Just finished reading the amazing work “County Fair Crush” by @rainyramblings and couldn’t resist making a mood board since I got a shoutout in the author’s note
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.”
every time i think about the plot lines for season 2 I get more frustrated
Santos spent the last 3 episodes doing charts!!! samira apologised to robby after he screamed at her the whole day!!!! mckay had maybe 2 relevant patients and im not sure what her arc was!!! al-hashimi was reduced to a punching bag!!! whitaker was teaching instead of mohan!!!
I kinda need us to bring back the great fandom tradition of ship compilations on youtube, just a 45 min long video of all scenes between mel and langdon with transitions and sound tracks
you know what I care about more than a fictional character’s psychological struggles? the very real women of color being used as a DEI quota and then discarded because the main character/actor is a piece of racist shit
titsay
theartofmadeline
jbbartram-illu
turnnoffyourmind
