A/N: This is set right after the finale. Hope you enjoy!

When It's Time

Five Days Before

"Come on, Gwen," Mindy said, tapping her fingers irritably on her kitchen island as she listened to Gwen's phone ring, and ring, and ring. Where the hell was Gwen? She was supposed to be her best friend. What's the use of a best friend if they aren't there for your panicked calls? And she was panicking. She was in an honest ad good panic, because just yesterday she had been in the doctor's lounge with Danny, and their faces had been close and-

"Come on," Mindy cried, slumping against the island when the phone clicked over to Gwen's voice mail. "Gwen, it's me. Mindy. Your best friend who held your hair, like, a hundred times when you puked after drinking too much in college. And who reallyneeds to talk to you. Like, really. So, call me. Immediately. Like, as soon as you get this, call me and…" she trailed off when she heard her call waiting beep in the background. She checked her screen and said, "Oh, it's you. That was freakishly fast. Well done."

Mindy clicked over to the other call and said, "Gwen, everything is wrong."

"Okay, calm down. Where are you?"

"My apartment."

"Your apartment, okay," Gwen repeated. "Don't leave. I'll be right there."

Mindy picked up a spoon that had previously been used to demolish an entire pint of ice cream (she's a stress eater, so what?) and tried to catch her reflection on the curved back. Her distorted visage stared back at her and she said, "Oh God. What have I done?"

It had seemed such a good idea at the time. She wanted Casey back – needed him back – and this was the way she would do it. She knew she hurt him with what she said at the bon voyage party, and this was a way to show him she was truly sorry. Nothing showed that more than going and chopping off her hair. He knew how much she valued her looks and Kardashian hair. It made perfect sense in the post-triplets-haze. Now, though, standing in her kitchen with her Beatles haircut it made less sense. All of it made less sense.

And then there was Danny. Danny made no sense. That time in the lounge and the stirring deep in her belly – she didn't know what the hell that was. She was with Casey. She almost loved Casey. Not Danny. He was moving forward with his ex-wife. She was going to Haiti with her hot minister. That's how things were supposed to be.

There was a knock on her door and she moved over to it quickly, never so relieved in her thirty some years to open the door and see Gwen standing there with a bottle of wine.

"I know you're not usually a white wine person but it's all I had in the house."

"Bless your heart," Mindy said, appearing to be going in for a hug but instead plucking the wine from Gwen's hand and cradling it to her chest. Gwen smirked knowingly, following Mindy into the apartment.

"Don't judge me – but we're going to drink this out of red Solo cups so I don't have to do dishes."

"Why do we need cups?" Gwen said. "Cut out the middle man, Min."

Mindy smiled slightly and said, "Have I mentioned I love you yet?"

"No, but it was assumed. So tell me, what's going on? I'm assuming the new haircut is part of the story? Please tell me it's part of the story."

"Well, Casey and I got in a big fight about me not wanting to go to Haiti," Mindy began, opening the wine. "We broke up. And then, in a grand gesture to get him back, I decided to go to Haiti and got this haircut to show him I was serious, because apparently when you go to Haiti you get ugly haircuts and stop giving a crap. Oh, and then Danny almost kissed me."

"Wait, what?"

"To which part?" Mindy asked, taking a long swig of wine.

"Well, eventually all of it, but right now tell me more about Danny! He almost kissed you?"

"Uh huh," Mindy said, purposely leaving out the fact that she had almost done the same thing. "We were talking and there was a moment. I don't know what to think of it all."

"How about the obvious? He has a thing for you."

"He does not."

"Didn't you just say he tried to kiss you?"

"We were…confused."

"We?" Gwen said loudly, scooting closer to Mindy on the couch. "What do you mean, we?"

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Mindy Lahiri, you almost kissed him too, didn't you?"

Mindy tried to fend the line of questioning off, but she could see Gwen was having none of it. She grabbed the wine bottle from Gwen and muttered, "Dammit."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Gwen said excitedly. "There is something between you two!"

"There's nothing between us."

"It doesn't sound like that."

"I-I don't know, okay?" Mindy said. "It's confusing. All of this is really confusing. I mean, one minute I'm doing the whole grand gesture underneath Casey's window, and then Danny-"

"What do you want?"

Mindy thought about it for a few moments and said, "Casey. I want Casey."

"But you almost kissed Danny?"

Mindy thought about it for a moment and her shoulder slumped as she said, "My life is an absolute mess."

Four Days Before

"Dr. L, I gotta say, I'm digging the new hair," Morgan said, leaning against her office doorframe. "It's very Jonas Brothers. I like it."

"Okay, first of all, it is not even remotely Jonas Brother," she said succinctly. "And second, thank you. I'm thinking of putting cute little barettes in it. I could never do that with long hair, you know?"

"I can see it," Morgan said, holding out his hands to forming a square with his pointer and middle fingers. "Lookin' good."

"Thank you, Morgan."

"So, how's the packing going?"

"I haven't started, actually," Mindy said. "I figure it won't take me too long."

The truth was that she didn't think of the trip as being real if she didn't start packing. Once the suitcase was packed it was a real this-is-definitely-happening thing. Before that, it was just some amorphous future event. Might happen. Might not.

"I'd start soon, Dr. L," Morgan said. "You leave in, what, five days?"

"Four," she corrected, her stomach churning. "We leave in four days."

"Wow, four days. That's a small number."

"Yeah," she said uneasily. "It is."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Morgan said, sensing her unease. "I mean, you literally have god on your side."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

He turned to leave but added, "Just don't forget underwear."

"I won't."

"I mean it. Bring some extra pairs. You never know what you'll encounter over there. And bring good sturdy pairs. Not that lacy crap you wear for the boys."

"Okay, Morgan, stop talking about my underwear," she said, holding up her hand for him to stop.

"Just looking out for you, Dr. L," he said, stepping inside her office.

"And I appreciate that," she said. "As unsettling as it might be."

"Well, let me know if you have any packing questions," Morgan said. "I am a packing boss."

"What exactly constitutes a packing boss?" Danny asked, stepping in the office behind Morgan. Mindy immediately tensed, her hands balling into fists on her lap.

"Danny, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged and said, "Lag between patients."

"A packing boss has several different but complimentary qualities," Morgan explained slowly. "There's the character of what is being packed. For example – what do you bring for a beach trip?"

"Sun screen," Danny provided.

Morgan laughed and shook his head. "Rookie move, Dr. C. Takes up too much room and adds unnecessary weight. You pick that up at a Walgreens on the way."

"But that adds an extra stop to the trip."

"Which only means an extra chance for fun."

"Look, can you guys have this fascinating conversation somewhere else?" Mindy snapped. Danny being so close was making her chest do funny things.

"Sorry, I get pretty excited about packing," Morgan said.

"You okay?" Danny asked, looking at her quizzically. "You look strange. Your eyes are doing that thing where they don't focus on one thing."
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "I just, uh, have a lot of work to catch up on before I leave. Loose ends to tie up and all that."

"Yeah, sure," he said slowly. "We'll get out of your hair then."

"Get out of your hair," Morgan repeated, laughing. He knocked his elbow into Danny's lightly and said, "Good one, Dr. C."

Three Days Before

The first time they were alone since the almost whatever-it-was in the doctor's lounge was predictably in the same place. She should have seen it coming. It was their place, after all. She couldn't even count all the times they had spent in that doctor's lounge, eating vending machine food and watching Real Housewives seasons. She spent more time with him there than in the office.

She was half-way through an episode of the New York cycle when he walked in. He glanced at the TV screen and said, "I should have known. What one is this?"

"New York," she said, keeping her eyes trained on the television screen. "It's an old episode, though."

"I wouldn't know the difference."

He sat down next to her and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He held a chocolate pudding cup he had taken from the refrigerator and she watched him peel off the lid, running his tongue along the plastic lid to catch the few smears of pudding. She tore her eyes away, pulling her knees to her chest. He glanced over at her and said, "Alright, what is going on with you?"

"What? Nothing? Mind your own business."

"You've been acting strange for a few days now," he said, shoving a spoonful of chocolate pudding in his mouth. There was a smudge of it just to the side of his mouth, and she thought to herself how it wasn't fair that he was still so handsome with pudding smudges on his face.

"I haven't been acting strange," she retuned stubbornly, although she knew he was right. The problem was that she had come to believe that something had happened between them, and she couldn't figure out for the life of her how to act normal after that. She was usually good at pushing past things – overanalyzing for the allotted time and then letting it go – but she couldn't this time. Things were different.

"Okay, you are acting strange right now, then."
"What? How?"

"For starters, you haven't even attempted to explain the plot of this episode to me," he began.

Dammit. He had a point.

"Also, you didn't immediately ask me for a pudding cup when you saw mine. You never pass up a opportunity for pudding."

"Fine," she relented. This was a good enough time than any to talk things out. Seated in the exact spot where the events in question had transpired – it was almost poetic in its perfection. "I feel weird about before."

"Before?"

"Danny, you know, before." She gave him a meaningful look, to which he responded with his own blank one.

"Mindy, changing the tone of your voice when you say before won't make me understand it any more."

"You can't be serious."

"Look, enough with the riddles. Just tell me what's going on."
"Here, Danny," she said, voice rising. "Three days ago. You were cleaning off my glasses. You took 'em off. Put 'em back on. And then…"

"Oh," he said, face changing when he realized what she was talking about. "That's what this is all about?"

"Well, yeah. We…we had a moment. There was, I don't know, something that happened then. I don't know what it was. I don't even know if it's a something something, but it happened. And now I don't know how to act around you."

"Look, Mindy, I can promise you that there was no 'something'. I'm with Christina. I'm happy. Whatever you think happened…"

"Oh my God," Mindy said, groaning as she leaned forward and covered her face with her hands. She had imagined it all. Here she was freaking out over it for days, and it had been all in her head. Or at least that's what he was going with. "This is mortifying."

"Hey, it's okay," Danny said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I could see how you thought…well, what you thought."

"No," she said, sitting up straight. "I was wrong, and let's leave it at that."

"Alright then," he said, his gaze lingering on her face. "So, how about you tell me what's going on in this episode?"

Two Days Before

She started packing. The one suitcase Casey told her she was allowed to bring was filled with what she considered to be the bare essentials and it would barely zip. She left it open on her bed before heading into work, hoping that when she came home half of the contents would magically disappear. When she got to work, she was surprised to find a small surprise party set up for her.

"We know you already had one," Betsy said. "But we figured since you and Casey sort of broke up during it, you were allowed another one. Plus, this one is just for you."

"You are still going, aren't you?" Jeremy asked. "Otherwise, that is a very unfortunate haircut."

Mindy found her gaze meeting Danny's as she answered, "Yeah, I'm still going."

"Wonderful," Jeremy said. "Now, Mindy, have you considered who gets to use your office for this year?"

"No, I haven't really thought of it," Mindy said. She thought of someone else using her office and found it unsettling. "I guess you and Danny can flip a coin or something." A thought came to her suddenly and she said, "Wait, you're not going to hire a replacement are you?"

"We don't plan on it," Danny said. "But if we need extra help I guess we might."

"Oh," she said, finding herself unreasonably hurt by the admission. It was her decision to leave the practice for a year. They had every right to fill the hole she'd be leaving in the practice. "I guess that makes sense. You might want to leave the office open then."

"Guys, I get that you want to shop talk but there is a very fine looking cake waiting for us," Morgan said.

"Yes, Morgan, let's get on that cake."

She moved forward, letting the others go ahead of her to grab their cake. Danny came over to her and said, "It's becoming real, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"You moving out there for a year," he said.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I started packing this morning."

"This morning?" he said in disbelief, staring down at her. "You leave in two days."

"I know," she said indignantly. "I'm not packing that much stuff, anyway. Haiti isn't exactly the fashion capital of the world."

Danny smirked. "You'll be fine. It'll be an adjustment, but you'll make it work."

"Well, look at you Mr. Supportive," she said. "Weren't you the one telling me a few days ago that I was crazy for going?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "But, you know, Casey's a great guy and you're going for a really good cause. I think with that on your side, you'll get through it. Who knows, you might even have fun."

She laughed. "Wouldn't that be something?"

"And you don't have to worry about replacements or anything like that. Even if we do get someone to help out, your job will be waiting for you."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

Danny returned a sliver of a smile and said, "The truth is this place wouldn't be the same without you."

One Day Before

Her bag was packed, she saw the last of her patients, and she was feeling surprisingly zen about the whole leaving for Haiti in roughly twenty-four hours. Her and Casey had a nice lunch together and she went with him to his bible study and watched him say good bye to his class of kids. She remembered being touched by how warm the students had been to him and thought to herself that she had finally found one of the good ones. They left the school hand-in-hand, and for the first time she found herself looking forward to Haiti. An entire year with Casey couldn't be that bad. Sure, it would be close quarters, but they'd adapt. Plus, the small space could make them discover some new sex positions purely out of necessity. Silver lining.

She was convinced that nothing could throw off her zen. And when she got a text from Jeremy asking if she wanted to go out with him and Danny, she thought, 'Why not?'. This was her last night in the city. Some time out on the town was exactly what she needed. It would be her final bon voyage. So, she put on one of her ritzier outfits and swiped on a quick coat of mascara and lipstick. Jeremy said to meet them at some bar at ten o'clock, and she was there a cool ten minutes early. Danny was already there and he smiled wide when he saw her, pulling her into a loose hug.

"I'm guessing this didn't make the Haiti cut?" Danny said, gesturing to her dress.

She laughed and said, "No. Didn't really seem practical."

"Good call. What are you drinking?"

"Vodka tonic," she said. "I can order-"

"I got it," he said, dismissing her attempt to order with a flick of his hand. "This is your last night in the city. I've got it."

"Alright," she said, never one to turn down free drinks. "Thanks Danny."

Jeremy arrived just before her drink came out, and he swept her up into a tight hug. She could tell by his breath that he had already started drinking. His hand was heavy on her waist, and as she leaned into his familiar warmth, she started to think about how much she would miss him for her year abroad. Her thoughts went to Danny, and breathing actually hurt. Thankfully at that moment Danny handed her the vodka tonic and she took a grateful sip. She feel her concerns melt away after the second and third sip.

"So, when do you leave?" Jeremy said, sliding in beside her at the booth the three of them chose at the side of the bar.

"Tomorrow at eight," she said. "So, I can't stay out too late."

"We promise to have you in bed before your bed time," Jeremy said, sending her a wink. "So, tell us, where is your chap Casey?"

"Back at his place," she said. "Considering we'll be sharing a small tent for an entire year, we decided to take the night to ourselves."

"Seems like a good idea," Danny said.

Jeremy laughed. "You would think that, Danny boy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Christina lived with you for how long before you panicked?"

"I did not panic," Danny said, an edge to his voice. "I took a calm assessment of the situation and decided that it was going too fast."

"Well, it certainly isn't going too fast now," Jeremy said. Danny visibly clammed up while Mindy looked between them, not understanding what was going on.

"Guys, care to fill me in on whatever I'm missing here?"

Jeremy was silent, turning his gaze toward Danny. The latter sighed, settling back in his seat as he explained, "Christina's going away for a while on a photography assignment."

"Where?"

"Spain," Danny said.

"You're kidding. She fought so hard to get you back, and then she just leaves?"

"She had her reasons," Danny said evasively. "It's fine, though. Photography has always been her passion, and this was a really great opportunity. I'm happy for her."

"I'm really sorry, Danny," Mindy said. She meant it, too. He had been so hopeful. It had been nice to see him like that.

"I need another drink," Jeremy announced. "You two need anything?"

Danny still had most of his beer and Mindy didn't want to have anything else. She really wanted to get to bed early if she could, and if she had any more than the one vodka tonic she knew it's be a longer night than she wanted. Jeremy went over to the bar and it was just her and Danny.

"You nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted. "I mean, it's not a small thing. An entire year. I mean, sure, in the scheme of things it's not that long, but right now?"

"It feels pretty long," he filled in.

"Yeah. Really long." Mindy glanced at the bar and snorted when she saw Jeremy chatting up an attractive blonde. "What are the odds of him coming back over here?"
"I'd say fairly slim."

She laughed and said, "The one thing about Jeremy is you can always count on him ditching you for a leggy blonde."

"He is reliable in that way."

She laughed, taking another sip of her drink. She took a few ice cubes into her mouth and chewed on them as she glanced casually over at Danny. He was staring at his beer, mouth screwed into a frown.

"Danny?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay," she said slowly.

"I lied before." He looked up from his glass and their eyes met. "When you were talking about that moment in the doctor's lounge. I lied. There was something. I don't know what it was, either."

She leaned forward in her seat and said, "Danny-"

"Hold on, let me finish."

"Okay," she said, pulling back.

"I don't know what happened. I don't know what I was thinking, or what you were thinking. But the thought of you not being here – I don't like it. I know it's not really my place to have an opinion, but…"

"Danny, what are you saying?"

He hesitated and then said, "I'm saying that I don't want to go an entire year without seeing you. I don't want to go an entire year without you filling me in on the latest celebrity marriages or what happened on last night's Iron Chef."

"Danny, I don't-"

"I can't be the only one drinking here," Jeremy said loudly, taking his seat beside Mindy again. The blonde was long forgotten and he took a large gulp of his scotch. "Come on, Mindy, we must have a toast for you." He raised his glass and said, "To Mindy taking on Haiti!"

Mindy and Danny raised their glasses reluctantly, their eyes meeting over the glass rims.

Danny didn't mention anything for the rest of the night. Not when Jeremy disappeared for another stretch of time with a different blonde. Not when he hugged Mindy goodbye at the end of the night, his arms staying around her for just the appropriate time. When she walked in her apartment and collapsed on her bed, she almost thought she had dreamt it all up. But she hadn't. It happened. Danny Castellano wanted her to stay. And here she was thinking Haiti itself would be the biggest surprise of the week.

She rolled on her side and closed her eyes, trying to envision herself in Haiti with Casey. She had done this before, picturing her life with various different boyfriends in the moments before she fell asleep. It was her own personal brand of counting sheep. Hard as she tried, she couldn't picture it. She tried to picture other things. Her and Casey in NY. Her and Casey getting engaged. Her and Casey starting a family. Each dream scene became hazier than the next. On a whim, she let her thoughts drift to a previously closed-off-path. She imagined Danny and all the moments that never happened and probably never would. The first kiss. The first time he says he loves her and the moment she actually believes it. The first and only time she walks down the aisle, him waiting at the end in a crisp tux.

Her eyes popped open. "Oh boy."

The Day

Danny tried not to think too much about Mindy that day. He woke up at six like he always did and got in a quick run. He showered and made himself breakfast, telling himself not to think about her as the clock ticked closer and closer to eight o'clock. Despite his best efforts, he ended up glancing at the clock at exactly eight o'clock.

She was gone.

He pushed the thoughts of her from his mind and got dressed for work, blasting the music in his car on the drive to the hospital to block out any residual tidbits. He was doing a good job. She was so far from his mind – mentally pushed to the farthest recesses of his brain – that it took him a moment to fully process that she was sitting in the doctor's lounge. He blinked rapidly, wondering if somehow the singular focus on keeping her from his thoughts had driven him mad.

He walked into the doctor's lounge and she glanced up from the magazine resting on her lap. Her hair was still cut in the short style she'd gotten from the trip but she had barettes in it now. Part of him thought they looked ridiculous while another loved them because they were so unapologetically her.

"Shouldn't you be on a plane to Haiti?" he asked, not moving from the doorway. He was afraid that if he moved forward she would disappear like a mirage of water in a barren desert.

"You know, Haiti is a very humid climate," she said. "And I've never been very good with humidity."

He smiled slightly and said, "I think I remember you saying that before."

"Besides, I couldn't stay away from this place for an entire year. You guys would go crazy without me."

"It's nice of you to think of us."

"You know me, always thinking of others. You want to watch some Real Housewives before rounds? I think the Orange County cycle is on now."

"Sure, why not." He sat down next to her, hands clasped on his knees. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV, flipping to the Oxygen network. She placed the controller back on the table and hesitated for a moment before leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his shoulder stiffen beneath her cheek, but then he relaxed. To the dulcet tones of the OC housewives yelling at each other, Danny murmured, "I'm really glad you didn't get on that plane."

A/N: Yes, this was a total cheese ball. And I LOVED writing every moment of it. Would love to hear your feedback!