Season 4 One Shots

First Day Back

Author's Note: This is my take on Robert's first day back at Station 19 in two acts. The idea for the first came from the promo for 04x04, and the second is a product of my imagination.  

"How am I supposed to stay away from you, when I have to watch you rescue kittens every day?" Andy asked as they met in the hallway on his first day back at work. Her voice was quiet, and teasing, and sent Robert's mind back to the beginning of their intimate relationship, when they would spend long leisurely mornings in bed together, exploring each other's bodies and minds, cataloging which touches or turns of phrase heightened the tension or achieved the desired moan or gasp.

"Kittens?" Robert asked with a chuckle, a bit amused that his mere presence had his wife so flustered.

"Yeah, kittens. You know, the heroic firefighter saving the day by rescuing the cat from the tree," Andy explained, realizing as she did that her metaphor was a bit silly.

Early on, Robert had playfully teased Andy about her thing for men in uniform. Andy, of course, denied it, retorting that with her job, it was almost impossible to meet someone who wasn't a first responder, but they both knew it was true. Andy had a type: tall, strong, and heroic. Robert didn't mind; he was just glad he was the one with whom she had fallen in love. Robert's type wasn't as clear, but after a few comments about how good Andy looked when she was dirty and disheveled after fighting a fire, Andy determined that Robert was equally aroused by her valiant side.

"Am I that irresistible?" Robert teased as he leaned toward her. One of his hands grasped the water pipe next to him, and the other, without any conscious choice on his part, slipped from his pocket and moved toward her. He quickly stuck it back in his pocket as he realized he was about to touch her in a way that was definitely not appropriate given their 90-day separation or their location in a very public hallway at the station.

"Don't flatter yourself," Andy retorted playfully. "It's just been over a month since we've been together, and I happen to be living with the queen of orgasms."

"Excuse me?" Robert queried, his eyebrows raised. He knew that Andy was living with Maya and her girlfriend, an OB/GYN at Grey-Sloan, but this particular moniker was news to him.

Andy smiled at her husband's discomfort. While she had gotten used to Carina's openness about her research, and the wonderful curative properties of the female orgasm, like him, she was caught off guard a bit at the beginning.

"Yeah," Andy explained. "Dr. Carina Deluca. In addition to delivering babies, she's also an incredible cook who makes homemade pasta on her days off, and when she's not busy with those two things, she does MRIs on women's brains before, during, and after orgasm. That's how Dr. Shepherd's brain tumor was diagnosed. She had agreed to be a research participant, and it showed up on the scan!"

Andy paused. She knew she was rambling, something she did when she was feeling unnerved, and Robert used the moment to process this new information, both about Andy's roommate, and Dr. Shepherd, his neurosurgeon and one member of his sober support system.

"Ok, then," Robert said, not sure where to take the conversation. "What can I do to make things easier on you at work?"

While both of them struggled with the separation, it was much easier to manage when they were physically apart. Now that they would be working together, they would have a constant reminder of what they were missing. Despite the difficulties, he understood Dr. Shepherd's reasons for recommending it. His Narcotics Anonymous meetings and conversations with Richard had given him insight into addiction from the perspective of loved ones, and he had come to appreciate why he needed to go through this early phase of recovery on his own. Ninety days of sobriety would make both of them more confident he could stay clean, and Andy would not feel pressured to monitor his behavior or look for signs of a relapse.