Archive of Our Own

Whilst Santos actually preferred the night shift, ten straight days doing graveyard had to be some kind of limit.

Ten straight day shifts is enough to drive her crazy but adding on the complete fucking wrecking ball to her circadian rhythms and she was sure she was going to end up in one of the bays, either from exhaustion or pure frustration.

At first, when she offered to swap with Mohan, she might have done so because she overheard Garcia staying on nights for a few extra days, and she kind of needed to get back in her good books after the last time they slept together. But then, apparently, the other senior resident, some stuffy frat guy called Jonas, relieved her, and she was stuck under fluorescent lighting for a few more days, pulling an obscene amount of foreign objects out of people’s rectums.

The ER night shift staff were fucking cool, though. They carried an air of casualness that Santos found better suited to her personality. It seemed like a fitting punishment – having to suffer through the graveyard shift just to work with people like Abbott, Ellis, and Shen.

By her last shift, she was certifiably done with everyone’s bullshit. Incompetent med students, ungrateful patients, and slipping on piss was just the tip of the iceberg. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel as Mel was working – her shift overlapped the first half of Santos’. She figured she could rally through with Mel by her side, especially since she was kind of her closest friend at work – if she didn’t count Whitaker, which she wouldn’t.

Mel was always up for some fun which was like a breath of fucking fresh air considering some of the people they worked with. She was always there to crack a good joke, and most of the time, she supported Santos' penchant for impulse and recklessness. More importantly, she was a fucking good doctor - picked up on things that would normally slip through the cracks, she had a diagnosis time of like nine seconds and she even had this extraordinary ability to carry an entire conversation with the ever so monosyllabic Abbott.

She even got through to the Jonas prick, who genuinely hated everyone. Santos tried to tell Mel it’s because he was flirting with her, but she didn’t seem too keen to explore that. Not even when Santos made it seem like a good fucking would make him 90% more bearable. It was probably better that way - she would probably have called down a psych consult if Mel did agree to go out with him.

She and Mel worked really well together, too. They always had, if Santos thought about it. Mel was a real good sport when it came to Trinity’s more destructive behaviour like when she nearly blacked out at some local bar because she saw Garcia making out with a bitch from ortho, Mel coaxed her back to her place and let her crash on her couch.

Santos would do the same if Mel had any destructive behaviours. She knew she probably couldn’t, working full time and also being her sister’s carer, but Santos was always prepared to hold her hair back at some seedy bar if the opportunity ever came up. Until then, Santos paid her back in her favourite protein bars and hoped she was balancing the scales a bit.

An hour before the end of Mel’s shift, when she was eating said protein bar, Nurse Ben called out for them, informing them that their elderly patient was tachycardic.

Mr Guilford had come in at the start of Mel’s shift, around 2:30pm, with an anterior MI. The team managed to stabilise him and started him on an infusion of amiodarone, to which he responded well. They were really just waiting for a bed to open up in the CCU so they could discharge him from their service.

However, when they ran in, they checked the monitor and realised he had developed an SVT – his heart rate was well into the 200s. SVT wasn’t a rarity in the ER, far from it, really, but with a man at his age, already suffering from an MI, they knew they couldn’t delay any care.

Mel called out for some epi whilst both of them lowered the railings around his bed to get to him. And, for reason unknown to Trinity, the rail slipped out of her hands quicker than she realised. She cursed internally, hoping the sound wasn’t too jarring, when Mr Guilford suddenly jolted forward as if he had suffered a quick, sharp pain.

Santos frowned, trying not to panic as she checked to see if his body had gotten caught – luckily, all four of his limbs were still intact. It’s only when she bent down that she saw the catheter wire wrapped around one of the bars of the rail, stretched tightly as if it was pulling at the urethra. 

Santos had only raised her hand to unwrap the wire to relieve the tension when Mel’s voice called from above her. “Pulse is coming down.” She said it uncertainly, as if it were a question.

Santos slowly straightened up, eyes glued to the monitor as it quickly lowered to an easy resting beat of 91. “Epi?” She asked, turning to look at Ben.

“It’s still in my hand.” He shook his head, his frown mirroring theirs. Santos thought quickly. SVT of this severity wouldn’t calm down by itself, not without some kind of intervention, and she knew Mel was thinking the same.

“The rails! I dropped the rails, and his catheter pulled, that’s why he jolted.” Santos said, gesturing to the rail in front of her.

Mel narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked around the room as if she could see medical information floating around her. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She said, smiling to herself as if the whole thing was a bit ridiculous.

Santos mirrored it. “The catheter pulled on his prostate…”

“Activating the vagus nerve.”

“And his pulse just stabilized?”

“It’s not impossible.” She whipped her stethoscope off from around her neck and checked Mr Guildford over. Apart from looking slightly pale, he was all there. “Why don’t you go call Abbott?”

Santos nodded, frowning with a small smile as she walked out of the bay towards Abbott. He was bent down, staring at a computer in the nurses' station. He didn’t seem too busy, just doing some charting which he was probably never going to finish anyway, so she saddled up in front of him and said, “Dr. Abbott? Can you come take a look at our patient? The weirdest thing just happened.”

Abbott followed her and they both explained what they could make sense of whilst he did some of his own checks. He looked over Mr Guilford’s chart and then wrapped his stethoscope around his neck with a shrug. “Seems likely enough.”

“I did a quick search and couldn’t find any reports on it,” Mel said.

“Perfect excuse to do your own,” Abbott said.

“Really?”

“Sure.” He said before ominously exiting the bay and leaving them half confused.

“I know I shouldn’t say this, but I get what Samira sees in him,” Mel said quietly, as the two of them watched him disappear around the corner. “Anyway, what do you say?”

“Anything to get some extra points. Do you reckon the same thing would happen from normal prostate stimulation?” Santos asked, smirking slightly as she pulled her stethoscope off.

“Hm. Not sure. We’ll have to do some research.”

Mel ended up leaving not too long after that, with the promise of getting some notes down on her day off tomorrow. The second half of Santos’ shift was entirely uneventful, but she at least had something to look forward to - Shen mentioned that if their report got picked by some suits, they’d pay for a trip down to some conference in Miami.

When she eventually managed to escape from hell (work), she made a pit stop at Joe’s, where she knew Cathy would slip her a quick drink despite it being eight in the morning. 15 minutes later, she found herself standing in front of Mel’s door, clutching a manila folder in one hand as the other came up to knock.

She knew it was early, and that Mel had only come home a few hours ago, but Santos also knew that she had to drop Becca off at the facility at 9, so knocking at 8:30 didn’t seem too rude. Plus, the delirium from the ten shifts seemed to be mixing with the few drinks she had, so she couldn’t bring herself to think of how much of a nuisance she was being.

It was on the third set of knocks when the door finally swung open to reveal Mel, violently yawning as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.

“Trinity.” She said in a hoarse voice, blinking quickly as if her eyes were still trying to focus.

“Oh. Were you sleeping?” Santos asked, bringing her hand down as she bared her teeth awkwardly.

Mel sighed, “Yeah, b-but it’s fine. What’s wrong?”

Santos looked down at the folder before shoving it towards Mel. “I ended up staying an extra hour, so I got a bit of research done.” She took it, confused. “A 15-year-old girl got hit by a motorcycle, and her mum took her time getting to the hospital. It’s cool, it gave me a chance to check some journals whilst we waited.”

Mel’s face softened in a way that made Santos feel all too vulnerable. “That’s very sweet of you.”

“Yeah, well…” Santos replied. It was still better than the fuck off Mel got when she first complimented Santos’ people skills. “She thought I was cool, and who was I to deny her my company?”

Mel giggled softly. “Trinity, are you drunk?”

“No. Wait, maybe. I think it’s also the shifts - they’re catching up to me. Also, if I head home now, Whitaker is going to try to feed me boiled eggs, and I can’t go through that right now, I just can’t.”

“Boiled eggs?”

“He’s concerned about my protein intake.”

Mel nodded slowly as if she didn’t entirely understand. “Do you want to come in for a glass of water?”

Santos sighed in relief. “Yeah, actually, I’m parched. You sure it’s okay?” She asked with her foot already in the door.

“I’ve got the day off and I’m trying to be better at having naps.” Mel shrugged, closing the door behind her.

Santos toed off her shoes in the hallway before walking down the hall into the living room. It was still dark, but Mel rounded her to open a few of the shutters covering the windows.  

“You’re place is nice,” Santos said.

“You’ve been here before.”

“I was blacked out drunk then, but this is really nice. Calming.” Santos added, slipping onto the couch. “Sorry for waking you. I figured you’d be up to drop Becca. She has to be there by 9, doesn’t she?”

Mel didn’t respond; instead, the sound of her opening her fridge and pouring water filled the silence. Santos watched her as she bumped the fridge door closed with her hip and wondered why she was taking her time – she was sure she said it loud enough. Mel eventually padded over and handed the glass to her. “I, er…someone else was going to take her today.”

Santos gulped the water down in one go, letting it spill over the side of her mouth. “Still, I probably should’ve just slipped it through the mailbox. Didn’t think. Also, I didn’t know when I’d see you next since…” She stopped suddenly as she reached over to place the glass on the coffee table. Her eyes ran up Mel’s body from where she was getting comfortable on the couch next to her. “Huh. I’ve never seen your legs before.”

She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t noticed before, but Mel was only wearing an oversized t-shirt. It was a concert tee from a 2010 MGMT tour, and it hung off her collarbones in a way that made it seem like it wasn’t hers. It very well could be, but Mel’s music taste didn’t seem to lean that way from what Santos knew. Her hair was open too, sort of tousled from sleep, which made it look incredibly soft, like silk. Santos had never really seen Mel…not put together. It was weirdly comforting.

Mel tried to covertly pull the shirt down to cover her knees, but it wasn’t that big. “I didn’t have time to put…you know what, I’m going to go put some shorts on. I am wearing underwear! But for my own peace of mind.” She said, standing up awkwardly as Santos nodded fairly. “I know we’re doctors, but-“

“It’s fine, Mel. You’ve got nice legs. You run, right?”

“When I find the time.” She replied, only partially closing the door behind her. Santos laughed to herself before taking another look at the room. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it – a few throw blankets and some picture frames of Mel and Becca from various ages in their life.

But when Santos took a second glance, she realised there was a crate of Red Bull cans stacked next to the dining table. The table also only had three chairs, which felt as intentional as it did strange. Now that she thought about it, there was a pair of sneakers that looked familiar - they were a bit large for an average woman, but maybe Mel had big feet and Santos hadn't noticed.

There was an inexpensive coffee machine that had a home on the kitchen counter behind Santos, which also raised a red flag since she knew neither Mel nor Becca drank coffee. And to top everything off, when she turned to look back at the folder which Mel had placed on the coffee table, there was a pack of cigarettes thrown down next to some car keys. Mel didn’t have a car, she didn’t need one, the facility and hospital were both so close, and she didn’t smoke – she was very vocal about her disdain for it actually.

But before Santos could make sense of all these clues, she heard Mel’s voice coming from the bedroom. She quietly stood up and inched closer, pressing her ear as close to the door as she could get without being seen.

“Go back to sleep…It’s okay, I’m up now, I’ll do it…Be nice.” Mel whispered. That in itself wasn’t inconspicuous, but the tone in which she said it was. Santos could hear the smile in her voice, which could realistically only mean one thing.

Mel pulled the door and stepped out, gasping when she realised how close Santos was to her.

“Oh, you scared me,” Mel said, pressing her hand to her chest.

Santos ignored that entirely, looking over Mel’s shoulder. And right there, hidden under her blanket, was definitely a man. It was a human lump if she had ever seen one. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see who the person was, nor could she make out any other information, since Mel slowly closed the door behind her. That didn’t stop Santos, though.

“Mel. There’s a man in your bed.” She said, matter-of-factly, crossing her arms against her chest.

Mel glanced over her shoulder, as if to check that the door was closed. “Very astute of you.” She then walked past Santos and planted herself on the sofa. She tucked her legs, now partially covered by some boxer-looking shorts, under her body as she reached for the folder to read the notes.

“Who is it?” Santos asked, planting herself on the coffee table opposite Mel.

“Just someone I’m dating,” Mel replied, flicking a page over. She didn’t even bother to look up at Santos.

Santos’ face twitched by her bluntness. She glanced at the bedroom door, then back at Mel, who was already on the last page of the notes. “Wha- Who is it? Mel, how did I not know you were dating someone?”

Mel looked up, screwing her face gently. “I haven’t told anyone.”

“You could have told me! We’re friends, Mel – I tell you about all the people I sleep with.” Santos retorted.

“And while I love all the information,” Mel told her gently, “I’m just not as open with my dating life.”

Santos sat forward and plucked the folder out of Mel’s hand when she finished reading. “You can tell me, I promise, I won’t tell anyone. I managed to keep the whole Abbot and Mohan thing under wraps.” She said, and Mel looked up at her, unimpressed. “You already knew about them, so that doesn’t count. Come on, I want to know who you’re having straight, monogamous sex with!”

Mel dropped her shoulders and spoke as if she had rehearsed the information. “He’s tall, with dark hair and,” Mel’s gaze fell to Santos’ hip, “he has a nasty smoking habit. But I actually find it quite sexy, as long as he carries gum.” She said before getting up and walking behind the couch to the kitchen. Santos followed her.

“I probably could have figured that out. Come on, why are you being so cagey about this? I promise I won’t stalk him or anything. I’ll be a good girl - unless he hurts you, because then I’m morally obligated to kill him.” Santos explained.

Mel peeked her head up from the fridge door and frowned.

“That was a joke. Mostly.” Santos said. “Is it someone I know? Is it a patient, because I know the hospital frowns upon that, but only if they’re in our care. Great thing about being in emergency is that a patient is only in our care for a few hours, so technically it’s fine.”

“He’s not a patient,” Mel said over her shoulder as she slid two pieces of bread into the toaster. She turned to the adjacent counter and pushed a new coffee pod into the top before placing a small mug, painted with The New York Times connections logo, under the spout. She did it as if it were part of her normal routine.

“You don’t drink coffee.” Santos pointed.

“I don’t, no,” Mel replied, shaking the carton of milk she just pulled out.

“Okay.” Santos crossed her arms, displeased. “Okay. Is it someone we work with? Do they work in the hospital? I feel like that’s the only reason you’re being so weird about this, right?”

“We work with a lot of people,” Mel said, very obviously avoiding the question.

“Is it Langdon?” Santos blurts out. Mel looks at her in complete surprise and then frowns as if she were crazy for even asking.

She knew Mel had a small crush on him. Whether he was aware of that was a separate issue, but it wasn’t an absolute reach. They were always orbiting around each other, constantly pulling each other on cases, asking for a second opinion, even if it meant going out of their way to find the other.

Saying all of that, though, she wasn’t fully convinced anything was actually happening between them. Sure, Santos wasn’t well-versed in the complexities of heterosexual relationships, but she just didn’t get that vibe. Maybe it was because Langdon exuded sad divorce guy energy, or maybe because she fully believed Mel deserved better.

Or maybe it was because gossip spread in the ER like lice. If there was even a look between the two of them that felt in the tiniest bit out of the norm, she absolutely would have heard about it. Perks of understanding Tagalog - if Perlah and Princess hadn’t confirmed it, it just wasn’t true.

“He’s divorced,” Mel said plainly, flashing an awkward smile.  

And, sure, Santos couldn’t argue with that logic.

Mel turned back to the toaster and pinched the two pieces of bread before dropping them onto the plate. She blew on her fingertips before reaching for the butter tin. “Would you like some breakfast? We only have toast, but I’ve got plenty of Nature Valley bars if you’d like one.”

Santos shook her head before doubling down. “Is it Shen?”

Mel laughed softly as if this were a kind of game that was mildly entertaining to her. “He’s dating the new thoracic surgeon. I think her name is Maddie.”

“Wait, they’re dating? Are you sure? Whenever I’ve seen them, she’s always pressing her hands against his spine – I thought there was something wrong with him.” Santos confessed.

Mel turned to place the plate of toast on the small kitchen table in front of the large bay window. “She’s just like that. She patted me on the back last week, and I could feel her counting my vertebrae.” She turned to face the bedroom doors. “Becca, breakfast!”

The door next to Mel’s swung open, and Santos’ attention was diverted by the brunette walking out wearing large headphones around her neck. She had a Nintendo Switch tucked under her armpit as she peered at Santos curiously.

“Bec, this is Dr Santos. I’ve told you about her.” Mel explained, looking between the two of them calmly.

“Hi,” Becca replied with a smile, scanning Santos up and down.

“Hi Becca. Do you know who Mel is dating?” Santos smirked at her own brilliance. Mel groaned softly and rolled her eyes, turning back around to put the knife in the sink.

Becca grinned, looking over Santos’ shoulder at Mel. She shook her head with purpose. “I’m not supposed to say, she could get into trouble.”

Mel flushed. “I didn’t say trouble!” She then turned to look at Santos to explain herself, “I just meant that HR could be a pain, you know, about that sort of…stuff.”

Santos knew she looked all too pleased with herself. At least she had confirmed it was someone from work. Especially their department. HR only has an issue with inter-department dating, which was nice to add to the evidence board in her mind.

“Mel, I’m going to eat in my room,” Becca announced.

“Okay,” Mel replied quickly as the two of them watched Becca walk back to her room. She stopped abruptly before walking into the threshold of her room and turned around to face them again.

“He’s in there,” Becca addressed Santos, head jerking to the door next to hers, “if you want to know so badly.”

“Becca!” Mel cried out, turning red.

“It’s okay, Mel’s my friend, I don’t want to disrespect her space,” Santos replies, pointedly at Mel. She let out a small exhale of relief.

Becca nodded, “She used to let me into her room, but now I have to knock before I come in.”

Santos could see Mel’s face drop in the corner of her eye. Personally, she couldn’t hide how much fun she was having.

“We’ll leave in about 20 minutes, Bec,” Mel said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Okay!” The door shut behind Becca softly, and Santos couldn’t wait a minute before turning to Mel with a smirk on her face.

“That was low.” Mel shook her head, trying to hide the smile on her pink face.

“I was desperate.” Santos shrugged. “Okay, last few guesses because I need to leave. Otherwise, I will collapse on your couch, and the last thing I want is to wake up to the sound of you getting lucky in the middle of the day.”

Mel rolled her eyes and splashed some milk into the coffee cup. She lifted it off the counter and placed it at the very end next to the fruit bowl before plucking a banana off the bunch. She set it down like she had done so a thousand times before.

Santos watched with intrigue - if Mel was making coffee for this guy, he better be God's gift to earth himself. And she said that, with the knowledge that she woke Mel up too early. 

“Okay, well, Donnie is dating that vet, and Jesse is gay. Mateo only has eyes for Javadi now that she’s no longer head over heels for him. It better not be fucking Whitaker, Mel-“

“I just told you that he’s tall with brown hair.” Mel raised an eyebrow at her. For a moment, Santos forgot what Whitaker looked like. “How do you even know all of this?” Mel cried out incredulously.

Santos exhaled deeply. “If you knew half the shit Perlah and Princess knew about…”

“Have they ever said anything about me?” Mel asked, glancing up at Santos.

“No. And that’s what’s throwing me off a bit. But I don’t know, Mel, I feel like if anyone could get past them, it would be you.”

“Thank you?”

“Alright. My next guess was Abbot, but I know you wouldn’t do that to Mohan.” She paused, looking at Mel for some confirmation. Mel shook her head. “Alright, I will give my final answer. If I’m wrong, I will accept defeat and leave you, but know I will be watching you when we’re at work. I will find out who it is, Mel, I will become borderline obsessive about this, and that is only because I love you and you deserve the world.”

Mel smiled, looking only slightly conflicted as she processed the information, but she made no effort to stop Santos, which in her eyes felt like enough permission to continue.

She didn’t even believe the last option, more because of what she’s heard in and around the Pitt, but also because she was not sure Mel or the other person had it in them.

Saying that, Becca did say she could get into trouble because of said relationship, so Santos did what she did best and threw caution to the wind. She could always say sorry. She normally had to.

“Is it Robby?” She winced slightly as she said it, unable to find it in her to swallow the possibility that it actually might be.

“Trinity.” Mel made an expression that she had never made before. It was probably for this reason that Santos couldn’t gauge what it meant.

“Oh my god, is it? Mel, that’s…Jesus, really, Mel? He’s like,” She tucked in closer to whisper as the reality of him being behind her door sunk in, “a dad. I mean, I know he’s not, but isn’t he like 60? Also, I know your dad ran out when you were younger, but this is giving major daddy issues. Seriously, Mel, oh fuck, does he cry when you guys-“

“Stop!”

The sound of Mel’s door swinging open cut Santos’ ramble before she could finish the thought. For a quick second, she thanked the universe for doing so.

But then she turned around and the colour washed away from her face as Dr Langdon strode out in distress. He looked as if he had just woken up - his eyes were still puffy, and his voice not entirely clear. He was, thankfully, dressed in a hoodie and shorts, which was a small relief.

“Stop. Please. I actually beg of you.” He stopped, keeping his distance between the two of them. “I genuinely could not bear another second of that. Robby? Really?” He cocked his head forward, squinting his eyes as the vein in his forehead popped out.

“Be nice,” Mel interjected, and his gaze fell behind Santos to Mel. She said it softly as if it wasn’t the first time she had to reprimand him like that. And then Santos watched, in real time, as he made the conscious effort to keep his reaction under control.

Santos shifted slightly and darted her eyes between the two, watching as they communicated through raised eyebrows and blinks. She couldn’t even compute the fact that it was actually Langdon whom Mel was dating, let alone the way he unclenched when Mel smiled at him. It was completely unnerving, and Santos had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating from the lack of sleep.

“Sweetheart, I’m really trying,” He said, looking past a grimacing Santos as he spoke directly to Mel, “but Robby, seriously? Fucking Robby? He’s like 80. And emotionally repressed. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” He sighed, pressing his fingers into his eyes. Santos heard a New Jersey accent slip out but tucked that information away for another day.

“You said he was divorced?” She blurted out, whipping around to look at Mel belligerently.

Mel rolled her lips into her mouth, doing a very bad job at hiding the grin on her face.

“Yeah, no shit sherlock.” Langdon mocked from behind her.

Mel looked over Santos and stared at Langdon with an unimpressed expression for a whole three seconds – it felt like an eternity.

“I never said I wasn’t dating him.” Mel pushed her shoulder up to her ears, feigning innocence.

And well, yeah, okay, she didn't. Santos narrowed her eyes, lips curling into a small smile. “You’re sneaky.”

Mel pouted her lips, looking very pleased with herself.

Ignoring the fact that Langdon was standing behind her, Santos let the last 60 seconds settle. It immediately made sense – nothing was truly that shocking about it, except the fact that she now knew what Langdon's knees looked like (something she would have to burn out of her memory forever).

She knew she probably should’ve pressed Mel on the idea of Langdon a bit more, but it was the way she said he’s divorced, like it was completely out of the realm of a normal suggestion. Mel was brilliant like that, having control of the situation even if it wasn’t hers to manipulate.

Thinking about it again, there were signs. The Redbull, the coffee, even the mug – if Santos had to hear him complain about the fucking connections another day, she would end up on the news. The MGMT shirt also made complete fucking sense – of course Langdon would listen to white millennial music.

But Mel looked happy. Really happy. Her ears and cheekbones were tinged with a sweet pink colour. She kept looking behind Santos as if she physically couldn’t pry her eyes away from him for too long. Langdon looked happy as well, if that face he was making could be construed as happiness. Santos didn’t want to focus on him really, she felt nauseous, but Mel looked happy, which was what she really cared about.

And she probably would have told her that if Langdon’s grating voice hadn’t started going off again.

“I’m sorry, are we just supposed to get past the whole Mel and,” He pretended to gag, “Robby thing?”

Santos whipped around, rolling her eyes. “I also mentioned every other male staff member in our department – why are you hellbent on Robby?”

“Because he’s, he’s old! And he’s in love with Collins! Has been, for years.“ He stuttered pathetically, looking around the room with a crazed look in his eyes. Santos distantly wondered if he was the youngest sibling in his family. So much about him would make sense if that were true.

“I know! I was so sure it was you, but she didn’t say anything, so what else was I supposed to say?” She cried out, shaking her head to mock him.

“Not Robby.” He scoffed, gaze naturally landing upon the mug resting peacefully on the counter. He picked it up as if he was expecting it to be there, as if it were there every day, and held it up from the top in a very uncivilized way. He took a sip from between his fingers and made a sound from his throat. Judging by his reaction, it must have been the best fucking cup of coffee ever made.

“Good?” Mel asked, and Santos couldn’t remember why she was still in her house.

Langdon nodded enthusiastically, throwing some more back. “Mh-hm.”

“It’s decaf,” Mel informed them, well, informed Langdon.

“No!” Langdon cried out in disbelief. He took another sip and set the mug down, staring at Mel with parted lips as if she had just changed his life entirely.

“Told you.” Mel shrugged. She again was very pleased with herself. “You owe me something.”

Langdon’s gaze unfortunately fell onto Santos, standing between the couple, and he scowled intensely. “Can you leave?” He quickly glanced at Mel and held his hands up defensively, “I’m being nice, I promise.” He then turned back to Santos, “I need to kiss my girlfriend, and we both know you don’t want to be here when I do.”

Santos stared at him for a moment and then turned to face Mel, ignoring him completely. “I’m going to leave. Not because he told me to, but because I’m tired.”

Mel stifled a laugh.

“I just need to get my bag and I’ll be out of your hair. God knows what will happen if I stay. You guys know Becca is still here, right?” Santos whispered loudly, walking past Langdon and around the couch.

She found her bag thrown unceremoniously between the couch and armchair. By the time she had looped it over her shoulder and stood up, Langdon had wrapped his arm around Mel’s waist and was kissing her. They were both smiling, grins pressed together as Mel made a small high high-pitched sound like she wasn’t expecting it. Santos nearly gagged.

“I was leaving!” Santos cried out, rolling her eyes.

“Not quick enough,” Landon murmured and kissed Mel again.

This time, she did gag and turned to stomp out of the house. She would not be subjected to this, especially after the shifts from hell. One of her patients must have made her into a voodoo doll. She probably pissed them off majorly considering her bad fortune right now.

She had just about slid both shoes on when Mel jogged forward to meet her at her front door. Langdon was standing a few feet behind her, chomping down on a banana.

“Oh, and Santos?” He said, mouth half full. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Don’t turn up at my girlfriend’s door after she’s done a night shift. She barely got four hours of sleep.”

Santos cocked her head forward in pure disbelief. She scowled, looking around the room to see where he got his audacity from. “Down, boy.” She said, gesturing sarcastically. “Mel invited me in, so…”

“Frank, will you check on Bec, please?” Mel chuckled over her shoulder, opening the front door for Santos. He eventually turned the corner, and Santos thanked the universe silently before turning to stare at Mel like she had lost all sanity.

“Do I even want to know how the hell that happened?”

“Probably not.” Mel laughed. “Trinity, are you sure you’ll be okay to get home?”

“Yeah, seeing his face was sobering enough.” She replied with a belligerent smile. Mel leant against the doorframe, yawning behind her palm. Santos was about to rush out, she really was, but there’s something about being friends with Mel, she thought. It made her want to be a better person. Whatever the fuck that meant, so she stopped herself before she escaped. “I’m…I’m sorry for pushing earlier. I hope I didn’t overstep or anything. I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you're worried about.” Santos blurted out quickly, avoiding Mel’s gaze as she fiddled with the strap of her bag.

“It’s fine, I was enjoying myself,” Mel said. “It’s nice to actually tell someone.”

Santos nodded. “What’s his deal with Robby?”

Mel exhaled deeply with a smile. “I think their relationship is still a bit strained.” Santos was sure Mel saw something flicker across her face because she stepped closer, lowering the tone of her voice slightly. “Trinity, that’s not…that has nothing to do with you. Langdon thinks you’re a really great doctor, he respects you, he told me. It’s just their own personal stuff. We both know you weren’t in the wrong then, I hope you weren’t worried about that.”

“I wasn’t.” She replied, flashing a quick and what she was hoping is a believable smile.

“Are you shocked?” Mel asked after a moment.

“Not at all.”

“Really? I know people are quite unassuming about us. I’m not sure we make sense on paper.”

“I think you make perfect sense, actually. You’re just so normal at work, I think it’s gone over everyone’s heads.”

Mel looked up at Santos in elation, as if it was the exact thing she needed to hear. “He technically still outranks me, and it would become a bit of a headache with HR if we told them. But I also know that we’ll get lazy and probably a bit irresponsible. It’s not like we’re trying to hide it – we know everyone’s bound to find out soon.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“Not that I know of. It’s been four months, but we were friends before, so our interactions haven’t really changed that much – I think that’s why no one really noticed.

“You look happy,” Santos said, finally, taking it upon herself to flash a smile.

“I am. Do you not approve?” Mel asked, and Santos believed she was only partly joking when she laughed.

“It’s not that, I just find him, well, you know how I feel about his personality. But that’s got nothing to do with you. I’m happy for you. And I guess he’s always smiling and bouncing when you’re near him. I thought it was a drugs thing, but it might be love – I’m not sure.

“That's actually quite beautiful, Trinity,” Mel replied after a moment, and she said it as if she really meant it.

“Yeah, well, it’s known to happen once in a blue moon.” Santos threw over her shoulder as she stepped out onto her front porch.

“Get some rest. I’ll message you about the report later.”

“Okay. But don’t message when you’re in bed with him. I won’t know but I’ll know, you know.” She grimaced, walking backwards down the steps.

Mel frowned and shook her head. “No.”

“Bye, Mel.” Santos waved, watching in the corner of her eye as Mel tracked her steps until she had turned the corner out of eyesight.

And out of all the thoughts firing around her head, the only thing Santos could think about as she made her way to the subway was how much she had on Langdon now. She had the upper hand, and that was truly a beautiful thing. It almost made the graveyard shifts worth it, she thought with a smile.