For the Record
She quickly changed into her scrubs and met her boyfriend at the door of the locker room. He followed her as she found her mentor standing in front of the Nurse's Station. He had a steaming cup of coffee and the residents that she'd asked for. She could get used to this kind of treatment. "What do we got?" She asked her mentor. He pointed to the residents and waved goodbye. She turned to Cameron and Edwards. "So?"
"Oh! Um, Nikki Ratlin, 30, erratic BP in the field," Edwards said.
"Complaining of chest and leg pain," Cameron finished.
Miranda nodded and picked up her cup of coffee and walked toward the room number that was indicated on the chart. She noticed that Ben was still by the Nurse's Station. "Are you coming?" She asked him.
He nodded shortly. "Yeah," he responded.
"So what happened?" Miranda asked her interns.
"She got struck by lightning," Edwards said as they stopped just inside of the patient's room. Miranda looked between her residents.
"Ms. Ratlin, I'm Dr. Bailey," Miranda said walking up the woman's bedside.
"W-where's Dr. Webber?" Nikki asked looking at Miranda.
"He got pulled onto another case. So, I'm going to help you, if that's okay?"
The woman looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, I guess," the woman said with a nod.
"So, I, uh, heard you got struck by lightning? Is that correct?"
"Can anyone spell coincidence? My horoscope said, 'Stay close to home today'. It couldn't have been any clearer." Miranda's face didn't change. "Well, I guess it could have said, 'Don't leave the house unless you want to get struck by lightning'."
"Ms. Ratlin—"
"Nikki."
"Okay, Nikki. You have no signs of wounds from lightning." Nikki looked at her doctors. "Normally people struck by lightning have a wound where the bolt entered and exited the body."
"Well," she scoffed. "I wasn't struck struck."
"I don't follow," Edwards said.
"The tree was struck and it fell on me."
"A tree fell on you?" Edwards asked.
"A big branch or limb. Whatever. Same difference."
"No," Miranda said blowing out air. "Actually, medically, it isn't the same difference. And it would be helpful if from now on you told us the whole truth." This is what she left her bedroom and her boyfriend for? A crazy lady with fantastical stories? Miranda turned around and looked at Ben dancing between the patient's bed and the door. She wondered what color scrubs UCLA would have him wearing. It didn't even matter, unless they were the navy blue ones that he was wearing now, he'd look good, but not too good. Just the way she wanted. Miranda resisted the urge to laugh at her premature jealousy. She turned to her residents. "Let's get Ortho down here, she looks like she has a fractured tibia. And let's find those scans quickly. We need to see the damage." She looked at Nikki. "I will be back to check on you. You most likely have some internal bleeding, but we'll know more when we see your scans."
Miranda walked out of the room. She exhaled and rotated her head to loosen her neck. She reached her hand back and gently rubbed on her neck and the top of her neck. "C'mere," someone whispered. They took her hand and pulled her away from the patient's room. She looked up to see Ben smiling back at her. He led her into an empty on-call room. Ben moved a large ottoman from the corner to the center of the room. "Sit here for a second." She gave him a quizzical look. "Will you sit down please?" She sighed and made a face as she sat down. Ben stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, putting pressure on them. Miranda bit her lip so that she wouldn't moan as the tension eased from her body. His hands made their way up and down her back and around her neck. She felt his lips in her ear. "Feel better?" His warm breath hitting her ear made small bumps appear on her forearms. She couldn't wait to get back home. She reached up and touched his face just as her beeper went off. Miranda stood up and straightened her spine, pleasure would have to wait. Ben pointed to her chest and then to his own. "And we'll continue this." He sat down on the ottoman.
She nodded and headed toward the door. "Coming?" He smiled widely and jumped up. Halfway out of the door, he turned around and pushed the large piece of furniture back to its corner. He caught up with her, bumping her, gently, with his body. She tried not to smile, but she failed—miserably.
She stood in front of Nikki Ratlin's scans with her residents hovered around her and Ben behind them. "Is that her spleen?" Ben asked.
Miranda and her residents turned around to look at him. "Yeah, it is. Looks like a grade three laceration. Maybe a four," she mused.
"So, um, what was she doing standing under a tree in a thunderstorm?" He crossed his arms.
"She wasn't standing under it," Edwards said with a smile. She had a wonderful smile. "She was climbing it."
Miranda looked at the girl, her hair in two long cornrows. "Why?" Miranda asked taking a closer look at the scans.
"Uh, I get the feeling that she's a little bit of stalker."
"Do we need to call the police?" The attending asked.
"No," Cameron piped up. "I think she's more of a gentle stalker than a 'kill you' stalker."
"Right," Miranda said with a small sigh. "Well, let's hope she lives to gently stalk another day." The two residents snickered. "Um, go pick up her labs and get her on the board. Then we'll break the news." She continued to look at the labs, not because she needed to examine them more, but because she could see Ben's reflection on the side of the device. He was looking at the scans so intensely; she hated to break his focus.
"Oh, sorry," he said snapping out of his trance.
"It's fine. The way you're looking at that spleen is how I used to look at spleens when I first started."
"And you don't look at them like that anymore?" He asked.
"Erm, sometimes."
"So, what has your attention now?" He asked walking up behind her, his body nearly touching hers. He rubbed her shoulders. "Is it a certain someone or something?" She whipped around and hit his chest. "Ouch! Okay! Sorry!"
"That's better," she said with a small smile. She moved past him and left the room.
Miranda and her crew breezed into Nikki's room. "Dr. Bailey…"
The General Attending held up her hand. "You have a ruptured spleen."
The patient moaned. "And I'm sure that the spleen is very important, but I'm not having surgery today."
"And why not?" Miranda put her hands on her hips.
"I just think that I'd be happier if you guys operated later."
"Later when?" Edwards asked.
"Tomorrow?" Nikki said squishing up her face.
"Well, your spleen is bleeding today and—"
"Dr. Bailey, there was a wreck on the freeway and I detoured an hour out of my way just to get to Kevin's house," Nikki said flailing her arms. "And then! I get to Kevin's house, I get struck by lightning."
"But you weren't struck by lightning," Cameron said, exasperated.
"I'll die, OK?!" Nikki shouted. Tears streamed from her eyes. "If you operate on me today, I will die on that table. I know I will. Please call my boyfriend and tell him I'm having the surgery tomorrow."
"OK," Miranda said, checking her phone quickly.
"Should I call Psych?" Cameron asked as they exited the room.
"You can give it a shot," Miranda said over her shoulder at her resident. "In the meantime, get her down to the ICU. Poor girl's gonna kill herself trying not to die." Cameron and Edwards nodded and took off. She turned around and looked at Ben. "I'm sorry. This was supposed to be quick. And this is taking so much time. You can go home if you want."
"When you say 'home,' do you mean my house or your house?" Ben asked smiling at her.
"I'm trying to be serious and professional and you're making it really, really hard."
He raised and wiggled both of his eyebrows. "How's that?"
"I'm promptly ignoring you," she said heading toward the nearest stairwell. Miranda could have taken an elevator, but being on the brink of basketball season, meant that she needed to be kind of fit. He followed her. They were silent as the door clicked to its close.
"All right, well, I'll go home." Miranda kept quiet. She didn't want to ask if she meant his house or hers. She bit her lip. "To my apartment." She nodded. "And whenever you leave, you can come over or go home and I'll drive over to you." He looked over her head and touched her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. Like a magnet, his lips attracted hers. His tongue ran over her lips and into her mouth. She pulled away a little. Ben held onto her, their lips still connected. He reached up and touched her hair. "I love you."
"I love you," she whispered. Goose bumps appeared on her arms, neck and back.
"Good. Then come over later."
"Done," Miranda answered without hesitating. She stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek and went up the stairs leaving him at the bottom with a smile on his face.
In the Attending lounge, Miranda's phone and beeper went off simultaneously. Nikki Ratlin. Miranda ran to the woman's room, hearing the familiar, yet intense beeping of the monitors. "Uh, yeah, she's bleeding out," Miranda said to her residents.
Nikki closed her eyes for a second. "I don't want an operation," Nikki said softly, struggling to breathe. Miranda looked quickly at her Edwards, who was on the other side of the bed.
"Nikki, your boyfriend called. He said he doesn't want you to die," Edwards said stepping in smoothly, checking the patient's heartbeat.
"Kevin called?" Nikki asked with a wide smile.
"Yes," Edwards said seriously. "Will you let us operate?"
"Nikki?" Miranda watched the woman's eyes roll back as a long, continuous beep came from one of the monitors. "Oh, Code Blue!" She shouted. The doctors and nurses worked in sync to perform the code as Miranda reached over and grabbed the paddles. "Charge to 200!"
"Charge," a voice said.
The beeping continued. "Clear!" Miranda said. The powerful feeling was back. In just a short period of time, her head was covered with a thin layer of sweat. Miranda held onto the paddles tightly as Nikki chest was shocked. "Clear!" Another shock lifted Nikki's body off of the bed. "Charge to 300."
Miranda looked at the monitor, nothing had changed. She was gone. Silently, Miranda handed the paddles back to the nurse, silently thanking her. "Call it."
"23:17," the residents said together.
Miranda repeated the time and sighed loudly. She patted Nikki's hand and walked out of the room with Edwards right on her heels. "Kevin never called," she admitted.
Miranda turned around. "I know."
"Her mom is on the way. She's flying in from Phoenix. She should be here in an hour." Miranda didn't speak, but checked her watch. "I hope… I mean, I know I shouldn't have lied like that, but—"
"We did everything we could," Miranda told the girl. She headed toward the locker room. She pulled off her scrub cap and sat down on her stool. Her mind was so cluttered and she was so tired. Losing a patient always left her emotional and quiet. She undressed and dressed quickly. And talking to grieving parent was so draining. She could have pushed the assignment over to one of her residents, but as a parent, there was no good or bad way to hear the most devastating news. She'd left Nikki's mom crying hysterically in one of their quiet rooms with Edwards, luckily she'd brought someone with her. Miranda looked up at the ceiling allowing the lights to blur her vision temporarily. She closed her eyes and said a short prayer. Some things she would never get used to doing.
In her car, she headed to Ben's apartment. It was a short drive, but with a heavy heart and a tired body, she needed some company. Hearing his smooth voice made her night a little better. "Done for the night?" He asked.
"Yes, I am."
"How's Nikki?"
"She… she didn't make it," Miranda said coming up to a red light.
"I'm sorry, Miranda."
"Me, too," she told him as she turned down his block. "I'm outside."
"I'll come down," he said. She just nodded and dismissed the call. She grabbed her purse and her cell phone and walked to the elevators. "You look exhausted."
"Well, you don't look as fresh-faced as you sound," she fired back, regretting it immediately. She hoped that she hadn't offended Ben; it had just been one of those nights. She bumped him with her body gently to make up for her comment. They smiled at each other. She'd be alright. "Oh, what a night!" She dropped her bag onto the countertop and walked to the large window. He tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see him holding two glasses of wine. A smile appeared on her face. He was always one step ahead, knowing exactly what she needed. "What is this, Ben Warren?"
"Well," he said. "I figured that if we would have been able to top off our night properly, we would have ended up doing something really romantic." She nodded as he cleared his throat. "Being a romantic is all about knowing what your partner wants and needs. I know you've had an unexpected and tough night and I think you need my good company, this glass of wine and some rest, complete with me holding you."
"Thank you. That all sounds great."
"You still look good," Ben told her eyeing her body. She was still wearing the dress from their date, no longer self-conscious about it.
Miranda looked at her boyfriend. He was wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt. "You look… comfortable."
"Let's see if we can make you a match." Ben jerked his head, gesturing for her to follow him. On the bed was pair of shorts and t-shirt.
"For me?" She asked with a wide grin on her face. He nodded, setting the glasses of wine down on the small dresser near the bed. She went over to him and hugged him from behind, her lips softly touching his back. She changed into the clothes, instantly feeling better and more comfortable. The smell of his detergent washed over her. He offered her the glass of wine again; she declined by shaking her head. Ben raised one eyebrow and nodded. He put the glass back on the dresser. "I think that I just want to sleep."
"We can do that." They climbed into bed.
"Thanks," she said quietly. Miranda turned over and adjusted her body to fit his as he moved behind her. He inhaled, breathing her in. She felt his lips touch her neck so softly it felt like she was imagining it. Miranda prayed silently and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Miranda was the first to wake up. She looked over at Ben, who was lying on his stomach, his arm wrapped around her waist. She pulled the covers up to her neck and sighed. She would miss waking up with him right next to her. "Are you finally awake?" He asked. The bass in his voice made her jump a little.
"Yeah. Why didn't you wake me up?" Miranda yawned and sat up and put her back against the headboard.
"You looked so peaceful sleeping," Ben told her turning over and sitting up.
"It's a little the call is coming from inside the house." They laughed loudly.
"Ready for the game?" He asked her.
"Yeah, sure." She ran her hands over her face. "I'm nervous."
"You'll be fine. You're the best one on the team."
She shrugged a little. "You're right about that."
"So Karev texted me. The game is at 12."
"What time is it now?"
"Going on 10:30," he said.
"Well, I need some breakfast and I need to go home and change." Miranda slid off of the bed.
Ben did the same. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Good morning, sweetheart." He walked to his dresser.
"Good morning, baby," she said pulling off her shirt which was really his shirt. She turned her back to him and tossed it to the side. She picked her dress up off of the chair.
"You don't have to drive back home in that dress. You can… just wear the shorts and shirt."
"Why?"
"Whatever makes you comfortable, Miranda."
"Okay," she said throwing the dress back onto the chair. She put the shirt back on. "This is much better." Miranda grabbed her purse and walked towards the door. "You're not gonna walk me out?"
"I am. I just like looking at you."
Back at home, while Miranda changed her clothes, the doorbell rang. With her t-shirt in her hand, she walked downstairs. She put on her shirt while pulling on the handle; she looked out of the house to see her ex-husband standing next to their son. "There's my baby!" She said with a giant smile on her face. She hugged her son.
"Hi, mommy!" Tuck said in a muffled voice.
"We're just passing by," Tucker said. "Little Tuck saw your car and wanted to see if you were home."
"Is that right?" Miranda said looking down at her son. She touched the top of his head. Still growing, she thought. "That's why you're my favorite son."
"I'm your only son," Tuck said giggling.
Miranda and Tucker smiled. "Where are you two going?" She asked, walking out onto her porch. It was a nice day. Damn it, she thought. There was no excuse to not have the game today.
"We're going to the movies and then to—"
"Daddy's gonna get me a tablet!" Tuck shouted while running into the house; no doubt to the kitchen.
"A tablet, Tucker?" She asked with a frown.
"Yeah, you don't think he needs a tablet?" He asked. She shook her head. "A laptop, maybe?"
She nodded. "He needs to learn how to type, properly, not tap, like a 2-year old."
"He also needs something portable."
"That's why I bought the Nintendo thing, Tucker Jones."
"Fine. I'll get him a laptop now. We'll talk about the tablet later." She nodded in agreement. "What are you doing with your day?" Tucker asked leaning against the door.
"Well," she started. "My basketball team has a game today."
"Can we go, daddy?" Tuck asked appearing in the doorway with a popsicle in his hand.
"What about boxing?" She asked Tucker.
"Two week break," he said. "Bud, you don't want to go to the movies?" Tucker said with a huge smile.
"I do, but I want to see mommy play!" His excitement made her chuckle.
Miranda's ex-husband looked at her. "Do you mind having a cheering section?"
"Of… of course not! The more the merrier," She said. Both of them turned to look at her. "If you guys don't mind spending the day in the park with me." The three of them laughed. She picked up Tucker's hand and looked at his watch. "Oh! I have to go. You guys know the park; I'll meet you over there."
"No, we'll wait for you. I'll drive you over," Tucker offered.
She shook her head. "I will see you guys at the park."
"Alrighty then," Tucker said. He squeezed her shoulder, Tuck hugged her and they left.
When she was alone, Miranda grabbed an extra t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, her wallet, phone, two Gatorades, a bag of oranges from her fridge and she left the house. Arriving at the park, she was surprised to see how differently everything looked. For starters, all of the baskets were donned with nets, even the perpetually naked one. And there were a few tables set up and vendors were selling things in and around the park. The youths were gone and older men and their families took their place. Miranda looked around at the ten or so teams who were milling around. There were two other women dressed in team gear. She made eye contact with one of them and smiled. The woman smiled back, giving her a huge wave. Miranda turned around, sure that the woman was waving and smiling enthusiastically to someone behind her. "No, you!" The woman shouted, pointing at her.
Miranda touched her chest. "Me?" She mouthed. The woman ran to her, giving Miranda a chance to get a good look at her. She knew the face very well. It was Sydney Heron, the perky doctor who once ran against Miranda and Callie for Chief Resident. When Miranda first knew her, she was an okay doctor, focused and subdued like much of their class. But one day something happened, a surgery gone awry. Sydney had taken a short break and when she'd returned, she was unusually upbeat and optimistic and always with a smile on her face. She was the kind of person who got excited about everything. If it was someone's birthday, she'd be more psyched than they were. "Dr. Heron!"
"Dr. Bailey!" Sydney said giving Miranda a hug. Her body tensed up with shock and then she relaxed. Sydney had always been a very touchy-feely person. Miranda pulled away and looked at the woman. She looked exactly the same. Miranda supposed she hadn't changed much either. "Well, it is a pleasure to be seeing you in the park today." Miranda nodded with a smile. "I wouldn't have thunk that you were the type to be on a basketball team."
"Yeah, well…"
"What is the name of your team?"
"I have no idea," Miranda said realizing that she didn't know and how funny it was. She laughed.
"We're the Joy Luck Club. I got to choose the name." Sydney smiled while Miranda tried not to cringe. "So, how've you been, Dr. B?"
"Good. Still doing great in General. You?"
"I floated to Cardio," Heron said flapping her arms.
"Oh?" Miranda looked around for a way to escape the conversation.
"Yeah," Sydney said smiling, pulling her dark brown hair into a ponytail. "Once you beat me out for Chief Resident, I decided to focus on my next big thing and I thought… Cardio! There is no better service to continue my method of healing with love than working with the hearts. Cardio. It's where I am."
"I'm glad you're good."
"Heron! We're up!" A member from her team called.
"Well, I have to go," Sydney said. "See you later."
"I suppose," Miranda said under her breath as the woman pranced away. A tap on her shoulder made her jump. She turned around.
"It's just me, Miranda," Ben said kissing her forehead.
"Mmhmm," she replied.
"You're alright?"
"Mmhmm," she echoed.
Ben dropped the subject. "So our team is over there and I see you have your very own cheerleaders."
She smiled. "Yeah, they were passing by the house, I told them about the game and they decided to come."
"Maybe now you won't be so nervous," Ben said nudging her.
"I'm not that nervous," she countered. "Where's Jazmin and Angela? Thought they would have been here to see you run up and down the court."
"They would have been here, of course, but Jaz had a game today," he said handing her a royal blue jersey. She held it up. It had their team name on the front.
"Code Blue?" Miranda watched her boyfriend's face break out into a huge smile that turned into a laugh. She was laughing as well. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.
"Yeah, I know it's corny," Alex said coming up to them. He shook hands with Ben and gave Miranda a high-five. "But Ross chose it and none of us could come up with anything better and then I had the shirts already printed."
"Uh, no one asked me," Miranda said taking off her t-shirt and pulling on the jersey. She was glad she'd shaved the day before.
"This was kind of before you joined the team," Alex said with a sheepish look. Miranda made a face. "But if you have something better, by all means."
"Let me think on it. I'll get back to you," she told him. "So what court are we on?"
"Court 1 after that game finishes," Alex responded. "They call it the 'main event'." She nodded. Ben slung his arm around her waist, kissing the top of her head.
"You know you have like one more of those before I get into game mode. And then I'm Miranda or Bailey." He looked at her. "No sweetheart or honey or baby—none of that. Got it?"
"I got it… Bailey," he said licking his lips a little. She rolled her eyes at him. "Who's starting, Karev?"
"Well, Ross isn't here yet, so it's just us three," Alex answered.
"Miranda, you want to handle the ball?" Ben asked. She shrugged. It didn't matter.
"You should," Ross commented while walking up to their little huddle. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was scrubbing in on a Heller myotomy."
"Cool," Alex said bumping his fist with Shane's.
"Yeah, I got to do the esophageal dissection!" Shane said proudly. Miranda smiled. She remembered that feeling of getting the chance to cut during a real surgery, on a real person, getting the chance to heal them. It was exhilarating. She totally understood his excitement.
"Tell us about it later, but for now…," Alex looked over at Court 1. The game had just ended. "We have a game to play."
"Five minutes for warm-up, guys," a guy said tossing the ball to Shane. Miranda cleared her throat loudly. "Excuse me. And lady. Beautiful lady." The man smiled at her. Ben put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Okay!" The guy held up his hands and turned back to the table.
"Uh, that was your last one," she told him. She shrugged his arm off of hers and put her shirt, her Gatorade and the bag of oranges on the bench. Both teams warmed up at the same basket. Miranda looked at the competition, The Old Dogs. They looked exactly like the doctors most people got when they went to the hospital, older men with grey and white hair. They wore goggles and smelled of Bengay, not the sexy ones that TV shows often portrayed. While Miranda wasn't the fastest one between the two teams, she was definitely faster than most of the older guys.
"Bailey! Catch!" Alex said.
Miranda turned her attention back to her team. She caught a pass from Alex and dribbled to the basket and laid the ball up. "Yay, mommy!" Tuck shouted. She smiled at her son and looked over to see Maggie sitting behind them. The horn sounded and the game began.
Turns out, the old guys were probably older than they looked. On top of that, they were slow as molasses. Miranda's team jumped out to an 8-0 lead and ended up winning by 15 and that was only because they only shot three-pointers for the last five minutes of the game. After both teams shook hands and Miranda's team cleared the bench, they all met by Alex's car. "Dr. Bailey!" Maggie said coming up to them. "Great game."
"Thank you," Miranda answered. "I didn't know you'd be here."
"Of course," Maggie said while putting her phone into her pocket. "I have to come and support my former team." The women laughed.
"Easy win, champ," Tucker said putting both hands on Miranda's shoulders. Ben waved him away and stood behind her, his arms fell onto her shoulders. He pulled her closer by locking his hands. His after-game scent was driving her crazy. She stopped herself from kissing his arms while everyone was around.
"Those guys weren't good at all," her son said. Miranda scoffed and looked at him. "They weren't, mommy." The boy put his hands out asking for an orange. She opened the bag of oranges, offering one to everyone.
"They weren't," Tucker echoed. "At all." Miranda shook her head as they all laughed. "So, when's the next game?"
"Next weekend," Alex said.
"Cool, I'll come out. Mandy will let me know," Tucker said. He went around the circle and shook hands with everyone. When he got to Maggie, he stopped. "I don't think we've met before." Tucker gave Maggie a look. Miranda knew it well and she hit his arm. "Ow, Mandy! Damn!"
"Oh, I'm Maggie Pierce. I work at the hospital with these guys."
"Nice. I'm Tucker, Miranda's ex-husband," Tucker told her.
"My married, ex-husband," Miranda said correcting him. Tucker looked at her and smirked cockily.
"So, you must be Tuck," Maggie said to Tuck. He nodded and stuck his hand out to Maggie. "Oh! And so polite." Miranda smiled. Her son was such a good kid and reflected well on her. Maggie looked at her watch. "I have to go. I will see you all later." She glanced briefly at Alex before she walked off.
"Damn, dude, you're not even going to walk her to her car?" Tucker asked Alex.
Everyone turned to look at the red-faced doctor. "Why me?"
Tucker laughed. "Didn't she come here to see you?"
"W-well, uh, she… we're friends," Alex managed to get out. Tucker nodded in concession.
"Well, I guess we'll go, too," Tucker said. "Warren, drinks Monday?" Ben nodded noncommittally.
When they were gone, Alex turned to them. "That wasn't bad, but that game was way easy."
"Yeah," Shane said.
"No, 'yeah'," Alex said looking directly at him.
"You need to be here on time," Ben said.
"Or at least text one of us," Alex told him.
"Hey, now! Just back off of him," Miranda piped up. She looked at Alex and then at Ben. "We're doctors, we've been residents. We know how it is. We've all been there."
Alex piped up: "Yeah, except that I got a text from Robbins saying that the procedure was postponed." They all looked at Shane. His face was reddening. "So, what's up, Ross?"
"I left the hospital early, early this morning and then I was with someone, alright? I was exhausted," Shane answered with a kind of alarmed look on his face.
Ben laughed and shook his head. He stuck his hand out to Shane. "Be on time."
"These residents are crazy!" Alex said pouring water over his head. "Jo left my house at three freakin' o'clock in the morning, so she could get back to the hospital." Miranda laughed loudly. She looked at Shane whose face was getting even redder. She stopped laughing and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, well, I have an appointment to get to." Alex picked up his bag, hopped into his car and was gone.
"I guess I'll be going, too," Shane told Miranda and Ben.
"Unless you want to get lunch with us," Ben offered. Miranda gave her boyfriend a look. When Shane turned away to pick up his book bag, Miranda pushed her body into Ben's. He leaned forward and grunted a little, arousing her.
Shane turned around. "Maybe another time?" He waved goodbye awkwardly and he was gone.
Miranda and Ben walked over to her car. She threw her body into his again. "Mmm, what was that for?" He asked holding her waist tightly, their bodies stuck together.
"Because I'm not interested in Shane Ross being a third wheel on one of our outings."
"So… no threesome?" Ben wiped his face on a towel and reached over and wiped her face, too.
"Ben Warren!"
"Miranda Bailey!" She rolled her eyes and opened the door to her car. "So… no?"
"I'm not giving you an answer," Miranda told him as she slid behind the wheel.
"And why not?"
She gave him a fierce look, her face straight. "You'd want to share me with another man?"
"Or woman."
"Or… woman."
He leaned on her car, pausing for a second. "I don't think I want to share you with anyone else," he told her finally.
"I wouldn't want to share you either," she said quickly. "I like it when it's just us in the bedroom."
"I agree," he said moving in for a kiss. Miranda put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. "Just us." His tongue slipped into her mouth.
"You still want to get something to eat?" Ben asked into her ear, quietly.
"Depends on what you had in mind," she said just as softly.
"Follow me." Ben closed her door, walked to his car.
Miranda started her car and followed him, unaware of where they were going. Her phone rang while she tailed Ben around the city. She used her Bluetooth system to accept the call. "Hello?"
"I told Adele about Pierce," Richard's voice seeped out of the phone.
"And?" Miranda asked not really wanting to know the answer.
"Well, it didn't quite go like I thought it would."
"How was that?"
"I thought she'd be…"
"Livid?" Miranda offered.
"Yeah. At least livid. I thought she'd throw me out," he said. There seemed to be some relief in his voice. Maybe everything went fine. "She said that she was glad that I had a daughter even though she wasn't the one who gave her to me." Miranda smiled. "She wants to meet Pierce."
"Make sure you talk to Pierce; make sure she's comfortable with it all."
"I will, of course."
"I hope you've let go of that breath you've been holding." She watched Ben turn onto her street. "What is he doing?"
"Excuse me?" Richard said.
"Nothing. Go on." She shook her head as they pulled into her driveway side by side.
"Yeah, I have. I thought that the biggest and most permanent display of my affair with Ellis would leave Adele wanting to kill me, but I guess we're past all of that."
"She probably still wants to kill you, sir," Miranda told him. They laughed. She was so happy that he was happy again. Both of their lives seemed to be clicking on all cylinders again.
"Alright, Mandy, I just wanted to, uh, tell you that and to say: thank you."
"You're welcome, Chief," she said and she disconnected the call. Ben tapped on her window and she rolled it down. He jerked his head in the direction of her house. "Fine!" She feigned being annoyed, but she was anxious. Even though she got to spend a lot of time with Ben, it never seemed to be enough. So she appreciated every moment; not just because he was leaving, but because they were in love. And these were the good times, the other times would come and weigh heavy on her head and heart, making her forget a moment like this. A moment when Ben standing in her driveway, smiling and sweaty and urging her to get out of the car so that they could…the rest was unknown, that was another memory that they'd have to make. Ben held his hand out for her as she slid out of the car. She took it, locking her car. "I thought we were getting something to eat." They made their way inside of her house. Ben didn't speak, so she stopped talking, too, checking the time on her phone. It was about fifteen minutes until two o'clock. Miranda took off her sneakers and pulled the jersey over her head. "I'll be… right back." She spoke quickly.
He just nodded. She went to her laundry room and peeled off her basketball gear. A shower would have been nice, but she settled for the shirt and pair of shorts that she pulled out of the dryer. "Hey, Miranda, food's here." Those were the first words he'd spoken since they'd gotten to her house.
"Food?" She repeated.
"Yeah, I ordered some on the way here," Ben said.
"Oh… You're good!" She said meeting him in space between the kitchen and the living room.
"Could you tell my girlfriend that?" He smiled, putting his arms around her waist and guiding her toward the kitchen. He kissed the side of her neck. She inhaled deeply and turned around. She tried to hide the look of passion in her eyes. She initiated another kiss, moaning into his mouth. He pulled at her shorts. She grabbed his hand and headed in the opposite direction of the kitchen. "I, uh—I thought you were hungry?" He kissed her neck.
She took his hand as they moved up the stairs to her bedroom. "I am starving."