Stop the Rain

After a long bath, Miranda was lying in Ben's bed. Her head was on his chest and she had the covers pulled up to her neck. Somehow she'd forgotten to pack pajamas and was wearing one of his t-shirts. It was oversized and fell at the tops of her kneecaps. He said that it was from the phase when every guy wore clothes two times their size. They had a good laugh about that. Miranda felt like she hadn't laughed in years. It almost hurt to do it. But she couldn't stop and didn't stop until tears were coming down her eyes. Ben joined in making her laugh even more.

Watching the movie, Ben asked: "You're comfortable?" He stroked her hair and she nodded. "Good. Hungry?" She nodded again wildly. "Alright. We can do Chinese. Or, uhh, there's a good Soul Food place around the corner. They have really good oxtails. There's a pizza place a couple of blocks away. IHoP is a few blocks that way," he said pointing. With her head still on his chest, she felt the vibration of his voice throughout her body and it soothed her. "So… what are you up for?"

"All of it sounds good. But, it doesn't matter. Whatever you want is fine. I would like a glass of wine, though. Do you have any?" Ben nodded and started to get off of the bed. "I can get it."

Miranda walked to the front room and into the kitchen. She found a glass and pulled open a bottle of wine that was on the counter. She poured herself a full glass and made one for Ben. She'd definitely drink it if he didn't. She gulped down half of her glass and let out a burp; then, she refilled the glass. There was a knock on the door. Her eyes widened and she dropped the glass on the floor, wine flowed across the wood. Ben dashed to the front of the apartment. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I, um, someone's at your door. It sc-scared me a little. I broke a glass. I'll buy you another or let you have one of mine. And I'm sorry," Miranda knew she was rambling, but she did it because she was nervous. She started to clean up the mess.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Just go back to bed. I got it." Miranda grabbed the second glass and walked away from the kitchen. "That one was for me, right?" He winked and she smiled. Miranda walked towards the back of the apartment and stood around the corner, just out of his sight. "Who is it?" Ben called out before looking out of the peephole. "Curt! What are you doing here? And with Jaz?" Ben asked opening the door.

"Once again, Benjamin. Can we come in?" Curt responded sucking his teeth, trying to get around his older brother.

"Actually, guys, now is not a good time," Ben said.

"Is Dr. Bailey here?" Jazmin piped up slowly and she grinned.

"You know what? You're too much like this guy," Ben told her laughing.

"Alright, well, we have to find something else to do since you're having happy time," Curt said. They said goodbye to each other. Miranda ran to the bed and hopped in. Ben walked in and saw her pretending to watch TV. "Cut it out. I know you were just around the corner, you're not slick."

She tried to elicit innocence: "Whatever are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow. "Fine. But, you could have invited them in."

"No, Miranda. You're hurting and I want to take care of you."

"Well, what I want is to get that glass and wine off of your kitchen floor."

"Don't worry about it, I got it."

She turned her attention to the television, for real this time as Ben wandered into the kitchen and ordered food. Miranda's phone began to ring. She answered it. "Hello?"

"I debated over and over and over and over about whether or not I should call you. I figured you needed time to cope, you needed time to think and you needed time for Ben to take care of you. Then, I figured if I didn't call, I would be a bad friend and you wouldn't talk to me again. And, oh! Mandy, I'm so sorry, honey. Ben told me everything. Are you alright? Is there anything I can do for you? How's my baby? He was there when everything went down, right? " Callie finished speaking.

"Thanks for calling, Torres. Tuck's fine. He's with Tucker. Yeah, he was asleep. Uh, I'm just about to eat. I'm okay, I guess. Nothing's broken, just a scratch or something. It's all been such a, like… a-a-a what's it called?"

"An out-of-body experience?" Her best friend offered.

"Yes! One minute we were talking, then arguing, then I was on the floor, then he was on the floor. It was like watching LifeTime," she said laughing even though the events of last night weren't very humorous. Callie laughed along with her.

"Except that neither your husband—"

"Ex."

"Or boyfriend would do that to you."

"Yeah."

"Is there more behind that yeah or am I just imagining that?"

"I don't know that. You don't know that. We can assume, but people do shitty stuff."

"They do, but Ben is a great guy. He wouldn't hurt you on purpose. He basically worships the ground that you walk on."

Miranda nodded as a tear slipped down her face. Quickly, she wiped it away. When she spoke, her voice was quiet: "Callie… I'm scared."

"Of Ben?"

Miranda shrugged: "Of everything." Callie made a sound that told Miranda that she sympathized. "You know, after a while, it's alright, but I feel something when he first touches me. I feel like I'm Harry Potter and he's Quirrell." They laughed at the reference.

"Ugh," Callie chuckled. "You and your Harry Potter references. But, uh, did you tell him that?"

"No, I—Hold on, I'm getting another call." Miranda switched over to the other call. "Hey Chief."

"Miranda! How are you? Adele and I are worried sick about you. Ben said this would be a good time to call," Richard spat his words out.

"Sir, I'm—I'm making it."

"Do you think you need to talk to someone?"

"Like a shrink?" She screeched.

"Or somebody who knows what you're going through or someone who can help you sort out your thoughts and whatnot."

"For right now, Chief, I'm doing just fine. I have someone taking care of me. Tuck is fine and that's the most important thing."

"Well, okay, you know I care about you. Call if you need anything. And take your time, Miranda, getting back to work. I need my Bailey at 100%."

Miranda smiled. Her Seattle dad was always looking out for her. She debated whether or not she should tell her own parents about what happened? They'd probably be on the next flight to Washington. "Thanks, Chief." She disconnected from the call and found Callie again. "Hey. That was The Chief."

"Good. I hope you know you have people in your corner."

Ben walked back into the room. "I know I do. I love you guys," Miranda said looking into Ben's eyes. "You guys are great."

"We are, aren't we?"

They giggled, two school girls gabbing on the phone. "Aye, Callie, Ben's back." Ben mouthed that he could come back. Miranda shook her head.

"Oh okay. Tell him I said hi and tell him to take care of you."

"I will."

"Love you, girl."

"Can't blame you," Miranda said and she disconnected the call after telling Callie that she loved her as well. Ben's phone rang. It was the food and he went to the door to get it. After a minute or two, she wandered into the kitchen, wine glass in hand. "What did you end up ordering?"

"Oh. Pizza. That's okay with you?"

"That's fine. What kind of pizza did you get?"

"Well, I got a couple of choices. I don't really know what kind you like, but I'm pretty sure you like at least one of them." Miranda watched him open four boxes. One was all cheese. Another was all pepperoni. The next one was a gourmet pizza. One was half vegetarian and the other half was another kind of vegetarian. She'd skip that. She liked meat and she was really hungry. She looked at the next box and saw chicken and broccoli and a white sauce pizza. "That's my favorite kind," Ben said pointing to pizza scattered with broccoli and chicken. "It's called chicken and broccoli Alfredo pizza and—what's your favorite kind of pizza?"

"I like pepperoni with green peppers."

"Well, baby, when you try this! Mmmm, you won't want another kind. Ever." Miranda laughed.

"Give me a slice of that. Let me be the judge." They sat down at his table and ate, mostly in silence. And somehow it wasn't awkward. When she finished her slice, she casually got up to get another slice. It was so good! Ben was right, pepperoni slowly slid into second place.

"Told ya," he said and he popped the last piece of his crust into his mouth. Miranda took a sip of her wine and watched Ben do the same.

"Sorry about your glass."

"You said that."

"I know, but—"

"Miranda, I don't care about the glass. I care about you. How are you feeling?" She took a deep breath. His eyes were worried and for some reason, that made her feel better about what she was about to say. She told him that she was scared. Scared. She felt scared because whenever he reached for her, she jumped. She was scared because eventually she'd have to go back home and she and Tuck would have to continue their lives and she didn't know if she could do that and not think about Damon every time. She wasn't sure. And she was scared that Ben saw her as damaged goods now and was only sticking around because he was a nice guy, but soon he'd find a reason to leave.

When she finished speaking, a smile formed on Ben's face. Why was he smiling? She was dead-ass serious about everything. She told him this and his smile got bigger. "I would think that it's normal that you would have to readjust to having your personal space invaded, Miranda. I'm not worried about that so much. I mean, at first it hurt me that you would jump when I reached for you, but I internalized it. It's not about me, it's about what happened. And I'm sorry for that. And damaged goods? I'm the one who was cheated on, I'm damaged; at least your breakup was mutual." Ben chuckled and reached out for her hand. She accepted. "He didn't damage you, baby. His inane actions made you stronger. All in all, what I'm saying is that it's okay to be scared." Miranda mustered up a smile, it was weak. "Oh, come on, you can do better than that." Miranda pursed her lips and looked at Ben, he had an eyebrow raised and he licked his lips. "Nothing?" She shook her head. Ben stood up and pulled her out of her chair as well. He led her into the bedroom. He let go of her hand and closed the door behind them, as if they would be interrupted. They faced each other. He cleared his throat. "Can I give you a hug?" She nodded. And Ben slowly slid his arms around her, a slight chill hit her spine when he touched her, but he held her anyway, embracing her. "What about a kiss on your cheek?" Again, she nodded. This time she managed to subdue the urge to shiver. "Okay, I'll stop there if you want." She honestly didn't know what she wanted. His kisses and hugs soothed her—Miranda got out of her head and stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him. It started off soft, but it soon turned into a hard, passionate kiss. Miranda pulled away first, leaving him wanting more, she walked over to the bed with Ben right on her heels. They got into the bed; both of them were laying on their backs. "Now, as much as I want to and I definitely want to… I'm not going to make love to you tonight. But I will hold you, for as long as you want me to." He put an arm around her waist; she could feel his fingertips on her panty line. She turned on her side with her back to him and gently threw her body into his just as he was pulling himself into her. Her butt rubbed against the front of his pants. He moaned in pleasure. She smiled to herself. She imagined him behind her biting his lip. He kissed her neck and Miranda soon heard him breathing heavily.

After she was certain that he was in a deep sleep, snoring loudly, she slipped out of the bed. She looked around for a blanket and found one in his closet. She took it and went to the sofa in the living room. Idiotically, the sofa wasn't facing Ben's amazing view. She turned the sofa around and pushed it close to the window and sat on it with her feet pulled underneath her. Ben lived above the city and she could see everything, including the Space Needle. It was magical. Admiring the beauty made her think of her son and everything that they'd managed to do together throughout the city. She missed him. Miranda pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. She fell asleep looking at the view.

"Miranda?" Ben said tapping her shoulder gently.

"What?" She said sitting up and looking at him.

"Grouch much?"

"I'm sorry, baby. Good morning?" She asked.

"Yeah…. Good morning?" He said mimicking her voice. They laughed. "So, how'd you end up in here? And did you feng shui my apartment?" He looked at his rearranged furniture.

Miranda doubled over with laughter as Ben sat down on the chair next to her. "I, uh, I couldn't sleep. I don't know why, I just found myself unable to close my eyes, so I came out here to look at the view. And why wouldn't you have your sofa facing this amazing view? I turned the chair around and looked at it for a while before I just drifted off to sleep."

"Well, then," he said kissing her cheek. "I'll leave it like this. I kinda like it. Thank you, baby." Ben kissed Miranda's cheek as she blushed.

"You're welcome," she answered smiling widely. He definitely knew how to put a smile on her face. Even after a very trying and disturbing time, he warmed her spirits. It was a huge relief. She even felt comfortable enough to touch him and have him touch her without jumping. She slid her arms around his waist. He responded by placing his arms on her shoulders and pulling her close to him. Their bodies pressed together sent a chill through her body.

"Cold?" He asked kissing and nibbling on her neck. Miranda shook her head. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the pleasure. "Ready for some breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"You want me to cook? Or do you want to cook? Or do you just want to go out?" Ben's lips traveled to various parts of her upper body while he waited for an answer. She didn't speak. "Miranda? Did you hear me?"

"Oh, yeah," she said giggling. "We can go out. You said IHoP is close, right? Let's go there."

"Okay." After one last kiss to her forehead, they got up from the sofa and went into the bedroom. They took individual showers, changed their clothes and soon they were walking out of the door.

Ben helped Miranda into his Mercedes and he drove to the restaurant. The restaurant was packed and they had to wait to be seated. Miranda faced the door and watched it intensely. She tried to make small talk with her boyfriend, but she was distracted by the people flowing in and out of the building. When it was their turn to be seated, Miranda wanted to sit on the side where she would be able to see the door, but Ben stopped her. "Trust me. I got you." Ben flashed a smile at her and let her sit down before taking the seat across from her.

As crowded as the restaurant was, the waiter was friendly and their food came quickly. She'd ordered a bacon and cheese omelet with spinach, green peppers and onions. When she turned to ask the waiter for an orange juice, Ben took a piece of it and burned his mouth. "That's what you get," she told him smiling. Ben ordered a side of bacon and two stacks of pancakes. He drowned them in syrup. Miranda watched in horror; she liked to dip her pancake pieces, one at a time, into a little syrup. He offered her a piece of his. She shook her head. "Prayer?"

"Always," Ben said bowing his head and saying a quick prayer over their food.

"Amen," they said together and they began to eat. When the waiter came back for the last time, Ben paid the bill and started to leave a tip. "I'll leave it," she told him.

"Let me get this one. You get the next one."

"Okay," she said rolling her eyes. She knew that he'd give her the same answer the next time they went out. She wasn't quite ready to go back home and didn't quite know how to tell Ben. She didn't want him to think that she was trying to move in or something. But, she genuinely didn't feel like she could go home and go alone.

"Ready to go?" He asked her and she nodded. They locked hands and walked back to the car. She was so full. Ben pulled off and drove in the opposite direction in which they came.

When she was sure that they weren't going back to his house or to her own, she spoke: "Umm, where are we going?"

"There's someone I want you to meet," he said smiling. He put an arm around her chair and rubbed her shoulder.

"Who? Who is it?"

"Patience, sweetheart. You'll see." A few minutes later they pulled up to a small, brick house in the suburbs. For some reason, she was nervous. She didn't know why. Ben turned off the car and turned to her. "So, this is Angela's house.

"What?! Ben Warren, you could have warned me! We should have met on neutral ground. What if she doesn't like me?"

"Miranda, calm down. She's never met you, but she loves you. She hasn't forgotten what you did for us, finding Jaz and all." Miranda nodded. "I talked to her this morning before you woke up and since we, you and I, have become, well, close, I figured today was the perfect day for you to meet her."

"Will Curtis be here as well?"

"I don't know what Curtis is doing, honestly," Ben said scratching his head. "So, do you want to go in or do you just want to go back to my place?"

Miranda thought about it for a little bit. It really was her decision, but since they were already here, they might as well go inside. She explained her reasoning to him. A smile spread across his face. His lips parted to expose his brilliant white teeth. Her heart fluttered. He got out of the car and opened her door. As they walked to Angela's door, she looked around the neighborhood. It was nice. It looked really quiet. He grabbed her hand.

Before Ben could knock on the door, it swung open and Jazmin was standing there grinning. "Hey, Dr. Bailey." Miranda smiled and waved at the girl. "Benjiiii!" She yelled and jumped into her uncle's arms.

"Hey, Jazzy Jaz!" He said kissing her forehead. "I feel like it's been forever since we've hung out."

"Well, I did see last night for a teeny second before you kicked us out," his niece said walking into the house with Miranda and Ben right behind her.

"I didn't kick you guys out. I politely asked you to get the heck out of my doorway and to leave me alone with my woman," he said laughing at his own joke, making everyone burst with laughter. He closed the door behind him.

"Sure. Sure. How are you, Dr. Bailey?" Jazmin said turning to Miranda.

"I'm… good. Good. Same ole, same ole. How are you? How's basketball?"

"I'm okay," Jazmin told the doctor with a shrug. "My AAU team was undefeated, but we lost yesterday."

"That sucks. When's your next game, I could try to make it." Miranda loved going to basketball games. The only ones she'd gone to recently were her son's. She'd enjoy going to Jaz's game and would take Tuck if she could find time to go.

"Cool! My school team has one tonight," she said and ran to the bottom of the stairs. "Maaaa! Benji and Dr. Bailey are here!"

"Stop yelling through my house, Jazmin Claire," Angela said coming down the stairs. Angela resembled both of her brothers in the face, only she had softer features. She was taller than Miranda with long, lanky arms like her daughter. Miranda noticed that Jazmin was the spitting image of her mother.

"Oh. My. Goodness. Miranda?" Miranda nodded to the woman. "Well, you two make a beautiful couple," Angela said. "And, basically, you're beautiful. Even more beautiful than he described." She said hugging Miranda. Ben smiled at his girlfriend.

"Ange, I showed you a picture of Miranda," he said hugging his sister and kissing her cheek. Miranda raised an eyebrow. "From Facebook. Your profile picture, Miranda." She nodded.

"Whatever," Angela said waving them off and ushering them into her living room. "So what are you kids up to today?"

"I don't know. We don't really have any plans, do we?" Miranda asked turning to Ben. Ben smiled and kissed her quickly on the lips. She blushed. Under her breath she said: "Not in front of your sister, Ben Warren."

He ignored her. "No, we don't. What are you guys doing today?"

"Well, you know that Jaz has a game later on tonight."

"Oh okay. We might be able to go to that, right?" Ben asked. Angela confirmed while Miranda nodded. "Wait! Why is she not in school?"

"Teachers are at a conference or something. I would have taken her to the tutor, but I'm kind of on vacation and I didn't get up until late." Ben nodded. "So, Miranda, I know you're a doctor and you have a son and that you were once married to Ben's friend, Tucker Jones. Is that right?"

"Yep. That's all correct. My son's name is Tuck. Do I have another stalker?" Miranda asked making light of the Damon-situation. Miranda and Angela laughed loudly and Ben chuckled nervously. Miranda continued: "What do you do, Angela?"

"Well, I am also a single mother. I'm a part-time engineer. I do coding and program building for some companies. On the other side of all of that, I manage a small thrift shop."

"Oh wow. That is admirable. I didn't know that. Ben Warren, why didn't I know that?" Miranda asked punching Ben lightly.

"Ow!" He said feigning like he was hurt. "I don't know."

"I know why," Angela commented. "Because all he can do is talk and think about you, so he doesn't care to share certain information about others. Am I right, Benji?" She smiled at her brother.

"No comment?" Ben said. Angela stood up and asked if they wanted something to drink. Miranda said she wanted a bottle of water. "You're sure you don't want some wine," Ben whispered when his sister left the room.

"Haha. Very funny, sir." Miranda nudged him with her shoulder. He pulled her in for a small kiss. "Your sister is nothing like how I was expecting." She turned towards the kitchen to make sure Angela wasn't listening. "She is so nice and she knows so much about me. Why does she know so much about me?"

"Because Ange is right. I talk about you all of the time," Ben said casually. He stood up and pulled her off of the sofa and into his chest. He hugged her. Miranda kissed his chin which was nearly full with facial hair. He led her to a shelf full of pictures. He pointed out his various family members. "And these are my parents." He held up a picture of a beautiful woman who could have easily been Angela with her arm wrapped around a man who looked like an older version of Curtis, with wrinkles and short, curly hair.

"They're cute!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're adorable. And nice," Ben said putting the photo back down. "They were the best."

"Are they still in Chicago?"

"Wel—uh, no my mom's in Florida. She moved there after…," Ben's voice trailed off.

Angela came into the room with a bottle of water which she handed to Miranda. She gave her brother a cup of coffee. "She moved to Florida after our dad died a while back. She got herself a nice, young piece of ass who makes her happy."

"Oh," Miranda said softly.

"Don't make that face, Miranda," Angela said. "It was a long time ago. Everyone's moved on and everyone's happy."

Miranda nodded. "Thanks for the water."

The three of them sat back down. "So, how are you doing, Miranda?"

Miranda looked at her boyfriend. "I'm fine." She smiled to enhance her point.

"Are you?" Angela raised an eyebrow. "Miranda, Ben… he, uh, I told me what happened. Maybe he shouldn't have, but he did anyway. And—"

"Who asked you to do that?!" Miranda asked cutting Angela off and turning to Ben. Her face was hot. "I trusted you. You know how hard I'm trying to piece myself back together and you open your fat mouth! People will know what I want them to know when I tell them!" Miranda stood up. "Angela, thank you for your hospitality." She faced Ben without looking at him. "I'd like to go home now. Right now."

Ben lifted himself from the couch and gently grabbed her arm. "Baby, wait! Just wait, Miranda please. Wait. I just figured that you wouldn't mind speaking with someone who went through the something similar," he said rushing out the words.

"What? What are you talking about?" She put a hand to her head. "You?" Ben shook his head fiercely. "Then who?" Ben pointed at his sister. Miranda thought she saw Ben's eyes tear up. She wasn't sure. She turned to Angela. "You were r-raped?"

"I wasn't raped, the bastard tried though. No, I was assaulted by a guy I worked with; this was just before Jaz was born. But, when that happened, the guy I was with, her father, didn't really want anything to do with me." While she spoke, Miranda sat back down with a face full of shock. "Well, he was an asshole and he dumped me and just to spite him, I told him that I was pregnant with his child. Of course, he denied it, but when he finally settled down and stopped blaming me, he embraced it. But, shit, by then," she sighed. She walked over to Miranda and sat down and took Miranda's hands in hers. "Girl, by then, I didn't want any part of him. I mean, except the best part, my daughter. What we had was ruined and that lifted so much grief off of my shoulder that I was happy that we broke up."

"What about the guy that…?"

"Oh, I worked with him so I knew who it was and he was easily captured. That was a huge relief, but I still felt that I was wrong, that something inside of me was wrong and —" She looked up to the ceiling, searching for the right word.

"Dirty," Miranda and Angela said at the same time.

"Yes, that's how I feel. Dirty." Miranda exhaled.

Angela nodded and a tear slipped down her face. She wiped her face and continued to speak. "It took a while and I went to a support group, but I was able to forgive my attacker and my ex-boyfriend. I was a single mother and I had to be strong for my little girl and I couldn't do that holding on to so much baggage and pain. I had to be strong." Angela sniffled and a smile crept upon her face. "So, Dr. Miranda Bailey, you be strong. Because you are strong."

Miranda nodded. She felt Ben's hands around her waist and she gasped softly and the tears began to flow. Ben held her tighter. Tissues appeared from out of thin air and she used them on her face. "I am strong," Miranda repeated.

"Also, you have a bunch of people in your corner. They're all on your side. We're on your side," Angela told her. She hugged Miranda.

"Thank you, Angela. Thank you so much," Miranda responded clearing her throat. "I didn't think I needed to talk to anyone, but talking with you has really opened my eyes." She chuckled slightly. "I feel… whew! A lot better."

Angela laughed as well. Miranda took a sip of her water as Ben kissed her neck. "Oh my!" She yelled checking her watch. I need to get to the shop. Will Jaz and I see you guys at the game later on?"

Miranda nodded as Ben said: "Yeah, of course."

They all stood up. Angela gave them both hugs and told Miranda to call her any time. They yelled goodbye to Jazmin and left. On the way back to Ben's apartment, Miranda said: "Your sister."

"Yeah?" He asked turning a corner.

"She was not what I was expecting. At all."

"Just exactly what were you expecting?"

"I guess some overprotective and mean, older sister who would scrutinize and judge and grill me until I decided to punch her in the face to shut her up." They laughed loudly over the soft music in background.

"Ange should be like that, but she's not. I'm more of the griller in the family, I suppose."

"Well, baby, I kinda love her. Probably more than I love you."

"Uhh, that's not possible," Ben said.

"She did say she was single, right?" Miranda asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Ohh-ho. Good one." They were at a red light. He looked at her and glanced quickly at the road. Then, he leaned over to kiss her cheek.