Disclaimer: All characters seen or mentioned on COLD CASE belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and are used without permission. Sueing me would be a waste of time, since there's nothing you'd get out of this.

If you don't like the idea of Scotty/Lilly, you should definitely leave.

PLEASE READ BEFORE ... well, READING:

Okay, it's like this: since my other story, Orpheus & Euridike will turn dark, until we'll reach the light again ... and since I am, like I said, more of a happy person, there is currently a serious lack of fluffiness in my system.

This is why I wrote this One-shot. It's a really sweet, ruining-your-teeth-kinda-story. It's corny. It's your below-average, sappy romance completely out of character. It even has the mothers-know-it-all-and-fix-your-love-life-scene. Having said that and having warned you, you may continue reading, but I won't come up for your dentist's bill. Oh, and I don't speak a word of Spanish, so it's all Babelfish's fault.

BTW – don't ask me how Lilly & Scotty got there and how he convinced her to come along with him. That's not what this story is about.

Meeting the Parents

(and the grandparents, the uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces, the cousins-twice-removed and the his father's sister's husband's sister's son.)

by Dare (who is so sorry for this)

She was gone. She just disappeared – a moment ago, she had been in the kitchen and now, she was gone.

If there was one good moment to panic, this was it. God only knew what they could do to her – what they could tell her.

Scott Valens turned around, trying hard to balance all the empty glasses on the tablet he was holding, while he looked around. People surrounded him, chatting in two languages, English and Spanish, and while the gazes and stares and the knowing smiles had faded, he could still see them under their casual looks and whispered conversations.

He had to find her – Scotty was quite sure that the desaster had already begun, but maybe – his mind, trained by years of being a police officer, kicked in; the keyword was: limitation of damage.

Now.

One of Scotty's sisters, Angela, passed him, and he handed her the tablet. "Could you please take care of that?" he asked and didn't even look at her.

Angela was older than he was – more than nine years. She had four sons, all of them in the middle of puberty and she could tell a story about every look a male person was able to cast.

"What do you think could happen to her? She's a police officer, for goodness sake and this is a family celebration, not a bank robbery."

Scotty rolled his eyes. "You have no idea – I left her alone with mom just for two minutes and when I came back, they already discussed my – my youthful follies, as mom likes to call them."

Angela laughed. "The one where you dumbed Chester Lombardi's car in the pond?"

"I wish. I see you later, Angela." He waved and stared to comb his way through the room. His uncle Pietro had already entered a alcohol-induced delusion – his wife Denise tried to stop him from taking off his clothes, while he, with fervour and on full blast, sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

Scotty smiled – this was a sign; a sign of an eventful and entertaining evening for everyone. Cousin Raphael, a giant of more than six inches four with the heart of a small, gentle boy and the mischievous glint of a rogue in his eyes, carried four boys and three girls on his shoulders and in his arms through the room and by the fire, Aunt Consuela and Aunt Gracia sat knitting, debating whenever or not Kid Montego knocked out Kid Santiago in the fourth round back then in 1917.

Lilly was nowhere to be seen – and when he went over to the other living room, he saw her, a blonde mop of hair among black-haired heads of his remaining three sisters and his mother. When he entered the room, he saw Lilly talking to Scotty's mother, who called her Lillian.

He could not understand what they were talking – a jumble of different conversations lay over the room, but it didn't matter.

Scotty knew the sword of Damocles was hovering over his head: This Lilly, this nice, friendly, non-work, casual Lilly who had dropped one of the thousand walls she had built around herself, was t-r-o-u-b-l-e. Her pinned up hair was gone – and her normally so pale face looked rosy-cheeked and radiant.

She laughed when Anna, Scotty's next older sister, said something to her – and Lilly answered happily. She lifted her gaze and saw him standing there in the door frame, watching her. She tilted her head and smiled at him – and when he returned her smile ...

He suddenly realised that the image before him was a shimmer of what would have been – the distant glow of a person with a happy childhood – someone who liked being around people, someone with a family that cared for her and loved her.

The short moment ended, when giant Raphael entered the room, with kids running around his legs.

"Alejandra? Do you know where the football is? We're moving outside," Raphael said.

Alejandra looked at him suspiciously. "Who is 'we'?" she asked.

"Well," Raphael scratched the back of his head. "The rest of the kids, your beloved husband, my dad and the others." He suddenly noticed Scotty and slapped his shoulder playfully. "You are going to come too, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure you're dressed up for playing soccer," Scotty's mom said. What she was really saying, was: "There is no way you are going to ruin your clothes with playing soccer outside."

Anna's husband, Emilio, entered the room. "Of course we are dressed up for playing football." He held his eldest daughter in his arms. "It's going to be fun. Pietro is going to be referee."

Paula, Scotty's second sister, shook her head. "Pietro is completely drunk. Is it him singing 'Flogging Molly'?"

Everything else ended in utter and complete confusion: While Emilio, Raphael and several remaining and not so sober husbands where trying to convince their unwilling wives to do some 'out-door-activities' which would probably end up with several bruised limps of those players who were not in Raphael's team, Scotty stood in the middle of all the chaos and shook his head.

He loved his family more than everything else, but as he watched them he remembered why he valued some peace so much. They had gathered around him and he found himself on the border of a confrontation between the male and the female fraction.

His gaze wandered over to Lilly who stood between his sisters. She smiled and shook her head. The two battling fractions moved out, still arguing and Scotty followed them. They had already passed him and Scott Valens didn't know what he had been thinking about, because suddenly, he felt someone else's hand grasping his.

He turned around – and apparently the look on his face was interesting, to say the least: an amused smile graced Lilly's lips when she saw his expression.

He felt at tug on his grasped hand, so he leaned down to her until her cheek was millimetres away from his nose.

For one second, she did not say a thing – she just watched him and his expression, still smiling, while he felt her warm, dry hand in his and tingles were doing folk dances on his spine.

Then, she said: "Maybe you should accompany them – otherwise someone might get hurt."

Scotty try to say something, cleared his voice and tried again: "Maybe I should."

Maybe I should? He suppressed the sudden urge to bang his head against the next available wall.

Lilly's enigmatic smile grew, then she let go of him and disappeared in the crowd that was his family.

Later in the evening, Scotty sat on the veranda on the garden seat and watched the neighbourhood go asleep. His mother visited him, while inside the children were brought to bed and Pietro tried to climb the stairs.

She sat next to him in silence, looked up to the stars and finally asked:

"Do you know what happened to her?"

Scotty didn't answer – he just looked at her.

"She's a nice girl, I can tell. She had a good heart and a kind soul. She's just --" She sighed and shook her head, her gaze wandering over the houses of their neighbours. "Do you like her?"

"Mom --" Scotty rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"

"What's the problem then?"

"Well," he combed with his hands through his hair. "I don't want to sound like some teenager back in high school, but: What if she doesn't like me back? Lil's a sensible and delicate person and you can't just tell her: Hey, I like you. Like me back?" Vague exasperation coloured his voice. "Once she closed all her doors because of something stupid I did – and I don't want that to happen again."

"Try a window."

"Mom."

"Look, Scotty. She is nice, friendly and she accompanied you to meet your family – and it's a family that doesn't have a family tree, but a rhododendron bush. But she came – means, she likes you at least a bit. So just talk to her and make her believe that there's someone out there who liked her for what what she is – and not despite of it. ¿Entendido?"

"Yes, mom."

"Good. And one more thing: the walls in this house are very thin, so try to restrain yourself," she said with a dead-pan expression.

"Mom!" he hissed.

Mrs. Valens got up and patted her son's head. "I'm proud of you," she said and when she opened the door, she almost bumped into Lilly.

"He's a little bit depressed," Mrs. Valens said. "Maybe you can cheer him up?"

Scotty scooted over to make more room, while Lilly handed him a hot cup of very sweet tea. "Anna sent me – everyone seems to think that you need some serious cheering up."

"I think it has something to do with – you know," Scotty said and took a sip.

"So do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you need to be cheered up?" she asked.

They shared a smile as he said: "Not really." He hesitated. "It's still nice to keep me company."

"You're welcome." Silence lay like a warm cloth over them as they watched the lights of the street darken. "I like your family. They are very friendly people – despite having a rhododendron bush instead of a tree."

Scotty paled and turned woodenly towards her. He grew very pale. "What?"

"I would have loved to have and rhododendron bush for a family," Lilly continued earnestly. "I don't even have a cactus."

"Lil ..."

She faced him – and suddenly, her features where glowing; from the light inside. He still couldn't read her at all – her face was austere, yet, there was something lurking behind that expression that kept the promise of more. And her eyes ... "Is it true?"

Suddenly the entire situation shifted from humour to something so serious, so strong, it could destroy or create.

Panic grew inside of him when he suddenly realised what kind of powerful thing he had to face – and he grasped for all the straws he could reach, trying to save everything he could. "Lil – if you don't reciprocate ..."

"Is it true?" The words were weak, merely whispered. It took great effort to say them – and there was the danger of rejection and violation.

"Lil --"

The single word brought tears to her eyes, who glittered even more now. With a jerk, she got to her feet. "I'm, I'm sorry – I assumed," she managed to say and if his arm had not shoot out and grasped her wrist, she would have already been out of reach.

He realised in the split of a second what had happened – and how both of them had been mistaken; and that a grave error was about to be made. And that was something he would not let happening.

He pulled, her body collided with his and they almost disappeared in the pillows of the garden seat. She tried to get up, but Scotty managed to grab her other wrist, too.

"Scotty – let go of me," she whispered. Darkness covered her face, but he could tell by her voice that she was crying silently. It almost broke his heart.

He leaned closer – and closer, until he towered above her and could see her face despite the obscurity that separated them. Warmth was radiating from her body and he saw her tears.

"Lil," he whispered and reached up to gently wipe away her tears. "I," he gently grasped her face with his other hand, too: "I – you –," he hesitated. "I was a fool?" he offered. Some remaining part of his brain informed him that now, he was beyond panic – and beyond the point of no return.

She looked at him and finally shook her head. A smile started to shine through her tears, which was to him to most amazing sight: despite the tears a veil was lifted and suddenly, there was hope.

She touched the bridge of his nose and wandered down until she reached his lips. "We were both fools." She leaned closer and her eyelids fluttered, while her hand moved from his lips to his cheek.

He saw her closing her eyes – and their lips met. It was a soft, warm kiss – he felt sweet breath coming from her slightly parted lips. His arms encircled her waist; otherwise, he would have just fallen over, since his body seemed to have gone limp. It was her who pulled this time – and he almost lay on top of her – a move he would have never expected from to oh-so-reserved Lillian Rush and suddenly, he felt her smile underneath his lips.

"What's so funny?" he asked, while he looked down at her.

She smiled up at him, tracing his lips and his eyebrows. "I would have never expected you to look like a deer in the headlight – just because I kissed you."

He chuckled and moved until their foreheads touched. "It was a bit unexpected, you have to admit."

"A bit," she acknowledged, while sorting out his dark strands. Their eyes locked – and Scotty took her hand until their fingers lay intertwined next to her head.

He bent his head – and this time, the kiss was passionate. Their bodies were pressed against each other and Scotty tried hard to remember that there was only one wall that separated him from his mother, his father and his entire family.

It was probably the only thing that acted as some sort of restrain.

Aunt Graciaraised an eyebrowwhen she noticed the suspicious lack of any conversation from the veranda."Maybe we should find thena blanket – I seriously doubt that they will come in during the night."

"I'll go and get one." Consuela smiled and shook her head. "Apparently, the Rhododendron bush just grew."

Gracia laughed. "Indeed. And it was about time."

End. (Like it?)

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