Ours

better news to hide the bad

She's going to kill him, and knowing her, she may very well succeed in getting away with it.

Ben sighed, looking at his face in the mirror. He wanted to stay, really. It's been a couple of months, and he loved waking up next to Miranda.

Last time, he'd been so traumatized and scared about Ollie's death that he pushed his trauma back and stayed for almost a year in Iraq, until he just needed to get away and be with his wife.

He thought that had been the end, but Teddy Altman, a fellow Major in his ranks, offered for him to go back for one last tour. And he didn't know he needed a final one until she called.

And now, he just needed to find a way to tell Miranda that he was going to be gone for 3 months.

Ben faced the mirror in their bedroom once again. He cleared his throat. "Miranda, I need to tell you something."

"What?" The door opened, revealing a curious Miranda. By the way she looked, she had just arrived. "Ben, what is it?" He looked like a deer in headlights. "Oh, don't tell me you were practicing?" She laughed, and he frowned.

"You seem cheer-y," he commented, ignoring her question. He thought if he could distract her enough, she won't bring up what she heard.

She smiled at him, her big, brown eyes lighting up. "Well, it's a good day."

He raised an eyebrow, and walked to her, putting an arm around her waist. "And why is that? You received news about... whatever that was with the vomiting?"

Miranda nodded. "I did."

"Well?"

She shrugged, moving from his embrace, and sitting down on the bed. Her bright smile remained. "It's nothing much, I'm just pregnant."

Ben nodded, a little distracted by the news he was going to say outloud after this. "That's great, honey." He sat beside her, burying his face in her neck, and it took a few seconds before what she said sank in. He looked up at her, his eyes wild. She was smirking at him. "Wait, baby, did you just say what I thought you said?"

Miranda nodded, trying to hide her barely kept grin. "We're pregnant, Benjamin."

He laughed, standing up, pulling her into his embrace. He let go after a few seconds, and kneeled down, pressing his face into Miranda's flat stomach. "Hi, princess."

Miranda let out a laugh. "You think it's a girl?"

"I bet on it," he whispered, pushing her blouse up. He scattered kisses along her stomach, making her shiver. "I'm your dad."

She looked down at him, stroking his head affectionately. She was so happy and relieved, the thought of having a family with Ben was making her heart flutter.

They transferred to their bedroom, where they laid down, staring at the ceiling, their legs intertwined. "If it's a girl, we're calling her Danielle."

Ben looked at her, surprised. "After your sister?"

She nodded, putting her head on his chest. "After my sister."

"And if it's a boy?"

Miranda shrugged. "What do you want?"

"It's only fair if we're naming him after my brother," he joked.

She laughed. "I don't think Curt would appreciate that."

"Yeah, he hates his name." They laughed together.

"What if... we name him after your dad?"

Ben scoffed. "My father didn't name me after him because he knows Robert would've sucked as a 21st century name. It's one of his last wishes."

Miranda snorted. "Okay, fine. What about... Danny, then? After..." she trailed off, knowing that it was still kind of a sensitive topic.

Danny was his childhood best friend, and when Miranda and Ben met in college, the two were thick as thieves, never separated.

He was younger than both of them, and he switched from med school to military. Two years after he was sent to Iraq, just after Ben's intern year, Danny died in action, and Ben promised himself that he would become a military trauma surgeon in the name of his best friend.

Ben teared up, looking at Miranda with adoration in his eyes. "I'm sure he'd love that."

She chuckled, wanting the moment to be lighter. "Of course he would. You know how he liked to brag that he introduced us together."

"Yeah," Ben laughed. "God, I miss him."

"Me too, baby." She cuddled closer to him, wrapping her arm around his torso.

They were silent, content in being in each others' arms. Miranda suddenly piped up.

"Hey, what were you going to tell me a while ago? I don't think you told me." He froze, and Miranda must've noticed it. "Ben?"

He cleared his throat, and looked at her, measuring the pros and cons in his head. "Okay, but first, don't be mad."

She moved to face him, raising an eyebrow. "That is not a good intro, Benjamin Warren. You better start talking now, or I'm walking away."

Ben inhaled, and exhaled quickly, knowing she was going to walk away no matter how he phrased it anyway.

"Um, I'm going back."

He didn't specify it, but by the way Miranda's jaw clenched, and her eyes pierce at him, he knew she understood.

"What?" Her voice was dangerously low, and godfuckingdammit I'm going to die is all that entered his head.

He sat up, and watched her watch him. She squinted up at him. Her eyes were blazing, as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Look, Altman called, and she offered to take me back for one last tour. It lasts 3 months, and... I haven't talked to Richard yet, but I want to go, Miranda. I don't think I really got closure because of all that happened. Please, I need this."

Miranda's glare softened as he reached his last sentence, and tears suddenly showed in her eyes. "Okay. But... what about our baby?"

Ben bit his lip. He didn't think of that. But even selfishly, he really wanted to leave, and to close that chapter of his life before the baby comes. "I can shorten it to 2 months, baby, and I'll be here as soon as you know it."

She was full-on crying now, and he got back into bed, holding her body against his. He kissed her forehead. "What if something goes wrong when you're not here?"

"Then I'll come back, no questions asked." He whispered into her hair. He thanked God for her hormones, or else she would've ripped him a new one, and he'd be staying at the couch again.

"Promise?" Her voice held a stern tone, but the vulnerability in her eyes gave her away. Her eyes were always how he knew what she was feeling.

Ben leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. "I promise."