When I get to the Red Pony for Henry's party, I find that Cady has already beaten me there. She's up on stage doing karaoke with Ferg, and I can't help but laugh out loud at the sight of them. It's funny to watch Freg around Cady. I get the impression that he's sweet on her, but I don't think she has even the slightest idea.

I scan the crowd to see if Vic decided to come or not. Earlier at the office, I heard her tell Ferg she hadn't made up her mind yet. Since she's my deputy, I know I shouldn't care what she does in her personal life, but I think she's been a little lonely ever since the divorce. Being around people outside of work would probably do her some good. It's easy for me to see that now. I was in her shoes after Martha died; sure, it was a completely different situation, but I was abandoned just like she was. I convinced myself that I was handling her death fine and that I needed to be alone. It wasn't until Vic demanded my presence more at work that I started to snap out of it; maybe she just needs a little nudge like I did.

I find Henry up at the bar.

"Hello, Walt."

"Hey, Henry. Good turnout so far."

"Yes it is. I am a happy man. Beer?" He was already reaching for a Rainier out of the cooler before he asked if I wanted one.

I nod in thanks before taking a drink. Cady's voice screeches up on stage, making it hard to even tell what song she's 'singing.'

"I am glad she has other talents, she would not have made it in the entertainment industry."

I laugh, and cringe as she tries to belt out a high note. "I might have to agree with you on that one." I laugh again. "But she and Ferg sure are fun to watch."

He laughs and nods his head in agreement.

I head over to a table that's empty and take a seat. Cady and Ferg seem to be the only people in line to do karaoke, because they do about 3 more songs in a row. They're in the middle of singing 'I Love Rock n Roll' when I hear my deputy's voice behind me.

"Can I join you?"

I smile at the sight of her, which seems to be happening involuntarily lately. I stand up, inviting her to sit down at the table. She gives me that look people have when you act like a gentleman and they're not used to it. I'm well aware that Vic isn't really one for proper manners, but I can't help it. She looks like she wants to crack a joke at my gesture, but surprisingly she holds her tongue.

"You decided to come after all."

"Yeah, well, that daughter of yours is quite convincing. She's going to be one hell of a lawyer." She pauses briefly. "Besides, I wasn't doing much at home anyway."

"Well I'm glad you didn't have anything better to do tonight." It comes out more sarcastic than I intend.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I don't know…. don't feel like I have much to celebrate these days, that's all."

I glance over at her, staring at her beautiful features. I want to tell her that it gets easier. I want her to know that she's better off without Sean, without someone holding her down and trying to control her. I want to tell her that I'm glad she decided to come.

I don't say any of this. Instead, I nod my head and take another sip of my beer.

The night goes on, and Cady and Ferg do many more rounds of karaoke. Vic has a few more beers and actually starts to look like she's enjoying herself. I've never really seen her let loose like this; it's kind of mesmerizing to see.

I watch her now and she's dancing out on the floor with Cady and Henry. I have to chuckle, the three of them dancing is quite the sight. She looks like she doesn't have a care in the world. I'm glad she's having fun; she's had one hell of a year.

The current song comes to and end and a slow country song comes on next. Henry excuses himself to head back behind the bar, and Cady pulls Ferg up to dance with her. Vic looks around for a moment and my heart skips a beat when her eyes fall on me. She barely hesitates before she marches right over to me and starts pulling on me.

"Vic, I'm really not much of a dancer."

She continues to pull on my arm. "Come on," she pleads until I give in.

When we get to the dance floor, both of us hesitate like we're 16 year old sweethearts at our first school dance. I take her hand in mine, and place the other awkwardly at her waist. She puts her hand on my shoulder and stares up at me silently.

At first I'm nervous about people seeing us dancing and what they'll think, but then I get lost in her golden brown eyes and forget that I was even nervous in the first place. When the song is about halfway over she turns her gaze from mine and rests her cheek on my chest. I can feel her heartbeat up against mine, and her breath is slow and relaxed. Towards the end of the song I could have sworn she was sleeping in my arms, until she moves her hand up on my shoulder so it's at the base of my neck. Another half a minute later and the song comes to and end.

She stops dancing and looks up at me, smiling slightly. "Thanks." Her voice is softer than normal.

My brain is a little fuzzy and I can't find any words, so I simply nod.

She releases my hand, turns and heads up to the bar to get a drink. I look to my left and I see Cady staring at me with a curious grin on her face. I brace myself, thinking she's going to come over and ask me what that was. She doesn't say a word. She just smiles at me as she heads up to the bar after Vic, and I return to my seat.

I continue people watching for the rest of the night. I'm distracted for awhile by an older couple who sits at my table to chat. When my table is finally empty again, I turn my gaze to the dance floor where I see Vic dancing with some man I don't recognize. He's roughly her age, and I'm assuming he's from out of town because I don't recognize him. I can't take my eyes off of the two of them. I'm instantly annoyed by this man, although I know I have no right to feel like that. Vic is really drunk at this point, and I can tell that he is, too. They switch from dancing to a fast song to a slow song, and his hands start to roam her body. She doesn't seem to mind, but I do.

I get up from my chair and walk up to them, tapping him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, do you mind if I cut in?"

He looks up, squinting his eyes as he tries to focus them on me. "Oh sure." He lets go of Vic, but keeps ahold of one of her hands and kisses the top of it. "It was a pleasure, ma'am."

She nods at him before he walks away. I move in front of her and she immediately brings both of her hands up to my shoulders, and I place mine gently around her waist.

She looks up at me, her golden eyes glazed over. "Hey." She smiles.

I can't help but smile back. "Hey."

She turns her head to rest it on my chest, just as she did before. Except this time, she actually does fall asleep. When the end of the song is nearing, I can tell that her feet have stopped moving, and I'm holding up most of her weight.

"Hey, Vic. Wake up." I rub my hand lightly on her back.

"Huh?" she gazes up at me, looking confused.

"You fell asleep."

"No, I didn't," she mumbles before putting her head back down on my chest. She's asleep again almost instantly.

I chuckle to myself as I scoop her up in my arms and head for the door.

As I carry her outside to the truck, she folds her arms into my chest and nuzzles her nose into my neck.

I was secretly hoping for Vic to decide to come tonight so I could be around more her outside of work, but this isn't really what I was picturing.

I hope you like the little addition to this one compared to the other story. I decided to take advantage of Vic's blackout state :) Stay tuned for a few more things Vic doesn't remember.

How are you liking Walt's side so far? I'm curious to know if it's working or not. Personally, I'm a lot like Vic so writing from her perspective was easy for me. Walt is proving to be much harder.