Honeymoon Avenue

"Baby!" Ben called to Miranda as she stepped out of the shower and put on deodorant.

"You bellowed?" She said opening the door.

"You gotta come and see this!" He said excitedly.

"Alright," Miranda said. She came out of the bathroom and stopped at the table with their breakfast on it. It was a small buffet, every kind of breakfast and brunch food was piled on it. "Why so much food, Ben?"

"Because you're pregnant and your reaction to the fish last night was enough to suggest that you some of the foods you used to love might make you nauseous." Miranda nodded. He was always looking out for her. She fixed her plate and joined him on the bed. His own plate was on his lap. He had his laptop open and it was sitting next to him. She kissed his cheek. "What was that for?" She shrugged. "Cool. I looked up what Richard told us to and look!" He said pushing 'play'. Miranda and Ben watched as the video played back their heroics at the scene of the car accident. "I hope you called 9-1-1 before you started recording!" Miranda blushed as she heard herself yelling at the complete stranger. Ben smiled at her embarrassment and kissed her forehead. He wasn't on the screen much in the beginning as the videographer didn't move past Ava's car for a long time. But she looked good until she was seen bent over near the car. Good thing the camera didn't catch what she was doing. "You look fantastic!" He said picking up a piece of sausage from her plate and eating it.

"Thanks, baby. Except that they nearly caught me throwing up. Sorry you aren't on that much."

"I'm fine playing your Robin," he said winking at her. She asked to see the comments. "You're sure? People can be assholes. Especially on YouTube."

"Trust me, I know." They scrolled up and down the comments. Most of the comments were great. There were a few negative ones, but others had set them straight. Miranda was beaming. This day had started off right. Then she read: Let me just say that I dont like hospitals but that doc is fine as hell. Id like to take her temperature w/ my—"

"Miranda, don't read that one, please," Ben said gritting his teeth. The comment had gotten seventy-four "thumbs up". "It's degrading."

"Yeah, it is," she said with a smile.

"Then why are you smiling?" He asked looking at her.

"Because it's making you jealous," she said.

Ben grinned. "I'm not jealous."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Warren," Miranda said and she finished eating the rest of her food. After showering, Miranda looked inside of the duffel back. Although there weren't tags on anything, everything inside of it was brand-new. She wanted to know where the clothes had come from, but she pushed her curiosity to the back of her head and just went with the flow. She decided on a pair of blue jeans with a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of black boots. She threw on a green jacket that she pulled out of the bag. "How do I look?" She asked her husband.

"You look cute," he said.

"Ben, I'm a married woman. It's my anniversary. I don't want to look 'cute'. I want to look desirable and sexy. Even if I'm in blue jeans."

"Alright, ask me again." Miranda waved him off. "No, seriously, ask me again."

She sighed: "How do I look?"

"Amazing and sexy," he said getting off of the bed and spraying on some cologne.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The moment's gone." Ben chuckled. "Do you have something planned for today? Or are we just going where the wind takes us?" Miranda asked looking in the mirror.

"Both?"

"Both?"

"I have a few things in mind. A few things I think you'll really enjoy." Miranda nodded as Ben walked over to her, stepping between her and the mirror. "But if we find something better, something you want to do, we can do that."

"Alright, well, I'm ready, I guess. Let's go."

Ben dragged her to the elevators and past the front desk. She waved at Jack as they passed. They headed for the parking garage, got in the car and pulled off.

"We're going to make a few stops," Ben said. "Go back to the hotel, rest a bit and then head out again."

"Got it," Miranda said. She didn't ask any questions, just relinquished control. Their first stop was the highest-priced mall in the Seattle area. They went to a few shops, buying a couple of things. Then, Miranda saw a poster for an art gallery opening and they went to that. Ben pretended to drag his feet as they made their way inside, but she had to pull him out of the gallery as the time ticked away. They went back to the hotel and took a short nap. When the alarm went off, Miranda woke up to see Ben on his computer, typing away. He was only wearing a towel. She nodded and took a shower of her own. "So what should I wear?"

"Pick, uh, one of those dresses out of the closet," Ben said looking at her and licking her lips.

"Okay, but where are we going?" She asked putting on her underwear and deciding on the all-white dress with a wrap-around bottom.

"It's a surprise," Ben told her getting off of the bed and getting dressed. Back in the car for the second time that day, Miranda reached for the radio just as Ben began talking: "So, um, when we first started talking back before we got married, before I started my residency in California, before we moved in together, before the nurse, before you broke up with me…" Miranda started to cut him off. "Yeah. You did." She smiled. "Uh, before the shooting, before you thought I wanted someone else, nope, I didn't forget about that." Miranda blushed, but didn't speak. "Before our third date when we shared our very first kiss and you tried to lecture me to death. Before all of that, we had our first date." Miranda groaned and Ben laughed. "And I'm apologizing again, even after all of these years. I didn't know it would be so bad." He laughed again.

"Jen is a nice enough person, but her band was terrible. And loud. Loud and terrible. I'm sorry. I mean, I couldn't make out a word that they were saying and then they wouldn't stop playing. Like isn't a set supposed to be three songs? They went on forever. And that place was just a mess. Dark and smoky. I wasn't a fan."

"I understood that then and I understand it now." Ben continued to drive.

"Ugh, and…ugh. That was—I'll always judge you for that, you know," Miranda said.

Ben smiled. "I know. Jen had asked me a few weeks before we even met and then when it was the only day you were available, I had to work something out. I didn't want you to think I was blowing you off or something."

Miranda put a hand up. "If it was a choice between listening to Jen's band and waiting, I would have waited," she told him.

"Would you have?"

Miranda licked her lips and turned to her husband. "Yeah. Provided that our line of communication didn't falter."

"Hmm, I'll remember that for my next wife." Ben looked at her before smiling.

"See, Ben Warren. You're not funny." Ben's smile turned into a laugh. She loved that sound. "Keep it up and you'll definitely be looking for her," Miranda said rolling her eyes with a smile on her face. He was such a clown. But he was her clown.

They pulled into the parking lot of the place they'd just been talking about. "Oh no! Nope. Take me back to the 'W'. The baby and I are absolutely not listening to punk heavy pop kettle or whatever that was. Nope!" Ben was cracking up. "Laugh all you want, but I would rather go back to the hotel and sit poolside or take a dip in the hot tub before—"

Ben's laughter had calmed down. "It's not Jen or any music like that or amateurs even. There's a real professional group performing here tonight. A well-known group. One of your favorites actually."

This peaked Miranda's interest. "I'm listening." In her mind she went through her catalog of music and tried to think of artists that she would have loved to see and who were still alive.

"It's an exclusive concert. Only about a hundred people attending, maybe one-fifty. I got the tickets a while back. When I saw that they were playing here, I rode by and checked it out. It's completely different now and under new management. You'll like it." Miranda rummaged through her purse. She pulled out some gum and offered him a piece. He nodded and she handed him a piece. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Trust me."

"Fine. I just hope I'm dressed appropriately. And not too flashy. Or not flashy enough." She pulled down the mirror and checked her makeup.

"You will be the hottest woman in there. And, look, we're matching," he said with a smile.

Miranda looked at her outfit and at her husband. He was wearing off-white pants and black dress shirt as well. She giggled. "Oh gosh!"

"We look good, though." They got out of the car. The impending night's air was chilly. And even though she was wearing a jacket, she shivered. Ben put his arm around her, bringing her into his body."You're really going to enjoy this," he said excitedly.

They walked towards the building. "I'm anxious, but to be honest, I'm only thinking about the last time I was here."

Ben stopped walking and turned to her. She could see his breath as he spoke. "Get over that. It was a first date. First dates are supposed to be awful." He held her again and they kept walking. "Besides, when you stuck around for Jen's entire set and you didn't complain, I knew you were the woman for me." Miranda blushed hard. She'd stuck it out only because she really liked him. At that time, seeing him put happy, free-flowing knots in her stomach and made her words fall out of her mouth in any kind of order. She sounded crazy, but for some reason, he liked her as well. Ben's voice pulled her back: "Any woman who would listen to that crap just because my friend was playing it must really like me." Miranda laughed. That was so true. They got to the door of the building and Ben pulled out two tickets. The tickets were scanned and they walked inside.

Ben was right. Everything was different. The smoky smell that had plagued her senses and infested her clothes that night was gone. The music while loud wasn't unbearable. It put her in a better mood. "Want a drink?" He whispered in her ear. She turned to him and gave him a crazy look. "I'm only kidding." Ben kissed her nose. "But I'm going to have one." They made their way through the semi-lit building moving in and out of crowds of people.

"You still didn't tell me who's performing," she told him as they waited in line.

"Because I just know you love surprises," he said with a chuckle. "We're a little early and the concert is general admission, so do you want to sit in the front or towards the back, the middle?"

"If you would tell me… I could make a decision."

"I'm not. Just pick!"

"Alright. Alright… middle."

"Good choice and we'll sit at the end of the aisle. So you can get up and dance if you want to."

Miranda was so excited, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Or was it the baby? She didn't know. "Tell me," she whined.

He shook his head. "You'll find out soon enough."

They chilled around while the band set up for the performance. The chairs were really comfortable and Miranda was grateful. While Ben played on his phone, Miranda had a strong urge to ask the couple sitting next to them who was about to take the stage, but she didn't want Ben to think that she didn't trust him, so she didn't. But that didn't mean that she couldn't make conversation. She would be sitting next to these people for the next two hours or so. She leaned over: "Hello."

The man and woman turned in her direction. The woman spoke first: "Hi!"

"I'm Miranda. I just wanted to introduce myself just in case I invade your space while I'm dancing and enjoying the music." The three of them laughed.

"Hi, Miranda. I'm Destiny and this is Tyson, my husband." Miranda shook the hands of the young couple.

Ben had put away his phone and poked his head around her. "This is my husband, Ben." Ben shook Destiny and Tyson's hands as well.

"So, how'd you hear about this concert? Because I thought that it was cool that they did a strict word-of-mouth thing," Destiny asked Miranda. She was a thin, dark-haired woman with brown skin, she looked Latina.

"Actually, I didn't. He picked up the tickets," Miranda answered pointing at Ben. "I don't even know who's performing!" Ben made a face and shook his head.

"Oh, well, then, I won't ruin it for you," Destiny said.

"But… I'm going to find out anyway," Miranda said trying to trick the young woman.

"You don't like surprises, do you, Miranda?" Tyson asked as he took off his jacket and put it on the back of his chair. Miranda shook her head at the white guy with brown hair. "If you love good music, you'll definitely enjoy this."

Miranda glanced at Ben. "So, basically, I'm the only person in here who doesn't know who's about to perform." They all nodded. "Okay, I see how it is." They all laughed and the two couples continued to talk. They seemed like really nice people and the four of them decided to have dinner after the concert.

The lights dimmed and Ben whispered in her ear, his breath warm: "Are you ready?" She shrugged. "Well, kiss me before they come out."

"Why?"

"Because when you see who it is, you might end up leaving with one of them."

Miranda laughed and turned to her husband. She held onto his face and kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth. He held her, rubbing her back. When they pulled away, she smiled. "I wouldn't even think about leaving you."

The music began to play and Miranda could tell what the song was from the first couple of notes. "Oh my God, Ben!" Miranda stood up and cheered with the rest of the crowd. "Oh my God! Boyz II Men!?" Ben looked at her with a smile on his face and nodded. She leaned down to kiss him, grabbing his hands and pulling him out of his chair. Ben slid behind Miranda and they danced to the fast-paced song. When they finally sat back down for a slower song, Ben put an arm around her shoulders.

She turned her body slightly, her knees touching his thigh and said: "So on an unrelated note, remember how I said I wouldn't think about leaving you?" Ben nodded and licked his lips. "That was before Boyz II Men were fifty feet away from me!" She squealed. Miranda put her arms around him and kissed his sweaty cheek. During intermission, Miranda made a quick beeline for the bathroom before the lights came on. Exiting the bathroom, her phone rang. It was Tucker. "Hey, Tucker!"

"Mandy, hey," Tucker answered in a hushed tone.

"Uh, why are you whispering?" She asked.

"Little man wants to talk to you. We saw you and Ben on YouTube and he wants to make sure you two are okay. Are you guys okay?"

Miranda's mouth dropped open. "Yeah, yeah, we're fine." They talked a little longer. "Alright, put him on, the concert will be starting again soon."

The phone switched hands as the noise from the lobby seemed to multiply. "Mommy?" Tuck's voice said.

"Yes, baby."

"What are you doing? What's that noise?"

She chuckled. "I'm at a show and there are a lot of people here."

"A concert?"

"Yeah, Ben and I are at a concert. How are you?"

"I'm good," Tuck answered. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Daddy and I saw you and Ben on YouTube. There was a lot of blood and those cars were smashed!"

Ben walked up behind her and told her that the show was about to start in five minutes. "Yeah, but that's what I do at the hospital, help people. They're okay and we're okay. I promise. Alright?"

"Yes. Can I speak to Ben?"

"Something wrong?"

"No, I just want to make sure that he's okay, too."

They laughed. "Sure. Here he is." Miranda handed the phone to Ben.

"Hey, buddy. We're good. Great even. Yes, yes. Ahaha. Well… just remember what I told you. Exactly. Yep. I love you, too, bud. Here's mom."

Miranda nodded. "Yes, honey, I love you so much," she told him. He said that he loved her as well and she ended the call. Miranda and Ben walked back to their seats and continued to watch the performance. When it was over, she grabbed her jacket that was on the back of her chair and took Ben's hand, following him out of the venue with Tyson and Destiny right behind them. She was sweating and she felt several strands of hair in her face. She probably looked crazy, but she didn't care. She'd had a ball. The night had been unexpected and amazing.

It was nearly 11:30 PM and according to Destiny, although the restaurants closed at two in the morning, they sat their last patrons at 11 o'clock. "But there's a diner a few blocks away, we can go there?"

Miranda didn't care. She was just hungry. She said this aloud. "Then, we'll just follow you two," Ben said.

Sitting down at the table, the four of them talked like old friends. "So, what do you two do?" Ben asked them.

"Well, I'm a teacher," Destiny said touching her chest. "And Tyson works in construction." Her husband nodded. "What about you two?"

Ben smiled at Miranda. "Well, we're doctors. Surgeons."

"Oh, Des, we're sitting with career royalty right here," Tyson said and they all laughed.

"But, seriously, you two have interesting and very admirable jobs," Miranda said honestly.

"Thank you. It feels good to hear that," Destiny answered. Their food came. "And being doctors can't be easy. You're either in the hospital all day and night or answering questions that people have about 'medical' stuff."

Tyson chuckled and said: "Or, being obligated to save lives like the video that I put in my queue on YouTube, of those two doctors, being at the scene of an accident and helping both victims."

"Yeah, yeah, we haven't seen it yet," Destiny told them. "But they probably didn't get a moment to thank God that they were alive, they had to jump right into the mix." Tyson and Destiny laughed as Ben and Miranda took bites of their food. "Have you two seen the video? It's all over social media, on TV—"

"TV?!" Miranda yelped putting a hand to her head.

"Yep," Destiny said popping the 'p'. "I caught the tail-end of the clip that they were showing on the news this morning. Real heroes those people."

Miranda gasped and Ben laughed. "Is… something wrong?" Tyson asked.

Ben cleared his throat. "We're the doctors from the video," he said with a smile in his eyes. He looked at their new friends.

"Oh my God!" Destiny and Tyson said at the same time.

Destiny clapped her hands and laughed. "Babe, pull out the video!" She squealed.

Tyson pulled out his phone and commented: "You two have probably seen the video already, but I want—Oh gosh! Miranda, there you are. Wow! Look at you go."

Miranda smiled to herself as Tyson put his phone away. "We'll watch the rest later, but you guys look good out there," Destiny said.

"Thanks," Miranda and Ben responded simultaneously.

After eating, Miranda excused herself from the table and walked briskly to the bathroom. She went into a stall, leaned over the toilet and threw up. When she was finished, she wiped her mouth and cupped her hand under the water and rinsed her mouth. I just ate and now this. Shit, what a waste of money, she thought. Miranda finished in the bathroom and went back to the table. "You're good?" Ben whispered in her ear while Tyson and Destiny fiddled with their money. She nodded. "Alright," he said pulling out his debit card. He and Tyson walked to the front to pay.

Destiny watched them walk away and turned to the General surgeon: "So, Miranda, while the boys are gone, can I ask you something?" Miranda nodded. "You guys so terrific and Ty and I are only meeting you two for the first time, but we think you're great."

"Thank you."

"Ty and I got married at a young age. We've been married for four years. We're 28 and 29, but we're not happy… anymore. I want to be like you two… You and Ben look so happy."

"We are. Very happy. But where is the question?"

"Right. Sorry."

"That's okay."

"Well, how are you and Ben so perfect?"

Miranda scoffed and looked at the young woman. She was looking for Miranda to give her answers on love and marriage. Ones that Miranda wasn't sure that she had. She had theories on how marriage worked, but she wasn't an expert, clearly, she was on her second one. "Uh, we're not perfect. Really."

"That's what perfect people say." They giggled.

"No, we're not perfect people, Destiny. But as a couple, as a strong unit, we are kind of perfect. We support each other."

"I bet you two don't even fight."

"Is that what you think?" Miranda just had to laugh. "Actually, we just got over a rough patch." Miranda gave the girl a shortened version of what'd happened when Ben had come back from California. "And like I said before, we've only been married for a year."

"Wow," Destiny said as their husbands came back. They sat down. "So, how did you get over it?"

"Get over what?" Tyson asked.

"Miranda was telling me about a huge fight that they recently had."

"Oh. So, B, how'd you two get it together?" Tyson asked looking at Ben.

Ben looked at Miranda. She blushed when she saw a small fire in his eyes. He looked upset that she'd told their behind-closed-doors secrets. And to strangers no less. He licked his lips. He opened his mouth, but Miranda interrupted: "We owned up to our mistakes and said what was tearing at us and then we apologized." She smiled at her husband who was smiling as well. He nodded. That was a good sign. "It was tough, but there was no other way. I was wrong, so I said that I was wrong."

Ben jumped in: "And I had to forgive her and she had to forgive me."

"It was, in no way, as easy as we're making it sound, of course, but that's how we got through it."

There were tears in Destiny's eyes. Miranda glanced at Ben quickly. Destiny turned to Tyson. She opened her mouth, but Tyson cut her off. "Des, you don't have to say… whatever it is that you're about to say."

"Yes, Ty, I do," Destiny answered. The girl exhaled. "I'm so sorry. There is nothing that I've been more wrong about than what I did that hurt you so much that you considered leaving me." Ben put an arm around Miranda's waist. Destiny continued. "But I've also never been surer about the fact that I need you. That I love you. That you're the only one I want to be with." Tyson ran a tongue along his teeth as a few tears fell from her eyes. "I miss what we had, Tyson, before I messed up and for that, I'll always be sorry."

It was quiet for a long time. Ben gripped Miranda's hip and Destiny started to speak. Tyson beat her to it: "We've been pretending that we were happy for a while now. I was holding a grudge that has hardened me and I don't want to be this mean and angry person anymore. So, Destiny Matthews, I forgive you."

Destiny began to sob and Tyson pulled her into him and Miranda could see tears in his eyes as well. "What in the hell did you do?" Ben asked kissing her behind her ear. She smiled. "You're amazing."

"You've said that," she said quietly.

"No less true now than it was then," he told her kissing her cheek. "And we need to get up outta here. I want you so bad." Miranda turned to him and shook her head. "What'd I say?"

Destiny and Tyson turned their attention back to Miranda and Ben. "You guys probably think we're crazy," Destiny said.

"Of course not," Ben told her.

They left the restaurant and Destiny pulled Miranda to the side and asked for her number. After she gave it to her, the girl hugged Miranda and bounced off to join her husband. Miranda met Ben at the car. He held her door open. On their way back to the hotel, Miranda said: "You're something else, Ben Warren."

"What do you mean?"

"Boyz II Men!" She said with a huge smile.

"I know you love them and if I hadn't gotten tickets, you wouldn't have gone to see them on your own."

"Yeah, you're right," Miranda said with a yawn. "I am so tired."

Getting back to the hotel, Ben parked the car and leaned over to kiss her. Miranda put a hand up and shook her head. "Did you…?" She nodded as tears pricked her eyes. "Aww, baby, it's okay." Miranda wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "Let's just go inside, maybe go to the pool? Take a dip, get wet." He winked at her and she smiled.