The first week of Derek being chief was a success. Derek held an Attending's meeting with everyone. So he could get a few opinions and answer questions about the transition.
Ben walked into the big conference room and he smiled when it was a seat beside Miranda open. "Good morning Dr. Bailey is this seat beside you reserved for someone?”
Miranda's eyes widen and she looked over. "Uh um...no it's not." She stuttered and watched as he smiled and took a seat.
Miranda sat up in her chair and fixed her white coat. Ben observed Miranda out the corner of his eye. She was beautiful. The thought never crossed his mind the first day he met her because she was infuriating but ever since that day, the short in height doctor crossed his mind often.
Derek did a small speech and read some announcements that he had. He opened the floor up for questions and they watched as a couple of hands flew up.
"Yes you right there." Derek pointed to the man.
"Chief will we ever revisit the parking situation. I don't think it's right that we just get thrown into the back all while the original Seattle Grace get the closer ones. If we are merging then merge everything 50/50.
"Clearly he has a chip on his shoulder, right Doctor Bailey." Ben whispered.
Miranda cut her eye to him and nothing could hide her blush and small chuckle. Ben gave her a wink and a smile. Miranda turned her head quickly to the front to pay attention. She felt a small fluttered in her stomach and she chose to ignore it.
"Dr. Bailey I know this may seem inappropriate but I was just wondering what perfume do you use. It smells really good."
Miranda's eyes widen and she shifted in her seat. "Uh uh well. It's soap and water." She answered quickly.
Ben nodded deciding to leave her alone for the rest of the meeting. He was a flirt naturally but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
The next day he smiled when he observed the board and saw that they had a surgery together. He found himself actually giddy to be around her. With only three encounters he actually was beginning to like her. He wanted to know about her.
In the surgery Ben didn't need his journal to read, he actually found her to be fascinating.
"I don't know if you noticed Doctor Bailey but I am not reading my clinical anesthesia journal at all today." Ben informed. "I'm staying awake at the switch." He joked.
"I wonder why is that.." She laughed a little.
"Actually I seem to find what you are doing more interesting. The procedure is long but what you do definitely is not boring."
"You have sat in probably 200 appys, now all of a sudden its not boring?" Miranda found herself questioning.
"Yeah I don't know what it is. Perhaps it might just be you. You're pretty...amazing."
Miranda’s eyes widely and she was glad the mask hid her blush. Was this man flirting with her or just being friendly. She's been out of the dating game so long, she wouldn't know.
"Clamp." Miranda called out meekly. A bleeder presented itself and Miranda quickly tied it off.
"Wow did you just tie a bleeder with only one knot." Ben asked.
"Uh huh." Miranda returned.
"Wow. That's…that's impressive."
Miranda nodded her head at him before chastising herself for not saying thank you.
Two more weeks fell just the same. She felt like she was a stuttering mess around Dr. Warren. He always managed to make her blush, chuckle and feel like a teenage girl with a big crush.
Here she was 31 years old with a crush on a man. A fellow doctor. She never looked at her colleagues like this before. She found her self staring at him often. Adjusting her outfit and hair when he was around. She even blushed if his name was mentioned by someone else. When he looked at her, which was often, she swore she couldn't breathe.
She groaned seeing his name on her surgeries but was actually delighted. He would talk and sometimes she would ignore him or either stutter back her answer. She found herself never able to put together an intelligent sentence when he was around. She was afraid to start conversations with him but dying to speak to him and then would tell him things she didn't even want to say.
Ben on the other hand was enjoying every moment of being around Miranda. He would flirt subtlety and ask her questions about different medical cases. He even would ask her about a tough word on his cross word puzzles. She was different, reserved and a hard shell that he wanted to crack. He was building up the nerve to ask her out. He just didn't want to be turned down, or to make it awkward and her uncomfortable.
"Are you wearing make up Miranda?" Callie asked looking at her face.
"Yeah so what." Miranda replied.
"Since when do you wear make up?"
"I wear make up all the time. Give me a break." Miranda scuffed.
"No give me a break. You rarely do. You applied foundation and eye shadow, eye liner and mascara...what's new?"
"Nothing is new. A person can't care about their appearance." Miranda pursed her lips before rolling her eyes and storming off.
Valentine's day was here and Miranda made sure that she dropped Tuck his valentine treats off for him and the other kids. Tucker would be keeping him tonight. Which was great because she had a major surgery scheduled.
That evening Miranda walked around to the O.r. board. She was paged for trauma and was about to make her way there.
"Hey what's going on?" Miranda asked Callie as she erased the board.
"Grandinetti's roof collapsed, we'll be getting more than a dozen. All schedule procedures are pushed."
"Oh God on valentine's day grandinetti's must have been packed"
"Well tonight's out, I told you this would happen." Callie sighed.
"Well that's why we went to dinner at 4 and exchanged gifts. Look." Arizona said to Miranda showing her their necklaces.
"Just special, original, magical, squeals of joy." Miranda replied
"Wow scrooge."
"Scrooge is Christmas, that's a holiday." Miranda replied as they walked pass the lobby stairs.
"Hey Doctor Bailey." Ben called out and Miranda cut her eyes to him but kept walking.
"Our hemocolectomy's pushed that's a shame. I was really looking forward to that." He told her as he caught up beside her.
"Well, as...you know." Miranda stumbled not knowing what to say once again.
"Well maybe we can make up for it, dinner tomorrow night."
"No." Miranda said quickly looking at him as if he's lost his mind.
"Um..." Miranda stammered. " just...I'm busy. I have surgery most nights...I always have surgery."
"Right um." Ben blew out a breath, "maybe...see you in the o.r. then." Ben voiced disappointed before turning to walk away.
Ben now understood what a crush meant...A crush because that's what you'll be when they say no and that's exactly what he was.
Ben tried to look on the positive side. Maybe he could ask her to breakfast since nights was filled with surgeries.
Miranda made it to the elevator and blew out a breath. She could not believe this just happened. The man she was crushing on just asked her out and...she turned him down.
"Oh my God I turned him down." She screeched in her own head.
"Oh my God she likes him." Callie noted.
"Ooh you like him. Arizona repeated.
“Oh, my God you should totally go out with him. You have to say yes." Callie said in her ear.
"Oh no its Valentine's day you have to." Arizona begged grabbing her arm.
"Okay see, that, this right here, what’s happening with the giggling, the girl talk and the omgs...it has to stop...I am busy." Miranda blushed and both Callie and Arizona laughed.
Miranda walked off and went to the pit. She was assigned to a case, a man with glass through his abdomen. She had one of her residents prep him and take him up to the O.r. immediately.
Getting to the OR. She saw Ben sitting getting his tools ready. Miranda stared at him before shaking her head. She couldn't go out with him. She had so much going on.
Then she thought for a second, she couldn't stay lonely and single forever. Should she entertain him? She liked him but she couldn't even form sentences around him. It was a good thing she supposed, but also horrible. It was a good thing to be nervous meaning she actually had real feelings. She was just scared to have those feelings for a guy she knows nothing about.
Miranda walked into the room and averted his eyes.
She looked up annoyed as Arizona walked into the room. Now was not the time to be meddling in her personal life. She listened as Arizona asked Ben has he ever been to the restaurant and she rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long surgery.
Miranda began working on this man's abdomen as Arizona stood beside her. "Nice work Doctor Bailey. Doctor Warren can you believe that Doctor Bailey almost left general surgery for peds surgery. Did you know that?" Arizona asked looking at Ben.
"I did not."
"Yeah no, she almost said no to general surgery, then she thought about it and changed her mind. She wasn't afraid to re think her decision. She just needed to be asked again.”
"I see...Clearly" Ben nodded catching her drift with a smile.
Miranda used her bovie and continued working cutting her eyes to Robin's given her a glare.
"How is he Doctor Bailey. Looks like you're nearly done." Arizona noted and Miranda blew out a breath annoyed. "And it's just in time for dinner." She added, checking her watch.
Ben stared at Miranda and could see the annoyed look on her face.
"Maybe even some dancing.. if the patient looks good-
"He will be just fine." Miranda finally snapped, over Arizona playing cupid.
"He won't be dancing anything soon but when the time comes and he wants to go dancing he will be perfectly capable of making that determination himself without any help from anyone. And I don't need any help here so if you are through helping me you can go.
"Well I was just-
"Now." Miranda demanded. Arizona backed out and walked away.
"She's nice...chatty." Ben finally spoke when she left the room.
"Stop talking."
"To be fair I never said a word about dancing although-
"Shh...what is all this bleeding." Miranda questioned looking around for the source. "Ahh. Splenic artery’s torn. He is going loose this spleen. Okay, lap pads." Miranda called out.
The monitor began beeping erratically. "There is a lot of damage to this pancreas. I can't get this bleeding under control."
Ben looked at the monitor and then back a Miranda as she worked.
"Okay more suction." Miranda informed as she continued to work to handle the bleeder.
She got it under control and was now ready to officially close. After closing Miranda quickly walked out. She thought about Ben's dinner offer again and she sighed.
No matter how nervous she was, she would never know what could happen unless she told Ben of her feelings or how he made her feel, she just didn't know how to go about it.
She walked to the O.R. board and began to wipe her surgery off.
"Congratulations. You know. I thought we'd lost him, but you managed to."
"I can't talk to you." Miranda said focusing on the board.
"Right um," Ben started disappointed yet again. Miranda turned to look him in the eyes. "Look I'm--I'm sorry I thought that you and I might get to--
"I can't talk to you." Miranda said once again and she meant literally. "You make me nervous. I...forget what I... and say things I don't want to say. And I can't J-- I just go stupid. I like you. That's all. There." Miranda breathed finally getting it out.
"All right."
"And so if you want to go to dinner, fine. I will show up and try to talk." Miranda added.
"How's tomorrow night?" Ben asked quickly with a smile.
"Fine. I might have surgery."
"Well, I-I might join you." Ben smiled once more. She talked about being nervous but he was honestly nervous too. She was beautiful and had a body to die for. She was smart and intelligent and successful. She was a prize for anyone and yet she liked him.
Ben nodded his head at her as he turned to leave. Miranda bit her lip and blushed trying to calm the thousand butterflies in her stomach.
"See now was that so hard?" Arizona teased.
"Shut up Robbins." Miranda remarked shuffling away.
