Note: Thanks sweet all for the review/messages, I appreciate them so much. So, this chapter's a lot of dialogue... I hope you like it, the final part will be up soon as well :) .

The One That Got Away / Part 2

"Started the party without me, huh?"

Louis smiled when he heard Catherine's voice behind him. Yes, he'd already ordered a drink before she'd arrived. He turned around as he said: "Well, since you were late, I figured I'd entertain myself."

"Ha, late, 5 minutes, tops. Traffic was a distaster. I don't know why I figured it was a good idea to take my car down the strip from my hotel all the way to here." She sat down in the seat in front of hem, trying to catch a waiter's attention. Catherine was looking perfect. Louis was almost positive she'd put on a skirt because she knew how much he loved looking at her legs, but perhaps he was just hoping that was the reason.

After ordering her drink, Catherine looked at the man in front of her and smiled slightly. "So… I'm sorry for not letting you know I was coming. I just… I had a lot on my mind, it all went so fast.. And I wasn't even sure you wanted me to give you a head's up…"

Lou was surprised she'd cut to the chase immediately. Then again, she'd never been the subtle type. "I guess I can't blame you for that… I guess I had just been hoping that, you know, I would be important enough for you to at least hear something about you getting here. I mean, I honestly didn't really expect to see you again. I was so surprised when I found out you were in Vegas."

Catherine smiled sadly. "You have to believe me that in any other situation I would've always thought about letting you know I would be in town… I would, honestly, despite it being difficult to talk to you again after so long.. I.. I would've called you. Really."

Their eyes locked and Louis could tell she was genuine. Not that he had doubted her words. But her eyes told him everything, and she was definitely being truthful. Instinctively he reached for her hand, placing his over hers as he sighed. "Cath… Where did we go wrong?"

Catherine bit her lip. His emerald eyes were staring right into hers and his words made her feel a huge sting of pain all through her body. Where had they gone wrong? God, the man hadn't done anything wrong. Well, barely anything. It had been her. She had been stubborn. Not willing to take any risks because she was afraid of getting hurt. He shouldn't have pushed her, but she should've realized it had been all because of love. Taking a job with the FBI hadn't only been liberating because it was a well-needed change of surroundings. It ha also been perfect because she knew being with Louis wouldn't stand a chance with her so far away. No need to make difficult decisions, no need to admit to herself that she was in love again… It had all made perfect sense when she'd left.

Truth was that she'd missed Lou from day one. She'd regretted leaving him the moment she'd arrived in LA. Without him, her life had felt incomplete. She had been too much of a coward to admit it to him. She'd wanted to keep her face up. Her attitude, the way she'd told him how she had been perfectly fine with their casual relationship… It had all been such a facade. Catherine wished she'd realized that sooner.

"Oh Lou… We're both so stubborn…"

He chuckled. "We definitely are."

"Lou…" Catherine brushed his hand off of hers, not sure what to do. Was she going to admit she'd made a mistake? Was there still time to make things all okay? "This is hard."

He nodded. He understood. Things were hard. He wasn't exactly sure what Catherine's intentions were either. Did she just want to apology, start with a clean sleeve so there wouldn't be anything awkward if she'd return to the lab in Vegas? Or did she still have feelings for him?

He ordered them another round of drinks, realizing he had finished his drink way too quickly.

Lou sighed. "Catherine… The way you left was so upsetting to me… It made us seem… Nothing. I felt like I meant absolutely nothing to you."

She bit her lip. "I know… I don't.. I don't know why I have this, this tendency to push away the people I love the most." The words had left her mouth before she knew it. Love. She'd never actually told him she loved him. Not once.

Lou blinked. Love? "Love?"

Catherine shrugged. "Yeah…"

"You never told me you loved me…" Lou searched for her eyes, but she kept staring right down to her drink.

"I know," she murmured, knowing she was about the pour her heart out. "I don't know why I keep on building walls around me when there's someone willing to spend his life with me. That's what I did when I was with you… I was so afraid of getting hurt that I figured it would be easier to just… Pretend. Pretend I was yearning for freedom and time alone… When in fact, all I really wanted was just.. You. You and me, together. You… You meant everything. "

Lou looked her in the eyes, finally able to get a hold of the blue pair that he'd always adored so much. "Cath…"

Catherine figured she'd blown it. Of course Lou wasn't going to let her fall into his arms and tell her everything would be fine. What had she been expecting? Maybe he had started seeing another woman, maybe he had lost interest in her.

She suddenly stood up, afraid for Lou to speak out words she didn't want to hear and said: "I'm sorry, for everything. You didn't deserve it. I.. I really didn't deserve you."

She took off, leaving a confused Lou behind in the bar. He gulped his drink. He didn't want him and Catherine to leave each other like this, without having some sort of ending. Or new beginning….

When he reached the parking lot, Catherine was no where in sight. He cursed under his breath. He wasn't sure if she was staying in a hotel, or if she'd still had her old appartment in town. He figured he'd take a gamble, and grabbed the first taxi in his sight.