CH 23

Danny clasped his hands together in front of him, leaning forward at his desk. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he turned his attention back to the man and woman sitting in front of him. "Mrs. Miller, when you called to make a late appointment, you told our secretary that it was an urgent matter." He shut the file lying on the desk in front of him.

She leaned forward in her chair, a serious expression on her face. "Well, to me this is urgent." She turned back toward her husband. Mr. Miller looked incredibly uncomfortable, fidgeting in his chair while looking up at the ceiling. "He doesn't want to say anything, but it's really getting on my nerves." She turned back to Danny. "Can you please tell him it's ok for us to have sex?"

Danny looked over to her husband. He felt a little pity for the man. Mrs. Miller was a force to be reckoned with. Danny strongly suspected that this woman was the person who'd inspired all those myths about red-heads having fiery temperaments. There had been several times over the course of her pregnancy when Danny had to sit her down and tell her to take it easy. The only calming force in her life seemed to be her husband.

She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms like a petulant child. "I mean it's been over six weeks, and I explained to him what you told me at my last appointment, but he still insists on treating me like a piece of china that might shatter at the least provocation." She let out an exasperated huff. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since we've had sex? Three months! And now we finally get a sitter and can have some alone time, and it's like he's not even attracted to me or something." The color in her cheeks rose, and her green eyes became glassy with tears.

Danny reached up and rubbed his temples. He could feel the beginnings of a headache. This was really the last thing he wanted to be dealing with right now. If anyone had told him he would be spending half of his time as an OB trying to be a couples therapist, he would have definitely picked a different specialty. Mindy was so much better at this part.

He frowned when the thought intruded. Not that he could call her over and ask for help. She'd already left for her tea-date with Deslaurier. Danny felt his jaw clench and tried to focus his attention back on the couple in front of him. Mr. Miller's gaze had stopped darting around the room and settled on his wife. "Catherine, that's not it, at all. How could you think something like that?"

Her head snapped up. "How? I'll tell you how. My husband, who used to set up camp down there and not come back for days, has been avoiding it like it's the entrance to hell, that's how!"

Danny felt the need to intervene. This conversation as getting out of hand. "Mrs. Miller. You're husband obviously loves you, and it's apparent that he's only concerned about your wellbeing. I have to tell you that it's not uncommon for some men, especially if they were in the delivery room, to have some trepidation when it comes to this."

She opened her mouth, clearly about to argue with Danny, but he cut her off. "And, Mr. Miller, you have to understand that there is no one in the world who better understand the physical trauma of giving birth than the woman who actually did it. Now, as of our last appointment, your wife is physically healed, and clearly she has wrapped her mind around the idea of being intimate again."

Mr. Miller was quiet for a moment, looking back and forth between his wife and Danny. He settled on her face, an earnest expression of love plastered over his own. "Cat, you have no idea how much I've wanted to. I just kept hearing your screams in the delivery room, and seeing.. well, you know. I don't ever want to be the reason you're in pain." He leaned forward and kissed her gently.

She responded by taking hold of the back of his neck and pulling him in for a more passionate kiss. Things quickly began to get heated, and Danny couldn't take the awkwardness any longer. He cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem." The couple sprang apart, each eying the other a little sheepishly. Danny leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh. "Ok, so I guess that's all cleared up. It's been more than six weeks, you're all healed up. You can have sex any time you want, but you know, try and wait till you're in the privacy of your own home and whatnot."

Thankfully, the Millers didn't hear the note of irritation in his voice. They laughed and rose from their chairs. He ushered the couple out into the waiting area, and watched them make their way to the elevator, arm in arm. Catherine laid her head on her husband's shoulder just before the doors slid shut, the unfettered glow of love warming her features.

Danny swallowed and looked around the empty office. No one here but him. The silence was deafening. He'd always thought writers were just being overly extravagant in describing the quiet that way, but it was true. In the silence he could hear more than he'd ever thought possible. He gathered his things and headed out the door in the direction of his equally silent home.

Mindy wrinkled her nose and poked cautiously at the mess sitting on the plate in front of her. "What exactly are you trying to feed me, Brendan?"

He smiled across the table, picking up the tiny tea pot and pouring each of them a cup. "It's vegan pasta made from quinoa and a 'cheese' sauce made from nutritional yeast. Try it, you'll love it."

Mindy could never quite understand how he could be so genuine in the face of her obvious distaste. She forked a piece of pasta and shoved it in her mouth. Years of being chastised for poor manners by her mother was the only thing that kept her from immediately spitting it into her napkin. She forged ahead and swallowed. She looked down at her plate. "And what are those things?" She pointed to the dark pieces mixed in with the pasta.

Brendan smiled. "The best part. Seasonal mushrooms foraged just outside the city." He dug into his portion.

Mindy set down her fork and picked up the cup of tea in front of her. Thankfully it was a mild green tea with nothing strange in it. "Brendan, what exactly do you hope to accomplish by taking me out for yeast and fungus? I mean, I deal with those at the office, and it hardly makes me want to sit down to a meal of them." She took another sip of the tea. "And I didn't really agree to dinner, by the way."

He finished the food in his mouth, taking a small sip of his tea to wash it down. "I wish to mend our fractured relationship." He set the cup down and looked at her. "There's a horrible tension when we cross paths. I'd like for it to not be that way, you understand, for our overall health."

Mindy let his words tumble around in her mind for a moment. She didn't really have much to say in response. Brendan was a nice enough guy, but his pretension was grating sometimes. She picked up her phone and glanced at it, setting it back down, quelling a little upsurge of disappointment. "You know, I guess I get what you're saying. It's probably not healthy to be antagonistic toward someone you see every day."

Brendan cocked his head to the side and looked at her with a quizzical expression. "Mindy, you've done that well over a dozen times since we left the office." He reached across the table and gently brushed the back of her hand. "Expecting a text from someone?"

She bit her bottom lip, picking up the phone once again, debating on whether or not to tell him. Oh, what the hell. "As a matter of fact, yes, I am expecting someone to text me, but that someone doesn't seem to understand that's what he should be doing right now."

Brendan leaned back in his chair, understanding finally dawning on him. "So, I guess I've missed my opportunity then?"

She glanced back up at him, surprised. "Opportunity?"

He let out a resigned little laugh. "It can't be a surprise to you that I wanted to start things between us again. Only this time it would have been different. I've come to realize you are more than meets the eye."

Mindy was flattered. This was exactly the kind of thing she would have strove for in the past. The need to prove herself to men who initially judge her lacking had often drove some of her more outrageous exploits, but now it was different. "Brendan, I'm exactly the same as I was before. We still have absolutely nothing in common, and neither of us has very much respect for the other's profession. We aren't compatible in that way." There was no acid in her response. She genuinely felt bad having to let him down.

He smiled. "And now you are dating someone who meets all of those requirements. I see, and it is a good thing, but you're not brimming over with happiness at the moment. Why is that?"

Mindy suddenly felt like she should be sprawled out on a chaise lounge in a dimly lit office that smelled of old cigars and sandalwood. She puffed out her cheeks and let out a gust of air, opening mouth only to snap it shut when nothing came out.

Brendan was still staring at her, encouraging her to speak with his continued silence. She finally snapped. "Ok, well, we had an argument. In hindsight, I kind of see that I may have overreacted, but I still feel like he needs to loosen up about things."

Brendan nodded. "This person is, shall we say, kind of uptight about some things." He raised his eyebrows. "And you've known this about him for a long time, right?"

Mindy sighed. "Well, yes." The admission came reluctantly. She knew she'd been going a bit too far, trying to pull Danny into having sex at work during office hours. "But, it was the way he reacted, what he said that really made me mad. I mean, I understand if he doesn't like PDA, but he just said all the wrong things."

Brendan took another sip of his tea, silently contemplating over what she'd just told him. "Oh, so he normally always says the right thing?"

Mindy blinked. Damn Deslaurier. He knew exactly who she was talking about. She didn't know how he knew, but he knew. "Well, no, but…" she trailed off. But what? Danny was not the smoothest of operators, especially not when flustered, and he had been a little hot and bothered when she'd tried to have this conversation with him.

She was lost in her thoughts, her mouth set in a frown. Brendan cleared his throat and she was brought back to the present. "Looks to me that you might be the person who should be sending an apologetic text right now. Especially if this person has a stubborn streak like you."

Mindy's shoulder's slumped in defeat. Of course. Danny wouldn't text her, not while he thought she was on a date with someone he'd dubbed his 'nemesis.' She smiled at the thought, looking back up at Brendan. "You know what? Even though we're not right for each other at all, I can totally see us being friends." She looked at him hopefully.

He smiled. There was that completely genuineness in his countenance again. "Of course, and this fully relieves the weight of guilt I felt from our previous interactions. I see that you're content with the way things played out." He finished off the last of his tea. "Why don't we cut this little rendezvous short? I can see you need to pursue something else right now. And Mindy, you should pursue it. I've never seen you so tranquil and balanced. You have a peacefulness about you that was absent before."

She agreed and they made their way outside. He leaned forward and gave her one last hug before they parted ways. She'd only taken a few steps when she heard him call out her name one last time. "Mindy. Danny is a lucky man."

She smiled to herself as she strode down the street. This had gone much differently than she'd expected. She pulled out her phone, opening her messages. Pulling up Danny's number she tapped out a quick message. You would not believe the awful restaurant I just went to. Sitars, fungus, yeast, not a sandwich in sight. I'm starving.

Danny replied almost instantaneously. What's the matter? Brendan not your soul mate?

She smiled. She'd been genuinely fearful that he wouldn't reply at all. Well, Danny, there's a good chance that it could have worked, if he hadn't insisted on feeding me fungus and live bacteria. So how bout it? Pizza, at your place?

Brendan was right, she was stubborn as hell. It should have been easy to just tap out a quick 'I'm sorry' and hope he felt the same. Instead she beat around the bush a little, hoping he would understand what she meant.

After what seemed like ages her phone vibrated again. Sure. Go to place by the drug store in my neighborhood and don't forget the olives.

She smiled and skipped up to the curb to hail a cab. It was still early, but she didn't want to waste any time walking to Danny's.