The Pitt: The Pitt Men- Panic Paid
The Pitt Master List WC 4404
Summary: You love to prank your husband; you prank him by telling him that you won't be able to pay for the mortgage this month.
Featuring: Dr. Whitaker, Dr. Abbot, Dr. Shen, Dr. Robby, and Dr. Langdon.
Dennis Whitaker -
You should know better, because you know that Dennis tends to feel things a little bit more than other people. You are smart enough to not drop this prank bomb on him during the middle of his shift.
The bedroom is dimly lit up from the bedside table lamp. Sheets lay over your body, as you rest your head against Dennis' chest. His heartbeat is steady and grounding in your ear. Your husband is currently reading up on the most recent medical advancements that don’t include AI. “Dennis.” He hums, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to pay the mortgage this month.”
The paper drops, and Dennis freezes right away. The other hand that is wrapped around your waist tightens. His jaw clenches, and for a long second he just stares down at you. Bright blues becomes a messy raging storm. Dennis is trying to process, and his mind races all over the place. He truly looks as if he’s panicking. “Hold on…Wait… What?” He asks, his voice is high and tight like someone has their hands wrapped around his neck.
“Just hypothetically.” You try to help, and clarify. You figure your face gives you away, covered in mischief and a twinkle in your eyes. Dennis lets go of your waist, and is sitting up further on the bed. His eyes are wide and his hands start fidgeting with the top of the sheet. “Just a… hypothetical?” He repeats. His voice is still a little shake, and high “You… are you joking right now?” You shrug your shoulders, “Yeah.” You say softly “Mostly.”
He’s up and out of the bed before you have a minute to get comfortable. Standing in your bedroom in only his boxers, and his hands pulling open drawers that the bills sit in. Dennis shakes his head and mutters under his breath mostly to himself then to you. He starts pulling out whatever bills are stacked on top of the most recent pile. “No… No I… that can’t… this… that can’t be right.”
Dennis' brows are furrowed and then he glances from you to the drawer, back to you. He keeps his eyes wide, and searches as if other bills will appear in front of him if he thinks about them hard enough. “I… I pay the mortgage? Right?… I do that right?” His voice is making your heart break. The tiny crack in his voice has your heart stuttering to a complete stop as you stare at your husband panicking on the other side of the room.
Your husband who is normally OCD about the paperwork, and even meticulous is suddenly hit with the thought that he might have failed, not paid the most important bill in his book. In the moment he forgets that he has been handling the mortgage and all the other bills since the moment the two of you got together.
“Dennis yes, you do.” You say gently, letting the sheets fall into your lap as you reach out across the bed to drag and grab at his hand. “Dennis baby, you always pay it, paying it days before the bill is even due half the time. You don’t have to worry about it baby.” You hear his breathing pause mid-breath and then Dennis is exhaling shakily. “I just… I just really… I thought that for a second.” Dennis mutters, his voice cracking. “I thought that maybe I wasn’t…what if I wasn't doing enough for you?”
You pull him into the bed, and kneel beside him on the bed. Your hands resting on his shoulder and dragging him into your side. “Dennis…” He doesn’t look up right away, “Denny please look at me.” You whisper. When Dennis blue eyes finally meet yours, they shimmer against the soft light of the bedside table. In the corners of his eyes, you can see the raging storm of panic, and guilt still lingering there.
“Dennis you do not, and are not failing me.” You say firmly, trying to get your point across. “You have always taken care of everything, and you have always taken care of me.” You whisper. “Plus the fact that you are worried this much? Is even more proof of how much you take care of me. That’s more than enough, Denny.” Dennis reaches his hands up and clenches his hands in yours that are sitting on his shoulders. He holds onto for dear life, as if you’re the only thing supporting him right now.
“I just… I don’t think… I can’t bear the thought of you worrying.” He mutters softly, “Or the thought of me failing… you.” Dennis swallows hard, his adams bobbing in his throat. There is still a tremor in his voice that betrays him, “Even if you’re just joking with me.” He adds.
“I know.” You say softly into his shoulder. “It was just a prank. Dennis you’ve got this handled, you always have this handled.” There is a long, and silent pause that stretches over the both of you. Dennis finally seems to exhale a not shaky breath and you can feel the tension leave his body. He turned in your hold and pressed his face into your shoulder, and neck. Shifting his arms so he can wrap them around you. “You really fucking scared me, sweetie.” He admits into your warm skin. His voice is still filled with emotions, muffled, and raw.
“That’s why I’m here Denny.” You murmur jokingly. You keep him close to your chest. “Dennis you care, and you will always care, and because of that I know that you will always have everything under control.” Dennis lets out a trembling laugh that is one part filled with relief and another part lingering with left over panic. Dennis is gripping your frame. “I just forgot… Just forgot that I actually paid the mortgage.” He whispers like he’s telling you a secret. “And I still… I can’t believe that I still freaked out like that.” He looks over to the bills scattered all over the top of the dresser.
“You’ll always take care of it. That’s why I love you, Denny." You tell him, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. “You know you’re gonna have to clean all that up?” You ask him to stare at the scattered bills. He rolls his eyes, and exhales shakily. “You know that you are literally impossible sometimes.” He teases. “And yet…” You whisper back, “You still love me.” Dennis doesn’t argue with you, instead he opts to holing onto your tighter, and letting the fear, the panic, the fucking prank faded into the darkness of the night.
Jack Abbot -
Jack just looks at you with his arms crossed over his chest. “No.” He says quickly. You blink over at him, “What do you mean no?” You are confused at the way your husband is reacting. “No.” He repeats once more before uncrossing his arms and leaning against the counter-top. “You don’t ever pay it.”
“But I could.” You counter. Jack laughs sharply as you see his body shake from the sheet force. “Why would you think you could?” Jack asks. You take your chance and move in closer. “What if I wanted to be able to contribute.” You don’t phrase it as a question, insteading leaving it open ended.
Watching the way Jack opens and then closes his mouth like a fish out of water is enough to make your cheeks hurt from trying not to laugh. Jack's eyes twinkle like he knows that you’re playing with him now. “So how would you want to contribute then, darling?” Jack asks his tone sultry.
You don’t answer, not that you really have to when it comes to your husband. He knows all your tells, knows when things are getting bad for you at work, knows when you’re fighting your body more than normal. Jack just knows you and it causes a large grin to grow and tug at his lips.
“Oh, honey, that is not paying at all.” He mutters, pushing off the edge of the counter and right into the leftover space. “That’s tactical negotiation.” Jack whispers into your ear. Jack lets his hands fall on either side of you, bracketing you into the counter top without touching you at all. “Oh, and for the record.” He adds, his voice low and crisp sending shocks all the way down your spine.
“I’ve got it covered already, darling.” He whispers. You smile and look up at him. The curls that normally sit so perfectly are all over the place from his sleep. His breath smells of a mid evening coffee to get him ready for the next night shift at the PTMC. You let your head fall to the side, “So, what are we talking about then Jack?” You tease.
Jack leans the rest of the way in his lips grazing over your pulse point right under your ear. “That you don’t need any kinda leverage if you want my attention, darling.” You breathe out heavily, when Jack takes both hands off the counter and rests them gentle on your hips pulling you into him. “But I will say I do admire your creativity.” You roll your eyes and shake your head trying to will the blush away from your cheeks and the rest of your body.
“Go get ready for work.” You say playfully slapping his chest and pushing him away.
John Shen -
You love your husband, it's really not hard especially when the banter has kept up and only gotten better now that the two of you are married. John has insisted that the two of you go out for dinner, and then walk back to your place. It was his first night off since he had gotten the attending position for the night shift.
As you walk down the street it’s quiet and the tall street lamps cast shadows all over the pavement and sidewalks. You let yourself fall behind John as you continue to walk. A smirk pulls at your lips. “John, I don’t think I’ll be able to pay the mortgage this month.” You say it lightly, and let it hang in the air between the two of you as you continue to walk back to your shared home.
John doesn't even blink he knows you like to do shit like this, tease him, pull his leg to see what kind of reaction you’ll get out of him. John just keeps walking, his hands deep in his pockets as the Pittsburgh air starts to get nippy after the sun sets over the city. “So you wouldn’t be paying for it?” John asks, his voice is low and controlled but there is no anger behind his words.
You nod, “Yeah, hypothetically.” You add, titling your head as you look at your husband. John stops mid-step, and turns his head just enough to look at you with sharp eyes. “Hypothetically?” He repeats slowly, tasting the words on his tastebuds. “What kind of hypothetically are we talking about honey? Is it disaster, apocalypse, or just really fucking bad budgeting?” He asks. Your eyes light up, and you roll your lips between your teeth.
“Maybe it’s all three.” You tease, grabbing John's arms and pressing yourself into his side. John's brows raise, “All three? That’s pretty ambitious for your type of catastrophes.” He smirks ever so slightly. John glances ahead as if you’re the last person around that will have caught his attention. “Do you enjoy testing me? Watching me worry, or is this just a way of testing my skills?” He asks, you smile and shrug your shoulders. “It could be a little bit of both.”
John stops walking on the sidewalk and turns around fully, facing you now. The street around you is quiet, it’s so quiet that your voices bounce around and echo softly. “Oh I see, love.” John says with a slight tilt of his head. “What you’re saying’ is here a problem see if you can figure it out. Is that right?” You nod, and grin devilishly up at your husband. “You could sprinkle in a bit of panic if you felt like it.”
John lets out another calm, slow, breath. But when you catch his eyes there is something behind them. Something that feels like dancing in fire. “You know panic isn’t my style, love.” He says. “I prefer to have calculated responses.” John ends up stepping closer, closing that final distance between the two of you. “What I can do is entertain some mild irritation, just for your love.” Your brows raise, and you feel the heat hit your neck and cheeks. “Mild Irritation? Is that all?” You tease John. “Mild.” He repeats for you, with a smirk on his lips. “Just for now, love.”
Your laugh softly echoes in the night air, as you close the rest of the space between you and John. “Don’t go getting cocky now.” You watch John's lips twitch, “Cocky? I’m not cocky, love. I’m… I am just precise, and strategic. I just know when someone is trying to throw me off my game.” You smile wide, “That would most definitely be me.” You throw him a wink. “You’re a very effective someone.” John says quietly, his voice dropping low and sexy.
Your stomach does a few flips, “You’re not mad?” You feel the need to ask him. His brows knit together, “Mad?” He shakes his head, and brushes one hand up through his gelled hair. “I’m considering a few things. You might end up facing a few consequences.” Your cheeks burn again. “Like what, John?” You tease, his name falling from your lips like venom.
“I might without all these future plans of hypothetical disasters." You pout, “I might make you pay interest on your creativity.” The pout on your face gets wiped away and is instead replaced with a playful smirk. “Interest? That sounds a little risky, John.” John leans down, his forehead resting against your own. Voice laced, smooth and teasing. “The only thing risky here is you, love.”
You try to take a step back, but John follows you. Keeping the pressure like he does with wounds that come in through the ER. “So this is a hypothetical emergency.” He mutters, “The mortgage is handled, you’re still safe. That means you can stop pretending that you’ve worried me into some sort of action.” You smirk at John's words. “Safe.”
“Safe” John echos, his dark brown eyes locking into your own. There’s a level of amusement and intensity that you almost always find in his eyes. “Just be careful next time love. I might not let your hypotheticals go so easily.” You raise your hands up, mocking a surrender that will come and go. “Noted, John.”
“Good” John mutters out, as he grabs your hands, locking your fingers together and continuing your walk home. “Just so the record is straight, you are highly fucking entertaining when you think you can try and scare me.” He tells you with a squeeze of your hands in his. “Oh, I’m glad to be of service.” You laugh softly, leaning your head into his shoulder.
Micheal 'Robby' Robinavitch -
You probably shouldn't do this here, but who are you kidding if you didn’t do something drastically funny for the simplicity of seeing how Robby will react. You can see Robby across the nurses station, Dana is talking with her hands and Robby is standing there in all his perfect glory.
No Gloria to come raining down on his parade this morning. The both of you had managed to wake up a little earlier than your normal alarm, which allowed you both the chance to actually wake up and enjoy the food you were shoveling down your throat. Robby's green long-sleeved undershirt is rolled up around his elbows. The ipad of his choice sitting in his hands as he listens to Dana talk about something.
Robby may look tired, but he stays focused. You had both managed to have a cup of coffee before you walked into work together, and you’re pretty sure that he’s on his third or fourth cup of coffee in the morning and according to your watch it’s not even noon yet. Even though your husband might be extremely tired, and a little curt around the edges with the new interns and med students he’s in work mode. Steady, calm, and reliable.
HR had a field day with Robby and you disclosed your relationship to them. Lots of questions, nothing that truly mattered because you and Robby had been safe, nothing happened at work and it never would. You were already a resident in your third year when your relationship with Robby had started.
Robby must feel your eyes on him, because he turns ever so slightly and catches you staring, or more like day-dreaming towards him, he smiles back at you and notches his head in the direction of one of the many empty halls of the ER. When you meet him in the hallway you’re both smiling at each other, you watch as the tension in his shoulders that you weren’t able to see from so far away seems to melt away at just the sight of you. “Are you doing okay?” He asks, worried, always lacing his words when it comes to you.
You really do try and keep your voice light, and almost playful. “I don’t… Michael I don’t think that I’ll be able to make the mortgage payment this month.” Your husband blinks, and then tucks the forgotten ipad in his hand under his arm. He laughs at first, a small surprised one. “Okay.” That’s all he says, and it’s so gentle that you nearly miss it. “I didnt… that’s new information to me.” Robby says cataloging it away for later use.
You let your head fall to the side, “You’re not… you’re not freaking out?” You ask, Robby gives you a quick shake of his head, Robby lowers his voice when nurses pass you both. “Hoenstly I’m just really confused.” He admits with a smile that is soft, and warm. “I don’t understand why you thought that you needed to pay the mortgage?”
You aren’t really sure what to do at this point, you thought of this going many ways but this way wasn’t at all what you had envisioned. You give Robby a shrug, “I just wanted to do what you were going to say.” You lie. Robby looks around the hallways and then back at you his eyes filled with a fond look. One you see often when the two of you are home, or during the middle of a date where you’ve caught him staring at you like a teenager. “I would tell you that… you don’t pay the mortgage.” He reminds you. “I pay the mortgage, have been and will always be me who pays.” He mutters gently.
“Oh.” You mutter quietly mostly to yourself as you pretend to think “Right.” Robby laughs under his breath his chest rising and falling, “It was a good try though, Bubbeleh.” You can hear the tone shift in Robby's voice, he keeps it light, but there is something else, something sincere. “I just want you to know if you’re worried about something, or anything that you can just come to me and tell me. There is no need to prank me, especially at work.” You smile, and soften against the cold ER wall behind you. “I know, Michael.”
Robby reaches out, uncaring of the ER buzzing alive around the both of you. He grabs ahold of your hand, gives it a quick squeeze, his thumb grazing over your pulse point. Just because the man is at work and technically your boss doesn’t mean that he can’t go without touching you a few times everyday. “You’re good, bubbeleh.” He mutters quietly. “Everyting is good, we are safe.” Michael reminds you, you feel your chest warm and tighten with raw emotion.
“So no more dramatics at work?” You tease Michael. He grins the one that makes his crows feet around his eyes come to life, and the one that has his nose scrunching up. “I’m sorry to report, but I only save the dramatics for you know actual emergencies. Like when you steal the last of the coffee at home.” He teases right back.
You laugh loudly and let your head fall forward into his shoulder. “You know that coffee is most definitely an emergency.” You feel him nod, “Yeah it is.” Dr. Mohan ends up calling his name, and Michael lets out a low heavy sigh into your shared space. He gives your hand a final squeeze before letting it go between the both of you. “I'll see you later.” He says softly, “Just try not to prank me with anything else until we are back home.” He teased before walking off and towards Dr. Mohan. “I give you no promises, Michael.”
You see him shake his head, and walk backwards until he hits an empty bed. “You are trouble bubbeleh.” He says before wiping around and walking a little faster towards Dr. Mohan. You walk back towards the nurses station, and stand in front of the board, “How’d your prank go on Robby?” Dana asks over the tops of her glasses, you smile. “He didn’t even freak out just reassured me that everything was handled. I kinda just melted after that.” Dana smiles and shakes her head, “Go ahead pick something before something picks itself for you.”
Frank Langdon -
Frank is standing in front of the sink, hand drying your pottery mugs. The words come out of your laziness like you don’t really believe them yourself. “Frank, I’m not going to be able to pay for the mortgage this month.” You hope for something, anything other than Frank not even looking up at you and instead just humming.
Frank only hums once, like it’s thoughtful. You wait… sitting on the other side of the kitchen. You’re waiting for the pause in the air, the sharp inhale when your words finally land. Except nothing happens at all, instead Frank continues to hand dry your mugs and set them in the cabinet with care, and love. Only when Frank lays the towel down, does it mean that the conversation deserves his full attention.
“Okay.” He says with a light shrug of his shoulders. You feel your brows pinch, and your shoulders fall down. You were hoping for more, something dramatic like you had seen on tiktok from other wives telling their husbands that they weren’t able to pay for their mortgage. “Okay?” You echo.
Frank leans his back into the counter, his arms folding over his chest. “Yeah… You wanna tell me why, or are you just talking out loud again?” You pout automatically. “Frank, why are you more worried about this?” You ask, your husband stares at you for a long moment, his eyes narrowing over your face and then the man is smiling at you. “I’m not worrying about this if you're gonna worry about it.” He answers.
Your mouth falls open. Frank continues, “You forget I know you honey, if you were really truly stressed about this you’d be pacing all over this place, or you’d be over-explaining yourself while apologizing to me” He doesn’t stop there, “Instead you’re sitting there waiting for me to react.” He says with a wiggle of his brows.
“You're impossible, Frank.” You say with a huff, Frank smiles at you softly, but also knowing. “Honey, it’s an occupational hazard.” You throw your hands up “Fuckin’ hell, It was prank.” Frank just nods, “How… you knew?” You question quickly. “Like thirty seconds in.” Frank pushes off the counter, and rounds the corner.
Frank's hands wrap around your wrist, gently tugging you from the stool and down to the floor. “I wanted to know where you gonna go with it.” You look up at Frank, “And?” You question. “I was actually curious if you thought it was your responsibility in the first place, baby.” His words sober you a little. “I didn’t mean it like that, Frank.” You try, Frank nods, “I just wanted to say it anyways.”
Frank rubs his thumb over your pulse point. As to steady the both of you at the moment. “I’m just saying that you don’t ever pay the mortgage.” He pauses and then continues, “You never have. It’s not because you can’t, but because it’s not your job baby. We agreed that we would divide things a certain way and that meant that I paid for the mortgage.” You shrug and Frank continues to look down at you, trying to read your tells. “I just… it still feels like I should be helping more, or better.”
“Honey, you do.” He says quickly, “It's just not with money, and that’s okay.” You take a chance to look up at him again, “Oh?” Frank smirks and his eyes light up. Blue grows brighter by the second. “You keep me sane. You keep this place feeling like a home, instead of just a place where I sleep for twelve hours and then leave to return back to the day shift. That is not nothing.” You feel the warmth cover your chest and seep into your bones.
“So, is that a no to alternative payments plans?” You’re able to recover from the warmth in your chest enough to tease your husband. Frank snorts, laughing and throwing his head back. “That’s a nice try, baby.” He says leaning in, pressing a kiss to your forehead. Lingering there for a moment like he always does.
“I’ll tell you what.” he murmurs against your forehead, “If you ever wanna renegotiate the current terms, we can talk about it… privately." Frank says, pulling back. Your cheeks grow hot, and your stomach curls and jumps at the thought. “See?” Franks says amused. “That’s the reaction you really wanted.”
You laugh, but agree with him. “You’re so fucking calm about this.” “It’s just experience.” He says, “Plus it helps that I’m so confident.” Frank slips an arm around your waist, leading you towards the couch in the living room where the conversation seems to settle down. “Just next time.” He adds playfully, “Maybe pick a prank that doesn’t cause my blood pressure to go through the sky.” You smile over at him “I make no promises, Frankie.” He just shakes his head, and presses a kiss to your temple. “That figures, baby.”
Posted on: 02/05/26