Note: Sooo, here it is, the long-awaited chapter including scenes from Viva Las Vegas. Please enjoy, I really hope it lives up to all your expectations! xx.

6. Viva Las Vegas

As soon as Catherine walked into the hotel room at the Palermo, she noticed Vartann standing in the room. She hadn't known he was working this case. After their interaction a couple of days ago, they had been acting towards each other as if nothing had happened. Catherine tried to tell herself that she loved Chris. Yet, every time she saw Lou, it felt as if her body was on fire. And this time was no exception. Lou noticed her as well, and walked over.

Lou noticed it immediately when Catherine walked into the bedroom; she looked gorgeous. She looked ready to work a crime scene, but she still managed to look like the most gorgeous woman on earth. He walked over to her and said: "Hey."

Catherine gave him a smile and said: "Hey". Their arms brushed briefly while they exchanged their greetings and both felt a little shock going through their body. They both knew they needed to work; yet, both couldn't deny what the other was doing to them.

Lou decided to start about the case though; after all, they had a job to do. "Housecleaning found mister Johnson passed out on the bed next to the victim. They alerted security and apparently he just came to."

Catherine smiled and said with a little sarcasm: "With the worst hangover a guy could ever have."

Lou smiled; he loved it when that small smile was spread across her face. "Yeah. He's a golf ball salesman from Ohio."

Catherine stepped closer to the bed to look at the dead woman lying on the bad. Her long, dark hair was covered in blood. "Massive haemorrhaging."

Catherine put her kitt on the floor and looked at Vartann for a couple of seconds. She couldn't help but think of how nice he looked. She knew that, if she wouldn't be focusing on her case soon, she would be totally distracted from everything she was supposed to do. "Is this from a single wound? Cracked skull. Did you I.D. her?"

"No I.D. on her."

Catherine looked a little better at the victim and said: "Well, she's got some breast implants. That's for sure." She could tell Lou wasn't sure what to answer to that statement and said no word.

Catherine moved herself so she could look at the girl's bag, and after a short look she said: "I'm going to guess stripper. She's got a locker room key. We'll trace it back to the club."

Vartann looked around and saw the alcohol in the fridge and stated: "Quite a party last night."

"You can say that again."

Catherine walked into the bathroom, where she found a big amount of blood on the wall. She also noticed the bathrobe with a blooded tip; hairs were sticking against the tip. She looked around for a second before walking back to the bedroom and looking at the girl's body again. She then said: "Looks like she went back into the bedroom to call for help."

Lou looked at the notes he'd been taking and said: "Well, no calls were made from the room."

Catherine looked around again and took a closer look at the toilet. She then noticed the urine on the floor in front of the bowl. She sighed and said: "Why is it you guys can never hit the bowl?"

Catherine's tone didn't go unnoticed by Lou; it was flirty. So was the look on her face when she looked at him. Lou shrugged and simply said: "You know, if this guy took viagra, you're lucky he hit the floor and not the ceiling."

She chuckled and gave him a small smile before she said: "Right." The eyes of the two locked for a second, and both couldn't deny the sparks in the eyes of the other. It was at that moment that Catherine started realizing that being with Lou without constantly remembering how much she liked him, would be harder than she'd planned.

Chris smiled a bit surprised when he noticed Catherine was walking towards him and said: "Hey."

"Hey."

Chris stepped closer and said: "You should've told me you were coming down." He then kissed her lips before adding: "What's going on?"

Catherine took a moment to look at Chris; he was so sweet. She knew she loved him. She really did. Didn't she? "I'm checking out an alibi. Was this guy in here last night?" Catherine showed him the ID of her suspect. Chris took a moment to look at the picture.

Catherine smiled at Chris when he said: "Yeah, he was, uh, belligerent, drunk… He was groping every waitress in the place. We sent him over to the strip joint next-door. It was
more his speed." As Chris was talking, Catherine remembered again why she liked him; he was so down to earth, so normal. She got distracted when her phone rang. She checked the message and Chris said: "You're busy. Am I going to see you tonight?"

Catherine smiled and said: "I'm working late," knowing Chris would answer that with his usual 'me too'. She was right, and after a nod and another smile, she left.

When she left the Acid Drop and walked to her car, Catherine realised she was torn. She was torn between loving the man she was supposed to love and loving a man she didn't even know that well. Catherine knew she had to invest in her relationship with Chris. She kept telling herself that she wasn't dating Chris for no reason; she liked him more than she liked any other man. But her heart kept telling her there was a certain mister Vartann she could love much, much more than she could ever love Chris.

It was later that night when Catherine walked into the Acid Drop to meet with Chris as she had promised him that afternoon. The bartender, who she'd seen that afternoon as well, waved at her and pointed to the back. She waved back, while walking to Chris' office. As soon as she opened the door, a whelm of emotions overcame. She saw Chris, with one of his waitresses on top of him. Chris stared at her for a second, before he simply said: "What do you expect? I run a nightclub."

At that moment, Catherine wanted to say so many things. She wanted to yell at him, get angry with him and tell him how terrible he was. No words were coming out of her mouth though. All she was able to do was turn around and walk away. She wanted to get out of the club as fast as she could; she felt as if she couldn't breath; as if someone was choking her. Someone had cheated on her; again. She'd thought that, after Eddie, she would notice it if a man would cheat on her. But again, she had been stupid enough to fall for the silly games a man could play. She hated herself for that. She hated the fact that she hadn't been smart enough to see through Chris' games. It felt like ages until she'd reached her car. When she was finally inside, she allowed herself to let a single tear fall from her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was so upset; she had been doubting her feelings towards Chris after all. But being cheated on felt terrible. Beside that, it brought up all the memories of her relationship with Eddie; and that definitely weren't all good things.

Catherine had to urge to call Lou. She wanted to be with someone who did enjoy her company. She knew it would be better to call Gil, or Warrick, or Nick. They were her friends as well after all, and she knew she wouldn't do anything stupid with them. Her feelings for Lou on the other hand were more than what she felt for her other male friends. She didn't want him to just be her friend, and that was probably a problem if she'd call him now. But she really wanted to see Lou. That was why she grabbed her cell phone and dialled his number. As soon as she heard him answer the phone with "Vartann," though, she hung up. She didn't want to embarrass herself. What Catherine hadn't though about though, was the number recognition on Lou's phone. Seconds later, her phone rang again and without thinking, Catherine answered it.

"Hey Catherine, it's me. You called me a couple of seconds ago. What's going on?"

Catherine wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to see him and be with him and think about nothing but the two of them. But she couldn't do that; she didn't want Lou to think she was taking advantage of him. That was why she said: "I'm sorry, Lou, I dialled the wrong number I guess. I'll see you around." Catherine hung up before he could answer. With a deep sigh, Catherine started driving. After a couple of minutes, she found herself parked on the parking lot of the crime lab. She wasn't sure she wanted to be home right now, and now that she had her own office, she realised that that was a good place to be alone in peace. As quickly as possible, she walked to her office and fell down on her chair as soon as she was inside.

Meanwhile, Lou was thinking about Catherine's phone call. She'd sounded upset. That was why he wanted to finish his case files as soon as possible; he wanted to drive bye her house and check on her. When he was on his way out of the building though, he noticed the light burning in Catherine's office. He wondered why she was still inside; she'd finished her case almost an hour ago. Lou walked to the door and knocked on it a couple of times before getting in. He found Catherine sitting in her chair, looking at a photograph she was holding in her hand. She was wearing an amazing black tank top. It hadn't been bringing her a lot of luck though as her face looked like she'd been crying.

Lou locked the door behind him before walking over to Catherine's chair and saying: "What's going on? Don't tell me nothing 'cause I can see you've been crying." He bend his knees a little bit so his face was on the same level as Catherine's.

Catherine looked into Lou's eyes and found his beautiful multicoloured eyes staring into hers. She knew she must look terrible; yet all he did was looking at her with concern and a look that seemed pretty close to love. Catherine liked him so much. She suddenly felt so stupid for even doubting about having more feeling for Chris than she had for Lou. Her feelings towards Lou were undeniable. Instead of telling him about her breaking up with Chris, or telling him how stupid she felt, she leant in and kissed him.

As soon as their lips met, both felt as if sparks were flying all around them. Lou started swaying a little bit in his uncomfortable position, and grabbed Catherine's hand to pull both of them up.

The moment both of them stood up straight and steady, Lou's hand sneaked out to her lower back and gently pushed her a little closer to him. Catherine's placed her hands in his neck and both felt the kiss getting more intense. The first thing Catherine realised when their tongues met was how perfect it felt. The second thing was what a good kisser Lou was. And the third thing was how much better kissing Lou felt than kissing Chris had ever done. After a couple of seconds, Lou broke their kiss. He definitely didn't want to complain about Catherine kissing him; it felt perfectly fine. He wanted to make sure she was okay though.

Lou put his hand on her cheek and tried to wipe away a small strake of mascara that was on her cheek before saying: "You're sure you're okay?"

Catherine placed her own hand on the one that was currently on her cheek and said: "I'm fine. You're complaining?"

He shook his head: "No. I would never complain about you kissing me. I just… I just wondered what's going on."

Catherine sighed and softly said: "Don't worry about that. Everything's fine now you're here."

Lou could tell that Catherine wasn't planning on telling him anything about what had happened. He knew she would tell him eventually though. That was why he didn't reject her when her lips touched his again. He liked her so much. And he knew that, in a short time, he would love her as well.

Note: And... Liked it, hated it? Please let me know, I really appreciate your feedback. Next update will take a little longer than usual since I'm gone for five days, so I hope this one will do until I'm back, ;-). xxx.