Chapter Text
One Week Ago
Jack was still asleep when a body crawled back into bed next to him.
Jack could forgive the fact that there’d been no attempt to shower, but when ice cold feet brushed his legs, he hissed his disapproval. Fucker always ran cold. Still, Jack was a rough and tumble sort of guy. If cold feet had fazed him, he’d never have survived the army. He rolled over onto his back and pulled the other body close, generously sharing his warm pocket of sleep. Bastard better be grateful.
Judging from the soft sigh, the bastard was, in fact, grateful.
“How was work?” Jack mumbled, still half asleep.
“We’re getting new students next week,” Robby said instead of answering, “And interns.”
“Oh good. Sounds like a day shift problem.”
“You’ll get them sooner or later.”
“So please work on potty training before they’re scheduled for their first nights, yeah?”
Robby chuckled and burrowed further under the covers, stealing all of Jack’s body heat. Greedy bastard. “I’ll do my best.”
They didn’t always do this. There was no formal arrangement, nothing that could easily be defined as any recognizable brand of relationship. But Jack learned in the army that sometimes you needed someone to hold. To remind you that you’re human. That there’s someone who cares. Not that either of them would say anything mushy like that. It was basically a business transaction. Sleep in each other’s beds a couple nights a week and in exchange make it to the following week without going off the deep end. Business.
Robby threw a gangly arm across Jack and Jack held on to him. Bit by bit, the tension in Robby’s shoulders loosed as their temperatures reached equilibrium. Thank god Jack was off tonight. He didn’t think he’d be able to pull himself away.
“You smell like shit,” Jack informed Robby. He was rewarded with a rumble of laughter that reverberated through both of them.
“I’ll get up and shower in a minute,” Robby lied.
Now
Jack found him on the roof. It was a twisted reflection of where they’d stood 15 hours before, and Jack found that he didn’t enjoy being on this side of things. Jack’s fingers typed out a quick message, and he pressed send before making his presence known.
“Good morning, Robby.”
Robby turned his head slightly to acknowledge Jack’s presence. “It’s not morning.”
“Ah, po-tay- to po-tah-to. What are we doing out here, man?”
Robby didn’t answer, so Jack took a few tentative steps forward until he was up to the metal railing. This fucking sucked. Jack felt a sudden pulse of guilt shoot through him, for putting Robby in this position earlier in the day. Couldn’t have helped his emotional state, with everything else that happened.
Jack wasn’t as good at this part. He was good at ruthless efficiency. He was good at lateral thinking under pressure. He was good at emergency medicine.
He was not good at talking someone off a ledge. Literally.
“We did a lot of good down there, today.”
“Did we? I can’t…I’m not sure I can tell anymore.”
“Yes. We did.”
Jack knew it was bad. Of course he did, he’d been there with Robby through the worst of it. But Robby wasn’t like him. The things that got under his skin were different. For Jack, it was veterans. Folks like him, who’d seen the absolute worst the world had to offer and survived, only to be taken down by civilian life. For Robby, it was usually kids. Worse, this time. It was his kid.
So Jack kept talking, hoping he could make Robby believe it.
“We did good. There’s a lot of people still down there who wouldn’t be if not for us. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters. The occasional nonbinary person.”
That caused Robby to shoot him a curious look.
“Fuck you, I can learn.”
On any other day it would’ve made Robby laugh.
Not today.
One Week Ago
When Jack awoke again, Robby was still curled into his chest, now snoring like a goddamn Harley Davidson.
He hadn’t showered. Typical.
Jack tried to slide out from under the other man with all the precision of a bomb-tech, but like the princess with the motherfucking pea, Michael ‘light sleeper’ Robinavitch startled awake.
Robby rubbed a hand over his face while Jack contemplated what the charges would be for non-consensually dosing someone with sleeping pills. For their own good.
“What time is it?”
“Late,” Jack told him. “Go back to sleep.”
“You’re off tonight, where are you going?”
“Food, gym, watering my sister’s plants. Not necessarily in that order.”
Robby squinted up at him. “You actually find time to go to the gym?”
“What you thought this happened naturally?” Jack gestured to himself in an exaggerated display of ego. Robby tilted his head in concession.
“Fair enough. Mind if I stay?”
The question surprised Jack. Like he would kick Robby out like some one-night stand? Sure, they hadn’t ever been in each other’s beds without the other man there, but he would have thought the key he’d given Robby would have been a clear enough message. A message saying, ‘you belong here, idiot.’
But some things, Jack grudgingly admitted, did need to be said aloud.
“I’d be offended if you left. Get some fucking sleep.”
The smile lines around Robby’s eyes deepened as he nestled into the warm spot Jack left behind.
Jack struggled to suppress the tug at the corner of his mouth.
Now
Jack watched Robby carefully. The man was completely still. It wasn’t like him. Even asleep, Robby was restless, twitching and mumbling and very occasionally kicking. Awake, he was always doing something. Bouncing from task to task. Fidgeting. Gesturing. Massaging sore parts of his body.
The stillness scared Jack.
Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he spoke again, “Is this about Jake’s girlfriend?”
Robby let out an annoyed huff of air. “Leah. Jake. The fucking teenager with the fucking list. The other teenager OD’d on fentanyl. The girl who saved her sister and drowned. Collins. Langdon. The fucking measles, Jack. The measles.”
Jack understood about half of those connections. “What’s wrong with Collins and Langdon?”
He immediately regretted asking. Robby made a shaky sound that might have been a sob.
“Don’t worry about it,” Robby said flatly.
“I hate to admit it, but I’m a bit fucking worried, brother.”
Robby didn’t answer.
“What was it you said?” Jack tried, somewhat desperately at this point, “Bad manners to jump on someone else’s shift?”
“I’m sorry.”
One Week Ago
Jack returned to his apartment in the early hours of the morning. He was met with a mouthwatering smell.
There was Robby, still damp from the shower, in his kitchen. Cooking. Breakfast, by the looks of it. Jack couldn’t remember the last time someone made him breakfast. It might have been his mother.
“I hope you’re not the kind of vegetarian that considers eggs meat,” Robby tossed over his shoulder, not turning to look.
“Nah, I eat eggs. That smells good.”
Robby handed Jack a plate. “Help yourself. Eggs, hash browns, toast, beans.”
“You went out for groceries?”
“For a gym rat, you have a shockingly bare fridge.”
Jack wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he simply loaded up his plate.
“Coffee?” Robby asked.
Jack shook his head. “It’s approaching my bed time. I’m back on tonight.”
Robby nodded and poured himself a mug.
Jack started eating, and tried not to be mad that Robby was a good cook on top of everything else.
“So,” Jack said between bites, “What’s all this about then?”
“All what about?” The man across from him asked, innocently.
“Dinner.”
“Calm down, its breakfast.”
“For you maybe.”
Robby shrugged. “I needed to eat, would be rude to just feed myself in your kitchen.”
Jack almost rolled his eyes. Almost. It was just like Robby to not even be able to admit to doing something nice. “Well, it’s delicious, thank you.”
Robby shrugged again.
Jack rolled his eyes.
Now
Maybe it was that choice of words: 'I'm sorry.' Maybe it was the minute shift of Robby’s weight. Or maybe it was just pure panic. Whatever it was, Jack gave up on the subtle approach and grabbed Robby before he had time to react.
With one arm across Robby’s chest and the other bracing Robby’s skull, Jack yanked with all his strength, and Robby tipped over onto the safe side of the barrier. He hit the concrete roof with a grunt of pain.
Robby tried to shove Jack off, but Robby—bless his heart—was not exactly what one would call ‘jacked.’
Jack, on the other hand, had the element of surprise, military training, and pure muscle mass on his side. He flipped Robby onto his stomach and pinned him with an efficiency that Robby probably found emasculating. Too bad. Jack had other things to worry about right now, namely making sure this idiot didn’t fucking jump before Jack did.
The roof access door flew open to reveal Dana, a syringe clutched in her hand. About damn time.
Dana said, “What the fuck?” at the same time Robby yelled, “Get the fuck off me!”
“Help me, will ya?” Jack said. Robby was thrashing underneath him, and confident though Jack was in his ability to overpower Robby, he’d really rather do this without potentially injuring his friend.
Robby started, “Don’t you fucking—"
But Dana recovered quickly and was at Jack’s side with the syringe in an instant. Jack snatched it from her, and uncapped it with his teeth before inserting it into a vein in Robby’s neck. Thankfully, Robby was smart enough to hold still when a sharp object approached his face.
“What did you just give me?”
Jack spit out the needle cover and dropped the syringe next to it. “Just a sedative. Sweet dreams, darlin'.”
“Fuck you. Dana, don’t—don’t fucking listen to him, this is a fucking—fuck’s sake! Let me go!”
Jack ran a hand over Robby’s hair in a way that he hoped was comforting and not creepy. “You’re alright, just relax. We’ve got you.”
Robby barked an ironic laugh. “Fuck you.”
“Jack,” Dana said, “I hope you’re sure about this.”
Jack felt Robby’s body start to relax underneath him and hoped right along with her.