"Dr. L?" Shauna called from the doorway again. "Hello? Anybody home?" She knocked on the doorjamb, watching as Mindy stared off into space. The New Jersey in her came out as she stalked over, throwing the chart onto her desk and snapping her fingers in Mindy's face. "Earth to Dr. L! Mrs. Harrison has been waiting for almost twenty minutes!"

Mindy jumped slightly, "Geez, Shauna, why didn't you tell me earlier?" She watched, confused, as Shauna muttered obscenities under her breath and stalked out of the room. The chart was pretty much threadbare, this was the woman's first visit to their little practice. Mrs. Harrison was a twenty-one year old with a three year old daughter from a previous relationship. The little girl was happily singing and playing with her dollies in the corner of the exam room while Mindy and her mom talked about everything that was going on. She was here for an annual exam and to be checked over before she and her new husband started trying for another baby.

Everything looked fine and Mindy was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the woman had health insurance coverage. After sending the woman off with a clean bill of health pending her pap results, she headed into Danny's office and plopped down across from him. He didn't look up even as she cleared her throat several times at him. "What's a four letter word for uncommon?" He asked, staring at the crossword puzzle in the New York Times with intense, unblinking eyes. "Ah, rare! Yeah, that's it..."

"I think we should get married this weekend." She announced.

That got his attention really damn fast. Mindy watched as Danny set the paper down, resting his hands on the desk and turning his full attention to her. "What do you mean you think we should get married this weekend? Is there some kind of time crunch I don't know about?" He frowned.

"No, nothing like that," Mindy replied, slightly annoyed that he'd even suggest such a thing. "I'm just sick of waiting...my last patient had her first child at eighteen and now she's met the love of her life, has an adorable daughter, and is starting a family with her new husband."

Danny still wasn't getting it. "So?"

"So, I want a family, Danny. And Thanksgiving is coming up really soon, we can surprise your family with our marriage!" She explained, "And once it's legal, we can start trying. It'll take some time for me to get pregnant, nobody is going to think we had to shotgun it!" Mindy explained, "Let's talk to Dr. Shulman and see if we can take off for a few days. Fly to Vegas, get married..."

Folding his arms, he leaned back in the chair. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked quietly. "I would've pegged you for the big white wedding type...I don't want you to resent me for not giving you that five, ten, fifteen years from now."

If Mindy had been holding anything, it would've fallen on the ground. "Danny, I...I didn't think you wanted a big wedding." She said quietly. "I thought you'd have wanted a quickie courthouse thing with a couple witnesses that we dragged off the street."

"Compromise, remember? I know you, Mindy...you spend hours picking out your outfits. I'm sure you've been planning your wedding since you were, like, three years old." He replied smartly.

"Try six..." He wasn't wrong, that was for sure. "But dreams change. I can still get a pretty dress and there can be flowers and music and we can take pictures to commemorate the occasion. I'm not saying Elvis should marry us, Danny. I'm just saying that we can fly to Vegas and put our plan into action."

Danny had gone through the gigantic church wedding with the flowers, the dress, the caterers, and all the headaches that went along with them. His ex-wife had insisted on every luxury and he was thankful that his ex-father in law had paid for most of it. He had psyched himself up for a second big wedding because it was Mindy...he didn't know of a single fairytale or romantic comedy that didn't end with a gaudy wedding. "If you're sure about this, I'm all for it. I'll even go talk to Dr. Shulman."

Mindy smiled, "We can talk to him together." The thought of announcing their impending nuptials to the entire office was daunting. It had been her idea, of course but that didn't make it any easier. She was glad to have Danny by her side, that was for sure. Steeling her nerves, she followed Danny toward their boss' office. Taking a deep breath, she followed him in. "Hi, Dr. Shulman? Do you have a minute?"

The older man looked up from his paperwork and sighed, "Oh please, tell me this isn't another argument I need to settle." Staring at the two of them, he folded his arms and let out an exasperated sigh, "What is it this time?"

"Actually, Dr. Shulman, Dr. Lahiri and I have an announcement." Danny replied, hoping that this news wiped that disapproving look from the good doctor's face. Reaching over, she slipped his hand into hers. "Mindy and I are getting married...we were hoping to take a couple days off next week in order to enjoy our honeymoon."

The soft buzz of conversation that was always present in the office came to a screeching halt. Dr. Shulman's face went slack, "I...I was surprised to learn that the two of you were friends outside the office but lovers!" He stood up, grasping Danny's other hand and shaking it. "Congratulations!" Turning to Mindy, he hugged her tightly. "I'm expecting we have some other...news as well? I know a thing or two about rushing to get down to Gretna Green." He winked at the two of them.

Mindy smiled, "It's nothing like that. We just decided to be practical and not go all out on a huge white wedding. You know, with the economy and all." She felt a sense of warmth through her when Danny coughed to stifle a laugh. Looking at him furtively, their eyes met and held for a moment. "We thought we'd fly out to Vegas and spend a few days there."

"Of course, of course!" Dr. Shulman replied, smiling. "Enjoy yourselves. Take the week, please! Don't rush back here, we can manage." Ushering them out of his office, he looked between the two of them. "Now shoo!" He looked on them with a little tear in his eye, "Ah young love...there's nothing like it."

Danny gathered up his things and waited while Mindy collected hers. Shauna and Betsy both gave Mindy a hug and wished her well. Morgan gave Danny some kind of odd 'prison handshake' that made him intensely uncomfortable; he suffered through it because Morgan seemed so enthusiastic about it. Jeremy was suspiciously quiet, giving them both small words of congratulations before heading back into his office.

Stepping out into the fresh air, both of them chuckled as they took in the cool autumn air side by side. "That was pretty funny...that economy line." Danny smiled at her so brightly that his dimples showed.

Mindy loved when he was that happy. When he smiled like that, all of her worries and fears seemed to fall away. Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the task at hand. "Why don't we stop by your place and you can pack a bag then head by my place? I only live a few minutes from the airport?"

"Sounds good..." They remained in relative silence on the subway, seated comfortably next to each other. He thought of when he'd proclaimed on this very train that he'd never marry this woman. Funny how things had changed in so short a time.

It struck her how natural it felt to be seated with him quietly here. The old Mindy felt the need to fill every second of silence with conversation. But there wasn't a need to say anything right now. She was simply content to be by his side. Maybe she had it wrong, perhaps true love wasn't dramatic monologues. Maybe all the love in the world could be found in silence? Did she and Danny have a chance at feeling that love?

"What're you thinking about?"

His voice startled her out of her reverie. "Oh, nothing..." Mindy replied quickly, "Just that I'm happy we're doing this now. I think it's the right choice."

It was the right choice. Somehow, he felt he should've known all along it was. Not just the elopement but Mindy. She drove him crazy and he loved every second of being around her. She challenged him in ways he couldn't begin to fathom and when he was feeling bad, she instantly brightened his day simply by being herself. He put his arm around her as they walked back to his place. "Make yourself comfortable. I'm just going to throw some underwear in a bag."

"Make sure you get a toothbrush too at least." She chuckled. "If it's not too much, I'd really like to catch a show there if we could. So...bring something nice? Consider it a wedding gift to me?"

Danny feigned annoyance. "Haven't even walked down the aisle and you're already nagging me?" He walked to his closet, "My tuxedo's at the cleaners, do you think a suit will work?"

Mindy rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes, I think I can suffer being seen with you in public just this once..." She helped him pack by folding the things he carelessly tossed into an overnight bag. "Thankfully we'll be halfway across the country. Very little chance of seeing anyone we know..."

Opening up his sock drawer, he pulled out a small blue velvet box. He had been keeping it in the same place for the last thirty years. His great grandmother had passed and since he was the only living male in the family, her wedding and engagement rings had been his. Even though he was only eight at the time, he knew what an honor it was. He swallowed hard, "Here...I want you to have this." Walking to her, he sat down on the bed, grasping her wrist and tugging her to sit beside him, "This was my great grandmother's wedding set and...I want you to have it."

Shock coursed through her as Danny opened up that box and displayed by far the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. Emotion clogged her throat as she looked up at him, "But Danny...this...this is an heirloom."

"And I want you to have it." Taking out the engagement ring, he grasped her left hand and slipped it on. It fit as if it was designed for her and her alone. "I...I never gave this to my ex-wife. For one thing, her fingers were far too skinny and spidery. And second of all, I didn't trust her to take good care of it. I trust you to love it as much as she did."

"Danny..." A tear splashed down her cheek and she threw her arms around him, "It's perfect, absolutely perfect!" She pulled back and stared at it, "Thank you..." She adored it. The diamond was absolutely flawless, a perfect square carat flanked by sapphires on a ring of white gold. She had to imagine that Danny's great grandfather had loved his fiancé very much.

Pride swelled in his chest as he watched her admire the ring. His ex had wanted a brand new, fancy diamond that would make her high society friends jealous. But he had known that Mindy would appreciate the beauty and sentiment behind this one. "You're welcome...I'll give you the wedding band during the ceremony. It's tradition."

That got Mindy thinking, "I...I will have to buy you a wedding band, Danny. I'm sorry, I don't have anything from my family..." She wished she did but the truth was that none of them had truly epic love stories. Her parents had an arranged marriage, and so had their parents before them. They were matches made to appease their parents, not because they loved each other. "But I'll pick out a good one, I promise."

Danny zipped up his bag, ready to go. "That's fine, Mindy. I don't think it's such a big deal for the guy..." Anything metal and solid would do. They could probably pick up something in Vegas for cheap and it would suit him just fine. "Come on, let's get your stuff. There's a flight that leaves at seven thirty and I think if we're quick, we can make it."

The next couple hours were a blur for Mindy. Thankfully she always had outfits picked out ahead of time or this could've been quite an ordeal! The only question was what to get married in. It took a great bit of closet hunting but eventually she settled on a white silk dress that fell just below her knee and hugged her curves. She forced Danny to sit outside on the couch while she'd packed, not wanting him to see the dress. She came out wheeling a large suitcase and toting a slightly smaller carryon that matched.

"Do you really need all that?" Danny asked, grasping the suitcase and letting out a grunt as he tried to pull it, "Jesus! We're going for a week, Mindy! I doubt that you're going to need all this crap. Unless the apocalypse hits and then I highly doubt you're going to need this many shoes!"

"I'm a girl, Danny, get over it!" With a little bit of maneuvering, they caught a cab to the airport and headed to check in.

Despite Mindy's suitcase being a little over the weight limit and her having to shove some of her shoes into Danny's bag, there were no issues. They arrived at the gate with plenty of time. Mindy bought them both a couple of soft pretzels and Danny got them some coffee. It wasn't too long before their flight boarded and they were on their way. Vegas was six hours away. The wedding was six hours away. Their future was six hours away and it seemed to be brighter than ever.


I love you guys! You are amazing...keep the reviews up! They keep my going. Head's up, I live on the East Coast and we are bracing for Hurricane Sandy. It's quite possible I could be without power for many days. My kids and I are well prepared but it could be a bit befrore I'm able to write/upload anything. For those who are facing this with me, Godspeed. Stay safe! Please review, give me something to enjoy when I return!