A/N: Oh god, those recent spoilers made me super emotional LOL three more days!
This chapter is just a continuation of the previous chapter when Danny leaves Mindy. Hope you enjoy! Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and leaving reviews. It means so much to me! Thank you! (:
He knew it wasn't the best thing to abandon Mindy. Okay, it was the worst thing he could do, but he panicked. He just had to leave and clear his head to figure out his feelings and what he wants. He really liked Mindy, that much he knew. He thought he even loves her.
However, now that she's pregnant with someone else's baby, he's not sure where he stands in her life. He needed some time and space to figure things out.
After he left Mindy's apartment, he just started walking, letting his feet dictate his destination. He started to think about their relationship, how much she means to him, what it would be like to raise a child with her, what it would be like to lose Mindy if she went back to Tom to raise the baby, and what it would be like to see them raise their child from the sidelines.
He thought about the times in his life when Mindy wasn't around. He'd been so miserable. There was something about the way she lit up his life that he couldn't shake. She made him extremely happy. Now that they're together, he couldn't stand losing her and having his life revert to misery. Simply thinking about it made him cringe and feel incomplete. He needed her in his life. She had given him everything even if he hadn't asked for it. She became his friend, gave him a relationship with his father back, and a more colorful life.
But Mindy having Tom's baby complicated things. Having a baby was definitely not in the cards for them, at least at this point in their relationship. He didn't let his mind wander very often, but when he did, he could really see him and Mindy getting married and having kids. He could see him coming home from a long day of work, kissing Mindy hello, and having his little girl run into him arms, yelling, "Daddy, you're home!" He smiled and warmed at the thought.
Is that possible with a child who isn't even mine? Will Mindy and Tom let me be a part of the child's life? Do I even want to be a part of the child's life? He thought about it for a long time. He wasn't sure how parenting responsibilities would go or how custody would turn out, but he was at least willing to help Mindy raise the baby if she needed him or wanted him to or if Tom wasn't willing to help.
He needed to go back to Mindy's apartment. He immediately turned around and headed straight back.
Mindy woke up a couple of hours later to a cold and empty bed. An unbearable feeling of sadness, rejection and failure washed over her when she noticed Danny's absence. She started to cry again as she wondered why he would leave her here alone especially at a time like this.
Her ears perked up when she heard her apartment door open and close. She saw Danny at her bedroom doorway in a matter of seconds.
Mindy sat up in surprise. "Danny? What are you doing here? I thought you left."
He strode over and knelt beside her. "I did but only because I was scared. I know that doesn't make it okay, but I didn't know what I wanted and how this was going to work out. I panicked, so I left. But I realize it was wrong to leave you here alone.
"Min, I'm scared out of my mind. I don't know what role I'm going to play in the baby's life, but all I know is that I want to be there as much as you let me. I want to be with you, and I don't want to lose you." He took her hands and gently squeezed them. "I'm not going anywhere, Min, okay? I'm going to be here with you through everything whether Tom is in the picture or not."
Tears were running down her face again as she nodded and hugged him. "Okay."
"So, are you going to do this? Do you want to do this, Min?" Mindy pulled away from him and stared at her hands settled on her lap.
"I do want to do this. And I want to do this with you, but to be honest, I'm scared too, Danny. We've only been together for a couple of weeks, and this baby isn't even yours. How are we going to handle this? How is Tom going to react and-and how much is he going to be involved, if he's involved at all? And I've always wanted kids, but what if I'm not a good mother, Danny?
"I-I eat cereal out of wine glasses and-and as much as I love Riley, I don't know what to do with her most of the time. Remember when Gwen broke her arm? I patted Riley's face to comfort her. I'm scared, and I don't know if I can do this." She lowered and shook her head in slight shame for admitting that she's scared of something she has always wanted.
"Babe, it's okay to be scared, but you have no reason to be, you hear me? I know this came as a surprise, but I'm going to be there and help you as much as you need me to be, and oh my god. Min, you're going to be an amazing mom."
Mindy scoffed at this. He reached out to place his fingers under her chin to raise her head to look at him.
"No, Min, I'm not lying. You're going to be a wonderful mother. I have no doubts about that. I've seen you treat your patients, especially those with complications, with care and love. You only want the best for them, and-and I know that you're going to love this baby more than anything in the world. This baby is so lucky to have you as its mother, Min. We're going to be just fine. We're in this together."
"Then, yeah. Okay. Let's do it."
Danny flashed his widest smile in happiness. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Mindy leaned in to give Danny a quick kiss, but he deepened the kiss and breathed her in. She slightly whimpered when she felt his tongue trace her bottom lip. She smiled into the kiss and started to suck his lips hungrily until….
"Hmm, Danny?" Danny grunted in annoyance. "I'm gonna throw up on you if you don't stop kissing me."
Danny quickly pulled away, and Mindy darted off to the bathroom. He laughed at her candidness, smiling at the level of comfort they shared with each other. He stood up, walked to her bathroom, and knocked on the door.
"Go away, Danny. You don't need to see me throwing up!"
He chuckled. "Not a chance, Min." He opened the door and went straight to the small wash cloth that was neatly folded on her bathroom shelf. He ran it under cool water and grabbed a hair clip from the bottom drawer underneath the sink. He knelt beside her to clip her hair up and away from her face. Then he pressed the damp cloth on the back of her neck and rubbed her back.
She got up to rinse her mouth. "Ugh," she groaned. She sat back down, leaning against the bathtub before feeling another wave of nausea come over her. Danny took a seat on her right and continued to press the damp washcloth to Mindy's forehead. "Thanks," she mumbled. She rested her head on Danny's shoulder. He gently placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"Stay here, I'm gonna grab some ginger ale and crackers for you." He gently squeezed her hand and stood up.
Mindy scoffed. "Yeah, like I'm going anywhere in this state, Castellameo."
He softly chuckled. "Yeah, well, just making sure." Danny lightly kissed her forehead and made his way to her kitchen. She beamed up at him, lucky to have him by her side.
He came back, handing her the bottle of ginger ale. "Thanks." She twisted the cap and sipped some of the ale while he sat back down in his spot next to her. She returned her head on his shoulder.
"So...when are you going to tell Tom?"
Mindy sighed and instinctively rested her left hand on her barely there baby bump. "I don't know, but soon."
Danny nodded. "Well, I'll be there if you need me."
She turned to face him, reaching out to intertwine her fingers with his, and smiled. "I know."