Work Text:
"You alright Mel?"
Mel didn't know how long she was staring off into space. She was shaken from her thoughts, hands hovering over the keyboard. The light from the computer suddenly felt too bright and she blinked life and moister back into her eyes before looking over at Santos. Today was an unusual day. It was the 'Q' word, but the two knew better than to say it out loud. Both were able to keep up with the patients that they had and their charting easily. They might even get off on time with zero trouble.
"Sorry, what," Mel took a few more seconds to gather her thoughts.
Santos let a small laugh escape her lips, "You're out of it today. Want some?"
Santos pointed to the can of strawberry lemonade celsius. Mel shook her head.
"No thank you," she said, turning back to the computer. She was hoping that would be the end of their conversation.
"What were you thinking about," Santos rolled her chair so she was looking at the patient's chart.
It wasn't anything complicated, it was another patient that came in with flu symptoms. It was getting to that time of year where every other patient was coming in for that. They were calm and easy, which was why Mel was getting easily distracted.
"Um," Mel hesitated.
She stopped when what she was thinking about caught her eye. Dr. Langdon was walking another patient out of the ER, going over their discharge instructions and the next steps that they should be taking. Their eyes met for a second, probably even less, before Mel went back to what she was doing.
Her relationship with Dr. Langdon...Frank...was becoming less complicated. His divorce with Abby has been finalized for a few months now. Things were hard for about a month after that, and Mel was a bit worried that a relapse was on the horizon. She slowly realized that she was the drug that he was using to hold himself together.
They were able to hid things better at work. No one really questioned their relationship, even though she knew that the nurses would talk about them in hushed whispers. They tried to act like they normally do, but outside of the hospital walls was completely different.
Late night take outs and movie nights were becoming much more common. Mel didn't think it was a good idea to meet his kids for now, so when they were with Abby, Frank would come over. Mel felt guilty sometimes, asking of Becca would be okay with staying overnight at the center. It ate her alive, but seeing Becca get excited relieved her ever so slightly. She still brought her home almost every night, stuck to their movie or game nights, and kept her promises.
Frank still hasn't spent the night when Becca was home though. He'd join them for dinner, work on winning Becca over, but then would leave right when she would get ready for bed. It felt normal, but Mel still felt horrible that most of her free time was taking care of Becca.
Admittedly, Mel did have slight resentment towards Becca. She loved her sister, she'd do anything for her even if it meant she didn't really have a life outside of her or work. She thinks back to past relationships though, who would shift awkwardly when she told them that she and Becca were a package deal, and they probably always would be.
No one ever understood, and Mel would end up being the heart broken one once again. She started to believe that no one would ever understand and she'd never have a meaningful relationship. Every time Becca would ask about a boy that Mel was getting close with, she would have to swallow down any snarky remark or hide the sad face that would stick to her like glue. Becca always seemed just as disappointed, probably even more, when a relationship didn't work out. Connecting with someone was much harder for Becca, so it always hurt when someone in Mel's life couldn't commit.
Tonight, Mel promised Becca that they'd have pizza and watch a movie. Becca asked if Frank was going to come, but Mel told her that she wasn't sure. She didn't want to trouble him or make him feel uncomfortable. It was a lot to ask of him.
Frank was hinting to Mel that he wanted to spend time with her after their shift. She felt stuck. She didn't want to say no to either of them, and she especially knew saying no to Becca would crush her. She depends on consistency, and having any interruptions or last minute plans upset her. Mel had to say no to Frank, and even though she knew deep down he wouldn't mind, there was still a nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her that he was just like every other guy she attempted to be with.
"Melancholia," Santos spoke up again, "Seriously, what's going on?"
"It's nothing," Mel lied, "It's just been a long day."
Mel liked Santos, but she didn't feel like getting into any of it with her. Frank and Santos still had a strained relationship, but they were still making it work on a professional level. Even with their friendship, and how Santos would giggle about the thing she and Dr. Garcia would do, Mel still didn't want to tell her that she and Frank were practically dating.
"I get it," Santos leaned back, "Night shift will be here soon though."
It was only a couple hours later that Mel was updating the night shift about her cases and wrapping up the rest of her work. Her shoulders ached and she couldn't wait to lie down. She started packing up her locker when she felt a familiar warmth behind her. Large hands ran up her back, and she begged internally for them to stop right where the pain was. They did.
"Good job today Mel," Frank's voice filled her ears. He rubbed her shoulders gently, feeling how knotted they were, "You ready to head out?"
This was it. This was the moment she was dreading all day. She purposely avoided him today so that she could push this conversation off as much as she could. She didn't even know what she was going to say.
"F-Frank," Mel started, fiddling with her scrub top.
"Hm," Frank's hands ran down her arms. He was so warm, "You alright?"
Mel nervously turned back around, avoiding eye contact. She usually found it so easy to maintain eye contact with Frank. His kindness mixed with his gorgeous blue eyes made mostly everything with him easy. She couldn't imaging he would be upset that she would stand him up to be with Becca, but she thought that with all the other ones too.
"We," Mel paused, "I promised Becca I would take her home tonight. She wants pizza and to watch a movie with me. I'm so sorry Frank."
"Mel," Frank tried to remove her hands from her scrubs, but her grip tightened so he stopped.
"Look, Frank," Mel started, "I don't think this is a good idea. I mean, it's too much trouble and complicated. You should be with someone who actually makes time for you or can cancel thing whenever."
"Mel, what do you mean," Frank asked, "Sometimes I have to cancel things too for my kids."
"That's the thing though," Mel started to pace back and forth, "Your kids...they can go off on their own one day. They can do whatever they want, live their life, they wont have to rely on you forever. Becca...she won't ever be able to do that."
Frank stood there and watched Mel pace, "Hey-."
"Becca is my priority," Mel stated firmly, "She always has been, always will be. What kind of a sister would I be if I just kept her in a home, hidden away? It'd be terrible, I couldn't forgive myself. She...she's my responsibility, and she will be for the rest of our lives until I can't take care of her by myself. People don't understand, I know you probably don't understand, but she's not going anywhere, and I don't really care what-."
"Melissa," Frank finally grabbed her shoulders to get her to stop.
Mel finally looked him in the eyes after he used her full name. He almost never does. The only time when he does is when she's rambling on and on, with no end in sight. She swallowed, waiting for him agree with her that they need to end what had only just started. She would certainly miss him.
"I don't care," Frank said, "I mean, I do, but not in the way that you're thinking. I know that Becca needs you, I would never disturb that or make either of you feel bad. I want to be part of it, start introducing my kids to you two when the time comes. Most importantly, I want to take care of you."
Mel didn't know what to say, and if Frank wasn't holding into her, she probably would have fallen back. This was absolutely the last thing that she was expecting. No one was ever okay with Becca, so she stayed silent to gather her thoughts.
"If we can't hang out tonight, that's fine. We can plan ahead and do something else together later. Or, if Becca is okay with it, I could join you."
"Frank," Mel cleared her throat to keep her tears at bay, "You don't-."
"I get to take you two home anyway," he stated, "Might as well get that pizza on the way, stay for a movie if Becca is okay with it," he moved his hands from her shoulders to her waist, "Maybe it'll be good to experiment me staying over for a few hours after she goes to sleep. See how she feels."
Mel could hardly process what she was hearing. On top of everything, he just said he gets to take them home. Not has to. Gets to. She doesn't think he understands what that means to her.
"Okay," Mel said, her cheeks going red, "I'll text Becca and let her know to expect you."
Frank smiled gently at Mel as she quickly texted Becca the plan. Now the decision would be in her hands, and Frank Langdon was completely fine with it.
"Let's go before Dr. Abbott sees us and puts us on a case," Frank grabbed Mel's bag with one hand and wrapped his free arm around her shoulder.
That night, Becca excitedly let Frank pick their movie, and he shared the same level with her. No sarcasm, no groans of annoyances, just pure, real happiness.