Work Text:
Jack Abbot was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
When he was young, his sister would read him the children’s book about the no good day any time he asked. He remembers that it made him laugh, but now thinks he owes Alexander an apology for all the amusement he found at his expense.
Despite his ER cowboy reputation, Jack Abbot liked to have a plan. He thrived on structure, lists, and deadlines. A chaotic childhood in West Virginia had taught him that safety was found in organization. Now, this didn’t mean he couldn’t improvise on the fly. His time overseas had taught him to expect the unexpected and to pivot. Yet, he still became very agitated when his plans went awry.
Jack felt particularly targeted by this specific day. He thinks that he must have jinxed himself somehow. Maybe he walked under a ladder with out realizing, or forgot to knock on wood. Hell, he owns a black cat even though his childhood superstitions tell him that’s bad luck. He took a deep breath as he looked up at the stormy sky which had become the most recent obstacle to his plans.
Here’s the thing. He had gotten the courage to ask Samira on a date. After she moved to Presby for her fellowship he thought to himself, “Its now or never, Abbot.” The power imbalance that he navigated like a tightrope he was fighting for balance on had disappeared. He’d asked her an entire month in advance so that she would have time to get settled into her fellowship program. He knew Samira Mohan well. Which meant he knew that shifts in both her personal and professional life simultaneously would overwhelm her. So, needless to say, he felt fairly confident that he had accounted for every eventuality.
Jack is pulled from a dream by the trilling of his ‘hospital’ ringtone. His stretch of days off began today. He groaned as he rolled over in bed, reaching blindly for his nightstand. The phone had stopped ringing and gone to voicemail by the time he had it in hand. It was Robby. Jack watched as the transcript of the message wrote its way across his screen.
“Hey, brother. I hate to do this because you never willingly take time off, but can you work from 7 or 8 to 3 this afternoon? Baran has a sick kid and can’t get anyone else to keep him until 2. So, you could be out a little earlier than 3. It has to be you or me and admin has been on my ass about my hours. Just let me know. I’ll call back if I haven’t heard from you in the next 30.”
Jack rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, mentally reworking his schedule for the day. It had been a long time since he had planned a first date. On top of that, this was for Samira, so it had to be perfect. He thought a picnic would be romantic. The food was in the fridge just waiting to be assembled and packed up.
Jack took a deep, steadying breath. He could cover and still be ready for their date at 5. Plus, work would keep him busy and help with the fretting he was likely to do waiting here all day. He sent Robby a text. “Be there at 8.”
The second wrench in his day occurred at 2:30 PM and came in the form of an patient’s elbow crashing into his face. He was currently holding an icepack over his cheekbone as Ellis pushed him into an exam room. He sat on the bed as she pulled the tray over, setting down the workplace incident paperwork. The throb from the hit was reverberating through his head and he knew there was going to be a mark.
“Okay, you know the drill, old man. I’ll assess you for a concussion and go from there. Put your icepack down so I can get started.”
Jack lowered the icepack and looked at Parker unamused, “I don’t have a concussion, Ellis. He hit me just hard enough to bruise. I don’t even have a headache.”
Parker rolled her eyes, “You don’t have a headache, yet. Look. We have to do the workplace incident report. So, let me assess you for a concussion and I won’t insist on a CT scan. You can take some ibuprofen and be on your way.”
“Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite coworker?” Jack was hopeful he’d still be able to get out of here on time.
She scoffed, “Maybe now that Mohan is at Presby. We both know who you’d choose to be examined by if she were still here. Speaking of, have you heard how she’s doing?”
Jack knew his ears were pink as he broke eye contact with Parker. She raised her brow at him and slowly grinned.
“I’m sure she’s doing well,” he said a little too quickly, “She was almost certainly the most qualified for the job. Not to mention there’s no Robby breathing down her neck.”
Jack did his best to respond casually. His crush on Samira had been anything but subtle. But it hadn’t gone anywhere past him asking her to dinner. They hadn’t discussed how to handle this and he didn’t want to share something she would be uncomfortable with people knowing. It was a delicate situation even with the power imbalance gone. He was twenty years her senior and a widower. Not exactly the hottest commodity out there as far as he was concerned.
“Okay, keep your secrets. Let's wrap this up so you can get out of here."
Jack walked out of the hospital at 3:30 PM, which, for him, wasn’t too bad. The sun was shining and a light breeze was circulating the warm air. As he got settled in the truck he checked his phone to see a new text from Samira.
“Hi! I’m going to be late getting off shift, so I’ll just take the bus to the park rather than going all of the way home and you having to drive across town to pick me up. See you at 5! :)”
His plan was continuing to veer off track. He was supposed to pick her up. His chivalrous side wanted to protest. His mind was whispering, “detour number three!” His pulse hammered with anxiety, his fingers tapped away on his thighs.
He still had to run home to shower off the various fluids he had been the target of today and to get the food he had prepared this morning. He took a deep breath, stretching his neck from side to side. He had to stop catastrophizing. He needed to release some tension. Plans had shifted a bit, but everything was still on track. Relax.
He typed back, “See you then.”
Jack pulled up to the park, got out of his truck, and gathered the supplies for the picnic. He had changed into a pair of jeans and one of his nicer t-shirts. He didn’t want to overdo it or be uncomfortable. He eyed the area and found a perfect, semi-secluded spot under a tree. He laid the blanket out and set the picnic basket down. It was one of those fancy baskets that came with dishes and utensils. Borrowing it from his sister had been quite the negotiation. She leveraged it for a post-date debrief and he had reluctantly accepted her terms.
Jack felt satisfied with the setup and the spot as he took it all in. The pond was visible from here and there were two swans gracefully swimming. The sky had become a little cloudy, but he found that preferable to having the sun beating down on them. Could it be any more romantic? He really didn’t think so. He wanted this to be perfect for her. She deserved to be doted on and cherished.
He made his way back to the sidewalk to wait for Samira, and quickly spotted her approaching from the bus stop. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a UPMC sweatshirt. There was this glow around her. She looked happier than she had that last year at PTMC. He always thought she was at her prettiest post-shift. Her curls fell down around her backpack clad shoulders. He saw her grin and speed up as she spotted him.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly as she came to a stop in front of him. Then her brow immediately furrowed, “What happened to your face?”
“Well, hello to you too. Took an elbow to the face on shift today.”
She bit her lip in a poor attempt at hiding a grin. “Are there any tables over here?” She added, taking in the park.
“I found us a spot over here.”
He started towards the tree with her at his side. It was the most at ease he had felt all day.
“I brought a couple articles for you,” she volunteered. “they're pretty controversial, so I would love to get your thoughts on them.”
What Jack couldn’t have been prepared for was the quick succession of disasters four, five, and six.
Two things grabbed his attention as they approached the picnic set up. First, he noticed that the swans were no longer in the pond and had moved closer to the trees. The second thing he noticed was that Samira seemed to stop short at the sight in front of her. He watched her as she slowly took a seat on the blanket, trying too hard to seem casual about it. Maybe a romantic picnic had been too much for a first date. Fuck.
Jack figured his best course of action would be to follow her lead and attempt to make the best of it. She sat her bag down as he opened the basket to begin distributing the food. He started setting containers on the blanket and froze as she touched his hand.
“Jack. I think I –“ She shook her head, “I mean I didn’t realize – is this a date?” Samira looked up at him nervously with her big brown eyes.
He felt the blush spread over his entire face. Had he not been clear when he asked her to dinner? He tried to remember how he had asked and was drawing a blank. Surely his intentions has been clear? Oh, god, the journal articles. Had she thought this was just another journal club meet up? He felt like his heart was beating in his head as his ears began to ring.
Jack cleared his throat and began putting the dishes back into the basket. He had to get out of here. In fact, he may need to leave the country. How humiliating to be the old man who thought the pretty, young doctor would be interested in him. He knew he was spiraling, but every coping mechanism he had ever been taught in therapy had exited stage left. This had certainly not been a part of the plan and 14 year old Jack was inside of him yelling “Get out of there!”
“Hey, no, I thought it was just me!” Samira’s voice rises, sounding slightly panicked. “I didn’t think you –“
Samira’s sentence ended abruptly. Jack watched as her eyes grew wide and her gaze moved from his face to over his shoulder. As Jack turned to see what she was looking at she was suddenly on her feet pulling him with her. She was running as he stumbled along behind her. He turned to see what exactly they were fleeing and was met with a sight he couldn’t have imagined.
They were being chased by the beautiful, graceful, and romantic swans. He couldn’t have made this shit up if he tried. It was a good thing he’d be taking all information about this day to the grave because no one would every believe him.
Samira came to a stop a ways away. She released his hand and bent over, hands braced on her knees, catching her breath. He looked over at her and was struck by how pretty she was after fleeing a swan attack; Her curls were wild and her face was flushed. He chastised himself for the thought once he remembered that this was not a mutual attraction. Disgust filled his body as he realized he took advantage of what she considered a mentor/mentee relationship.
As she stood upright again, Jack met her gaze. Her brown eyes were full of mirth and it appeared some embarrassment of her own. Jack took a step toward her, his body tense and tone apologetic.
“I am so sorry, Samira. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable. I accept full responsibility for this shit show. I should have known this was doomed from the moment I got called into work this morning. Everything that’s happened today has clearly been a message that I should have never gotten out of bed.”
Samira was grinning by the end of his apology which he chose to think of as a good sign. She shook her head in disbelief and squinted at him as her dimples decided to make an appearance.
“I wouldn’t have thought that you were so superstitious, Abbot. Seems like a tough trait to carry around for an ER doctor.”
Jack really wanted to kiss her. He had to get out of here.
As he went to offer her a ride home, disaster six struck in the most unbelievable, cinematic way. Thunder cracked and with it came an onslaught of rain. Suddenly Jack realized it had been getting gradually cloudier as they stood there. He looked from the sky to Samira in shock. He gestured his arms up to the sky and around them as if this random thunderstorm proved his point. Samira’s smile never left her face as she took off running back in the direction they had come from, her laugh trailing behind her.
Jack followed her at a slower pace, his leg already aching from the full day at work. When he reached her she had the picnic basket on one arm and was attempting to gather the sopping blanket with the other. She turned toward him as he approached and held the basket out to him. He took it from her and she hefted the soaked blanket up into her arms.
“You up for a mad dash to your truck?”
He nodded at her, his curls dripping water down his face. She glanced back at him and then took off, shouting over her shoulder.
“First one there wins!”
They both sat in his truck, drenched, attempting to catch their breath. Jack had his head leaning against the headrest, eyes closed. He couldn’t believe how this day had turned out. He’d laugh if he weren’t so emotionally wrung out. He startled as he felt a hand brush the wet curls up and off of his forehead. As her hand retreated he turned his head to the side to look at her.
“Soooooo,” she began coyly, “what do I get for winning the race?”
Jack continued to stare and take her in. One of the first things he noticed about her upon their introduction was that she had no problem holding his gaze. Others found the staring intimidating and he’d be lying if he said that was unintentional. But, not Samira Mohan. She made him look away first every time. He couldn’t bring himself to look away this time.
“You can have whatever you want, Samira. Say the word and its yours.”
She looked down at the picnic basket in her lap and smiled. She turned to him conspiratorially.
“Well, I have this basket full of perfectly good food prepared especially for me. Do you happen to have a house we could eat it at?”
He sat forward at that. She wanted to go to his house? After this disastrous “not-date” he couldn’t believe she wanted to be anywhere near him. She was too nice to people. He needed to assure her he was fine with taking her home and pretending this day hadn’t ever happened.
“Samira, I can take you home. You don’t have to prolong this excruciating, humiliation of a day. You can keep the food for lunches and dinners. It’s the least I could offer you for this whole ordeal.”
“Jack,” she said, brow creased in opposition, “You said I could have whatever I wanted.”
He took a deep breath, “I did.”
“Take me home with you, Jack.”
The storm didn’t let up on the journey home. Jack felt unsettled as he parked the truck in the garage. He had not planned on showing her his house, but, frankly, he hadn’t planned a single thing that had happened to him today. He expected Samira to be hesitant but as soon as the truck stilled she was opening the door and hopping out of the vehicle, leaving him scrambling out after her.
She had the basket and he grabbed the blanket out of his truck bed. He tossed her his keys and she walked straight into his house as if she had been there a million times. They entered into the laundry room and he grabbed them both a towel off of the shelf. He leaned over and dried his hair first, then his face and neck. As he brought the towel down to dry his arms he froze at the sight before him. Samira Mohan was in her underwear in his laundry room.
If Jack was going to be converted to any religion it’d be the one where she was the deity to be worshipped. The fabric covered more than traditional women’s underwear, yet the way it hugged her body was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. The white fabric against her glowing skin made him want to throw himself at her feet and beg for any morsel of attention. For her part, Samira didn’t seem remotely self-conscious.
“You’ll be my favorite person in the world if you have a robe I can cuddle up in.”
She turned to him and his flustered state made her smirk. She reached out and lightly shoved his shoulder.
“Come on, Abbot. Act like you’ve seen a woman in her underwear before.”
Jack felt his entire face go red. He went to move past her and she blocked his way. She gave him an admonishing look.
“Do not track water through your house. Take off your clothes.”
Jack takes in this version of Samira he doesn’t think he’s ever really met before. There was always an uncertainty to their interactions before. But, now, Jack’s cards are on the table. She knows exactly where he stands. She seems certain in a way he wasn’t expecting. Well, if she wants to flirt, he can flirt. He smirks at her, deciding two can play this game.
“Boss me around as much as you want, Dr. Mohan. It suits you.”
She rolls her eyes giving him a fond yet unimpressed look. She turns abruptly and starts making her way into the rest of the house.
“I’m going to snoop while you get changed.”
He grins at her retreating form, “Not sure you could contain yourself if you stayed?”
She calls out from the living room, “You need to eat and hydrate before I have my way with you!”
Jack thinks he may be in over his head as he enters the living room with the picnic basket. Samira is curled up on his couch… in his navy robe… writing in his crossword book…with his cat curled up at her feet. He sets the basket on the coffee table next to his copy of Gray’s Anatomy.
She gestures to the book, “Enjoying some light reading?”
“It’s my therapy homework. Supposed to read something dense and boring before bed. Good thing I have it to since you’ve wooed Plague, my emotional support cat, away from me.”
“Plague? Like, the black plague?”
“Very good, Dr. Mohan.”
She grins and continues solving his crossword.
He clears his throat, “Can I make you some tea to warm up?”
She responds without looking up from the crossword, “Yes, please.”
When Jack returns with the tea, Samira has set out all of the food on the coffee table. There are fruits, meats, cheeses, and crackers. Accompanied by the two new recipes Jack tried his best to make. He knew food from India was her favorite so he had done his best to incorporate that in a picnic friendly way.
She looks up at him with misty eyes, “You made kathi rolls?”
Jack places the mugs on the table and busies himself putting food on his plate.
“Yeah, I made things we could eat cold. There are also chicken salad sandwiches. They’re made with tandoori chicken and green chutney.”
He looks up and she looks away as she bites her lip. Samira turns back to him and laughs while she wipes tears from her face.
“I’m sorry.” Jack’s tone is concerned, but confused.
“No, don’t apologize. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Maybe wait until you’ve tried it before you sing my praises.”
Her melodic laugh fills the air, “It could suck and it would still be very thoughtful, Jack.”
They spend the next few minutes eating in silence and relaxing from their whirlwind evening. He can feel her glancing his way on occasion and she seemed to be enjoying the food. He looks up at her and amusement floods her face as she sits up.
“So, tell me about your terrible day. I want every awful detail.”
Jack sighs, wipes his mouth with his napkin and reclines back on his hands.
“Well, in order of occurrence I got called in to cover for Baran, had a particularly fluid filled shift, got elbowed in the face by a patient thirty minutes before I was supposed to leave, you didn’t actually agree to a date with me, chased by swans, and a torrential downpour to top it all off.”
Samira leans forward resting her elbows on the table. She chases his eyes until they are looking at each other.
“I never imagined there was a timeline where you would ask me on a date. I just thought you were being nice so I’d have someone to talk to about my fellowship. Really, I’m glad I didn’t know, because I spent the entire day so excited that I was going to see you. I would have been a nervous wreck had I known my unreciprocated crush wasn’t quite as unreciprocated as I had assumed.”
“How on earth could you think it was unreciprocated? You’re the smartest person in every room you walk into. I didn’t stand a chance.”
Samira blushed and looked down before raising her eyes to meet his again.
“Only a true nerd would develop a crush on someone because they can pronounce choledocholithiasis.”
“You wouldn’t have said that just now if you knew what it did to me.”
She smirked, “Wouldn’t I have though?”
He shook his head with a grin and then leveraged himself up to begin clearing the table. Samira stood to help and they moved everything into the kitchen. Jack was moving toward the laundry room when everything went dark.
“Jack, I think your bad luck has struck again. What did you do for karma to attack you so viciously!?”
Jack smirked as he returned to her side. There was just enough light streaming in from the cloudy sky to see each other.
“I don’t know, I think my luck is turning around, that’s lucky number seven. Sit tight, I’ll be right back.” He tapped his hand against the counter as he left the room.
Samira could hear him rustling around in the other room. She heard drawers and cabinets opening and closing. She looked around his kitchen and took in the Jack of it all. His house was lived in and homey. Samira hadn’t let herself feel at home anywhere since her Appa died. She thought now might be a good time to find out what Samira Mohan liked to do with her free time. Her research fellowship was fulfilling and not working under Robby had done wonders for her overall disposition.
She could hear Jack moving around in the living room now so she crept to the entry way to take a peek. She watched as he set candles up all over the living room; they were on the fireplace mantle, the coffee table, the tv stand, and the end tables. The light from the flames reflecting off of every surface.
She had immediately had a crush on her hot, older attending. He was charming and beyond competent so, of course, she was a goner. But, she fell in love when they started working together more often. Jack saw her in a way Samira didn’t think she had ever been seen. He trusted her, was a kind mentor, and they just clicked.
Samira shifted and a floorboard creaked. Jack looked up and gave her an admonishing look as she leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms.
“You’ve ruined the surprise!”
“How?”
“I had a whole script planned. I was going to ask you on a candlelit date and medical journal exchange. The last date I planned for you was a bust, so I was giving it another shot.”
Samira smiled at Jack as she pushed off the wall and moved towards him. She felt like a predator stalking her prey with how uncertain he looked. She threw both arms around his neck and placed her forehead against his. She watched as his eyes fell shut and his hands landed on her waist. She pulled back slightly and placed a soft kiss on the bruise near his eye.
“This has been the best date I’ve ever been on. Thank you for all of it. I think it ended up just how it was supposed to.”
Jack’s lips parted as he started to speak and Samira took advantage of the moment, surging forward, bringing her lips to his. She felt Jack melt into her. She whimpered as he wrapped his arms around the small of her back and pulled her closer. Samira buried her hands in his curls and gave them a tug. Jack groaned and moved his hands under the stolen robe. She gasped as he touched bare skin under her tank.
He trailed kisses down her neck, “You have no idea what that set of underwear is doing to me, do you? You look radiant.”
She leaned back to see his face and grinned.
“You should see me without them.”
Samira Mohan was having a magnificent, excellent, so good, very great day.