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It was half past 7 in the morning, on a random Wednesday. Frank had worked a couple of hours the night before, and even if it wasn’t a terribly bad shift by EMTs standards, he was still tired.
So when he got to his second job, the sex shop, he had a Red Bull in his hand and his eyes were barely open. He was opening up the shop by muscle memory.
When he heard the sound of another set of keys, he didn’t even turn to look at the flower shop door. He just smiled and said a simple ‘Morning, Agnes!’
There was a pause. ‘I’m not Agnes.’
He turned to look and yeah, yup, that was not Agnes, the elderly lady who owned the flower shop.
Instead, there was a young woman. Her blonde hair was braided tightly down her back, she was wearing light wash straight jeans and a pale pink shirt. She was also frowning at him from under her glasses.
‘Hi, sorry.’, Frank shook his head. ‘I’m just used to Agnes opening up the shop, I haven’t really seen anybody else.’
She nodded slowly, and smiled, just a little shyly. ‘I’m new. Agnes hired me so she could spend a little more time with her grandkids.’
‘That’s great!’, Frank couldn’t help but smile. ‘Everybody’s been telling Agnes for years that she should slow down a little.’
‘So I’ve heard.’
‘I’m Frank.’, he extended a hand.
‘Melissa.’, she shook his hand awkwardly. ‘But everybody calls me Mel.’
‘Welcome to the neighborhood, Mel. If you have any questions, or need anything, feel free to come get me, okay? I’ll be working until 3.’
‘Thank you, Frank. I will.’
She went inside with a smile. Frank went inside feeling a little lightheaded and thinking that Mel was cute.
•
It was noon when there was a knock on the door. An actual knock on the sex shop door. Frowning deeply, Frank headed to it and opened the door.
Mel was on the other side, looking hesitant, with a phone in her hand.
‘Hi.’, she smiled. ‘I’m so sorry to disturb you-’
‘It’s alright.’
‘-but I’m new to the city, and I was wondering if you’d recommend any of these places for lunch?’
She turned her phone around, showing him the google maps of the area, with restaurants close by pinged on it.
Frank smiled and ran her through them. What were good, what were bad, what were decent, what were cheap, the sandwich shop that was his favorite.
‘Oh!’, her eyes grew wide. ‘I’ll order from there, then. Do you want anything?’
Frank tilted his head. ‘How about I go over and pick up that order, and we have lunch on the bench in your back garden?’
Mel frowned. ‘You know about that?’
‘Yup.’, he grinned. ‘Agnes and I had lunch together sometimes.’
Mel hesitated, clearly.
‘I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.’, he said gently. ‘I just thought that if you’re new to town, you might not have that many friends to spend lunch with.’
‘I’m always uncomfortable.’, she said after a moment. ‘And I know absolutely nobody in town so…’, Mel took a deep breath. ‘Lunch on the bench would be nice, Frank.’
He grinned. ‘So what sandwich do you want?’
•
20 minutes later, he walked into the flower shop with two sandwiches, a lemonade for Mel and a Red Bull for himself.
She closed the shop, turned the “LUNCH BREAK, BACK IN 30 MINS” sign, and headed to the back garden.
It was a small thing, filled with pots and buckets of flowers, but there was a metal bench and a small table shoved into the corner.
‘So, Mel, what’s your story? How did you end up here?’
‘I’ll tell you’, she smiled, ‘but I’d be more comfortable if you’d tell me yours first.’
Frank shrugged.
‘The sex shop is my second job. I only come in a few shifts a week, mostly in the morning. Besides that, I have more shifts as an EMT.’
Mel choked on the sip of lemonade she was taking.
‘It’s weird, I know.’, Frank grinned.
‘No, no, I… I’ll tell you later, go on.’
He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t insist. ‘The sex shop is easy money. There’s not a lot of people coming in the mornings, usually I deal with online orders more. If someone does come in… I usually offer unwanted safe sex practices advice.’ He shrugged. ‘Professional defect.’
Mel nodded. ‘Not a defect, I don’t think.’
Frank hummed. ‘Beyond that… I’ve been divorced for a year, I have two kids who are the best thing I ever did in my life, and I’m 8 months sober.’
Mel blinked. ‘Alcohol?’
He shook his head. ‘Benzos. They’re muscle relaxers. I had a back injury in college and… it’s a long story but after med school, I did my residency in the emergency department. It got… the pain got worse, as did my mental health. The benzos fixed it. And then they ruined everything. I ruined everything, I mean.’
Mel was just blinking at him, slowly, sandwich forgotten in her hand.
‘Sorry’, he smiled, ‘I don’t tend to hide these things from people, anymore.’
She snapped out of it. ‘That’s good. For your recovery, right?’
He nodded.
‘Sorry, I’m not used to people telling me their life story at the first meeting.’
Frank laughed. ‘Feel free to not feel obligated to do that.’
Mel took a deep breath. ‘I’m from Montana. It’s just me and my twin sister, our parents died four years ago. She has special needs.’ Another deep breath. ‘We moved here two weeks ago because she’s been accepted into a really amazing facility, and I’ve been accepted at PTMC.’
Frank’s eyes grew wide.
‘In the ED.’, Mel went on.
Frank’s mind flashed to his last monthly dinner with Robby, when he mentioned that he had an interview with a possible resident scheduled soon.
‘I’m not going now.’, Mel said slowly. ‘They agreed to let me postpone it a few months, up to a year, until we make sure that Becca, my sister, is settling in well with this big change. I got this job because my mom owned a flower shop. I have some experience, I’m a quick learner, Agnes said I was polite and honestly, I can’t stand around and do nothing.’
‘Wow.’, Frank breathed out. ‘So you… wow.’
‘Wow?’, Mel frowned.
‘Did you have an interview with Robby?’
‘Robby?’
‘Dr. Robinavitch. He’s one of the ED attendings and he mentioned he had an interview.’
‘Uhm, yeah.’
‘We’re friends.’, Frank explained. ‘I used to work there. It’s…’, he winced. ‘It’s how I was getting my pills. When Robby found out, he forced me to get clean. It’s been rocky for a while there, but we’re friends.’
‘This is all very confusing.’, Mel said in a shaky voice. He could tell she was getting overwhelmed.
‘It’s a small town, apparently.’, Frank shrugged. ‘Again, sorry if I made you uncomfortable.’
‘It’s okay.’, she said after a moment. ‘You’re nice.’
Mel seemed to regret saying it immediately, looking away and blushing.
‘It’s very nice to meet you.’, Frank said. ‘If you do end up working in the ED, we’ll be seeing each other there.’
‘Cool!’, she managed to smile at him and look into his eyes.
‘So tell me about Becca.’, Frank said, kindly changing the subject, liking the way Mel’s eyes lit up when she spoke about her sister.
•
Two days later, at 3PM, Frank walked into the flower shop. Mel was very surprised to see him.
‘I need a bouquet.’, he grinned. ‘Something obnoxious, fun, and pink. I repeat, pink. Very very very pink.’
Mel raised an eyebrow. ‘Your girlfriend likes pink, I take it?’
‘What girlfriend?’, he snorted. ‘It’s my daughter’s birthday.’
‘Oh!’, her eyes grew wide. ‘Happy birthday, how old is she?’
‘Three.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘Is she really going to appreciate a bouquet of flowers at 3 years old?’
‘She will if they’re pink and look cute. And it’ll annoy my ex-wife cause I never brought her flowers, apparently.’
Mel threw him a look.
‘I did, on her birthday and our anniversaries. She’s just dramatic.’
‘Okay, then.’, Mel sighed. ‘Well, can I at least get a budget?’
‘Nope.’, Frank grinned. ‘I don’t have a budget when it comes to Penny and Tanner.’
Mel sighed, but the corner of her mouth was up. ‘One no-instructions, really pink bouquet, coming right up.’
Frank grinned at her and spent the next five minutes following Mel around the shop as she gathered flowers. He asked what they were called, writing them on his phone, just so he could tell Penny later.
At the end of it, the bouquet was really nice, from where Frank was looking. It had different pink shades in it, of roses, peonies, tulips and in the center of it all, a single white and pink lily. The rest of the flowers were all arranged around it, with some bundles of something called baby's-breath scattered throughout, these cute tiny white flowers, and some greenery.
She wrapped it all in a pale pink paper, wrapping the hems tightly with a dark pink ribbon. Only then, she cut the stems so that they were at the same level.
‘Wow.’, Frank said. ‘You really do know your stuff.’
Mel smiled, a little hesitant. ‘So you like it?’
‘Love it. And Penny’s gonna like it too.’
‘I hope so.’, her smile grew wider. ‘Let me know how it goes, alright?’
‘Will do.’, Frank left with a big smile on his face, and when he turned around after closing the door, Mel was still smiling, looking after him.
•
He only had a shift three days later. Come morning, Mel once again arrived at the same time he did.
‘Wanna have lunch today?’, he asked without hesitation. ‘I have pictures of Penny’s birthday party to show you.’
Her eyes grew wide in surprise, but she nodded.
‘Sandwiches?’
‘Sure.’, he nodded. ‘Same order? I’ll go get them.’
‘Yes, please, but I’ll have to venmo you the money or something, I’m out of cash.’
‘No worries’, Frank waved her off. ‘See you soon.’
He may have paired it with a wink. It made Mel’s nose scrunch up, he wasn’t sure if it was in confusion or disgust. It was very cute.
•
As they started eating, Frank gave Mel his phone, told her to swipe to see more pictures.
The first picture was of Penny holding the bouquet in her hands, looking at it with pure childish awe. Mel cooed out loud and kept swiping through the pictures he took at the party. He explained throughout it, that was Tanner, that was Abby the ex-wife, those were her parents, that was the bike he got Penny (it was pink, but the tassels dangling from the bars were gold), that was the dog he got the kids without consulting Abby.
‘You have a beautiful family.’, Mel said kindly, giving him his phone back.
‘I love the kids to pieces, even when they’re being spoiled brats.’
She chuckled. ‘I know the feeling.’
‘How’s Becca?’
Her face fell for a brief moment before she smiled back. ‘Yeah, good.’
It was clearly a lie.
‘You don’t have to tell me’, Frank said kindly, ‘but I’ll listen if you do.’
Mel looked away, and kept looking away from him, but she did tell him.
‘It’s been… hard. Any change is hard, for her and I both, and this was a very big change. She loves the facility she’s in, but-’
‘Does she stay there overnight?’
‘Yeah, she can stay full time. But she can also stay with me, whenever she wants.’
‘That’s good.’, he said carefully when she didn’t go on.
Mel hummed. ‘Mhm. But she doesn’t want to.’
‘Why not?’
‘She’s mad at me. She thinks I just moved us here for my work. Becca doesn’t understand… how much her staying at Middle Hill helps. Helps her.’
Frank was silent for a few moments. He knew of Middle Hill, heard about it from the grapevine at work. He knew it was expensive, and the best in the city.
‘Shit.’, he finally said.
‘Yeah.’, Mel snorted. ‘She’ll come around, I’m sure she will, once Becca gets more used to it. But now… I just miss her.’
‘I’m sorry. I’m sure this change hasn’t been easy for you, either.’
She shook her head, looking very sad. But she didn’t go on explaining.
‘If there’s anything I can do to help…’
‘Thank you.’, she smiled at him. ‘I’m not sure what you could do to fix our brains, but I appreciate the sentiment.’
‘I’m a pretty good listener’, Frank shrugged, ‘and I don’t ever judge.’
Mel smirked. ‘I figured. But right now, I just need some distraction. So, if you’d be comfortable with it, tell me about your other job. Any crazy calls lately?’
Frank grinned and immediately started telling her about a call from last week, where a guy was stuck in the bathtub, showerhead wrapped tightly around his dick. Mel laughed very loudly, looking horrified.
•
She needed his phone number to venmo him the money for lunch. Frank gave it without hesitation.
He didn’t ask for hers, but told her, before he left the flower shop, that he wouldn’t mind seeing a text from her.
Mel blushed.
‘Casually.’, Frank added. ‘Friendly. You know, coworkers vibes.’
It made Mel snort. ‘Be careful what you wish for. I love texting. If I start, I might not stop.’
He grinned. ‘Even better.’
Mel smiled at him, looked away, and said ‘We’ll see.’
Frank left, not pushing, but he had a feeling that she would text him.
•
Mel texted him three days later, saying she was thinking of pizza for lunch, and did he want to join her?
Of course he did.
That was when the flood gates opened. They texted every day, mostly funny memes and random thoughts throughout the day. Sometimes, they had lunch on the bench. Two months after that first meeting, they were friends.
Frank wasn’t used to making new friends, especially after rehab. This relationship felt… precious, to him. He felt very protective over Mel, not because he was her only friend, but because she was precious.
It was weird. It was too much, too soon. They didn’t really know each other that well, she was very awkward about talking about her life, and Frank didn’t push or offer too much about his.
His therapist thought he had a crush. It was a bit too soon for throwing around those kinds of words, Frank thought.
And at the end of the day, Mel didn’t need a boyfriend. Frank didn’t need a girlfriend, either. Both of them needed a friend, and Frank was very glad to have Mel’s friendship.
•
He met Becca on a Wednesday evening. Mel wasn’t there.
Frank was on an ambulance shift, and they got called to Middle Hill. He froze, but only for a moment, thinking the worse, that something happened to Becca.
But once they got there, it wasn’t Becca they were called for, but one of the orderlies, an older woman called Lottie who was, most likely, passing some large kidney stones.
Becca was there, though. Other staff members were holding her back, leaving Frank and Matt, his partner, to work.
They weren’t identical twins, but they looked similar enough that even through the dark hair and large glasses, Frank still realized she was Mel’s sister.
He didn’t know if he should say something or not, but the decision was taken out of his hands.
Matt called him by his name at one point.
‘Frank?’, Becca said. ‘Do you work at a sex shop too?’
Looking in her direction, Frank saw Becca frowning and the woman holding her looking absolutely shocked.
‘Apologies, doctor.’, she said. ‘Becca, it’s not polite to-’
‘Yeah.’, Frank grinned at her. ‘I do. I wasn’t sure Mel told you about me, so I didn’t say anything.’
Understanding came over the woman’s features, and she relaxed. Meanwhile, Becca grinned.
‘She didn’t tell me you’re so handsome.’
Frank snorted, and Matt laughed.
‘Well I’m her friend.’, Frank pointed out. ‘She’s not looking at stuff like that.’
Becca huffed. ‘Mel gets dumb sometimes.’
‘That’s also rude.’, the other woman pointed out.
‘Yes, but it’s still true.’, Becca shrugged.
Matt took over their patient, asking her further questions. So Frank made his way to Becca’s side and extended a hand, which she was quick to shake.
‘It’s very good to meet you, Becca. Mel’s told me a lot about you.’
‘She hasn’t told me that much about you, but I can tell she likes you.’
Frank grinned, he couldn’t help himself.
‘Mel needs friends.’, Becca said strongly. ‘Even if she says she doesn’t.’
‘I thought so too. Rest assured she has one.’, he pointed at himself with his thumbs.
It made Becca giggle.
They left soon after, taking the orderly with them to the ED. Becca waved at him, said she was going to tell Mel they’ve met.
Matt threw him a look. ‘So, who’s Mel?’
‘None of your business.’, Frank said instinctively. Then, he tilted his head. ‘Currently working at the flower shop next to the sex shop.’
‘Nice.’, Matt wiggled his eyebrows.
‘Shut up, she’s a friend. She’s new in town, I’m just-’
‘Friendly, yeah, I got it.’, Matt snorted.
‘You be nice to that girl.’, Lottie glared at him. ‘She’s been through a lot and deserves only the best, considering all that she’s doing for Becca.’
Frank looked at her. ‘Ma’am, I’m just her friend from next door at work. We eat lunch together and text each other stupid jokes all day. I tell her what she should and shouldn’t do in town and help her avoid the bad takeout places.’
‘Good.’, the woman said after a moment. ‘You’re handsome and polite.’
‘Thank you.’, Frank nodded. ‘Now come on, let’s go to the hospital so the nice doctors in the ED can sort you out properly.’
Matt still threw him looks throughout the day, but he thankfully didn’t say anything.
•
What Becca said stuck with Frank for the rest of the day.
Mel needs friends, even if she says she doesn’t.
It wasn’t that Frank felt pity for her. In his line of work, he learned pretty early on that kindness was more important. But he felt sad, that Mel was such an awesome human being, and that people didn’t know it.
So in the interest of kindness, and his own selfish interest, he asked her if she wanted to have dinner with him at the diner that had the best burgers in town.
Casual. Friendly. Thursday night. No pressure.
Mel took a long, long time to answer, but she did agree to it.
So he picked her up from the flower shop and she was awkward. So awkward. It was endearing, but also absolutely painful to watch.
‘Hey, Mel. I’m not trying to date you.’
She stopped walking and looked at him with a fearful expression, eyes wide.
‘You don’t need that right now.’, he went on gently. ‘Me neither, to be honest. But I’d like to be your friend, and Becca said you need friends, too.’
‘She said that?’
‘Yeah. Even if you say you don’t.’
Mel shook her head. ‘You’re very nice and-’
‘You’re very cute.’
‘- I appreciate how kind you are to me, but-’
‘You’re the only thing that makes me smile, some days.’
‘I can’t even think about thinking of dating someone right now.’
He smiled. ‘So we’re on the same page.’
‘Yeah.’, she nodded, finally smiling. ‘Yeah, we are.’
Frank started walking again, and she followed.
‘Now, if that ever changes-’
‘I’ll tell you!’, she said quickly. ‘Before this turns… sour.’
‘Sour?’
She shrugged, but didn’t explain.
‘Deal.’, Frank nodded. ‘We’ll tell each other. Now, are you ready to eat the best burger of your life?’
‘Uhm, sure.’, she snorted.
The evening went by better after that. They both relaxed, to the point where they stayed at the diner for three hours, just talking.
It still felt a little like a date, because both Mel and Frank spoke more about themselves.
Mel told him where she and Becca grew up, how they grew up. She spoke briefly of their parents dying, and told him more about what happened after.
Yeah, old Lottie was right. She really did deserve the world for all that she did and was doing for Becca.
In return, Frank told her all about his addiction. How it started, how it ended, how he and Abby divorced, how he relapsed a few months after.
He also told her that the plan was to eventually return to The Pitt.
‘Yeah, that’s what we call it.’, Frank explained, seeing her frown. ‘All the higher ups hate it.’
‘Can you… would you tell me more about The Pitt?’
‘Gossip or actual useful information?’
She paused. ‘Let’s start with the useful information.’
So Frank told her. Not a lot, not all, just bits and pieces, insights.
Mel hung on to his every word.
‘You really wanna work in the ED, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘I really do.’
‘It’s not an easy specialty.’
‘I know.’, she glared briefly at him. ‘I’ve heard it before, everybody and their mother told me I’m too soft.’
‘Are you?’
‘Yes, I’m soft. But I’m not too soft for this. I’m… I’m a good doctor, Frank. And I really, truly, love the work. Even if I’ll need to hide in the bathroom for 5 minutes every now and then.’
He nodded. ‘I believe you. And I’m not gonna lie, I’m getting excited to work by your side.’
Mel smiled a little, before it fell.
‘Why are you postponing going back to it?’
He flinched. ‘I don’t think I’m gonna relapse if I go back to it. But I’m not completely sure, either.’
‘Do the people there know?’
‘Yeah, Robby told them eventually.’
‘And don’t you think they’ll help?’
He chuckled. ‘Everybody is too busy dealing with their own stuff, and their patients. It’s difficult, in the ED, to -’
‘Yes, but they’re all there because they want to help people.’
‘True.’, Frank nodded. ‘I might just be… insecure.’
‘You?’, Mel threw him a condescending look.
‘I am cocky, you’re right.’, he chuckled. ‘But not as much after rehab.’
‘Addiction didn’t erase your medical capabilities. Obviously, since you’re an EMT now and have no issues.’
‘Yeah.’, he sighed. ‘You’re right, but my brain… it’s going to take a little more time to accept it. And I am working on it, I promise. With my therapist and with Robby, too.’
Mel relaxed in her seat. ‘Good. That’s all I was saying.’
‘How’s Becca? Is she still mad at you?’
‘A little.’, Mel smiled. ‘But she started coming over once or twice a week. We’re good.’
‘I’m glad. She’s a smart cookie.’
‘Yeah.’, Mel nodded. ‘More than most people give her credit. Hey, Frank?’
‘Yeah?’
Their eyes met.
‘You’re a really nice guy.’
He huffed in amusement. ‘Not always.’
Mel tilted her head.
‘I can be a bad guy.’
‘I’m sure. But I’m also sure you choose not to, most of the time.’
He grinned. ‘So did I pass the test? Do we get to do this again?’
Mel laughed. ‘You passed the test when you got me a good lunch on my first day. And when you made Becca laugh.’
‘Really? The most delicious burger in the world had no say in it?’
She laughed again. It was music to Frank’s ears.
•
In the next month, Frank had lunch with Mel in the back garden every time he was on shift.
They had dinner together too, once or twice a week.
One time, they had lunch on a Saturday, and then went on a hike together.
He wasn’t falling in love with Mel.
He wasn’t.
Really, he wasn’t.
But only because he was forcing himself not to.
•
One day, Robby said he’d pick Frank up from the sex shop after his shift, and go together to their monthly dinner, at Robby’s place.
Frank was waiting for him, when Robby texted that he was at the flower shop.
Weird, but that didn’t stop Frank from going in.
Robby was, indeed, in the flower shop, and Mel was frowning at him.
When Frank walked in, Mel’s eyes moved to him.
‘What is it with you men and flowers?’
‘Look, Dr. King’, Robby chuckled, ‘I don’t know shit about flowers, or about what flowers Dana likes.’
‘Why are you buying Dana flowers?’, Frank asked, making his way to their side.
‘It’s her birthday. Everybody pitched in and got her a present, but…’
‘Yeah, you need to get her more.’
‘Anything?’, Mel asked somewhat desperately. ‘Can you tell me anything about Dana?’
‘She likes blue and green.’, Frank supplied. ‘And she would enjoy it more if you make it fun.’
‘Fun.’, Mel frowned. ‘Like Penny’s?’
‘Not pink.’
‘Definitely not pink.’, Robby added strongly.
Mel sighed, looking at him. ‘Budget?’
‘200?’
‘Oh wow’, Frank blinked. ‘What did you do to piss her off?’
‘I’ll tell you later.’, Robby rolled his eyes.
‘Is she going to leave it at work or take it home?’
Both men frowned at the question.
‘Leave it at work, I think.’, Robby said after a few moments. ‘Her husband gets her flowers at home.’
Mel got a spark in her eyes, and a small smirk on her lips. Wordlessly, she started walking around the shop and gathering flowers.
They watched her work, in silence. She wasn’t making a bouquet like Penny’s, though. She grabbed a wet sponge about the size of a brick, put it on a plastic tray, and put that in a pale green gift bag, fit to size. Then she started shoving the flower stems in the sponge, arranging them this and that way. They were mostly blue flowers, a couple of purple ones (iris, Mel said), a couple of light green roses, and a lot more greenery and some baby's-breath.
At the end of it, Mel had made a flower arrangement, tall in design, with the irises catching your eyes at first. It was beautiful. Weird to see only blues and greens in a flower gift, but really damn beautiful.
‘She can put it on the counter at work.’, Mel said with a little hesitation. ‘Brighten the place up a little. That’s what I thought, anyway.’
Robby was blinking slowly at the thing. Slowly, Frank started grinning.
‘It’s beautiful, Mel.’, Robby finally said. ‘Thank you.’
She smiled, pleased.
‘Make sure you tell Dana who made it.’, Frank told Robby in a fake whisper. ‘It’ll help Mel to get some points with Dana when she comes in as the new blood.’
‘That was too on the nose.’, Mel snorted. ‘New blood? In the ED? You can do better than that.’
‘So you’re friends.’, Robby cut up whatever idiot thing Frank wanted to say. ‘How did that happen?’
He was looking at Mel, who shrugged.
‘Randomly.’
‘He’s not trying to influence you, is he?’, Robby narrowed his eyes. ‘To not come to PTMC?’
‘Noooo.’, Mel shook her head strongly. ‘Definitely not.’
‘Good.’
‘He’s not hurrying me either.’
‘I’m not! I didn’t say anything!’, Robby actually lifted his hands in mock surrender, which made Frank raise his eyebrows.
‘He promised he won’t hurry me.’, Mel explained.
‘And I didn’t, I didn’t say anything.’
‘Yes, Dr. Robinavitch. I appreciate it.’
‘How’s your sister, though?’
‘She’s good. Getting there.’
Robby didn’t say anything, but he smiled at Mel.
‘I’ll see you, Dr. Robinavitch’, Mel said slowly, ‘but not too soon. May I charge you for the flowers, now?’
Robby grinned as he handed over his card.
He grabbed the flowers and moved to leave, but Frank stayed a moment more, letting Mel know that he wasn’t going to be in tomorrow, but he was the day after that and they could have lunch together.
Once in Robby’s car, he turned to Frank and glared strongly.
‘Do not fuck this up, Langdon! She has more recommendations than I have fingers and The Pitt needs her.’
Frank, a little shocked, just stared at Robby for a while there.
‘I’ll try not to.’, he finally said. ‘I’m just trying to be a good friend right now.’
It took a moment, but Robby nodded and started the car. Nothing else was said on the topic that day.
Robby drove them to the ED, made Frank follow him in to give Dana her flowers.
It wasn’t the first time Frank walked into The Pitt since Robby threw him out. He went there a few times on each of his EMT shifts.
But it was the first time he went in wearing street clothes and without a patient. Casually.
Dana hugged him. Princess fistbumped him. Everybody he knew came and said hello. Asked, in one way or another, when he was coming back.
For the first time in a long time, Frank thought that maybe it was time he did come back. It was an overwhelming feeling, but a good one.
•
A week later, Frank was just about to clock out of his shift when a child came into the sex shop. A young girl, maybe 14 years old, awkwardly asking for anti-baby pills.
Her words, not his.
Frank tried to find out more. As kindly and as gently as he could, he asked the girl questions, and figured out pretty quickly that she had absolutely no idea about sex. None, whatsoever.
She wasn’t feeling safe, it was clear to Frank, even if she was acting all tough.
So he called Mel. Told her that he had a customer that needed some help choosing what to buy, and that she’d be more comfortable with Mel’s advice.
Mel didn’t say anything, he could picture her shocked expression.
‘She’s 13.’, he added, to which the girl yelled an affronted ‘I’m 14!’
‘Oh my god.’, Mel breathed out. ‘Send her over, now.’
Frank told the girl that Mel worked at the flower shop next door, that she was a doctor and a very nice person. The kid didn’t want to go.
So they negotiated for a little while. In the end, Frank said he’d go with her, and after she listened to Mel, he promised he’d help her get whatever she decided on.
She agreed, so they went together.
For the next half an hour, Frank sat silently in the corner of the flower shop.
The kid’s name was Mary and she came from a really religious family. They didn’t let her attend the sex ed classes at school. But now she had a boyfriend that wanted to have sex and she wanted it too. Neither Mel nor Frank believed that last part, but they didn’t say anything.
Frank just… listened to Mel talk. Basically, she explained everything about the female and male reproductive systems, pulling up textbook pictures on her phone. Then, she explained sex. The medical parts, for starters, the mechanics, the risks. Then, the pleasure. And lastly, the consent. Mel was very harsh about the consent part.
And she was… amazing. Frank was in awe, really.
She was kind, while still giving all the information needed, and then some. She spoke in a way that Anna understood, and by the end of it, Anna said she needed to break up with her boyfriend.
Before she left, Anna brought a couple of roses for her mother and thanked Mel for stopping her from making a mistake.
Frank was still staring at Mel.
‘I’m so angry right now.’, she breathed out.
‘I’m so impressed right now.’
Her head snapped to his.
‘No, really.’, Frank said. ‘That was amazing.’
‘No, it wasn’t. It was just basic common sense.’
‘You were amazing.’
She blinked a few times, before her angry expression melted away. ‘Thank you. And thank you for calling me. It was a good idea.’
Frank nodded. Then, he grinned. ‘Looking forward to working with you, Dr. King.’
She laughed and reminded him that he had an EMT shift he needed to hurry to.
In the car, Frank texted Robby about it. Short, he explained what happened, and ended it with She was amazing ????!??!!!
Robby replied a simple I told you, don’t fuck it up.
Yeah, Frank was really trying not to.
•
A few days later, Mel walked into the sex shop. It was clear that she was awkward but trying not to show it.
However, at that exact moment, Frank was packaging an order to send out, and it was a really gigantic dildo. Like, it would have been hilarious if he didn’t know there were people who really tried it out.
When Mel saw it, she looked horrified.
‘Yeah, I don’t know.’, Frank shrugged. ‘I really hope it’s just a gag gift. Or like, for a display.’
‘What sort of display?’, Mel shrieked.
‘I don’t know, in the background of a porn? I try not to think about it, really.’
It took a few moments, but Mel managed to turn her expression into something more normal. She even smiled at him.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi, Mel.’, he smiled back. ‘What brings you in?’
‘Becca wanted to ask you over for dinner and a movie.’
Frank blinked in surprise, but he also grinned. ‘Becca invited me over?’
‘Mhm’, she nodded, clearly trying not to laugh. ‘It was totally her idea, 100%.’
Frank laughed, knowing that she had somehow made Becca think it was her idea, not Mel’s.
‘I’d love to. When?’
‘Whenever you’re free.’
Frank pulled out his phone and checked his calendar. It was a ridiculously well organized and color coded app, the only way he could keep up with everything in his life.
Mel eyed it curiously.
‘Red for the sex shop shifts’, he explained, ‘blue for EMT, orange for the kids, yellow for NA meetings, my sponsor and my therapist, grey for miscellaneous but important. It’s about time you got a color.’
She grinned at him. ‘Green?’
‘For the flowers?’
‘No, cause I like green.’
‘Sold.’, Frank smiled. ‘I’m free Friday or next Tuesday.’
‘Friday is fine. Any preferences on the food?’
He shook his head as he put the new green block in his calendar. ‘No, but I’m allergic to uncooked seafood.’
Mel pulled a disgusted face. ‘No problem, none whatsoever.’
‘Text me the address?’
‘Yeah, sure.’ Mel moved to leave, but hesitated. ‘What’s the weirdest encounter you had in the sex shop?’
‘Oh, there’s a lot.’, Frank snorted. ‘A whole lot of funny ones, that I’ll tell you some other time with a drink in our hands, but the weirdest one, personally for me, was when a couple walked in. Him and her, both incredibly attractive and muscle-y.’
‘Okay.’, Mel blinked, already half smiling.
‘They looked at me, turned to look at each other, nodded at the same time. Then the guy told me that he’s either gonna buy his wife something fun for the night, or I’m going to go home with them. What’ll be, pal?’
‘Oh my.’, Mel chuckled.
‘They brought a lightsaber shaped vibrator.’
She laughed very loudly, even if the top of her ears were red.
•
Friday around noon he texted Mel, asked if she had any pointers about winning Becca over. He wanted to ask something else, but it would have been very rude. Still, Mel read between the lines.
You’ll win her over just by being yourself. The most important thing is to not treat her like a child. And, still very important, is to tell her if she does or says anything that’s rude or hurtful. She has trouble with that sometimes, but doesn’t mind if you explain it.
He was more nervous than he should be. But he made his way to the address Mel texted him, with a cherry pie from the bakery down his street.
Mel answered the door in leggings and a shirt that was three sizes too big, a smile on her face and excitement in her eyes. Immediately, Frank didn’t feel nervous anymore.
And he really didn’t need to feel nervous.
For the next four hours, as they ate dinner and watched a random rom-com that Becca had picked, Frank felt… right at home, really.
As soon as the movie ended, Becca got up from the couch and said she was going to read until she fell asleep. She and Mel exchanged ‘I love you’s, and she fistbumped Frank, telling him that he could come over again.
Frank felt accomplished, and he grinned at Mel.
‘Oh, it’s going to get to your head, isn’t it?’
‘Yup.’, he grinned.
Mel laughed.
‘I’m glad, though.’, Frank said with a little more seriousness. ‘I can tell you’re glad she likes me.’
‘You’re right, I am glad she likes you. I’m also glad you like her.’
‘I totally do. Becca’s fun! And she seems… really put together.’
Mel nodded. ‘Thanks for this.’
‘Trust me when I tell you that it was my pleasure.’
‘You were good with Becca.’, she said gently. ‘You shouldn’t have worried so much.’
‘Figured that out, did you?’
Mel chuckled. ‘You know, Frank, I think I’ve gotten to know you pretty well by now.’
That was true. At that point in his life, Mel knew him better than Robby. And Frank loved it, honestly. It was nice.
He also knew her. Maybe not as well, because Mel still kept things close to her chest. But he could read her very, very well by now. Even if she didn’t say what she was feeling, Frank could read it in her eyes.
‘I’m really, really fucking glad Agnes hired you.’
Mel blinked in surprise. But she quickly smiled. ‘Yeah, me too.’
She grabbed his hand briefly, a twinkle in her eyes.
He stayed a while longer, just talking with Mel, having a cup of tea. Not really his thing, but it was sweet and Mel was sweeter.
•
A week later, Frank was driving to the sex shop when he saw two cars collide in front of him. As he put his car on the curb, he sent his boss a very brief audio that he wasn’t coming in. And then he ran to the crash.
Full on Doctor mode. Without a second thought.
One of the drivers was in bad shape. It was a blur to Frank, but he did a tracheotomy with a pen and his swiss knife as he called 911.
After the EMTs got there, he sat next to his car for a couple of minutes, cleaning up the blood from his hands.
Then he called Abby, asked her if it was okay for him to go back to work. She immediately said yes, because she knew how much he loved his job, his real job.
Then he texted Robby, a simple I think it’s time you talk to HR.
The next day he had a contract to sign in his email, alongside a list of requirements, mostly drug tests. He expected that, he was okay with that. He didn’t expect his first shift to be in a week, but Frank was okay with that too.
When he told his boss at the sex shop, the guy shook his hand and said he was glad.
When he told Mel, she hugged him very, very tightly, and said ‘I’ll see you soon.’
•
The first shift back was hard. Not because of the people he already knew, they welcomed him back easily. Not because of the new people, they all seemed eager to know him. Not because of the cases, there weren’t too many bad ones.
But because Frank found himself hesitating. It had been a long while since he had to do this, since he was in charge of patients and procedures.
Robby was keeping an eye on him throughout the day. He knew it, but didn't acknowledge it.
But then, then. A young guy came in, Terrance, with what was probably a broken foot. Frank… could not talk to him. The guy was on the spectrum, clearly, and more interested in Frank following whatever scenario he made in his head than have Frank actually treat him.
It was the last straw for Frank. He walked out of the room, angry at himself, and all but ran outside to the ambulance bay. After a few deep breaths, he called Mel.
‘What’s wrong?’, is what she answered with.
‘I need help with a patient.’
‘Oh.’, she relaxed. ‘Okay, tell me.’
Frank did. He was still angry and Mel could tell. She was very calm, though.
‘The ED can be a little bright and very noisy. You should put him in a room, close the door and shut the lights.’
Frank blinked. ‘Okay, but…’
‘And then you need a different approach to your usual one. You should ask him first, what’s his biggest concern at the moment and go from there.’
‘Okay.’, Frank said meekly.
‘Also, most neurodivergent people don’t understand the world as you do. I’d suggest you explain everything to him, and I mean everything. Every question you ask, tell him why you need to know. And after you figure out what’s wrong, do you have a skeleton? You could explain it to him using the bones as an aid.’
Frank nodded, agreeing immediately with all that she said.
‘You still there?’, Mel asked, just as Robby was coming out, clearly looking for him.
‘Yeah, Dr. King.’, Frank said, looking at Robby. ‘Thank you for the advice.’
‘I’m sure it’ll be fine.’, she said kindly. ‘You just need to get out of your head a little.’
‘Thanks, Mel.’
‘Call me later?’
‘Yeah, I’ll call you after shift.’
‘You can come over for dinner, if you want.’
Still looking at Robby, Frank smiled. ‘Sounds good, I’ll call you when I leave the hospital.’
‘Okay, bye!’
‘What was that?’, Robby asked after he hung up. ‘You called her for medical advice?’
‘I have an autistic patient. I couldn’t connect with him at all. She’s good at that.’
Robby nodded in understanding. ‘You’ve been hesitating all day, but you didn’t hesitate in calling Mel and asking for help?’
Frank took a deep breath. ‘I’ll be better tomorrow. Hell, I’ll be better today if I get through this patient.’
‘Okay.’, Robby said easily. ‘I’d offer my assistance, but I think it’s best if you do this on your own.’
‘Yeah.’, Frank got up and went straight to Terrance’s room.
‘Sorry, man, we got off on the wrong foot. Bad joke to make considering your injury, but that's all I got.’
‘It was funny.’, Terrance said after a moment.
Frank shut the door and closed the lights. ‘The ER can be a little bright and very noisy. Is this alright?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
Frank sat down on a rolling chair next to the bed and with a deep breath, asked Terrance what was his main concern at that moment.
And he went on from there. As Mel told him to, he explained everything, he showed Terrance on the skeleton what exactly was wrong, he managed to help him.
When he walked out of the room, Frank was smiling and Robby was waiting for him.
‘You good, Langdon?’
‘Yeah, I am.’, he said strongly, making Robby smirk.
‘Didn’t doubt you for a second.’, he said, walking away.
Frank did, but he didn’t plan on doing it again anytime soon.
•
Mel waited for him at her apartment with burgers, non-alcoholic beer, and a clear excitement to hear everything he had to say about his first shift back.
She was so excited for him, so proud of him, he could read it clearly in her eyes.
Frank was… exhausted to the bone, but proud of himself. And happy. Happy to work in the ED, and happy to have Mel’s smile in front of his eyes.
He fell asleep on her couch that night. He didn’t plan on it, but the tv show she put on was super artistic and didn’t really catch his attention.
Frank woke up to Mel gently running her fingers through his hair.
‘I would’ve let you sleep’, she whispered, ‘but it’s gonna be really bad on your back.’
He nodded a little. ‘I have another shift tomorrow.’
Mel winced.
‘Hey’, Frank righted himself a little, ‘any chance we can have dinner with Becca anytime soon?’
‘I’ll ask her.’, Mel smiled. ‘But tomorrow.’
He nodded. ‘I should probably go, huh?’
‘Would be best, I think.’
She was still smiling at him, looking soft in sweatpants and a large shirt, snuggled on the couch.
‘But I don’t wanna.’, Frank admitted.
Mel ran her fingers again in his hair, briefly. Then she got up from the couch and grabbed his hand, pulling him up.
He didn’t get up, she was not that strong.
‘Come on’, Mel chuckled, ‘you’ll sleep better in your bed.’
Frank didn’t say it, but he thought that he’d probably sleep even better in her bed.
•
In the first two weeks of ED shifts, Frank realized that he saw less of Mel. It made sense, considering his schedule.
But they texted more, talked more on the phone. Sometimes, he facetimed her when he was having lunch in the break room.
He missed her. And, selfishly, he wanted her by his side. In the ED.
So he did something a little reckless.
When they were having dinner with Becca, he waited until Mel left to use the bathroom and he asked Becca about it.
‘She didn’t tell me she wants to be a doctor now.’
Frank flinched. ‘May I be honest?’
Becca nodded.
‘I think that maybe Mel didn’t tell you because she thinks you don’t want her to do that.’
Becca frowned.
He tried explaining another way. ‘Mel told me that when you guys moved here, she didn’t start working at PTMC because she wanted to make sure you were okay. With the move, with Middle Hill, with the change.’
‘I am okay.’, Becca said quickly. ‘So Mel could go back to work.’
Frank nodded. ‘That’s what I was thinking too. But I think she’s afraid of talking about that with you.’
‘Why?’
‘She’s afraid you’re going to get mad. Like you were when you first got here.’
She was silent for a few moments. ‘I’ll talk to her, Frank. You want her to work with you?’
‘Yeah.’, he smiled. ‘I really do. But more importantly, I know Mel wants to work in the hospital.’
Becca nodded. ‘She’s a good doctor.’
‘I’m sure she is, yeah.’
‘I’ll talk to her, I promise. After you leave.’
‘Thank you, Becca.’
She tilted her head. ‘Thanks for being Mel’s friend. You’re good with her.’
He blushed, but didn’t get to answer, because Mel came back.
•
She texted him, late in the night.
You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I’ll email Robby soon. I need to speak with Agnes first, but I’ll get the wheels rolling.
Thank you ❤️
He didn’t really bother answering, he just heart-ed her messages. And went to work the next day with a dumb smile on his face, that got wider every time he saw Robby.
•
There was a conversation that Frank needed to have with Mel.
They made a deal, way back when, that if either of them wanted to change their friendship into something more, they’d tell each other.
Mel didn’t say anything.
Frank didn’t either, but he wanted to. Oh boy, he really wanted to.
But he knew it would be bad timing.
So he decided to wait. He’ll wait until she comes to PTMC, until she settles in. He’ll wait, just postpone the conversation.
Frank could do that. Right? Yeah, he could wait. It was worth it, Mel was worth it.
•
It was a shift like any other. Started off okay, anyway. Half way through, though. Mass casualty incident. Active shooter at Pitt Fest.
It all went to hell.
It had been a long time since Frank was in the middle of something like that. He handled it, though. They all did. It was chaos and death, they will all have nightmares about it for nights to come, but they handled it.
Frank felt himself relaxing only at about 9 PM. He’s been in since 7 AM.
He felt himself relaxing, but he couldn’t leave. He was at a computer, finishing up on his charts, he still had some patients he needed to check on, the night shift was dealing with two traumas and-
There was someone running fingers over his back. Frank didn’t even flinch, that’s how exhausted he was.
‘Hey there.’, a kind voice said and when Frank looked up and saw Mel, he thought he was hallucinating.
‘Oh, Frank.’, Mel breathed out.
He doesn’t know what she saw in his eyes or on his face, but it made Mel hug him. She sat down on a chair next to him and hugged him tightly.
That’s when Frank relaxed properly. Honestly, he wanted to start crying too, but it would have taken too much effort.
‘What are you doing here?’, he asked after they pulled apart.
‘And who are you?’, Dana asked, she was right by their side, he didn’t even notice her.
‘Hi.’, Mel smiled at her. ‘I’m Melissa King, R3. I start here next week.’
‘You do?’, it was the first time he heard of it.
Mel looked at him briefly, but continued talking to Dana.
‘I’m sorry, I would have come to help today, but the facility my sister’s staying at, they had an emergency. She’s fine’, she looked at Frank, ‘but I couldn’t leave them.’
‘You’re the flower chick, right?’, Dana asked with a smile. ‘Robby told me about you.’
Mel smiled, nodding. Robby came by too, but he didn’t say anything, he just frowned at Mel.
‘I… I got you guys food. Mateo and Danny, I think? They helped me get it to the break room.’
All three of them blinked at her, it made Mel tense up a little and look away.
‘McDonalds, some burritos, a couple of pizzas.’
‘I’m starving.’, Robby said, sounding surprised.
Mel smiled up at him. ‘Figured you would be.’
‘Staff!’, Dana yelled, making everyone in The Pitt turn to her. ‘There’s food in the breakroom, courtesy of Dr. King’, she pointed at Mel, who immediately blushed, ‘our new R3, come next week. When you can, go eat!’
‘And day shift’, Robby went on, ‘wrap it up and go home!’
Several people whooped, some said Thank you, Dr. King!, a couple of people groaned and walked into the breakroom like zombies.
‘Thank you.’, Frank told Mel, putting a hand on her knee and squeezing tightly.
‘Mel?’, Robby said. ‘Think you can wait a bit for Frank to finish up and drive him home?’
‘I’m fine’, he said immediately. ‘I said I’d drive Cassie home.’
‘So we’ll drive her too.’, Mel said, nodding at Robby.
‘But-’
‘Listen to the lady!’, Dana said, ruffling Frank’s hair as she walked away.
‘Finish up and go home.’, Robby said, grabbing Frank’s shoulder.
‘Hey, you should talk to Whitakker.’, Frank told him. ‘He did real good today, but he lost-’
‘I know.’, Robby sighed.
‘All the new kids did great today.’, Frank lowered his voice. ‘I’ve tried to tell them as the day went, but I’m not sure they really heard me.’
‘Tomorrow.’, Robby nodded. ‘We’ll tell them again tomorrow.’
‘Yeah.’, Frank promised. ‘Yeah, we will.’
Robby left. Mel was watching Frank with a small smile on her face.
‘I’ll wait for you outside. You and Cassie, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Eat something before, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Look at me, please?’
Frank did so, but it took a moment.
Mel locked eyes with him. ‘You did great today.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Yes, I do. I saw it in Robby’s eyes when he told you to go home. And the fact that you thought about the new kids, about Whittaker… That says a lot.’
Frank swallowed thickly, but didn’t say anything.
Mel got up from the chair, ran her fingers once through his hair and told him she’d wait in the ambulance bay.
After she left, Frank took a deep breath and went back to charting.
•
It took another two hours until he and Cass were able to leave. They ate, though, and it helped them push through to the end.
Outside, Mel was sitting on the cement hedge right next to the exit. She had a cup of coffee in her hand, and she was talking to Abbot. Abbot, looking calm and relaxed, with a burrito in his hand, smiling at Mel, like he didn’t have any care in the world.
‘She’s cute.’, Cassie whispered to Frank. He ignored her.
Mel was telling Abbot about her first ED shift, when she had a really hard baby delivery. Frank knew the story, knew she downplayed her involvement in it.
Abbot saw straight through it.
‘Dr. King’, he smirked, ‘I’m really looking forward to getting to work with you.’
‘Likewise.’, Mel smiled.
He left, with a pointed wink in Frank’s direction. When he blinked back into himself, Mel and Cassie were shaking hands.
‘Come on.’, Mel smiled at them. ‘Let’s get you home.’
She had an older Toyota, but it was bright red and very well taken care of. Frank got in the front, Cassie in the back, they all buckled up and were silent for a while.
‘Hey, Mel?’, Cassie said. ‘Thank you.’
‘Nothing to thank me for.’
‘The food helped a lot. And the fact that I didn’t have to get on a busy bus.’
‘Yeah.’, Frank sighed. ‘I don’t think I would have been able to drive.’
‘I’m sure you two were amazing today.’, Mel said kindly. ‘But I also wanna ask when’s the next time you’re scheduled to see the trauma counselor.’
Cassie snorted. ‘Tomorrow.’
‘Good.’, Mel said, turning briefly to look at Frank.
‘Therapist tomorrow.’, he nodded. ‘And a meeting.’
‘At 4 at the church?’, Cassie asked. After he nodded, she said ‘I’ll join you.’
Mel didn’t say anything, didn’t ask about it, even if she didn’t know Cassie’s story, didn’t know that sometimes she and Frank went together at meetings.
‘Tomorrow, though.’, Cassie groaned. ‘Now I just want to take off my bra and spend an hour in the bath.’
‘I just need to lie down. On the floor.’
‘There’s Advil in the glove box’, Mel told him and he took one without hesitation.
The rest of the drive was silent. Before she left the car, Cassie smiled at Mel.
‘I’m looking forward to working with you, and getting to know you. Sorry I haven’t been real talkative now.’
‘Get some rest, Cassie.’, Mel smiled. ‘We’ll have time to get to know each other later.’
As soon as Cassie was out of the car, Frank turned to Mel and asked if Becca was okay.
‘Yeah, it was just… a mess. They were all watching tv when they started reporting on the shooting. Live. They saw people getting shot and-’
‘Shit.’, Frank breathed out.
‘Yeah. The director of the facility called me, asked for help. All the patients were distraught, to say the least, and they needed another set of hands, to help calm everyone down.’
‘Shit.’, he said again.
Mel nodded. ‘They’re okay now. Some of them took some meds, but most of them calmed down on their own, after talking about it.’
‘And Becca?’
‘She’s fine.’, Mel nodded. ‘Actually, she was fine all day. After… After our parents, and after seeing me go through med school and the first two years of residency, she built up some tolerance.’
‘Good.’, Frank breathed out. ‘Sounds like you also had a shitty day.’
‘Yeah. I’m glad I could help, though. I… would have liked to help at The Pitt, too.’
‘Next time.’, Frank said after a moment. ‘I genuinely hope we won’t ever get a MCI again, but realistically speaking… yeah, next time.’
They got to his apartment and Mel turned to look at him after she stopped the car.
‘Are you going to be alright tonight?’
‘Yes.’, he said strongly. ‘Honestly, I think I need to be alone for a while.’
‘Okay.’, she smiled. ‘Call me if that changes, okay?’
Frank nodded. In a fit of insanity, he leaned over the gear shift and kissed Mel’s cheek before leaving the car. She didn’t say anything, just smiled at him.
It was a good ending to a very fucking shitty day.
•
‘So’, Robby leaned against the desk Frank was charting at. ‘Mel’s first shift is tomorrow.’
‘I am aware.’ Actually, Frank had been counting down the days, the hours. Robby didn’t need to know that, though.
‘I’m not going to let you be attached at the hip.’, Robby said. ‘I wanna spend some time with her, see how she is as a doctor.’
‘I know. You can relax, I’ll behave.’
Robby huffed.
‘No, really.’, Frank insisted. ‘We talked about it.’
‘You… did?’
‘Yup. She needs to be her own doctor, not just Langdon’s new doctor friend.’
Slowly, Robby smiled, just a little condescending. ‘I’m liking her more and more.’
‘Oh, you’re going to love her.’, Frank rolled his eyes.
Robby lowered his voice and became very serious. ‘How long have you two been actually dating?’
Frank froze. Hesitated. Sighed deeply. ‘We’re not dating.’
Robby raised an eyebrow.
‘Yet.’, Frank added. ‘Maybe.’
‘Oh…kay.’, Robby said slowly. ‘Don’t-’
‘Fuck it up? Yeah, that's why I said maybe.’
Frank sighed again. ‘This job is really important for her. She loves being a doctor, and she loves working in the ED.’
‘Most of her recommendation letters said that she’s sensitive.’
Frank nodded. ‘But we need people like her.’
‘Do we?’
‘Yeah. She’s kind, Robby. She’s very kind and I think she’s going to have a very particular way of connecting with the patients. Mel gets overwhelmed sometimes, and I’m sure there will be times when she’ll need to just lock herself up in a room and take a break, but… she’ll do great here.’
‘I don’t doubt it.’, Robby said after a moment. ‘We’ll take care of her, too. Won’t we?’
‘I sure will.’, Frank smiled.
Robby left with a smirk, and Frank checked his watch. 19 more hours since his first shift with Mel started.
•
The next morning, they met in the locker room. Mel was wearing scrubs, her id badge firmly in place, hair braided tightly down her back.
Smile on her face, directed at Frank. ‘Finally’, she breathed out.
Frank hugged her tightly, and together they made their way to the floor.
•
As Robby said, Frank didn’t work with her too much that day. Robby kept an eye on her, but even from afar, and considering what Dana and the other nurses kept gossiping, it wasn’t needed.
Mel was a great doctor, and she fit right in The Pitt.
At the end of the day, she was happy. He could see it in her eyes, happiness sparkling. He couldn’t help but share it.
•
The next day, late in the shift, a little after it was supposed to be over, a guy came in with shortness of breath, a damn dislocated cervical spine and rapidly increasing neuro issues.
Frank had an idea, but it was very dangerous, and he was the only one in the room who had seen the procedure done. Once. He hesitated real bad.
Robby was there. Told him to ‘Doctor the fuck up’.
Before Frank could respond, Mel explained the procedure to the guy. Told him that paralysis was a danger if they did it, but if they didn’t do it, it was more of a certainty.
The guy said yes.
Frank grabbed his neck. Robby and Crus pulled down his shoulders for countertraction. Nazely held his legs. Mel grabbed the guy’s hand and told him it was going to be okay.
Frank did it. A closed cervical reduction. Blind, no neuro there. He did it. The guy breathed easier and he had feeling coming back in his legs.
‘Good job.’, Robby said.
When Abbot walked in, Crus all but yelled what he did.
‘Brass balls, buddy.’ he said.
Mel just grinned at him.
‘I need a minute.’, Frank breathed out. He walked out, all the way out to the ambulance bay.
It took a couple of minutes, but Mel came after him. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him.
‘My hands are still shaking.’, Frank showed her.
She wordlessly grabbed it in both of hers.
‘I could have paralyzed that guy.’
‘But you didn’t.’ Mel was smiling at him proudly.
Frank felt himself shaking, badly. He couldn’t look away from Mel.
She didn’t say anything more. She just smiled at him, wide and fond, and held his hand until he calmed down. Then she kissed his cheek and updated him on a patient they shared, earlier on in the day.
•
A couple of weeks later, Frank walked in the breakroom at the end of shift, and found Robby and Abbot talking. They stopped when he walked in and stared at him.
‘Are you actually talking about me, or…?’
‘Mel.’, Abbot said, she had been on nightshift in the past week.
‘Something wrong?’, Frank asked hesitantly.
‘Absolutely not.’, Abbot grinned. ‘I love her so much, I was trying to steal her.’
Frank tilted his head. ‘That would be hard, considering Becca.’
‘So I’ve heard.’, Abbot sighed. ‘Eh, I tried. But hey, you guys take care of her, yeah?’, he glared at both Frank and Robby. ‘We all love her so you better not… fuck this up.’
He left without another word. Frank felt very confused.
‘We all love her.’, Robby nodded. ‘Don’t fuck it up.’
Frank rolled his eyes, grabbed his uneaten lunch from the fridge and left without another word.
•
Mel came back on the day shift with a big smile on her face. It fell quickly, cause they had a bad trauma roll in, a 10 year old kid who got run over by a car.
Frank and Mel worked on him, with Robby close by.
It was horrible. It was hard. It was useless, because they lost the kid.
Mel did chest compressions for 15 minutes. She started crying, at one point. Slowly, silently, just tears falling down her cheeks.
It was useless. She had to stop.
Robby took a step forward, but Frank didn’t let him. He got there first, grabbed Mel’s wrist.
When he did, she all but collapsed, pushing her head against his chest.
Robby called time of death. Frank helped Mel get down from the bed.
She let go of him after, wiped her face and took off her gown and gloves.
‘Take 20, Mel.’, Robby said gently, and her head immediately moved to Frank.
He followed her out without a second thought. Mel went on the staircase, up towards the unused floor. She sat down on the stairs, grabbed her knees and started crying. Sobbing in earnest.
Frank sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Mel once again pushed her head to his chest and used a hand to grab his knee.
They stood like that. Holding each other. Mel crying, Frank stopping himself from crying. Not saying anything until Mel’s alarm rang, he didn’t even notice when she set it up.
She took a few deep breaths and stopped crying, wiping her face. He did the same.
‘I’m okay now.’, Mel whispered.
‘Sure’, Frank said, knowing she was lying.
Mel looked at him for a while, eyes roaming quickly over his face.
‘What?’, he whispered.
‘I want to talk to you about something.’, Mel said with hesitation. ‘And I’ve been waiting for the right time, but I don’t think there’s ever gonna be a right time.’
Frank’s heart was beating wildly in his chest. Her hand was still on his knee. His arm was still around her shoulders.
He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. Frank could read it in her eyes, the hesitation, the excitement… the love, damn it.
‘Not now’, he begged. ‘Not right now, please.’
Mel nodded. ‘But soon?’
Frank pulled out his phone and opened his calendar app. He was free tomorrow, and had a few empty slots for the rest of the week.
‘Whenever you want.’, he gave Mel the phone.
She put on a slot the next day, at lunch. Green block, three hours. She named it ‘Lunch at Mel’s’.
Then Mel smiled at him, gave him his phone and together, they went back on the floor.
•
Mel opened the door to her apartment and Frank forgot to breathe.
She was wearing a sundress, spaghetti straps up top, long to the floor, bright green with white flowers on it. Her hair was tied up messily on top of her head. She had on lipgloss.
If Frank had any doubt about what they needed to talk about, it all went away then and there.
But, honestly, he didn’t have any doubts. Which was why he got her a large bouquet of flowers, red roses and peonies, that Agnes gave him a discount on when he told her who they were for.
Mel took them with a bright smile, and invited him in, all the way to the kitchen, which smelled like garlic and butter.
‘I made pasta.’, she grinned at him. ‘Like, from scratch.’
Frank groaned. ‘I’m starving.’
So they sat down at her tiny kitchen table and ate. Talked. Easy, casual. Had a glass of alcohol-free prosecco. The pasta was delicious.
Mel’s leg was bouncing under the table. She kept looking at him every now and then, that excited spark in her eyes.
She looked beautiful across the table and Frank was trying really hard to act normal. Casual.
Don’t fuck it up.
After they finished eating, Mel said there was a good ice cream shop by the park. It was a 10 minute walk, and Frank was very quick to agree.
So they walked there, enjoying the sunny day. Mel ordered for them both and they sat down on a bench in the park as they ate.
Silently. Frank’s anxiety was spiking.
‘Hey.’, she said gently when they finished their ice creams. ‘It’s okay.’
Frank tilted his head and swallowed thickly.
‘Do you remember when we went out for the best burger of my life?’, Mel was smiling. ‘We made a deal, then.’
‘Yeah.’, Frank nodded. ‘I uh… I broke that deal. Been breaking it for a while now.’
‘Me too.’, she breathed out. ‘It never felt like it was the right time to have the conversation.’
‘You’re right, it’ll probably never be, with the way our lives are. But…’, he took a deep breath and grabbed her hand. ‘It’s a nice day out today.’
Mel chuckled, before her face fell a little, in hesitation. ‘I’m not good at talking about these things.’
‘Me neither. I’m not good at dating, either.’, Frank winced. ‘Hadn’t done it since…’
‘Before Abby.’
‘Yeah.’, he sighed. ‘I wanna try, though.’, Frank smiled at Mel. ‘I really wanna do my very best and-’
‘Me too.’, she cut him off, and took a deep breath. Then, Mel moved, got closer to him on the bench, until their sides were pressed together. She held his hand with both of hers, putting them on her lap.
‘I really like you.’, Mel said softly. ‘A ridiculous amount.’
‘Same here.’
‘And I want to date you, I think.’
Frank narrowed his eyes. ‘You think?’
‘Well I haven’t properly dated anyone, ever. You haven’t dated in years.’, she shrugged. ’We're probably gonna do it all wrong, but I think we’ll be okay.’
Slowly, Frank smiled. Then he grinned, cocky.
Happy. Really fucking happy.
‘We’ll be okay.’, he said, moving his upper body forward. ‘We’ll figure it out.’
‘We will.’, Mel smiled, looking as happy as he felt, cheeks on fire and sparkles in her eyes. ‘You just gotta kiss me first.’
He did it before she stopped talking.
Frank kissed Mel and everything kicked up a notch. His heart beat, the excitement he felt, all the things he felt for Mel, they all turned up to 150%.
Mel relaxed, though. She sighed deeply, let go of his hand in order to push her fingers in his hair, and she snuggled up to his side even more.
The kiss was soft and sweet, hesitant in nature because Mel was shy and Frank was keeping himself in check, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.
It was a good kiss, though. A damn good kiss, that left both of them smiling when they pulled apart.
Mel’s cheeks were still red, her eyes held some hesitation, but her smile was soft and happy. Her fingers were still at the back of his neck, in his hair.
‘So you like the hair, huh?’, he smirked, cockily.
She blushed a little harder and Mel glared at him, just a little.
It made him laugh, and it made him hug her properly. Mel hummed, a very cute sound, as she hugged him back.
‘Do you want to go on a walk?’, he asked. ‘I had way too much food.’
‘Yeah.’, she kept on smiling. ‘A walk sounds good.’
He got up from the bench and extended a hand, which Mel took immediately.
•
They spent the rest of the day together.
Walking around town, holding hands. Going into a couple of random shops just to have something to do. Kissing in line at a coffee shop. Talking. Hugging. Kissing. Holding hands. Smiling.
For dinner, they ate at a poke bowl place. They sat outside, by the river, snuggled together, watching the sun set.
He walked her home, afterwards, and that’s when Mel’s hesitation returned.
‘We have work tomorrow. What are we going to do?’
‘What do you wanna do?’, Frank asked. ‘Do you wanna walk in holding hands and give everyone something to talk about?’
She scrunched up her nose and shook her head, like he figured she would.
Frank smiled. ‘Or do you wanna keep this on the down low, until we get more… used to it?’
‘Yes, that.’, she took a deep breath, smiling. ‘That sounds great.’
‘Good.’, he gave her a quick kiss.
‘There’s gonna be paperwork to fill out.’, she winced.
‘Eventually.’, he nodded. ‘Robby’s not gonna like it.’
‘Why?’, her face fell.
‘Well, he… When you and I became friends, he kept telling me to not fuck it up. Cause the ED needed you and-’
‘You won’t fuck it up.’, she said with certainty.
‘I might.’, Frank told her gently. ‘I don’t have a good track record with relationships, remember?’
‘Me neither, remember? Either of us could fuck it up. So we should just’, she had her thinking face on, ‘tell Robby in a couple of months, when we have a secure relationship and he can’t say we did something reckless.’
Frank smiled, very happy. ‘Mildly evil, very smart. I like it.’
He kissed her, even if Mel was chuckling against his lips.
•
Somehow, they did manage to keep it under wraps for five months.
Later, Robby would tell him that nobody figured it out because they were already acting all lovey-dovey, long before they made it official.
So behind closed doors, Mel and Frank’s relationship evolved. Nice and steady.
He was so happy, it was hard to believe it some days.
Waking up next to Mel some mornings, seeing her sleepy frown and kissing her as soon as she opened her eyes.
Cooking together in their pajamas, Mel teaching Frank how to cook, basically. Laughing at his inability to properly season things.
Walking hand in hand on days off.
Going to the park with the kids, Penny running circles around Mel and Tanner asking her any sort of question ran through his head.
Having sex after bad shifts, both of them wanting to forget about it. Having sex after good shifts, joking and teasing each other before things got intense.
Once a week, usually on Friday, Frank went to the flower shop. There was a new employee there, a young guy with a massive grin. After a couple of weeks, when Frank got there, he had already made a small bouquet for Mel.
She always seemed surprised when Frank showed up with flowers. She always loved them. She always kissed him hard instead of saying thank you.
He hadn’t gone into the sex shop yet. He made a joke about it once, when they were gearing up to move into the bedroom but Frank already had a small cramp in his fingers.
Mel scrunched up her nose, said it might be fun, but it will take a long, long time for her to need anything more than Frank.
Yeah, Frank forgot all about that idea pretty quickly.
Eventually, Frank needed to tell Robby. It was getting to him, keeping such a big secret from his friend.
Mel was okay with it, immediately, no hesitation.
So Frank told him during one of their dinners. He pulled out his phone, opened a recent picture he took of him and Mel kissing at the aquarium, the last time they took the kids there, and worldlessly showed it to Robby.
Who choked on his beer. He stared at the pic for a long while, then in a very lowered voice, asked ‘How long?’
‘Five months.’
Robby’s eyes grew very wide. ‘I was about to give you a don’t fuck it up speech, but I don’t need to do that, do I?’
‘Nope.’, Frank smiled. ‘We're good. Really fucking good.’
Robby nodded. ‘I’m happy for you. I’m just dreading the paperwork.’
Frank snorted. ‘Mel already downloaded it, she’s half way through getting it done.’
‘Of course she is.’, Robby laughed.
And that was that. Another week or two, a long and awkward meeting with HR, and everybody in the ED knew.
They were all happy for Mel and Frank, but things hadn’t changed much after. Not much, but they did walk in hand in hand when they shared a shift, and sometimes they did sneak a kiss or two in the break room.
One night, they both couldn’t sleep after a hard shift. So they put on jackets over their pajamas and took a walk at 2AM. Hand in hand, around the block.
‘Hey.’, Mel said. ‘I’m really happy I met you.’
Frank grinned widely, kissed her hard, pushing her back against the closest wall. It made Mel laugh too hard to be able to properly kiss her.
‘I’m glad you didn’t push me away, after that first day.’, Frank told her. ‘Really ballsy, trusting the guy who worked at the sex shop.’
Mel smiled. ‘At least I knew you’d be fun.’
Frank laughed, a spike of happiness bursting in his chest. It happened daily, and it was all because of Mel’s smile, the one she had reserved only for him.
He kissed her again, softer this time, and they did eventually walk back home and went to sleep, wrapped around one another, a bouquet of pink roses on Mel’s nightstand.