#langdonmel

And Who is he really? Mini comic

langdonmel appeared to me when I needed it the most

@kingdonmicrofic dat 17: crowd. 488/317. cw: none. context: small kingdon anastasia au based on the musical. header credit: tuacahn center for the arts, "anastasia"

In that silence of the quiet Parisian hotel, a scream rang out. Frank rushed into Mel’s room as she cried out in her bed alone, eyes closed and terrified. Running up to her, he wakes her, seeing her eyes open full of tears as she’s stunned back into reality, grabbing into his arms and crying about the voices coming back, as he attempted to soothe her, pushing away the nightmare.

“Who do you think I am, Frank?” Mel asks him, all of a sudden, breaking away and pleading to him, hazel eyes with red at the rims.

“If I were the Dowager Empress, I’d want you to be—”

“Do you think I’m her?” Mel shuts him down.

“I want you to be.” He confesses. They’re in silence for a long moment before Franks allows himself to speak up. “When I was ten, the Romanov’s had a parade for the summer solstice. There was a crowd of thousands in the square that day, and everyone wanted to get a glimpse of the royal family. Even me.”

He remembers the heat of the sun on his face, with the shade provided by all the crowding adults around him. Kids on shoulders, or being held in their parents’ arms. He’d never had that kind of luck.

“And I was little and scrappy, I ran under legs and knees squeezing through every person in my way. I got so far that the parade was suddenly in front of me, and she was right there. An eight-year-old, sitting straight, as regal and poised as a queen.” He laughs and straightens his posture, only now realizing how much he was hunching over. “And I called out her name and I reached out to her and she smiled.”

Frank’s heart skips a beat as it had all those years ago, keeping a piece of that memory for himself, remembering how an instant later the princess was gone and they parade travelled on.

“You make me feel like I was there too.” Mel says, voice watery.

“Maybe you were. Use that.”

Nervously Mel makes the story her own. “There was a parade, passing through the middle of town. It was hot. Not a cloud in the sky. And as we were moving along, this little boy caught my eye. Thin, raggedy, dirty.” Mel teases, and he smiles back. “But he was so fast, dodging everyone. Commoners and guards alike. No one could catch him.”

The memory was a lot more lovely when Mel told it.

“I could hear him, calling out my name, when out of nowhere he was next to my carriage. I couldn’t help myself; I wasn’t supposed to but when our eyes met, I smiled.” Mel says brandishing that her own breathtaking grin, “And then, he bowed…” Her voice trails off, confused as his blood runs cold.

“I didn't tell you that.” He whispers.

tags: medieval au, princess!mel, knight!langdon

Frank scanned the crowd, hanging on the perimeter with one hand on his horse’s reins, the other on his sword. 

In the center of the village, Princess Melissa moved slowly forward. She and her entourage were surrounded by her subjects crowding close. Their voices swelled together in a loud mess of noise. 

@kingdonmicrofic @kingdonmacrofic | 831 words | Rated T for violence against healthcare workers | Read on ao3 | Previous installments here

May 11, 2031 (Mother's Day)

She supposed it was her own fault. 

Their patient, Cameron Davis, male, 29, had been stabilized enroute by EMS. After running the initial response, they’d parked him in North 4, where he was currently dozing.

Emma was already there when Mel entered the room, checking his IV. As Mel reached the bedside, she looked over the chart.

The patient immediately started thrashing as he woke up, the bottom of his foot catching her squarely in the stomach. The iPad clattered to the ground as Mel doubled over in pain, wrapping one arm around her belly as her other hand clutched her thigh in a desperate attempt to keep herself upright. She screwed her eyes shut, gasping for air with shuddering breaths.

Her ears were ringing so loudly that she couldn’t hear Emma call the ‘code hula hoop’, didn’t hear the thundering footsteps of her colleagues bursting into the room. 

The ringing gave way to a cacophony of voices overlapping in the commotion:

“Get her a wheelchair!” 

“Hold him down!”

“Let me go, GET OFF OF ME!”

“4 of midazolam!”

“Somebody page McKay!”

“North 7’s open!” 

“Princess, call Langdon, Mel’s been attacked!”

“Get the police down here!”

"Out of the way, move it!"

The commotion receded as she was whisked away into a patient room.

So yeah, probably her fault. She should’ve paid closer attention, maybe she would’ve seen a sign… 

Which brings her to now.

“Dr. King? Kid, can you hear me? Let’s get her on the bed. Ready, three, two…” She recognizes Dana’s voice giving the orders. A blinding flash of light hits her eyes as they check her pupils. She groans, turning her head away, finally blinking her eyes open.

Dana and Donnie are with her, conducting her exam.

Dana squeezes her hand as Donnie completes the ultrasound. No signs of free fluid, internal bleeding or trauma on EFAST.

Mel knows the protocol by heart, knows what question comes next.

“Any chance you could be pregnant?”

She’s four days late. She was planning on taking a test after work, with Frank. She wanted them to be together when they found out… 

She nods.

Mel shivers involuntarily as Donnie adds more gel, keeping her eyes on the screen as he guides the wand across her belly.

Her breath catches. There it is, clear as day. The gestational sac, the fetal pole, a tiny flutter.

A baby. Their baby. Somewhere around six weeks, based on her estimation.

At that exact moment, Frank bursts into the room, completely disheveled and out of breath.

“Mel, oh my god. What happened, are you—?” He makes it about halfway to her bedside when he fully takes in the scene before him, his worried expression giving way to shock and awe. “Wait—is that? Are you—?”

She nods, automatically reaching for him. He rushes to her, clutching her tightly, murmuring softly into her hair. He pulls back to kiss her forehead, then her lips, before wrapping her in his arms once more.

She gives his hair a gentle tug. He understands her signal immediately, releasing her from his hold and grabbing her hand instead. ““Baby, oh baby, I love you so much. I was so scared, Mel, you’re really okay?”

God, she loves him. “Yes, I’m okay. More than okay, I’m—there’s a baby. We’re having a baby, Frank.”

Dana clears her throat and they both look up, so immersed in their happy little bubble they’d briefly forgotten where they were. “Congrats, you two. How’s about I give you some privacy?”

Dana hugs Mel first, congratulating her with a kiss on the cheek. When she hugs Frank, Mel hears her whisper, “I’m proud of you, kid. Be good to her,” before leaving the room.

They listen to the heartbeat before getting a printout for the fridge, making plans to follow up with OB. Emma comes by shortly after, both to check on Mel and take a sample for the ordered bloodwork. She also updates her on the patient: there were no predictive behavioral nor clinical signs to warn them, nothing preventative either of them could have done. It wasn’t Mel’s fault, just bad luck.

McKay, the other attending on today, checks in as well, dropping off the discharge papers for Donnie and letting her know Robby agreed to cover the rest of her shift.

Mel knows she’ll have to fill out an incident report, but that was a problem for another day. Right now, all she wanted to do was go home, cuddle on the couch with Frank, and stare at the ultrasound picture until she couldn’t anymore. It strikes her then how much life’s changed since the last time she’d had to do one, smiling to herself as she walks hand-in-hand towards the lockers with her husband.

@kingdonmicrofic day seventeen: crowd - 317 words - TW for autism overwhelm/panic attack, established relationship, mild hurt/comfort-ish

It’s hot that summer, sweltering even, pundits debating climate change and the A/C busted in Mel’s car. She goes back and forth: buying a new one or repair it? She wonders if she needs a car at all. She drags her feet, essentially, and Frank attempts to be patient with her. It’s not about the car; it’s about their life, a changing, evolving thing, and the uncertainty and decisions that come with it. Does Frank keep his apartment? Whose apartment is better localized? Should they try to buy a house? Can they budget that in, between child support and student loans? The neighborhoods equidistant from Abby’s house and Becca’s care center are expensive, plus there’s Frank’s new job as an attending at a different hospital. The changes are not bad, but they are changes.

It comes to a head when they’re at a Fourth of July parade, flanked by Tanner and Penny. Frank’s waiting for the historical reenactors to come marching through in their uniforms. Penny is on his shoulders, complaining that nobody has thrown anything to her, though apparently there’s a city ordinance banning this to prevent injury. Tanner has his hand curled tight around Mel’s. He’s going through a sensitive phase, scared of crowds.

And so is Mel.

Frank hears her breathing change. She gives him a pasted-on smile, but her eyes are wide, panicked. There’s a high school marching band coming through, horns blaring. Frank suddenly feels like the stupidest man alive, because he’s the one that wanted to go to the parade.

“It’s okay,” Mel mouths at him.

Frank shakes his head.

unexplained phenomena

a Kingdon X-Files AU

Chapter 5/7: Analysis