Mel King meet cute in the ER?? Time jump to established relationship and reader visits to bring Mel food/something from home

found between sirens —m. king

mel king x fem!reader

word count: 2.9k

summary: you weren't looking for anything when you rushed to the hospital after your sisters motor bike crash, but you found everything and more.

warnings: mentions of throwing up, rambling mel, mentions of anxiety, medical inaccuracy, mentions of blood and wounds

a/n: I loved writing this and had so much fun. let me know if you were looking for something different. and of course I had to give my girl cassie a few lines in this.

The smell of hospitals always scared you, the tang of blood, the sickening smell of antiseptic, the color of the gloves. You hated everything about hospitals–always trying to avoid them as much as possible. Turning down any invitation that sounded like it would result in harm. 

The ER wasn’t much better, either. Worse. 

And it didn’t help that your sister was the exact opposite of you. She loved danger. Thrived off of it, even. It was something you would never understand. But to each their own, right? 

Having an adrenaline junkie as a sister, and a fear of hospitals, was not for the weak. Especially when your parents died at eighteen and you were her emergency contact. Which meant every time she ended up with a broken bone or a cut too deep for a bandaid, you were the one they called. 

You’d just made the move to Pittsburgh a few months ago, and hadn’t had any hospital visits months before the move, so this felt foreign in some way. Like you were out of place. Not right. 

Your sister made the move with you, something about safety in numbers. She didn’t like the idea of you living in a city on your own. But really you think it's the fact that the two of you had never lived away from each other. You didn’t protest when she told you. You were grateful. 

They didn’t mention much on the phone. Just that she’d fallen off her motorbike in a competition a few towns over. A small sketchy town that didn’t have a hospital. Makes sense, you thought to yourself, that’s usually the kind of trouble she gets herself into. Adult or not. You’d told her not to attend. But she didn’t listen, as usual. 

You checked in at the ER, a sweet lady at the desk. She gave nothing but kind smiles and a soft voice. She promised to go check for you. You stand awkwardly by the desk, your hand snaking around the back of your neck, scratching out of anxiety. You bit the inside of your cheek, seeing the overflow of prospective patients. Wondering if it was always this packed, if there were always people lining the walls, not enough seats to fit everyone. 

“Ma’am?” The lady was back. You didn’t know how long you’d been zoned out of the room, but the woman’s voice didn’t hold irritation. 

“Yes?” You let out a shaky breath, nerves taking over your whole body. Tremors in your hands, your heart beating a little too fast to be considered normal. 

“Your sisters in an exam room, the injuries are only minor.” She nods, taking in your scared-shitless expression. “Dr. Langdon is waiting by the door over there to take you to see her.” 

“Okay.” A big rush of air leaves your lungs, fogging the window. Unsure, you take a step forward. “Thank you.” 

You walk on unsteady legs towards the door, the rush of doctors and nurses behind the door making you even more nervous. 

The raven-haired doctor, Dr. Langdon, you presumed, opened the door. He held it for you as you timidly stepped forward into the emergency department. The door shutting behind you racks your nerves. You couldn’t believe you were really doing this. 

Your lunch churned in your stomach, feeling uneasy. But this was nothing new. The smells hit you fast, and you had trouble breathing. 

“Miss?” The man looks at you with concern. “Are you okay? Are you sure you don't need to be checked out?”

“I’m..” You swallowed, removing your eyes from the linen cart and to his face. “I’m fine. But thank you.”

“Okay.” He nods and moves the two of you along. “She’s gonna be okay–your sister. She has a nasty road rash down both of her legs, but we had one of our interns remove the gravel. They disinfected and wrapped her legs.” 

You clench your jaw so hard you're afraid you might break a tooth or three. 

“So don’t be scared when you see the gauze around her legs. Alright?” He turns to look at you, dodging a redhead with bangs and a brunette with her hair pulled in a ponytail. “She also dislocated her shoulder out in the field, so she’s gonna need a sling for a while. Other than a few other minor scratches, she should be okay. We have her under pain meds right now, so she’s a little out of it.” 

You stop walking, reaching what you assume is her room. 

“Thank you, again. So..” You feel a little light headed, faint. But manage to keep your composure. “So much.” 

“It’s all good. It’s my job.” He nods, a hand wrapped around his stethoscope. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look a little..” 

“Queasy?” You offer. 

“Yeah.” He laughs. 

“I’m fine. Just.. I don't like hospitals.” You say to him. 

“I don’t think anyone really does.” He attempts at a joke. Sensing he wasn’t going to settle your nerves, he turned to open the door. “Anyway, this is your sister's room. You can go ahead.”

You nod, not trusting your voice anymore. You head in first, and he follows shortly. You take in your sister on the bed. She’s asleep right now. The weight of the day and her injuries settling her bones. 

“Okay, Dr. King will be in shortly to check in with her. She’s another resident here.” He looks over the chart one more time on the computer before logging out. “One of our nurses will also be in and out occasionally to gather vitals and anything she may need. I’ll be around if you need me. Just ask the nurse or someone outside.” 

You nod, your stomach turning over again at the constant beeping of the monitor. It should be calming, the beeping. A reminder she’s still breathing. It’s anything but. 

“Alright, well, I’ll leave you.” He offers a warm smile and steps toward the door, opening it. 

Before he’s the whole way out, you say, “Is there a bathroom around here?” 

“Oh, yeah, right across the hall.” He opens the door so you can get out. You follow his finger to see the bathroom door. 

“Thank you again.”

You speed across the hall on shaking legs, worried you won’t make it to the bathroom in time. Thankfully, nobody is in your way, so you make it to the bathroom without any disruptions. You run into the first empty stall, emptying your stomach into the toilet, not even bothering to lock the door. 

You keep your hair held back, dry heaving over the toilet until you're sure you're done. You flush the toilet and let out a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. It only works slightly. You wash your hands and splash cold water over your face, rinse your mouth out.

Deciding you're okay to leave the bathroom, you take one more deep breath and push the door open. 

Not watching where you’re going, eyes glued to the floor, you run straight into someone. Making her drop the tablet she was holding straight to the floor. 

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” The woman apologizes profusely, like it was her fault. 

“No, no. It was my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” You smile at her, and look at her for the first time. 

She’s very pretty, you’ll give her that. She has dirty blonde hair, but it looks to be more on the blonde side. It’s pulled back into a tight braid that hangs down the nape of her neck. She has glasses on, you notice when she pushes them up the bridge of her nose. It makes her look nerdy, but in a cute way. She wears black scrubs, so she must be a doctor, you decipher. The gray ones assigned to the nurses. She has a very pretty smile, and you look at her lips for a little too long to be platonic. Her eyes are just as pretty. 

“Are– are you okay?” Her eyebrows turn down in concern. “You look a little pale. I didn’t.. hit you that hard. Did I?” 

“No.” You shake your head. “You didn’t hurt me.” 

“Okay. You just.. Were staring for a minute. Thought maybe you hit your head against me or something. But I– I guess that wouldn’t make sense because I would’ve felt it. Yeah, I definitely would’ve felt it. Anyways.. I’m sorry. I talk a lot. Especially when I’m nervous. And I’m nervous right now.” She stops talking for a second, breathing in and swallowing. “Not that– not that you’re making me nervous. Just that.. I’m gonna stop talking now.”

An amused smile graces your lips. 

“You’re perfectly fine.” You also take a deep breath, new anxiety fluttering in your chest. But this time not from the setting. Actually, being in a hospital is the last thing on your mind right now. This time it’s from this gorgeous woman rambling at you. 

The doctor realizes where she is and says, “Oh, I should probably..” 

At the same time, you say, “Here, let me get that for you.” 

You both go down at the same time, reaching for the tablet, bumping heads as you do so. 

“Okay, now I hit my head.” You joke, fingers rubbing over the skin. 

“I’m so, so sorry.” She gasps, looking at your forehead where your hand had been seconds ago. “Are you okay?” 

“I think I should keep count of how many times someone's asked me that today.” You laugh. “But yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Her lips are turned down in a frown now, and you catch yourself looking at her lips for too long. 

“Totally.” You nod fervently. “You should probably.. get back to your patients.” 

“Oh, yeah. Yeah. You’re right.” She brushes it off as calmly as possible. Like your whole demeanor didn’t send her body into a panic. Before you can leave, she blabs out, “I'm– I'm Melissa. But all my friends call me Mel. Not that we’re.. friends. But– but not that I wouldn’t want to be. Sorry. Just– just call me Mel.” 

“Hi, Mel.” You find her rambling charming and adorable. “I’m y/n.” 

“That’s.. really pretty.” She beams up at you. “Um.. okay. Bye.” 

You laugh and watch her go as she mumbles, “God, get a grip, Mel.” 

When you get back to your sister's room, the anxiety about the hospital is long forgotten. She wakes up after a few minutes of you sitting down. 

After a quiet scolding from you and a half-assed apology (that you know will mean nothing next week because she’ll do something just as dangerous), you sit in silence. No noise in the room besides the beeping of the monitor. 

The doctor comes in soon after, not looking up from the tablet as she says, “Hi, I’m Dr. King. I just wanted to..” 

She looks up at the same time as you, locking eyes. Mel’s face flushes in a red heat that is unmistakable. Your breath catches in your throat. What are the odds? 

“Just wanted to what?” Your sister frowns, and then looks between the two of you. “Oh. Oh.”

“N– nothing.” Mel shakes her head. “Just wanted to show you how to use your sling. But I can come back.”

“No, no. Stay.” Your sister's face brightens. “I’m not sure if I’m just out of it, or if I’m sensing some serious tension right now.” 

“No.” You shake your head, trying to keep your composure once again. 

“After your sister is educated on her sling, she can be discharged.” Mel's voice is soft and quiet when she turns to you. “I’m just gonna.. show her how to do that. If that's okay with you.”

“Of course.” You nod and stand so she can get to your sister's side. 

“Why don’t you get me something from the cafeteria?” Your sister looks like she’s up to no good, but when Mel looks at you and nods, you can’t do anything but agree. 

“Okay.” You leave the room and manage to find the cafeteria. 

When you get back, she’s ready to be discharged, with a wicked smirk on her lips. You aren’t sure you even want to know. But when she’s buckling into your car, she hands you a piece of paper. 

Inside of it is Mel King’s phone number. 

You’ve officially been dating Mel for almost a year now. After your sister set you guys up, you texted for weeks until you finally took the plunge and asked her on a date. And the rest is history. 

She’d just gotten named in a lawsuit, and she was struggling to stay calm. You could tell how stressed she was and that she wasn’t taking care of herself right. She rushed out this morning with a kiss on the cheek and an apology so long she forgot her lunch. If you’d even call it a lunch. More like four granola bars and a banana. 

You decided to take matters into your own hands and get some food from her favorite fast food restaurant. You knew the likelihood of her actually eating it was very low, but it was the thought that counted. 

You still hated hospitals, but as long as you were with Mel it wasn’t so bad. Everyone knows you by name now. You only visited once or twice a month, but everyone knew you and loved you. You were a perfect fit for Mel in their eyes. 

You approach the check-in desk, Lupe saying, “If you go now, McKay’s letting a patient back. You can slip right in.” 

“Thank you, Lupe.” You winked. 

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it.” 

You hurry to slip through with Cassie, who just says, “Hurry up, before I shut the door.” 

“Thank you.” You squeeze her shoulder. 

“Of course.” She nods, a grin spreading across her face. “Anything for Mel’s girl.” 

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” You side-eye her. “I have a name, you know.”

“Yeah, well, that was before you showed up with food.” 

“I’ll get you next time, Cass.” You give her a smile, passing her to make it towards Mel. “Promise.” 

“I’ll be waiting!” Cassie yells down the corridor. 

You make it to where Dana’s standing, behind the desk, as usual. 

“Hey, sweetheart, how ya’ doing?” She gives you a hung smile, hand on her hip. She juts her chin out towards the bag. “Any of that for me?” 

“I’d give you mine, but Cassie might come for my head. I already told her no.” You joke. “I’ll get you next time, promise. I’ll have to take orders before I leave.” 

“Alright.” She holds her glasses in her other hand, moving around as she speaks. “Looking for Mel?” 

“You know it.” You place the bag on the top of the desk, leaning over it. 

“Mel!” Dana yells behind her. “Your girls here!” 

Mel appears from the other side of the wall, lips turned down, her eyebrows pulled together. It’s absolutely adorable. 

“Why?” She comes to your side in an instant. “What’s wrong? You're not.. Dying, are you? Is your sister in the hospital again? I didn’t see her anywhere.” 

She tries to look around you to see in the rooms, but you place hands on her shoulders, calming her. 

“Mel.” You say softly. 

“Yeah?” She looks up at you. 

“I came to see you.” You lean in and give her a kiss on her cheek. You know how she is with PDA, so you don’t do much more. You’d both agreed PDA was for behind closed doors, but she looked so adorable you had to kiss her. You turned and grabbed her food. “And I brought lunch.” 

“You didn’t– you didn’t have to do that.” She looks at you with so much adoration in her eyes. 

“You left your lunch at home. I had to make sure you ate.” You smile down at her, noticing the bags under her eyes. She was tired from stress, and you knew that. It was good you came, you decided. “And I know how stressed you’ve been.”

It looks like something clicks behind her eyes, and she frowns again, “But.. what about your fear? You’re scared of hospitals.”

“Mel, sweetie, we’ve been over this. It's gotten better now.” You run your hand up and down her arm. “Now, how about we go eat a little bit. I’m sure you can take a five minute break.” 

“Make it fifteen.” Robby appears beside the two of you, reaching over the desk for a tablet. 

“But–”

“Doctors orders.” Robby smirks. “Go ahead to the break room. I can hold the fort down until you come back.” 

“Okay.” Mel says quietly. 

“C’mon.” You grab her hand and pull her to the break room. 

“Thank you so much, really. You didn’t have to do this.” Mel assures you. 

You place the greasy bag on the table, rounding to her to pull her chair out and push her onto it. You scoot her chair in and give her her rations of the food. 

“I know. I wanted to.” You smile sweetly. “Now hurry up, we only have fifteen minutes.”

She smiles and digs in, looking at you with nothing but love in your eyes. Even when she gets ketchup on the corner of her mouth. 

After you finish eating, you give her a hug and a kiss, and send her back to work. There’s anxiety in your chest that you always have when you worry about her. But you push it down. 

Saying your goodbyes to Dana and Robby, you make your way to the exit. Dana gives a promise that she’ll keep an eye on Mel, and it makes you feel a little lighter. 

don't forget to like and reblog! send in asks or just thoughts. I'll be happy to write them!