I know the timeline for this scene is slightly off, but I couldn't resist.

…

Juliet dressed carefully the next morning for work, very conscious of the fact that Ben would be in later to see her. She slid into a ruched blouse, which was patterned in a shade of green that matched her eyes exactly. She paired it with a pair of white tissue linen pants that flowed when she moved. The blouse, she noticed, was cut just low enough to be attractive, but not so low as to make it look like she was trying. She felt soft and feminine. She wore her hair mostly down in the wild ringlets she knew Ben liked—she'd felt his eyes move over her hair more than once—and was sure to dust a trace of makeup on her face.

She felt good. She felt ready to face the day, which was good, because not only did she have to talk to Ethan and see Ben…today was the day of her weekly session with Harper. Ugh.

She added a spritz of perfume to the pulse point on her wrist—it was crisp and floral—and made her way to the lab.

Ethan was there, waiting for her. Juliet took him through the proposals she'd written up the day before, and he was enthusiastic. Of course, Ethan was always positive, but he seemed especially intrigued by her hypothesis, making Juliet feel like she was really on to something. Ethan was a phenomenal doctor, and if he was excited, then she could be too.

Ethan left with her lists, promising to make the arrangements and get the materials to her as soon as possible. That left her with little to do for the next few hours besides put together a sampling of slides for Ben to view when he arrived.

Ben…

She tried not to think about it too hard, because her mind was already going in a million directions, wondering where this situation would lead. One of them was going to have to make a move or say something eventually...would it be her or Ben? When would it happen? How? She didn't know, and she was going to go insane trying to think about it.

The morning sun was beating in through the windows, and Juliet felt a little warm in her crisp white lab coat, but she kept it on and persevered…she'd told Ben she needed someone to bounce ideas off of, so she'd better have a couple to discuss with him when he got there. She grabbed a pen, and a clean piece of paper and began to make a list. The more she listed, the more she thought of…there were so many unanswered questions!

She was rereading some material Ethan had left her on autoimmune diseases when the door finally opened. She took a deep breath and turned to see whom it was.

Ben. Of course. At noon on the dot. She took a deep breath.

He was dressed in his usual-khakis and a button-down shirt-but Juliet had to admire the fact that there wasn't a wrinkle on him. Ben could hike through the jungle for hours and still look put together, while Juliet would only look bedraggled. He'd shaved recently, and Juliet caught a hint of aftershave as he put down his messenger bag, pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Hello," he smiled.

"Hi," she smiled back. "Thank you for coming."

"It's my pleasure. Have you had lunch?"

"Um…no" she replied, confused by the non-sequitur.

"Figures," he snorted, reaching into his bag and materializing a neatly wrapped sandwich and a few napkins. "I was just in the cafeteria. It's only peanut butter and jelly, but I asked the chef to use the crunchy peanut butter." He handed it to her. She took it. Their fingers touched briefly, and Juliet's heart jumped.

"I'm getting the impression that you think I can't feed myself, Ben," she sighed.

"Nonsense," he chortled. "I only think that you can't feed yourself properly."

She smirked and he looked pleased.

"Besides," he added wickedly. "If you die of starvation, I have no idea what I'd do with all of this." He gestured widely to the lab around them. Then he paused as though in thought. "But I'd keep your CD collection."

She laughed, then scowled at him in mock outrage and unwrapped her sandwich.

"I guess I'd better not starve then…I really like my CDs."

She gave him a copy of her research proposal to read while she ate, which he did, quietly and intently, nodding to himself as he turned the pages.

"What did Ethan think when he saw this?" Ben asked when he got to the last page.

"He seemed enthusiastic." She gathered her sandwich wrappings in a neat pile.

"He's not the only one." Ben said meaningfully as he set her proposal down on the counter.

"Thanks," Juliet tried not to blush. "And thank you for lunch," she added as she threw the remains in the trash. "You're very thoughtful, Ben…I appreciate it." She glanced up as him to see how he took the compliment, and was rewarded by the sight of the crinkles at the corners of his eyes and the slight pink tinge at the tips of his ears. God, he was adorable.

"You're welcome," he said, his eyes moving over her face intently.

Silence.

"Uh," she cleared her throat. "I have some slides I want to show you."

"Oh, please," he shifted back slightly, moving just far enough away that she could access the microscope, but not so far away that Juliet wasn't acutely aware of his proximity. Se could feel his eyes on her as her suddenly clumsy fingers fixed one of the slides she'd prepared to the stage of the microscope. She looked into the eyepieces and adjusted the focus, making sure the lighting and the clarity of the image were sufficient.

Speaking of focus, Ben's eyes were still on her.

She sat back down and looked over at him. His expression was both admiring and adoring. She wondered if he knew that she could see it. She leaned an elbow on the counter and rested her chin lightly on the knuckles of her hand and gazed back at him. Softly, she began to review with him what she'd seen in her samples: lowered white blood cell counts, immune system attacking the fetus, and reminded him that she was still uncertain of the cause. Ben didn't blink as he took it all in. His gaze traveled down her face and landed on her mouth as she spoke.

"May I?" he finally asked, indicating the microscope.

"Sure."

Juliet stood and moved out of the way so that Ben could get in front of the equipment. He rose and lightly placed his hands on either side of the microscope, inadvertently covering the pinky and ring finger of her left hand with the pinky and ring finger of his right hand.

Juliet stiffened, uncertain of how to respond. She was acutely, painfully aware of the touch of his hand, waiting for him to realize his mistake, waiting for him to flinch and pull his hand away, apologizing, pretending the touch didn't thrill him as much as it did her…but he didn't do it.

Without looking up from the microscope, Ben slowly, deliberately, slid his hand the rest of the way over the top of hers. Her heart began to race, and just when she couldn't stand the tension another minute, Ben upped the stakes, gently sliding the pad of his thumb down the length of her pinky finger and back.

"Ben," she hissed.

His head snapped up, lightning quick, his gaze locking with hers, burning with new knowledge, yet tinged with a hint of desperation.

Oh please, his eyes seemed to beg. Please, please, please…

The door opened.

"Hey Juliet!" called a cheerful voice.

Juliet jumped away from Ben as though she'd been burned. Goodwin bounded into the lab, but stopped short when he saw that Ben was there. Ben turned to look, and Juliet could see every line of his frame stiffen.

"Oh Ben…I didn't know you were here," Goodwin covered smoothly. It was clear that he was disappointed not to find Juliet alone. "Ethan's out sick,"—That's a lie Juliet thought—"and I have an extra egg salad on rye…I was just checking to see if Juliet wants it." Goodwin looked at her hopefully, but she frowned and shook her head. It was a flimsy pretext to stop by and see her, and she was infinitely glad that Ben was here to drive Goodwin and his flirting away.

"No, I already ate," she said coolly. "Besides, I have an appointment with your wife in ten minutes."

It was actually in thirty minutes, but she wanted him to leave. Now.

"Oh, great," Goodwin sobered slightly. "Tell her I said hello."

Juliet smirked. I bet she'd love that.

"Oh, will do," she said placidly, noting that Ben had not moved a muscle during the entire exchange.

"Ben?" Goodwin called out. Ben looked up sharply as Goodwin held up the sandwich bag in offering.

"No, I'm fine," he replied politely, if tightly. Goodwin nodded, grinning wanly, and finally took the hint. He left without another word.

Ben stared after him, his posture still tense and threatening. Then, without a glance at her, he turned and stared coldly back into the microscope.

Silence. Again. Dammit.

Juliet was at a loss. Everything had been going so well, and now it was all wrong. She hated Goodwin in that moment. Hated him.

"I think he likes you," Ben commented flatly, without looking up.

"Great," Juliet snapped sarcastically, sitting back down next to him gracelessly. "That's just what I need…another relationship with another cheating spouse."

"You never know…you two might hit it off." There was an edge to Ben's voice that was downright nasty.

"Maybe we would," Juliet shot back viciously. "I mean, it's all fun and games, right? Until one of you gets hit by a bus."

"Why was he here, Juliet?" Ben looked up at her, his expression blank and hard.

"How the hell should I know, Ben?" she cried, frustrated. "It's not like I asked him to show up!"

"He brought you a sandwich."

"So what!" she fumed. Standing, she crossed behind Ben to gather up her proposal and an armful of her labs she'd pulled out for him to peruse. Walking behind him again, she transferred them to the other side of her workspace, dropped them loudly onto the countertop, and began to rearrange them onto the shelves. "And besides," she added cuttingly. "It was egg salad. Who brings a girl an egg salad sandwich in ninety degree weather?"

"Oh," Ben replied acidly. "You wanted something different?"

"Yes," she snarled, shooting him a furious glance. "And it had crunchy peanut butter on it."

Ben seemed shocked into silence. Ha, take that! She thought meanly as she shoved her reports into their proper locations. When she was done with the first batch, she moved to get the rest. Ben reached out and caught her by the wrist. She paused for a moment, looking at the floor.

"I…I don't like the way he looks at you," Ben said quietly, as though the admission cost him a great deal of pride. Juliet sighed and sat back down next to him.

"Well, in case you haven't realized," she replied softly. "That makes two of us."

"Ah."

Ben let go of her wrist and placed his hands on his knees, seeming at a loss. Juliet was unnerved by his jealous behavior, and didn't know what to say either. She'd never seen Ben so…unhinged.

She looked up at the clock. Hell. Harper was expecting her in fifteen minutes. She stood up and gathered the rest of her papers.

"I have to go, Ben," she said sourly, not looking at him as she put her work away. "Harper's waiting."

Ben stood hurriedly.

"I'll walk with you."

Juliet made no reply, but said nothing as Ben held the door open for her on the way out.

They walked in silence. Again, that heavy silence. Juliet snuck a glance at Ben's face, but his expression was carefully neutral. She looked down at the path in front of her, allowing her mind to drift back to the moments before Goodwin had entered the scene. What had Ben been thinking when he deliberately allowed his hand to drift over hers? She recalled the sensation of his fingers brushing hers, and shivered pleasurably. She looked over at him again, frustrated. Would such a moment ever happen between the two of them again?

His hands were in his pockets as he walked. He must have known she was looking at him, but he did not return her gaze. Juliet looked back at the path, trying not to roll her eyes. Maybe he was angry with her, maybe he was embarrassed by his overreaction, but whatever the cause, they clearly weren't going to talk about it now and clear the air between them, so she had no choice but to let it go. She crossed her arms across her chest and walked slightly ahead of him the last few steps to Harper's office.

"Thanks Ben," she said tightly. "I'll see you later."

She turned and walked up the steps, not waiting for his reply. Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard Ben call out behind her.

"Juliet, wait…"

She turned back to look at him. His face was agitated, but determined. He looked at her intently.

"Have dinner with me tonight," he practically blurted.

Juliet's eyebrows raised in surprise, then quirked with suspicion.

"Is that a request, or a command?" she queried tartly.

"Please," he added as an afterthought. That look was back in his eyes, the same look she'd seen on him just before Goodwin came through the door…Oh please, please, please.

"Fine," she replied coolly, though her heart was beating fantastically hard inside her chest. "What time?"

"6:30." Ben was looking at her slightly in disbelief.

"At your place?" she asked. He nodded. "What should I bring?"

"Just yourself."

She nodded in assent.

"I'll see you at 6:30."

"Excellent," his whole face lit up. "It's a date."

"It's a date?" Juliet looked at him significantly, wanting to be on the same page with him at last. He looked at her, taken aback. Come on, Ben, she thought. Just say 'yes.'

Ben squared his shoulders.

"It's a date," he confirmed, returning her significant look, waiting.

Juliet resisted the urge to squeal like a teenager. Instead she smiled at Ben warmly, excitedly.

"It's a date," she nodded.

Then, with a sense of déjà vu, she turned and went inside.