Work Text:
Mel knew working in the emergency department in a city like Pittsburgh would be busy. She could handle it. Even when she was meant to leave hours ago and she’d had to call North Hills to tell them she’d be late picking up Becca, if she could come at all, she could handle it. Even when she had to take the bus home and there was already at least 6 inches of snow on the ground. She was tough, she’d be fine. Even if the alert on her phone said her bus was just canceled. Great. She was going to have to figure something out, or sleep in an on call room.
“You okay ?” says Langdon. The look on her face must give her away, because she really can’t figure out a way to get home. The snow is piling down so fast that an uber won’t be an option, and even if it was it’d cost far more than she was willing or able to part with.
“Yea, yes. I’m fine, it’s just that my bus got cancelled, and I have no idea how I'm going to get home. Becca’s going to have to sleep at the center, which she won’t be happy about, I just-” She started to explain,
“I’ll drive you,” He cut her off. She looked up at him, trying to discern any hint of joking in his face. Usually she was pretty good at it, with him.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” She replied. She was pretty sure her place was out of his way, and North Hills was even more so.
“Don’t ask,” He shrugged. “I’m offering. We’ll grab Becca, too, so she’s not mad at you. I don’t mind.” He shrugged, like driving through this blizzard was the easiest thing in the world. Like they hadn’t been treating patients from car accidents since the snow had started.
“Dr. Langdon,” She wanted to argue, but the look on his face said it was futile. He crossed his arms as he spoke,
“Mel,” He mimicked her tone, bending slightly to get nearer her height. “I don’t mind driving you.” The genuineness of his voice made her chest go warm, and butterflies were fluttering under her ribs. She nodded, eyes locked onto the floor at his feet, avoiding his eyes, face red.
“Thanks.” She said, voice quiet.
“I just gotta finish up here, then we’ll go, alright?” He pushed his hand against her shoulder, just enough force to sway her, as he left. She couldn’t help the smile that started spreading ear to ear. Instead, she went to her locker. She gathered her things, packing what she needed up into her bag. Her scrubs were clean, so the spare clothes could stay for another day. Her water bottle, on the other hand, needed a wash, so she tossed it in. She paused for a moment before deciding to roll her jacket up and put it in the bag as well. She would’ve needed it for the bus, but if she was just walking to Langdon’s car, she wouldn’t bother putting it on. The thick layers that rode up and bunched together over her arms were uncomfortable, and if she could get away without wearing it, it’d be a relief. She’d already finished handing off her remaining patients and her charting, so she was good to go whenever Langdon was. She was hoping it’d be soon, because the snow was coming down harder by the minute. With nothing better to do, she grabbed a bag of pretzels from the vending machine and sat in the break room. She waited a minute, before reaching into her bag for her sudoku book. It was always a good way to kill time. She quietly chewed the end of her pencil as she filled out the squares, the soft metal eraser end denting under her teeth.
“Hey, you ready ?” Langdon’s voice pulled her out of the sudoku puzzle about 10 minutes later.
“Oh!” She looked up, closing the book and shoving it back into her bag, “Yep ! Right behind you.” She stood, zipping her bag. Just as soon as the zipper closed, it was snatched out of her hands. Langdon flung it over his shoulder, on top of his own black bag.
“I can carry my own bag,” she reached for it, but Langdon turned to face her, spinning the bag on his shoulder out of her reach. “Dr. Langdon-” She began to protest.
“Dr. King,” he replied, in the same tone of voice, “Despite what everyone may tell you,” He continued to spin, as she tried again to reach for her bag, keeping it ever further from her grasp, “I am a gentleman. I can carry your bag.” She knew, once again, any argument would be futile. Her hands fell to her side. He was being nice, driving her home, carrying her bag, it was nice. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He raised an eyebrow at her, gauging whether or not she’d given up her attempts to grab her bag. When he’d decided she had, and he’d be allowed to carry it for her, he swung the door to the break room open with a flat palm, gesturing for her to go ahead. “After you.” He smiled, ever charming. She couldn’t help the grin that was splitting her face in two. They walked together, side by side, up towards the parking garage. He helped himself to pretzels from her bag as they went.
“I hate the winter.” He said, when the cold air hit them, “Not even 8:00 pm and it’s been dark for hours.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, pulling his thin hoodie tighter around himself.
“The cold is awful,” Mel agreed. In the parking deck, the snow couldn’t reach them, but the bitter wind could. It was the kind that went straight through your skin and clothes to cut down to the bone. One of the parked cars headlights flashed, and the engine came to life.
“Thank god for remote start.” He smiled, picking up his speed. Even if the car wasn’t fully warm by the time they got to it, the closed doors would at least protect them from the wind. When they reached the car, he strode up to the passenger side to open the door. Her surprise must’ve been evident on her face, or in her body language, because he smiled, bowing dramatically and ushering her into the car.
“Chivalry’s not dead, yet, Dr. King.” Even with the car door still open, she was warmer already. Mostly in her cheeks. Which were pink, but only from the cold. She wasn’t blushing, or flustered. Not at all. He closed the door and she watched as he went around the front to the drivers side. The cold hit her when he opened his door, but ceased quickly when he shut it behind him.
“It’s lucky chivalry has such a good doctor, then. If anyone could bring it back, it’s you.” She said, feeling only slightly awkward. Banter had never been her strong suit. He smiled as he tossed his bag into the backseat, and leaned back to place hers next to it. Mel’s eyes were drawn, momentarily, to where his unzipped hoodie and scrub shirt rode up, barely an inch, with the motion. It was just a moment, seconds, if that, before he was sitting back in his seat, cranking the heat. Mel wasn’t looking. Not really. It didn’t matter. Anyway, he was handing her his phone, as the bluetooth connected, and music started, ‘I'll light the fire, You place the flowers in the vase That you bought today’ sang gently over the speakers.
“Put Becca’s address in,” He said, warming his hands over the vent. She typed the address in, putting his phone on the magnetic mount, the blue line directing them where to go. As Langdon drove out of the garage, the amount of snow that had fallen became apparent.
“Holy shit.” He said.
“That’s… A lot of snow.” She said. It must’ve been at least 8 inches by now.
“It’s not nothing.” He agreed, eyes fixed on the road ahead. They drove in a comfortable silence, music playing softly between them, windshield wipers going, and the heat on high. Langdon was obviously focused on driving, the snow making conditions worse and worse as they went. Mel was glad she wasn’t the one behind the wheel. She was extra glad it was Langdon, and not some underpaid bus driver who didn’t care about her one way or the other.
“I’m gonna take East street,” He said, almost to himself. Mel hummed a response, since she wasn’t entirely sure he meant it for her. “I don’t necessarily like 279 in this weather.” He continued. She nodded. There’d be far less traffic on East street. Probably less salt down, too, but she wasn’t the one driving. He continued down the road, until she was thrown quite suddenly towards the middle console, just managing to stay upright. A sharp bend in the road and an unfortunate icy patch had the back end of the car swinging out behind them. Her head was spinning from it,
“Shit.” She heard Langdon say, as his arm went out across her. Before she could even get her bearings, the momentum was swinging the other way. She wasn’t quite sure what he did, but it must’ve prevented them from going off the road entirely, even if they were swinging wildly in either direction. Whatever he did, he got the car back under control, slowed almost to a stop, before stopping completely.
“You okay ?” He asked. She nodded, looking down at where his hand was still pressed firmly against her sternum. “Sorry,” He said, pulling his hand back, running it shakily through his hair. Whether he was apologizing for the touch or the near accident she wasn’t sure. Neither warranted an apology, she thought. “Listen.” He said, hands gripping the wheel, stopped in the middle of the empty street, “My place is right up here, right on Baytree. Would you mind spending the night ?” He asked. Mel was glad she hadn’t called Becca yet. She’d be upset to spend the night at the facility, but if Mel had called and changed the plans so often as the plans had changed today, she’d never live it down. She shook her head.
“I don’t mind. The less driving the better.” She agreed. Spending the night at Langdon’s place. She suddenly wished she’d packed up her spare clothes.
“The last thing we need is to end up back in that ER.” He joked, tension apparent in his voice as he moved slowly down the road, hazards flashing.
“With the night shift, no less.” She joked. Langdon didn’t respond. “Not that there’s anything wrong with the night shift.” She clarified. She actually quite liked Drs. Ellis and Shen. And she’d wanted a chance to work with Dr. Abbot for a while now.
“Doesn’t matter which shift it is,” He said, “The two best doctors they have are in this car.” He turned slowly at the next left, pulling into a driveway next to a quaint little red brick house. The snow was still coming down, piling up higher and higher over the houses on the street. She unbuckled and exited the car, not giving Langdon a chance to open her car door for her or grab her bag. She appreciated all the gentlemanliness, but it was just the slightest bit unnerving. She was perfectly capable of opening doors and carrying bags, she’d done it all her life. Instead of trying to grab her bag for her, he made for the front door. She was grateful he had, stepping carefully in the large footprints he’d left behind, minimal snow falling into her sneakers. He unlocked it, opening it for her. She kicked as much snow off her shoes as possible before stepping inside, and quickly took her shoes off. The carpet was plush and soft, and the place was cute. Sparsely decorated, but he hadn’t lived here that long. He moved past her, making a beeline for the fireplace. It clicked twice before the fire roared to life.
“I’m going to call Becca, let her know I’m not getting her tonight.” Mel said, pulling her phone out. Langdon waited patiently, standing in front of the fireplace, soaking in as much warmth as he could. She walked over into the kitchen to make the call.
Becca took the news well, thankfully. She’d had a feeling, she said, and forced Mel to swear not to watch Elf without her. Mel didn’t need the reminder, she knew the betrayal her sister would feel. It might be nice to watch a movie that wasn’t Elf for once, anyway.
“How’d it go ?” He asked, as she made her way back to him and the fireplace.
“Really well, actually, but we’re not allowed to watch Elf.” She informed him.
“The Will Ferrell movie ?” He asked
“It’s Becca’s favorite, we watch it almost every Friday,” she told him, holding her hands up to the flames, “If I watched it without her it’d be just a total betrayal.” She said. Langdon nodded solemnly.
“Tanner’s the same way. If we watch Zootopia without him I might not be a father anymore.”
“He’d revoke the title ?” She asked, smiling slightly.
“He’s very strict.” He said.
“Would it be alright if I showered ?” She asked, “I usually shower after work.”
“Oh, yea, here, let me grab a towel.” He headed off, and she followed behind. When he handed her the towel, she held it to her chest.
“I don’t have any spare clothes, either.” She said. His mouth hung open, slightly. He paused, thinking.
“I have pants, pajama pants, with a drawstring. They’ll be big,” He said, as he turned back to grab a pair of pajamas, “Sorry.” He was taller than her, by a decent margin. But it was that or sleeping naked. Or in her clothes from the day. She’d have to make do with much too large men’s pajamas. Langdon’s pajamas. He handed them to her, black plaid and fuzzy, with a cotton tee shirt as well. She ignored how her heart fluttered.
“The good soaps under the sink. The kids like to squeeze it all out for bubbles, so I keep the grown up stuff out of sight.” He said.
“Got it,” She nodded, “Thank you. For everything, for offering to drive and letting me stay and, uh, thank you.” She said, before turning to find the bathroom.
“It’s down the hall, second door on the right,” He called to her. She turned to look at him once more,
“Thank you !” She called back, opening the second door.
—-
Frank was trying not to think about Mel in the tiny bathroom of his shitty bachelor pad. He really didn’t mean for this to happen. He wondered briefly if he should’ve gone in with her, to show her how the shower faucet worked. It had taken him a minute to figure out when he first moved in. He considered calling out to ask if she had figured it out, but before he could the sound of water hit his ears. She figured it out. Obviously. She was an adult, she could figure out how to turn the water on by herself. He didn’t know exactly what it was, about Mel, that drew him to her. All he knew for sure was that he found himself looking for her, all the time. A constant desire just to be around her. Whatever it was, he knew it’d been there a long time, since their first shift together. He remembered finding her awkward, at first. She was overly enthusiastic and painfully sincere, expressing her thoughts and feelings so freely it shocked him. When she’d come to him about the kid, something clicked, the moment she’d said his name. She wanted a mentor, he wanted someone to teach, yadda yadda yadda. One of his many, many regrets, during his time away from PTMC, was whatever budding friendship, mentorship, whatever the bond was that had formed, was undoubtedly severed at his extended absence. He’d been shocked to find her eagerly awaiting his return when he got back. She’d all but jumped into his arms, pulling herself back at the last second. He didn’t think she’d remember his name, let alone be happy to see him. The memory never failed to make him smile. She’d missed him. He really didn’t think anyone had.
A knock on the door pulled him out of his head, which was strange. He really didn’t know who could possibly be knocking on his door during a snowstorm like this. He didn’t want to answer it, opening the door would let in a gust of cold air that he dreaded feeling. Even standing near the door would expose him to the draft that leaked frigid air inside. When he looked through the small peephole in the door, he saw Abby. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but she wasn’t it.
“Frank !” She shouted from behind the door, “Let me in.” She continued. He opened the door, and two sets of cold wet arms wrapped around his legs instantly.
“Daddy !” Both of his children were exclaiming happily.
“Hey, you two !” He said. He was happy to see them, he was always happy to see them, but he was also confused. “What’s up ?” He asked, eyes on Abby. She didn’t seem distressed.
“Charlie can’t find her ellie. Tanner said she left it here, we need to find it before bed time.” She moved inside, closing the door behind her. The kids ran into their room, Tanner jumping, cannonball, onto his bed, and Charlie clambering behind him, and kicking the door shut behind her.
“You drove through the snow for ellie? You could’ve called me, I would’ve dropped her off,” He said, the thought of his kids in a car with this snow, his own near accident with Mel, jumbling together and putting a pit in his stomach.
“Oh please, after a long day of saving lives, you need your rest.” She said, sarcasm dripping from each word. As she did, the bathroom door clicked open. Great.
“You have a really great shower,” Mel said, unaware of the new arrivals. Frank looked over his shoulder at her, trying to decide if her wearing his pajamas was more or less incriminating than her in just a towel. Her hair was wet, the towel around her neck catching stray drops as they ran down, keeping his tee shirt dry. The shirt hung off of her an almost comical amount, and the pants were even worse.
“Oh,” Her eyes found Abby, who was regarding her with an incredibly critical eye. It was the same look she’d given him when they’d gone furniture shopping. She looked at Mel like she was the ugly couch he’d picked out and gotten veto’d on. “Hi.” Mel said, clasping her hands together tightly, the way she always did when something was making her uncomfortable.
“If you’d told me you had a girl over I wouldn’t have let the kids come in.” Was all Abby said. Frank rolled his eyes.
“If you’d called to say you were coming, I would’ve told you I had a girl over.” He loved Abby, he loves her, present tense, she was always going to be the mother of his children, and a part of his family, but she could be ridiculous, sometimes. “Besides,” He continued, “I don’t have a girl over,” He gestured vaguely towards Mel, "This is Mel, she’s a coworker.” He introduced the two women.
“A coworker who’s using your shower and wearing your clothes ?” Abby asked him, not addressing Mel.
“Her bus got cancelled, she needed a ride, I offered to drive her, and then the snow got too bad.” He shrugged, explaining the situation.
“Get used to that, he never keeps his promises,” She said, directly to Mel.
“Hey.” He protested. That was unfair, and uncharacteristically mean, for Abby. Mel was still standing unsure in the hallway, eyes darting between Abby and Langdon.
“Sorry,” Abby said, then again, “Sorry.” More sincerely. “I’m Abby.” She addressed Mel again.
“Melissa King. Everyone calls me Mel.” She said, apprehension clear in her voice. She approached the living room like a skittish cat, like she was ready to turn tail and run at the first wrong move.
“Ellie !” Charlie shouted, from her room, the door slamming open in the hall. She held the small elephant stuffed animal triumphantly in the air, “Who are you?” She asked Mel, who’d been standing outside the door when it opened.
“Melissa King.” She said, looking from Frank to the small child and back again. “Everyone calls me Mel.” He couldn’t help the smile on his face. He was sure Abby was reading into it, but it didn’t matter.
“Are you my dads girlfriend or something ?” Tanner said, appearing behind his sister.
“No.” Mel said, eyes roughly the size of dinner plates. “No. We work together, I’m a doctor.” She said.
“Mommy says daddy should date a doctor. Cause, because, sometimes he doesn’t have any time.” Tanner said, matter of factly. Frank moved towards them, scooping Charlie into his arms, rescuing Mel from the absolute menace that was his son.
“You found your Ellie ?” He asked his daughter, who pulled the satin grey ear out of her mouth to wave happily in her fathers face.
“She’s hiding.” She told him.
“Where was she hiding ?” He asked.
“In the closet with toys. Maybe she wants to play.” She said. He remembered, now, telling himself to remember she’d put it there, after the big feelings she’d had about the elf of the shelf not visiting daddy’s house. Charlie had declared her ellie would be on the shelf, and she’d hidden her all over the house, at random intervals, for Frank and Tanner to find. Abby walked over, and he deposited Charlie into her mothers arms, reaching back to rustle Tanner's hair. He pushed his son's head, gently nudging him back into the living room, turning back to look at Mel. He shrugged, making his best “sorry-about-the-kid” face at her as she followed down the hall. She gave him a tight lipped smile back, what he understood as her “don’t-worry-about-it-it’s-fine” face.
“Okay, does everyone have what they need ?” He asked his children, “Tanner, you have bunny, right ?”
“Bunny’s in the car, Charlie’s got ellie,” Abby confirmed, checking her phone as it buzzed, “everything else-“ Her voice trailed off as she read something, “Shit.” She said, finally, putting Charlie back on the ground.
“That's a bad word.” Tanner informed her.
“What ?” Frank asked. Mel was at his side again.
“The roads closed,” She said, showing him the ring app notification informing her that the street they lived on had been closed due to a tree down on a power line. “Damn it, Frank.” She said.
“I didn’t close the road,” He defended himself.
“I know that, just. Damn it.” She said again. “This is just great.” She looked just like Mel had at the hospital, finding out her bus had been cancelled. He could see Abby puzzling out what she was going to do, which was ridiculous, there was no plan to be made.
“You can sleep in the bedroom,” He said, “Mel can take the couch,” He looked at Mel as he spoke, she was at his side giving him her apt attention, “I’ll sleep on the floor in the kids room.” He finished.
“You’re gonna mess up your back.” Abby said, the same tone of voice she used to tell Tanner to quit jumping off the couch. “Sleep in your bed, I’ll sleep on the floor, your girlfriend keeps the couch.” She still wasn’t looking at Mel, if she could avoid it.
“Oh, uh. Once again, I am not- we aren’t,” Mel said, like maybe Abby had just forgotten.
“Yea, yea, ok sweetheart, whatever.” Abby waved Mel off, and Langdon felt tense. He was in for a long night.
“Are we staying here tonight ?” Tanner asked, looking up at his father with the same big blue eyes.
“Yes.” Said Abby.
“Just daddy ?” Charlie asked.
“Nope. Mommy and daddy.” Said Langdon. Both kids cheered, Charlie stomping her little feet in excitement. “We can figure out the sleeping arrangements after dinner. I was gonna do soup.” He said, to Abby and Mel.
“What kinda soup ?” Tanner asked, suspicion lacing his voice.
“Chicken noodle,” He informed his son.
“Aw not again.” Charlie complained. They hadn’t had chicken noodle soup in months.
“Do you have enough for everyone ?” Abby asked. Langdon nodded.
“Was gonna have left overs, it works out well.” He told her, moving to the kitchen and grabbing bags of carrots, celery, and onion, pulling out a cutting board and pulling a knife off the magnetic block secured high on the wall.
“I can help chop,” Mel offered, following him into the kitchen.
—-
This was awkward. It looked bad, it looked really bad. Mel knew that. She was sure Abby thought they were sleeping together. It looked like they were sleeping together. She’d come out of his shower wearing his clothes. And his kids were here. They were adorable, his spitting image, and Tanner had asked if they were dating. And now they were all spending the night together. She had to spend the night with Langdon and his wife. Ex-wife. She was chopping carrots and celery for chicken noodle soup, while he seasoned the chicken and put water on to boil. Abby was entertaining the kids, but every so often she’d toss Mel a discerning look. She felt like a bug under a microscope, or a middle school girl in a group of middle school girls. She kept her eyes down. She dreaded chopping the onions, and their exaggerated effect on her eyes. True to form, she could feel her eyes stingy and watering as soon as she started chopping.
“You’re crying” Langdon said, bumping his shoulder into hers.
“Onion.” She said quietly in response. He gently pried the knife out of her hand, nudging her to move over, taking over the job. She pressed the side of her hand into her eyes, avoiding the parts that had been in contact with the onion. She was sniffling, too, and one tear fully made its way down her nose and dripped from her chin. She washed her hands, and when she looked up, her eyes met with Abby’s.
“I didn’t know you knew how to cook.” She said to Langdon. He smiled, eyes down and dry, watching his fingers as he cut.
“This isn’t cooking, it’s chopping stuff up and sticking it in a pot.” He said, “Any idiot can do that.” Abby rolled her eyes, leaning against the small island,
“Apparently so.” She said, stealing three baby carrots from the bag, handing two to Charlie and Tanner, and eating the third herself, the kids happily ate their carrots before running back to play in the living area, “You never cooked when we were married.” She said, casually. Mel stood awkwardly besides Langdon, watching his hands as they diced the onions, tiny pieces, much smaller than she would’ve bothered with.
“Dinner was always done before I got home.” He said, transferring the vegetables to the pot of boiling water, dropping in two cubes of chicken bouillon as well.
“Does your boyfriend ever cook for you, Mel ?” Abby said, turning her eyes to Mel’s small corner of the kitchen.
“Oh,” Mel said, not expecting the conversation to include her, “I don’t, I’ve never had a boyfriend, really. One guy in high school, but, he didn’t cook, mostly because, well. We were in high school.” She said, arms twisting around each other tightly. Langdon watched her carefully, preparing to step in, it seemed. “I cook for my sister, sometimes, she’s on the spectrum, and doesn’t like a lot of the sensory stuff, of cooking. The chopping is loud and the raw meat is kind of slimy, so usually I do it.” She explained. Abby nodded along, listening.
“That’s nice,” She said it to Mel, but her eyes were locked on Langdon.
“It’s hard, though. It can be really hard. It’s just us, my sister and I. She’s my best friend, but… it can just be hard.” Abby was looking at her now, and Mel couldn’t make out what she was thinking. She was wearing an odd expression, unexpectedly soft.
“That does sound hard,” She said, “your parents aren’t around ?” She asked.
“Abby.” Langdon said, voice tense
“No, It’s ok.” Mel appreciated him stepping in, but really, she didn’t mind talking about her parents, “Um. Our mom died when we were pretty young, and then our dad not too long after. It was a really tough few years, but we made it work. We had each other, so it was okay.” She smiled, maybe it didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she was okay. Abby hummed softly, and Mel placed the look on her face, something almost maternal in her eyes that made Mel very uncomfortable.
“And you two are actually… just coworkers ?” She asked, eyes flicking between Mel and Franks.
“Yes.” Mel said, nodding quickly, “Friends, but that’s it.” She squeezed her hands together where they rested against her collarbone. She chanced a quick glance at Langdon, who was smiling softly at her. She quickly stomped out the fluttering in her chest. Unacceptable, given the situation.
“You done interrogating her, Abby ?” Langdon asked, good naturedly.
“Yes,” Abby smiled, and the tension started to melt, “No further questions.” Langdon rolled his eyes. Mel was glad to see they were mostly on good terms. Co-Parenting could be incredibly difficult if the parents didn’t get along. Mckay had vented about that exact thing to her earlier this month.
“Would you mind giving us a minute. though, Mel ?” Abby asked. Mel’s eyes darted to Langdon’s for a second before answering.
“Sure !” She said, too quickly, as she all but scampered out of the room. She’d never been so happy to stop being involved in a conversation. Especially one that also included Langdon. The kids were sat criss cross in front of the fire, a large bin of magnetic blocks between them as they built.
“Hey, can I build with you guys ?” She asked, sitting criss cross in front of them.
“Yea but you can only have triangles, me and Charlie don’t really use those.” Tanner informed her, handing over a large stack of triangle pieces.
—-
“She’s nice.” Abby said quietly, watching Frank quickly cook the chicken for their soup. He nodded, but didn’t speak. “Frank.” She said, her voice very soft.
“Egg noodles or pastina, d’ya think ?” He asked, pointedly ignoring her.
“Pastina, Charlie doesn’t like the big noodles anymore.” She said.
“The stars are much more her style anyway.” He said, moving around her to grab the box.
“Frank.” Abby said again, standing besides him at the stove.
“Abby.” He said, a slightly desperate edge to his voice. Mel had already confirmed nothing was happening between them, and he didn’t really want to discuss that with Abby, of all people. Whatever feeling was drawing him to Mel, that had possessed him to offer a drive from the hospital to Becca’s and back to her place in this snow, he didn’t want to discuss it. Not when Mel was sitting criss cross in his living room, damp hair loose around her shoulders, wearing his clothes, playing with his kids. Whatever he was feeling, it didn’t matter. They were friends. He wasn’t going to let his stupid feelings get in the way of that.
“Frank.” She said it again. She wasn’t going to let this go. She was tenacious. Stubborn.
“What, Abby,” He said, voice low and resigned. He grabbed the tongs from the metal cup that held his kitchen utensils, clicking them twice.
“Nothing.” She said, before continuing, “It’s just. Don’t punish yourself forever, okay ?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He focused on flipping the small pieces of meat, making sure each side was nice and brown. He’d have done better to grab a spatula.
“Believe it or not, Frank, I know what you look like when you’re in love.” She said, voice so soft he could barely hear it over the stove. At least she could be discreet.
“It’s not like that.” He said, equally quiet.
“I also know what it looks like to be in love with you.” She continued. The chicken was almost done. The water was roiling, the vegetables and pastina cooking nicely, and soon he’d be eating dinner with his ex wife, his kids, and Mel. He didn’t know what to say to that.
“She’s not-“ He started, at the same time as Abby began to speak,
“If you’re not ready it’s fine.” She said. “But, and I’m aware how little say I have in this,” She put both hands up defensively, “If you were going to be moving on, I wouldn’t mind it be her.” She put one hand on his shoulder, trying to lean forward far enough to meet his eyes.
“Thanks for the permission.” He said, eyes still fixed to the browning chicken.
“Frank.” She’d said his name more in this conversation than she had the last 3 months of their marriage. “Don’t punish yourself forever.” She repeated. He made a sarcastic noise low in his throat, “Just because we don’t make each other happy anymore doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy.” She said. It was painfully sincere, and he hated himself for the way his eyes stung. “I’d rather it be her than some sleazy 20 year old.” She joked, trying to lighten the mood. He smiled tightly, lips pressed in a thin line across his face, eyes blank.
“The chickens done.” He said quietly.
“Okay.” She said, raising her voice to a normal speaking volume, ended their private conversation. The chicken was added to the soup, bowls distributed, and then they sat to eat.
Sitting across from Mel, next to Abby, eating soup on a snow day with his children, Langdon couldn’t help the wandering thoughts. He helped Charlie take big bites, blowing comically on the lukewarm soup, to prevent any burnt tongues, while Tanner went over his day from waking up to this very moment. Mel kept up with the conversation, asking questions when appropriate, and he avoided Abby’s eyes whenever he felt the smile he couldn’t fight off his face. Maybe she did know what he looked like when he was in love. It was ridiculous, he’d known Mel 5 months, and a day, if you counted that first shift before rehab. It was ridiculous. But sure, fine, Abby has seen him in love, he was in love with her once, even so, what did she know about Mel. He had every reason to love Mel, she was beautiful, firstly, and probably the kindest person he’d ever met, and smart and funny, there were endless reasons someone might love Mel King. Why would Mel love Frank back ? Sarcastic, cynical, drug addicted Frank ? Abby was just mistaking Mel’s kindness for affection. Surely that was all. He ate his soup, listening to his kids and Abby and Mel all chatting happily, chiming in when he should. When everyone had finished, He collected the bowls to wash.
“You never washed dishes when we were married either.” Abby said to him, “Figures that he starts being a good husband after I divorce him.” She said to Mel.
“You should see some of the couples that come through the ER.” Mel said, unsure.
“That’s true. You weren’t always the best husband, Frank, but you were never a bad one.” Abby said, wiping the kids' faces. He hummed non committedly from his spot by the sink. Mel was at his side, a dish cloth at the ready, as she dried the bowls and spoons as he washed them. His heart clenched in his chest, and he could feel Abby’s eyes on him. Mel smiled up at him, eyes crinkling at the corners. He could hear Abby’s voice ringing in his ears.
‘I also know what it looks like to be in love with you.’ It echoed in his ears, making his face flush. Abby had said, many times throughout their marriage, that she was always right. Maybe this time she was. She was going to be very smug about it if she was. Mel’s smile was blinding as they stood in his small kitchen, washing and drying the dishes. Maybe he could have this. Maybe.