the pitt made me write fic again. (read on ao3)
it's kingdon. kinda.
Mel found herself in the on-call room. It was dark and peaceful, the sounds of the Pitt distant background noise. If she timed it right, she had just enough time for a nap before she had to go back to work…
“Hey,” a voice from the doorway said, and Mel turned, smiled.
“Dr. Langdon,” Mel said happily. “Hi. Sorry, did you need…?” She could go sleep somewhere else. Whitaker had been doing it for months, apparently.
Dr. Langdon shook his head. “Frank,” he said, coming inside and closing the door behind him. With careful movements, he crossed the space, coming to a stop directly in front of her. Directly in front of her. So close she could see the freckle above his left eye, see the faint hint of 5 o’clock shadow on his chin. His chin with the little–what did Santos call it? The ass-chin? Mel didn’t know why she called his little dimple that. She thought it was cute.
Oh. Mel swallowed and looked up at him. She hadn’t said that out loud, had she? His eyes were boring into hers, all quiet intensity.
“What’s, um…” Mel swallowed, tightened her grip on the stethoscope around her neck. “Dr. Langdon–”
“Frank,” he insisted, reaching up to prise her hands off her stethoscope, gently but insistently. He was holding her hands. He was holding her hands.
“...Frank, I…I don’t think…”
“Then don’t think,” Frank said, closing the distance between them with a kiss, soft at first but growing more urgent by the second. Mel let out one tiny squeak before her brain shut all the way down, and she felt her arms wrapping around his neck. He was so - tall and strong and married this should not be happening this should not be happening--
They were on the bed, and he was kissing her neck, and their scrubs were in a pile next to the bed. She was already seeing stars, and she couldn’t find the words and this felt so good and his hands were sliding down her hips, down her thighs and–
Mel awoke with a small start, eyes flickering open to an unfamiliar bedroom. No, wait. This was her bedroom. Hers and Frank’s bedroom. It was big and sunshiney yellow, pastel and perfect.
“Morning,” Frank said, nudging open their bedroom door with his hip, sliding through and then shutting it with his foot. In his hands were two mugs of coffee, and he gave her an easy smile. “Sleep okay?” He was in his pajamas - a plain white t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She looked down and realized she was also in a plain white t-shirt. His.
“I–yes, thank you,” Mel said. Her hair was falling in loose, messy waves over her shoulders, the way it always did when it wasn’t in her work-braid. She reached for the coffee with her left hand and paused as he slid the handle between her fingers.
There were rings on her finger. An engagement ring and a wedding ring.
Mel smiled to herself, couldn’t even try to hide it by having a sip of her coffee. “We’re married?”
Frank laughed as he draped himself across the foot of their bed. “Last I checked,” he said, eyes sparkling with merriment. “But–yeah, sometimes I can’t believe it either. How’d I get so lucky?”
Mel could honestly say she had no idea. But this felt so–right, so warm and safe and–
Beep beep. Frank sighed and plucked his pager from his waist - when had he changed into his scrubs? - downed the coffee and sighed again.
“I had to take RBG into the Pitt,” he said. “We should probably get down there.”
“You had to take–” Mel frowned. Red Blue Green? That didn’t make sense.
“Ruth Bader Ginspurr?” Frank said, giving her a strange look. “The cat?”
Oh. Right. “Oh. Right.” Ruth Bader Ginspurr. The cat. Sure.
“Wait, why did you take the cat to–”
Mel was standing in the Pitt, near the nurse’s station. It was the central nerve of the whole ED, and it was as busy and chaotic as usual. And she was just standing there.
In Frank Langdon’s plain white t-shirt.
And no pants whatsoever.
“Dr. King,” Dr. Robby said, shoving open the nearest trauma-room door. “We need you in here.” He was wearing blue gloves, a tear-away poncho. Both were covered in blood.
“I–I’m not wearing pants,” Mel said helplessly, feeling the heat rise to her face. How had she come to work with no pants? She wanted to cry. Dr. Robby stared at her with the perfect mix of parental disappointment and annoyance.
“We don’t have time for pants,” Dr. Robby said, as seriously as he had ever said anything else, ever, in his life. “Dana?”
Mel turned to look at Dana, who clucked her tongue at Mel. “Here, take mine,” Dana said. Before Mel could stop her, she was shimmying out of her scrub pants, revealing–
More scrubs underneath.
What?
“Part’a bein’ a nurse, always bein’ prepared,” Dana said. “Give you the clothes off my back around here. Would you hurry up and get movin’, Dr. King?” Dana said, tossing her the pants across the nursing station. Mel caught them, barely, and hopped into them, trying to walk and dress at the same time.
She had no shoes, either. This was not safe ED practice, she thought dully to herself as she pushed open the trauma room door. Her friends were gathering around the bed in the middle of the room like bees in a hive, all fighting valiantly against the ever-present spectre of death that loomed over them all.
“What’s going on?” Mel asked as she scrambled to don her own poncho and gloves. On the table was…
A cat.
Mel frowned. Come to think of it, she didn’t even have a cat.
And also, this was an emergency department for humans. They were doctors, not veterinarians.
That was okay, though, because next thing she knew, when she looked back at the table, there was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The human. Machines beeped wildly and her friends jostled around her, reaching and grabbing and taking and checking and doing all the things they did every single day. She was so proud of them all–they were going to save a Supreme Court Justice!
“You gonna stand there or you gonna jump in?” Santos asked. Mel shook her head, then nodded quickly instead.
“No. I mean, yes. I mean–what do you want me to do?” Mel asked, looking to Dr. Robby. If they hadn’t started yet, where had all that blood on his gloves and clothes come from?
“You need to do a reverse anti-bilateral crike,” Dr. Robby said. “And quick. We need three liters and two CCs, wide open.”
Mel blinked. Three liters and two CCs of what? “I don’t know how to do a…reverse anti-bilateral…”
Whitaker bumped her hip affectionately. “Nobody does,” he whispered, gently and with a tiny smile. “Nobody actually knows what they’re doing, Mel.”
“I’m not wearing shoes–there are scalpels--”
Before Whitaker could reach down and do whatever a reverse anti-bilateral crike was, the door to the trauma room banged open once more.
Dana stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and terrified.
“There was a shooting at PittFest,” she said breathlessly. There was music coming from somewhere, terribly juxtaposed with the words coming out of Dana’s mouth. I was kissin’ Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream--
“No,” Mel breathed, the world going slanted. “No no no no no not again–”
This time when Dr. Mel King woke up, it was for real. She sat bolt upright and put her hand over her hammering heart and tried to catch her breath. She fumbled for her glasses, slid them on, and looked around.
She was in her own tiny dark bedroom. There was no Dr. Langdon to be seen. There were no cats, or Supreme Court Justices who had, in fact, been dead for years anyway.
Mel let out a long, slow breath. Pittfest had been months ago. Langdon hadn’t come back, after that terrible day. At least, he hadn't yet. Every day, Mel found herself glancing around, hoping she'd see him striding through the Pitt like he had on her very first day. Mel slid her hands over her face, fingers under her glasses, and sighed again. Her Monday morning alarm song had started over.
They didn’t even have an ‘on-call room’, not in the ED. They had a break room, but there weren’t any beds in there. If they did have an ‘on-call room’, it would be in constant use by night-shift people napping before their shift. There was absolutely no way to have a romantic rendezvous at work–not when your work was a hospital Emergency Department, anyway. Not when your work was The Pitt.
All of those stupid hospital shows on TV got it so wrong, it was literally warping her brain.
Six o’clock already and I was just in the middle of a dream, her alarm rang out. Technically, she got up at 5, but close enough. Mel let it play a minute, then sighed. Just another manic Monday… Mel groaned and reached for her alarm clock, fumbling until she found the off button. Usually she snoozed it exactly twice, but, well.
No way was she getting back to sleep now.
Mel sighed and dropped her hands into her lap, looking up at the ceiling. The nightmares had gotten less frequent, thankfully; the counselor Mel had been going to, faithfully as ordered at least once a week since the incident, had helped.
Mel didn’t know if she’d tell her therapist about this dream. She could tell it was one of those dreams that would stick with her - the hot blush of shame under Robby's gaze, the hot blush of...something else, under Langdon's...she could feel the edges of the dream clinging to her like fog. She could almost feel his hands ghosting over her, almost feel the pair of rings on her finger...
If she did tell her therapist about it, she decided, as she made her way to the bathroom, took her meds and turned the shower on, as hot as it would go, she would leave out the first part.
And the second part.
And all the parts concerning Dr. Frank Langdon.
…And the part about the pants.
Nobody, least of all a hospital-mandated therapist, needed to know about that.
It’s too early in the morning to be awake, especially considering she currently has the best excuse for sleeping in that she’s had maybe ever. But Ashley can’t will her body back into unconsciousness, not with her stomach unsettled and her mind racing. The morning sickness had finally started to leave her alone a month or so ago, and today, she’s not sure she can blame the nausea on the hormones.
Outside, the sky looks like it’s lightening up, but then again, Ashley knows Hollow Earth can never quite replicate the classic circadian rhythm. She sits up in bed, huffing as one of the twins kicks her in the ribs, and looks toward her clock on the nightstand. 06:01. Declan and his team will be reporting back to the surface soon.
Just as the thought runs through her head, she hears a knock on the door. “Ash?” Just her name has her chest seizing up. She was hoping he wouldn’t come find her just to say goodbye. “I made you some tea.”
She tucks her legs up beneath her as Declan slips into the room. “You shouldn’t have,” she says, but she still takes the cup he holds out.
“Did I get it right?” he asks, watching her take her first sip.
He did, but Ashley shakes her head. “Look, Declan— you don’t have to do this."
"Make you tea?" He raises his eyebrows. "Just wanted to do something nice."
"Not the damn tea," she grumbles. "I meant, you don't have to, like, delay. Dawdle. Try and say some meaningful goodbye. You have commitments on the surface, I get it. We've barely said two words while you've been here, anyway. Let's just... go back to the way things were."
Declan scowls, and it occurs to Ashley that she's kind of being a dick. But she hadn't asked for any of this, and she certainly isn't going to beg him to stay.
"Ashley," he says, a note of tension in his voice, "I'm not going anywhere."
It's her turn to frown as she struggles further upright, leaning toward him. "What are you talking about?"
“I’m not going back to London,” he says, and her stomach flips. “Not right away, at least. We need… time.” He looks down at her stomach. “And we’ve already lost too much of it.”
Ashley’s shoulders slump. She hasn’t even apologized to him, for not even trying to reach out. But the words stick on her tongue.
“Well,” she mumbles, “I guess a cup of tea is a good start.”
Declan sits next to her on the bed and reaches out for her hand. She lets him take it. One of the kids elbows her kidney.
“I’m not gonna make it easy on you,” she warns him.
He actually laughs at her, the asshole. “You never have.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Julie, who has finally managed to catch her breath, sees red. “Oi, what is wrong with this place? First you lot send her to that horrid Wormwood’s, now you let her be taken by some evil witch?! Some school this is!”
Normally, Hecate would be the first to defend Cackle’s against slander. But she knows, deep down, Julie has a point. More than a point - Julie is right.
---
A slightly darker take on the series finale - and its aftermath.
Between the pages of her diary there’s a piece of paper sticking out. A handy guide, past Lexi came up with. This list had been the cause of both joy and stress, but most of all it was keeping her prepared for a magical holiday season. All she had to do was consider these few points:
Bling
Sweet treats
Charity
Family
The perfect gift
A spark of romance
The last point 'A spark of romance' had been hastily crossed out, because even back then Lexi knew that life wasn’t some fanfiction.
Check out other magnificent feximas gifts in the collection ♡
Cinder walked to her car in seemingly below zero weather, cursing Iko for making her wear this thin outfit. Her toes felt frozen in her boots! Iko said that she should look good in front of her crush, which just happens to be Kai (alright Cinder admits it) who was throwing the Christmas party. She really hoped he had a warm house.
The engine struggled to turn on, making sputtering noises as if it was a dolphin. Maybe she should check on that... Tomorrow. Today, she worried if Kai would appreciate her under-price gift.
The car finally came to life, making Cinder laugh in relief. She’ll get to the party in time, for sure.
She was late. Ten minutes late, to be exact, but she didn't really care. She wore a thin green dress with leggings underneath (thank the stars), black ankle boots, a scarf, and gloves that provided no warmth. At least no one would see her scars. Oh, and she had bare arms that are covered in goosebumps. This party better be worth it.
She got out of the car and was grateful for the shoveled snow. At least the snow wouldn't melt and then freeze again in her boots. She remembered the first time she came to Kai’s house, thinking that it was big. The dorky germaphobe that everyone liked was rich, no surprise. Now she was used to it, after having been here too much.
There were too many cars in the driveway and the curb. Kai didn't like crowds and he said it wouldn't be that many people. She wondered what happened. After walking up the front porch, and touching the cool icicle on the railing, Cinder knocked on the door, not expecting to see Kai’s smiling face immediately after and ‘Last Christmas’ playing through the speaker.
“Cinder,” he cried, excitement rolling off of him in waves. It made her blush, “You’re here. I have been waiting for you!”
He hugged her, making her blush more. She hoped her already flushed face from the cold hid her visual feelings for him, “You’re so warm.”
“Oh. Sorry,” he let go of her but she immediately hugged him again.
“No, I’m freezing, please warm me up.”
“O-ok,” They stood, hugging, on the front porch for a little bit before Cinder realized that they were hugging on the front porch.
She let go of him, regretfully, “Let’s go inside.”
The house was warm, as she hoped. She still wished for a jacket though, “Why aren't you wearing any layers?” Kai asked.
“Iko convinced me not to.”
“Really? How?”
By telling her that Kai would probably kiss her in that, “By telling me that it was fifty degrees Fahrenheit tonight and that U could take it.”
“It’s twenty-eight, below freezing point,” he turned sharply to a closet and pulled out a thick coat, “Here put this on.”
“Oh it's ok, I’ll warm up-” Kai put the coat around her shoulders, “Thank you.”
He smiled, “Your welcome. And when you're all warmed up, you can just give it to me,” he hesitated, “You look very pretty.”
Cinder felt her heart speed up, “There’s a lot of people here,” she said, changing the conversation.
“Oh, I did not invite them all, certainly, but rumor got out that I was having a ‘party’ and everyone decide to come,” he shrugged sheepishly, “You were the first one I invited.”
“I feel honored.”
“You should,” they walked together, maneuvering around people, to the main space where there even more people.
“Cinder, you made it!” Iko squealed, “The dress looks amazing, but where did you get the coat?”
“I got it from Kai.”
“Oh,” Iko raised her eyebrows. Cinder shook her rapidly, “I see,” her blue haired friend clapped her hands once, “Well, I’m going to get some more eggnog, and leave you guys alone,” she winked and left.
“Classic Iko, am I right?” Cinder chuckled.
“Yep. Ooh, we should do Secret Santa soon, that would be fun.”
Her eye twitched, “Yep. Fun,” except for the fact he might hate my gift, she thought.
“Ok, I’ll tell Iko, since she handled that, and be right back,” he left in the direction Iko went.
“So are you going to confess to him today?” a voice said directly behind her.
She jumped and turned around. Jacin stood drinking a cup of eggnog and leaning on the wall, “No. And don't do that, you scared me,” Cinder turned around again.
“You should. It's very obvious you like each other.”
“You think he likes me?” she turned around a third time.
“Yes. Like I said it's obvious,” he got up and sighed, “But I don't feel like getting into relationships today.”
“Oh. I don't think he likes me. Because he never drops any hints or picks up on any of mine. I’m stuck in the friend zone-”
Jacin suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, “You like him. He likes you. Just go ask him out and he’ll glow like Rudolph,” he walked away as nothing happened.
“Someone spiked the eggnog,” Kai said, appearing behind her. She turned around a fourth time, “And I don't know what to do. Like I kind of wanted that to happen, but I don't want to deal with any drunk people.”
“We can manage the eggnog, make sure no one gets multiple drinks.”
“Yes. You're amazing, Cinder, as always, come with me,” he grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen.
He stumbled a couple of times but would then straighten up. She raised an eyebrow, “Did you drink any eggnog?”
“Yes. One cup. That's how I know it's spiked,” he paused, “Iko’s doing Secret Santa soon.”
“Oh, great.”
They made it to the eggnog station, “Do you want some?” Kai asked.
“Sure,” he smiled and prepared a cup a bit clumsily. It was getting hotter now, she better take the coat off. Someone lifted off her shoulders and let her pull out her arms. They were very gentle and made her smile, “Thank you,” Cinder then realized it was Kai who helped her.
“No problem,” he put the coat on the eggnog tabled and clutched the drink in his hands, “Did I mention that you looked very beautiful tonight? I mean you look beautiful all the time, it's just- now it's more noticeable.”
Cinder was stunned at how he could make her smile without even knowing it was him. And she liked that. But then she processed his next sentence and her face became a shade darker, “Thanks, Kai. I really could say the same about you, because you look amazing in that suit. And you look really good all the time,” did she really just say that. Did he really just blush
“Thanks, Cinder,” he brushed a stray lock around her ear while his ears blushed pink. Ask him out and he’ll glow like Rudolph.
“Kai, I-”
“Hey everyone, it's time. To start. Secret Santa!” Iko yelled from the microphone somewhere, pausing between each word, “and if you like your gift you have to kiss your Secret Santa. It can be I the cheek, hand, whatever. If you don't, still kiss them because it's rude to not accept a gift. Now go. Find. Your. Secret Santa!”
Cinder rapidly drank all her eggnog. Why was she worrying, it's just a gift? She looked at Kai who was bright pink. Maybe he was worrying too.
“Can I tell you something?” Kai murmured, some panic showing in his eyes.
“Yes. Anything.”
He twisted his fingers, “I, how do I say this, like the person I got for Secret Santa.”
“Like as in easy to gift or like as a person?”
“No, like as in,” he paused, “Romance?”
“Oh,” Cinder blinked, “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you’ll probably kiss them, so good for you,” those words were a needle to her balloon heart, “I like my person like that too.”
Why the fuck did she just say that. It's the eggnog, definitely the eggnog.
“Oh,” Kai looked down. He looked disappointed, and for what? He liked someone else so he wouldn't care if she liked him. That someone else should feel very good tonight.
“Go find your person, Kai,” she said, pushing him away.
“You do the same,” he smiled. Neither of them left. There was no way they got each other for Secret Santa. But Iko was the one who handled it.
“Oh, shit,” she said under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. I'll go first then,” be confident, Cinder. You might screw this up but it's Christmas, “Here you go, Kai. I got you a keychain. It’s Spiderman. Remember when we watched that movie at your house and-”
“I screamed when Gwen Stacy fell?” he nodded, “Yeah, wouldn't stop teasing me for that,” he grabbed the keychain she had pulled out of her pocket, “Thank you, Cinder.”
“Yeah, no problem,” it shouldn't take him long to put two and two together.
Kai started to pull something out of his pocket, “Guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m your Secret Santa.”
“Oh,” she blinked, “Oh.”
He smiled, “Here,” she took the small, silver box that was wrapped in the corners with gold ribbon and a bow in the middle. There was a tag saying ‘From: Kai. To: Cinder ♡︎’ in really good calligraphy. Maybe she should have wrapped her gift.
She untied the ribbon and opened the box to reveal a necklace with the letter ‘C’ in the middle, “Kai, it's beautiful. I love it.”
“I owe you a kiss.”
“What?”
“I liked your gift so I owe you a kiss.”
She smiled, “I owe you a kiss too,” neither of them moved. They kind of just confessed that they liked each other romantically and just realized it. It was a bit awkward too, “Can you put this on me?”
“Sure,” he fumbled with the clasp of the necklace and she turned around, lifting her hair. He then secured the chain and she turned to face Kai once more, “There’s a bathroom over there so you can see it in the mirror.”
“Okay,” she paused, “Do you want to come with?”
His lip twitched, “Sure.”
They made their way to the bathroom. Each step Cinder would go over the events of what happened. He likes her. She likes him. Easy as riding a bike, but why did she feel so nervous. Thoughts jumbled up in her head, it must be the eggnog or her subconscious on the wheel.
She opened the door and Kai followed. Cinder inspected the necklace and grew more in awe, “Kai, seriously, this is amazing.”
“You like it then.”
“Yes I do.”
He shifted on his feet, “Cinder, may I- may I kiss you?”
Her eyes widened. Cinder knew it was going to happen, eventually, but it still felt shocking. She took a step closer and nodded.
He leaned down and wrapped his hands around her. She brought her hands up his chest, shoulders, then placed them comfortably around his neck. He kissed her.
It felt like sparks were coming off of his lips as she deepened the kiss. He pushed her to the counter and dug his hands in her hair. It felt like two puzzle pieces coming together, fitting and looking right. She smiled underneath the kiss. It was finally happening, Cinder could say-
“Stop making out in there, I need to piss!” a voice that sounded eerily like Scarlet’s yelled at them.
Kai pulled away, breathless, cheeks bright red, with a smile on his face. Cinder chuckled, “I guess we better leave.”
“Wouldn’t want to face Scarlet’s fury,” they laughed. Kai pressed his forehead on hers, “Merry Christmas, Cinder.”
“Merry Christmas, Kai.”
A/N: I wanted to write a Christmas kaider and I did. I also wrote this in a day so, please have some compassion in your heart. Keep calm and love kaider <3
Tagging: @i-will-write-someday @greenalmond @the-wee-woo-rita @shellyseashell @shelbylmkaider @not-the-founder-of-rome @crescentchat @just2bubbly @tamakis-ears @ever-squish @fangirlforever0704 @deprivedmusicaljunkie @notjacinclay @zephyr-thedragon @cerenoya @a-salting-the-world @rapunzelfromthemoon @jacihayle @winterrhayle @wheresmymom-imlost @cinderswrench @cindersassasin (ask if you wanna be added or removed <3)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
Dean could not have foreseen that a simple back scratch would lead to being essentially quarantined in the bunker with a strangely behaving angel. But apparently this was his life now.
According to my AO3 page, it’s been 5 years since the last time I attempted to write fanfic, so yeah, this is kind of a big deal for me. Anyway, this is part of the ProfoundBond exchange, it’s for @thesongsmithtumbles and it was really fun.
I haven’t written anything, fanfic or original, within the last couple of years and I’m slowly dipping my toes into the water again, trying to have some kind of routine, because writing is actually something I really enjoy. So actually finishing this and posting it is something I’m really proud of :)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter 8: Conversations in bed, feelings about the future, and adventures at the fair.
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Chrom/Female My Unit | Female Avatar/Chrom
Summary: Chrom only has one choice if he intends to keep his daughter from his ex-wife, and Robin's the only one who can help him.
