Anger Management

Not a Date

Toby's POV.

He pressed the send button before he had time to change his mind.

He had just invited Happy to have lunch with him instead of their usual therapy session. He shook his head, silently cursing at himself. He knew not to scare her off; God knew he didn't want to see her angry again.

He waited another minute before giving up. She obviously wasn't going to answer; hell, she probably thought he was mad. He shook his head and turned to the patient he was supposed to be seeing at the moment. Mr Baker had fallen asleep in Toby's comfortable red leather couch. He smiled, remembering the first time Happy had come to his office and how much she had hated that couch.

Suddenly Radiohead started blaring from his phone, frightening both him and his now awake patient. Once Mr Baker saw the cause of his rude awakening was a phone call, he started grumbling. Toby checked the caller ID and smiled. It was Happy. He cleared his throat and answered the phone.

"Hey," Toby said breezily.

There was a short pause before Happy spoke. "Hi. You sent a text about lunch?"

"Yeah. I thought if we were to meet in a more relaxed environment, we would be more relaxed and therefore get to know each other better." Toby held his breath as he waited for her reply.

"Sure," she said eventually. "When and where?"

"In an hour, and at the diner on the corner of Maple and Fourth." Toby said while doing a small impromptu victory dance.

"Alright, see you then," Happy said.

Toby pressed the 'End Call' button on his phone and turned to his patient. "She said yes!" His patient nodded, clearly confused and Toby heard a muffled laugh coming from his phone. He froze and looked down at it; he was still on the phone with Happy. He must not have pushed the button hard enough.

"I'll hang up now," Happy said with a smile in her voice and ended the call. Toby was still frozen in shock by his embarrassment but he felt a slow smile start to spread across his face. His patient was looking at him as if he were rabid but Toby didn't care. She had said yes!

**

Toby was at the diner twenty minutes early. He always had a bad habit of sleeping through important appointments, but he was working to change that.

He sat down in the booth and started making small talk with the waitress. Her name was Paige and she had a son. Her eyes were kind and her smile was genuine. Toby told her about Happy, about how much he liked her and how much he didn't want to disappoint her.

Paige was just telling him about her son, Ralph, a child genius, when Happy arrived.

Happy smiled quickly and sat down opposite Toby. Paige smiled warmly at Happy and said, "Hi. I'm Paige and I'll be your waitress today. What can I get for ya?"

Toby looked to Happy, who said, "I'll have a glass of water, please." Toby gestured that he'd have the same. Paige took their order and left, leaving the two in a rather awkward silence.

"So," Toby said. "How has your week been?"

Happy then started talking about a customer at the garage, who apparently could not keep it in his pants. Toby had meant to listen, but halfway through her story he started watching her tell it. Her eyes were wide and he could've sworn he'd never noticed how many amber flecks her dark eyes had or how much the curvature of her smile made his stomach twist.

He saw her gesture with her beautiful hands, stained with motor oil. He saw the curve of her neck under her silky hair and he found himself yearning to reach out and touch it. He saw her bite her lip in anticipation of whether or not he would laugh at her story.

He pulled himself back to the present and smiled at her enthusiasm. She noticed him staring at her and raised an eyebrow. "Do I have something on my face?" She asked.

"No," Toby tore his eyes away from her to see Paige bringing their waters. After they ordered lunch, Toby decided to begin their session.

"So we actually need to know and trust each other in order for you to feel comfortable with confiding with me. I've found that the best way to do this is through an informal setting, like lunch."

"Oh, so this isn't a date?" Happy laughed in what sounded to Toby like relief. He felt a stab of disappointment but chose to ignore it. Of course she wouldn't want to go on a date with him. "I was kind of getting mixed signals so I'm glad we sorted this out," she continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Toby nodded. "Right. So I'd like to begin by suggesting we ask each other one question at a time. Almost like 20 Questions. I'll start." Toby thought for a moment before asking, "What's your favourite colour?"

Happy laughed and asked, "Seriously?"

Toby nodded earnestly.

"Black. What's yours?"

"Green." Toby answered. "See, now it's your turn."

Happy rolled her eyes and thanked Paige for their lunch, which she had just brought. "Got it. Um, why did you become a psychiatrist? I don't think I was completely right when I guessed that it was because of your gambling." She blushed at the mention of the day of her anger breakdown.

Toby looked her in the eye and told her of his bipolar mother and passive father. He told her how no matter how much he tried to help her, it never amounted to much. So he decided to persue psychiatry to help others like his mother. Throughout his story, Happy had maintained eye contact with Toby, and hadn't showed the signs of pity Toby had dreaded. Once he was through, she continued looking him in the eye and said a simple, "I'm sorry," before gesturing that it was his question next.

Toby couldn't believe she hadn't done what he had come to expect. She didn't force physical contact on him or expect him to cry. If anything, she seemed glad that he had confided in her.

Toby took a bite of his lunch, chewed and swallowed it before asking his question. "What happened to your mother? You talk about your father all the time, but never your mother."

Happy's warm eyes darkened. "She died during childbirth."

"I'm sorry."

Happy continued with her story as if she hadn't stopped. "My father had to choose between me and her and he chose me. He nearly died from grief and decided he wasn't fit to take care of me. He put me up for adoption when I was two." She was looking at her meal, her lap, anything except Toby's eyes.

"Hey," he said softly. She looked up at him. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I am, however, glad that you worked past that. You've forgiven your father, right?" She nodded. "And I'm so proud of you for that, Happy."

She took a bite of her salad. "My turn," she said. "That scar on your temple. How did you get it?"

Toby launched into the story of the time he gambled in Vegas, and some of his opponents didn't appreciate his talent for reading their poker faces. Happy seemed entertained by the story but he could detect a hint of worry in her eyes. That was a good sign; worrying about him showed that she subconsciously cared.

After a few more questions were shot back and forth between them, Paige brought them the bill. Just as Happy was reaching for it, Toby pulled it out of her grasp. "Hey!" Happy said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm paying for our meals."

"This isn't a date, Toby."

"I don't have to be on a date to have manners."

Happy rolled her eyes but let Toby pay for their meals. He walked her to her truck, and just as she was about to get in, he enveloped her in a hug. He bent down, smelled her fruity hair and stepped out of the hug. "Thank you. Today was nice," he said.

Happy stared at him for a moment before saying, "This wasn't a date," getting into her truck and driving off. Toby shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back inside the diner to say goodbye to Paige. Just as he was leaving, Paige said, "You guys make a great couple, you know."

Toby smiled and got into his car. His smile didn't leave his face for the rest of the day.