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Robby sat in the driveway of the Langdon family condo willing himself to knock on the door. He’s lucky that there’s no one awake in the neighborhood since he’s sure he looks pretty suspicious for sitting in the Langdon driveway at two in the morning. After one of the worst shifts in his entire career, Robby was able to check on Jake who managed to walk away from the shooting at Pitt Fest with no physical injuries. He then drove back to the hospital to perform the pharmacy audit on Frank that he originally asked Dana to perform.
Now, he needed to discuss the results with a certain someone. Robby counted to ten for the thirtieth time and finally moved to get out of his car. With every ring of the doorbell, he reminded himself that being here was important as he waited for Frank to open the door. Except, it wasn't Frank who answered the door though. “Abby.”
“What are you doing here Robby?” She looks exhausted leaning against the door in a hoodie and pajama pants.
She keeps the door mostly closed to Robby with a frown. Robby has only known Abby to be welcoming of every person she's ever met and full of love. She has hosted many members of the Emergency Room staff in this condo over the years of Frank's residency even during her second pregnancy. She would also send Frank in with extra baked goods or other snacks for various reasons. There was a time when the staff would intentionally rile Frank up because she would send her special brownies to the hospital the next day as an apology for Frank being “extra bitchy.”
Abby Langdon was also an extremely protective and stubborn woman. If she felt that someone was trying to hurt one of her loved ones, she became an impenetrable force. And here she was defending her husband and her home from her husband’s mentor. Robby wasn't sure how he felt about being treated as a threat. However, Robby knew that if he wanted to speak to Frank ever again, he would need to get past Abby.
“Robby,” Abby tries again, “it's late and I'm sure you've had a long day with everything that happened. Maybe you should call later if you want to stop by.”
“Abby, I need to talk to him,” Robby pleaded. She glanced behind her for a second before opening the door and stepping aside. As he stepped inside, Robby made eye contact with his chief resident standing on the staircase.
Perhaps, it's because it's so late, but Frank looks terrible. His hair is ruffled and standing up in different directions. He's wearing an oversized zip-up that ends mid thigh. Robby thinks Frank might be wearing his scrub pants for this morning. Frank has always been adamant about changing out of his scrubs before coming home. His children, especially his eldest Tanner, always wanted to play when he got home from a long shift. It was easier to be ready to just jump into playtime when he got home versus needing change and keep the four year old waiting longer. Now though, Frank looked frail.
Robby walks into the living room and sits on the loveseat while Frank sits on the couch. Abby walked behind Frank and gave his shoulder a squeeze before continuing to the dining room table in the next room. Her back was to them, but she didn’t have anything with her to draw her attention away from the two men.
“We saw the news,” Frank said quietly to the floor. “Is Jake okay? And his date?”
“They're both okay. They weren't hurt, but it took awhile to find them. I just came from seeing Jake.”
Frank nodded. “That’s good. I’m glad he’s okay. It must have been terrible in The Pitt.”
Flashes of the night flooded Robby's mind: blood, crying, and what felt like a never ending arrival of people. But he wasn't here to talk about that.
“I ran a pharmacy audit on you.”
“Oh,” exhaled Frank.
“I pulled every prescription for every patient you've ever written in the last three months. There are some scripts that were on the higher end of dosage, but nothing that blatantly looks like you were overprescribing. At least a malpractice lawyer will be to argue about what happened. So, that just leaves these,” Robby fumbled around his pockets and pulled out the baggy of Louie’s pills that he placed on the coffee table, “as the only concrete proof that you were doing something wrong.”
“Robby,” Frank started.
“We shouldn’t be talking about this,” interrupted Abby from the dining room, “Frankie, you shouldn’t be saying anything until you’ve talked to a lawyer.”
Robby could see how scared Frank looked by her reaction. He understood where Abby was coming from. Robby had a legal and ethical obligation to report the pills and the suspicion that Frank was diverting medications from the hospital. Frank was at risk of losing his license, possibly going to jail, and Robby would most likely be asked to provide evidence against him. Abby, ever the protector, would not allow Robby to use her husband’s vulnerable state against his best interests.
“I almost flushed these down the toilet,” Robby said, gesturing to the pills. Frank snapped his head up and looked Robby in the eye for the first time in hours. “Then I tried to give them back to Louie. I'm here because I want to help you, Frank.”
“Robby, I promise I was weaning off. I had it under control.”
“I know that you think you have it under control. For a while, you probably did, but we both know how this ends. We've seen it a hundred times. And I don't…I can't be the one standing over you trying to get your heart beating again.”
Frank was silent for a bit. There looked to be almost a sense of resignation on his face. Robby hoped that he was getting through to him “I tried to do this on my own. I didn't want to burden anyone, but I think I need help.”
“I know a place. They've worked with other doctors before. They'll take you starting two days from now.” For the first time in hours, Robby was hopeful of a positive outcome.
“Two days? What about the kids? Work? Our insurance is through the hospital. If they fire me, we'll lose everything.”
“Oh Frankie,” Abby crouches in front of Frank. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “We’ll figure it out. We just need you to be okay.”
“It’ll be easier if you admit to what happened and show that you are working to get clean,” Robby said. “Once you're back, there will be restrictions: you probably won't be able to prescribe any meds without extra approval or administer certain types.”
“And who's going to want a resident that can't even prescribe Tylenol?” Frank asked.
“Damnit Frank! I do,” Robby’s voice rose for the first time this evening.
It was silent after Robby's declaration. Frank was frozen in place. Searching for answers in Robby's face. Then he burst into tears. Abby moved to hold him, but Robby beat her to him. Robby held Frank to his chest while he cried. Tears of his own threatening to spill.
“I'm sorry that I didn't see it,” Robby apologized. “Or that I probably did see it, and acted like nothing was wrong, and that you didn't feel like you could come to me. But I'm here now, and I'm not going to abandon you. No matter how long this takes.”
“Okay,” Frank nodded. “So, what's next?”
“Well, you need to meet with a lawyer. I asked Angela Marano to stop by tomorrow and speak with you.”
“Angela Marano? I can't afford her.”
“Don't worry. She owes me a favor”
“Angela Marano owes you a favor and you call it on for me?”
“Eh, her sister married my brother. She's doing this in exchange for me hosting our niece and nephew for two weeks when their parents go to Europe next month,” Robby chuckled.
Both Abby and Frank laughed at that. Robby stood up to leave. He gave Frank another hug before making his way out. When he reached the door, Abby caught his arm. Robby could see the tear streaks down her face as he looked down at her. No words were exchanged, but an understanding was reached. Neither was a threat to the other. Together, they were Frank Langdon’s closest confidants and his greatest champions, and they would be there to support him through this next chapter. With that, Robby returned to his car.
“Robby,” Frank called out approaching his mentor’s car carefully. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Robby sighed. “I know, Frank. I forgive you.”
With that, Robby got in his car and left. Frank was still standing on the driveway when Robby turned off of his street.
___
Two days later, Robby was in the Langdon family’s home again. He watched as Frank hugged four year old Tanner and baby Oliver. Their new goldendoodle puppy was also running circles around the whole family. Tanner was clinging to Frank as Abby tried to pry him off. The more she pulled on him though, the harder he held his dad. It made everyone cry.
Eventually, the four year old boy was extricated and his father was allowed to leave. With one last kiss to Abby and baby Oliver, Frank made his way to Robby's car.
“I'm doing the right thing, right?” Frank asked as Robby started to pull out of the driveway. “Tanner just wouldn't stop crying and I've never been away from him for more than 24 hours before. He's going to hate me for being away.”
“Frank, you're getting treatment so that you can be better for all of them. He'll understand when he's older.”
Frank nodded, but his face still showed signs of distress. “Did you talk to Angela?” Frank asked.
“Yes,” Robby nodded. “She told me all about how my niece was going through an emo phase and I should prepare myself for loud head-banging music.”
“What?” Frank was confused.
“You have attorney-client privilege and I work for the people investigating you. She's not going to tell me anything.” Angela and Robby hadn't said anything to each other yesterday when Robby formally reported the suspected diversion.
“Oh.”
They continued driving outside of the city for a while. About forty-five minutes later, they reached a large school-looking building surrounded by a lot of trees and open area. Robby pulled his car into a parking spot and led Frank to the front door and pressed the buzzer. Then they waited.
Frank's hands started to shake more and he kept looking towards the driveway.
“It's okay to be scared,” said Robby.
A young man opened the door. “Can I help you with anything?”
Frank looked back at Robby who didn't say anything. Frank knew what he had to do, “I'm here to see Dr. Melbern.”
“Ah, welcome,” said the person at the door moved aside. “I can help you get checked in. Do you want to say goodbye one last time?”
Frank launched himself into Robby's arms. Robby could feel tears in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around Frank. After a few seconds, the mentor and his mentee separated, and Frank began to walk through the door.
Frank looked back one last time. “Thank you, Robby.”
The staff member closed the door.