Little Bit of Life

During a long break before procedures, Miranda grabbed her purse and headed to Tuck's school. The last few weeks had been—tough. There didn't seem to be much time for anything, but one thing she always had time for was her son. Halfway to her son's school, she stopped at a Dunkin Donuts and grabbed a coffee. She sipped it as she walked down the hallway. Making a turn toward Tuck's classroom, she saw Tucker standing by the door. She moved behind him and tapped his shoulder. He jumped. "What are you doing here?" She asked when he turned around.

He scratched the back of his head. "I am just…"

"Checking up on our son," she finished for him.

"It's not a crime, you know."

She nodded as he stepped to the side and she slid in front of him and watched as her son wrote down his homework. "What are you doing here? I'm picking him up today."

"I know. I know. I just wanted to see him." He shook his head. "And you said so yourself, it's not a crime." They chuckled quietly. Tuck's teacher stuck his head out of the room. Miranda recognized him. It was Christopher Hunter.

He gave them a head nod. "Good to see you two here without me having to call you."

"Yes, sir," Tucker said shaking hands with the man.

Miranda shook hands with him as well, his big hands squeezing hers. "And one of us is being a stalker parent," Miranda added.

"The other is simply checking up on our son."

Mr. Hunter laughed at them. "I'll send William out."

"Thank you," Miranda responded. Tucker turned to her and held out his hand. "What?" He kept his hand out. She rolled her eyes and passed him her cup of coffee.

"Thank you," he said smiling down at her over the top of her cup.

Tuck rushed out of the room and hugged his mother first, then his father. With Tuck between them, they held his hands while walking out of the building. Tuck gave her another hug and climbed into his father's car. "You, uh, look weird, Miranda," Tucker commented.

"That's an unkind thing to say about someone so beautiful."

"Well, you do."

"I don't. You do," she accused.

"Fine, but something's up."

"There is nothing up. Just drop it."

He shrugged. "Don't tell me, but it'll come out sooner or later."

"You just love to bully folks, don't you?" She told him as she opened the driver's door.

He laughed. "You know I do."

Miranda started her car and drove off. Her next procedure was in forty-five minutes and she needed to prepare herself as well as her residents. After her break was over, she walked into the scrub room and began singing the song that timed her scrub time perfectly: Aretha Franklin. She sang out loud, softly at first and then a little bit louder. "I forget how beautiful your voice sounds," Richard said coming through the door.

"You're late," she said with a smile.

"Everyone else is just early," her mentor said as she finished scrubbing. After she said a quick prayer over the body, Bokhee started her surgical soundtrack. There were different kinds of surgery. And each one was her favorite. But her utmost favorite was when the patient's body did exactly what they wanted. It tore and bled perfectly making Miranda's heart skip. "Your technique keeps getting better. How is that possible?" Richard whispered as they walked down the hall.

"I'm naturally talented and gifted."

"Damn straight."

"And I had a great teacher," she giggled.

"You're making me blush."

"But, I also study and practice."

"It's no secret that you're going to take my place one day, but…" He stopped walking and folded his arms. "I didn't know you were going to kick my ass while you were doing it." The two of them laughed.

"Well, uh, you do owe me food."

"That I do," he said checking his phone. "And since your birthday is this weekend, I shall treat you to dinner today."

Miranda and Richard headed to a small restaurant down the street from the hospital. "We should do this more often," Richard commented as their food came.

She waved him off. "I'm not listening to you. You always say that." Richard told the waiter that it was Miranda's birthday and she was treated to a loud and off-key song and delicious piece of chocolate cake with ice cream. "Have some," she offered to Richard.

"Well, just a little."

She took another bite. "It's not as good as yours, but it'll do."

"Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, but you're about three days too early."

"Well, at least I'm on time for something." They laughed together and finished up some much-needed mentor-mentee time.

Before heading home, Miranda stopped by Ben's apartment. He was halfway through his recovery and really milking it and being annoying as ever. She used her key and opened his apartment door. "Hey, it's me!" She called out. She put down the leftovers from the restaurant. There was no response. "Ben?" She heard a woman's voice coming from his bedroom. It sounded familiar. She knew that voice, but from where? It mixed with the Ben's laugh full of bass and her heart stopped. If she'd been attached to a cardiac monitor, it would have been hysterical. "Benjamin?"

"Miranda?" Ben said. The female voice stopped.

"You look surprised to see me."

"I… I am." He walked over to her with, a small limp noticeable. He grabbed her waist and squeezed her tightly. "I've missed you." He put his face into her hair and inhaled. Miranda felt her eyes close, felt herself melting into him.

"I saw you yesterday." She smiled. If this is how it was before his residency, she couldn't imagine when they got together afterward.

"I thought you were having dinner with Richard."

Their exchange felt genuine but registered as inauthentic. She peeked around, but didn't see anyone. "I did. Complete with cake and everything," Miranda answered. Somehow her voice remained normal.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just thought I heard someone else that's all."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Miranda pulled back. She walked toward his bedroom. Behind her, she thought she heard him sigh.

There was no one in the room. One side of the bedspread was pulled back and his tablet was next to it. Her breathing slowed. Even though she honestly wanted to tear into his closet and race around the entire apartment, she didn't. She stopped herself and felt a surge of regret. She trusted Ben, with her whole heart. He would never—"So?"

"So what?"

"Did you find what you were looking for or whom?" Silence. "It's only Quinn."

Who the hell is Quinn? Miranda kept her face straight. "Who's that?"

"A character from a show, baby. Did you think…?"

"No, of course not."

"You were jealous," he said taking her hand.

"I wasn't."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You were."

"I was..." She thought of the right word. "Concerned."

They sat on his bed and Ben wrapped his arms around her again. "I'm not going to say it."

"Say what?"

"Say how much I love you and there is never going to come a time when you have to worry about me with someone else."

"I—"

"Let me finish." She swallowed and listened. "Whenever you come home to me, just know that it'll be just me. Or me and Tuck. Or me and Tuck and Jas. Or me, Tuck, Jas and whatever little Miranda-Ben hybrid we may have."

Miranda hated how emotional she was right now. She hated how consuming her love for him was. She hated how she jumped to that conclusion instead of pausing and remembering who Ben was. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I mean, I've had my moments, too."

"You have," she confirmed.

Miranda's phone rang. It was Karev. He had such poor timing. Remembering what Callie had told her, she felt sympathy and answered it, putting him on speakerphone. "Hello?"

"Bailey, we postponed two games because of your accident and we had a bye week. Then we pushed back another game because of Warren's surgery. If we have any chance of making the playoffs, we have to play two games tomorrow."

"Well, Warren's not playing, so there are only three of us. You, me and… Oh." Ben made a face and she shook her head.

"Yeah, I kicked his ass off of the team."

"So, we need to find one more," Ben asked jumping into the conversation.

Miranda thought. "Uh, we could bring on Pierce. Or… or…"

"What about that dude from Anesthesiology? The one with the long hair, good-looking guy."

Moore?" She asked Alex. Ben's eyes grew small and his jaw was locked. He looked so hot. How long until they could have sex again? Her body throbbed just thinking about it. she missed his touch. Their kissing always riled them up and stopping was always difficult. His hands on her thighs and on her stomach, always left her wanting more.

His response pulled her from heated thoughts. "Yeah!"

"Nope. Nope. Nope," Miranda said.

Alex threw out a few more names. "Just ask Avery," Ben recommended.

"Can he play?" Alex asked.

"You didn't ask if Pierce could play," she said with a chuckle.

"I already know she sucks." The three of them laughed. "Fine. The games are tomorrow. The first one is at two."

"We'll be there," Miranda said ending the call and looking over at Ben. His eyes widened. "What?"

"Ross got the ax?" She nodded and fell back on his bed. He did the same, reaching up and raking her hair. "What's the story there?"

Giggling, she turned to him. "I'm just surrounded by gossips."

"Spill." She shook head. "Do it or else." He turned to Miranda and put a hand on her stomach.

"Don't you even think about it."

"Why is Ross not on the team anymore?" Before she could answer, Ben was tickling her.

She howled, her body jerking. "Okay! Okay!" She told him everything she could remember from her conversations with Callie.

"Wow."

"Yep."

"Dating is such a weird thing."

She put her hand under her head and stared at him. "We're dating."

"But we're doing it differently."

"How?" Confusion fell over her face.

"We're committed. And we behave that way."

Miranda smiled in awe of her relationship. "Good point."

He picked up a pillow and gestured for her to lift her head, stuffing the extra pillow beneath her head. "Thank you."

Ben winked and heart fluttered. "So, you said something about birthday cake."

"Yes. You do know that my birthday is coming up?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"I may have heard something about that when your dad was in town."

"Do you have anything special planned?" Miranda put her hands on his chest. She just had to touch him.

He shrugged. "Do you want to do anything in particular?" She said she didn't. "We'll see, I guess."

"I suppose."

"Are you spending the night here or going home?" Miranda twisted her lips to the side. She did not want to spend another night alone, but it was definitely something she needed to get used to. Whether she wanted to accept it or not, Ben was moving away in… God, just over a month. Her throat tightened and she struggled to swallow while Ben played in her hair. "Miranda?"

"I think that… I think that I'm going to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Curt and Jaz are coming over in the morning to help me pack."

"Maybe I'll bring Tuck over and we'll make an afternoon of it."

"You're going to help me pack?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Sure. Why do you sound so shocked?"

"I figured you'd do anything to slow down the process, not speed it up."

She just had to laugh. He knew her love for him so well. "I'm a supportive woman. I want to help."

"And then afterward, we can go to the game."

"Sounds like a plan, handsome." Miranda leaned in and puckered her lips. Ben touched her lips with his thumb, held on to the sides of her face and kissed her. "I love your kisses."

He smiled. "I love your kisses, too."