*This story takes place just where Season 2 left off. I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you to Mindy Kaling for writing such a great season finale!*
Danny could feel the tap on his shoulder, but chose to ignore it for a few more seconds as he continued kissing Mindy. Nobody else really mattered at this moment in time except her- the woman he loved, and who, miraculously, loved him back
But then he heard someone clear their throat and say sternly "Sir!"
Danny groaned as he gave Mindy one last kiss and turned his body around to greet whoever was interrupting them. When he saw that it was a security guard, he managed to sit up and briefly apologized (though he really didn't feel sorry about anything).
The guy straightened out his uniform jacket and stepped back "No buddy, I get it. This is your big romantic moment. We get a lot of those up here. But when it gets a little more than just romantic, we gotta kick you out."
Danny smiled and nodded and grabbed Mindy's hand to help her up. She sat up and started to stand before sitting back down quickly.
"Oh my god Danny! I've lost use of my legs! I'm never going to be able to walk again!"
"What? Stop being overdramatic. It was like a 20 foot walk from the elevator!" He tried to tug her up again, but she didn't budge.
"She might need a few minutes," the guard interrupted again. Then he looked at Mindy and said "I don't know how you made it up all 104 steps. When George radioed up to us and told us we had a climber, we all immediately started betting which floor you would give up on. I've never made it past 34 myself, but George said you look determined, so I guessed you'd make it about 45 floors."
Mindy dropped her jaw open in shock. "Exquueeze me?! You bet on when I would give up? Did anyone even think I would make it to the top fueled by love and passion?"
The guard stared at Mindy uncomfortably for a moment and pointed to a guard by the corner. "Tommy was behind you 100%. He said you'd pass the halfway mark and make it to 53."
Mindy glanced at Tommy who waved at her. She sighed and waived back. "Seriously? You guys see me come here on a regular basis. I expected more from you Craig." Then Mindy shouted "Thanks for only halfway believing in me Tommy!"
Tommy must have not heard the sarcasm in Mindy's voice and gave her a quick thumbs up and a smile before chatting with another couple.
Danny looked back at Mindy. "You asked me how to pronounce a patient's name you've been seeing for 5 months yesterday, and yet you are on a first name basis with the Empire State Building Security staff?"
Mindy shrugged as Craig chimed in. "She always sends us baskets of cookies around the holidays if we promise to point out the cute, single guys when she visits. After a decade of working here, you get better at spotting them." He winked at Mindy who winked back.
Now it was Danny's turn to drop his jaw. "Hey! You winked! Why would you wink?"
"Relax Danny," Mindy said exasperatedly and turned to Craig. "You are officially off duty." She made a dismissive wave of her hand.
"This isn't Downton Abbey," Danny sighed.
"I KNEW YOU WATCHED IT!" Mindy exclaimed.
Danny shook his head. "Mindy, we gotta go. There's has to be some wheelchairs around here. Maybe I can run down and get one from the front.."
"No!" Mindy interrupted. "I don't have any obvious injury, so people might think I'm just being lazy."
"You just climbed 104 stairs…" Danny started to say before Mindy interrupted again.
"No one knows that besides Craig, Tommy, and George!" Mindy pouted.
"And Juan," Craig added.
"And Juan," Mindy repeated. "I've already lost enough dignity laying here on the concrete wheezing for the past 10 minutes."
"Okay, okay" Danny conceded. "Why don't we help you up and you can lean on me as we get down the elevator?"
Mindy agreed and soon Danny and Craig were hoisting her up (as inconspicuously as they could at her request). She had to lean into Danny more than he expected, but after everything they'd been through, this was a welcome feeling.
Mindy said a quick thank you to Craig, who promised to mail her back the jacket she'd shed in the stairwell. Danny was surprised he'd known her address, but she explained she always puts her return address on gifts so people can thank her and tell her what an awesome person she is. He smiled at this, and then they began their trip down the elevator.
"Danny, I stuffed my heels in my bag to make it up here, but I don't think I can wear them again for at least a week." Mindy said as the elevator began its descent. "And while I don't mind walking a few barefoot steps at the top of the Empire State Building, I don't think I want to walk home like this."
"Who said you are going home?" Danny smirked.
"Danny!" she said in mock surprise. They both laughed a little, and then she added "I still need to solve this whole barefoot problem."
Danny smiled and then sighed loudly for dramatic effect. "Fine," he said as he slipped off his shoes and offered them to her. While he hated to admit it, they did wear the same size.
Mindy giggled and quickly slipped the shoes on. Danny had a feeling that was her plan all along and rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't too thrilled to just be wearing socks on his feet in New York City, but he would do anything to make this woman happy.
When the elevator opened, George greeted them with a huge smile and gave Mindy a congratulatory pat on the back. Mindy smiled back and then leaned into Danny a bit more. It could have been because she was tired, but Danny liked to think it was because they were finally together.
Danny was about to steer Mindy around the corner outside to the subway station when Mindy threw her arm out to hail a cab. He looked at her "We're not going to walk?"
"Of course not! You only have socks on, remember? I'd rather my boyfriend not get random foot diseases from the streets." She started to tug him forward as a cab pulled up, but he hesitated. "What?" she said as she stopped and looked up at him.
"Would you rather go home or to my place?" he asked.
"Wherever has fewer stairs. I don't think I can even look at a single step for the rest of my life." She shuddered at the thought of it.
Danny just said "As you wish," helped Mindy into one side of the cab, and whispered something to the cab driver before sitting down next to her on the other side.
"Danny, I know where your place is. You don't have to whisper the address." Mindy looked at Danny quizzically, but he just gave her a small smile and pulled her leg up on to his lap. He pulled his shoe off her foot and began massaging it.
"So, it was kind of hectic up there before, but why did you climb up all those stairs tonight? I told you that you don't need to worry about being fit. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met." he said as he continued to massage her foot.
Mindy's breath caught for a second at that last part and gave him a look that made it very hard to keep his hands on her feet. She must have felt similarly, too, but shook her head quickly and regained composure.
"I was afraid you would have thought I gave up on you. I wasn't going to come at all because I was so sure you would just jerk me around again." These last words stung, but Danny let her continue. "But of course when I am having a private emotional crisis, everyone at the office got involved. Peter literally dragged me to your desk to show me the earrings of mine you saved. It was the one thing that really showed me that you did love me." She seemed to smile at this memory.
"Peter dragged you?" Danny asked laughing.
"Yeah, well, every leading lady needs a no-nonsense friend who will use physical force to make sure you make the right decisions." Mindy said practically.
"And why did you need to see the earrings when I told you I loved you today?" Danny asked more seriously.
Before Mindy answered, she quickly switched her feet in his lap so that the other one got equally good treatment. "Danny, you know you hurt me. A lot. You made me so hopeful that I had found the love of my life in the most romantic comedy of ways, and then you just left. I had to work so hard to even start becoming friends with you again, and when we got to that point, you tried this whole "we belong together" thing all over again. I worried that if I kept risking everything when you felt like you maybe loved me, I would miss out on ever being truly loved."
Danny was quiet for a minute. He stared out the window and said, "It was never a maybe. It was always true. And I also never stopped loving you. I just couldn't imagine being another jerk who hurt you, and in trying not to be, I was the worst one of all."
Mindy pulled her foot away and closed the gap between them so she could place her head on his shoulder. She didn't look him in the eye when she spoke. "I think I've loved you for awhile, too. I tried to get Peter to help me date some new guys to get over you, but they were just a distraction from how lost I felt without you. It's like discovering how great coffee cake tastes and then having it snatched away and being told you will never have it again. Other break room cakes might be okay, but it's not the same."
Danny finally met her eyes. It looked like he might say something serious, but then he said "Did you really just compare me to coffee cake?"
Mindy playfully slapped him and laughed as he put his arm around her and held her closer. They rode for awhile in silence as Danny absentmindedly played with Mindy's hair, kissing the top of her hair every few minutes. They were both completely content to finally have reached this place.
Their silence was only interrupted by Mindy's phone pinging with a text from Peter. There was a group selfie of the whole office staff looking intensely questioning at the camera. The only word in the message was "WELL?"
Mindy tilted her phone so Danny could see. He laughed and grabbed the phone out of her hand. He held his arm out, leaned in close to her cheek, and told her to smile before kissing her and snapping a quick shot. He typed something quick into the phone and hit send before Mindy could see. She snatched the phone to read the text which just said "I got her." Mindy then stared at the picture. She looked so happy in the photo as Danny kissed her cheek. This might just be refrigerator-worthy. She made a mental note to get the picture printed later.
Her phone pinged again and she read Peter's reply. "Thank god you caught up to her Danny!"
"Uhhh, what does Peter mean by this?" she said as she flashed the screen at Danny. He looked briefly worried as he read the text. "Danny," Mindy said more sternly, "what is he talking about?"
"I may have….left." he started. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and he took this as his cue to explain faster. "I was there until 9 and then realized you weren't going to be there. Instead of being some sad shmuck on top of the Empire State Building, I went out to drown my sorrows in pizza."
"You mean to tell me you just LEFT? What happened to 'I'll wait there all night if I have to..'?" she demanded.
Danny shrugged. "Just like you, I couldn't deal with losing you again. Luckily, our co-workers are meddlesome on both sides and ran into me after they had convinced you to go. They made me realize what a loser I was and I immediately ran back. And when I say ran, I mean it. I even got slightly run over on the way just thinking about you."
Mindy pulled away from Danny and his heart fell. Was this an unforgivable offense? He might have to kill Peter for ruining this…
Then he noticed her reaching for her purse. She took out a small bag of wipes next to her "Emergency Underwear" bag and pulled one out.
"I would kill you for leaving if I wasn't so happy right now." she said as she wiped off his face. "I thought you were just dirty from laying on the ground with me, but now I realize this is 'I got hit by a car for you' dirty."
He covered her hand with his and held it to his face. He tilted it slightly and kissed her wrist gently. He looked up "You forgive me?"
She tried to look pensive for a second and then said "I suppose…" before Danny pulled her towards him and kissed her. It wasn't a gentle kiss, but the kind where you can't seem to get enough of the person. He released her hand and she quickly dropped the wipe and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down towards her as she laid back. They were just about horizontal when they felt the cab slow to a stop.
Surprisingly, Danny quickly stopped kissing Mindy and hopped out of the cab. She laid there dazed for a moment as Danny paid the driver. Then she grabbed her purse, put Danny's shoes back on, and sat up. Just as she did, Danny opened the door and gestured behind him. They weren't at his place. They weren't at her place. They had just pulled up to The Four Seasons.
*To be continued*