Work Text:
Dana and Cassie never talked outright about their relationship on shift. They were very careful to keep it professional, sticking to the firm boundaries that they had set when they realized whatever they were doing was more than just casual sex. They had filled out the HR paperwork, discussed the basics with their individual bosses, and assured everyone that their relationship would not affect their work. It hadn't and Dana was proud of that. She'd worked very hard for her reputation and intended to maintain it no matter what. So, shifts were strictly work. They didn't flirt, didn't banter, didn't go make out in closets (unlike some people).
Every so often though, if one of them was having a particularly hard shift, they would leave each other things. Little tokens of appreciation that couldn't be taken out of context or blown out of proportion. An extra pen, a coffee, a little snack, anything to show that they were thinking about the other. Finding random trinkets on her work station had become one of the highlights of Dana's day, and this one was no different.
She had woken up with a particularly bad headache and a tickle in the back of her throat both that she had chalked up to dehydration. She'd swallowed a few Advil for the headache and headed out the door as usual, mentally prepared for a rough shift. There was snow in the forecast and for whatever reason the most mundane cases always decided they needed to brave the snow to get their minor aches and pains checked out. They clogged the waiting room and made it much harder to deal with actual emergencies. Then of course they'd yell at her and her nurses for it, as if there was anything they could do for stupidity.
Nevertheless, she arrived her usual half hour early and went through shift change with Lena who made a rather unnecessary comment about her appearance.
"You alright? You look wrecked," the insult concern from her fellow charge nurse caught Dana completely by surprise. She'd rolled out of bed a little late and had less time to put herself together but she didn't think she looked that bad. She brushed it off with a glare and a gruff "I'm fine" that was taken with a raised eyebrow and slight shake of Lena's head. Handover proved to be the easiest part of the day. Somehow night shift had gotten by relatively unscathed and had moved most of their boarders up to their respective awaiting hospital beds.
Dana could only pray that the same would be the same for the day, but that prayer was quickly shattered by a GSW to the upper right chest. The man had been dumped in the ambulance bay and was brought in barely breathing. She'd jumped on the trauma with Dr. Robby and Mel, but he was too far gone. They ran the code, tried to stop the bleeding, but the bullet tore through his heart. Time of death, 7:05. Too early for dying.
The first gift of the day arrived immediately after the GSW victim. A breakfast sandwich sat perfectly wrapped, untouched, by her keyboard with a steaming cup of coffee sitting beside it. Dana really wasn't sure how Cassie knew her order but it had been right every time. Sure enough, it was perfect. Dana took a big bite of the sandwich and gulped down half of the coffee, she wasn't sure when she'd get a chance to eat again and wanted to take advantage of it while she could. That annoying scratchy feeling that she'd noticed when she first woke was still there, but it had morphed into something closer to pain. Not quite there yet, but suspicious. Something to keep an eye on.
Dana caught a flash of red hair in the corner of her eye and turned to see Cassie moving quickly through the department, determined expression her face and her favorite worn sweatshirt over her scrubs. She wasn't sure when she'd get the chance to talk to Cassie, Robby had stuck her in chairs again, but seeing the resident was enough. They'd planned to drive home together, Cassie didn't have Harrison and Dana wanted to have a nice dinner and curl up on the couch with her favorite doctor.
Unfortunately, Dana's prediction for the day had proven to be right. The waiting room was overflowing with (mostly) menial injuries, coughs that didn't actually need a doctor, illnesses that would go away if given time. Trauma after trauma flew through the doors, never giving her a break. Two STEMIs, a severe hypothermia case, several children who had consumed chemicals, and a pileup on the freeway to top it all off. Dana barely got a chance to breathe, standing in the middle of the chaos as she shouted orders and tried to keep everybody alive. Her throat was burning at this point and her muscles had begun to ache. The pounding in her head had returned in full force and much to her dismay her nose was running. She was regretting getting up at all.
The second gift came around 2PM. A few cough drops, paper cup with two Tylenol, and a bottle of cold water that had obviously just been pulled from the fridge. Great, so her illness was noticeable. It was hard to hide the hoarseness of her voice but she was hoping that could be chalked up to all of the shouting that she had been doing. If the woman who'd barely had eyes on her all day had noticed that she wasn't doing amazing it was probably clear to everyone else. Sometimes she thought the worst part about working in healthcare was that it was difficult to hide it from her coworkers.
She threw back the pills, chasing them with a small sip of water. The coolness soothed her throat for a moment, but it wasn't enough. Dana practically collapsed into her chair and pulled up her charts, popping one of the cough drops into her mouth as she typed away. She was already exhausted and still had five hours left in her shift. There was some little part of her that was encouraging her to call Lena and ask for her to take over but Dana wasn't at that point yet. She was just a little achy and tired, that was not a big deal. she could handle it.
The looks from her coworkers continued as the day went on, people getting more bold as she got obviously more run down.
She felt the fever set in around 4PM, the third gift followed shortly after. It was bigger than anything Cassie had left her before. Cassie's favorite sweatshirt lay draped over the back of her chair, warm looking and inviting. Dana glanced around the hub, checking to see if any of her nurses had seen. Perlah stood at her own computer clicking away, she seemed far to interested on the screen.
A shiver tore through Dana and she looked back to the sweatshirt, trying to decide if it was worth it. Their relationship wasn't exactly a closely guarded secret, but this wasn't exactly subtle. Everyone knew this was Cassie's sweatshirt, she wore it nearly every cold day, it was a staple of her wardrobe. But Dana was cold and her own thin jacket wasn't doing it anymore. If Cassie was offering it she obviously knew the risks, this was her saying that she was okay with it.
Dana pulled the heavy sweatshirt on and zipped it up, immediately feeling warmer. It smelled like Cassie, it felt like Cassie. Safe and cozy, a barrier to the outside world. She didn't miss Perlah glancing over at her or the look from Robby, but she ignored them. There was no use denying that she was sick, but she wood not be fielding questions about her relationship. She had a department to run and lives to save.
The next few hours blurred together. Dana sniffled and sneezed and blew her nose nearly constantly, her voice got weaker but she continued to shout instructions. Her throat felt like she had been force fed fiberglass and the cough drops weren't helping at all anymore. The medicine she'd taken earlier was not touching the fever but the slightly too big sweatshirt wrapped tightly around her was helping with the chill. Being wrapped in Cassie's arms would be preferred but this was a reasonable substitute.
By 6PM, Dana was wiped. She was speaking in husky whispers and congestion muddled her words. There was truly no hiding it, she was sick and miserable. Princess had all but completely taken over for her, relaying Dana's orders across the ED in a voice that everyone could hear and understand. She was incredibly tempted to go lay down in the break room and just let the other woman take over, but she know how uncomfortable Princess was taking on the job and didn't want to give her that extra stress.
If asked, Dana could not recall that last hour. She was so fully wrapped in her own illness that she had completely switched to autopilot. She went through the motions, practiced and perfect. The woman was incredibly good at her job, she didn't need to focus to be able to preform her everyday functions. Shift change was easy enough, Princess took over handoff considering her lack of voice while she took care of redistributing patients to the oncoming doctors.
"Hey D. Ready to get out of here?" The voice floated through the haze of Dana's fever, a blessed relief from the all consuming discomfort that would not let her think of anything else. She glanced over to the clock, relief settling in her stomach.
7PM. She did it. She survived. Dana sniffled and swiped her knuckles under her nose, momentarily forgetting that she was wearing Cassie's sweatshirt. She cringed at the action and pulled her hand away, looking up guiltily at the doctor.
"I'll wash it," she croaked. It didn't come out as she'd hoped, she managed the word "wash" but the rest was lost. She was regretting pushing so hard against the laryngitis, she knew that shouting through it would only make to worse. Dana hadn't intended to take a sick day over this but it was beginning to look more and more like she wouldn't get a choice.
Cassie reached across the space and pressed the back of her hand to Dana's forehead and the charge nurse didn't pull away. It was inevitable and frankly she was just glad it was Cassie's hand rather than a thermometer checking her temperature. Cassie hummed sadly and pushed a few stray blonde hairs out of Dana's eyes before withdrawing.
"Don't worry about that right now baby. Lets get you home, there's a warm bath calling your name," Cassie's expression was one of pure adoration, something that she was usually much less open with. She began to gather Dana's things, effortlessly grabbing the nurses bag and slinging it over her shoulder without a second thought. Dana watched her work with tired eyes knowing full well that she wouldn't win that argument.
"C'mon you, up," Dana pulled herself up from the chair, a dramatic groan escaping her lips as blood rushed to her head. She swayed violently and Cassie hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her tight to her side. A part of Dana told her that this was a surefire way to out them as a couple (if the sweatshirt hadn't already done that for her) but she just couldn't bring herself to care. Dana was right, being wrapped in Cassie's arms was far better than the article of clothing. She let her head fall onto the residents shoulder, ignoring the blatant stares following the two of them out of the Emergency Department. Cassie pressed a kiss to the top of Dana's head and tossed a smile in Robby's direction. The expression on his face was enough to make Dana let out a raspy laugh that quickly morphed into a fit of heavy coughs.
"Feel better, Dana," Robby offered, giving her a kind smile. She nodded and laid her head back against Cassie's shoulder soaking in the warmth of her partner. The gifts of the day swirled through her head as they walked, Dana's weight almost fully supported by Cassie. The more she considered the more that she realized she would not have been able to make it through the day without McKay. Dana would never be able to express how grateful she was for the other woman, but when she felt better she would try.