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Langdon and Mel knew what they were getting themselves into when they got into the medical field. They knew there would be long, hard days. Death. Days that hit them so hard that it sent an abyss of absence through them. They knew, as adults and doctors in the medical field, that they had to push those aside and move onto the next patient. Then, when the shift was over, they could let their emotions go.
Today was Mel's day.
Langdon knew that Mel was a crier first with her emotions. So when their shift was over and no tears left her eyes, he began to worry. As she was going over everything during the shift change, her voice sounded dead, like she was talking on fumes. She had only moments to get everything out before she just stopped. Even in the locker room, she just sat on the bench, unmoving. Langdon walked in to see her, alone, staring at the lockers.
"Baby," Langdon didn't want to scare her, walking quietly up to her, "You okay?"
Mel didn't look up at him. He knew she heard him, but he didn't want to push her. Today was horrible for both of them, but even with Langdon reassuring Mel that there wasn't anything else they could have done, she was still affected by it.
"Let's get home," Langdon started grabbing their things from their lockers, "We'll pick Becca up on the way home."
Langdon held out his hand in Mel's face so she would see it. She blinked slowly, registering what was in front of her, before resting her shaking hand in his steady one. He guided her towards the exit, doing his best to avoid anyone that would start up a conversation. He got some looks, but he wrapped an arm around Mel, showing without any words that he would take care of her.
Even though, outside of work, he still didn’t know how.
He tried not to think about that for now. The drive to the center was quiet, only his music played quietly in the background. Music that Mel would usually make fun of him for. She sat in silence, probably unable to register the song playing, staring out the window. He carefully reached over, taking her hand in his. She didn't hold his hand back, but she didn't pull away.
"I'll go in and get Becca," Langdon spoke up as he parked the car.
Mel still didn't respond. He gave her hand a kiss before getting out. Mel put Langdon down on the pickup list a while ago, even before they started dating. It was more for emergencies, a 'god forbid something happened'. He's only ever had to pick Becca up one time, and that was when Mel was behind on her work and needed to catch up for a couple extra hours.
The lady at the front gave him a strange look when he said he was picking up Becca before having him move to the side. He didn't mind the look, this wasn't typical. Becca came down a few minutes later, gave him her own strange look before smiling.
"Hi Frank," she looked around, "Where's Mel?"
Langdon reached for her bag and took it like they always did, "She's in the car. Today...today was bad. She's not talking."
Becca frowned, "She's acting like a zombie? Just following your lead?"
From the tone in her voice, Becca has seen Mel like this before, "Yeah. Do you mind if I stay over? I just want to make sure she's okay."
Becca nodded, "Sure! I'll help!"
Langdon was about to tell her it's okay, that he'll be able to do it, but he had no idea what he was doing. In the car, Becca tried to get through to Mel, gently stroking her hair or squeezing her arm, but Mel still gave no response. Langdon tried to figure out how he was going to encourage Mel to get out of the car, she was only getting worse as they drove. He squeezed her hand every time they stopped at a light, rubbing gently to show he was still there.
When he got to their townhouse, Becca was already out, quietly working on getting Mel to follow. Langdon watched how successful she was as he grabbed their bags and followed them inside. Mel slipped her shoes off, sliding her jacket off and quietly hanging it up. Everything she did looked like it took every ounce of strength that she had left.
"She usually washes her hair today," Becca explained, "But she washes her face first. Then she uses a clarifying shampoo, then a purple shampoo, and then she-."
"A what," Langdon was already lost.
"Mel has blonde hair, she needs the purple shampoo to keep it fresh for longer," Becca said it like it was obvious, "Come on, I'll show you everything she uses. She's been taking better care of her hair and skin, so she's been getting better products. Just don't use a lot."
Langdon nodded, though he was even more lost now than he was before. He followed Becca to Mel's bathroom, watching carefully as she showed him every single bottle, taking note on when and how to use them.
"If you need help, let me know," Becca turned to walk off.
"Could you get an extra towel," Langdon chose the words carefully, and he felt his heart beat into his throat when Becca gave him a strange look. He knew it sounded bad when he asked, "Swear, I won't do anything, I couldn't. I just know Mel will need help."
He watched Becca's eyes shift from his to Mel's, searching for any kind of protest. Mel wordlessly leaned into Langdon, and Becca left and came back with the extra towel.
"She likes her showers hot," Becca said, "You're been warned."
As soon as Becca shut the door, Langdon started up the shower. Mel stood still, staring off into space.
"C'mere baby," Langdon started to help her get undressed, "As soon as we're done, we'll be able to snuggle up on the couch."
Mel's eyes changed for a second, Langdon would have missed it if he wasn't looking at her. He could see the excitment of just being together in silence. Langdon finished helping her get undressed before discarding his own clothes and pulled her into the shower. Steam already filled the room but Mel clearly didn't mind. He could see her instantly start to relax as soon as the water hit her.
Langdon tried his best with helping Mel shower. He repeated all the steps of her process that Becca gave while working on showering himself. It was a struggle trying to do everything, but it still felt nice knowing that Mel didn’t have to do any of this alone. Mel didn't protest during the process, so he must be doing something right. After their showers, he finished off with doing her skincare, another thing that he was glad Becca showed him.
Langdon pulled Mel to her bedroom, trying his best to not let her completely collapse in her bed. Mel pulled out her pajamas, slowly getting changed as Langdon pulled his own out from is drawer. This was still a new thing for them, and his drawer was still very much empty, but knowing that he was there to stay the night made him feel good.
"Come on baby," Langdon pulled her out, "You mind if I watch the Steelers game?"
Mel shook her head ever so slightly before going to the couch. Langdon sat next to her and pulled her against him. They watched the game in silence for a while as he ran his hand up and down her leg. Langdon tisked his tongue or huffed every time a play didn't go his way but that was it. At one point, Mel laid down in his lap, pulling his arm around and holding his hand in front of her face.
From where he sat, he could see her eyebrows start to tug together. She looked like she wanted to say something, but he still wasn't sure. There was a few times tonight where he could tell Mel desperately wanted to talk, but she was still too upset. He didn't want to push her, but at some point he did want to encourage her.
"Something on your mind baby," Langon asked.
Mel took a breath, "I thought Aaron Rodgers played for the Packers."
Langdon almost laughed and he felt his heart swell with joy, "He did, but then he went to the Jets, and now he's with us."
"Ew," Mel curled in deeper, "I hate him."
Langdon hugged her against him, pulling one of her hands up to kiss it, "Yeah, me too babe."
The rest of the night was spent in a comfortable silence, being interrupted every now and then whenever Mel asked a question about the game. Langdon happily answered every time.