Hey!! I'm so happy to share my new story with y'all!!
Without you (everything is so scary)
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dennis Whitaker, Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch
Additional Tags: Getting Together, Author Is Sleep Deprived, author doesn't know how the us healthcare system works, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Dennis Whitaker Needs a Hug, Michael "Robby" Robinavitch is Down Bad, Michael "Robby" Robinavitch Needs a Hug, Tired Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Betaed, Dennis Whitaker is Down Bad, POV Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Post-Michael "Robby" Robinavitch's Sabbatical
Summary:
Robby is passively reminded of Dennis's next rotation, sending him on a mission to try to get his attention before he leaves.
a little blurb where dennis volunteers in the NICU to cuddle with premie’s that need a little more care.
it starts during one of those weird lulls in the ED that nobody ever really trusts. not empty by any means, but quiet enough that everyone has collectively stopped running for the first time in several hours. robby is standing at the nurses station finishing working on a chart when he overhears dana talking to one of the nurses a few feet away. he isn’t paying attention at first, not until he catches dennis’s name somewhere in the middle of the conversation.
the nurse had apparently been looking for him for something that wasn’t particularly urgent, and dana tells her that dennis went upstairs for a little while. when she asks where, dana answers almost absently that he’s probably up in the NICU. robby looks up at that because the NICU is about the last place he’d expected dennis to disappear to during downtime. the nurse seems less surprised, though, just says something about checking back later because apparently dennis usually stays up there for close to an hour when he goes.
robbys curiosity gets the better of him after that. he finishes what he’s doing, checks the board one more time to make sure nothing looks like it’s about to implode, then tells dana he’ll be back in about fifteen minutes if anything happens and that he has his phone on him. dana barely questions it before robby disappears into the stairwell and starts making his way upstairs.
the NICU is a section of the hospital robby has probably been inside once during his entire time working there. everything feels strangely removed from the ED downstairs, quieter enough that he feels slightly out of place walking through it in his regular ED attire. one of the nurses notices him and asks if he’s looking for someone in particular or if there was something they could help him with. robby tells her he’s looking for dr. whitaker, and something about the immediate recognition on her face tells him dennis being up here isn’t nearly as unusual as robby thought it was. she points him toward one of the rooms.
robbys expecting to find dennis talking with another doctor, looking over a chart, maybe checking on a patient he’d previously seen downstairs. he isn’t expecting what he sees when he looks through the window.
dennis is sitting deep in one of those uncomfortable hospital recliners beside an isolette (infant incubator), shirtless with his scrub top folded neatly beside him, with a premature baby tucked skin-to-skin against the center of his chest. there’s a small blanket pulled snuggly over the baby’s back and around both of them, leaving only the top of an impossibly tiny head visible beneath dennis’s chin. one of dennis’s hands is spread carefully across the baby’s back while the other rests beneath the blanket, and his attention was on the monitor beside him.
robbys known dennis is good with children. he’s watched him handle scared toddlers and exhausted parents in the ED plenty of times. but he has never really seen this. dennis looks completely comfortable sitting there with a small sleeping infant tucked against his bare chest, barely moving except for the occasional glance between the baby and the monitor beside him.
robbys stood there starring before he realizes he’s doing it. he catches the attention of a nurse nearby and gestures quietly toward the room, asking without speaking if it’s alright for him to go inside. she gives him a small nod, as if there is nothing unusual about any of this, and robby carefully opens the door. dennis hears it but doesn’t look over. he apparently assumes it’s one of the nurses as his attention stays on the monitor. he automatically starts giving an update. the little one’s doing better, temperature came up a little more, heart rate’s been steadier for the last several minutes too. which is always a good thing. the kangaroo care seems to be helping.
robbys standing just inside the door listening to him with a softened smile.
Robby had always made assumptions about the relationship between Dennis and his family. Mostly based on the way Dennis had imprinted on him when he first started at the Pitt, he assumed their relationship was strained. Especially the one with his dad.
But once they started dating Dennis talked more about his family and Robby realised he loved them a lot. He always talked about his mum’s cooking and how she’d filled their home with love. He talked about how his brothers were loud and rowdy but always fiercely protective of their youngest brother. And his dad? Robby quickly found out that Dennis adored his dad, the man was perfect in his eyes and did everything and anything for his baby son.
Despite Robby’s assumptions, it turned out that Dennis was the biggest Daddy’s boy ever.
His dad had always known that his Denny was different to the four boys that came before him. While his brothers were rolling around in the mud and kicking the football around, Dennis was making daisy chains for his daddy to wear as he worked on the farm. As they got older his brothers would help out on the farm while Dennis preferred to help out his mother with the chores. His Denny was softer than his other boys and needed a gentler hand when it came to raising him. He never shouted, never mocked Dennis’s special interests, always held him when he cried, always praised him.
Robby knew, and on some level he assumed Dennis knew, that would have been hard for a man of his generation and background to do so he fully understood why Dennis believed his father was the greatest man who ever lived.
Robby wasn’t going to lie, he was extremely nervous about meeting Dennis’s family, particularly his dad. He highly doubted the man would be thrilled when he saw Robby hovering around his son. But he’d promised Dennis and he just had to be brave.
Dennis was practically vibrating next to him in the airport, bouncing on his feet every time people walked through arrivals in case it was his parents. They’d never visited Dennis before because he’d never had a place for them to stay and, after sinking all their money into Dennis’s education, they could hardly afford the plane tickets or a hotel.
But now he had a boyfriend with a spare room and enough disposable income to pay for the tickets – although Dennis did say it was from his pay cheque to avoid his parent’s embarrassment.
“That’s them!” Dennis shouted, his excited scream echoing around the large airport. Before Robby could respond, Dennis was off. He ran at the couple, expertly avoiding other passengers, and was lifted into a big, bear hug by a huge, burly man. His mum barely got a look in as Dennis clung to his dad. But she didn’t seem to mind, instead watched the whole scene with a pleased smile.
“Daddy, come meet Robby!” Dennis said, dragging his dad by the hand towards his boyfriend.
Suddenly, that soft smile for Dennis had dropped and was replaced by a stony frown when he came to a stop in front of Robby. He didn’t hide his displeasure which caused Robby to swallow nervously. Least Dennis’s mum was smiling at him over her husband’s shoulder.
“Robby, this is John and Anna-Marie.” Dennis introduced them with a huge smile on his face. “This is Robby.”
“Hello sir.” Robby awkwardly greeted, despite being only a few years younger than him. He was slightly shorter than Robby but no less intimidating. Robby unexpectedly felt like he was 16 again and had to promise to bring his date home before curfew.
He stuck his hand out to shake but John just stared at it like it had personally offended him. Luckily, Anna-Marie stepped in to defuse the tension.
“Hi Robby!” She hugged him, as if they were old friends. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Denny has told us so much about you!”
“Hm.” John grunted, giving him the once over. Dennis might have told them a lot about him but Robby was willing to bet he left out his age.
“Be nice!” Dennis hissed at his dad.
“I am being nice, he’s lucky there’s not a shotgun between us.”
“Oh, stop it!” Anna-Marie said, gently slapping him on the shoulder. “Ignore him Robby, he’s a pussycat underneath it all.”
With no hesitation, she took Robby by the arm and led him out of the airport. As they walked, she asked him about his job, his friends, his family, his relationship with Dennis. And although he could hear Dennis prattling away behind him to his dad, he could feel his eyes glaring into the back of his head.
~~~
The drive back to Robby’s place had been strained, Dennis and his mum filling in the silence with constant chatter from the back seat while Robby and John sat up front. Robby attempted to make small talk but he got nothing in return beyond the occasional grunt of acknowledgement.
Somehow, Robby had found himself alone again with John once they were back at the house. Dennis had insisted the pair of them sit and have a drink while he and his mother cooked. Robby could tell Dennis was desperate for them to get on, his father’s approval was very important to him.
Robby had long given up on small talk so the pair of them sat in an awkward silence, staring at their drinks. The occasional clinking of ice against the glass the only sound.
“Michael.” John said, breaking the silence. Robby nearly choked on his drink, feeling like a kid again who was about to get into trouble because that was the only time he got called Michael, and in a way he supposed he was about to get a telling off. Growing up he was Mikey, then as a teenager it was shortened to Mike and then once he went to medical school he became Robby.
“Yeah?” He cleared his throat. Robby turned slightly to look at the other man but he continued to stare down at his drink.
“He’s vulnerable is my Denny, needs protecting in a way my other boys don’t. He sees the good in people but then they can take advantage of his kind nature.” John swirled the ice around his glass, Robby didn’t speak because he could tell them man had more to say. He was building to something important. “This isn’t the first time he’s fallen head over heels for a man that doesn’t feel the same, he gives his heart out easily but that means it gets broken just as quickly.”
“I do…” Robby started to defend himself but quickly got cut off.
“What are your intentions with my boy?” John asked, snapping his head up to look in Robby’s eyes. “He’s quite a piece younger, in a completely different life stage to you. If I remember correctly, you are his boss, so what do you want from him?”
Robby could finally see what Anna-Marie meant, underneath was a pussycat who just cared a lot about his son. He didn’t want him to be taken advantage of, give his heart to another man who wouldn’t look after it in the way it deserved.
“I know what our relationship looks like from the outside but I would do anything for your son. I adore him and I just want to love him for as long as he’ll let me. No further intentions than that.”
“Hmm.” He grunted, but it lacked some of the earlier anger.
“You’ve raised a good man and every single day I count my lucky stars that he loves me like I love him. I know you’re worried about him but he touched my heart the first day I met him so if anyone should be worried about their heart being broken it’s me. He’s very important to me, just like he is to you, and I promise to look after him and love him for the rest of my life.”
Robby could see the edges of John thawing slightly, there was still a hesitancy there but it was definitely smaller than before.
“Thank you.” He nodded, knocking his drink back and signalling the end of their heart to heart.
Robby attempted small talk again and finally got some responses, he could tell Dennis was thrilled when he walked back into the room and they were actually talking to each other. John frowned slightly when Dennis sat on the arm of the chair and draped himself across Robby’s shoulder but at least he didn’t go mute again. As they ate dinner, Robby could feel Dennis’s hand slip into his and give it a squeeze, a silent ‘thank you’ for winning over his dad. Dennis never doubted him, he knew Robby could charm anybody when he tried.
The rest of the visit still had its awkward moments but John could see Robby truly loved his boy and did slowly warm up to him. Even if he did send a picture of his beloved shotgun to Robby when he got home with the warning to never break his Denny’s heart.
Hey!! I'm so happy to share my new story with y'all!!
Without you (everything is so scary)
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dennis Whitaker, Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch
Additional Tags: Getting Together, Author Is Sleep Deprived, author doesn't know how the us healthcare system works, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Dennis Whitaker Needs a Hug, Michael "Robby" Robinavitch is Down Bad, Michael "Robby" Robinavitch Needs a Hug, Tired Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Betaed, Dennis Whitaker is Down Bad, POV Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Post-Michael "Robby" Robinavitch's Sabbatical
Summary:
Robby is passively reminded of Dennis's next rotation, sending him on a mission to try to get his attention before he leaves.
when dennis gets pregnant, everyone is a little worried. not because they think its a bad choice for him to have a baby, or that robby is a bad alpha for him to be mated with (on the contrary, robby is the most doting alpha anyone has seen), but because they're worried about how his body will take it.
pregnancy has always tended to be a little harder on male omegas than female ones, but the real issue lies in the fact that dennis is delicate, physically. a hangover from his days homeless mean that while he's gained weight after mating robby, he's still too skinny. too many of his bones jut out slightly and are visible, and robby constantly trying to feed him can only do so much. it will take time before he's a healthy weight.
so, people are worried. that the morning sickness will be terrible, that his body will be too weak, that he'll all round have a miserable pregnancy. robby is terrified more than anyone, and wants dennis to go on maternity leave right away, but his omega refuses. tensions are high as people wait to see how carrying a pup will impact their sweet dennis.
against everyone's expectations, he glows. he takes to pregnancy like a duck to water and ends up looking healthier than anyone's ever seen him. his cheeks immediately come up plump and rosy red, his eye bags fade and he gains much needed weight very quickly. he has no morning sickness to speak of, nor seems to have any intense mood swings. he just.. glows. this is all before his belly has even swollen, his and robby's puppy still the size of a raspberry in his womb.
robby is delighted and spends every possible moment kissing and cuddling and pampering his beautiful mate, who purrs constantly whenever his alpha is around. when dennis frantically wakes him up one night, robby is terrified that it's all coming crashing down and his omega is hurt, but dennis simply hurries to switch the light on to show robby his new bump, on show for the first time.
male omegas sometimes have issues with milk production- not dennis, whose breasts swell quickly and fill with milk when the pup is still months away from birth. his belly grows fast too, and his belly button pops to give him the prettiest stomach any of them have ever seen. even patients that he treats compliment him on how good he looks and how well carrying babies suits him. dennis's rosy cheeks just blush more.
even when he gets very close to the due date, he doesn't feel worse, or sluggish, or antsy. his belly is massive now yes, their pup a large one due to robby's genes clearly, but dennis doesn't fret. he just cuddles himself into his birthing nest and rubs at his belly, letting it sit heavy in his lap and feeling his puppy wriggle within him. full as his tits already are, he has an alpha who will either help him pump or will drink from him himself, so he never aches badly. he spends more time than he'd like to admit taking pictures of his belly in their bedroom mirror, obsessing over how proud he felt of having such a beautifully round tummy, all thanks to robby.
even birth goes smoothly. their little alpha daughter is one of the biggest babies the hospital had delivered that year, but dennis had somehow delivered her in a scant couple of hours, and with little to no intervention necessary. she's a fat and healthy baby, and latches immediately to dennis's breast. miraculously, dennis is still glowing as he sits in bed holding her. robby is so unendingly proud of his dennis, his perfect omega and their pretty baby.
unsurprisingly, dennis asks robby for another baby right away, having greatly enjoyed his pregnancy and wanting it all over again. who is robby to deny him? (this is how they end up with seven puppies under the age of eight, dennis having sailed through each pregnancy as smoothly as his first. the only thing that stops him from having more is the lack of rooms in their house.)
