Hello everyone! I can't believe we're already at chapter 14 and that there are only 10 left. I hope you like the new chapter. Enjoy reading ;-)

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction. It's not affiliated with Gosho Aoyama. All trademarks, copyrights and/or legal ownership of items are property of their respective owners. I do not own the characters.

Countdown to Christmas – Day 14

Takagi and Sato were sitting in her car, driving from the police headquarter to the apartment she shared with her mother. It was Friday, December 15. Their shift had just ended and now, Takagi was about to meet his girlfriend's mother for the first time. Takagi was playing with his hands while sitting nervously in his seat. He was afraid of Mrs. Sato's reaction to him, but at the same time he really wanted to meet her in order to make the next step within their relationship. Miwako knew that he was nervous. He acted really strange at work at this day, seeming to be a little absent and making some easy mistakes during their investigation.

"Relax, Wataru."

The young officer looked over to her. "I'm trying." He said. "I'm just thinking what will happen to us if she doesn't like or accept me."

"I don't think that this will happen and even if it does, I don't see any consequences for us. She wanted me to marry a man, so she has to accept the man who I love and if she doesn't than I'm sorry, but I'm a grown-up woman and I can make decisions myself." Sato said, confessing to Takagi.

20 minutes later, they arrived at Sato's apartment. Both got out of the car and went into the building.

"Mom, we're home." Miwako shouted when they entered the apartment and slipped out of their shoes and undressed their jackets.

Mrs. Sato, who just prepared dinner for the three of them, came out of the kitchen to greet them. "Hello Miwa." She hugged her daughter and then turned her attention over to Takagi. She gave him a handshake. "You must be my daughter's boyfriend."

"Yes, I'm Wataru Takagi. I'm Miwako's boyfriend, but we're also partners at work." He introduced himself, slowly loosing most of his nerviness and strain.

"Nice to meet you, Wataru."

They all went inside the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"So, how did you manage to capture my daughter's heart? I always thought that it was quite hard to do so. I was afraid that she would never find a man." Sato's mother was telling him while she served dinner.

Miwako answered this question for him. "He impressed me when he found out about dad's and Matsuda's death and risked his life to guarantee other's safety."

"Oh, that was you? Miwako talked with me about these cases. I guess I have to thank you for that, Wataru." Mrs. Sato answered, impressed of Takagi's actions.

He scratched his head. "Oh, you don't have to. I was just doing my job."

"You seem like a real hero to me." She said, smiling at him.

Miwako was watching the interaction between her mother and her lover, smiling at him proudly and realizing that her mother was right. He really was a hero. Even though she doesn't like it when he is risking his life, he always managed to get out of these situations more or less healthy.

Wataru was flattered. He didn't expect Sato's mother to react to him in such a positive way. However, he still tried to stay professional, wanting to make a good impression. "Like I said, I'm just doing my job."

They all finished dinner within the next 30 minutes. Then, they got up and cleaned the dishes together and putting them back to their original place. After being done with that, they all went into the living room. Mrs. Sato was telling him stories of Miwako's childhood, which made her blush a little. Time was ticking while the older woman was telling her stories. Takagi was enjoying hearing these, making him feel proud of Miwako and he was feeling more and more confident around her mother, thinking that she really does accept him as Miwako's boyfriend. All the fears that he had earlier seemed to disappear the more time had passed, but then there was something happening that made him feel different about it and he became nervous again.

To be continued...

Next chapter's topic: Meeting Sato's mother (Part 2)