Second 16
"Tuck! Tuck!" Ben called out loudly.
"Ben Warren, why are you yelling through my house?" Miranda asked her husband. She'd just walked through the door from a 13-hour shift and the one thing that she didn't need to hear was more yelling. She was an attending General surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She was also the Chief of Surgery. And she heard yelling all day. Sick patients yelled. Their worried families yelled. Overworked nurses yelled. Tired attendings, residents and interns all yelled. So she didn't want to hear anymore. She sighed.
"Did Tuck tell you what happened today at school?" Ben said putting his hands on his hips, pushing back his robe.
"I just got home. Can I have a 'good afternoon' first? At least?" She said putting down her bag. Ben helped her out of her coat. "And shouldn't you be getting ready to go in?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry. Good afternoon, baby. And yes." He wrapped his arms around her, pushing their bodies together. For 12 years, she'd love the feel of his tall, hard and muscular body against her short, soft and thick one. Ben leaned down and kissed her deeply.
"Mmm," she moaned pulling away. He winked at her. "So what are we bellowing about?"
"Your son—"
Miranda cut him off. "Oh, so now he's my son?" She walked to their living room and fell on the sofa. She was so exhausted and now her husband was going on about something.
"Yes. When he's doing what's expected of him, he's mine. When he gets out of character, he's all yours," he said sitting next to her.
"So, what happened?"
"Ah, here he is," Ben responded pointing to Tuck.
Tuck bounded down the stairs. "You shouted for me? Hey, ma." Miranda looked at her brown-skinned teenager. At 16, he was already a several inches taller than she was and very fit, he'd been playing basketball since he was three years old. And he looked like an exact replica of his father, her first husband, Tucker Jones. She'd been dating Ben when she and Tucker divorced. Tuck was 4 at the time. Two years later, she'd married Ben, and it'd been 10 wonderful years since then. But taking a closer look, anyone could see that he was her son. Their eyes were cut the same way. The same ones her father had. Yep, he was hers. And Ben had fed him so much that he was starting to look like him, too. Miranda smiled at her thought and turned to look at her son. His face was anxious. Oh good Lord, what had he done? She thought.
Ben looked at her, reminding her mind. "Let him tell you. I'm going to get dressed."
Miranda patted the seat next to her. Tuck sat down. "Hello, William George." He grimaced. "So?"
"I got in trouble at school."
"Oh, Tuck," she said rolling her eyes.
"Hear me out, ma!"
She held up her hand. "No, you know how I feel aout—"
Tuck's eyes grew wide. "Please."
She looked at him, making the mistake of allowing his eyes to meet hers; the gateway to him getting his way. "What is it?"
"Mr. Jeffries—"
"Your English teacher."
He nodded. "We had to write a report on a classic American novel."
"Really? What'd you choose?"
"The Bluest Eye," Tuck said proudly.
"That's a great book," she said, yawning.
"I thought so, too. Mr. Jeffries said that it didn't count as a 'classic American novel'."
"What? No, he didn't! And then what happened?" Miranda was fully awake now.
"I told him he was wrong."
"And?" She asked dragging the rest of the story out of him.
"And I may have said that he was stupid if he didn't think so." Miranda chuckled. Her son was such a smartass. So much like her. "I refused to do any work for the rest of the day. Under protest, of course."
"Tuck," she said. "Why didn't you just call me?"
"He said that I couldn't. I asked."
"Did you tell your dad that?"
"I tried, ma. But they'd already called him, got him on their side, I guess."
"There's more. I know there's more," she said rubbing her neck. She needed a massage.
"Yes, I have a week of afterschool tutoring."
"What's wrong with your grades? Are they dropping?"
"No, ma'am! I know who I live with," he said laughing. Even now, being closer to 20 than 10, his laugh always made her day so much better.
"Well, if you called the man stupid, that was disrespectful and you deserve that."
"I know, but he's still wrong."
"That he is and I'll talk to him."
"No need," Ben interjected. He was dressed for work. "I already talked to him." Ben jerked his head towards the door. Tuck started to move.
"Hold on, young man," Miranda said pulling her son's arm, hugging him. She kissed the side of his head. "I love you."
"Love you, too, ma," he said. Tuck ran up the stairs two at a time.
"So?" She asked turning towards her husband.
He sat down next to her, pulling her legs across his lap. "They wanted to suspend him." He absentmindedly stroked her thigh.
"What? I'm calling them."
"Miranda, I handled it," he said simply. "Nearly had to curse out Jeffries, too. His ignorant ass." Miranda smiled out of the corner of her mouth. He was so hot when he got all riled up. She loved it. Ben treated Tuck as if he'd helped conceive him. He introduced Tuck as his son and Tuck called him 'Dad'.
Whenever she needed an energy boost, she thought back to the first time she'd heard Tuck use the term referring to Ben. It'd happened a few weeks after she and Ben had gotten married. The three of them were playing one of those family games for which the main rule was: have fun. Ben had gotten up to get something from the kitchen. He was gone so long that Miranda and Tuck turned on the TV. "Sorry, y'all," Ben had said coming back into the living room. "But I brought back snacks." Miranda and Tuck had clapped. "So, whose go is it?" Miranda had asked taking a sip of the wine Ben was holding out. "It's dad's turn," Tuck responded. Miranda and Ben had looked at each other and then at the little boy. "W-what'd you say?" Miranda had managed to get out. Tuck had looked up to see both adults looking at him. "What'd you say, Tuck?" She asked him again. "I didn't say anything." "Did you call Ben, 'dad'?" Miranda had asked her son. He nodded. Miranda had looked at Ben. She didn't know what else to say. This was such brand-new territory. She'd thought about it, but she'd never had a conversation with Tuck or Tucker or Ben about whether Tuck should think of Ben as a father. Miranda heart pounded in her chest. Ben took over. "Do you think of me as a dad, Tuck?" He'd asked six year old. A tear pricked Miranda's eye. Tuck nodded again. "Is that okay?" The boy had asked looking at her. Miranda pulled her bottom lip over her top lip. She didn't trust herself to speak, so she'd just nodded. "It's fine with me, too," Ben had said putting out his hand for the boy to shake. Tuck shook it and then got up and hugged him. Miranda had excused herself and walked to the kitchen, the tears streaming down her face. She'd used a dishcloth to catch some of the tears. Ben walked into the kitchen. "He called me 'dad,'" he'd said excitedly. "I know!" "Are you crying?" "No." "You're crying, mommy?" Tuck's voice made her turn around. "Ben's my dad, now. Right? Because you married Ben?" "Yes, I suppose so," she'd answered. Tuck picked up a bag of chips. "Let's finish playing. We need more potato chips." Tuck had walked out of the kitchen. Ben had hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. They walked back into the living room and had begun playing the game again. That was a great day and it always made her feel so much better when she thought about it. Tuck and Ben's relationship was one of the reasons why it wasn't hard at all to accept Ben's marriage proposal. "He's such an idiot," Ben said. His voice pulled her out of her trance. He was still ranting. "Because Toni Morrison wasn't on his list of authors, she was deemed unacceptable."
"And?" She asked. She had to draw the truth out of her son and out of her husband.
"I painted him in a corner when I mentioned that there were only two Black authors on his list. The principal looked at the list and jumped on my side."
"I've always liked Mrs. Stevenson."
"Yeah."
"So Tuck was right?"
"Baby, yeah. He was, okay? But Tuck knows as well as you and I do that even if you're right, if you're disrespectful about it—"
"Even if you're right, if you're disrespectful about it, you're wrong," Tuck said. "I know I was wrong." He stood in the doorway of the living room. "And 'm writing a letter to Mr. Jeffries now, apologizing about everything."
"Good," Miranda said leaning back on the sofa. "Now that that's all settled…," she pointed at her husband. "You go to work."
"I'm going. I'm going." Ben moved in for a kiss, his hand touching her side, sparking her body. His tongue probed her mouth. He was such an amazing kisser.
"Alright, you have to go," she said pushing him. He stood up and took her hands in his and pulled her off of the sofa into his chest. He was stalling. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just want to stay here with my wife. Is that so wrong?" He said poking out his lips.
"You guys are kind of embarrassing," Tuck said heading for the kitchen. Miranda knew she'd have to go shopping. Her teenager had probably eaten everything she bought from her last trip to the grocery store.
Miranda held his hand and walked him towards the door. "I will be right here when you get back."
"Right here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, uh, maybe upstairs in our bedroom," she answered. "Wearing very… few clothing."
"Sounds good, but, uh, what's underneath your shirt and jeans now?" He asked sliding a hand over her chest and under her shirt, touching her stomach. Her body popped. "Feels like you're naked." Ben said in a low voice.
"You will find out when you get home," she told him, putting her hands on his hips and moving them across his body until she found the front of his pants. She moved her hand downward until she found what she was looking for.
Ben closed his eyes and groaned. "You are teasing me, woman." He cleared his throat and opened the door. He glanced at his car and then looked at her.
"But you like it."
"I love it." He kissed her lips and cheek once more. "Get some sleep."
"Why? So you can keep me up later on?"
Ben laughed loudly. "Something like that." He walked to his car and slid inside.
"And I need a massage, baby!" She called out to him. He held up his thumb as Miranda watched him pull away. She closed the door and went upstairs to her room. She pulled off her clothes and took a hot shower. She slid into her warm bed and waited for her husband.
The next morning, Miranda woke up with her arm wrapped around her husband and her head in his chest. There was a knock on their bedroom door. "C'mon in, Tuck," Ben said in a low voice.
"Morning, ma. Morning, dad," Tuck said.
Miranda lifted her tired hand and waved at him. "Good morning, baby."
"I was wondering if I could still go out tonight?" Tuck asked, screwing his face up.
She sighed and opened both of her eyes, squinting at her son. "Tuck…"
"Dad?!" Tuck pleaded looking wildly at Ben.
"We said you can go out if your grades were tight and you didn't get into any trouble," Miranda said.
"But, ma, Mr. Jeffries was wrong!" Tuck said taking a step into the room. Miranda and Ben sat up. "Dad! Please! Destiny will be waiting for me. This is the first time in weeks that our schedules finally mesh."
Miranda cleared her throat. Ben looked at her. "Maybe we should let him."
"Trader!" She gave him a look that best expressed what she was thinking.
Tuck listened knowing not to interrupt. "Miranda—" Ben started.
"We said he could go out if and only if he kept up his end of the bargain," she reminded him.
"But, baby, Tuck's a good kid," her husband said.
"Did you get into trouble, William George?" Miranda asked looking at her son.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered truthfully.
"Then finish writing that letter."
"Mommy," Tuck whined. He and Ben broke out into a fit of laughter.
A smile twitched across Miranda's face. She quickly wiped it away. "Go and write your paper and maybe we'll make another decision."
As Tuck walked out of the room, Ben grabbed Miranda. "Sweetie, let the boy go."
"Rules are rules."
"Yes, I know. One through five," he said shaking her head.
"If we start letting him slide now, we might have a problem on our hands like Callie and Arizona have with Sofia," Miranda said referring to her best friend, Callie Torres, Orthopedic surgeon at the hospital and her wife, Arizona Robbins, Pediatric surgeon.
Ben chuckled. "SoSo is nothing like Tuck. They're in two different stages. She's still young and growing. Tuck tried it,too, remember?" Miranda twisted her lips and nodded.
"Let him go," Ben whispered in her ear. She pushed his naked chest. Ben kissed her, running a hand through her hair. "And we'll have the entire house to ourselves for a few hours."
"You are so bad," she giggled. "You want to give Tuck a pass so we can…"
Ben put up both of his hands. "Hey, girl. You said it. Not me."
"Fine," she said. "Tuck!"
"Yes, ma!" Tuck shouted bursting into her bedroom.
"You can go out tonight, Tuck," Miranda said.
"YES!" He shouted jumping on their bed. He hugged her. "Thank you, Ma!"
"You might want to thank that one over there," she said pointed at Ben, crossing her arms.
Tuck nodded firmly and put out a hand for Ben. Ben took it and pulled him for a hug. "Dad! Ma! Make him stop!" Tuck pleaded as Ben kissed the top of his head. "Ugh!" He pulled away and wiped off his head.
"Hey! Don't wipe my kisses away, chump," Ben said laughing as they started wrestling.
"Oh no! William George Bailey-Jones, get out of my bed. And Benjamin Warren, if you don't cut it out, you can go with him." They stopped wrestling and looked over at her, laughing loudly.
Tuck stopped squirming. "So where are you taking...," Ben started.
"Destiny, sweetie," Miranda offered.
"Right, Destiny. Where are you taking her?" He asked.
"We're going to the movies. Can I get your car?"
Miranda scoffed. "No, sir," Ben said getting out of the bed and going into their master bathroom. Now it was her turn to laugh loudly.
"Ma?" Tuck asked.
"Don't look at me," she said throwing her legs over the side of the bed and putting on her slippers.
Tuck was left in the alone, grumbling. "Gosh, I never get to—"
"What was that?" Ben asked sticking his head out of the bathroom. Miranda opened her closet with a wide smile on her face.
"Nothing," Tuck responded. He climbed off of the bed and walked out of the master bedroom. "Thanks."
"I'm leaving!" Miranda heard Tuck call from his room.
She was lying in the bed reading a book. Her husband was on his phone. "Um, hold up!" She shouted.
Ben covered an ear with his free hand. "Dang, Miranda!"
She laughed. "Sorry, but I need to know where he's going."
Miranda put the book on her chest as Tuck came into the room. "Where are you going? How are you getting there? And who else are you going with? Just you and Destiny?" Miranda asked the questions quickly.
"With Destiny. I'm going to her house right now. On the 39. There's, uh, a 25 bus right outside of her apartment. It's going to take us straight to the mall, shopping plaza thing and then bring us straight back." Miranda started to speak. "I have my phone and my portable charger, ma."
She smiled. "Well, alright." Miranda checked the clock on the nightstand. "Be back on this side of the front door by 10:30."
"11," Tuck bargained.
"10:30," she volleyed back. Ben watched them go back and forth. He looked at his wife, he knew how this was going to play out and so did she.
"11, please."
"10 o'clock," she said reaching for her book.
"Okay, okay, 10:30."
"10."
"Dad!"
Ben shook his head. "Should have taken 10:30."
"Fine, 10," Tuck said exhaling.
"9:45?"
Tuck shook head wildly, putting his hand on the door. "10 o'clock."
"Have fun," she told her son, focusing in on her book. "Lock the door when you leave."
"Can I have some money?" Tuck asked.
"Bye, Tuck," Ben said playing a video on his phone.
"Bye," Tuck said laughing.
They listened as the door closed. Ben tossed his phone to the floor onto a pair of his jeans. "Kid's gone. Let's go!" He said knocking her book to the floor. He started to kiss her.
"What? No!" Miranda pushed him and laughed as he fell on the bed.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "This is our alone, grownup time." Ben poked out his bottom lip.
"That doesn't work on me," she said. She reached down to pick up her book and felt Ben move closer to her.
"Whatever you say," he whispered in her ear. Miranda's body shuddered. Her nipples stood at attention as Ben kissed her neck softly. How was she supposed to resist him? Miranda reached back and touched his neck. He touched her chin and ran a hand down her chest. A small sound escaped her lips. "That's what I'm talking about."
Miranda smiled as she turned around to face her husband. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
He shook his head. "Tell me."
"Well, I do—love you. You make me so happy. You always have," she said as she got on top of him.
Ben held her waist. "My favorite position." Miranda blushed and pulled off her tank top. She threw it to the edge of the bed. "Are you trying to turn me on?" Ben asked.
She nodded. "Is it working?" He nodded and put a hand up her back and unhooked her bra, freeing her breasts. She sighed.
"Mmm," Ben growled. He pulled her down and kissed her chest. She whimpered. "I will never get tired of hearing you make that sound." Miranda laughed and pushed up his shirt, feeling his chiseled stomach. Ben was so fit. Aside from his soft eyes and sexy face, his body was what she noticed when she'd first met him. The shirt slipped over his head and went to the floor. Miranda's hands went to the band of his sweatpants. Her hands drifted down his legs. Ben helped her pull them off. He pushed down her shorts down. Miranda lifted her body slightly and eased onto him. "Goddamn."
Miranda held her breath as she rocked her body on top of her husband. He held her waist as she sped up. She fell into his chest and felt him bite her shoulder. "Ouch, Ben!" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She hit his chest, giggling. Ben grabbed her hands, putting them above her head. Miranda ground her body on him, feeling every inch of him. "Ahhhh!" She unlocked her hands from his and dropped her hands on his chest and felt her body about to erupt. "Oooohhh! Yes, baby!" Her breathing became rapid as she climaxed. Ben rubbed her back and sat up, pulling her closer. Miranda heard him groan deeply and knew that he was coming. She smiled into his naked body. Ben squeezed her tightly and kissed her passionately. His tongue in her mouth started to rev her up again. Miranda could feel him getting hard again.
"Want to go again?" He asked. She nodded and laughed as Ben rolled them over.
"Jesus Christ!" Miranda called out as she came for a second time. Her husband was a great lover and proved it time after time. His touch made her body melt and his kiss was invigorating. Miranda curled her toes and wrapped her legs around his body. Ben closed his eyes and kissed her. Her body was sweaty and she felt so good. Tired, but good. Ben fell on his back and pulled her in. Aside from the OR, Ben's arms were one place she loved to be. She always felt so comfortable.
He kissed the top of her head. "Wanna go again?"
"Can my legs recover?" She asked, yawning.
He laughed loudly. They turned on their sides to face each other. "Are you… still taking birth control?"
"Fine time for you to ask," Miranda said searching under the covers for his hand. She found it and put her fingers between his.
"I know, but I was thinking…" He stopped talking. Miranda watched him slide his tongue across his teeth.
"We've talked about this, Ben."
"Not really," he said sighing. "But—never mind."
"No. Say it." Miranda closed her eyes and waited.
"So we can start arguing? Again."
"Who knows? Maybe you'll say something that I haven't already heard before." She put her hand under her head.
"Really?" He was so shocked. Usually, she shut him down as soon as he opened him mouth to start talking about babies. She knew he wanted a baby, she did, too. But they agreed that it wasn't the right time to have children while he was a resident and then he became an attending and while they debated and talked about it several times a month, neither one was satisfied. She nodded. Maybe with Tuck out of the house, it was time for a real discussion with real answers. "Let's talk about it downstairs. Ideas get convoluted in the bed," Ben said moving in for a kiss.
She slipped out of the bed before his lips could touch her. "Let's go."
Miranda put on her robe and walked down the stairs with her husband right behind her. "So, we're really going to talk about this?" He asked as they walked into the kitchen. Ben pulled out a chair for her. They sat down at the table.
She nodded. "Honestly. I want us to be honest."
"Okay, well, I want a baby."
"So do I," Miranda said.
Ben exhaled. "So, let's do it!"
"It's not that simple!"
"What? What's the problem?"
"I'm going to be 45 this year and 45 year olds don't just have babies without crazy, terrible complications."
"I understand that, but that doesn't mean we can't try."
"I don't know if I want to go through that. What if I lose the baby?" She asked.
"What if you don't?" Ben spat back.
"See? You're not being realistic!" Her head was starting to hurt. Maybe talking about babies was a mistake.
"Who?" Miranda ignored him. "I am being realistic, Miranda. I know there's a chance we could lose the baby. I'm not an idiot."
"I didn't say that. But—"
"But what I choose to do is not play the 'what-if' game." He breathed deeply. "Do you not want to have a baby? Is that what this is really about?"
She could felt her heart about to burst through her chest, she tried to calm her breathing and spoke slowly. "You don't think I want to give our parents another grandchild? That… that I want a piece of us in this world, making it better?"
Ben smiled a little. "Baby, I have faith. Faith that our child will be fine."
"And what about me?!"
Ben scooted his chair closer to her and picked up her hands. "And you'll be fine, too."
Miranda pulled her hands away. "Damn it, Ben! You don't know that!" Ben looked shocked. He wiped his face. "Giving birth to Tuck was one of the hardest days of my life, Ben! And Tucker was having brain surgery. And there was a bomb in the hospital that could have killed us all!" She shed a few tears remembering that day 16 years ago.
"Hey. Hey. Miranda?" Ben put his arms around her. "Is that what you're worried about?" She didn't speak. "Miranda, if… if you get pregnant, I can't promise that it won't be a hard day, but I can promise that I will be there for you and love you through it all."
Miranda reached across the table and took his hand. "I still don't know."
"Okay."
"And, because you're my husband, I can tell you that I'm scared."
He nodded. "I'm scared, too. We'll take it easy. And slow. There are other options, Miranda. But we won't know anything unless we try."
"Well, we've tried."
"W-what does that mean?" His face looked confused.
"I was going to tell you."
"Spit it out, Miranda."
She inhaled and closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant."
"No." She nodded. "Seriously?" Miranda tried to hold back that the smile that was breaking through her lips. "This is amazing."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said putting up her hands.
Ben walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. "Oh, we are getting excited. I can't believe you didn't tell me as soon as you found out."
"I was going to. I just had to be sure."
A tear fell from her eye as Ben touched her stomach gently. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He asked, stealing her line from before. There was a pool of tears in his eyes.
She chuckled. "No, tell me."
"You have given me so much. And I can never thank you enough." Ben wrapped his arms her waist. "I'll always love you."
Miranda took a deep breath. "I love you, too." Miranda put her arms around his neck and leaned over to kiss him. She heard the familiar sound of their front door unlocking. She glanced at the time on the microwave. 10:26. "You're late!" Ben looked up at her. "Your son."
He nodded. "Get in here, Tuck."
"Yes?"
"You're late," Miranda repeated.
"I know, but the bus was late," Tuck said. Miranda looked at him closely. He was telling the truth.
"That doesn't matter," Ben said standing up. "You could have called."
She held her husband's arm. "It's fine." Tuck's eyes widened. Ben smiled. "Tuck, sit down."
"Is everything okay?" Tuck asked before moving to an empty chair.
"Yeah, everything is great," Ben said.
"You guys look weird," their son said taking a seat.
Miranda smiled. "Tell him, sweetie," Ben said sitting down and taking her hand.
"We're having a baby," she told Tuck. "I'm pregnant."
"What?!" Tuck screeched. She looked at Ben, wrinkling her forehead. Was her son upset? In all of their discussions, they both felt like Tuck was old enough and—"Ma, that's perfect! I'm going to be a big brother!"
Miranda breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah… maybe you are."
"Maybe? Now, I'm confused," Tuck responded.
"I'm not… as young as I used to be," Miranda sputtered. "So there is a chance that I could lose the baby or both the baby and I could—"
"Miranda, don't scare him. We don't know any of that," Ben interrupted. He turned to Tuck. "It will be a journey, but it'll be just fine." Hearing Ben reassure Tuck, reassured her as well.
She nodded. "Yeah, everything is going to be amazing."
"Can I call Destiny?"
"Um, let's wait a month or two and see how things are going, okay?" Miranda said quickly. Tuck nodded. She changed the subject. "Did you have a good time?"
"Yes, ma'am," Tuck blushed.
"I hope you behaved and paid like a gentleman," Ben answered.
"I did."
"My boy." They pounded their fists together. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time because you're grounded for a week," Ben told him. Miranda laughed as she stood up and walked out of the kitchen.
"What!?" Tuck stood up. "Ma!"
"I love you, Tuck," she told him.
"I love you, too," he said grumbling. "And congratulations!"
Back in their room, Ben kissed her deeply. "So, why'd you argue with me if you knew that you were pregnant?"
"Because I needed to hear your truth and to get my truth out as well," she said kissing him back. "And because I like seeing you all upset and feisty."
Ben just shook his head. "But you know that means you owe me an apology?"
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "I won't apologize, but I will take a bath."
"Can I take it with you?"
Miranda dropped her robe and revealed her naked body. Ben let out a low growl. "You'd better." She laughed loudly. She was finally glad to get the news of her pregnancy off her chest, finally glad to be able to air all of her worries to her husband and to be able to expand her happy family. Everything was going her way and frankly, that was just the way she liked it.