Chapter 3: Rooftop Conversation

Catherine settled into one of the patio chairs that graced the rooftop of her apartment building. Vincent moved another chair closer to hers, and sat next to her, reaching out to hold her hand. She looked at him. "You sure you're okay with Evan coming up here to talk?"

"Well, it's better than the tunnels; Muirfield knows about those. This is actually a pretty secure location."

"And are you okay with me talking to Evan?"

One side of Vincent's mouth twitched upwards as he smiled. "Yeah, I think so. I get to be in on the conversation this time, not watching from across the street. That helps."

She smiled back at him. "Well, considering you're likely to be the topic of the conversation, it seemed only fair to include you. Could be awkward though."

"Hey, it couldn't possibly be worse than that dinner with your sister."

She laughed. "Good point."

"I'll let you do most of the talking," he promised. "He's your friend; he'll believe you."

She leaned over to give him a brief kiss. At least, she'd intended it to be brief. But kissing Vincent was addictive and a short taste wasn't enough.

All too soon, Vincent broke the kiss, lifting his head and turning towards the door. "And here he comes."

She sighed and settled back into her chair as the door opened and Evan stepped out onto the roof, looking around uncertainly. He gave Cat a smile, and traded wary looks with Vincent as he sat across the table from them.

She smiled at him. "Hey, Evan. Thanks for coming."

"Well, talking with JT was nothing if not fascinating, but you are the person I really wanted to speak with." He took a deep breath, looking uncomfortable. "I'm realizing that I've misjudged the situation thoroughly. It's not enough to say, but I'm sorry."

Cat shook her head. "No, Evan, I'm sorry – it's my fault, really. I couldn't tell you things, before, and so you didn't have nearly enough information to work with. I know you meant well."

"Yeah," Vincent agreed. "From what you knew, things looked bad. And Muirfield probably lied to you. They do that."

Evan glanced at him, almost looking grateful for the concession. "They did, as a matter of fact."

"And there I was," Cat added, "lying to you, trying frantically to cover things up."

He smiled. "Well, there was that. You told me not to worry, but... I couldn't trust that."

"I guess not. I won't lie to you any more, though. Ask any questions you've got."

"Alright. There's really only one." He took a deep breath. "On the subway, I asked Vincent what he thought he had to offer you. He said he didn't know, and I'd have to ask you this. I just need to know why you've chosen him - what he's got to more than compensate for all the danger and death. I just can't understand it, and that bothers me. I don't really have the right to ask, but I'd like to know."

"You sure you want to hear it?"

"I'm sure I won't enjoy it, but I want to hear it anyway."

She shrugged a little, thinking of how to put this. "Where to start… I admire him tremendously. He's had such a hard time. Because of Muirfield, he's lost so much. He can never go home again, since technically he was killed in 2002. All things considered, that's not far from the truth. Sometimes he hates himself for what happens when he loses control. It would be so easy for him to stop caring, to turn cynical or become bitter. And yet, he still tries to do the right thing, to help people."

Vincent turned and gave her one of his intense looks. The one that said he wasn't sure if she was for real, and didn't want to know if she wasn't.

She smiled at him and squeezed the hand she still held. "This last decade, he's had a pretty one-sided relationship with the world in general. They ignore him, maybe accept his help, or they hunt him, but it's all taking. No one but JT would ever give anything back to him. I really wanted to give something back to him."

"You have definitely done that," Vincent said quietly.

She shivered happily, then turned her attention back to Evan. "He's funny, and sweet. He respects me. He listens to me. He understands me like nobody else, and there's just something about him that I respond to." And it didn't hurt that he was drop-dead gorgeous, most of the time anyway, but she didn't think Evan needed to hear that. "And he always protects me."

"Maybe, but … there wouldn't be so much to protect you against if it weren't for him. He puts you at risk."

She shook her head. "Evan, I'm a cop. I'm in danger all the time. Physical danger is part of the job. You guard against it, train, take precautions - but then when it happens, you deal with it. You can't let it stop you. And, I might point out that the worst thing that's happened to me this last year - when I was almost killed - was because of one of my cases, not because of anything related to Vincent."

Evan shifted uncomfortably, unable to argue with that.

She leaned forward, looking Evan straight in the eyes. "No, the biggest risk we're facing – the one that scares me the most – is that someone's going to take him away from me. Or that he'll take himself away. That I'll lose him. And the only way to avoid that kind of risk is to cut yourself off from everybody, never truly allow yourself to care for someone."

She laughed a little. "I should know; I did it for years. I dated bad boys – they were fun, but they never really mattered to me, so I wasn't risking anything. Vincent's got a little of that vibe going on, but he's so inherently decent, and generous, and kind, that he matters tremendously." She shrugged, settling back in her chair, looking sideways at Vincent. "I just couldn't help falling in love with him."

Evan looked acutely uncomfortable.

Catherine hurried on to a new topic. "He's a great partner, too," Catherine continued, smiling briefly at Vincent. "He backs me up, he thinks of things I don't, and he's got advantages that come in very handy. And there's just something about sharing a secret. I feel so, I don't know, *privileged* sometimes, to be in his confidence." Vincent stirred at that, shaking his head. She smiled at him, tightening her grip on his hand. "He's this amazing guy, and he trusts me with information that could totally destroy him."

"The only thing that could destroy me," Vincent said quietly, "is losing you."

"You are so romantic," she breathed.

"Nope. Just stating a fact," he answered, almost as quietly.

It was hard to tear herself away from the look in his eyes, but she was distantly aware of Evan sitting across the table, trying to find something else to look at. Shaking off the spell, she sat up straighter and switched her attention. "So that's my worst fear. Our worst fears. How about you?"

"My worst fear," Evan replied slowly, facing her once more, "was that this mysterious creature would end up killing you. I didn't credit it with anything more than animal instincts."

"I know. But Vincent's not going to hurt me. He protects me. Especially when he's that 'creature' you were worried about."

"When he kills people, you mean."

Vincent looked down at that, but Catherine nodded. "Yes. But not only that. You remember my car accident, after Dad's wedding?"

Both men winced at the memories.

"Well, I've pieced together what must have happened - you both saved me. Evan, I know I told you something about crawling out of the car, but that wasn't the truth. I was unconscious in the driver's seat when Vincent got there. And the car doors were locked, maybe jammed from the wreck, too, I don't know. Normal guys would have needed a lot of time and equipment to get to me. But Vincent... changed, and got a lot stronger, and he just ripped that car door off."

Evan was staring at Vincent, eyes widened in realization. "The report, later, said the car door was found in the bushes on the side of the road. They couldn't explain how it got there."

Vincent nodded, looking sheepish. "Yeah. I threw it. I can't remember things clearly, and I wasn't thinking real straight, but I know I was desperate to get to Catherine. Nothing else mattered."

"And then," Catherine continued, "he carried me out of the car. Vincent, you were more rational than you give yourself credit for. You did the best you could do, but there was only so much you could do – so you put me down on the road so that others could help me in ways that you couldn't."

"I still shouldn't have moved you out of that seat; I realized it later. I needed to hold you, but if you'd had neck or back injuries..."

"No, it was the best thing you could have done," Evan said, unexpectedly. "Seconds counted, and I couldn't have performed roadside surgery with her still in the car."

Vincent considered that. "Maybe." He still didn't look convinced.

She reached over to squeeze his hand, needing to touch him. "Medical what-ifs aside, the point I was *trying* to make, is - in that situation, I was totally helpless. Unconscious. And Vincent's instinctive reaction was to help me, not hurt me. It always will be."

Vincent looked at her intently, and she met his gaze, hoping that her words would get through to him. Slowly, he relaxed. "Yeah. I guess it will."

Evan thought that over. "Well, I can see that I have nothing to fear in that regard." He turned to look at Vincent. "Vincent, you're a decent man, must as it pains me to admit it. Today, for instance, you had no reason to help me out at all. You were protecting Catherine, yes, but you still chose to treat me well. Far better than I treated you. If you'd been the type of vigilante everyone was talking about, you'd have just ripped my throat out and been done with it."

Vincent slowly smiled. "Well, like I said, it was tempting." Catherine smacked him on the arm, and he grinned. "But I'm glad I resisted. You're a decent guy, yourself. Great taste in women, too."

They were all able to smile at that, though Evan's smile faded quickly. "So that's that, then."

Cat nodded. "Pretty much. Evan, you've been a great friend, and yeah, I was attracted to you. You are attractive, as an endless string of women could testify. But my reaction to Vincent was just so much more intense. Please be my friend, Evan." She paused, then added lightly, "You know I was well over the three-month limit, anyway. You should be happy to be rid of me."

"Yes, I'm sure I'll see it that way sometime soon. Not quite there yet, but you've clearly made your choice and I have to respect that." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was a brave effort. "So, moving on, what's the best thing to do now? You've got the world convinced that the vigilante died in that warehouse – I presume I have JT to thank for that little DNA switch?"

"Yeah," Catherine confirmed. "Although he might not have been able to pull it off if I hadn't been there to distract you."

"He was acting so bizarrely." Evan grinned. "Glad that I don't have to worry about his mental stability any longer."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Vincent muttered.

"His mental health is excellent," Cat mock-scolded him, then turned to include Evan. "It's his ulcer I'm worried about."

Evan smiled. "Be that as it may - Vincent, I have to assume that even though you're dead twice over, you'll still be involved with cases and protecting Catherine and scattering your DNA all over the place."

"Yeah, probably," Vincent acknowledged. "That was the weak part of the plan. At least it calmed down the uproar. So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking you could do with a co-conspirator in the police morgue. Someone who would be willing to swear that there was nothing odd going on at all. Someone who can corrupt his own samples, which would no doubt be beneficial to JT's ulcer."

Cat laughed. "No doubt."

Evan grinned at her, then turned more serious. "Muirfield are still hunting you, Vincent. I'm not saying it will be easy, watching you and Cat, but I've been making things difficult for you two, causing such a fuss about the cross-species DNA. I'd like to make up for that."

Catherine studied him intently, then turned towards Vincent. "I think that would be really helpful. Is Evan hopelessly compromised, or could he go back to work and pretend nothing's happened?"

Vincent frowned, thinking.

"Also, I've already talked to JT about continuing my research – if you've no objection. We may be able to figure out what they've done to you. Not saying there'll be a cure, but I'm sure you'd like to be able to better control the process."

"We can get Tess and JT in on this, too," Catherine suggested. "Between all of us we should be able to come up with a plan."

Vincent settled back into his chair. " Yeah, that'd be good. We might even be able to make it work. We could definitely use your help, since you're willing to give it. You sure about this, Evan? You're still on Muirfield's radar. It would be risky."

Evan smiled. "So would running away be, leaving all my things and my friends. And I've been reliably informed that some risks are worth it. Helping you out – doing my bit to help you protect Cat – that would be worth it."

The End

A/N Did the characters' dialog sound right? I'm wasn't sure, in some places. So, please let me know and tell me what your favorite bit was! (Or least favorite, if you hated it grin ). Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters – I really enjoyed reading your comments, and good reviews inspire me to write more. Just sayin'. ;)

This really is the end of the "conversations" series. If I were to continue this AU from here (which I am not currently planning to do), it'd be more A-plot and action and not quite so much conversing, so it'd have to have its own story. And it would get harder to write; I'm loving the way the show's writers have multiple plots going on all at the same time, but that's a lot more work.

Not to mention, I haven't actually seen ep 22 yet g I just started watching BatB a few weeks ago; my daughter and I have been catching up (should we watch a 4th ep tonight? Sure, why not, tomorrow's Saturday… um, okay, it's already Saturday, but we're still good, press play!). But I know I'm headed for a cliffhanger and the show doesn't come back til October. Not in a hurry to get to the point where there are no new episodes to watch.

Anyway, thanks for reading! No point in me writing without people to read it, so you are definitely the reason I'm here.