A/N: This is Vera's point of view on the scene with Scotty at McGinty's from "Yo, Adrian." I referenced this scene briefly in "Every Time Two Fools Collide," but this little one-shot was just begging to be written.

Rating: T for language and the fact that Vera's kinda got a dirty mind. I wouldn't have him any other way.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, because if I did, Christina Rush would have stayed in New York and this entire scene would never have happened.

The Middle

I hate bein' caught in the middle. Hate it. Seems like my whole life has been spent there. I'm the middle kid, so I guess it kinda goes with the territory. The only boy in a family of sisters…you can guess where that left me. Whenever my sisters would fight, I always wound up in the middle of it, even though I tried not to be. Guess I'm a good listener or some bullshit. And sure, I always like to know what's goin' on with everybody's lives. But all I wanna hear about is the gossip, the light-hearted stuff. The hard stuff, though…I usually stay away. I don't like gettin' too deep in people's problems. I figure it's their own business.

So when Scotty's girlfriend offed herself last week, I was the only one who didn't go see him. Let the man scream, cry, throw things, get piss-drunk, do whatever the hell he needs to do, but let him do it alone. I know Boss and Will have been to see him, I know Lil's been callin' him twenty times a day, and I know she's worried, probably more than any of the rest of us. I ain't blind. I see it in her eyes.

But I ain't goin' there. When he's ready to talk, when he's ready to face the world, he'll do it, and he'll do it on his own terms. Scotty's a proud guy, he's a strong guy, and he'll come through this. Sure, I'm as concerned about him as anyone else, but I'm not about to go invade his space. If I'm really honest with myself, it's at least partly because I'm scared shitless that I won't know what to say.

So it shocks the hell out of me one day when my phone rings and it's Scotty. I can't take the call right then, so I hope he'll leave a message, and he does. Sounds casual, just like old times, says he wants to get together with me and knock back a few at McGinty's tonight. Doesn't even sound like he's that bad off, although I know there's no way in hell he's okay yet. I'm not quite sure what to expect, whether he's gonna be mad drunk or sad drunk or croonin' to a country song drunk, but he called me. And if hangin' out with me is what he needs, well…then…that's what he's gonna get.

It's a long day at work, per usual, and I show up later than we'd planned. But Scotty's still there, sittin' at the bar, lookin' like he's already had a few. He seems happy to see me, asks me what took so long. I tell him work, and he ain't surprised. He almost looks a little jealous. Hell, I know I would be if I'd been sittin' on my ass for a week with nothin' to do. Oh, sure, he tried to come back last week, but he went ballistic and beat the crap out of a guy during an interview. From what I hear, the bastard deserved it, but still. No way in hell you go postal on a guy two days after your girlfriend kicks it and not have to give Boss your gun for a while.

But there's none of that talk tonight. Scotty tells me we're celebratin'. I look over at him in surprise. Celebratin' is about the last thing I'm expectin' us to be doin'. I ain't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, though.

"We got a cause, or are we better without?" I ask.

"I'm back on the job next week," he says with a proud smile. I'm genuinely happy for him, and congratulate him. Scotty bein' back at work, that's tops. Tops, brother. Tops. The squad just ain't the same without his cocky attitude and wiseass comments.

I look over at him, and he's givin' me this look I can't quite read.

"What?" I ask.

Scotty smiles again, tells me it's just that simple. Well, okay, then. No blubberin' in the beer tonight, it seems. I can't help but feel relieved. It really is gonna be like old times.

Speakin' of beer, where the hell's that barkeep? Scotty's beer is almost gone, and I can tell it ain't his first. I tell him it'd be a lot simpler if I could get things rollin', and he gives me this "don't worry about it, I got you covered" smile.

Simple's ancient history with what comes outta his mouth next, though.

"Yo, Christina," he says with a grin.

Christina? That Christina? Oh, hell, no…

Shit. It's that Christina. I'd know that blonde hair and bitchy smile anywhere. Don't know what it is about that dame, but somethin' just gets my hackles up, makes me think she's up to no good. I know she and Rush have some serious history, stuff that I don't know and don't wanna know, but whatever it is, it's bad enough for me to know that Lil ain't happy with her sister bein' in town. And if Lil ain't happy, well…I ain't happy.

Dammit. Yeah, I got a soft spot for Lil. I'll admit it. Not to anyone else, and sure as hell not to her. But I know I ain't the only one with a soft spot for her. If she knew how much all of us guys on the squad look out for her, I bet she'd kick our asses, accuse us of bein' chauvinist pigs. Which we are. I mean, come on, who are we kiddin'? But she doesn't need to know that.

Chris starts pourin' a couple shots, and me and her make awkward small talk. I say, pointedly, that I didn't know she worked here. My way of sayin', what the hell are you doin' still in town?

It's not what she says next, it's how she says it. She says it's fun for now, but some of the guys who come in are sort of half-ass, and then she gives Scotty that look, that look I know well, that look that says she's already done him fifteen different ways in her head. And, to my horror, Scotty gives her a look back, a look I also know well, a look I get in my own eye a lot, a look that says he's been imaginin' some pretty hot stuff himself.

Scotty? And Rush's sister?

No way, man. No fuckin' way. Every good cop knows you stay the hell away from your partner on a personal level. Now I know Valens ain't stupid enough to go after Rush, and even if he was, she'd kick his ass to the moon. So that doesn't worry me. But you also stay the hell away from your partner's family. And Lil's upset enough about whatever it is her sister did that if Valens starts screwin' Chris…oh, man, I do not wanna be around for the fallout from that. I've seen Lil mad. It ain't pretty. And she knows how to hold a grudge. The squad…it'd never be the same.

I sit there, hopin' that maybe I'm readin' too much into this, worryin' about nothin', but as Chris and Scotty flirt some more, my stomach starts to turn. My hunch is correct. The eye-sex is obvious. And if it wasn't Christina Rush, I'd be thinkin', Way to go man, good for you. Just hop right back up there in the saddle if that's what gets you through this.

But it is Christina Rush. And she is the one woman Valens better not be sniffin' around, not if he knows what's good for him. But that wet-dream look on his face clearly says he doesn't.

"Perfect," I mutter.

Scotty buys my drink, which is great, 'cause after what I just saw, I ain't stickin' around long enough to pay.

He gives Christina a pretty generous tip, which she pockets with a smile and a flirty little, "Thank you, kind sir," and Scotty nods and gives her that little smile he sometimes gets, the kinda smile you see in Westerns, where the good guy tips his hat to the lady, that damn gentlemanly smile that gets 'em every time.

I'm sittin' there on the barstool, cursin' my miserable luck. I figured I'd be in for some drunken caterwaulin' or somethin', maybe even havin' to drag his sloppy, semi-conscious ass back to his apartment, hell, I've seen Scotty drunk a few times, and that's what I was prepared for, but damned if I ain't the last place I ever wanted to be tonight.

In the middle.

I look at Scotty, just completely floored. What the hell does he think he's doin'?

Scotty's got no idea what I'm thinkin'. He scoots his shot glass closer, and gets all serious.

"Y'know, takin' it back for a sec…" he begins, and I got a sneakin' suspicion that I'm about to feel worse instead of better. "…you're tellin' me you're happy I'm back. Not askin' how I'm doin'."

I nod, and he raises his glass to me. I see the pain in his eyes then, the pain he's been tryin' to hide, but I don't know who the hell he thinks he's kiddin'. "Thanks for that," he says.

I grab my shot, and we clink our glasses together, and I gotta say what I gotta say, before I lose my nerve.

"When the hard stuff happens…I say walk it off any way you can. Whatever," I start, and he's lookin' kinda smug, like he knows he called the right guy, like he knows that his good buddy Nick Vera won't tell him anything he doesn't wanna hear. I take a sip of my booze. Liquid courage, right?

"You're the goods, Nickys," he says to me with a smile and sips his own drink.

But I ain't finished. I don't care whether he wants to hear this or not, he's gonna, 'cause if I don't say it, no way in hell am I sleepin' tonight. Besides, just between you and me? Of the two…Rush scares me way more than Valens does. And I ain't gettin' on her bad side if I can help it.

I turn, and look him straight in the eye. "But what you can't do…is Rush's sister, know what I mean?"

He looks at me for a second, and I see a little bit of shock in his eyes, like he can't believe I just figured him out, then he tries to laugh it off. "What are you talkin' about?" he asks me.

Shit, how dumb does he think I am? I saw the two of them undressin' each other with their eyes not even thirty seconds ago; I know what he's got in mind. Hell, if she weren't who she is, I'd probably be thinkin' the same thing. So give me a little credit.

Now I'm startin' to get annoyed, wonderin' how the hell I wound up in the middle of this, why the hell I even care so much.

"Scotty," I say sharply, and he wipes that damn grin off his face. "I'm serious. Anyone…but that. All right?"

I don't wait for him to respond, and I sure as hell ain't gonna stick around to see more eye-fuckin' with Christina Rush. I've said my piece, and now I gotta get outta here. I down my shot, give him a pat on the back, and head out the door.

I don't know what he's gonna do after I leave, and I can't let myself care. All I know is, I'm already in way deeper than I wanna be.

I ain't gettin' in the middle. Not again.

A/N: Yeah, right.

Thanks, as always, to the fabulous RichE from "Look Again" for the clip.