Work Text:
When Mel had woken up in the morning, she had woken up feeling wonderful. She had slept like a baby, finally having slept more than a few hours at a time. And so, when she had gotten out of bed and into the bathroom to shower, Mel had expected the day to be a good one. But apparently, she had been more wrong than ever.
"Hey Mel?" Becca broke the beautifully catered morning silence that had encompassed the two girls as they ate breakfast with one another. Becca was eating a bagel with cream cheese while Mel had made herself an egg sandwich on a bagel.
Mel swallowed the sip of her coffee she had taken before placing the mug down on the table. "Yes?" She asked as she glanced at her sister.
And in a matter of mere seconds, the wonderful morning that Mel had been having came crashing down just as quickly as it had come. "I think I'd like to live at the center full-time," Becca said simply with a smile before taking another bite, as though it were the easiest thing in the world.
Mel felt her heart drop as she knew her face was contorted in an awkward expression. She didn't quite know how to react or even how to feel. Mel had spent so many years taking care of Becca and ensuring she had a good life. By going to med school to have a worthwhile career, taking on far too many responsibilities than she should've at a young age, and making sure Becca had the proper care she needed, Mel had dedicated so much time into becoming a unit, a caregiver. And now, Becca wished to break that routine built between the two of them.
"Oh," Was the only thing Mel could think of to respond to Becca's statement. That was the entirety of the conversation and the next thing Mel knew was that she was in the car, driving Becca to her day program before heading to work.
To say it threw her off the rest of the day would be an understatement.
The moment she walked into the Emergency Room, a patient who had been waiting for hours had grabbed her arm and immediately began yelling at her, pestering Mel about how he had yet to be seen. Mel had tried to pull away but the tight hold the patient had on her arm was stronger. It wasn't until Ahmad stepped in that the patient had finally let Mel go.
"Are you okay?" Ahmad asked Mel, checking in with her as he stepped between her and the patient.
Mel couldn't think properly, her brain seemingly malfunctioning as she tried to process what had just happened. After a moment, she cleared her throat and nodded her head. "Yeah-uh-I'm fine," She gave an awkward smile.
Ahmad nodded his head before turning his attention to the patient, explaining to them that aggressive behavior towards healthcare workers will not be tolerated whatsoever. And Mel had taken the opportunity to walk away, heading into the back of the ER while she rubbed her forearm.
So today was definitely going to be one of those days.
Her first patient of the day had been a man who came off an ambulance. He had been quite combative and complaining of pain everywhere. He reeked of alcohol and it wouldn't have surprised Mel if he had been a methhead as well, judging by the skin sores on his face. It had been going fine until the man had whipped out his penis and peed directly on Mel who had been in the direct line of fire.
Luckily it only landed on her scrubs but Mel had been entirely baffled and unable to formulate any sort of response to such a situation. Of course, she had felt with many different patients and their bodily fluids but none of them had ever purposefully peed on her so this had certainly been a first.
So instead of working on the patient, Dr. Robby had advised Mel to get new scrubs before coming back and she followed his advice. She was sure he had only suggested it merely due to the look on her face. That awkward and uncomfortable and rather disgusted look that she usually had whenever she wasn't doing the greatest.
When she had come out of the bathroom, changed in a fresh pair of scrubs and no longer feeling or smelling like piss, Frank was approaching her. For just a moment, her woes were forgotten as she looked at him. They had been dating for about a year now and yet, seeing him still made her heart flutter in her chest.
"Heard you had a mishap in the ambulance bay," Frank said as he stood in front of Mel, his blue eyes softening as he looked at his beautiful girlfriend. "Are you okay?"
Mel didn't respond for a moment, simply mesmerized by Frank's eyes. As she processed Frank's words, she nodded her head. "Yes," She said eventually.
Frank opened his mouth as though he wanted to say more but was quickly interrupted by a trauma coming in. The two of them jumped into action, seemingly forgetting about the fact Mel had gotten pissed on.
Trauma 2 had become a mess. The patient that had come in had a gunshot wound to the chest, not quite grazing the heart, and was losing quite a bit of blood. Frank, Mel, Whittaker, and a few others were doing what they could to stabilize the patient. But with no luck, they had lost the patient rather quickly and Dr. Al-Hashimi had told them to call it.
As everyone exited the trauma room, removing their PPE in the process, Mel slipped on a trail of blood in the room. Luckily, Frank had caught her but it was yet another thing to add onto her list of what was going wrong.
"You alright?" He asked, holding onto Mel's arms to help stabilize her.
"Mhm," Mel nodded her head with an awkward not-quite-reaching-her-eyes smile. Her mood, which had already been diminished this morning, was slowly growing more sour as the day went on. She pulled away from Frank and walked out of the room, not wanting to accidentally snap at him.
Frank frowned as Mel walked away, his concern growing as he watched Mel. It wasn't often that Mel had a terrible day. Despite all of the horrific cases they get in the ER, Mel had always been so great at maintaining a positive attitude. The day Frank had met her, Mel had been a rockstar and had taken everything thrown at her in stride, even with the difficult moments. Pittfest had been a mess and yet, she worked so hard. And when Frank had saw her again, ten months later on July 4th, that was the first time he saw her lose her cool.
Really, it was only the second time he met her but still.
He knew that something was going to grow between them that very first day. The way she smiled, all nerves and sunshine, Frank had instantaneously been encaptured by her. But that day, he had more growing concerns such as his addiction to benzos and the fact that his marriage was failing. But when he had seen her again and she had excitedly grabbed his arm when she saw her, Frank fell for her right then and there.
It were as though nothing else mattered except for the existence that was Dr. Melissa King. That day, they had exchanged numbers, especially after Mel had yelled at her sister and he had told Mel to take a breather. He wanted to make sure she was alright that night and so, he had suggested texting back and forth so he could check in on her and on Becca's condition.
A week of small, more professional, conversations had quickly grown into more detailed ones unrelated to work when Frank had sent a picture of his golden doodle to Mel. And Mel had replied excitedly, immediately resorting to asking any and all questions about the dog. Day after day, the two had gotten to know more about one another outside of work and one night, two weeks after they first exchanged numbers, Frank had suggested meeting at the park on their day off so Mel could meet his dog.
And that, too, became a thing where on their days off, when they aligned, Mel and Frank would walk with his dog around the park.
It was easy to talk to Mel, to learn about her. She understood Frank in a way that he had never felt before. And Frank liked to think he knew Mel quite a bit, sometimes even more than she knew herself. When he was aggravated, especially when his back flared up, Mel would place a hand on his shoulder and offer comfort in a way that made Frank feel seen and loved. And when she would be overstimulated, Frank would speak to Mel in a soft voice, telling her to take some quiet time to herself.
It was no surprise when Frank had kissed Mel one night after a long and grueling shift. After months of working together, texting one another, and their morning walks in the park which somehow turned into coffee dates, it was inevitable to fall in love with her. Mel was beautiful, kind, and the most amazing person Frank had ever met. And so, in October, three months after they had exchanged numbers on July 4th, Frank had made the first move.
The shift had been entirely exhausting. It was one case after another after another. Almost more than there had been over the summer which was saying a lot. It was a random day in October as well, not even Halloween, so it didn't make much sense to Frank as to why it had been so busy. But all Frank could think about as he walked out of the hospital alongside Mel was how much he wanted to kiss her and forget about the day. And so, he had done exactly that once they had reached Mel's car in the parking garage.
And they'd been together ever since.
To say Frank was concerned about Mel would be an understatement. He had been looking out for her all morning, simply because he loved looking at her but also because he could tell she was a bit off. Her normally positive and excitable demeanor was subdued. He knew something was wrong but he hadn't been sure as to what.
"Are we still on for tonight?" Frank asked some time later after the incident in the trauma room as he stepped next to Mel at the charge station, looking up at the board.
"Hmm?" Mel asked, breaking her attention from the board before processing what Frank had said. "Oh, yes." She said with a small smile. "Becca will be at the day center tonight due to a movie night so it'll just be us," She said before bringing her attention back to the board. Though it was clear that the mention of Becca had brought Mel's mood down once again with the way her jaw slightly tensed and her shoulders tightened.
"I look forward to it," Frank said softly. "I have to make a few stops before I head over so I'll likely be at your place a bit after you," His attention was only on Mel as he placed a hand on top of hers on the counter.
Mel nodded her head. "That's fine," She said, matching Frank's tone as the tension inside of her eased a bit.
Frank gave Mel a soft smile before the two parted ways once again, moving to deal with their patients.
Later that day, after their shift ended and everyone had finally been able to go home, a knock on Mel's door had signaled to her that Frank had arrived as he had a signature knock. Mel had not changed out of her scrubs yet as she had taken to just sitting in the kitchen and staring off into the distance in order to semi-decompress from her day. The knock had broken Mel from her thoughts and she had gotten up to go to the door.
As she opened the door, Frank stood there with a grin on his face as he held up multiple bags in one hand and had a duffel bag hanging from his shoulder. "I got Indian food," He said while wiggling his eyebrows. "And snacks and some of your favorite drinks."
Mel couldn't help but smile as she stepped to the side, allowing Frank to walk into the apartment.
Indian food had been something they tried on a whim a few months back. More like Mel had tried and Frank had been the one to put her on. She had never tried it before as she and Becca preferred to stick with their safe foods. But Frank had told Mel about his favorite Indian restaurant and how it had the best butter chicken and garlic naan and Mel, being the girlfriend that she was, wanted to try what her boyfriend enjoyed. And now it became her favorite food as well.
"With samosas?" She asked as Frank walked to the kitchen to place the bags down on the counter, following him.
"Well of course, sweetheart, who do you think I am?" Frank replied with a joking scoff. As he placed the things on the counter and allowed his bag to fall onto the ground temporarily, Frank turned to look at Mel. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips. "I noticed you had a rough day," He said softly, a hand moving to toy with the end of Mel's braid.
Mel only hummed in response as she wrapped her arms around Frank, returning his hug.
"Let me draw you a bath?" He asked gently as he looked down at her. "We can bathe, change, and then eat. How does that sound?"
Mel nodded her head. "I'd like that," She whispered as she looked up at Frank.
Frank gave her a small smile before his lips brushed her forehead. He pulled away from her embrace. "Give me five minutes and then join me in the bathroom?"
"Sounds like a plan," Mel replied.
Silence encompassed the apartment as Frank walked away from Mel and to the bathroom. And after a moment, the faint sound of water trickling before becoming a bigger stream filled Mel's ears. She glanced at the time on the microwave, gently rocking on her feet as she waited precisely five minutes. And once those five minutes passed, she made her way to the bathroom.
The feeling of steam hit her face as she walked into the bathroom, along with the smell of her rose scented soap filled the air. Frank was stood beside the bathtub, his clothes already discarded off to the side. He was stood in only his boxers. Two candles were lit next to the bathroom and Frank looked at Mel with a smile.
Nothing was spoken as Frank walked up to Mel. He gently leaned down and captured her lips in a slow kiss. Mel responded immediately as she kissed Frank back, their lips moving together in sync. Frank's hands moved to the hem of Mel's scrub shirt. He pulled away just enough to take the top off of her before going back to kissing her. His hands then went to her sports bra as he moved to pull that off of her as well, maintaining eye contact as he did.
Baths between the two of them were nothing new. Mel loved to take a bath to relax and Frank, who hadn't really thought about taking a bath instead of a shower since he was a child, had absolutely fallen in love with them when he and Mel took their first bath together. The closeness and natural intimacy without having to have sex was new and entirely foreign to Frank. They didn't have the chance to do it often but when they did, it was quite lovely.
When Mel was standing in front of Frank, completely naked and her hair down, Frank gently grabbed Mel's hand. He placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand before he guided her to the bathtub. "Step in, love," He commanded in a murmur.
Mel complied as she stepped into the water. It was the perfect temperature, hot. When she and Frank had first bathed together, she had made the water hotter than what Frank was used to, causing him to complain at first. But moments later, the ache in his back had began to ease and since then, he too had loved that Mel preferred the bath to be hot.
As she settled into the tub, Frank took off his boxers and stepped in to sit behind her. The two got themselves comfortable with Mel in between Frank's legs and Frank's chest pressed against Mel's back. His arms moved to wrap around Mel's middle as she leaned into him.
It was quiet, warm, and Frank could almost see the tension leaving Mel's body as she rested against him. "Do you want to talk about your day?" He whispered into Mel's ear, his breath warm against her skin.
Mel shivered slightly before clearing her throat. "It was just not my day today," She whispered in response.
"How so?" Frank asked.
Mel began talking about the shit-show of a day she had, starting with the patient that had yelled at her. By the time she began speaking about Becca, Frank had realized exactly what had thrown her off. "And Becca," Mel sighed almost dramatically. "You know, when I had woken up today, I was in a really good mood. I actually slept more than five hours last night and woke up feeling quite refreshed, thank you very much." Mel's rant continued as she told Frank what had happened. "And Becca decided to randomly bring up moving into the day center permanently!"
And there it was, the true reason for Mel's horrible day.
Frank gently placed kisses along Mel's shoulder as she spoke as a way to help soothe her. "She wants to move into the center permanently?" He asked.
Mel nodded her head. "It's like I completely understand she wants independence but I thought she loved living here with me," Mel frowned as she spoke. "All our lives it was only her and I. And when I became her sole caregiver, I thought we'd never be separated. But now all of a sudden, she wants to leave me?"
"She's not leaving you, baby," Frank cut in. "She's just really happy there."
"But I'd be all alone," Mel's voice sounded small as she admitted that fact. All her life, the only constant she had was her sister. Growing up, she and Becca had been best friends. The only time they had truly been separated was when Mel had gone to college but when their parents had died, Mel had taken on the role as Becca's caregiver and they hadn't been separated ever since.
Frank felt for Mel as his hold on her tightened softly. "You wouldn't be alone, sweetheart," He whispered, placing a kiss on her shoulder once again. "Becca wants a chance to live her life and I'm sure she wants to give you a chance to live yours." He continued. "You'll always have me with you if your fear is of being alone."
"But we don't live together," Mel replied in that same tone as before.
Frank paused for just a moment as he thought about Mel's words. And after a second he spoke once more. "Then perhaps it's time we change that, yeah?"
Mel's breath hitched. She tilted her head up to try and look at Frank. "Do you mean that?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
Frank nodded his head and hummed in agreement. "Of course," He said. "We've been together for a year. I'm here more often than not," Frank continued. "If you'll have me, I could move in."
Mel was quiet for a few minutes as she simply looked at Frank. It were as though she were weighing the pros and cons inside that beautiful mind of hers. And eventually she nodded her head. "I'd like that," She whispered.
And just like that, everything was settled. Nothing would happen right away as things such as these took serious time and planning. But it was certainly a start.
After their conversation, Frank and Mel took turns washing each other's bodies and hair before draining the tub and drying themselves off. Mel had changed into a t-shirt and pajama shorts while Frank changed into a sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. The two ate food on the couch while watching a show together and snacked on the treats Frank had gotten them.
Mel had always been the one caring for those around her, especially all her life with Becca. Everyone else took priority in Mel's mind, wanting to ensure those around her were happy and healthy. But for once, as she sat on the couch after a rough day pressed up against her boyfriend, Mel realized that she finally had someone to look out for her. It had never been a possibility she ever considered and yet, here she was.
"I love you," Mel whispered as she looked at Frank from the position they were in.
Frank looked down at Mel with a pocky stick hanging from his mouth. "And I love you," He replied with a smile as he took the stick from his mouth. He leaned down to press a kiss onto her forehead. "Now and always," He added with a whisper.
"Now and always," Mel repeated with a smile.
And her bad day no longer felt so bad.