Hello and welcome to my TED Kingdon talk.
So, for starters: I’m a firm believer that Frank is still married. Yeah, I know, tragic. I’ve personally tried to push the “Frank Langdon, most divorced man in America” agenda, but reality said no. HOWEVER. I also fully believe that marriage is hanging by a thread (*audience cheers*). Like, one bad Tuesday away from collapse. And yet… he’s still trying. He genuinely thinks it can be salvaged (*audience boos*). Mostly for the kids, not because he still loves Abby (*audience cheers again*).
On the other hand, I’m not even going to get into whether he’s romantically interested in Mel. That’s not up for debate. The evidence is evidencing. And that doesn’t contradict him trying to hold his marriage together, but that’s a whole separate spiral.
Given all that, I feel like it’s going to take him longer than Mel to actually face what he’s feeling. This man is about to set a world record in denial. He’ll slap a BIG label on it BEST FRIENDS ON EARTH and call it a day. Every slightly unhinged, codependent behavior? Totally normal, obviously. Mel is just his person, your honor. Nothing to see here. He’s simply never had a best friend like her before.
Now Mel… Mel is interesting.
Yes, she’s socially awkward, struggles with cues, the whole autism-coded girly pop experience—but that doesn’t necessarily mean she lacks self-awareness (and I’m saying this as someone on the spectrum). If anything, I can totally see her being very introspective. I once read a headcanon that she knows she’s autistic and chooses not to disclose it to avoid being further infantilized, and honestly? I’m on board. That kind of framing suggests she’s done a LOT of internal work (therapy, reflection, all that good stuff) so she’s probably quite in tune with her own emotions.
Does she always know how to deal with them? Not really (hello, deposition arc). But identifying them? Naming what she feels, what motivates her, what’s off? She can do that.
Which is why I’m convinced she’ll be the first one to realize her crush has evolved into something deeper. And not just realize it, own it. Probably also clock Frank’s behavior for what it is (romantic, your honor), even if she hesitates to assume it’s mutual. But at some point, I do think she’d take the leap and confess first.
And THIS is where my dilemma begins.
I’ve seen the “Frank in denial” trope in a few fics, but usually he figures it out before Mel, or at the same time, especially in slow burn scenarios. But has anyone written one where he actually rejects her? Not in a “I’m bad for you, I’m protecting you” way, but in a genuine “I do care about you, but this isn’t love” way. Because honestly… I can see it. What he feels for her is so different from anything he’s experienced before that he might genuinely not recognize it for what it is.
And listen. I need this:
Mel confesses. She lays it all out. And Frank goes, “I love you, but not like that.” Boom. Emotional devastation unlocked.
Because Mel, as much as she feels deeply, is also practical. She’s an orphan-caregiver-doctor, she doesn’t have the luxury to just sit in emotional chaos forever. She’ll want to process it, make sense of it, move forward efficiently. So Frank rejecting her? That’s a full system error. She probably had a whole mental spreadsheet proving she read him right, and suddenly, none of it adds up. She’s not angry. Just… confused.
She goes home, replays everything, mentally audits every interaction like “where did I miscalculate.” And maybe she lands on the idea that (unintentionally) Frank has been leading her on. Not maliciously, not consciously, but still.
So she recalibrates.
A week or two later, she shows up with a list (because of course she does) of boundaries they need to adjust if they’re going to stay “just friends.” And Frank… is Not Thriving™. Like, what do you mean he can’t hug her while watching Grey’s Anatomy anymore??? But he agrees, because if that’s what Mel needs, then fine.
And THIS is where it gets delicious. Because now his privileges are revoked. He starts spiraling. Gets moodier. Snappier. Lowkey unbearable. Maybe throws a few quiet tantrums.
And if you throw in a random resident showing interest in Mel, and she actually tries to engage with that, because now she’s questioning what a romantic relationship is supposed to feel like?? Oh, I will eat that up.
Meanwhile Frank is slowly losing his mind, trying (and failing) to outrun his own feelings.
So yeah. Has anyone written this? Please. I’m begging.
