A Good Man is Hard to Find

Eli's truck was in the driveway and he was sitting in the front seat. Miranda turned around and saw that her son was asleep and slumped in his booster seat. His head was in the palm of his hand. Occasionally, it slipped off of the side of the seat, stirring him a little. When he slept, he looked just like his father. Tucker used to come home and fall asleep in his car, his elbow on the console in the middle of the front seats, the exact position that their son was in. She got out of the car and walked over to Eli's truck. His head was back against the headrest. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open. Miranda knocked on the window and his head lurched forward. "Oww, shit," Eli said and she laughed. He turned on his truck and rolled down the window. "You scared me," he said sticking his head out of the window. He kissed her cheek. "Hey, Dr. Bailey." She blushed.

"Hello, Nurse Eli," she said as he opened the door and climbed down. He pulled her arms up and put them around his neck and he slid his arms around her waist. She was comfortable. Tuck had awoken and was walking towards them.

"Hey, Tuck," Eli said cheerfully and Miranda tried to pull away, but Eli kept her in his grip. "Did you guys have fun at the park?"

"Hi, Eli," Tuck said waving. "Yeah, we did! We had a lot of fun!" He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Mommy, can I go and take a nap?" He said looking at his mother.

She shook her head and held out her house keys. "Go and get some pajamas and a change of clothes, pack up your game and get ready to go." He shrugged his shoulders a couple of times, took the keys and let himself into the house, closing the door behind him. Miranda focused her attention on Eli. When she looked at him, he was already looking at her. "Long day?" She asked stroking his head.

"No. Long night. Can you imagine that I spent all night waiting up for a woman who waited until I was asleep to show up?" Miranda giggled.

"Why didn't you go inside?" She asked curiously. She'd had a key made for him a month ago, not because he was moving in and not to come and go as he saw fit, but for situations like this. He didn't need to be outside snoring and carrying on if he could be inside and sleep on her bed. Miranda shook her head as his shoulders shrugged. "I didn't have that key made for noth—" She didn't finish her sentence because Eli was kissing her and passionately. Miranda was sure that he sensed that tonight they would have sex after a week or so. Remembering that fact, she kissed him back with as much passionately. She cupped her hands on his face as his hands roamed under her shirt, touching her bare skin.

"Your shirt's a little wet," Eli said when they pulled away to catch their breaths.

"That's what playing basketball will do for you."

"You guys were at the park a long time," he commented with his hands still on her back.

"Well, we played a few games. Then, we went to lunch with a few friends," she said choosing not to mention Ben and their newfound friendship.

"Oh yeah, who'd you go to lunch with?" He asked looking down into her eyes. She reached up and stroked the hair on his chin.

"A girl that Tuck likes who is too old for him. I'll have to have Tucker talk to him about that. And her uncle. He's a friend of Tucker's and, I suppose, Tuck's, too. And, actually, an Anesthesiologist at the hospital. His name is…"

"Don't say…"

"Ben Warren," they said together. Miranda felt his grip loosen considerably, but he didn't drop his hands.

"You know Ben," she said.

"Yeah, I know him," he said kissing her cheek.

Miranda wanted to know more. "How? Why didn't you want it to be him? Did something happen? I mean, obviously something happened. But what?" She spat her questions out.

"There was a situation about a year ago. Maybe a year and a half He was an Attending Anesthesiologist when I first started my intern year in Anesthesiology."

"Wait, you were in Anesthesiology? I did not know that."

"Yeah, I was. I liked it. It… it was okay."

"So back to the story," Miranda said standing on her tiptoes and kissing her boyfriend.

"I was in OR and the patient started coding, she, the patient was tachycardic, his heart rate was through the roof. Ben called for ice, lots of ice."

"Malignant hyperthermia?"

"Right!" Eli said snapping his fingers behind her. "And I was flailing. I mean, I started sweating and couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Apparently, she was allergic to the anesthetic. No one knew obviously, but Ben didn't step in until the last possible second."

Miranda nodded. "Sometimes we do that to teach our interns a lesson." Eli lowered his eyes. "But, uh, what happened next?"

"Well, the patient was fine and everything and I went back to monitoring their stats and everything. When we got into the hallway, he basically ripped me a new one. He was yelling and I don't know, babe, I can usually take a bellowing, but I snapped. I was probably angrier at myself, but I yelled back at him. After that, I stayed as far away from the OR as an intern. A couple of months later another Attending talked to me about what I was really trying to do in Anesthesiology and I admitted that it just wasn't for me. She agreed and I went back to being a nurse. A job that I love. That I've been doing for over a decade. I enjoy it." Miranda looked into his eyes.

"Eli, I'm glad that you trust me with that. And I'm sorry that you felt panic, but I'm happy that you're doing something that you love. And I love you," she said.

"Thanks. I love you, too, Miranda," Eli said pulling her closer to him. "But we should get that food started. The Chief will be here in about an hour."

"Oh, right," she said and she pulled away from him and he followed her into the house. While Eli started the food, Miranda dropped Tuck off at Callie's house. She raced back to her house to get dressed. She walked in the kitchen to check on the progress just as Eli was pouring three glasses of wine. "No!" She yelled throwing her hands up. His face was a ball of confusion. "I mean, no. We can't drink wine tonight. Uh, Richard is a recovering alcoholic. I meant to tell you that," she said going to the glasses and pouring them back into the bottle.

"Oh, shoot. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Can I have mine's now?" Miranda nodded. "I need to take the edge of the day off." He started to pour the wine back into a glass.

"Of course, that's fine, but be quick with it. I'm going to get dressed."

"Gotcha."

Miranda really should have picked out her outfit earlier, but she didn't. She should have warned Eli about Richard, she didn't do that either. What she should not have done was tell Eli about meeting Ben. Although he wasn't upset, but peeved to have to tell the story of his shortcoming. Miranda took off her clothes and jumped in the shower. She put on a silky blue shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She put on some dark blue heels and when she finally came out of her room, she found The Chief and Eli sitting in the living room. There was a basketball game on and they were both watching it or pretending to watch. "Hi, Chief," she asked and he and Eli stood up. "How are you?" She asked and she gave him a hug. Eli smiled.

"I'm good, Miranda. How are you?"

"Good. Good. I'm glad you stopped by. What desert did you bring?"

"I bought a couple of options. I didn't know what you two liked. Where is the little guy?" He asked smiling widely.

"Eli didn't tell you? He's at Callie's house. She's his—"

"Godmother. Right, I remember," Richard said sitting back down. "Well, next time." Miranda looked over at Eli and saw that in his hand was a wine glass. Miranda closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She wasn't going to flip out… not yet anyway. She wasn't going to yell. Richard followed her gaze. "It's okay, Miranda. Really."

Eli said: "Damn, babe, my bad. Richard, sir, Chief, I apologize. Miranda reminded me earlier, but I forgot." His eyes darted back and forth between his girlfriend and the guest. "I'll. Just go and. Check the chicken." Miranda was right behind him. He could feel her on his heels. "I know. I know. Miranda, I know. I'm sorry, okay?" Eli said jerking off the lid of a pan and slamming it on the counter. She'd never seen him this upset. It was actually turning her on.

"First of all, how do I look?" She asked trying to calm him down and also to not to give her the chance to blow up.

"You look amazing," he said taking one long step to her and giving her a quick and soft kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. But, really, Eli?" She said as she started to dump two bags of salad into a big bowl. She was going to douse it with salad dressing, but she didn't know what kind dressing Richard liked or, for that matter, Eli's favorite. She picked up the bowl and the Caesar and started for the dining room. "No wonder he doesn't like you," she said with a loud laugh. Miranda put the items on the dining room table. She was so happy that Eli had set up the table with the silverware and napkins. She went around to the living room where Richard was. He was on the phone. He caught her eye and put one finger up to signal that he'd be with her soon. She slowly back up while staying in listening distance to Richard's side of the conversation.

"Yes, Adele. I'm at dinner. With Bailey and her boyfriend. Yes, the nurse. He's okay, though. I'm fine, honey. Okay, okay, I won't call you that. But for your information, you will always be my honey. Always," he said and she could hear him smiling and Miranda went back into the kitchen.

"So The Chief isn't ready yet," she said to Eli. He nodded as she sat down in a chair. Eli came up behind her and started to gently massage her shoulders. She closed her eyes as he moved to her back. The tension started to leave her body. As Eli massaged Miranda's next, she moaned slightly. And he kissed her ear, then her neck. She was feeling really good when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up and into the eyes of her mentor. She was horrified. "Dinner's ready," she said jumping out of the chair. "Okay, um, you two go into the dining room and start on the salad and I'll bring in food." They walked out of the kitchen, Eli, no doubt just as embarrassed. She felt bad that she was sending him in there all by himself, but she had to get the flush out of her face before she'd be able to face her boss again.

Miranda transferred the chicken parm from the pan and into a dish. She stacked the garlic toast on a serving plate that was one of the first gifts that she and Tuck had gotten. She put the string beans into another bowl. She also pulled a carton of juice out of the refrigerator. Then, she rinsed out a pitcher and poured the juice into the pitcher. She glanced around and realized that she'd need help. "—And if I know Bailey, she needs our… help," Richard said coming into the kitchen with Eli right behind him. Richard laughed when he saw Miranda trying to pick up every item at the same time. "Don't drop that parm," he said in his chiefly voice. Miranda's eyes widened. He laughed again. The three of them moved the food into the dining room and started dinner. "Eli, this looks and smells really good."

"Thanks, Ch—Richard," Eli said looking over his girlfriend. She winked at him. "Do you want to say prayer?" Eli said gesturing to their boss.

"Sure thing. Bow your heads," Richard said and he started the prayer. When he was finished, they started to eat. "Miranda, you're right, Eli is a good cook." She nodded.

"Thanks, Richard," Eli said. They all made small talk, eating and laughing occasionally. Miranda got up and fixed three plates of warm apple pie and vanilla ice cream. "I'm pretty sure this store-bought, Richard, but this is actually pretty good."

"Well, the ice cream definitely is store-bought, but I baked the pie last night. It's a hobby of mine," Richard replied finishing the last of his ice cream.

"That is great. It tastes really delicious," Eli commented. "Thanks for sharing with us." Eli reached to his right and grabbed Miranda's hand. She blushed.

"Richard, this pie is great," Miranda said as she finished her pie.

"Thanks, you two."

"No problem. Does anyone want anymore?" Miranda asked and she stood up and started to collect the plates.

"I'll help you," Eli said and he started to stand up.

"I got it," Miranda assured him. "You cooked. You and Richard go back into the living room. I'll make some coffee."

"Cool," Eli said and they walked through the doorway that connected the living room to the dining room.

Miranda fixed the coffee while putting the dishes in the sink. She would wash them later. She joined her boss and her boyfriend for coffee. After everything was said and done, she walked The Chief out to his car. "Thanks for this, Miranda. It was a little awkward at first. With just me and Eli, but it turned out pretty well."

"I'd say so," she started. "You can bake!"

"Yep, Adele says… she said that that's the only thing I'm really allowed to do in the kitchen." He chuckled. "I miss her."

Miranda lowered her eyes. Richard didn't often confess things to her that weren't of the hospital, but she always appreciated when he did. "I know, sir," she said looking into his eyes.

"It was fun getting out of the house, so I'm glad you forced me to come."

"I didn't and you're welcome. Anytime. Seriously."

"And, uh," he cleared his throat. "Eli's not bad. He's not bad at all. You could do worse." With that he opened his car door, started the engine and pulled away.

She watched him drive down the street and pull up to a stop sign. She watched as he turned and watched until she could no longer see his car. She was still standing there. What was it about Eli that made Richard feel indifferent? It bugged her. Not bad at all. That's what he had to say about her boyfriend of seven months? It just really bugged her that he didn't or couldn't tell her why he felt the way he felt. She wondered if she held back in her relationship with Eli because of what Richard said about him. She was even anxious of the day when her parents would meet him. And what if they got the same impression that her boss got. It was often heavy on her heart. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

She was starting to feel a chill courtesy of the spring night air. Suddenly, she was enveloped in arms. Eli's arms. The soreness in her body was slowly fading. They looked up and watch the stars with Eli kissing her ear and whispering to her about how beautiful and amazing she was. She knew she was loved. Wordlessly, Eli guided her into the house, locking the door behind them. He then steered them up the stairs and into her bedroom. They were facing each other now. Eli leaned down to kiss her. Miranda accepted the kiss and put her hand on his chest. "It's been so long," he said after a while. She could only nod. She stuck her tongue deeper instead of his mouth. He did the same to her. "Okay, enough with the entrée, I'm ready for desert," Eli said grabbing her butt. They walked over to the bed and she lie down. He followed her. He slipped off her shirt and he struggled to unbutton his own. She laughed and helped him out of it. He leaned down to kiss her mouth and her neck. He kissed the tops of both of her breasts and she moaned. He cupped her butt making her squeal. He loved pleasing her. Miranda ran her fingers over his back, lightly scratching him. They were in for a long, well-deserved and intimate night.

Lying in his arms, Miranda was suddenly hungry for more pie. She also realized that her phone needed charging. They'd heard when the battery got low and then when it shut down, they laughed. Eli had to slow down before going back to business. Her charger was in the dining room. "You want pie?"

"Naw, but hurry back," he replied and slapped her butt as she slid out of the bed, picking up her phone. She could feel his eyes on her backside as she grabbed her robe. Miranda giggled. In the kitchen, he plugged up her phone before she pulled out the ice cream and The Chief's pie. When her phone came back on, she realized that she had a text from Callie telling her that Little Tuck was okay. Callie knew that Miranda liked at least one update a night. There was also a call from a number that she didn't recognize and it wasn't saved into her phone. That same number had left a voice message. She sat down and listened to it. It was Ben. Ben. She scrunched up her face. She was so surprised. How'd he get her number? It wouldn't have been hard; he could have looked it up in the hospital directory. He'd call around the time that Richard was leaving. She hadn't heard the call because she was outside at the time. That was a couple of hours ago. She didn't know if she should call him back or wait until he tried to contact her again. Miranda stored the number in her phone and ate a piece of pie and followed it with a spoonful of ice cream. It was so good. She put the plate, spoon and knife into the sink and thought about washing the dishes. Usually she'd wait until the morning, but she didn't want to wake up and have those dishes looking at her. She was reluctant, but she started washing them anyway.

Miranda put on some soft music while she worked. It was the kind of music that she imagined in her head while she performed surgery. Halfway through her job, Eli sauntered out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body into is. "That was great, baby," he said.

"It was, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, you were great."

"I was. I was," she said bumping his body with her butt. She heard him moan and relished in the fact that she turned him on. "I missed that." She smiled as she put another dish on the drying rack.

Eli was barefoot and shirtless and had since put his boxers back on. "When you were gone, I realized that I did want some more pie. It was pretty good. I'm still shocked that Richard made it."

"You know I can bring it to you… in bed," Miranda said turning around a little to see her phone lighting up and vibrating. Ben was calling. Quickly she dried her hands and picked up the phone, ignoring the fiery look that Eli was giving her. "Hey!" She said hoping that she didn't sound too eager.

"Hey, Miranda," Ben said. There was something in his voice that worried her.

"Is… everything okay?" She asked.

"No, uh, actually, I got a call from Angela. Jazmin is gone. I—I dropped her off at, at, at home and sometime between then and a couple of hours ago, she's gone."

"What?! Okay, what about her father or friends or Curtis?

"Curt is out of town. She knows where the spare key is, maybe she's there?" He said talking mostly to himself. "No, he lives a couple of hours away. And her dad appears every once in a while. There's no real contact information on his end. And Ange has called her friend's parents and looked on FB and all of that."

"What about the park, Ben? Did you check the park? Her school?" Miranda asked

"The park! I can't believe I didn't even think about that. Thanks, Miranda," Ben said excitedly and there was a long pause and Miranda thought that he'd hung up. She looked at her phone and saw that the call was still connected. When he spoke again, his voice warmed her ear: "Ugh! She knows she can talk to me. Don't tell Tuck. Please."

"I won't. I promise," she said smiling for the first time. She imagined him smiling as well. Miranda looked up to see how her boyfriend was looking at her, but he was no longer there.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Ben said interrupting the anger that was starting to swell at the absence of her boyfriend.

"It's no problem. I was just washing the dishes."

"Sounds… enticing."

"Yeah, there's something so comforting about scraping food off of a plate," she said sarcastically.

"My thoughts exactly," Ben answered and they shared a laugh. Miranda stood up and cut Eli a piece of pie. She warmed it up while she talked to Ben and put a couple of scoops of ice cream along side of it.

"Where are you?" Miranda asked.

"I just sped through the town. And now I'm at the park right now. I don't… I don't see –Wait! There she is! I see her, Miranda!" Thank God, Miranda thought and she could hear Ben calling Jazmin and cursing excitedly. She smiled. She was glad that Ben had found his niece. Ben still hadn't reignited the conversation, she heard him talking to Jazmin. Miranda also noticed that Eli's ice cream was melting. So she walked to her room and took him his plate. He was pretending to be asleep. She put the call on mute.

"I know you're not asleep, Mr. Lloyd," Miranda said putting the plate on the nightstand closest to him.

"No, I'm not," he said opening his eyes and taking a peek at the plate. He sat up and reached over and put it into his lap. He was still shirtless and he looked so good.

"Miranda? Mirandaaa? Dr. Bailey? Is she still on the phone?" Ben's voice rang in her ear.

"Yeah?" She answered before she took the call off of "mute". "My bad, I had you on 'mute'."

"That's okay. Can I call you later on? Obviously, I want to give you the details and I might need someone to vent to if you don't mind. I'm sorry for calling you so late, but I didn't know who else to call."

"That's fine," she said as she slid into the bed beside her boyfriend who was still frowning even while eating his ice cream.

"Okay, thanks, Miranda. I'll talk to you later," he said softly and disconnected the call before she could answer.

"Eli, I know you're not sitting there pouting like a five year old child."

"You've been talking to him for half an hour," Eli said.

She wondered if she should tell him about what happened to Ben's niece. She decided against it. She didn't want to hear his mouth. "And?"

"And," he started. "We just had sex , Miranda and you should be talking to me, but you're not. You're talking to some other guy and not just some other guy… a guy I don't even like."

"You're the one with the attitude and I can't just talk to people you like, Eli!" Miranda said, her voice rising suddenly. "Ben is my… friend."

"Your friend? We've been together seven months and his name has NEVER come up, but in the last 24 hours, you're on the phone with him, talking about him, ignoring me."

She took a deep breath. "I'm not ignoring you. He had a situation and needed my help. And I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, Eli."

"You're right, Miranda. You're right. I'm sorry, baby," he said moving across the bed to his girlfriend. "I'm sorry. My bad." He took her hand and kissed it. His eyes found hers. She wasn't budging.

She pulled her hand away and waved him off. She turned her back on him and went to sleep. When she woke up, he wasn't there. Before she got out of bed, Miranda said a quick prayer. Thanking God for everything she had and would have. Then, she checked her driveway, his truck was gone. There was no note and when she checked her phone, there was no message. Miranda knew that Callie would drop Tuck off at the daycare, so she didn't have to rush this morning. She turned on her radio and blasted the music. Something she didn't often get a chance to do. She moved her body to the music; she shook her hips and twirled around in circles. She slowly pushed the fight with Eli to the back of her mind. "Ahem."

Miranda stared at Eli who was standing in her doorway. "Can you be helped?" She asked before turning on her heels and walking to the radio. She shut it off as Eli's arms made their way around her waist. She leaned her head back into his chest. He bent down to kiss her neck.

"I apologize for flying off the handle and jumping to conclusions," he whispered into her ear.

"Say more."

"But I don't like Ben and I feel like he's using you to get to me," Eli said kissing her shoulder.

She pushed away from him and walked away. "You know what, Eli? Of course you would think that Ben being my friend means he's coming at you. But Ben doesn't even know that we're dating. He thinks I'm available. He likes me," she said pointing to herself. "Or at least I think he does."

"Do you want him to?" Eli asked.

"You need to go and I need to get dressed. I should be walking out of the house already."

"Fine. I'll call you later?" He asked kissing her neck. She didn't answer. "I'll call you later? He asked again turning her around. She looked at him and rolled his eyes. Eli raised his hand to her face. His other hand smoothed down her hair. "I love you. And I'll call you later." Eli kissed her. She didn't give in. He kissed her deeper and soon she was passionately kissing him. "I'll call you."

"Okay, damn. Fine, Eli. You'll call me later. Now whether I answer is a different story." She kissed him one last time before walking away. "Lock my door when you leave." Eli nodded.