"Why are you single?" He asked, unsure of the answer he was going to get.
"A lot of men are intimidated by my intelligence." She replied. Don almost smiled, typical Sloan.
"No really."
"Because you never asked me out...Caught you off guard didn't I?"
She had been so incredibly stupid. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she wasn't going to leave, she couldn't. But still she opened her big mouth and confessed that she wanted to be with him. What was she thinking? He was with Maggie, and as much as she wanted to hate her for being with Don, she couldn't. Maggie was too sweet and too kind and had no intentions of hurting anyone. She was just too good of a person. But as socially inept as she was, even she could see that Don and Maggie weren't right for each other. They were both good people, but they just didn't...fit. And now that Sloan had decided to stay, she did her best to avoid Don at all costs.
That night she had told Mackenzie what she said, and Mac smiled wildly, until she realized that this meant Sloan would probably never speak to Don again. Mac tried to convince Sloan to face it head on, to move past all of the shit going on between Don and Maggie and Maggie and Jim, but Sloan would hear none of it. It was far easier to avoid Don than to face her absolute embarrassment.
To say she had taken him by surprise was an understatement. He had never even entertained the possibility that she was attracted to him. And who would really? She was intelligent, powerful, motivated, and hot as hell. Who would be dumb enough to think they could get a woman like Sloan Sabbith. When she told him that he could have had her, his breath hitched, and suddenly his perspective about Maggie had changed.
When she had come over, he almost decided not to go through with it, but he really did want to commit to Maggie, even with the new perspective that he was given after Sloan's confession. But then Maggie arrived with tears in her face and fear in her eyes as she told him that she had "kissed Jim". Somehow it confirmed what he thought he had feared; but quickly realized that he wasn't upset, which frightened him a little bit.
"Do you have feelings for him?" Don asked with an expression that begged her to tell the truth, even if it hurt him.
"Yes. I don't know why, but it just seems to work." Maggie's voice was shaky and scared, and she felt so sorry, because in truth Don was a great guy, and he didn't deserve what she was doing to him.
"Okay then." With this new information, everything changed, and he realized that Mac was right. He and Maggie were not meant for each other, and that was okay because the both of them already had other people that were much better suited to them.
Don noticed Maggie was frightened and tried to reassure her. "Maggie, it's okay, I'm not mad. To be completely honest I'm a little...relieved."
Maggie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Yeah? So does this mean we are breaking up?" She asked it as a statement of fact, not in a desperate attempt to fix what she had broken.
"I think so. And I think we'll be okay, because you have Jim, and I have...Sloan." He was unsure whether or not he should have said that last part.
"Sloan? I didn't know she was in to you. Really? Sloan?" Maggie was surprised, but glad that she wasn't leaving Don alone to find someone.
"Neither did I!" Don laughed and Maggie joined in, and the two ended it on mutually good terms, neither one resenting the other, and both glad they could move on to the people that they truly wanted to be with.
The next couple weeks, Don tried to talk to Sloan, to tell her that he and Maggie were over, and if it wasn't too late, he would like to ask her out. But she was doing a hell of a job avoiding him, and when they couldn't not be in the same room, she did a hell of a job ignoring him. And it was driving him mad.
Weeks turned into months, and Jim had broken up with Lisa, and he and Maggie had started dating. Don was happy for them both, but slightly jealous that she had an easier time of being with Jim than he did with Sloan.
It was July now, and there was another heat wave just as bad as the one last year. Don was in the elevator and he was instantly reminded of last summer being trapped in the elevator with Sloan, and wishing it would happen again, so that he could tell her everything he had wanted to since he broke up with Maggie.
As if the fates were on his side, the doors opened and there was Sloan, in all of her captivating, maddening beauty. She stopped when she saw Don and muttered "I'll get the next one."
Don rolled his eyes, "Sloan, don't be ridiculous. If you don't want to talk to me just ignore me like you've been doing for the last six months."
Sloan looked at him and pondered wether or not he was being serious, before she decided what the hell? He's right, I can just ignore him.
But again fate was on Don's side and the only went down a couple of floors before the lights shut off and the elevator stopped. Don couldn't help but smile, and send a silent thank you to the universe.
Sloan looked up from her blackberry and groaned. "God, not again!"
Don reached over for her phone. Catching her off guard, he took it and put it in his back pocket before Sloan could stop him.
"Hey!"
Don grabbed her, and pushed her against the wall a little more roughly than he intended before saying, "Listen to me Sloan Sabbith. I have been going out of my mind trying to talk to you these past few months. Trying to tell you that Maggie and I split up, that she's happy with Jim, and that I have been trying so hard to tell you that if it's not too late, I'd like to ask you out." Don was angrier than he realized and it showed in his voice.
Sloan of course, being Sloan, was taken aback slightly before asking quite genuinely "Maggie's with Jim?"
Don dropped his hands from her arms and took a step back, "You didn't know?"
She shook her head slowly, trying to process everything she had just told him. Don's brain on the other hand seemed to be working at a much faster pace and he threw himself back towards her, and kissed her passionately, throwing his attraction and frustration, and everything he felt for Sloan into his kiss.
Sloan was about to push him off, but the way his hands held her waist and the way his lips ran across hers, felt so right that in a moment she found herself kissing him back. Her hands ran threw his curly hair, and he drew her closer, running his tongue across her lips, and she opened them ever so slightly daring him to enter. With a strength he didn't know she had, Sloan flipped him over, his back now to the wall, and she on top of him. She tried to take control, but Don pulled away and catching his breath said, "Oh for God's sake let the guy lead for once." before kissing her again.
She laughed a little and did just that, way out of her comfort zone, but not really caring. As they paused to take another breath, the lights came back on and the elevator started moving. Coming back to reality, they burst out laughing, not really knowing what else to do. The doors opened and Don handed Sloan her phone back, his fingers ever grazing her hand ever so slightly. Don smiled wide and Sloan blushed as she put her phone away and headed towards Mac's office to tell her the news. Neither could stop smiling even if they tried. When Elliot asked Don what was so funny, Don just shook his head and patted him on the back. Too ecstatic to find the words to tell him.
Sloan strode into Mac's office, not sure if she'd ever stop smiling, and told her what had happened in the elevator. Both women giggled unnecessarily loudly and jumped up and down, getting a very confused look out of Will who happened to be walking by, which only made them laugh and jump even more.
Sloan went to bed and wondered how in the world she got so lucky, and Don thought the exact same thing. Everything was decidedly different now, and Don knew that he would spend as much time as could making up for the mistake he had made by not asking Sloan out when he had the chance all of those years ago.