Romancing Dr. Bailey

Stop the Rain

After a long bath, Miranda was lying in Ben's bed. Her head was on his chest and she had the covers pulled up to her neck. Somehow she'd forgotten to pack pajamas and was wearing one of his t-shirts. It was oversized and fell at the tops of her kneecaps. He said that it was from the phase when every guy wore clothes two times their size. They had a good laugh about that. Miranda felt like she hadn't laughed in years. It almost hurt to do it. But she couldn't stop and didn't stop until tears were coming down her eyes. Ben joined in making her laugh even more.

Watching the movie, Ben asked: "You're comfortable?" He stroked her hair and she nodded. "Good. Hungry?" She nodded again wildly. "Alright. We can do Chinese. Or, uhh, there's a good Soul Food place around the corner. They have really good oxtails. There's a pizza place a couple of blocks away. IHoP is a few blocks that way," he said pointing. With her head still on his chest, she felt the vibration of his voice throughout her body and it soothed her. "So... what are you up for?"

"All of it sounds good. But, it doesn't matter. Whatever you want is fine. I would like a glass of wine, though. Do you have any?" Ben nodded and started to get off of the bed. "I can get it."

Miranda walked to the front room and into the kitchen. She found a glass and pulled open a bottle of wine that was on the counter. She poured herself a full glass and made one for Ben. She'd definitely drink it if he didn't. She gulped down half of her glass and let out a burp; then, she refilled the glass. There was a knock on the door. Her eyes widened and she dropped the glass on the floor, wine flowed across the wood. Ben dashed to the front of the apartment. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I, um, someone's at your door. It sc-scared me a little. I broke a glass. I'll buy you another or let you have one of mine. And I'm sorry," Miranda knew she was rambling, but she did it because she was nervous. She started to clean up the mess.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Just go back to bed. I got it." Miranda grabbed the second glass and walked away from the kitchen. "That one was for me, right?" He winked and she smiled. Miranda walked toward the back of the apartment and stood around the corner, just out of his sight. "Who is it?" Ben called out before looking out of the peephole. "Curt! What are you doing here? And with Jaz?" Ben asked opening the door.

"Once again, Benjamin. Can we come in?" Curt responded sucking his teeth, trying to get around his older brother.

"Actually, guys, now is not a good time," Ben said.

"Is Dr. Bailey here?" Jazmin piped up slowly and she grinned.

"You know what? You're too much like this guy," Ben told her laughing.

"Alright, well, we have to find something else to do since you're having happy time," Curt said. They said goodbye to each other. Miranda ran to the bed and hopped in. Ben walked in and saw her pretending to watch TV. "Cut it out. I know you were just around the corner, you're not slick."

She tried to elicit innocence: "Whatever are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow. "Fine. But, you could have invited them in."

"No, Miranda. You're hurting and I want to take care of you."

"Well, what I want is to get that glass and wine off of your kitchen floor."

"Don't worry about it, I got it."

She turned her attention to the television, for real this time as Ben wandered into the kitchen and ordered food. Miranda's phone began to ring. She answered it. "Hello?"

"I debated over and over and over and over about whether or not I should call you. I figured you needed time to cope, you needed time to think and you needed time for Ben to take care of you. Then, I figured if I didn't call, I would be a bad friend and you wouldn't talk to me again. And, oh! Mandy, I'm so sorry, honey. Ben told me everything. Are you alright? Is there anything I can do for you? How's my baby? He was there when everything went down, right? " Callie finished speaking.