Rose paced back and forth, scavenging the pet aisle for the perfect cat toy. She wasn't sure why it mattered or why she just spent the last ten minutes looking at the same display as if it would magically change. She just figured if James was kind enough to lend her his books, the least she could do is get his new pet a gift.

After a dozen more passes, she finally settled on a teaser toy consisting of a fluffy snake like creature that dangled from a stick. She never had a cat herself, but she knew it was a popular toy from playing with her friend's cats. She walked to the front, paid for the item, then texted James to let him know she was on her way over so she could pick up the book.

James was barely making it home when he got Rose's text. He knew she wasn't coming to see him personally, but that didn't stop him from feeling a little eager. He unlocked his door and was immediately greeted by Stormy who meowed loudly at him. It amazed him how quickly the little kitten was developing, but Jack told him it was normal. He picked him up and felt the vibration from his purring through his hand as he stroked his tiny head.

"I take it you're hungry," he said and Stormy meowed back, making James chuckle quietly. He carried him into the kitchen and prepared a small bowl of kitten food. He placed the bowl on the floor and the kitten immediately started scoffing it down, making little mewing noises between bites that James found amusing. He sat himself on the floor beside stormy to watch him eat. He never imagined himself as a pet owner, but fate turned him into one and he was so glad it happened.

Stormy finished off every bite then walked over to James, giving his knee a head butt as a thank you. James stroked his back a few times and the kitten arched into his touch, purring wildly.

Standing up, James placed the bowl in the sink when he heard knocking at the door. He scooped up Stormy, walked to the door, and tried to wipe the massive grin off his face before he opened it. He failed miserably and upon seeing Rose, his smile only intensified.

"Hello," she squealed happily to the kitten, taking him from James' hand.

James stared down at her and crossed his arms in mock offence, "I see how it is, you're just using me for my cat."

Rose looked up at him beautifully, "of course not, I came to borrow the book, the kitten is just a bonus," then she flashed him his favorite smile.

"He gets gifts too," James glanced at the toy in her hand, "are you trying to make me jealous?"

Rose turned away to hide the glowing she felt burning her cheeks, "s' just a little something, considering I didn't see any toys around the last time I was here."

James' eyebrows drew up in realization, "he'd been having so much fun playing with my laces and a paper bag, it never occurred to me to buy some."

She walked further inside, right past James, as if she owned the place then plopped herself down in his favorite chair in front of his bookcase. "He'll love this then," she gently placed the kitten on the floor before unraveling the toy and dangling it in front of him.

Stormy immediately pounced on it and began wresting with the plushy snake. Rose dragged the toy across the floor while Stormy chased after it and pounced on it again. "Told ya," she said proudly and glanced up at James to see him watching in amusement.

He gave a single nod and continued to watch, but his eyes kept wandering back to Rose. Stormy's clumsy, acrobatic moves had Rose laughing gleefully and her smile was mesmerizing. He couldn't pull his eyes away, at least not until Rose glanced back at him and he had to return his focus back to the kitten.

He shook himself from his daze, "right, so…" he backed away, "are you hungry, I was gonna cook dinner."

"Depends, whatcha you makin'?"

"Chicken stir fry," James said hesitantly.

Rose giggled, "are you sure about that?"

"I think so, unless you want something else."

"Nah," Rose said, "stir fry s' fine."

James smiled then vanished into the kitchen to get started. While he worked, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye then glanced up to see Rose leaning against the door frame watching him.

"I don't usually cook for an audience."

"Sorry," Rose moved away, "you want me to go back out there?"

"Nah," James chuckled, "just teasing, you wanna help?"

Rose looked down bashfully, "I'm afraid I'm a rather rubbish cook."

"All the more reason to help," James grabbed her hand and tugged her in, "how else do you expect to learn?"

Rose laughed as she stumbled in, "alright. So, what do I do?"

"You can start by washing your hands," he smirked, "then you can chop some vegetables while I get started on the chicken."

Rose did as he said, sneaking quick glances at him as they worked in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, they both seemed content just being there, but eventually Rose felt the urge to say something, "how did you learn how to cook so well anyway?"

"Lots of ways," James told her as he sliced the chicken, "when I was a kid, my mother often made me help her. She told me it was an important skill that everyone should learn. Then after I moved here, my aunt continued to teach me, showing me different techniques and all. Jack is a surprisingly good cook so he showed me a few things. Then there were cooking shows…"

Rose laughed, "Ok, I get it, you had many teachers." She continued chopping, "my mum tried teaching me, she's not the best cook either, guess that's where I get it from."

James tossed the chicken into a wok on the stove, "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"No, it wasn't," Rose smiled, "but most of our meals were instant this or frozen that…"

"It's a start, I'm sure you've mastered boiling water by now."

"Prat," Rose tossed a piece of the broccoli she had been chopping at him, "I can do more than that."

James grinned playfully, "fine…, boil water AND make cereal."

Rose made an offended noise, "that's not even cooking," and tossed a second piece of broccoli at him.

James dodged the flying vegetable, "oi, keep that up and there won't be any left to eat."

As the chicken cooked for a bit, he walked over and looked over Rose's shoulder, "not bad, there's hope for you yet."

"You're gonna get a smack you are," Rose snapped playfully.

James chuckled and went back to check on the chicken, seeing it cooked thoroughly. He stepped aside and told Rose, "toss it in."

Rose carried the freshly chopped vegetables over, poured them in, then glanced back at James uncertainly.

James leaned against the counter and folded his arms, "go on…"

Rose picked up the spoon and carefully stirred it all together. This wasn't difficult, but somehow, she worried she was going to screw it up.

"Don't worry, you aren't going to hurt it," James walked over and took the spoon, stirring with a little more force. "If you really want to do it right…" James said as he grasped the handle, "you can do it like this," and tossed the food a few times, then glanced at Rose looking quite pleased with himself.

"You think you're so impressive," Rose teased.

James' smile faded, "I am so impressive…" He put the wok down and stepped aside, "you think it's so easy, you try."

Rose grasped the wok and gave the food a toss, only it didn't toss, it barely moved. She laughed at her failed attempt, "fine, maybe it's not that simple."

She began to step aside to let James finish but he grasped her waist and stopped her, "wait," he guided her back over, "try again." She reached up and grasped the wok again, noting his hand which remained intact as he stood close behind her.

Wrapping his hand around hers, "it's all in the wrist," and guided her hand through the motions a couple of times before stepping away, urging her to try again.

She did better the second time, but it was obvious that she needed to practice. "See, you're getting it," James praised her then turned off the stove, plated the food and handed her one.

Rose glanced around, "where do you eat," remembering he had no table.

James shrugged, "just on the sofa, usually don't have company, me."

"Sofa it is," Rose announced and followed James out of the kitchen. As stepped into the next room they found Stormy curled up with the snake toy, slumbering happily.

"Looks like he wore himself out," James chuckled and settled himself on one side of the sofa, then watched Rose as she sat herself on the farthest side away from him.

Taking a bite of her food, Rose moaned appreciatively, savoring the flavor. "Wow, that's really good actually. Do you cook like this every night?"

James nodded as he chewed, "most nights, how about you?"

Rose shook her head, "I told you I'm not a very good cook," she stared down into her food bashfully, "I'm ashamed to say that I eat out most nights."

"You'll never learn if you don't practice," James told her, "I'm sure you're better than you give yourself credit for. Just look at how well you did tonight."

Rose giggled, "I can't take credit for what you made, all I did was chop vegetables and somewhat stir the food."

"Well, it's a start, isn't it?"

"I suppose," Rose shrugged then poked around at her food, "maybe you can show me more some other time."

James smiled and nodded, "just tell me when."

Rose grinned back, "ok."

Rose spent her Saturday afternoon shopping with Amy who said she needed a break from wedding planning, yet as they shopped all Amy could talk about was the wedding. Rose didn't mind, she loved seeing her so happy, plus she needed to get out of the house and clear her head for a while.

As they walked through the shop her eyes settled upon a wok, a lot like the one James had, and she picked it up. Memories from that night came flooding back and she blushed as her imagination ran wild.

"Do you even know what that's for," Amy teased, snapping Rose from her inappropriate thoughts.

"Yes," Rose laughed while gently jabbing Amy with her elbow, "I may not be a whiz in the kitchen, but I do know what a wok is." She put it back down and followed Amy further down the aisle, but her mind was still on James and her previous visit.

She's certain that she caught him staring at her more than once, not only that, she could almost feel it whenever she looked away. Then there was the hug at the end of the night that she initiated, but neither seemed ready to let go. After an unusually long embrace, they broke apart and he looked so deeply into her eyes that she felt as if he could see into her soul.

With her thoughts preoccupied, she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. An employee, a young man probably just out of his teens, was up on a ladder trying to hang a large, metal, sign that slipped out of his grasp and collided with Rose's forehead on the way down.

Seeing what he had done, he leapt off the ladder and immediately tended to Rose, "I'm so sorry, it slipped and I didn't see you coming...I'm sorry."

Rose pressed her palm against the wound then brought her hand down, seeing it covered in blood, "shit," she cursed in pain then looked up at the terrified, young man. "…do you have a towel or something?"

"Yeah, wait here…" he ran off in the other direction.

Rose rolled her eyes, "where else would I go," she mumbled.

Amy returned after noticing that Rose hadn't been behind her for quite some time and was horrified by the sight before her, "Rose, oh…what the hell?"

The man returned with a towel and his boss in tow who was red in the face with anger, Rose knew that look and her pain subsided as she worried more for the employee than herself. She took the towel and pressed it to her wound, "listen," she told the manager, "it was my fault, I should've been paying more attention to where I was walking, don't blame him."

Rose knew, from her time working in retail, that those managers can be complete assholes and she did feel somewhat responsible. The pain returned and Rose knew she needed to get out of there, "I'm just gonna go." She grabbed Amy's arm with her free hand and dragged her out of the shop, ignoring the manager calling for her to wait.

Once they got outside, Amy asked, "what was all that about," then stopped to get a better look at Rose's wound.

Rose pulled away from her touch, "I'll tell you in the car, right now I think I need to go to the hospital."

Rose sat in the waiting room, still holding the towel against her wound looking frustrated, this was not how she wanted to spend her Saturday afternoon.

"Does it still hurt," Amy asked.

Rose huffed, "not really.

"I'm sorry," Amy patted her back, "if I didn't drag you into that shop we would probably be eating lunch by now."

"It's not your fault," Rose smiled at her, "it was an accident." Her smile faded when she noticed James strolling by. She sunk low into her seat, hoping she would go unnoticed, but it was no good. He immediately stopped in his tracks when his eyes met hers.

"What happened here," he asked as he quickly strolled over.

"Some kid bashed Rose in the head," Amy told him then noticed Rose grimace at her choice of words, "…accidentally," she added.

James checked his watch, "I don't have anything going on, come with me and I'll get you fixed up." He motioned for them to follow and he noticed Rose's eyes drop to the floor.

"I'd rather wait," Rose said gruffly, looking up at him then away.

"You could be waiting a while," James glanced around the busy room packed full of people, "I'm not sure where you fall on the triage list, but it doesn't look too promising. Just…stop being so stubborn and let me help you."

Rose's eyes widened, "oh, I'm being stubborn, is that it?"

"Yes, you are," Amy cut in, "just come on, then we can get out of here and eat something." She leaned closer and spoke softly, "just let him, please…"

Rose let out a long, exaggerated sigh, then got up and let Amy lead her away behind James. "What about all these other people," she asked, not wanting any special treatment.

"This isn't my department," James told her, "I'll take you upstairs, where I work."

Rose continued behind Amy, keeping a one-person barrier between her and James. She knew she was acting ridiculous, but this was not the time to explain any of this to Amy.

They stepped onto the lift, James stood toward the front while Rose crept to the back corner, keeping Amy near.

They exited the lift and he led them into a room, pointing to the exam table, "hop on."

Rose did as he asked and watched him rummage around drawers and cabinets, "it's really not that bad, I doubt you'll be needing all that."

He set up a tray beside her, pulled on a pair of gloves, and stood in front of her. He reached a hand up to the wound which she still had covered with the towel, "let's have a look."

She dropped her hand, letting him gently remove the towel and winced at the sting from the rush of air hitting it. James examined the wound, touching the surrounding skin gently, "no, it's not that bad, but it still needs a couple of stitches."

"Great," Rose grumbled, looking at Amy for support but her friend's attention was drawn away by her ringing mobile.

Amy pulled out the phone and answered it, "hello…"

"You don't get signal in here," James told her, "you'll have to go down the hall."

"I'll be right back," Amy said and slipped out before Rose could protest.

Rose groaned, then looked up at James who seemed unaffected by her behavior.

"I'm gonna numb it a little," he told her gently while holding the syringe out of view.

She nodded and sat still, but still hissed a breath at the small poke.

"Sorry," he murmured after, meeting her eyes for a brief second before turning to the tray to prepare the suture. He gave her a moment to get numb and turned back and began stitching the wound.

He worked silently and Rose took in his vacant expression, wondering what he was thinking. "Thank you," she murmured, "for doing this."

"She speaks…" he teased and the corners of his lips gently quirked upward, "no problem, I had a free hour anyway."

"No patients," she asked.

"Lunch," he replied.

Rose's jaw went slack, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Don't be," he spoke, "I'm happy to do it."

Rose continued to hold still but didn't know where to look, James' face was so close to hers and she could smell the cologne emanating from him. "How's Stormy," she asked, hoping to keep the silence at bay.

"He's turning into a little wild thing now that he's learned how to run and jump," James grinned, "keeps me up some nights."

"Maybe he needs more toys," Rose joked.

James chuckled and his breath ghosted her ear making her shiver. He stopped his movement, "did I hurt you?"

"No," Rose peeped, "sorry, just had a chill."

"Ok," he continued, "but you're right, I do need to go shopping for him, although he is quite fond of that one you got him," he glanced down into her eyes and smiled.

"Well, if you don't I will," Rose said back, letting her tongue appear in her smile for a brief second. She felt his movements cease as he stared back at her, "is everything all right?"

He jumped back into action, "yeah, sorry…" and Rose noticed the reddening of his cheeks.

Once finished, he put everything down and inspected his work, "see, not so bad." He gently traced his fingers on the skin above the wound then paused. Reluctantly, he pulled away and stepped back.

Rose hopped off the table and walked to the mirror to see it. "No, not so bad, but I still have to walk around with it on my face," she grumbled.

"Yeah, but you're still lovely regardless," he told her then turned away when he saw her look back at him. "I mean, it doesn't draw attention away from your other features," he closed his eyes, wishing the floor would swallow him whole.

Rose watched him, his back still to her, and waited for him to speak again. Instead he busied himself with cleaning up the mess he just made. She inched toward the door, "so I'm done then? Can I go?"

"Wait," he called out anxiously and walked back over confidently. Rose stared up at him and felt her heart rate increase. He stopped, just inches from her, "can't let you leave without a prize," and handed her a sticker with a picture of a little bear wearing a bandage. Across the top it said, "Brave Patient."

Rose broke into laughter, "well that makes it all worth it," and grinned back up at him. She reached up and squeezed his shoulder, trailing her hand down his arm and taking his hand, "thank you, James."

"My pleasure," he told her back, giving her hand a squeeze.

Knocking at the door caused Rose to yank her hand back and Amy strolled in.

"Sorry," Amy told her, "wedding stuff…" She looked at Rose's stitches, "oh, that's not so bad."

"No, it's not," Rose told her quietly, "can we go eat now."

"Yes," Amy walked back out of the room, "I'm starving."

Rose followed behind Amy, turning to look at James one last time in quiet thanks and he winked back, giving her a small smile.