As Danny's lips brushed her collarbone, Mindy's self control kicked in and she pushed him gently away from her. "Danny, if we are starting over with a clean slate, this is just the first date."
"Seriously?"
"Well, the alternative is that I count the dates from when we were dating in secret, and we spend the evening discussing why a clean slate is even necessary."
Danny looked for a moment like he was seriously considering it. "Five dates or $2000, right? Give me your laptop."
"Danny! You can't just order some shoes and I'll instantly rip my clothes off."
"Shoes? What kind of shoes cost $2000?"
"Oh sweet innocent Danny. Just you wait." With a throaty chuckle, Mindy trailed one finger down his chest.
Danny lifted a shoulder into a half shrug with a smug smile. "I was thinking of jewelry, but..."
Mindy stopped laughing abruptly and poked his ribs hard. "Don't even joke about it."
"Ooof!" Danny made a funny noise as tears sprang to his eyes. As his mouth moved wordlessly, Mindy remembered what he'd said about the cab.
"Oh God, Danny. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"
The color slowly returned to his face and Danny shook his head. "It's fine. I'm fine."
"You're not fine, dummy. Take this off, let me take a look at your ribs." She started to unbutton his shirt when he stayed her hand.
"Mindy, stop. I'm fine, just a little bruised."
"Danny, you couldn't even speak for a minute. Stop being all macho manly man and let me do my job."
"You're not my doctor."
"I am now. Take it off," she said firmly.
He watched her cautiously as he unbuttoned the shirt the rest of the way, sucking in his breath sharply as he tried to roll his shoulders to slip it off. "You happy?"
"Can you cough for me?" She was in full doctor mode now, hands moving over his skin in a quick and assured manner, eyes watching his face for signs of pain as he coughed feebly. "I think it's just a couple of bruised ribs, but I want to get an ice pack on you right away. Wait here, I've still got some Vicodin in my bathroom."
"Mindy, I don't need drugs."
"Danny, you're breathing too fast. Accepting pain relief isn't a sign of weakness; it is going to help you. Try to take big full breaths." She put her hand again on his chest again where she could feel the movement of his diaphragm, the other on his back over too-warm skin. His shallow breathing worried her a bit, but she knew that was just Mindy speaking, not Dr Lahiri. Dr Lahiri knew he'd be fine.
"Mindy, look at me." Looking up into his eyes, she was suddenly aware of how close he was; his hot flesh under her hands, his dark eyes deep enough to fall into. "It's not the pain. It's you. I can't breathe when you touch me like that."
"Oh." She folded her hands in her lap, blushing furiously under his intense gaze. "Well, you still need an ice pack. Go get in my bed. You're staying here tonight."
"Now that's what I'm talking about."
"Danny, you perv!" She started to poke him again, but stopped herself just in time. "I just want to keep an eye on you. And you are taking that Vicodin."
"Fine. I'll go lie down. Give me my shirt back."
Mindy stood and made her way to the freezer. For once she found what she needed: a bag of frozen peas purchased specifically to be an emergency ice pack. Not glamorous, but practical. She handed it to him with a look that dared him to comment on the presence of vegetables in her home. "Why don't you grab a tee shirt? You'll be more comfortable. I think I still have one of your grey shirts in my closet."
Danny made an exasperated face. "I'll never find anything in there."
"Sure you will, just try the bottom drawer on the right."
"Top drawer?" he shouted from the closet.
"NO! The bottom drawer. Just look in the bottom drawer."
"Found it."
Mindy breathed a sigh of relief and opened the medicine cabinet. Finding what she was looking for quickly, she tipped two white caplets onto her palm and closed the bottle. Before even stepping back into the hall she knew that she couldn't offer him anything but tap water, but it made her smile. If she offered him anything else she'd have to listen to a 20 minute rant about landfills. She filled a glass quickly at the kitchen sink, and returned to her bedroom to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, shirt in hand, looking dejected. "What's wrong?"
"You might have been right about the ribs. I can't get the shirt on by myself."
"Take these." She handed him the glass of water and held out the pills. He made a face as he swallowed, but drained the glass and put it on her nightstand compliantly. "Now give me the shirt."
"This is humiliating." Danny frowned as she bunched the shirt in her hands, ready to pull it over his head like he was a toddler.
"Stop whining and let me help you. Put your arms out in front of you." She pushed the shirt first over his hands and once she'd ascertained that he had his arms through the sleeves she pushed it over his head and smoothed it down his torso. "Do you need me to help you out of your jeans?"
"NO!"
"Fine. I'm going to go brush my teeth and get ready for bed." It took a little longer than expected to get ready, but she decided resolutely against changing into cuter panties and picked one of her more modest pajama sets. She hesitated at taking her makeup off, but he'd seen her so much worse that she just shrugged her shoulders and got on with it.
She made one last circuit around the apartment, turning off lights and tidying quickly as he wouldn't be quite so distracted in the morning, and if they had to have one more discussion about how glossy magazines on the floor were an accident waiting to happen then he was never going to get laid, 5 dates or not. She picked up an US Weekly she hadn't gotten around to yet and carried it through to the bedroom for a little distraction from the hot, injured man in her bed.
By the time she slipped into the bed his medication had clearly started to kick in. He gave her a dopey smile as she leaned back against her headboard to read. "I love you like this."
If he hadn't been in such miserable shape she'd have had a very, very difficult time resisting that lopsided grin. Mindy returned his smile. "I thought you just loved me."
"I do. I love you. But I love it when you aren't wearing makeup or sparkly things, or those things. I love it."
"Sparkly things, or those things." Mindy smirked. "I see someone's stoned already."
"I'm not stoned." He shook his head stubbornly, but his eyes were already a little unfocused.
"Are you comfortable?" She finally her professional mask slip and real worry crept into her voice.
"I am now that you're here." His hand was a little cold from the makeshift icepack as he took her hand, but comforting nonetheless.
She ran her fingers through his hair softly, caressed his cheek. "Me too."
"You know what would make me feel a lot better?"
"Daniel Castellano, if you say the word graze to me..."
"What? No, not that. Just let me hold you."
Her heart beat faster. Why did that simple request feel like too much to handle? She dropped the magazine on the nightstand and turned the light off. She was careful not to jar him too much as she scooted down under the covers. He turned toward her slowly, still protecting his bruised side, but pulled her to him and touched his forehead to hers. This close she could see his eyes glisten and panic crept in again. "Are you okay? Maybe we should go the hospital anyway."
"Mindy, I'm fine. I'm perfect.. I've never been so good."
"You look like you're in pain."
"No, I'm not. For the first time in a long time I'm not." His voice broke slightly, like everything he'd been holding back since they broke up was finally coming to the surface. "I really thought I'd lost you. I waited and I waited and you didn't come."
"I did come, it just took me a while."
"I thought 'This is it. She'll hate me forever for what I've done.'"
"Danny, I was mad. I was really, really mad." Everything she'd held back was here at the surface too. Now wasn't the time, but no one told her heart. "I don't think I've ever been so hurt. I trusted you."
"I know I screwed everything up. That's why I didn't think you'd come. I left. Did I say that out loud yet? I left."
"You left?"
"Yeah, after I'd been there for an hour I left. I thought you'd never trust me again and I gave up. I'm such an asshole."
"I'm not gonna argue with you about that. You did some pretty messed up stuff, Danny." His face crumpled and she knew that the next words were absolute truth. "But I didn't hate you. That's why I was so mad. It wouldn't have hurt like this if I didn't love you so much."
"You love me?"
"I do. I love you."
"Oh thank God," he breathed out heavily and lunged for her lips, as best he could under the circumstances. She'd expected a kiss driven by hunger, something feral and frustrated and desperate, but instead he kissed her like he knew he had all the time in the world now. He ran his fingers through her hair slowly, kissing her like he was sipping from her lips. It was sweet, and it was slow, and racing heart or not she finally let the complete emotional and physical exhaustion of the night wash over her. For quite possibly the first time in her life, she fell asleep in the arms of the man she loved.
-2-
In the quiet dark he felt her at his side, waiting. She was warm hands and soft skin, and the sweet smell of her washed over him as he pulled her close. He'd made a mistake on that plane, rushing to the tiny, weirdly lit toilet, pulling rough at her clothes. This was how he wanted her. The two of them alone, his lips melting on her hot skin, her body pliant, time enough to savor her. There'd other near-misses where one or the other called it off before it became this, and he had spent nights sweating at the very thought of it. He could feel every inch of her pressed against him as he nibbled at her neck, knew she could feel him too.
Strangely he felt no pain as she spun them on the bed, hovering over him now. She pulled his shirt away and brought her mouth to his neck now. She squirmed against him as she worked her way down his torso, his heart thudding hard as she reached his ribs, his whole body throbbing by the time she drew down his boxers. Her lips lifted from his skin as she straddled his thighs, pulling her nightdress over her head. He reached for her, wrapping his hands around waist as she smiled down at him and lowered her body to his.
Danny woke up alone.
"You've gotta be KIDDING me!"
"Danny! Danny! Are you okay?"
A weight lifted from his chest, a weight he hadn't even been aware of until he heard her voice. It wasn't the unresolved sexual desire, although that was still a prominent issue. He had been so disoriented when he woke up that for a moment he was terrified he'd dreamed all of it. There she was though, rushing through the door, wild eyes, mussed hair, too many clothes for his taste and absolutely, positively real.
"Danny I'm serious. Are you okay?" She looked worried still as she knelt by the side of the bed and cupped his face with her hands.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I... I had a dream."
Mindy smiled. "Yeah, narcotics will do that to you."
"When I woke up you weren't here. I just... I wanted you here."
"She glanced briefly at his groin. I can see that."
"No, not that. Well, not just that. I thought all of it was a dream. I thought I was alone."
"Hey, none of it was a dream. I promise." She leaned in and kissed him softly. "I was making you breakfast in bed."
"Pinch me."
"What?"
"Pinch me really hard, I have to know."
"Okay." She shrugged as she pinched hard at his bicep. A sharp pain shot up his arm to his neck and he gasped. "Good enough?"
"I'm awake, this isn't a dream."
"I just told you it wasn't. I'm here. You're here. We're all in, as you say."
"I heard that part, it was the you cooking that confused me."
She pinched him again. "Jerk! I cook. I make great French toast."
"If you make great French toast why do you always make me cook for you?"
"I plead the Fifth."
Danny rolled his eyes. "I'll let you plead the Fifth if you can tell me what it means."
"The Fifth amendment to the constitution means I can't be compelled to give testimony if it may be self-incriminating."
"I'm impressed."
"There's actually a bunch of other stuff that the Fifth guarantees. It's a good amendment."
"It's hot when you talk law." He reached for her face, brushing her cheekbone with his thumb.
"I dated two lawyers in the last two years."
Danny's hand dropped away from her face. "Less hot now."
She gave him a sour look. "You know what's not hot? Inferring I don't know my rights."
"Implying."
"What?"
"I implied, you inferred."
"Damnit, Danny do you want your breakfast in bed or not?"
"Define breakfast."
"French toast, Danny! I don't know how you could have INFERRED anything else."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."
He scooted up in the bed carefully, finding he was a bit more sore today than yesterday. "I might you might have made the right call. I hurt worse now than I did before. I don't think I'd have survived sex."
"You're damn right you wouldn't have. Let me go finish up and I'll bring breakfast through to you." She stood up carefully, hobbling stiffly as she made her way.
"What's wrong, why are you walking like that?"
"One hundred and four flights of stairs," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.
He took the opportunity to pull himself out of bed and go take a piss and wash his face. He lifted the edge of his shirt and recoiled at the bruises on his chest that were not just black and blue but red and purple too. He'd taken a cab to the ribs in the name of love, and he'd be wearing the mark of it for weeks. He didn't know how he was gonna work like this.
He grabbed Mindy's toothbrush and brushed his teeth quickly, knowing full well that she'd always done the same and she'd just have to suck it up if she hated it. He looked around the bathroom at the seventy-four bottles of hair stuff and electrical hair styling things he didn't even know the name of and the towels on the floor and the lacy pink panties hanging over the shower rod and smiled. He'd missed this.
He crawled back into the bed and propped himself against the headboard right as she returned. She had not only French toast, but bacon and juice as well. Placing the tray over his lap she walked around and gingerly got into the bed with him, stealing a piece of bacon immediately.
"For the record I don't know that I'd have survived sex either. Everything hurts. My thighs, my calves, my stomach muscles, even my arms. I'm never doing exercise again."
"I dunno, there's something to be said for a good workout."
"You're the worst." Mindy crammed another piece of bacon in her mouth and chewed slowly.
"I have the love of the most beautiful, funny, kind, bright, creative, loving woman in the world. I can't be blamed for wanting to show her just how much I love her."
"Whoa. I thought you were just being sappy last night because of the drugs."
"No. I love you."
Mindy looked down, a blush coloring her cheeks. "You know this is hard for me too, right?"
"What is?"
"Waiting. If you think I don't want to be with you, you're wrong."
"Then why aren't we naked right now?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. You've seen my sex tape. You know it's not a lack of libido that is dictating what we're doing here."
"What then? I love you. You love me. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I just want to understand."
"That right there. The L word. Telling me that you love me won't change my mind about how I need to be more in control of my life. In fact it means there's more at stake. I don't care how horny I am, I'm not going to keep leaping before I look. And when I look, it's scary."
"I'm scared too, but it doesn't stop me wanting you."
"I want you too." She grinned and raised her eyebrow suggestively. "Sometimes twice in the same night."
Danny's mouth opened, surprised by the intimate confession, but he shook his head. "It's different for a guy."
Mindy made a face. "You're a gynecologist. There's no way you can listen to women talk about their sexual health all day every day and believe that women have any less sex drive than men."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I don't have a lot of perspective here."
"Which is exactly why we're waiting."
Danny nodded thoughtfully. "I get that."
"Speaking of gynecology, I don't think you should be delivering babies with your bruised ribs."
"Yeah, I was worrying about that too. I don't have anything scheduled, but if I get paged I'm screwed."
"How about I cover your patients for the next couple of days, and you cover some of my office hours?"
"Okay. Are you gonna be okay standing for long periods of time though?"
"I'll tap in Jeremy if I need to. You've gotta get some real rest."
"I gotta get a real shower."
Mindy leaned toward him and sniffed delicately. "Not a bad idea."
"Hey!" He nudged her with his shoulder and she bumped him back lightly. He used the excuse to turn a little, causing her to wobble off balance and land with her shoulder against his chest, her throat exposed to him. He dipped down for a kiss right below her jawline and she sighed, softening against him. Right as he began to nibble his way toward her shoulder they heard his pager go off.
"Well, that's my cue." She pushed stiffly out of bed, stretching as she stood. She began to get herself together to head for the hospital, and he stared wistfully at her as rushed from the room pulling pajamas off and back into the room with her street clothes on. She caught him looking and winked. "Finish eating and just lock up before you go. Thanks for the date."
"What?"
"This was our second date."
"Breakfast?"
"Yeah, it's a morning date."
"Is that a thing?"
She pulled her sneakers on and grabbed her handbag, still not moving very fast, but too fast for him. "Hey, if you don't want to count it..."
"No, I do. I really, really do."
"Alright then."
"Mindy?
"Yeah?"
"Have a good day. I love you."
She looked at him as though she were trying to find something in his face and then suddenly smiled. "I love you too."
He knew she wasn't home from the hospital so there was no reason to go back to her apartment, but his place felt too quiet. He'd missed a few texts from her when he was napping in the afternoon, but he was tired again by bedtime and he'd barely been asleep for 20 minutes when his phone buzzed under his pillow. Danny smiled, he knew there was no way she'd let him go to sleep without one more text. Just wasn't her style.
Delivered two of your patients today, you can thank me later.
Thanks. I caved and took a couple more of your vicodin.
That's fine, hope you're feeling less bruised.
I slept all afternoon. Had more dreams.
I wondered why you didn't respond to my texts this afternoon.
Just healing.
Hey, when I left I swear there were pink panties in my bathroom drying. Did you see them?
I plead the Fifth.
-3-
Mindy cursed their luck as she plopped on the disgusting sofa in the doctor's lounge and pulled her knees up to her chest. She'd only had a brief break yesterday between deliveries and it would figure that Danny would be asleep during the only free time she had to talk. She'd ended up heading back to the hospital after only 4 hours sleep since she was catching both their patients, and this last one had turned into an emergency C-section. If Peter hadn't been handling a procedure of his own she'd have asked for help, but things just hadn't gone that way. Luckily everyone was safely out of surgery and she was ready for a nap. And some food. And a vacation. With her boyfriend. Mindy smiled. That sounded...perfect.
The nap probably wasn't going to happen yet, and the vacation and boyfriend felt too far away to even imagine, so she settled on the one thing she could do something about. It had been a mistake to sit down because standing back up with her sore muscles was agony now that they'd had the brief opportunity to rest. She hobbled toward the vending machine and squatted, groaning miserably.
"Jesus, Mindy. I knew you guys were gonna tear each other up after that Empire State Building thing, but that's ridiculous."
Mindy sighed as she listened to Peter laugh at her pain. "I'll have you know this is from exercise."
"Yeah, I bet it is," Peter snickered.
"Leave her alone." The very sound of Danny's voice caused this intoxicating little rush of exhilaration. She wasn't even sure she could stand back up as her whole body sagged with relief.
"Babe, can you help me up?"
She heard rustling behind her and felt his warm body as he leaned over her. He grunted heavily as he pulled her up and even though she knew he wasn't in any better shape than she was, she leaned into him and laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair as she rested against him. "I brought you something to eat."
"Yeah you did!" Peter heckled from behind.
Mindy closed her eyes as she spoke. "Gross, Peter. Go away. Let us be miserable in peace."
"I'm waiting on someone to dilate." Peter started opening the bags Danny brought in and opening takeout boxes. "And I'm starving."
Mindy let Danny guide her to the sofa to sit back down. He turned to Peter with an irritated look. "Why don't you take Mindy's last patient so I can take her home?"
Peter unwrapped chopsticks. "Uh, not if you're just gonna mess her up like this again. Besides, why don't you take the patient."
Danny grimaced. "I can't."
"Why not?" Peter stuffed a whole spring roll into his mouth.
"I've got some bruised ribs."
Spitting bits of spring roll as he talked Peter leaned back with a grin. "You sly dogs! I'm so impressed and disgusted I don't know which emotion is winning."
Mindy sank into the sofa. "Screw you Peter. It wasn't me, it was the cab. And 104 flights of stairs."
"What? What are you guys IN to? Wait. Wait. Wait. No, still impressed. I love you guys together. It's gonna be so gross back in the office. I'm getting the locks taken off your doors."
"You won't. You'll shut up about this and deliver Mindy's patient," Danny growled.
Peter's pager buzzed. "Sorry guys, I can't. Gotta go catch one. Don't wreck the sofa too, ya deviants."
The two of them watched Peter as he grabbed one more spring roll and trotted out the door to his delivery.
"Eat something. I probably got too much food, but I didn't know what you'd want."
"Ugh, give me just a minute to enjoy being perfectly still. Are you trying to trick me into a third date in 3 days?"
"No! I just thought you should eat." He studied her face with a worried look. "You know, I can probably do a perfectly normal delivery. Why don't I go get changed?"
"Don't you dare. Entirely aside from the fact that you could hurt yourself, you can't risk something happening with a patient."
"Like you're doing so much better. Where's Jeremy? Why don't I call him and explain what's going on?"
"It's Jeremy's night off."
"So? You've never come in on your night off?"
"Of course I have, but I gave him a really hard time about it."
"You need rest. I'm calling him."
"Fine, but I've gotta stay here just in case he can't make it in time."
"Then eat. It will help." Danny stood and walked over to the lounge door as he dialed. She called out to him as he raised his phone to his ear.
Mindy couldn't hear the conversation and wondered briefly what Danny was telling Jeremy and if Jeremy would even buy it after the level of drama she and Danny had brought to the office as of late. She reached for a container of lo mein, grabbing chopsticks at the same time. She ate directly from the box, moaning as she slurped the noodles.
Danny cleared his throat from the doorway. "Jeremy's on his way."
"Fuck me. This is so good. You were right." She moaned again as she took another huge bite.
Danny looked around uncomfortably. "Christ. Could you not make that noise?"
"What? I'm eating. If you're 'all in' you're gonna be listening to this forever."
"Not the eating. The, uh, moaning." Red crept into Danny's face, making her feel suddenly self-conscious. She put her chopsticks down.
"Sorry. I'm just expressive when I'm enjoying something."
"I know." If it were possible, Danny's face was even redder now. "I love that about you. It just, makes it, uh, hard, uh..."
"Makes it hard?" She really shouldn't be teasing, but she was a little rejuvenated by the food and honestly, just by being near him again.
"Mindy," he croaked.
"Sorry. I'm sorry! I'll quit messing with you. Come sit down and eat. Maybe Jeremy will get here in time for that delivery and we can go home."
"Go home?"
"Well I need to go home and clean up. You can do whatever you want." She picked her chopsticks up again.
"Whatever I want?"
"Troublemaker."
"I just want to be with you." He looked so sweet. He really meant it.
"Then come home with me. We'll watch TV like losers and you can massage my legs."
Danny shrugged. "Okay."
"Seriously? You know I'm going to make you watch Kardashians, right?"
"I don't know what that means, but I just want to be with you. All the time. Forever. You know what they say, when you meet the person you want forever you want forever to start right now."
Mindy swallowed and stared at him for a moment before choking out a response. "So close."
"What?"
"You almost had it. I might have had to rip my clothes off if you'd nailed it."
"Almost had what?"
"The line from...you know what? Nevermind. You'll use it against me later."
"It wasn't a line, Mindy. I want forever to start right now."
They had to have eaten take out in this stupid lounge hundreds of times and this simple thing suddenly felt really, really big. There had been a couple of times before, when something almost happened here, something had almost tipped the scales, but this simple statement just sucked all of the air out of the room. Mindy's stomach flipped nervously. "That is not how you propose to a woman."
"Who's proposing?"
Much to her surprise she felt relief instead of disappointment. It would not happen in this weird lounge on this gross sofa, but she way he was looking at her she knew it would happen.
"Never fear, the cavalry has arrived. Mindy go home. Danny told me you've been delivering both of your patients for two days." Jeremy's voice was more than a little surprising as he bustled in looking impeccably dressed and irritatingly well-rested, but she couldn't tear her eyes from Danny's.
Danny snapped out of it though, standing and reaching for her hand. "Hey, thanks man. I'm gonna take her home. We owe you one."
"You owe me two, and they'd better be Fridays, Mindy." Jeremy looked at her pointedly.
"Whatever you want, Jeremy. We can have a Friday night date night here in the lounge as easily as anywhere else." Mindy gave Danny a sly smile as she took Danny's hand.
Jeremy rolled his eyes theatrically. "I want you two to take a couple of days off and come back when you're in better shape. And no more nonsense. Just be together. Be happy. Okay?"
They stared at him, a little surprised. Danny answered for them both. "We will."
"Great. Off you pop." He gestured at them to get out.
They walked hand-in-hand all the way to the elevator before either of them spoke. Mindy squeezed his hand, more sure than ever that what he said was true. "We will."
- 4 -
Mindy was getting undressed in her bedroom as he snuck into the bathroom, turning the taps until the water pounded against the bottom of the bathtub and steam began to fill the room. There were so many bottles he didn't know what to pick, so he just grabbed something purple and poured like half the bottle under the running water. It smelled pretty good, but she always smelled pretty good. A big tub like this was gonna take a while to fill so he made his way to the kitchen to try and find some wine. He wasn't any good at the big gestures, but he could make her a nice night at home. She looked so tired and he knew it was all his fault.
He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured wine from an already open bottle before walking back toward the bathroom. As he pushed the door open he was surprised by Mindy, who sat on the edge of the tub, fingers trailing through the water. "I'm sorry. I thought you were in your room. I brought you wine."
Mindy gave him a sleepy smile and shook her head. "It's fine. I just wanted to make sure the water was hot enough."
"Is it okay? I put purple stuff in." He tried to avert his eyes as she turned the taps off and stood to shrug off her robe. She wasn't actually naked yet; she wore a sports bra and white panties. She looked spectacular. His heart jumped into his throat as the green silk fluttered to the floor.
"It's perfect." She reached behind herself and groaned as she struggled with the bra. "My shoulders are killing me. Can you help?"
"If you want me to, I will." He looked around for a place to put down the wine, choosing a rickety table more or less close enough to the bath. "I'll just put this down."
He stepped closer to her, trying to slow his heart. Something about the moment was a little domestic, but a little private too and he didn't know if he had it in him to keep coming so close to both of those things that he'd wanted for so long and only to force himself to walk away again.
His breath shook as he tried to suck in enough air. The tiny hooks were so easy when it didn't matter, when he moved with the absolute confidence of a man who was just there to undress. When your fingertips burned where they brushed skin, when your hands shook with anticipation and a little fear, those little hooks turned into a devil's snare. How he wished he could have told her that last time as she giggled at his struggle, kissing his neck the whole while, exacerbating the problem.
This time she just stood patiently, and her calm made him calm too. The last hook released and he turned away to make his exit, feeling like he'd be better once he was just on the other side of the door. "I guess I'll go now. Do you want anything else?"
"Stay." Her voice was a little raw, from the fatigue, he hoped.
"You want me to wait for you to get out of the bath?"
"Sit and talk to me."
Still facing away, he sucked in a deep breath despite his sore ribs. "Min..."
"You asked what I want. Stay. I'm so tired that I might Whitney Houston."
As Danny stepped through the door into the hallway he had to stop himself from spinning around at that. "Whoa!"
"Too soon?"
"Way too soon!"
"Either way."
"Fine, I'll stay. I'll just sit down out here. We can talk through the door."
"Danny, you've seen everything."
"I know." He shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.
"Suit yourself."
He left the door cracked a couple of inches and slid down the wall. It was cooler out here, easier to think. "Hey, thanks for taking my patients. I know it's my fault you're so tired."
"You're welcome."
He heard the quiet sounds of her stepping into the water, little waves hitting the sides of the tub. He was glad they'd had that talk about why she still wanted to go slow, even after they'd both admitted that this was real. Even after they'd talked children, after he'd said forever. It didn't stop him from imagining her body dipping lower into the water, bubbles clinging to skin that steamed as she leaned out of the tub to grab her wine, though. All of it had bigger implications and they'd been interrupted before they could talk about it. "Min?"
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you bring up proposal in the lounge?" He wanted to bite his own tongue as the question passed his lips, but he had to know.
"Sorry about that. When I'm tired sometimes I just say what pops into my head."
"I know. And I know I said forever first. I just wondered if you meant it."
"You can't propose to me in the doctor's lounge? Yeah, I meant that."
"No, I mean, that you want that. With me."
"Danny, what do you think we're doing here? You said all in."
"I know. And I meant it. I'm all in. I just. It's hard for me to believe that you want that too." Danny frowned at the words. He didn't want them to be true, but they always would be. He would always be the guy that people left. It wasn't fair to assume she was already leaving too, but it's how he felt. Deep in his own thoughts, he felt a drop of water fall on his hand and looked up, realizing suddenly that he hadn't even heard her get out of the tub.
"Danny." She said it so softly he didn't know how to read it.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Min, are you okay?" He jumped up and grabbed her arms. The green robe clung to her slick skin, soap suds caught in her hair. Her eyes showed no sign of the weariness she'd worn earlier. They were bright, curious, intense. His breath caught in his throat. "Mindy?"
She didn't give him the chance to say anything else, her hands were already on the back of his neck, to pull his face to her. Her lips were ever so slightly wet, tasted a little of wine, a little of something perfumed too. As she kissed him she pushed him against the bedroom door, which gave way immediately, and he stumbled backward toward the bed. His legs crumpled and he sat on the edge as she pulled the robe off again, this time every inch of her bare. He'd seen her like this before, but it was so different this time. She stood perfectly still, chest jutting out, skin glistening with water, little drops of water still in her hair. She met his eyes, and he watched her chest heave as she sucked in a big breath like she was fighting the urge to cover herself. Still she stood, letting him see all of her, her chin set, fingers curled, beautiful, beautiful.
"We're going to settle this right now. I didn't leave you last time. You left me." She shook her head, defiant.
"And you said that I was right, we weren't right for each other."
"You fucking idiot. Of course I said that. You broke my heart."
"Oh God, I am an idiot. I'm so sorry." Danny stood up and stepped toward her. His shirt was wet where her hair had dripped on him and he shivered a little in the cool room.
Her face softened as she watched him approach. "I am exactly as invested as you are. I always was, and you broke my heart because you got scared. Don't you dare start thinking that way again."
"I don't want to think that way, but I do sometimes." He finally reached her, standing close, but afraid to touch her. His hands hovered over her arms, warmed just by the heat that radiated from her skin. He knew it was just the bath, but Jesus Christ if it didn't feel like she was a flame he knew better than to touch. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from backing away. If she was brave enough to bare herself to him, he could do this for her. "I shouldn't have done what I did. You'll never know how sorry I really am. I don't trust myself, and I probably never will. But I should have known that I could trust you."
"You can." Her hands moved to unbutton his shirt carefully as she repeated herself. "You can."
"I do." He shivered again, but he wasn't cold. She smiled up at him as she reached the last button and pushed his shirt off. It landed in the puddle that surrounded her still dripping body. "You're making a mess."
"Are you kidding me? You're worried about the mess?"
He looked down meeting her gaze. "Yeah."
Her dark eyes searched his face. "Oh."
"I'll try harder, Min. Harder than I've ever tried anything. I'm always gonna worry about the mess. But I'll try."
"That's all I ask. Just. Try."
He finally gave in to the impulse he'd had from the moment he saw her crouched miserably at the vending machine in the doctor's lounge and wrapped his arms around her. She kissed his chest where he held her to him, ran just her fingertips down his back, over his ribs, down his stomach, like she was checking that he was really there. He kissed the top of her head, letting the perfume from the bath overwhelm him while she undid his jeans.
"We've only had the three dates."
"This was four. Bathroom date."
"What about five?"
Mindy grinned and placed a soft kiss on his jaw, right at his ear. "You know what? I've always had a soft spot for the number four."
Author's Note: So this was started right as the summer hiatus began and I wanted to wrap it before Season 3, much of it written in one day. Thanks to Smapdi for giving it a comb through before it got this far.
I don't do alternating Mindy/Danny POV often because it can be confusing but I thought it was worth hearing a little from each about where they were with this fresh start and hopefully I managed to get both voices in there as distinct and in-character. Thanks for reading, feedback is gratefully received.