(You Walked In) Secret Smile

"Mommy!" Tuck said running over to her at the end of the game.

"Oh, baby! You did so good!" Miranda said lifting him off of the floor. She kissed his cheek and felt him try to squirm out of her grasp.

"Okay! Okay!" Tuck giggled. When she let him go, Tucker congratulated him.

"Tuck, you played well, son," Tucker said smiling at his son. He rubbed the boy's head.

"I agree, bud," Ben responded. "And you had quite a few points." Ben held up his hand and Tuck jumped to reach it, not getting anywhere close to it. Miranda smiled at them, ignoring the frown by Tucker. Then, Ben lowered his hand and Tuck hit it.

"Yes!" The three-year old yelled. The four of them walked out of the gym, being swept out by the janitor. Tuck ran ahead to catch up with some of his teammates, laughing and giggling. That was a sound that she wouldn't ever get tired of hearing.

Miranda was stopped by one of the parents, Lisa, the team mother; she was the one who sent emails about every league game, player birthday and team event. "Miranda, Tucker, hi!" Lisa said very excitedly.

Tucker waved, "Hi, Lisa."

"Lisa, how are you?" Miranda answered.

"Well, you know me. Busy, busy, busy!" Lisa said.

"I know how you feel." In her peripheral, she saw Ben scratch his chin. "Oh! Lisa, this is my b-boyfriend, Ben Warren. Ben, this is Lisa Robinson, she has two children on the team." They shook hands.

"Miranda, I'm going to go and warm up the car, okay?" He squeezed her side and walked away. Miranda watched him. She turned back to Lisa to see her watching him as well. Lisa wiggled her eyebrows and nodded in approval, making Miranda chuckle. Tucker scoffed and walked away, giving a feeble goodbye. The two women stood in front of the center chatting for a bit. Their kids came running up to them.

"Mommy, can I go to Devin and Davis' house? Please?" Tuck asked Miranda.

"You have to ask your dad and Mrs. Robinson," Miranda answered. Tuck nodded and the three of them ran off. After adding another game and event to her already packed schedule, Miranda walked over to Ben's car. He started to get out of the car to open the door for her, but she waved him off.

After buckling up, he said: "I know you wanted to go back to your house, but I have to stop at my apartment really quickly."

Miranda shrugged. "Sounds good." It really didn't matter to her. This weekend was a child-free, care-free kind of weekend. One where she could relax and both Meredith Grey and Richard Webber were at the hospital covering for her, so unless some kind of disaster struck Seattle, she was hospital-free for the next two days.

Ben winked at her and turned the radio on. She heard a familiar tune coming from the speaker. "I bet you don't know what this is," Ben said turning the volume up.

She listened for a second. "Seriously?"She said when she realized that it Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody." "I've been waitin' for you, it's been so long," she sang.

"Okay. Okay," Ben answered laughing. "That was too easy." Miranda nodded as they both sang the song, the music blasting as they headed across town to Ben's place.

Ain't nobody loves me better. Makes me happy. Makes me feel this way. Ain't nobody loves me better, than you.

He slung his arm around the back of her chair, stroking her shoulder. She looked over at him, taking in his profile. Facial hair covered the space around his lips. His moustache, goatee and beard were all neatly trimmed; as were his sideburns. His hair was cut short and she was a sucker for a well-groomed man. His eyes were small and they were looking intently at the road. And his lips—they were currently being licked. Oh, how she wished that she was the one doing it. Miranda bit the corner of her lip. Still cruising, Ben rubbed his cheek. He brought his other hand from behind her head and tickled her under her chin making her giggle. "I was wondering if you were going to smile at all."

She rolled her eyes. "You could have just asked me to smile."

"No, I don't want to force you to do it."

"What do you call tickling me?"

"I don't know. Let me see," he answered reaching out, tickling her side.

"Stop, Ben Warren!" She squealed. "Keep your eyes on the road."

"I am looking at the road," he countered. "Plus, we're here." He parked the car and they got out and headed inside. Exchange Apartments were some of the nicest apartments in the city. Before she separated from Tucker, she'd looked at apartments there. She wanted to have someplace to go just in case Tucker became unreasonable about wanting the house. After her lawyer had drawn up the papers, Tucker was forced to move out, relieving her of a lot of stress. The apartments went for nearly $3,000 a month. She'd once joked early in their friendship that three thousand dollars wasn't even a drop in the bucket for an anesthesiologist. She'd wanted to take the joke back as soon as she said it. She thought he would find it a pedestrian. "Gas Men" were known for sitting on their butts during surgery while surgeons did the 'real' work on the other side of the curtain. Ben had laughed good-naturedly and said: "You mean my lunch money?" When she thought back on their relationship, their friendship, she could always go back to that moment and say that that was one of the reasons why they clicked and why she was so attracted to him.

Ben grabbed Miranda's hand as they stepped onto the elevator. Smooth jazz emitted from the speakers. Getting off on his floor, Miranda recognized one of his neighbors. Was her name Tyra? "Hey, Tiff!" Ben said waving with his free hand; the other still holding onto Miranda's hand, his thumb stroking her fingers. She walked towards them, smiling wide. "You remember my girlfriend, right? Miranda." Tiffany gave her a short wave and when Ben turned to look at Miranda, Tiffany arched her eyebrow up to her hairline.

"Of course! Hi, Miranda." Tiffany glanced down at Ben and Miranda's interlocked hands.

"Hello, again," Miranda responded.

"So, what are you kids up to today?" Tiffany asked. Miranda took a moment to observe the woman. She was about the same age as Ben and Miranda. She was a white woman, a little taller than Miranda who had huge, grey eyes and dark brown hair that fell around her shoulders. She was wearing a white shirt and a pair of red pajamas. Miranda wondered if Tiffany was Ben's type.

"Just hanging out," Ben responded glancing at Miranda. "You?"

"Going out with some friends—you know how I do." The two of them laughed.

"Yeah, I know how you get down, girl," Ben said still laughing. Tiffany touched his arm, smiling widely. She pulled it back when she saw Miranda looking at her.

"Okay, well, I won't keep you two," Tiffany said as she finger-combed her hair into a ponytail, her t-shirt raising and showing off her flat stomach with a pierced bellybutton. "You're still coming to movie night on Wednesday, right, Warren?" He nodded and shrugged noncommittally and said he'd see her later. Miranda and Ben kept moving to his apartment. "Sorry about that."

"About what?" Miranda asked. Ben reached around her and unlocked the door, his body pressing against hers, his chest on her back.

"For Tiffany," he sighed. She nodded. Ben kissed her cheek as they walked into the apartment. They stood in the threshold. "She can be…"

"Unabashedly flirtatious?" Miranda offered.

"Yes!" Ben smiled, showing both rows of teeth. "That is the exact definition of Tiffany." Miranda waited for more. "She has this crush on me and no matter how many times I insinuate that I'm not interested, she just doesn't get it." Miranda walked further into the apartment and looked around. "Don't mind the mess." For some reason, she was always surprised when she was in his apartment. It was well-kept and comfortable. And it always smelled of fresh wood. His living room, dining room and kitchen all occupied one huge, sectioned space. The kitchen was typical, a few pots and pans, the sink had a few dishes in it. Ben caught her looking at them and said: "I'll get to those." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously."

Miranda laughed, "Don't worry about it. It's usually so clean. It's kind of refreshing to see a mess." She walked over to large, clear doors that led to his balcony. The view from it was fantastic and it took her breath away. All of the major sights of Seattle could be seen from his apartment. It was amazing. In the reflection of the doors, she could see Ben sit down on the brown, leather sofa and pull out his phone. "So, why are we here?"

He turned around and gestured for her to come and sit next to him, putting his phone away. "It's kind of… weird?"

Miranda sat next to him, leaving an inch of space between them. "Weirder than dating someone while who's already married?" She muttered under her breath. She hadn't meant what she said, but she couldn't stop it from coming out. She tried to avoid his eyes.

"Hey!" Ben said. The fierceness of his voice shocked her. He touched her chin and lifted it up, so that they were staring at each other. "Our situation is not weird. I know where your heart is." His eyes were intensely focused on her, waiting for her to speak. "Okay?"

"Yeah," she responded quietly.

"Okay." He dropped his hand from her chin and stroked her hair, leaning in to kiss her. Miranda put her hand up and stopped him. His chest bumping into her palm. "What?"

"Uh, what's your weird thing?"

Ben touched her shoulder briefly and grinned. "My neighbor from downstairs, Mrs. Wexler, is bringing me a cake."

"A cake?" He nodded. "A cake is your weird thing?"

"Yeah, she makes a cake, just for me, every other Saturday or whenever she feels like it." Miranda was so confused. What in the world was he talking about? Ben sensed her confusion. "Since I moved into this apartment, Evelyn has kind of taken me in. As a second son."

"Are you providing some service to Mrs. Wexler that makes her return the favor to you in the form of cakes?"

He raised an eyebrow. She mimicked him. "What? That!? No. No. No. Absolutely not!" Ben shook his head wildly, making Miranda laugh. "She's just a nice lady who likes a little company from time to time. And I watch her apartment for her when she goes out of town. She's my friend."

She shrugged. "If you say so."

"I do." Ben kissed her deeply. "I say so very much." He kissed her again, moving his mouth from her lips to her neck. "I love kissing you," he whispered. His mouth found hers again and his tongue entered her mouth. Ben moved on top of her. Miranda's hand touched the side of his body, pulling his shirt up a little. "I can take it off, if you want." Her mind and ears were ringing. Did she want him to take it off? That was a crazy question. Of course she did. A knock on the door saved her from having to verbalize an answer. "Damn it," he grumbled. Ben planted a kiss on her forehead and stood up. He held out a hand for her to take and Miranda stood up as well. Ben walked to the door with Miranda right behind him. He opened the door. "Hello, Mrs. Wexler." Ben leaned down to kiss his guest on the cheek, taking the cake from her hands. "This is the woman I've been telling you about, Dr. Miranda Bailey. Miranda, this is Evelyn Wexler, the best neighbor ever."

The General surgeon stuck her hand out for the woman to shake. About the same height as Miranda, the Black woman was dressed in severely creased black pants and a yellow and black striped shirt. She looked like a little bumblebee with short, gray hair and a pair of glasses pushed to the top of her head. "Hi, Mrs. Wexler."

"Please. Call me Evelyn," she insisted. Miranda looked at Ben who had a surprised look on his face, both of his eyebrows raised. Evelyn moved past them into the kitchen. Ben sat the cake down and took off the cover. "Evelyn Wexler, this cake is beautiful. Just like you." Miranda watched the lady's face turn red as Ben praised her.

"I found a new recipe online and thought about you," she said with a smile. "Let's cut it open. I want to taste it!"

"Definitely, but I just need to use the restroom really quickly."

"Good. It'll give me a chance to talk to this young lady," Evelyn responded pointing at Miranda. Ben winked at Miranda and disappeared down the hall. "So, Miranda, how long have you two been dating?" Wow, she doesn't waste any time, Miranda thought.

"Al-almost three months," Miranda said.

"And, uh, what do you do?" Evelyn asked washing her hands in the sink. She looked into a drawer and grabbed a knife.

"I'm a mother and a doctor," Miranda answered more confidently. Evelyn nodded. She could see why Ben enjoyed the woman's company. She was nice.

"I'm a mother, too."

"Yeah?"

Evelyn nodded. "I have a son, Johnny." The woman rolled her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head. "He's doing great now, but when I tell you he gave me fits—Fits!" They laughed. "And I have, of course, my surrogate son, Ben." Evelyn smiled quickly, making Miranda smile as well. "How old is your… son, right?"

"Yeah, he's three. How'd you know?" Miranda said getting up and grabbing plates out of the cabinet. She picked up some forks before she sat back down.

"Ben. He talks about you all of the time." It was Miranda's turn to blush. She shook her head slightly to get rid of the red. "I threatened him and told him to bring you by today so that I could meet you. If he didn't, I told him he wouldn't get anymore cake." Miranda opened her mouth to speak. "Listen, honey, I don't know your exact feelings for Ben, but he's become a part of my family. And I don't know if you love him," Evelyn started. Miranda looked away briefly before catching Evelyn's eye. "But I do. He's the happiest I've ever seen him. So I just had to meet the woman putting that silly ass grin on his face every day." Miranda giggled. "Only a fool would be blind to the fact that his happiness coincides with your presence in his life."

"Thank you, Evelyn. For saying that," Miranda said. "He is a really great guy. He treats like a queen. And my son adores him. I'm really lucky."

"You really are," Evelyn agreed. The two of them laughed together as she cut a slice of the cake.

"Wow! Blue Velvet?" Ben said coming up behind Miranda. He kissed the back of her neck when Evelyn wasn't looking and put a hand on her waist. She tried shrugging him off, but he held on tightly. "You have really outdone yourself this time." Evelyn waved her hand at him and cut two more slices. They all sat around the kitchen island and ate the cake. Miranda had never experienced Blue Velvet before, but it quickly rose as one of her favorite flavors. No wonder Ben drove across town for Evelyn's cake.

"So, Ben, where have you been hiding Miranda?" Evelyn asked.

He placed his fork down on his plate. "She's an extremely busy woman."

"No," Miranda interrupted. Ben smiled at her, making her heart skip. "I'm not that busy."

She watched him pick up his fork and twirl it between his fingers, deftly. "And you've been out of town for a week," he said pointing his utensil at Evelyn.

"Still. There's no reason I should be meeting this gem after three months," Evelyn argued.

"Forgive me?" Ben asked getting up and kissing her cheek.

"Forgiven." The three of them talked a little more and before Miranda knew it, the sky began to darken. "Alright. I think I've overstayed my welcome," the woman said standing up and moving towards the door.

"No, Evelyn, you don't have to go," Miranda said getting off of her stool.

"I'm sure you two have a romantic night ahead of you," she said winking at them.

"Evelyn!" Ben said pointing to the door.

The woman laughed. "Miranda, it was great—just great meeting you. Ben, I'll see you at movie night."

"Movie night?" Miranda asked. "I thought that was something you did with Tiffany." She said it to prove that she wasn't jealous although she hated that part of her boyfriend's time was spent with a flirtatious woman. She turned to Ben with a smile.

"What? No," he said shaking his head.

"It's a building-wide thing," Evelyn confirmed. She turned to Ben. "Tiffany?" The woman hit his arm.

"Ouch! We bumped into her in the hallway," he told his neighbor.

"Now I told you to stay away from her. She is trouble."

"Evelyn, now you know I don't do anything alone with that woman," Ben said. He reached for Miranda's hand.

"Good." The woman stood up, fixing her shirt. "Bye to you both." She opened the door and with a wave, she was gone.

Once the apartment door closed behind Evelyn, Miranda looked up at her boyfriend. "I love her!"

"I knew you would," he answered. "She's amazing."

"We got to talk a little bit while you were 'in the bathroom,'" Miranda said using finger quotes. While she'd talked to Evelyn, Ben stayed gone for nearly fifteen minutes.

"Yeah. About what?"

"Stuff."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"You shouldn't have been in the bathroom so long," she said giggling.

Ben reached out for her and pulled her into his arms. "Ready to go back to your place?" Suddenly, a lump rose in her throat and she couldn't speak. "You can say 'no,' you know."

She nodded. "I know I can, Benjamin." Ben caressed her back, sending shivers up and down her spine. Miranda stood on her toes and touched the back of his neck pulling him in for a kiss. Every hair on her body stood up as they passionately. She moaned and felt Ben get hard. Her body reacted instantly. "Let's go." Ben kissed her quickly and grabbed her hand pulling her towards the door. "And don't forget the cake."