Chapter Text
"Whitaker, I need you to help Dr. McKay out in Chairs it’s getting a little too backed up out there."
Dennis sat up straighter in his desk chair at the command, "sure thing!" He couldn’t help the electricity that buzzed through his veins whenever he felt the warm weight of Dr. Robby’s hand on his shoulder and hoped he had ducked his head fast enough to hide the blush that was slowly creeping across his cheeks.
He’d been at PTMC for a few months now and this crush he had developed on his attending was not going away like he had hoped. In fact it only got stronger with each touch, or anytime Robby told him "good job" or "you’re doing great". It was pathetic, he knew it and, much to his chagrin, Trinity knew it too and never missed an opportunity to tease him about it after he’d accidentally let it slip about his about his feelings one night when they got way too drunk.
"God! Did you see Garcia today?!" Trinity flopped down onto the couch next to Dennis handing him his third drink. "She barely even looked at me! We go on one date three days ago, she kisses me, and now she’s acting like I don’t even exist! I can’t be that bad of a kisser, right?" She threw her head back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "Sometimes I just want to shake her and yell 'what the fuck do you want from me!'"
"At least you got a date, I’m not even on Robby’s radar.…" He muttered into his drink and cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. He hoped to god Trinity was too in her thoughts to actually hear what he said, but the slow silent turn of her head and the wicked smile on her face told him otherwise and he knew he was fucked.
"Sure thing!" Trinity whispered mockingly loud enough for only Dennis to hear. "I’d do anything for you, please love me Dr. Robby." She pouted her lips and bat her eyes at him before breaking out into a grin as he pushed her away.
"You’re not helping." He growled.
"Did you know I can read minds and your thoughts are just sooooo loud." She called after him, laughing.
"Whatever." He muttered, rounding the corner to join McKay out in Chairs.
With the two of them working together they made quick work of the patients waiting to be seen. A few needing stitches, others for prescriptions for antibiotics, some were sent back into the ED proper for scans and a more thorough check, but it was never ending. The waiting room was just as full as when he first started three hours ago, he barely noticed a familiar looking woman standing against the wall a few feet from the door.
"Michelle?" The woman called out.
Dennis’s heart skipped a beat like it did every time he heard that name. It’s fine. He thought to himself taking a deep, calming breath. It’s a super common name that’s not you anymore. But he couldn’t shake the chill that spread through his body.
He continued to look for the patient he was meant to be seeing but the woman called out again.
"Michelle it’s me!" The woman was closer now and it was too late to try to hide.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" This couldn’t be happening. He left. How was she here?
"I went by your place but you weren’t there so I came here to see you."
"How did you know I work here? Wait! How do you know where I live!?" His heart sank with each new question. "Are you here to see a doctor? Because you’ll have to wait for your name to be called."
By this time a young woman had walked up stating he had just called her name. He quickly ushered her through the doors trusting his mother wouldn’t follow them but no such luck seemed to be on his side today.
"I’m here to see you, not a doctor." Her arms were crossed over her chest and she fixed him with that hard stare that mothers always used to get their kids to behave.
"I’m sorry could you wait in here for a second I’ll be right with you." Dennis spoke gently to the woman and softly closed the door before turning to face his mother. "If you’re not here to see a doctor then you can’t be back here."
"Please, I just want to talk." She reached out to hold his hand but he backed away not wanting any kind of physical contact. It was bad enough that she was here. "You have no idea what we had to do to find you. We had to hire someone." She whispered the last part as if it was some sin.
"You hired someone? What, like a P.I.?" It was mostly a joke but the look his mother gave him was all the confirmation he needed. "You hired a private investigator to find me? Are you fucking serious?!"
"Don’t you use that tone with me Michelle-"
"Don’t call me that! You know that’s not my fucking name!" Dennis was yelling now but he couldn’t help it. The name grated against his skin like sandpaper and set his teeth on edge like he was chewing on tinfoil.
"Hey what’s going on here?" Dennis jumped at the new voice behind him as Robby rounded the corner. "We have patients here we can’t be arguing about names in the hallways." He glanced between Dennis and his mother waiting for a response.
"Sorry Dr. Robby, this is my mother. I was just telling her that if she doesn’t need to see a doctor then she can’t be back here." His eyes found the floor as the heat from before crept across his cheeks and up to his ears. But his mother had no such issues meeting Robby’s gaze.
"Excuse me, I’m trying to talk to my daughter."
Robby’s head whipped around to Dennis who flinched slightly at the movement, and kept his head low as if he could shrink down into oblivion and escape this whole interaction. He felt that same warm hand on his back and Robby’s voice was much lower and gentler, saying:
"Go see to your patient Dennis, I’ll handle this."
"Thank you." Relief washed over him as warmth bloomed in his chest at the validation of hearing his own name, his real name. With a mumbled, "I’ll talk to you later," to his mother he quickly ducked into the triage room to see his patient. "I’m so sorry about that, you know how family can be." He tried to joke but the sting of being ambushed, deadnamed, and misgendered by his mother in the span of 10 minutes left him feeling raw.
Robby found him a hour later steering him to a quiet corner with that same warm hand on his shoulder.
"I just want to make sure you’re okay after what happened earlier." He ducked his head to look Dennis in the eyes.
"I’m okay," he nodded vigorously. "This won’t affect my ability to treat patients I-" "No, that’s not what I’m asking. I want to make sure you are okay. Look, it’s none of my business but she's not right in calling you her…daughter."
Dennis winced, "Please don’t tell anyone." He hated that this was how Robby found out. Dennis would’ve much preferred to have been the one to tell him…or not at all since it wouldn’t have changed anything.
"Hey, like I said, it’s none of my business." He raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Now let’s get back to work we have lives to save." He gave Dennis a warm smile and with one more solid pat on the back he sent Dennis on his way back into the ED to finish remaining 7 hours of their shift.