00 AM."
Langdon stood by the ambulance bay.
Hands buried in his pockets.
Back relaxed. Shoulders tense.
Head tilted towards the sky, eyes fluttering close at the sunlight.
Panic brewing within him.
Mel was his emotional support angel, but he hadn't realized how much he depended on her, emotionally, until this case appeared, and she wasn't told to be in it.
Langdon wondered what was all that about.
Was Robby setting yet another test for him?
Did he want to get in between the close bond Langdon and Mel had formed in the four months between the Pitthell shift and his return?
Or maybe.
Just maybe.
Maybe, he wanted Langdon prove himself, without a shadow of a doubt, that he still had what it took to be a good ED doctor.
For some reason, that last possibility was the most daunting of them all.
“You don't have to be here,” Samira suddenly spoke from beside him.
Langdon turned towards her slowly, almost lazily. Of all the face he had reunited with since the start of his shift, Mohan's had been the one he struggled to come to terms with the most.
Physically, Samira was still the same. Relatively tall, dark locks tied up into a messy bun at the back of her head, a few tendrils framing her face delicately.
Samira had always been the kind of brilliant person who would see straight through him, right away, but was too kind to say anything about what she found.
And Langdon, even considering his seniority and his confidence in the ED, had always been impressed by her, almost intimidated.
If Slo-Mo had lacked confidence in her skills while at work, she more than made up for it in her bed-side manners, and in the outside world. Mohan was confidence in the sense that she knew exactly why she chose that specialty, she knew she was a good advocate for her patients, and she knew that she would get to do everything she set her mind on.
And now, it was as if something in her posture was different. Her posture was taller, her shoulders were broader and her gaze was calmer as if she knew that, whatever came their way, they'd seen worse and therefore, there was nothing to fear.
Frank was frankly terrified of her.
Slightly behind them, Whittaker nervously shifted in his place, his gaze turned back towards the Pitt behind them.
Whittaker, whose anxiety radiated from him in levels not even Langdon's had accomplished as of yet. Whittaker, who had killed a rat in front of the entire staff. Whittaker, who had put an IO on a conscious and responsive patient. Whittaker, who had joined their street team on his first day of work.
Langdon lowered his head towards the floor, shaking it slowly as he smiled softly.
If he couldn't have Mel with him, Mohan and Whittaker were probably a close second.
Fucking Robby.
After a moment, Langdon raised his head again, his gaze now fixed in the ambulance entrance.
“I do. I have to be here,” Langdon replied, his voice hardened, almost as if he was mentally preparing himself for war.
In the distance, the ambulance sirens were growing stronger.
oOo
“Harry James, 22 years old,” the paramedic called as he rushed around the ambulance. “Benzos OD, found in bed by roommate.”
“GCS of 8, eyes barely opening, pupils equal and reactive he's incoherent and slurred of speech, responds to pain.” a second paramedic called as she climbed down the ambulance, carefully pushing down the gurney with her. “We gave one dose of flumazenil on the field, barely responded.”
“Another dose of flumazenil and let's get ready to intubate just in case,” Mohan ordered as she grabbed one side of the gurney, Whittaker clinging to the other. “D! Which trauma room is open?”
“Trauma 1 is waiting for y'all!” Donahue replied as he and Perlah rushed outside to meet the gurney.
Langdon watched them rush into the ED for a second, trying to ignore his hammering heart to the best of his abilities. When that wish proved to be unlikely, Langdon turned towards the paramedics. “Do we know how this happened?”
They shook his head, one of them staying with him while the other rushed back towards the ambulance. “Roomate says he got in too late last night, figured he had already got into bed. He found and empty bottle of pills under his bed.”
Langdon nodded, unable to say a word as bile rised up his throat. As best as he could, Langdon patted the paramedics’ arm before he too got into the ED.
And yet, he couldn't walk two steps without almost colliding into Dana, who was dealing with a young woman almost in hysterics.
“Dr. Langdon,” Dana called in her measured tone, the one she used when she was done accepting any sort of nonsense. “This Elizabeth, Harry James’ sister.”
“Finn, his roommate, he called me right after calling the paramedics,” Elizabeth explained in a tirade, her voice pitched with barely contained panic. “I work only a block away from here - is he okay? I need to see him, is my brother okay!?”
“Ms. James, as we speak, we are doing everything we can to help your brother.” Langdon took a deep breath, ordering himself to settle his nerves. “Dana here is our charge nurse, she will get you settled in one of our best rooms and I'll come find you as soon as I have an update, alright?”
“Finn told me he found a bottle of pills under his bed!? What the fuck happened!?”
Dana placed a reassuring hand on her forearm. “Dear, I know this must be extremely hard for you but we need to let Dr. Langdon work with the rest of his team. Let's go get a cup of tea and wait on a update of your brother, alright? Right this way, dear.“
“I saw him yesterday and he seemed alright! I don't get it, how the fuck did this even happen!?”
Langdon couldn't stop. He turned his back on the retreating pair, rushing into Trauma 1 and closing the curtain so Elizabeth wouldn't see her brother like this.
But, as he worked, all he could think of were of her words.
How the fuck did this even happen!?
Frank wondered the same thing.
Every. Single. Fucking. Day.
oOo
“Hey, Kate.”
Kate looked up from her notes on Gen's case, her brows slightly furrowed as she tried to keep in mind everything she wanted to add regarding the psych consult she had just witnessed, even as she smiled at the woman beside her. “Dr. Santos, how are you?”
“Trinity, please.” Santos shrugged humbly. “The Doctor title is sometimes too serious for me.”
Kate left her ipad on the nurses station, crossing her arms with interest. “You are a doctor, though.”
Santos tried in vain to ignore the slight blush expanding across her neck. “Sure, but it's different when my colleagues call me so. Or the fellow members of the Orphans Club.”
“You have a point there,” Kate lowered her head towards the floor, successfully hiding a smile. “Trinity it is, then. It's a beautiful name.”
“Thank you,” Santos stuttered before clearing her throat. Her blush was rapidly expanding to her cheeks. “I'm not really sure why my mother chose that name.”
“Maybe there's a secret story there?”
Santos shook her dismissively as her eyes widened slightly. The last thing she'd wanted to do was to talk about her mother but well, there she was.
What the fuck was her life at this point.
“She probably wanted to brag to her friends that she'd come up with the most original name.”
“That seems plausible,” Kate giggled.
“How about you?” Santos blurted, shaking her head slightly when Kate raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Is Kate a nickname?”
“Actually no. My parents named me Kate after a great aunt, I believe.”
Santos cocked her head in interest. “Did she deserve such an honour?”
Kate smirked despite herself. “She was a raging homophobe so, no.”
“Ugh,” Santos crinkled her nose in distaste. “We're going to have to find another story for you, then.”
“I already have. I tell people I'm named after Kate Sheppard, one of the leading figures of the suffragist movement in New Zealand and one of the most important voice when it came to granting women the right to vote.”
“Oh,” Santos paused. Her gaze was absolutely awed as she studied the woman beside her. “I hope your parents hated it.”
Santos almost slapped her hand over her mouth, her blush deepening in hue, but Kate merely giggled loudly.
“Hopefully, a summersault or two have happened in those graves,” Kate admitted snarkily, raising her chin slightly as she turned her body fully towards the woman beside her. “You know, I almost never meet someone who can keep up with my dark sense of humour.”
Santos smiled in pleasure at that. “Me neither, to be honest.”
Kate regarded her silently, making Santos gulp as her hazel eyes studied every feature of her face. As Santos felt herself growing hot, she realized it’d been a while since she felt…admired, even cherished.
And all of that, only through a look.
Santos was fucked.
“Well, hopefully we'll get to talk about our dark senses of humour later,” Kate finally mused as she turned back towards her tablet. “The Orphan Club does drink, then?”
“Absolutely,” Santos replied confidently, her lips curving into her trademark smirk. “I mean, unless you usually drink with boys?”
Not a moment had passed since she said those words that Santos froze, her breath catching in her throat as she rapidly dawned into the horror of what had just happened.
Oh.
My.
God.
That was it.
She was ending that shift only because she had a little bit of pride still, as bruised and poorly taken care of as if had been.
But come 7pm, she was going to find Robby, quit, and move to fucking Madagascar or something equally as remote.
“Were you-” Kate started with pure delight in her voice.
“No, I wasn't!” Santos almost squeaked, mentally slapping herself.
Jesus Fucking Christ.
This was worse than the whole Javadi and Mateo situation.
“You were fishing,” Kate continued as if Santos hadn't spoken. Her eyes glimmered as if made with stars. If Santos hadn't been so mortified, she would have honestly felt them speaking to her soul. “You were fishing for information.”
After hesitating, Santos squared her shoulders, looking at Kate right in the eye. If she was going down, she might as well go down swinging, right?
“What if I was?”
Santos watched in fascination as Kate slowly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks at last warming up with enchanting red.
“Then, I would tell you I like drinking with everyone,” Kate replied, her voice lowering to something rougher, more heated. Santos gulped. “These days, though, I prefer to drink with pretty girls with interesting names.”
“Kate!”
Kate straightened instantly, nodding at Kiara by the other side of the ED before turning once again towards Santos. Leaning forward slightly, she pulled a secretive smirk, her eyes twirling with amusement.
“See you later, Trinity.”
Kate didn't look back.
Not once.
Santos should know. She watched her go every step of the way.
“Fuck me,” Santos breathed after a moment, her voice slightly winded. If she hadn't been in the middle of the floor, she would have desperately fan at her face.
Unbeknownst to them, Dana and Princess watched the entire exchange from the other side of the nurses station, her jaws slightly slack from the shock of that exchange.
“I'm so jealous,” Princess grumbled. “I never get to connect with someone that fast.”
Dana snorted under her breath. “I don't think either of them expected it either.”
“You think they will last longer than Santos and García?”
Dana shrugged. “How is it that my daughter says? Game recognizes game?”
Princess shook her head “Fucking hell. This is so unfair.”
oOo
As it turned out, Gen wasn't the perfect patient.
Of course, she was absolutely darling and very easy to communicate with. But, she was alone. And because of that, she was bored. Especially when it came to ordering her treatment, like the sessions of nebulizer.
And so, Mel found herself sitting by her patient's bed, to make sure she wouldn't remove the mask during the 15 minute session she had ordered to begin with.
“Okay, question 16. What's your Hogwarts House?”
Mel cocked her head thoughtfully. “My sister says I'm a Hufflepuff but I think I'm too creative to be anything but a Ravenclaw. Same question for you.”
“Slytherin. For sure. Also, the colours are so edgy and cool,” Gen replied before frowning. “That was a stupid question. I know what… it doesn't feel like a safe space, not anymore.”
Mel shrugged earnestly. “I don't think you lose that. You can feel some type of way about the person that said all those things, and a different type of way about the world she created. If it has value for you, it's okay.”
Gen smiled sadly. “It feels kind of tainted, though.”
“I get it,” Mel paused, considering her next words, making extra sure they were acceptsble and not harming in any way. “My sister told me she spread misinformation towards the asexual community now.”
Gen blinked. “Isn't Charlie Weasley aro/ace?”
“That’s the headcannon, yes.”
“When I was a little girl, things… they weren't fine. At home, I mean. I was scared, all the time. Scared that I would say a wrong word or misbehave or mess up and-,” Gen's voice caught and she immediately cloaed her eyes firmly before taking a deep breath. “My grandma bought me the first book a few months before she died. I instantly loved it but, most of all, I think I loved how easily I could slip away when things got scary.”
Mel smiled with understanding. “I did the same thing with the Narnia saga.”
“Which was your favourite sibling?”
“Susan.” Mel nodded instantly. “I didn't like that she didn't fight much, though.”
“You and me both,” Gen chuckled. “God, I loved those movies. I remember I would always get scared at the first scene of the first Narnia movie? You know, the one with the planes and the bombs? I hated it, but I still forced myself to watch it, as if willing myself to stop being afraid.”
Mel stiffened as she recalled that scene. They skupped it everytime they watched the movie. “I get it.”
Gen lowered her head, her breaths as deep as she could manage as she endured the nebulizer. She twiddled with the blanket covering her. “This nebulizer is making me nauseous.”
“It happens,” Mel replied reassuringly. “It is kind of disgusting, if I do say so myself.”
Even covered by the mask, Mel could see the smile lighting up Gen's face. “Are you supposed to say that?”
Mel frowned mockingly at her. “Are you planning on going against doctor's orders?”
Gen chuckled sadly, her head lowered. “Not anymore. I promise.”
Mel watched her patient from her seat, her hands neatly folded on her lap, her braid falling down her back and her glasses sitting snugly on the bridge of her nose.
When Gen didn't look up, Mel sighed. “Gen… do you think it would help to talk about it?”
Gen rose and lowered her shoulders with a depe sigh. “Talking doesn't change anything, does it?”
“No, but it helps us process events that have happened. I find myself talking a lot to myself when I have an specially hard case, or if I need to organize my head a little bit.”
Gen smiled despite herself. “That’s really cool.”
“Thank you,” Mel responded primly before tilting her head in understanding. “I hope you don't mind that Dr. Langdon shared your conversation with me.”
“You are my doctor too.” Gen lowered her gaze, her cheeks burning. “I didn't even think of it until you mentioned infection as one of the causes.”
“I imagine, not many people know infection can lead to pneumonia,” Mel replied gently. “I wanted to tell you that the results came up, and you do have Pneumococcus, which is a type of pneumonia caused by a bacteria called streptococcus.”
Gen didn't look up. “I didn't think it would be this bad. I had that little cut between my toes and it itched so I scratched it and I wouldn't let it heal… I'm so sorry.”
Mel frowned. “Gen, you didn't want to get sick.”
Gen's bottom lip quivered. “But I didn't take care of myself.”
“I think you were overwhelmed. You had every reason to be, from what I can see. Gen, no one has everything figured out or gives everything of themselves every day.” When Gen didn't look up, Mel leaned forward in her seat. “What happened… I don't it matters much, to be honest. I can't imagine how hard it had to be, telling us this. But you did, you told us and now we have a set treatment plan and you're firmly on the road to recovery. You did that, Gen. You should be very proud.”
Gen sniffed, looking at Mel with a slight smile. “You are all very supportive.”
Mel smiled in return. “I think we all like you very much, Gen.”
“...Can we continue playing 20 questions then?”
“...Fine, but if my attending comes in the room we better come up with an excuse.”
“A Ravenclaw and a Slytherin? That doesn't seem so hard for us, Dr. King.”
“Dr. King?”
Mel stood from her chair with a bang, breathing deeply in relief when she realized it was Dr. Mohan, and not Dr. Robby, the one standing by the doorway.
“Dr.Mohan, what can I do for you?” Mel smiled cheerfully.
Samira didn't return her smile. “Could you come for a second? Dr.Langdon needs your assistance.”
Mel's smile bled from her face, her hands clammy, her heartbeat rapidly increasing.
No.
Fuck.
Please, no.
oOo
“Frank?”
When he didn't reply, Mel entered the lounge room slowly, frowning when she didn't immediately notice him.
“Frank? It's me. Mel.”
At that, she heard a sniff. Mel's head whirled to her right, not having the chance - not in a million years - of withholding the relieves breath she exhaled as she felt her soul coming back to her body.
“Hey,” Mel knelt carefully, making sure to leave more than enough space between them. “Samira told me you needed me? What can I do?”
Frank looked up slightly at that, the only thing Mel could see now being his red rimmed eyes.
“I didn't ask for you.”
“Oh,” Mel blinked. “I'm glad they called me anyways.”
When Frank only covered his face again, his shoulders trembling with barely withheld sobs, Mel slowly drag herself to sit beside him, her back also to the wall, five inches of space between them.
“We don't have to talk,” Mel offered after a moment. “But I'm going to sit here with you, if that's okay. When I'm upset… I like knowing there's someone with me, waiting for me, for as long as it takes. So I'm here. Waiting for you. For as long as it takes.”
Easily five minutes passed, the only thing shared between Frank and Mel being air, silence, and the peace they felt with each other.
Five minutes in which Frank sobbed with varying intensity.
Five minutes in which Mel hummed to herself as she waited for him.
At last, Frank spoke from the safe haven that were his arms. “I treated an OD case.”
“I know.”
“My first case since I got back.”
“I know,” Mel repeated. “And… I honestly think this would have been really fucking hard no matter when it happened.”
Frank chortled. “I still can't get used to you cursing.”
“You will,” Mel replied easily, smiling when Frank chuckled again. Slowly, she left her hand between them. “What can I do, Frank?”
Frank raised his head slowly, his eyes slightly dazed as he tried to focus on Mel. “What?”
“What can I do? How can I help?”
Frank swallowed down a sob. “I don't know.”
“Okay.”
“Just…be here. Okay?”
“You already knew I'm not going anywhere.”
Frank choked slightly. “Mel, we saved him. We saved the kid.”
Mel smiled slightly at that. “I know. I'm so happy for you and him and his sister.”
For the first time, Mel watched as two tears rolled down Frank's cheeks only to be immediately wiped by him.
She wanted to tell him he was heartbreakingly beautiful when he cried. That she wasn't scared of him or his baggage. That, if she had to, she would hold his hand forever.
But.
Well.
Some things were not meant to said out loud.
One day. Hopefully.
“I was almost him,” Frank whispered, so suddenly that Mel almost missed it.
At that, she turned her whole body towards him, her extended hand growing taut with distress. “Yes. But you weren't. You saved him. And you're saving yourself. Step by step, day by day, you are saving yourself, Frank. I'm proud of you.”
Frank sobbed. “I was so close.”
Not being able to hold on any longer, Mel reached forward, sighing in relief when Frank sank into her arms, his tears wetting the front of her scrubs. “And you took yourself off the edge.”
“I- How the fuck did that even happen? How the fuck did I get to that place.”
“Frank. You took yourself off the edge. Nothing else fucking matters, Frank. Nothing else.”
Frank buried his face in her chest as his back shook with sobs. “Don't leave. Please don't leave.”
Mel closed her eyes as she rested her cheeks on Frank's head. Her own tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.
“You should learn to listen better, Frank Langdon. I already told you. I'm not leaving you.”