Staying at Robby's place for the summer was not on Jessica's bingo card. Then again, she'd never really anticipated being back in Pittsburgh. Once she'd run back south, it just seemed like an inevitability that this part of her life was over. Yet, here she was, vacuuming the living room in the golden hours of the afternoon while 90's country filled the rooms with music.
It'd been a little too easy to fall back into a rhythm in Pittsburgh. After Robby left, she'd helped Baran weather the inevitable shake-up of the department with as much grace as she possibly could. All the while, slowly shifting from maintaining to comfortably living at Robby's place. At first, she'd been a little hesitant to accept his offer of staying in his home while he was on sabbatical. It'd seemed like a surefire way to blur the lines between business and pleasure friendliness, but the deep shadows that darkened Robby's eyes and the way worry and fear had etched their way into his features, there was no way she could possibly say no.
Not when he was going on a trip he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to come back from. Whether that meant back to the Pitt or back at all, she figured she could hopefully play some sort of incentive to get him at least back to his home. Fuck the hospital, if he was done with that, it was well deserved, but she just wanted him to come back safe. So, she sent him pictures of the plants she'd tended, asked questions about the books on his bookshelves, and shared anecdotes about his neighbors while he was on the road. Little pieces of life that had nothing to do with the hospital that had clearly taken too much from him.
She'd just shut off the vacuum when the sound of keys working the door open mingled through the music and sent a ripple of excitement through her. She's quick to turn the music down, jogging towards the opening door with a grin on her lips. "Welcome home!" She beamed, throwing her arms around his waist. "I'm so glad you're back!"
aaaand then a few months later for the vibes with @pittcaptain
