Archive of Our Own ^beta

The night hadn't been slow per se, it was just calm for the first time in god knows how many months. Shen was off doing his charts, finally able to catch up on the mountain of paperwork that seemed to pile up more often everyday. Ellis had somehow managed to get the night off, spending it with you, his lovely and adoring wife, along with Dana, and Mel. God, what he wouldn't give to just have a few minutes alone with you.

Of course, Jack knew that wasn't possible, given that he was the main attending for the night shift. Robby had all but begged him to transfer to the morning shift, saying how they could use his help, but Gloria shot him down. It didn't surprise him, Gloria would deny the hospital of everything it would ever need.

"Hey, I've got a patient coming back for a laceration, figured you're the best with sutures," it was one of the nurses that caught his attention, bringing him back down to earth as he turned to face her.

"That's fine, gives me something to do so I don't fall asleep," it wasn't often that Jack was actually tired on shift, but there was just something about tonight.

She gave him a quick nod, heading back to the lobby to grab the patient and bring them back to one of the open rooms. The night was still early, none of the usual patients making their rounds as they tended to do.

His body moved on autopilot, hands reaching for gloves like clockwork as he stepped into the room.

"Good evening Mr. Cody, I heard you were in for a laceration?" Jack snapped the gloves into place as he stepped over to the bedside.

The man sitting before him couldn't have been older than thirty-five, maybe thirty-seven if he wanted to push. His hair leaned into a dark blonde, the roots more brown while the strands streaked bright. His eyes reminded Jack of the ocean, a deepness was that you didn't see often.

"Umm, yeah, accidentally knicked myself while trying to fix the kitchen sink, my husband demanded I come here," the patient stiffened for a moment, watching Jack with an intensity that a cornered animal might have.

"He's a smart man, that laceration looks pretty severe," from the limited view Jack had, he could tell it was at least five inches long, and maybe two inches in depth.

Mr. Cody seemed to suddenly relax, thankful that his doctor didn't appear to be homophobic. Nothing worse than having to sit around while someone spews vitriol and hatred for who you choose to love.

"Alright, so I'm going to numb up the area before I start with stitches, do you have any allergies to medication?" Jack had turned his back, laying out clamps, needles, medical thread, along with a syringe and small vile of lidocaine.

"No, no allergies," he cleared his throat nervously, eyes locked on the doctor.

Jesus, he could be his twin.

Prepping the syringe with lidocaine, Jack turned back towards his patient.

"It's going to be a slight burning, after that the numbing agent will take over and you shouldn't feel anything," pressing against the skin, Jack kept a steady hand as he pressed the needle in slowly, pushing the plunger down halfway.

After he finished with one side he switched to the other, numbing both sides of the laceration before reaching over to place the needle into the biohazard bin.

"Alright, I'm going to let that start working and then we will begin stitching up the wound," It was surprisingly clean, considering how he'd gotten said wound, but Jack wasn't here to judge.

The other man nodded, nervously clearing his throat.

"I'm sure you've never had someone tell you this, but you look so much like my brother," he chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair, strands falling down into his face.

"I can confidently say I've never had someone tell me that before, but it's a first time for everything," Jack smiled, reaching for a clamp as well as the threaded needle.

The patient didn't so much as fling as Jack began to stitch the wound closed, his eyes locked on the way Jack so effortlessly stitched it closed. Years of practice, it was his go to answer anytime someone asked.

After the wound was stitched, perfectly might Jack add, he cleaned the area surrounding and wrote a prescription for some mild painkillers as well as penicillin.

"Make sure to keep the stitches dry, nothing worse than getting an infection and having to come back," he tossed everything into the trash that had been used, the needle being tossed into the biohazard bin.

"I understand," Mr. Cody sat motionless for a brief moment, reaching into his pocket and unlocking his phone hastily. "I needed to show you this, before I left."

Turning his head, Jack came face to face with himself, except it wasn't him. The person staring back looked so similar, but so different as well. His hair was dark, the same shade Jack's had been before he'd started going gray. His eyes were the same dark hazel, freckles adoring his skin entirely.

"His name was Andrew, he umm, he passed away a few years ago," Jack's throat felt tight at knowing this other person was no longer alive.

Would it have been weird to meet his doppelgänger? Surely it would be, all things considered. Tearing his eyes away from the photo to look back at the patient, his heart raced, something he couldn't quite place taking over.

"I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy losing someone close to you," from Jack's time in the army, losing men he knew had families to go home to. To losing the only woman he ever thought he could love.

That was before he'd met you, of course, you didn't push him to move on from the horrors he'd seen while deployed. Never made him feel insecure for still grieving his first wife, not after you admitted to losing your husband during Covid.

"Yeah, that's what I try and tell myself," his chuckle was bitter, his throat suddenly tight as he shoved the phone into his pocket.

Jack's body moved on it's own volition, his mind elsewhere as he gave the instructions once more on how to keep the wound clean, and dry. Mindlessly charting while the patient sat almost idly in front of him.

He discharged the patient, learning his name was Deran, before heading off to see if there were any new patients that needed help.

Throughout the night his mind would circle back to the photo, how truly similar they looked to one another. It felt like he was looking at a photo of himself during his last deployment, before he came home with one less limb, and a wife who'd gotten sick two months in. Everything about it felt strange. Hours ticked by slowly, taunting him as he waited for something interesting to happen.

Of course, as soon as Jack was getting ready to leave, an influx of people showed up as the morning shift began to file in. Jack handed off everything he was able to, instructing med students and residents to brign patients back that were first on the list before moving on. Robby looked tired, which was nothing new for anyone that had been around the man for longer than ten minutes.

"Hey, I've got some of the residents grabbing patients and putting them into rooms," Jack looked up as Robby plopped down his coffee, the ice swirling inside the plastic cup.

"Good, need to start whipping 'em into shape," Robby chuckled as he turned to face the other man, the sleeves of his hoodie pushed up towards his elbows.

"They're decent, better than the last batch we had," medical school was never easy, no matter how brilliant someone was.

The hand off went smoother as the rest of the nurses, and residents finally filed in for their shifts. Santos was already making Whitaker's morning hell, as she seemed to do with great pleasure, while Mohan was busy rushing off to find a patient to add to her roster for the day. Jack hoisted the strap of his bag over his shoulder, quickly making his way out of the building in order to get back home.

You were usually up around this time, either making breakfast for yourself, or doing some mundane chore he hadn't gotten the chance to do yet. Had he remembered to do the dishes before leaving last night? Shit, maybe he'd forgotten to fold the laundry that was sitting in the basket. Sliding the key into the deadbolt and twisting to unlock it Jack took a deep breath, silently preparing himself for what his dreams would bring this time.

Stepping inside the house was quiet, save for the sound of the TV playing softly in the living room, sounded like one of the podcasts you watched. His bag slipped off his shoulder and onto the floor, keys following suit as he set them into the bowl on the table. The house smelled faintly of cinnamon and maple syrup, so you'd had breakfast at least.

"Mmm, good morning my husband," your eyes were tired, a soft smile on your face as you looked at him over your shoulder.

Jack had never been more in love with you than he had in that moment, the way the blanket draped over your body so softly. Gentle lines around your eyes deepening as your smile widened the further he stepped into the room.

"I had a patient tonight come in for a laceration," Jack couldn't stop himself, lips parted as the words spewed out like water from a fountain. "He told me about his brother, even showed me a photo."

You waited for him to continue, body turning to face him instead of resting against the back of the couch as you had been.

"He…baby it looked exactly like me, we could've been identical twins," it took a lot to truly disturb Jack Abbot, and this was one of those things.

You kept watching him, brow furrowing as you tried to figure out how to even properly respond to something like that. Most people never met their doppelganger, so to hear that your husband had seen a photo of his?

"Well, let's hope that patient doesn't form a bond since you treated him," you raised a brow at him, hand loosely clutching the remote in your left hand.

"His brothers dead sweetheart, maybe I should worry a little bit," Jack sighed, plopping down onto the sofa beside you.

You rolled your eyes, laying your head against his shoulder as Jack let his body sink into the plush cushions. Maybe he was just overreacting, this would be a one-off and he'd never see this patient again.

"If it does become worrisome then let Robby and Gloria, nothing wrong with keeping yourself safe," you quickly unpaused the video, turning your attention back to the two women on screen.

Maybe you had the right idea, if things did escalate he could just let other people know to keep an eye on the guy in case he came back.

Things would be just fine.

Right?