It's fun to write different perspectives in the Pitt.
I clearly enjoy Yolanda Garcia quite a bit. I need more of her and Frank having the banter next week.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76599451
Links are not behaving themselves at all today!
Trinity learns of a divorces and proceeds to panic.
There was nothing like being settled on your couch, favourite snacks at the ready, an excellent glass of wine in hand and a new journal to absorb. For some people that would be a lame Friday night in but given Yolanda’s girlfriend was apparently stuck late on shift – three hours at this stage. She wasn’t complaining too much.
Shit. She and Trin were domesticating each other.
She sipped her wine staring at the collection of Trinity related books on her bookshelf. They’d been together nearly... two years? Maybe domesticity suited Yolanda than she thought it would. Besides they still had their own spaces. Yolanda was happy to have Trinity – she was not adopting the Victorian child as her own. Whitaker was perfectly acceptable as Trin’s bestie, stray, protegee queer whatever. But Yolanda was and always would be childfree. No adoptions of any age.
BANG!
‘Fuck!’ Yolanda nearly jumped out of her skin. Barely keeping the wine within the confines of its glass. Trinity never moved quietly. At work, at home, in bed. She was loud as could be. However on the scale of Trinity noise levels this was about a 10. ‘Trin??? What the-’
‘Did I break up a marriage?’ A rush of sounds. Panic and pain.
The words were words. Of the English language but the meaning... no that didn’t make any sense. Trinity skidded before falling to her knees next to Yolanda’s perch on the couch. Green eyes wide and full of genuine panic.
‘Am I responsible for a marriage and a family fucking breaking down Landa???’ Yolanda grabbed Trinity’s freezing hand. She was in some sort of shot. Pupils tight. Pulse erratic.
Yolanda tried to use her most reassuring voice. Unfortunately as a surgeon she wasn’t the most skilled, but better than some. ‘Babe I need context. What marriage? What family?’
‘Langdon.’
One glass of wine could not explain why thoughts seemed to be moving at the rate of a lethargic snail in Yolanda’s head. Again the word was coherent, understandable but it wasn’t registering.
Trinity clearly getting annoyed with her girlfriends stupidity snapped loudly. ‘It’s all over the hospital. Langdon was in today – no ring. Overheard talking to Melissophobia and Mohan and yeah papers were signed this morning???’ Shockingly Trinity was now fighting back tears. A loosing battle by the looks of it.
Yolanda pulled her up to lie on her chest, soothing her as best she could. Scratching at her scalp and smoothing out her hair. ‘It’s not your fault okay. He’d mentioned having a lawyer-’
Trinity’s head shot up. Her fast aghast and betrayed. ‘Langdon didn’t ask me not to tell you. In fact he told me I could...’ Her girlfriends argument died at her words. Surprise dancing in her bright green eyes. ‘But he was clearly keeping it on the down low. If people asked how things were at home, he’d say. That’s how he told me. But given how much scrutiny he’s still under... I didn’t want to add any fuel to the fire.’
Trin buried her head into Yolanda’s boobs. ‘That’s fair.’ Voice cutely muffled and pouty.
‘I know. But it has nothing to do with you Trin. He made that very clear to me.’ Trinity froze in Yolanda’s arms. Trinity and Langdon weren’t exactly friends, they weren’t enemies either. One the dust had settled on his return he’d politely asked Trin if they could talk. She hadn’t gone into details as to the conversation but the hatchet had been buried more or less. Polite. Professional but there was a very understandable distance.
Whitaker had taken longer to come around. And pretty much only did after King scolded him for setting a better example to the medical students. Not that he wasn’t wrong to be mad at Langdon. An interesting distinction. Just that he was better than he was acting.
They worked together. Worked fairly well as a team really. Pushed the other to be better. Langdon more than anyone else worked to utilise Trinity defensive nature (which typically reared it’s head as arrogance) into better outlets. Trin made him justify his choices to understand his treatment plan without pissing him off. Got him really thinking things through. They were competitive. Much like Yolanda and Langdon. Just EM inter warfare not surgery versus EM. Different. No connection outside of work, the medicine.
‘You know I’ve known him a long time.’ Trinity murmured a vague noise of agreement. ‘I knew him before he started dating Abby. That’s the wife- well ex wife.’ Trinity curled further into Yolanda, cool hands sneaking under her sweatshirt, up her back. Legs intertwined as they lay back on Yolanda’s bed like couch. ‘They just sort of fell together. The relationship worked well, then, don’t get me wrong. And they loved each other. But to me anyway there was always a note of it being born out of convenience as opposed to any passion.’
‘Doesn’t sound like Langdon. He’s opinionated as fuck.’
Yolanda couldn’t hide the laughter in her voice. ‘Reminds me of someone else I like.’
‘Like?’
‘Love.’ Trinity placed a gentle kiss against her jugular.
‘You love Langdon?’
‘Like a pain in the ass sibling. He grows on you.’
‘Like a tumour.’
Yolanda chuckled. ‘He’s said the same thing multiple times. Anyway... it just seemed all their actions as a couple stemmed from outside forces rather than the absolute need to be in each others lives. When they moved in together it was because both their leases were up. Timing did seem to sync for them. And he was a complete dork for her. Frank told me that one of the reasons they got married so early was because she got pregnant and they both felt that was a sign. Like everything seemed to be.’
‘Oh.’ Yeah that’s how Yolanda had felt when Frank told her about it. Doing her level best to hide her scepticism.
‘Yeah. They were equally bad about looking at the whole picture instead of just reacting to things as they came.’
‘Two kids before thirty during residency seems like a lot.’ Trinity’s voice was absolutely mystified. Frank wasn’t exactly known for his patience. Like either women on the couch. So the rush felt appropriate but the timing was shit.
‘Yeah and Abby’s been doing the law school route through all that as well.’
‘Shit.’
‘Neither of them are ones that shy away from a challenge.’
Trinity didn’t answer. Yolanda felt some of her tension ease but not all of it. ‘I’m not shocked they’re getting divorced. After everything that’s happened... I think it’s better for both of them.’
Rehab.
Both women were skirting around the issue. Trinity had exposed him when no one else had seen it. No. That wasn’t really true. When no one else had wanted to see it. Admit that they’d missed their colleague, their friend in trouble. That he felt that he didn’t have a lifesaver to cling to. That he had to try to help himself alone. A fucking moron as Yolanda had yelled at him during his rehab stint.
The real moron was the Doctor who over prescribed him and didn’t have a scrap of reasonable pain management strategies. During the opioid crisis? It was only sheer dumb luck that someone wasn’t dead already.
‘You know he’s actually grateful to you babe?’ Trinity huffed. A fake one. ‘It sucked what happened. But you did what any one of us should have done. You saved his life.’
Trinity turned and snuggled into Yolanda neck. ‘I would do it differently now. If given the choice I would try a better approach.’
‘You were a neon green intern. An extremely hot one. But bright green never the less. If you knew everything, we’d have nothing to teach.’ Trinity nipped at her neck in protest. Yolanda ignored it. ‘Maybe you should talk to him. Have an actual conversation with the man that isn’t about crikes and STEMIs. Something real. He’s actually pretty fucking charming.’
Trinity still wasn’t her fiery self. Yolanda groaned loudly, in irritation. Just hiding in Yolanda’s body. Which ordinarily would be great but the likelihood of her girlfriend getting in the mood from this melancholia was piss poor. Blindly she groped for her phone. Idly wishing that Trin would start groping her. No such luck.
It took a few goes but eventually she grabbed the device. Trinity tried to stop her but the call was already live.
‘Ahhh Yoyo you heard the news.’ Frank never bothered with pleasantries with her. His voice was neither depressed or exuberant. But he did sound lighter. Less burdened.
‘May have made it’s way around the Pitt gossip circuit.’
‘Faster than F1 baby.’
He was with someone. Two someone’s actually judging from the overlapping and horrifically indistinct voices. Something familiar but she couldn’t hear them well enough to full identify who they were. Yolanda glanced down at Trinity. Trin who was determinedly, with all her immense reserves of stubbornness acting like she wasn’t listening to every word.
‘How are you?’
Frank sighed a little. Yolanda knew that his head was dropping forward. The weight of the question settling on his shoulders. Hair bouncing in that stupid way it did. ‘It sucks. But my heart doesn’t feel ripped out of my ribcage if that’s what you’re asking.’
‘Frank.’
He knew a rebuke when he heard it. ‘Okay. It’s really fucking weird that my marriage is over. And it’s weird to say those words. But it is and my world isn’t over. In fact it almost felt like the natural next step for me and Abs.’
Abs. So clearly the pair were still on good terms.
‘We really sped run the relationship at every chance we got. Might as well finish it out with an amicable divorce.’
Well that was a very healthy way of looking at this. Too healthy. Suspicion flared.
‘What did I say to you the first night I met you?’
‘Are you seriously security checking me Yoyo?’
‘Answer the question before I assume you’re a pod person or in a fucked up cult?’
‘Those are the options?’ Exasperated. And confused. At least she was distracting him from his day?
‘Langdon!’
‘Fine. The first stellar line of Yolanda Garcia to I, Frank Langdon was “I have no interest in anything dick related fuck face so please think carefully before approaching me”. We were in a library and I needed an anatomy book behind your head.’ His impression of her wasn't horrendous. In fact it was a good but he was impersonating greatness. It rubbed off.
‘Hm.’
‘Did I pass the test?’
‘Just about.’
‘Like you weren’t anticipating this Yo.’
Trinity could hear his voice pretty clearly if the cycle of facial expressions was anything to go by. No doubt wondering how she and he got off on such a bad footing if he liked his friends as spicy as possible. That was for them to figure out. Also she knew the answer, just didn’t want to admit she fucked up her first day.
‘Yeeeeah I think the pandemic really stretched things out.’
‘Possibly.’ But he agreed with tone, if not words.
There was a faint strain of music on his end. Christmas music? It was the middle of May for fucks sake. Frank spoke to someone else, hand muffling the conversation more than Yolanda liked. Who was he with post divorce??? ‘Yeah yeah I’ll go into another room.’ There was some joke at the end judging from the tone of voice of voice.
Her foot bounced as Frank too his sweet fucking time going into the order room. The dog making himself know. Tripping him up. Good. ‘Put me on speaker Yo.’
She hesitated for a second. Trinity eyebrows twisting in confusion and a little panic. ‘Do I need to be in the room for this?’
‘You’re my reference.’
Once again Yolanda was cursing the day that Frank Langdon stomped all over her life. She loved him, but most of the time it was the reluctant sort. So she tried to claim. ‘Urgh fine.’
‘Santos.’ Trin just hid in her boobs again.
Yolanda laughed a little. ‘She’s hiding in my tits man.’
Frank hm’d mockingly. ‘That’s not a lot of cushion.’
Trin’s head was up like a shot. Her glare so withering it probably should have melted her phone a little. His replying chuckle just irritated Trinity even more. ‘Bigger than your dick.’
‘Awwww you think about me.’
Both lesbians gagged. Frank was far too amsued with himself. ‘But I digress. Santos. None of what happened is on you. I am sure Yoyo there has given you her totally objective opinion of the situation.’ The pause was melodramatic. No doubt his eyebrows hitting his hair line. Face that punchable level of smug. He knew her so well. ‘And she’s not wrong about any of it. I don’t regret most of the choices in my life. Benzos aside.’
Trinity’s face darkened. No doubt seeing her friend. But his words were having an effect. The tightness in her body easing with each word. ‘Abby and I will never actually be fully apart. We have two kids, it’s just that... we’re better parents and friends than husband and wife. That’s the truth of it. Again I will always love her but things change. I’ve changed. A fuck ton. Yo will provide you a thesis with scientific evidence of my stupidity-.’ Yolanda bit back the retort. ‘-You have some yourself. But this... don’t own it. It’s my house. Well no actually Abby’s bought that out...’
He paused doing the mental math. Yolanda hadn’t know that Abby had bought him out. But she was a talented lawyer. So it did make sense. ‘Long story short. Get over it. There’s no point carrying a weight that is actually weightless. Can we go back to feuding? I know what to do with that.’
‘You’re a dumbass Langdon.’ Trinity finallysounded like herself.
Yolanda dropped her head back against the pile of cushions. ‘Ahhh she’s back.’
‘That’s it. We’re not having sex later.’ Trinity sat up, eyes bright with fury and heat. They were so having sex later. Yolanda wiggled her eyebrows. And then loudly smacked her ass. Trinity wiggled in her lap.
‘I did not need to hear that.’ Frank, who’d they both forgotten was on the phone just cleared his throat. ‘Any of that. So we good? Santos?’
Trinity pondered for a minute. ‘As we ever are.’
‘Truce?’
‘Until the next sparring match.’
‘You’re on.’
Classic Frank gone without a goodbye. Yolanda tilted her head at the phone. He was in a bit of rush. Who was he with? Half tempted to pull up his location on her phone. Just out of curiousity. If he had been cheating on Abby, she would have known. It wasn't his style. But there was something going on. Something.
‘You were right. I should actually talk to him.’
‘He’s a bastard, but a funny one.’
‘I’m a funnier bitch.’
‘Hotter too.’
‘That goes without saying.’ The hair toss was hot. No lie.
Yolanda shifted a little. Trinity immediately slipping in between her legs. ‘I still feel like I need to make it up to him though.’ Her approach to reporting Langdon on Labour Day hadn’t exactly screamed finesse or discreet. It’s wasn’t like she’d screamed it from the roof but... hospital gossip. People talked.
Trinity’s hands were moving with much more intent now. With the conversation a little conflicting. ‘You could get Whitaker off his dick. Back I meant back.’ Both women recoiled at the inadvertent implication. Frank had never limited himself based on gender but no that was not a pleasant image.
Trinity hummed. ‘I was just going to try and encourage Melissophobia to jump him but if you think getting Huckleberry to stand down would better.’
Yolanda’s brain stuttered to a halt. Then again her girlfriend was working her top off. ‘King?’
‘You can’t tell me you don’t get it.’ Not Yolanda’s choice of dirty talk. But when her girlfriend had made quick work of her clothes. Hot woman on her. In underwear she’d let her talk about whatever she’d wanted to. ‘They are totally into each other.’
‘Oh no she is completely his type. Believe me. But babe can we stop talking about Langdon. Just please stop talking.’
