Chapter Text
Mel slumped down in her chair, groaning loudly as she put her head in her hands. She had thrown her phone onto the table in the break room, the loud clattering making Langdon put his own down.
“Everything okay?” He asked. She peeked open her eyes to look at him, and he had one of his thick eyebrows raised in her direction.
“Everything is certifiably not okay,” she grumbled, and then let her hands fall back into her lap. She fiddled with her fingers. “Well, technically it’s okay, it isn’t an emergency-”
“Do you want to talk about it, Mel?” Langdon asked, leaning on his forearms on the table. He wiped the crumbs from his sandwich onto the ground, which was something that Mel had always absentmindedly noticed him doing. She wasn’t sure if it bothered her or not. It was obviously something he didn’t even realize he was doing.
Her phone buzzed again on the table, and she wondered if the sinking feeling of dread in her belly could just… sink her through the floor and maybe end her suffering?
“My dad is coming to visit,” she said through nearly clenched teeth. “My dad, and my awful step-mom and my awful step-sister. They come from California for his birthday every year.”
“Oh,” Langdon said, nodding along as she spoke. Strands of his dark hair bounced when he did it. He was listening to her speak as if it was a patient’s history - attention fully on her, eyes darting back and forth between hers. Sometimes she shrunk beneath his intense gaze. “And I’m going to assume this is not something you were expecting?”
Mel shook her head, wringing her fingers together. Her phone buzzed again. “Not really. He doesn’t visit a lot. Even before he got remarried, we rarely saw him. He doesn’t even want to see Becca, he just-”
Langdon frowned. “He doesn’t want to see Bec?”
Something in Mel softened at the nickname. His eyebrows had downturned further at her comment, mouth in a solid frown. She knew that Langdon had a soft spot for Becca, from everything that she had told him about her sister. She wasn’t used to people caring for her sister like she did.
“No, but that isn’t new, and Becca wouldn’t want to see him either,” Mel said. “He just… It’s like a consolation prize for him to visit. He doesn’t actually care about me. I think he just likes to make himself feel better and seem like a good dad.”
Langdon was listening intently, nodding as she spoke. “Do you have to see him? I mean, no offense, but he sounds like an ass. He is an ass if he doesn’t even want to see Becca.”
Mel flinched. “Yeah.”
Langdon smiled softly, cocking his head as he looked at her from across the table. “Yes, you have to see him? Or yes to him being an ass? Could also be correct for both.”
Mel tucked her legs up on the chair, wrapping her arms around them and pulling them close to her chest. Her phone had buzzed a few more times, and she was desperately trying to ignore it.
“Yes to both,” she finally agreed. “He’s one of the only reasons I was able to get into medical school when I did. He pulled strings with people he knew to get me into the VA. He helped pay for… a lot of my schooling, and he’s still paying for some of my student loans. And that’s why I can even afford the apartment that Becca and I are in now, and her care center, and… And I guess… he’s my dad, it’s for his birthday, so I feel like I have to-”
“Don’t try to tell me you feel like you have to see him just because he’s your fucking dad,” Langdon frowned. “That doesn’t make it okay for him to be an ass. You don’t owe him anything, Mel.”
Mel shrugged, looking down at her knees. Her nose was tingling, tears pricking at her eyes, and she swallowed hard to get the feeling to go away. She always cried whenever her dad weaseled his way into her life again, but she wasn’t going to cry at work.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry,” Mel said, squeezing her knees up against her chest with as much force as she could. They compressed against her chest, making her breaths shallow, but it comforted her. It was like a big hug. “I logically know that, yes. But I can’t shut the thoughts out.
“Hey,” Langdon’s voice softened. He got up and scooted into the chair that was closer to Mel. It made an awful screeching sound against the floor, and he softly cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I obviously don’t fully… get the relationship you have with your dad. I’m bad at this shit, Mel. You know that.”
Mel shook her head, finally loosening her grip around her knees and looking up at Langdon. His eyes were such a bright blue, they still caught her off guard sometimes.
“You’re okay,” she said. She pushed her glasses back up on the bridge of her nose, and watched as Langdon tracked her movements. “You’re right. I know that you’re right, and every time he shows up I wonder why I even bother. But it’s always a thing. I have a few aunts and cousins in Maine who come down, too. It’s always a big painful weekend getaway thing.”
The trip last year wasn't terrible. He’d visited in the winter, and rented an AirBNB in New York near a ski lodge. Mel hated skiing, and had curled up with a book near the fire for most of the weekend to avoid dealing with her family.
“At least you get a free vacation out of it,” Langdon joked.
“No,” she shook her head. “He makes me pay for my own.”
Langdon’s mouth opened and closed, eyes wide as he glanced back and forth around the room. It was almost comedic, Mel thought. He looked like a cartoon character.
Mel felt something loosen in her chest, and cracked a smile when Langdon finally met her eye again.
“Was that… a joke, Dr. King?” Langdon grinned, white teeth showing past his lips. His blue eyes were bright, crinkles at the corners as he smiled at her. It made her chest warm.
“A sad attempt at one, yes,” Mel smiled. He was shaking his head at her, hair moving with each movement. “You believed me, though.”
“You’re just too genuine, King,” he said, moving back to his chair across from her (he was careful to avoid the screeching sound this time, she noticed) and taking a drink of his coffee. “I think I’d keel over if you ever tried to pull a prank on someone.”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
“Imagine you trying to pull a prank on Robby,” Langdon grinned. He had that boyish look of happiness on his face that Mel was drawn to like a moth to light. He was just so easy for her to be around. “He’d never suspect you, either. You’re the golden child. It’s perfect, Mel.”
She knew what he was doing - changing the conversation away from her dad. He was good at it, always had been good at distracting her whenever her mind became too much. Small parts of Langdon had been slowly coming back to him since his return from rehab.
He wasn’t himself all at once, just an amalgamation of all the pieces returning with each day that he improved. He hadn’t talked about rehab much, either. Mel knew that she probably could ask, and he would probably tell her, but she didn’t know if she wanted to. Between rehab, his separation and divorce from his wife and constant supervision from Robby, Mel figured he didn’t want to talk about it.
She still saw flashes of his second guessing and his self consciousness on some days. Even now, she could see a flash of something in his eyes when he mentioned Robby.
Her phone buzzed again, and she finally gave in and picked it up.
It was a group chat that her dad had made with her, her step-mom and her step-sister and her husband. There were a few other numbers that Mel didn’t recognize - surely some of her cousins, her aunt.
Her dad was getting into town next Friday night, and he had sent a link to an AirBNB that was a few hours north of Pittsburgh. It was a huge lake house on Lake Erie, and she clicked on it and scrolled through a few of the pictures before shutting off her phone again.
“Let me know if you want me to go with you,” Langdon said, standing up to throw away his trash. He zipped up his lunchbox, which was covered with sun-bleached stickers that his kids had surely stuck all over it. They were now covered with pieces of packing tape to keep them in place. It made something ache between Mel’s ribs. “We could even do that thing from the movies where you wear an earpiece and I tell you what to say.”
“Not sure how well that would work since it’s the whole weekend,” Mel said. “I appreciate the effort, though.”
“I could make a scene nonetheless,” He started laughing, it was something that he always did - laughing at something before he even said it out loud to her. Sometimes it took him almost five minutes to get to the butt of a joke, between laughs and snorts. She found it somewhat annoying and mostly endearing. “I’ll fake a heart attack.”
“You aren’t even the primary candidate for a heart attack-”
“So focused on the details, Mel. I could have a heart attack.”
“Still, they aren’t actually going to believe-”
Langdon hissed between his teeth, wincing. She looked over at him. His mouth was puckered up, face twisted in pain as his hand reached up to grasp at his chest. His other hand dropped his lunchbox with a clatter. He seemed to stumble where he was standing, reaching out to catch himself on the counter.
“Langdon? Are you okay?” Mel shot out of her seat, rushing over to him and putting her smaller hand over his. His chest was rapidly moving, eyes clenched shut.
“Gotcha,” he whispered, breaking into a wide grin. “See. I could definitely have a heart attack. They can happen at even my young and hip age, Dr. King.”
“I hate you,” she said, but couldn’t ignore the small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
°。°。°。°。°。°。
Later that night, Mel’s dad texted her about next weekend. They were flying in on Friday afternoon, and wanted to meet at an Italian restaurant that night before they got to the lake house. Her step-sister and her husband and her children would be there. A few of her cousins, her aunt and her uncle on her dad’s side. So many people that Mel barely knew.
It was when her step-mom texted and asked if Mel had anyone that she was bringing with her, her stomach dropped.
It was something that got brought up every time. No matter what Mel was doing, they wanted to know why she wasn’t dating. Graduate school, medical school, working at the VA - none of these things mattered to them as much as her dating life.
For the most part, Mel didn’t care. But a small part of her was embarrassed as she showed up year by year by herself. She’d even thought about bringing Becca a few times - but she didn’t want to subject her sister to the same fate as her. She knew that it didn’t matter if she was in a relationship or not - it wouldn’t change her relationship with her dad. The small, quiet and insecure part of her wondered if it maybe would, though.
She was about to type out a reply to her dad, when Langdon’s contact popped up at the top of her screen.
Langdon: I’ve been thinking on it and I bet we could also just have you fake food poisoning or something
Langdon: I could call them and pretend to be your doctor and tell them you’re sick with something super contagious
Langdon: I’ll tell them you need to stay in the hospital all weekend
Mel smiled at her phone, clicking on his text and abandoning her message to her dad. Her and Langdon texted often. He had figured out quickly that she preferred texting over calling, and sent her messages almost every day about whatever minuscule thing he thought about. Sometimes it was questions about work, about what show her and Becca were watching, doodles that Tanner had drawn or pictures of his dog, Cleo.
Mel: I’m glad you’re willing to lie for me. I think I just need to go. I don’t want to make it a big deal.
He started typing back to her immediately. He didn’t have his read receipts on, which Mel hated.
Langdon: alright let’s see
Langdon: we’ve already gone over the heart attack thing, no to the food poisoning
Langdon: ok I’ll have cassie come to the lake house and we can say we’re newly married and thought our reservation was for next weekend
Langdon: we can make a big scene if you want, I bet cass would even start crying if you want
Mel: I wouldn’t expect Cassie to be a big acting girl. That’s a lot of dedication to my cause. And a lot of planning in advance.
Langdon: oh I’m so dedicated, mel
Langdon: and cass owes me a favor so she’d do it
Langdon: I just wish you didn’t have to go :(
A weird, throbbing pain erupted between her ribs.
She remembered the message that her step-mom had sent about a guest. Mel bit down on her bottom lip as she sent her next text.
Mel: They asked me if I’m bringing anyone with me. I haven’t answered them yet. I think they hope I’ll show up with a boyfriend every year and I continue to disappoint.
She wondered if that was too much. Langdon didn’t know about her dating life, and probably didn’t care. The two of them had become good friends, yes, but it wasn’t like that.
She didn’t even really like talking about her dating life with Trinity and Samira. The two of them were so different from her - it was so easy for them. Samira was so beautiful, Trinity so confident, and Mel didn’t feel like she was either. She had gone out with them both a few times after work, and felt oddly out of place while they talked about their dating lives. Samira had been waxing poetic about Jack Abbott and how much of a silver fox he was, while Mel was sure that Trinity had been sexting Dr. Garcia all night.
A lot of the time, Mel wondered if dating and relationships were even meant for her.
Langdon: want me to be your escort for the weekend? ;)
Langdon: kidding
Langdon: I could dramatically pretend to propose to you or something tho
Langdon: sorry I probably made it weird
Mel stared at her screen. That weird feeling was throbbing in her chest again, her heart beating loudly in her ears.
She didn’t really know what to say.
After her ears stopped ringing and she read through the messages again, part of Mel wondered if something like that would actually work. She knew that Langdon meant it as a joke, and he probably didn’t even want to actually do it, but a small part of her wondered if it would work.
Langdon: shit mel sorry if I made a weird joke
Langdon: but like also if you don’t think it’s weird I’d do it
Mel: Do what?
Langdon: well now I feel weird bringing it up
Mel: You started the conversation, you know.
Langdon: I was just thinking since you clearly don’t want to go alone and they are so obsessed with your dating life, we could go together and pretend to be a couple
Langdon: I’ll charm their pants off and maybe annoy them if you want me to
Langdon: but also if all of this is weird then forget it
Langdon: and then it doesn’t need to be a weird thing, we can forget about it
Mel’s mind was racing. She had this image of her and Langdon, walking hand in hand into the restaurant, her dad and step-mom’s eyes wide and mouths gaping as they looked at them. She wouldn’t know what to do. Hell, she’d never been in a committed relationship - how would she know how to act? What to do with her hands, how to talk to him?
But then she thought of how calm and comforting Langdon always was in moments of panic. When her first patient at PTMC had crashed on the table, and she’d realized that in the moment that mattered most, her diagnosis had been wrong and caused her patient to lose their life - he had been there every step of the way to talk her through what had happened. He hadn’t left her side while she pulled the family aside and led them to the family room.
He did things like that a lot. It was something that was so ingrained in her daily routine in the ED, sometimes she didn’t even realize how different he acted with her. How comforting it was to have him at her side.
But to have him with her for the weekend - her stomach fluttered. They couldn’t pretend to be dating in front of her family all weekend. They’d never believe it, either.
Langdon: mel? you still with me?
Langdon: I'm sorry if I made it weird
Mel: You didn’t make it weird. I was just thinking. Let me get this straight. You want to stay with my family for a weekend, who I’ve told you are the literal worst, and pretend to be my boyfriend?
Langdon: it sounds more like a rom com plot every time you try to clarify it
Mel: I’m just thinking about it. We would need to make it believable. They’ll ask questions.
Langdon: so interrogate me, dr king
Langdon: I’m an open book
Mel: We’d have to come up with a story. Of how we met, how long we’ve been together, where our first date was. And they probably shouldn’t know that you’re my senior resident.
Langdon: you know that’s barely accurate anymore
Langdon: but I’m loving the attention to detail here mel
Langdon: treating it like it’s a difficult treatment plan with a critical patient
Mel: It really is. You haven’t met my father.
Mel felt like she was losing her mind. There was no way in hell any of this was real.
Langdon: meeting the parents so soon, king
Langdon: we must be really serious
Mel: They get in on Friday. I’m leaving a few hours early from work to head up to the lake. Don’t you work on Saturday?
Langdon: I’ll trade with cass, she doesn’t have harrison next weekend
Mel: I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.
Langdon: it’ll go great I swear
Langdon: and please let me know if you change your mind
Langdon: I don’t want it to make things awkward at all
Mel took a deep breath. Her hands were trembling, palms sweating a little bit.
She wondered if she was agreeing to the dumbest plan in history.
Mel: Okay. We’ll do it. And you’re right. It won’t be weird.
Langdon: can’t wait for our date ;)
Mel’s face flushed, and she threw her phone across the couch. It bounced off the cushion and fell to the floor.