Somebody For Me

She Can't Really Be Gone

Since the semester was mostly wrapping up, Miranda and Ben spent a lot of time together. One night, in his room, talking and eating, they discussed their summer plans. She and Terri were both interning at a lab for a friend of Professor Webber's in New York. Ben was taking summer courses while he figured out what direction he wanted to go in. But all she knew was that they wanted to continue what they had even with the distance.

Their relationship was more than solid, but it bummed them out thinking of having to spend so much time apart. Going so many days without seeing Ben's handsome face was not something Miranda wanted to do. He'd become such an important piece of her life and it was going to be difficult. She hoped they'd be able to handle it. "So, I'll come and visit you at home before you leave for your internship. And then, you'll come back here," Ben said offering her a French fry from his sandwich.

She opened her mouth, accepting it. "Right," Miranda confirmed through her chewing. "And if we're lucky, we'll each be able to do two or three trips."

"Are you going to miss me when we're not together?" Ben asked.

"Maybe," she shrugged returning her attention to her food secretly counting the seconds until he objected. Ben began tickling her, making her squeal with delight. "Okay, okay, okay, okay!"

"What?"

"I will."

"Will what?" He challenged.

She blushed. "I will miss you so very much."

"And?"

"And I love you."

"How much?"

"Benjamin!" Miranda laughed getting into bed. He licked his lips, waiting. "I love you as much as you love me plus one."

Ben smiled and lay beside her. "I love you, Miranda Bailey."

"How much?" She repeated. It took forever for him to answer—or at least it felt that way.

"Way too much." Filled with adoration, she leaned over and kissed him, running her hand over his head. Her stomach filled with butterflies.

The room phone rang and he leaned over and grabbed it from the computer chair. "Hello? Oh, hey, dad. What's up?" Ben cleared his throat. "N-no, it's me and Miranda," he said touching her chin. "What's going on?" She couldn't hear exactly what Tony was saying, but his tone was low, very different from his usually upbeat demeanor. "What's wrong?" Miranda sat up, becoming alert. Ben tilted his head, sighing and nodding solemnly and sinking into the bed.

The phone fell between them. Shakily, she picked it up. "Hello? T-Tony? It's Miranda."

"Oh, hey, Miranda. How are you?"

"F-fine."

"That's good. Um, my m-mom isn't doing so well right now..." Her heart was pounding so loudly, she almost didn't hear him ask if she could get Ben to the hospital as soon as possible. She nodded a response, looking down at her boyfriend who'd buried himself against her. "Hello?"

"Y-yeah... I can do that."

Miranda put the phone back on the hook. Inhaling deeply, she said: "Babe?"

He just shook his head and she waited, picking up his hand and sliding her fingers between them. "In a few minutes, we're going to get dressed and then we're going to leave, okay?" He didn't answer and she lay down next to him, hugging him and kissing his head. Twenty minutes later, they were walking to his car. He gave her his keys and they took off. Miranda wanted to be comforting, but she needed to focus on keeping her tears behind her eyes. They couldn't both break down. Arriving, she figured that maybe she should stay in the car while he went to be with his grandmother, but Ben came around to the driver's side and opened the door.