We've Only Just Begun

They'd settled in the car and were on their way to Brookden Park, the park closest to their house. They could have walked, but they would want to get some lunch and ice cream or both because even though her son said he didn't mind that she worked such odd and long hours, she knew that he loved milking every second out of her that he could. He would go and go until he had nothing left, exhausting himself, making her do the same thing. "So, after we finish our day, Eli and I are going to have dinner with The Chief and you're going to go over to Aunt Callie's," Miranda said rushing the words out hoping that he wouldn't hate going to his godmother's house when his third favorite person in the world, besides his parents, visited his home.

"The Chief! Mommy, can I eat with you guys?" He asked and she avoided looking into her rearview mirror into his brown eyes that were so much like hers. Looking into them, she'd change her mind about everything.

"But you're going to Callie's with Arizona and Sofia."

"But she's a little kid," he said. Bailey snuck a peek at him in her mirror. He was sitting in his booster seat and he had his arms crossed and his lips poked out. When he did, she recalled that her mother, Elena, had said she used to do that exact thing. Miranda checked her side-view mirror and smiled.

They arrived at Brookden Park. Miranda exited the car while Little Tuck unfastened himself and got out of the car. He ran to the back of the car to get his basketball and waited for his mother. There were four full-sized basketball courts along with a tennis court and the other amenities of a regular park. Because it was a school break, all of the courts were nearly packed. There were three full-court games and one half-court game. The one half of court that wasn't occupied was the only one without a net. Miranda walked to the empty side and started to stretch. Maybe she should have worn shorts, she thought to herself. Always ready to play, Tuck ran to the half-court game and called "next". That made him next in line when the game finished. He ran back to Miranda. She noticed that he was getting taller and glided just like his father, a true ballplayer. "I called next for us," he said tossing up a shot.

She rebounded the ball. "Excuse me, what? Us? I'm not playing, Tuck! Unh-uh! No," she said and she passed the ball back to him.

He stared at her and took a couple of dribbles. "C'mon, mommy. It's only half-court and we'll be on the same team," he said. He put the ball between his legs and shot. He was getting pretty decent. She was glad that her ex-husband had convinced her to let him buy their son a hoop for his 7th birthday which was three months ago. Eli had helped her install it when it arrived the morning of his birthday all wrapped up, no doubt by Tucker's new wife, Jaida. Miranda had met her a few times. Miranda liked her enough. She was a nice girl. A girl because she was in her mid-20s while Tuck was pushing 40. She shook those thoughts from her head. As long as he was happy, right?

"Mommy!" Tuck said and Miranda turned to look at him and a ball hit her in the back of the head.

"Damn it," she said as she rubbed the spot. Tuck ran to her. "Damn it!" She really hated cursing in front of her son, but it hurt like hell.

"Are you okay?" He asked. His face was so full of concern. Miranda started to nod her head, but every part of her head hurt. "Are you going to be able to play?"

"I didn't want to play in the first play, Tuck," she said slowly.

"But, I wanted you to," he said picking up the ball.

Miranda forgot about her pain for a second and took a deep breath. "I'm okay. And if you really want me to play, I will."

He pointed to the other side of the court. "Okay, well, if the guy with the white t-shirt's team scores, they win and we can play." Miranda followed his gaze and looked at the eight people moving about on the basketball court. One guy looked really familiar. Maybe it was her head that was still kind of throbbing that made her think that she might know him. "Yes! Let's go!" Tuck said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the finished game. "We got next, Alex" he said gesturing from himself to his mother. Someone giggled. Miranda ignored them.

A voice cut through the crowd: "Dr. Bailey?"

Miranda looked up and into the face of her former intern and present colleague, Alex Karev. "Dr. Karev," she said firmly. Miranda realized that he was the guy in the white shirt. For some reason he looked different outside of the hospital and even out of Joe's, the local bar. He looked like a regular guy. Not like a guy who saved lives.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. He realized the idiocy of his statement and blushed. "I mean, do you have two other people? We're doing a four-all. Four people on each team."

"I know what a four-all is, Karev," Miranda said and she told herself that she would have to relax. She was outside of the hospital and he could be Alex, if only for today. "No, we don't have two other people." She looked around and called out: "We need two. Anyone want to play with us?"

"I'll play," someone said.

"So will I," said another.

Miranda looked to the speaking voices and saw a girl waving at her; she was a teenage girl with dark skin and box braids that were pulled up into a bun on her head. Miranda wished that she had the time to get her hair done like that now. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She pushed loose pieces of it behind her ear. The other voice she should have recognized. She'd just heard it yesterday. It was Dr. Ben Warren. The Anesthesiologist. He was dressed in all black. A black, sleeveless t-shirt, black shorts that stopped just above his knees and black sneakers. "Dr. Warren?" She asked as she watched Little Tuck take a shot and Alex rebounded.

"Please, call me Ben," he said and extended his arm. She took the hand in her grasp and they shook. "I'm glad that you remembered," he said waving to someone across the park.

"I promised you I would," she told him. "And I-And I did."

"I've never seen you around here." He grinned exposing his white teeth.

That made Miranda blush a little. She felt like grinning as well. Instead she said: "Well, I don't often get a chance to come, but my son does with his father." She pointed to her son who was dribbling furiously while everyone watched. She watched as the two men on Alex's team and the teenage boy squinted their eyes at his skills. One of them was probably the one who'd giggled.

"LT is yours?" He asked her cocking his head to the side.

"LT?" She was a little confused.

"Little Tuck. LT. Little Tuck. And his father being Tucker Jones." Ben cleared

"Yeah?"

"Tucker is my accountant," Ben said smiling again. There was something about that smile. Something about the way his cheeks rose and revealed his small dimples.

"Well, he's my ex—"

"Mommy, we're ready," Little Tuck said impatiently.

"Oh, sorry," Miranda said.

"So, uh, it's me, you, LT and Jazmin," Ben said as Alex passed Ben the ball and the game began. As luck would have it, Miranda was defended by a guy whose named turned out to be Kale, like the vegetable. He told Miranda that he was thinking of changing it, but it'd finally grown on him. Miranda chuckled as she jumped in front of him and stole the ball. She pivoted and started to dribble while Kale moved in front of her. He was taller than her by a foot, but being tall wasn't everything in basketball. She watched Little Tuck run down the lane and cursed under her breath that she'd missed him. Ben cut immediately after him and dished the ball to him around the back of Kale for an easy layup. The score was 14 to 12. Miranda's team was up by two and only needed one more point to win. She touched up the ball with Alex who'd finally realized that she was the playmaker of the team and wanted to defend her. The look on his face showed fire behind his eyes and he was furious. It was the complete opposite of the one he made while he was performing surgeries. As a pediatric surgeon, he worked on kids with all kinds of problems and showed compassion and kindness, something that he sorely lacked in his first couple of years as an intern. He was soft in the face while he worked and thoughtful. He was also determined. Determined to fix the children and he was very talented and successful. She was proud of him. But at the moment, she wanted to crush him. Competition. It fueled most people and fueled all surgeons. Alex swiped at the ball. He missed and Miranda pulled the ball back as Ben set a pick for her and she used it, dribbling to her right and brushing shoulders with the anesthesiologist. Her heart fluttered. When he moved to the basket she gave him a bounce pass. He grabbed the ball, leaped in the air and dunked it. Miranda's mouth dropped open.

"It's about time we won a game," Jazmin said rubbing Little Tuck's head. That was not something that he liked, but the fact that he let Jazmin do it proved that he knew her and that he liked her. Miranda walked to the bleacher and sat down. Her body pained slightly, but she felt good. Jazmin was sitting behind her. They high-fived.

"Erm, good game, Dr. Bailey," Alex said coming up to her. He gave her high-five. "You're good." His teammates nodded their heads in agreement.

"You sound surprised Ka—Alex," she said. "Tucker run to the car and get some water."

"I am surprised, honestly. Why aren't you on one of the 3-on-3 teams at the hospital?"

"Because I have two full-time jobs."

He looked confused. "What's your other full-time job?"

"I'm a mom," Miranda said as Tucker came back with eight waters and set them in front of her. "Anyone thirsty?"

Yeahs, Heck yeahs and yeses erupted. Little Tuck passed them out, giving the last one to Jazmin and sitting next to her. Thanks, everyone said. There was one bottle left. She looked around and saw that Ben wasn't sitting with them on the bleacher. Alex saw her looking and said: "He went to the bathroom."

"I-I-I just wanted to make sure he got a water if he wanted one," Miranda sputtered. Alex raised his eyebrow. This was definitely not the woman who'd scared them during their first years at Seattle Grace.

"I thought Tucker looked familiar, but I couldn't place him," Alex said changing the subject. "And LT, man, he looks just like him. But watching him out there now, he looks just like you. I don't know how I missed that." He took a drink of water and poured some on his forehead.

"You're wasting my water, Karev?" Miranda asked giving a stern look. Alex widened his eyes. Miranda smiled. "I'm just kidding." Everyone laughed.

"What's so funny?" Ben asked appearing out of, it seemed, thin air.

"Dr. Bailey," Kale and Jazmin said together.

"Ben, get a water. It's in front of my mommy," Little Tucker spoke up. Ben walked towards Miranda, really he strutted. She liked that about him. He reached down and grabbed the last bottle.

"Thanks," he said gesturing the bottle towards her."I can't believe I didn't put two and two together," he said looking at Little Tuck.

"About what?" Miranda asked. Everyone started talking about the game and a possible rematch.

"I mean," he started and he sat down. "Tucker said that his wife worked at Grey Sloan, so I figured that Jaida…" His voice faded.

"Yeah, well, we're divorced," Miranda said more flippant than she meant to.

"LT's a great kid. And he's turning into a fine ballplayer," Ben said smiling. The bleachers were empty. A new game was about to start. It would have to be 3-on-3. Miranda looked into his eyes and remembered what he looked like shirtless. Very sexy. "And you're pretty… nice on the court, you've got skills," he said.

"Thanks. You're not bad either. H-how often do you and Alex play?" Miranda wanted to pinch herself. She couldn't seem to talk without stuttering or sounding like a complete fool.

"Ugh, we come here about once a week. We're on the same 3-on-3 team." Ben took a sip of water and poured some into his hands and wiped his face. "Want to go 1-on-1?" Ben asked raising both of his brows. She shook her head. She didn't think she could play against him. She would have to defend him closely and he smelled so good, a combination of cologne and sweat and it was making her a little dizzy.

"Maybe next time."

"I'll hold you to that," Ben said. Miranda looked at him and took in his appearance. A mixture of sweat and water dripped from his face. She watched a drop race down his forehead, over his cheek and across his lips and it took everything she had to not reach over and wipe it away. He started to laugh. It startled her and she hoped she hadn't said anything that she was thinking out loud.

"Why are you laughing? What is so funny?" She asked a little crossly.

"Nothing. Just that you didn't even know who I was yesterday even though we'd been in the same surgery for hours. Then we saw each other in the locker room and now at the park."

"And?" Miranda asked expecting him to say more. Wanting him to say more. She liked talking to him and hearing him talk. Miranda stopped staring and looked to the court where the game was going on. Only it wasn't. She counted the players and noticed one was missing. The only one who mattered to her. "Where's Tuck?" She asked getting to her feet. Everyone looked around, suddenly noticing that Tuck wasn't there. "Where's my son?" She asked again panicking inside. "Tuck!" She cried out. Every bone in her body was stiff, every hair was standing up and her headache was coming back.

"Miranda, he's around here somewhere," Ben said touching her lightly on the arm. Her heart was pounding. "Alex, when was the last time you saw him?"

"Maybe a couple minutes ago. We were about to start the game and waiting for you two and I turned my back to get a rebound. I-I-I don't know," he said.

"Okay, everybody spread out and look for him," Ben said taking charge and not wasting any time.

"Don't just stand there! Please... help me find him," Miranda said jogging towards the car. "TUCK! WILLIAM GEORGE!?" She called out. Suddenly she couldn't remember what he was wearing or how tall he was. Did she have a recent picture of him? She unlocked the car and looked inside. She opened the trunk. She stepped out into the street and looked up and down the block. All she felt was guilt. She'd been talking to Ben, blushing and holding a conversation when she should have been paying attention to her son. Miranda leaned against the car and started to tear up. She unlocked the car doors once more and reached for her cell phone. She started to punch in her ex-husband's number. Her finger reached for the "send" button when she heard her name.

"Dr. Bailey! Dr. Bailey!" Alex said excitedly waving to her. "We found him. He's safe. He was just in the bathroom."

Miranda started to dry her tears. She didn't want her son to see her looking stressed out. Ben started in her direction. "He's fine," he said coming over to her. He wrapped his arms around her. Her head fell into his chest. He rubbed her back and Miranda thought she felt him kiss the top of her head. Miranda was used to men and a lot of women being taller than her. Maybe it was just his chin accidently hitting her head. "He's fine."

"Thanks," Miranda said. "Does he know I was panicking? I don't want to upset him."

"No, he's none the wiser. Trey ran into the bathroom closest to our court, but he wasn't in there. Kale ran into the one across the field and he was on his way out."

Miranda pulled herself off of Ben. "Are my eyes red?"

"A little, but trust me, he doesn't know we were searching for him frantically. I promise."

She took a deep breath. "You're a good person, Ben Warren. Thanks again."

He looked directly into her eyes. If she didn't know any better, she thought that he was leaning in to kiss her. She looked down at her phone just as Eli was calling. She answered the call. "Hello?"

"Gorgeous. Hey, how are you?" He asked. And she smiled and looked up to see Ben halfway back to the court.

"I'm good. Very good, handsome. How are you?"

"I stopped by your house about 10 minutes ago. You weren't home. Where are you guys?"

"Tuck and I went to the park. Then we'll have lunch or something. Maybe go to the zoo," she said crossing her arms and glancing over to the court where another 4-on-4 game had started. They'd found her "replacement" in an old, white guy with high socks and short shorts. Miranda smiled when she saw Ben looking back at her as Alex beat him to the basket for an easy layup.

"Hello?" Eli said.

"Yeah? Yeah, sorry. What did you say?" she said yawning.

"I said are we still on for tonight?"

"As far as I know. Richard hasn't called to cancel. Are you going to be able to get off?"

"I'm trying. I think I will. I'll text you in a couple of hours with my final answer so you can have time to prepare."

"Sounds good," she said distractedly.

"You're okay?" he asked her, sounding a little worried.

"Yeah. I just got hit by the ball earlier. No biggie. I just have a small headache," Miranda said.

"Well, as long as you're okay."

"Thanks, babe. I'm fine. Seriously. You know I have no problem complaining." She laughed and that made him laugh.

"I'll talk to you later, Miranda," Eli said and he disconnected the call.

Miranda held the phone to her ear even after his name stopped flashing on her smart phone. She smiled to herself. She understood that she was attracted to the anesthesiologist. She understood that she was dating Eli. But what she understood most was that it wasn't a crime to be dating one person and being attracted to another. She also understood that telling Eli about Ben wasn't an option. There was nothing wrong with having a crush.

When Miranda finally made her way over to the court, it was 3 o'clock. They'd been at the park for two hours. She was sure that her son was hungry, but she knew that he wouldn't want to leave just to get food. He'd only want to leave when they were the last two people in the park. She sat down on the bleacher. "You wanna play?" Alex called to her. His eyes begged her to say yes. Her replacement must be terrible. She didn't say anything. She didn't want to be rude to her substitute and she laughed as he tossed up an air ball that Little Tuck was sent running after.

"Naw, ma, you wanna play over here?" A young-looking guy yelled to her from one of the courts running a full-court game. He was tall, black man with a nice smile and goggles. She felt bad turning him down.

"Next time, young sir," she called to him and stood up and walked to the sideline and picked up Tuck's ball.

He jogged over to her. "What'd you say? I couldn't hear you." His unexpected voice made her jump a little and she dropped the ball. The guy flashed a smile. That smile probably got him anything he wanted. He was too young to have game like that. "I'm Damon." He stuck out his hand. She shook it. "What's your name?"

She ignored his request for her name: "I said next time, Damon. What are you like 25? You are too young to be flashing that smile at me," Miranda said smirking.

"I'm 28," he said scratching his head. "And I only flash this smile for beautiful women."

"You know what, Damon? You need to go. Look me up when you're 30 or when I'm not in a relationship."

"It's like that?" He asked as someone called his name. He turned to them and gesturing for them to give him a second.

"Yeah," she told him chuckling. "They're calling you."

He nodded. "They'll be okay. And I'm going to ask around about you." He turned and took a few steps then walked back to her. "So don't be surprised if you get a friend request from me." He gave her a wink and the peace sign and jogged back to his court. She watched him leave and shook her head. Kids today. Even though he wasn't really a kid. She was only 7 years older than him. It was a smaller number than the age difference as Tucker and Jaida, but still, everyone would have something to say if she dated him or any young guy that age. There would be so much gossip. And one thing Miranda hated was having her business all over the hospital. She didn't want to be like the interns or residents or certain attendings who private affairs everyone knew. Nope, she would not be one of those people. Which is why even after she divorced Tucker, she'd never gotten involved with any of Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan's hospital staff. Until Eli. He was an exception. He was so determined to be with her. So certain that he liked her, she was feisty and he knew how to make her smile. Thinking about him, she started to smile. Someone wrapped their arms around her. She looked down and into the eyes of her son.

"Hey, baby," she said hugging him back with a little more force than she meant to.

"Mommy, you're squishing me," he said laughing like a maniac.

"I know. But I just love you so much," she told him kissing his head. "Did you guys win?"

"Almost," he told her. Then he motioned for her to lean down. "That other man is pretty bad." Miranda laughed loudly. "Do you want to play one more game? Everyone wants you to. Well, except the two guys from Alex's team who are leaving and Kale."

"I'll play one more and then we need to go," she said firmly.

He sighed loudly. "Okay, mommy. Let's go," he said pulling her to the court once again. "She's back!" He yelled.

"Thank God," Jazmin said and that made Miranda laugh.

"Aiight, let's go," Alex said. "It's me, Little Tuck and you against Ben, Jazmin and Really Old Guy."

"Alex Karev!" Miranda said turning to face him. "I'm sure that he has a name."

"I do," the guy spoke up. "It's Roger, but Old Guy works."

"Oh okay," she said making a face. She looked at Ben, but he was looking elsewhere. "Alex who do you want to defend?" Alex pointed to Old Guy. Tuck was already lined up in front of Jazmin. That left her to defend Ben. What fun.

The game started. Miranda didn't try to do too much or need to. Alex kept knocking down three-pointers. When Jazmin finally yelled for Old Guy to play tough defense, Tucker was going around her for a floater. Miranda had only taken one shot, she missed, and touched the ball two other times. "You're not really playing, are you?" Ben asked her as she caught the ball.

"I don't have to. My team's scorching yours." She passed the ball to her son cutting to the basket who passed it to Alex who cut right behind for an easy slam.

She touched the ball up with him. "Well, let me see what you got," Ben said squinting at her. Her heart started to flutter. He tipped the ball from her grasp, but she recovered it before he could. He thought he was slick and she told him so. He nodded and smiled. She dished to Alex who passed right back to her. She dribbled with her back to the basket and to Ben who was bumping up against her. Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding again. She slowed those organs by reminding them that he was only playing defense.

"What's the score?" Miranda asked him as she continued to dribble.

"8 to 13. You guys need a three-pointer or two more baskets to win," he said softly, but in a deep voice nearly whispering into her ear.

She looked down and saw that she was just outside of the three-point line. She turned around and faced the basket, still dribbling. Ben was hovering over her now, she wouldn't be able to get a shot off, but she could force him to foul her or the ball would get knocked out of bounds and her team would get the ball back. She tried that tactic. Miranda went up for a shot and like she predicted, the taller Ben blocked the shot and the ball flew out of bounds. "Thanks," she told him as she took the ball out.

"You're so sneaky," he said to her smiling. It had seemed like forever since she'd seen his smile. Miranda inbounded the ball to Tuck. He dribbled behind his back and Jazmin reached around him and stole the ball. "I thought your dad told you about that behind the back stuff, LT?"

Miranda defended Ben closely. She touched him periodically to remind him that she was still there. She enjoyed feeling on his muscles. But she had to stay focused. Jazmin tried to go to the basket but she was stopped by Tuck and Alex. She dished the ball to Ben. Being a bit quicker, he could go around Miranda. Being taller, he could jump and shoot over her. As he dribbled, she reached for the ball and accidentally hit his chest. Firm. That's what she thought of. She backed off of him and hoped that he'd attack the basket. She backed off of him and Little Tuck left Jazmin to tip the ball from behind Ben and into the hands of Miranda who stepped behind the three-point line and over the outstretched hand of Ben, she sank the game-winning shot. Before she came down, Ben bumped her a little and she stumbled. Alex and Little Tuck exploded. They high-fived her and trash talked the other team, laughing and gloating. Sore winners. That's what her father, William, would call them. "Good game," Ben said with his hand still up. He probably couldn't believe it. Neither could she. She definitely expected the ball to get knocked back into her face or out of bounds. They shook hands.

"Thanks," she said dragging the word out.

"You're welcome. I think Alex should consider putting you on our team. I wouldn't mind," he said clearing his throat. They strolled to the bleachers. Miranda sat down gingerly and knew that she was going to be so sore later on. She didn't know how she would be able to have sex with Eli feeling like this. Maybe he'd give her a massage. She would definitely like that.

"I don't think so, but I w-w-wouldn't mind coming to see you guys play, though." Ben just nodded and finished drinking the rest of his water. "So you're friends with Tucker?"

"Yeah, for a few years now. It was nice playing with you today," Ben said looking at the court and she did the same. She didn't want another incident like earlier. She saw Tuck running away and being goofy, making Jazmin laugh. Miranda would have to drag him off of the court and away from her. "Jaz, you're ready?" Ben said talking to the teenager. She nodded.

"I didn't know you two came together," Miranda said raising her eyebrows in a slight shock.

"Jazmin is my niece. Jazmin! Come here!" He called to her. She ran over to them with Tuck in tow. Alex saw the gathering and walked towards them as well. "Jazmin, this is Dr. Miranda Bailey. Dr. Bailey, this is my niece, Jazmin Washington, freshmen starting point guard for the Essex Lady Panthers basketball team." Jazmin blushed when he said that. Miranda shook hands with the girl.

"That is really cool," Miranda said looking up somewhat at Jazmin who was taller by an inch. "Congratulations." Miranda looked at Ben's face and saw how proud he was of his niece. This warmed her heart.

"Alright, Ben, I'm out of here," Alex said and slapped him five. "Miranda," Alex said finally calling her by her first name. He waved to everyone else and walked away.

"Tuck, go and get your ball and my water and head on over to the car," she told her son.

"Yeah, Benji, let's go. I'm hungry," Jazmin said and she Tuck raced to the car. Once again it was just Miranda and Ben. Miranda looked around to make sure that her crew hadn't left trash. Civil responsibilities, everyone had them. All of the water bottles were gone. She turned back around.

"So, uh, um, w-what are you two up to for the rest of the day?" Miranda asked and she wished she could slap her own forehead. One would assume that after spending a couple of hours around a guy that they could relax enough to speak coherent sentences. Clearly not.

"Welp, my girl's hungry, so food is where we're going next. Where are you and LT headed?" He asked and he bumped into her. "My bad. I can't even walk in a straight line." They laughed.

"We'll probably get some food, too," Miranda said as they reached her car. Ben nodded.

"Do you wanna…," his voice trailed off and he looked over at Jazmin and Tuck running in and out of the parked cars. "Never mind, Jaz, let's go. Bye, LT. See you later, Miranda." She must have imagined the wink that was accompanied with his wave.

"Benji, can they come with us to our spot?" Jazmin asked. "I like hanging with LT. And you and Tucker always said that we'd all do something, but we never do." She said that last part looking right at Miranda. Miranda wondered if this 13-year old girl knew something she didn't. Or knew something she probably shouldn't.

"Please, mommy!" Tuck said jumping into the conversation. "Ben, please!" Tuck ran and stood next to Ben who did something she and Tucker tried not to do when their something: look into his eyes.

Ben was the latest victim. "I'm cool with it, Miranda. If you guys aren't busy, we'd love for you to join us."

Everyone was looking at her. She avoided looking into Tuck's eyes. She sighed deeply, "Sure, yeah, I guess." She smiled in Ben's direction, but he wasn't looking at her. Something was off. He wasn't smiling at her. He wasn't looking at her. He didn't engage her in conversation. There was no friendly banter or gentle ribbing. Something was off with their newfound friendship.

Newfound. While Miranda followed Ben to their "spot," it seemed like a million things were going through her mind. She wondered how she had missed him!? How did she not notice him during surgery? Maybe because his head was always in his crossword puzzle. That much she knew. He was always working on a crossword puzzle. But he would have had to have look up at some point, so how did she miss those brown eyes? The ones that gave her goose bumps when he looked at her, like she could read her mind, body and soul. "Mommy, unlock the door please," her son asked hurriedly. She unlocked the door and he scurried out. Miranda took her time. She checked her face in the mirror and applied a layer of lipstick, but she wiped it off when she realized that it would be weird if she was suddenly wearing lipstick. She got out of the car and her phone rang. It was Richard.

"Hi, Chief," she said brightly, leaning against her car. She rubbed off a brown spot on her car.

"Are we still on for tonight? Adele always felt that it was polite to confirm dinner plans or reservations."

"Yes, sir, we are," she told him.

"Should I bring anything? Desert or… wine?" He asked. Miranda paused. As a recovering alcoholic, he was not supposed to have any alcohol.

"Sir," she started, but he cut her off.

"Bailey. Miranda. I'm kidding. Just kidding. It's an old joke. Look, I'll bring a pie or cake," he said laughing loudly. He sounded just like her father.

"Oh, Chief, don't do that to me. I was about to flip out. You know I worry about you." She said that last part softly.

"I am a grown man. I have been grown for a long time, Bailey." He took a deep breath. "But thank you. Adele would be glad to know that I have someone to make sure that I'm okay and all of that." Miranda nodded her head. "And she'd be really happy to know that it's you."

"Thanks, Richard," Miranda said. "See you at 6:30. Sharp," she said popping the "p" of the last word. Miranda disconnected the call, looked up and saw Ben standing at the top of the stairs to led to the entrance of the restaurant. Rogelio's. That was the name of the restaurant. He was staring at her with his arms folded across his chest and he was smirking at her. "What?" She asked feigning annoyance. She smiled to emphasize that she was only joking.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. We're all waiting for you. And you're on the phone with the Chief of Surgery," Ben said unfolding his arms and putting them on his hips.

"Okay. Here I come. Wait, how did you know that it was the Chief on the phone? How long have you been standing there? Were you invading my privacy?" She asked her questions quickly and now she was really annoyed. He started to speak, but she cut him off. "Is that the kind of person you are? An eavesdropper?"

Ben held up his hand. "Slow down, Miranda. I saw Tuck come in and when you didn't come in after a few minutes, I came out to look for you. I saw that you were on the phone and so I waited, patiently. I heard you say "Richard" so I assumed that you were talking to The Chief. I know that you two are kinda close," Ben said. Miranda's gazed softened.

"Oh. Okay. Where's Tuck?"

"They're at the playpen in the back. You know he tried to convince us that he didn't really want to go." Ben smiled and walked down the stairs to towards her. "But, when Jaz said that she wanted to go, he was all-in. It was cute." He was beside Miranda now, leaning against her car.

"Yeah, I think… I think he likes her, but he's too young for her, rather she's too old for him," Miranda said taking her hair out of the ponytail. She was sure that it looked a mess. Ben watched her. "Well, I am officially hungry now. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am," he said and gestured for her to walk first and he followed behind. She sat in the booth across from Ben, with her back to the door. She didn't often sit with her back to the door for security reasons, but she felt safe enough with Ben. They ordered and watched as her son and his niece came back from the playroom, sweaty and breathless.

Finally they were all seated. They ordered and ate. The four of them talked and laughed, like they were all old friends. Well, three of them were. Miranda was just joining in on the fun. And deep down inside she was glad to. When they were finished, Jaz and Tuck ran back to the playroom. Miranda sat on her hands, for some reason, they were a little cold. Maybe they were near an air vent. Ben locked his hands and put them under this chin. Miranda noticed that he'd put on a jacket. She guessed that he knew that it got chilly. She wished that she had known. They didn't speak for a while. The waiter came back and refilled their water glasses. She asked if they wanted desert. They politely declined. She walked past again and dropped off the bill, clearing the rest of the table off. When she was gone, Miranda reached for the bill. Ben reached as well and playfully slapped her hand away. Miranda smiled and rolled her eyes. "I got it, Dr. Bailey," Ben said and winked at her.

"That is really nice of you. Thank you, Dr. Warren," she said and she felt a giggle arise in her throat. She stopped it by taking a sip of her water. He pulled out his card, slid out of the booth and walked to the register. Miranda pulled out her phone and found herself on Facebook. She scrolled up and down her timeline. She didn't often have downtime, so she didn't often have time to use social media. There was a time when she'd convinced The Chief to use Twitter to help med students across the world, but she'd passed that job off to an intern. Someone sat down next to her, brushing her gently. Miranda didn't have to turn her head to know that it was Ben. She could smell him. Her heart started racing. The seats now seemed a lot smaller with two grown people sitting on them. Ben put an arm on the back of the booth behind Miranda. She stared straight ahead. "This is a nice restaurant."

"Yeah, Jazmin loves coming here; has loved coming here since she was about Ben's age."

"You two seem really close. Is Jazmin your brother or your sister's child?"

"We are. She's a great friend. And she's my sister's child. Angela. Angela's 11 years older than I am. I also have a younger brother, by 4 years, Curtis. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child."

"That explains a lot," Ben said and Miranda could see him smirking out of the corner of her eye.

Her mouth dropped open as she pretended to be hurt. She smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"I see you're trying not to make eye contact," Ben said.

"You are sitting awfully close," she said under her breath.

"Well, it is the seat closest to the register," he replied turning to her. She could feel his breath on her neck.

His statement threw her off. "I hope you don't think that because you did something nice and gentlemanly that I owe you something… or something. Because I don't. Owe you a damn thing," Miranda retorted, leaning as far away from him as she could. And it didn't seem far enough. She was shocked. He definitely didn't seem like the type to make inappropriate advances. Shocked. Her heart was still pounding not because of her feelings or the feelings that she'd felt earlier when he smiled at her or touched her slightly or when he put his arm behind her, not really touching her, but the possibility of him touching her was there. And that was exciting enough. What was she talking about? She was in a relationship. A relationship with Eli. He made her very happy. He was there for her, but here she was thinking about another man, letting him piss her off. "Excuse me," she said suddenly and motioned for him to move so that she could get out. He didn't budge.

"Miranda. I wasn't implying that you owed me anything. I know you don't. And even if you did, your company is payment enough. Listen, I'm not like that. I'm surprised that you think I am. Have I shown any hints or, or, or any intimations that I'm a guy who would do something like that?" Ben's face started to flush. He was getting angry. "I'll answer for you. No, I haven't." He slid out of the booth and went back to his original seat. They didn't speak for a long while.

"Ben, I'm sorry. I just jumped to conclusions and for that I apologize. No, you do not come off as that kind of guy. You seem like a really nice guy. All of the signs point to you being a nice guy. I'm … sorry," she whispered as the kids came back to the table. "Tuck, you're ready? We have to go. Say goodbye to Jazmin and Ben." She got out of the booth as Tuck said his goodbyes. She waved and smiled to Jazmin and looked at Ben. There was a smile on his face, but Miranda knew that smile; it was a fake. A smile just for show. It was for Tuck and Jazmin so they wouldn't suspect anything.

She and Tuck left Rogelio's. She drove home, talking about the day. "Can we go to the zoo?" Tuck asked and it nearly broke her heart to say no, but she had to.

"Some other time. Right now, you're going to go to your godmother's house, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Can I take my XBox?"

"Of course. Of course. You don't like playing their Wii?

"Sometimes," he said absentmindedly. Miranda stopped talking. She knew when her son got pensive like this that he was waiting for the right time to ask a question that was, seemingly, beyond the thoughts of a seven year old. She awaited his question. She remembered early in the year, in January, she remembered because the Seattle snow can be very harsh. They were driving when he asked her about kissing a girl in his class. Good thing she was sitting at a red light or she may have slammed on the brakes. She'd taken a deep breath and composed herself. She waited a minute before she answered him. Then she'd gone into a speech about respect for him and others, especially the opposite sex. Miranda talked the entire way home. She hoped that he understood what she was trying to say. So she waited because she knew that it was coming. "Mom, do you like Ben?" He asked her. She thanked God for Jesus because she'd just pulled up to a red light.

"Yes, of course I do or we would not have gone to lunch with him."

"I mean like do you really like him? Because Jazmin said that you two like each other," he said looking into the mirror trying to catch her eye. Her eyes avoided his. She felt that he'd see right through her. Did she like-like him? Hey Arnold! She remembered that show. Her younger cousins used to watch it. And clearly there was a difference between liking someone and like-liking them. She didn't know how she felt about Ben, but she loved Eli.

"Now, I know that you know that I am dating Eli. I love him," Miranda told her son.

"Okay," he said, finalized the conversation. She glanced up quickly and saw him looking out of the window. She exhaled and continued driving until they got home.