happy friday everyone! i hope everyone had a good week, thank god it's the weekend!
here are a few updates from me!:
☆ i started a new job so your girl has been BUSY! so writing, unfortunately, had to be put on pause for just a little bit!
☆ but in better news! i'm currently in the process of starting a jack abbot x pregnant!reader fic! i have no idea when it will be done, but it is in the works!
☆ my 'wander back to you' series has also been put on hold. i have been having some writers block with this series in particular so i'm not going to force myself to write something i don't love!
☆ although i'm taking a break from my series, i still want to write! so send your requests and i'll try to get to them as soon as i can!
thank you all for your patience and love! kisses!!💋
synopsis: after a rough shift, you and jack come home to a power outage. after digging through the garage you find an old generator and a radio. after a few minutes of a boring podcast it starts to play ‘stand by me’ by ben e. king.
warnings: nun really just fluff
a/n: okay so.. self reflection, i love jack so much, and honestly writing this fic just did it for me like this is so husband!jack coded..
w/c: 854
robby had called out, so jack had to cover his shift. as if luck wasn’t already against you, samira was out too, which meant that, as the senior resident on duty, you had to cover for her patients as well.
not that you were complaining but, no one had ever been thrilled to go to work early. especially when the day immediately spiraled into chaos
you had handled a fair share of panicked and erratic patients, until you almost packed a punch with this one.
“good afternoon, Mr. Dalton.” you offered a polite smile despite your exhaustion. “i’m just going to ask you a few questions and check your vitals, alright?”
the man sitting on the bed reeked of alcohol. his eyes were bloodshot, movements sluggish, but his expression was anything but calm.
“i’ve answered enough damn questions.”
“i know,” you replied evenly, setting the blood pressure cuff on the bed. “i just need to make sure you’re okay.”
“i said I’m fine.” his voice echoed through the bay. several nurses looked over before returning to their work. you kept your tone measured.
“sir, i understand you’re frustrated, but if you let me examine you, we can figure out what’s going on.”
he scoffed.
“don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.” “i’m not.”
“you think because you’ve got that clipboard on you can tell me what to do?”
“no, sir. i’m simply trying to help you.” his jaw tightened.
“i don’t need your help.” you reached for the blood pressure cuff anyway. “i’m just going to—” the movement happened faster than you could react.
he shoved your hand away so hard the cuff flew across the room. “don’t touch me!” you stumbled back a step.
before you could regain your balance, the man lurched off the bed, fist already halfway raised.
“hey!” a hand caught his wrist before it could get anywhere near you. it was jack.
he’d been walking past the bay when he’d heard the shouting. and now he stood firmly between you and the patient, one hand restraining the man’s arm while keeping himself squarely in front of you.
“easy,” jack said, his voice calm but unmistakably firm. “you’re not swinging at my doctor.”
“i’m gonna hit somebody.”
“not today.”
security arrived within seconds, helping guide the intoxicated patient back onto the bed while another nurse administered medication as ordered.
the shouting slowly faded. only then did jack turn around. his eyes immediately searched your face as he muttered a small, “you okay?”
you blinked, still processing what had almost happened. “…yeah.” he frowned.
“did he get you?” you shook your head “no. thanks to you.” jack exhaled, shoulders finally relaxing.
“you scared the shit out of me.”
you gave him a tired smile. “i’ve dealt with worse.”
“i know you have.” his gaze softened
“doesn’t mean i like seeing someone try to take a swing at you.”
for a moment, neither of you spoke.
the noise of the emergency department faded into the background.
jack reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair behind your ear before quickly remembering exactly where the two of you were.
his hand dropped just as fast.
“yo sure you’re alright?
“i’m sure.”
“you’d tell me if you weren’t?”
“i would.”
he studied you for another second before nodding.
“good.”
you let out a quiet laugh.
“you know, i had the situation under control.”
jack raised an eyebrow.
“he was literally trying to punch you.” he scoffed, “i was about to de-escalate.” you argue back, “you were about to catch a right hook.”
“i had a plan.” you muttered defeatedly “sure you did.” you nudged his shoulder with yours “you’re insufferable.”
“and yet,” he smirked, “you’re still smiling.” you hadn’t realized you were until he pointed it out.
lena then called out to jack,
“dr. abbot, they need you in trauma two.”
jack sighed dramatically. “there goes my heroic moment.”
“you’ve got about thirty seconds, jack.”
“i’ll take it.” he bumped your shoulder one last time before jogging toward the trauma bay.
you watched him disappear around the corner, your heart finally slowing now that the adrenaline had begun to wear off.
the shift was far from over.
a trauma alert came through. then another. a child with a broken arm. a construction worker with heatstroke. a woman in labor.
three admissions. two rapid responses.
someone managed to spill an entire cup of coffee across the nurses’ station.
by the time your shift finally ended, your feet throbbed, your back ached, and you were fairly certain you hadn’t sat down once in the last twelve hours.
jack looked just as exhausted. neither of you spoke much on the drive home. the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. it was the kind only two people who completely understood each other’s exhaustion could share.
as soon as you pulled into the driveway, the porch light stayed dark. jack frowned. “…that’s weird.” you unlocked the front door.
nothing. no lights. no hum from the refrigerator. no air conditioning. just darkness.
“power outage?” you guessed. jack sighed dramatically. “perfect.”
checking your phone, you saw a notification from the electric company. temporary outage affecting multiple neighborhoods. estimated restoration: unknown.
“well,” jack said, “guess we’re camping.”
after rummaging through the garage, he managed to drag out a small backup generator.
it was just enough to keep a lamp running and power an old battery-operated radio that had somehow survived years of neglect.
you both collapsed onto the living room floor, too tired to bother changing out of your scrubs. the house was unusually quiet.
no television. no phones charging. no endless notifications. just the soft buzz of the generator. jack absentmindedly turned the radio dial.
static. more static. then—
“when the night has come…”
the opening notes of stand by me floated through the room. you smiled “no way.” jack looked over at you.
“i think the universe is telling us to stop thinking about work.”
he stood, offering you his hand. “dance with me.”
you laughed. “in our scrubs?” “especially in our scrubs.” rolling your eyes, you slipped your hand into his.
he pulled you gently to your feet. there wasn’t much room between the couch and the coffee table, but somehow it was enough.
jack rested one hand at your waist while the other held yours. you rested your head against his shoulder.
slowly, the two of you swayed together. no hospital monitors. no overhead pages. no rushing.
just music. outside, the neighborhood remained dark, the stars brighter than usual without the city lights.
inside, the warm glow of the single lamp painted soft shadows across the room.
“you know,” jack murmured, “today kind of sucked.” you laughed quietly. “that’s one way to put it.”
“but…” he squeezed your hand. “…i’d still do every shift with you.”
you looked up. “even if i almost punched a patient?” “i would’ve helped hide the body.”
you snorted. “jack.”
“i’m kidding.” a beat. “…mostly.”
you shook your head, laughing into his shoulder. as the song reached its final chorus, the two of you continued swaying, neither caring about the darkness surrounding the house.
because somehow, with jack holding you close and stand by me echoing softly through the radio, the outage didn’t feel inconvenient anymore.
it felt peaceful. for the first time all day, everything was still.and for the first time all day, you could finally breathe.
feeling guilty over not working on your fic is so silly if you think about like why are you stressing over the hobby you do in your free time for fun lol wip not whip
summary: when your daughter has a medical emergency, you find yourself back in the place you used to call home. in the midst of the chaos you stand face to face with your ex, Jack Abbot. old feelings are brought to the surface and you ask yourself the question, "do i still love him?"
tags: single mom, second chance romance, unresolved feelings, abandonment, nurse reader
when the past comes back: seeing jack again for the first time in years.
running back to you: your drawn back to jack for comfort, confronting the possibility of starting over.
Summary: After finding out a certain attending likes to gossip, you find yourself having a very unexpected Fourth of July shift.
Warnings: none really; TONS of fluff, age-gap, pre-relationship, mentions of injuries, mentions of PTSD, gossip!jack, & medical inaccuracies.
Word Count: 4k+
Author’s Note: my fourth of july fic is here !! so excited to introduce ya’ll to gossip jack !! i hope you guys enjoy !! <3
Jack Abbot is a lot of things; strong, intelligent, well-liked, level-headed, quick to react, reliable and good at his job. If you knew him well enough you’d find he’s pretty funny despite his dry sense of humor, very down to earth and has quite the sweet tooth. One thing you absolutely wouldn’t expect by just looking at him was his love for gossip.
With his sharp jawline and casually neutral face—grumpy in a way that was unfairly handsome—chin donned with grey stubble and hair to match. Sharp eyes that noticed everything. He’s an ex-army man with a night shift attending badge clipped to his pants pocket who only drinks his coffee black—he survived losing half his leg, and yet—Jack enjoyed using all of that to his advantage.
Any newcomer at the Pitt was quickly intimidated by him—almost choked to death anytime Robby or Dana, hell; even if Shen or Ellis picked on him or called him old. Desperately looking for a patient to tend to before they saw one of their coworkers die or get scolded. But it never came, just a small twitch at the corner of his lips that was quickly so uniquely Jack.
So no, looking at Jack you’d assume he probably kept to himself—and for the most part he did. But once you got to know him a little? It wouldn’t be long before the truth came out;
Jack Abbot is a big fat gossip.
He never started the conversations, he’d wait until someone else did and just…effortlessly slide himself right into them. But you could always tell when he’d heard something new.
Like now, as you’re walking in next to him for your shift; he’s practically vibrating. An extra bounce in his step, his hands closing and unclasping at his sides. He’s shifting on his feet way more than he usually does; and he keeps crossing and uncrossing his arms.
You try your best to keep your eyes on the board—an ever growing list of patients above you. You try to ignore him, try to start your shift and at least make an attempt to head towards your first patient; but when he leans against the counter with a rather obnoxious exhale through his nose and scratches at his scruff—you finally break.
“Alright Gossip Girl, what is it?”, You ask, crossing your own arms and lifting a brow.
Jack practically shoots off the counter, straightening up and stepping closer to you. He looks around once before speaking.
“Robby and Noelle are hooking up.”
He says it with both brows raised and eyes so wide you swear they’d pop out at any second.
Your mouth falls open before you can stop it; “SHUT UP—“
Eyes from every direction flick towards you, your reaction a little louder than you wanted it to be.
“Jesus kid-“, Jack shushes you quietly; nervously looking around before he gently pulls you into the empty break room.
His hand is still on your elbow when you speak up. You force the acknowledgement at the way your skin burns perfectly at his touch to the back of your mind; store it away for later.
“Robby and Noelle!?”
He nods; “Mhm.”
“How?? When?? Robby??”, All your questions tumble out at once.
Jack shrugs, slipping his hands in his scrub pockets; “Don’t know for sure, long enough that it set McKay’s alarm bells off.”
“…Oh this is too good”, You say, eyes focused on the floor as you comb through every thought that’s now popping into your head.
“It gets better”, Jack says, leaning closer; “Dana said Noelle told her Robby sleeps with the tv on.”
Your mouth opens. Closes. Then opens again. The smug smirk on Jack’s face does nothing to help you. Neither does the scrunch of your nose when you realize what you’re really hearing.
“That’s way more than I needed to know about Robby”, You say.
Jack grunts something close to a laugh; “You’d be surprised.”
“Wait”, You tilt your head; “Wouldn’t you already know that about him?”
Jack’s smirk deepens; “Well yeah, but”, He leans even closer; “How would she know that?”
The information hits you again, your brain swirling at a speed that’s too fast for before coffee.
“Oh my god”, You breathe.
Jack laughs across from you, actually laughs. You force yourself to ignore what that does to your heart.
“I don’t think I can even look at him now”, You say, “I’d laugh in his face, it’s too good. I’d-“
Jack’s hand on your shoulder stops you; “Woah, kid. Don’t go spiraling on me now.”
“I’m not…it’s just so?-“
“Strange? Weird? Bordering on haunting?”
“Well, yeah!”, You say, hands flying in the air.
Jack laughs again, you ignore what it does to your heart; again.
“Careful kid”, He says, leaning in way too close; “Gotta work on your poker face or I won’t be able to share with my favorite resident.”
Favorite resident.
Your heart does a somersault and the air leaves your lungs; heat rising to your cheeks.
His hand on your lower back lingers for a moment before he pulls away, leaving your skin cold and missing the contact.
“Cmon, gotta get back out there before Dana threatens to put us all in triage”, He says, that crooked smirk playing at his lips.
It stays there as you watch him push the break room door open with his shoulder, disappearing back into the noisy hum of the ED; leaving you standing there with your mouth parted and your heart beating way too fast to be close to normal.
─ ─── ─── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ─── ─── ─
Three hours and too many patient charts later, you finally get a moment to sit down and let your feet rest. You take a drink of your water, crack your back once and lean back in your chair; letting your eyes close and hoping you get at least a few minutes.
That dream is quickly wrecked within seconds.
You feel him before you see him, not even having to open your eyes to know who’s standing next to you—the shadow of his strong frame blocking out the blaring fluorescent lights above you. The heat you can always feel radiating off of him. Warmth you so desperately want to sink into, wrap your arms around him and nose into his neck. You briefly wonder if his cologne would smell stronger against his skin like that, or if there’d be something you’d learn to be so uniquely and purely him.
You sigh, snapping yourself out of it. Eyes still closed as you cling to the last remaining bit of peace you’ll get before he speaks and resumes his mission to annoy you as much as he can. Not that you mind in the least bit.
“What Jack?”, You breathe, fighting the smile that’s trying so hard to creep onto your lips.
“How’d you know it was me?”, You can hear the smirk in his voice.
“You reek of antiseptic and annoyance.”
A noise escapes him next to you, something between a laugh and a sound of disbelief.
“Oh so you know what I specifically smell like?”, He juts.
You feel your face heat up immediately, air leaving your nose. You fumble to keep yourself composed, a string of muttered words leaving your mouth.
You peek your eyes open, peering up at a way too smug Jack. Enjoying how flustered he’s made you. His strong arms crossed over his chest; biceps bulging under his too tight scrub top. Freckles decorating his skin all the way up his arms; grey curls looking unfairly good and framing his face in a way that should be illegal—
“What do you want, Jack?”, You feign annoyance.
“What makes you think I want something?”, His answer comes from pursed lips.
“You’re hovering.”
“I’m standing.”
“You have a look on your face”, You throw back.
“My face always looks like this.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Hey—“, His mouth opens, but you cut him off.
“Jack.”
“Hm?”
“What”, you sigh; “Do you want?”
His mouth is crooked in the way it gets when he’s trying to hide a smile or the fact that he’s amused; but it always gives him away. You know that look and all of his looks too well by now. Unconsciously memorized and stored away for later with all the other information you’ve filed away about him. Normal, completely casual.
It certainly has absolutely nothing to do with whatever feelings flutter to life inside your chest and set your very being alight each time you seem him. That certainly wasn’t the case, even now; when he’s standing so close you can smell his cologne and something underneath it that’s just uniquely Jack—
You snap yourself out of it before the heat climbing up your neck once again can reach your face. Forcing yourself to stay calm—steady.
Jack, who hasn’t moved from where he’s standing; that ridiculously and frustratingly adorable crooked smirk still on his face—takes a step closer to you.
“Did you know Shen has a secret supply of free drink vouchers from Dunkin?”, Jack says.
You roll your eyes; “Did you know you and Robby have matching tattoos?”
Jack falters for a moment, mouth falling open before heat pinkens the tips of his ears; “We do not!”
You shoot him a smirk, grabbing your drink and rising to your feet to walk around him. He’s following you half a stride later.
“W-Where did you even hear that?”, He gawks.
You shrug; “I’ve got my own sources.”
A second later he’s in front of you, arms up in defense as he shakes his head; eyes closing for a moment; “Woah. Woah—I—ok, you’re screwing with me, aren’t you?”
“How’s it feel?”, You muse.
You watch as his tongue peeks out to lick his bottom lip, a crooked twitch of his mouth as he rubs at the back of his neck; “You’re mean, kid.”
“And you’re a gossip”, You shoot back.
Jack pushes his hands into his pockets; “I might be.”
You can’t help rolling your eyes again; “Why would you even care if Shen’s was true? You hate Dunkin.”
“I’m nosey”, He shrugs.
“You’re something.”
But that only makes Jack’s smirk grow wider, twitching again in the way that sets your heart ablaze. God, he was gonna be the death of you.
─ ─── ─── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ─── ─── ─
A few weeks later, you’re strolling into the hustle and bustle of the ED for another shift. Bracing yourself for the incoming influx of patients from the holiday. The Fourth of July was always busy with firework accidents and heat stroke—among other injuries you didn’t even want to ask about.
You hoped it would at least be relatively smooth—close enough to a regular shift; that unfortunately would soon become the furthest from the truth.
You slid up next to Robby with a few patients, following Dana’s directions; having opted to come in a little early to help out day shift. The ED was already busy, already bustling with patients of all different kinds. McKay had a firework injury, Santos had a nun with gonorrhea in her eye that she deemed an “immaculate infection.” Donnie had a priaprism, Mel and Langdon had set up a cool room and Javadi was helping a girl with glue in her eye. Not to mention the fact that a baby had been found in triage and was now being lovingly referred to as baby Jane Doe. Never a dull moment.
As if the shift couldn’t get any crazier—an hour later the ambulance bay doors opened and who came rushing through with a gurney but Jack Abbot. A Jack Abbot in uniform, nonetheless.
Camo fatigues hugged his body close, sweat already peaking through the fabric. Damp hair matched as he called out to Robby. SWAT team rushing in behind him. You can’t help but stare.
“Intubated neck wound, stats not great. Is there a trauma room open?”, Jack calls out.
You’re quick to snap yourself out of it—joining him at the other side of the gurney, rushing along side him; “What’s the story?”
“My buddy Hiro, neck trauma. Warehouse robbery gone wrong”, Jack fills you in.
He doesn’t say much after that, setting up immediately once inside the trauma room. You can see he’s tense by his shoulders and jaw—worried for his friend. You jump into the chaos, helping any way you can.
“Did you intubate?”, Trinity asks, working alongside you.
“Yeah”, Jack says, not looking up; “Under active fire.”
You don’t miss the way he looks back over his shoulder, eyes flicking down as if looking for something that isn’t yet visible—or the way he winces when he rolls his shoulders.
“That’s badass”, Santos says, smiling to herself as she assists Robby.
You on the other hand; only have worry clinging to the back of your neck—hairs standing on end as you look at Jack.
It doesn’t take long for all the hands working on Hiro to get him stabilized enough to send him up to surgery. The room clears out, leaving Jack and Robby the last two lingering inside. You’re pulled into another case before you can get to Jack, forcing your worry down for later.
When you finally get a moment, Jack is nowhere to be found. The ED settling back into its regular busy hustle before SWAT had rolled in. You pick up another chart, going to check on one of your patients. What you find however when you pull the curtain back isn’t a patient—but rather the man you’ve been looking for the past few hours.
Jack Abbot stands shirtless, back to you with a very visible bruise forming on the back of his left shoulder. He turns at the sound of the curtain being pulled back, glancing around the room.
“Oh! I—sorry!”, You blurt out, cheeks heating up; “I was looking for my patient.”
Jack continues moving, sitting down on the exam bed—sliding the tray of sterilized tools he’d already set up towards him. He sets his black tee down on his lap, maneuvering the supplies.
“No patient here”, He says; “Room was empty when I got here.”
You furrow your brows, but push the thought to the back of your mind. All you can focus on is Jack—the injured Jack sitting in front of you.
“Shit, Jack”, You say, mind rushing back to the present; “You’re hurt, what happened?”
You’re already reaching for the glove dispenser on the wall, making your way around him as he reaches for his back with a swab—failing to reach far enough.
“Bullet grazed my vest”, He says, waving a hand.
“You got SHOT?”, You blurt.
“Shot at”, He says, brows raised with a shrug; “Anyways, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
But you do worry about him; more than he knows.
You ignore his words, taking the swab from his outstretched hand and gently clean the wound on his shoulder.
“Thank you”, He sighs, voice going soft.
You can’t help the smile that breaks onto your lips, soft and gentle just for him; “Anytime.”
Knowing he’s ok and safe, your mind drifts now—focusing more on the fact that he’s sitting shirtless in front of you. Thick and strong body built and freckled; just enough healthy fat around his mid-section that it settles over his belt when he sits down. Broad shoulders that stretch each scrub top he owns. You want to explore them, connect all the freckles that etch his skin—press kisses to the paleness of him.
You feel yourself bite your bottom lip, willing the heat returning to your cheeks to climb back down. To act normal.
“You ok?”, Jack asks, noticing your quietness.
“Yup, perfect”, You say.
You don’t see his quirked brow, and whatever he’s thinking—he keeps to himself. Shuffling to grab his t-shirt off his lap when you finish patching him up.
“Thanks for keeping this off the books”, He says, offering you a crooked smirk.
You nod, bottom lip still between your teeth; “Sure.”
He eyes you suspiciously when you don’t move, even after his shirt is pulled back on; “You sure you’re ok, kid?”
“Yeah!”, You answer to quickly; “I better go see if Dana needs anything, uh…I’ll see you later? For your shift?”
Jack huffs a laugh; “Yeah, see you there crawler.”
With that you spin on your feet, rushing out of the room; leaving a smiling and curious Jack behind.
─ ─── ─── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ─── ─── ─
You find yourself at the hub, hiding your face in your hands—elbows resting against the top of the counter.
“What’s got you so flustered?”, Santos asks, looking up from her charting beside you.
You groan; “I don’t even know if I can say.”
Princess perks up on the other side of you; “Ok, now we need to know.”
You groan again, looking around you once to make sure no one else can hear. Thankfully spotting Jack leaving through the ambulance bay doors.
Santos follows your line of sight; “Something happen with Dr. Abbot?”
You push your face back into your hands; “God. What didn’t happen.”
Both of them eye you with quirked brows.
“I saw him…shirtless”, You mumble.
Princess’ face lights up; “Oh you lucky girl!”
“And?”, Santos asks.
You can’t help but groan again; “He’s unfairly hot. Like, so built and fit it should be illegal. He has no business looking that good in an ER.”
The women next to you exchange glances, before bursting out into laughter beside you.
“Sounds like someone has a crush on Dr. Abbot”, Santos says.
“Who doesn’t?”, You quip back, like it’s common knowledge and not about you.
Princess sighs on the other side of you.
“He’s like the McDreamy of the Pitt…or the Clooney”, She sighs.
“He’s better than McDreamy and Clooney, he’s like…McClooney.”
Laughter erupts around you again.
“So you and Abbot, huh?”, Santos asks.
“God, I don’t know. I mean we’re friends yeah, but I don’t think he even knows how I feel. Or that he’d even feel the same”, You sigh.
“I don’t know, I’ve seen him look at you. Seems like something’s there”, Princess says; “You should talk to him.”
Your face heats up way too fast; “I can’t do that! Are you crazy?”
Princess shrugs; “You never know what he’ll say.”
You sigh, nodding. You know she’s right, but you can’t push past the nerves or the fear that you might ruin a friendship you deeply value.
“He’s gone for a few hours anyways, I just need to get back to work”, You say, reaching for a new iPad.
You turn on your feet with another sigh.
“Go get your McClooney!”, Princess calls out behind you, making you shush her.
You shrink under all the glances your way, hurrying along to find Dana and focus on literally anything besides your feelings towards Jack.
─ ─── ─── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ─── ─── ─
It’s a few hours later when Jack strolls back into the ED, camo backpack slung over one shoulder. Patients still bustle around him; Robby’s still forcing himself to work longer.
The hub is buzzing with a few staff; Princess, Santos, Nazely, Dana and Perlah all huddled together. Jack heads towards the staff room, but he stops when he hears your name.
“Oh she’s got it bad”, Santos says; “You should’ve seen her, she was absolutely flustered over seeing him shirtless. Poor girl can’t hide her crush if she tried.”
Jack feels his heartbeat pick up.
“Our girl’s got it for Abbot, huh?”, Dana says, smiling to herself; “Can’t believe I didn’t see it.”
Jack’s heart stops at the mention of his name—then quickly picks back up. A smile spreads on his face before he can stop it, ducking and shaking his head as he pushes the door to the staff room open. He knew how he felt about you, but hearing you felt the same way towards him? His entire shift just got a whole lot better.
He keeps it to himself during handoffs, even during his beginning of shift speech as everyone gathers around him. His eyes flick to you once; standing between Cruz and Ellis. His smile doesn’t falter, a warm feeling fluttering behind his ribs.
He lets you go about your shift, getting swept into a few cases of his own. It’s nearing nine when he finally comes face to face with you; a much needed silence in the break room.
He’s leaning up against the counter with a cup of coffee when you come in, stopping in your tracks when you see him.
“Oh! Sorry, didn’t know you were in here”, You say.
Jack scoffs a laugh; “What? You avoiding me now?”
“No”, You say, a little too quickly.
“Good.”
He watches you cross the room, opening the fridge and pulling out an energy drink. The noise of the can cracking open fills the room, a soft sigh escaping your lips as you lean up against the counter beside him—a little more space between you than usual.
Silence fills the air as you both drink, enjoying the few minutes of peace you might get before it’s interrupted. Jack, as if sensing your calm—decides now’s the time to get you all riled up.
“So”, He says, tracing the rim of his paper cup with his pointer finger; “I heard something interesting earlier.”
You scoff; “Of course you did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”, He asks, brow quirked and faking offense.
“Jack”, You say; “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“No”, He shrugs, smiling to himself as he sets his cup on the counter behind him.
You shake your head, doing the same with your can; “Lay it on me, Abbot.”
Jack juts his chin out, scratching at his scruff.
“I heard…someone that works here has a crush on me”, He says.
You feel your stomach drop, embarrassment rushing to your cheeks and ears.
“Something about ‘unfairly hot, so built it should be illegal’”, He says; “‘Hotter than McDreamy and Clooney?’”
“Jack I-“, You try to rush something out, but no words come out.
Your brain has shut down. You blink away the tears brimming your eyes.
But Jack just takes a step towards you, hands settling on your arms. His thumbs rub up and down, digging softly into your scrubs.
Then he hooks a finger under your chin, guiding you to look up at him. What he finds is a look he can only describe as guilty.
“Hey”, He says softly, ducking his head down to meet your eyeline.
“I’m sorry, Jack”, You rush out; “It’s highly inappropriate and I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, we can just forget this ever happened and go back to being friends. If you even still want to be my friend. I’m so sorry—“
“No”, Jack says.
You freeze; “What?”
“I don’t think I can do that”, He says softly.
“I’m so sorry Jack…”, You mutter, fearing the worst.
“I’m not.”
You look up at him fully then, finding him gazing back at you fondly—a soft crooked twitch of his lips taking over his face.
“You’re not…?”
“No”, He says; “Not when it’s you.”
Your breath catches.
“Sweetheart, I’ve felt the same way about you for so long.”
Your mouth falls open. This time you can’t will it to shut again.
“God, you drive me crazy, kid. It’s always been you”, He confesses, voice soft and deep.
Your chest is heaving by now, mouth dry and eyes wide.
But then you smile; “It’s always been you too, Jack. For so long.”
His smile widens to match yours; “Cmere.”
He pulls you in close, wrapping his strong arms around you. He doesn’t kiss you yet, not here; he doesn’t want the first time to be in the ED. Not when you deserve a real date, to be treated right.
He lets his lips ghost over your hair, pressing softly once against your crown. He rubs his hand up and down your back, before laying his cheek against your hair.
When he pulls away, his thumbs rest softly on your hips; digging in just enough to let you know he’s still there. His smile hasn’t wavered, if anything it’s only grown fonder.
“So we’re ok?”, You finally ask.
Jack laughs softly; “More than ok, kid.”
Quiet settles between you both again, comfortable and warm as you take each other in with new awareness on both sides. Then Jack shifts once; pushing himself off the counter.
“C’mon”, He says, pulling you with him.
“Where?”, You ask.
“The roof”, He tells you; “Gonna watch the fireworks. I know how much you like them.”
You feel your heart melt with fondness, before the lingering concern for him creeps up behind it.
“Jack”, You say softly, stopping him; “It’s ok, we don’t have to. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I’m not”, He says, offering you a smile and a small squeeze of his hand; “I want to watch them, with you.”
So you follow him up the stairs to the roof, heart pounding loud enough to echo—letting him guide you with a steady hand on your lower back.
Most of the dayshift is already up there, gathered towards the railing of the roof. Jack finds a spot just in front of the doorway, leaning up against the brick wall. Away from the crowd and somehow seeming a little more private.
You settle in next to him, closer than you were in the break room. The first few fireworks go off, and for the first time; Jack doesn’t flinch. By the tenth, he reaches quietly for your hand; interlacing his fingers with your own.
Not out of fear or bad memories, just grounding himself. That makes you fold; you let your head drift down softly to rest against his shoulder—watching the sparkles of blues and reds paint the sky above you.
Jack brushes his lips briefly against your hair again, pressing once before he turns his head back—squeezing your hand softly. You stay like that; cuddled up against him in the back of the day shift crowd—a new, stronger feeling blossoming between you. Sweetly intimate and warm. Something existing just for the two of you.
“Happy fourth, Jack”, You hum, pressing your lips to his shoulder.
He squeezes your hand again, looking back at you as a sparkle of blue illuminates his face; “You too, sweetheart.”
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