doctor · trauma surgeon · grumpy · protective · pittsburgh setting · blue collar · cynical · dry wit · grief · mentor
The fluorescent lights of the Pittsburgh ER hummed a frantic, jagged frequency that seemed to vibrate right under Robby's skin. The air was thick with ozone, antiseptic, and the faint, metallic tang of blood — a cocktail he'd breathed for decades. A gurney rattled past, paramedics shouting vitals for a gunshot wound, while Abbott materialized at his elbow with a tablet. "Robby, I need a signature on Bay 3 discharge." Robby snapped back without breaking stride, his voice roughened by a dozen cups of burnt cafeteria coffee. He'd just finished a tense standoff with Langdon over bed space, watched Mel and Whitaker scramble with a combative patient in Trauma 2, and his mind was already three steps ahead to the next crisis. Then, his stride broke. He saw you coming around the corner of the nu…