Happy Valentine's Day!!! In honor of St. Valentine's day, I'm going to lay off the angst for the next chapter or two and focus on the lovey-dovey, gooeyness of our two couples. If this is not your cup of tea, bear with me…I'll return to the regular crime-filled storylines soon enough.

Jake Berkeley was not one to be outdone or humiliated. He vowed that Keats would pay for leaking the private details of their arrangement to the lab technicians. Jake was given the cold shoulder for the rest of the day.

To be honest, that suited him perfectly. He had never much cared for any of the CSIs anyway.

When Keats clocked out for the day, he clocked out as well. He'd have his time. Retribution was only natural.

Ryan escorted Keats to her car, keeping a keen eye out for Berkeley. He'd never trusted the bastard, and the recent events only confirmed his original suspicions.

"I was wondering…a while back you mentioned wanting to meet my family. They're still in town for a few more days, if you want to meet them for drinks at the hotel. I told them I'd meet them in half an hour." She offered.

It was an incredibly courageous move, and Ryan knew it.

"I don't mean to put you on the spot like that, I just wondered if you wanted to…it's really okay if you don't, but-" Ryan caught her face with his hand and smiled.

"Keats, I want to meet your family." He said. He led her to his car, an almost unspoken promise that she would stay at his apartment that night.

T.C. Remington and Ouida sat in a booth in the hotel's restaurant. They had decided drinks weren't enough of a send-off. A full-blown dinner was in order. Keats approached the table nervously.

If they embarrass me, or even worse, him, then I think I'll jump in front of a bus…

"Sweetheart…" T.C. squeezed his daughter tightly, suddenly turning his attentions to Ryan. He looked him up and down, nodding to himself.

"Are you engaging in sexual congress with my daughter?" He asked after Keats had started to relax. She then pointed her eyes toward the heavens and wondered how she'd manage to get through the evening.

"Tobias, don't be so blatantly obvious. It's none of your business, anyway." Grammy Remington said, shaking Ryan's hand warmly.

"You know, I have to be honest with you, Mr. Wolfe, I was worried about Keats for the longest time. Ever since that fiasco with Morgan, I never thought she'd go on a date again. With a man, at least." She said.

Keats wanted to crawl under the table and die.

"I had always assumed that Keats would be the one to marry first. Sloane was always flitting about from one man to another. Keats is an old-fashioned girl at heart." She continued. Ryan smiled a bit at her first statement.

Keats had married first. He gave Keats a wink that made her heart jump.

"Well, anyway, the past is past. And present company happens to be enchanting." Ouida held up her wine glass and tossed it back ceremoniously.

After listening to her father and grandmother brag about her, tell awful stories about her, and express their concerns over her current life situation(s), she was more than ready to see her mother, brothers, and Aunt Roe.

Nearly two and a half hours later, Keats leaned her head against the seat of Ryan's hummer as he drove them to his apartment. She let herself doze off, murmuring softly in her sleep. The dinner had been tiring for her. She had been on the edge of her seat the entire time.

Ryan glanced over at her once in awhile, thinking her very adorable. When he parked his silver hummer, he went over to her side and lifted her out of the seat effortlessly. He carried her into his apartment and placed her on his bed.

He laid down beside her, running a finger over her rosy cheeks and lips.

"I'm in love with you, Keats." He whispered.

"Eric, you shouldn't have…" Natalia took the bouquet of fresh flowers from Eric Delko's hands. He arrived at her door clean shaven and looking rather spiffy, having promised to take her to dinner at a high class French restaurant.

"I wanted to. You did a good thing for Remington…I just wanted to let you know I think you're wonderful." He said, flashing an uncertain grin. Natalia's knees weakened.

"Oh, it was nothing." She said modestly.

At the restaurant they talked of many things. One thing they never discussed, however, was the future. It was a silent agreement that they were taking things slowly. Painfully slow, Natalia thought.

But she would wait forever for Eric.

Keats woke up during the night, flashbacks from the dinner floating across her mind. But she was soon comforted when she realized Ryan's arms were around her.

I love how this feels. No matter what happens for the rest of my life, I'm happy right now.

She kissed him, snuggled under his chin, and dreamt the rest of the night.