thegeeksideofsr

[thegeeksideofsr]

OOOHHHHHHHH YESSSSS THAT ENDING! RIGHTIN THE FEELS!

either way it's gonna || the pitt

pt 3 <<prev • next>>

pairing: jack abbott x f!resident!reader warnings: age gap (older man/younger woman), allusions to child abuse, suicide/drug overdose, canon-typical death a/n: Shit's about to get just a little✨messy✨. I've been legit floored by the response to this story so far. Thanks to everyone who's along for the ride with me on this. Pls let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list! Not beta read.

Everyone knew. Heather wouldn’t tell anyone about your work crush on an attending, and you certainly hadn’t told anyone else. But somehow, everyone seemed to know. Not only about your incredibly embarrassing and continually growing feelings for your attending, but there was also something else. It felt like you were consistently on the outside of a joke everyone else was privy to.  

It started with a raised eyebrow from Perlah after a standard intubation. Dr. Abbot had poked his head in looking for Robby, but ended up sticking around until you’d stabilized the patient. 

“You know I always appreciate the assist, but you didn’t have to stay. I had it under control.” 

“You always do,” he mused, that small ‘proud teacher’ smile on his face morphing into one of apology. He started to step back toward the door. “I didn’t mean to intrude.” 

“You didn’t!” you rushed to say, maybe a little too quickly. You took a breath before continuing, trying to recover some semblance of nonchalance. “But I know you were looking for Robby, so…” 

“Right, yeah, I should go, uh, find him for handoff. He wasn’t on the roof when I checked.” 

“I saw Gloria hovering earlier. Maybe check that surgical on-call room he thinks we don’t know he uses to hide in.” 

You both chucked, and he nodded in agreement. He hung in the doorway for an extra second, like maybe he wanted to say something else. But then his eyes darted to Perlah, who was extremely focused on the vent settings, and with a final tap to the door jam, he was gone. 

When you turned back to the patient to do a final vitals check before paging the ICU and moving on to the next case, Perlah was giving you a look. 

“What?” 

She shook her head, a grin plastered across her face. “Nothing.” She mumbled something in Tagalog under her breath on her way out of the room, and you made a mental note to ask Santos what the word ‘bobo’ meant. 

A few nights later, Myrna cornered you as you were leaving after your shift. 

“You’re not slick, sweet cheeks” 

“Excuse me?” you all but choked on the drink of water you’d just taken from your Hydroflask. 

“I saw you, checking out Dr. Abbot when he walked by earlier. You were checking out his ass!” Her voice was filled with mirth, but the volume made your eyes go wide. For the love of God, you hoped no one had heard her. 

“I was doing no such thing, Myrna!” 

“If you don’t climb that man like a tree, I will,” she warned. 

“You go ahead and try,” you laughed, giving her an encouraging thumbs up and taking backward steps away from her as quickly as possible to escape further interrogation. It’s a very good thing for everyone involved that Dana had cuffed her to her wheelchair that evening. 

Two weeks later, and it felt like all eyes were on you every time that you and Dr. Abbot were in the same vicinity. 

“There’s a pool,” Samira kindly informed you one morning, both of you looking at the board with thermoses in hand. You’d grumbled under your breath about people having a staring problem after noticing multiple sets of eyes glued to your brief and perfunctory hello exchanged with Dr. Abbot on his way out the door. 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“There’s a betting pool on what’s going on between you and Dr. Abbot. I think just between the nurses right now — they’ve been trying to keep it from Collins since everyone knows you two are friends.” 

“That feels… wildly inappropriate,” you said eventually. 

Samira laughed softly, nodding in agreement. “It is. But you know how the gossip mill is around here. And Dr. Abbot’s been around more since you joined. Coming in a little earlier at night, doing handoff with Robby a few minutes later. It has people intrigued.” 

Her admission had the gears turning long after she’d excused herself before Robby could give her shit for staring at the board for too long. There were a million explanations for the supposed change in behavior. Maybe Robby asked him to start being around more to help during the transition of you settling after Langdon’s departure. Heather had said she’d been more worried about Robby since PittFest, maybe he felt the same and was around more to keep tabs on his friend. 

But there was a little voice in your head that hoped maybe it had something to do with you. 

It was all very disorienting. You were not this person — confused over whether some guy did or didn’t like you, reading into every casual touch and slightly-too-long-to-be-accidental stretch of eye contact, having inappropriate thoughts about a superior at work. 

You liked to keep work and your personal life in two very neat boxes. It keeps things from getting messy, and it helps you compartmentalize. That way, you don’t take out your frustrations with your mom or a rough night on your patients, and you don’t bring the bad days when you lose more patients than you save to Sunday brunch with your childhood best friend who just got engaged. 

Admittedly, The Pitt had already blurred those lines in more ways than one. Your close friendship with Heather, the girls' nights out with Samira, Santos and Garcia, the farmer’s market runs with Mel before baking with her and her sister.

But crossing a line into anything more than colleagues with Dr. Abbot felt infinitely more dangerous. Maybe the betting pool was wrong and it was just a coincidence that he was around a little bit more than before. Maybe they were right and he also felt whatever this was between them. 

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Nothing was going to happen. The lines were drawn, and you were happy to keep things exactly as they were.  

Of course, you should have known that as soon as you’d decided that, universe would find a way to flip you a middle finger. 

*** 

When Jack stopped by the nurse’s station before finding Robby for handoff, Dana gave him an indecipherable look. 

“It’s been a rough day.” 

“They always are,” he murmured, more to himself than Dana. He went to pick up a tablet, but one of Dana’s hands reached out and covered his own. 

She told him about the college student who’d been brought in after her friend found her lying next to an empty bottle of pills after a big fight with her dad. How you and Robby got her intubated, but the hypoxia had already caused irreversible brain damage. How the girl’s father had come in and started screaming at you until Robby had restrained him and Dana had called security on him. The way you’d reacted after.

“I’ve never seen her shut down like that, and this is far from the worst loss she’s seen. I’m worried about her. And you know how Robby is with drug overdoses these days.” 

Robby took the drug cases harder ever since finding out about Langdon. Jack thought it had something to do with guilt over not seeing the signs sooner, the knowledge that had Santos not reported him, he could have ended up as an OD in one of their trauma rooms. 

But he swallowed hard at the thought of you beating yourself up over the case. It clearly wasn’t your fault. He assumed you must have been terrified by the thought of the patient’s father potentially getting aggressive with you, and he knows how that fear can shut you down, though he’s a little shocked at the idea of anything scaring you. To him, you always seemed somewhat fearless within the walls of a trauma room. 

He thanked Dana for the heads up and went to find Robby, assuming he’d be on the roof. But when he opened the door, his heart twisted with pure terror at the sight of you sitting there on the railing, too close to the edge for comfort.

You didn’t turn to look at him, though he knew you had to have heard the door. He tried to make his steps loud enough for you to hear him coming closer, not wanting to startle you. You didn’t even look at him as he came to stand next to you, just blankly staring ahead. 

“Y’know, you’re sort of in my spot,” he said lamely, grasping for anything to break the silence. To pull your gaze to him instead of whatever fixed point you’d chosen on the skyline. 

You shrugged. “You and Robby always come up here after a rough day. Figured I’d see what the fuss was about.” 

“Be sure to leave a Google Review.” It was a stupid joke, but you huffed in what was almost a laugh. He took it as a good sign. 

“You don’t have to talk about it,” he promised as he gently wrapped a hand around your wrist where it sat next to you on the railing. “But can you do me a favor and come back to this side of the railing?” 

Your gaze shifted first to where your hands met, then to Jack’s face. He’d tried his best to sound casual, not let any of the worry seep into his voice, but the look you gave him confirmed he was unsuccessful. You nodded, easily swinging your legs around until your feet were back on what Jack considered safer territory. 

He let go of your wrist, but you reached out and grabbed onto his arm. “I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to scare you. I just…needed some air. Needed to breathe without the smell of antiseptic. Be somewhere that wasn’t the ED.” 

The relief that flooded through him was instant and overwhelming. He didn’t want to think too hard about what it meant. 

“I get that. And I meant what I said — you don’t have to talk about it. But if you need someone to talk to, someone who gets it, I’m always around to listen.” He leaned his head down, making sure you met his eyes as he spoke. 

“I’m usually good at holding it together, compartmentalizing. But it’s been harder lately,” you admitted, voice breaking at the end as you looked up at him, and fuck, Jack could see how hard you were fighting for control, trying to hold everything you were feeling at bay. He knew exactly what that felt like, and how destructive it could be when the dam finally broke. 

He couldn’t stop himself. “Come here,” he murmured softly, pulling you into his arms and holding you tight against his chest. “Let it out, sweetheart.” Your hands clutched onto the fabric of his scrubs, and he could feel the fight drain out of you as you let out a sob.

It occurred to him that this was something sacred, you trusting him like this. That when you’d needed comfort, you’d gone to the roof. His spot. Maybe it was subconscious on your part, but warmth filled him at the idea that you’d inadvertently gone searching for a piece of him.

You both stood there for God knows how long, him whispering into your hair as you fell apart. Assuring you it was alright, that he had you, that you were safe. 

Slowly, you came back to yourself. Your shoulders stopped shaking, your hands softened against his waist, your breathing returned to normal. He could have happily held you against him like that forever, protecting you from the world while you pieced yourself back together — patients and night shift handoff with Robby be damned. 

But eventually, you took one last deep breath and pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “Sorry,” you mumbled sheepishly. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” 

“You might need a new scrub top,” you nodded toward his chest, which was now sporting a wet spot from your tears. He just shrugged; he could honestly care less. “And I’m sure I look a right mess right now,” you joked weakly, disentangling one of your arms to wipe your nose with the long-sleeved shirt you had on under your scrubs. 

He allowed himself a rare moment to fully take you in, from your red-rimmed and glassy eyes to your flushed skin to the strands of hair now stuck to your cheeks. 

“You still look beautiful to me,” he whispered before his brain could remind his mouth why he wasn’t supposed to admit things like that out loud. Your eyes widened in surprise, darting back and forth between his in search of something. 

He hadn’t meant to tell you that, but Jack had always been a stubborn man. He wouldn’t take the words back now that they’d escaped. Instead, he forced himself to continue meeting your gaze, letting you see just how much he meant it and preparing himself for you to pull away and let him down easy. 

Except you didn’t pull away. He watched enraptured as your decision clicked into place in that pretty, brilliant head of yours, and you leaned up to press your mouth against his. 

The kiss was soft, quick. Before he even had a chance to fully process what you’d done, you were pulling back and waiting to see what his reaction would be. For a split second, you both just blinked at each other. 

“Jack,” you whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, the question in our voice, and his mouth crashed back into yours. 

This time, the kiss wasn’t soft or quick. It was messy, desperate. Months of pent up tension and swallowed feelings being let loose. One arm held you anchored against him while his other hand slid up your neck to angle your jaw just the way he wanted. “Say it again,” he demanded against your lips. 

You didn’t have to ask him what he meant. “Jack,” you gasped into his mouth, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue tracing your bottom lip. Your fingers dove into the hair at his neck, pulling yourself flush against him.  

Kissing you was all-consuming. Nothing existed except the two of you and this warmth taking root in Jack’s chest that he hadn’t felt in so long. He wanted to drown in the taste of you. He wanted the world to stop spinning so he could stay on this roof, this god-forsaken roof that might now be one of his favorite places on earth, forever.

The door to the roof banged open, and you both broke apart at the sound. Robby was standing frozen in the doorway. 

You pulled away from him like you’d been burned. “I’m so sorry, I have to go.” 

Before Jack could fully process what was even happening, you’d slipped past Robby and disappeared back down the stairs without so much as a backwards glance.

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tag list: @brnesblogposts @nosebeers

[thegeeksideofsr]

"And how's our revolutionary face of change doing right now?"

Leverage Redemption S03E07 The Shakedown in Clone-Town Job.

[thegeeksideofsr]

Summary: You meet Jack Abbot during a terrible shift as a nurse in labor and delivery.

Notes: After a really shitty shift, this is my coping mechanism. All similarities are coincidences, this is not an actual patient/situation that I have had but rather a mix of many. This is a separate storyline from the Robby series!!

Trigger/content warning: perinatal/intrapartum loss, loss of a child, infant loss (trying to tag/mention words appropriately so that people who have it filtered don’t see the post; the content warning only applies to the first few paragraphs)

You needed air, you needed out of the unit. Your chest felt heavy like you couldn’t breathe and you couldn’t lose your composure right here. Ultrasound techs, residents, other nurses from the postpartum unit, and your coworkers were all gathered around in an attempt to debrief what had just happened.

You were a part of the worst day of someone’s life, the day they lost a child, and that always weighed so heavily on you, but this one, this one didn’t make sense. Baby was fine until she wasn’t, you rushed her mom to the OR to get the baby out, but the NICU team worked her for an hour and never got a blip of a pulse. A complete concealed abruption was the cause.

“Need a minute,” You said suddenly and got up out of your chair and headed out of the unit, you felt eyes on you but you didn’t care. You took long, quick strides towards the staircase and up the stairwell onto the roof, your vision getting blurrier by the second. By the time you were crossing the roof, tears were streaming down your face. You ducked under the railing and sat parallel to the roof’s edge, pulling your knees to your chest. The cold air stung your lungs as you sobbed, able to let go now that there was no one around. You don’t know exactly how long you cried for, but when the tears stopped flowing you rested your head on your knees, looking out over the skyline. Your back hurt and you were starting to shiver, it was 4 am in Pittsburgh in November, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move. You contemplated staying up here until your shift was over at 7, but surely someone would come looking by then.

You didn’t so much as move as the door to the roof opened, you were composed enough now to deal with your coworkers. You stayed in the same position, you weren’t ready to go back in just yet.

“Must be that kind of night,” A man said from behind you, leaning forward on the railing from the opposite side. Not a voice you were expecting. You turned to look at him briefly. He was older, salt and pepper curls and a black scrub top mostly hidden by a black zip up hoodie, you turned back to the skyline.

“A really fucking shitty one?” You countered

“A really fucking shitty one.” He agreed.

“Labor and delivery isn’t supposed to be shitty,” You said, not to him or to anyone in particular, really to just get it out of your system.

“Yeah, but when it is, it’s really shitty…” The man trailed and you were both silent for a moment. “How long have you worked L&D?” He asked.

“Five years. It’s been sad at times, for sure, but what just happened literally doesn’t make any fucking sense.” Your voice broke on ‘sense’ and you laid your forehead on your knees, willing yourself to keep it together. You had the patient volumes, you had seen some real shit, but this one was hard. You felt warmth over your back and arms, he had taken his jacket off and draped it over you.

“I’m really okay,” You said, starting to shrug his jacket off.

“I can see you shivering from here.” He retorted. You paused and closed your eyes, taking another deep breath. His jacket was warm and it smelled heavenly, it was comforting. Coupled with the fact that you didn’t have the capacity to fight with anyone right now, you stayed silent. He leaned on the railing for several more minutes then ducked under the railing and sat down in front of you, your feet inches from his thigh. He stretched his feet out to almost touch the edge of the roof. He leaned back on one of the poles of the rail and he was staring at you when you finally looked back up at him.

“You alright?” He asked. You just barely nodded your head.

“I will be.” You rested your chin on your knees, taking in the man in front of you. You were both silent for a beat, the hum of the city a soft soundtrack from the roof.

“I’m Jack,” He stuck his hand out and introduced himself. You gave him a halfhearted smile and introduced yourself, shaking his hand.

“Thanks for not letting me freeze, Jack. Where do you work?” You could see his badge clipped on the neckline of his scrub top but couldn’t quite make it out in the dim lighting.

“ED,” He responded. You let out a soft laugh.

“Props, I could never.” You said, shaking your head. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Eh, it’s not all bad…” He trailed off, looking out to the skyline. He cocked his head to the side after a moment.

“Just most of it.” He deadpanned. You let out a small chuckle at his crack and he smiled at you.

“Gonna go back in?” He asked, nodding towards the door. You sighed and sat up to stretch.

“We could just hide out here until 7?” He suggested, pulling himself up to stand, you laughed.

“Though I’ve truly considered it, I figure it’ll probably be in my best interest to go back in at some point. Can’t give away our hiding spot, and they’ll definitely come looking.” You said with a slightly more relaxed smile. This night sucked, but the company you were in helped. He was sweet, genuinely concerned.

“Of course, gotta protect the hiding spot.” He said with a small grin. His face changed, a look of genuineness washed over his features as he extended a hand to help you up from the concrete rooftop.

“I’m sorry your night sucks.” He said, his voice soft. You gave him a tight lipped smile and took his hand, pulling yourself up. “Anything I can do for you?” He asked. This man was genuinely so sweet and seemed to care a lot about someone he had just met. The genuine kindness made your stomach flutter.

“No, you’ve actually already helped a lot, thank you.” You said with a small smile. “I’m sorry your night sucks too, but it was nice to meet you.” You added.

“It’s been a pleasure, come hide with me again, yeah?” He asked with a smirk, his tone almost playful.

“For sure, but under better circumstances next time.” You said with a grin and gave him a wink. You let your smile fall and let seriousness fall over your features again.

“I hope your night gets better.” You said softly.

“You too,” he said with a tight lipped smile.

After a moment, you ducked under the railing and started towards the door, turning to look back at him one more time. You caught him watching you walk away and smiled, immediately turning back around and ducking your head so he didn’t see you blush. You tucked your hair behind your ear and opened the door to the stairwell, heading back to your unit.

By the time you swiped your badge to enter the unit, the slew of people had dispersed, which you were grateful for.

“You good?” One of your coworkers asked as you passed her in the hallway. You nodded,

“Better, thanks.” You said with a small smile. “Hey, do you know wh-“

The shrill sound of the staff assist alarm cut you off. You spun on your heel and sprinted in the direction of the alarm. When you got to the patient’s room, she was obviously post-seizure and disoriented. She was combative and screaming about someone trying to kill her.

Two nurses were working on putting her in soft restraints, you took the place of another younger nurse who was frozen in place, asking her to go get medication to help calm the patient down and to call the doctor. You turned to look at the patient when you felt a sharp pain around your eye socket. The patient had slipped out of one of the restraints and you were at perfect height for her elbow to collide with your eye in the midst of her flailing. You staggered backwards, your vision immediately blurry, and fell to the floor.

“Fuck,” you groaned, your hand reaching to cover your eye. You touched something wet and looked at your fingers. Blood.

“Oh, shit.” you heard, and in a flurry, everyone was around you. You were put into a wheelchair and wheeled out of the room. Someone at some point handed you an ice pack. You hissed as you put it to your eye.

“You have to go down to the ER,” someone said from behind you.

“I’ll take her,” another person volunteered.

“No, I’m fine.” You objected. Your head hurt like a bitch but other than that, you were good.

“I already called a code medic, they’re on the way” Another voice chimed in.

“Oh fuck me,” You groaned and leaned your head back. “I’m really fine, tell them to go away.” You insisted, closing your eyes.

“Oh, I’m gonna pretend my feelings aren’t hurt,” a familiar voice said. Your eyes snapped open to Jack crouching in front of you, already assessing. Two things dawned on you in that moment: you were still wearing his jacket, and he was a doctor.

Nothing was wrong with being a doctor, but they usually weren’t as kind or as caring as Jack had been to you on the roof. Most of the doctors you worked with were real dicks to the nurses.

“Lemme see,” He said softly, gently taking your hand with the ice pack away from your eye. His thumb brushed your brow bone and you flinched.

“You’ve got a cut that I think needs a couple of stitches but I can’t tell for sure. I need to get you to the ED to clean you up and look with better light,” He said. “You also gotta have a head CT, that was a hard hit.”

“I’m really fine,” You said, he shook his head.

“Don’t fight me on this,” He warned, “Let me make sure you’re good.” He shined a pen light in your eye and you flinched again. He raised an eyebrow at you, the look on his face told you everything you needed to know.

“Okay, okay. Can I at least walk?” You asked, he laughed and unlocked your wheelchair, already pushing you to the ED.

“Does this answer your question?” He said as he continued walking and pushing your chair.

“Don’t make me roll my eyes, it hurts.” You said with a small smile. He pushed your chair into the elevator and swiped his badge for the ED.

“I didn’t mean to steal your jacket, I honestly forgot I had it on until I saw you,” You filled the silence. Not being able to see his face was making it hard to gauge his reaction. He sighed.

“I wasn’t gonna ask for it back, though you could have used that to see me again instead of taking an elbow to the eye,” He ribbed.

“Oh, yeah, should have thought of that first,” You said sarcastically. He wheeled you into a room and offered a hand for you to stand up. You took it and sat on the stretcher. He turned the overhead light on. You shielded your eyes.

“Jesus Christ,”

“Sorry, give me just a sec, I need to get sutures and lidocaine.” He said, your eyes widened.

“You weren’t kidding about the stitches?” He chuckled and shook his head, starting out of the room. He turned to look back at you in the doorframe.

“Not at all. Keep the ice pack there, I’ll be back in a few. I’ll put you next for a head CT. Any chance you’re pregnant?” He asked, you scoffed.

“Not at all,” You responded. He tapped the doorframe and nodded, disappearing into the hallway. Minutes passed and he was back with a handful of supplies. He sat down on a stool at the side of the bed and laid the head of stretcher back. He set up his workspace and drew up medicine.

“Lidocaine stings like a bitch,” he said. You nodded, closing your eyes.

“Be gentle,” You warned, he chuckled.

“One, two, three, little pin prick and lots of burning.” You did your best not to flinch but hissed as the stinging started.

“Motherfucker…” You winced.

“It will be better in a second.” He said, taking the needle out. A few seconds passed and you felt him touch the skin around your eye gently, you jumped at the initial contact. “Just relax,” He soothed. “I’ve got you.”

Jack set to work on the sutures, it only took about four before he cut the thread.

“All done. CT is ready for you,” He said, sitting the head of the stretcher up and offering you his hand again. You took it and sat down in the wheelchair.

“Now I’m starting to think you’re the one that wants to spend time with me,” You teased. “Hey, do you accompany all your patients to CT or am I just special?” He handed you your ice pack back with an eye roll and pushed you out of the room in the wheelchair.

“You went through such great lengths to see me again I figure you might as well get what you wanted.” He said playfully with a squeeze of your shoulder. You put your hand on top of his as he wheeled you down the hall.

You took a sharp left into CT and he locked the wheels, helping you up onto the table.

“Thank you,” You said softly. He nodded.

“I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

The whole scan only took a few minutes, he wheeled your chair back into the hospital room and helped you sit.

“It’s clear, but you need to go home and rest. You need to stay home for at least 48 hours. You probably have a concussion. Do you have someone that can come pick you up?” He asked. You chewed on your lip and shook your head.

“I can uber?” You asked. He shook his head at you.

“Not a chance, I can take you home.” He said. You laughed.

“Seriously, I get off in half an hour anyway. Stay here, I don’t want you driving.” He pressed. Your head really hurt and you honestly weren’t sure if you had the reaction time to be able to drive in Pittsburgh morning traffic. You nodded once, laying back on the stretcher and closing your eyes.

“I’ll be back in a few and we can go,” He said, flicking the lights off. You weren’t sure how long he was gone, you had dozed off. He woke you by gently rubbing your arm.

“Hey, you ready?” He asked softly. When you opened your eyes, he was staring at you. His eyes full of tenderness and caring, he helped you off the stretcher. He linked his arm with yours as you walked with him.

“Careful, Dr. Abbot. People are gonna get the wrong idea,” You teased with a smirk.

“Just to steady you, can’t have you falling.” He said with a wink. Your stomach did a flip and your cheeks flushed. Headache be damned, this hot ass doctor was flirting with you. You got to the physician’s parking lot where his truck sat and he opened your door and helped you climb in. He started the truck and handed you his phone.

“Type in your address,” he said, putting the truck in reverse. You chewed on your bottom lip.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much? What about my car?” You started to worry. Not that Ubers weren’t plentiful in Pittsburgh, but it seemed pretty out of his way to do this for you.

“I don’t mind, I’m only a phone call away if you need me for anything.” He said. You nodded and typed in your address on his GPS app on his phone and handed it back to him. He took one look at the screen and let out a snort.

“Yeah I think I can handle that.” He said with a smirk. He closed the app off of the phone and started to drive. He wasn’t using the directions and seemed familiar with the surroundings.

“You live close by?” You asked after a few minutes of driving. He nodded.

“You could say that,” He answered. “What apartment number?” He asked as he pulled into a space and put the truck in park.

“417,” You said, gathering your things. He nodded, the corner of his mouth tugging up and got out, rounding the truck and coming to your door. He took your backpack from you and slung it over his shoulder, offering his hand to help you out. You took his hand and slid out of the truck, wincing as your feet hit the ground.

“Thank you for doing this,” You said again.

“Anything to help a neighbor out,” He quipped. You did a double take.

“You live here too?” You asked, your eyes wide. He let out a laugh.

“Not just here,” He responded as he linked his arm with yours again, walking you to the elevator. He pressed the ‘up’ button and the elevator started to descend.

“How’s your head?” He asked, you sighed.

“Honestly? Really fuckin’ hurts,” You grimaced as the loud ‘ding’ of the elevator signaled that it was at the ground floor. Jack stepped on the elevator with you.

“I have Tylenol though, I’ll take some when I get in, hang on, let me get my keys,” you said, unzipping the backpack that Jack had slung over his shoulder. You dug your keys out of the bag.

“So, you gonna tell me which apartment is yours?” You asked, getting off the elevator when it stopped at your floor and walking down the hall to your apartment. He chuckled and shook his head.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” He said.

“Try me,”

“That one,” He pointed at the door marked ‘414’ as you passed it. You stopped in your tracks and turned to face him,

“You’re fucking with me,” You said, studying the look on his face. “There’s no way, I would have seen you before,”

“Okay yeah I’m fucking with you,” You rolled your eyes and scoffed, turning away from him and continuing to walk towards your apartment.

“But you’re still not going to believe me when I tell you.” He said.

“I’m not playing that game twice,” You said as you unlocked your door.

“317,” He said. You spun on your heel as you pushed the door open.

“You live directly below me?” You asked skeptically.

“Honest to God,” He said, fishing his keys out of his pocket and showing you the key engraved with ‘317’. You laughed and looked up at him.

“Do you hate me, just a little bit?” You asked, still in disbelief.

“I’ve honestly never been annoyed, more concerned?”

“I do drop things quite often, sorry,” You admitted sheepishly. You held the door open for him and he walked inside. “It’s kind of a mess, work has been kicking my ass lately,”

“I get that,” He said, taking in your apartment.

“Thank you for everything you did for me, Jack.” You said softly, taking half a step closer to him. He locked eyes with you and nodded.

“Anytime. Can I put my number in your phone, in case you need anything?” He asked.

“That’s incredibly sweet but you don’t have to,” You said, taking your phone out of your back pocket and unlocking it.

“I know, but I want to,” He said, taking your phone out of your hand and typing in his number. “Though I guess you could stomp really loud and I would hear it,” He added, handing your phone back to you with a smirk.

“We can figure out something about your car later this week, or I can drive you to work whenever you’re well enough to go back?” He offered. You nodded.

“That sounds good, thank you again.” You said. He nodded.

“I’m just a phone call away, or a good stomp, if you need me,” He said with a wink, turning to leave. You laughed as he walked out the door.

“Have a good day, Jack.” You said, holding the door open with one foot.

“You too, get some rest. Call me if you need anything,” He said, turning to walk away. You closed the door behind him, and then realized you still had his jacket on.

You contemplated opening the door again, but you opted to keep it for now, he could get it back later— right?

[thegeeksideofsr]

Undeserving

Fandom: The Pitt

Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x F!Reader

Summary: In a tragic car accident, Jack loses his wife, who was your best friend, and you lose your husband, the father of your child. Now both of you navigate life together and co-parenting your daughter, Evelyn, while also trying to figure out your feelings for each other.

Warning: death of side characters

The Pitt Masterlist

Yours and Jack's lives were intertwined for years. Your best friend was his wife. You were the Maid of Honor at their wedding. Then the accident and both of you lost the loves of your lives. You and Jack were close but after losing the most important people in your lives, you leaned on each other through grief and therapy. You vowed to each other that you couldn't lose each other now, you were stuck with one another.

Even moreso when you realized you were pregnant shortly after the accident. Jack was there for every appointment, when your morning sickness was really bad, and when you gave birth. Giving birth to Evelyn was a bittersweet thing. She was the most precious thing and she would never be able to meet her father.

"I'll take care the both of you. I promise." Jack said as he stood over you and Evie in the hospital bed.

It was just you and Evie living together for a short time until Jack proposed you move in with him. You fought him on it, tried to convince him that taking care of Evie will be a lot, but Jack has always been stubborn. He wanted to help you, not because you were his wife's best friend but also because he cared about you. It just made sense. So you relented fighting him.

The first year of Evie's life was...a lot. You had a lot of breakdowns because you were a single mother, you missed your husband, and you felt like you were a burden to Jack.

But Jack, despite his own issues, he'd been the stronger of the two of you. Despite his late hours at work, he still offered to watch Evie while you slept or ran errands.

He was your angel.

It wasn't until Evie got older that you started to question your feelings for Jack. Whenever the three of you went out, people thought you were a couple and Jack was Evie's father.

Hell, even Robby, Jack's fellow doctor at PMTC would joke about you being a cute little family.

But you did your best to ignore those comments. Because you couldn't have feelings for Jack. He was your best friend's husband, he was your friend. It just...can't happen.

_____________________________

"Uncle Jack Jack!" Evelyn calls out as you enter the Emergency Department.

Jack pops his head out from behind a curtain and his brows furrow. He excuses himself from his patient and fully steps out, "Everything okay?"

"Mommy got hurt!"

Jack looks looks you over and see's no visible visible injuries until you lift your wrapped up hand, "Evie dropped a glass. I was picking up some pieces and cut myself. It's...kinda deep."

He takes Evelyn into his arms, "Evie, honey, my friend Bridget," he points to one of the night shift nurses, "She's gonna watch you while I fix mommy's boo boo. Okay?"

"Okay," she says shyly as Jack hands her off.

"I'll be back, baby. Be good okay?" Evie nods as Bridget brings her to the break room to color.

Jack guides you to an empty room. You sit on the bed and hold up your hand to him. You watch him work in silence, but it's not awkward. You two are used to the occasional silence between you two. You take the time to enjoy the silence while he works on cleaning and stitching up your hand.

Eventually, he finishes and tosses his gloves in the trash, "Please be more careful next time."

You nod, "I know. I just...today has been chaotic."

He chuckles, "Tell me about it," he murmurs as he fills out your discharge papers.

"I-Thank you, Jack."

He nods, "Of course, sweetheart."

Your heart flutters at the nickname. He'd been calling you that a lot more recently, but you try not to think too much about it. You don't want to get your hopes up. You don't want to think that Jack has started seeing you differently like you with him.

He escorts you out of the room, his hand on your lower back. You hope he can't feel how hot your body has gotten under his touch.

You open the door and peek in. Evelyn and Bridget are coloring on some pages Dana had printed out, "Ready to go, baby?"

"Yeah," she scurries off the chair and to you. You lift her into your arms with a grunt and she holds out the paper she was working on, "Look Uncle Jack Jack!"

He glances at the unicorn coloring page with rainbow scribbles all over it. He smiles at your daughter, "It's beautiful, honey. You gonna put that on the fridge when you get home?"

"Uh huh!"

The three of you step out and bump into Samira, "Well if it isn't my favorite three year old!"

"Auntie Sami, mommy got hurt!"

Samira looks at you and you shake your head, "Cut my hand on glass. Very minor, Jack stitched me up just fine." You hold up your hand.

"That's good. Hope I never see you here under more serious circumstances."

You snort, "Join the club, babe," you bump hips with her, "I'll see you guys. See you at home, Jack."

"Bye Uncle Jack!"

"See you in the morning, baby," Jack waves at your daughter and watches as you exit the ED.

Once you're out, Samira looks at the attending night shift doctor, "Have you told her yet?"

Jack scoffs, "Fuck off, Mohan," and proceeds to walk away.

________________________

Dana sits with you on the picnic blanket, watching Jack and Evie play on the playground. You're laying on your back, sunglasses on, and enjoying the sun.

"You know he's basically Evie's dad, right?"

"Who?" you ask craning your neck to look at the older woman.

Dana chuckles, "Jack, obviously."

"I-I'm yeah. I guess he basically is." You sit up, but lean back, using your arms to prop you up. It always surprises you how much energy Jack still has for your daughter. It brings a smile to your face when Jack catches Evelyn and she squeals in delight.

"Oh brother, you're so fucked," Dana says with a cackle.

You groan falling onto your back again, "I know!"

"Why don't you tell him?"

"Absolutely not. That man has done so much for Evie and I. We've been such a burden and I don't want my baggage to bring him further down than he already is. He's got enough on his plate."

"Honey, you and he share the baggage. You're living out of the same fucking suitcase!" You shake your head and run your hands down your face. Dana tsks, "He cares about you, loves you two and Evie. Does he love you romantically? Hell if I know! But what I do know is that man would go through Hell for you and your daughter. If he doesn't feel the same, sure, it sucks. But it's not like he's gonna kick you out if you tell him how you feel!"

You shake your head, "I'm not risking it, Dana. I can't. Besides...I don't deserve someone as caring as Jack. Besides, we're only bound together because of our shared trauma, which, according to my therapist, isn't necessarily good. So I gotta work through that."

"So what, you gonna quit him cold turkey or somethin'?"

You sit up again, watching Jack and Evelyn, "...I've been looking at apartments. Evie is still a hand full, but-but I think I can take care of her on my own now. I got that promotion I told you about, so I'm making more. I can move out of Jack's, become more independent." You look down and start picking at the grass, "I don't want to keep relying on Jack. He's done a lot for me and I feel like I've reciprocated very little to his life. He'll have more peace and quiet once Evie and I move out."

"Mommy!" Evelyn calls out for you, running ahead of Jack.

You smile at her, "You having fun, baby?" She crashes into you and you both fall back, giggling.

"Uncle Jack Jack gonna get me ice cream!"

Jack finally catches up, slightly planting, "Only if you're okay with it, sweetheart," he stands above you, hands on his hips.

You stand, "I'll get it for her. You go rest. I'm tagging you out."

Jack immediately pulls out his wallet, "Here-"

"Nope! Walking away! Don't see you!" You take Evie's hand and guide her to the ice cream truck in the parking lot.

Jack takes up your previous spot, "What were you two gossiping about?"

"You."

"Oh great," he says with an eyeroll, digging into your tote bag where you packed some snacks for the three of you. He opens a bag of trail mix and tosses some nuts and raisins in his mouth, "Should I be worried?"

The older woman shrugs, "That's for you to decide whenever she decides to talk to you."

Jack's face turns serious, "Dana-"

"It's not life threatening or anything. It's just....a potential lifestyle change."

Jack frowns even more and then turns to you and Evie at the ice cream truck. You're accepting a popsicle from the ice cream man and handing it to Evie. You hand the man cash and shake your head. Jack assumes you're telling the man to keep the change. You then turn and walk back towards Jack and Dana, Evelyn walking a little bit ahead of you.

"I got a rainbow pop!" the three year old exclaims in excitement. She plops herself onto Jack's lap.

You chuckle, "Careful, baby. Don't spill any on Uncle Jack Jack." You then catch Jack's gaze, "Everything okay?"

He softly smiles, "Yeah. We're good," he looks at Dana who nods.

______________________

When Jack comes home from work, you and Evie are already awake. The three year old tends to wake up much earlier than you'd like, but what can you do?

Evie is sitting in her high chair eating breakfast at the counter, "Uncle Jack Jack!"

Jack gives a tired smile to the little girl, "Mornin', baby," he kisses her head.

You're currently not the kitchen, but hearing the toilet flush in the distance lets him know you're in the bathroom.

On the kitchen counter is your laptop propped open. Jack doesn't mean to look at it, but something catches his eye. You're looking on an apartments website. His heart suddenly drops to his stomach.

He recalls the conversation he had with Dana weeks ago:

"Should I be worried?"

The older woman shrugs, "That's for you to decide whenever she decides to talk to you."

Jack's face turns serious, "Dana-"

"It's not life threatening or anything. It's just....a potential lifestyle change."

You plan on moving out.

Jack hears you approaching, "Your plate is in the microwa-" you stop when you see him staring at your laptop.

He turns the laptop to you and points at the screen, "You plan on moving out?"

You gulp, "I've been thinking about it."

He clenches his jaw, "Why? Why didn't you bring this up to me?"

You let out a deep breath and slowly approach him, "It's not a for sure thing yet, Jack." You close your laptop and slide it away from him. Avoiding his gaze, you say,"Just think I should be more independent and stop relying on you."

"I said I'd take care of you." In your peripherals, you see him cross his arms over his chest.

You continue to avoid looking at him, "I know and I really appreciate what you've done for me and Evie over the years, but-but I got a promotion. I'm making really good money now and Evie's getting older. I think it'd be best for us to be on our own. It's a good thing."

He scoffs, and leans one arm on the counter, "How'd it be a good thing? Evie should grow up in a house with two loving parents-"

"You're not her dad, Jack!" you burst out, frustrated that he just won't let you go. He grows still and you know you've hurt him, "I'm sorry, but you're not. And us moving out would be good for you! You get to have more freedom and peace-"

"Stop-"

"You can start dating and bring women over without having to worry-"

"Stop!"

"You're not going to be around forever-"

"Yes, I will because I love you!"

You're rendered speechless but his outburst confession. He runs his hands through his hair and sighs, "I love you. I love you and I love Evie like she's my own." He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself, "Never, and I mean never, have I ever once regretted having you live with me. Never have I thought you and Evie were a burden. I can't imagine my life without you both. I love our little family and life that we have."

Your eyes are tearing up as you speak, "If you're saying this just so-"

"Sweetheart, I'm saying it because I mean it. It's not a trick. I'm not trying to manipulate you. I'm trying to fight to keep what we have."

You begin to pace, "I don't-I don't-"

"Mommy," Evie calls for you and she looks upset, "Mommy sad?"

You sniffle and give your daughter a little smile, "I'll be alright, baby."

Jack takes a step closer to you, "Y/N-"

You shake your head, "Go take a shower and go to sleep. You're exhausted, Jack. We'll continue this later," you mumble, helping Evie out of the high chair and bringing her to the sink to clean up.

You don't see it, but Jack's body sags a bit after your dismissal. He wants to continue the conversation, but you're right. He is tired and maybe some rest will allow him to gather his thoughts properly.

[thegeeksideofsr]

I grew up watching this show! It's amazing

Chuck (2007) really is the Show Of All Time. It has everything. Pretend relationship but with real feelings. Classic tall guy/short guy best friend duo. The most blatant Subway sponsorship (eat fresh). Espionage. Heists. Secrets. Everyone works at a knockoff of Best Buy. Inaccurate representations of the US government. A guy named Captain Awesome. Terrible green screens. It goes on for simultaneously too long and not long enough. It even stars a literal Disney prince (the cutest boy in the whole world). Honestly, what more could you want?

[thegeeksideofsr]

hi, sorry, I just wanted to ask, and this is prolly going to sound super dumb, are authors chill with people commenting on their old fanfics and stuff?

just want to make sure that I'm not inadvertently being annoying

I believe I speak for most authors when I say they’ll never be annoyed by any positive comments from their readers

authors, reblog if you love receiving new comments on your old works

[thegeeksideofsr]

Now this is research I could get into

after watching this a dozen times for, yknow, uh, research, I realized maybe others might need to do some research too

[thegeeksideofsr]

I love this so much

i like working at plant store. sometimes you ring up someone and there's a slug on their plant and so you're like "Oh haha you've got a friend there let me get that for you" and you put the slug on your hand for safekeeping but then its really busy and you dont have time to take the slug outside before the next customer in line so you just have a slug chilling on your hand for 15 minutes. really makes you feel at peace with nature. also it means sometimes i get to say my favorite line which is "would you like this free slug with your purchase"

[thegeeksideofsr]

[thegeeksideofsr]

She grabbed him by the scruff like a cat

The Librarians 1x1 - "And the Crown of King Arthur"

[thegeeksideofsr]

Are You Wearing Pants?

An: Just another short story inspired by a funny post I saw

***********************************************

I sit at the bar next to Kate and Alice, watching Deklan mix up a new drink he found and wanted us to try.

The restaurant is quite, the three of us the only ones here, long after closing.

"Alright, ladies," he says, placing a glass in front of each of us. "Now, I need your honest opinions. Tell me what you think."

We each pick up our glasses, giving is a sniff. It smells fruity, and like alcohol.

We each lift our glasses, cheers them, then drink.

"Eh, not bad." Alice compliments.

"Damn, this is good!" Kate exclaims.

"I like it," I tell him as I take another sip.

"Oh, good!" He sighs, pressing a hand to his chest. "Now, I have a few others I want you to try."

I smile at his antics, and watch as he begins to mix up another drink. We taste test a few more drinks, eat some of the leftover desserts from the evening to soak up the alcohol.

After a while Alice's husband arrives to drive her home. We wave them off, then begin to clean up, and close down for the night.

Once the doors are locked, the three of us head to our cars to head home.

I park in my spot at my apartment buildings lot. I dig through my purse for my keys, planning to be ready when I get to my door. But they are nowhere to be found. I dig some more, shake my purse, but nothing. Not even a jingle. They must be sitting in the bowl by my door.

I sigh and drop my head back to the head rest. I roll my head to check the time. Twelve forty-five. My landlady is long in bed, and I can't bring myself to call and wake her.

The only one who might be up at this hour is my dad.

I pull out my phone and open his contact, and dial. It rings twice before he picks up.

"Kiddo, what are you doing up at this hour?" He asks.

"I could ask you the same," I huff. " I was wondering if I could stay the night at your place? I forgot my key in my apartment this morning and I don't want to wake my landlady."

He chuckles.

"Yeah, come on over. Prepping for a job anyway."

"Thank you, dad. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Sounds good. Drive safe."

***********************************************

After I park, I head up to his apartment, knocking, entering when he yells for me to come in.

I find him, and the team sitting in the living room, takeout containers line the counters.

"Hey, guys," I great."Sorry to crash the party."

"It's alright," Sophie answers. "It been awhile since we seen you."

I wander through to the living room, leaning against the back of the couch just behind my Dad, leaning over his shoulder to look at the papers on the coffee table.

"Yeah. Works been busy, haven't had much time to come by. How are things here?"

"Busy," Hardison says, shoving a gummy frog in his mouth. " Found lots of jobs, just going through and trying to prioritize."

"Aren't they all important?"

"Yeah, but some jobs are a bit more time sensitive."

I nod, not wanting to get him going on a rant again.

"Is that bag of clothes still here?" I ask my Dad.

He nods, still looking at the papers in his hand.

"Alright, goodnight, Dad," I lean over the back of the couch, press a kiss to my Dad's cheek.

"Good night, hun," he says turning to smile at me.

I smile back, then say good night to the others as I head up the stairs.

I enter his guest room, same as before, I had stayed here previously, leaving some pajamas there. Nothing much, just a over sized tshirt and some shorts.

I shut off the lights and crawl into bed, the blankets and pillows swallowing me, drifting off to the sounds of the team talking downstairs.

***********************************************

The sounds of dishes clanging and my dad swearing wake me up.

Flopping the blankets back, I crawl out of bead and head downstairs.

I find my dad surrounded by what looks like the ingredients for pancakes, but the smoke in the air, and flour somehow every where, it's clear that he's not having success.

"Dad?" I call from the bottom step. "What are you doing?"

He turns to me, a surprised look on his face, flour covering the front of his shirt.

I cross the room to open some windows, hopefully the alarm won't go off, then enter the disaster zone of a kitchen.

"I thought in make some breakfast," he shrugs. "Harder then I thought it be."

"Dad," I say gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I love you. But I do not trust your cooking."

He looks at me, sighs heavy, nods. He moves away and start to clean up, I grab a towel and help scoop up the flour.

Once the kitchen is clean enough to start over, I take over making pancakes, the recipe one I learned in school and never forgot.

"You want a coffee?" My Dad offers.

"Yes, please."

We work in comfortable silence. He hands me a mug, then leans against the counters edge, to watch me.

Once I have a few pancakes on the pand to cook, I turn and mirror his position against the counter next to the stove.

"So, what were you up to last night that kept you out so late?" He asks, sipping his coffee.

"Deklan had some new drinks to try, so Alice, Kate, and I stayed late to taste test."

He nods

He takes a breath to respond when the door bursts open, revealing Sophie, Hardison, and Parker, all talking about something at the same time.

"Good morning! Sophie greats, when she see me.

"Morning," I smile in return, then turn back to my pancakes.

The begin discussing the job with my dad, their voices blending together.

A few minutes later the door opens again, not as violently as the last time, revealing Eliot, in his usual button front over a Henley.

He walks past the kitchen, giving me a nod, then continues to the living room with the others.

Once the pancakes are done, I grab a couple and plate them. I add my toppings, grab a fork then bring it to the table with my mug.

I eat as I listen to the team talk about whatever job they are working on. The mark sounds like a real piece of work.

Once I'm done I bring my dishes to the sink to rinse. I lean against the counter as I finish off my coffee.

I hear foot steps behind me. I turn to look and find Eliot, standing on there.

"Morning,"I smile to him, setting my mug on the counter. "Coffee?"

"Yeah. Be great."

I nod, then grab a mug from the cupboard and fill it from the pot.

"Cream and sugar?"

"Nah, black is fine."

"Ugh, you're one of those," I scrunch my nose as I hand him the mug.

He rolls his eyes, as he takes it.

"It's not that bad."

"It's bad enough."

He shakes his head and smirks as he takes a sip.

I check the clock on the wall. 9:30. Should be at the restaurant soon, and I still have to get let back in by my landlady.

I pick up my mug and down the last swallow, then rinse it and leave it in the sink.

I turn back twords Eliot, only to find him looking at me with rather big eyes.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you wearing pants?" He asks quietly.

I look down at my self. My shirt is long enough to cover my shorts perfectly, making it look like I'm not wearing them.

I look back up at him, grab the hem of my shirt and lift it just enough to show the hem of the shorts.

He nods, then looks away, taking a sip of coffee.

It becomes obvious that he's trying to hide his face, but I can still see his cheeks grow slightly red.

Deciding to ignore it, I just smile, then head upstairs to get dressed.

***********************************************

[thegeeksideofsr]

I'm so glad I'm not alone in think this is hot

HE'S SO HOT !!!!!!!!!!

LOOK at him

with the OPEN SHIRT ?????????????????

[thegeeksideofsr]

If I was in this class, I would not hear a word.......

The Librarians 2x4 - "And the Cost of Education"

[thegeeksideofsr]

Today I made Eliot’s sandwich from The Office Job. It was very good, totally understandable why Hardison stole it. XD

[thegeeksideofsr]

Art requests ? Eliot spencer and this BANGIN hair from the baseball episode (s2e14)

Its NEVER this big. Im in love w him sm

bonus: parker's about to pet his hair and probably get punched

[thegeeksideofsr]

My favorite bromance

every leverage dynamic ⮎ alec hardison & eliot spencer

relax, man. i told you. i got you. say something. i don't speak on command, hardison. perfect.

[thegeeksideofsr]

Don't Mess with Her Staff

The kitchen is in a buzz of activity, chefs cooking and plating food to be sent out it the floor by the waiters and waitresses, the dishwashers work as fast as they can for resetting tables. Kate and I working elbow to elbow along the side of the other chefs.

The double doors to the kitchen bust open with one of the waiters coming through, a frustrated look on his face.

"What's up, Roy?" I glance at him as I plate another dish.

"A man came in with a party of ten, no reservation, and is demanding to be seated immediately." He sighs.

"Seriously? We are booked full. Can't he see the tables are full?"

"I dunno, chef. I tried to talk to him about it and he just yelled for me to get the owner."

"Give me a minute and I'll be out. You don't deserve to get yelled at by some prick."

He nods, then heads back out.

I finish up my current dish, make sure everything is running smoothly, then head out to the floor.

Stepping out from the small hallway leading to the kitchen, I see a rather, short, pudgy man, standing in front of Roy, yelling at the top of his lungs.

I walk over to them, and place my self between them.

"Sir. You need to leave."

"This idiot, won't seat us," he bellows. "I demand to see the owner. I want this man fired. I know the owner, and this is unacceptable!"

"I am the owner," I say low and calm, looking him in the eye. "You did not make a reservation, you are yelling at my staff, you are disturbing other patrons, and causing a seen for no reason. We are full. You may make a reservation for tomorrow, and behave like an adult, or you can leave now and never set foot in my restaurant again."

His face grows a shade darker red.

"I will not leave. Do you know who I am?"

"Nope. And I don't care. If you do not leave I will have you and your party banned and trespassed."

He hesitates, then brings his hand back and goes to slap me, but I catch his wrist, duck and slip under his arm, bring his arm behind his back, then kick his knee out, sending him to the floor.

"Hey, Joe," I call to one of the men at the bar, a regular, and local police officer. "I know you are off duty, but would you mind detaining him until a unit arrives."

"Sure thing," he says, making his way over. " Was wondering if you were gonna need me at all."

"Eh, he's not as tough as he looks."

The man squirms in my hold, but I wrench his arm back just slightly, making him hold still.

"Cops are two minutes out, boss,"Deklan yells from the bar.

"Thanks, Dek!" I reply.

I hand the man over to Joe, who takes him out side. I turn too the mans group, who look like they want to do something, but haven't decided if they actually will.

"I suggest you leave now, or you will all be trespassed along with him," I tell them.

They hesitate for a second, then turn a leave the building.

As I watch them leave, flashing red and blue lights roll up outside. I let out a sigh of relief, then turn around to find staff and patrons starting at me, and Eliot standing against the wall next to Alice, a small smile on his face.

My face heats up, and I duck my head.

"Please, everyone, go back to your meals," I mumble, the dart back towards the kitchen.

***********************************************

Eliot watches her run past him into the kitchen, a feeling of pride and surprise filling him.

"Is she always this terrifying?" He asks Alice, who has been standing next to him the whole time, a proud smile on her face.

"I think you caught her on a good day. Usually she more....."

"Bowl shakingly efficient?"

"Eh, that's one word for it," Deklan adds. "It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, she's terrifying."

Eliot chuckles, then turns and follows into the kitchen, but finds it empty. He continues through to the office, where he finds the woman he's looking for, sitting at her desk, papers in from of her.

"You okay?" He asks, leaning against the door frame.

She hums in response, not looking up from her paperwork.

"Yeah, just didn't know you were here."

"Came by, to see if you needed a hand. Mentioned you were short handed yesterday, but I think you have everything under control. "

She huffs a laugh.

"Just got lucky."

"Luck or not, that was impressive how you handled him."

"Just glad I remembered to put my knife down this time."

"What?"

***********************************************