Chapter Text
It had been two weeks since Langdon came back from rehab.
Two weeks since Becca told Langdon, “Mel says a lot of nice things about you.”
He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Two weeks since Becca told Mel, “I think Dr. Langdon is the best doctor I’ve ever had. I think he’s definitely the boy you should kiss.”
She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that either.
Despite the uncertainty, they had been glued to each other’s sides, pulling each other onto cases whenever they could.
They worked well together, moving in a quiet rhythm, anticipating each other’s movements before words were needed. Mel would reach for things before he asked. Langdon would adjust the plan before she even voiced the concern.
That night, Mel’s shift had been going great.
Until it wasn’t.
She ended her night working in chairs to cool down before heading home, something she did whenever she could. It helped her decompress and made it easier to fall asleep when she finally crawled into bed at home.
Unfortunately, her last triage case of the night was a very agitated, very opinionated patient with a loud mouth and zero filter.
“Josh Wilkins?” Mel said as she stepped into the waiting room.
“Finally! Jesus Christ, this is an absolute shit show! Nobody should have to wait this long to see someone! I could’ve died out here!” he shouted as he followed her toward the triage doors.
Mr. Wilkins had arrived two hours earlier complaining of mild abdominal pain and acid reflux after eating a particularly spicy meal. A two-hour wait was actually pretty quick for the ED, and there wasn’t much concern. All he needed was some Mylanta and discharge papers.
That did not stop him from spewing more hateful words at her.
“That’s it? You’re telling me I sat in that waiting room for two hours for something I could’ve bought at a gas station?” he barked.
“Mr. Wilkins, I understand the wait was frustrating. We see patients based on severity and—”
“Oh, that is such bullshit! My stomach has been on fire all night and you people had me sitting here like it’s nothing! How do you even know that’s all I need? Don’t I need some kind of test?” he interrupted. “Are you like a nurse or something? I want a real doctor!”
Langdon could hear the commotion from across the ED.
Judging by the way several nurses glanced toward triage, so could everyone else.
Where the hell is Ahmed? he thought.
He brushed past Dana, who was already heading over, and locked eyes with Mel.
She was holding her ground, doing her best to de-escalate, but he could see it in her posture. The way her shoulders tightened. The way her hands folded together in front of her to keep them from shaking.
The patient did not care what she had to say.
All he wanted was someone to yell at.
Langdon was not going to let that be her.
“Dammit,” he muttered.
He stepped forward, his voice cutting cleanly through the chaos.
“Excuse me,” he said, calm but firm. “I understand you're frustrated, but directing it at Dr. King or anyone else is not acceptable. We’re here to help you, and we expect common decency in return. If you can’t do that, I’m going to have to call security and have you removed.”
The patient faltered.
It was not loud authority that stopped him. It was the quiet certainty behind Langdon’s voice.
Mel exhaled slowly beside him.
“Whatever.” Mr. Wilkins spat. “Can I get my shit and leave?”
“Take this,” Mel said evenly, setting the cup of Mylanta on the table. “Someone will come back in fifteen minutes to check on you. If you’re feeling better, we’ll get you discharged.”
Then she turned toward Langdon.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. You okay?” he asked, following her like he had done many times before.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, tossing her gloves in the trash. “It’s just irritating. There’s no reason to yell. We’re all just trying to do our jobs.”
She forced a small smile.
“Thanks again.”
Then she disappeared down the hallway toward the bathrooms.
Fifteen minutes later, Mr. Wilkins was feeling good as new and was discharged with instructions to avoid spicy foods for a few weeks.
Mel grabbed her things from the locker room and clocked out at 7 pm.
Instead of walking along the street, she cut through the park on the way to her apartment.
She only did that when she needed to clear her head.
It was quiet. Just the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of traffic. After a twelve-hour shift surrounded by alarms, shouting, and fluorescent lights, the silence and darkness felt almost luxurious.
Her stomach rumbled.
She realized she had not eaten in almost eight hours.
The last thing she had eaten was a protein bar she stole from Whitaker’s stash in the break room.
Not exactly filling.
She would have to heat something up when she got home.
Suddenly she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a man yelling her name.
“Mel! Hey, Mel, wait up!”
She turned around and saw him jogging toward her, in black scrubs.
“Dr. Langdon?” she said, squinting slightly in the dim light. “Hey… what’s up?”
“You can just call me Langdon.” He smiled. “We’re not at work anymore. It’s too formal.”
He pushed a few loose strands of hair off his forehead.
Mel studied him for a second, trying to figure out what seemed different.
Then she noticed.
His ring was gone.
“Oh no, your ring!” she gasped, immediately pulling out her phone and shining the flashlight on the grass.
“Oh.” He laughed softly, glancing at his hand. “I only wear it at work.”
Oh.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a small knot she had been ignoring for two weeks loosened slightly.
“One less thing I have to explain,” he said quietly. “I’m getting pretty sick of explaining myself.”
He glanced down for a moment before looking back up.
“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “Have you ever eaten anywhere around the hospital? I noticed you only ate a protein bar your whole shift, and I thought maybe you’d want to grab something at the Modern Cafe.”
He pointed his thumb behind him.
“It’s only about a mile that way if you’re up for the walk. Sorry, I know it’s short notice. I just saw you walking and I—”
“I’d love to.”
She stopped him before the explanation spiraled any further.
His shoulders relaxed instantly.
So they walked.
And they talked.
This was the first time they had spent time together outside of work.
Langdon did most of the talking. Mel did not mind.
She was just happy to be in the company of someone other than Becca and Tom Nook.
To be clear, she loved Becca more than anything in the world.
Tom Nook was another story.
Still, it was nice talking to someone who truly understood her world. Someone who understood both the medicine and the chaos that came with it.
They mostly talked about work. Difficult cases. Frustrating patients. What it was like working for Dr. Al compared to Dr. Robby.
Then Langdon knowingly asked the perfect question.
“Have you read anything interesting lately? I remember you mentioning you like to keep up with current studies.”
“You know it,” she said, brightening immediately. “I’ve been reading this study in JAMA about physician burnout. They tracked emergency doctors across three hospitals for six months. Night shifts combined with high patient volume increased error rates by almost fifteen percent.”
Langdon raised his eyebrows.
“Fifteen percent? That’s… a lot.”
“And there was another one in Annals of Emergency Medicine about triage efficiency,” she continued. “They tested a rapid assessment protocol and cut waiting times by almost twenty minutes during peak hours.”
Langdon slowed slightly beside her.
“I should probably start reading some of this stuff,” he said. “You actually sound like you know what’s going on. Half the time I feel like I’m just trying to keep up.”
Mel laughed softly.
“I can send you some if you'd like?”
He smiled.
“I might have to take you up on that.”
They reached the corner and stopped at the crosswalk.
Langdon spread his arms dramatically toward the neon sign across the street.
“There she is,” he said. “In all her glory. The best comfort food after the worst nights of your life.”
The warm glow of the diner lights spilled onto the sidewalk.
“Ooo, it looks so cozy,” Mel said.
“It is,” he replied. “Best Reubens in Pittsburgh.”
He held the door open for her.
“Hmm. Not a big sauerkraut fan,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Too sour.”
She slid into a small corner table.
“Oh, they have other stuff too,” he said quickly. “If you can’t find anything we can go somewhere else—”
“I’m sure there’s something,” she said, scanning the menu. Her face lit up. “Ooo. How’s the grilled cheese? I love grilled cheese.”
He smiled.
“That’s actually my go-to.”
Just then a waitress approached.
“Frankie! Haven’t seen you in a while. Who’s this pretty lady?” she asked with a wink.
“Hi Diana.” he said. “Yeah, I’ve been away for a bit. This is Mel. We work together. I wanted to treat her to some classic Pittsburgh comfort food.”
“Well, you brought her to the right place, honey. The usual, Frank?”
“Yes ma’am. Extra fries and a coffee please.”
“And for you, Miss Mel?”
“I’ll have the same.” she said, glancing at Langdon with a smile.
Diana took their menus and headed to the kitchen.
“Frankie, huh?” Mel asked with a huge grin.
“Keep that one to yourself,” he said with a laugh, pointing a finger at her.
Mel raised her hands in surrender. “Hey, you’re the one who brought me here,” she said with a grin. “I feel like that makes me part of the Frankie club now.”
Langdon dropped his forehead briefly onto the table before looking back up.
“I used to come here after every shift before heading home,” he said. “Diana’s family owns the place, so she’s always here. I’ve probably vented to her more times than I can count.”
Mel smiled.
“So she’s basically your therapist.”
“She was,” he said with a small smile. “I’ve got a real one now.”
He took a sip of his coffee before glancing back at her.
“Anyway, enough about me. How did you end up in emergency medicine?”
Mel hesitated.
“I always knew I wanted to go into medicine,” she said slowly. “Before my mom died, she went to the ER several times. They kept saying it was stress, dehydration, diet stuff. By the time someone finally ran tests, it was already really advanced.”
She folded her hands together.
“It was a pheochromocytoma.”
Langdon felt his chest tighten.
“Mel,” he said gently. “I’m so sorry.”
“She was given six months,” Mel said quietly.
She swallowed.
“We got three.”
A tear slipped down her cheek before she wiped it away quickly.
“I just… don’t ever want another family to go through what Becca and I did.”
At that moment, the waitress set their food down.
“Mmm, this looks amazing. Thank you!” Mel said, grateful for the distraction.
Langdon nodded toward the sandwich.
“Alright,” he said. “Moment of truth.”
She laughed.
“Don’t put pressure on it.”
“Too late. This place lives or dies by your grilled cheese review.”
Mel pressed her lips together dramatically and picked up the sandwich.
The bread was toasted perfectly. Crisp but not too hard, soft without being soggy from trapped steam. Cut in triangles, the superior shape. And all the cheese was neatly inside the sandwich, so there were no chewy bits hanging off the edges.
“Moment of truth,” she declared before taking a bite.
Cheese stretched as she pulled away.
Langdon leaned forward slightly.
“So?”
She chewed, then smiled.
“You’re right,” she said. “This is actually really good. One of the best grilled cheeses I’ve had in years.”
“I told you!” he said triumphantly.
He tried to focus on his food.
But truthfully, he was already hoping this would become a routine.
A place for them to decompress.
A place to talk.
A place where the two of them could just exist for a while without alarms or chaos.
They spent the rest of the night talking and laughing with each other. By the time they were done eating it was already 9 PM.
Langdon looked down at his phone.
“Oh shit, it’s late!” he exclaimed, pulling a fifty out of his wallet and placing it on the table.
“Have a good night, Diana!” he yelled behind them as they made their way out the door.
“You kids be safe!” she yelled back.
Langdon walked Mel home. They were quiet, but it was comfortable.
“Well, this is me!” she said beside him.
“I love the plants outside.”
“Those are Becca's! I can keep a coding patient alive, but apparently not a fern.”
Langdon grinned. “Well, if the fern ever codes, you know who to call.”
Mel laughed, the sound bright against the quiet of the street.
Frank felt a small tug in his chest and looked up at her without thinking. The streetlight above the sidewalk caught in her hair and softened the edges of her face, and for a moment he found himself noticing how pretty she looked.
He quickly looked back at the porch, pretending to examine the fern.
“Thank you for tonight. It was really nice,” Mel said, cutting through the silence.
“It was.”
“Have a good night. See you tomorrow?” she asked.
“7 am sharp,” he answered, snapping his fingers and pointing at her like some loser in a rom-com.
She giggled and walked into her apartment.
Langdon watched her walk inside before turning around.
“What the fuck was that?” he whispered to himself, walking towards the hospital to get his car.
Why did she make him feel like he had absolutely no idea how to act?
He still did not fully understand what made him feel the way he did.
But something was there.
And it was getting stronger.