the-and-sign-anon

[the-and-sign-anon]

That's your wife? sunshine version

Dr. Jack Abott x f!attending!wife!reader

summary: You started working as a pediatric surgeon at the PTMC about a year ago and people have not yet figured out that you and Jack are married because your personalities are very different

obviously a little inspired by dr. Doug Ross fighting with parents (does anyone else think dr. Robby is kinda like Mark Green?)

slightly angsty, but mostly fluff

mentions child abuse

reader gets hurt but not too badly

masterlist | thunder version

You'd always loved working with kids, working as a nanny during college and volunteering at different foster facilities. You had gone to med-school with the goal of becoming a pediatrician and after many years of internships and residency you had landed a job at UPMC Presbyterian. You'd had loved it there for years, but about a year and a half ago a position had opened at PTMC, with the chance to become Chief of pediatrics in a few years.

Initially you had wanted to turn it down. You had worked in the same hospital as Jack years ago as a resident, but had left when you kept being referred to as "Abbot's wife", instead of people seeing you as a doctor in your own right. Even though you'd kept your maiden name they seemed to link your medical abilities to your husband, and you hated it, so you'd always worked in a different hospital since then. You'd worked too hard on your career to be okay with being treated like that. Jack had been sad that you couldn't drive into work together anymore, but he respected your decision and fully supported your career.

Jack had convinced you to take the job at PTMC in the end, agreeing to keep your marriage secret except for a select few. None of the staff had questioned it so far and working at PTMC had been great. You loved the pediatrics team and the chances you had been given by performing new and exciting surgeries.

You especially loved being the on-call pedes surgeon every couple of shifts, consulting down in the Pitt. With PTMc being a level 1 trauna centre a lot of interesting cases were brought in every shift.

You knew everyone's name in the ER. They thought it was because you put in a lot of effort to get to know them, but you secretly knew because Jack would gossip about his staff with you. So not only did you know their names, but you knew that Javadi had a crush on Mateo, and Trinity had her eyes on Garcia. Sometimes you were the one delivering gossip to Jack, because you brought his nurses coffee and pastries which meant they told you everything.

Besides the treats, they liked you because you were always bright, happy and just incredibly good with children. You could calm down even the kids that McKay had trouble with. You had bright patches with dino's on your coat and had stickers for a ton of specific interests, ranging from cars to animals to TV-shows. You'd given Whitaker a sticker to soothe his feelings on more than one occasion and carried a special pack with some of Mel's favourites.

No one in the Pitt had even entertained the thought that you, with your bubbly personality and ever present smile, could be married to their very own anxious, demoralised and borderline suicidal attending.

You had spent that morning in surgery, fixing up a kid's lungs from a major pneumothorax after a consult in the Pitt. You'd been alerted that the child's father had arrived in the pedes' waiting room and that he had been asking for you.

You took a deep breath and turned the corner with Kiara right behind you. "Mr. Morgan?" You called out. A man raised his head at you and you nodded for him to follow you out of the waiting room.

"Your son's nursery brought him in this morning, he had a fever and was complaining of pain in his chest and back. We operated on a collapsed lung this morning. It was collapsed because of trauma, and it was so severe we could not treat it without surgery. We suspect someone kicked the boy in his ribs. I was called in for a consult by the doctors in the ER, and we found several old injuries during our assessment. Bruises and sprained ribs. Burns on his leg. It appears to us that the child has been hurt over a longer period of time."

You tried to control the anger in your voice. Your place was not to judge the man, but to help his son, but you were having trouble keeping yourself in line.

"This is Kiara, she is the social worker that is tied to the Emergency Department. She's been with your son since he was brought in. We want to have a conversation with you, and then child protection services and the police will be here to investigate further. There might be a reasonable explanation for all of this, but we are legally obligated to make a report and involve the police. Could you follow me into my office please?"

Mr. Morgan stood still in the hall. "You're saying you got the police involved?" His face grew red with anger. You raised an eyebrow, apparently the man was more worried about getting caught than trying to deny the accusation.

Kiara stepped in. "Yes, as the doctor explained, we have to report suspected cases of child abuse. I can talk with you about the next steps, so we can ensure this all goes smoothly for your son."

Mr. Morgan took a step towards you, his breath touching your cheek. He smelled of stale coffee. "You reported this to the police?" He asked again. You nodded, trying to step backwards to create distance. He grabbed your wrist to stop you. His voice grew louder. "I'll raise my boy however the hell I want to raise him. A nosy bitch like you has no say in it. Fucking whore of a doctor who thinks she's all that. Bet you've never raised kids of your own. Where is my son! I'm taking him home!" A bit of spit reached your face from the intensity of his outburst. Several people had poked their heads out of doors in the hallway, alarmed by the raised voice. You felt nervous by the way this was enfolding so you tried to deescalate the conversation once more. "Sir, the law in Pennsylvania states that I have to report you. If you've hurt your child, these are the consequences. There's nothing I can do about that. Your son is what we are worried about here, he's just had surgery because of his injuries. Let's try to talk and see what we ca-."

You felt the punch before you could have seen his fist flying at you. He was a big man and the force of it knocked you to the ground. Your hands flew up to your face, holding your nose. "Fuck." You groaned. You tried to inspect your nose, which, in hindsight, was a mistake, because you missed the foot that came flying into your ribs. A second kick landed soon after.

Kiara cried out next to you, calling for help. A group of nurses came flying in, grabbing mr. Morgan and pulling him off of you. You groaned and turned on your side, trying to breathe. Panic was taking over.

The chief attending came running up, assessing your nose and ribs with soft fingers. The touch grounded you and you tried to steady your breathing. You didn't say much, the pain in you body and the anger that was circling your mind keeping your throat closed.

"I need you to talk to me dear," she whispered. "Does this hurt?" You groaned. "Right, you need an x-ray so we can see what's going on. Let's get you down to the ER. Let's call 'em to let them know we're coming. Somebody get a gurney!"

You felt your heartbeat pick up as she mentioned the ER. Your fingers brushed her arm as she shouted orders. "No ER, please." You groaned at her. "I- I'm fine. Doesn't hurt that bad, I promise." You winced as you tried to put a smile on you face. "Try to convince someone else on that. I'm not keeping you out of the ER just so you can keep your husband in the dark." You groaned, again. "Don't call him. He'll worry. I'm fine." Your attending smiled at you. "Don't worry, I'll leave that to dr. Robinavitch. I would rather not be the one to tell you husband we let you get hurt while working."

Robby, Langdon and Whitaker were waiting in front of the elevator. They took over the gurney when the doors opened and rolled you into one of the rooms. Langdon tried very hard not to hurt you further and assessed your face carefully. You still winced when he brushed your left eye. "Sorry." He whispered at you. Robby was poking your ribs in the meantime. You turned you head towards him.

"Robby," You started, "You didn't call yet, did you?" He nodded and poked a particularly sore spot. "Let's asses first, I'll call him after." You whined at him. "Don't, Robby. He'll just be mad, I'll tell him when I get home." Robby looked at you sternly. "We'll talk about this later." You pouted at him and let Langdon inspect your face again. "Yes dad." You murmured. Langdon couldn't help a laugh escaping him.

Half an hour later you were working on convincing Robby not to call Jack. Your ribs were bruised and you had a massive black eye, but the CT's showed no breaks in you face or your ribs. It did hurt like hell though.

"I am a patient now, Robby, I do not give consent to cal my emergency contact and I am perfectly capable of making that decision right now." Robby nodded fiercely at you. "Yes, those are very pretty words, and very true, but the matter of the fact is that Jack will kill me when he finds out you are in his ER and I did not call him. My life's on the line here, not yours. It's bad enough that Gloria's coming down to investigate, I can not handle an angry Jack on top of that." You almost felt sorry for him.

"I just don't want him freaking out. I'll tell him when he comes in, then he can immediately see that I'm fine." Robby sighed at you. "That won't stop him from killing me and Dana." You grimaced back at him, pain pulsing through your bruises because of the movement. "He won't kill Dana, he'll hold you responsible."

Robby threw his hands in the air in surrender and was called away by an incoming trauma, leaving you alone.

You had planned to stay in the ER bed for another hour to make sure you had no concussion, but five minutes before you wanted to leave the curtain around your bed was ripped open.

"I was going to bring you a coffee upstairs and when I arrive one of the nurses tells me you've been knocked down by a parent and you're in the ER. And when I asked when it'd happened, they told me it was over two hours ago." Jack's face was angry. You opened your mouth to argue but where interrupted.

"So, let's see how you're doing" Langdon stepped in through the curtain and was shocked to see Jack standing there. "Dr. Abbot," Langdon called out, "What are you doing here so early? You shift doesn't start for an hour and a half. Is there a big trauma coming in?" Jack turned, still angry. "Where's Robby?" He demanded. "He's in curtain four, I think. He's been screaming to Gloria about hospital security for the past thirty minutes. But what are you doing here, do you need to discuss something with dr. Robby?" Jack grunted. "Bring him here." You winced at his tone. "Jack, come o-" Jack turned towards you. "Don't. Langdon go get Robby." Frank was confused. "He's in four with a patient. Why can't you just go to him? I've gotta check up on this patient." Jack turned fully towards him and Langdon could see the fury in Abbot's eyes. "Because my wife was brought into the ER this afternoon, and dr. Robinavitch did not contact me. That's why."

Langdon looked around the Pitt. "Your wife was brought in? When? I don't see an Abbot on the board? Where is she."

Jack pointed to you and you grew red.

Langdon opened his mouth but no sound came out. Whitaker kept looking from you to Jack.

"That is your wife?" Langdon gasped after a moment. "She's here all the time! How did you never tell us?" Jack shrugged and gently pushedsome hair out of your face. "Not like you ever asked." You leaned in to his touch. "You can hover around, but let Frank take a look at my face please." Jack's finger brushed your eyebrow. "I can do that. I don't want a resident working on my wife."

You took his fingers and pulled them down, kissing them softly. "Langdon can take care of it. Just sit tight and hold my hand. I'm fine Jack, I promise." You could see some of the worry leave your husband's face. "Sit down. We'll ask someone to cover your shift so you can take me home after. You can make me dinner and we'll hang out on the couch all evening, all right?" Jack resigned and took a seat next to you on the gurney, stroking your thigh with his free hand.

Langdon discharged you a couple minutes later and you managed to get Jack out of the Pitt without bumping into Robby. Jack was still mad that he had been blindsided, but he knew your injuries weren't bad. He'd promised you he'd be screaming at Robby tomorrow, but you were pretty sure you could get him to forgive his friend before then.

Tomorrow was going to be confronting enough, by then the entire hospital would know that the bubbly pediatrician and the grumpy ER physician were married.

Jack helped you into his car and leaned over you to fasten your seatbelt. "Jack," you told him when he was satisfied it was on tightly, "I'm not a kid, I can fasten my own seatbelt." Jack looked up into your eyes. "I know you're not. But you're my wife and I want to take care of you. You scared me darling. I was just going to take you a cup of coffee and I find you in my ER. That's something out of a nightmare. That elevator ride down was the longest of my life. I know you're going to be okay, but I was really terrified for a second there. So just bear with me while I treat you like you're made of glass, all right? It'll make me feel better about it." He walked around the car to get into the driver's seat.

You smiled at your husband. "So, did you abandon the cup of coffee in the pediatric ward or did you have the foresight that I would still want it." Jack fastened his own seatbelt and turned to you. "I did abandon your coffee. So I'm guessing our first stop on the way home is to get a new one?" You nodded at Jack. "You bet. Let's go, husband of mine!" He started the car and took another peek at you, glossing over your face to make sure you were all right. "I love you, my wife."

[the-and-sign-anon]

all of my life it's been heartbreak weather masterlist

updated october 5th, 2024

series cw: discussion of suicide attempts/suicidal thoughts, PTSD, morally complex and gray characters, Addy lives but at the cost of her leg

summary: (twisters x top gun maverick crossover) After El Reno, Javi starts to wonder where his place in the world is if not with StormPar. Despite Kate's insistence he ride out the rest of the season with the Wranglers, he can't shake the feeling that he's unwanted. Fueled by his own fear, he makes the executive decision to spend some time out in San Diego with his cousin Mickey. He knows he's running, but he doesn't realize he's running right home to you.

part i - the after

part ii - the return

part iii - the closure

extras and drabbles:

[the-and-sign-anon]

I think I would actually recommend this movie to people, it’s pretty good

Honor is definitely still a bitch, but I sort of like her

[the-and-sign-anon]

No high school reaches this kind of production value when no one at the school cares about theater

[the-and-sign-anon]

Mama you can’t drop completely vague hints like that and think your kid will pick up on it

Try fucking talking to her and she’d know

[the-and-sign-anon]

I FUCKING KNEW IT

I KNEW HE WAS PLAYING HER THE WHOLE TIME

[the-and-sign-anon]

Silver lining of the whole movie! We love a parent who cares more about their kid being late to practice than being gay!

[the-and-sign-anon]

I so get the vibe that the guy is playing her to get her in trouble, but I’m not sure obviously

I just want her to get consequences because she’s using all these people and no one knows what a piece of shit she is

[the-and-sign-anon]

This movie is so bad, why is this 17 year old girl so sexually exploitative?

[the-and-sign-anon]

I’m watching Honor Society since I have a day off

I’m 8 minutes in and I Hate our leading lady. Honor just comes off as an emotionless bitch who is incapable of feeling empathy.

I don’t mind women who are kind of bitches, but not when they’re just really annoying

[the-and-sign-anon]

Peach

Michael Robinavitch x Reader

Unfortunately, You bruise like a peach. Fortunately, you are loved

Loving you, the world tended to remind Robby, was a virtue. A rare gift the world has continued to nurture for almost a whole year, as if he earned such a thing for his moves to be a healthier person.

Past musing on his motivation to slowly switch to nicotine gum and the therapy intake meeting he has on Thursday, there is you. Sweet and sensational you.

From the way you advocate for others and himself at a yell to the way you sprawled out in every space you took up, unafraid to be seen and self-knowing enough to know when that space is yours to take.

But, like most things in the life of Dr. Robby, there is a very specific hang up he is constantly navigating.

You bruise.

So easily, and you get hurt even easier.

Being blessed with a knack for being overtly expressive and critically passionate came with its consequences for you, and thus a new priority for him.

“Hey fruitcake! You know your peach is down here?” The voice of good old Myrna calls out unmistakably for Robby just as he enters the chaotic open space.

Her words don’t hit him as he initially waves her off and heads over to the hub at the center of the work flow.

The woman remains persistent as she wheels on closer to him “I’m serious you fucker, your sexier half is getting a check up right now from one of your ducklings”

Robby emptied his hands with a suffering sigh before he runs a hand down his face, grumbling as he lowers himself to make eye contact with the abrasive woman.

“Myrna-“ “don’t do that voice, it makes you sound like a prick” “-could you let me in on why you think their here?” He stands straight as he tilts his head at her

“Because, fruitcake, I had the privilege of watching your kids-“ “I’m not their father” “-panic all the way to the room when they finished introductions. I believe you were out sucking on those Marlboros Dana says you’re tryna kick”

The woman looks all too satisfied at how quickly Robby flushes, eyes darting to the ever changing treatment board before he walks away with a pace that makes the woman cackle as she calls out behind him

“It’s okay, this isn’t the worst thing they’ve come in with this month!”

“Oh there he is!” Your voice floats over to Robby from where you sit on the bed, the steady but clearly unnerved hands of Dr. Mel King press on your face for bruising in a way that has you flinching minutely “hey baby”

A wide smile sits on your face, something someone would mistake for the effect of a pain reliever or assume you incompetent for, and it is not as reassuring to him as you initially hoped.

“You order labs?” His question is met with a feeble nod and a raised brow from Mel as she continues on her exam

You are met with the disappointed face of one Michael Robinavitch, though it lasts for only a second until Dr. King’s hands apply enough pressure to your ankle to have you tear up

“What happened this time?” Robby sidesteps Mel to stand behind you, hands on your shoulders to minimize any flinch as she gets closer to the darkest part of the onset bruising and swelling.

“Mmm, my foot caught on that stack of books in my room you kept nagging about” another suffering sigh comes out of Robby as he quietly starts to rub at your shoulders, a quiet laugh fanning air into your hair as the man shakes his head when you yelp at pressure from a gloved hand.

Note: just a little something from my mind to you, clumsy people rise up

[the-and-sign-anon]

Old Fandoms

New Masterlist

This is the collection of my older fandoms and writing. I don't really write for these fandoms anymore, so I wanted to separate them from my more current ones.

The Kid Who Would Be King

The Umbrella Academy

Community

Hamilton

Merlin

Criminal Minds

YouTubers

Bendy and the Ink Machine

Supernatural

Psych

Star Wars

Marvel

Grishaverse

Mythic Quest

Stranger Things

National Treasure

Detroit: Become Human

Bungo Stray Dogs

[the-and-sign-anon]

New Masterlist

Old Masterlist

This is my newer masterlist for my current fandoms

It's not a catch-all for what I'm willing to write, this is just a masterlist for what I'm currently into AND have writtten for, so it would have a list of fics to look through

Trigun

The Pitt

[the-and-sign-anon]

The Pitt Masterlist

Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch

Fire and Smoke

[the-and-sign-anon]

Fire and Smoke: Part 4

Fandom: The Pitt

Word Count: 3,023

Tag List: @emma8895eb

Series Masterlist

While you figured that quitting meant you’d never really see your coworkers again, Shadow certainly felt differently. Your old teammates understood that you were going in a new direction and had never been too close with you anyway, so they let you go pretty easily. Jazz and Gran sat down with you when you announced you were leaving, talked about it a bit until you shut down the conversation. 

Shadow held it together pretty well when you’d broken the news of your departure. He’d helped you pack up your belongings and clean out your locker when you left. A few days later, he chanced reaching out to check on you. You took it better than he expected and met with him for lunch. He tried not to get emotional; he succeeded most of the time. 

You met with him about once every three weeks, getting lunch or coffee. He still asked you for advice about work, which you always gave. Shadow had cemented himself as one of the few people in your life you considered yourself to be close with. He was a good friend, a little bird under your wing. You never really thought he’d disappear from your life. 

The last time you saw him was on a cool autumn afternoon. He stopped by the library to pick up a book and a few movies. 

“Afternoon, Dex!”

You let a soft smile cross your face. His hair had been getting a little long, so he pulled half of it back in a ponytail. 

“Hey, Shadow. How have things at the station been?”

“Pretty quiet for now. We’ve had a few minor calls, but nothing too bad. I’ve got the weekend off, so I’m having a little marathon with my roommates.”

“Ah, the boys. And how are they?”

Shadow handed you his library card and the stack of items. 

“They’re all good. Joey’s over his cold. Max is making us dinner.”

You made a little noise of agreement. Max was quite a good cook according to Shadow.

“And Luca got back from his reunion, so we’re all together for the weekend.”

“That’s good! You’ll have to tell him I say hi.”

Shadow looked at you as you printed his checkout receipt. 

“You don’t have to push formalities, Dex. Luca gets it.”

“Thank you.”

Shadow nodded. Luca was never big on formalities either, opting to say as little as possible to new people and launching straight into conversations instead of suffering through small talk. You liked him. He was a good kid, like Shadow.

“Thank you as always for your help. I’ll check in with you again next Tuesday.”

You waved goodbye and thought nothing of it. 

On Tuesday night, you were wrapping up your book in your quiet little apartment. Shadow hadn’t called yet, which struck you as odd. He always kept your shared routines. You tried to distract yourself figuring out where to meet with Robby once you were both finished with the book. It was a big chance for you to take, trying to meet with him for coffee. It wasn’t just a simple book recommendation or baked goods dropped off at the ED. You were really trying to build something with him. 

Just before midnight, still struggling to search for sleep, you got a phone call. Within two minutes, you were out the door and driving to the same ED that had managed to save you a year ago. Your parking job was shitty, but you were in no frame of mind to care. You moved on autopilot as you ran through the nearest doors and begged a nurse for information. You were rushed through to the trauma bay where a doctor with graying curls called out orders to the other staff. 

Everyone moved in perfect sync, pushing meds, monitoring vitals, and gauging the severity of his burns. You stood in the corner by the doors, your hands shaking uncontrollably. You couldn’t even speak, just watching without really seeing what was happening. Shadow was barely hanging on. After a few moments, the doctor caught sight of you and sent a nurse to remove you. 

“Excuse me, I need you to come-”

“No. I’m his- I need to be here. What’s happening to him?”

You planted your feet firmly in place. He’d been there for you, you would be there for him.

“Doctor Abbot-”

“I’m not going! I’m sorry, but he needs me!”

Abbot stepped away for a few seconds, the nurses continuing with their efforts as he moved to rest a hand on your shoulder. You dodged it, a harsh light in your eyes that told him to keep his distance. He raised his hands in a placating gesture, but you could hardly process what was happening. 

“What’s your name?”

“Y/N. I got the call, I need to see Shadow. I need to be with him.”

Abbot took note of your desperate tone and opened the door to show you out. 

“Can we step out for just a second to talk?”

You watched Shadow on the gurney, still and surrounded by nurses. The energy around him was frantic. It set your entire being on edge. 

“I can’t…”

“We’ll be just on the other side of these doors, he won’t even leave your sight.”

You half nodded and stepped out next to him, your hands pressed tightly together. 

“You said we called you?” Another small nod. “So you’re his emergency contact. Are you a family member?”

“Uh, no. I’m- well, I was- his lieutenant. I retired, but we’re still in touch.”

Abbot nodded and forced his eyes away from the hustle and bustle in the trauma bay to watch you. 

“How bad is it?”

You were hardly even blinking. Your hands were squeezed tight together, still shaking as you watched your former coworker like a hawk. 

“It’s not good. He was caught in a building fire. His team couldn’t reach him for a while. He was brought in with partial or full thickness burns over most of his body. We’re doing everything we can right now, but we need you to stay clear of the space so we can work.”

“I can’t leave him. I can- I can stay in the corner, maybe? I’ll be out of the way, I just can’t leave him.”

Abbot considered this for a moment. He knew it wasn’t protocol. He knew Gloria would be pissed if she knew. 

“Okay, come on.”

Abbot grabbed a stool and pushed it into the far corner of the room, where you perched to watch. He returned to the fray, one nurse catching him back up as they did all they could. 

Your vision tunneled when the long, screeching beep sounded through the room. More medication was brought, a burn specialist appeared to advise, but the sound didn’t stop. Voices all blended together, bodies moved. Someone tried again to reach out to you and remove you. 

All the fight drained out of you as a tall nurse wrapped her arm around you and guided you out. The touch sent prickling discomfort racing through you as you collapsed into a chair in the hallway. Your head sank down to your knees, your interlocked hands resting over the back of it. 

You weren’t sure how long it was before someone came to get you. Your eyes stung, strained with the effort not to cry. Abbot stood in front of you with a somber expression. You couldn’t even look up, just focused in on his shoes inches from yours. 

“You couldn’t get him back… could you?”

“I’m sorry, Y/N. We did everything we could.”

“I know. You’re good people here. I…” you sniffled and prayed your tears wouldn’t start now. “I know you did your best. Can I see him? If there’s time?”

“Yeah. I can have him moved to the viewing room and you’ll have all the time you need.”

You mumbled a thanks and followed the gurney into a small, quiet room. The nurse closed the door behind her and left you alone. For nearly an hour, you just watched him. A part of you willed him to breathe again, to move and wake up and come back. It killed you to know he wouldn’t. 

Eventually, you called each of his roommates. You’d only met any of them a handful of times, knowing far more about them from stories told by Shadow than by personal experience. You tried to keep your voice steady, to tell them where to go. 

You called Luca first, who promised to get in touch with his family on the way. Max put you on speaker when you called so Joey could hear you. They caught a ride to the hospital as soon as they could. Another nurse led them into the room as they arrived. None of them knew what to say or do. 

Luca broke down first. He fell to his knees next to you and gingerly leaned against your knee as the tears began to fall. He’d only been able to leave voicemails for Shadow’s sisters. His parents had passed a few years ago.

Max carefully took hold of one of his burnt, still hands. So much of his skin was blistered and pale, so far from his usual color and liveliness. Joey could hardly look at him for a few seconds before curling up in a chair and staring at the wall. None of you spoke. The only motion was your fingers slowly threading through Luca’s thick, dark red hair. Shadow had helped him dye it just two weeks ago. 

Around four in the morning, you let the nurse know you were ready to leave. The boys trailed after you with red rimmed eyes and blank expressions. The staff gave you all sympathetic looks that went unnoticed. Shadow’s body was moved to the morgue. Abbot spared you one more glance as you walked out the doors to the parking lot. 

The next few days were a blur. Shadow’s sisters came to town, one with her wife and two sons. A funeral was put together. You attended with the boys, Luca and Joey clinging to you in a way you would never ordinarily allow. Your old team attended alongside what felt to you like half the bureau. 

The weather was blessedly cool, with clouds blocking the sun. It was Shadow’s favorite weather. He was always happier on stormy days than sunny ones. You listened as each of his sisters spoke, then his lieutenant. You’d declined to speak, not trusting your voice in front of so many at such a vulnerable occasion. You just stood there, in your all black suit, holding Luca’s hand in your right, Joey wrapping both hands around your left arm. You weren’t sure who was supporting who more. 

When the service concluded and most attendees left, you approached his sisters. Melanie and Georgia were wiping away their tears, Georgia’s boys both holding each other in their seats. The two women tried for smiles when you reached them, though it didn’t result in much. 

“I’m not sure if you know me, but I was Shadow’s lieutenant for a while. I retired from the bureau a year ago. He was- he was a good man.”

“You’re Dex?”

You nodded. 

“He talked about you a lot. He thought the world of you.”

You sniffled and looked down at the grass. 

“I’ll never understand why. He was… so positive. Like a… golden retriever. So eager to please, ready to learn.”

The women laughed a little, quickly devolving into more sniffles. 

“I guess he made me his emergency contact. I was… I was there when they brought him to the ED. I just want to say I’m sorry for your loss.”

Melanie wiped at her eyes and met your gaze for as long as you could manage. 

“Alfie loved what he did. He talked about wanting to be a firefighter since he was… probably seven years old. It was his dream. We’re glad he got to live it. And we’re glad he had someone here to show him how. To look out for him when we couldn’t.”

You nodded softly. There was so much more you wished you’d done for him. 

Despite yourself, you offered them both a hug. Once you stepped back, you wiped your eyes and said your goodbyes. You caught up with the boys in the parking lot and sent them home to their apartment. Then you got into your own car and started driving. 

You didn’t end up at home. You just kept on driving, out of city limits and beyond. It wasn’t until some time after midnight that your eyes grew heavy and you pulled off the road at a truck stop. You staggered into the convenience store and bought a too small throw blanket and a travel pillow. You fell asleep in the passenger seat, cranked back to get some approximation of a sleeping position. 

In the morning, you called your manager to tell them you were taking more time off than you’d originally intended, that you didn’t want to talk about it, but you’d need a full week off. 

The only consistent stops you made were to fill up on gas and get enough food and drink to keep yourself going. You ended up in a little town near the northern tip of Maine called Hancock. You stayed for two days. You walked along the rivers and the beaches. No one spoke to you, no one asked you anything. 

One evening, wrapped in a thick sweater that nearly fell to your knees, you laid on your hood and stared up at the sky. In the cold and the quiet, you took one shuddering breath after another. 

Shadow was gone. 

He was never coming back. 

At four in the morning in a town you’d never heard of until you arrived, you slipped your phone from your pocket and put on Shadow’s favorite playlist. He’d made it for you himself, having stolen your phone one afternoon while you baked and promising you you’d love it. You hadn’t listened to it once since he made it, figuring it would be full of stuff you would never pick out yourself. 

It started with soft folk tunes. Gently plucked guitar strings, smooth, low vocals that warmed you through the October chill. Without your permission, tears cascaded down your face, trailing to the edges of your ears before you tucked your hands up to stop them. 

You’d never told Shadow your favorite artists, and you knew he was far more inclined to lively rock or niche punk bands. 

When you ran out of tears to cry, you took deep, measured breaths. The cold settled in at your back, prickling at you even through your sweater. Even so, you remained there. Pressed against the metal, Shadow’s voice in your head just beneath the songs he’d chosen just for you. 

He was the closest you’d ever come to having a sibling or a child. He looked up to you. Trusted you. Liked you. Listened to you. He was your little duckling, your little shadow. 

And he was gone. 

At nearly six in the morning, you slid off the hood and slipped back into your car. You drove until you found a motel and checked in. You spent nearly sixteen hours sleeping before waking up in a haze. You forced down a dinner, then went right back to bed. The next day, you started back towards Pittsburgh. 

You took your time, stopping at attractions advertised on billboards and markets as shown on wooden signs pounded into the dirt. 

Just an hour outside Pittsburgh nine days after Shadow took his last breath, you pulled up to an Autumn festival in Kittanning. There were laughing children, a pumpkin carving station, and fresh apple cider. Everyone looked so… happy. 

You slowed to a stop when you came across a man sitting next to a little enclosure full of reddish golden retrievers. The five puppies were playing around, yipping at each other and tumbling head over paws as they tried to climb atop their mother. 

“Interested in gettin’ a pup?”

“Hm?”

The man straightened in his chair. 

“My neighbor’s golden got my girl Maizy here pregnant and I gotta get the puppies to new homes now.”

You looked down at the collection of dogs. Two had classic golden fur, while the other three had a deeper, more red color. One puppy sat at the edge of the group, staring up at you as you watched them all. Against your better judgement, you knelt down and reached in with one hand, letting the curious creatures sniff at you and lick your fingertips. 

You felt a smile break across your face, the first since you received that fateful call. 

“I uh… I don’t live here in town. I live in Pittsburgh. I don’t know if I can…”

“Tell you what. They’re old enough to leave Maizy. I’ve been house training them as best I can. They’re healthy little critters. If I can’t find a home for one after… two months, I could reach out and see if you’re still interested.”

Your eyes flickered up to him. 

“You sure?”

“Oh, sure. I can see you’d be a good pet owner. It’s all in the eyes.”

You huffed out a little laugh and looked back down as the quiet one nudged at your fingers. You gently brushed your hand over its back and stood again. You exchanged names and numbers with the man, then moved on. 

For the rest of the day, you thought of that dog. Maybe a little companionship would do you some good. But you had to think rationally. You had no supplies for a dog. You’d never trained one yourself before. This wasn’t a spur of the moment kind of decision. You had to consider it, turn it over in your mind, look at all the angles. 

Four days after your return to Pittsburgh, you called Ian and arranged a day to pick up your new dog, then spent the afternoon buying everything you could possibly need. Your home was about to change forever, you had to be ready.

[the-and-sign-anon]

i love Jack Abbot(t), i adore him, i do... but i'm BEGGING y'all to please stop tagging Jack only fics in the Robby tags. it's the Year of Our Dark Lord 2025, we're still on this goddamn site, and i'm pretty sure every fandom i've ever been in since i started here over a decade ago has had this discussion.

and this goes for everyone, don't tag Robby in Jack fics, Langdon, Shen, Walsh, Mohan, King, Collins, Ellis, anyone... relevant tags only

i'm developing a bitchin' migraine, i haven't slept well in a week, and work sucks, so this is a valid crashout

[the-and-sign-anon]

Dating John Shen snapchats part 2😊

Also excited to announce i'm making a John Shen x reader series! This is on top of the one shots i have drafted on my notes app too. Happy The Pitt S2 filming day! John Shen girlies keep winning❤️