Author's Note: I asked my two wonderful beta readers for short scene-fill requests and wrote them as Christmas presents (because beta readers are awesome and don't get enough love). They have graciously agreed to let me share their presents with the rest of KevLaur fandom.

Prompts were:

1.) What happened when KevLaur went to the Nurses' Ball together?

2.) How did Kevin get Laura's flight number?

3.) What did Spencer's letter to Kevin really say?

"Not Quite Cinderella"

Laura really was delighted to have run into Kevin outside the Nurses' Ball, and not just because he happened to have an extra ticket. She enjoyed his company, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to as the evening wore on.

The closer they got to the entrance, though, the more his arm tensed under her hand. Until finally, just outside the door, she grew concerned enough to pull him aside. "Kevin, are you okay?"

The question seemed to bring him back from somewhere far away. "I'm sorry. I probably should have warned you that I'm not likely to be very good company tonight."

"I don't imagine this is really an event you look forward to any longer," Laura said after a moment, remembering the story he'd told her about what had happened to him here two years ago.

Kevin looked relieved by her understanding. "No, it isn't. Last year was...very difficult."

"Is there anything I can do to make it easier?"

He smiled and laid his free hand over hers for a moment. "You already are, actually, just by being here. It's really nice not to have to do this by myself again."

She had a sudden and vivid mental picture of Kevin standing outside this door last year, steeling himself to go inside and mingle with the same crowd who'd been in attendance the year before when he'd watched the curtain go up to reveal his half-naked wife kissing another man. God, he must have been miserable. And he'd gone through that all alone, probably because he was too much of a gentleman to want to inflict his jangled nerves on a date, even a friendly one.

This is why I'm here, Laura realized. She certainly hadn't intended to be here. Three hours ago she'd been curled up on the couch in sweatpants and a t-shirt, a glass of wine in one hand and her Kindle in the other, happily certain she was in for the evening. And then, out of exactly nowhere, she'd developed a sudden urge to get up, get dressed, and come to the Nurses' Ball. Which had seemed insane, given that she didn't even have a ticket.

But Laura believed in fate, and there was no question in her mind now that the strange impulse that had propelled her out the door had brought her here for Kevin. Certainly she owed him one after dumping one of the darkest chapters of her life story on him the day he'd accompanied her to the Campus Disco. The compassion that seemed to come so naturally to him had meant the world to her that afternoon, and she was deeply grateful.

"Don't feel like you have to stay with me once we get inside," he said, bringing her back to the present. "It's really just getting myself in the door that's the biggest-"

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you," she interrupted firmly, and gave his arm a little squeeze. "And you don't have to worry about being good company. Believe me, I can do enough talking for both of us if it comes to that."

"Thank you," he answered, and the gratitude in his eyes made her even more certain she was doing the right thing.

They turned and headed inside. Kevin handed their tickets to the volunteer staffing the door, and Laura let herself drift a little closer to him, deliberately adjusting her body language from friendly acquaintance to date. She didn't even expect him to notice-God knew he had every right to be distracted-so she was surprised when he gave her a sidelong glance and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Too much?" she asked as they made their way toward the ballroom.

"No, just unexpected," he answered, and made a subtle matching adjustment to his own posture, drawing her a little more firmly into his side.

Laura let herself smile. "It's not as if it's a hardship to play your date for the evening, you know. Black tie suits you." That was an understatement, actually. Kevin was one of those rare men who wore a tux like he was born to it.

A slight smile played at the corners of his mouth as well. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are my date. I asked you to join me, and you said yes. Isn't that still how it works?"

"I suppose it is," she admitted, laughing a little.

His expression turned serious again. "You do realize people may talk?"

"You mean a rumor might get out that I'm dating a handsome doctor?" Laura clarified amusedly. "Yes, I can certainly see how that could do permanent damage to a girl's reputation. What was I thinking, agreeing to be seen with you?"

Kevin laughed, apparently in spite of himself. "Well, showing up to this shindig with a beautiful woman on my arm certainly isn't going to do my reputation any harm, so you won't hear me complaining."

Laura fought a blush, surprised by how good it felt to hear him call her beautiful. From an actual date she might have expected flattery, but Kevin had no reason to blow smoke, so presumably he meant it. "Thank you," she managed after a moment.

He seemed to sense her slight discomfiture and glanced away to scan the room, giving her a moment to compose herself. "Isn't that Lulu down front? It looks like there's room for us to join her."

"That's awfully close to the stage," Laura answered, thinking back on what she remembered of this event from previous years. "Do you promise to protect me if the action spills out into the aisles?"

Kevin looked amused. "What, you don't want to end up with one of the Magic Wands in your lap?"

"Considering that those boys are young enough to be my sons?" Laura asked dryly. "Not particularly, no."

"I'll protect you," Kevin assured her, and deftly turned her toward Lulu's table as one act left the stage and another began preparing to take its place. He navigated the de facto obstacle course of tables and people with assured grace, pausing here and there to greet his colleagues. Many of them Laura already knew, of course, but Kevin made introductions where necessary, further confirming her impression of his manners as impeccable.

He made her feel really good, in fact, smiling warmly at her in a way that suggested he was pleased to have her at his side, maybe even a little proud. A couple of times she got the sense that he might actually be enjoying himself, though that could have been some combination of good acting on his part and wishful thinking on hers.

But the evening went pretty smoothly, all things considered. Kevin really did move his chair closer to hers when the audience-participation portion of the festivities began, apparently taking seriously her request for him to protect her from the Magic Wands and other similar shenanigans. She started to tell him it wasn't necessary, then thought better of it. It was sweet, and in truth she didn't mind having his his knee brushing hers under the table. Not that she expected anything to come of it, but it was nice to know that the part of her that noticed such things still worked, and there was no harm in enjoying it while it lasted.

She also rather enjoyed the way Lucy Coe looked at her when she noticed their new seating arrangements, though it would be quite a while later before she looked back on that moment and realized how telling it should have been. After all, she'd had no real right to be possessive of Kevin, not then, but that look from Lucy had made her want to lean into his side and rest her head on his shoulder. All she'd actually done was smile sweetly into the force of Lucy's glare, but the impulse had been there.

And when the Ball ended and Kevin walked her to her car there was a moment-fleeting and ethereal, barely a split second-when she thought he might be about to kiss her. He didn't, of course, but for that single instant there had been something in his eyes that made her think maybe he wanted to. Then he reached right past her to open her driver's door, and Laura snapped back to reality, where she was not Cinderella, Kevin Collins was not Prince Charming, and her car was decidedly not about to turn back into a pumpkin. He thanked her again for accompanying him, she thanked him for a lovely evening, and they went their separate ways.

But months later in Wyndemere's den, moments before he really did kiss her, she would see that look in Kevin's eyes again and think, Well, what do you know? I was right.

"Desperate Measures"

Kevin pressed his phone more tightly to his ear and listened nervously to the ringing on the other end. If it went to voicemail he was just going to take it as a sign and hang up. This was a crazy idea anyway. He couldn't believe he'd talked himself into-

"Hello?" Lulu's voice said.

"Hi, Lulu, this is Kevin Collins," Kevin said, just as he had mentally rehearsed countless times over the course of the last couple of hours.

"Oh, Kevin, hi!" Lulu sounded perfectly cheerful, if a little puzzled. "How are you?"

"Honestly? Increasingly desperate."

"Mom's still not returning your calls, huh?"

"No, she's not. I think the only way I'm going to get her to talk to me is to actually be standing in front of her."

"Well, she should be home in a couple of days, so you might get your chance."

"She is coming home soon, then? Because that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Uhm...okay." Now Lulu sounded a little uncertain.

Kevin closed his eyes and mentally crossed his fingers, hoping he wasn't about to make Laura's daughter think he was a stalker. "I hoped you might be willing to give me her flight information."

"Are you wanting to meet her at the airport?" Lulu asked, not seeming to find the request odd at all. "That's really sweet."

"No, I'm...I'm wanting to fly to Geneva, actually. To fly home with her."

There was a brief silence on Lulu's end before she slowly said, "So she has no choice but to listen to you."

Kevin winced. "Yes. And I know how crazy that probably sounds to you-"

"Are you kidding? That's brilliant!"

"It..it is?" He'd thought so, too, at first, but in the hours since the thought had first occurred to him he'd almost convinced himself it was insane.

"Absolutely! Look, I know I probably shouldn't be saying this, okay? But Mom wants to listen to you. She just won't let herself. So if you're on her flight everybody wins. Hang on a second and let me pull up… Okay, here it is. You ready?"

Kevin nodded, then remembered that Lulu couldn't see him. "I'm ready, yes."

"United 957, Thursday morning at nine fifteen Geneva time. Oh, and she's in seat 7K."

Kevin scribbled all of that down. "Thank you so much."

"Of course, if you tell her how you got her flight number I will have to kill you."

"I remember nothing," Kevin assured her. "And truly, Lulu, I appreciate this more than you know."

"Kevin, you saved my mother's life. This is the least I can do."

"And you really...you really think she might listen to me?"

"Yeah, I do. She misses you terribly."

Kevin's heart leapt. "She said that?"

"Not in so many words, no, but I know how to read between the lines. She talked about how lonely she is there, and then in the next breath she asked me whether I'd seen you again. And all those e-mails you've been sending her? She may not be answering you, but she's reading them. So don't give up, okay?"

"I won't."

"Good. Now, get off the phone and go book some flights, mister."

Kevin laughed, and before he could even formulate a response Lulu had ended the call, apparently quite serious about his marching orders. Okay, he thought, reaching for his laptop. One last-minute flight to Geneva, coming right up.

"A Dispatch From the Noble Patriarch"

Dear Doctor Collins,

I made Grandmother promise to deliver this letter in person, and I asked her to wait while you read it, so we have a few minutes. First I have a confession to make, and then I'd like to give you some advice, man to man.

I was listening to the two of you through the air vents right before we left Wyndemere, so I know she's mad at you. I also know she's miserable. I don't know what you did wrong, but it must have been pretty stupid. So stare at this page for as long as it takes you to get your thoughts in order, then tell her you're sorry.

Because this may be the only chance you're going to get, and you're the only person I trust to look out for her while I'm gone. If you need help getting started, ask her how I am. I know she's worried about leaving me here, and she'll probably unload on you about it. After that you're on your own.

Don't let me down. More importantly, don't let Grandmother down. She doesn't even know how much she needs you.

Sincerely,

Spencer