As the voices around him grew louder, Danny knew where and when he'd been sent this time.

"Mindy, you keep on dating these men in our building, it always ends in disaster. You can't even take the stairs 'cause you're afraid you're going to run into Cliff. What happens when you break up with a doctor in our office?" Jeremy was in full lecture mode, towering over Mindy who looked increasingly miserable. She caught Danny's eye for a split second, and he knew he had to stop this before this went any further.

"Stop!" Danny jumped up and stepped between Jeremy and Mindy. "It's me. Me and Mindy."

Jeremy's eyebrows raised, incredulous. "What?"

"Are you KIDDING ME?" Morgan looked surprisingly furious at a revelation that had absolutely nothing to do with him. It didn't have anything to do with anyone here, which is exactly why Danny had balked at going public the first time. This was his second chance though, and he was not going to let them heap their judgement on her when this was his fault too. Mindy stared at him from the couch, eyes wide and mouth shut.

"Thank you!" Peter started to hop up for a victory lap, but winced as he took the first step. "I am never keeping a secret ever again. Especially another boring secret. Call me if you like, sleep with the president, or murder somebody."

Mindy gave Peter an irritated look. "You just said you won't keep a secret!" She shook her head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. "

"You knew about this?" Jeremy's voice had gone very flat as he looked to Peter, then back to Mindy.

Peter shrugged. "Yeah, I found out back when they got meningitis."

"Mindy, you had meningitis too when you went into hospital? You told me it was 'a lady's complaint.'" Jeremy was starting to sound irritated again, which didn't bode well for the plan of getting them to butt out. Danny jumped in to defend her.

"Leave her alone. You shouldn't have fallen for that."

"I knew it," Morgan jumped in. "Your period wasn't due for weeks!"

"I'm sorry I lied. We had only been on a couple of dates, and it's none of your business. Danny said you guys would butt in, and he was right. Leave us alone." Mindy leaned back and crossed her arms. Danny wanted desperately to touch her, make sure she was real.

Jeremy's voice drew him back to reality. "You know, Danny, I expected this from Mindy. Not you."

"What do you mean?" Danny's hands clenched tightly. If he said anything else about Mindy, Jeremy was gonna get a fat lip.

Jeremy's face took on a particularly stern look, which only made Danny angrier. "You're senior partners. You've both opened us up to huge legal, professional and financial risks."

"Okay, now you're just being dramatic," Mindy rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm being practical." Jeremy sighed. "I didn't ask to be the managing partner, but apparently no one else has any self control, so it's just as well. Do you know how many months it took us to recover from Shulman's retirement? From your jaunt to Haiti? You don't because you never asked. When partners in the practice make rash decisions there are consequences. You do remember that you're responsible for the business continuity? It's not just that there are dozens of people on our payroll who rely on the practice to continue to be profitable, but there are hundreds of patients who have put their trust in us to deliver a high quality continuous service."

Mindy sat up suddenly. "Hey, my patients are my priority. Don't talk to me like I don't care about being a good doctor."

"They aren't though, are they Mindy? You break up with Tom and you end up in jail. You break up with Casey and we end up embroiled in a sexual harassment lawsuit. You let your personal life bleed all over your professional life and now the two of you are in this together? At this point I fear what will happen when you two break up. An assassination? Perhaps an explosion of some sort?"

Danny had heard enough. He hadn't stepped in the first time when he should have, but he could stop this. "Stop. Not that it's any of your business, but it's not like that. We're not going to explode."

"Danny, you were already a partner back when Mindy and I had our... dalliance. You remember how poorly that ended."

Danny frowned. He hated to be reminded of that, and he really hated the idea that there was any comparison. "That was different. You didn't love her, you never meant for it to go anywhere."

"What, and you do love her?" Jeremy gave him another of his infuriating dry looks and Danny reacted before he thought.

"Yeah, I do!"

The whole room went perfectly quiet. Danny could feel all of them staring, but the only face he could see was hers. Her voice was tiny in the silence. "Danny?"

Danny knelt before her and looked her right in the eye. "I love you, Mindy. I think I've loved you for a long time and I didn't know it."

As the rest of them shifted uncomfortably at being unexpectedly in the middle of an intimate moment that was not their own, Peter snapped out of it. "Guys, I think we should go."

Jeremy's face was still red, but he held his tongue. Morgan opened his mouth, but Betsy pulled his elbow, interrupting the thought and leading him away. Mindy stood and silently made her way to the bedroom, bustling around and handing their coats out as Danny followed Beverly around, helping her collect bottles. He kind of wanted to ask Beverly what she was doing, but it hardly mattered now. As he held the door open Danny could hear quiet voices in the corridor as they started gossiping amongst themselves. The last to go as always, Morgan turned one last time, but Danny gave him a gentle shove and pushed the door shut then flipped the lock.

He was still on edge as he approached the bedroom door, acutely aware of the last time he'd stood in her apartment, unable to say anything other than 'I'm sorry' as tears made tracks on her face that she didn't even wipe away. He'd stayed up that night thinking about the last thing she'd asked him. He'd meant to tell her that he was sorry he'd let her down, but he could hear the whole conversation over and over in his head and he knew it must have sounded like 'I'm sorry I kissed you' or 'I'm sorry I started this,' when neither was true. Danny Castellano was uniquely bad at apologies, and he couldn't blame her for the way she'd built a careful distance between them after that night.

He found her sitting on her bed, staring down at her hands where they lay folded in her lap. His heart pounded so hard he could barely breathe, and he wondered vaguely how many more adrenaline rushes he could ride before his body gave up. He sat down beside her and fought the urge to take her hand. He'd rushed to kiss her last time he'd tried to make things right, and somehow along the way he'd made things so much worse. The memory of the kiss twisted his gut tight, and the train of thought led him to the way she'd looked at him when she'd said she wanted him, the way she'd felt beneath him, the way she'd sounded as they'd moved together. His body betrayed him and he sighed unconsciously, finally drawing her attention. Her eyes were so soft and surprised still that he felt the tension start to melt away. "Mindy, I..."

"Wait." She shifted to face him, reaching out and taking his face in her hands. They were warm and dry, and he was suddenly conscious of how clammy his own hands were. She held his face firmly in place as she searched his eyes, biting her lip in concentration. After everything that had happened to them, then happened again, he found he was unafraid to meet her stare, but he swallowed hard as he waited for her to speak. "You love me."

It was a statement, not a question. He didn't know why, but something about the resolve in her voice made him nervous again. He nodded in her hands and she let them fall back into her lap. He rushed to fill the silence. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to hide us. I knew they'd react badly and I was afraid of that, but not as afraid of it as I am of hurting you. I'm so sorry."

"They really went for us, didn't they?" She smiled wanly.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter now. We're out, we can stop sneaking around and they'll just get over it. All I want is to be with you."

Her eyes were still soft as she leaned in and kissed him. The fear started to subside, replaced by hunger, and he lunged for her. It had only been hours since he'd been able to hold her, but it felt like a lifetime. Too long to be without her. His hands slid over the weird leathery sleeves on her jacket, too smooth and cool to the touch, but she felt so solid and so real beneath that he shook off the feeling that she'd slip away.

He felt her fingers alight on his chest, barely there, but firm as she pushed him away. As he opened his eyes he could see the softness in her face had turned to sadness.

"Danny, Jeremy's right."

"What? No. Jeremy's just being a drama queen. We're going to be fine. We're going to be perfect. I promise." He reached for her too quickly, his hand catching her earring awkwardly as he tried to cup her face. "I love you."

"Danny, please. Listen to me." She frowned, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. "Everything Jeremy said about me is true. I jump into things. Sometimes for the wrong reason. I let what feels good right now stop me from thinking about what is right for the long term."

He reached for her hand squeezed her fingers tightly. "This is the long term. I'm all in. We're not gonna ruin anything."

"It's not about that, Danny. Maybe we can make it, maybe we can't, but I didn't see until tonight that all these things I've done have added up to me being a pretty shitty doctor."

Danny shook his head. "You're not. You're the best doctor I know. You care so much about people that it's annoying. That's why I love you."

Mindy smiled at his joke and nodded sadly. "Danny, I love you too."

"Then don't do this. I can make you happy. Just let me try. I have to have you in my life."

"I'm always going to be in your life. You are my best friend." Her hand withdrew to her lap again and he knew he was losing her all over again.

"Mindy, listen to me. Listen to me. You're a great doctor. Your patients love you. Don't let one guy's opinion stop you from doing what you want to do. You want me. I know you do." He could feel his whole body vibrating with the fear of what she was going to say next. She'd told him she wanted him. He could convince her.

"Danny, I am doing what I want to do. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't keep changing myself to make a relationship work."

"I'll change. You don't have to change anything. I'll change anything you want." His eyes stung with tears, and he didn't even care. He'd thought about how she'd been hurt when he'd let her go, over and over he'd replayed the conversation in his head, and felt the weight of every tear that spilled that night as he went about his day. It was nothing compared to this. He'd been wrong about how much it hurt her, because this felt like dying. She was going to let him go.

"If you change everything, you won't be the man I admire so much."

"Admire?"

The first tears finally spilled from her eyes, and just like that night long ago she didn't try to wipe them away. "I have to do this, Danny. I know I can really be something, if I stop getting in my own way."

"You are something." A sob tore from him as he began to cry. "You're mine."

"No, Danny. I'm mine." Tears streamed down her face and she turned away. "Please go. I can't do this right now. Please."

Danny stood numbly, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He hadn't cried like this since he was a child. Not even when Christina left him. His feet knew the way to the door, and that simple mercy spared him the agony of having to think about what was happening to him right now. He'd changed everything and nothing. The doorknob was cold under his fingertips and he raised his other hand to undo the lock and pull. As Danny stepped over the threshold he thought one last time about turning back and trying one more time to convince her that they could make it work, but when his foot hit the floor he noticed it was unfamiliar tile and by the time he turned back toward her apartment the door slammed shut. Second chance over.