synopsis: the blizzard gets bad enough that staff canât safely leave the hospital, so everyoneâs stuck overnight. the ER is quieter than usual for once, lights dimmed, tv humming a lame show, and snow hitting the windows.
warnings: uhhh curse words basically, JUST FLUFF OKAY!!??
word count: 1578
a/n: im so glad gerran is getting famous, he was my favorite actor back then, I WAS OBSESSED WITH YOUNG DRACULA.
snow started falling just after midnight. just like it did, every day of the week. except it wasnât this heavy.
at first, nobody in the er really noticed.
THE PITT was always loud. monitors beeping, phones ringing, hurried footsteps against the floor, stretchers and gurneys squeaking down hallways. weather didnât really matter much when people kept arriving bleeding, coughing, crashing.
but around one in the morning, the waiting room televisions switched from late-night reruns to emergency weather alerts.
by two, nurses were muttering about road closures.
by three, the hospital administration sent out the inevitable message:
SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS. ESSENTIAL STAFF ONLY. REMAIN INSIDE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
the collective groan from the er could probably be heard from another city.
dennis looked up from the chart in with tired eyes.
âyouâve gotta be kidding me.â
âyou say that like you were going home anyway,â santos retorted , shoving past him with a stack of supplies balanced against her hip.
dennis flipped her off weakly.
she grinned.
âyou look terrible, whitaker.â
âi feel terrible.â
âyou always feel terrible.â
âfair.â
you snorted quietly from beside the nursesâ station, earning a tired glance from dennis.
it wasnât much of a glance.
just half a second.
but lately youâd started noticing the small things about him.
the way he leaned against counters when exhausted, like his body somehow forgot how to hold itself upright.
the dark circles under his eyes that never really disappeared.
how he rubbed the back of his neck whenever he was stressed.
how gentle his hands became with patients despite how rough he acted with himself.
and well, recently.. how his eyes kept finding yours in crowded rooms.
like he was checking you were still there.
you looked away before he could catch you staring.
the storm got worse by 5am.
snow hammered against the hospital windows in thick piles, turning the parking lot into hills of white. the few staff members whoâd attempted leaving came back just around twenty minutes later covered in snow.
so everyone stayed.
ellis and shen stole naps in break rooms.
abbot and cruz fought over stale vending machine snacks.
princess started a betting pool over how long the power grid would survive.
and dennis had been awake for almost twenty-two hours by then.
you could see it in the way he moved slower now, exhaustion following his every move.
still, he refused to stop.
âcome one. you need a break,â you told him after catching him rereading the same sentence three times.
âiâm fine.â
âdidnât you almost walk into a wall ten minutes ago?â
âi was thinking.â
âyou apologized. to the WALL.â
dennis blinked at you.
ââŠdid i?â
âmhm.â
âoh.â
you bit back a smile.
he looked unfairly soft when sleep deprived.
not that youâd ever admit that out loud. god, it was too embarrassing
by evening, the er finally settled into something quieter.
not calm though.
the pitt was never calm. everyone knew that well.
but instead, it shifted into something quieter.
the fluorescent lights dimmed slightly overhead, casting everything in muted gold and pale blue shadows. the snow continued falling outside, thick against the glass.
you found dennis standing near the coffee machine staring into space.
not drinking coffee.
just staring at it.
âthat bad?â you asked softly.
he startled slightly before exhaling.
âi think my bodyâs shutting down.â
âyeah- well, probably because you know, HUMANS need sleep.â
âmaybe.â
âyouâre losing cognitive function, dennis.â
âthat implies i had some to begin with.â
you laughed softly.
and something in dennisâs expression loosened at the sound.
âfuck.â you thought to yourself.
that kept happening too.
like hearing you laugh physically relaxed him.
and well- yeah. you cant deny that it made your heart skip a beat, no matter how âhighschoolâ that sounded.
you nudged his shoulder lightly.
âcome sit down for five minutes.â
âi canât.â
âyou absolutely can.â
âthere could beââ
âwhitaker.â
he stopped.
you lowered your voice slightly.
âyouâre exhausted.â
for a second, he looked like he might argue.
then his shoulders sagged.
just slightly.
âfive minutes,â he muttered.
âfive minutes,â you agreed.
the waiting room was nearly empty.
a few people slept slumped across chairs while snowstorm coverage played quietly on the mounted television overhead.
you and dennis claimed a corner near the windows.
he sat beside you with a groan, scrubbing both hands down his face.
âeverything hurts.â
âisnât that usually a bad sign in a hospital?â
âuh-huh. yeah thanks,iâll chart that.â
you handed him the bag of pretzels youâd stolen from the vending machine earlier.
he looked at them.
then at you.
âyou remembered i like these?â
the question came out quieter than expected.
you shrugged casually even though warmth crept into your face.
âuh yeah, you eat them every shift.â
âhuh.â
he looked strangely affected by that.
like nobody remembered small things about him often.
the thought made your chest ache.
for a while, neither of you spoke.
just sat there listening to the distant hum of the hospital.
dennisâs knee brushed yours occasionally, and yours his.
neither of you moved away.
outside, snow buried the city deeper in white.
inside, the heat hummed softly through the vents.
dennis exhaled slowly beside you.
âyou ever think this place feels weird during storms?â
you turned toward him slightly.
âwhat do you mean?â
âlikeâŠâ he gestured vaguely. âeverything outside just like.. stops, for a little while.â
you looked out the window.
the world beyond the glass had vanished into snowfall.
âi know what you mean.â
he leaned his head back against the wall.
âi think this is the first time iâve sat down all day.â
âyouâre welcome.â
âyou bullied me into it.â
âand iâd do it again.â
a tired smile tugged at his mouth.
rare enough that your stomach flipped stupidly.
then silence settled again. not awkward silence.
the kind that only happens when someone becomes comfortable enough to exist beside you without filling every second with noise.
dennisâs arm rested against yours now. heavy with exhaustion.
you glanced sideways.
his eyes were closed.
âdennis?â
âmhm?â
âyou falling asleep?â
âno.â
a pause.
ââŠmaybe.â
you smiled softly. his head tilted slightly toward you. sleep was already pulling at him.
youâd never seen him this relaxed before.
no tension in his jaw. no stress between his brows. just tiredness. pure, overwhelming tiredness.
carefully, you shifted a little closer.
his hand rested between you on the chair.
without thinking too hard about it, you let your fingers brush his.
dennis stirred faintly.
then almost instinctively, his fingers curled around yours.
your breath caught.
he didnât open his eyes. didnât pull away. just held your hand like it was the easiest thing in the world.
like heâd wanted to for longer than either of you admitted. something unbearably soft settled in your chest.
you leaned your head gently against his shoulder.
dennis made the quietest sound somewhere between a sigh and contentment and shifted closer automatically.
his grip tightened slightly around your hand.
and just like that, exhaustion dragged you under too.
dana was looking for dennis when she found you both.
she stopped in the doorway.
for a long moment, she simply stared.
dennis sat slumped in the waiting room chair fast asleep, head tilted slightly toward yours.
your cheek rested against his shoulder.
one of his hands still tangled with yours between the seats.
the television flickered quietly overhead.
snowstorm light glowed pale blue through the windows.
and dennis looked peaceful.
dana couldnât remember the last time sheâd seen that. the kid practically lived wound tight. always moving. always apologizing. always trying to prove himself useful enough to deserve being there.
but now?
now he looked young. safe. human.
her expression softened immediately. carefully, dana grabbed one of the spare blankets draped nearby and stepped closer.
neither of you woke as she laid it gently across both your laps.
dennis shifted slightly in his sleep, unconsciously leaning closer into you.
dana smiled despite herself.
âwell,â she murmured quietly, âabout damn time.â
then she walked away without waking either of you.
you woke sometime later to warmth.
not hospital warmth.
not overheated vents and fluorescent lights. real warmth. heavy warmth pressed beside you. your eyes blinked open slowly. dennis was awake.
barely.
his head rested lightly against yours now, sleepy eyes half-lidded beneath messy curls. for a second neither of you moved. then he glanced down at your intertwined hands.
still clasped together.
his ears turned pink almost instantly.
âoh.â
you smiled sleepily.
âoh?â
âi thinkââ he cleared his throat softly, âi think i accidentally held your hand.â
âaccidentally?â
âsevere weather conditions.â
âthatâs your defense?â
âiâm compromised.â
you laughed quietly.
dennis looked at you like the sound alone was enough to keep him awake.
and then,
his thumb brushed once across your knuckles.
intentional this time. your heart nearly stopped. âyou drool in your sleep,â you whispered.
his expression immediately changed.
âi do not.â
âyou absolutely do.â
âthatâs defamatory.â
âthereâs evidence.â
âdestroy it.â
you grinned. dennis stared at you for a moment longer, exhaustion making him softer around the edges.
less guarded. then, quietly:
âi donât think iâve slept that well in months.â
the honesty in his voice hit harder than expected. you squeezed his hand gently.
âmaybe you just needed someone to make you rest.â
he looked down at your joined hands again. then back at you.
and with snow falling endlessly outside the hospital windows, dennis whitaker smiled like maybe just maybe he finally believed that could be true.
if hunt athalar has a million fans, then i am one of them. if hunt athalar has ten fans, then i am one of them. if hunt athalar has only one fan, then that is me. if hunt athalar has no fans, then that means i am no longer on earth. if the world is against hunt athalar, then i am against the world
haymitch's sentiment of there being no winners, just survivors is so important to me because all of them lost what truly matters to them as a result of winning
katniss with prim, peeta with his sense of self, haymitch with his girl and family oh coriolanus snow you're sick just wait until I catch you
I appreciate that Suzzane Collins always humanizes the tributes in the arena, even the Careers that are often the âvillainsâ.
That scene where Silka is all alone, finds the tree Haymitch and Wellie are in, and just sits there and cries. That moment of solidarity when Haymitch drops the chocolate down to her. That reminder that they are all just kids who are either brainwashed or forced to be violent.
Ridoc:Â Welcome to my very first vlog, in which I try different hair products!
Ridoc:Â *sprays hairspray in his mouth*
Ridoc:Â Well, right off the bat I can tell you this one is not very good.
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