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Frank Langdon should be home by now. Should’ve been home hours ago, if he were being honest. There were a few unanswered texts from Abby on his phone burning a hole through his jeans. He felt lightheaded. A little crazy, too. It had been a long, hard day. But like he’d told Mel out in the ambulance bay earlier, he’d had a lot worse.
Because coming back to work had been invigorating as much as it was difficult. Langdon had a purpose here. He saved lives here. That closed cervical reduction he’d done? It was as close to high as Langdon had been in 168 days.
The second closest? A traitorous voice in the back of his head whispered: that conversation with Mel.
He swallowed. So, that’s why he couldn’t respond to his wife’s texts right now. That’s why he couldn’t go home. Because he was too busy riding the high of the ED and Dr. Mel King. A woman he’d only known thirty hours at this point but felt connected to on a cellular level. Maybe they were friends. Or kindred spirits. But Langdon knew, deep down, that for every new hour he would know and work with Mel, this feeling would only increase. It scared him. And worst of all, it excited him.
So Langdon had dragged himself up to the roof with everyone else to watch the fireworks. There were a few people in between him and Mel, and he couldn’t help but prefer when they watched them alone, in the ambulance bay. He wondered if she was thinking the same. If she knew what was good for her, though, she wouldn’t.
And when Santos rounded everyone into going to a karaoke bar, he’d been ready to finally tap out for the night. Until he saw that Mel would be going out, too. Suddenly, Langdon was a huge karaoke fan.
On their way into the bar, McKay leaned over and asked, “You don’t have plans with the kids? Chad has Harrison tonight, or I’d be rushing home.”
His chest constricted, feeling caught. “Nah. Abby took them to a barbecue for dinner to watch some fireworks. Early bedtimes for them tonight.”
McKay nodded, accepting this answer but giving him a curious look. What he’d said was mostly true. But he left out the part where he and Abby were going to watch the fireworks on their back porch together. It was just something they always did.
Things had changed between Abby and him. Shifted. Not because of his addiction entirely. There were problems before he ever took his first pill. Langdon worked long hours. Abby didn’t work at all, staying home to raise their children. He admired her greatly, and some days he envied how much time she spent with them. On days when he came home and they were already in bed. Or when he would call in the middle of the shift just to speak to their son because he’d watched a child die and could barely take it. He envied that time. However, emergency medicine was his passion, and he would never give it up. Abby knew that about him. So when she began to complain about his long shifts, about his bad moods, about his absence, it stung.
Langdon had thought they were always on the same page. He wanted to work, and she didn’t. Foolishly, he’d thought he could do other things to try and make up for the times she missed him. He took her out to dinner when he had the time. Bought her more expensive gifts. Got a damn dog for the kids, thinking they would love a pet and she would enjoy the new addition. He’d been so wrong, just like Dana said. It only made Abby feel like he didn’t really know her anymore. Like he didn’t understand who she was or what she wanted.
It was hard because he felt the same way. Misunderstood. Disconnected.
When Langdon went to rehab, she threatened to leave him. She almost hit her breaking point. Abby couldn’t understand how she’d missed this in his behavior, and she was so angry that he’d made the decisions he’d made. Gone down that path. And he couldn’t even blame her.
She didn’t leave, though, because she loved him and he loved her. They were working through it. Landon was sober, and they were going to couples counseling. But they weren’t even sleeping in the same bed anymore. He’d been taking the guest room ever since he returned. They had to rebuild their intimacy for anything to work between them.
Langdon loved Abby, and he knew she loved him. But, heartbreakingly, he didn’t think they liked each other anymore.
And when he went back to work only to be met with a beautiful, intelligent, blonde woman who was so excited to see him…how could he not like her? There was no universe that Langdon could imagine where he didn’t like Mel and she didn’t like him. She was the sun and he was a measly planet orbiting her, trying to soak up any of her rays. And Mel knew he would die if she didn’t continue to shine on him.
His leg bounced up and down where he sat at one of the tables their group had picked out. Anticipation built in him for their next shift together. She wanted him to teach her how to do the closed cervical reduction. Mel wanted to learn from Langdon. How could he ever say no?
Javadi and McKay were singing some new pop song he didn’t know. Javadi knew all the words, but McKay was struggling. Probably only heard it on the radio when she was with her son. It brought a smile to his face, and he took a sip from the water he’d been nursing.
“Are you going to sing anything, Dr. Langdon?” a familiar voice asked as she sat in the chair next to him, having come back from the bathroom.
He met Mel’s eyes. A small smile played on her face. He glanced down for a millisecond. It was the second time he’d done that tonight, so he silently admonished himself for it. “Nah, not me. Think I’d clear the whole place out.” She laughed, and he drank it in. “You don’t have to call me Dr. Langdon, you know. We’re not at the hospital.”
Mel blinked. “Oh, what would you like to be called?”
He cleared his throat, nervous all of a sudden. “Just Langdon is fine. That’s what most people say. Or Frank is good too.”
“Frank,” she tested out. She met his gaze and smiled hesitantly. “I like it. Though I will probably still say Dr. Langdon around patients, if that’s alright?”
It was his turn to laugh. He felt giddy. “Yeah, that’s alright, Mel.”
Before he could say anything else to her, the song ended. Santos bounced up out of her chair and snatched Mel by the arm. “Our turn!” She dragged Mel on stage, who looked a bit afraid now, but mostly she was smiling excitedly. It was obvious she needed this after her hard day. She’d expected to spend the night with her sister, but at least she could spend it with friends.
The first notes to Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” started up. Langdon perked up, sitting up straighter. Great song. This would be fun to watch.
Or so he thought.
They began singing, and it was clear that a career in music was neither of their calling. A smile rose on his face unbidden as he watched Mel attempt to sing the lyrics.
The smile faltered as soon as he heard her sing the lyric, “Would she go down on you in a theatre?”
Langdon swallowed. He’d never heard Mel say anything like that. Even hearing her say the word “sex” earlier in reference to her sister had been a moment he had to compartmentalize.
Because it made his mind wander in the slightest way. And he was horrible for it.
The meaning of this song hit him now, and he cursed Santos for picking this song for them to sing. She was clearly feeling all of the lyrics. Langdon didn’t know who she was singing about, but he had heard a few whispers about her and Garcia earlier. Maybe there was some truth to it.
As he watched Mel, Langdon couldn’t help but wonder if she related to the song in any way, or if this was just a karaoke session for her? Did she think about him like that? Was she jealous of his wife? Selfish thoughts. These were selfish thoughts he was having, but he couldn’t help himself.
The song kept going. He choked on his water when she sang, “And are you thinking of me when you fuck her?”
McKay glanced at him weirdly. He sent a reassuring smile as if it just went down the wrong pipe. Nope. Langdon was strangely grateful he and Abby hadn’t had sex in a long time. He didn’t want to know what he would think of. Who he might think of. It was a dangerous train of thought.
Mel’s long, blonde hair was down. It was messy, pulled out of its braid by Santos so they could properly head-bang. Her glasses came off at some point. Langdon was frozen. Transfixed. He’d touched that hair earlier, when he examined her head. It had been tied back neatly in its usual braid. Now, he imagined running his fingers through the strands. Gripping it.
Langdon had to look away for a moment.
The song was almost over, and their fun, cathartic moment on stage together was coming to an end. In the last few lines, Mel finally made eye contact with Langdon. She smiled brightly. Like she’d been nervous to look at him this whole time but when she finally did, she saw what she wanted to see.
He didn’t know what Mel saw on his face. Because if he had to guess? He looked like a goner.
Langdon anxiously spun the wedding band on his ring finger as the last notes of the song played. They took their bows and the whole room clapped, including him. Mel made her way back to the table. He tracked her movement the entire time. In those ten seconds, several things became clear to him. One: his faltering marriage might be worse off than he originally thought. Two: he was more excited to work at the hospital than he had been in a long time.
And three: Frank Langdon was totally, royally fucked.