thinking about widower jack abbot who is secretly admiring this new night shift nurse, both of them are starting to get to know and be close with each other but jack thinks she’s way out of his league as she’s a young, full of life, and intelligent nurse, who jack thinks does not deserve a man like him who is “old”, a person who has already been through it all, and he’s too scared that he might take away the light of this young woman who makes him happy.
Shabana back on twitter so it only a matter of time before Shawn back 💅🏻. They know their minds are loaded with whit ,whismy, chaos thoughts and they need to share them with the world . They can only stay quiet and offline for so long 😭😭😭
hey i really love your stories, esp the chronic illness, is there any chance you could write a hard of hearing, epileptic (post traumatic epilepsy) with elhers danlos syndrome reader with jack abbot, something very hurt comfort style if it’s not too much trouble? thank you so much 🩷
hiii my darling there you go <3 Thank you for loving my stories 🥹
Pairing: Jack abbot x reader!phlebotomist, besties with John Shen
Summary: as above, use of nickname initially, no physical description of the reader, the reader is female, Jack is super silly, nervous, doesn't know how to talk to women and gets bemotional
Word count: 6.4k
TW/Tags: expect anything medical you would typically see on the pitt, injury, mention of seizure
Notes:
I've picked the level of hearing loss as mild to moderate, so the reader relies on lip reading, can hear some sounds in a quiet room only if truly focused on the conversation, reader does not wear hearing aids, and struggles in loud enviornments
Anything that is written in italics is an action that is carried out, which the reader cannot hear.
Anything that is written in italics and bold is a conversation carried out in sign language.
I am sorry I did not include much of EDS, but it is mentioned.
Masterlist here - i've written two fics about EDS :)
@lacy1986
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
"Bunny" was your nickname in the ER because you were the quickest, most energetic phlebotomist on site. Someone suggested the name quickie, which you thought you had misheard initially. You immediately asked them to rethink the nickname, and it may have taken them a few seconds to think it through. Luckily for you, the nickname didn't stick.
So you, Bunny, everyone's favourite and the one who can get blood drawn out of a rock, always anticipated a busy shift.
Whenever there was a crisis, Bunny would be there to the rescue.
Whenever someone had difficult veins at risk of collapsing, Bunny would be called in.
But on some days, you were too quick for Jack Abbot to stop and talk to you.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
On your olive-green scrubs, you had a little badge that read, if I can't see your lips, I can't hear you. But most people ignored it anyway, and you didn't really expect anyone to stare at your chest that closely.
Today, you were covering the night shift, and your attending was not Shen, who usually covered. But today’s attending was Jack Abbot. The doctor you avoided whenever you saw him remotely approach you, because the man intimidated you. He had this look in his eyes, an unsettling stare that you weren't sure what to make of.
But he, on the other hand, unknown to you, was desperate to talk to you. He stared because he admired you, but Jack was not caught up with modern ‘dating'. (Even the olden times dating didn’t involve staring). He hadn't crushed on anyone since his late wife, and whenever he tries to speak to you, something gets in the way.
So you were indeed too quick for him, and he could never catch you.
As for the other attending, Shen, with whom you instantly clicked the moment you met him and became best friends. And then, when he told you he knew sign language, your friendship took a whole new turn. You often shared jokes across the ER floor, out in the open, and you were certain no one would know what you two signed.
The form of communication from the other staff to get your attention was to simply wave you down or text you. Your watch buzzed with a simple question, asking you to come see them. It was simple, and it worked. Your main issue was background noise across the floor, but once you were in a quiet room, you could focus on the person ahead of you.
Central 11 had a male patient, who was certainly being tested for alcohol levels because you could smell it on him the moment you walked into the room.
"Mr Smith? I'm here to take your blood. Is that okay?" He nods, and luckily for you, he is not in a talkative mood. You wheel in your trolley, lay out all the equipment on the tray and begin prepping his arm.
Someone knocks on the door, then heavy footsteps follow into the room. The patient mumbles something to the person behind you but you were too busy focused on the task ahead so you don't hear them. "Mr Smith" Jack says, "Your chart says you're on blood thinners, so we're gonna need more blood from you."
"Take it all." He slurs his words.
"Bunny?" Jack asks. Jack knew what your real name is, but Lena referred to you as Bunny and he didn’t question the nickname, so he just went with that.
"I don't think she can hear you" the patient says.
"Bunny? It's Dr Abbot?" he approaches you.
You tape up the patient's arm, putting the vials on the tray as you turn around and see Dr Abbot standing there, not quite staring but also looking with wide eyes. "Oh, hi Dr Abbot! Sorry didn't see you there."
Jack shoots you a small smile, with a slight hint of confusion. "Sorry I was talking to you. Did you see about the extra bloods we need?"
"I have it all on my chart" you approach him slowly with the blood form.
"It was updated a minute ago" Jack says, "Did you...not hear me?"
Feeling flustered and somewhat embarrassed, you sign "sorry" by making a fist on your chest and moving it clockwise, then gesture to your ear, and say, “hard of hearing"
Jack then sees the badge on your chest, and he instantly blushes in embarrassment. Suddenly, the room feels too small, and Jack feels the patient's eyes on him as he tries to say something, but then nothing comes out. A moment passes as you stare at Jack, waiting for something. Anything. He rubs his face and quickly says, “Shoot, so sorry I didn't know. I didn't mean to come across as rude!"
You have truly no idea what he just said but you manage a smile and a nod. And given your reaction, Jack was certain he has upset you.
“I’ll grab more equipment for the extra bloods” you give him a small smile and grab your trolley and head out of the door, telling the patient you will be back.
The rest of the shift goes as expected, except this time, Jack wouldn’t stop looking at you. He now smiles whenever your eyes meet, and you aren't sure if he is still embarrassed about the interaction or if he is… being nice? You see Shen at the hub, and you instantly smile at the surprise because you thought he wasn’t working today.
You sign: Where’s your coffee?
Shen: finished it too early. So sad
You laugh at him. that’s terrible news. Hope you recover
Shen signs as he smirks: how’s the shift?
What have you heard?
His eyes meet Jack’s, who stands on the other side of the hub.
oh God what was said?
Shen: he’s embarrassed
You roll your eyes: it was nothing
Shen: he’s moping
You snort and Jack shoots you both a look. He doesn’t stare at your conversation, knowing it would be incredibly rude, but he keeps stealing glances between the two of you, curious to know more. Because Jack was instantly and incredibly jealous of Shen, also wondering if anything was going on between the two of you.
You: he scares me
Shen: what! He’s like the nicest dude ever
he stares and sometimes forgets to blink
Shen shoots you a lazy smirk then signs: maybe he has a crush
You say out loud unexpectedly, “no! Don’t say that!”
Everyone now looks at the two of you, and your eyes meet Shen’s and you instantly laugh. You sign: asshole before turning your back to him, taking one last look at Jack who was of course, looking at you.
Maybe Jack Abbot isn't so intimidating.
Maybe he is a big cuddly bear that had a tendency to… stare.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
“Dude what’s up with the staring?” Shen nudges Jack one night as he sees him looking at you in the distance.
He mumbles in protest, “That’s how I look”
“I’ve never ever seen you look like this.”
Jack looks flustered, and Shen had never seen his cheeks this pink before “Oh my god, man”
“What!”
“You don’t know how to talk to women?”
“I’m… it’s not that!” But before Jack can get any more defensive, knowing that Shen will easily clock in on it, “yeah okay, I don’t know how to talk to women. And my first proper interaction with her, I looked like an idiot. And have you seen how pretty she is? She's way out of my league. Then I start thinking about that, and I start spiralling and-”
“Maybe less staring, more talking, calmly” Shen cuts in sarcastically. "She's nice, easy to talk to too."
“Yeah, okay, I’ll try that.” Jack doesn’t look him in the eye. “but what do I say?”
“Be yourself!” Shen says before rushing off, “maybe get her a coffee?”
Jack spends a lot of time mentally rehearsing what he wants to say to you and occupies himself with many tasks, yet he can’t focus on anything because today, you were everywhere. You have been moved to the night shift, and Jack was ecstatic about it, but also nervous because this means more chances of making himself look like a fool.
He walks up to you, after rehearsing a speech in his head, but all he manages is a “hi”.
Your heart does a little flip; weeks ago, that little flip was intimidation, but after watching Jack across the floor many times and making small talk, you realise how nervous he gets and how nice he is. “Hello, Dr Abbot”
“How are you?” Jack instantly cringes at how awkward he is.
“I’m good, thank you” you smile, “do you… need anything?”
“A cup of coffee” he blurts out, then watches your reaction as it turns into confusion. “Me! Me, I was going to make me a cup of coffee, not for you to make one”
You just about make up what’s he’s saying, because he starts to talk far too quickly for you to lip read. He says a bit slower now, in his usual tone, “I was wondering if you would like a hot drink? With me?”
“Uhh”
“Not like a date! Oh my God, I’m not like asking you out or anything.”
Your eyes flick over at Shen, who’s failing at holding down a giggle, as he sees the two of you. He doesn’t know what the conversation is about, but it is obvious how flustered Jack is.
“I mean, maybe not now but maybe like one day?” Jack says again, and he itches the back of his head at how silly he sounds. “What I’m trying to say is would you like a hot drink?”
You fight down a giggle at how cute and awkward he is, “I’d love a hot drink”
“Okay, okay that’s good” Jack smiles widely before walking away from you.
You sign to Shen: he asked me if I wanted a hot drink
Shen: that’s progress
he didn’t even ask me what drink I want!
Shen’s laughs are heard loud and clear, and luckily for you Jack was nowhere near. You shake your head as you let out a laugh yourself and go back to your patients.
Jack Abbot was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the night.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
Jack occupied your mind a lot more recently, especially after the few clumsy but adorable interactions you had. Working the night shift is different; weirder, wilder but also fun working most days with Shen, and also Abbot. He is indeed a really nice guy. A nervous one, actually, and maybe that’s why he used to stare. So you decided to approach him today and hoped that he wouldn’t… pass out. You see him disappear into the break room, so you follow.
Shen, of course, who seems to be everywhere but not with patients, signs: good luck. You give him the middle finger as you smile teasingly.
Jack instantly smiles as he sees you walk into the room. He immediately grabs his stethoscope and starts fidgeting with it. It turns out you intimidate him, and not the other way around. “Dr Abbot”
“Jack”
“Sorry, Jack” you smile, “how are you?”
“Me? I’m good, really good” he blurts out.
You bite your lip at his cuteness. “The cafeteria upstairs is open, so I was wondering if you wanted that hot drink?”
Jack’s lips part slightly, but then silence follows for a few seconds. “Dr Abbot are you okay?”
“Mm-me?” He runs his hand through his curls, “I’d love… that hot drink. I'm sorry I never asked you again but it's been busy and I keep getting flustered and-"
“Jack” you gesture of him to slow down, “you talk too quickly and I need to lip read.”
“Sorry” he says very quietly and you say, “Maybe louder?”
“I keep messing this up don’t I?”
“That — that was perfect tone” you giggle, “just keep talking normally”
“I’m sorry” he blurts out, “I’m… never mind. Hot drink?”
“Yes please”
You step into the elevator, and Jack starts talking, but he doesn’t look directly at you. He's too shy to look you in the eye and found himself getting too flustered and making a fool of himself. You turn to face him fully, watching his lips as he speaks so you can follow. You notice how often he bites down on his bottom lip when he’s nervous.
The elevator door opens, and someone from behind says, “excuse me” but you don’t hear them. Jack gently places a hand on your waist, guiding you lightly out of the way. A move so simple but Jack thought his heart was going to explode.
You sign: thank you.
He smiles, “of course” as he drops his hands down.
Your quick coffee run with Jack went better than you expected, because once he sat down and calmed down, he seemed to be himself a bit more. However, you noticed how he overthought every move, kept apologising for it, then got flustered again. He asked about you and was interested to know more. You told him how you lost your hearing, a traumatic brain injury that caused epilepsy, too. Jack's reaction was not what you expected. It wasn’t sympathy or surprise. It was normal. There was no titling of the head, no furrowing of the eyebrows sympathetically and no upside-down sad frown.
Your stomach flipped in excitement at how normally he reacted. He saw you just like anyone else.
Over time, you realised how you had misunderstood Jack so much. He was the complete opposite of his staring habits. Now that you two interacted a bit more, there was a lot less “staring” and more softer glances. But there was also more flirting from Jack. He had come out of his shell a lot, and with every opportunity, he’d flirt. He checked on you throughout shifts, always found an excuse to bring you coffee, even when you didn’t need it, and made a habit of driving you home after long nights. You've also been out on a few casual dates, mostly after work for breakfast. The dating stage was no longer awkward. It was fun, easy and exciting.
But he also sometimes forgot you were hard of hearing and would do silly things like come up behind you and gently put a hand on your lower back. You startled in response, and Jack would instantly swear at himself and say he messed up. Another time, you passed by him down an empty hallway, and he whistled. You of course, don't hear it, but you saw the shape of his lips curl. “Are you whistling right now?”
“You look so damn good today! I mean, you look gorgeous every day, but today, damn” Jack smirks as his eyes look you up and down. “oh wait. You didn’t hear me whistle.”
You giggle as you shake your head.
“Oh for fuck—“
“It’s okay” you say softly as you approach him, “it’s the thought that counts”
“I really need to get out of my head and just act normal”
"You're being...normal"
"I'm being an idiot" Jack felt his cheeks flush, and he was well aware that you could see them. He had fallen for you so quickly that it scared him, and the feeling only grew stronger every day. He was desperate for more of you... more time, more conversations and more of everything. "I like you a lot, but I don't know how to be myself, or maybe i'm trying to be a better version of myself. I just... don't know."
You close the distance between the two of you completely, and Jack murmurs something but you shake your head at him, as if to say, can’t hear you. Without another word, he gently cups your face with both hands, thumbs resting along your jaw. Softly and slowly, you press your face against his and kiss him. Jack kisses you back with quiet intensity, despite the heat running through him wanting much more. His thumb brushes gently over your cheek, then slowly trails down to your neck as he pulls you a little closer. You wouldn’t be able to hear if anyone approaches, so you trust Jack to be the one to tell you. As you pull back, you say, “Maybe this will get you out of your head.”
Jack licks his lips and rasps out, “Sweetheart I think this will make things much worse for me”
You turn your back to him, giggle to yourself and skip back to the ER. As you look at him over your shoulder, Jack has one hand braced on the wall, head slightly bowed as he tries to steady his breathing.
He clearly needs a moment.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
Jack waves you down one night to ask you to take blood from a patient who was difficult to bleed. You introduce yourself to the patient, who is not interested in the slightest and seems in a bad mood.
"That's disgusting," he mumbles as you inform him you'd be taking blood from his foot, and Jack, as well as Jesse, both shoot him a warning look.
You clean the foot, tourniquet it and as you lean in with the needle, you tell the patient sharp scratch. The moment the needle touches his foot, the patient yells and kicks you in the right shoulder.
Jack reacts instantly, "WOW, HEY!" as he moves over to your side, blocking the patient from getting to you.
"Bitch!" the patient says, but you can't hear him.
You drop the needle to the floor, feeling yourself lose grip in your right hand and stumble back in pain.
"Hey, you okay? I've got you," Jack wraps his hands around your waist to steady you. He looks back at everyone in the room, and the patient, "get him restrained, NOW!"
"Let's get you out of here okay?"
You nod in shock and you let him lead you into an empty room.
You're shaking at the shock of it, and you cry at the pain you are in as he helps you onto the bed. He cups your face, "Sweetheart, you're safe, I've got you"
You stare at his lips, reading them as best you could through the pain, and whimper, "it hurts so much"
"I'll get you something for the pain, I promise," He says, "but first I need to check your shoulder"
Shen storms into the room and signs, "what happened!?"
Words don't come out but instead, you sob in pain.
Jack turns his face away from you, "She can't sign, John, a patient kicked her in the shoulder"
"Fuck alright, what do you need?"
"Sweetheart, John's gonna sign; I can't keep facing you when I'm working, okay?"
"I'm gonna sign while Jack works"
You nod.
"How bad is the pain?"
"A million out of ten" you cry out in pain, "Jack? I have EDS, so it's popped out. I'm certain it has."
"Okay, that's okay. I can fix it."
You look at Shen waiting for him to sign it back. Shen smirks playfully, and signs "he's very stressed"
You let out a watery laugh through your tears.
"Tell her I need to feel under her top, so I can feel the joint"
"I heard that" you say softly.
Jack ushers you to lean back on the bed as he slides one hand under your top, feeling your shoulder. You feel the slight trembling of his hands as he feels the socket, where the joint is clearly dislocated.
"Alright, sweetheart” Jack says, trying to keep calm so you can read his lips easily, despite his heart hammering in his chest and making it difficult for him to keep still, “I’m going to pop it back in. Do you want pain relief first or get it out of the way?"
"Just do it, please." Dislocating your joints is no stranger to you, but it mostly happened when you were younger. As you got older, you became a lot more careful, avoiding any activities that would cause an injury.
"It’s going to hurt for a few seconds, but then the pressure should ease right away. I’ve done this a lot. Do you trust me?" Jack isn't so certain he is trusting himself in this moment.
"Of course I do"
Jack positioned himself carefully, one hand supporting your arm, the other on your shoulder. "Take a deep breath for me… good. On the exhale, I’m going to do it. Ready?"
Shen signs everything back to you and Jack waits for the nod. Shen signs inhale, and just as Jack sees you exhale he pops your shoulder back.
You cry out in pain as your body tenses up on the bed. "I’ve got you, I’ve got you" Jack murmurs, immediately pulling you forward into his chest. He wraps his arms around you, one hand cradling the back of your head. "It’s back in. You did so well, baby. So good." You heard parts of what Jack has said.
You bury your face in his neck, breathing shakily as the worst of the pain slowly began to fade. Jack pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head and kept holding you tight. "I’m right here. Just breathe. The worst part is over."
You look over at Shen, who signs, “He says the worst part is over. He’s got you.”
You mouth, thank you before he leaves the room.
Jack pulls back, cupping your face, "I'm sorry I didn't react quicker."
"No, no" you sniffle, "Jack this is not your fault"
"But it is. I asked you to go in there. It's my fault this has happened."
"Hey, don't think that? it could have happened to anyone and i'm okay"
Jack's expression is full of worry, and despite your reassuring words, he doesn't look convinced. He wipes your tears away, resting his forehead on yours. "I'm so sorry, i'm never going to forgive myself."
You pull his lips toward you, but Jack pulls back. "No, I- I can't. You're hurt because of me"
He shifts off the bed, and you try and reach for him, "Jack I promise you i'm okay"
There was no stopping your tears as you see him get upset too. "You don't believe me"
He rubs his temples, he says voice shaking, "if I didn't ask you to go in there then you would be hurt. This is all my fault." But before you can respond, Jack rushes out of the room. You shift off the bed quickly, instantly feeling dizzy, and you steady yourself before you walk out of the room. You needed to find him, needed to reassure him, but before you could react, the overwhelmingness of everything that had happened caught up with you. You stumble as you stand outside the room, fighting against the dizziness which has now intensified, and you catch eyes with Shen. You sign, seizure, before the smell of burning fills your nostrils, and you no longer remember anything.
Shen runs across the floor, quickly putting one hand under your head, which is now jolting across the cold, hard floor.
"Get me a trauma room prepped!" he yells, "and someone find Jack!" Once the seizing stopped, Shen turns you over to recovery position, anticipating another one. He had seen you have one before, and usually a second one followed.
Jack comes rushing with a look of terror on his face. "Fuck! what! i was gone for like 2 minutes!"
"She had a seizure"
"Why haven't you moved her yet!"
Your body starts jolting again, and Shen gently moves you back on your back, ushers for Jack to move away, as he moves his hand back under your head. "Someone get me a gurney please," Shen says calmly, "I'm not anticipating a third one"
Jack feels utterly helpless as he watches you seize on the floor. He couldn't cry, not now, not in front of everyone. He couldn't break down like this. You are moved into one of the trauma rooms, and one of the nurses who hadn't worked with you before taps your face and asks, "Hello, can you hear me?"
Jack cut in, "She won't be able to hear you, she's hard of hearing. Shen, how many times has this happened before?"
"Not many, but only when she's stressed. Sometimes out of the blue." They both work together as they attach monitors on you, in case a third one follows.
"Fuck" Jack's voice cracks and there is no hiding his anxious emotions, "this is a fucking nightmare"
"Abbot, no offence, but calm down right now" Shen bites back. He was understandably also stressed, but this wasn't all unfamiliar to him.
"I'm trying man but I feel like my heart is about to blow the fuck up!"
Shen watches Jack's hands tremble as he works. "She's waking up, Abbot, take over"
Jack's lips part in protest but what he sees next was not something he had ever thought of. Jack realised in that moment that he had so much more to learn about you, and anyone who is hard of hearing and also epileptic.
Shen signs, "can you see me?"
You wake up, vision all blurry, and hearing had now all gone. You make out that it's Shen standing next to you, so you reach for his hand. You open up his palm, resting yours in it, as if to say, can't sign.
Shen didn't know much of tactile sign language, nor did you. It was a language you both decided to learn together, in case something like this happens. All you have learnt so far is the alphabet, and that was more than enough for now. He signs in your palm, "U O K"
You sign back, "yes"
He looks at Jack, "she's okay."
In TCL, he signs, "Pain?"
You mumble, "just my shoulder"
Eyes?
You point at them and mumble again, "Blurry"
wait, five
"Okay. Where's Jack?"
He reaches for your hands, and through the blurry vision you can see him say something. "I'm here sweetheart, i'm here."
"We'll give you two a minute" Shen says, ushering for everyone to leave the room.
Jack pulls a stool next to the bed, takes your hand between both of his, pressing soft kisses to your knuckles. You reach for his face and feel his wet tears, then feel his lips start to quiver.
"I'm okay" you say weakly.
But Jack doesn't respond, instead he continues to cry.
"The worst is over"
Jack moves your hand over to his face as he nods so you can feel it. You brush your hand on the back of his head and pull him towards you, finally stealing that kiss you desperately wanted an hour ago. You mumble, "i'm okay", as you feel his warm tears on your own face.
Once your vision is back to usual, you were now able to lip-read but Jack on the other hand, doesn't say anything. "I can see you now"
"Welcome back" he says, forcing a smile he doesn't feel, "that was fucking terrifying."
You give him a tired smile, "I'm used to it"
"How do you feel? What can I do to make this easier?"
"Nothing, Jack" you say softly, "I need some time to recover because i'm feeling pretty rough."
"I'm taking you home once you feel up to it," Jack says, "Is that okay?
"But will you stay over? And not leave?"
He lights up with a genuine smile this time, "Of course, I'm not going anywhere."
On the drive home, Jack's eyes bounced between the road and you, and he held your hand tightly. "My fingers are going numb"
"What? why?" Jack says quickly, "Do you feel ill do-?"
You giggle at how flustered he is again, "Jack you're squeezing my hand so tightly."
His grip loosens as he whispers, "sorry".
It was Jack's first time coming over to your apartment, and you were, of course, nervous to have him around. He doesn’t leave your side as promised as you make breakfast for the two of you. He watches you like a piece of porcelain that is about to break. He wasn't doing it because he thought you were weak; instead it was because he looked at you like something precious that he could lose at any moment. And he really wants you in his life got a long time because he is so madly in love.
He asks about how you manage your epilepsy while living alone. “I just do” you shrug, “I have no other option."
“Can you sit down? Please?” He says nervously, “I need to talk about something.”
"But breakfast," you protest jokingly.
He tilts his head playfully as he gestures for you to sit on the chair. “I like you, like a lot. I haven’t felt this way about someone since my wife." Jack thought telling you how much he loves you, this soon into dating, would scare you away. So for now, he opted for 'i like you'. You watch as his lips slightly tremble as he says, "But this is different and new and I keep messing it up.”
“You’re not messing anything up Jack”
“But I feel like I do. And what happened today-”
“Was not your fault!”
“I walked out of the room, and then you had a seizure. And that’s something I’ll regret for the rest of my life. It was all my fault, and I will make it up to you for the rest of my life. I promise I’m never gonna do that again, okay?”
Heat flushes on your cheeks as you reach out for his soft hands, “It's okay to... be nervous. But I like the sound of you wanting to make it up to me"
He bites on his lips again and it's obvious he's nervous again. "Now, I have to say something, so bear with me…" he lets go of your hands and closes his eyes for a moment to focus. He signs, "I like you."
You giggle at how cuteness.
"What- What did I do it wrong?"
"No! No it’s cute!! I like you too, Jack."
"That's good. That's great actually." Jack grins. He signs, "Can I kiss you now?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
Walking into work, after spending the day with Jack, curled up in his arms, was a whole different feeling. There was a smug smile on both of your faces, and it was far too obvious what you two were up to. So no one really questioned the status of your relationship anymore.
From that day onward, you didn't try to hide it, and neither did he. Jack was ecstatic when you agreed to make things official, and he was certainly a different man. He was lighter, a lot less flustered and certainly so much happier.
But he was a protective man.
He worried about you every single minute. He was constantly checking in, asking how you were, making sure you were drinking and taking breaks.
"Jack" you wrap your arms around him, "can you stop worrying?"
"No, not really?" he frowns at the ridiculous question, "that's literally my job."
You lean in and brush your nose against his, "maybe... I need to start helping you to relax more often?"
"Here? now?"
"No! of course not!" you giggle, "at home!"
"About that..." Jack clears his throat, and gestures to the bed, "can you... sit down please."
"You have your serious voice on..."
"I want to ask you something," Jack says nervously again. He signs, "Will you move with me"
A smile breaks across your face, and you are almost certain he meant move in, not move. "Just to clarify... you're asking me to move? or move in?"
"Move in!" Jack blurts, "With me. Move with me. In! God dammit. Come live with me is what I am trying to say."
"Jack..." you tilt your head and reach out for him. Once he links your hands in his you pull him in, and he stumbles and falls on top of you on the hospital bed. For a moment, you both forget you were in the middle of work and get lost in each other's lips until Shen interrupts. Jack pulls away in a heartbeat, and you flinch as you don't hear him come in.
"Sorry" he signs, but his grin isn't sorry whatsoever, "I hope you're using protection"
"Ew stop!" you snap at him and Jack stands there, clueless.
"Right then, best get back to work. I'll uhh.. catch up with you later?" Jack says quickly, avoiding looking at Shen, "Good to see you, John."
"Yeah... you too," he smirks. Once Jack leaves, he says teasingly, "So... is it official?"
"He asked me to move in with him."
"Oh..
"Oh what!"
"Oh he's so in loooove"
"Shut up John" you move off the bed and straighten up your scrubs. "I've not said yes!"
"Why the hell not!"
You ignore him as you walk out of the room and he follows. He signs from across the floor, "Bunny and Jack Rabbit. It's meant to be!"
You sign back, "that's actually super cute."
"he loves you! don't be stupid."
Jack watches the two of you, and he understands when you sign, "I love him too."
From that moment on, Jack was on cloud nine for the rest of the shift. He couldn’t wait to finally tell you he loves you out loud. He had set himself mental reminders to check in on you during the shift, and as he looks at the time, he realises he is long overdue. He grabs you a hot drink and walks around between rooms, trying to find you.
You are covering triage, rushing in between rooms and moving fast, completely focused on tasks. As you lean in to take blood from one of the patients in a triage room, another patient steps behind you and talks to you. You couldn't hear his angry tone or what he's saying. The patient on the bed tries to warn you, but you don't hear any of it. Suddenly, the angry patient grabs your shoulder hard. You turn around in shock, not expecting a strong grip from a tall, big-built, angry guy. So naturally, you let out a scream just as Jack approaches the room.
Jack doesn't hesitate to run toward you and the man who is now cornering you. Chaos erupts instantly as Jack shields you from the man who throws a punch at him. Luckily, Jack ducks in time, except for the hot drink that spills all over his chest and scrubs. You scream in fear, and everyone rushes into the room just as the patient runs out, and the patient in the phlebotomy chair is rushed out too.
"Did he hurt you? What did he do" Jack's now scanning you, looking for any injuries.
You shake your head, "no but he hurt you!"
"No, sweetheart, he didn't I promise he didn't touch me!"
"No, no he- he-" your voice breaks into hiccuping sobs, "no he punched you didn't he?"
"Everyone alright in here?" someone asks, and Jack ignores them.
"Are you okay? Please just try and remember, did he hurt you?" Jack says softly, and you can just about make out the words.
"I think" you feel it come on, "i thin i'm go-"
Jack instantly grabs you and lays you on the floor as you start seizing.
He knows he can't hold you in his arms, so all he does is put his hand under your head as you jolt. He whispers to you, "i'm here and you're safe. It's gonna pass in a minute."
He can't stop himself as one hand slowly caresses your head until your body goes limp. "You're okay. We're okay, baby. Just breathe through it."
"Can someone get a room prepped, please?" Jack says without taking his eyes off you. He anticipates another seizure, which doesn't come so you're quickly carried into a room.
A few minutes pass of Jack sitting next to you in bed, waiting for you to wake up. Despite his anxiety and the overwhelming feeling of nausea, he says softly, "you’re not alone. I’m right here with you."
But a few more minutes pass of you still fast asleep. "She's not waking up Shen. Why is she not waking up!"
"Jack sometimes it takes longer-"
"How long!" Jack was no longer a doctor in this moment. He was your boyfriend, Jack, whose fear had taken over him the moment he thought you got hurt.
"You know it doesn't work that way"
His voice breaks, "but you- you've seen her seizures right? She usually has another one, then wakes up!"
"I'll hook up EEG and EKG. It'll give us a better picture."
In the minutes that followed, Jack was in so much agony as he waited for you to wake up. That didn't stop him from talking to you, though, even if he knew that you couldn't hear him. He gently stroked your face with his thumb until he saw your eyes twitch.
"Shen" he kicks off his chair, "She uhh she's waking up. Hi, hi sweetheart."
"Not again." You grumble, "Shit"
"Can you see me?" Shen signs.
You nod, "yeah"
Jack lets out a nervous sigh, "okay, that's uhh... good."
"My job here is done then. You're in good hands," Shen whistles casually as he leaves the room.
"Jack you're burnt" you reach over to his chest, "you need to get checked out."
"You don't need to worry about me." Jack couldn't care less about himself. "Let's focus on you. All I care about is you and nothing else. Did the man hurt you? in the room?"
You shake your head, "he just startled me that's all."
"I'm sorry that happened" Jack doesn't try and fight his tears.
"I have to tell you something"
"We can talk later" Jack cuts in, "it's okay, just rest"
"No, no let me talk."
"Please don't get stressed out again, please just rest and-"
"Jack Abbot shut up!" He instantly freezes, "Just listen to me!"Stop worrying so much, I'm not going anywhere, Jack!
Despite his anxiety, a small smile breaks across his face.
"I want to move in with you."
"Seriously!"
"Yes seriously, but you have to tone the worrying down a bit."
"Oh baby it's gonna get a lot worse for you." He leans in, "i'm gonna be there all the time,"
You giggle as you pull him toward you, "like all the time?"
"All the God damn time, baby." He gives you a hot and messy kiss. "You're never getting rid of me."
"When you say all the time... Shower?"
"Yep."
"Cooking?"
"I'll be there cooking, helping, chopping, kissing in between tasks... all of it.."
"Cleaning?"
"We'll get someone to do that...so we can be occupied with something else."
"Like... what?"
"Can I take you home and show you?"
You nod excitedly.
"Oh and by the way," Jack smirks before he signs: "I love you too."
jack abbot x f! pitt reader ; fourth of july barbecue at dana's fluff!
w/c: 3.2k
after the- to put it plainly- shitty fourth of July shift yourself and many of your coworkers had suffered through last year, a surprisingly large group of staff (whom you were fairly certain had been led by trinity) had swindled Gloria into giving a ridiculous amount of people the day off. usually at least a quarter of the people who were currently crammed into Dana's backyard were on call, if they weren't already in the trenches of a shift. but your coworkers at the Pitt were nothing if not persistent, trinity the most of all. and so here you all were, at the evening that had been advertised as a "casual staff barbecue" but was indeed a full blown holiday party with tablecloths and little sparkly blue and red decorations at each place setting and papers plates with fireworks on them.
you were very glad that you'd made the executive decision to bring more than the single bowl of potato salad that you'd been signed up for- opting instead for two large dishes (you knew your coworkers could eat) along with a few packs of beer that you'd picked up on the way. half of the attendees were still in the i'm a resident that can barely afford to feed myself one meal a day phase, and you'd been there not too long ago. you enjoyed being able to do things like this now that you weren't drowning in your own loans. and if you just so happened to know that the beer was a certain attending's favorite, well that was just a happy accident, wasn't it?
the heat was blissfully light, brushing against your face and through your hair in the way that made you happy it was summer, thankful to feel the warmth shining on your skin but not too hot, not too sweaty. you were wearing birkenstocks, a choice that made you laugh a bit to yourself when you'd walked out of the door and thought of how little your coworkers saw of you in regular clothes, and a gingham sundress that swished around above your knees. dana had told everyone to feel free to bring their swim suits, but something about splashing around half dressed in a pool with the adults you worked in a grueling emergency department with wasn't appealing to you.
you drove up to dana's gorgeous white home, which you'd been to only once before. it was a bit far from your apartment, a bit outside of the city. there was a big paper sign tacked to her fence that read come on in with a bold arrow toward the open gate. you could hear the distant thrum of voices as you ducked out of your car, then frowned at the piled full front passenger seat. there was no way you'd be able to carry all this in one trip. you grabbed the two large containers of potato salad, bumping the car door closed with your hip and making you way up the driveway and into the backyard.
cassie sees you first, and from behind her legs a head of wild brown hair peeks out too. harrison smiles at you brightly and bounds over, throwing his arms around your middle in greeting.
"hi buddy." you grunt at the impact but smile down at the boy softly. you'd babysat for cassie a handful of times over the past few years, usually when she needed some last minute help or her regular sitter fell through.
"hi honey." he grinned up at you, and you couldn't help but laugh softly at the nickname. the young boy hadn't been able to remember your name the first few times you'd hung out with him, but his mom always came home and relieved you with a thank you honey or you're a life saver honey, so harrison had decided that was close enough. you didn't want him to stop thinking you were cool, so you always tried to hide how the endearing name made your heart swell.
from a few feet away cassie gestured for harrison to take one of the bowls from you and he did, leading the way toward the table of food across the yard while trying to peek under the plastic lid to see what you'd brought. distracted and preoccupied, harrison misses the divot in the grass and goes tumbling, knees and face smacking down to the ground and potato salad flying.
quite literally flying. you watch as your prized vintage pyrex arches through the air and goes tumbling across the lawn. you vaguely register the lid popping off a few bumps in, but your eyes are fixed on harrison as you rush over to where he’s sprawled on the floor.
“OW!” the boy shouts dramatically, rolling over and looking down at a pair of bloody hands and knees. he’s also sporting a gnarly gash on his chin.
“you okay?” you ask with concern, though you must admit your stifling a laugh at the absolute commotion he’s caused. it was like something out of cheaper by the dozen; and a handful of your coworkers were now crowding around you.
“what the hell dude?” cassie’s voice calls from behind you as she jogs up.
“i fell!” he huffs at his mom, but you can see the tears the boy is desperately trying to keep in as he looks hopelessly at your ruined potato salad and his sore knees.
“hey, it’s okay bud.” you hum, a gentle hand coming to his back. “that’s why i brought two.” you give harrison a quiet smile and nod of reassurance, then lift him up gently by his tender scraped up hand. “i have some bandaids in my car, want to come with me?” his head bobs up and down a few times and you nod again, quickly standing to stow the bowl you’d been carrying on the table a few feet away and then doubling back with a wave for harrison to follow you. cassie give you a soft smile and silent thank you as you go, to which you simply shake your head. you loved harrison, and getting to care for a kid outside the often terrible circumstances of your workplace was something that truly brought you joy. you’d considered going into pedes for most of your rotation period before you’d landed in the pitt.
the two of you tread back out through the open gate and down dana's driveway, and you can hear harrison's faint sniffs from behind you.
"m'sorry." he calls, and you shake your head again.
"don't worry about it dude. it's just potatoes." your sandals skid against the sidewalk as you come to a stop at you car, popping the trunk to retrieve the small first aid kit stowed there. you nod your head in a gesture for him to sit, and he hops up to rest in the trunk with his bloody legs swinging below.
you stay like that for a few minutes, humming and nodding in attention as harrison tells you about school, and skateboarding with mateo yesterday, and the movie he went to see with his dad (who you hate, but continue nodding along with a smile anyway) last weekend. once you've washed the cuts on his hands and knees off, and dabbed his chin with hydrogen peroxide, you hand him a box of bandaids to put on as you go about tenderly taping some gauze to his still bleeding chin. the momentary silence, as you work in concentration and harrison creates a pile of crumpled up bandaid wrappers in your car trunk, is broken by a voice speaking up from behind you.
"woah. you get in a fight killer?"
doctor abbot.
your head jerks up over your shoulder, hands stalling by harrison's jaw as your eyes land on the man approaching. jack abbot is walking toward you in a faded grey t-shirt and jeans, which would be a completely boring and ordinary outfit if anyone else was wearing it. you have to tear your gaze away quickly, feigning focus on your task to hide the blush flaring as abbot comes up behind you.
"no." harrison says with a bashful laugh.
"you should see the other guy." you mutter, smirking up at him slyly and making the boy laugh again. from the corner of your eye you see jack sporting his own curious smile. "alright." you add with a huff, brushing your hands on your legs as you stand. "all patched up."
harrison hops down from his seat in your car. "thanks honey." he grins, turning to jog back up to the yard without missing a beat. you huff a quiet laugh at the pile of bandaid trash he'd left behind, tossing the first aid kit back in with it and slamming the trunk shut. dr. abbot is still standing there. you, though you know it likely comes across as completely rude, turn and make your way to the passenger side door of your car in silence. you don't mean to be unfriendly, but where jack abbot was concerned, you were not the one in control of how you acted.
"what happened?" he asks, taking a few leisurely steps to follow you around the car. you glance at him again as he tucks his hands into his jeans pockets.
"oh, nothing. he took a tumble carrying a big container of potato salad." you wave a hand in the air as you explain, ducking into you car to fetch the cases of beer you'd left behind. "the salad had it much worse to be honest." you say jokingly, standing up straight again and smiling shyly over at abbot. his gaze makes your skin prickle a bit, and it all but erupts in flames when he reaches out, knuckles brushing your bare arms as he takes the boxes wordlessly. "oh- you really don't have to do that." you stutter, shaking your head a bit. abbot doesn't even respond, just smiles at you. unable to keep standing there staring at his stupidly handsome smiling face, you quickly reach back into the car and retrieve the final case of beer, then shut the door.
"this is my favorite." abbot hums, lifting one of the boxes a bit as the two of you begin walking up the driveway. you're both going slow, nearly dragging your feet in the kind of way that makes it obvious neither of you want the opportunity to be alone together to end too quickly.
"oh, really? that's great!" you smile in response, voice a bit too high. dr. abbot just laughs softly.
"how are you doing? haven't seen you in a while." he goes on.
"i'm fine. i'm good." you nod. "things have been pretty normal. working too much, not doing anything else enough." you laugh quietly. abbot joins you. "how have you been doctor abbot?"
"please call me jack, we're not at the hospital." he says kindly, and you know you're blushing again. you could call him jack. no big deal. for sure. "by the way... honey? a nickname, or?" he trails off in curiosity. you laugh a bit, and explain the origin of the silly title. jack smiles fondly as you do. you both slow to a stop as you round the corner and reenter the festivity. you can already see robby approaching to greet his friend in your peripheral. before parting, jack speaks softly.
"it's fitting."
your eyes dart up, wide and surprised, to see him smiling down at you warmly.
"cause you're so sweet." the smile pulls up into a cheeky smirk, and he silently lifts the case of beer from your hand and leaves you standing there in stunned silence, cheeks burning.
you're thankfully pulled out of your trance by victoria, who comes up beside you and pulls you by the arm toward a group across the lawn. you settle down on a beach towel with her, along with mel, dennis, langdon, samira, and mateo- who offers you a seltzer that is apparently "firecracker flavored". you take it with a hesitant laugh, though have to admit it's much better than you'd expect.
it's nice than you would think to hang out with your coworkers outside of work. you truly did enjoy being with all of them, though the ED was obviously not an ideal social environment. you'd roomed with harper for a bit after med school, but ever since she'd moved to Oregon your social life outside of work had been nearly non-existent aside from events like this, which were few and far between. you were pretty sure the last time more than a handful of you had had time off together and were energized enough to actually utilize it was trinity's birthday a few months ago- and you honestly couldn't remember much at all from that night. it was really nice.
dana's husband was grilling more hot dogs and burger patties than you'd ever seen in one place, and people were even starting to jump in the pool. harrison had led the charge, unsurprisingly, and it only took a few seconds of convincing for mateo to jump in after him. the rest of you group was quick to either follow or wander off toward the food table, and you were now left sitting at the pool edge, legs dangling languidly in the water as your friends splashed around. you laughed as mateo performed a particularly dramatic canon ball, which of course prompted harrison to attempt to outdo him. it went on in a cycle of ridiculous jumps and poses, and you really weren't sure who was having the most fun.
you're alerted by someone coming up behind you, and turn to see sneakers and jeans and your eyes keep trailing up and up and up until you meet the eyes of jack abbot staring down at you.
"hi." you greet softly.
"hi."
you realize all at once that he likely doesn't want to sit here, the logistics of the pool and his prosthetic and the terrible sensation of wet jeans all working together, and push to stand. water droplets pool around the ground from your legs.
"not getting in on the canon ball competition?" he asks smoothly, and your brain is still trying to catch up to having a second conversation with him as you try to formulate a response.
"i'm taking my role as a judge very seriously." you say back, and your heart skips an embarrassing beat as he laughs softly.
"of course." jack nods, taking a sip of his beer. another skip of satisfaction as you realize it's the one you brought. you almost think he can tell. "can I get you a drink?"
"oh, i'm fine. I drank one of mateo's weird concoctions and it was way stronger than I expected." you laugh a bit.
"a water then?" he asks with a smile.
"sure, actually. that'd be great." you nod, and the two of you make your way over to the ice chest near the deck. there are groups of conversation and even some lawn games sprawled out all across the yard, but you feel as if you're alone in a room with jack abbot as he cracks the cap of a water bottle off and hands it to you, the icy condensation dripping. "thank you." you hum quietly. he just nods.
after taking a sip he hands the cap over, and you screw it on with slightly shaky hands.
"so." you hum. you really needed to work on your ability to sit in awkward silence.
"so?" he asks in amusement. that stupid smirk was going to make you pass out in dana's backyard.
"soo... what's new with you?" you laugh at your own clunky delivery and jack laughs too, but graciously moves on and answers.
"not much. night shift, swat shifts, the usual." you nod, brows pinching a bit when he mentions his insane hobby in a way that he can't help but notice. "you don't approve?" jack asks with a chuckle. you feel your face heating again.
"oh, no, sorry. sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, I just... it just worries me is all. I mean, it doesn't worry me it's just- it's worrisome, like-" he cuts you off, thank God.
"you're fine." the man laughs, hand tapping your shoulder gently. "worrisome is one of the nicest things people have had to say about it." it trails of with a sigh, looking away for a moment. his face grazes over with something serious and far away that you haven't seen on the man before. "I don't know. keeps me busy." he hums quietly, taking another slow sip of his drink.
you nod. it must be hard, you know, being jack abbot. having lived a life so full of things you can never truly put down, never leave in your past. his time in the service, his youth, his wife... he carried those memories every day- they were as much a part of him as his leg or the wedding ring he still wore. it couldn't be easy to go from active service in the military to trying something dumb like golf or fishing on his days off. just because you didn't love the idea of him running around in a swat uniform (not that it was your place to think anything about it at all) didn't mean you didn't get it.
you understand, you really do. and you know jack abbot is a smart man, it's not as if he doesn't understand the danger and risk in what he does, as if he doesn't understand his own life. you tell him as much.
"I know it's not my place to have any sort of opinion. I just meant it seems...very hard. all of it." you say decidedly, and his deep, thoughtful gaze is back on you.
"it's your place to have an opinion on whatever you want." jack says, and it's casual and matter of fact but he's looking at you like he really means it. "and I care." he adds, and you look up at him in question. "I care what you think."
this gives you pause, gets the words stuck in your mouth as you blink up at the man. you aren't sure what to make of the words, just as you commonly weren't sure to make of jack abbot and his warm smiles and lingering touches and too kind eyes.
"that's nice." is all you can manage, and you feel stupid hearing your own voice. he just smiles down at you and laughs, a short soft thing.
"you're nice." he hums. "honey."
he adds the name quietly, as if in afterthought, something he was only speaking in his mind for himself, something you weren't sure you were even supposed to hear. you pretend you didn't.
you sit together for dinner and smile to yourself when your knees bump under the table. you blush when jack rests his arm on the back of his chair as he talks to robby. your chest burns fondly when he offers you the watermelon he doesn't finish but keeps stealing chips from your plate. you breath deeply and think that you could live a life full of moments just like this and nothing could make you happier.
a/n: thank you for reading lovies!! I love writing shorter fluffy stuff like this .. I think I'll do more one shots of jack and this (honey) reader every so often because why have the become so very precious to me in the span of writing this!! please let me know what you thought! love youuUUUuu - reef <3
anyway, happy lana del ray miss americana steve rogers superman jack abbot day girlies. here's a little shortie of your favorite sexy veteran. times are very sad but grateful for everyone who truly represents the values of love and acceptance and belonging and freedom for ALLLLL!
