I got there."
He knew she had thrown up while they had been on the phone on his way down to get her, which was probably a good thing to get some of the drugs out of her system. Although most of it would already be absorbed into her bloodstream by now.
"Alright, Santos get ready to take bloods for the lab. We'll get fluids wide open and something to take down that fever. And check her blood sugar, some roofies can make them drop sharply."
A subtle shake rattled through Dennis's arms as he handed over the ECG stickers to Robby to attach to (Y/n)'s chest so they could get the monitors up and running. He prayed it was just some simple roofie, some type of benzo was most common because it was tasteless and could act fast. If it was and (Y/n) hadn't been given an overdose, she would need monitoring and fluids and she should wake feeling more like her self in a few hours.
While Robby got a blood pressure cuff on her left arm, Dennis gently pressed his index finger between her lips and parted them to see her gums.
"Slight cyanosis, she needs oxygen." Her inner lips were had a slight blue tinge to them; she wasn't getting enough oxygen in her blood.
Dennis wasted no time in turning on the oxygen machine attached to the bottom of the bed and finding the mask. He was now glad that (Y/n) had passed out, she wouldn't have liked all this. The oxygen mask would have made her panic, the needle Trinity had slid into her elbow to draw blood would have made (Y/n) feel sick. And the cannula Robby was getting into her hand would definitely make her cringe.
"Pulse and BP slightly elevated, not concerning yet though." Robby took a step back once he'd looked across at the monitors and the cannula was inserted into (Y/n)'s hand with the fluids set on the fasted dosage.
"I'll take these down to the lab, then come back." Trinity finished her smallest, neatest handwriting on the label of the vials of blood she had drawn. Rather than waiting for a courier to take them down to the lab, she would do it herself. It would get there quicker, assure no errors and also give her a bit of time to relax and not be dragged to another patient.
"I'll go get something for that fever and tell Sasha depending on those bloods, we might need some antibiotics. If its not benzos and she starts to react, we'll get some inhibitors on standby and charcoal to bind it up in her system and flush it out. Is that okay?"
Dennis nodded aimlessly, barely managing to look over at Robby when he knew one sympathetic glance was all it would take to break the dam and have tears spilling down his face.
When the door clicked shut behind the attending, Dennis let out a short breath he didn't realise he had been holding in. He reached down for (Y/n)'s clammy hand, threading their fingers together and pulling their hands towards him as he flopped down into the chair beside the bed.
"You're alright now, baby." He whispered, his lips meshing against the back of her hand as he started to glide his free hand up and down her arm. "Few hours of observation and fluids, and you'll be much better."
He knew he was right, he knew this wasn't as serious as some of the other cases that came flooding through those doors. His wife wasn't suffering a heart attack or had an amputated limb or a foreign object impaled into her body. She would hopefully need this less evasive course of treatment, in the morning she should be back to almost full health again.
Dennis just had to wait out the night here at work, sitting in a crummy chair by his wife's side instead of dancing the night away with her on the dancefloor.
