Mindy was having a minor meltdown. She'd just begun to process the Danny situation when she finally found her purse. Strangely enough, someone had returned it to her desk at the office. She'd excitedly gone through it to make sure some criminal hadn't pilfered her things, sighing in contentment as she touched each belonging.

Then she'd found her phone.

She called Gwen almost immediately, in a state of panic, lying prostrate across the floor. Thank god it was Saturday and there was no one here to judge. "My life is ruined!" The wail following her exclamation was reminiscent of a dying cat.

Gwen reacted all too coolly, clearly jaded by Mindy's all too frequent dramatics. "Mindy, relax. There are two things you can take from this. One: Cliff obviously likes you. Yay. And two: Someone in your office is trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to play matchmaker, which means they obviously care about you. Everything's good in Mindy land, right?"

Mindy couldn't respond verbally. She just continued to moan. Gwen let her ride it out. After a few minutes she was able to form coherent sentences again. "Not everything." Gwen's blanket statement reminded her of the real issue at hand. She couldn't avoid thinking about her conversation with Danny. The bizarre text messages were not enough to keep her from thinking about the feel of his lips under hers, or the hurt look on his face when she was unable to respond appropriately.

"Gwen, I think I screwed up." She told Gwen about the night before, about playing-house for the benefit of Danny's neighbor. As the story poured from her lips she began to be amazed by how surreal it sounded. "Then this morning he told me that I should go for it. He said that the guy I liked wasn't out of my league. Gwen, he said I was great."

Gwen laughed. "Oh my, Mindy. Normally you don't sound so horrified when someone compliments you. Danny's your friend, right. So he thinks you're great. Big deal. You're friends now, that's the kind of thing friends say." She didn't sound utterly convinced, but she'd been down this path with Mindy before. It was very hard to convince her that someone liked her. Men usually had to be very direct before she even got the hint.

Mindy bit down on her bottom lip, debating about telling Gwen the rest. "He thought I was talking about him." She paused, taking a deep breath. "And then he kissed me." The words hung in the air. Mindy could all but see the knowing expression on Gwen's face. Her silence shrieked 'I told you so.' Mindy frowned. "Well say something!"

Gwen adopted that almost condescending tone Mindy hated. "Sweetie, I don't know what you want me to say. I mean, I can't believe Danny boy actually made a move. I was afraid he was going to spend the rest of his life pining over you."

Mindy felt her face crumple into what was surely an ugly cry. She gasped out a little sob before reigning it in. "Was it really that obvious?"

Gwen immediately regretted ribbing Mindy about this. She hadn't realized what a sore spot it would be. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. Maybe it's just because I'm on the outside looking in. He's always tried to hide it from you. How did you react?"

Mindy began to cry in earnest. The tears streaming down her face as she repeated the conversation they'd had. "I just feel so guilty. You can't imagine the look on his face. It was like I'd punched him in the gut. Then he left before we could talk about it more."

The crying subsided into soft hiccups. Gwen sighed. "What do you want, Mindy? I know you care about him. Honestly, I've always rooted for the two of you. He's the only man who's ever known the real you. Not even Casey knew who you really were."

She sighed into her phone. "Gwen, this is real, isn't it? I'm afraid I'll mess it up. I always mess these things up."

Mindy arrived at the office a little after nine Monday morning, hoping it was the perfect time to completely miss running into Danny. She did a weird tiptoe/skip across the carpet and dashed into her office, sighing in relief when no one questioned her about her odd behavior.

She shut the door behind her and sat down, settling in for a possibly awkward Monday. She hadn't quite decided what she was going to do about Danny. It was a dilemma that set butterflies fluttering in her stomach when she thought about it.

She knew she couldn't avoid him for long, and when a knock sounded at her door she took a deep breath before issuing a welcome. The little bubble of anticipation in her chest burst when Betsy popped her head in, flooding her with a surge of disappointment. "Dr. L I shifted your schedule around a little bit today." She stepped forward and laid a post it on her desk. "Dr. C called in sick, and I contacted most of his patients to reschedule, but Mrs. Alvarez wants to keep her appointment at one."

Mindy's eyes darted back and forth between Betsy and the post-it. "Danny's sick? Did he, uh, maybe say how long he'd be out?" Mindy folded and unfolded the note, her fingers fidgeting independently of her brain.

Betsy frowned. "No, not really, but he didn't sound that ill, so possibly just today." She looked hopefully at Mindy, pleased with her powers of deduction.

Mindy blinked, her gaze turning inward. She leaned back in her chair absentmindedly thanking Betsy. She was lost in thought. "That'll be fine."

Betsy backed out of Mindy's office, a perplexed look twisting her features.

Danny raised his fist to the heavy oak door, rapping his knuckles against it. He would've rang the doorbell, but it hadn't worked in years. She'd never liked it anyway, he had a sneaking suspicion that she'd dismantled it herself. He waited a few minutes the raised his hand again, this time knocking a little more forcefully. Nothing still.

The wind picked up, sending a chill up Danny's neck. He flipped up his collar and stepped away from the door, glancing around the small porch. There were flower pots sitting here and there. He smiled. Nothing ever seemed to change. He bent down and dug around in a small blue flower pot tucked slightly behind the others.

After a few seconds he felt the sharp cold of metal against his fingertips. He pulled out the key, brushing the dirt off of it. Before he could stand up, he heard the door open behind him. An umbrella swung down, landing on his back with a soft thump, once then twice. He raised his hands and turned to face his assailant. "Ma! Relax!"

The woman standing in the doorway dropped the umbrella to her side, her quilted morning robe flapped around her ankles in the wind. "Good Lord, Danny. Do you want to give your poor mother a heart-attack, messing around on my porch like some hooligan neighborhood kid. I'm older than I look." She glanced up at the sky, making the sign of the cross over her chest. "Mother Mary, give me patience."

Danny stood up, readjusting his jacket. Mrs. Castellano stared him down, after a few moments the irritation left her face, replaced by a soft look of sympathy. "Danny, what happened?"

Danny was dumbfounded. "Wha- nothing…. well, something." He stopped himself. "Can we just go inside first?"

She pursed her lips, turning back towards the foyer. Danny followed her, quietly shutting the door behind him. He followed her into the kitchen. The little lemon yellow round dinette set was tucked into one corner. He sat down at it, feeling silly. "Ma, when are you going to let me help you buy a new place? This is way too small."

She stood at the stove top, picking up the whistling kettle. Before he could protest, she had poured two cups of tea and seated herself across from him. "Don't try and change the subject. Tell your mother what happened?"

Danny sighed and took a drink of the tea. He'd stewed all day Saturday and Sunday, waiting for Mindy to call and tell him what she'd decided. When nothing had happened, he decided he couldn't face her at the office. "What makes you so sure something has happened?"

She gave him a knowing look. "Danny, the last time you showed up on my doorstep in the middle of the day when you should have been at work was when that blonde harpy betrayed you." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Danny didn't reply. He stared down in his cup, watching the leaves settle against the porcelain at the bottom. His mother reached across the table and patted his forearm. "You came all the way out here to not talk about it?"

"Do you think I'll ever find anyone?" He twisted the delicate teacup one quarter turn, concentrating on the movement. "This is probably the first time I've ever faced the prospect of continuing my life as it is right now. I picked up the pieces after things fell apart with Christina. I tried to be this bachelor guy, in his fancy masculine apartment. I tried to be happy, knowing that was it. I thought I could do it."

Mrs. Castellano leaned forward and hugged her son, patting him on the back. She didn't let go, just held him there. He laid his head on her shoulder. "Danny, who is she?"

Danny couldn't even feign ignorance. "How do you know?"

She leaned back to look him in the face. "We feel the most alone when we know there's someone out there we'd happily spend every waking moment with."

Danny sighed, might as well tell her, it's not like she knew Mindy or anyone else from the office. "It's one of the doctors I work with, Mindy."

His mother raised an eyebrow sharply. "Stevie's girlfriend?"

"WHAT?!"

Her eyes widened at the volume with which the word exploded from his mouth. She laughed to herself. "His mother comes over here sometimes, to watch Jeopardy, you know, keep our minds sharp, and she's always talking about Stevie's lady-doctor girlfriend, Mindy."

Danny sat back in his chair. "Ma, I don't know what to tell you. Stevie's full of it, ok. Mindy is not his girlfriend." Danny sighed and dragged his hands down his face. "That guy scalps ice capades tickets on the corner. Mindy is not dating him, ok?" The annoyance drained out of him. "She's into this lawyer that works in our building anyway."

She smiled down at her son. "Danny, I get it. She's your person. I know everything will work out, sometimes people just need time."

Danny looked up at her. He always came out here when things were overwhelming. She never really gave him any concrete advice. She never told him what course of action to take. It was her eternal optimism that bolstered him.

Just as he was about to lean in for another hug, a raucous pounding came from the front of the house. "Yo, Mrs. C, you home? Is Danny here?" The voice that rang out was familiar in its Staten Island cadence.

Danny swiftly went to the front door, jerking it open. "Stevie? What the hell are you doing here?"

Stevie looked up at him, taken aback by surprise. "Danny!" He sprang forward and caught him in a bear hug. "What do you know? Little lady doctor was right." He looked back over his shoulder down at the street where his car was parked. "Yo, Mindy! He is here. I guess I owe you ten bucks!"

Danny violently shoved Stevie away from him, almost causing him to fall down the steps. He looked down at the street, watching Mindy haul herself out of Stevie's little hatchback. "Just what the hell is going on here?"