*Content warning; dark themes !! *
Okay, but an idea dawned on me and I may need to develop this fic by Christmas, but A Christmas Carol, but The Pitt.
Robby is obviously Scrooge.
So I have a few ideas, but I think the obvious one would be Adamson. It will be heartbreaking. But going back and seeing young Robby (reminiscent of Dr. Carter) and Adamson working together. Adamson grooming to be an Attending. A soft, comedic, extremely knowledgeable hand. Holds high standards. A lot of young Robby is hc as he’s just like Frank, but i definitely think young Robby is very much like Samira. Compassion (to a fault sometimes), spends too much time being buddy buddy with his patients. Belaying giving them diagnosis’s, not to waste time but to try everything to reverse it, though impossible. Taking things personally etc. He can be reminded of the Why.
There is a few people we can use for Present. I toyed with it being Buran, Samira or possibly even Dana or Jack. But I’m leaning towards it being Frank. Thematically I considered Dennis, but I feel he is more of a Bob Cratchit character for this story (more on that later) as he is the one now being essentially groomed. But who came first? Frank Langdon.
I hc that, like Dennis, Robby grew close to Frank pretty easily. Through his first few months, taking him under his wing with the encouragement of Adamson. Maybe with Adamson’s blessing, Robby started favoring him. Mimicking their relationship and going even further, perhaps getting too close to the point he staked a lot on him. Covering for him more than once, the way a father bails out their kid. The other doctors noticing the favoritism, but ignoring it. Present Robby and Langdon watch as Robby looks away a lot more often. He admits to blaming himself for the whole thing. Not holding him to the standard Adamson did for him. Not just taking over as Heather’s teen patient and lying about the measurements to save her ass and the patients life. Not just pushing life saving efforts before labs come back because “it’s my ass, not yours.” No. Like ‘do I want to know about this? No? Okay, try and figure it out, but whatever it is, I’ll cover you.’ And this is not as his Attending, this is as a R4. He’s sloppier than he has been. Even when he dated Heather (an R1 at the time) the year prior. Even as he was being groomed for the role. Maybe we see some things Robby never got to see. Langdon after his initial injury, hurting at work etc sliding into self-medication. Each time an audit from the ADC and it looks a bit off (before Frank learns the best way to do it) Robby shrugs it off and covers for him because he couldn’t possibly be on purpose. Frank and a handful of others being his lifeline after Adamson’s passing. He has to admit to his failings, but how it was ultimately not his fault for Franks choices.
This is where it gets darker. I want nothing more to have Future be Samira Mohan.
They watch from the hub in the ED. Robby looks around at all the new faces. Samira explains that the Pitt is no longer called the Pitt. That the hospital has been bought and sold to private company. He sees an older Samira walking through the ED halls and glaring into an exam room, swirling her finger silently at a young doctor who nods subserviently and works faster to take a patients history.
She’s the attending and has been for a few years. They watch her look into Trauma 1 for a beat before shaking her head and righting herself before moving on. Robby looks in awe and congratulates her. She smiles dryly as says she didn’t have much of a choice. He ask after everyone else. Spirit Samira floats them down the hall, each door they move through a portal. Dana retiring and it actually sticking. Spending her days being cared for by her grandchildren after Benji passed a year prior. Samira remarking her taking her husband’s death better in comparison. Robby questions, but she walks out Dana’s backdoor and they enter a doctor’s office. Trinity walks in and smiles talking to a mother and a little girl. Samira tells Robby Santos moved on to private medicine. Robby is shocked and Samira nods, saying they all were, but not so much after they thought about it. He is confused, but is lead out again. They exit the building and they are outside. Robby sees Jack sitting on a park bench, staring at a pond. She says he retired too. Despite everyone’s urgings. He still does checks in with the VA. Does talks. But he’s been lonely but barely checks in anymore.
He questions after the others. Asking after Dennis, he wants to see his success. He wants to see happiness. Samira inhales and leads him through the park past a tree. They pop out and land in a small town. It’s fall and a festival seems to be in full swing. Robby smiles and moves ahead of Samira, she just slowly moves with him. Robby guesses that he went into rural medicine just as he wanted. An Attending at a rural hospital. A soft, comedic, extremely knowledgeable hand. Taking doctors under his wing and having focused attention on the needs of the small town and those around it. But he stops dead in his tracks as he sees an almost grayed out Dennis. He looks older than he should. Sitting at a booth, men older than him but not in appearance and their wives work the booth too, but more enthusiastically. Robby crinkles his brow and looks back as Samira walks up taking an apple off a bushel. She crunches into it as she tells him that Dennis quit medicine before he could finish his R1 year. Robby says that that is impossible. That she’s lying. She explains that he quit and moved back home to Broken Bow forcibly rekindling with his relationship with his family. The prerequisite being doing exactly as they want. Robby becomes irate. Saying this future is wrong. There is no way any of these people would make these decisions. Samira didn’t want to stay in Emergency medicine let alone run the ED. Dana says she’s going to retire every month’s and even when she finally does, there is no way she would let her grandkids be her caregivers. Santos would never go into private medicine, but definitely not Peds! Jack would never disappear like that. And Dennis would not quit! He fought so hard to leave Nebraska to forge his own path there is no way he would crawl back home like this! He demands she takes him to the truth—no more lies! She looks at him seriously, tossing her apple, asking if he really wants to see the truth?
She leads him through one last portal by sweeping open a canvas tent and walking through it, he follows. They end up back at the ED.
Robby of the future goes on his sabbatical. Maybe he doesn’t even get that far. Crashing within their encampment and being brought to PTMC. Future Samira (not the spirit) not having left for her fellowship, is still in the ED. Present Robby has to stand in the room as his doctors and nurses try desperately to bring him back. Each compression like a pound to his chest. It’s so noisy and bloody and emotional. He has to watch as all of his most precious people in his life reacts as they have to code him. Jack, who, despite ‘finding comfort in the dark’ covering for Robby during the day. His shaky voice saying the time of death. Santos slowly stepping back from the table mortified. Samira looking with wide eyes, shaking. Dana wailing beyond the glass door to T1 being held back by Perla. Dennis not taking Jack calling it to heart, continuing life saving care. Still hitting against his chest, screaming for the cell saver, to give him more blood. That his heart will fill again. Ignoring Robby’s gray matter escaping from a wound on his skull they have dressing over. Jack emotionally pulling him off. Dennis is forced to stop and looks up at Robby’s disfigured profile, not at all the kind face he looked forward to seeing everyday. Dennis collapses backwards into Jacks arms, throwing up down his scrubs to the cold tile floor, hyperventilating and crying. ‘Impossible’ ‘it’s not possible—this isn’t real—‘
Robby flinches away, sobbing himself. Begging Samira to make it stop. He doesn’t want to see them like this. He doesn’t want it to be this way. He doesn’t want to leave them behind. He doesn’t want to die! He doesn’t want to leave them behind! He doesn’t want to die!
He wakes up muttering and sobbing that very thing. Waking up in his bed. He clamors out of bed, finding his phone at 50%. July 5th. He sobs at his second chance. He gets dressed hurriedly and goes to the Pitt. He goes in, people who see him joke that it’s his first day of his leave and he’s here the very next day. Robby pants as he looks around, finding Dana easily. She harshly asks what the hell he’s doing here but she gets her answer as he wraps her in a tight hug. She nearly cries as he does, wrapping her arms around him too. He apologizes, earnestly and tells her he’s going to get help. He’s here to check himself in. She looks at him in shock. He asks if he could just see everyone first. She ofc accepts and doesn’t call psychology just yet.
He goes around to each of them privately. Giving out tight hugs like they are going out of style. Even to Santos after asking if it’s okay. He promises Langdon that conversation, telling him he was right, about all of it. He finds Dennis. He’s shocked but happy to see him. Robby apologizes for putting so much pressure on him. That he’s a great doctor and he needs to keep doing it because he’s so good, so much closer to Adamson than Robby ever will. Dennis is confused by his mentor being so emotional. He tells him he is fine, that Robby isn’t doing that and that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Robby says ‘yes you do’ he apologizes again and embraces him. Dennis gets misty eyed. Robby explains that he’s in a bad way. That Jack is coming and he will be checking himself in upstairs. That things might be weird for a while but that he just has to be patient and he will be okay. Dennis questions him emotionally but Robby just shakes his head. That he’ll explain it all better later. Robby leaves and runs headlong into Samira. They have a long talk until Jack comes rushing in, Caleb in tow. Robby apologizes once more to Samira and goes with Jack and Caleb upstairs. Jack not letting Robby out of his arms the whole elevator ride up.
