Work Text:
On a night shift, chairs seem more chaotic than usual. Mel sees a familiar face out of the corner of her eye, a mop of brown hair hidden under a baseball hat. Javadi is next to him, offering a steady hand as he stands from his chair. She quickly makes her way through the ER doors, trailing the two as they enter an examination room.
“Cody,” Mel says as she snaps on nitrile gloves. “What brings you here tonight?”
“Dr. Mel,” Cody says as he smiles widely, his entire face lighting up when he sees her. Victoria looks between them, confused. “If I tell you, you might scold me.”
“Okay, first of all, it’s just Mel, or Dr. King.” She snorts, taking a step towards the gurney Cody is sitting on the edge of. “Second of all, you like it when I scold you.”
“I tripped when I was drunk.” He holds up his arm, a bruise is decorating his forearm, and his wrist looks unnaturally bent. “Kiss it better?”
“Should I be here?” Javadi speaks up, a horrified look across her face.
“Yes. Cody’s just being an ass, per usual.” Mel taps away at her tablet. “Please call radiology so uh Mr…” Mel searches on his file for his last name, because for Christ's sake, she doesn’t even know it. “Labutte can get an X-ray on his arm.”
Javadi nods quickly and joins Mel’s side as they leave the room together.
“Who was that?” Javadi asks intently at the nurses' station as she punches in radiology orders. Frank lingers nearby, pretending to look for something on the desk.
“Who was what?” Santos interjects before Mel can answer.
“Mel and this patient had flirty banter,” Javadi responds. Mel fake sighs, trying to look annoyed, knowing the only way gossip spreads is to act like you don’t want it to. “He was like, ‘scold me, Dr. King! Kiss me better, Dr. King!”
“He didn’t call me Dr. King. He didn’t know my last name until just now.” Mel states.
Javadi and Santos’ eyes go wide; Javadi gasps. “And you didn’t know his!” She exclaims, much louder than she intended, obviously, the way she shrank back down when half of the emergency department looked her way.
“Melamona, you little minx,” Santos says.
“That’s crass, Trinity. We’re friends.”
“Oh yeah, like you and Langdon are friends?”
“Stop being rude, Trinity.”
Santos rolled her eyes.
“Besides,” Mel continues, a little louder than she usually speaks. “Unlike Dr. Langdon, I’ve actually fucked Cody.”
—
Frank’s head spins around so fast he twinges it. This catches Santos’ attention, and she tries to stifle a laugh. He takes a few long strides across the floor, hoping whatever the thought he just heard was incorrect.
Instead, he sees the back of Mel’s head as she enters patient room 5 and, like the weak man he is, he follows her. A dog chasing its master.
“So it is broken, but it’s clean, so no surgery is required.” Mel is standing beside the gurney holding the motherfu— young man that Frank can only assume is Cody.
“So no follow-up appointments with my favourite doctor?” Cody muses, it makes Frank’s skin crawl. He loudly clears his throat to announce his presence, Mel taking notice and slightly rolling her eyes when she realizes he’s interjected himself into this case.
“Cody, this is my colleague, Dr. Frank Langdon.” She says, and Frank gawks at the enunciation of his name. Cody’s eyes light up, and he chuckles a bit.
“The famous Dr. Langdon, or maybe I should call you my favourite doctor’s favourite doctor.” Cody winks at Mel while he uses Frank to flirt with her, and he wants a hole to appear beneath him to swallow him up. Mel, beautiful, funny, amazing, Mel giggles delightfully as if it’s the greatest joke she’s ever heard, her free hand smacking Cody’s bicep.
“Whoa, careful, Mel, I might have to report you for patient abuse.” Cody looks directly at Frank, “A court case would guarantee I see you again.”
To Frank, Mel is a woman possessed; she throws her head back and laughs wildly, more than she’s laughed at any patient’s joke.
“That would be a very expensive second date.” She smiles.
Frank, in his infinite wisdom, does the only thing he can think of at the moment, aside from punching Cody square in the face in a fit of jealous rage.
“We need this bed for someone who actually needs it, man. I’m discharging you.” He grabs the tablet from Mel’s hands and completes the discharge form, messily inputting information, and marches out of the room.
He heads directly for the stairs, rushing to catch a breath of fresh air, even for a second. He needs to see the sky, he needs to smell the city, maybe look at a picture of his kids, anything to remind himself to keep his cool.
Standing near the railing, Frank thinks back to what he’d overheard; unlike Langdon, I’ve actually fucked Cody. That would be a very expensive second date. He thinks back to the crucifix he found in her room, how he’d combed through her instagram looking for any friend or acquaintance wearing the necklace. He wished she’d posted more pictures of her parents, or even her small extended family, maybe the small cross had been her mothers or grandmother's. It couldn’t be his, Frank wanted it not to be his.
He takes a deep breath. He wants a lot of things that he shouldn’t.
—
It all comes to a head when Frank pulls her into the locker room a few hours later. He looks antsy, sweating, pupils pinprick; if Mel didn’t know him so well she’d be afraid he’d relapsed. Instead, a warm feeling in her abdomen pools thinking about all the gossip he’d been subjected to all day. The look of pain and jealousy on Frank’s face when Cody implied they were together, the feeling of desperation that was now radiating off of him.
“Are you dating that guy?” Frank says.
“That’s none of your business.” She says, malice creeping in her tone.
“It’s absolutely my business.” He takes a step forward, boxing her in. “He’s an asshole, and I don’t want you dating him.”
“I’m sorry,” she scoffs. “You’re not my father, Frank.”
“Are you dating him?” He repeats through gritted teeth.
“Yes. And I’m dating four other guys and three girls. Do you want their numbers? Wanna check in on them too?” She rips her phone out of her pocket and shoves it to his chest, the force also pushing him back, away from her. “Call them, daddy, since you’re so eager to keep tabs on me.”
Frank looks at her, mouth agape. He’s never heard her speak like this before, mean, bratty, rude even. Even with the toughest patients, she’s sunshine and rainbows. “Mel, listen, I’m sor–”
“Go ahead, unlock my phone. I know you know the passcode.” Her arms crossed, standing opposite him with an annoyed look on her face.
“You are not actually dating that many people.” He says, exasperated.
“Fuck you.” She grabs her phone back from him, angrily. She turns to leave the locker room.
“Mel, baby–”
“Do not ‘baby’ me right now.” Her head whips back. “I was lonely. Excruciatingly lonely. And then you came in and– and–” Her hands are balled into fists at her side. “Just were there. Always there, and you were so nice to me, but you never did anything! You never made a move, I waited and waited for you to make a move…”
She sighs and rubs her hands into her eyes, gently lifting her glasses onto her forehead before letting them fall back down. “And then you were mean when I said I was going out, I don’t know if you intended it that way, but your tone was… it was rude and childish. It made me so mad at you– fuck, Frank, I’m still mad at you.”
“Mel, I’m sorry. Please give me a chance to make it up to you.” He pleads, taking a stride towards her. Her hand comes up in a stop motion, and she turns away from him, eyes filled with frustrated tears.
“I’m tired of belonging to you without being yours. Call me when you’ve allowed yourself to want me.”
_
11:42pm Frank: mel are you awake
11:51pm Frank: mel can we talk pls
12:03am Frank: ok goodnight i’ll see you at work tmrw
9:22am Frank: did you get samira to cover your shift?
1:35pm Frank: mac n cheese day in the cafeteria
1:36pm Frank: ur fv <3
1:37pm Frank: sorry idk i did that
6:14pm Frank: picking up becca soon?
8:09pm Frank: planning on ignoring me all day?
11:34pm Frank: are you with him
11:35pm Frank: actually I don’t want to know
11:35pm Frank: fuck how do i delete messages
2:04am Frank: i know you’re working rn have a good shift
2:05am Frank: please just answer me so i know that you’re not dead from lack of nutrition
2:06am Frank: you always forget to eat on nightshift
2:07am Frank: i think there’s a protein bar in my locker
2:49am Frank: mel please i want to talk about what you said
about how you’re mine but not mine
pls it’s eating me alive
5:38am Mel: I have to be asleep by 3pm
come over when you get this
–
Frank walks into her apartment as she’s eating breakfast, 6:57 am. She’s sitting at the kitchen table with music playing out of her Google Home speaker, an instrumental jazz album, and her Kindle is propped up across from her. He unceremoniously walks forward and slams something on the table in front of her.
“You care to explain this?” He growls, he’s angry, about as angry as she’s ever seen him. Silent anger, festering anger. Her eyes meet his; they’re pinpoint, he’s sweating, and he looks frantic. He looks as if he might fall apart at any second. She might have felt bad for him if he hadn’t gotten on her goddamn nerves all month, acting like a spoiled child who was asked to share his toy in the schoolyard.
She recognized the necklace immediately: Cody’s crucifix he’d asked her to find for him. No wonder it was nowhere to be found; she’d ripped apart her room looking for it. Her eyes darted between the necklace and Frank’s anxious face, his pupils transfixed on her, begging for an answer. She decides to play into his jealousy rather than fight him on it. She originally thought she might make him jealous for a week, maybe two, tops. But this side of Frank lit a fire in her, and she wants to get burned.
“Hello, Mel. Good Morning, Mel. How are you, Mel?” Smirking at his anger only seemed to enrage him more. “That’s usually how people greet their friends. Especially if they use their spare key to barge in during breakfast.”
He huffed. Mel almost imagines steam coming out of his nose. Almost.
“Mel. I’m serious.” He runs a hand down his face; he looks like he could cry. “Please, baby, whose necklace is this?”
“A lady never kisses and tells, sweetheart.” She throws venom in with the last word, mocking him. Taunting him.
“It’s his, isn't it?” He spits out, she goes to touch the necklace, but Frank beats her to it. She follows him, standing, chasing the necklace in his hands. “I knew it. You’ve been fucking him for months.”
“God, Frank, what do you care?” She laughs. She reaches up to grab where Frank is holding the necklace hostage. To counter her, he moves down, grabbing her hair hard in his free hand.
“I care that he fucked my girl.” She whines in response. “I care that he touched my property.”
Mel made an unpleasant noise, an offended look on her face, but her eyes twinkled with desire. He makes a bold choice and throws the necklace on the table, his now free hand finds her waist with a bruising grip.
“What are you gonna do about it?” She grits out through her teeth, fingers raking along the waistband of his pants.
He crushes his lips onto hers, fiercely with teeth. She immediately melts into him, her hands fisting in his shirt as she tries to pull him closer. He kisses with the same passion that he displays at work, meticulous, never wavering. She bites his lower lip and he rewards her with a hard slap on her ass. She gasps into his mouth, and he takes that as an invitation to do it again, harder this time. The strangled noise that came out of her throat sent all the blood in his body straight towards his cock.
“Knew you’d like it rough.” He growls in her ear, planting small bites along her neck. “Knew you’d want to give up control.”
“Only to you.” She gasps. “I only trust you.”
“I’ll make it good for you, baby, I promise.” He grabbed her torso, her weight almost nothing to him, and deposited her stomach down on the table. “But you need to be reprimanded.”
He grabs the back of her sleep shorts, pulling them down past her feet and throwing them over towards the laundry room, located next to the kitchen. Mel is almost embarrassed at the underwear she’s wearing, years old with holes in it, the type you wear to bed, not a sexy rendez-vous. They’re green with white stripes, a bikini cut bottom, and she got them out of a package of 6 at Target.
He clicks his tongue, dancing his hand across the bare spots of her back that were exposed. He gives her a small strike, across her left cheek, and rubs his hand over where he hit to soothe her. She moans into the crook of her arm, her body being held up but the table, she arches her back, asking for more. He obliges, the sting of his hand finding her other cheek, before he yanks hard on her panties, hiking them up so they resemble a thong, the fabric digging into Mel’s flesh with a delicious weight. He uses his palm to caress her skin, the soft white skin of her ass blooming with red handprints as he stakes his claim on her.
“This is what you get.” He growls above her, bending down to bite her shoulder. She wiggles underneath him, overstimulated in the best way, desperate to feel good. “It was him, right? That hockey player from the other day?”
“Lacrosse.” She corrects him, breathing heavily. “Varsity. College Scholarship.”
“He’s younger than you? Cradle robber.” Another spank stings her skin.
“24.” She gasps out. “Not that young.” Frank begins to tease her entrance, his fingers grazing her labia as he shoves her panties to the side.
“He does this to you? He teases you like you deserve to be teased?”
She shudders, using all of her mental clarity to focus on his questions as he dips his index finger into her. She shakes her head no.
“Such a bad girl.” He sinks to his knees, pressing his face between her legs. He finally removes her underwear, wet from her arousal. He crumples them in his hand and shoves them deep into his pocket. Frank swirls his tongue over her clit, sending electricity throughout her body. She involuntarily lifts onto her tippy toes, unconsciously trying to get him deeper. Her tight pussy swallowing his finger, he flicks his tongue, once, twice, before placing a tentative nip on her bundle of nerves. She squeals with delight, her hands grasping frantically at the edge of the table, trying to find something to ground her to earth. He adds another finger, two pumping in and out, pressure in her abdomen building. He curls them both, strumming her G-spot.
She comes undone, thrashing in his grasp, his free arm wrapping around both her legs and lifting her off the floor. He doubles his effort, using his hand to fuck her harshly as she orgasms, drawing every last drop of her arousal to his tongue. She’s floating, unaware of anything that is happening around her. She can feel the cold surface of her IKEA table on her sternum; she’s panting heavily. Frank’s touch leaves her; she whines in its absence. She can hear him, behind her, shuffling, but she’s too hopped up on endorphins to pay attention.
“Were you thinking about me, baby?” He says, voice coming from the chair she’d abandoned earlier. “Were you thinking about my cock while you fucked him?”
“No.” She sounds innocent, a smile tugging at her lips. Frank’s hands are suddenly on her hips with a bruising grip. He pulls her from the table so that she’s on his lap, ass pressed against his erection through his boxers. When did he undress? She thinks. His hands snake around her torso, holding her hostage on the chair with him, one of his hands reaching up to strangle her throat.
“Liar.” He growls. “You know what happens to liars?”
“I’m hoping they get punished.” She says, breath hitching as he squeezes her larynx. His other hand finds her clit again, but this time he doesn’t tease; he greets it with an aggressive pace. She tries to fight off her arousal for a moment, trying to stretch this experience as far as she can, but realizes half a second too late that he’s biting her ear. She comes again, catching herself by surprise at how quickly he got her there. She’s writhing in his lap, squirming against his captivating grip as she moans, high pitched and breathy. Her hands fly to his legs, trying to find any leverage with his boxers to get them off. He takes the hint and loosens his vice grip on her and shoves his own waistband down, freeing his aching cock.
“Condom?” He asks, voice completely different than before, almost as if he was breaking character. She cranes her neck to see his face, sincere and gentle. She shakes her head, bottom lip trapped in between her teeth.
“Not with you,” Mel whispers. Frank groans, and he reverts to his former attitude. He slams Mel’s hips down onto his own, entering her quickly and easily, not allowing her any moment of hesitation. She cried out, the sensation of his erection filling her was almost too much. Her hands fly to the edge of the table in front of her, trying to keep herself stable.
“I can’t believ–” She spits out. “You’re fucking me in the kitchen.” She has no control over her body. Frank is manhandling her, manipulating her body, using her like a toy. “For our first time!”
Frank fucks up into her at an unrelenting pace, his grip tightens on her throat, almost completely restricting airflow. He chuckles, face planted in her hair.
“Oh, baby, it’s not our first time.” His fingers dig deep into the flesh on her hip. “You’ve been fucking me. In your head. Every time you got off with him. You’ve been fucking me for weeks.”
His words are like cattle prods, sending jolts of electricity shooting through her core. She frees a hand from the table and uses it to circle her clit, once again, sending an orgasm rippling through her body. A cry dies on her lips as all the air in her is punched out, and Frank’s grip on her neck keeps her from drawing new breath. Her body tenses around his cock like she’s turning to stone, he releases her throat momentarily as the orgasm peaks, she gasps, her lungs filling with air, the sensation forcing her eyes to roll back in her head with ecstasy.
He pulls out of her, pushing her to stand once more, her lower back hitting the edge of the kitchen table. She’s facing him now, he’s somehow completely naked, and Mel doesn’t understand how or when he got undressed so quickly, but she doesn’t care. She sinks to her knees and takes his cock in her mouth, tasting herself on him as she plants tiny kisses up the shaft. She sucks, hard, knowing this is the one thing she can do for him that no one else can, suck every ounce of sanity out of him through his dick. He grabs her hair, his strong grip stinging as he pulls and yanks on the strawberry blond strands. She looks up at him, cock on her tongue, wide-eyed. They make eye contact, and she whimpers. He looks wrecked above her, like he’s fighting for his life not to come. She removes her face from his pelvis, and he guides her up to his lips by the makeshift ponytail he has in his hand. He kisses her, noses bumping messily as their saliva and fluids mix on their tongues.
“Please tell me you’re on birth control.” He mumbles into her hair, and he bats her hands away from his cock, too sensitive for featherlight touches. “Please, honey, can I come inside you?”
Mel hums. She thinks of the small copper IUD that sits nestled in her uterus; she thinks of her fertility tracked on her phone, knowing she’s a week away from the start of ovulation. She decides to keep this information from Frank. She backs up, letting herself fall onto the table, back pressed against the faux wood grain. She spreads her legs and motions for Frank to come closer.
“I’m not.” She grabs his hips and guides the head of his member back to her entrance. “But you should come in me anyway.”
Frank’s jaw drops, and he doesn’t do anything for a second, as if he’s processing the information. He’s almost out of it until Mel nudges him with her knee, patiently waiting in the air for him to come to his senses. She nods at him, and he nods back to her, a silent agreement.
“Frank,” Mel says, almost begging. “Come inside me.”
“Baby, I’m so close already.” He says, stumbling towards her, he lines his cock up with her entrance and slides back in. His hands settle flat on the table on either side of her head, her blond hair spilling everywhere, framing her perfectly. “My perfect girl.”
Mel’s nails scratch up his back, sure to leave red marks visible for a few hours. She thinks about his skin being peppered with marks, bites, hickeys, bruises, everything she loves to see when a man is truly hers. He fucks into her, every stroke punctuated with a grunt, filling her kitchen with sensual noises. She’s never going to be able to sit in this room again without thinking about this. She moves her hands once again, through his hair this time, scratching at his scalp lightly before pulling on the dark strands.
“Mel– I’m–” He spits out, she hums, tightening her grip on him, pulling him closer to her so that his torso is crushing hers into the table.
“Knock me up. Make me yours.” She whispers in his ear.
That pushes him over the edge, his thrusts stuttering as he rides out his pleasure, crying out into her hair. She digs her nails into his arm, leaving half moon imprints. Suddenly, his arms are tightening around her, pulling her to the floor with him. Intertwined together in a mess of limbs and sweat on the floor, Frank places gentle kisses on Mel’s forehead. He travels down with his mouth, peppering little kisses to her eyelids and nose, her cheekbones and lips. He strokes her hair and rubs circles into her arms with his fingers, comforting her.
“Baby, you were so good.” He whispers to her, she opens her mouth to speak but– “Shhh. Let me take care of you.”
They stay cuddled together underneath her kitchen table, clothes discarded on the floor around them, her breakfast of toast and eggs is shoved onto one of the kitchen chairs, her Kindle lying face down next to them. Frank holds her like she's a fragile bird, easily broken or wounded.
After what felt to Mel like hours, Frank helped her to her feet and guided her to the washroom, sitting her down on the toilet, and began brushing her hair. After every small favour, she whispered ‘thank you’ with a shy smile. His nimble fingers braided the long strands away from her face, and he finished it by clipping them up off her back with the claw clip from her vanity. He turned on the shower and helped her to her feet, leading her into the shower with him.
Under the warm spray of water, Frank delicately kissed each mark he left behind. The bite mark on her shoulder was rubbed and soothed, soapy water and his hands melted away her stress. He was like her own personal lava lamp app, taking everything she’d held onto off of her shoulders.
“I think–” She starts, the rush of water overpowering her words. She tries again, a little louder. “I think I love you.”
Frank hums, his long arms wrapping around her from behind. “I think you do too.”
“Asshole.” She laughs lightly. “I’m still mad at you.”
“You should be. I was a fucking dick, Mel.” He pulls away from her, strong hands on her shoulders, and guides her to turn around. “I love you so much I didn’t realize there was a possibility that you wouldn’t one day be mine.”
She blinks up at him, his blue eyes welling with tears.
“It was stupid, I assumed you’d wait for me to figure my shit out and be there when I was ready. I’m an ass for wanting you to wait for me without asking.”
Mel cups his face in her hands, thumbs tracing the lines of his lips and dimple.
“I told Cody to ham up the flirting if I ever introduced you two.” She says, confessing her own sins. “I found a guy who looked like you. I had sex with him in your shirt and called him your name while I rode him.”
“What—“ Frank sputters. “Is he the same guy who gave you that fucking hickey?”
Oh! She’d almost forgotten about that, the light purple mark that poked out from right under her collar. She remembers him double-taking when he first saw her that day, her face flushed as she’d actually been trying to hide it. It was a risky thing to ask Cody for, and in the end, she regretted it deeply. It was hot for a few hours when she thought of Frank’s eyes as he tried to hide jealousy, but the embarrassment she felt for the subsequent week afterwards, until the bruise fade,d was overwhelming. Superior, peers, and patients alike had all seen the evidence of her impulsive decisions.
“Yeah—“ She bites her lip. “That was really stupid. I thought it would make you make a move.”
“I almost did, after that shift when I drove you home, I almost followed you inside and kissed you in your doorway.”
“I wish you had.”
“I do too, sweetheart.”
“We both made some really bad decisions.”
Frank pulls her closer, their naked bodies pressed together in a tight embrace.
“Speaking of…” He starts, “When we had sex, it was amazing and beautiful. God, it was everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and more.” He starts to trace his fingers down her spine, ghosting across the bumps in the back. “You’re so amazing, I love you so much…”
Mel can sense the but forming in his mouth, she winces, knowing this is all coming crashing down around her. I love you so much… but I had more fun with Abby…but I don’t think we’re a good fit for dating…but I can’t start a relationship in this stage of recovery. Intrusive thoughts weigh down her shoulders, and she takes a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut, preparing for the worst.
“But I can’t have another baby right now, Mel, and you’re just begging your career, I j—”
Snapping her head up to look at him in disbelief, she must have looked appalled in some way because Frank’s eyes went wide, and he began backtracking again.
“I mean, we can talk about it in a few years, we’re just starting to see each other, Mel, that’s all!”
She throws her head back, laughing wildly, leaving a baffled Frank sputtering in the shower, confused as she needs the wall to help support her from toppling over.
“We can get some plan B, no problem, honey. I’m sorry, we probably should have talked about this before.” Frank continues, digging himself into a hole deeper and deeper as he rambles on.
“Frank, I’m sorry.” Mel finally answers, “I have an IUD.”
“Oh.” He huffed, a goofy smile spreading across his face.
“It was a kink thing, I should have talked about it before we had sex.”
“Well, then I should have talked about the choking thing before sex.”
“Don’t worry,” Mel says, turning off the shower, “We have plenty of time to talk about having sex with each other. Let’s not rush it.”