Understanding

Beeep! "Tucker Jameer Jones, this is my fifth call and second voice message. It is 4 o'clock on Friday afternoon and I'm sure that you know—Push the 'popcorn' button, Tuck. Uhhh, where was I? Oh, right? I've texted you several times. Tuck is ready and has been ready for an hour. Where are you? If you need me to drop him off, I will do that. But the least that you could do is call or text. Hell, you could also e-mail me. I've called Jaida as well. And shot her a text message. (silence) I hope everything is okay with you two. Just get in t—" Beeep!

"Shoot!" Miranda Bailey said out loud.

"Still no answer from daddy?" Tuck said coming out of the kitchen with a steaming bag of popcorn.

"Yeah… uh, no. He's not answering."

"He's okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine," Miranda reassured his son.

They sat and started to watch season one of "Boy Meets World". Miranda bought it for Tuck after seeing it in Wal-Mart for 50% off. Someone was blowing outside. Tuck ran to the window. "It's daddy!" He exclaimed.

"About time," Miranda muttered. "Alright, kid, get your stuff."

Miranda watched in the threshold of the door as her son ran to his father's car. She saw Tuck get out of the car. He looked unkempt. His unbuttoned shirt was out of his pants and his belt was buckled incorrectly. One of his shoes was untied. He looked like— "Tucker, can I talk to you for a second? In the house." He nodded. "You're late."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I had, uh… a little situation at home." Miranda pursed her lips and stared at him. "Damn, Mandy. Okay, Jaida and I were doing the horizontal tango."

"Eww, Tucker. And it's the horizontal mambo."

"Whatever it's called. We were mastering it."

"With that, please go." She shook her head. "Take care of my son and go. Just… go," Miranda said while pushing him out of the door.

After they were gone, Miranda jotted down the things that she needed to do get ready for the dinner tomorrow night. She sent out five individual text message reminders to Grey, Pierce, The Chief, Torres and, of course to Ben, who was co-hosting it with her. Each person, except The Chief was bringing a guest or they were supposed to be. Miranda made a note that they should have more than enough food, just in case. Her doorbell rang. She went to see who it was. She stood on her toes and looked out of the peephole. It was Ben. She smiled widely. She opened the door excitedly. "Hey!" She said throwing her body into her boyfriend's. He hugged her tightly. She didn't ever want to let go. He kissed her cheek and neck.

"Hey yourself." Miranda pulled him in for a long kiss. The desire that she felt for him made her weak in the knees. Ben kissed her bottom lip once more before they pulled away. "Where's my buddy?"

"He's with his father," Miranda said accepting small kisses by the dozens on various parts of her face.

Ben wiggled his eyebrows. "All alone, eh?"

"Yes and no. We have to go to the store. We need lots of things before tomorrow night."

Ben sighed loudly. "Just one more kiss," he told her taking her hand and guiding her to the nearest sofa. Ben sat down and pulled her down into his lap.

She giggled as he lifted her chin and kissed her lips, softly. The kiss was deepened as Miranda shifted her position. She collapsed her lips on his and moaned. His hands massaged her lower back and her hands caressed his head and neck. They kissed for several minutes, not coming up for air and not slowing down. Her phone was vibrating. Miranda struggled to pull herself from Ben's grip. "I have to answer that," she squealed.

"Text them back," he said. She laughed as he tickled her slightly.

"Ben, it could be an emergency."

"Okay, okay," Ben said kissing her chin and releasing her.

"Hello?" She said answering the phone.

"Aye, Mandy," Tucker said.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"It's good. I just wanted to tell you that Tuck has a little fever."

Miranda shook her head. Just what she needed, a sick kid. "Do you want me to come and get him?"

"No, no… of course not. I just know that you'd want to know." Miranda nodded and looked at Ben who was giving her a half-smile. "I think it should break by the end of the weekend."

"Okay. Thanks for telling me. But if it gets worse, Tucker, please call me." He said that he would and the call was disconnected. "Tuck's sick," she said turning to Ben.

"Aww, poor little guy."

"Let's, uh, let's get to the store and the stuff. And I have to go in today, so we should get to it." Ben nodded. They got into his car and headed to the store. During the ride, Miranda was quiet as she redirected her brain. She was worried about Tuck. Although she knew that he would be alright, but she would feel a little bit better if she could just check up on him herself. She looked at Ben. He smiled at her. "Ben…" she started.

"Say no more. We'll go over to Tucker's and see how LT's doing, but then we're going to do what we need to do. Okay?" Miranda smiled a full smile and nodded.

Miranda knocked on the door with Ben right behind her. He had his arm wrapped around her waist. The door flew open with Jaida behind it. "Hey, Jaida… I just wanted to—"

"Check on Tuck," Jaida interrupted her. "Tucker said you'd be by." She laughed.

"Tucker Jones doesn't know me," Miranda said with a laugh of her own. Ben joined in.

Jaida let them in the house. Miranda noticed that Jaida was starting to show, her belly was getting round. "He went around the corner to get some stuff for Tuck."

"Nice. Is my baby… upstairs?" Jaida nodded. "Oh, Jaida, you know Ben, right? You two know each other?" Miranda said not waiting for an answer and walking up the stairs. Tuck was sleeping peacefully and Miranda gently stroked his cheek. She felt his head and exited the room quietly glad that he was okay. Making her way downstairs, she felt a rush in the back of her throat. She was about to be sick. She ran into the bathroom and leaned over the toilet just in time. After she finished vomiting, she wiped her mouth and rinsed her mouth out using some mouthwash that she found in the cabinet, nearly using the entire bottle. When she was sure she was good and that her breath wasn't disgusting and didn't smell or feel like she'd just thrown up, Miranda went back downstairs where she and Ben bid farewell to Jaida.

"What do we need from the store?" Ben asked, putting an arm around the back of Miranda's chair. Miranda pulled her list out of her purse and read from it. "That's a lot of stuff," he said with a little chuckle.

"Yeah, it is. But everything is essential." Ben looked over at her. He looked back at the road. At a red light, he glanced at her again. "What are you looking at, you little weirdo?" Miranda smiled.

"Quite possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," Ben said. Miranda blushed.

Miranda responded by smiling and changing the subject. The way that Ben just openly confessed how he felt for her was still a new feeling to her. She wasn't used to men telling her that she was beautiful and having them actually mean it without wanting something in return.

While walking through the store, filling the cart, Ben held Miranda's hand, kissing it occasionally. In the animal food aisle, which neither of them needed, they stood toe to toe and had a mini-make out session. An older, Black lady with grey hair with a loaded cart passed by and cleared her throat. Ben and Miranda giggled and scurried out of the aisle. At the register they ended up behind the same woman who'd caught them kissing. Ben was whispering into Miranda's ear. The woman turned to them. "Newlyweds, hunh?" She asked with a smile.

"Pardon me?" Miranda said with a smile.

"I asked if you two are newlyweds. How long have you two been married?"

Miranda watched Ben's face contort and he opened his mouth, no doubt to explain that they weren't married and had only been dating for a short time, but no words came out. He was still hemming and hawing and hadn't managed to speak when Miranda said: "It'll actually be one-year next week." Ben's eyes widened as he turned to look at his girlfriend.

"Ohh, a spring wedding?" The woman said clapping her hands together. Miranda nodded. She put her arm around the confused Ben. "That sounds beautiful."

"It was. It was. I wish that I could show you a picture from the wedding, but my phone died. Honey, do you have a picture?"

"Next," the cashier said as Ben shook his head. The older woman began putting her stuff on the conveyer belt.

The woman said: "I'm sure you were a beautiful bride."

"She was," Ben confirmed, finally able to speak. "My lady wore a full-length white gown that showed off every, single curve."

Miranda blushed. The woman blushed as well. "So, how'd you, you know, pop the question? If you don't mind me asking." The woman smiled at Ben. He winked at her. "I'm Evelyn, by the way. You might as well know the name of the stranger who's all in your business." The three of them laughed. Evelyn pointed at Miranda. "I've seen you here plenty of times. You have a little boy. And I've seen you somewhere else, but I just can't put my finger on it."

Miranda just nodded. "I'm Miranda and this is my boy—husband. He's my husband. Ben." They shook the woman's hand. "And I suppose I just have one of those 'familiar faces'."

"But I've never seen you," the older woman said looking at Ben. "I was, haha, this is a funny little anecdote. I was going to set you up with my son, Angel. He's a police officer for the county."

"Is he?" Miranda asked. Evelyn was waiting for them to finish their transaction. "Well—"

Ben interrupted, "You can tell Angel that my woman is off the market."

Miranda smiled brightly and hugged her boyfriend's waist. "So are you," she whispered to him.

Making their way to the parking lot, Evelyn spoke up: "You never said how you proposed, Ben."

Ben looked down at Miranda. They arrived at Evelyn's car which was before Ben's. "Miranda's a surgeon. So, I scheduled her some time in the lab. Well, when she arrived in the lab, the 3-D printer was going. It's a machine that prints out objects in 3-D." Evelyn nodded. "Now… it's a rule at the hospital that the printer has to be monitored; it cannot be left alone for long periods of time. Miranda's a stickler for rules, so she looked through the file searching for the culprit." Ben started to pack Evelyn's car, picking up bags from the overflowing cart. "I'm watching all of this on a camera and you should have seen her face when she saw her name next to 'Operating Surgeon' on the chart." Evelyn smiled and leaned on the car next to hers. "A few minutes later, out of the printer comes a ring. And she starts to tear up" He paused and looked from Miranda to Evelyn, dramatically. Miranda had to admit that she was intrigued by the lie. "I walk into the room and… I ask her to marry me."

"Oh my stars," the woman said putting her hands to her chest.

"Baby, you remember what you said?" Ben asked kissing her cheek.

"Um, obviously, I said 'yes'." She giggled.

"No, no, no, after that. After I told you that you are the most gorgeous woman in the world. And that I'd love for you to be my wife." Miranda's heart was racing. This lie had gone on long enough. But with every word, she had to remind herself that it wasn't true and that she and Ben were actually still dating and what they had was brand-new.

"Oh," Miranda said looking at the woman nervously. "I think I said that I wouldn't mind being your wife because you know me and you make me happy. And that's—that's all I ever wanted." Miranda smiled. She felt Ben's arm tighten around her waist. The words just rolled off of her lips. And the most important thing was that she knew that they were true.

Evelyn wiped away a tear. "You two are so adorable. I wish my husband of 27 years had been as romantic as you, Ben. He's a good man, God bless him, but he's clueless when it comes to romance." The three of them laughed loudly. Miranda and Ben said goodbye and parted ways with the woman.

They didn't speak the entire car ride back to Ben's apartment. Both were wrapped in their own thoughts. After bringing the last bag in from the car, Ben closed and locked the door. Miranda, who was standing by the window, turned around and said: "Look, Ben, I—" at the same time Ben was saying: "That was crazy, Miranda." Both of them chuckled, pushing through the tension of their fabricated marriage. Ben walked over to the window and stood next to Miranda. "So beautiful," he said softly.

"I know. I told you that," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't you glad I moved your furniture?"

"I'm not talking about the view," Ben responded. Miranda looked up to see that he was staring down at her. She smiled and bumped Ben gently with her shoulder. "So, uh, what was that back there? " He jerked his head towards the door. "Why did you tell Evelyn that we were married?"

"I was just joking?" She offered. "It was like a prank. I, honestly, didn't think we'd ever see her again."

"Mmhmm."

"Who knew that she actually recognized me?" Miranda shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the kitchen area. "I was surprised that you went along with it."

"What else was I going to do? I didn't want her to think that you were completely and utterly insane." Ben chuckled and Miranda tried to keep a straight face.

"Well, next time you can answer when someone asks us if we're newlyweds."

"I was going to answer this time," Ben was facing her now.

"Then you should have opened your beak and done just that."

"You think you're so funny," Ben said jogging towards her.

"Ahh!" Miranda screeched with a huge smile on her face. She ran around the small island away from Ben. He started the other way and she zipped to the dining room table. With her heart beating fast, she held on to a chair as he stared at her from the other side.

"How are you gonna get away?" She shrugged while giggling. She ran towards the sofa in hopes that she'd be able to eventually get to the bedroom. Miranda ran towards the sofa and Ben followed her. They lapped the sofa two times before Ben leapt over it gently tackling her, knocking them to the floor. "I got ya."

"Clearly," she said taking a deep breath.

"What's my prize?"

"I don't even know how to pay you," the surgeon told the anesthesiologist while licking her lips slowly.

"Yeah, you do," he answered biting her bottom lip. Miranda squirmed as his hand grazed her body. He continued to kiss her as his hand slipped up her shirt, making her moan into his mouth. Ben smiled: "Mmmhmm." He pulled his lips off of hers and turned on his side. Miranda did the same thing. Facing each other, he stroked her hair, pushing some of it out of her face. She touched his waist, fingering the bottom of his shirt. He pulled her leg over his body and grabbed her butt. Miranda squealed and Ben laughed in the nook of her neck. He spoke quietly: "Just so you know…"

"What?" She asked in a daze.

"If you ask. I will say yes," Ben told her looking her in the eye. Miranda leaned over and kissed him gently. Falling deeper into the kiss, she pulled him closer, feeling the heat from his body on her and feeling tears well in her eyes, possibly from her complete happiness and definitely because she had them closed so tightly. They continued to kiss. Ben gently ran his fingers through her hair, making her shiver. She rubbed his head, pulling him closer, intensifying the kiss.

A knock on the door interrupted their floor cuddle. "Who in the world is that?" Ben said kissing her lips once more before getting up from the floor. He held out his hands and pulled Miranda to her feet. He smiled and kissed her nose. She walked to the kitchen area as Ben walked slowly to the door.

"I'll bet you a foot massage that your brother is behind the door. He's good people, but he has such bad timing." Miranda said pouring two glasses of wine and putting some of the groceries on the counter. She threw her head back and laughed. "Oooh and he probably has Jazmin or Ange with him."

Ben looked through the peephole. "You're not going to believe this."

"I'm sure I will," Miranda said taking a sip of her drink.

"You're half right." He took a deep breath and pulled the door open. "Mom!" He exclaimed.

Mom? Miranda thought. Ben's mom? Miranda put her glass down and stepped from behind the counter. She smoothed down her clothes and tucked a few loose hairs behind her ears.

"Can a mother come into her son's apartment? Or does she have to hang around outside all day?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ben said. "Of course. Come in." The woman stepped inside and hugged her middle child.

Miranda threw on her best "meet the parent" smile. When Ben had first met her parents, it was under a stressful time and it was way sooner than she would have liked. And for the most part, everything had worked out extremely well. But with Ben's mom, Miranda didn't know enough to see it going in her favor. This was a big step in their relationship. She wasn't sure that she was ready, but she was willing. And whether she was ready or not, the moment was upon her and it was happening very quickly. She had to be ready. "Hey, Curt," Ben said to his younger brother. Their fists collided and they hugged momentarily. Seeing Miranda, Curtis hugged her and kissed her cheek.

Curt spoke in a soft voice, different from the one he'd used when they'd first met. Miranda guessed the transition had to start somewhere. "Benji, it's been a minute." Ben nodded. "Mom's here," Curt said strolling to the refrigerator.

"Thanks for the notice," Ben commented under his breath. Miranda giggled silently.

"Ma—," Ben started. He waved Miranda over. Ben put his arm around Miranda's waist. "Ma, this is Miranda Bailey. Dr. Miranda Bailey. Baby, this is my mom, Julia Warren."

Miranda shook hands with the woman, taking her in. She looked exactly like Angela, shorter and with more wrinkles. She had curly black hair with streaks of silver breaking through. "Mrs. Warren—"

"Ms." Julia's voice was warm, but her sentiment was cold.

"Yes, of course," Miranda said quickly, smiling at the woman. "It's nice to meet you. Ben has told me so much about you." Ben gave her a comical look. He knew she was lying. She didn't know much about his mother.

"Honestly, darling," Julia said with a syrupy false smile. "I can't say the same about you. This is the first I'm hearing about you." Miranda looked at Curt who was shaking his head. He had a mouthful of the banana, ones that Miranda was going to use for banana pudding.

"Mom." Ben smiled nervously and held Miranda tighter, gripping her waist. "I've told you about Miranda. A bunch of times. You knew that I was seeing someone and that I had a girlfriend."

"Oh, why did I think that 'Miranda' was a pet name for Eunice?" Julia smiled her fake smile again. Curt smirked, peeling another banana. "So 'Miranda' is your girlfriend's name?"

Miranda was shocked. This woman was giving her a headache. If Julia had been anyone else—anyone else pissing her off the way that the woman was—Miranda would have verbally retaliated or dismissed them completely. Instead she said: "Ben?" He turned slightly to face her. "I need to go. I have to get to the hospital."

"Yeah, okay. Let me get my keys." Ben walked off to look for his keys. He searched on the floor for his keys; they'd fallen out when he had been chasing Miranda around the apartment.

"You don't drive, Miranda?" Ben's mother said over-pronouncing each syllable in the surgeon's name.

"Yes, I do," Miranda responded sweetly. "But Ben and I just came back from the store. My car is at my house." Julia nodded.

"Alright, sweetheart, I'm ready to go," Ben exclaimed. "Ma, Curt, I'll be back."

"Julia, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we can have lunch before you leave." Miranda turned away from the woman and looked at Curt. "You. It's your turn in 'Ruzzle'." Curt laughed, nodded and sipped wine out of one of the glasses.

Pulling out of the garage, Ben blew out a large puff of air. "Miranda… Don't be mad at her. My mom isn't usually that… that… that—"

"Cold?" Miranda offered.

"Yeah and rude. To be honest, I didn't know she was coming. I don't even know why she's here." Miranda made a face. "Not like that. I just wonder why she's here."

"Ben, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I'll talk to her." He took another deep breath. "We've talked about you several times. And I'm sure that Ange and Curt have mentioned you. She's… I don't know, but she was rude to you, baby and I just… I'm going to talk to her. She needs to understand that I love you and I won't let anyone disrespect you." Miranda's lips curled into a smile and she put her hand on his free hand. He held her hand. She was turned on by the fact that he was so protective over her and so worked up over what just happened.

"Let's talk about something else," she told him.

"Fine," he said quietly coming up to a red light.

"Did you see your broth—sister eating all of the bananas? Does your mom know about Curtis?'

"Yeah, I saw Curt trying to eat all the food. And, you know, baby… I don't know. I hope so, but I don't think so." She nodded. They pulled up to her house. He kept the engine running as he turned to Miranda. "I've been making excuses for my mom, but the fact is that, she was out of line." Ben stared in her, looking her in the eyes. "And, for that, I apologize. I should have dealt with it at my apartment, but…" His voice trailed off.

Miranda understood that it wasn't his fault and that he hadn't even been expecting his mother, so she helped him out. "But—it doesn't matter now. It's done. She's your mom. We'll get it together." Miranda winked at him.

Ben smiled, cheering up a little. "You're so down." Miranda nodded slightly. They were quiet, neither of them wanted to move. Miranda hadn't been in a rush to get to the hospital, but she had been in a rush to get out of Ben's apartment. With every fake smile and condescending comment, Julia had irked her nerves.

"I guess I'll see you later. I'll let you get back to your mom," she told him as she started to get out.

"Hold on a second," he told her and pulled her in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and made no attempt to kiss her. It was long and warm and just what they both needed. As irritating as Julia was, she was Ben's mother and a big part of her life. So she had to take the high road and find a way to tolerate the woman. She held onto him. He just wanted to hold onto her and she gripped his back pulling him into her. The middle console was digging into her side, but she didn't let go. He rubbed her back and she closed her eyes, enjoying the embrace. After a while, Ben loosened his hold on her. "Thanks, baby. I needed that."

"Anytime, my love," she said and she kissed his cheek and went into her house.

Miranda Bailey stepped inside of an on-call room. She needed to take a quick break. It was late and she'd been on her feet for several hours. She didn't really see an end in sight. She felt like she was being pulled in every direction. Every intern needed a question answered, The Chief had given her a stack of cases that she needed to tend to and her residents were being very, very petty. And on top of all of that, every patient wanted her to comfort them, which she never minded, but it was all a bit too much for one night. Didn't people that tomorrow was an option, too? So, she was inside of dark room, nearly exhausted. She sat on the bottom bunk, being silent so that she wouldn't wake the snoring figure on the top bunk. Miranda lay back and closed her eyes for a second, debating whether she should actually sleep or get a snack. On top of being exhausted, she was starving, too. Before she'd made a decision, she had fallen asleep. She awoke to the sound of two beepers going off simultaneously. The person on the top bunk hopped down, almost stepping on Miranda's arm. "Watch it," she shouted grumpily.

"Oh, sorry. Dr. Bailey?" The person said.

"The one and only," Miranda answered getting up and stretching as she moved towards the door.

"It's me, April."

In the hall, she said: "Oh, Kepner. Yeah, you almost stepped on my moneymakers," Miranda jogged past her. April had stopped and was inhaling and exhaling slowly. Miranda paused to see if she needed help, but April waved her off. Miranda headed out of the door and was halfway down the hall before April caught up with her.

"Sorry about almost trampling you. I was being paged to ER and I needed to hurry."

"I saw you stop. Are you okay?" Miranda asked as they gowned and gloved and stood outside of the Emergency Room.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Perfectly fine, actually. I, well, we, Jackson and—" April was drowned out by the sound of sirens getting closer and several residents appearing behind them.

"Look alive!" Miranda said as the truck pulled up. "Um, we don't need all of you."

April turned around with her red hair blowing in the wind: "Right, um, Cameron and Ross, you'll be with us. The rest of you, make yourselves busy."

The residents stood staring at the Trauma attending. "Go! Now!" Miranda yelled pointing to the hospital. The unneeded residents grumbled as they walked back inside.

Kepner and Bailey ran to the truck and listened to the short-haired, African-American veteran first responder, Nicole. "Camille Estrada, age 35, found at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Her sons think she was pushed. She has a concussion with bruises on her face, legs, arms, back and chest." Miranda looked at the patient on the gurney.

"Jesus," she and April said together.

Two brown, identical, teenage boys climbed out of the truck behind the woman. "That's our mom!" One of them shouted.

The first responders rushed Camille into the hospital. "Bailey, which room?" Nicole asked.

"Room 1," Miranda shouted over the chaos. She watched as the woman was rolled into the room. Miranda took a deep breath, composed herself and went into the room. "Talk to me." Soon she was bombarded with information, numbers and details from Kepner and the interns. Internalizing all of the information, Miranda and April started on Camille.

"On my count. 1, 2, 3," April said. They moved the patient to a hospital bed. They worked quickly to figure out what the actual damage was. Her brown skin was scratched all over, there was a gash on her forehead and she writhed constantly, moaning in obvious pain. There were also contusions on her arms and legs, ones that looked new and others that looked to be a bit older. She'd definitely been abused, Miranda thought to herself just as April expressed the same thing aloud.

"Let's get her a CT and expedite it." Everyone rushed to do just that. Suddenly, Camille stopped breathing and her stats dropped completely. Miranda's Hair was falling into her face. "Damn it! Let's get her back, people. Crash cart. Now!" She picked up the pads. She breathed deeply. No matter how many times she did it, she always felt a great surge of power whenever she shocked a patient. "Charge to 200. Clear!" The other doctors moved their hands and Miranda put the pads on the lady's chest. Her body rose off of the bed and landed with a small thump. Nothing changed.

"She's still in V-Fib," Ross told her.

"Charge to 300! Clear!"Miranda called out. Once again, the monitor showed that no change had occurred. "Starting CPR." Miranda brought her hands together and pushed hard and fast on Camille's chest. Her mind went back to Camille's children, the twins, waiting outside of the room. "Don't do this, Camille," Miranda called out. With one last, hard pump, Camille gasped loudly. "Damn. Alright."

"Her stats are low, but she's breathing," Cameron said.

Catching her breath, Miranda said: "Welcome back, Camille." And, alongside Kepner, she gave directions to the residents and nurses around her.

"Let's move, folks!" April shouted and she got on one side of Camille and pushed her out of the room.

Miranda pulled off her bloody gloves and left the room. She saw Camille's twin boys sitting on chairs in the corner of the large room. She walked to them. One was wearing glasses and had a huge Mohawk on top of his head. The other one had a small moustache with a backwards cap on. He took the cap off when she approached him. "Hey, guys. I'm Dr. Bailey. What're your names?"

She stuck out her hand. "I'm James," the Mohawk-ed boy answered shaking her hand.

"Hi, James," she responded.

"And my name is Theo," the one with the cap told her. She shook his hand as well.

"Okay, fellas. I'm going to be working on your mom. She's injured really badly. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, we were at our friend's house and we came home and—," Theo started.

"We found her at the bottom of the stairs. I think she fell. Theo thinks she was pushed by Shawn, her boyfriend. The bruises on her body, some of them old. Her boyfriend is a jerk. He hits her," James said the last part in a nonchalant way. They were used to the abuse. Miranda was taken aback. "We tried to tell her that she should leave. That it's not healthy, you know? Get out, but she didn't…"

"Want to. She didn't want to leave him. And we couldn't make her," Theo finished his brother's statement. He shrugged. "I think he pushed her, saw that mom wasn't moving and jetted. He's an ass." The boy spoke harshly. James nodded.

A small pounding was irritating her head and something was swirling inside of her. She felt ill. "Okay. Okay. Um, where is Shawn now?" She asked the boys. They both seemed calm although Theo was biting his nails. "Has he ever touched you guys? Like hit you? Or attempted to?"

They spoke at the same time: "No, ma'am."

"And he wasn't there when we got home. She was just laying there… at the bottom of the stairs," James told Miranda. "We don't know for how long."

"How old are you two?"

"We turned 15 last week," the one in the answered.

"Happy belated Birthday," she told them smiling.

"Thanks," they said together.

Miranda commended them for their bravery and promised that she would do everything in her power to help and staggered away. She grabbed a resident, Edwards, and told her to escort the boys upstairs to a waiting room. They'd seen enough trauma for the night.

Her stomach was upset again. She ran to the nearest bathroom and found herself throwing up. "Ughh," she said when she straightened up trying to balance herself.

"Everything okay in there?" A voice called out. She knew that voice. Callie. Miranda didn't answer. She hoped that Callie would just go away. "Hello?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Torres," Miranda said through the crack in the stall.

"Mandy?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. You can go."

"Fine. But only because I really need to get to the OR. I'll catch up with you and I'll definitely call you later."

"Yes. Fine. Go. Go. Save lives."

Miranda peered out of the stall and wiped and rinsed her mouth out. She looked at the huge mirror over the sinks. Being sick two days in a row was definitely red flag. Maybe she had what Tuck had. Even if that was the case, that didn't explain her night and morning sweats; though it would explain why she was vomiting in every bathroom she came across. Miranda rinsed her mouth again and left the restroom. Only a few more hours and she would be on her way back home. The dinner was in 18 hours and she still needed to sleep and prepare. Her beeper went off and she hustled in the Camille's direction. "Get out of my way!" She called out as she zigzagged through the halls. She hurried by the nurse's station and quickly informed Bokhee about the teens and urged her to get a police officer to take their statements. Getting to Camille, she saw that Kepner was already there. Miranda jumped in and they prepped the woman before taking her into the OR.

On the way out of the hospital, Miranda's mind was going a million miles a minutes. She dashed through the rain to her car, too exhausted to put up her umbrella. She turned the engine on and sat in the car. She put her head back on the headrest and felt tears slip out of her eyes and down her cheek. She sniffled. Her mind flashed back to the night when her world could have ended up like Camille's. She could have been the one being rolled into the hospital on a gurney after being attacked by a dangerous man who just had to have his way. More tears rolled down her cheek as she remembered the sound of Camille's monitor beeping for the last time. Brain dead. She caved when she saw thought back to the devastated and shocked faces of Theo and James when she had to tell them about their mom. "She lo-lost too much blood, fellas. There was just too much internal damage." They held each other as she tried to explain; she stayed strong watching them. Neither twin listened to her as she tried to explain as they rocked together; trying to console the other while they were breaking down.

After she finished talking, James stood up and screamed: "Noooooooo!" He ran through the halls with his glasses falling off. The teen tore at his golden-colored Mohawk and threatened to kill Shawn and then himself. Theo was right on his heels, calling out to him, trying to catch and reassure him. James had to be restrained and admitted. Several lumps formed in Miranda throat as she walked with Theo, silently, through the bustling halls of the hospital to see Camille. She watched him cry over her body, calling her name, stroking her hand and promising that he would be good if she would just wake up. Miranda held all of her emotions in. Through it all. But sitting in her car, she was losing it. She didn't think she'd be able to get home. She just didn't feel like it. And she definitely didn't want to be there alone. She calmed down a bit and dialed the ten numbers that would connect her to Ben's voice and pulled out of her park. Her heart was heavy as the phone rang, but she knew that hearing his voice would ease the pain.

"Hey."

She cleared her throat. "Are you asleep?" She asked into the phone forgoing a greeting. She steered the wheel in the direction of her house, but that's not really where she wanted to go. She didn't want to be alone. She couldn't be alone.

"Is everything okay?" He asked ignoring her question.

"No, um, I'm mean. I am, but it was just a really, really tough night." As she spoke, a tear slipped down her face and yet another lump appeared in her throat.

Ben's voice was soothing. "I'll be there soon, Miranda. Are you at home?"

"N-no, just leaving the hospital." She headed to Ben's apartment. She exhaled deeply, trying to keep her composure, but hearing Ben's voice was bringing out more emotions.

"Baby. Come over," he said solidly, but quietly.

"Okay." Miranda pulled into his complex's parking garage and parked her car. She dried her eyes quickly, trying to make the traces of her sorrow disappear from her face. "I'm in the garage."

"I'll be down to let you in. Give me a minute."

"Okay," she said again.

Miranda grabbed her purse and walked towards the garage elevator, beeping her car locked. She pushed the button and waited. The doors opened with Ben inside; he was wearing a pair of boxers and his Nike slides with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. She gave a weak smile and stepped into the elevator. "So?" He asked pushing his floor button.

"So, uh, I hope you don't mind me—you know? Is your mom here?" Ben shook his head. A small wave of relief spread over her. "It was just… rough. A really rough night."

"Mmmhmm," he said scratching his head. They rode the rest of the way up to his place in silence. The door to his apartment was open and they walked inside. Ben locked the door while Miranda put her purse down. She felt Ben staring at her. She matched his gaze. "Come here," he told her. He opened his arms wide and she walked into them. Miranda put her head on his bare chest as the tears reappeared. Ben hugged her tightly, pulling the covers around their shoulders, rubbing her back softly. He breathed slowly, consoling her and she mimicked his breaths. "Miranda?" he asked her in a near whisper. "Baby, what's up?"

She moved away from him and walked to the sofa that was still facing the gorgeous view of a bright Seattle. The moonlit night was a sight to behold even blurred by the tears in her eyes. She sat down, taking off her shoes. She lay down. Ben followed her to the sofa and put her head in his lap. He slowly stroked her head as she began to tell him the story of Camille Estrada. "An-and, of course, as you know, I've lost patients before. And it wasn't even about losing her. It was about the fact that…" Her voice trailed off.

"The fact that what, Miranda?" Ben asked supportively. He looked down at her, unfazed by the mess that was her face.

"That fact th-tha—I could have been Camille. She could be me. And Tuck," Miranda's voice cracked. More tears streaked down her face. She used her hands to wipe them away.

Ben tried to soothe her. "Shhh. Baby, no."

"You weren't there that night," Miranda said aggressively.

"And I'll never be able to feel okay about that," Ben said softly. He picked up her hand and kissed it. They were quiet for a while. "I don't know the whole story, but you could never be Camille."

She sat up and sniffled again. "How do you know that?"

"I know because you fought back. You fought back against him. You didn't take it lying down, you weren't compliant; you fought. You were strong. You didn't put Tuck in danger, you were brave." He paused and took her face into his hands. "And I didn't know Camille, and I feel bad for her and her family and especially her two boys, but you… you're a fighter, Miranda. Camille wasn't. And that makes all the difference. So, no… you couldn't have been her." Ben pulled her in for a kiss. She put her arms on his shoulders, holding him so tightly that she half-expected him to complain about the pressure. More tears fell from her face and onto their lips. She could taste them disappearing into their intertwined mouths. And she wondered if Ben noticed that he was literally kissing her pain away.