langdonandmel

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GENERAL NOTES:

Regular text: The script as written/as shown on the show (to the best of my memory)

Italics: Script notes or changes from what made the final edit (to the best of my memory)

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02.01 “7:00 A.M.” written by R. Scott Gemmill

Langdon joins rounds:

PARKER Any questions? Dr. King? Mel?

Mel’s lost in her own thoughts and unfocused today.

MEL Oh, um, I didn’t say anything.

[Same dialogue as the show]

LANGDON You should always wear a helmet.

All eyes turn to see Langdon has snuck up to join them.

PARKER Hey, nice of you to join us.

LANGDON My key card wasn’t working.

MEL Dr. Langdon!

They all seem happy to see him… save for Santos. Mel’s mood suddenly brightens and she almost hugs him, but comes up short and awkward. It makes McKay smile, Santos not so much.

2. Mel patches up Liam:

LIAM Your hair’s such a pretty color.

MEL Thank you.

LIAM Reminds me of my mom. She died when I was nine.

MEL Oh, I’m sorry about that.

LIAM She wore glasses like you too. Weird. You have kids?

MEL No.

LIAM Me neither. Thought I would. I mean, I would like to, but… Never found the right person. Not yet, anyway, You?

MEL Excuse me?

LIAM Anyone special in your life?

MEL No. Work keeps me very busy.

LIAM What do you like to do when you’re not working?

MEL Um, spend some time with my sister, read.

LIAM Do you drink coffee?

MEL Uh, no, I avoid caffeine.

LIAM Me too. Um… what about boba?

MEL I love boba.

LIAM Me too.

Mel may be oblivious, but Liam is clearly trying to use his condition as the impetus for a successful meet cute…

02.02 “8:00 A.M.” written by Joe Sachs and R. Scott Gemmill

Before Mel gets knocked down:

LIAM There you are. I thought you forgot about me.

MEL Oh, no. I was just with other patients.

LIAM We just met and you’re already seeing other people?

It takes Mel a beat to realize he’s joking, and tries to play along.

MEL Right. Yes. Well, I prefer an open relationship.

LIAM Really?

MEL Oh no, not really. I was joking. I meant like an open and honest relationship with my patients. I was playing with a double entendre.

LIAM You’re pretty funny, Doctor King. In fact I think you’re pretty cool.

MEL I don’t know about that.

CRIMINAL So what do you do for fun?

MEL I mainly do what my sister likes. She loves Kennywood and the zoo.

CRIMINAL No, what about you? What do you like to do?

It’s been awhile since anyone asked Mel this – if ever. Hell, she isn’t even sure what she does for fun and has to think about it.

MEL I used to like the Renaissance fair.

2. Al-Hashimi talks to Langdon:

AL-HASHIMI Before you know it, you’ll be an attending. (off his look) I’m sure having to repeat your senior year of residency was difficult to accept.

LANGDON Better than not being a resident at all.

AL-HASHIMI You’re setting a great example for your peers. It’s safe to seek help.

LANGDON Thank you.

AL-HASHIMI I’m sure you already have a sponsor but if you ever need to talk, I’m always available.

LANGDON I appreciate that.

02.05 “11:00 A.M.” written by Simran Baidwan

Additional Langdon and Donnie scene after they deal with the branding brothers:

Langdon and Donahue walk to the supply area.

LANGDON Kids are wild…

DONAHUE Little old to still be called kids, don’t you think?

LANGDON Last week my 5-year-old gave his little sister a haircut – she looks like one of the Three Stooges.

DONAHUE Afraid to ask which one.

LANGDON Just in time for her birthday party.

DONAHUE Maybe I’ll be one and done.

Langdon laughs, then waxes on as he gathers supplies.

LANGDON Hair grows back, skin heals… other wrongs are harder to fix.

Donahue understands what Langdon is trying to say.

DONAHUE A simple apology can go a long way, too.

Langdon hopes he’s right.

02.06 “12:00 P.M.” written by Valerie Chu

Mel talking to the Hansens:

MEL You can pick up a refill of your prescription later this afternoon. Start with one pill tomorrow morning. And Mr. Hansen?

HARLAN Yeah?

MEL I hope you never, ever take someone else’s prescription medication again. You could’ve died.

HARLAN Hansens have good genes.

MEL (doubling down) And for the rest of your family… dispensing medication without a license is a felony. They could go to prison.

OWEN (before Harlan can reply) Thank you, Dr. King. I’ll keep ‘em on the straight and narrow. If you get hungry after your shift, feel free to stop by. We’ve got “all you can eat meat”. Assuming you’re not a vegetarian or something.

MEL (disarmed) Oh. That’s very nice of you. I am not a vegetarian, but I will be watching fireworks with my sister. Thanks for the invite.

02.09 “3:00 P.M.” written by Cynthia Adarkwa

Party girls with the bitten tongue getting discharged

GIRL So, she’ll need to be spoon fed… Are you available?

LANGON (ignoring her) Antibiotics three times a day. Come back here in two days for a wound check.

GIRL See you then, Doctor Hottie.

Off Langdon’s internal scream –

02.12 “6:00 P.M.” written by Danny Hogan and R. Scott Gemmill

Langdon and Mel talk with Al-Hashimi about the Mom of the heatstroke boy:

MEL Has her husband arrived yet?

BARAN Yeah, but he went straight upstairs.

LANGDON Really?

BARAN He may have just wanted to see his child first. Let’s not jump to conclusions.

MEL Sounds like he already has.

2. McKay and Langdon chat:

LANGDON You want a hug?

MCKAY God no. (softening) But I appreciate the sentiment.

With that, McKay moves off as Langdon shrugs – suit yourself.

3. Langdon after Joy says she’s leaving on time:

Langdon, exasperated, decided silence is the best response to this incomprehensible millennial vs. Gen-z divide. He nods.

02.13 “7:00 P.M.” written by Joe Sachs

Langdon and Mel talk in the breakroom:

LANGDON I should have caught it.

MEL OK. You know, I, um… I had a deposition today, and all the lawyer’s questions made me feel like I was a really, really bad doctor. But I’m pretty sure I’m not. We don’t always get everything right the first time. You would have caught the collapsed lung. And it may have taken a minute, but you would have saved him.

LANGDON I’m not sure Robby would agree with you. He’s been riding me all day.

MEL Well, Robby’s leaving for three months. And, you know, with Robby gone… I really don’t want you to leave either. Even though Dr. Al-Hashimi’s extremely smart and very nice.

LANGDON She was this morning, very supportive of my rehab, but then something snapped… and when she froze up in Trauma. What was that?

MEL I don’t know.

LANGDON Robby’s the bedrock of this place. We are in for some very tough times.

MEL That which does not kill me makes me stronger.

LANGDON Wow, Friedrich Nietzsche.

MEL Or Kelly Clarkson.

Off Langdon and Mel, sharing a much needed smile.

02.14 “8:00 P.M.” written by Noah Wyle

Mel and Al-Hashimi talk with Grady's mom

NAOMI Are either of you moms?

Mel recoils at the thought.

MEL No.

AL-HASHIMI I have a five-year-old son.

[More dialogue about parenting being difficult]

MEL My mother used to say, “If it were easy– you’d have nothing to teach”.

NAOMI Then every Mom should get a Master’s degree.

AL-HASHIMI Hear hear.

MEL She actually did get her Master’s… but it was in Accounting.

2. Mel chatting with coworkers while charting (this is really similar to what made it on screen but the vibe in the script definitely feels less dismissive of Mel in my opinion):

MEL No. Sorry, I thought she said departed. But I have been my sister’s caregiver. (beat) Although, now that Becca has a new and somewhat surprising - romantic - adult-consenting-relationship… with a boyfriend - I guess I’ll have more time on my hands.

MCKAY What do you like to do, Mel?

MEL Well, that’s just it. Someone asked me that earlier and I had no answer. I’m realizing it’s because I’ve been… putting Becca first, this place second, and myself last.

MCKAY Sounds like motherhood. We both could use a joyboost.

The others all talk about new things they want to do/learn. THEN:

MEL Did either of you guys work on the Revolutionary War reenactors earlier?

SANTOS Why, do you think you could pull off a tricorn hat?

MEL Maybe. I’ve always loved history, and Colonial Williamsburg was my favorite school trip. And, you know, there’s always the Ren Faire, but that’s just once a year. How often do you think the reenactors get together?

This stumps the group.

SANTOS I don’t know.

MCKAY You should definitely look into it.

The group goes back to work. But Mel’s wheels are turning.

3. After Langdon does the closed cervical reduction:

Langdon takes a deep breath. Grins for the first time all day. Hell yes. This was the validation he needed – had prayed for. His reverie is broken, however, by Dana’s voice.

02.15 “9:00 P.M.” written by R. Scott Gemmill

Ambulance Bay scene (the major differences were noted by divorcedfranklangdon but there was some additional/different dialogue that I thought was interesting):

LANGDON Wow. Crazy how muggy it still is out here. You uh – you seen Robby?

MEL Uh, not for a bit.

LANGDON You catch up on your charts from the beginning of the shift?

MEL Yeah.

LANGDON What are you still doing here?

MEL Uh, just gonna…

LANGDON You staying for the fireworks?

MEL Yeah. I was supposed to see them with Becca, but she is at her boyfriend Adam’s family’s house instead.

LANGDON Your sister seems like she’s pretty put together.

MEL Yeah. Uh, a lot more than I realized.

LANGDON How was your day?

MEL I’ve had better. You?

LANGDON Yeah. But then again, I’ve had a lot worse. (then) … Gonna take awhile to get used to the grind again. Not used to being on my feet all day and my back’s killing me. (off her look) But in a good way. I feel alive. Hell, I did a closed cervical reduction, like, an hour ago.

MEL Oh, I heard. That must have been so intense.

LANGDON My hands are still shaking.

MEL Hey, um, do you think you could teach me how to do that sometime?

LANGDON Uh, yeah.

MEL Yeah?

LANGDON Yeah, sure. I mean, I hope you never have to use it. I could have paralyzed that guy.

MEL Yeah, but you didn’t.

LANGDON No, I didn’t.

She offers a high five. He offers a fist. They both adjust to the other. Well, it was the thought that counts.

LANGDON Thank you by the way, for talking me down earlier. I’m sorry I snapped.

MEL It’s OK…

LANGDON …Kinda peaceful out here when there’s no incoming.

MEL Yeah…

And as they sit in silence…

2. Santos asks Mel to karaoke:

SANTOS Well, what I do is more like primal scream therapy. There’s nothing like getting wasted and just absolutely wailing to shake off a shit show like today.

MEL Could we watch the fireworks first? I don’t usually like them, but now that Becca’s gone, I don’t know, I guess because it’s something we used to do together I find some comfort –

SANTOS Stop already. Yes, we can watch the fireworks.

MEL I could use a fun night.

±±±±±

January 4th 2028

"Dr Melissa King?"

Mel stops rubbing her left thumb in-between her right pointer and middle fingers and stands up. The secretary politely smiles at Mel and silently points in the direction of Mr Steiner's office. At least the secretaries in this office are nice, because at this point, Mel is very tired of lawyers and all things law.

She might hate lawyers. Actually, she definitely hates lawyers. She's spent too much time with medical attorneys, paralegals and judges. She never wants to be in a courtroom again. There were her two depositions for the medical malpractice suit and the subsequent court case, where her license was thankfully not taken away as she had convinced herself it would. Then she testified in court against the liquor store thief, who was actually dumb enough to use his real name when checking into the Pitt–Liam Sanders. On top of that, she provided a character witness to Frank's custody hearing last summer. So she's really dealt with her fill of lawyers, who all seem to range from not really understanding her to flat out making it clear that they hate her.

She's not looking forward to spending a rare Saturday off with her family lawyer–especially because she didn't even know she had a family lawyer. She dealt with her mom's will, selling her house and settling her debts, all by herself. She wishes she had known about Mr Steiner when she was 19, trying to understand what codicils and disbursements were, in order to access the limited inheritance her dead mom was able to leave her and Becca. The money she left just about paid for the funeral and burial.

She assumes that's what this news is about. The letter asking her to attend this appointment was vague and only mentioned a discussion about her mother's estate. She wasn't even sure the letter was real until Frank checked it over for her and confirmed it was. It's probably going to be something about debts she didn't know about that she now has to pay back, plus late fees.

"Melissa!" Mr Steiner buzzes as soon as Mel steps in the open door to his office.

He immediately stands up to shake her hand, taking it in a firm grip. Mel smiles politely at him and does her best to return the handshake.

"Mel is fine." She says politely as she sits on the chair that Mr Steiner points to.

"Yes, of course. Mel." He hums, sitting down at his own desk chair. He lifts a large document and places his reading glasses on before looking up at Mel.

"So I assume you have some idea what this is about." He adds. Mel quickly shakes her head.

"I actually have no idea. I thought everything with both my parent's estates was all squared away. In fact, mother will be gone 10 years this year…" Mel replies, quieting her voice down to say the last part. Nearly ten years, and it doesn't hurt any less.

"Ah, yes. Mary was a lovely woman. I'm very sorry that she went so fast." Mr Steiner says with a small smile.

"You knew my mom?" Mel asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, I met her to arrange all the matters related to your trust fund." He replies, casually, opening another folder with more documents.

"Trust fund?" Mel asks, the shock and surprise obvious in her voice. She had zero idea about this apparent trust fund. Her mother had left her with a little bit of inheritance and their house in Williamsburg, which Mel sold years ago to fund med school and Becca's Middle Hill initial deposit. She assumed her father had left some inheritance money to her mother, too, but he died suddenly and never had a proper will arranged, as far as she knew. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father was a bus driver—hardly lucrative careers. Neither of them had ever mentioned anything about a trust fund that she could recall.

"So, you'll be 29 next month, yes?" Mr Steiner says, largely ignoring her surprised tone about this whole thing.

"Yes?" Mel says, the confusion is still obvious in her tone.

"Great. The terms stipulate you'll be giving one year's notice if not already married, so there's your notice." He smiles, clearly not picking up on Mel's cluelessness about this whole thing.

"What? Not married?" Mel says, threading her brows in confusion.

"Well, you're not right? I don't see an engagement ring either." He adds, looking down at Mel's hands.

Mel looks down at her own hands, too, then hides them under the table. "Oh, I'm not engaged or anything, but why does that matter?" Mel asks.

"The terms stipulate you receive the trust fund when you turn 30, if you're married. If you're not married, you will receive it at the age you wed." He informs her, like it's the most normal thing in the world.

"What?" She repeats.

"It's actually pretty fair—I've worked on many cases where they stipulate you must be married to someone from a certain race or religion. Or they stipulate that the recipient only gets the trust fund if they enter a specific career, luckily you're already a doctor! Although your trust fund mentions nothing specific about your career choice." He says with a pleasant smile. This is all seems so normal to him.

"I didn't even know I had a trust fund." Mel grumbles, sitting back in her chair.

"Oh, my apologies, I thought you were somewhat aware of it." Mr Steiner frowns while he highlights something from the paper he has in front of him.

"And of course you will have control over Becca's fund. I understand you have a Supportive Decision Making order in place, but you can petition for lasting power of attorney on this if you don't think she could be responsible for such a large sum." He adds, finally looking up from his papers.

Mel shakes her head; she feels slightly dizzy all of a sudden. "Large sum?" She questions.

"Well with interest, you've both accrued $750,000. So between the two of you, that's $1.5 million." Mr Steiner says, casually, like he's not talking about more money than she could ever imagine.

What? $750,000? $1.5 million. M-i-l-l-i-o-n?! For her and Becca? She thinks internally, but she imagines her face is probably pulling an expression of pure shock.

"This doesn't make any sense. My parents didn't have that kind of money." Mel frowns, shaking her head, convinced she's somehow gotten confused with another Mel King.

"Oh. Yes, the actual sum was left by your maternal grandmother, Mrs Rose Fitzpatrick?" Mr Steiner says.

Oh. Mel only met her maternal grandmother once, when she and Becca were little. She vaguely remembers her mom dressing them in scratchy, yellow dresses and meeting a woman who smelled a little like smoke and a lot like pungent, flowery perfume. She didn't know much about the woman, but she did know her mother and grandmother had an estranged and largely strained relationship.

Mel once heard her parents arguing and heard her mom tell her dad she "gave everything away" in order to marry him. But she had no idea her mom had apparently come from so much money or why her mother's parents didn't approve of her marrying her father. It all sounded like something from a Regency novel.

"Your grandmother set up the trust funds up when you and Becca were born, but since she passed away when you were both minors–control went your mother. I believe your mother was left with no additional inheritance of her own from Mrs Fitzpatrick." Mr Steiner shrugs.

Mel vaguely remembers her grandmother dying a couple of years before her dad did. She and Becca must've been 9 or 10. She recalled her mother telling her that 'Grandma is gone' one day before school. Her mom was rather detached and unemotional about the whole thing, and they didn't go to the funeral.

"And my mother didn't change the terms, about…marriage? Could she have done that?" Mel asks. She can't imagine her mom being such a traditionalist like that.

"I believe she could have but—he reaches over for more papers, which he re-reads—she did not alter your terms in any way. Becca, however, does not need to be married in order to get her sum. Maybe your mother agreed with the terms, or she didn't want to go against your grandmother's wishes." He says with a small, considerate smile.

"Do you know why she didn't change it?" She frowns.

"I don't, unfortunately. I just give my clients the facts and honour their wishes, Mel. But I did believe your mother was a very kind woman who wished the best for you and your sister." He adds.

Mel nods slowly, trying her best to take in all this information. She feels somewhat hurt for Becca that marriage wasn't added to her terms, then she contemplates that her mom may have changed it so her sister couldn't be taken advantage of. It doesn't matter, anyway, because now it's on Mel to get married so she can get access for both of them. Even with the Supportive Decision Making order in place, a judge likely wouldn't grant Becca access to such a large sum with her high support needs.

As Mel's mind swirls, she realises she's been lightly rocking on the office chair she's sat on. "Sorry." She says quietly.

"It's alright." Mr Steiner smiles at her. "So, do you have a partner?" He adds.

"Huh?" Mel says—the sound comes out louder than she intended.

"Are you going along the marriage track or?" He asks.

"Oh. No. I'm single." Mel huffs quietly.

"That's OK—you have a year. That's plenty of time. I do have some stipulations here." He says, handing her over a document.

Mel tries to make sense of it, but she's still feeling slightly dizzy and all the legal speak sort of blends together.

"The basic terms are that you can inform your intended marriage partner about the trust fund, however, you must be able to prove the relationship is real to avoid fraud. You'll need to provide basic evidence such as text messages, photos, birthday cards...that kind of thing. Then there's interviews with both you and your partner. It's a similar process to sponsoring a partner for an immigration visa, maybe not quite as strict, but you get the idea." He says, plainly, now sipping on a cup of coffee that Mel hadn't noticed previously.

"There's no set time period stipulated on the terms nor is there anyone to approve or disapprove of your chosen partner, so you could, hypothetically, meet someone and just really want to marry them in under a year…that could work." Mr Steiner adds while he smiles suggestively and raises his brows.

"As long as I can prove it's a real relationship?" Mel asks.

"Exactly." The lawyer smiles. Mel appreciates the fact that he seems friendly and genuine enough. At least her mother picked a nice lawyer.

"You should know there are penalties, too, if you get divorced less than a year into the marriage. The fund isn't released in one lump sum so you could stand to lose quite a bit of it if you try and marry fraudulently and then annul quickly to get around it. And Mel, you need to think carefully about who you marry because certain people will try and take advantage of this, and they could stand to gain a lot in spousal support in a divorce." Mr Steiner informs her.

Mel nods silently, reading the gibberish over and over.

"Of course, you can always wait until whatever age you wed to receive the trust fund, but if you want it on your 30th birthday…" He starts, putting all the documents back in a file.

"I have to be married." Mel says, finishing the sentence for him.

"Precisely." He smiles. "Between you and me, it still stands to accrue more interest, so if marriage isn't on the cards for a few years that might be best for you." He shrugs.

Mel slumps back in her chair and crosses her hands to hold both her wrists, attempting to comfort herself. Hypothetically, she could wait, she'll finish her fourth year in a few months. She has an offer for an emergency attending position at PTMC and an offer for an emergency pediatric medicine fellowship at Presby. Although technically neither offer is confirmed until she successfully completes her fourth year, and she has to actually pick which one she's taking, which she hasn't been able to settle on yet.

The attending position at PTMC would offer more money, but she applied to the emergency paediatrics fellowship on a whim, expecting she wouldn't get in because Presby's programme for emergency paediatric medicine is one of the best in the country, but she did get an offer. She was probably going to pick the PTMC offer, anyway. There was no real reason to get into an unfamiliar environment with new systems and new…people all over again.

But this money. She really couldn't wait for it. She's both thankful for her mother that this money exists at all, and pissed at her that she can only get it under the circumstances of marriage. She's in severe debt, between all the time she spent paying off her parents' leftover debt, undergraduate and medical school loans, her car loan and the recent loans she took out to fund Becca's Middle Hill bills.

She's living pay cheque to pay cheque on a very strict budget, keeping to just the essentials—eating just enough, saving just enough for Friday restaurant dinners with Becca—which Frank has started joining and paying for most of the time, to be fair, even though she always insists he doesn't. (He's very skilled at sneakily paying the bill when she's distracted.)

This money could change everything. She might be able to breathe again without constantly worrying that one more missed bill could lose Becca's place in Middle Hill and send all the progress Becca's made backwards again.

She could actually enjoy her first year as an Attending. Make it about the medicine and her role rather than making it about adjusting her budget to pay off larger amounts of debt.

She could have luxuries again–a nice apartment, the snacks she's craved, clothes she doesn't have to wear over and over again until the threads literally fall apart. She could look after Becca without the fear of letting her down constantly pressing on her body. 

She wants to be able to breathe again. So she's decided. Mel needs to find someone to marry.

----------------------------------------------------

When she finally gets out of Mr Steiner's office and checks her phone, she has six texts from Frank and one missed call.

frank | 11:45 am

Hey! hope the meeting with the lawyer goes well today 🙂

frank | 11:57am

Just realised you're probably already in the meeting haha - call me if you need anything

frank | 12:17pm

Are you still in the meeting? hope their not holding you hostage lol

frank | 12:33pm

Do i need to make the kids leave the park and show up at this guy's office? I kept the address hahah

frank | 12:35pm

That was mostly a joke but seriously call me when you're out of there… wanna check that you're ok

frank | 12:45pm

Melissaaaa that's been an hour now. I've decided I'm waiting ten more minutes for a response from you otherwise there's going to be a Langdon family trip to this guy's law firm…

frank | missed call 12:48pm

Frank did initially insist on going with her to the lawyer's office, but she reassured him it wasn't necessary. She knew it was his weekend with Tanner and Penny, so she didn't want him to have to reschedule or get a babysitter, just to go with her. She also didn't realise she had actually been in Mr Steiner's office for a whole hour. He spent more time going over documents that Mel didn't really understand when she told him she was considering getting married before she was 30, much to Mr Steiner's excitement.

She clicks on Frank's missed call notification, and it takes barely a second to ring before he picks up.

"Okay, I've realised an hour meeting with a lawyer actually isn't that crazy and I was overreacting a little, but your lack of response was worrying me." Frank says with a chuckle before Mel can even speak or say hello. Mel can hear the sounds of the park in the background, and Penny, who is asking to be pushed on the swing again.

"Well, I made it out alive." Mel answers, aware that her tone probably doesn't sound particularly chipper.

"I'm glad." He says, and she can practically hear this smile down the line. There's a beat where he waits for her to speak before he starts again.

"You okay? How did it go? What was it about?" He asks, probably picking up on her dissonant tone and hesitation to speak.

"It was weird, Frank. It was about a trust fund from my grandmother that I didn't even know I had." Mel answers with a sigh.

"You didn't know you had a grandmother?" Frank asks earnestly.

"No, I knew about the grandmother. Although my mom was estranged from her and I only met her once. It was the trust fund I didn't know about." She replies.

"Did your parents know about it?" Frank says, in between humming little shushes to Tanner, who is trying to get his attention.

"I don't know if my dad did, but my mom knew about it. She signed off on the terms with this lawyer when she was sick, apparently. I don't remember her meeting with lawyers though… maybe she did it when I was at college." Mel adds.

"And are we talking like…big money here?" Frank says.

"Life changing money. But I can't get it until I turn 30 and there's another…part of it. It's weird." She adds.

"How weird?" Frank says, and she can pretty much imagine his exact facial expression by the way he says it. Eyebrows up with a small, comforting, smile and squinting eyes.

"I don't even…it's really…actually can I come meet up with you? Which park are you guys at?" Mel says.

It's not a rare thing for Mel to meet up with Frank and the kids when their days off line up. It doesn't happen super often, but that might change soon with her new attending schedule. They often go to the park, the movies, the zoo or a museum. Sometimes Becca joins them, too. Sometimes they hang out at Frank's place, where they'll make blanket forts and bake.

Trinity once told her it's a weird thing to do with a friend—watching his kids together. "You're basically a step-mom without the benefits." She had said. But Mel told her she was being ridiculous. She loved Tanner and Penny, and Frank appreciated the help.

"We're—uh—at the park that's across the street from Steiner and Sons law firm," Frank says, with an awkward wince followed by a laugh. "I wanted to be nearby, just in case." He adds, with another nervous laugh.

Mel looks up and sees there is a small playpark just across the street, completely out of the way from Frank's house.

She laughs down the phone at him. "You're ridiculous." She smiles.

"Hey! The kids are always asking to go to a new park so I was going here anyway, Miss Ridiculous." He bites back sarcastically.

"I'll cross the street now." Mel tells him, and he tells her to be safe before she hangs up.

It doesn't take her long to find him once she enters the park. He's sat on a red bench, bundled up in a big hoodie, with a reusable coffee cup nestled between his two hands. Tanner and Penny are taking turns spinning each other on one of those little playground merry-go-rounds. Frank smiles with his teeth and waves her over when he spots her.

"Hey." He smiles, sliding up on the bench to make room for her. "Guys, say hi to Mel!" He shouts over to the kids as she sits down next to him.

Tanner and Penny both smile when they look up and run over to Mel. Penny grabs Mel's leg and hugs it, showing off her new hat and scarf for Mel to see.

Tanner bares his teeth to Mel, showing his missing front tooth. "Look, Mel! It was wiggling all week and it finally came out this morning!" He says, with a little lisp due to his missing tooth.

"Cool!" Mel says, smiling down at him. "So the tooth fairy will be visiting tonight, then?" Mel smiles, then looks back at Frank, who also has an excited little grin on his face. He lives for all this dad stuff.

Tanner looks like he's contemplating something, then looks up at Frank. "Dad, will the tooth fairy come to Mom's place or your place? Or will she leave money in both of my beds?" He asks, tilting his head with a frown.

Mel's heart practically breaks in two watching both Tanner and Frank's marching frowns. The divorce is still fairly recent, so there's still been a lot of adjustment for both Frank and the kids.

"The tooth fairy is magic right, Frank? And she uses her magic to know where you're sleeping that night so she can pick up your tooth from whatever pillow you're sleeping on." Mel says, looking down at Tanner. Frank mouths a silent "thank you" at Mel and nods at Tanner.

"That's right, T. The tooth fairy will know where you're sleeping, whether it's in your mom's place, my place or even your grandparents' house." Frank smiles.

Tanner and Penny both seem to accept that answer and run off to play together on one of the slides.

"So," Frank says, sliding a little closer to her on the bench. "Trust fund, weird terms, is where you left off." He says with a small grin.

Mel sighs and looks down at the ground for a second. "I get access to the trust fund when I'm 30. Becca has one too…but I'll get control because I have durable power of attorney." Mel says, trying not to get upset again.

"That's not so bad, that's what, a year wait?" Frank says, looking into her eyes with one of his signature comforting expressions.

"That's not the weird part. I have to be–married–to get the money." She explains, unsure what possessed her to utter 'married' like it's a dirty word.

"Married?" Frank says, confused, while turning down his brows.

"Yes. Married. And there's this whole process where I have to prove the relationship is real. I'll have to prove I'm in love or whatever and I can't just fake it and get divorced after because then there will be penalties on Becca and I's funds and–" Mel flounders, before Frank grabs her flailing hand.

"Breathe, sweetheart." He says softly.

Sweetheart isn't a new thing. The first time he called it was probably two months after he returned to the Pitt from rehab. It gave her butterflies the first time she heard it. But that was before she was over her crush on him, which she is way over now. Plus, she's pretty sure she once heard him call Dana sweetheart, too, so she assumes it's just a platonic turn of phrase for him.

She grips his hand and takes a few deep breaths in sync with him until she feels calmer, then lets him go.

"Your parents were tradionalists like that?" He asks in a gentle, careful way.

"No—they never said anything to us about getting married. We didn't grow up going to church or anything. I guess it was my grandmother who decided on the marriage clause. My mother didn't change it, though, and I guess she could have." Mel frowns, staring out into space.

"She must've had a reason for that, Mel." He adds, leaning back against the bench and putting his arm on the space behind her.

Mel nods, considering his words. She agrees with him; she's sure her mom would've had her reasons. But she has a frustrating, endless list of things she wishes she had asked her mom before she passed away, and it never gets any easier, never knowing those answers.

"I need this money, Frank. I am one missed payment from Becca losing her place in Middle Hill and I can't let that happen. I know I'll be an attending soon anyway, but I need this money as soon as I can get it. I need some…security in my life again. I need to remember what it's like to not have to count every cent." She sighs, holding back the tears that threaten to release from the back of her eyes.

"I can help you with the Middle Hill bills, Mel. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to the two of you." He frowns, adding a supportive pat to her back.

"I couldn't let you do that." Mel says, shaking her head.

She knows Frank is in a better financial position these days, with his attending salary. He negotiated a really good deal by agreeing with Gloria to do hospital PR as "the handsome PTMC attending on the Physicians Health Programme"—that's how Gloria put it. Frank calls it a classic "bad boy makes good" story. He's kinda like the Pitt's spokesperson, which Robby has never been good at doing. Frank does interviews with the local press, medical publications and sometimes podcasts or social media stuff. Mel didn't think it'd be something he'd go for at first, but he told Mel he may as well get some money out of it if people are going to talk about him anyway.

But he still has rehab bills, divorce lawyer bills, child support payments, and actually paying for his kids' day-to-day lives. She can't be another thing to add to his list.

"I know you wouldn't let me, but I still had to offer." He says, with another soft smile. "So…what? You need to get married?" He asks.

"I know. I don't even know where to start." She sighs, putting her face in her hands.

Frank chuckles then and points his hand down over his body, in a theatrical sweep. "Isn't it obvious?" He nudges.

Mel shakes her head, clearly confused.

"Mel." He laughs.