The smell of peanut butter greeted her when she walked into the kitchen the following morning. Clarke stood at the island in front of the stove still in her pajamas. She poured the mix into the pan, a stack of pancakes on a plate next to her. She looked up when Abby made her way toward the island.

"What's this for?" Abby asked, sitting across from her. Clarke slid her a mug of steaming tea that smelled exactly like their lavender bush in the front yard.

"I wanted to hear about your night. Where were you, young lady?" Clarke asked, pointing the spatula at her accusingly.

"I was helping a patient find her son," Abby replied dryly, picking up the mug.

"Like a kid? That was awfully nice of you, but isn't that a matter for the police?" Clarke asked, flipping the pancake. Abby smiled into her mug before setting it down.

"Do you remember me telling you about Vera Kane?" Clarke nodded. "It was her son."

Clarke smirked and flipped the pancake onto the stack before pouring the last of the mix into the pan. "There's no way Vera has a young child."

Abby smiled and replied, "No, full-grown adult. He was injured, so as good an excuse as any for not picking her up from her appointment."

"So that's where you were last night? With some guy?" Clarke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Clarke…" Abby warned, shooting her a glare.

"It's okay, I hung out with Raven," Clarke said with a shrug. When Abby raised her eyebrow, she added, "After I came home from the Jahas. Happy?"

"Not at all," Abby said, turning the handle of the mug in front of her.

Clarke sighed and leaned against the counter behind her as she crossed her arms. "Why don't you like me going over there?"

"You know damn well why."

Clarke smirked. "It's the mayor, right? You don't want me being around all of that power, you think it'll go to my head." Abby stared at her expressionless. Clarke sighed and asked, "Why don't you like Wells, Mom?"

"You know why," Abby said quietly.

Clarke stared at the white countertop as she stepped forward to flip the pancake. She whispered, "Wells isn't Finn."

Abby's blood ran cold at the mention of the boy's name. She had wiped too many tears to count from her daughter's cheeks in the wake of the hurt that boy had caused Clarke. She didn't want to admit that he was the reason she didn't want her getting close to someone else again. Finn Collins broke Clarke's heart, Abby didn't want to see that again.

"You're right," she said, meeting Clarke's gaze. "He isn't. I just worry about you."

"I know. But I can take care of myself," Clarke said, handing her a plate. "Now eat your pancakes and tell me more about this Kane guy."

Abby rolled her eyes as she accepted the plate from Clarke. "There's nothing to tell."

Clarke's eyebrow raised as she sat next to Abby at the island. "No? You spent the whole evening with the guy. Is he cute?"

"Clarke, I—"

The door to the basement opened and Raven Reyes walked into the kitchen a second later. She looked at the stack of pancakes and said, "I forgot to go shopping again."

Abby pursed her lips, fighting a smile. "Come in, Raven."

"Thanks, Doc," she said, smiling as she walked over.

Abby had grown quite fond of the young mechanic renting the apartment in the basement. She had moved in two months after they did and Clarke had really taken to the girl. Abby found herself constantly having to tell Raven to 'go home' so Clarke could go to bed at a reasonable time on a school night, but the two girls normally managed to persuade her to stay up with them and watch some terrible movie.

"So, what are we talking about?" Raven asked, sitting on the stool next to Abby's with over half of the remaining pancakes on her plate. Clarke peered around her mother and said, "Mom had a date last night."

Raven smirked and looked Abby up and down before replying, "Oh, who with?"

"It wasn't a date. I took care of his broken shoulder," Abby said with a sigh.

"Kinky, a little doctor-patient roleplay. Is he hot?" Raven asked, elbowing Abby lightly in the ribs. She rolled her eyes. The two girls looked at each other and Raven muttered, "That's a yes."

Abby started cutting up her pancakes with a bit more force than she should have. Once the two of them got started, there was no stopping them Abby had learned. She hated when she was caught in the middle of it.

"Are you going to see him again?" Raven asked through a mouthful of pancake. Abby looked at her slowly, her mouth opening just the slightest at her nerve.

"Monday," she answered. The mechanic's eyebrows rose and Abby added dryly, "For an appointment."

"Oh? Is he in kidney failure too?" Clarke asked, spearing a piece of pancake on her fork.

"He's being tested to see if he's a match for his mother."

"And how'd you persuade him to do that?" Raven asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'm not doing this," Abby said simply. She quickly scarfed down her breakfast and rose from the stool.

"Aw, c'mon, Abby!" Raven called as she walked out of the room. "We were just having fun!"

She lived for these Saturday walks through Forest Park. They cleared her mind, reminded her why she left Los Angeles. Today's route was along the Lower Macleay Trail and Abby always enjoyed this part of the park. She felt it was so very Portland; so green, so surreal, so unique.

Callie Cartwig walked at her side, talking about her date that night with Alex Lee, one of the security guards at the hospital. She had been dating him for a year and a half now and Abby really liked Alex. Apparently he was making a big deal about tonight and she wondered if he was going to propose.

Abby met Callie when she started at Mount Weather Regional Hospital six months ago. She was head of public relations and Chief Dante Wallace wanted to release a statement advertising the hospital's first adult nephrologist to increase patient influx in that area. He had opened a new department just for Abby, whom he had recruited personally. Callie met with Abby on her first day, early on a Monday morning, and they discussed the details of the announcement: what parts of Abby's personal life she wanted the public to know, what would remain private, and the details of her professional career. It was clear from that initial meeting that the two would be good friends.

"I hear you have a date of your own coming up," Callie said after exhausting the topic of all the ways Alex could propose that night. Abby looked at her, eyes widening. She hadn't thought Callie would suspect her of being anything but professional with the detective too. "Is it true you owe Cage a favor?"

Abby released a breath quietly. "Yeah, it was for a…friend. A patient's son actually."

"Oh? And what's so special about this mystery guy that you're willing to be indebted to Cage Wallace over?" Callie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's my favorite patient's son," she said with a shrug.

Callie studied her for a moment before asking, "And what did this mystery man do that warranted rescuing by the Great Doctor Griffin?"

Abby rolled her eyes. "Stop calling him the 'mystery man,' he's nowhere near mysterious enough to deserve that title."

Callie smiled. "What's his name then?"

"Marcus Kane," she replied. "He's a juvenile detective and was injured by some kid who was trying to flee. He drives his mom to her appointments now that her feet have swollen to the point of pain."

"Is Vera that far gone?" Callie asked, frowning.

"You know Vera?"

"Who doesn't know Vera? She's too damn nice for her own good," she replied with a fond smile.

Abby smiled too and said, "She is."

"What happened to Marcus then?" Callie prodded when it was clear Abby wanted to drop the subject.

She hesitated before saying, "He broke his proximal humerus—"

"You know I don't speak Doctor, Abby," Callie said, frowning.

"His shoulder," she clarified.

"Ouch."

"Yeah, ouch. He's so stubborn he didn't want me looking at the injury," Abby said, her voice rising slightly. She could feel the redness creeping up her neck and wished it would just go away. She didn't understand why talking about him was bringing about such a rise from her. "I had to treat him like a misbehaving child to get him to come with me to the hospital, it was absolutely ridiculous. And don't get me started on his kids who aren't really his kids. So disrespectful…"

"You know, if it doesn't work out with this Kane fellow, Alex has a few friends." Callie said with a smile. "Carl's really nice. He has two kids, but it's not like that would be a deal breaker for you."

"What makes you think I'm interested in Marcus? Or dating in general?" Abby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't get this worked up about something unless you actually care," Callie replied, a small smile on her face.

Abby frowned, staring at the trail in front of them. Callie let them walk in silence for the rest of the way, allowing Abby time alone with her thoughts. She spent it convincing herself that she only cared about Marcus Kane's well-being because of Vera, that seeing him shirtless hadn't done something to her, that she wasn't looking forward to Vera's appointment on Monday for reasons other than seeing her favorite patient.

They parted ways at their cars and Abby told Callie to call her if anything big happened on her date. Callie smiled and said that Abby had to keep her updated on the Marcus situation. She just rolled her eyes and got into her car.

Abby pulled her phone out of the center console and found that she had a missed call from an unknown number. Reluctantly, she pressed the number and raised the phone to her ear.

"Abby?"

Her breath hitched and she felt a flutter in her chest. She forced herself to wipe the small smile off of her face as she replied, "Marcus?"

"Yeah, I probably should have left a voicemail or something. Sorry."

"It's fine," she replied. "What's going on?"

She heard him clear his throat before he answered, "I wanted to let you know that Octavia has agreed to drive my mom to her appointments, but they'll have to be later in the day, after school lets out."

Her brain kicked into Math Mode and she knew that most schools in the area let out at 3:15, but Octavia likely wouldn't leave right away. It would take a while to pick up Marcus then Vera on Monday. But Marcus wouldn't always be coming with Vera to her appointments. It had taken her nearly 20 minutes to get to Marcus' from Vera's the previous night, so how long—

"Abby? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," she said, frowning to herself. She quickly finished the calculations in her head and replied, "How does 4:15 on Monday sound? We can discuss Vera's other appointments then."

"That sounds great," he said quietly. She smiled to herself, picturing him pleading with his unruly daughter to get her to drive his mother. She wondered what he had to promise her, she figured there was no way Octavia would willingly take time away from whatever she did in her free time to drive her sort-of grandmother to the hospital. "Thanks, Abby."

She could sense he was about to let her go, so she asked, "How's the shoulder?"

He let out a breathy laugh and replied, "Hurts like hell, but I'm managing."

"Are you high right now?" She asked, letting the smile take over her face.

He laughed a little louder. "As an officer of the law, I can neither confirm nor deny that allegation."

Abby laughed. "It's a prescription. You're allowed to be high, Marcus."

"Still—" he began but Abby heard a shout from behind him and it suddenly sounded like he was at a party. Music played in the background, sounding like it was muffled by a door, and she could hear distant conversations. She could tell he had lowered the phone and he was talking with someone else, a woman. After nearly a minute, he asked, "You still there?"

"Yeah," she said quickly.

He let out a quiet laugh and said, "I have to get going, my partner's about to set my house on fire. I'll see you Monday, Abby."

"I'll see you then," Abby replied. The line disconnected a second later from his end after she heard him yell, "Indra, get away from the grill!" She lowered the phone and stared at it for a moment before setting it in the cup holder, blinking away her daze. She was smiling — unknown to her — as she backed the car out of the parking spot and headed home.

Abby sat in the living room hours later, dinner in the oven. The Jahas would be over any minute. She turned another page of her book as footsteps thundered down the stairs. She glanced up and found Clarke walking passed her in a skirt.

"Where are you going?" Abby asked, sitting up in the chair as she lowered her book.

"Wells is taking me to a movie," Clarke said, continuing toward the door.

Abby's brows knitted together. "Aren't we having dinner with them?"

Clarke shrugged, grabbing her purse from the hook on the wall. "I guess the mayor wants one-on-one time with you. I'll be back later."

"Clarke, wait," she called but the door was already shutting behind her. Abby stared at the door, her eyes wide. Her mind was spiraling in a blind panic at the thought that Thelonious might assume this was a date.

She didn't have long to plan for how she would handle the situation as a knock sounded on the door less than a minute later. She stared at the wood, brows knitting together. She looked down at her outfit — a t-shirt and jeans — and knew that there was no way he could think she thought it was a date.

She opened the door and found Thelonious standing there wearing jeans and a t-shirt too. She nearly sighed in relief. He was, however, holding a bottle of wine. She raised her eyebrow at him. He smiled and said, "The kids are out, I thought we should celebrate that."

"That's a nice thought," she said, stepping aside to let him in. She watched him head toward the kitchen, frowning. She shut the door and followed after him, finding that he had made himself very much at home. One of the drawers was open and he had removed the corkscrew from it, already opening the bottle.

Abby retrieved the glasses while he pulled the cork free from the bottle and she watched him pour the alcohol, desperately needing a drink. He handed her the glass and she forced herself to only take a small sip. She walked toward the oven and checked on the tenderloin.

"Are you okay, Abby?" Thelonious asked. She glanced over her shoulder at him and found him surveying her over his glass.

"I'm fine, why?" She asked, pulling the pot out of the oven.

"You seem…stiff," he commented as she turned back to him. She grabbed for her glass and looked at him. He smiled and said, "You know this isn't a date, right? I can see how you could get that impression."

Abby stared at him for a moment before she let out a quiet laugh and took a drink. She should have known Thelonious would never just spring something like that on her. "I'll admit, I was a little worried. We've never discussed anything like that, we're friends, Thelonious."

He nodded. "And that's all I want, Abby."

She couldn't repress the smile or the look of absolute relief on her face.

"It was the wine that alarmed you, didn't it?" He asked, grabbing two plates from the cabinet. "Perhaps beer would have been more appropriate."

She shook her head thoughtfully. "I think any alcohol automatically raises questions. Besides, Clarke ran out of here a minute before you arrived without any explanation."

"Really? Wells told me about it this morning," he said, shrugging.

"Your kid is more considerate."

The rest of the night passed smoothly. Thelonious talked about the drama at City Hall and Councilwoman Diana Sydney's attempt to take over power. He asked about Dante Wallace, someone he knew very well due to his influential name and pull at City Hall. Abby mentioned the debacle with Cage Wallace and likely date she would have to go on with him as payment for the radiology favor.

"Was the favor for the lost puppy from last night?" Thelonious asked. They sat on the couch, a baseball game on in the background.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Don't call him that."

His eyebrow rose. "Why do you care what I call him?"

Abby frowned, her mind blanking. "I don't know."

He smiled and drained the rest of his glass. He patted her knee before he stood to leave. "Yeah, you do, Abby."

Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated! :)

-Lauren