Chapter Text
Mel
November
Mel was hoping she would have made it longer before she was assaulted by a patient. She’s heard Jesse had a surgical tray thrown at him, Princess’ broken cheekbone, and Dana’s black eye which had happened on her very first day. She knows the statistics and that it was going to happen to her eventually, she just didn’t think it would happen like this.
It starts when an agitated man comes in from chairs, and under Robby’s watchful eye she takes him on instead of cherry picking — even though she really wants to.
Really, she should have seen the signs and asked for security to be nearby or for someone else to be in the room with her. Except the man was already grumbling about the long wait in chairs and she didn’t want to delay his care any longer. She went through the exam and took his history – and there was something off about him she just didn’t know what – and then he asked for opioids for his pain.
The moment he asks, it all clicks for Mel. She didn’t want to jump to assume he was going through a withdrawal but all the symptoms were there. The man was irritable, his leg was bouncing, and he was sweating, “Listen Doc, my head is just killing me and morphine is the only thing that works for me.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Thompson, but we need to finish the exam first,” she tries to placate him. Now, as an R3 she can spot the drug seekers just as well as her senior doctors. A part of her hates it, her work in the VA showed her some of the ugly realities of addiction. It’s likely Mr. Thompson was prescribed oxycodone for pain and was failed by the system with proper follow-up for pain management, a doctor with a tendency to overprescribe –
“Sweetheart, come on I’ll be on my way and out of your hair,” Mr. Thompson tries again. Mentally she’s trying to figure out how to get him to admit to his addiction, although he was probably going to get more irritated and then their patient satisfaction scores would surely stay as low as they are. She starts typing in her orders on the computer pointedly looking away from him while she comes up with a plan.
“Mr. Thompson, it’s important that we finish the exam and run a couple more tests, we can get you a different painkiller-” Before she can finish her sentence she hears movement behind her and his face is right in front of hers, and his hands are right around her neck –
“Just give me the damn oxy!” He shouts and next thing Mel knows she’s on the floor and her head hurts.
Mr. Thompson threw her in the wall and she’s not entirely sure if she heard a crack or if that was the sound of the cart falling over – and everything on it – that she bumped into on the way down.
“We need security in here!” Someone shouts, most likely Dana and the room gets a lot busier. She can’t keep a single thought in her head other than this really hurts.
Distantly, she hears the commotion of security grabbing the patient and sedating him. She is covering her face with her hands, all the lights and movements making her feel more disoriented.
“Come on honey,” Dana says next to her, “Be careful, someone get me a wheelchair over here” and then someone – she thinks it's McKay – is helping her get up into the wheelchair.
“Can I get a look at your eyes Mel?” asks McKay softly. Mel can’t bring herself to open her eyes just yet still feeling overwhelmed by what happened. She shakes her head, “Okay um, lets get you in a quiet room, Dana what’s open?”
She’s getting steered by someone into a room. There’s pressure behind her eyes and she’s trying to take deep breaths and not break down right now. But it still feels like his hands are around her throat and she's cupping her hands against her neck to try and ground herself.
“Let’s get you into the bed,” Dana says quietly to her, “McKay cut the lights, she hit her head pretty hard.”
She lets Dana guide her to the gurney and she opens her eyes. Even with the dimmed lights it still hurts to keep her eyes open but she tries to adjust to her new surroundings. McKay and Dana are both in front of her with matching concerned expressions.
“How are you feeling Mel?” asks McKay. Mel opens her mouth but she can’t produce any words. She feels her eyes tear up and she ducks her head and cups her neck again. She feels embarrassed that she’s acting this way in front of her coworkers, and it reminds her of all the times she’s been teased or bullied for being different.
“How are we doing here?” Robby knocks gently on the door before grabbing gloves and coming in, “Pupils are unequal but reactive and pretty sure she’s having some sensitivity to light. Mel hasn’t been able to speak yet,” replied McKay.
Robby comes closer, “Can I?” as he motions his light pen towards her face. She nods and he’s shining the light in her eyes and she flinches. He puts it away and starts gently prodding around her face with his hands and necks. She’s tense, and he must notice by the way he works efficiently and quickly, not letting his hands linger too long.
He peels off his gloves, “I want a CT to confirm there's no fractures, but I think you have a concussion Dr. King” Mel agreed, but she was still lost in her head, not able to really focus on what was going on.
McKay speaks up first, “Mel do you have anyone to take care of you at home?” She looks in her direction and just shakes her head. “Well I can’t let you go home alone in good conscience Dr. King. You’ll need to take off at least a week to recover, possibly two,” says Dr. Robby.
A whole week? Who is going to care for Becca? With a concussion it would be hard for her to do daily activities. . .
“What about your emergency contact, you have one right?” Dana asks. Mel hasn’t had an emergency contact in forever really. She had friends now in Pittsburgh, but she wasn’t sure how to go about asking them to be there for her in an emergency. Mel never really thought about having one for herself, only ever making sure that someone could get Becca for her if she wasn’t able to.
Mel can’t really bring herself to look at anyone and she’s wringing her hands in her lap. “No, I don’t – I haven’t had the chance to put one down.” Saying that feels better than telling the truth but she’s pretty sure they all see through her.
“Well you’re friends with Mohan and Santos right? I’m sure they would be okay with taking you home Mel,” said McKay.
Yes, she knows her friends would be more than willing to take her home but part of her feels embarrassed to ask and that she would be a bother to them. But she really doesn’t have any other option, standard of care is to discharge with someone who can get her home safely.
At her lack of response McKay softly says, “We can go ahead and ask for you, you can rest up while you wait for the CT.” Mel nods, and Dana, McKay, and Robby head out of the room, the door closing with a click behind them.
Mel lets out a sigh and lays down on the gurney. She reaches up to gently feel at her neck, reassuring herself that she can breathe and his hands aren’t around her neck anymore. Her head doesn’t hurt as much anymore, they must have given her something for the pain at some point. She feels tired now that the adrenaline has left her body and she finally calmed down. It was likely going to be a while for her to get the CT even if they tried to push her to the front of the line. The ED is always filled with noise – codes being called over the intercom, loved ones crying, EMTs presenting a patient – which makes it hard to relax. Somehow, Mel is able to go to sleep despite the muffled noise coming in through the door.
Mel was never a deep sleeper, so she woke up briefly when she was taken in for the CT scan. She was able to go back to sleep easily, unable to fight the weight that seemed to pull her eyelids shut.
When she finally wakes up and feels like she won’t go back to sleep immediately, she sits up slowly. Feeling slightly better than before she’s still blinking away the sleep from her eyes when the door opens.
“Mel,” Frank says as he rushes to her side “You’re awake.” She knows that she shouldn’t be so relieved that he’s here but she is. “I was so worried, I was in the trauma bay I didn’t find out until after and you were taken for the CT.”
“You don’t need to worry about me Frank,” she looks at him and his face is like an open book, his eyebrows drawn together in concern, “It could have been worse.”
Frank reaches out to examine her neck, soft touches along her neck, and then his hands are traveling up towards her face. He’s staring intently at her face, looking for anything that seems amiss, “It shouldn’t have happened at all Mel,” he says softly.
On one hand, Mel is soaking up the attention that Frank is giving her right now, his hands touching her softly, eyes focused in on her, and he was worried about her. On the other hand, she feels guilty that she feels this way about a married man.
The first day they worked together, Mel could admit that she had a small crush on him. He’s handsome and he looked at her like she meant something. What he said to her in the breakroom had really made an impression on her, and the butterflies in her stomach whenever he was around was hard to ignore. Then, he wasn’t there the next day. Or the next, or the day after that. Eventually, word had gone around that he had gone to rehab. She moved on and tried to forget him; they had only worked one shift together after all and he had a ring on his finger that was pretty hard to miss when he talked with his hands moving wildly.
When he returned, she was well aware of the betting pool on whether or not he would still be married when he came back. She preferred to not engage with the department wide gambling problem, but the pool had gotten so big it was hard to not know about it. Many people were left disappointed when Frank returned with a ring on his finger. Mel was too, but for a different reason. Immediately afterwards a new bet was formed on how long it would be for him to get a divorce. Last she heard the pool for this one was larger than the last bet, and included several departments in PTMC. How Gloria hadn’t heard of it already was a mystery.
When he came back, she assumed that her tiny crush would have been over. It had been months since she saw him, and the likelihood of him remembering her was small. But when she saw Frank there, looking like a kicked puppy and unsure of himself, she felt the butterflies in her stomach again. Mel did feel a little bad for thinking of a coworker in that way – especially one that was at his rock bottom – so she pushed her feelings to the side and pulled him onto her cases.
It was rough when Frank came back. The tension between him and Robby was unpalatable and left everyone else trying to get out of their way when they got into it over a small issue. As part of his return, Frank was required to do daily drug tests and every time he had to step off the floor his jaw was clenched and he would be grouchy for the next hour. Mel couldn’t stand to see him that way, and she would pull him onto her cases or ask him questions that she could have easily gone to another resident or attending about.
In those early days she could justify her feelings as just wanting to be friends. Nothing more. Mel really did want to be friends with him, during his absence she got close to the other doctors too, so why not get close to him? After all, he still had a ring on his finger, and would occasionally mention his wife here and there. It was entirely and completely innocent.
Now, Frank was looking at her with his freakishly blue eyes, and she had to force herself to look away. “I know Frank, but something like this was bound to happen eventually. You know the statistics for assault on healthcare workers,” she says.
He pulls his hands back from her face and tuts at her. “I know that Mel, and I know that you don’t have an emergency contact,” he says with a stern face. She groans, everyone probably knows by now.
“It’s really not that big of a deal Frank, I can get Trinity or Samira to bring me home,” she’s tired and a part of her really doesn’t want to talk about this with Frank. Yes, they are close enough and more than capable to get her home and even help her as she recovers – but Mel doesn’t know how to let other people help her. It’s a flaw of hers that goes back to even before her mom passed, and she’s lost friends over it too.
“And what about after that? Who is going to help you recover? Get Becca from the center? Do the cooking or cleaning, what about –” she cuts him off, “Okay I get it Frank. What are you getting at here?”
He does look a little sheepish, “You could have asked me, I mean we hang out all the time Mel it really isn’t a bother.” He has a point, she thinks, but she also doesn’t know how socially acceptable it is to have him as an emergency contact over her single friends that have no familial obligations.
“It slipped my mind Frank, really. Besides you have your wife and kids, I wouldn’t want to take you away from them,” she says. He recoils slightly when she says that, “Yeah, I guess you’re right Mel.”
Mel has noticed these past months that while mentioning his kids usually made Frank perk up and he enjoyed talking about them, the same couldn’t be said about his wife. Anytime someone brought up Abby Langdon, he didn’t have much to say about her or would change the subject quickly. She preferred to not listen to the rumor mill too much but she had heard whispers from the nurses that his phone calls with his wife were often tense and that his marriage was on the rocks. She figured a trip to rehab and being on probation at work is bound to cause some strain on a marriage. Princess is the one to tell her directly that his marriage was rocky before he left for rehab, she said it with a knowing look before being pulled to a patient.
“I can just ask Trinity or Samira to take me home, and Becca can stay at the center while I recover. I’ll figure out the rest later, I’ll be okay,” she says ending with a yawn. She really would like to go back to sleep with the concussion and all.
“Right," Frank looks tense, "Eell I’ll let you rest Sleeping Beauty,” he shoots her a strained smile before slipping out of the room.
Mel might have been able to fool herself when he first came back, but the crush she has on him has only gotten bigger over time. It doesn’t help that they got close quickly, and he insisted on carpooling on the days that they worked together and grabbing something to eat after a shift. In no time, she was introducing him to Becca which had gone over well, and he would occasionally help out with driving her to the center when Mel couldn’t, or encourage her to go out with her friends.
As much as her crush grew, so did her guilt. She loved hanging out with him and how much he helped her out, except she couldn’t help but think sometimes that he should be with his family instead. He’d stay out late with her getting dinner rather than go home to his wife and kids, and he would have to leave his house earlier just to pick her up in the morning. She couldn’t help but feel that she was taking him away from them. She would try to rationalize it though; their marriage was on the rocks, so maybe he was avoiding home for a reason. So Mel didn’t ask him about Abby or the time she took away from his family. It’s not like her crush would go anywhere, she would have to let it die out on its own.
“Obviously I’m taking Mel home,” Santos says loudly. There is currently a crowd in the room; Mel had gotten the green light to go home and many people had their opinion on who would take her home.
“You have Whitaker to look after, you can’t do both,” Frank is protesting, and she can see the way that Whitaker takes offense to his statement.
“Santos does not ‘look after me,’ besides shouldn’t we let Mel choose anyways?” No one heard him or indicated they had, but it was the effort that counted.
“No way Trinity takes Mel home, your bedside manner is mediocre at best and you can barely take care of yourself,” states Samira.
“Which is exactly why I can take Mel home guys, my bedside manner is amazing” Frank says, before he can continue Trinity cuts him off.
“Don’t you have like, a wife and kids to go home to?” Mel notices the way his face shifts slightly, caught off-guard by what Trinity said but then it disappears just as quickly.
“Abby and the kids are actually visiting her family right now, thank you” Now he’s sneering at Trinity and she’s sneering back, “Oh why's that? Did the wife finally get tired of you?”
“Guys, I can take Mel home, you guys have enough going on as is” Samira cuts in.
“Oh, like you’re any better!” Frank and Trinity say at the same time. Mel has privately thought that the two of them are very similar but every time she mentions it to either of them they start fake gagging and tell her to stop talking.
Mel would really like it if they listened to Whitaker and let her choose but according to all of them: her concussion made her incapable of deciding. Nevermind the fact she could still think straight – mostly – and that none of them were actually in charge of her care, Dr. Robby was.
“What’s with the party in here?” Dana has her eyebrow raised at all of them as she strolls in with Dr. Robby.
“They’re deciding who gets to take me home and watch after me,” Mel says. Dana chuckles and Dr. Robby is shaking his head.
“Has it occurred to any of you Dr. King is capable of choosing who can help her out and that you all could rotate who helps her out?” Dr. Robby says as he looks at the main culprits, Frank and Trinity. Whitaker has a resigned expression on his face, knowing that Dr. Robby thought he was part of the problem too. Poor Whitaker. Him and Dana take their leave but not before Dana levels a look at all of them, wrap it up in here, and she winks at Mel.
“Okay, how about Langdon takes her home and watches Mel for the week,” Trinity shoots Samira a dirty look, “And on the second week the rest of us alternate going over to Mel’s to check on her” Samira says. It’s not a bad plan, and Trinity seemed to be mollified.
“Sounds good you guys, can we get going? I’m still really tired,” and suddenly she’s getting wheeled out and waving goodbye to everyone. Frank pulled his car around so Mel didn’t have to walk as much – despite her protests – and then he was driving back to her place.
“How about I set you up with a bath and order some takeout while I go grab my things for the week,” says Frank. Mel would love nothing more than a bath right now, but Frank really doesn’t need to be doing all of this for her.
“You really don’t have to Frank, I can manage on my own,” he looks away from the road to glance at her. “You’re concussed Dr. King, you know what that means, resting up as much as possible – but really I want to do this.” He was teasing at first, but his voice got softer, more vulnerable. A part of her aches at the thought of him taking care of her.
"I want to Mel." She can't say no, not to him and not like this. The day has taken a toll on her and she would love nothing more than a bath. So she lets him guide her toward the bathroom — while saying nothing about how this isn't necessary it's just her head that hurt — and lets him draw the bath for the water.
"Let me help you with your clothes" Frank says softly and he starts delicately peeling her shirt off from her. Mel continues to say nothing as he helps her undress, about how she is capable of doing this herself, but her mind is still cloudy from her concussion. She's soaking up the attention he's giving her, and besides he's looking away from her, being respectful about the whole thing. He's helping her out as a friend, and here she is thinking of him as more than that; about a man with a wife and kids. If she wasn't so tired, she might have paid more attention to the tension in the room, how they couldn't speak louder than a whisper and the gentle way Frank handled her.
Mel thought he would have let her take off her underwear and bra herself; she's surprised when he unclasps her bra for her and pulls her pants and underwear down in one go. He eases her gently into the bathtub — the only good thing about her rental — and leaves the door cracked open with the promise of Chinese takeout in roughly half an hour.
In the bath Mel can finally let her mind go blank, no longer thinking about the attack that gave her concussion or about her feelings for Frank. She didn't know how she was going to survive this week with him being so intent on helping her out. Everytime she indulges her fantasies about him, the guilt comes rushing in afterwords. She hates tearing families apart and she would never become the other woman. But late at night when she's lonely, she can't help thinking about how thrilling it would feel; sneaking around and the intimacy that comes with a partner. No one has ever looked at her the way Frank Langdon does, but she has to remind herself that he's not looking at her like that, she's his friend and he has a wife.
Later, after her bath — Frank does not help her out this time — and some Chinese takeout, he insists on doing cognitive tests on her.
"Come on Frank, you already know I have a mild concussion," she says slightly annoyed. "Just do it for my peace of mind sweetheart," he retorts. Mel tries not to read into the fact he calls her sweetheart, after all he is from the South, and its probably a common thing to say there. Still, she feels a pleasant warmth every time he calls her sweetheart and she can pretend for a moment it means something more.
They're tangled up on the couch together piled underneath her blankets. She fumbles through the months backwards and Frank laughs at her attempt. He's been listing out things for her to do while she's recovering that won't cause too much mental or physical strain.
"You could do your diamond paintings," he said gesturing to her work in progress on the coffee table. He's taken her foot and began to lightly massage it, "Hmm, I think focusing on the symbols might be too much."
"How about I read you medical journals?" She laughs, "I think Dr. Robby said something about leaving work behind before I left." He gives her a smile that always makes her feel squirmy inside, "I can always read you those spicy romance books you love so much."
She kicks him lightly with her feet for that one. She liked reading any genre, but lately she's been on a romance kick. Likely because she has a crush on a man that will never feel the same way for her. "Easy now Mel, the two of us can't be injured now."
Frank's eyes soften, "I really was worried when I heard what happened, I wish I was there Mel." She found herself wishing the same thing, but the attack happened hours ago, and she didn't want to dwell on it for long. "I'm just glad no one else got hurt."
"You never should have been hurt in the first place" she tries to give him a look but he continues, "Seriously, I hope Gloria starts taking our concerns for security more seriously from now on. You're one of our best residents Mel."
Frank is looking at her so earnestly she has to force herself to look away. She's always been shy whenever she recieves praise, but hearing it from Frank like this is completely different than anything else she's heard before. She knows he's being serious, he would never joke about something like this, and for a moment she remembers how it felt on her first day when Frank said they needed people like her. This time in the privacy of her home, his words bring her to tears. A combination of his sincerity, the tiredness she feels in her bones, and the stress of the day has her sobbing. Frank doesn't say a word as he draws her in for a hug, and she's getting the front of his shirt wet with tears. He rubs his hand on her back up and down firmly, just the way she likes it. It's okay, just let it all out Mel, and she lets herself fall apart in his arms.
They end up sharing the bed that night. She refuses to let Frank mess up his back on her pullout couch. Besides, Mel doesn't want to be alone after today and the heat of another person in her bed helps her tolerate the bitter cold of a Pittsburgh winter. It doesn't take her long to slip into unconciousness, and as her eyelids begin to close shut, Frank murmurs, goodnight sweetheart.
Her mind seems to be plenty active despite the concussion, and that night she dreams of Frank joining her in the bath just as naked as she was. In her dream he decides to wash her himself, and his hands go lower, and lower, and low-
Mel jolts awake to the sound of her alarm and hears Frank fumble around to shut it off. As she slowly begins to wake up she realizes the position they're in. It seems like during the night they shifted around so that Frank was spooning Mel, his arm around her waist. She knew that she should move out of his arms, apologize for their closeness and that his wife wouldn't be happy wit this. But she didn't. She wanted to live in this moment for as long as she could. It seems like Frank does too, because his breathing has changed so she knows he's awake, but he hasn't moved away from her yet either.
Sometimes, during moments like these, she thinks that maybe he does return her feelings. There have been moments here and there since his return from rehab. Nights out with coworkers where his eyes stay on her while she's dancing with the girls, the way he'll offer to drive her home and keep looking at her lips. Or moments in the breakroom where he stands a little too close than what is appropiate. Like the time she lost a child that reminded her too much of Becca and he found her outside and he hugged her until she calmed down, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Mel tries to tell herself that she's reading too much into it, but she can't help but remember what Whitaker had said on a night out with the girls.
September
They were all trashed except for Whitaker as he volunteered — forced to by Trinity — to be their designated driver. Trinity had dragged them out for a night on the town after a particularly hard week. So when she suggested that they start the night off with shots, Samira and Mel found themselves agreeing with her for once.
"So whats the deal with you and Abbot huh?" Trinity asked playing with the paper umbrella in her drink. Samira's feelings showed on her face easily after shots and a drink or two.
"Nothing at all!"
"Bullshit, I heard from one of the night nurses that you two managed to make intubating a patient sexy," Trinity is pointing a finger at her accusatorily.
"So what? We just work together well that's all."
"If thats what you wanna call having sex with Abbot then sure, you 'work together well'" Mel says. Samira gives her a betrayed look, clearly not expecting Mel to be on Trinity's side. Whitaker looks like he would rather be somewhere else.
"Okay then what about you Mel, what's your deal with Langdon?" Samira says slightly slurring her words.
She felt her face heat up and she took a drink of her lemon drop, "Nothing, what makes you say that?"
"You two are the most prudish people I have ever met" Trinity deadpans.
"Is it really that obvious?" she asks and Trinity shoots her a look that says, seriously?
"I think he's attractive that's all, there's no shame in that right?" It's been two months since he's returned and she's still trying to delude herself that she doesn't feel anything for him. Earlier that week, he placed his hand on her lower back as he passed behind her and the rest of the day she had went insane thinking about it.
"Of course there's some shame in that Mel, it's Langdon," Trinity pretends to gag. Samira side eyes Trinity, "I don't think there's any shame in finding someone attractive." Whitaker hums in agreement.
"He may be married but it's not a crime to appreciate what you can't have," and now Whitaker is humming in disagreement.
"What is a crime is crushing on an addict Mel" Trinity says. "Having an addiction isn't a moral failure Trinity," she responds. Trinity lets out a Cheshire grin, "So you're not denying it? You have a crush on Langdon."
Her silence gives her away. Samira and Trinity are both communicating via telepathy by the way they stare and move their eyebrows at eachother before facing Mel, and Samira says "We can keep this between us, what happens on girls night stays with the girls."
"I'm not gonna stop giving you shit for it though."
"Well it's not like anything is going to come from it anyways," she looks down at her drink, playing around with the straw "He has a family, and I would never want to get between that." She gets looks of sympathy from all of them, before Whitaker shoots up in his seat.
"Well, it doesn't seem like his family life is doing so well," Trinity is eyeing him, "Huckleberry, have you been holding out on gossip?"
Ignoring Trinity he continues, "The other week I was headed towards the scrub exchange," they all gave him a pitying look, "It was the one thats by the locker rooms and I could hear him on the phone. You could just tell he was having an aruguement with someone and I really wasn't trying to eavsedrop but I heard him saying something along the lines of: 'You're the one who wanted to go to counseling, now you just want to give up?' I didn't hear much after that because he got called onto a trauma but by the sounds of it his marriage isn't doing to well."
Mel feels stunned. She had gotten close to Langdon and they were just starting to hang outside of work but she had no idea he was having a hard time with his wife. She should have guessed it, with the whole rehab stay and all.
"Damn Huckleberry! Why'd you hold out on this juicy gossip on us?" Whitaker shrugs, "I mean it seems to personal I didn't want to spread that around."
"Well you know," Samira starts, "Before he left you could tell his marriage wasn't the best anyways. We actually started saying that it was only a matter of time before Abby realized she deserved better."
Trinity starts going on about how she could treat his wife better, and then starts talking about Dr. Garcia. Mel tunes her out at that point but all she can think about is that maybe she has a chance. It doesn't count as tearing a family apart if thats where his marriage is headed anyways right? She shakes the thought out of her head. She shouldn't be happy about a family getting split apart. Mel tunes back into the conversation, and Trinity and Whitaker have started bickering. She thinks its time to go home.
November
"Good morning sunshine," Frank says his voice still heavy with sleep. His mouth is by her ear and his voice sends shivers down her spine, "How are you feeling, any pain?"
"I could do with some Tylenol," she says and he's getting up to go retrieve some for her. She watches him as he leaves the room, savoring the sliver of skin that shows as he stretches his arms up as he walks to the kitchen. Her head still hurts from the concussion, and her back as well from hitting a cart on the way down. She knows she needs to call Becca's center and wait. . .
Mel sits up in a panic. She doesn't remember if she ever called the center last night to let them know about what happened and if an overnight stay was okay. She must look upset because when Frank comes in he starts rushing over to her. "Hey, what's wrong Mel?"
"Becca, I didn't call her center yesterday or let her know what happened," and she tries to get up but Frank pushes her back down into the bed.
"I called for you last night, they said she can stay as long as you need," and that does something to Mel. Usually she's the one taking care of Becca and handling things when an emergency arises. He presses the pills into her hand and gives her a glass of water. "If you want I can bring Becca here?"
She shakes her head, "I'll give her a call and see how she feels about it first. I don't want to add too much to your plate." Frank reaches forward and gently brushes some of her hair back — she's pretty sure she has really gnarly bedhead right now. "I don't mind at all Mel, just say the word."
Mel isn't sure how she's going to make it through the week with Frank's attention like this. He still has to go to work, leaving most of the day open for her to do whatever she wants. But if he's going to be acting like this when he is here? She might explode before the week is over.
"I'll get you set up with breakfast and another bath before I have to go for my shift," he says and she's reminded that its still early in the morning. He ends up serving her some eggs and toast and draws her a bath before he leaves. Frank presses a kiss onto her forehead before he leaves. She tries not to read into it.
Her two weeks off for recovering passed by very quickly. Ultimately she ended up sleeping through most of the two weeks. Frank was very helpful and caring during the time he spent with her, drawing her baths, cooking meals, and cuddling her to sleep.
After the second night, they realized that they were going to wake up tangled together, so he took it upon himself to start the night cozied up next to her. Mel had to keep telling herself to not read into his actions too much. This was her friend that was trying to help her out in her time of need, platonically. She wanted to ask him about Abby, and she kept telling herself that she would ask about his wife but she just didn't. He did talk to her about his kids though, and she would hear him FaceTiming them at night when he thought she was asleep.
But . . . it was hard to not read into the many other moments over the week he took care of her. Massaging her back and feet for her for a little too long and letting his hands wander farther than they needed to. Insisting that she needed help into the bath — What if you fall Mel and hit your head again? — and kept his hand on her lower back while she slowly sunk in. His eyes didn't wander when he did this but she couldn't ignore the fact that she was completely naked in front of him. Or how about all of the forehead kisses he gave her or the strategic way he rolled his hips away from her when she woke up.
Sometimes when she woke up in the middle of the night, she felt him hard, pressed agaisnt her. It took all of her restraint to not grind onto him and finally fullfil some of her fantasies.
When the second week came around, she had forgotten that Samira and Trinity had volunteered to come take care of her. As much as she missed Frank, it was fun even if she couldn't do much. Trinity was an amazing cook and she often brought Whitaker over and they kept her company. Becca had also been able to visit her and get back into their normal routine. She was glad she didn't have any visible bruising, or else it would have distressed her more. Samira would tell her about her relationship with Dr. Abbot and Mel confided into her about her feelings for Frank. How it was driving her crazy to have him so close but she had to keep reminding herself he's a married man.
"You know Mel, I haven't seen him wearing his ring lately," Samira had pointed out one night. Mel noticed too, of course she did.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything Samira. The ring didn't fit well, what if he took it off because he doesn't want to lose it?"
"Well friends don't undress you for a bath and cuddle you to sleep, that's for sure." Mel obviously knew this, but until she had confirmation that Frank was no longer with Abby, she wasn't going to bring anything up. She felt guilty as is about soaking up all the attention and care Frank had given her. While he didn't mention Abby much these days, he talked about his kids enough that it gave her the impression they were still a somewhat happy family. If they were divorced wouldn't he have started talking about custody arrangments? They were close enough friends for him to tell her about something like this — right?
Mel was glad when she was finally able to return to work, she was starting to get a bit stir crazy toward the end of the second week. She was able to finish her diamond painting and start on another one, which pleased her.
Dana welcomed her back with a hug, and she noticed how she was given all the cases that she liked working on, babies and STEMIs with Frank. She also noticed how Frank was hovering over her and kept following her on every case. It was cute, but also annoying. Mel couldn't bring herself to say anything about it to him, she had started to miss his presence in her home and she would take as much of him that she could get.
Eventually, life goes back to normal. Or, everything else goes back to normal — except for Frank. To her immense pleasure, they had become sort of a dynamic duo in the ER, if one of them was with a patient the other was bound to follow. They worked seamlessly with one another and they would hold eachother accountable on taking breaks when they needed to. This was something she was used to, it's been this way since he came back from rehab.
What wasn't normal was the new closeness between the two of them. Or to be more specific, the way that Frank was more physically close with her. Before, he would keep a respectful distance, knowing that she didn't like to be touched unless she intiated it first. Now, he was touching her all the time. Every time he touched her it sent sparks through her body. It was something she could live with when it was just a light brush as they moved to treat a patient, but now this was intentional.
His hands would go down to her waist if he needed to pass behind her, he would rub her arms when she was taking a break, and he even started tugging on her braid.
Mel was torn. On one hand she loved how touchy he was with her and on the other, she knew that she shouldn't be thinking about her friend like this. A part of her even felt perverted, that she was reading so much into what was clearly friendly actions. Frank was admittedly, a touchy person and she really shouldn't read into this as much. Trinity and Samira thought otherwise, "He's feeling you up because he wants to bone you," from Trinity and "This is a sign Mel he clearly likes you," from Samira.
The biggest change post-concussion was the sleepovers that had started to become common. They usually happened when they had a shift that left them so tired they could fall asleep while standing. Frank would say something along the lines of "Oh I don't feel like driving all the way back home," and when she tried to point out he didn't have to pick up Becca and take them home he wouldn't hear it. Anytime she tries to tell him he doesn't have to drive them and that they can just walk or take the bus he starts to make some excuse as to why that simply cannot happen.
Mel could live with the sleepovers on days they had work the next day; it was a matter of convience. What she couldn't live with, or understand was the sleepovers when they had a day off. Shouldn't he be at home with his wife? Enjoy his day with his kids? But she didn't ask about it. She didn't know if she couldn't bring herself or if she just didn't want to. It was easier for her to pretend that what was happening between them was completely platonic than come to the realization that if he crossed the line first, she wouldn't say no.
Despite it being the worst thing she could think of — tearing apart a family the same way her dad tore apart theirs with his second family — she could see herself being the other woman. These thoughts came to her late at night, and she would try to reassure herself that she would never be the one to cross the line first. If Frank wanted to cross that line, then and only then, maybe she could live with the guilt. It would go agaisnt her morals, but if it meant that she could have Frank all to herself the way she desperately wanted him; then so be it.
So she doesn't say anything. Doesn't ask any questions when he starts spending more nights with her to the point that he now has a small collection of clothes in one of her drawers. Takes in the sight of him when he sleeps shirtless — he runs hot, so he claims — despite the cold. The way his face looks completely at peace when he falls asleep, his head in her lap. How some nights, she's pretty sure he hears him murmur her name and all the mornings he's woken up hard, pressed agaisnt her. He calls her sweetheart, baby, sunshine, things that friends don't call eachother but she doesn't call him out on it. She doesn't want to go back to before, when he didn't lavish her with attention and the nicknames, the kisses on her forehead, or the way that he liked taking care of her. Mel loved it when he took charge of things, let her relax and not have to do hard thinking. It's been years since she's had someone else, and with Frank she can let go. Trust him to be there for her and for Becca. It hasn't been that way for a long time. Mel decides that she's just going to enjoy this, for as long as she can.
January
Trinity insisted that they needed to have their first girls night of the new year. It ended up becoming more than just the usual girls after someone pointed out that they all hadn't been out for a night on the town in a while. "Don't think this gets you guys out a proper girls night later," Trinity had said staring them down.
Mel wasn't a big fan of going out drinking, the noise was overwhelming, having to move past all the moving bodies, and the way she felt out of control of her body when she was drunk. She typically volunteered to be the designated driver and make sure everyone got home okay. Drinking at home or someone else's was more of her thing, a much more controlled environment where she didn't have to worry about being overstimulated.
Mel was willing to make an exception tonight however, and Trinity was more than excited.
"Come and do shots with us Melly!" She had exclaimed and dragged her over to where some of her other coworkers were. The tequila burned her throat as it went down, and she ordered a lemon drop, "That's my girl! We are getting trashed tonight!"
Mel winced at Trinity's volume, moving to put on the earbuds she had brought with her to help with the noise. She wanted to have fun tonight and not think about Frank, who thankfully wasn't here. He was making a place for himself in her life, and her guilt over it had been growing everyday. What about his wife? Was whatever it was they were doing count as an affair? Except they hadn't had a conversation about any of it — Mel was too much of a coward to ask him about it. But he would be just as guilty as she is, more even considering he's the one who was escalating things. As long as Mel didn't cross the line, she could still claim some innocence over all of this.
And this is exactly why she wanted to get trashed. To get away from all of this that had started to take up all of her mental space. Even Samira and Trinity had begun to notice the way it was affecting her, although she hadn't told them everything that was going on with Frank.
Mel downs her drink — earning a cheer from someone — and decides to join the others on the dance floor. She actually enjoyed dancing a lot — drunk or sober — and being able to move her body to the beat of the music. She wasn't sure if her dancing was actually good, but based by the way Samira was cheering her on she could guess that maybe she was good at it.
It was easy to get lost in the music and she kept taking shots with the others and having a drink or two of her own. Mel knew she was over doing it, but she was desperate to get the though of Frank Langdon out of her mind. It was sort of working, she kept looking around hoping that he would show up. But he didn't — he had declined their invitation for tonight. It made sense, Frank didn't drink anymore as part of his sobriety and surely he didn't want to hang out with a bunch of drunk coworkers.
Mel was having fun though, letting loose with her friends and her coworkers, who she usually doesn't see outside of the hospital. She was having fun dancing with Victoria and Samira, but when she starts to wobble and trip on her feet more than once, Samira takes her by the arm. "I think it's time for a glass of water Mel," and she's getting pulled away to the table they had claimed earlier. To her surprise, Frank was there making conversation with Donnie and Princess. When he spots her, his eyebrows go comically high and his face looks so stupid, that Mel bursts out into giggles.
Samira sits her down by Frank and goes off to the bar, presumably grabbing her a water. "Woah Mel, how much did you have to drink tonight?" Frank asks. She's still giggling and she tries to catch her breath, "I'm not sure, Trinity kept wanting to do shots," if she were more aware she would realize she's slurring her words. "I don't know if anyone can keep up with the way Santos drinks," Donnie comments.
Samira comes back with the water, which Mel takes gratefully. Princess and Donnie leave the table, and if she weren't gulping down her water she would ask why. "I'll take care of her, don't worry," Frank says to Samira. Samira shoots Mel a concerned look, but she waves her off, "Go, go, I need to take a break I think." Samira leaves reluctantly, making a gesture to Mel she cant quite decipher.
"So," Frank starts, "I don't think I've ever seen you this drunk before Mel." He's shifted close to her in the booth, his legs pressing close agaisn't hers. The words tumble out of her without second thought, "I'm sad."
His eyebrows furrow and he looks slightly amused, "And what has got the great Melissa King feeling sad?" She lets out a plaintive sound, "I, want something that I can't have." Mel knows that she wouldn't be saying this at all if she were sober, but she isn't and she can't stop herself from speaking; her brain to mouth filter has been gone a long time ago.
"What would that be Mel?" Frank still looks amused.
"There's someone, that I want. Except I can't have him there's too much — too many reasons to why we can't be together," she looks down, and her eyes are tearing up.
"Mel," She looks up and his expression is unreadable. "I feel so guilty about it, it's been eating me alive and its all I can think about and I feel like a terrible person," her feelings are spilling out of her and she can feel the sobs come up her throat except she really doesn't want to cry in here and draw the attention of others.
She gets up, "I need some fresh air," she warbles out and she's still wobbly. "Let me Mel," and he's guiding her outside of the bar and into the alley.
Once outside she can feel herself begin to calm down. She might need to go home after this; her social battery is completely drained. Frank is looking at her concerned, and he's holding onto her arm from when he led her out. "You okay now Mel?"
She shakes her head, trying to take deep breathes to calm down, and then he's pulling her into a hug. Mel presses herself into his chest and she feels so safe in his arms. He's rubbing his hand up and down the center of her back and she's melting into the feeling of his touch.
When Mel feels like she's collected herself, she pulls back and Frank is looking right at her face. His hand comes up to caress her face gently, and she feels like she's getting lost in those piercing blue eyes.
She should step back now. But she's leaning into his hand as his thumb is rubbing back and forth on her cheek. Her eyes must have closed at some point, feeling relaxed from his touch.
Mel studies his face, and his eyes don't meet hers. He's looking down at her lips. Frank looks hungry. Mel can't think straight.
In fact, Mel isn't thinking at all; which is exactly why she leans up to kiss him.
Frank kisses her back.