Well, here's chapter 2 people. I hope you're enjoying this, and if there's any ideas you have about what I should incorporate, PLEASE let me know.

Song recs, ideas, anything helps.

Thanks, read and enjoy!


It was a week and a half before Vega saw Angie again, and unless threatened by pain of death, wouldn't admit to anyone that he was more excited than he should be. Their first meeting was entertaining to say the least, and she was definitely different from the other women he encountered on a daily basis. She was snarky and spoke her mind, it was refreshing. He couldn't remember the last time a woman mocked him and he'd liked it, and maybe that said more about him than it did her. Even as he opened the door to the coffee shop, he could feel the smile stretch across his face as he saw her looking particularly surly with a customer that he recognized. He winced in sympathy, not ever wanting to be on the other end of that look. He quietly made his was up behind his boss, trying not to laugh as Angie didn't even acknowledge him while responding to Cross.

"Are you high? I said no last week, and the week before that, and the week before that. Are you not fluent in English all of a sudden?" She muttered the last part, but Vega still snorted from behind him in line, waving to him when Cross turned suddenly.

"Something I can do for you Vega?"

"No sir, just trying to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy Angie's sunny disposition as always. You?"

He could see Angie's posture relax considerably, earning a grin and a small wave from her as she tucked her hands in her back pockets. Cross turned back to her, looking between her and Vega a few times before directing his question towards Angie.

"You two know each other?"

"Oh yeah, Vega and I go way back. Lattes and cranky medical examiners with homicidal tendencies," she said, her eyes filling with mischief as she saw the way Mark's gaze dimmed considerably, "which reminds me, how is Lucas doing so far? Betty hasn't maimed him too much has she?"

Vega had to laugh, remembering the fear Lucas still showed anytime Betty gave him a dead look. It was hilarious on a daily basis, but each time, he couldn't help the little voice that wondered how Angie was doing that day. It was starting to distract him, and that's exactly what brought him here. Knowing that she preferred his company to Cross' was an unexpected bonus.

"Eh, he's still hanging on. But this isn't going to be easily forgotten. He keeps asking what he should do-"

"Unsuccessfully I take it?"

"Oh yeah, and I keep telling him to grovel but I think she's just messing with him now"

"Well, he called her ma'am. I can't feel bad for him," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and smirking at him. They were completely ignoring Cross, and he finally decided to make himself known. Again.

"So, I guess that means you're not free tonight. What a shame," Cross remarks, taking his coffee and walking out, nodding to Oscar as he made his way out. Oscar nodded back, smiling as he turned back to Angie. She was sitting on a stool behind the counter now, her foot up on the seat with her as leaned her head on her knee. She was ridiculously flexible, and he stored that tidbit of information to think on at a later date.

"So, I see you've met Sergeant Cross. Not as taken with his smoldering good looks as he assumed you'd be?" Angie snorted, laughing outright when he waggled his eye brows comically before she decided to answer.

"Are you kidding me? I can do sarcastic, even minor asshole tendencies, but I won't deal with a man that assumes he's the most attractive thing in the room. I mean, hello-" she said, standing up and turning around in a circle before him, "I'm not horrible looking. Give a girl a compliment, it's not that hard"

"Oh believe me, I'm well aware that you are far from horrible looking. He doesn't know what he's missing"

Vega smiled, tilting his head to the side as he saw the way she flushed, clearing her throat as she turned away from him. She was fiddling with the coffee machine behind her, but the back of her neck was a lovely shade of pink that made him glow with pride. He knew she must be a hard woman to knock off balance, and he was counting this as a win.

"So, you want your latte or are you seriously here for my sunny disposition? Which, by the way, is total crap and we all know it"

"You caught me, I've finally decided you've got the best latte around here and I'm hooked" he said, and she looked over her shoulder at him, pinning him with a look before turning the tables.

"You sure the coffee is what you're hooked on Detective?"

Angie wanted to laugh at the way his eyes widened slightly, watching the way his ears got a bit red with...something. Embarrassment maybe? She didn't know, but they were now even after that compliment he payed her. What could she say, she liked to make things interesting. He seemed to be more than willing to appease her, and that's what made him so damn fascinating.

"Depends on whether or not you want me to be honest Angie..." He said, and he held her stare for a minute, and she swore there was something electrifying about the way he held her attention.

They continued their staring contest until the door opened again, breaking the spell as Betty came waltzing in. She gave them both a knowing look, crossing her arms across her chest as she waited to be acknowledged.

"Good afternoon doctor"

"Seems like it Oscar," she replied as she smiled deviously at him. He just smiled back, moving away from the counter as Angie began making their drinks.

"Hey Betts, how are things going?"

"Maybe I should be asking you that," she shot back, smirking at the glare Angie threw her. She shrugged her shoulders delicately, pretending that she wasn't being a nosy best friend.

"I take it your day's been slow? Especially if you're visiting me at-" she looked at her watch briefly before focusing her attention, "almost 2 in the afternoon. Long day?"

"It's going to be a long night Ang, double homicide for another ME that's out sick. I don't think I'm going to be able to have Manny shadow me on this one, it brutal" she sighed, leaning heavily against the counter.

Vega watched them interact from a few feet away, curious at the relationship between the two women. They seemed extremely close, and he could tell that there weren't any walls up between them like there might be with other people. Betty seemed relaxed if not exhausted, and Angie seemed to be that sounding board she needed. It really was quite a friendship, and he was eternally grateful Betty pushed him to leave the office now. If it wasn't for her suggesting he actually get coffee with Lucas over a week ago, he never would have met Angie, and that had to be one of the highlights of his month. He was interested, but he had a feeling she wasn't as forward as she seemed.

Knocking him out of his musings, he heard the door open and shut, a teenage boy walking directly towards him. He watched curiously, noticing that the boy was making his way behind the counter and to Angie. When she stopped mid conversation with Betty to hug and kiss him, he figured it was her son. He walked up beside Betty, seeing the way her eyes shifted between himself and Angie, and he was hoping she'd stop before it got uncomfortable for everyone. She did thankfully, and she smiled as she spoke.

"So Oscar, where's your shadow today? Still trembling in fear I'm guessing?"

"I have no part in this, it's between you and Lucas. I like not being in the crosshairs"

"Aw, that's no fun. I'll let him off the hook eventually, but I'm not ready to part with the pastries every morning in apology. A woman has needs," she remarked, and he had to laugh at the suggestiveness that seemed to color everything she said. He had to laugh, she knew how to get what she wanted.

"So Manny, any ideas on who you're going to shadow for your project now?" Betty asked, apology obvious in her tone as she looked back at the teenager under Angie's arm.

"Don't sweat it, if worse comes to worse, I could always shadow mom," he said, his tone less than enthusiastic as she have him a look that said plenty. He smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair, giving Oscar a look as if he'd just now noticed him.

"Well, what about following a detective around? Wouldn't that be more fun for you," she asked as she watched Angie, her eyes widening slightly before she shot a look at Vega, who just looked skeptical, "not saying that your mom isn't fun, but-"

"But police work is totally badass, yeah. Who's the detective?" He asked, the excitement obvious in his eyes as Angie sagged, letting him go to run a hand over her face. She kept looking at Oscar, and it finally dawned on him exactly what was going on. He cleared his throat, and all eyes swung to him as he spoke up.

"Hi Manny, I'm Detective Oscar Vega," he said, and stuck his hand out and Manny shook it with restrained enthusiasm, trying to look as cool as possible, "I'm work with Dr. Rogers at MPD-"

"And is friends with your mom" Betty added in, making sure that wasn't forgotten. Angie have her a, we'll talk about this later look, but she just smiled and turned back to Oscar.

"I've got a light caseload this week, so if you need a career to shadow, I'd be happy to help you out"

"So this isn't because you're trying to date my mom right?" Manny asked, and Oscar gave him a bland look as Angie smacked her son upside the head. Betty laughed and tried to cover it with a cough, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Why, does that happen a lot?" Oscar asked, and Angie just stared at him. He tried to ignore her the best he could, but she was a force to be reckoned with. It was mildly distracting.

"Guys trying to date her, ehh. Guys thinking I'm the way to get it to happen, sometimes"

"Well, I'm a cop that is letting you follow him around so he doesn't fail his..."

"Career Building class. They want us to 'keep our options open'," he recited, a sour look on his face at the thought of the reasons for the assignment. The joys of high school.

"Well that's one way to do it. Are you let go from class early to do your shadowing or is there a different way to do it?"

"Oh, they're letting us skip three days of school to shadow our careers, then write a paper on what we've learned and what type of people would excel at this career"

"Sounds interesting"

"It also sounds like three days without seeing a single teacher, it's like Christmas in March" said, and they all laughed at that. Manny kept looking at Oscar, waiting for him to explain why he was being so nice. He guessed that nice people weren't a staple for them.

"Well then, when are you supposed to start?"

"Tomorrow thru Thursday, then we start the in class part of the prep work Friday. You seriously don't mind Detective? It's last minute and all, I get it if you can't do it"

"How about this. You call me Oscar, and listen to any direction I give you, and you'll have an easy few days. Plus, If it's a late night, you can either go home early or eat dinner with us at the precinct" Oscar offered, looking at Angie to make sure it seemed alright. She just bit her lip and nodded, an arm across her stomach and the other on her hip.

"Sounds good Oscar. What time should I be at the precinct?"

"I'll come pick you up from here, I have an early meeting to go over a case for court. I can grab you and coffee, and then you can see what I actually do on a daily basis"

"Alright cool, thanks again man. I'm looking forward to this assignment now"

"Glad I could help. I'll see you both," he paused, his phone ringing, "tomorrow, I have to take this. It was nice meeting you Manny," he was just about to pick up the phone when glanced over at Angie, who was dangling a cup in midair for him to see. He shot her a grateful look, taking the cup from her fingers as he answered the call. He mouthed a thank you as he backed out, and she nodded, smiling gently as he disappeared from sight. It was quiet for a moment, until she noticed two pairs of eyes on her again. She had to be careful, this staring thing was becoming a habit.

"So this is how it feels when your mom dates your teacher"

Betty laughed again, this time nodding her head along as Angie rounded on her son. He just smirked, knowing that she couldn't deny how long she watched Vega leave the shop.

"Really Manny?"

"In gonna go do my homework now, see you later Betty" he said, moving around the counter and to a table in the corner. They watched as he slipped headphones in his ears before either one of them chose to say anything. The last thing Angie needed was for Manny to overhear her conversation and say something to someone. She glanced over to Betty, watching the way the woman sipped her coffee and steadily gazed back.

"I'm screwed aren't I?"

"Oh Ang, at least you know it'll be good"

Angie felt her face flame, knowing Betty did that merely for shock value, but the mental image was now there. She sighed, fiddling with the ring on her hand as she dropped her eyes to the counter top. Where was Wendy when you needed her?

"Not what I meant"

"I know, but don't pretend like you haven't thought about it," Betty replied knowingly, giving Angie a winning smile while dodging the towel she had thrown at her. She started to walk to the door, but paused just inside it to say something.

"Any chance you'd mind me putting a bet down on the two of you? It'd be fun to clean Lucas out"

"Goodbye Betts"


Like it? look out for chapter 3 sometime next week, it'll be the next update before I head to HAWAII. I'm excited, can you tell?