A/N: This is the second birthday fic for Standard-Ang3l. She requested a fic with drunkenness and a short dress, and here it is. I decided to make it a companion to "The Morning After" which is basically the Natella version of this New Years party you see in this fic. Happy Birthday, Standard-Ang3l! You have one more fic to come!

Happy reading!

angellwings

The Night Before

By angellwings

Caitlyn frowned at Jason as she spoke. Her words slurred together. "Whaswrong?"

"What's wrong is that you're completely trashed, Caitlyn," Jason said with a sigh as Caitlyn looped her arms around his and leaned into him.

"You know, Jason, you're really cute. Your curls are just so…curly," Caitlyn said with a giggle.

His eyes widened and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Caitlyn, my curls are very curly."

"Don't call me Caitlyn. I don't like it when you call me Caitlyn," She said with a pout.

"You don't like it because I only call you Caitlyn when I'm unhappy with you," Jason told her honestly.

"Y—you're unhappy with me?"

Jason groaned at Caitlyn's wide hurt eyes. He liked drunk Caitlyn she was nice and cuddly, but wasted Caitlyn was an emotional mess. He was reminded of this as tears sprang to her eyes. He took the champagne glass out of her hands. "You're done for tonight."

"Hey!" She protested as she grabbed for the glass. "You're mean!"

Nate walked by just then and Caitlyn released Jason's arm to grab Nate's. "Na-ate! Jason took my champagne! Make him give it back!"

Nate rolled his eyes. "I actually agree with Jason on this Caitlyn. You and Ella are cut off from the champagne. Now, speaking of Ella, I have to go track her down."

"Fine, be that way. I guess I won't tell you where Ella is," Caitlyn said as she stuck her tongue out at Nate. "You're so mean that I definitely won't tell you that I saw Luke dragging her toward the kitchen." She gasped and covered her mouth. "Whoops. I think I let the cat out of the bag."

Nate pulled his arm from Caitlyn's and let out a frustrated growl as he raced toward the kitchen. Caitlyn giggled and turned back to Jason.

"Well, he's in a mood."

"I think I need to take you home now," Jason said with a labored sigh. "Before you do something you'll really regret."

"I don't want to go home," Caitlyn told him with a stomp. "I like it here. Besides, it's just barely after midnight on New Years. How lame would I be if I went home now?"

"Caitlyn," Jason said through a clenched jaw. "Don't fight me on this. Please."

She stumbled and grabbed his arm again. She leaned heavily against him and looked up at sadly. "Call me Caity. Please call me Caity? I—I don't want you to call me Caitlyn."

He closed his eyes and prayed for patience. "I will call you Caity if you let me take you home right now. Deal?"

She bit her bottom lip and nodded tiredly. "Okay, deal."

Caitlyn reached up and pulled up her short strapless dress. Jason's eyes widened and he looked away as she adjusted herself. She fell suddenly and Jason caught her just in time. He pulled her upright, and hesitantly released her. She swayed precariously and Jason immediately grabbed her shoulders. "Can you even walk?"

"Sure, Sure can…I," Caitlyn said uncertainly as she blinked slowly and tried to take a step. She stumbled and Jason huffed as he caught her again.

He shook his head, and looked her in the eye. "Caitlyn—"

She whined and glared at him.

"Caity, I know you hate it when people carry you, but I think I'm gonna have to," Jason told her.

"Okay," she said lazily as she held out her arms to him. "Take me away, Sir Jason, like the noble knight you are."

"Wow," He said with a shake of his head. "You're really gone."

"C'mon," she said with a laugh. "You know you want to be my knight in shining armor. Carry me to safety, Sir Knight!"

Despite himself Jason couldn't help but laugh. "Your wish is my command, Lady Caity."

She squealed softly in delight as she lifted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. She hummed happily as he began to walk. "I really like this. This is nice."

Jason smiled softly and kissed the top of her head. "It would be nicer if you were a little more sober."

He noticed her dress hiking up a bit and he briefly set her down by the coat closet. He grabbed her coat out of the closet and handed it to her. It was longer than her dress and would keep things…modest. He helped her put it on and then opened the front door before he lifted her again, and headed to his car. He set her down briefly to open his car door but kept a firm hold on her the entire time. He helped her into the seat and fastened the seatbelt around her. As he pulled his hands back Caitlyn grabbed one of them. She squeezed it and sniffled.

"I'm sorry, Jase," She said with a gulp. "I just completed ruined tonight for you, didn't I?"

He kissed the back of her hand that he currently held in his. "Never, Caity. You could never do that."

He shut the door and walked around to the other side. He got in and started the car, and once they were on the road he reached over to hold one of Caitlyn's hands. He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb absently and hummed along to the radio as it played softly in the background.

"Jase?" Caitlyn said tiredly.

"Yeah, Caity?"

"I love you, you know?" She said in a groggy tone just before her eyes drifted closed. "I really do."

He risked a brief glance at her before he turned his eyes back to the road. She was officially out cold. "I love you too, Caity," He said quietly as he brought the back of her hand up to his lips again and kissed it once more. "More than you'll ever know."

The next morning Caitlyn opened one eye at a time. This did not feel like her bed. This bed was fluffier than hers, and the comforter was softer. Not to mention there were lots of comfy pillows underneath her head. When she finally had both eyes opened she winced at the light coming in from the windows. Her head was pounding and her mouth felt gross and fuzzy.

"Jesus, how much did I drink last night?"

She sat up and started to scoot toward the edge of the bed when Jason walked in. "Oh no, don't you dare move." He set down a cup of coffee and a couple of asprin on the nightstand before he turned to shut the blinds. He turned back to her and pointed scoldingly. "You're going stay in that bed all day. Drink the coffee, take the aspirin, and I'll be right back with your breakfast. Don't move."

"Jason? Where am I?" She asked with a furrowed brow.

"You're at my place. I couldn't remember the code to get into your building so I brought you here. You took my bed, and I took the couch," He said as he tossed her the remote to his bedroom television. "Entertain yourself. I'll be right back."

Caitlyn groaned as she reached for the pills and the coffee and she quickly downed them both. Her head was pounding so she didn't dare turn on the television. A few minutes later Jason came back in with a large tray piled with not one, but two breakfasts. He set the tray down beside of Caitlyn and then joined her on the bed. Caitlyn stared at the large breakfast in front of her in shock.

"Did you cook all of this?" She asked.

He shrugged. "It's just eggs and bacon and toast. It's not exactly rocket science, Caity." He picked a bagel up off of his own plate before he spoke again. "So, how'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby. I think it was one part your bed and 24 parts alcohol that did it," Caitlyn said as she chuckled softly.

Jason didn't laugh and Caitlyn immediately grew serious. They locked eyes and he shook his head.

"Caitlyn…"

She winced. "Caitlyn…you calling me Caitlyn is never good."

"I don't mind drunk Caitlyn. In fact, sometimes drunk Caitlyn is very pleasant, but trashed Caitlyn…I don't like her so much. She's not anything like the Caity I know and love."

Caitlyn bit her bottom lip and sighed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, really, Jase. I'm not trashed Caitlyn's biggest fan either."

"I just have a lot more fun when you act more like yourself, that's all," Jason told her. "I prefer Caity to Caitlyn."

Caitlyn nodded and smiled apologetically. "Me too."

"Why did you let yourself drink that much, Caity? I know you have more self control than that," Jason asked worriedly.

"I didn't mean to," She admitted. "I really just wanted to be a little tipsy. I just wanted to relax and not be so…stand off-ish. I know that I have a problem with that, and I just…wanted last night to be different."

His brow furrowed. "Why?"

She looked away from him and shrugged. "I don't know."

He placed a hand under chin and turned her head to face him. "Yes, you do. C'mon, Caity, tell me."

"I don't know if you realize this Jason, but you're a very touchy-feely person—"

He smirked. "I realize it."

She sighed. "And I'm…not. Not really. And I know that bothers you. I see it in your face every time I pull away from a hug too quickly. I didn't want to see that face last night. It hurts me every time I see it. And it's no secret that after I've had a few drinks I'm more inclined to be…"

"Cuddly?"

She chuckled and nodded. "Sure, we'll go with that. So, I thought I'd help myself relax a little bit, but…I couldn't seem to stop for some reason and I ended up ruining everything."

Jason reached over and laced his fingers through hers. "I'll admit you put a damper on the evening, but you didn't ruin anything. And, Caity?"

"Yes?" she asked softly as she stared at their entwined hands.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to change who you are for me. I want you just the way you are. I promise. Sure, occasionally, drunk Caitlyn is fun, but I'd rather have a short hug from sober Caity than a long hug from drunk Caitlyn. Honest," He told her softly. "I love you, no matter what."

Her eyes widened. "You—you love me?"

He nodded and tightened his hold on her hand when she tried to pull away. "Don't get scared now, Caity. I know you love me too. You admitted as much last night."

"I…what? I did?"

He nodded. "Just before you passed out in my car."

She sighed. "Jason, I do. I do love you, but…are you sure you want me? I'm not exactly easy to love. I seem to scare boys away a lot—"

He leaned across the tray that was in between them and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek before he moved his lips to her ear. He placed one soft kiss just below the bottom of her ear lobe and then spoke softly. "I don't scare easy, Caity. Trust me."

She let out a small gasp at his words, and then turned to look him in the eyes. "Move the tray."

"What?"

"Move the tray so I can kiss you."

He smiled brightly and immediately picked up the tray, "Ma'am, yes ma'am." He set the tray down on the floor beside the bed and as soon as the tray was out of his hands he felt Caitlyn wrap a hand around his wrist and yank him back down on the bed. His back hit the mattress and she slipped across the sheets until she was lying next to him on her side. She rolled over and straddled his waist with a grin. He gulped and looked up at her with wide eyes. "Um, Caity?"

She leaned over him until her hair surrounded him like a brown wavy curtain. "Don't talk, Jase."

"But—"

Then suddenly her lips were on his. His placed one hand on her hip and the other on the small of her back and pulled her closer. She was still wearing her party dress from the night before, but the fabric was so thin that to Caitlyn it felt like she was barely wearing anything. Jason's hand absently caressed her back and she gasped. Jason took advantage of her parted lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She whined and dug her fingers into his curls. He growled and rolled her over onto the mattress as he continued to kiss her. His lips moved to her neck and then dipped to her collar bone. He brought his lips back to hers for one last quick kiss before he pulled away.

"Dinner tonight?" He asked as he pressed his forehead to hers.

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, definitely."

"Happy new year, Caity," He said with a smirk.

She chuckled and kissed him again. "Happy new year, Jase."