Note: Wow, it's been way too long since I've written anything. So I guess my debut return is a Danny x Mindy fic. Any and all errors are mine. The characters are not.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Danny," Mindy's voice rose an octave, precariously close to breaking. She closed the door to Danny's office and began to pace the carpeted floor.

"I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. The plan was to establish my career, get married have kids the whole shebang," she paused. "Oh my God, I sound like you, Danny. I don't use the word shebang. I sound like an old person. Oh God, what's happening to me?"

She leaned against the door.

"Uh, what's happening?" Danny had been packing up his bag and preparing to go home. He didn't even realize anyone was left at the office.

He noticed a slight bend in her knees. Uh oh, she was going to be on the floor in a matter of seconds. The back of her cardigan rode up slightly due to the friction with the door as she sunk to the floor.

"He asked me to go with him, Danny. To Haiti," she brought her knees to her chest. "And I said no."

He noticed she held her mouth crookedly, like she was holding something back.

"Hey, Min. It's fine," Danny said, cautiously approaching her. He settled down beside her, mimicking her body language. "It's only for a year, right? He'll only be gone a year." He nudged her with his elbow.

"That's not it," Mindy wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Then what is it?" Danny was beginning to feel frustrated, a harsher tone creeping into his voice. "What am I missing here? Did he do something? Because I always knew that pastor was no good, even if he is a man of God-"

"What? Danny! Oh my God, no," her voice taking on exasperation. "Despite my terrible track record, Casey is one of the good ones."

"Compared to the prostitute and drug user/cheater he's definitely a step up." Danny paused. "So what happened?"

"Casey caught up with me just as I was leaving the office. He asked me just before I got outside. I said no."

"Okay, that's understandable. I can't really picture you in Haiti either. You'd miss out on too much celebrity gossip in a year."

"Right? Plus, Catching Fire is coming out this year and I really don't want to miss that," she shook her head.

"The thing is, I kind of had a feeling he would ask me. We could have had this whole Brangelina thing going on and go to Haiti and help save the world. But it wasn't until then that I had decided I didn't want to go...

"And then he had to go and ask me that," she buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook once, then twice.

"Hey," Danny said softly. He placed a hand on her shoulder and patted awkwardly. "You know, he's an idiot for-"

"He... he asked me to marry him."

Danny froze and removed his hand. Mindy turned to face him, droplets spilling from the corners of her eyes.

"Do you know how long I've waited for something like this to happen, Danny?" She sighed and wiped her cheeks, staring straight ahead.

"Career, marriage, kids - that was the plan. And now it's happening," she flashed a smile at nothing in particular. "It's happening," she repeated.

Danny breathed in deeply and shifted where he was sitting. "Marriage, huh? Well, I guess it's a good thing he's the type of minister that can do that sort of thing. Not just perform the ceremony, I mean..." he smiled crookedly.

"Dan-ny," Mindy rolled her eyes and leaned into him with her shoulder, pushing him away gently.

He smiled at her reaction. A piece of hair fell forward, blocking his view of her. He stopped himself from reaching out and tucking it behind her ear. He cleared his throat. "Congratulations are in order then."

Mindy pushed the strands back herself. "I didn't say yes."

Danny stayed silent. He felt his palms prickle with moisture and anticipation with what she was about to say next.

"I didn't say no either."

His heart dropped.

"So," he began slowly. "What did you say?"

"I had to think about it."

"And what did he say?"

"I don't know, Danny, it was kind of a big blur. He said something about giving me the time I needed for an important decision like this, the sanctity of marriage and then I came back up to the office and ended up here on your gross floor."

"Ugh, what is wrong with me, Danny. He's funny, smart, attractive - meets almost all of my criteria and yes he's Christian, but even if he didn't meet my criteria, it wouldn't matter. He's good to me. He's good for me."

"Just like the Haiti thing, I knew it was coming. The past few months he's brought up things like marriage and the day we got back together he mentioned kids. It wasn't a surprise.

Mindy went silent. She was so still Danny was concerned she had stopped breathing.

Suddenly, she was on her feet and pacing once more.

"Why didn't I say yes, Danny?" She was practically yelling now. "Isn't it supposed to be easier than this? I know it won't ever be as easy as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan make it seem but it's supposed to be easier than this.

"When you're in love, isn't it easier?" Mindy glared down at where he remained sitting on the floor. "Wasn't it easy for you to just say yes with Christina?"

Danny slowly got up and brushed off the seat of his pants and then his hands. "Yeah, it was easy, Min. She was the love of my life. Of course, I had to say yes to her. There was never a moment of hesitation."

"Oh God," tears welled up once more. She crossed her arms and her shoulders slumped forward, as though she was holding herself together.

Danny was uncomfortable. She was clearly hurting but he didn't know what to do. He was terrible at consoling people, especially women - scratch that - especially Mindy.

He scratched the back of his neck and blurted, "But it was too easy, Mindy." He reached out and tugged at her elbow until she turned to face him. "Only, I didn't realize it then."

He placed his hands on her arms and tried to make her understand.

"I was so in love with her, I was blind." He dropped his hands and turned to take a few steps until he was looking out his window at a dreary view of the litter strewn about in the alleyway.

It was true. He hadn't questioned anything about Christina since the day they met. When she would ask him to run errands after work, he wouldn't complain. They would take turns cooking, yes most times when it was her turn they would order in but that was only because she was a terrible cook. He adored that about her. Looking back, they fell into a routine, he supposed. And then one day when he came home with a dry cleaning bag in one hand and Chinese food in the other, he found her in bed with some other guy.

"It was so easy to love her, Mindy. And I think that's what made us fall apart in the end," he sighed and turned back to face her.

Mindy was standing in the middle of his office arms by her sdes. She was wearing an odd expression. Pity perhaps? It didn't matter, she just had to listen to what he had to say. For once, she wasn't talking.

"I think that you need to think this over. Marriage isn't something to take lightly and you need to be sure that you're the one who is okay with being with him for the rest of your life."

"He's already thought about having children-"

"Do you want the same thing?" He moved closer to her never dropping her gaze.

"Of course I want children."

"But do you want that with him?"

"I don't have anymore time to wait, Danny. I just don't." They were standing inches from each other.

He breathed in deeply and reached out to take her hands in his own. "What if I said you wouldn't have to wait."

Mindy looked puzzled. She looked down at her hands enveloped by his. "Danny, your hands are sweaty."

"Listen to me, Min," he pulled her closer to him, forcing her to look up.

"You are one of the most annoying people I know-"

"-Gee thanks, Danny-"

"But I never feel happier than when you step into a room."

Mindy's jaw went slack, her mouth fell open slightly. "Whoa."

Danny swallowed, he glanced sideways momentarily before coming back to her. "You're predictable and demanding-"

"What are you trying to do here?"

"-But you surprise me every single day. In a good way. You make me laugh.-"

"What is happening?"

"-What I'm trying to say is-" he struggled to find the words.

"Okay, I don't know what you're trying to do here Castellano. Insult me or compliment me and get it over with because I can't handle this right now," she pulled her hands out of his grasp.

"Would you just shut up for a second," he snapped.

"Excuse me, I thought we were having a moment here-" She felt a hand on her hip, pulling her forward while the other slipped behind her neck. Their lips met. As they moved, she felt her knees weaken.

She gasped for air. Danny took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She responded with fistfuls of his button up shirt.

Eventually they broke apart, both breathing heavier than they were moments before.

"Whoa," she whispered. "I..."

"Yeah," he said. "Does that clear something up?"

"That was kind of... mind blowing. Do you mind running that by me again?"

Danny grinned crookedly. "I think I can do that."

There was a knock on the door. "Mindy? Are you in here?" The two jumped apart as the handle turned and the door swung open.

"Oh hey Danny," Casey said. "I didn't realize you were still at the office." He turned to Mindy. "I checked your office but you weren't there. I was hoping we could just talk about our options. Not decide anything but just talk it over."

Mindy cleared her throat. "Yeah, um, sure okay. Just let me grab my jacket." Before they left the room, Mindy turned. "Thanks, Danny."

"Yeah, sure." He said slightly louder than he needed to. She disappeared around the corner.

"No problem."

Feel free to review. I've got an idea of where to go with this for a second chapter.