Chapter 10

A/N: See? Keeping my promise here. Thanks for the reviews guys. On with the story.

Wayne usually wasn't one for petting zoos, but seeing the smile that broke across Grace's face was enough to change his mind. He had had a relatively difficult time deciding on a venue for their first date. He wanted to impress her and also make it enjoyable for her. The petting zoo was a wise choice.

Grace had grasped his hand in hers the moment they ventured into the zoo and was currently draging him to the different open cubicles with her. She really did seem to be fond of the koala cubs since she had spent most of her time around them.

They were watching the wild rabbits feed when Grace suddenly spun around to face him.

"Wayne?"

"Hm?" he murmured, distracted by the feeding rate of the little creatures.

"Thanks." She added a small smile to show her appreciation and leaned forward to peck him on his cheek.

"Ah, well... it's no problem," he stuttered as his cheek glowed red.

She grabbed some grass from the feeding bucket and gently fed one of the rabbits.

"Oh, come on Wayne, you have to try it!"

He looked at her with complete horror causing her to pout. He rolled his eyes playfully before giving in and reached for the grass she held out to him. He muttered something incoherent but nevertheless extended his hand forward to the rabbits. One cautiously approached him then eargerly started nipping from his hand. Wayne turned his smiling face to Grace and she reciprocated it.

"Ah, ow!" he suddenly yelped scrambling his hand away from the animal.

"What?" a startled Grace asked him.

Wayne groaned and turned an accusing finger to the carefree rabbit. "He bit me!" She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand to ease the violent waving he was exhibiting towards the creature.

"It's just a tiny nibble. It's not even bleeding!"

He grumbled incoherently and Grace decided on a bold move. She swiftly leaned forward and sealed her lips with his. That ought to shut him up. She smiled when his murmuring was lost between their lips and pulled back.

She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction and was more than relieved when he leaned in for seconds. A smile formed on both their faces after they broke apart a few minutes later and continued their tour of the zoo.

Teresa was seated on the kitchenette counter top watching Patrick attempt his "incredible" omelet. He handed her the eggs mixed with milk in a bowl to beat while he grated the cheese and prepared the vegetables and bacon. He then added in the vegetables and meat into the already heated skillet along with the eggs a minute later. Patrick then turned towards her and grinned and she raised both her eyebrows in response. He then proceeded to skillfully flip the omelet and then lastly added the cheese.

"Very talented," she remarked in a semi-sarcastic way.

"Ah, well. I try." He shrugged and a grin highlighted his face. She rolled her eyes playfully and reached forward, lightly grasping the curls behind his head and crashed her mouth on his. He came to stand between her legs as he pulled her closer to him. She smiled and attempted to break the kiss but was pulled back by a very eager Patrick.

"Patrick... your incredible omelet remember?" She laughed between kisses.

"Meh. That could wait," he waved a hand dismissively and proceeded to kiss along her jaw. She closed her eyes but nevertheless pushed against his chest reluctantly.

"It's going to get cold."

He peeled himself off of her and took out two plates with forks and two glasses of orange juice.

"By the way, where are Cho and Rigsby?"

"Out. Rigsby's on his date with Grace and Cho is probably in the library somewhere. So, my dear Tess, you have no excuses to ditch me."

She raised her brows mockingly. "Why in tarnation would I ever want to ditch you?"

"Ha. Funny," he responded, approaching her with her plate and glass. "So, where do you want to do this?"

"Here is fine," she answered with a shrug. He handed her her plate and glass and joined her on the counter.

"This is pretty good," Teresa commented more to herself than to him, after taking her first bite.

Patrick looked at her quizzically, "There were doubts?" She gave him a look but ignored his question.

"Can you believe we have exams in a few weeks?"

"Yeah, but then we get to the holidays. Two weeks of Christmas, what do you have planned?" He took her empty plate and placed it in the sink with his.

The question caught her off guard. She rarely spoke of her family and when she did she always attempted to deflect from the personal details. Such as her dead mother, her drunken father and the frequent beatings she and her brothers suffered. Her plans? That would be to go back home and ensure her brothers were kept from being hospitalized.

"Um, well, I don't exactly have any. I'll just go back home and spend it with my family, you?" she added promptly.

"Same. My family's big on holidays. So, I have to go or my mother would be calling to scold me every day for those two weeks. It's really fun, though. It's like a tradition, every year we have different events planned for each holiday. My uncles, aunts, cousins, people I hardly remember at all, all get together just for the holidays."

"Really? What sort of events?" she asked leaning her head against his shoulder. She was genuinely intrigued. Her life back home hadn't seen any single holiday cheer since her mom passed away.

"Eh. Carnivals, dinners, dances, that sort of thing, you know?"

"No, I don't know," Teresa accidentally voiced out loud.

"What? Your family doesn't do those sort of things?" She shook her head and he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer.

"My family.. well, we aren't exactly into the holidays and stuff."

"You should come with me then. Mom would be delighted to see you." She raised her head from his shoulder to look him in the eyes.

It was tempting, but her brothers needed her. "No. Sorry I can't. My family will be expecting me." He nodded and smiled understandingly. It was inconsiderate of him to ask, of course she would want to be with her family. Patrick really did want her to meet his family though. He never had felt this much for someone in such a short period of time.

"Some other time, Patrick." He smiled contentedly when she laid her head back on his shoulder and snuggled further into him.

A/N: I don't like the way it ended. I had a hard time ending it as you can tell. Well I kept my promise, even though it's late it's still Sunday. I'm about to get my new story typed up and I hope you'll give it a look. Review for an early update.

PS: It's my mother's birthday today! Finally she's 36. So I guess this is dedicated to her, although she will never read it. That's just too weird. Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing.