A/N: FLUFF ALERT!... But seriously. This one is a bit saccharine. I liked it though, and I'm thinking this may be the last chapter of this one. As always, comments are appreciated and taken under advisement. Thank you for reading. :D
CH 4
By the time Mindy got to Danny's building, she was practically running. She'd bumped into a few people and gotten quite a few dirty looks, but it didn't slow her down. She stopped abruptly at his stoop, taking the time to catch her breath before mounting the steps.
Once in the lobby she stood waiting for the elevator for a moment before her impatience got the best of her. Someone must have already been on their way up. She turned to the stair well and hurriedly began the climb to Danny's floor. About halfway up she felt a stabbing pain in her side. She stopped for a second clutching at it. "Damn it!" It was a feeling she was all too familiar with, although she hadn't felt it since her middle school PE teacher made her run laps.
She took a deep breath, vowing to join a gym, and soldiered on, ignoring the persistent pain. After twenty stories, ok so it was like two, she finally reached the landing to Danny's floor. Panting, she made her way over to his door and rang the bell. When he didn't immediately answer, she buzzed it again, and again and again. She felt like an overzealous girl scout trying to unload the last of her cookies on some unsuspecting old geezer.
"Danny, I know you're awake. You're too punctual to not be getting ready for work already!" She reached forward with the hand not clutching at her side and pounded on the door. Nothing. She bent at the waist, trying to breathe normally again. She moaned. "At least I didn't puke this time."
"Mindy?" A concerned voice echoed in the hall. She turned, and there he was, standing ten feet away, a small brown package in one hand, and his messenger bag draped casually over one shoulder. She was standing fully again, still clutching at her side and breathing a bit heavily.
At the sight of her, the color drained from his face and he dropped his package and bag to the floor, closing the space between them in a heartbeat. He grabbed her by the shoulders, squeezing gently before moving down her arms, giving her a pat down of sorts. "Mindy, what's wrong? Did something happen? Did you get mugged? Are you hurt? Why are you here?" The questioned spilled from Danny in a quick succession, leaving no pauses for her to answer.
He raised his hands to her face, placing his palms on either side, looking into her eyes. "Have you been crying? Mindy, what is it?" There was a slight panic edging his voice.
All the things she'd been planning to say fled from her mind, and all she could do was stare. He was silently imploring her to speak. The expression on his face utterly worried. She couldn't find the words. Instead she reached down to the pocket of her coat and slipped out his letter, putting it up between their bodies like a shield.
He leaned back, in confusion, peering at the paper in front of him. Understanding dawned on him and he took a full step back, dropping his arms to his side. He took a deep breath and ran one hand through his hair. "So, I take it you read the letter." He looked down at his feet, almost sheepishly, but when he glanced back up at her there was a hopeful little half smile on his face.
That was it. That was all she needed. The words began to pour from her mouth as her eyes brimmed with tears again. "Danny, I missed you so much when I was in Haiti, but I've missed you even more since I've been back." She blinked and the pooled tears cascaded down her cheeks. "And I kept telling myself it was because you were my friend, and that I didn't want to lose that friendship I'd worked so hard for, but that was only a small part of it."
The tears kept coming, she felt them run down into the collar of her jacket. "There's something so much bigger here, but we've never been able to get the timing right. There was a brief moment after coming back from Santa Fe when I considered the possibility of us. That moment on the plane made me realize you're someone I would want to cling to. That I would be ok facing the end with you, but there was Casey then, and Christina popped back up." She took a gulp of air, fighting the urge to sob. "I'm having the strangest feelings right now. It's hard for me to believe that we've finally gotten the timing right." She took two quick steps forward, throwing he arms around him in a tight embrace. "And I just… I just.." She was hiccupping now, like an overly emotional child.
Danny encircled her with his arms, holding her just as tightly as she clung to him. He'd been so worried when he'd seen her there at the door, bent over and holding her side. Then when he'd seen her face, a million worst-case scenarios had run through his mind.
He raised one hand up, placing it on the back of her head, running his fingers down through her hair. "Mindy, I…" He trailed off. He didn't want to scare her by telling her everything at once. There would be time for that, and he still suspected he was much further along than her. "I missed you, too." He kicked himself. He'd overcorrected. "A lot." He grimaced. He pulled back slightly to look down at her face, brushing away the tears still resting on her cheeks. "I, uh, I'm not as eloquent face to face, I guess, but if I need to, I'll write you letters every day until you understand that I feel exactly the same."
He leaned down and kissed her gently, tasting the salt still on her lips. She eagerly returned the kiss, pulling back to look at him a couple times before returning to his mouth.
Danny felt a contented sigh rise up through his chest. He couldn't believe what was happening right now. He wished they could take the day off and spend it together, but it really wasn't practical. There needed to be more than one doctor at the office. He kissed her soundly one more time before pulling away, trailing his hands down her arms. "It's early. I'm sure you haven't eaten breakfast. Let's go to that café by the office and grab a bite to eat."
She smiled up at him, slipping her hand into his and nodding in agreement. "God, I wish we could skip work today." She leaned into him as they walked toward the elevator. "But, Jeremy would probably have a fatal panic attack if we both called in sick."
Danny laughed. "Or clean out the fridge. It really could use it. You know…" He squeezed her hand before he bent down to pick up his bag and the package he'd dropped.
She looked at him curiously. "You know, I didn't think to ask, but where were you returning from so early in the morning?"
They stepped into the elevator and began to ride down. "Well, I had some, shall we say, anxiety about you reading my letter. I couldn't sleep. It was too early to go to work, so I decided to take a walk." He hefted the package wrapped in brown paper.
She was still staring at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't she let out an exasperated puff. "And?"
He shifted slightly uncomfortably. "As I was walking, I found myself stopped in front of a little bookshop. It's odd that I'd never noticed it before. It's in this neighborhood." Danny felt a slight flutter of embarrassment in his chest. "Anway, there was this book in the window, and…" He paused before shoving on. "It, uh, reminded me of you."
He unceremoniously handed the package over to her. "The lady that works there asked if it was a gift, and when I said yes, she said she could wrap it up for me, and I didn't argue."
Mindy fingered the edge of the paper before her curiosity got the better of her. She ripped into the paper, tearing it away eagerly. When she saw the cover, she dropped the paper to the floor. Her fingers flew to the gold leaf title, tracing the letters before she smoothed palm across the leather binding. "Danny, this…"
He filled the silence. "In your letter, you said I write like F. Scott Fitzgerald. I mean, I kind of think I'm more like Hemingway, a real man's man and what have you, but when I saw this in the window…. I don't know, something clicked."
Mindy was speechless. She glanced down again at the book in her hand. Dear Scot, Dearest Zelda. "Danny, this is just, only the most romantic thing I've ever…" She leaned forward and kissed him again. "You sweet softie. You bought me a book of love letters, I just can't…"
The tears were welling up again and Danny quickly tried to play it off. "It's just a bunch of coincidences, Min." He didn't really believe the words. The woman at the bookstore had made an offhand comment about how she hadn't seen a copy of that book lying around in years. That particular one had come in that morning in a box from an estate sale.
Mindy sighed happily. "When will you learn, Castellano? In the best romances they're not called coincidences. They're called signs."
She laid her head on his shoulder, briefly sneaking a glance up at him, the wonder on her face rivaling that of the most smitten school girl. She had a feeling it was a look she'd be wearing a lot.