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Emma’s surprised “meep!” attracts Frank’s and Dana’s attention, even though she’s been taking a breather outside and resident and nurse were both very firmly inside. Dana’s overprotective instincts and Frank’s supernatural hearing picking up on the sudden change.
They run through the door, anxiety tingling in their fingers, only to find the young nurse with her arms full of a wriggling three-headed pup. In front of her, Poodle, who has since last time reached her adult size of 8.2 feet tall, is wagging her tail excitedly.
Both nurses look at the Cerberus then at the pup in total incomprehension. At long last, they turn their gaze on Frank. The vampire shrugs somewhat awkwardly, a tentative smile forming on his face. “Errrr, congratulations, you’ve been deemed worthy?”
A new look at the pup, the silence turning suffocating. Then…
“WHAT?!”
Frank starts hopping from one foot to another, grimacing. “Cerberus are protectors. She likes you. So she made you a pup.”
“What do you mean, she made her a pup?”
Frank perks up at the head nurse's disbelieving question. “Parthenogenesis! Cerberus are all female, they choose their family and reproduce when they find someone they consider worthy of protection.”
Dana lets out a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Then she gestures to his giant dog. “And where do you think she will find the place to keep that kind of beast?”
“Don’t worry, they are choranaptyxis! They adapt their size to their environment. We’ve got space, you know, with the Coven. Some plot of land, a little bit of woods. So Poodle here had the chance to be able to use her full size. But a lot of Cerberus live in smaller places.”
Both nurses watch him in disbelief, their jaws hanging somewhere above ground-level.
Xxxx
It's the smell that alerts him. Something salty, and ozony. It would have reminded him of the sea, if not for the foul stench of decay that sits beneath it.
He comes into the room and takes over without so much as a by your leave which is enough to ping on Robby's radar. The man presses a discreet hand on Kwon’s hip and throws a look at Whitaker, prompting them to take a step back.
“Hello Sir, Dr Langdon. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?” He starts off, appreciating the fact that the man on the bed is showing a rather happy composition and doesn’t seem to care that he is being asked to repeat himself once again.
He nods here and there as their patient lists his symptoms. Abdominal pain, no fever. Sudden and excessive weight loss despite an increased hunger, tiredness. His suspicions are confirmed once their patient admits to finding something resembling scales in his stools and underwears.
“Have you been traveling recently? Say Norway or Iceland or Denmark?”
He nods as the man enthusiastically launches into a love poem to the wonders of Nordic nature, keeping a polite smile and an interested ear. Their young traveler is clearly bursting at the seam at the idea of being able to talk about his trip. He catches Robby’s eyes, sharing an amused look with him.
“That sounds like quite the trip. And you wouldn't happen to have explored a few caves while you were there?”
Bingo!
He lets the patient finish his story then, with a quick shake of the head, signals to Robby to meet him outside the room, taking care of closing the door behind him. The chief attending, now more used to the oddities that come with interacting with supernatural creatures, is already bracing himself for bad news.
“What are we walking into Frank?”
“An ormr.” The vampire drags a hand over his face. Bad news indeed. Ormrs are nasty little fuckers who will ransack their own ‘habitat’ rather than give it up. “The supernatural equivalent of a tenia. Except they are very aggressive and won’t hesitate to go ‘Alien birth’ on you if they feel threatened. They are also very sensitive so you can’t use an MRI or an echography on him. Call Park, his electroreception is strong enough he should be able to give us an idea of its size.”
Whitaker pales at the mention of the merman, still very much impressed by the surgeon, but Robby only has eyes for his right hand.
“And what can we do about it?”
Frank winces. Here is the trick question. “There have been some studies, recently, suggesting the use of very high doses of parasiticides blended with ginger for ormrs whose size is under 4m long, ginger tends to lull them enough they don’t react to the parasiticides. But once they’ve exceeded 4m, you have to extract them surgically. Walsh has been getting up to speed with these procedures for the past few months.”
Since the Coven war he doesn’t say. “But I hadn’t seen a mortal get infected up until now. I have no idea how this can go.”
Robby starts moving, before stopping, coming back towards them, then repeats the movements. “Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Whitaker, call Park to the floor, explain the situation to him. Tell him Langdon’s the one asking for his expertise if he complains too much. Frank? Can I let you explain that to our patient?”
Frank just nods, one hand already on the handle of the door. He takes charge of Kwon with a sharp gesture of the head that tells her to follow him. It can only be useful for her next years. Mortals are bound to encounter more and more creatures as the world gets used to them, now they are no longer afraid of being chased out of Emergency Rooms and doctors’ offices with pitchforks.
Thankfully, ormrs being such mean little beasts means the symptoms tend to appear early enough for them to be dispatched with parasiticides. Which is also the case for this one, Park evaluating his size to approximately 2,73 meters.
Their patient leaves the ED, pale as a sheet, with a prescription of Niclosamide and such a terror of parasites that Frank finds it prudent to also hint at a psychological consultation.
Xxxx
Two days later the Pitt has to deal with its first witchcraft mishap.
A group of teen girls come in, dragging their unconscious friend with them and it takes way too long for Mel and Samira to wrangle the story out of them but when they finally do, Frank rolls his eyes so hard he sees stars.
The kids had been trying to curse their friend’s ex, and ended up cursing her instead. Because which teen ever read the small lines at the bottom of pages? And now they are all out there, insisting that the only thing that can wake their friend up is a kiss from said ex.
Frank and Santos both kiss their teeth at the same time when they’re told the entire story. Something that earns them a weirded out look from Robby and Whitaker, and the vampire would find that funny if he was not insulted these two dares find his and Santos' mannerisms too similar for their taste.
True love kiss his ass!
What that kid needs is a good old dose of endorphins! But since they don't make that in treatment form, they'll just have to settle for a nice, not painful at all, adrenaline shot.
He opens a new tab on his browser and pulls a stool, it's going to take him some time to research the dosage needed. Papers on magical afflictions are still too far and few between. Thankfully, this isn't a life-threatening emergency. That girl is just going to enjoy a long nap until he finds the answer.
Once he has it, he prepares a syringe and offers it to Santos. “Want to do the honors?”
“And be the one to ruin their belief in love? Hell yeah, gimme that.”
Frank lets her deal with the fallout. If there is one person who can make these kids feel better after having their illusions shattered while reading them such a riot act that they will never dare to open a spellbook ever again, it is Trinity Santos.
Xxxx
The same day, a vampire comes to the Emergency Department, specifically asking for him. The resident can understand why, so can everyone else, which is why no one protests when he takes the case on.
He doesn’t say anything when Robby asks him to keep the door open, on the other hand. Or when Jesse passes by the room’s entrance three times in seven minutes. Or when his darling Yoyo steps onto the floor and Emma, of all people, imposes her presence in the room with him. He just apologises to his patient, aware that this is the lingering trauma of the last time vampires stepped foot into the Pitt.
That this is their love for him speaking from all these little attentions.
So Frank focuses on his patient. Taking in his symptoms: an ever present thirst (normal thirst, not blood thirst, and isn’t that surprising enough!) and need to pee; as well as ordering a few blood tests.
The results show high levels of glycaemia and cholesterol, and Frank can’t believe what he is looking at.
Pre-diabetes.
Is this a joke?!
How the hell did this happen?!
His centuries-old vampire patient is in the process of developing diabetes!
What even is his life?!
Robby, who could not resist his own need to watch over him, catches him on the tail end of his conversation with his patient. Just in time to hear him say ‘yes, Sir. I know their blood is sweeter. I know it smells good. But lay off the diabetics please, you're well on your way to develop a new Supernatural health problem all by yourself.’
Unbelievable.
As if society needs diabetic Undeads on top of everything else.
Xxxx
The moment Frank comes to him, balancing onto the soles of his feet, not like a guilty child but more in the way he is when he is trying to hide his discomfort, Robby knows he must listen. What comes out of his resident’s mouth confirms it.
“You remember when you asked me to come to you if I needed something?”
Robby has to wrack his brain for a minute or two. Of course he remembers telling him to come to him! But Frank is clearly referencing something specific and he doesn’t want to miss what that could be. He slowly nods, thinking back to their first conversation after he had discovered the man’s vampiric nature. “I do.”
“Well I need a stronger dose of benzos. Double, I’d say. HR’s going to be on my ass about it if I just go and help myself to an increased dosage.”
Robby blinks, taken aback by the candor of his demand. “Why?” he blurts out, worry coloring his tone. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”
His best resident sweeps his fretting with a waving hand, grimacing slightly. “Nothing big. It’s just… Ooh this is so embarrassing” he mutters before turning earnest eyes towards him. “You can’t repeat what I am going to tell you, it is only going to make it really awkward for a lot of people. You hear me?”
The attending can only agree, forced into silence by the severity of that gaze.
Frank takes a performative breath. “Ok. So, errr… periods!” Oy vey! Where the hell is he going with that kind of opening?! “You know how they synchronize, sometimes? With women who spend a lot of time together? Yeah, well… they’re very synchronized. This month.”
Robby can’t believe what he is hearing. What the hell is his Frank on about?!
Then a lightbulb switches in his brain and the correlation appears to him. Bright as day!
Periods. Blood.
Oh!
Oh! Embarrassing indeed!
The attending springs to his feet, red coloring his cheeks as he stutters slightly. “Y-yes! Yes, sur-re! Let’s do this. A double dose of benzos it is!”
He rushes into an empty room, Frank on his heels and ignoring Dana’s enquiring look. He is not going to explain that one to his head nurse!
Xxxx
The next one is a woman, mortal this time, who comes to them with a particularly nasty bite on her shoulder that looks a week or two old at the least and would have benefited from a surgical intervention before it deteriorates so badly.
Now the thing is oozing pus and so inflamed and tight it will be a miracle if Ortho can manage to close the whole thing up without having to involve Plastic Surgery.
He sends a few samples to Bacteriology and notifies Park. Stopping Javadi just before she suggests putting her on antibiotics and risks negativating any samples taken during her surgery.
It is only when he takes a look at her bacteriology results a few days later, after Park sent him a text telling him to do so, that he understands why the poor woman was so reluctant to explain how she had gotten bitten in the first place. He can't help but snigger a little bit, attracting Shen’s and Jack’s attention.
“What’s the joke Langdon?”
He shows them his results. “My infected bite patient, from last week, fishy as all hell about the how. Bacterio came back positive to Pasteurella multicoda, a Staph aureus and… ding ding ding! Capnocytophaga canimorsus. Last week. Full moon.” He emphasises when he sees they are not following.
Shen breaks out into uncontrollable laughter when he finally catches on, struggling to speak between bouts of cackling. “Holy sh-sh-shiiiiit… haha-a-are you telling me … she … She got frisky with a fully morph-morphed werewolf?!”
Jack bonks his head on the countertop, muttering about the ridiculousness of it all.
Shen reins in his laughter, just to be able to tell him “Dude! You're shagging a vampire!”
Xxxx
“Frank!”
Kevin jumps at him, a toothy smile and freckles a’plenty, forgetting his soccer teammates for an instant.
“Hey buddy! How are you? God, look how you’ve grown! It’s been too long since I last saw you!”
“Are you staying for the match? You’re gonna watch me play?!”
“You bet I am! And so is Tanner.” He adds, showing off his son to the pre-teen. “It’s his first match, he is very excited to see you in action. Do you think you can present him to your friends?”
Kevin beams, very flattered by the importance of the mission the vampire is giving him. He offers his hand to Tanner, who snatches it quickly once he has his father’s approval and proceeds to lead him onto the field, profiting from the 10 minutes or so they still have before the beginning of the match.
When Jack steps on his left, like a bad omen, Frank can’t say he is surprised. He has always known that the veteran would find out, at some point.
“Who’s the kid?”
The vampire gives him a smirk. “Can’t you guess?”
The man looks at him like someone who knows, but doesn’t want to believe. Like he cannot afford to be right. Like he is witnessing both a curse and a miracle.
He turns sideways to face him, asking without truly asking, voice a mere whisper. “Robby’s?”
Frank dips his head. “Robby’s.”
The veteran deflates, suddenly becoming so much smaller. “Gods…” Then “How did you find out? How long have you known? Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“Smells don’t lie, Jack. For a while. I actually met the kid before starting my R1 under Robby. I took care of him during one of my Pediatric rotations. Broken arm, nothing big!” he adds at the abrupt fear appearing in Jack’s eyes. “They didn’t have much. Single mother with a shit job, the ends of month are tights. And I kept my mouth shut because Robby doesn’t want to know. No. Don’t look at me like that, you know I’m right. Maybe, one day, he’ll be in a better disposition and I’ll say something. But not now. Not today. ”
“And you what? You decided to help him because you can? For Robby?”
“Is there any other reason that matters?”
Jack studies him for a long time, silent and intense. Then he blurts, all of a sudden, like the words are ripped from his chest. “I love you.”
Frank remains motionless, understanding without being told that there is more to come. “I don’t know when it started. When it became more. I don’t know what did it. Your wits or your snark or your compassion. The kindness you’ve managed to keep despite the centuries. Despite our work. But I love you! More than I ever thought I could still love. I know this wasn’t part of our agreement, so I’d understand if you want to stop here.”
And he means it. Even if the mere thought of it makes him grimace in restrained pain. Frank smiles, his attention entirely on the veteran now.
“Maybe it is time for you to meet Abby. Like, properly, I mean.” Ignoring Jack’s deer-in-the-headlight expression, he dusts himself quickly, taking the direction of the bleachers. “But for now, why don’t I introduce you to Jannine. Kevin’s mother” he clarifies. “She is a sweet person, I’m sure you will like her. Tanner will find his way back to us.”
Speechless, Jack follows him.
Xxxx
One case comes really close to hit home for Frank, and it isn’t even their patient’s fault.
No. It’s the discussion that follows, where Santos, Javadi and Mel discuss the pros and cons of love potions. The vampire can feel the trigger, the moment someone says love potions sound cool, and how nice it would be if it was that easy to find yourself a boyfriend, wouldn’t it?
He doesn’t hear Mel express her queasiness at the idea. Or Whitaker approaching them to offer the most sensitive take of the bunch. Isn’t it a bit like a date rape drug though?
He doesn’t hear him, but his body does. And reacts. A full body flinch rushing through him, ice flooding his veins. Because yes… Yes, that’s absolutely what it is…
Robby’s hand is suddenly on him, an island of warmth on his skin, fretful eyes searching for his. “You’re ok? What is it? Did you take some benzos?”
Frank wants to say no, to tell him he is fine and not attract their residents’ attention on him. But all he can do is shake his head, the word escaping him. He does, on the other hand, plasters himself to the chief attending, intending to leach all the warmth he can out of the man.
Robby, now used to this kind of behavior from him, doesn’t even question it. He simply closes his arm around Frank’s frame and continues on with his charting, making sure the vampire’s attention is on him, and not on the conversation behind them. He says nothing of the way Frank zones out, not really there for the rest of the late afternoon. He does call Abby to come and get him though.
And that means a lot.
Xxxx
Gradually, Robby opens up to him in a way Frank had long stopped to hope for, offering him a vulnerability he had not expected. The kind that makes him think that, maybe, they’ll breach the subject of Adamson. One day.
Cuddling sessions and hugs become a usual, replacing the attending’s fist bumps and ‘manly man’ type of affection to the point the entire ED learns to just roll with it. No one batting an eye at the two men huddling against one another while they are charting. Sometimes they do it on the roof, as watching the sunset together when they get the chance has become a sort of ritual for them.
That’s how one June evening finds them when Robby asks “Have you ever thought of turning one of us?”
Us is such a vague term. Us could mean anything. But, as it is, Frank knows what he is trying to say. Here, in Robby’s thoughts, Us means the Pitt and its people. And in a way, Us means him.
“Nah” he replies, clear and short, not even needing to think of the answer. It is only when Robby throws him a questioning look that he adds. “Robby, I am not blind. You’re suffering. You’re in pain! And you’re not the only one down there. How could I ever force you into an immortal life when you can already barely stand your mortal one?! I care about you too much to do that.”
The chief attending remains transfixed for far too long at his answer, and if Frank sees the glittering of tears at the corner of his eyes, he says nothing.
Then the man is laying his head back on his shoulder and Frank breathes in his shampoo and sweat. “Thank you.” He doesn’t try to argue against the vampire. Doesn’t try to run away from the truth of his state. And that’s progress if he has ever seen some.
“But what about you? How often have you had to say goodbye to the people you loved? How often was it too quick?”
The vampire closes his eyes. The dull pain of long-lived loss awakening within him, taking in the face of a boy, the voice of a woman, the touch of a lover, the cries of a son, the dying warmth of a daughter. He leans into the living body by his side. “It’s always too quick, Robby. Whether you’ve had 40 years or 4 months. Living in a Coven helps. Even if it is seen as an outdated practice. It means you can always surround yourself with others in the same situation as you. It means support… Community.”
Robby doesn’t say anything, staring into the sunset with him in an empathetic companionship.
Xxxx
By the tenth time they have to deal with a Supernatural problem, Robby has had enough. He signs them all off for extra-curricular training so they can get up to par and stop having to rely on Frank every time a case like this presents itself.
Frank doesn’t tell him he is not the only supernatural creature in his ED. It is not on him, to out those who are not ready.
The chief attending starts looking into seminars on Supernatural Health as well, swearing and spitting that he will set one up himself if he has to but that he refuses to let his staff be so ill-prepared when more and more creatures come to trust mortals’ systems with their care.
At the same time, he begins to push Frank and Yolanda into writing about their experiences, and the experiences of their peers.
Although they are hesitant at first, worried about the ways it could be used against them and their kind as they always are, the two siblings can admit it could help a lot of people. Especially if paired with the articles already existing on creatures’ care and pathologies.
So, after many conversations with their Coven, they throw themselves headfirst into that new challenge, doing their best to put centuries of personal experiences and a few years of scientific research into writing. Combining hands on experience, case studies and the first steps of a more rigorous research process into an exhaustive guide to Supernatural Medicine.
The process takes them more than a year, just to come up with a complete first draft. By that time, Frank has moved to a fellowship, still prowling around the Pitt.