Henry Spencer does not understand why he has to go through a psych evaluation so that he can go back to field work after working security at the Cinnamon Festival. What is he going to tell the department-sanctioned therapist? That he offered to work the Cinnamon Festival so he could get free cinnamon pancakes and he started running after the turd nugget who stole the cinnamon pancakes that were rightfully his?

Yeah, he didn't think so. Henry crosses his arms and glares at Herb's office.

After a couple of minutes, Herb steps out and crooks a finger at Henry, beckoning him to come inside. Henry huffs, uncrosses his arms, and stands. The pain in his ankle flares, and he grits his teeth and tries to walk normally. Thankfully, Herb's office is not a far walk, and as soon as Henry's inside, he limps toward the plush couch. He doesn't immediately notice the young college girl sitting next to Dr. Taylor. Once he settles himself on the couch, his eyes settle on the young college girl.

She has long blonde hair that falls to her collarbone. She's wearing a baby blue blouse with a black blazer and a black pencil skirt. Her blue eyes dance, and she smiles at Henry.

She is the most beautiful woman Henry Spencer has ever laid eyes on.

Dr. Taylor clears his throat. "Uh, Henry, this is Madeleine Baker. She's a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara."

Henry leans back. "Let me guess," he says, his eyes never straying from Madeleine's face. "Psychology major? You want to pursue police psychology?"

Madeleine grins. The sun could take notes from her smile. "That is very correct. My professor suggested that I intern with the SBPD. The chief said this would be an excellent first case for me."

"Why? Because I only twisted my ankle? I was chasing a perp."

Madeleine tilts her head to the side. "Oh?"

Henry clears his throat and leans forward. "Usually, rookie cops get either the easy cases or the boring cases. Usually, it's a little mix of both. I heard that the Cinnamon Festival needed police security, and I volunteered." He lifts his hand, as if he's disclosing a secret, and whispers to Madeleine, "They give cops free food."

Madeleine chuckles. "You volunteered because of free food?"

Henry quirks an eyebrow. "Have you ever had those cinnamon pancakes? They're heaven on Earth."

Dr. Taylor looks back and forth between Madeleine and Henry. "You said –"

Madeleine leans forward, clasping her hands together. "What about the perp? Was he a bad guy?"

Henry sits up. "He stole my cinnamon pancakes."

"Were they his?"

"Not rightfully."

Madeleine purses her lips and nods slowly. "So, naturally, you pursued him on foot."

Henry nods once. "That is exactly what happened."

"Where did the twisted ankle come into play?"

Henry sighs and looks down at his swollen ankle. "There was a gopher hole. I stepped in it accidentally, and the perp got away."

Madeleine can't help the smile that crosses her face. "With your cinnamon pancakes."

"Yes!" Henry says indignantly. "I worked hard for those."

"Do you think you can possibly handle field work after that experience?" Madeleine says, unable to keep her amusement out of her voice.

Henry sighs dramatically and clutches his chest with his hand. "I don't know if I can," he says melodramatically. "It'll be tough, but I think I can manage."

Madeleine leans back in her seat and glances to Dr. Taylor. "Doctor, do you think we should clear him?"

Dr. Taylor runs a hand through his thinning hair. "Y'know, Madeleine, this is the first time I think an intern did a better job of getting a patient to open up than I could." He narrows his eyes at Henry and smiles. "Henry, I'll clear you. Just make sure you're still taking care of that ankle."

Henry looks to Dr. Taylor and then back to Madeleine. "Yes, of course, Doctor."

Dr. Taylor scribbles his notes on his notepad. "You're dismissed, Henry. Madeleine, could you help him out? I need a sec."

Madeleine nods and stands up, smoothing out her skirt. "Of course." She waits for Henry to hobble his way over to her, and then she takes his arm. "Come on, Mr. Spencer."

Henry glances down at her. "Call me Henry."

She smiles up at him. "Keep calling me Madeleine."

"Are you single, Madeleine?"

Madeleine's eyes widen, and she looks at him with an open mouth. "That's a bold question."

Henry shrugs sheepishly. "I just figured I should ask."

Madeleine rolls her eyes and helps Henry across the bullpen. He points to his desk (the farthest desk from the chief's office, he's thankful to say). "Yes, I'm single. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Henry drawls, taking care not to rest too much of his weight on Madeleine. "I was wondering if you'd want to join me for milkshakes at In-'N-Out later tonight?"

Madeleine raises her eyebrows and considers the offer. "Just one date?"

Henry shrugs nonchalantly, trying not to let her know just how much he wants to go on a second date with her, and a fourth, and a tenth. "Of course."

Madeleine sighs and lets go of Henry once they reach his desk. He lets go of her and leans his weight on his desk, refusing to sit down until they've established their plans. "Alright," she says, "when do you get off of work?"

He glances at the clock behind her. "My shift ends at 7 o'clock."

Madeleine nods along slowly. "My day ends at the same time." She sighs and tucks her hair behind her ears. "Okay, after you clock out, come and get me. I'll still be in the chief's office."

Henry grins. "So, it's a date?"

Madeleine closes her eyes and laughs softly. "Yes, Henry, it's a date." She waves goodbye to him and heads back to Herb's office.

Henry lowers himself into his chair, and he can't stop smiling.

For the first time in his life, he wants 7 o'clock to come now.

At precisely 7 o'clock, Henry wraps up the case he's been working (merely some petty theft – the teenager hung his head and admitted that he shoplifted the books on a dare; Henry suggests community service for the kid) and waits for Madeleine outside of Herb's office.

It takes her five minutes to wrap up inside, but she steps outside and looks for Henry. Once she sees him, she relaxes a bit. "Are you too crippled to drive?"

Henry shakes his head. "I think I can manage."

Madeleine laughs nervously and follows him outside of the police station. "Good," she says, nervously rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "I don't know Santa Barbara very well."

Henry opens the passenger door of his truck and helps her inside. "You're not from here?" he asks.

Madeleine shakes his head and waits until Henry gets in on his side of the truck. "Nope," she says as Henry starts the ignition. He looks behind him and backs the truck out of the parking lot. "I moved here from Cincinnati."

Henry raises his eyebrows. The light turns red, and he slows to a stop, flicking his left blinker on. "That's a long trip."

Madeleine exhales shakily. "Yeah. It's kind of hard, not being able to see my family."

"Any siblings?"

Madeleine perks up. "Two younger siblings. Sister and brother." She licks her lips. "What about you? Any other Spencer kids?"

"Just a younger brother. His name's Jack."

"Is he going to be a police officer, too?"

Henry barks out a laugh. "The only way Jack'll end up in a police station is if he's getting arrested." He shakes his head. "Nah, Jack doesn't– he's not mature enough or disciplined enough for that."

Madeleine nods. "I see." She bites her bottom lip and looks around. "So, uh…did you grow up in Santa Barbara?"

Henry nods slowly. "Yep," he says, his eyes still on the road. "I graduated high school two years ago, actually."

"Valedictorian?" Madeleine asks, amusement creeping into her voice. Something tells her that Henry's street-smart, not book-smart.

Henry laughs again, this time with more humor. "No," he says. "School wasn't my strong suit. Besides, I wanted to be a cop all my life, and you don't need to go to college to be a police officer."

"You can," Madeleine says, nudging him with her elbow.

Henry purses his lips. "Not gonna lie, I thought about it in my senior year, but…" he trails off and shakes his head. "Nothing interested me as much as being a cop. That's all I've ever wanted to be."

"You never wanted to be a father? A husband, even?"

Henry raises his eyebrows and glances over at Madeleine. "I- I mean, yes, of course, I've wanted both of those things since –" he swallows heavily, "– since my brother Jack was born, but…you know, I meant career-wise, that I only ever wanted to be a cop. As a career." He laughs nervously. "Where did that question come from?"

Madeleine was horrified at herself when the question first popped out of her mouth, and she's still embarrassed, but Henry's answer stirred something in her. "No reason. I was just- just wondering if you– that is to say, when some people say that they wanted x, they mean that they only want x. I was just wondering if that was the case with you."

Henry tries to school his face into a poker expression, but he fails. A smirk creeps up the corners of his mouth. "What about you, Maddy? Are kids in the picture for you?"

"Maybe some day," she says softly. "Not now, though." She laughs nervously. "No, I'm- I'm way too young for that."

Henry quirks an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you were nineteen."

Madeleine shakes her head. "Nope. I just turned eighteen last month." The flickering neon sign at In-'N-Out is fast approaching, and Henry eases into the turn lane. "Also, did you call me 'Maddy?'"

Henry opens his mouth, and for a second, nothing comes out. "Yes?" he says, his voice rising an octave. "I won't anymore if you don't like it."

She smiles at him. "No, I do. You can call me Maddy."

He turns into the parking lot and finds an open space close to the entrance. He pulls into it, shuts off the engine, and turns to her. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm the first man you let call you 'Maddy?'"

She leans forward, her hair falling to frame her face. She smirks at him, bites her bottom lip, and says, "Because you are." With that, she leans back against the seat.

Shaking his head, Henry gets out of the truck and walks around to open Maddy's door.

She's going to be the death of him, and he will not regret a second of it.

She pinches her straw between her fingertips, rocking forward in laughter. Her laugh bubbles from her throat, and she scrunches her nose.

Henry presses his lips together, trying to suppress his own laughter, but she snorts like a pig and he loses it, pressing his palms against the table.

"So," Maddy says, through peals of laughter, "lemme get this straight: you arrested your first perp without your pants on?"

Henry holds up a finger, carefully schooling his expression into a straight face. "And without underwear, too. You can't forget that part."

Maddy snorts again and manages to stop laughing long enough to take a long sip of her vanilla milkshake. Henry watches her for a second, then dips his head and starts playing with his straw wrapper.

"You're nervous."

Henry looks up from his masterpiece of a straw wrapper snake. Maddy looks at him softly. "What?" he says, trying to nonchalantly clear his throat.

Maddy leans forward and covers his hand with her own. "You're really nervous. You keep fidgeting and avoiding eye contact." Her face falls. "Is the date really going that terribly?"

"No!" Henry says a bit hurriedly. He glances around the restaurant and lowers his voice. "No, it's just– I've never been nervous on a first date before, and it's– this time, it's special." He takes a deep breath and looks into Maddy's blue eyes. They're wide and searching, utterly clear, curious. He could get lost in those eyes. "You're special, Maddy. I just…didn't want to screw it up."

Maddy pulls her hand away and grabs her straw. "Henry," she says, lowering her mouth to hover over the tip of the straw, "if you were going to screw up this date, that story about you catching a perp naked would have done it." She takes another sip from her milkshake. "As it was, I found that to be the funniest thing I've ever heard."

Henry smiles at her. "Would you be opposed to a second date?"

Maddy smirks. "I would love to go on a second date with you, Henry Spencer."

Henry pulls his milkshake closer to him and drinks the chocolatey goodness. He's known Madeleine Baker for all of four hours, and he already knows: she is the woman he is going to marry.

Henry pulls back into the police station parking lot at 10 o'clock. Maddy smoothes her skirt and glances at Henry. "Are you going to walk me back to my car? Santa Barbara can be very dangerous," she says.

Henry chuckles softly. "Yeah, just a minute." He shuts off the engine and walks around the truck to open Maddy's door. She takes his proffered hand, and he helps her out. "Which one's yours?" he asks, nodding to the non-cruiser cars.

Maddy loops her arm through his. "That one," she says, pointing to a dull yellow Fiat on the other side of the parking lot.

Henry starts off. "So it's back to college for you tomorrow?"

Maddy nods. "From 8 to 5. After my classes are over, I come here."

"That doesn't leave a lot of free time."

"No," Maddy says.

The conversation drops, and they're almost at Maddy's car. Once they're close, Henry pulls his arm free from Maddy and opens her car door.

She stands close to him and fiddles with her keys. "I had a really great time tonight, Henry." She nods and takes a nervous breath. "Really, I mean it. I've– I've never had this much fun on a date before."

He smiles softly and leans against the open car door. He keeps searching her eyes, but he finds himself looking at her lips every few seconds. "Glad I could be of service," he says hoarsely.

Maddy smiles at him and takes his free hand. "Thank you." She glances at his lips and steps even closer. They're breathing the same air now.

Henry swallows heavily. "Can, um…" his breathing quickens. "Can I– may I kiss you?"

Maddy's eyelids flutter closed and she nods her head. "You may," she says, rocking up onto her toes.

Henry puts his hand on her cheek and gently kisses her. Her lips are soft, and though the kiss only lasts for a brief moment, he finds himself falling head over heels in love.

She wraps her arm around his neck and kisses him once more before she pulls away. Henry's eyes stay closed for a moment longer before he opens them again.

"Well," Maddy says, fiddling with her keys again. "I– I should –" she gestures to her car and eases into the seat. "I should go."

Henry nods slowly. "Yeah," he says softly. "Yeah, um…drive safely."

She smiles at him again. "I'll, uh…I'll see you tomorrow."

"That you will."

Maddy waves goodbye to him.

As Henry walks back to his truck, he tucks his hands into his pockets, looks up at the sky, and decides to ask his mom about getting her engagement ring.