Something Special

While driving home, Miranda remembered that Ben was supposed to be coming over. She convinced Tuck to take a detour and get some pizza from their favorite pizzeria. They opted to take the pizza home and watch a movie instead of eating in the restaurant. While Tuck put in "The Lion King" (a movie he would only watch if someone else was watching with him), Ben called Miranda. She decided to ignore the call and focus on her night with her son. They settled into her bed as the movie started. "Don't get food on my bed, William George," Miranda warned her son. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, okay." She'd be changing her sheets in the morning. She loved the kid, but he definitely got his eating habits from his father. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the movie. She heard her phone vibrating and saw that was Ben was calling again. She figured that she should answer it in case there was an emergency. "Hello?" She whispered trying not to disturb the movie.

"Hey. Are you busy?" He asked.

"Tuck and I are watching a movie."

"Oh yeah? Which one?" She told him. "Damn. I love that movie. Why wasn't I invited?" Miranda scoffed as Ben chuckled.

"Because it's mother and son time," she told her friend as Simba and Nala escaped the Elephant Graveyard.

"My bad, Dr. Bailey. You shouldn't have answered the phone. You must have really wanted to speak to me." His voice in her ear was relaxing her.

Miranda rolled her eyes as her heart sputtered. "Didn't you notice that I ignored the first one?"

"I did, but I figured you'd hurt yourself jumping over the chair when you heard the phone ringing." Miranda laughed out loud. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" The goose bumps were back.

"Yes, I'm okay. But, uh," she lowered her voice. "I wish you'd come over and ease my pain. By the way, you were supposed to be coming over."

"Miranda. I know, I know. That's one of the reasons I'm calling. I can't come by tonight. I'll have to take a rain check."

She kind of wanted to see him, but she didn't tell him that. She just nodded and said: "Maybe next time." She hoped she sounded as cool as she meant to sound.

"Are you disappointed, Miranda?"

She decided to be truthful: "Yes, I am. A little." What was he doing that he couldn't stop by? It wasn't any of her business, but she was still curious.

"I'm on-call tonight."

"Ohh, okay," she told him. "Hold on. I'm getting a text." Miranda looked down at her phone and saw that she had a message from Ben. She sucked her teeth loudly causing Tuck to turn around. She made a face and looked at the screen and realized that the movie was Tuck's favorite part, Simba had just been found by Timon and Pumbaa. She blew him a kiss and he giggled and turned back to the movie, rewinding it a little.

The text message read: Im sorry I cant be there. I really wanted to spend time with you & LT. Reading the message, Miranda's heart melted. Instantly she forgave him. And she messaged him back: That's okay. It's kind of a good thing that we don't overwhelm Tuck with our friendlationship… I just made that up.

"Friendlationship, hunh?" Ben said. "I like that."

"I like… that you called," she told him.

Her phone was buzzing again: I know you like me. She sighed and texted him back: What gave you that idea?

"Because you've been on the phone with me even though you're supposed to be watching a movie with LT," Ben responded on the phone and she heard him laughing. The corners of her mouth turned up. His laugh was intoxicating. She started to chuckle.

Shit, she thought. "You're so right. So, I'm hanging up now."

"Can I keep texting you?" Ben asked. She imagined him holding his breath.

"Please?" She answered nodding as if he could see her.

"Sure thing. I'll text you until you fall asleep."

"How will I know that I'm asleep?"

"I'll know. because when you tell me that the movie is over and that LT is safely and comfortably in his bed, I'll call you. And we'll talk deep into the night until I'm called into surgery. Or… until you're softly snoring in my ear." She made a soft noise. "Something wrong?"

"No. I'll let you know. Bye." She disconnected the call and focused on the movie. Simba and Nala were returning to Pride Rock when Ben sent her another message. He was asking her what her favorite movie was. Miranda and Ben messaged back and forth for a long while. She fell asleep with her son at the end of bed.

Sometime during the night, Miranda woke up and realized that her son had moved himself to his room. She also realized that she'd fallen asleep while texting Ben and she checked her phone. The last message was from him: I really like talking to you and I hope you have a good nights sleep… I'll call you later. Good night Miranda. Miranda was touched. It was like falling asleep while talking on the phone back when she first started "talking" to Tuck. They used to talk on the phone for hours or just be on the phone with the other not saying anything. And then one of them would wake up and ask the other if they were still up, to which they would reply yeah no matter how deep into their sleep cycle they were in. She smiled remembering that time. Good times. Miranda decided not to text him back and she fell asleep with her phone on her stomach.

Something was hot under stomach and Miranda reached for her phone. It was super heated from her body covering it. She reminded herself to be careful about that, leaving the phone on the bed was dangerous. She silently thanked God that nothing bad had happened and got out of bed. She went across the hall and woke her son up. She kissed his head and gave him five minutes to get acquainted with the thought of getting out of bed before she called him to actually start his day.

After getting Tuck on the bus, Miranda exercised a little, got dressed and left for the hospital. She walked to the locker room and started to get changed. Miranda rounded with her residents and their interns. She scheduled two surgeries for the day which meant that the day was going to be very, very long. She called Tucker and arranged for him to pick up Tuck and to get him to school the next day. Everything seemed to be going her way.

After her first surgery, Miranda went into the Attending lounge. When she saw Alex talking to Callie, she had an urge to back out of the room slowly. "Hey, Dr. Bailey," Alex said waving at her.

"Karev," she uttered and sat down at the same table as them. "Torres."

"Maaaandy," Callie sang and she nudged her best friend. "How was surgery?"

"It was touch and go, but the patient is fine."

"Good. I'm on my way to surgery now. I'll see you guys," she said and left the room.

"You weren't at the park the other day," Miranda said getting up and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Yeah, I had a patient and then a surgery. I heard you guys were there."

"Who told you that?" Miranda asked while she grabbed a couple of granola bars. She offered one to Alex who declined.

"Ben. He texted me. He wanted to see if you might rethink joining the team. We could really use you. The season starts in a couple of weeks," Alex said putting his feet up on a chair. "Are you two like… a thing?"

"Why w-would you ask that?" She said looking down at the table. Miranda pulled the wrapper off one of the bars and took a bite.

"I'm just asking. I think the dude might like you," Karev said shrugging. He picked up his phone and started to play a loud game.

Miranda looked around. They were still alone. "What makes you think that?"

"Dr. Bailey, look, I know how you feel about personal stuff staying personal stuff, but I think everyone knows by now that you and Eli are no longer dating. And," he put his feet and phone down and leaned towards her. "I've seen you two together and there's real chemistry there. The kind of chemistry that Jo and I had before, well, you know, we started doing it." Miranda shook her head and smiled.

"Well, you guys didn't really start off as friends. Ben and I are… friends," Miranda said taking a sip of water.

"Jo and did," Alex said defensively. Miranda gave him a look. "Mostly." Alex had a sheepish look on his face.

"That's the only reason why you think he likes me?" Miranda asked scoffing at her former intern. But she was actually curious. Did he see something? Alex Karev didn't have a filter; he'd spill what he knew.

"Aaaand," he started dragging out the word. Alex put his feet back on the chair.

"I saw you two holding hands and kissing in the locker room." Miranda's mouth fell open. She made a noise. She opened her mouth to speak and he stopped her. "Relax. I'm not telling anyone, even Jo, until you two come out about it." The door to the lounge opened. The Chief walked in. Seeing him, Alex dropped his feet to the floor.

"Bailey, Karev," Richard said cheerfully. Alex and Miranda looked at each other and greeted him back. He grabbed a couple of granola bars and sat at the same table as them. He looked at them both. "Don't stop talking on my account."

"Of course, sir," Alex said.

"Right, Chief. We were just talking about um… we were just saying that…"

"Bailey's been holding hands and kissing Warren," Karev said. Miranda kicked him under the table. "Ow! What the hell!"

"Karev! That's not your business," Miranda told him.

"Like he doesn't know. Everyone knows you and The Chief are work husband and work wife," he said. Miranda and Richard looked at him confused. "Dr. Bailey, The Chief's your work husband and you're his work wife. You look out for each other and all that crap. There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, it's like me and Mer now that Yang's gone."

The Chief nodded. "That kind of makes…" His voice trailed off when he looked at his "work wife" and saw her face. "Well, it was nice talking to you two. I'm going to my office. Where no one's talking to me in there either." He grabbed his stuff and stood up.

Miranda didn't want to see him hurt and she wanted to continue the conversation that Alex had started. "Chief, wait. That is what we were talking about. Me and… Karev thinks that Dr. Warren likes me."

"He does," Richard said simply. Miranda scrunched up her face. She asked how he knew that. "I asked him." A noise escaped her mouth. "Yeah, when he called me to see if you were off on whatever day that was. And… he was one who told me about you in the supplies closet."

Miranda shook her head and mumbled: "Oh... my… God." She put her head in her hands. Did everyone know? When she didn't even too much know? Shoot! No privacy at Grey Sloan.

"Dr. Bailey, are you embarrassed? You shouldn't be," Alex asked her. She didn't answer, but cut her eyes at him. "I don't think everyone knows. I just know from playing with you two. That's obvious. Whatever. Yes or no. Are you going to be on the team?"

"If you don't spill the beans about what you may or may not know, I will think about it very, very positively," Miranda said through gritted teeth.

"Good," he said and his picked up his phone. Miranda watched as he sent a text message. "I just texted Ben." His phone beeped. "And… that's him. He said great," Alex said holding up his phone for them to say.

"Pager please go off," Miranda said quietly. The Chief giggled and told her that he didn't think it worked like that. She took it off of hip and shook it a few times. When she put it down on the table, she jumped when it did start vibrating loudly. "Ha!" She said pointing at her mentor. "I gotta go." Miranda threw way the wrappers of her granola bars and left the lounge and walked briskly to the room of her patient. "What do we have?" She asked the resident who was on her service.

"Yvette Peters. 33. Scheduled for an excision for her gastric ulcer," Murphy said.

Miranda smiled at the young woman lying in the bed. "Where's your husband?"

"The cafeteria," Yvette said with shortness of breath. "The weirdo loves cafeteria food."

Miranda chuckled. "Well, tell him don't get used to it, hunh? Alright, Mrs. Peters, Murphy here is going to prep you for your excision. And I'll see you up there. Murphy, Page me when you're ready," Miranda told the girl. Murphy was a White girl with dark brown hair. She was an intelligent girl, but she was very self-conscious.

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," Murphy said and Miranda left the room after giving the patient a reassuring look. Miranda walked down the hall and briefly thought about the surgery.

"Dr. Bailey!" Miranda turned around and hoped that the smile that she was feeling inside wasn't plastered on her face. It was Ben. He swaggered towards her. Good Lord, he looked so sexy. His dark blue Attending scrubs fit his body and complimented his brown skin perfectly. And he was wearing the generic light blue scrub cap. Miranda preferred her light indigo with the pastel-colored print, but the generic one looked good on him. Miranda stopped walking and allowed him to catch up with her.

"Dr. Warren, good afternoon," she said being polite.

"Good afternoon," he responded flashing a smile. "Walk with me?" He asked and gestured for her to continue walking in the same direction. "You fell asleep on me last night."

"I know. I'm sorry," she said smirking.

"I guess that was payback for me not coming over," he said as they found themselves in the stairwell.

"Or because I was tired." She looked up at him. He put his arms around her and her hands settled around his neck. "I liked talking to you, too," she said and he moved his head down to kiss her. It was a short kiss, but it was pleasant and definitely kept her wanting more. She stared at him. "When does your shift end?"

"It ended a while ago. I've just been in an on-call room sleeping and waiting to see you." He grinned at her. Was he lying or was he serious? She couldn't tell and her face showed that sentiment. "I'm serious. I wanted to see. I told you that last night. So I… waited? Do I sound creepy?"

"Just a little bit," she told him.

"Sorry about the creepiness. I'm just a little tired."

"That's alright. I can appreciate that you can't get enough of me," she told him softly and she gazed at him.

"I definitely can't," Ben growled and he crashed his lips into Miranda's, kissing her hard. Miranda kissed him back just as hard. They pulled apart and stared at each other hungrily.

"I should go," Miranda said slowly and she turned to leave, but Ben held onto her. He leaned down to kiss her. It was so soft that she almost didn't feel it. She brought her fingers to her lips, just as she was being paged. "Now, I really have to go."

Ben kissed her cheek. Miranda looked at her pager and saw that it was time for the first surgery. "I'll call you tonight," he said and he watched as she walked up the stairs. "I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave." Miranda smiled and shook her head.

She walked into the OR and made sure everyone was ready before she began. "Alright, let's get started."

"Very nice work, Dr. Bailey," Murphy said after the excision was made.

"Would you like to finish up?"

"I would be happy to," she gushed and she moved so that could take over.

"Samantha, take over the retraction for Murphy while she finishes the procedure." Samantha nodded. "Very nice," Miranda said after the resident finished. "Great job."

The patient was moved back to her room. Miranda and Murphy signed some charts and they went down to Mrs. Peters room and talked to her husband. Miranda explained that everything had gone well and that Murphy would watch Yvette's stats overnight, she was on call. Miranda nodded and left the room with Leah Murphy right on her heels. "Thank you for the opportunity today, Dr. Bailey. It always feels like I never have enough time in the OR."

"I remember that feeling," Miranda told her. They walked to the Nurse's Station where Murphy dropped of the chart and she walked off, probably in search of another case or to the pit. Miranda definitely remembered being young and being hungry for surgery. And cutting was the only thing that could sooth her, that could appease her. She was glad that The Chief was her mentor and he helped her confidence and skill grow. She tried to be the same way with every intern and resident that she comes into contact with.

Even though she was felt tired at the end of every day, Miranda managed to get through the week. She was excited by the prospect of going out with Ben later on. But first, she would spend the day with her son. The one person whose love she knew was true and who loved her just the way she was. She woke up early on Saturday and trudged down the stairs to the kitchen. She fixed a bowl of cereal and took it into the living room and turned on the TV. She remembered when she was younger and she'd wake up early every Saturday just to watch cartoons. She would sit in front of the television for hours, waiting to see what kind of predicaments her favorite characters would get in and out of. Miranda sighed as she flipped through a dozen channels without finding anything to watch. Finally, she settled on a show she recognized from her teenage years. The show was going to come on eight times and Miranda made it through four episodes before Tuck slinked down the stairs. "Good morning, mommy," he said hugging her and going to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came and sat next to her with his own bowl of cereal. Together, with minimal talking, they watched the last four episodes, cracking up and eating multiple bowls of cereal. "Is this a new show?" Tuck asked.

Miranda laughed into her bowl. "No, it first came on when I was a teenager. These are reruns; it's been over for a long time."

"Oh. I like this one."

"What time is it?" She asked him and he grabbed the remote and checked the time on the TV. "It's a little after afternoon."

"I think you mean a little after noon," she told her son and they smiled at each other. Sometimes, he looked so much like Tuck that it shocked her system momentarily. She had to search for the Miranda in side of him. Tucker rubbed his eyes and yawned, opening his mouth widely. Ah, there she was.

"What do you want to do today?" Tuck asked his mother. She took his bowl and stacked it within hers. He waited for her to answer. "You wanna know what I wanna do, right?" She nodded. "Well, it's your turn to choose." He was definite.

"Okay, okay. Um, do you want to—," Miranda started as her cell phone rang in her bedroom. Tuck ran up the stairs and got it for her. It was The Chief. "Hey, Chief."

"Bailey."

"What can I do for you?" She asked her boss while her son whispered for her to tell him hi. "And Tuck says 'hi'."

"Tell my buddy I said 'hey' and when is he coming by to see me?"

"Uh, this sounds like a personal conversation," she said.

"So, Bailey, um, I know you have the day off, but could you come in for just a quick minute? There's a new case, a patient and I could use your help."

Miranda fought the urge to sigh. She looked at her son who engrossed in cartoons. She was supposed to be spending her off day with him. "Sure, sir. I'll be there within the hour." He thanked her and ended the call. Tuck was looking at her.

"You have to go in, don't you?" He asked. She just nodded. "Can I go, too?"

"Yes, of course."

"Cool. I'll go and get dressed," he squealed and dashed up the stairs.

Wow, she thought, that went better she expected. She took the bowls into the kitchen and walked up stairs as well. She turned on the water in the shower and she heard her cell ringing in the living room. She hurried down the stairs just in time to catch Ben's call. A smile spread across her face. "Hello?" Her heart was beating.

"Good, what is it… afternoon, Dr. Bailey."

"Hello, Dr. Warren."

"I was going to call you, but I slept later than I usually do. Now, I'm walking into the hospitall," he said and Miranda heard the familiar ding of Grey Sloan's elevators.

"Excuses, excuses. I didn't know you had to work today."

"I thought I told you that I'd be coming right from the hospital to get you for our date."

"We have a date tonight?"

"Miranda, don't tell me you've forgotten!" She didn't answer him. "Miranda?"

Then, she broke out into a giggle. 'I didn't forget, Ben. I did not forget. I promise."

"You had me worried," he said laughing.

"I know," she told him. "I'm actually on my way there."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said tucking her feet underneath her body. "The Chief needs me for something apparently."

"Teacher's pet."

"Hater," she said smiling.

"So, I should see you in a little while?"

"Maybe. I'm trying to get in and out. Tuck and I have places to be."

"We don't know yet."

"Mommy! The water's running!" Tuck yelled down to her.

"Oh, shoot. I have to go," Miranda told Ben. "I'll see you later."

When they were ready, Miranda and Tuck went to the hospital. Reluctantly, she dropped him off at the daycare center and promised to be back as soon as she could. She changed quickly and paged The Chief and found him waiting for her with a bunch of residents and interns and other attendings. She had a feeling that she'd be postponing her date with Ben.

It's called a domino kidney surgery and it consisted of six patients receiving kidneys and six patients donating kidneys and each surgery would be done at once. The Chief brought Miranda in so that she could help orchestrate the surgery. Each resident and their interns would be in charge of a patient. They'd keep the patients happy. "If one patient drops out, everything goes to crap," Bailey told them in a special meeting. "So, keep the patients happy." The surgeries would happen on Monday and each patient would stay in the hospital until then. Richard told her that, after meeting all of the patients, she would be able to go home. Miranda just nodded. She was excited. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. 12 patients, 12 surgeries and they all needed each other and they all needed her. After rounding on the last patient, The Chief notified her that it was five o'clock and she was free to go. "Yeah, thanks," she grumbled and she dropped her last chart off at the Nurse's station.

"Um, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Warren has come by several times looking for you," Bokhee told her. Miranda checked her phone and saw that she had a couple of phone calls and several text messages from Ben.

"Thanks, Bokhee. If you see him again. Tell him I'm on my way out of here please."

"Will do."

Miranda sent him a text: Hey my sked was really busy. Didn't get a chance to look at my phone. What are you up to? "Did he seem upset?"

Bokhee shook her head. "No. Not at all."

"Good. Thanks." Miranda changed out of her scrubs and into her plainclothes. She picked up Tuck when Ben texted her back: Hey I'm about to go into surgery. It shouldnt take long but you know how it is. Ill call you when I get out.

She texted him back immediately: okay. Good luck. "Okay, Tuck, are you hungry? We still have a few hours. We can go to the Experience Music Project Museum before you have to go to your dad's house."

"Sure. Let's go," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door. While driving to the museum, they danced and sang to the music on the radio. Suddenly, he stopped dancing.

"What's up, Tuck? You're hungry?" He nodded slowly. "Well, let's stop and get something." They went to a restaurant and ordered some food. The restaurant had a bunch of arcade games.

"Can I play, mommy?" Of course, she said and she reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of dollars. He walked off.

Miranda sat at the table and saw her phone vibrating with Ben's number flashing on the screen. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Miranda," Ben said. "My surgery was cancelled."

"That's nice," she said to him. "So, you're on your way home?"

"Yep. I was hoping that I could still pick you up tonight for our date?"

"Yes," she responded simply. "What time should I be ready?"

"Uh, eight?"

"Are we going out?"

"Can I say it's a surprise?" He said.

She grinned. "I just want to know how I should dress."

"Um, casual is fine," he told her slowly. "Anything you wear would be perfectly fine."

Miranda blushed. "Okay, Dr. Warren. I'll try to be ready." Miranda looked up to see Tuck waving at her. "I have to go." He said okay and she disconnected the call. Tuck ran over to her. His face was sweating and he looked so happy.

"Come and play laser tag, mommy!"

"What? Laser tag? Where?" She asked standing up.

A waitress passing by said: "It's in the back. It's our main attraction. With your receipt the first round is free."

"Thank you." The waitress walked away saying "no problem".

Tuck grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back. "Come on, mommy!" They played a few rounds. They left the laser tag maze sweaty, smiling and out of breath. "That was so much fun. I like this place."

"Yeah, me too. I didn't even know about this place. What's it called?"

"The Hilltop, ma'am," the same waitress said as she cleared their table.

"Thanks, Andy," Miranda said to the girl and she put a few dollars in her hand even though she'd left some on the table.

"Thanks, ma'am!" Miranda and Tuck walked out of the restaurant.

"We're going home?" He asked.

"Yep. You have to get your stuff ready to go to your dad's house."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, Ben and I are going on a date," she said looking at him in the rearview mirror. He was grinning at her. "What's with the grin?"

"So is Ben your boyfriend now?" Tuck asked his mother.

She did not want to lie to him. "I do not know, Tuck. What do you think?" She asked as they pulled into the driveway.

"I think he is your boyfriend and you are his girlfriend. Like me and Tami."

Miranda turned around in her seat and looked at her son: "Wait? What? Who is Tami?"

"She's my girlfriend." He said it so casually.

"William George, since when do you have a girlfriend and why do I not know about it?"

"I told daddy. And I talked to Pop-Pop and Ben."

"Everybody, but me, huh?" She didn't want it to show, but she was a little disappointed.

"I was going to tell you, but…" His voice trailed off. "Um, she's in my class. Tami. She plays basketball and last week she asked if she could be my girlfriend."

Miranda smiled. "Oh Lord. A seven year old dating a seven year old?"

"She's eight."

"Well, excuse me." They got out of the car and Tuck ran into the house. "Get your stuff together."

"Okay, mommy!" He yelled from the top of the steps.