Chapter Text
If you had asked Frank Langdon how he saw his life one year ago, when he’d returned to work at PTMC, he’d have told you that a divorce in progress, drug tests every week, and NA meetings twice a week weren’t something he’d wanted to go through.
At that point, though, he’d done enough therapy to know it was necessary, and he’d accepted it. His return to work hadn’t been seamless, as he expected it – too many matters left unresolved, between Dr Robby and Dr Santos, most of all – but what he hadn’t expected was the unwavering support of a few of his colleagues, headed by Dr King.
If you ask him now how he sees his life, he will tell you that it looked hopeful and brilliant. A bit too brilliant, he thinks as the sun hits the water of the pool, and he places his sunglasses back on his nose, keeping an eye on his kids playing in the water.
He can’t understand how Tanner and Millie can still have so much energy after their day at the park, then the aviary, and now the pool. Both children have run to the water as soon as he’s finished applying sunscreen on them and are now splashing each other, squealing with joy.
As he looks at his children, a soft smile on his face, a shadow falls on him. Against the sun, her hair like a halo, Mel is standing above him, and Frank’s smile widens.
“You’re here!”
With a flash of her teeth, Mel sits on the deckchair he’s guarded for her. “In the flesh!”
And in the flesh she is, making Frank stare when she removes the flowery shirt she’s wearing above her swimsuit, revealing a purple bikini and her lean body. Frank is supposed to know it well after six months together, but his throat still feels a little dry when he hands her the bottle of sunscreen.
“Would you like some help?”
Her replying smile is everything.