"Here ya are, kids." Burt's door opened, and Justin got out first, then turned to help Alex and Harper out. "See ya in a while. Just whistle when you need me," the old cab said, then closed his door and pulled out into traffic.

Alex looked up at the restaurant's sign, blinked, then turned to look at Justin with a puzzled frown. "Medium Rare? Why -"

"Well, you never did actually get to eat dinner here," he replied with a shrug and a smile.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Harper put in, frowning. "I mean, after what happened last time..."

"Yeah, well..." Justin blushed a little. "That was my fault, really. And there's no one else around with a pocket elf right now, as far as I know."

Harper glanced at Alex, then back to Justin, raising one eyebrow.

"What?" Alex said, giving her an annoyed look. "It's not like I always have magical contraband on me."

Justin tilted his head, considering Alex for a moment, then silently held out one hand. She glared at him, nose scrunching up cutely, and a quick staring contest ensued. Surprisingly, it was Alex who gave up first, giving out a loud sigh and handing her purse to Justin.

She flipped it open as she did, and Justin took it, reached inside, and immediately pulled out a crystal ball about an inch and a half across. For a moment, he frowned at it, and then he looked at Alex with the same eyebrows-raised expression as before. "You never know when you might need to check on someone," she said, crossing her arms.

"Uh-huh." Justin put that back into the purse, looked again, reached in again. This time his hand came out with a tiny voodoo doll, about three inches tall, with light brown hair. "Anyone I know?"

Turning her head away, Alex said, "I don't have to answer that."

Harper covered her mouth and made a cough that sounded a lot like 'Gigi', earning a dirty look from Alex. Justin held it for a moment, considering, then put it into the inner pocket of his jacket and put his hand back into the purse.

"Oh, come on," Alex said then, turning back to him and reaching for the purse. Justin handed it off to Harper, then moved between the two girls, grinning a little as he faced Alex.

Alex's eyes went open wide as Harper started to unzip the smaller pocket of the purse, and she shook her head quickly, pointing to Harper and mouthing 'no!' without speaking.

Justin raised an eyebrow, and then his eyes opened wide in sudden understanding. Turning around quickly, he took the purse again and made a quick show of looking into the now-unzipped pocket. "Okay, looks like that's it," he said quickly, re-zipping it and handing the purse back to Alex. "Let's get on inside."

Inside, Medium Rare hadn't really changed at all since Alex had last been there... had it really been three years ago, now? The red walls with gold trim, the white tablecloths and black metal chairs, the bar along the left side from the entrance... and over there was the dessert cart that she remembered well, and at a table along the side, the chocolate fountain...

Alex looked away from that quickly, then smiled at the hostess as she approached. "Welcome to Medium Rare," the woman said, her tone carrying a sense of unutterable boredom. "How many are in your party tonight?"

"Three," Justin answered promptly. "I have a reservation. Justin Russo."

The woman's expression didn't change at all. "Russo... let me see..." She flipped a page in the book that sat on the podium-like stand there - and then she looked up, took in Justin and Alex's faces. "Did you say Russo?"

Alex thumped Justin in the back, trying to get his attention, but too late. "Yes," he said, nodding. "Russo. Arr-You-Ess-Ess-Oh."

The woman glanced down at the book again, then back up at them, then back down at the book, while Alex bit her lip. Oh, hell. They remember. They're going to throw us out, or..."

"Oh, here it is," the woman said then, her tone unchanged. "I see. It was for two people originally, but you called and changed it." Justin nodded again, but she ignored him, picking up menus from the stand. "There aren't any other changes, are there? A fourth person I should know about?"

"No," Justin said, and the woman nodded, then turned and began walking.

"Please follow me to your table for three, formerly two," she said as she moved, and at that, Harper and Alex exchanged looks, both fighting to keep from laughing.

At the table, Justin pulled out the chairs for the girls, first for Alex, then for Harper, before seating himself. "Okay, what was so funny?"

"I swear that's the same woman who was the greeter when we were here before," Harper said, shaking her head. "There can't be two people that bored!"

Alex leveled a finger at Harper and shook her head. "No - don't you remember the Maitre D' at the Hôtel Fleur du Blah du Blah du Fla-du Fla? She was bored even when we were swinging on the chandelier."

Harper let out a little laugh. "Oh, God, I'd forgotten all about that!"

Justin smiled and listened, letting the pair of them talk, when something caught his eye toward the back of the restaurant. The greeter was speaking to one of the waiters… and casting glances over at Alex as she did. Raising an eyebrow, Justin glanced at Alex and Haprer, noticed that they were still involved in their conversation. Under his breath, he muttered, "Clairaudience."

"- all the chocolate," Justin heard the woman whisper, as clearly as if he'd been standing right next to them. "Don't ask questions, just do it." Well, I guess they do remember her.

There was a light punch on his arm then, and Justin blinked, the spell dropping as his concentration was interrupted. "Hey," Alex said. "What's with you and the goofy grin?"

"Hmm? Oh, just a thought." Without thinking about it, he pulled his arm back, moving to twine his fingers with Alex's. She pulled her hand away before he could complete the motion, then raised her eyebrows for a fraction of a second.

Thinking fast, Justin turned the movement into picking up his fork and twirling it idly. "Service seems to be a little slow."

"Well, that's all right," Harper said. "I think I need to freshen up a little anyway." She pushed back from the table, then paused a moment, looking over at Alex… who had picked up her straw, torn the paper wrapper in half, and was now leveling the still-covered end at Justin, bringing the other end up toward her lips.

Harper frowned, then made an "Ahem" sound. Justin turned his head toward it, and Alex quickly lowered the straw. Half a second later, she realized that both Justin and Harper were now staring at her, both wearing frowns - Harper's annoyed, Justin's puzzled.

"What?"

Harper jerked her head toward the bathrooms. "I said, I'm going to freshen up."

Alex looked at her friend blankly. "Okay, and?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Harper grabbed Alex by the upper arm and pulled upward as she stood.

"Ohhh, and you want me to come with you. Why didn't you just say so?"

Justin watched as the two of them walked away, letting his eyes drift to Alex's behind. And what a cute little behind it is. He smiled, tilting his head a little to the side, watching the way she moved.

"Is that your girlfriend?" a voice with a heavy Spanish accent asked.

"Yeah," Justin said, the smile still on his face. "My lovely, wonderful-"

"Oh, hey, amigo! I remember you!" the voice that had spoken said then. "I helped you do that joke on your sister! What was that, two years ago?"


Author's Note: Okay, a short update, but hey... I'm updating again! Thanks go to Save Vs. Magic, whose beta skills gave me several improvements to this chapter. Go read his stuff. You'll like it.