Let's Get Together

Miranda rushed around the house trying to make sure that everything was perfect for the night. This was the first time that she'd have her parents and The Chief and Adele at the same dinner table, at her dinner table. They'd all been at her wedding to Tucker, which was ages ago, but the five of them, six including Tuck (who hadn't been born yet), at one table was new. "Mom, remember, no wine, no beer, no liquor at all. Don't even bring it up."

"Mandy, we know. Okay?" Elena said trying to calm her down. Miranda nodded. On top of everything, Ben was also supposed to be coming, though he'd be a little late. He was going to Jazmin's basketball game. Tuck had wanted to go, but when his grandparents mentioned the museum, he decided to go with them, dragging his mother along. "When's Ben coming?"

Miranda looked at her watch. "In maybe an hour or something like that. Remind dad about the alcohol please. Please," she told her mother going up the stairs. Miranda looked at the outfit that she had on, a strapless floor-length off-black and cream dress with floral and plant designs. Although she could have gone barefoot and no one would have known the difference, she opted for her black sandals. With a final nod, she walked to her nightstand. She unplugged her phone and checked her messages. One was from Callie: Thanks for the invitation to dinner.

She wrote back: You werent invited. I know. LOL.

I bet you're not even laughing are you? Nope.

She also had a text from Ben: Hey sweetheart. Game was cancelled. Im going home to change. Ill be there shortly.

She smiled at the message and went downstairs to see The Chief and Adele talking to her parents in her living room. Miranda noticed that her mother had placed a pitcher of lemonade and a pitcher of water on table with some hors d'oeuvres. "Chief," she said smiling widely. He stood up and she gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Adele, you look fabulous."

"Thank you. You look good, too." Adele hugged her tightly. "Glad you're okay," the older woman whispered in her ear. Miranda smiled and nodded. She sat down next to her son who was playing his video game quietly. She took it from him and stuffed it in the cushion of the chair.

"Mommy," he whined.

"Learn how to socialize, child," she told him. The adults talked and laughed, ate and drank while Tuck answered questions when asked. He watched the TV which was muted with a basketball game flashing across it. "Well, Ben is on his way, but I guess we can get started without him."

"We can, uh, give him a few minutes," William said putting his arm around his wife.

Adele asked Elena about her volunteer work while the men turned their attention to the game. And when the doorbell rang, Miranda went to get it. It was Ben. He had on a white long-sleeved shirt with a black blazer and a pair of black pants and black shoes. He looked good. He had a brown paper bag in his hand. "Get in here," she said grabbing his free hand.

"Hello to you, too," he said easily, smiling. "What? No kiss?" He said trying to frown. He put the bag down.

"Oh, stop making that face. It's pathetic. And ALL of my parents are in there."

"They've all seen you kiss someone before and I'm not going to make out with you, Miranda. Ew, that's creepy. Now, I don't even want to kiss you." Ben laughed and took a step past her. He put his left hand back for her to grab and they walked hand in hand into the living room. "Sorry for the tardiness, everyone." Miranda introduced Ben to Adele. Ben hugged and shook hands with the rest of Miranda's guests.

"Great! Let's go," William said.

"Finally, we can eat!" Tuck exclaimed jumping up and running into the kitchen. Slightly hindered by Ben who rubbed his head.

"Hey, sir! Wash your hands first," Miranda called after him.

When they were alone, Ben put his hand on the small of Miranda's back and pulled her in for a deep kiss. "Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Hey," he said smirking and walking away.

In the midst of seemingly a dozen conversations, Miranda sat quietly and watched her family and friends interact. It was a sight. After eating the homemade cake and ice cream that The Chief brought, everyone sat back in their chairs, stuffed. Then, Ben, William and Richard got up from the table and went into the living room eager to watch the final minutes of the game, promising that they would help when the game was over. Miranda rolled her eyes and shook her head. Tuck went up to his room. Elena and Adele stayed behind in the kitchen, cleaning up, laughing and talking while Miranda fixed coffee for the adults. "Miranda, we can bring in the coffee," Adele told her, basically shooing her out of the kitchen.

Miranda protested, "B-but, But I'm the host. I need to hand out the coffee or something."

"Girl please!" Her mother responded making the other two ladies laugh. "You didn't cook dinner; you didn't even finish the dishes last night—"

"But I offered to wash dishes tonight, didn't I?" Her mother agreed, but waved her daughter out of the kitchen with a whip of her dish towel. Miranda left the kitchen, while the older ladies laughed, shaking her head. She went into the living room to clear off the table.

"You need some help with that?" Ben asked, hanging his jacket on the back of one of the chairs. He walked behind her.

"Sure. Do you know someone?" He smiled. "So…?"

"So?"

"What do you think about them?" Miranda said jerking her head in the direction of her houseguests.

"I love them. I think they're so cool and, well, they just adore me, don't they?"

"Sure they do. No one can resist the charm of Benjamin Warren," she said.

He held her waist and kissed her neck. "You couldn't," he whispered on her neck. "Come home with me tonight."

"What? I—I can't just come home with you."

"And why not?"

"Because I have a child and my parents came all this way to see me."

"So, come home with me anyway," he said laughing. "Your parents would be happy to watch Tuck for you. And I'm not kidnapping you, you'll be back tomorrow. I just want to spend a little time with you."

Miranda shook her head smiling. She really, really, really wanted to take him up on his offer. She wanted to make love to him; that was no secret. He held her tighter and placed little kisses on her cheek and lips. She forgot her argument and started to nod her head. "Okay, okay. But you're going to be the one to tell my parents." Ben's mouth dropped open and she giggled. They took the rest of the dishes to the kitchen and wiped off the table.

Miranda went upstairs to check on Tuck. He was fast asleep. She kissed his forehead and closed his door. She went back downstairs to see her father and The Chief jumping out of their chairs shouting. "Yess!"

"Who won?" She asked.

"The Knicks!" William said. He was a hardcore New York fan. Apparently, Richard was, too.

"Who were they playing?" Miranda looked at Ben who had his hands on his head.

"The Bulls," he answered smiling and shaking head. She assumed that he was a big Bulls fan being from Chicago.

"Finally! The game is over," Adele said coming into the living room unimpressed with the outcome of the game.

"I know that's right," Elena agreed.

"Well, should we call it a night?" Miranda asked. Everyone agreed. Miranda hugged both Richard and Adele and thanked them for coming.

"No problem," The Chief said. "I haven't had a good time in a long time. This was fun." He quickly glanced at his wife.

"Wait, so you didn't have a good time when you had dinner over here a couple of weeks ago?" Miranda said perplexed.

"Uhhh, oh! You mean with the nurse? Eli" He responded and Ben laughed. "That was alright, but it wasn't fun."

"Oh?" Ben commented with a smirk. William, Elena and Adele looked eager to hear the story.

Miranda glared at her mentor. "But, um, you know what? That's a story for another time." He smiled at Miranda and they were gone.

"What are you kids up to tonight?" William asked looking from his daughter to her boyfriend.

Miranda opened her mouth to say something and shut it, gesturing to Ben. "Well, I'd like to… actually, I was wondering if you guys could, uh, keep an eye on Tuck for the night. I want to take Miranda back to my place for a nightcap." Her parents smiled and waited for more details, reveling in his slight nervousness.

She stepped in: "I'll be back in the morning. If you don't want to take Tuck to school, he can just walk to the bus stop. Okay? Okay. I'll see you guys later." She walked up the stairs, leaving her boyfriend with her parents, avoiding a potentially awkward situation. She grabbed some things to take with her. Carrying her bag downstairs, she remembered the brown paper bag that Ben had brought with him. "Hey, I forgot to ask you, what's in the bag?"

"Oh! Nothing for you. It's for LT."

"Can I… see it?"

"No. No. It's for LT. I'll give it to him later. Besides, you wouldn't be interested anyway," Ben said smiling and picking up the bag off of the floor and taking Miranda's bag as well. He shifted both bags to the same hand. "Goodnight, William." Ben shook her father's hand. "Elena. Thank you. Everything was delicious." Ben hugged Miranda's mother and they left.

At a red light, Miranda spoke: "You're really not going to tell me what's in the bag?" She was hella confused. What was the big deal? It was her son after all.

"Nope." The light turned green and Ben pulled away. "But I will tell you something else."

Miranda yawned. "Was dat?"

"I talked to your mother."

"Hmmm?"

"I talked to your mother."

"About what?" She said twisting in her chair.

"Dating you. We had a quick little conversation in the kitchen."

She laughed nervously. "What? Why?"

"Because I didn't really get a chance to talk to her in Baltimore about us and my intentions for you and because she cornered me while you went upstairs to check on Tuck."

"Ben Warren! What exactly did you tell her?"

"That's definitely not your business," he said chuckling and pulling into the park and turning off the car. They were silent. Miranda was in awe. Ben was buying gifts for her son and having side conversations with her parents. She wondered if he'd talked to The Chief as well. It was comical and odd and thoughtful.

In Ben's apartment, Miranda remembered the last time she was there. Her pain was still fresh. She felt like a different person now. She was a different person. Ben locked the door as she walked to the huge glass windows. She'd never get tired of the view. It was dark outside and it seemed like every light in the city was on and she could see each one. She felt Ben walk up behind her. It was silent inside of the house and she could hear him breathing. He didn't lay a finger on her, but Miranda could feel his presence. And she wanted him to kiss her and touch her. She wondered who was going to break down and touch the other first. Without looking at him, she walked towards his bedroom. She took off the jacket that she had on and dropped it the hallway. Ben made a noise and followed her. She heard an article of clothing softly hit the floor: his shirt. Miranda slid out of her sandals. She kept her composure as she pulled her dress over her head and let it fall on the floor revealing purple panties with a matching bra. She put her hands on her hips and watched him watch her and she wasn't ashamed that he stared at her, scanning her body and peering into her soul. Ben licked his lips. "Your body is so sexy! You are so beautiful, Miranda Bailey." She blushed when she heard her name. The tension was rising and Miranda yearned to not climb all over him and have her way. She watched him unbuckle his pants, kick them off and take a couple of strides in her direction. "I'm doing everything in my power to not pick you up and throw you on that bed," he said in a low, raspy voice.

Miranda gasped. "What's stopping you?"

"I don't want to lose," he said through gritted teeth.

"You won't lose because as soon as you touch me, we'll both be winners." She upped the stakes and turned around. She unhooked her bra as she strolled to the bed. It fell to the floor. Miranda got underneath the covers. She slipped out of her panties and threw them at her boyfriend. Her aim was impeccable and they landed right in his face. He closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip. He dropped his boxers and pulled off his t-shirt. A little light was shining through the window and Miranda took note of Ben's body. It was amazing. He had a lot of muscles, but they didn't overpower his handsomeness. And the sight of his package made her heart speed up.

Ben climbed under the covers next to Miranda. She looked into his eyes and licked her lips. "Ahh! Fuck it. I want you," he growled while climbing on top of her. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Smoothly, Ben fell on his back, pulling Miranda on top of him. "I think it's your turn to be on top."

"That will not be a problem," she said as she bent down to kiss him. She felt Ben's strong arms, squeezing her body. Her breasts fell in his face and she moaned as he sucked on them, paying special attention to her nipples. Miranda couldn't stand the excruciating pleasure and gestured for him to put on a condom. Being on top of Ben was a new experience. The surgeon grabbed the chest of the anesthesiologist and whimpered. Everything felt good. She'd definitely missed this kind of closeness, making love to the man who she loved. "Ben!" Miranda called out as Ben went deeper into her.

Ben grunted. "Yeah?" Miranda called out his name again as she climaxed. He followed, pulling her closer and kissing her neck. A tear fell from her eye and hit his shoulder before hitting the pillow. She hoped that he would think it was sweat. More tears. Only these were from complete satisfaction. Miranda rolled off Ben and ended up on her stomach next to him. Her eyes were still watery and she didn't want him to see. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her arms. She stayed perfectly still as he softly kissed her back and ran his tongue from the top of her spine to her tailbone, her coccyx. Coccyx. It was a weird time to be remembering the word, coccyx, but it had actually determined her future. In college, Miranda couldn't decide between becoming an English major and then becoming a teacher or going to medical school to become a surgeon. It was that word that made her realize that she'd rather explain to a patient what a coccyx was and where it was located as opposed to telling students how to spell it and why it was a literal anomaly. Whenever she read or heard the word coccyx, it always reminded her that she could be a teacher and not a doctor. And she was always grateful and sure that she'd made the right decision. "Miranda?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you feeling?" He asked putting his hand on her waist.

"Yeah?" She said again, absentmindedly.

"Baby? Is… everything okay?"

She turned over and pulled the covers up to cover her chest and looked at him. She saw small beads of sweat on his forehead. Miranda smiled. "Yes, baby, everything's great."

"Then why are you crying?" He propped his head on his arm.

"Because I'm so happy." She said openly. "You make me so happy, Ben Warren."

"Oh, is that all?" He answered smiling and kissing her arm.

Miranda exhaled. "It's taken a long time to get here. A very long time. Even through the pain and the stress—that I'm over my fear of you touching me and that we can be together. I'm just happy that you're here and that I'm here. I'm happy that I'm here… with you."

"I'm glad I'm here with you, too, sweetheart. There's no one I'd rather be with. Scout's Honor." He grinned.

"Ben Warren, were you even a scout?"

"Almost. I was this close," he said holding up his pointer finger and thumb with a small space between them. "But my dad decided to save his money because he figured he could teach us everything the scouts could and more. And he did. We were Warren Scouts for years." Miranda laughed and hit his chest playfully. He grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you, Miranda Bailey. Do you love me?" He asked the question as if he feared she would say no. But how could she? Miranda looked at him, lying beside her and knew that she was happy and extremely blessed.

"Yes, I do. I really do." She gave him another kiss. "Usually, I would be delighted if we could have a Round 2 and 3, but that one took a lot out of me." Miranda winked at Ben.

"That's perfectly fine," he responded winking back. Wordlessly, Ben pulled Miranda in, her back rested comfortably on his chest. Miranda closed her eyes and fell asleep.