pregnant mel catches a stray elbow while on shift, how does frank react?
Langdon heard the code over the speakers the way he heard almost everything when he was in a trauma - distant, filtered through eight other layers of information, pushed to the side until the immediate emergency was resolved. His MVA victim was a fourteen-year-old girl with bleeding in her belly and no pulse in her left foot and she was screaming for her mother so no one in the room was paying much attention to anything else, really. It was only after she was partially sedated with less disastrous vitals that he processed the fact that there were cops out in the hallways herding patients away from the south side and that Dana was on the phone at central with a look on her face he hadn't seen in months.
"Langdon, East Five," she barked, before he even got all his PPE off.
"What's happening," he managed, before Perlah popped up at his elbow and grabbed his arm so tightly he almost jumped.
"I got it, Dana," she barked, pulling him off towards the east corridor. Dana opened her mouth like she was about to say something but a loud shout from chairs drew her attention and she whipped around, nearly pulling the phone off the counter as she strained to look.
"What's happening," he repeated, trusting Perlah enough to follow while he talked instead of demanding full details first like he would from someone greener. "I heard the gray code."
"Fifty-two year old male, deep laceration to his right arm," Perlah said tersely, grabbing new gloves off a wall and shoving them into his hands as she herded him through the chaos. "He didn't present with any signs of intoxication until he got into the room. He got pissed off and lost it."
"Who?" Langdon said, his pulse racketing up a notch.
"Emma's in here," Perlah said tersely, pulling him to a stop at East Four. Langdon frowned and then his head went quiet and tunneled again when he saw Emma Nolan crying on a trauma bed, holding Kim's hand as Carrie gently swabbed blood away from her eye. "He pushed her into the wall and she hit her eye against the edge of a sharps box. We're worried she might have punctured it." She squeezed his arm and then added in an undertone, "I need you to examine her, Dana wanted to send Santos and we both know why that's a bad idea."
"Shit. Okay," Langdon said, pushing inside with one shoulder. At his entrance, both Carrie and Kim looked up with identical, bullish looks on their faces, but seeing that it was him turned back to Emma without a word. "Aw, kid. Rough morning, huh?"
"Hey, Dr. Langdon," Emma said, shaky and tearful but relatively calm, considering, and Langdon resisted the urge to say something cheesy and condescending like atta girl before sitting down and getting to work.
Thankfully the source of the blood was a laceration just below the eye - small mercies - but he was worried about orbital fracture and she couldn't see out of it, could barely even keep her eyelid open for more than a second in fact, which was concerning. Langdon did his best to cheer her up and make her more comfortable - as much as one could after you were just violently attacked at work, anyway - and by the time he got her labs ordered and verbally threatened two different imaging technicians to get her moved up the CT list, she was at least laughing a little, which was a good sign.
"He just sort of flipped out, out of nowhere," Emma said, once she was calm enough to start explaining. Carrie had been called out of the room but Kim had planted herself on the bed with her arm around Emma's shoulder with a look on her face like she might physically attack anyone who asked her to leave, which was another reason why Langdon always trusted nurses way more than attendings. "We were doing an H and P and asking about what medications he was taking and he got very belligerent. Then Dr. King told him he needed to calm down so we could help him and he just lost it."
Langdon went still for a moment, freezing over the sterile waste bin for a second before taking a breath and disposing of the bloody gauze. When he turned back around Kim was biting her lip and watching him.
"Dr. King was in the room too?" he asked. Calm, he thought. Don't say anything. Don't react.
Emma shot him a stricken, one-eyed look. "Is she okay? I couldn't see what happened, they took me out of the room so quick, but - oh my God, I heard her yelling, and it was so scary - "
"She's fine, she just got a little banged up, like you," Kim said soothingly, with her gaze locked on Langdon.
East five, Langdon thought, and took a long, deep, box breath. Then he sat back down on the stool and reached up again for Emma's face, gently replacing the bandage with fresh gauze.
"You're made of tough stuff, the two of you," he said lightly, his heart twisting a little at the weak smile Emma attempted. She reminded him of his baby cousin, which was maybe why he was a little overprotective of the kid, which the other nurses had clearly noticed. "I'd put my money on Mel over a drunk angry guy any day."
Emma laughed, which was the point, but it sounded a little skeptical. Probably because not only was it not that funny, Langdon thought, but also the most obvious lie he'd told a patient all week.
-
It was nearly an hour before he managed to track down Perlah again, who was having a tense-looking conversation with al-Hashimi by the ambo bay and clutching a tablet at her side so tightly her knuckles were white. Not wanting to risk the wrath of the one attending who even mildly liked him (and even that depended on the day) he went around the desk the long way and caught her eye, raising his eyebrows at her until she nodded and gestured at him with the tablet.
"Thanks," he said, when Perlah extracted herself, meeting him at the cross-junction of the corridors, out of sight of al-Hashimi. "Thank you for that."
"Mel told me you guys were keeping it quiet," Perlah said in an undertone, matching his pace as they speed-walked towards the elevators. She handed him the tablet silently. "Black eye and a bloody lip but no signs of concussion. I pulled Ellis and Toomarian to take care of her."
Another bit of tension leaked out of his shoulders. Langdon concentrated on the chart, speed-reading the summary and trying not to react too violently to patient (medical resident) was assaulted by an aggressive, intoxicated male, pushed physically into the wall and then kicked once on the right side of her - "Jesus fuck, he kicked her?"
Perlah grabbed his arm. "She said it barely made contact, but that's why Ellis wants her to stay for observation."
Langdon shoved the tablet back into her hands, taking another long box breath. "Jesus. Jesus, Perlah." His voice cracked.
"What?" She slowed, by the observation window into Central Six, and tugged on his arm to make him look. "What is it?"
Langdon covered his face with his hands for a moment. He found, suddenly, that it was nearly impossible to speak. His throat just wouldn't open.
"Oh my God," Perlah said, much quieter. "She's - is she - ?"
He nodded.
"How far along?" she hissed, pulling up the tablet and tapping rapidly.
"Ten and a half weeks," Langdon said, so quietly Perlah had to lean in to hear. "The timing is bad, with the divorce, she wanted to... I don't know. We just found out like six days ago."
Perlah muttered a prayer under her breath and started walking again, nudging him hard with one elbow to follow. "Okay. She didn't say anything."
"No, she wouldn't," he said, a touch bitterly. "Probably didn't even occur to her."
"Someone should've asked, damn it, but everything was so - you know," Perlah said, frustrated. She twirled around and hit the door with her back, wrenching the door to the back stairs open, their trusty secret passage between the two sides of the ED without having to walk past Central. "Okay. I had to tell Ellis about the two of you, but Toomarian is probably clueless. I'll find an excuse to get her out of the way and I'll tell Dana that you're sitting with Mel."
"What'd you tell her anyway, about putting me on Emma?" Langdon asked hoarsely. His hands were starting to shake and he folded his arms tightly, pressing them beneath his armpits.
"That Mel wanted you to be her friend, not her doctor. But she's Dana, you know. You guys are probably gonna have to have that conversation sooner rather than later."
Langdon laughed without humor. Yeah, probably.
-
It was overly cautious of Perlah to intervene to keep him off Mel's case, but Langdon had to be overly cautious about pretty much everything, these days. Most doctors never thought twice about writing scripts for friends and relatives, starting charts for themselves to save a colleague the trouble, signing their name for friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, all of the above. Not Langdon. Not anymore, anyway. (Just another way he was now an extra time-sucking pain in the ass to everyone he worked with. Fun.)
"I didn't want you to get in trouble," Mel said tearfully, holding his palm to her heart, her bruised, beautiful face pressed gently against his shoulder. Langdon had his other elbow propped against the head of her bed, breathing box breaths against her hair and trying very, very hard not to either cry or yell or do some ghostly third option that was probably worse. "You know, later, when it comes out - "
"I know, baby, thank you," he murmured. To be honest he was relieved too. He didn't want to be her doctor anymore than HR probably wanted him to. "You did the right thing, it's okay."
Ellis shot them a sympathetic look from her computer, typing rapidly, ordering all the routine tests for a pregnant patient with potential trauma to the abdomen, plus an extra half-dozen for good measure, probably. She'd taken the news relatively coolly, though Langdon hadn't expected anything else from her. She'd keep a poker face, serene and professional, throughout the entire thing and then a week later he'd get a text at 3am that said, so about this Mel thing. Brother, you better tell me everything, and so help me God if you leave anything out I'll cook your balls and serve em a la mode to your mother. Cuz I have her number now, motherfucker!!!!
"It just happened so fast," Mel said, sniffling. She leaned back a little for air and Langdon cupped the back of her head, pulling back to look again at the bruising on her face. He felt like his esophagus was eating itself, tracking the darkening purple ring around her eye.
"You're sure you have no pain in your abdomen?" he asked for the third time, and obediently, she nodded. "Okay. Okay. Yeah, honey, it sounded terrifying."
"I still want to check," she said, turning slightly to Ellis. "Just to be sure, I mean - "
"Of course we're gonna check," Ellis said breezily. She came over to check Mel's IV bag - just fluids, of course she was fucking dehydrated, she never drank enough water - and paused to give Mel one of her trust me I know everything looks. "We're gonna check everything, Dr. King, if only because we like ya so much. How's the pain now, is the tylenol working?"
Mel nodded, and Langdon narrowed his eyes, examining her face for any hint of lying. "Yeah, it's throbbing less." She licked her swollen lip and curled into Langdon's side, making his chest twist again. "I don't need any pain meds or anything, I'll be fine."
"Well, nothing prescription, but I sure as fuck hope you'll keep taking tylenol, that's one hell of a shiner," Ellis said dryly. She sat down on the stool and huffed a little, addressing both of them. "Okay. We're gonna get a blood count, a coag panel, and I want urine and an ultrasound to be safe. Odds are you're probably fine, but I'm gonna want to talk to your OB, and if you start bleeding at any point, even minimally, tell us right away."
Mel was nodding earnestly, her hand twisting in Langdon's scrubs. "Yes, of course."
"You're sure there's no pain in your abdomen? No cramping, or - even a weird sensation? Butterflies in your stomach, nausea, anything?"
"No," Mel said, wide-eyed. Langdon let himself tentatively believe she was being truthful and not downplaying it for once, if for no other reason than because he knew the idea of losing the fetus terrified her. Even if she wasn't sure she wanted to keep it yet, he knew she didn't want that at all. "No. It didn't even make full contact with my stomach - his foot, I mean - my arm was in the way, so it mostly hit me there. It was just the - the force of it, it sort of pushed me backwards on the floor and knocked the wind out of me. But he was just trying to get away, he wasn't trying to kill me or anything."
Langdon closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, the vision of Mel crouched on the floor with her arms around her stomach, curled up to protect herself from an angry attacker - yeah that wouldn't be going away anytime soon. He squeezed her knee silently and she leaned into him a little more, her cheek resting against his bicep.
"Okay," Ellis said, nodding. "Then we'll still check. But we'll be optimistic about it." She shot Langdon a significant look and then stood up. "Your medical records are of course confidential, but you've worked here long enough to know how people talk. You'll probably get a visit from someone upstairs as soon as I send these orders up, so be prepared for that."
"Emma's okay, right?" Mel said anxiously. "She was bleeding."
"She has a cut on her cheekbone and possible trauma to her right eye," Langdon said. "I'm waiting on her CT to see if she fractured anything. I also put in a call to that guy over at Presby - "
"Oh, the ocular surgeon? The one you met at the MEDevice meeting?"
"Yeah. He's gonna come consult as soon as he gets an hour or two free."
Mel relaxed a little. "That's good. Good thinking. Oh, I hope her eye's okay."
Ellis shot him another look, and Langdon tensed. "Shitty day," she said. "Langdon?"
"Okay, okay," Langdon said. He squeezed Mel's knee and leaned in to nuzzle her cheek, feeling something delicate and powerful unfurling in his chest at the sensation of her breath on his cheek. She'd broken her glasses in the scuffle and they hadn't been able to find her spares in her locker - they were probably in his car, she was always forgetting him there because she wore them when they went jogging in the park - so she was squinting at everything, leaning in to read the forms Ellis gave her and looking smaller and younger than she usually did. And of course the black eye didn't hurt. "I'll be right back."
"You have patients, Frank," Mel said weakly, her grip tightening on his shirt despite the sentiment. "You don't have to sit with me forever. I'll be here all night, probably."
"I'll be right back," he said again, and kissed her eyebrow, right above the bruising. She smiled up at him, blushing despite herself, and he carefully did not look at Ellis as he walked past her out of the room, even though she was raising one eyebrow at him like a fucking cartoon character, leaning in the doorway and holding the door open pointedly.
"Okay," Ellis said again in the hallway, when they were alone. Thankfully she was very talented at talking very quietly in a busy corridor, unlike some other docs Langdon could mention. "So."
"I appreciate your discretion," he said pointedly, and she bit back a smile. "And - this is unrelated - what's your login for the EHR? Just in case I need it."
"Oh, fuck off," Ellis said, snorting. "I'll keep you updated okay? Pinkie promise. As soon as I know something you'll know it. But Langdon." She leaned in and held up her fist, which he stared at, unimpressed. "Nice one. She's way cuter than Abby."
"Fuck you," Langdon whispered, but then glanced again down at her fist, sighed, and bumped it. Ellie sniggered. "It's - they're different. They're both beautiful."
"Spoken like a true co-parent," Ellis said, laughing. She tucked the tablet under her arm and clapped him on the shoulder, going serious again. "I think she's good, man. Really. I don't see anything concerning, and you know I'm gonna test for everything I can before they cut me off for wasting resources."
"Thank you," he said, also more genuinely. He looked down at his feet for a second, closing his eyes, and took a deep breath. "God, I feel like I just survived a heart attack."
"Yeah," Ellis said. "Yeah, I bet." She eyed him for a second. "Pretty serious, then, huh? I mean." She raised her eyebrows, somehow communicating the word baby in a way that was both silent and, incredibly, sort of crude. "Serious serious."
"We're - it's early," Langdon stammered. "It was... we just found out. It's new."
"Yeah," Ellis said. She looked at him sympathetically for a moment, then blew out a breath and raised her eyebrows. Clapped him on the shoulder again, shaking her head like she thought he was crazy, which she probably did. "Okay, well. I won't tell Robby."
"Thanks, man," Langdon said. He knew she'd be solid, with something like this. Perlah deserved a raise.
"With Dana though, you're on your own," she added, already turning away, voice distracted.
"Yeah," Langdon said, resigned to it. He knew that too.
I think Jesse and Mel were fwb for awhile and no one in the ER caught on at all. They were just very normal and professional at work. It ended amicably, truly no hard feelings and they’re still friends. One time Mel has a get together at her place and everyone is looking for utensils or bowls and Jesse just quietly pulls everything out from the right spot.
Nobody catches on except for Frank who’s side eyeing him very hard but can’t quite put his finger on it.
It’s getting kind of ridiculous until someone knocks the book out from under Mel’s table that was holding up a leg and Jesse’s like “Mel just let me pay for a new one already! It was my fault for breaking it!”
And Mel’s like “no i think we were both eager and willing in the breaking.”
I think it happens mostly when they're on opposite shifts 🤔 when langdon gets home he'll just eat Mel out while she's asleep until she's dripping all over the sheets or he'll roll her onto her stomach and fuck her until she's awake for her own shift.
With Mel, she's clingy and she misses frank all the way through her shifts and when she gets home, she'll usually cockwarm him with her mouth or cunt until he wakes up. It calms her down
I want to, I have some ideas!! I'm a little busy with uni & work right now to properly work on something 😭 but here's a wip that's actually just 1.5k words of pure smut I forgot I had written until like right now 😋 enjoy!!!
Mel's core burns as her hips continue to slam against Baran's. There's a wet squelch sound echoing in the room, as well as her own groans and Baran's delightful moans. She's very vocal in every sense, never lets a second go by in silence.
"Good job, baby," Baran says under her. Her legs are wrapped around her back, heels pressing on her ass, guiding her thrusts, and her hands are on her face, thumbs rubbing her cheeks. "You fuck me so good".
Mel huffs. She slows down a little just to fuck her harder. The flat base of the strap grinds against her clit and she can't help but moan and fall forward, hiding her face on Baran's neck.
"Come on, baby," she whispers. Baran places kisses on her shoulder, trailing up until she's nibbling on her earlobe and sticking her wet tongue inside her ear. "You're so big inside of me".
Mel loves this. The way Baran's skin feels against hers, the way she sounds out of breath and sultry; the way her face twists in pleasure, and every single word that comes out of her mouth. She wishes she could say all sorts of things back to her, things like "You're so tight", "So wet for me", "You like getting fucked, huh?", but really all that she can do is whine and keep snapping her hips, harder and rougher each time. All she can say is "Please, please", and "Mommy", over and over, salivating right into her clavicle.
"Oh, fuck," Baran moans under her. Her nails dig into Mel's back and she half hopes there are marks left. "You're gonna make me —gonna make mommy come so hard".
"Please," she whines yet again. Baran's hands force her head up, and Mel rests her forehead against her. She likes the view, likes to place messy kisses on her face and lick into her mouth, likes to stare into her eyes, with the pupils so blown she can't distinguish them from her iris.
"I'm so close," Baran breathes out into her face. Mel slows down until she's not thrusting but grinding against her. "God, yes. Good girl. Good girl, Mel".
Her tongue slips into Baran's lips, and she welcomes it. One of her hands trails down until she's squeezing Mel's neck tight enough to make it difficult to breathe. Mel can feel the strap move slightly when Baran's walls clench around it as she comes. She's pretty sure she comes, too, or something like it. She's so wet she can barely feel the fake leather material against her pussy anymore.
Baran drops her hand and Mel gasps for air, she holds herself on top of her and pants. She likes this part, the part where Baran kisses her cheeks, her nose, her lips, her jaw. The part where she pushes her on her back and helps her slide off the strap and immediately slides two fingers inside of her.
"Well, look at that," Baran whispers into her open mouth. "My baby needs me".
"Yes," Mel hisses. She squirms under Baran when her thumb starts rubbing her clit mercilessly.
"You just need me," she repeats. "Just my fingers, huh?"
"Yes," she chantes.
"You need mommy's fingers inside of you," she hums. "You've been such a good girl. My needy baby girl".
Mel's body trembles under her gaze. Her hands are so quick, fingers inside of her, on her clit and caressing her breasts with her other hand, too.
"You're so beautiful," she whispers. "And so smart. Say it back for me".
Mel's throat tightens —her whole body does—, and Baran gives her two seconds to respond before retrieving her fingers completely.
"No," Mel gasps. "Come back".
"Say it," Baran looks down at her. "Or I'm leaving".
Mel chokes. She reaches for her and manages to pull her down again.
"I'm sorry," she breathes out. Baran's hand tentatively trails down, nails scratching her skin softly, making Mel shiver.
"You're so beautiful and smart," Baran says, fingers dipping inside her pussy again. "Say it back".
"I'm beautiful and smart," Mel repeats, barely a mumble. She can handle anything Baran does to her, but being made to say those things feels almost humiliating, maybe even a little condescending. She knows she truly means well, but the words tangle her up every time.
"Speak up," she orders. She picks up a pace, and Mel's thighs tremble.
"I'm beautiful and smart," she says, a little louder over the sound of her pussy being stretched out.
"You're mommy's good girl," Baran continues. She enunciates every word clearly, like she does at work, making sure Mel doesn't miss a thing. "Say it back".
"I'm mommy's good girl. I'm your good girl," she repeats.
"Are you gonna come?"
She nods, tears sweeling up on her eyes.
"Please?"
"I don't know. Do you deserve it?" Baran wonders out loud. She lets her free hand go back to squeezing Mel's hard nipples, pinching and stretching them painfully.
"I..." Mel trails off. "Please, mommy..."
"Tell me. Do you deserve it?"
"I do," Mel nods. She clings to Baran's forearm and closes her eyes.
"Why?" Baran asks before stopping for a second. "Hey, look at me".
Mel's eyes snap open and she thrust her hips up, silently begging her to continue. Baran complies.
"I'm sorry," she whispers again.
"Why do you deserve it?"
Mel feels fire pooling low in her abdomen. She only realizes there's tears going down her face when she feels them getting into her ears.
"'Cause I'm beautiful —smart," she gasps. She's not sure if she's screaming or whispering.
"Yes, you are," Baran says so sweetly it's borderline patronizing. "You can come for mommy. You earn it".
But Mel's already coming, shaking violently in a way she didn't know could actually happen. Her lungs burn and it's hard to breathe. Baran stills her fingers inside of her, humming pleased as she feels her walls seizing around them.
"Oh, it's okay," she whispers and leans down to press a kiss on her forehead and then on both cheeks.
Mel can't stop crying and it's embarrassing but also not the first time it's happened. She feels hollow on her chest but also very relieved as Baran kisses her face. She pulls her fingers away slowly and moves to lay in bed before pulling Mel into her arms.
"It's okay, baby".
"I'm sorry," Mel sobs into her chest.
"It's all good," she assures her as her hands rub her back soothingly.
Baran cradles her for a while until Mel's breathing evens out, and then she starts gently brushing her hair, combing through the mess with her long and still sticky fingers. It feels so good being so close to someone. Mel thinks skin to skin should be a long life thing, not just for newborns. Then she figures it is if you have someone to hold you.
inspired by @miracle-and-wonder’s pregnant!mel head canon
“Frank. Hey, Frank.”
Yawning, Frank cracked an eye open and looked over towards the window, where the purple-gray light of dawn was spilling in. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, rolling over and pulling his wife into his arms. His hand slid over her bump, and he smiled into the back of her neck.
“No way, sweetheart,” he grumbled. “It’s early. We both have the day off. It’s not awake time yet.” They didn’t have Tanner and Penny that week, and the only thing they really had to do was set up some things in the nursery. As Mel’s due date was still four months off, though, they had time.
“But I’m hungry.”
That sentence was definitely enough to wake Frank up. He lifted his head, peering down at Mel. She wasn’t wearing her glasses yet and the t-shirt she had stolen from him, still big on her despite being five months pregnant, was slipping off her shoulder. She looked gorgeous.
“For what, baby?” Frank asked as he brushed some of her loose, blonde hair out of her face.
Leaning into his touch, Mel made a happy humming sound. “Egg salad.”
Eyes wide, Frank tugged on Mel’s hip until she rolled beneath him. “Egg salad?” he repeated. “Mel, you hate eggs.”
Mel’s lip jutted out in a little pout, and it was so cute that Frank couldn't help but lean over to kiss it away. He felt her smiling against his lips, and he broke the kiss to press his lips to the tip of her nose. She let out a soft little laugh, reaching up to run her hand through his messy hair.
“The baby wants egg salad,” she said with a touch of confusion.
It was something that Frank was constantly endeared by. They were both doctors and knew all about pregnancy and cravings and the things that changed a woman’s body. As Mel experienced it all first hand for herself, she was amazed and almost mystified by her own reactions to it. She liked that there was almost always a way to solve her problem (although they hadn’t yet figured out why she cried about cleaning commercials, or what they could do to stop it). She viewed her cravings like a puzzle, journaling each one as if she could figure them out.
Frank kissed her again and then leaned over to lift her (his) t-shirt and kiss her belly. “Well if the baby wants egg salad, then the baby is going to get egg salad.”
Rolling out of bed, Frank pulled on a plaid pair of pajama pants over his boxer briefs but decided to go sans t-shirt. Based on the appreciative look Mel gave him, he knew that he made the right choice. He stretched, groaning as his back popped, and then ran a hand through his hair. If he played his cards right, they wouldn’t be leaving the house at all today. There were much more fun… and pleasurable… things they could get up to on their day off.
Mel tossed back the sheets and began to get out of bed as well, which made Frank frown. “Mel, I’ve got it. You can sleep a little longer if you want to, baby.”
He was typically the cook in the family, but it wasn’t as though Mel couldn't do it. Mel had a few go-to dishes with all of her safe foods that she cooked, and she preferred baking—given how exact it was—over anything else. Frank didn’t mind being the one to do the majority of the cooking.
“You know I like watching you in the kitchen,” Mel said. It was her turn to stretch now, and the hem of her t-shirt rode up, revealing her cute white panties and her rounded belly. She slid her hand over her stomach, cradling their unborn child. Jesus Christ, Frank was so in love with her that it made him feel stupid, sometimes. But in the best possible way.
That was another reason Frank never minded cooking. How could he, when the love of his life told him she liked watching him do it? What an easy thing he could do, just to make her happy. It was especially fun when they could cook together. It often turned into foreplay (which they were at least able to rein in when the kids were around).
“Well okay, then.” Meeting Mel at the door, Frank drew her close to press a kiss to her temple. “Let’s get cooking.”
Half an hour later, Frank had perfectly seasoned egg salad spread out on a slice of toasted sourdough on a plate for Mel. He slid it towards her and Mel happily tucked in, making it one of the funniest faces he’d ever seen in his life as she bit into it.
Frank knew it was good, having taste-tested it multiple times himself. Still, he asked, “Is it okay, Mel? Does it need more dill?” She loved dill.
Chewing thoughtfully, Mel eventually shook her head. “No, it’s delicious,” she finally decided. “Perfect, really. I just don’t know how I can think it’s so good but hate the texture at the same time.”
“Oh. Okay.” Frank was very confused by that statement. “Do you… should I make something else?”
Mel gave him a bright smile and leaned over to kiss him. “Oh, no, this is exactly what I want! Have you ever liked to eat something even though it felt weird in your mouth?”
He knew he could make a dirty joke here, but there was a time and a place for that. “Yeah, baby.” Frank felt that way about coconut, honestly. Tanner loved it, though, so they kept dried and sweetened coconut chips in the house.
In the end, Mel had seconds of the egg salad. Frank considered it to be a win.
“Frank?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“The baby wants peanut butter cups.”
“The baby wants what?” Frank lifted his head from the book of crosswords he was working on to find Mel sitting in the corner of the couch with her hands on her belly, watching him expectantly. “Mel, I distinctly remember you telling me that you couldn’t stand the thought of peanut butter and chocolate together when we first started dating.”
“That was almost three years ago.”
“So?” Frank vividly remembered it, because peanut butter and chocolate was one of his favorite combinations, and he couldn’t fathom the fact that Mel didn’t like it. When she revealed that she preferred strawberry and chocolate instead, which Frank fully admitted he wasn’t a fan of. It made splitting boxes of discounted chocolate after Valentine’s Day very easy, though. “I remember everything about you.”
Mel perked up immediately at that, leaning forward with interest. “Everything?”
“I’d like to think so.” From that very first day, he remembered the way her eyebrows scrunched when she was trying to understand a joke he told. The way she lit up under his praise. The way that she so effortlessly cared for others.
There were other things he remembered too, of course. Mel needed at least twenty minutes after waking up before she was a functioning person. She did like coffee, as long as it didn’t actually taste like coffee—it needed to have so much cream and sugar in it that it was more dessert than anything else. When it was warm out, she loved to lay out in the grass in the backyard, despite the fact that she normally had to take at least two allergy pills to make up for it. If given the choice, Mel preferred watching a Disney movie after a rough shift over a reality show or a sitcom.
Frank collected all of these facts about Mel, filing them away like he knew she did for him. There was a reason he also had fresh crossword books to do when he was on break, the hammock in the backyard had an extra pillow to support his back, and the pantry was stacked with peanut butter cups despite the fact that Mel couldn't stand them.
“What brought on this particular craving?” Frank asked.
Mel shrugged her shoulders as she extended her legs, her heels pressing into Frank’s thigh. He drew both of her feet into his lap, one big hand covering her ankles to keep her there. She looked up at him, then stared down at her hands as she twisted her silver wedding band around her finger. Frank lightly jostled her ankles, encouraging her to answer his question.
“You kissed me after you put Tanner and Penny down for bed,” Mel finally explained. “I could smell the peanut butter and chocolate and I… the baby really wanted some.”
“Right.” Frank managed to bite back his chuckle just in time. Her sense of smell was much more intense with the pregnancy. He ran one palm over the arches of her feet, lightly massaging, and then slipped out from under them. “Give me a few seconds, baby. I’ll get them for you.”
“With whipped cream on top?” Mel asked, brightening once again now that her craving was going to be meant.
“With… what?” That wasn’t generally how people ate peanut butter cups, but who was he to judge?
“I’d like them in a bowl with whipped cream on top,” Mel said primly.
This time, Frank couldn't hold back his laughter. She was just too damned cute. “Right, with whipped cream on top.” He leaned over to drop a quick kiss to her lips. “Coming right up.”
“Oh, yes. Yes.” Mel threw her head back, reaching up to grasp the wooden slats of their headboard. She had pillows stacked under her hips to support her, aided by Frank’s big hands wrapped around her waist as he thrust into her. Mel’s thighs widened and she groaned at the stretch, both from her own body and from the way Frank was moving inside of her.
He slid one hand down the lush line of her thigh, shifting it higher on his hip as he drove deep and held himself still, grinding against her. “You feel that, baby?”
Mel moaned and nodded, moving her hands down to grab at the pillow under her head. She needed something to hold on to and Frank was just out of reach, holding himself over her so he could watch the way he moved inside her. He didn’t move the way she wanted him to, instead grinding against her just enough to tease her. He wanted her to say it.
“Yes,” Mel gasped as she ran her foot up the back of his muscular thigh. “Yes, I feel it. God, please, Frank, move…”
Thankfully, that was all Frank needed. He started thrusting again, holding Mel steady against him with his hand wrapped around her thigh. She squirmed beneath him, reaching up to grab onto his forearms, hands running up until she could curl them into his biceps.
“It’s all for you,” he told her, which made Mel moan appreciatively. She covered her breasts with one hand, toying with a nipple in a way that made Frank groan and fall forward. He pressed hot kisses into the arch of her neck, his teeth scraping against her pulse point.
And then his hand was sliding between her legs, his fingers passing over her clit. She was so sensitive, so keyed up, that it was easy for Mel to tumble over into her orgasm. All she heard was Frank chanting her name in her ear and the hot, wet pulsing between her legs, and she knew that he went over the second she had.
Frank took a few moments to help Mel get situated, wiping tenderly between her thighs and helping her re-stack the pillows so she was more comfortable. She instantly dozed off, arms stretched above her head as she surrendered to exhausted pleasure. Frank allowed himself to indulge in watching her, loving how free she allowed herself to be like this.
Mel was all soft curves and supple lines. Frank loved getting to watch her body change and often measured the way her stomach expanded with his hands. He did it every day if he could get away with it, and Mel smiled softly down at him each time.
Finished with his study of Mel, Frank drew her into his arms and curled himself around as he closed his eyes, preparing himself for an impromptu mid-day nap. He was going to have to send cookies to whoever kept scheduling him and Mel for the same days off.
“Mmm, Frank. Can we have some of that asparagus salad?”
Without opening his eyes, Frank kissed the back of Mel’s shoulder. “Didn’t I just fuck you to sleep?”
“You did!” Mel agreed cheerfully. She turned, wiggling around in his arms until she could rub her nose against his cheek. “I only needed a few minutes. I’m hungry, now. And the baby wants the asparagus salad.”
Frank yawned and opened his eyes, leaning over to kiss Mel on the lips. “Okay, okay. I’ll feed you, you menace.”
Mel laughed out loud at that, reaching up to cup Frank’s face in both of her hands to draw him back down to her, kissing him again. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and her thigh slid over his hip again, pulling him close to her until there was no space left between their bodies. Frank grunted as he felt her hands move all over him, coming down to rest on his ass as she held him tight against her.
“Sweetheart, I thought you were hungry.” Not that Frank had any problem with staying in bed with Mel. She regularly slept a full seven hours a night, now. Frank was still working on that last one.
“I am hungry,” Mel murmured against his lips. She dragged her teeth over his bottom lip, gasping as her breasts rubbed against his chest. “But we can get up in a minute.”
Mel and Frank rolled around in bed for another half an hour, kissing and grinding and touching until she decided she wanted food more than anything else. They barely got dressed—Frank, in just a pair of boxer briefs and Mel, in one of t-shirts—before they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Frank pulled out a large bowl of the spring salad he’d prepared two nights ago: asparagus, peas, green onion, radishes, arugula, feta cheese, and mint, all topped with a lemon vinaigrette.
With each new craving Mel had, Frank enjoyed coming up with a recipe for it. She told him that maybe she would like more vegetables if they were all crisp like this, instead of slimy and limp. Frank took it as another win.
“Hmmm, okay.” With both hands resting on her ever-expanding belly, Mel directed Frank as he loaded up both of their plates. “The baby wants some potato salad. And some macaroni and cheese. And two sliders, with extra pickles on them.”
Frank dutifully filled her plate with everything she wanted. He grabbed bottles of water for both of them and double checked on Tanner and Penny, who were happily eating hotdogs with Harrison. Ellis, who was nearby, promised to keep an eye on all of them.
They were at PTMC’s annual start-of-summer cookout. Mel was seven months pregnant and was absolutely glowing, even when she complained that she couldn’t see her feet anymore, because “your baby is so gigantic, Frank.” Frank was endlessly impressed with how easily Mel still moved around at work. Of course she made being pregnant look easy, even though it definitely wasn’t. Mel claimed that it helped to have him support her. If nothing else, Frank was glad that he was able to bring some comfort to Mel.
Frank waved at Cassie and Mohan, nodded at Robby, Abbot, and Dana, and called hello to Donnie and his family. He delivered the food and drinks to the table Mel found, leaning over to drop a kiss to her temple.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” he asked.
Mel speared her fork into the potato salad and chewed thoughtfully. “Good,” she finally decided. “A little tired. The baby keeps kicking this one spot—ow. Okay.” She rubbed a soothing palm under the left side of her ribs. “Yeah, I get it. Could you give me a break, please?”
“Hey, peanut.” Frank ducked down low, speaking directly to Mel’s belly. “Cut your mom some slack, okay? It’s a lot of work, growing you.”
The kicking stopped instantly, and Mel let out a sigh of relief as she slumped back in her chair. “How do you do that? It’s kind of crazy how the baby responds to your voice.”
It thrilled Frank every single time. He shrugged his shoulders, digging into his own meal. He knew that once they ate, they wouldn’t be much longer for the cookout. The closer Mel got to her due date, the more she slept. And they were going to have to get Tanner and Penny back to Abby, soon. It wasn’t Frank and Mel’s week with them, but Abby had been nice enough to let them take the kids so they could all go to the PTMC cookout.
“I was really hoping the baby would calm down once I had some more pickles.” Mel plucked two off the slider and popped them into her mouth. “But sometimes I think the heartburn makes the baby kick more.”
“You know…” Frank extended his leg, hooking his ankle around Mel’s. She smiled and rubbed her foot against his. “You don’t have to say that the baby wants whatever food you’re craving. You can just… want it.”
Fiddling with her fork, Mel stared down at her plate. “I know that,” she finally said. “I guess I just… I hadn’t expected my taste to change so much with pregnancy. Things taste different. And I know it might change again.”
It wasn’t really surprising that this was one of the things Mel struggled the most with during preganncy. It was this, and sleep. Slowly but surely, both things were getting better. Every single tip and trick they picked up during this time was only going to help them once the baby was born, and their schedules were upended again.
“Well, I think it’s great if the baby wants something,” Frank said cheerfully. “And it’s even better if you want it, too. Either way, I’ll make sure you both get it.”
Mel gave Frank a beaming smile and she leaned forward, grabbing on to the collar of his shirt so she could haul him towards her. “Thank you,” she murmured right before she kissed him. WHen their lips parted, she pressed her forehead to his. “I love you.”
Frank kissed the corner of Mel’s smile, sliding his hand over their baby. “Love you, too.”
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