All the fabulous Mindy/Danny fanfic here had inspired me to write one of my own.
Summary: It has been about three or four years since the events in The Mindy Project and both Mindy and Danny are still single. When her worldly friend Alex unexpectedly cancels, Mindy is stuck on a weekend trip in upstate New York with three sets of couples. Feeling like a seventh wheel, she calls Danny to pick her up in desperation.
Note: I imagine the horribly awkward dinner in Bridget Jones's Diary where Bridget goes to that couples dinner and everyone asks her what it's like to be thirty-something and single.
Chapter 1: Country Weekend
Mindy could not believe she was doing what she was about to do.
"Come watch this French drama that Carl just got on DVD with us," Gwen called out from the front porch of the home.
Mindy held up her index finger to let Gwen know she was on the phone. As she stood in a small clearing of perfectly manicured shrubs at Carl and Gwen's country home, Mindy quickly pressed dial and held her breath.
He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Danny," Mindy said in a whispered rush, "I know it's Saturday and this is when you schedule your cesareans but could you please please please come pick me up in New Paltz? I know it's a lot to ask, but the next Amtrak doesn't come until Monday morning and I don't think I can stand being around these people anymore!" Her voice had risen to an alarming pitch and she told herself to lower her voice lest Gwen or one of the other guests should hear.
She heard Danny sigh. "I thought this was your 'awesome outdoors country' weekend?" he asked. "You've been talking about it at the office for weeks now." He was at home without any scheduled appointments today and was looking forward to a productive weekend of running errands, grocery shopping, and doing laundry. He had his whole weekend planned out meticulously and thought about how picking up car from the parking garage, driving hours upstate, and bringing chatterbox Mindy back into the city would eat up most of his weekend. Maybe he would have a couple of hours of peace on Sunday. He stopped when he realized he was already trying to plan around doing this favor for her.
Mindy thought back to last night's conversation where everyone went around talking about how they had met their significant others, how the dinner table got silent when it was her turn to speak, and how everyone laughed pityingly when she made a lame joke about her awesome sex life. She shook her head to rid the image. "Danny, please. Alex bailed on me and now I'm the only one here who isn't married or in a serious relationship!" She looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, "If I hear one more, quote-unquote, joke about being a wealthy spinster in the city, I'm going to have a meltdown!"
Danny looked around at his hamper full of dirty laundry and knew he should not have picked up the call. "Mindy, New Paltz is hours away and I could have a delivery tonight -"
Mindy interrupted quickly. "You said 'could' so that means that you don't have any scheduled tonight." She heard him inhale sharply. "I knew it! You are a terrible liar!" She could hear him protesting on the other end. "Danny, please, I'm feeling emotionally battered here. I feel like a complete loser. I'm 35 and all alone. Alex, who's my only other single friend, ditched me to go on a last-minute romantic European getaway with her new lover Giuseppe and now it's just me and three other couples. My god, some of these people have been together forever, Dinah and Mitch have been together since college." Mindy took a deep breath, "Oh god, I'm going to be sick." She hunched over so that her head was between, or almost between, her knees. "I bet Alex is having tons of hot sex on the French Riviera while I'm out here in the wilderness having a psychotic episode." She moaned sadly as she sat in the cold grass.
"Okay, I'll come and get you," Danny said slowly. Mindy was a good friend. Ever since her disastrous Christmas party a couple of years ago, they made it a habit to grab lunch together whenever their schedules allowed. They also shared cabs to the hospital and subway rides home after work. They even wrote an article together for the American Medical Journal on how to care for a premature infant post-discharge from the hospital. He genuinely liked working with her. However, she always asked for his advice even though he halfheartedly let her know that he was uninterested in her love life or her social life in general. He begrudgingly admitted that he mostly enjoyed her company and that she kept him from becoming a total recluse by dragging him out to mutual social gatherings. She usually pushed him to go talk to pretty women at the party, conference, or, once, a wedding of a colleague they were attending at the time.
Mindy sat up quickly, "Danny, are you serious? Thank you thank you thank you." She could imagine him now, checking his watch to try and figure out how long it would take to get up here. She could not help smiling at how he was probably grumpy that he had to change his precious Saturday plans, but he was still kind enough to actually drive six hours just to pick her up because she had asked. She could feel her eyes welling up at the thought.
Danny had heard that line countless times before. It seemed that he was always doing favors for her, in one way or another. He honestly did not mind the driving part since he had gotten himself a small SUV a couple of months ago, but the pain of having to take the train to go to get his car from the garage was going to be a awful. He also hated driving out of the city, which was a traffic nightmare. "I got to go if I'm going to get my car, but I won't be up there until late in the evening. Is that okay?"
"Danny, I'm forever in your debt," Mindy sniffled. "I'll buy you slices forever and I'll get you two, no three, beautiful orchids as a thank you." She heard Gwen call from the porch that Carl was starting the DVD. "I mean it. I really appreciate this." She waved Gwen off and watched as Gwen shook her head and went back into the house.
Danny could tell that she was crying or at least on the verge of tears. This woman could cry for absolutely no reason. "Just stop crying and I'll see you when I get there. And no more orchids, I'm serious this time. There are too many and I hate taking them on the train with me."
Mindy smiled as she headed into the house. She did not even mind that she would have to read subtitles. She was overcome with relief. "I'll see you soon and thank you thank you thank -"
Danny cut her off as he hung up. He looked at his hamper once more before heading out the door to get his car and sighed. "The things I do for friendship," he muttered to himself.
xxx
Danny slowly drove up the long and winding driveway to Gwen and Carl's. It was almost seven o'clock and he needed to pee since he had not stopped during the whole six hour drive. The place was huge. The house was made to look like a rustic cabin, but Danny could already tell that the interior would be impeccably furnished and that there was probably a guest house twice the size of his childhood home by the lake.
He heard Mindy even before he saw her. He had called to let her know he was 15 minutes away and she had probably come outside to wait for his arrival. She was arguing with Gwen.
"Danny!" she called as she ran to open his door. "Gwen would like you to also spend the weekend with us, but I told her that we should go as soon as possible. Isn't that right?"
"Yes," Gwen called from further up the driveway, "You should stay, Danny. You're always welcome, especially since you drove all this way just to get Mindy. Have some dinner and wine, maybe watch a movie."
Mindy whipped around so fast that Danny was slapped in the face by errant strands of her long hair. "We should go as soon as possible," she said to Danny in a hurried whisper. "I know I sound super ungrateful, Gwen," she said in a louder tone, "but I think I need to check on one of my patients."
Gwen crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You said you cleared your schedule for this!" Danny looked between the two women and held his tongue. "Besides, it's supposed to snow tonight and Danny's had a long day of driving," Gwen added.
Mindy looked over at Danny for support. "It's up to you, Min," he said when he realized both women were looking at him for an answer. "If you give me a second to pee, we can leave right away." He noticed how both Mindy and Gwen's eyes softened and he felt himself crossing his arms and awkwardly hunching his shoulders. "Doesn't matter to me," he grumbled, "you would be driving, of course."
Mindy looked at Danny and knew he was uncomfortable and thought about how selfish she sounded. "You must be hungry," she said finally.
"I could eat," he said slowly as his stomach growled on cue.
"And you have been driving a long way," she said, "I totally pulled this on you at the last minute."
"Yes," Gwen called out from a couple of feet away, "yes, you did. He was nice enough to come out all this way on zero notice."
Mindy hung her head in shame and grabbed his arm. "Let's eat dinner," she said and she pulled him up the rest of the driveway, "but we leave first thing in the morning." She patted Danny's arm companionably, "Don't worry, I can drive back, if you want. I'm totally used to driving in the snow back in Massachusetts."
Gwen clapped her hands excitedly and ran into the house first to set up another dinner setting.
Mindy looked over at Danny anxiously before they entered the dining room. "I apologize in advance for my friends," she said.
Danny could hear boisterous talking, but as soon as he and Mindy stepped through the threshold the entire room was silent as six sets of eyes focused on him.
Carl, ever a gracious host, stood up to introduce himself and introduce the other guests. Rob and Sarah were both very blonde; he was a writer and she was a lawyer. Mitch was dark-haired and Dinah was Asian American and they both owned a business together. Dennis had light brown hair and was a finance guy and his girlfriend Geeta was a real estate agent. Lastly, there was Carl and Gwen. Danny waved, "Hi, everyone. I'm Danny."
The room immediately burst out with questions.
"How do you know Mindy?" Dinah asked.
"How long have you two been dating?" Dennis asked. He patted Geeta's hand reassuringly when she shot him a look.
"What do you do, Danny? Are you a doctor, like Mindy?" Rob asked.
Mindy held up her hands for silence. "Please, let's let the man settle in first." She cleared a space at the table for him next to her place setting and Gwen brought out an extra plate of food. All the couples had settled in along the edge of the table and he and Mindy had to share a space at the end of the table. He sat down next to Mindy and had the distinct feeling that everyone was staring down the length of the table at them. "Besides we're not dating," Mindy said as she picked up her fork. "We work together."
Danny saw Rob and Sarah exchange knowing looks.
"I've known Mindy since our residency years," Danny said.
"Too bad you aren't dating," Geeta said, but Dennis held up a hand to stop her. "I mean, because I don't know how fun the singles scene is when you're 35." Dennis cleared his throat.
Danny saw Mindy sink down a little in her chair.
"Well, 35 is a little old to go clubbing," Sarah said, "but I bet being single in New York is a lot of fun."
Mindy sank a little deeper in her chair.
"Yeah, marriage isn't so fun," Rob started, "I mean Dinah and I have been together forever and we go to bed at 10 o'clock most nights." Dinah laughed at that.
Mindy looked down at her plate of food. "Why don't we change the topic?" she said, trying to be cheerful.
"Whatever happened to that last guy, Evan?" Dinah asked. "The engineer?"
Danny looked over at Mindy. He knew that Evan had broken up with Mindy when he had gotten a cushier job in San Francisco and he did not think a long-distance relationship would work even though Mindy had been willing to give it a try. She was heartbroken and, right now, she looked deflated. No wonder she had called him to get her out of here. It was definitely lopsided conversation, not in Mindy's favor.
Danny interrupted, "He was a jerk." He successfully steered the conversation away and told the story of accompanying Mindy to buy Riley a pet goldfish and how it took over an hour for her to settle on the perfect one. By the end of dinner, he was telling everyone about what high school in Staten Island was like and everyone took turns telling embarrassing tales from when they were sixteen.
Mindy was astounded by how charming Danny could be and was a little jealous of how he was able to steer the conversation away from her love life and otherwise singlehood. As she glanced at him sitting next to her, she could not help notice how strong his jaw looked, how the silver hairs by his temples made him look very handsome, and how the soft laugh lines on his face made him look attractive. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. This was Danny from work, handsome jerk extraordinaire, and they had never crossed the line into a romantic relationship.
After dinner, Mindy helped Carl and Gwen clear the dishes. Danny had gone back to the car to grab an overnight bag. He always kept a bag with two changes of clothes and toiletries in this car just in case of an emergency. He also had a flashlight, batteries, and a first-aid kit.
When Carl offered to wash the dishes, Mindy and Gwen grabbed mugs of cocoa and went out onto the porch to chat.
"It was really nice of Danny to come all the way out here," Gwen began.
"Gwen," Mindy began, "not this again!" She knew where this conversation was headed.
"I'm just saying why not give him a shot?" Gwen asked. "He clearly cares for you. He drove all the way out here just because you asked."
Mindy shuffled her feet against the cold. It was starting to snow fairly heavily. "He's just a friend, Gwen. He's a really good friend, but that's it."
Gwen gave her a look. "You should ask him out."
Mindy looked into her mug. She had asked guys out before in the past, but it had always been guys she had just met and it felt very different with Danny. She had always made sure to nix the idea of a relationship with Danny before it began. "Not a good idea, Gwen. He's too old."
Gwen rolled her eyes. Carl was over ten years older than her and she never gave it a second thought. "Mindy, I feel like I should point out that he's only six or seven years older than you."
"That's like a generation these days," Mindy began.
Gwen put a hand on Mindy's arm. "Mindy, that's not such a big age difference."
Mindy nodded slowly. She had to admit that she and Danny were in the same generation and that he had dated much younger women in the past. She suddenly got the depressing feeling that she was getting too old, maybe even too old for Danny. He had never said or done anything romantic toward her and she did not want to ruin their work relationship. "But we work together," Mindy began.
"So do Mitch and Dinah and they're very happy together," Gwen countered.
Mindy nodded again and thought back to how everyone at dinner had laughed and Danny's jokes and how he asked everyone appropriately personal questions to open up conversation. He was confident enough to work a crowd and Mindy admired the nonchalant way he did it. Sometimes he was not a complete jerk.
Danny walked toward the house and, concealed by the wintry darkness, he could hear Mindy and Gwen's conversation drifting through the night even though they could not see him. He shifted the weight of his duffel bag between his hands and he tried to decide whether to eavesdrop or make his presence known. Just as he was about to call out, he heard Gwen solemnly ask a question.
"Do you like him?" Gwen asked.
Danny froze with his mouth open. This could be interesting.
"Of course, I like him," Mindy said quickly. She rarely ever let her mind wonder what she and Danny would be like as a couple and she always stopped herself before her fantasies got too far. She had to admit that they spent a lot of time together, but he had never even tried to kiss her. Although, to be fair, she had never tried to kiss him either.
"Then ask him to dinner," Gwen said decisively. She had been pushing this for the last two years and lately, Riley, had taken up the cause as well.
Mindy sighed. "Gwen, I don't think he's interested in me like that."
Gwen looked over at her friend. They had often had this conversation, but Mindy had never said anything about Danny being uninterested. "What do you mean?"
Mindy played with the handle on her mug. "I mean that I'm not his type." Gwen waited impatiently for her to elaborate. "I mean that his past girlfriends have been … you know, really hot, like skinny, pretty girls. And the last one was beautiful and young. Like 25 young."
Gwen's expression immediately turned to one of sympathy, "Mindy, you know you're gorgeous," she said.
Mindy nodded. "I know, Gwen," she said, "but it's just … different. It's just not the same." This conversation was putting her in a very self-defeating mood. She just wanted to go to bed. She was a self-confident woman, but some of Danny's past dates seemed to be in a different league. In addition, she could not find the words to adequately describe to Gwen why the prospect of her and Danny would not work.
Danny saw the defeated set of Mindy's shoulders and decided to make his presence known. "Hey, ladies," he said, "where should I put my bag?" He walked into the light of the porch.
"Hey, Danny," Gwen said too brightly, trying to cover the fact they had just been discussing him. "Um, do you mind taking Riley's room? She's at a birthday sleepover this weekend, but her room isn't too pink anymore."
Danny pulled a face. Riley had grown a lot since he first met her, but he was definitely uncomfortable sleeping in a twelve year old girl's room. "Can I just share with Mindy? Is that okay with you?"
Gwen looked over at a startled Mindy. "Yeah, sure," Mindy said. Her mind was racing to figure out how much of the conversation Danny had heard. "Come on, I'll show you where it is."
xxx
Danny threw his bag ungracefully in the chair in the bedroom. "This place is so swanky," he said as he flopped on the bed. "Gwen's probably got five bedrooms in this joint just like this room."
Mindy rolled her eyes. He said something like this every time she took him somewhere. "They probably do," she said.
"Anything to watch on TV?" Danny said flipping on the television. "I've had like ten cups of coffee and I'm not tired yet."
Mindy had brought her laptop and had a ton of romantic comedies available to watch. On first movie dates, she usually chose a drama/thriller with some action and romance thrown in just to let her date know that she was sophisticated and not obsessed with 'chick flicks.' She knew that most guys would probably be mortified at how much she actually liked them, but this was Danny and he knew all about her obsessions.
"Well, I do have my laptop with me," Mindy said.
"Great, set it up on the desk," he said. "I'm going to go brush my teeth."
"Okay," Mindy said slowly. She trolled through her selection and chose You've Got Mail.
When Danny came back into the room he was in sweats and a t-shirt. Mindy began to play the movie. She waited for him to complain about her choice of film. However, it never came. "What movie is this?"
"Danny, it's You've Got Mail and you have to promise not to make rude comments during it."
Danny got comfortable under the covers. Mindy knew it was ridiculous for her to insist he sleep on the floor, but she was also uncomfortable with how comfortable he was with sharing a bed. "I won't, I promise," he said.
Mindy slowly sat down on her side of the bed when Danny patted it invitingly. Watching one of her favorite movies after a day and a half of hanging out with a house full of couples was Mindy's idea of a great night. It did not hurt that Danny was there too.
xxx