a/n: Oh, Katie, what could possibly go wrong?
Kate walked back to the office where she was pretty sure Ben would be working late.
She heard the music as soon as the elevator doors opened. Tango, something she actually knew how to dance thanks to her gay high school boyfriend who loved to dance. She slunk into Ben's office with her moves, and Ben looked up. His serious face immediately broke into a grin.
"Oh, Katie," he said and her heart leaped. He'd not been calling her that as frequently since Tahoe, and she missed it. He stood and walked over to her.
"Not catwoman?" she teased.
He held out his hand to her. "Dance with me."
"I thought we were just colleagues," she said, bitterness in the edge of her voice, echoes of his insult earlier in the day.
Ben tried to keep his face cheerfully neutal. "Colleagues dance."
"They don't usually dance the tango."
"The tango is a dance of loneliness, and I've been a lonely man." He smiled and tilted his head, a look he knew she found hard to resist. His brown eyes smouldered with need, and she felt herself drawn to him despite the butterflies in her stomach.
She closed the distance between them, taking his hand. He leaned slightly forward to cue his intent, then wrapped his arm around her in apilado, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. His smell of sandalwood and lime overwhelmed her, reminding her of their nights together. She followed as he led her through a bunch of basic tango moves she dredged up from dance lessons long ago. Then, assured she knew the basics, he started leading her into more complex variations slowly.
He spun her and she rested for a moment, her back to his chest, his arms crossed around her, then he leaned down to kiss her neck.
"Unfair," she protested weakly.
"Do you mind?" he whispered, teasing.
She sighed happily.
He ran his nose up the side of her neck, then nibbled her earlobe. "I like dancing with you," he whispered.
"That's why we're just standing here, not dancing, with you taking advantage of me," she teased.
Kate began to feel more confident with the old moves, trying ochos as Ben gave her room for footwork and she got more into the tune. She felt bolder, more flirtatious, caressing his leg with hers. Moments later, he stretched his knee out, and she straddled it, facing him, in a sentada pose. His eyes smouldered, and she stayed there a moment too long, lingering.
Ben brushed his lips against hers, then lowered his arm to her waist. She lifted her right arm and bent over backwards, pressing her hips up against his, heat against heat. He guided her back up slowly, kissing upward from mid-chest to her throat and finally her lips. Finally, he released her leg carefully so that the movement could continue, but she was a bit weak in the knees from that last move.
She said nothing, but let him lead her, his next big move being a controlled drop, something she loved. Just as she was almost at the bottom, though, her balance went all funny and she dropped to the floor, landing on her butt.
#
Ben panicked, holding her shoulder and head just enough so they didn't hit the floor with her lower body, but knew what he was supposed to do. Prop her legs up, which was easiest on the couch. It wasn't easy to lift dead weight, but he was glad for the time he spent at the gym. It took longer than he liked, but he put her leg up on the couch arms and grabbed one of the pillows for underneath her butt, all designed to get more blood to her heart and head faster.
He checked to make sure she was breathing, which he probably should have checked on the floor. Airway seemed fine.
Since no one else was in the office, he left for the wet towels and water, hating to leave her alone for even a moment in case she needed him. He dared not hurry and trip, so he walked slower than he normally would.
By the time he returned, she was starting to recover. He put the cool wet towels on her forehead over her objection.
"What happened?" Ben took her pulse.
"You fainted." Lydia's teasing echoed through Ben's mind. Ah, so they just fall at your feet without lubrication. Followed by his response, My cross to bear. It didn't seem so funny, now.
"Last thing I remember was dancing."
"That's when you fainted."
"I remember kissing."
"Mmmhmm. Can I get you to sip some water?"
Over the course of a couple of minutes, she drank half the water. That was probably enough for now, but he poured the rest into a spare water bottle in his desk.
"Are you able to sit up?"
"Oh, I'm fine," she said, sitting up a little too quickly.
"Whoa, Katie," he said as she was clearly still a bit woozy. He fetched her jacket and his own, helped her with hers. He then removed her shoes, and fetched her purse, which he slung over his shoulder.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"I'm taking you home, tiger."
"Okay," she said. The elevator opened and they stepped inside. When it opened again in the garage, Ben picked her up and carried her in his arms until he reached his car, unlocked it with a remote and gently slipped her into the passenger seat. He put her bag and her shoes in between her feet and lowered the seat to help with blood flow to her brain.
He said he was taking her home, but he'd lied. He knew she wouldn't get in the car if he had been honest and told her they were going to the emergency room.
When they pulled up in front of the emergency room, she figured it out and she was furious.
"Oh no." She looked away from both Ben and the hospital.
"You're going to get this checked out," he insisted.
"Benedict Yancy Grogan, I hate hospitals." She really was furious, he could tell by the use of his full name.
He reached out to hold her hand. "Katie, please look at me." After a couple of moments, she turned toward him. "Everyone who doesn't work in a hospital hates them. Well, except for ambulance-chasing lawyers," he joked. "But there are serious possible causes of fainting, and I'd never forgive myself if something was missed and that something killed you. The idea of living in a world without you is too painful to contemplate. So even if you don't go for yourself, go for me."
She protested a while longer and finally gave into the stern and worried look on his face. "One condition. You don't call anyone else. No. One. Else."
"Okay, but what if they need next-of-kin because you're unconscious? Or worse?"
She smiled and touched his face with her free hand. "Call me the name you most want to."
It took a moment for him to understand what she was asking. "You want me to pretend to be your husband and not tell anyone else? Not even Lauren? Or your brother? Or Justin? Or Leo?"
"Please?"
There were a thousand ways this could go pear-shaped. He sighed. "I'll be by your side the whole time, Katie." It was a horrible way to get some small part of his wish.
When she couldn't find her medical card, Ben pulled out his for the employer plan number so they could look hers up, and he filled in the parts of her admission form that he knew, then handed the form to her for the rest. Then he gave his black Amex for the uncovered charges and signed the slip.
The door between the waiting room and main ER corridor opened, and Ben saw a former client. "Dr. Moorthi!" he said, and the doctor spun around just as the door was closing.
"Ben!" He opened the door. "Are you my patient?"
"No. I'm afraid my wife is, though."
The doctor looked at Ben, then Kate. "Same last name?"
Kate said, "Reed."
"I'll try to get you in quickly, Ms. Reed," he said to her.
A couple of minutes later, Kate and Ben were ushered in and Ben was left to sit outside the exam room for a couple of minutes. Dr. Moorthi came by again and said, "I didn't know you'd gotten married," a gentle chiding about the lack of invitations, Ben suspected.
"We eloped, actually."
"The most common causes of fainting are low blood pressure and dehydration, sometimes extreme sleep deprivation can cause it, too. And, of course, there are far more serious reasons we need to rule out."
"I know, that's why I brought her. She's not really a willing patient," Ben admitted. "Oh, I took her pulse when this first happened," he looked at his watch, "eighteen minutes ago was when I took it, probably two minutes before that when it occurred."
"So what happened immediately before that?"
"We were dancing. Tango."
"In a club?"
"No, in my office. Well, we both work there, but it was my office specifically."
"Hot or crowded?"
"Neither." Ben smiled slightly. It had been hot all right, but not in the way Dr. Moorthi meant.
"Dancing for how long?"
"We were on the second full song, so somewhere between five and ten minutes."
"She sleep deprived, ill, or dehydrated?"
"I don't know about sleep deprived - I'd been out of town for work for several days," he lied, trying to cover for not knowing her sleeping habits at all, "but possibly dehydrated. She drinks coffee and rarely drinks water."
"No hyperventilation?"
"None."
"Okay, well, we'll put her through the usual battery of tests. As you probably know, we need to rule out heart issues or neurological causes, so it's a truly annoying set of tests. She'll probably be here overnight."
"I'll be here with her."
"Ahh, I see the nurse has indicated your wife's changed and ready, so I'm going to go in and ask her the same set of questions now. When someone faints, we usually like to get at least two accounts, though. Give us a few minutes and we'll let you in to see her."
"Thank you. I can't wait to see my wife again." The words felt so strange, yet so comfortable.
After what seemed an interminably long time, they let him in to sit with Kate. She was crying, so he took a few tissues and dabbed at her eyes then held her hand.
"I'm scared, Ben."
"I know, love." He smiled, as now he got to use all the scary words he'd wanted to use, and he got to use them because she'd asked him to.
"Thanks for being here, hubby," she teased.
He kissed her on the lips and said, "Anything for my wife." Despite the situation, he grinned.
He sat back in the provided chair, holding her hand, smirking at the incredulity of it all.
When they took her away for tests, he reassured his temporary wife that he'd be there for her when she got back.
He pulled out his iPad for some mindless distraction, reading web pages he'd saved for later, catching up on news he'd missed, and played a few games. He tried to read some work-related documents, but his heart wasn't in it. He was worried about Katie.
By four in the morning, they'd run Katie through the round of tests, had her on an IV with electrolytes, and released her back to Ben with a set of follow-up appointments if needed. Ben entered them into his planner so that he would make sure she'd follow up. The look of relief on her face was palpable.
When they got in the car, he looked at her.
"Ben," she said softly, "I don't want to go to Lauren's at this hour."
It was a long way to his place from the hospital, and he didn't want to be disturbed in the morning by his landline when Lauren wanted the usual morning rah-rah talk, even though it would be Saturday. "Where would you like to go?"
She didn't answer.
"There will be a veil of mystery over my place while you're still with Justin, Katie. I can take you to a hotel if you don't have another place to stay."
"Will you spend the night?"
Ben looked at her, not quite knowing what to say.
