This one's dedicated to those who love music as much as the next guy—and for those who just want me to hurry up and write or update a fanfiction.

I'm almost finished with the next chapter of You're My Paradise and The Most Important Thing. Stay tuned for an update to both of those stories! For now, just read…and review? Please?

On a side note, I just got invited to be in my school's honor orchestra. I play viola. So yup! I'm pretty excited about that.

Caution: You will need to know what a cello is before you read this. (The first time I heard the word cello, I thought it was a fancy brand of Jell-o. Shame on me! Oh, how clueless I was.)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Cause of Death. *sigh* My life would be awesome if I did.

After a long day of working, busting cases, and listening to Kai whine all day, there was nothing more that Detective Mal Fallon enjoyed than having a beer with his partner, Natara Williams. The two of them had a routine that they followed every Friday after work—first they'd go to the Drunk Tank and have a few drinks, followed by a trip to the movies and dinner at a nearby restaurant. The night ended with Mal driving Natara home.

Each time he did this, he felt more and more compelled to tell her how he really felt about her. He had been harboring a rather large crush on her for what seemed like ages. How could he not? In his eyes, she was perfect—possessing long, ebony hair and mysterious hazel eyes that blended perfectly with her olive skin.

But the best thing about Natara Williams, Mal decided, was her smile.

It got him every time. Her lips would curve up into a sweet grin, and after a few seconds, she'd reveal her pearly teeth and even utter a laugh or two when she was particularly happy.

So on one Friday night during mid-September, Mal was coming up with a way to get his partner to smile. He loved seeing her do that so much that he tried everything he could to achieve his goal.

"Would you like to pick the radio station tonight?" he asked Natara as she finished buckling her seat belt after stepping outside when the movie was finished.

"Of course." Natara gave him a half-grin, causing him to smile back. She turned on the stereo system and pushed several buttons to navigate between local stations.

Mal drove off, watching her over her shoulder as she stopped at station 98.5. A quick moment passed, and the sound of a symphony orchestra flowed freely through the car. Natara threw her head back and sighed, allowing her worries to melt away at the rich tone of the string instruments and their brass and woodwind accompaniments throughout the classical song.

Mal didn't quite know what to say about this. He'd never really heard any types of music like this before.

"Natara," he broke the flow of the music. "Pardon me for asking, but what kind of music is this?"

Natara looked more surprised than annoyed. "You've never listened to a symphony orchestra before, Mal?"

He couldn't lie. "No, I—I haven't."

"Well," his partner thought for a minute. "...you're crazy." She finished her thought with a laugh.

Mal groaned. "Am not. I've just never really been a fan of musical instruments. Cynthia played violin when she was in middle school and it sounded awful."

Natara frowned. "I played violin in middle and high school, and I didn't think it was awful."

Her partner shook his head and stared out onto the road. The moon settled above a tall building, illuminating the water below the Golden Gate Bridge with its glow. "Well, that's your opinion."

Natara mockingly cranked the music up louder. "My opinion is respected by millions of people on this planet and famous composers from earlier ages. Calming, classical music is a way of life, and nothing you do or say can change that."

Mal groaned again, but tried to keep back a smile. Natara was so cute when she argued.

"Well?" she expected a clever comeback.

"Well," he mockingly let the word roll around in his mouth for a long time. "People can have different views. It's not against the law."

Natara wasn't amused by this remark. She simply crossed her arms and let her gaze drift out the window. "And it's not against the law to love classical music and everything about it, either. In fact," she tossed her hair back with a quick nod. "I dated a cellist in high school."

Mal gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Cellist?"

"A person that plays the cello," Natara informed him, rolling her eyes as she did so. She sat back in her seat and reminisced. "He was first chair; absolutely brilliant."

"So?" Mal stiffly spoke.

"He had brown hair and blue eyes," Natara carried on. "And he was Mrs. Brown's favorite student besides me. He was my favorite student as well." She let out a soft smile and acknowledged the confused look on her partner's face. "Mrs. Brown was our conductor."

Mal cleared his throat to find that it was a bit dry. "What was his name?" he spluttered.

After a moment, Natara responded. "I honestly don't remember very well. Caleb, I think? I remember him going by Cal. His last name was Dallon."

The realization of the slight coincidence settled through the two of them a moment later. Mal broke the silence after a long moment.

"He was a really good cellist, huh?"

Natara nodded and tucked a few strands of her long hair behind her ear. "The best I've seen in person," she nervously admitted.

Another extremely long moment passed, and Natara reached over to turn off the music. Mal placed his hand on top of hers before she could, though.

"Leave it on," he suggested, wearing a half-grin. "It's really not that bad."

Natara returned a smile as Mal pulled into the parking lot of her apartment. She unbuckled her seat belt and gave him a quick hug before stepping outside into the semi-chilly night.

"Thanks for the ride. I had a great time." She let out a light blush that and was thankful for the dark to conceal it.

Mal casually smiled. "Anytime."

Natara walked outside and was about to close the door behind her before she turned around to face him. "By the way, I think you'd like playing a musical instrument if you tried it. It's really quite nice."

Before Mal could respond, she shut the door and walked into her apartment complex, strutting in a carefree style. The wind gently teased at her hair as she disappeared inside the building, leaving Mal outside to contemplate his thoughts.

There were two things he was absolutely sure about—first, that Natara was absolutely beautiful in every way. There was no denying that.

And second, in order to stand out even more...he was going to need a few cello lessons.