A/N: This is not told through the characters point of view until the next chapter. I love Giz and Sam. Sam's a freaking genius.

Sly groaned as Sam took him shopping at the mall. He knew she was trying to keep him from finding out about his BIG birthday gift from the whole gang. They had each gotten him individual gifts, and then got one big gift as a group. They were holding the party a Dimitri's old night club that night. This would soon be their next hideout.

"Sam…why are you making me do this?" He complained.

"Oh, hush….besides we need to get a few supplies for the safe house before our next job. That and I know how curious you can get about your gifts." Sam said.

Sly Groaned. He never liked shopping in public. He was more of an online shopper. He knew Sam was doing this to be mean, but he had to deal…..for now. Sam dragged him to a clothing store so he could be fitted for a new tuxedo. He would need it for the next big heist in Monaco. Sam grinned when she saw Gizmo fly past a window, a very sexy looking vixen on his back, heading towards the abandoned night club on the industrial part of town. The night club was still in good shape and, like the several warehouses in the area, had not been torn down.

(10:00 PM Dimitri's night club.)

Carmelita stood nervously in the court yard. Her black dress hugged her body tight. She had her hair up and she had put on a perfume that smelled like vanilla, a fragrance she knew from experience was one Sly was particularly fond of. She wished Sam would make Sly come out already. She felt a tad uneasy, as if someone was watching her. She wondered how she was going to tell Sly how sorry she was for hurting him. She sat down on a stone bench and thought about it. Then the idea struck her like a ton of bricks. She grinned to herself. She would give that smooth talking ringtail a dose of his own medicine. Then she thought about what she had done earlier that day. She had quit her job at Interpol, without really giving a good reason, other than saying she was sick of being harassed by her male co-workers.

"My father is going to be mad as hell, but I don't give a damn. I love that raccoon. He gave up what he knew for me…so now it's my turn…..Carmelita Montoya Cooper….It has a nice ring to it.." She thought. Oddly enough, she actually felt relived about quitting. She felt free from the stress. She smiled as she tried to imaging the look on Sly's face when she told him. He'd probably have a conniption. She grinned. He was going to be in for a birthday surprise he would never forget….

Sly groaned as he limped out into the dark court yard. The others had ushered him out there to find his last gift. He already liked the gifts from them.

Penelope had given him a blank book for him to write in. Bentley had given him his own laptop to surf the internet with. Murray had given him some driving lessons, which was hard to do with a sore ankle. The guru gave him an Australian boomerang. The Panda King and his daughter (who turned out to be Murray's secret girlfriend.) gave him an incenses burner in the form of his family symbol. Dimitri gave him a small statue he looted from a ship wreck. Then Sam gave him a photo of the both of them when they were kids. Gizmo gave him an amulet that once belonged to Sly's founding ancestor.

Sly smiled at his friend's thoughtfulness. He limped out into the court yard expecting to find some sort of large box or bucket. Instead, he found a lovely, yet familiar face.

"Carmelita?" he gasped.

She turned and smiled something that Sly's had hardly seen her do. She got up and walked right up to him, her face dangerously close to his. Sly stammered.

"How……d-d-d-did you f-f-find us?" he stammered. Carmelita grinned.

"Your little otter friend told me." She answered. Then before Sly could protest, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a long and passionate kiss. She then broke it off and turned away from him. Sly stood there, stunned. He blinked furiously.

"Wow….Oh wow…" was all he could say. He then regained his composure and cleared his throat.

"Well…err…..why did you come here? Aren't you married to Darrel?" he asked. Carmelita looked him straight in the eye and responded.

"No….a few days after you…disappeared... I found out he was sleeping with a younger constable. He was in the hospital for a month…Sly…I'm really sorry about all those things I said to you…I didn't know you had lied just so you could be with me."

"Hey……how did you know about that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Your friend Gizmo brought me to your old hideout, and…I kind of overheard you talking to yourself…"she admitted shamefully.

"Wait…then that was you! I thought I was seeing things….But, .why did you come here? Aren't you going to arrest me?" he asked clearly confused.

"No…..I…I quit my job….after Sam told me about you." She said. Then, again to Sly's great surprise she kissed him again and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sly yelped.

"Oh…are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah…. That dumbass Darrel shot at me the other day and made me fall off a roof. My ankle's killing me….boy … I hate that coyote…can we sit down?" he asked as he grit his teeth against the pain.

"Sure." Carmelita said, her voice filled with relief. She helped him to a bench where they sat down and talked for a while. Finally Sly's curiosity got the better of him.

"So…why did you quit your job?"

"Well…..I quit because I lo…."

"FREEZE COOPER. GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY FUTURE WIFE!" yelled a voice. They both whipped around to see a very angry looking coyote holding a large gun. He aimed it at Sly.

"You stupid raccoon. You think you can just take what belongs to me?" he snarled. Sly stood up and growled.

"CARMELITA IS A PERSON NOT CHEATED ON HER YOU STUPID, VILE, HEARTLESS, PATHETIC EXSCUSE FOR A COP." Sly yelled.

Darrel launched himself at Sly only to be knocked back by a brown blur.

"NO BODY TOUCHES MY PAL."

It was Sam. She pulled out a strange looking gun and fired at point blank range. The coyote fell over frozen, his body encased in a thin layer of ice. Sam spat at him and turned back to Sly and Carmelita.

"You two love birds alright?" she asked. They nodded.

"Good. Now you two go through that door. You….keep him occupied Carmelita. Bentley and Penelope got your room all set up for ya. I'll stay here and teach this moron what happens when you mess with the Cooper Gang." She snarled a deadly glare in her eyes.

"Sam…don't even think about killing him." Sly growled.

"Awwwww...your no fun…Fine. But can I still beat him to a bloody and brainless pulp?" she asked.

"Yes" Carmelita answered quickly, causing Sly to give her a confused stare. She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his waist, and helped him moved towards the door.

"So…you were saying, before that fat head interrupted?" Sly asked.

Carmelita took a deep breath and then whispered into his ear, the three words he had longed to hear her say since the day they had met.

"I Love You."