For PhunkyBrewster
This is set sometime in the future where our pair has already resolved their conflicts and are now a happy couple... Of course, issues may still arise, but as long as they don't act like idiots... :)
Thanks to Phunky for inviting me to join this brilliant challenge! It really took a bit of mental management to get back in the mood after the angsty turn our show took... And the amazing talented writers who are participating helped a lot as well!
"Red or black, Danny?"
"Hmmm?" He looked up from the morning newspaper and glanced at Mindy, who was staring intently at her laptop screen.
This was a regular morning ritual since they had moved in together - he with his paper, she with whatever electronic device that suited her fancy. She told him almost daily that he was the last person on the planet who read print media, that he had to use a Kindle or Nook so he could "get with the times."
But that wasn't satisfying to him at all. Reading the paper meant flipping big sheets and folding them back, getting your fingers dirty. It was a tactile experience, and Mindy of all people should appreciate that Danny was a big fan of touching.
"Red or black what?"
"The mixer, of course. Should we get them the red one or black one?" Mindy's brow creased in mild exasperation. It was a simple enough question. Apparently they had been discussing this, but Danny hadn't been paying attention.
Living and working with the woman he loved meant that Danny didn't have a lot of downtime, and while it was exhilarating, it took some getting used to. He had gotten into a stable, boring routine before she came along and tilted his world on its axis. Sometimes, he couldn't help but tune her out a bit.
"What the hell difference does it make what color blender you want to buy for people we barely even know? Is one of them cheaper?" He grumped.
Mindy rolled her eyes. "Give me a break, you know it's not a blender. This is a top of the line mixer with all the bells and whistles. You can make bread and stuff. Don't play dumb. You're the cooker here."
Danny folded up his paper. "I'm the cooker?" He said with a grin.
"Yes, you're the cooker and I'm the eater." She smiled cheekily at him. "You love this stuff. I've seen you take the Williams Sonoma catalog into the bathroom."
"Ha ha. So why do we have to buy the most expensive thing for strangers? What's wrong with a nice can opener or a toaster? I swear, they just picked out the expensive stuff because they know we can afford it." Danny had already finished his breakfast. "Are you going to eat that or not? I'm still hungry."
"Hush, Danny, I'm starving. Anyway, Lucy works in corporate law now. She probably makes twice what we do combined." Mindy stabbed her fork into the cooling omelette that sat on her plate while she did her shopping. "And they aren't strangers, Danny. Unless you're in the habit of licking stranger's tonsils?"
Danny shook his head emphatically. "One date, we had one date. That barely counts."
"It sure looked like it counted. Besides, I dated Jamie for a while, and I was responsible for them finding true love, so I think a nice wedding gift is no big deal." Mindy smiled, more to herself than to Danny. While she had been rather traumatized at the time by the turn of events surrounding their ill fated double date, she now looked back at them fondly as a stepping stone to where she was now. It had turned out just like it should have all along.
"Hey, do we have any ranch dressing left?" She said through a mouthful of eggs and bacon.
"What? Yeah, I just bought you some... you're not going to put it on your breakfast, I hope!" Danny had a look of disgust on his face.
"Why not? I bet it would be delicious!" She got up to fumble through the condiments in the fridge till she found the bottle and returned to her seat.
"Oh no..." He grimaced as she doused the meal in the creamy dressing. "Is there anything you won't eat with ranch?"
"If there is, I haven't found it yet!" She replied merrily. "Oh, I put it on pancakes once, when I ran out of syrup. It wasn't too bad! But I do prefer syrup, really." She took a big bite and grinned at him.
"Why would you make pancakes if you didn't have syrup?"
"Oh, I didn't make them. I was eating foreign cuisine - the International House of Pancakes."
Danny knit his brows and stared at her. "Mindy, they have syrup on the table."
"Yes." She nodded.
"They have multiple flavors of syrup on the table, in fact."
"Yes, they do, Danny!" She said exasperatedly.
"How do you not have diabetes!?"
"Humph. I have an excellent metabolism, thank you."
"That isn't... I give up." He shook his head and returned to his paper.
"Well, before you give up, let's decide on the freaking mixer!"
"Fine, fine. Get them the black one." Danny flipped through the paper to find the finance section. "And put down the red one for us."
"Black it is." Mindy returned her attention to the laptop, then paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean, put one down?"
"I think we should get one. Put it in the list thingy for us." Danny gestured at Mindy's computer while staring at his newspaper.
Mindy frowned. "List thingy? Danny, you are a middle aged human, please do not act like you don't know what a wedding registry is. I'll give you a hint - it involves a wedding."
"Okay." He flipped a page and folded the paper back, tapping his fingers on the table.
"So you see the problem there, Danny?"
"Yeah..." He squinted without his glasses and focused on the paper, holding it a little further away with an attempt to look serious, but Mindy could see he was suppressing a grin. "Guess we'll have to get that figured out then."
Mindy kept staring at him, but he continued to ignore her.
"If you're trying to be funny, Castellano, it's not working." She growled.
He raised his eyes to meet hers and held her gaze steadily. "I'm not joking. We could really use that blender."
She felt a little dizzy and lightheaded all of a sudden. "Danny, if this is your way of proposing, I will punch you so hard..."
"I'm not... not now." He stammered. "I'm just saying... we should talk about it. Like, plans and stuff..." He smiled at her, reaching out to touch her hand.
"Okay, because I'm really not feeling romantic right now." She felt a churning in her stomach. "But we... I mean... you... us..." Suddenly Mindy felt a wave of nausea engulf her, and she leapt from her chair to the kitchen sink and deposited the contents of her breakfast in it.
"Oh God, Mindy, that's so unsanitary!" Danny threw down his paper in disgust. "I didn't realize the idea would literally make you vomit."
She rinsed her mouth out, feeling the nausea return even without swallowing the water. "Danny, those eggs must be rotten or something. Are you trying to kill me?" Her skin felt clammy and she rested her head against the cool granite counter for a moment.
"The eggs were fine, Mindy. I ate all of mine and I'm okay. It was probably that god awful ranch dressing!" Danny was quiet for a moment, and Mindy looked up to see him eyeing her with suspicion. "Didn't you... didn't you get sick at the office yesterday morning too?" He asked her, his voice foreboding.
"Yeah, but I ate that whole breakfast burrito from the truck and..." Her eyes widened. "Danny, what day is it?"
"It's Saturday."
"No, the date. What day of the month is it?" Mindy's voice was rising in pitch as she picked up on what Danny was inferring and panic swept over her.
"The 14th!" He said back in an equally panicky voice, not certain why he was freaking out but he had a very good idea of why she was asking.
She squinched her eyes shut and did some math in her head. "Today's the 14th... it was a Friday when I got it because we were supposed to... and I couldn't... and that was right before... oh God..." She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Danny was looking back at her with his mouth was hanging open just a little. "Danny. It's been almost seven weeks since I got my period."
He clamped his mouth shut with a sharp exhale and slapped his hand over it. They just stared for a moment. "How could... when?"
Mindy bit her lip and looked away guiltily. "I think, it was that time we didn't have a condom and I said it was okay because I knew my cycle?" Danny nodded mutely. "I guess maybe I don't really know my cycle all that well..." She shrugged and smiled uncomfortably.
Then she burst into tears.
Danny was at her side immediately, comforting her and stroking her hair. "Hey. Hey... Don't cry. We don't even know for sure..."
Mindy started nodding emphatically. "I think it's pretty for sure, Danny! You know how fertile my people are!" She sobbed, her eyes tightly closed, face buried in his shirt.
"Well, we still need to make sure. We can go get a blood test today. And so... so what if it is... Shhhh..." He held her close for a moment then pulled back so he could tilt up her face and softly kiss her. "Then you're gonna have my baby." She opened her eyes to see him smiling that crooked smile that captured her heart again and again. He wiped her tears away and she returned the smile hesitantly.
"I guess maybe I was proposing there a minute ago." He murmured quietly. "I just didn't know it at the time."
"Oh hell no, Danny Castellano. You're not getting off that easy." She pushed him away with a grin and steadied herself against the counter. "First, we're going to go get this..." She made a circular gesture at her belly. "Confirmed, then you're going to go figure out the best damn romantic proposal ever."
Danny sighed, still grinning. "Really? You already know I'm going to ask you to marry me, why do we have to make a big deal out of it?"
Mindy grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. "Are you really asking me why this is a big deal? Really?"
"Silly me." He held her face in his hands, stroking her cheek as he kissed her again.
Mindy kissed him back until she was dizzy again. "I think I need to sit down."
Danny guided her to the couch and knelt beside her as she sat. "Do you need anything? Water, or club soda?"
"No, I'm not sure it would stay down right now. Thank you though." She wound her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest, sighing, sniffling as tears kept trickling down her cheek. "You... you kissed me even though I taste like barf. You didn't even complain."
Danny smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, kissing the top of her head before easing himself up onto the couch next to her. "I love you." He said, as if it explained everything. She snuggled closer.
"I love you too, Danny. But if this is really happening... I don't know. I just feel like I've messed everything up. It's too soon. We've barely had time to just be us."
"We have all the time in the world to be us, Min." He ran his hand down her arm and clasped her hand in his, raising it to his lips. "And if the world is gonna get a little bigger, well... I can't wait."
She sniffled again, happiness bubbling in her chest. "You're like a damned poet, Danny. I just can't believe this." She sat up and frowned at him. "But I don't want to rush things. I don't want a shotgun wedding... People will think we just did it because... oh god this is so crazy!"
"Min, didn't we agree a long time ago that it doesn't matter what people think? All that matters is what we want." Danny rubbed her back gently.
"I know but... I'm not walking down the aisle in a maternity dress! I don't want a big old belly in my pictures!" She wailed.
"Mindy. You're getting so ahead of yourself... Let's reel it back in and just take this one step at a time." He grasped her hands. "And no matter what you are wearing or when it happens, you are going to be gorgeous, and you're going to make me the happiest man alive. So just... relax."
"I know, Danny. I can't help it. I'm being silly... we can Kim and Kanye it and make it fantastic!" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to release some stress. "And there is one major benefit to me getting knocked up..." She murmured, starting to smile. "We can quit using the damned condoms!"
"Yeah, there's that." He chuckled, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "And your boobs are gonna get really big..."
"What are you talking about, Danny?" She pushed him away indignantly, gently slapping at him. "My cans are already huge!"
"Sorry! I forgot!" He wrestled her arms down and led onto her, his eyes sparkling. "Mindy. We can do this."
She beamed back at him before pulling him in for a kiss. "Yeah. We can."