I think disabled people should be allowed to shoot one doctor a year. Like hey this is an appointment about me not being able to walk. No need to be like “have you tried working out” oh I’d love to but fun fact BECAUSE I CANT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE MY JOINTS SUCK ASS FUCK YOU
Summary: resident/reader with POTs and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, best friends with Dennis, has a crush on Abbot and is moved to the nightshift.
Based on this request and other requests for POTS!
Trigger warning: medical setting, injuries, swear words
“Dennis” you hissed as you gestured for him to sneak into the room “come quick”
“Why are we hiding? Did you get hurt?”
“Did you speak to Robby?”
“No” he quickly replied “Why?”
You sighed. He then noticed your glossy eyes. “Are you crying?”
“No” you said quietly “Fine yes, I am. He said he needs me to move to the night shift temporarily”
“What?” He whispered “are you serious?”
“What the fuck am I gonna do? I can’t do the night shift!” Your heart was hammering in your chest as you said it — the reality of it finally hit you “I don’t know anyone, it’s too intense and—“
“Dr Abbot is scary” he said quietly.
“I agree” Abbot’s voice made you both flinch. “What are you gossiping about?”
“Uhh nothing” Dennis turned around slowly and now stood in front of you now, giving you a few seconds to wipe your tears.
“What’s up with her?” He said pointing at you.
Dennis sighed and moved to the side, revealing your red face and puffy eyes “hello Dr Abbot”
“I heard you’re joining us” he tried to hide his smile but you could see it tugging ever so slightly.
“Yes, I am. Super excited!” You lied. “These are happy tears” your voice shook as you said it. “Right I best go, see you later both” You quickly hurried off, trying to catch your breath.
—
You let out a loud yawn in the break room and then slammed your head on the table. Five minutes, that’s all you needed. Five minutes of silence, of giving your joints a break, of giving your mind a rest. Five minutes of —
“Well, hello there”
You groaned and mumbled “hello”
“Long day?”
You then registered the voice and quickly shot up “Dr Abbot, I uh…” you cleared your throat then held onto the table to steady yourself “Sorry. Yes. Just a bit tired”
“No stress, why don’t you go to the on call room? There’s a bed in there”
A bed? You could have managed to squeeze in naps between patients all this time? You sighed silently. “Oh it’s fine really. The table is just as comfortable. How are you, anyway? What are you doing here this early?”
“It’s almost 7pm” he said quietly “and I’m good, thank you for asking”
“Shit! Seriously?” You lost track of time. And you also managed to eat your lunch twelve hours after your shift started… As you tried to hurry off you smacked into the table and muttered an ow.
He stood there quietly watching you rub your thigh “I’ll see you for at nightshift soon?”
“Can’t wait” you smiled and quickly hurried off.
—
“You two! Need you in the room with me!”
“Sure” you replied, glancing over to Dennis next to you. Your shift was ending soon — your last shift with the day staff. Dennis was the closest friend you had made since starting, and he was the one you trusted with your POTs and EDS. He once found you trying to bandage your joints and he gasped when he saw your bruises. You then explained what it was, and since that day he had been the anchor you didn’t know you needed.
Robby asked Dennis to help with the trauma and asked you to keep the family informed. The patient they worked on was a young boy, and as anyone would imagine, the mom was in a terrible state. You were there to explain and comfort her.
What you hadn’t anticipated was that the mom was scared of blood, and ended up fainting. And like anyone else would do, your first reaction was to catch her. The sudden movement and the pressure of her body against yours popped your shoulder out of its joint. You whimpered quietly and shot Dennis a look who looked just as concerned. You laid her on the floor, and luckily, Santos walked into the room to help. You tried your best not to whimper because of agonising pain, and fought against the dizziness.
Once the patient, and mom were stable, you quickly rushed off and Dennis got the hint, following you into the room. He helped you take your scrub top off, you bit down on it, closed your eyes and embraced the click back in. You let out a small cry and he then helped you get dressed. He said softly “What are you gonna do when I’m not here?”
“I don’t know” you sniffed back tears “I don’t want to tell anyone. They’ll start looking at me differently or even worse, treating me differently” You let out a long huff.
“You need to at least tell Abbot”
You shook your head. “No way”
“Is it because you have a crush on it?”
“Whitaker shush!” You felt yourself blush “I hope you haven’t told anyone”
“Never, you know that” he smiled then teasingly said “maybe he can start helping you strip down”
“Who’s stripping?” Your eyes widened in horror as Abbot walked in. “You’re crying again?” Dr Whitaker I might need you to stop speaking with her. Whenever i find the two of you, she’s always in tears”
“Oh— wh— me? No” he stuttered.
You nudged him and quietly said “He’s joking”
“Happy last dayshift by the way. Looking forward to having you on my team” he smiled and walked back out.
You let out a shuddering breath. “He’s sexy as hell”
“You’re gonna be in trouble” he said
“Fuck me don’t I know it”
—
“Right, gather up team!” Abbot asked you to join everyone. They did this…. Thing before every nigh shift. It was cringey but also… nice. Robby never bothered with his team. “We have someone joining our team, so you all better be nice to her”
You gave them an awkward wave and held down a yawn.
“Go easy on her tonight, but only for tonight” he winked. “You’re with me for tonight, just so you can get the hang of things”
“Dr Abbot I uh… I know how things work I think I might be alright”
“Oh the nightshift is so different” he said as he did this thing… where he put both hands on his stethoscope and you saw his big arms. You tried your best to look away but It didn’t help when he did it every time you had a conversation with him. It was like he was showing off. He was nice with patients, incredibly casual but also quick. His skills were unmatched and you tried your best to keep up. You felt more tired by the second and you wished you could find the on call bed.
—
“Are you coming to sports day?” You caught up with Dennis during rounds.
“Hell no! I’m not risking breaking anything or my knee suddenly popping out and giving everyone a fright. Can you imagine my POTS too?”
“Just come and watch at least? Please. I could do with your support”
“No Dennis” you hissed “that’s how you end up getting involved. Plus the night shift is killing me. People have seen so many bruises and i’m running out of excuses, especially why I keep going dizzy and—“
He frowned “Why do you keep going dizzy?”
“Because I can’t sleep, or I sleep too much. Then my heart rate spikes because of all the stupid caffeine i’m drinking. Anyways, sports day, no chance”
“I miss you”
“Oh I miss you too” you reached in for a hug “do you think if I sleep with Robby he will take me back?”
He let out a laugh “you could try but I thought you had eyes for another attending”
“And there he is…” you said as Abbot walked through the doors. “God dammit can you imagine him at sports day?”
Whitaker wasn’t listening instead he walked slowly towards him and you tried to pull him back but failed miserably. “Dr Abbot, good evening” Whittaker said “are you coming to sports day?”
You shot Dennis a look as if to say I’m going to strangle you.
“Of course I am. Im a stellar athlete and very competitive” he then looked at you “are you coming?”
“Me? No. No I’m good. I’m like the opposite of an athlete… I’m floppy and clumsy. You wouldn’t want me chasing a ball” you realised you had rambled on and you were blushing.
“Sorry to break it to you but the customised t-shirt have already been made”
“so—sorry a customised t-shirt?” You looked at Dennis “uh, no, no thank you”
“I think he’s joking” Dennis nudged you and you looked back at Abbot who was shaking his head.
“No I’m not. She’s on my team and we get matching t-shirts”
“That’s cringey as fuck” you muttered under your breath and Dennis nudged you. You walked back slowly and said “See you at sports day Dennis”.
Abbot found you later that night and sat next to you. You tried not to sigh. You had a stupid crush on him and he was everywhere. You got flustered whenever you spoke with him too and it was becoming pretty obvious.
“Hows your night going, Dr Abbot?”
“Please call me Jack, what’s with the formality?”
“Okay I’ll try…” you avoided looking at him so you stared at the screen “so sports day… what colour are the matching t-shirts?”
You chocked on your water as he quickly said “Pink”
“Just kidding, it’s black. I thought easier for anyone who wants to coordinate outfits”
You couldn’t find a small laugh which quickly disappeared as he said “Anyways I’m here to ask you why you're limping?”
“I twisted my foot on the stairs. But it’s fine”
“Want me to take a look?”
“No it’s fine honestly!” You quickly got up, a movement you shouldn’t had done and felt yourself go dizzy so you held onto the desk. “I’m gonna go make a hot drink, would you like one?”
“No, I’d like you to sit down and talk to me”
You quickly sat back down. His bossy tone did wonders on you, and you simply couldn’t resist it. You quietly replied “I’m sat”
“You’re wearing compression stockings and you keep going dizzy. I’m not watching you but I do pay attention sometimes. So if you’re not well, you have to tell me”
You whispered to yourself, Nope, you weren’t about to tell him your secrets.
“It’s honestly fine. I wear stockings because I’m on my feet all night. It helps keep the legs looking young” A sentence that was not meant to be flirty but came out that way anyways.
“So you’re limping because you twisted your foot, you’re clumsy and floppy, you wear compression stockings because you want your legs to stay looking young. Call me convinced”
“I would but I don’t have your number”
What was wrong with you. Your mind screamed as the words left your lips.
He let out a laugh and you joined him too. “I may be floppy, Dr Abbot but I also do have a good sense of humour
“It’s Jack” he said quietly.
“Jack, I don’t tend to share all my secrets in one go” you tried to hide your smile, but again you failed.
“And as your attending, you legally have to inform me of any medical conditions you have”
You felt the blood drain from your face as he said it. “What?”
He nodded.
“Are you joking, Dr Abbot?”
“No I’m not. Because if something were to happen to you under my watch, it’s my responsibility”
You nodded and swallowed hard. “I will remember that. I best go” you smiled and this time you got off the chair slowly.
You made a mental note to look up if what he said was true.
—
Another shift, another shit coffee and this time you prepared your joints with many joint supports. Mainly on your knee and ankles because you couldn’t risk twisting your ankle one more time. It also became incredibly difficult to try and hide your symptoms from them. Abbot was on your case all the time. And rightly so. You were covered in bruises and you assured them that everything at home was fine. Your symptoms weren’t this bad during the day shift but because you had an actual routine and you had Dennis who you stuck with all the time. He knew your cues and what you could or couldn’t do. He was a brilliant best friend.
But now, with your new shift… you couldn’t exactly tell anyone — being this venerable with someone you didn’t know… But the research you did showed that it would be advisable to tell your manager of your disability so… you braved yourself to tell Abbot. It took you a while to hunt him down but eventually you found him in the on-call room.
“Are you on break, Dr Abbot?” You asked as you walked in. The anxiety you had felt since you decided to tell him was eating you alive. You were sweating profusely, and the room became incredibly hot. Or was it just you? “I uh.. need to speak to you about something”
“Nope, all yours. Are you alright?”
You certainly were not. You weren’t too sure if it was the anxiety of talking with him to the sleep deprivation but you could feel your heart hammering incredibly fast in your chest. “I uh.. me? I’m fine. I just wanted to circle back to the uh…” you were stuttering which wasn’t like you. He was making you so incredibly nervous.
“Do you need to sit down?” He asked softly.
“Nope I’m fine. Actually I need some air I think? I will come back to find you… later” You tried to catch your breath as you rushed out of the room, and saw Dennis in the distance. You looked over your shoulder and saw Abbot looking concerned. Panic then set in, and you felt yourself lose control.
“Shit!” Dennis muttered and ran over to your body jolting on the floor. Something that happened when you fainted, which wasn’t often but Dennis had whitenessed it a few times. He put his hands under your head, waiting for the convulsions to stop. Abbot rushed over, panic on his face but then saw Dennis’ calm reaction.
He said “give her a minute please”
Everyone around him looked at him like he was crazy. Once the convulsions stopped, he rolled you over to the side and sat by you until you opened your eyes. No one said a word. It all looked too familiar — like he knew exactly what to do, how to react and what to say to you. So much for not wanting to tell anyone, anything.
“Dennis, take her home” Abbot said firmly, pressing his lips together.
“But my shift just started”
“Take her home, I’ll stay to cover you for a while” he said firmly.
You were too embarrassed to say anything and too tired to argue so you did as he said.
—
Few hours into the night and you got called into a trauma call. Abbot gave you a few days off after whitenessing what happened. You still hadn’t told him anything, but you found him at the start of the shift and said you’d like to speak with him at some point.
“Can you help lift the gurney up please?” Abbot asked as he assisted on the patient.
“Mhmmm yeah sure” you nodded slowly.
“On my count —“ Abbot said.
You listened to his count and lifted on three, putting the patient gently on the bed. As you let go of it, everyone heard a click. Everyone’s head snapped in your direction and luckily for you, you were wearing a jacket.
Your eyes flicked between everyone else and no one said anything — no one knew where the click came from. Abbot shot you a look and you walked over to him slowly and whispered “I will find someone else to swap”
“What was that pop?”
“Um… it’s my shoulder. I will be right back.” You quickly said and rushed out of the room and asked Parker to take over.
You found the on-call room and tried your best to take your top off, wishing Dennis were here to help. You got stuck as you tried to lift it off and sat back on the bed in defeat. The door swung open quickly and you quickly jumped up but then went dizzy, stumbled back and fell back onto the bed.
“I’m good!” You gave a thumbs up with your good hand.
Jack let out a huff. “Is your shoulder not where it should be?”
“That obvious huh?”
“Are you always this sarcastic?”
“It helps with… the pain”
He sat next to you on the bed and asked “may I?”
You nodded. He helped take the top off then explained what he needed to do to pop it back in.
“I know, I’m used to it” you said quietly, feeling embarrassment and appreciation all at the same time.
“I seriously need to know what’s going on”
“I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome…” you said quietly, almost like you were admitting to a crime.
“Hence the floppiness”
“Yep, hence the floppiness… and I have POTS too”
“Hence the convulsive syncope”
“You got it! You catch on quick” you smiled at him, a genuine smile.
“As much as I love your sarcasm, I seriously need to know if there is anything else going on” he was stern with his words, almost upset. He didn’t match your smile with one.
“At the moment, it’s just this. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Robby never knew, just Whitaker hence why you walked in on us…multiple times. He helped put joints back in their place.”
“He didn’t realise anything was going on?”
You shook your head. Robby was so far up his own ass he didn’t notice anyone but himself.
“Thank you for not making a big deal out of it”
“Oh I am making a big deal out of it. If I see you attempt to lift a gurney again, you will be in big trouble”
“I don’t want anyone, especially my boss, to think I can’t do everything”
“But you can’t do everything. That doesn’t make you any less of a great doctor. But you have to learn your limitations otherwise you’re going to end up with a life-altering injury” he softly said.
“I never thought of it that way”
“Maybe its all the sarcasm eating at your brain” he tapped on his head and you let out a loud laugh “So what are we doing about sports day?”
“Nothing, I’ll work around it. It’s a good thing there’s gonna be so many doctors and nurses around in case I collapse again”
“Not funny” he frowned. He was worried about you… how cute. “Hows the pain now?”
“Always there but that is something I’ve learnt to live with” you got off the bed slowly so you don’t go too dizzy “right c’mon then. Duty calls”
“I should be the one saying that” he teased as he got off the bed, slowly too “let’s go floppy”
“That’s mean” you nudge him as you walked out.
“And you started it” he nudged you back and walked off, glancing over his shoulder at you before disappearing.
—
“Good morning team” Robby clapped both hands together and you groaned at his enthusiasm. Your body still didn’t know what time it was meant to sleep or stay awake, and doing sports day at 10am in the morning was not on your bucket list. It was you, Abbot and Mateo from the nightshift, Robby, Whitaker, Santos, Jesse and a couple of more staff from admin joining sports day. It was the hospital’s idea of promoting a healthier lifestyle. You tried your best to stay awake as Robby continued with a long speech.
Robby, unfortunately, was the one in charge of all the activities.
It was a long day of different games, different activities and you certainly were scoring the lowest. Sports was not your thing. But you also didn’t care what people thought of you so losing never bothered you. Until you noticed how passionate Abbot was about this. It was pretty adorable how enthusiastic he was at beating Robby and so that got you motivated. Making Robby a loser. So you did what you were always good at… sarcasm. And you knew with Robby’s little ego, he was going to fall for it.
Next round was table tennis and it was between Robby and Abbot. You stood by Abbot cheering him on, and decided to throw in a couple of comments to throw Robby off his game.
“Robby you’re good at this!” You said and Abbot shot you a look of disappointment “you’re probably used to holding small things in your hand”
You heard someone snort and Robby shot you a look of disbelief, allowing Abbot to score a point. Another round and another comment of “Robby it’s a good thing you’re not a surgeon because my God you keep dropping things”
Another point.
And thats how your day went — you destroyed everyone with your comments. At one point, Robby protested and said they needed a referee in which you replied “I thought you planned today and you forgot a referee?“
With each comment you made, you saw Abbot’s face light up and laugh, which made you so happy. He also checked in on you, a lot. He bought everyone electrolytes, especially you, so you stay hydrated. And you managed to get through the whole day without too many injuries. The last game was volleyball and you knew that was not going to be your strong point.
“Don’t do anything stupid and stay out of everyone's way” he said quietly.
“I would say the same thing to you — watch for your leg” you said back and you saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips. “I’d say break a leg but well” you shrugged and he couldn’t help but tip his head back and laugh.
“Let’s go floppy”
“Let’s go Jacky” You matched his grin with on.
The game went on for what felt like forever, and you ended up tying with the team, which was a surprise for everyone given that you were no help.
You needed one more point to win this — win the whole day. But you noticed Abbot getting more and more tired, wincing with every limp or jump. Despite having his sports prosthetic on — you knew he shouldn’t be doing this much.
But then you saw your chance and you went for it. You heard Jack scream no but you went for it anyways. You were quick, light on your feet and within seconds you were jumping for it. You hit the ball with one big smack, hearing everyone cheer. But you also ended up on the ground, face down. This time, you indeed have injured yourself.
Abbot was by you in seconds, as well as Dennis. They rolled you onto your back and you had a big grin on your face.
“My shoulder is fucked” you laughed.
“I can see that, sweetheart” Jack laughed back and Dennis quickly said “I’ll go get an ice pack”
“And I will call for an ambulance” Robby said looking down at you before rushing off.
“Can’t you pop it back in?” You asked.
“I uh…” he let out a nervous sigh “you don’t want to look but this time you’re gonna need pain relief”
“What, why?”
“It’s your knee too”
“Thats unfortunate” you said, still smiling.
You stayed on the ground while everyone packed up. You were in immense pain, of course you were, but knowing that you were the reason they won was a brilliant feeling. The ambulance finally arrived with Entonox. You grabbed onto it and took a deep breath in — the feeling of relaxation hitting you almost immediately.
Jack popped your knee in first, then your shoulder then sat on the ground by you while you breathed in more Entonox. The more you inhaled, the more giggly you became and more relaxed.
He leaned in and whispered “Was it worth the win?”
“Oh absolutely” you smiled and gave him a weak thumbs up. “I did it just to see you this happy”
“Any other secrets you have?” He raised a teasing eye brow.
He gestured to him to lean in and he did.
“You’re cute” you tapped on his cheek and giggled some more.
One thing that literally no healthy person understands, and I say that in a way where you have to imagine me clutching my head with my hands and slightly hitting myself with my finger tips because it is infuriating and I need that to be emphasised, is that with chronic pain such as fibromyalgia and the pain that comes with ehlers danlos (im on pregablin and tramadol) it doesn't work like solpadine to a migraine, the pain doesn't go away, it just, *JUST*, takes the edge off. Im still not okay just because im on pain relief because im not relieved of any pain, its just slightly more tolerable. Accommodation is still fucking needed man. Healthy people are annoying as fuck.
I have one disability superpower and it’s that I’m the world’s most accurate weatherman. People come to me when there’s snow in the forecast and I guide them true. Last night my TMJ was aching, my shoulder was stiff and sore, my spine hurt, and my hip hurt. 30% chance of snow my ass, it was 100%. And I can predict swift weather changes with my migraines if I can’t identify another trigger. It’s dead-on accurate every time. Suck it, professional weather forecasters! You’ve got nothing on a disabled environmentally sensitive weirdo, the Human Barometer!
What’s the point of the buttons if they DON’T WORK.
How the fuck can you claim to be an “accessible campus” if this shit hasn’t been fixed. I’ve been hearing other people complain about this bullshit for MONTHS. Literally like nine months. I’ve BEEN AT THIS FUCKING COLLEGE FOR NINE MONTHS. I’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THIS SHIT SINCE THE MOMENT I GOT TO THIS FUCKING CAMPUS.
