A/N - Thanks again for the great response.

Fluff alert. Oh so much writing this! ;-)

Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Chapter 3

Flash back - First Meeting - Day 1

Callen watched the brunette sitting at the bar drinking shots of tequila from the bottle that was in front of her. At least half a dozen men had gone up to her over the last forty five minutes. She'd turned them all down. She kept glancing at the dance floor and Callen was positive she wanted to be out there.

Her actions were leaving him slightly confused. If she wanted to dance, then why was she turning down all advances?

Callen had only planned on having one drink and leaving, but then she'd walked through the door and caught his attention. The little black wrap-around dress clung to her curves in all the right places and, whilst it showed of enough skin to tempt, it wasn't enough to create that eye-rolling moment when you just knew the woman in it was screaming for every male in the room to look at what was on offer. The skirt of the dress wasn't fitted, it just swished around her legs as she'd walked down the stairs, making him wonder at the material and his fingers itch a little to find out what it felt like under his fingers and what she would feel like through it. He wasn't sure what it was about her that caused such an instant reaction. She was beautiful, but then so were plenty of the women here tonight and none of them had made the blood running through his veins heat like she had with just a look. Deciding to take a chance, on what he still wasn't sure, he downed the last of his drink.

Callen stood up, walked over and waited patiently for the spot next to her to be free. He moved close, his arm brushing against hers and she glanced at him. With a roll of her eyes, she turned back to her drink.

"You should probably wait for me to down a few more of these before you try whatever lousy pick-up line you have floating around in your head."

"Who said it was lousy?" Callen asked her. She turned back and looked at him, slightly confused.

He waited for her to answer.

"Given my luck tonight, it probably is," she admitted as she turned and took another shot.

"So the guys you keep turning away..." Callen let his question trail off and her take it from there.

"Out of the six guys who have come over tonight, they must have managed to use eight of the lousiest pick-up lines you could possibly imagine and actually expected me to be interested."

"The tequila?" Callen asked, watching her pour another from the bottle.

"The tequila." She ran her finger over the label, almost like a caress and he felt his body tighten at the thought of what it would feel like to have her do that to him. "A girl's best friend on a night like tonight. Figure with half a bottle running through my veins maybe, just maybe, I might be able to ignore the line and actually get to dance."

"So you want to dance?"

She turned to face him. "Yes."

"And you think the tequila will help you think the guy is attractive enough to dance with?"

She chuckled lightly. Callen liked the sound of it.

"Never said he needed to be attractive," she replied. She looked him over and smiled. "Though you definitely qualify in that department.

Callen raised his eyebrows and one side of his mouth tilted up in a smile.

"So do you," he agreed.

She went to take another drink and he put his hand over hers to stop her. She turned to him, eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

"You could at least give me a chance to use a line before you drown your sorrows about it," Callen added.

She continued to stare at him. "Are you trying to stop me getting drunk?"

Callen still had his hand on hers and he moved his thumb slowly over hers. Her eyes flicked to their hands and then back to his face.

"I'd like you to remember tonight," he replied boldly as he stared back into her eyes, blue and green mixed together, not a bluey green, but a smattering of two distinctively different colours.

Her mouth dropped open slightly and she took in a shaky breath in what could be interpreted as a sign of nervousness.

She smiled then tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"Go for it. Surprise me." She didn't sound like she thought he could.

"Tell me what I'm up against first. How bad were they?" Callen asked. Wouldn't hurt to find out what she didn't like. Could help point him in the right direction for getting her to say yes. To what?

"When I saw you from across the room, I passed out cold and hit my head on the floor...so I'm going to need your name and number for insurance reasons."

Callen winced. "Someone really used that?"

"Oh and that was not the worst. 'If I told you you had a great body would you hold it against mine?' and 'There must be something wrong with my eyes, I can't take them off you'. Don't ask me for the rest." She shook her head. "There is no way I'm repeating them."

She really had been having a bad night. Though Callen had to admit, the last one was pretty close to what had happened with him.

"So what's it going to be?" She turned her body on the stool and gave him her full attention.

Callen smiled, held out his hand to her. "Dance with me?" he asked.

Her eyes went slightly wide in surprise. "That's your line?"

"Depends. If it worked, yes. If it didn't, then it's just a question."

She shook her head slightly, smiled and turned back to the bar. She looked for the bartender and beckoned him over.

"What's up, Lucy?" the bartender asked, glancing briefly over to him, a touch protectively Callen thought, but at least he now had a name.

Lucy picked up the bottle of tequila and handed it to him. "Save that for another night for me okay, Mason. The night has just picked up and I don't think I'll need the rest." Mason took the bottle and put it away as requested. Lucy turned to him and placed her hand in his.

Callen helped her off the bar stool and they walked over to the dance floor, where he pulled her into his arms, finally getting a chance to feel how soft the dress really was – extremely soft. He wasn't quite sure what it was but it reminded him of cashmere, very thin cashmere. His fingers moved just fractionally on her back and he stifled a groan at how good she felt through it. There was a small part of his mind that wondered if perhaps a dance hadn't been the best idea – he wasn't sure it would be enough. He smiled down at her when she looked up at him. He wondered whether her eyes would be the kind that would change colour depending on her mood. It was hard to tell much about them in the light out here, the bar had been better for that, though he could still see the distinctly different colours – she was close enough for that.

"Come here often do you?" he asked, hoping to get his mind thinking about something other than how she felt against him and what he could do to test out his theory about her eyes.

Lucy frowned. "What do you mean?"

Callen indicated the guy at the bar. "First name basis with the bartender."

Lucy smiled. "Mason's a sweetie. Good for a girl to have someone watch her back she can trust when out on her own. And no. I don't come here that often."

They didn't talk anymore, just danced. Gradually getting closer to each other until she had her arms around his neck and he was holding her right up against him, barely moving. He could feel the heat from her skin through the back of her dress and where the rest of her body was touching his. He was sure she could feel how much he was enjoying having her that close and wondered whether she was enjoying this as much as he was. He thought she was. She hadn't pulled away or stopped the dance after just one.

Lucy looked up into his eyes and Callen waited, wondering what she was going to do next. He glanced at her lips and saw the corners of her mouth lift in soft smile. She moved her head closer and rose up slightly, gently grazing her mouth against his before pulling back and looking at him, an inviting look in her eyes. Accepting her invitation, Callen closed the distance again and kissed her. The kiss was a whole lot more than he expected. Her lips were warm and inviting and parted easily under his, inviting a deeper connection, which they both eagerly took.

Callen pulled back to take a breath and watched her eyes slowly open and look at him. They were off to the side of the dance floor and the lighting was just that little bit brighter, giving him the opportunity to see that her eyes did indeed change with her mood. The colours had changed, not darkened as such, but their intensity had increased to richer and more vibrant blues and greens. He took that as a good sign.

"You're not normal, you know."

Callen raised his eyebrows, curious. He had no idea what she was meaning.

"You don't want me to be drunk. You want me to remember tonight. You don't use lousy pick-up lines and you dance and kiss exceptionally well. Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"Who do you want me to be?" Callen asked back. She seemed to be thinking about his question for a moment and he slipped his fingers into her loose hair and cupped the back of her head. Her eyes closed briefly and then she opened them.

"The one to take me home," Lucy answered softly.

Callen's heart started beating just fractionally faster, his body reacting to the thoughts that flowed through his mind at her invitation.

"You don't want to dance anymore?" he asked.

Lucy smiled. "Not here."

Callen knew what she was asking, what she was wanting. He could read it easily in her eyes. It was exactly the same thing he was wanting, what he had probably been hoping for since he had first spotted her on the stairs earlier.

"You want me to take you home to dance?" The gentleman in Callen wanted to make sure she had a chance to change her mind.

"If you want to," Lucy replied, a touch of nervousness apparent in her voice as well as her eyes. Callen pulled her head gently closer to his and kissed her again. He did want.

"Let's go," he added when he pulled back. He guided her around the dance floor, up the stairs and out the door. Because he hadn't been planning on staying for long he'd brought his car so he led her over to it, opened the door for her and she got in. Callen moved around to the driver's side. Once in himself, he checked her seat belt. Lucy smiled at him.

"I'm not drunk," she told him, "though I have realised that I don't even know your name."

"Gary," Callen said. That was the name he'd had on undercover op earlier today and it slipped out before he had a chance to really think about his answer.

Lucy frowned slightly.

"What? Don't like Gary?" Callen asked at her look as he started the car.

"You don't seem like a Gary."

Callen shrugged. "Don't really like the name myself."

"Would you prefer I call you something else?"

"Could always go with G." Something about her made him want to tell her the truth, adding to the confusion he felt over a woman who had caused such an instant reaction in him and who wasn't normally his type. Callen rarely found himself attracted to brunettes since Kensi had joined his team. For some reason they made him think brotherly thoughts. But not this one. Nothing brotherly at all about what he was feeling or thinking.

"G?"

He'd never really worried what people called him, but for some reason Callen wanted her to call him that. It was the closest he had to a first name.

"If you want," Callen answered. "Now, you are going to have to give me your address."

Lucy gave it to him, an address that was probably within walking distance.

"You know I don't normally do this," she added.

"Do what?" he asked with a glance across at her, noting she seemed to be studying him intently.

"Pick up a guy in a bar and take him home the first night," Lucy replied. "Or the second for that matter."

There was something about her answer that made him feel ... special. He wasn't sure why especially since, for all he knew, she could have just used a line on him. He turned briefly to look at her. She seemed serious.

"So why me?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I don't know," Lucy admitted softly. "Seems right."

Her answer surprised him. He'd assumed she was just looking for some fun, possibly after a bad day, and he didn't quite know what kind of response he should be giving her to that.

Lucy watched him quietly for the rest of the short drive.

When they pulled up at her apartment building, Callen looked over and saw her eyelids briefly drop closed before they fluttered open again as she realised they'd stopped. He smiled and got out of the car. He went round to open hers and helped her out. Locking the car, Callen slipped his arm around her waist, held her close and guided her up the path.

Lucy led them to her door on the ground floor and pulled her key out of a discrete pocket in her dress. She unlocked it and turned to him, a questioning look on her face.

"Are you coming in?" she asked tentatively.

"Do you want me to? You did fall asleep in the car," Callen reminded her. She smiled softly and stepped into his arms.

"Just because I fell asleep doesn't mean I'm tired." The fact that she only just managed to stifle a yawn as she said the words, didn't help her argument. "Okay, so maybe I am. Doesn't mean I want you to leave though." Callen felt her lips gently kiss his chin and up his jawline.

"Luce," he said on a groan as his eyes drifted closed a little and his arms tightened around her.

She pulled her head back and looked at him strangely for a moment, then smiled.

"I like that," she told him.

"What?" Callen asked, slightly confused by her look and her words, especially as his mind was elsewhere.

"Luce. I like it," she cleared up for him.

"Luce," he repeated softly just before he kissed her again. Lucy guided them back into her apartment slowly. Callen kicked the door closed behind them and moved his lips from her mouth to her neck, tasting the soft skin there and breathing in her subtle perfume. He felt the vibration of the moan that escaped her though his lips and smiled. He caught her lips again and kissed her thoroughly but, after a several extremely enjoyable moments, something in him made him stop and pull back.

"Not tonight," Callen said, surprising himself and making him wonder where that response came from.

Lucy stepped back. She looked at him rather confused. She wasn't the only one and he racked his brain trying to figure out what had just happened.

"I-" Callen put a finger on her lips to stop her, lips that were warm, soft, slightly damp from their kiss and very inviting. He closed his eyes briefly against the temptation of them. He finally managed to settle on something that might have caused him to stop.

"You're tired, and I don't want to spoil tonight," Callen explained. He wanted to see her again, preferably when she wasn't most of the way to being drunk.

"You know where to find me." Lucy turned away as she spoke.

Callen could hear the disappointment and hurt that joined the confusion in her voice. See it in the drop of her shoulders and the steadying breath she took, even though her back was to him. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, kissed her until he was sure she understood that he was definitely interested in her.

"I will be back," Callen promised as he pulled away slightly. She let her head drop back briefly, her soft hair falling over the arm he had around her shoulders. She took a deep breath and then looked back to him.

"Can't change your mind?" Lucy asked, the disappointment was still there in her voice, though his actions and words had apparently removed the hurt.

"Probably could," Callen admitted, if he could get his brain to switch off properly and just let him enjoy her. Except he didn't think that was going to happen, at least not this time. "But I have to go."

"Have to or want to?" Lucy asked.

"Have to," Callen replied. In all honesty it was both. His mind was the 'have to' because his body was telling him firmly that it wanted to stay. "Early start at work."

"You work on the weekends?"

"Sometimes." It was a drawback to his job that didn't usually bother Callen, but it was always a good excuse to get out of things. He had a strange feeling that was about to change.

"Doing?"

"Construction." It was a lie, but it was better than the truth. She seemed to accept it.

"Sweet dreams, G. I look forward to seeing you again." Lucy stood on her toes and reached up to him, softly brushing her lips across his. "Soon," she added as she moved away from him.

"Soon," Callen echoed. He turned around and opened the door. Glancing back at her he was entirely sure that his dreams would be far more than sweet and they would definitely include her.