I Want You

Ante Up

Ante Up

"We were so close," Ben told Knox when he visited his friend's house for dinner on Sunday night. Knox hadn't believed him at first, but Ben had made it clear that he had indeed had Miranda Bailey in his apartment and that their lips had been mere inches apart before they'd been interrupted. Paige walked back into the dining room where they were after putting Ava to bed. "It was far from the perfect date, but it was the best first date I've ever had. We had something."

"From what you've told us," Paige said flipping her locs, "it sounded very romantic." Ben nodded and cut into the piece of pie that was sitting in front of him. "And if this Bailey is as tough as you two are saying, the fact that she let her guard down around you speaks volumes."

"You think so?"

Paige spooned some ice cream into her mouth. "She likes you."

On Tuesday, Ben actually groaned as he crossed the threshold of the hospital. He'd stared at Miranda's number for the rest of weekend, debating whether to call or to be patient. Thankfully, he was set to be in surgery for most of the day. He dipped into an empty patient's room to have lunch. The quiet usually bothered him, but today it calmed him. His last procedure of the day was with Dr. Heron.

He'd really enjoyed the last surgery they'd had together, but he wasn't in the mood for rainbows and sunshine. But Ben kept a semi-smile on his face just so the woman wouldn't ask questions. No such luck. "Dr. Warren, how was your weekend?" The woman asked. Her bubbliness made him smile genuinely.

"It wasn't bad. Yours?"

"Went for a jog in the park, enjoyed a movie with my boyfriend. Kept it real lowkey."

"That sounds really... nice."

Sydney nodded. "It was. It was." She continued working and Ben was glad that the small talk was over. "So, do you have someone special in your life?" The woman asked. He didn't know what made him look up into the gallery, but when he did, he saw Miranda sitting in the front row. Their eyes locked. "I'm sorry if that question was intrusive."

"No, uh, it's fine." Ben winked at Miranda and watched her look away. Was she blushing? "But I'll plead the fifth."

Sydney and her resident chuckled. "We understand."

Once finished, Ben got the hell out of the operating room before he could be interrogated any further. He stopped in the Residents' lounge and looked around for the magazine he'd left earlier. He heard someone come in and saw Miranda pulling out a chair. "Checking me out?" He asked, turning his back to her while he picked up his lab coat.

"Just... watching the procedure."

Ben nodded, rolling up the magazine. "But you followed me in here?"

"Uh, I didn't. Happy coincidence." He sat on the sofa, facing her. "I'm actually waiting for—"

Another doctor breezed into the room, "I know I'm late, Bailey," the woman said setting down a couple of boxes on the table. She finally realized that someone else was in the room. "Oh, I'm Torres. Callie Torres." She held out her hand and he stood up and shook it.

"Ben Warren, nice to meet you," Ben told her genuinely.

"Friend of Bailey's?" Was every doctor in this place a Chatty Cathy?

Miranda made a noise and they looked at her. "Sorry, yeah, we're... friends."

Callie gasped. "Torres..." Miranda warned.

"I was just going to ask if... uh, if Warren here, wanted to join us for wings and fries."

Ben waited for Miranda's signal. When she didn't say anything, he wanted to sigh loudly. Instead, he smiled politely. "Thank you for the invite, but maybe next time. You ladies enjoy. Nice to meet you, uh, Torres. See you later, Bailey." He grabbed his stuff and walked out of the room.

In the hallway, he could hear Torres ask: "So, that's the guy?" He did a little dance, morphing it into a stretch when someone approached the room. He nodded in their direction and went on home.

He waited an hour and a half before calling Miranda. He listened as the phone rang until he got the voicemail. "Uh, hey, Bailey, er, Miranda. I was just calling to talk to you. I mean, that's what people usually do when they make phone calls." He chuckled nervously. "Um, I was hoping to talk to you. Maybe ask you out again. Our first date was really fun." He paused. "Well, I, uh, hope your night is going well. I'll try you again another time. Have a great night. This is Ben, by the way." Ben ended the call, finally breathing properly. What in the world was wrong with him?

Two days later, he checked the board to see that the surgeon he was working with was the Chief of Surgery, Richard Webber. Ben hadn't gotten a chance to meet him formally, but he'd only heard good things about him. He walked into the room and spoke cordially to everyone. It wasn't so bad being at the mega-hospital. Seeing the taller, older gentlemen, he waved. "Hello, sir."

"Warren, right?"

"That's me."

"Good. Should be a good surgery." Ben did his due diligence and sat at the head of the patient, blocking out anything that wasn't necessary. "Bring in the CUSA. Hang another unit of F.P.," Dr. Webber was saying.

"Need more laps. More, more," his resident told the nurse.

"Get Bailey in here. Now!" Richard shouted.

"Yes, sir," another resident said dashing out of the door.

Five minutes later, Miranda burst into the room. She took a glance around the room, her eyes landing on Ben for a microsecond, before she asked: "What do we got?"

The two surgeons pondered for a bit, Ben's eyes darting from one experienced doctor to the other. "Let's take the liver out," Miranda mused. "Yeah, yeah. I can clean off the tumor ex vivo. You can work on the vascular supply in the cavity."

"Think it'll work?" a resident inquired.

"No one's ever tried it before," another chimed in.

"Extracting the liver," Webber told the room.

"Okay, let's go, people. More laps. Suction. A lot of suction," Miranda thundered. "Hurry!"

Once surgery was over, Ben sat in the O.R. completing his notes. It had been a rush. The patient was stable and it was very successful. Every so often, he'd grin thinking about how the man had been knocking on death's door before Miranda had come in and literally saved the day. "I didn't think I'd still see you in here," a voice said coming into the silent room.

He looked up; the bright lights harsh on his eyes. Miranda lingered by the door. "Well, us mere mortals still have to work."

She smiled and shrugged. "I wouldn't know anything about that."

They laughed. "You were great today," he told her.

"Thank you. Not bad yourself."

"I had the easy job."

"You said it," she teased and walked over to him, pulling up a stool. "So, I was thinking..." The room went silent. The way it did just after a devastating surgery when a patient died after a valiant effort by all. Was she about to let him down? Was she rethinking their impending courtship? He tapped the pen against his knee. "Relax, Ben Warren." She touched his hand. "I got your message."

"I was starting to think that I'd made the whole thing up," he told her.

"Well, you didn't. I got it and I am just now processing it." Ben nodded. "Uh, yes, I would like to go out with you again. Would you," she groaned a little, "I can't believe I'm saying this. Would you like to go out with me?" He furrowed his brows. "What? Don't look at me that way. I'm asking you out."

"Yeah, which is why I'm looking at you this way." Ben licked his lips. "I'm flattered."

"Are you going to answer?"

He sat back in his chair, put his hand behind his head and crossed his legs. She got a kick out of it and laughed loudly, covering her smile. "Let me take this all in," he said. "Dr. Bailey is asking li'l ole me out."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Forget it." She headed to the door.

"Okay," he said leaping from the chair and catching her. He touched her shoulder and she turned. "Yes, of course. I'll go out with you." She smiled. "But no funny business."