Summary : Victoria Javadi was a nosy person. It came with the territory of being a young genius. She just noticed things that other didn’t. Like Santos and Garcia’s weird vibe, Al- Hashimi’s random space outs and most recently, the messy braid of one Mel King after she disappeared into the break room with Frank Langdon.
Pairing: Frank Langdon x Mel King
Warnings: infidelity, divorce, oral sex.
Victoria Javadi surveyed her favourite residents over the top of her phone. She was in the middle of updating her House of The Dragon A/U when they appeared in her line of sight.
Dr. Melissa King, and Dr. Frank Langdon. Both pretty, kind, and total opposites. If this were a book, Mel would be the typical golden blonde damsel and Langdon would be the tall dark prince on a horse. The perfect sunshine- grumpy trope come to life. Except today, Langdon was doing the distressing, and Mel was the white knight.
“Hey.” She kneed Whitaker. “Do you think those two have a thing?”
“What?” He looked up at where her chin jutted. “Mel and Dr. Langdon? He’s married.”
Victoria, who was an avid Shondaland enthusiast, blinked. “So? He hasn’t mentioned his wife on since he’s been back. That marriage is bones.”
Whitaker surveyed them again. Langdon was upset about a case with a kid and Mel was trying to give him a pep talk. It seemed to be going well, until Langdon made a beeline for the break room. Dennis shook his head.
“I don’t know. I never really thought of Mel in that way.”
“What way?” Victoria cocked her head, genuinely curious.
“I don’t know. She just never seemed like the type of person to want to…” he leaned closer, discomfort weighing his shoulders. “Y’know. Have sex.”
Victoria frowned. “That’s… ableist. Not to mention untrue.” She looked up again for the pair, only to find Mel also missing. “Come on. I know who to ask.”
Dr. Mel King was having a long day. Between the bombshell her sister dropped about getting her shit rocked on the regular , the deposition and the erect penis that she still couldn’t get out of her mind, she was over this entire shift. The only thing that kept her going was the sudden reappearance of her mentor, Dr. Frank Langdon.
Not a day after he left, she fell into a sort of trance. He never said goodbye. He never sent a text to explain. Instead, she had to rely on the PTMC rumor mill for an ounce of information about him.
“He’s a drug addict,” they’d say, and the tones ranged from empathy to downright indignation.
“I heard he was high on the job.”
“I heard he stole drugs.”
Mel stopped listening after that last one. She’d met Dr Langdon, and she was a pretty good judge of character. He was a good man. Full stop. In one day, he had seen her, supported her, listened to her , stood up for her and reminded her that she really was good at medicine. And then he was gone, but she never forgot.
It was really no surprise when she developed a crush on him.
Something bloomed in her when he came back. A closed bud in her chest that suddenly opened and made her run to him, arms poised for a hug. And he let her take his arm. He cheesed at her like a long lost friend and then she was floating through her shift.
Right up until she remembered he had a wife.
The glint of his golden ring as he examined her post fall made her feel sick. The way he was so clearly less confident than before, and how small he tried to make himself seem. It was really the least she could do, standing up for him. Reminding him that he was good at this. Being his hype man, because he was hers that one day ten months ago.
And that led her to the break room with him. She saw the sadness in his face and the guilt in his eyes. The way his phone was opened to Abby’s name and his fingered hovered over the call button. She hated that part- not that he was married, but that he was married. How could she have a crush on someone who was married.
But Mel King was good at hiding her crushes. She’d had many back in the day before she knew what they were- and many of the boys and girls she liked didn’t understand her. Her ‘behaviour’ turned them off. Some, it turned on. Some she really liked, but none quite gave her the feeling she got when she made a joke about Kelly Clarkson and Dr. Langdon laughed.
He laughed- first one she got from him all day. It was like music to her ears, and Mel King loved music. She loved-
“Why don’t you call me Frank?”
Dr. Langdon leaned forward. His biceps bulged beneath his scrubs with the action. “I call you Mel. You still call me Dr. Langdon. We’re friends aren’t we?”
“Yes!” The word came out more desperate than she wanted; a clear indicator of how hard it had been for her to make friends. “I mean, I was taught to call my residents by their titles.”
“Mel, you can call me Frank.”
“Frank…” She tried it out. It brushed over her tongue like a kiss- tickling the tip and tantalizing her taste buds. “It suits you.”
“It’s an old man name. Abby used to tease me about it. It means ‘direct’ , ‘honest.” He shook his head. “Guess names don’t make a person.”
“I know. I looked it up.” Mel made a face.
“Yeah. In a library book in rehab.”
Mel was taken aback. “You looked up my name in rehab?” Did he look up Abby’s? Robby’s?
Frank shrugged. “You made an impression on me, Dr. King. I honestly didn’t even expect you to remember me or even care that I was gone.”
“I cared that you were gone. You were the best mentor I’ve ever had. I’m really glad we get to work together again-”
“Until Robby fires me. Or until Santos outs me.” He dragged his hands across his tired face. “Did you… did you know I stole drugs?”
Mel bit her lip. Deep down, she did. It only made sense. But hearing him confirm it was an entirely different thing. “It’s not a hard stretch. You work in an ER. You’re not the first doctor and you won’t be the last.”
“Robby doesn’t want me here.”
Mel leaned forward and placed her hand on his. She could tell he wanted to bestow comforting touches all day- when the police came, when she and her sister fought- but held back. Out of marriage or respect, she wasn’t sure.
“I do.” He looked up at her. His blue stare was intense, boring into her in a way that made her blush. “I want you here. I like having you here.” He smiled.
“For the love of God, I can’t figure out why. You’re the last person I expected to want me around.” He hadn’t moved his hand yet. It was still below hers- big and warm and veiny. Perfect for a sixteen gauge IV.
“People make a lot of assumptions about me. It’s been happening my whole life. You’re the only one who hasn’t, and it’s why I’m so drawn to you.”
Frank looked at her, mouth slightly agape, and that was how she knew she had fucked up. He cleared his throat, hand retracting, and said, “I wanted to get clarification on something. It’s about what Becca said earlier.”
“Well.. she. I…” She had to be hallucinating. Had to be. Because there was no way Frank Langdon was blushing. “She said..”
“She said that I liked you.”
“As a friend right?” She couldn’t tell how he wanted her to answer. Did he want her to confirm or deny the claim? “Right?”
Mel could have denied it. She could have said she meant it as a friend and continue pining until this crush swallowed her whole or, more realistically, she got over it. Except Mel King wasn’t a liar. She was a hardcore honesty warrior, and she looked her married co-worker in the face, and said. “No. She did not mean as a friend.”
“I have a crush on you.” Mel was looking down now. It was easier to talk to the table rather than look at him. She couldn’t imagine how his face looked right now. Probably embarrassed. If this were high school, he’d be the star quarter back and she’d be the nerd with her nose in a book. Not exactly the prom winning couple.
“I don’t mean to disrespect your marriage by saying that. You wouldn’t be the first authority figure I’ve had a crush on. It happens.” She gave a small chuckle as she recalled her year one college professor, Miss Steele. Then her final year dean, Mr. Charles. “I find it easier to get over these things when I say them out loud. Now it’s all in the open and I don’t have to be embarrassed. We’ll probably be laughing about this by next week. Right, Dr. Langdon?” She looked up at his still face. “…Frank?”
Frank’s eyes darkened. They literally darkened- all specks of sapphire swallowed up by a dark void. His jaw clenched. However, he didn’t seem mad. He seemed something else entirely.
“Abby and I getting divorced.”
Now it was Mel’s turn to go silent. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally selling on a small ‘oh’.
Silence hung in the air. Frank leaned back in his chair, knuckles white on spread knees. He seemed to be going through some sort of internal battle. Mel, on the other hand, just sat there. It was easy to be complacent with him. He just made her feel safe. Finally, when the deafening quiet was too much to bear, she broke it.
“So, what are you going to do about that?”
Frank stood up so fast he knocked over his chair.
“Are you sure?” Victoria asked. She looked between Dr. Cassie McKay and Dr. Samira Mohan. “Samira, you’re friends with Mel. You guys have sleepovers all the time. She’s never slipped?”
Samira shook her head. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.” Victoria’s head swiveled to Cassie.
“Me either. Langdon’s not in the frame of mind for that right now. He’s having a tough time.”
“What brought this on?” Samira wanted to know. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened,” Whitaker spoke up. “She reads too much fanfiction.”
Victoria whipped her head around. “I do not!”
“I know the Ao3 logo when I see it. I live with Santos.”
Dana appeared out of thin air, glasses on her nose and eyes on them. “We having’ a party? Board’s full. Take your pick.”
Victoria made a face. She knew chemistry. She wrote it everyday, for God’s sake. “I feel like-” Cassie cut her off.
“Victoria, word of advice? Don’t go around spreading rumors about your seniors. It’s not a good look.”
“I know it seems weird, but not all female-male relationships end up in sex. Dr. Langdon is a good man. He loves his wife and his kids.”
“Not to mention, he just got out of rehab. He needs our support, not rumors.” Cassie eyed her. “Okay?”
Victoria pouted. Maybe she had gotten it all wrong. Maybe the fanfictions and A/Us got her all caught up and momentarily blurred the lines.
“Okay,” Victoria agreed. “I’ll lay off.”
Frank Langdon wasn’t sure when he had fallen for Mel King. An avid reader and nerd in high school, he would guess it was the day she proved him wrong. The day she connected with the autistic patient in a way he wouldn’t think to do, and got the case solved and bed free before he could blink.
He decided in that moment that Mel was his. His resident, for clarification, like he was Robby’s. Used to be Robby’s , he reminded himself. Frank wasn’t sure what he was anymore. A drug addict, an absent husband, an almost out of work doctor if Robby had his way.
But he did know where he was. He was ten months reformed, thirteen hours into his first shift back and he was in the break room kissing Mel King. Full on, tongue in her mouth, hand around her throat kiss- until she pushed lightly against his chest and he stopped.
“We can’t do this.” Her breath came in pants, cheeks flushed and carotid hammering against his thumb. “I-”
“Oh.” Frank stepped back. “Fuck, I’m sorry. It’s just… I feel the same way.” He could see a myriad of emotions across Mel’s face- surprise, disbelief, dawning and finally, acceptance. She didn’t hide her feelings as well as she thought she did, but Frank would never tell her.
“You’re kidding,” she whispered. Then, softer, “You’re married.”
“My marriage with Abby was over long before I met you. I just thought I could hold it together for the kids. Rehab helped me figure it out.” He put his hands in his pockets. “The divorce papers are in my bag. I signed them this morning.”
“Oh.” Mel was still breathing hard. Her braid, usually neat, had begun to escape from its usual confines. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I’m just… I’m sorry I pounced on you. You’ve been on my mind for so long and I…” He shook his head. “I’d never want to do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
“I wasn’t thinking. I got caught up. I’m so fucking sorry, Mel.”
“Frank.” The use of his first name had the intended effect. He stopped, jaw loose, and gazed at her. “When I said we can’t do this, I meant because I didn’t lock the door.”
He felt like a fish- mouth opening and closing as though gasping for air. That’s how fish behaved out of water, right? Because they couldn’t breathe? Well right now he was starved for oxygen, and Mel King was his air.
It took all of two seconds to lock the door. Mel was right behind him when he did, tiptoeing so she could kiss him again. She tasted like Burts Bee’s lip balm and smelled like lilacs- soft scents that wouldn’t overwhelm her. He found he preferred it to Abby’s cinnamon and berries.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head for months.” He grabbed a fistful of her braid and yanked her head back, exposing the fair skin of her neck. There was supposed to be a freckle there. He spied it ten months ago. Now it was right in front of him, and he pressed his lips against it in a sloppy kiss.
“Frank!” He loved the way she said his name. Knew right then he’d never touch another drug again if he could elicit that noise from her everyday. He did it again, biting this time, and Mel jerked her hips towards his. Frank stilled them with a grip. There’s be time for that later.
“I thought I was going crazy. Started seein’ you everywhere, then came the dreams.” He kissed all around her neck until he got to the other side. He’d mark it like a string of pearls if he didn’t know they both had a few hours left. “Fuck, those dreams.”
“Show me,” Mel gasped out. Her tiny hands were steady on the waistband of his pants, butt pressed against the back of the leather couch Frank had slept on numerous times. “Show me. I wanna know.”
Frank groaned. How on earth did he land this angel? Her brown eyes stared back at him with all the trust in the world and Frank knew he’d never be able to say no to her. Starting now.
He dropped to his knees, ignoring the way pain lanced up his back. Mel was wearing too much clothes. Something had to go. Her pants, he decided. They were in the way. He hooked his fingers in the elastic and took them off, coming face to face with her mint green panties. Cotton- which was breathable- and a noticeable darker patch right over her covered pussy.
Frank buried his face in them. Her neck smelled so good, he couldn’t image what her cum tasted like. He took a deep breath and moaned aloud. It was a wonder the entire hospital didn’t reverberate with the sound.
“Frank.” Mel tugged on his hair, voice a desperate whimper. “Please.”
Frank Langdon was a gentleman. And gentlemen obliged.
He slid a finger into her panties and heard her breath catch. One fingertip parted soft curls, met soaked flesh and he cursed. “Fuck, sweetheart. You’re dripping.”
A look up at Mel found her eyes closed. Her hands were digging into the leather sofa, and Frank’s decided it was high time he put her out of her misery. He lifted one leg over his left shoulder. “Gotta taste you, sweetheart. Can’t have you dripping all over the hospital floors.”
The fist swipe of his tongue had Mel doubling over. She clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries of pleasure. Frank continued at a delicate pace. He found her clit in record time and began making slow circles with his fingers. His tongue sought deeper, all the way to her entrance, and slid further until the muscles ached from compression.
“Oh fuck!” he heard Mel say. “Fuck, fuck!”
A wicked smile made its way onto his face. He’d never heard Mel curse. It filled him with pride knowing he could get such a reaction from her. It spurred him on, not that he needed much encouragement.
Mel was intoxicating. She tasted like honey and every sweet he’d ever had since childhood all in one. He decided right then that he’d die for Mel King. No… He’d live for her. He’d stay sober, attend his meetings, get a good fellowship and be the kind of man she deserved.
“Frank.” Her voice was a whine now- more breath than sound. “Frank.”
He took that as his cue to bring it home. His tongue and fingers switched place- mouth to her clit and fingers sliding inside. He felt her walls quake- felt muscles clench on his fingers and tasted the cum that flowed into his mouth. Frank lapped it all up like the addict he was.
When he was done, he rose to his full height. Mel was holding him for dear life. He let her lean into his chest, hand cradling the back of her head as he held her close. Her breathing waxed and waned until it returned to normal.
Mel lifted her head off his chest. Her eyes sought his and just like that, Frank Langdon was a gone man. “What do we do now?”
Victoria was over this weird day. It got better at the end, when Mateo came in and flirted and she pretended like she didn’t notice. He slipped her a note as she was leaving.
‘Coffee?’ it said, with a box for yes or no. She drew in one for ‘maybe’ and chucked it at his head. He was such a loser, she decided. He had her number. Yet, as she double checked her belongings before she left, a giddy smile made it’s way onto her face that she couldn’t get rid of.
That is, until she saw Dr. Langdon exit the break room. As she was about to ask him to sign off her attendance, someone else came out of the room.
Dr. King, looking flushed and disheveled, walked out with her head bowed. Langdon held the door open for her. He looked mighty pleased with himself. In fact, it was the smuggest she’d seen him all day.
No. She shook her head. No. They’re not screwing. I’m imagining things.
Or maybe she wasn’t. Because Dr Langdon still had his ring on. He wouldn’t be wearing it if it he wasn’t still married. Right?
And Dr. King’s braid was… messy. Golden locks were hanging out of the hair tie as though it had been pulled on.
But that must have been the shift.
She looked at them again. They were side by side at the nurses station, writing notes with steady hands and not a care in the world. He said something to her that made her laugh, and the other nurses joined in.
And maybe his eyes lingered too long on the golden haired protagonist. And maybe she smiled too widely at the dark haired prince.
But again, she must have been mistaken. Because there was no way they did what she thought they did in the break room on shift.
A/N : I may or may not have more ideas for this.