Hellooo, I was wondering if you could do a Jack Abbot x fem reader (maybe she’s a nurse) where they both obviously like each other a lot and are super close so they spend a lot of time together in and outside of the Pitt. It’s a miscommunication in that reader thinks they’re dating but Jack doesn’t and he’s all pining after her (maybe insecure cause he’s so much older than her). It kinda goes on for a bit before Jack overhears her one day talking to someone about a boyfriend and he’s so brokenhearted that he starts avoiding reader. Obviously she freaks out and asks what happened, thinking he might break up with her only for both of them to be confused when they realize how stupid they’ve been.
I’m sorry if that was really long/too descriptive. I’ve seen this trope maybe once or twice and I just thought I’d love to see your take on it since you write Jack sooo well💞
💞Tags/Warnings💞: age gap relationship/crush, fluff, talks of age insecurity ( so hurt/comfort ), miscommunication leads to confessions
💞Plot💞: Jack Abbot is the perfect boyfriend! He just doesn’t know it yet..
💞Characters💞: Jack Abbot x Fem!Reader
💞Title💞: So, what are we?!
💞A/N💞: this is so funny! I love a good miscommunication trope. And thank you sm! Hope you like it!!
((Requests are ALWAYS open))
Masterlist
“God, I love this man..”
Those words leave Y/N’s mouth effortlessly as she grabs the candy bar that was left on her desk. She already knew who it was from. She didn’t have to read the dorky post it note that was attached to it. The confession stuns even her for a split second.
This was her first time saying it out loud.
It’s followed by a giddy giggle as Mel gets bashful for her. She couldn’t help it though. She was falling for the Jack Abbot. The man who’s been a constant by her side since she started working at the Pitt almost a year or so ago. He’s been her number one supporter on good days and her rock on bad ones.
“You’re so happy.” Mel notes with a big smile as if Y/N’s good mood was contagious. It makes her laugh a bit more.
“My boyfriend is literally perfect, Mel. Of course I’m happy…” Y/N smiles wide, holding the candy bar closer to her chest. Both women fail to notice the older attending hovering around the corner, though.
Jack had been waiting as patiently as he could for Mel to walk away so he could check in on Y/N. She’d had a terrible morning. Hence the candy he’d set for her on her desk. But hearing the word ‘boyfriend’ had done something to his chest. Maybe it had broken his rose colored glasses.
Maybe it had woken him up.
He slowly backs away as it sinks in. Of course. Of course a beautiful girl like Y/N would be taken. He rubs his hands along his cargo pants as he instantly tries to busy himself. He should’ve known that this long game he was playing would only end badly.
He didn’t know when it started. He likes to believe the moment he met Y/N, he started to woo her. But, honestly, he had seen Y/N as a mentee. Someone with a passion for saving people that he respected.
Jack loved a capable woman.
And the day he watched her practically get on top of a plus sized patient so she could have the leverage to give CPR as paramedics rushed the gurney down the hallway? He knew he had to buy her dinner.
Maybe that’s when the view changed? He couldn’t pinpoint it. One day, though, he just looked at her and thought to himself.. ‘huh. Have her eyes always been that deep?’
And he’d been falling in them ever since..
But here he is now. Embarrassed and fidgeting with his stethoscope out of an overwhelming gut feeling of aimlessness. He felt dumb to say the least.
But why feel anything else? What should he feel instead?
Surprised? He’s 50! Obviously getting the girl wasn’t for someone of his age.
What about anger? For all the late night breaks spent on the roof or at the park across the way? For all the deep conversations that an attending and nurse could not platonically have because they’re so intimate in nature, especially if the nurse has a boyfriend! But maybe Y/N was just a naturally open person. Maybe those details he had learned about her weren’t special in nature because everyone knew them. Maybe he imagined the comfortable silence and hand brushing. The resting her head on his shoulder were just habits of hers that she’d do with anyone.
Should he feel concerned? Confused? A boyfriend and yet she’d grab breakfast with him after almost every shift? A boyfriend, but she’d hold his hand as they walk through the farmer’s market on Sunday because she wanted him to explore new aspects of Pittsburgh. There’s a boyfriend in her life, and just earlier this afternoon they’d shared a hospital bed to nap in together for their night shift!
Jack wants to laugh in disbelief. Some girlfriend Y/N was! If he was said boyfriend, he would’ve been down here the first time he heard his girlfriend had gone out to grab a slice at 1am with her attending. Just to make sure the guy knows she’s taken. Maybe they weren’t that kind of couple though. Hell, maybe it was that old school mindset that Jack had that solidified him just not being Y/N’s type.
Jack busies himself by checking the supplies in empty hospital rooms. Refilling what’s needed. It’s tedious, sure, but also just enough to keep his mind on something else and stop his racing thoughts from suffocating his heart..
“Hey..” He hears from behind him, and slows his movements only a bit but stays with his back turned. Looking at her would only make him break.. And he was way too old to be this heartbroken..
Y/N pauses at the tension she clearly sees on Jack’s shoulders. She frowns slightly. “You okay? Is it the supplies?” She tries to joke as she moves closer. “Do you need a stocking buddy?” She teases as she moves to stand next to him. Usually, her teasing would be met with a joke of his own. A sly comment with a soft smirk.
But the minute Y/N’s hand brushed against Jack’s, he drops the glove box he’d been wrestling with and just walks out of the room. Leaving Y/N stunned…
What the hell was that?!
*
*
*
That wasn’t Jack. This wasn’t Jack.
And Y/N was beginning to worry.
For a man who had once told her, ‘you’re the Pitt nurse, sure, but you’re my nurse first’, he was surely enjoying calling for Mateo to follow him on cases tonight..
Y/N stands at the nurse’s station, racking through her brain to think about this. What the hell had she done? What had she said? Why couldn’t he look her in the eyes tonight? Why would he vacate any room she walked into like she’s the plague?
“I’m off..” She hears from behind her and turns to wave bye to Mel who’d been pulling extra hours now that she had no responsibilities towards her sister. That’s when it hit her.
Oh god.
Maybe she had messed up!
Telling Mel! She’d told Mel! She hadn’t used any names, sure, but maybe it was obvious. Maybe Jack wanted to keep this private. He was a very open book at work, though. Hell, Y/N found out the majority of her facts on Jack because of Robby!
That was his work husband through and through..
But maybe this, maybe they, were supposed to stay a secret. Something just for them. And telling Mel had upset Jack. She gets a thought that makes her heart drop..
Maybe it had showed him her immaturity.
She needed to find him…
*
*
*
The sun was just starting to peek up from the city line as Jack leaned against the railing. He needed the fresh air to clear his mind. The night had dragged on and today was a new day. A day to fully sit with this somber acceptance. Y/N wasn’t his. And she never would be..
The roof top door squeaks open and Jack doesn’t turn to see who has entered, assuming it to be Robby. If it was, he’d try and convince the older man to just sit here with him for a moment or so. He could use the silent company. But a voice breaks out of the silence.
“I knew I’d find you here..”
Jack cringes slightly. He sighs at the flutter in his heart. Her voice does that to him. Even now, knowing everything. He hates it.
“Just about to leave.” He says, voice gruff as he goes to grab his bookbag that’s on the gravel ground by his feet. He picks it up and swiftly moves over the railing. Y/N is quick to get in his way.
“Jack. Please. I can explain..” She whispers, finally dropping any casual front. She knew they had something to discuss..
“There’s nothing to explain, Y/N. I’m just your attending..” Jack says shortly, averting his eyes so he doesn’t have to see her heart break from his words.
“Jack..” She whispers, as if in shock that he’d even say that. He moves to walk past her, but he can’t stop himself anymore. They did have something to discuss…
“No.” He says, turning back around to face her. “You know what really sucks? Is the fact that you couldn’t just tell me.” He states.
“I didn’t think it was important!” Y/N quickly says back, shaking her head as if beside herself in this moment.
“You didn’t think…” Jack laughs humorlessly. A short sound that’s cut off by his hand coming up to rub his mouth in disbelief.
“We spend every night, every morning, every day off together, and you didn’t think it was important?” He continues with a heavy sigh of disbelief and anger.
Y/N shakes her head, arms coming up to hold herself. It’s her turn to breathe shakily in frustration. “I’m sorry that you wanted me kept a secret! I didn’t know you were so ashamed of being with me!”
Jack pauses. “What?” He whispers in disbelief. “What?!” He repeats as if at a loss. “I.. You know what I’m ashamed of, Y/N? Being the other man!”
“What?!” Y/N practically shrieks in shock. That sound stuns the older man for a brief moment. Long enough for her to continue.
“Jack. There is no other man. It’s just you!” She says fast.
“I…” He blinks a bit before shaking his head. No. No, he’d heard her clear as day. “You’re gonna lie? I heard you. Talking about your boyfriend..”
“Are you… Is this a senior moment?!” Y/N loudly proclaims in actual astonishment.
“Hey..” Jack warns.
“You’re my boyfriend, you big dummy! I was talking about you!” She shouts. What the hell wasn’t he getting right now?!
There’s a beat of silence the falls between the two. As if they’ve just now realized how different their viewpoints had been.
“I… I am?” Jack asks slowly now, turning pale with shock. Only then does the anger in Y/N’s body melt away, replaced with surprise. But it’s mixed with something else. Something bitter.
Mortified humiliation.
“A-Are you..?” She asks back before covering her mouth. Had she just assumed all those outings were dates? All those moments alone, all those afternoon naps at work? It was all just friendly?!
“Oh my god, you must think I’m a kid..” She whispers, horrified as Jack lets it all fully sink in. Y/N turns away, hand on her forehead as she wishes for the ground to just swallow her whole. Jack looks at her. Really looks at her, and he can’t help but start to chuckle.
“It’s not funny!” Y/N whines, tears in her eyes as Jack walks over.
“I’m not laughing at you. I.. Come here..” He whispers as he pulls her in. As much as she wants to run, she knows his arms around her will feel so much better…
He holds her close as he rests his chin on the top of her head, arms on her shoulders while she grips his waist. “I… I’m so so sorry..” He says finally before pulling back to look at her.
They both take a moment to actually look at each other and softly begin to laugh. What the hell was this?!
“You must think I’m some dumb school girl.” Y/N groans as Jack smiles softly, muttering assurances that he doesn’t, but she keeps talking. “I.. I thought we.. We’d go out, you’d buy me flowers..” She tries to defend her thought process, but her voice comes out sheepish.
“I was… I was playing the long game..” Jack admits bashfully.
“Long game?!” Y/N asks in a flabbergasted tone.
“Yeah! You know… When a guy likes a girl, so he.. He woos her! To show he’s a good candidate!” Jack defends. Y/N actually eyes him as it clicks.
“Oh my god..” She mumbles as she remembers. Right! He’s 50! Of course he’d think dating is still some big show and dance where the guy has to pull out all the stops before he can even get the girl to be his girlfriend.
“That was all just you being chivalrous?!” Y/N stomps a foot.
“I thought it’d work!” Jack says right back. In his defense, he hasn’t been in the dating game in almost ten or so years..
“Well it did! I thought we were dating already!” Y/N groans as she face palms. Jack chuckles quietly.
“We never kissed..” He points out after a moment. Y/N sheepishly shrugs.
“I thought you were just building up to it..” She defends quietly as he softly laughs and shakes his head.
The two stand on the roof, the early morning sun shining on them as they find comfort in each other’s arms. Slowly, Y/N looks up from her playful tugging at the hem of his scrubs.
“So..” She mumbles. “What are we now?” She asks finally, voice soft and slightly lighthearted. Jack looks at her before leaning in, catching her lips in a tender kiss with his hands cradling her chin and jaw. The kiss makes Y/N’s head spin. It’s exactly how she’d imagined it. The coffee taste and all..
When they finally pull away, Y/N smiles wide against his lips. “Okay..” She mumbles, nodding only slightly as if agreeing to his silent proposal. The two slowly head for the roof door now, with all that settled. But Jack can’t stop himself as they get into the stairwell.
“So. How long have we been dating?” Jack asks curiously.
“Shut up…” Y/N laughs, still embarrassed as she lightly swats at his shoulder.
“What? I need to know if I gotta plan for an anniversary!” Jack teases further as she playfully shoves him before squealing when he goes to grab her waist, playfully running from him and down the stairs as he chases her..
!!The End!!
