As always, thanks for the reviews, follows and favs. You can tell from what I say about Heather below that I am pretty annoyed with her character at the moment. I know she's there to be yet another obstacle for VinCat but that woman needs to grow up... SERIOUSLY!

Rant over, hope you like the way this is going.

Catherine woke up several hours later to a delicious smell coming from downstairs. She still felt sore but her head was a lot clearer than it had been in the morning. Venting definitely had done her good, and Vincent had also needed to talk about his feelings. Cat turned in the bed and let out a contented sigh as she hugged Vincent's pillow tight. She liked the feeling of waking up in his bed, surrounded by his smell.

"Are you OK?" she heard Vincent say a few seconds later. He had heard her sigh and had quickly come upstairs to check on her.

"Yes, I'm good, Vincent. What time is it?" Cat replied, still a bit groggy from her sleep, yet in a good way.

"It's nearly 2pm," Vincent answered, bending over her to get a better look at her. "I'm making you lunch. It should be ready in about ten, fifteen minutes."

"Good, I'm starving. I think I'll take a quick shower before lunch." Cat smiled at Vincent as she sat up and stretched. She got out of bed and briefly leaned her head against his chest. "See you downstairs in about ten?" she asked and went to his wardrobe to pick up some fresh yet ridiculously large clothes to wear after her shower.

()

When JT came home from work shortly after 5pm, he found Catherine and Vincent snuggled up on the sofa. A laptop was in front of them on the coffee table, as were several stacks of books and papers.

"Hey! What's going on? And how is everyone?" JT added quickly as he realized that his first question might be considered rude. Vincent looked at him and gave him the thumbs up. It looked as if after Cat's panic attack the day had gone smoothly.

"Hey, JT," Catherine said, putting down a piece of paper she had been staring at. "I'm fine, thanks. In case you're wondering what all this is, I asked Vincent to explain in more detail how his DNA is different from mine or yours. I think we're about 2% into the explanation and my head is already spinning…"

Vincent smiled at Cat. "No, you're doing really great, actually. It's a lot of technical vocabulary to get on board. But perhaps we should stop for tonight and talk about…" his voice became more tentative, "… about other stuff now that JT is back."

Catherine nodded her head. JT sat down and said: "First things first: I have the guy's DNA profile here so I now need to hack into the DNA database of previously convicted criminals to see if Cat's attacker is known to the authorities."

"I doubt it," said Catherine. "Whoever sent him after me would not make such a rookie mistake, would they?"

"Let's see! We need to do this in any case." JT said. "It's the easiest way to track him."

"I will track him no matter what," said Vincent in a low growl. "I won't forget his smell for as long as I live, believe me! If I have to sniff out all of New York, or go further afield, I will hunt him until I find him and…"

"I know, Vincent," said Catherine, hugging him tight. "But it's dangerous. And I need you here with me right now, not out there hunting down some phantom. Let's wait for the DNA profiling, OK?"

Vincent agreed. Yet it soon became clear that Cat had been right: her attacker's DNA was not on the database. They would have to find him some other way. And they would, but not tonight. The three of them sat there in silence for a little while before JT spoke up again.

"OK then. It's getting pretty dark out there. How about going to Cat's apartment to leave those things for Heather and get some clothes and stuff so that you don't have to walk around looking like this," JT frantically waved his hand in the general direction of Catherine, "for the rest of your stay here?" Cat pulled her tongue at JT and Vincent couldn't help but smile.

JT turned to Vincent: "We'll drive there in my car, and let you out several blocks away. Cat and I will wait for you to check that it is safe for us to go there. If you see or hear anything suspicious we call it off and just have to get the letter and brochure to Heather some other way."

()

On the way to her apartment, Catherine reread the letter she and JT had written as preparation for 'scenario 3.' It would be tough for Heather to hear some of the things in it, especially the parts that accused her of being a demanding, immature person who always put her own needs before those of her older sister. Cat sighed but knew that there was no way out of this now: Joe had bought her story (or at least pretended to buy it really well) and with her dad and Brooke away on a cruise, Heather was the only other person she needed to convince that she really had burnout and needed a timeout.

Things with Tess had deteriorated so much that Cat didn't think she would care much one way or another. Also, the burnout story was quite good because Cat could use it again should she ever need or want to take a few days off work in the future. And when you suffered from burnout, you were not always just to the people around you – a fact that would make the harsh tone of the letter more credible.

Catherine loved her sister very much, yet there were several reasons why she was planning on asking her to move out once she was back from 'Albany': it was not only that she wanted to have the apartment to herself so that Vincent, so that they, could move around in it freely. She also wanted to keep Heather safe in case Muirfield found out about herself. And –to be brutally honest- there was something else, something that really annoyed Cat about her sister, no matter how much she loved her.

While Cat understood that Darius's death had come as a shock to Heather, she also knew that her sister had known the man for less than a week and felt that her public display of grief and loss were overdramatic. Catherine could not help but feel sorry for her sister but then she also knew that if she had to hear Heather whisper 'It feels like my mother all over again' once more to somebody, she would probably lose it! How could she compare losing someone she'd known for three and a half days at the most with the traumatic experience that had been their mother's death?

Catherine had been so relieved when, about two weeks after Darius's death, Heather's best friend from high school, Nicole, had suggested that she should come to her family's holiday home in Cancun. Cat felt guilty about her relief, too: these were not good sisterly feelings, were they? But she could not help but think that her sister needed to grow up, and that having to get on in life without the constant help of her older sister would actually help her in that process.

Vincent was sitting in the back, studying Catherine's expression as she reread the letter. He couldn't help but smile at the determined look on her face. She felt his gaze and turned slightly to catch his eye and grab his hand with her left.

"I think this is close enough, what do you think, guys?" said JT as he stopped the car about four blocks away from Catherine's apartment.

"Yes," said Vincent. "Give me a good ten minutes, I'll scan the surroundings for anything suspicious and give you a call if all is clear, OK?" As Vincent was about to let go of Cat's hand, she squeezed it really tight and whispered: "Just be careful, please?" Vincent nodded and quickly made his way out of the car.

"So how is Sarah?" said Catherine to JT as soon as Vincent had disappeared. She needed to keep her mind occupied until they'd hear from him again. "Good, thanks," said JT. "I think you two would really get along, you know, in a parallel universe where I could actually tell her about my roommate and where we could go out on double dates…"

Catherine chuckled as she pictured them double dating. Then she got serious again. "You're such a good friend, JT, and not only to Vincent. To me, too. And we both know how many mistakes I've made along the way…"

"Yeah, you should have stuck your tongue down Vincent's throat and kissed some sense into him much earlier, if you ask me," said JT, as usual feeling uncomfortable with compliments.

"If I'd known what I was missing out on, I would have," said Cat dreamily and then blushed as she realized that she was talking to JT. JT chuckled at her embarrassment and then said: "I guess I will have to get that soundproofing after all."

"Might be a good idea," said Catherine and blushed even more. She stared out onto the street and was silently counting the seconds ticking by.

"Hey," JT ventured after a while, nervously fiddling with his keys. "I didn't think I'd ever say this but I'm glad you came into our lives, I mean into Vincent's life mainly but also into my life. You really do him a lot of good – he was about ready to give up on life, I think. And, although I will deny this in any court of law, I'm really glad to no longer be the only one to know about him and the only one trying to keep him safe…" JT's voice trailed off. He really was not good at this touchy-feely stuff.

Catherine put both her hands on JT's right arm and said: "I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for you. So thank you again, for keeping him sane and safe for so long. And for putting up with me at the start when I was such a fool…"

JT and Catherine looked at each other, exchanging a warm smile of mutual understanding. Then JT's cell rang and as soon as he had put it on speakerphone, they could hear Vincent's impatient voice: "Dude, would you please stop chatting up my woman behind my back? I'm trying to listen out for possible threats here but the two of you are distracting me from my task!"

Cat couldn't help but giggle at the possessive tone in Vincent's voice when he called her 'his woman.' He immediately realized that JT had put him on speakerphone. "Brilliant," he said, suddenly embarrassed at his outbreak. JT rolled his eyes at Catherine and then said: "Man, if you heard all of that you will know that we weren't flirting. But, I promise, we'll be quiet now…" "Good," said Vincent and hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, Catherine and JT were standing outside her apartment. Vincent had listened and watched out for anything suspicious, people in parked cars that might be watching and he had also scanned all the windows in the area from which one had a view of Cat's apartment for surveillance equipment. He hadn't found anything suspicious and given the OK to Cat and JT. Now he was pacing on the rooftop of the building across the road, as this was the best position for him to survey the comings and goings in the area. He was anxious for Catherine to get in, get out and be safe in his arms again.

JT and Cat had decided that they would not speak to one another inside the apartment in case someone had bugged it in the meantime. Catherine had made it a habit by now to sweep her apartment for bugs every evening after work and had not found anything so far. But as she hadn't been in her apartment for 36 hours and did not want to keep Vincent anxiously waiting for too long, she decided that the best would be to walk in in silence, quickly pack a bag, leave behind the brochure, her phone and the letter for Heather and disappear as fast as possible.

Vincent had just texted to say that there definitely was nobody in the apartment and that he still couldn't hear anything suspicious in the surroundings. Cat turned the key and, drawing a deep breath, stepped into her apartment. JT followed her inside and stood hidden in the entrance while Cat went over to the windows and balcony door in the living room to close the curtains.

Then she switched on a light and gestured JT to stay in the living room while she quickly ran to her room, where she closed the blinds before grabbing a duffel bag and shoving underwear, socks, comfortable clothes (nothing that would put pressure on her bruises) and two pairs of trainers into it. She then moved to the bathroom and grabbed the most essential toiletries from there.

As Catherine was about to leave the room, she realized that she had not made the bed the morning before. She didn't want Heather to realize that two people had slept in the bed so she dropped the bag on the floor and started to quickly rearrange the sheets. As she did so, she caught a whiff of Vincent's smell and her heart ached at the memory of how happy they both had been less than 48 hours ago, making passionate love in this very bed as if there were no tomorrow.

JT had left the things for Heather on the kitchen counter and they quickly made their way out into the hallway again. Cat locked the door and they made their way to the elevator. While they impatiently waited for the elevator, Catherine pulled the hoodie down over her face a bit more in case they bumped into one of her neighbours on the way down. They could not see the bruises on her face. JT could see that Cat was really tense and instinctively put his arm around her. She turned towards him and looked up at him with a thankful smile.

They were still smiling at each other when JT's phone rang. Vincent's voice was strained: "Some guy just showed up and he's making his way up in the elevator now. Take the stairs up to the roof. I'll meet you there!" JT grabbed Cat and pushed her towards the door that led to the staircase. They had just made it through the door when they could hear the elevator doors open. Cat wanted to run downstairs but JT grabbed her and gestured towards the roof, mouthing "Vincent."

They ran up the three flights of stairs as fast as they could. Cat was about to open the door that led to the roof when it was opened from the outside and she found herself wrapped in Vincent's arms in less than a second.

"Who is downstairs?" whispered Catherine, while she listened to Vincent's heart hammering in his chest. "Just one guy. I think he's in the apartment now. He didn't break the lock so he must have a key. Sounds like he went through those papers on the kitchen counter." Vincent whispered back. "Hold on, he is calling someone."

JT and Cat even tried to breathe less noisily than usual while Vincent listened in on the phone conversation downstairs. Suddenly, Vincent's brow furrowed and he pushed Catherine and his friend into the darkest corner on the roof. "What's he saying, man?" whispered JT. "Hold on, he's on the stairs! Let's see if he goes down or comes up…"

Cat could see Vincent's irises starting to shimmer golden and she hugged him even more firmly, while willing herself to be as calm as possible in the hope that his body would react to hers as it usually did. They could not risk another suspicious death, and definitely not in her building.

After a few seconds, Catherine could feel Vincent's body relax in response to hers. She drew a sigh of relief and whispered: "Is he gone?" "No, not yet. Stay here," Vincent answered in a whisper and before either Cat or JT could hold him back, he was gone.

Within seconds, they heard a thump in the staircase and then Vincent appeared on the roof again, still in his human form, carrying an unconscious body over his shoulder. Cat and JT looked at one another before rushing over to him.

"Who did he call? What did he say? And what are we going to do with him now?" said JT, his voice becoming more panicked with each question. In the meantime, Vincent had put the guy down on the floor and Cat quickly checked whether she had seen him before. Vincent saw her shake her head and then answered JT:

"He called someone –I don't know who- to say Catherine had been back in the apartment today to leave the stuff on the kitchen counter. The person on the other end said that someone had turned on a light only minutes before and that Catherine could not be far. Which is why he made his way to the staircase. There, he got a call saying that the DNA samples from Catherine's bed confirmed that the a cross-species creature had slept there. That they had all they needed to frame us."

Both Catherine and JT inhaled sharply at Vincent's words.

"So whoever sent him knows for sure that we are a couple, and that they only need to hurt you to lure me out in the open," Vincent concluded, looking at Catherine with an expression she could not decipher.

"Well, there's only one solution then, isn't there?" said Catherine after swallowing a couple of times. "We find out from him who he works for and make sure that they don't get to tell that particular tale to anyone…"