This time around, as they walked back to Amelia Inn, there were no questions as to where his hands should go.

Elated, Danny strolled leisurely down the nearly empty sidewalk, a canvas bag carrying four bottles of wine in one hand while the other remained steadfastly intertwined with Mindy's. He had the added benefit of the feel of her other hand, which she had reached across her chest and in order to grip his bicep, like she was clinging to him for dear life. They wore twin lazy grins as they kept their gaze forward, silently agreeing to take the long way home.

Even as a doctor, a man in the business of science and the unpredictable human condition, it amazed him how so much could change in the space of twenty-four hours. Around this time the day prior he was roaming the town with his friend, unable to really translate his feelings and trying to focus on remaining a bastion of support for his friend. Now, they were operating under this newfound clarity between them.

He had kissed her. He had kissed her and her response was enthusiastic, to say the least.

Was this what he had to look forward to for the remainder of their trip, this new coupled behavior? Would the remaining days be filled with hand holding and laughter and making out and making lo-

Wait a minute, he thought as a strange feeling began to stir in the pit of his stomach. Let's be rational.

He hated to do it. He loathed his inability to just bask in the moment. However, he couldn't allow himself to underestimate the power of soft lighting, mood music, and a notable amount of alcohol which, when combined, created a perfect storm for romantic entanglements. Is that all this was, a temporary entanglement that could unravel so easily with the dawn of a new day?

No, he decided. This was real for him. In fact, he was sure that it had been real for him for years, despite his inability to be forthright with his emotions. What he felt for Mindy has not, and could not, come close to what he'd felt for any other woman in his past. This was so much more than a vacation romp. This was grander than anything he'd ever experienced.

And he wanted nothing more than to believe that the same could be said for Mindy. It would elate him to know that they were on the same page, that the timing was finally right for them to explore a new facet of their relationship. He also felt that it would be foolish, however, to ignore the fact that they were walking the streets of Key West on a trip that was originally designed to be her honeymoon with another man. It would be irresponsible to not consider the possibility that this was just an opportunity for her to expel some excess energy and emotion during a time when she was most vulnerable. Most importantly, it would be dangerous to invest so much of himself – of his heart – in something that may just be temporary.

Suddenly that "newfound clarity" he had been so relieved to find felt like a thin veneer hiding a giant pile of confusion. That only thing that was clear to him was his feelings for her, but her feelings were still a mystery. He guessed that if she took the time to really examine what was transpiring between them, she'd feel just as clueless about her own feelings as he was.

Before he knew it, they had arrived at the inn. Mindy inserted her key into the house lock.

"Boy, I've never been happier to see this place," she said, followed by a brief chuckle. Danny couldn't miss the shaky quality of her voice, which made him even more hesitant. The door unlocked with an audible click and Mindy pushed it open, making sure to reach back and reclaim Danny's hand before entering the house. His excitement over the gesture was instantly overshadowed by a sudden attack of anxiety. As Mindy led him up the steps with purpose, he his feet felt heavy like bricks. He never wanted to reach the top of the steps; he wanted to go back to the restaurant and relive their amazing moment. But alas, they had reached her door and Mindy gave him a look that would have been his delicious undoing, had he not already been so bogged down with apprehension.

"I'm really glad I tidied up the room before we left," Mindy admitted with a little giggle. She started to fidget with her keys again and the sound of their jingling rattled Danny to his core. He jumped into action, giving Mindy's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Hey," he called quietly, hoping that his tone was the perfect mix of apologetic and casual. "I'm gonna head to bed."

"Yeah, ya are!" Mindy respond cheekily with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She returned to the lock on her door, tightening her already firm grip on him. Danny tugged her until she was facing him fully.

"No, Min, I mean I'm gonna to bed…in my own room, you know?" The upward inflection on the last word was meant to make the statement sound nonchalant, but the tiny break in his voice on the last word made him look more nervous than he cared to reveal.

"That's silly, Danny," Mindy dismissed with a small smile. "You were here just last night and it was fine…I dare say, it should be a lot more fun tonight…"

Danny feigned a light chuckle, which only exposed more of his nerves. "Nah, c'mon , it's late and we're both full of risotto and wine…Listen, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm probably gonna sleep through breakfast, but I'll come around later and see what you're doing, okay?" Mindy simply stood there with an expression of pure confusion as Danny let go of her hand in order to grab her should and give her a polite kiss on the cheek. Mindy reacted to the gesture at once, opening her mouth wide and looking absolutely indignant.

"Oh, you have got to be effing kidding me right now, Castellano," she growled.

Danny's Adam's Apple bobbed as he tried to maintain their eye contact. "Wha-"

"You're running!"

"I'm not running, I'm tired!" Danny lied resoundingly.

"Yes, you are," she continued to accuse loudly, which caused a guest nearby room to poke her head outside of her door.

"Please shut up!" she barked. "Some of us have vodka to sleep off!"

Mindy shot an intense glare at the woman before finally unlocking her room door.

"Get in here right now, Danny," she hissed through her clenched teeth. She dug her nails into his bicep and dragged him into the room behind her, ignoring his clipped cursing of the physical pain she had inflicted on him. Mindy slammed the door and stood in front of it with her arms fiercely crossed, acting as a human barricade.

"Shit, Mindy, did you have to pierce my skin?!" Danny complained incredulously, rubbing the area gingerly.

"I cannot believe how much of an insensitive flake you're attempting to be right now!" Mindy plowed on, ignoring him entirely.

"How am I suddenly being insensitive or a flake?" Danny bit back. "I thought we could both use some time to cool off. We've had a lot to drink –

"Oh, BULLSHIT!" Mindy hollered. "We both know that neither of us are that drunk right now, so save it. This is you running. I could tell from the moment you gave me that 'Goodnight, Grandma' peck on the cheek! Look, you do not get to kiss me within an inch of my life and then just retreat to your room in hopes that I'll disappear! I'm not some Spring Break bar skank."

"I know you're not some bar skank, Mindy!"

"Then what's the deal, Castellano? Why are you itching to run away?"

"How can I run away when I don't know what the hell I'm running from?!"

Danny's outburst was followed by a thick silence. Though she still looked very angry, some of the tension in Mindy's face seemingly evaporated. She left her post at the door and took a seat at the edge of the bed, placing her hands on her knees as she appeared to contemplate what he said. Danny closed his eyes and exhaled as he set the bag of wine in the middle of the floor. He walked around to Mindy's side and sat, leaving a couple feet of space between them.

"Tonight was amazing," he said softly, staring at the door in front of him. "I'm just not sure what…" he trailed off as he vaguely gestured between them, still not making any eye contact.

Mindy shook her head and let out a shaky breath. "Danny, why don't you save us both some time and just say it? If you want this to be a Key West fling, you can tell me. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

The assumption offended Danny in a way he had not expected. He turned his body towards her and narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"Do you honestly think I would treat you that way? Do you really believe that's what I want?"

"What else am I supposed to believe?!" Mindy asked shrilly, her hands thrown helplessly in the air. "One minute you're hot – really hot – and the next minute you're cold and all too eager to put as much distance between us as possible! I had to literally drag you in here when all you had to do was talk to me. God, just…" Mindy ran a hand through her long hair with a huff. "For once just ditch that air of brooding mystery, Danny. Tell me what it is that you want."

She turned more fully towards him, tucking her right leg underneath her while her left leg dangled over the edge. She began to wag her foot and Danny was unable to tell if that was a consequence of nerves or impatience. He clung to the idea of her being as nervous as he was and allowed it to influence his ability to talk candidly with her.

"Mindy…you have to understand that I only just now allowed myself to think of you – of us – as something…" Struggling to find the right words, he blew out a frustrated sigh and rubbed the side of his face. "I know I'm not the most expressive guy in the world, but having to repress these feelings for years – years, Mindy – and convince myself that what we have is enough…that has to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure. I was prepared to deal with it for the rest of my life if that meant keeping you around, but you calling off the wedding and us on this trip have worked together to chip away at that barrier that I've built up for so long. I wish I could articulate everything that I want, but going from thinking that we would never be a possibility to making out with you in public…that's a wide spectrum to cross in a short period of time and it's incredible and terrifying all at once."

Danny looked to Mindy, who was listening raptly. Her foot has stopped moving and her eyes were wide. Danny scooted a few inches closer and spoke more gently.

"Min, I want…more ghost tours and more long dinners. I want to kiss you in hundreds of cozy restaurants and watch thousands of sunsets. I want to wake up next to you in the morning, make you pancakes, and then hold you hostage in my bed for the rest of the day. I want to hold you, Mindy! I want to really hold you surround myself with you all the time. I just…you. I want you, all of you, all the time.

"But I don't want all this in the wake of some traumatizing break-up, when you're vulnerable and possibly needing to blow off some steam. I don't want to have you one moment just for you to come to your senses later. And I definitely don't want to be the guy that takes advantage of you while you're away from home and not in your typical headspace. I'm not just thinking about me here; I'm thinking about you, too. You may think this is what you want now – and it's easy to feel that way in such a beautiful setting – and then get back home and realize that you need a fresh start by yourself. I can't not have you for years, then have you for a few days only to lose you soon after. It's too much…and you mean way too much to me."

Danny could see the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes and wanted desperately to wipe them away, but he feared that touching her would break any resolve he had left, and he felt it important tat she make the next move. As hard as it was for him, he allowed a tear to fall and watched her with bated breath, waiting for her to respond.

"Danny, there's a lot that I haven't told you, y'know, about why I didn't marry Elliot."

Danny made no move, sitting perfectly still as he waited for her to continue. Mindy quickly swiped at her tears.

"Do you remember when I told you about the time that Elliot sabotaged my attempt to go to that sold-out Miley concert? I was so, so angry with him not just about the concert, but about his non-acceptance of me, in general. He would be so judgmental and stubborn and all I could think was, 'God, why can't he just make fun of me a little and then ultimately support me, like Danny?'"

Danny remained frozen, waiting for her to continue.

"And then," Mindy paused to sniffle, "we would fight about how he never made a real effort to meet my family. Meanwhile, I can't get you and Rishi to shut up for five minutes if you two are in the same room. The last time he visited, I just stood there and watched you two hang out and I kept thinking, 'See? Why can't Elliot have that type of friendship with Rishi? Why can't he make the same effort that Danny makes?' 'Why can't he appreciate simple pleasures the way Danny does?' 'Man, I wish Danny was here.'"

The tears started to trail down her cheek a little quicker, and Danny could no longer resist brushing her cheek with his thumb. She placed her hand over his until he flattened his palm against her dampened skin.

"There were so many moments like that, Danny…too many. And after a while I stopped feeling upset by the fact that we wasn't like you and started to feel sad that he just plain wasn't you."

Danny thought he could feel his heart grow in his chest. It became harder to breath, but he didn't feel any discomfort. He simply felt desperate for her to finish.

"I tried to convince myself that it was just a case of cold feet, that I was looking for any possible out because I was scared. And then I walked down that stupid aisle and saw your stupid face…"

They both let out a choked chuckle at that and Mindy pressed his hand even closer to her cheek.

"I couldn't do it! Not when I knew there was better - not when I knew there was you. Tonight on that boat I found so much peace with it all. It's not about wanting a release. If it was, I could have hooked up with a number of guys since we landed. Stop being so jealous, you weirdo."

He had hoped not to be quite so transparent, but the mention of other possible men did arouse a strong feeling of protectiveness. Thankfully, the laughter in her voice when he had been caught eased him considerably.

"I don't want a fling. I don't want a release. I want to kiss and spoon and touch and hold and do lots and lots of very bad things to and with my best friend. I want you, Danny…all of you, all the time."

Danny decided then that if he died in that moment, he would leave this earth the happiest man that ever lived.

He quickly closed the space between them, grabbed her face on either side, and pulled her close in order to plant his lips onto hers firmly. She squeezed his hands as she inhaled deeply and let his lips take their long-awaited, rightful claim. A part of Danny wanted to devour her, to escalate things to a feverish pace. The more dominant side of Danny wanted to just savor the feeling of being able to kiss his Mindy.

He felt her pull back just far enough to be able to speak against his lips. "So you'll stay?"

After two quick, but firm pecks, he pulled away to lock eyes. "I will, if you say it again."

"I said a lot tonight," Mindy said breathlessly with heavily lidded eyes. "What specifically?"

He dragged one hand to the back of her neck as he gave her a reply, fractured by tiny kisses along her jaw line."

"Tell me…again…that you stopped…the wedding…because…of me."

He could feel her fingers rove his scalp as he landed a handful of pecks on her throat.

"I mean it wasn't – God, that feels amazing – it wasn't just you, Danny."

"Don't care, just say it," he commanded, his mouth full as he nibbled on the side of her neck.

The action caused Mindy to giggle. "Danny Castellano, you are the reason that I could not get married. You and your stupid, stupid face."

Danny pulled back with narrowed eyes to peer at her roguish smile. After a second, he eased his gazed and shrugged. "Good enough."

He dove onto the bed and quickly yanked her on top of him until he was drowning in her hair and laughter. Wrapping his arms around her waist and anchoring her to his body, he leaned upward and landed a kiss on the closest patch of skin within his reach, which happened to be her chin.

"I have a feeling that most of that wine won't make it home," Mindy sighed contentedly.

"That's alright. I wanted to share it with someone special, anyways."

A/N: HI! Nice seeing you!

I hope you enjoyed this installment! I love writing this kinds of frank conversation between these two. I'm glad I got the opportunity to write another Dandy confrontation.

Speaking of Dandy, I have launched a Dandy fluffy fic challenge, Operation: Tonic Water. It will be a collection of fluffy one-shots that can be submitted until May 6th, which is the day that the season finale airs. If you'd like more details, please message me or alittlenutjob. All writers are welcome to join! The more, the merrier!

You know the deal! Please leave a review, if you can! I'd love, love, love to hear from you all!

Have a good night and Hollaatchyagirl,

Phunky