Title: Woody Falls In Love

Chapter Five:

Author: Jaycee

Note: I am sooo sorry for the long overdue update. I've been pretty busy and I didn't have any Internet connection – which totally sucks. Anyway, here is chapter five and I so hope that you guys like it.

I would like to thank Hannibal (I am so sorry if I got your name wrong.) for reviewing the chapters. I really appreciate it!

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Catherine plopped down onto her bed two weeks later. She just came home from another late dinner – well, it was more like a totally early breakfast because it was already 2 in the morning - with Woody. She grinned as she remembered where he took her. Woody took her to a kiddie fast food restaurant and they stayed there for about two hours, just playing with the table placemats, which are filled with games and activities. She remembered how she and Woody had a contest about who will finish the 'connect the dots' game first.

She sighed as she closed her eyes. The last two weeks that she spent with Woody were probably the happiest weeks she ever had in her whole life. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

She tried with all her might to stop it – but with every minute she spent with him, its obvious that she's feeling something for Woody – something that she knows she shouldn't be feeling.

"I have a boyfriend for goodness sake!" Catherine exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, almost banging her head on the bed's headboard.

But she can't deny it. Woody is so great to be with. He's a really nice guy. He loves animals and he's a great actor. He loves his job and he never has a bad thing to say about anybody. She never met anyone who she has so much in common with – until Woody. Most of all, he's a great friend – and he made her forget the fact that she's feeling a little homesick.

But, that's not only the only thing that he's making her forget, he's also making her forget about the fact that she has a trusting boyfriend waiting for her back home in New York.

Catherine lay back down on her bed and tried to keep her conflicting thoughts in perspective. This is probably just a little crush. This will pass away quickly. And besides, its not like Woody feels anything for her – feelings that will make her break up with her boyfriend. That thought made her feel a little sad. But she shook her head and tried to go to sleep.

* * * * * * * *

"So how is it going with Catherine, Woody?" Sam asked that night.

Frasier Crane grinned. "I haven't met this Catherine yet. How is she?" He asked. Frasier went to Seattle for a one-month conference so he's never met the new waitress yet.

Woody looked at Frasier and grinned. "Oh you would love her, Dr. Crane. She's got to be the most amazing woman I have ever met."

Norm looked at Frasier. "See? What did I tell you, Doc? Woody boy here has got it bad." He said.

Frasier nodded and then he took a sip of his scotch. "Where is this famous Catherine?" He asked.

"She'll be here in a few minutes. Its not her shift yet." Diane explained as she walked towards the bar and gestured for two beers from Sam.

"How is it with you two, huh, Woody? Carla tells me that Catherine comes home late almost everyday. What do you guys do?" Sam asked. Norm and Frasier leaned closer to hear Woody's answer.

Woody looked at them with a slight smile on his face and leaned in as if he's going to partake a secret. "It's a secret." He said in a low tone of voice.

"Awww…." Sam, Norm and Frasier exclaimed, and gestured at Woody to tell them everything. Woody just kept on shaking his head and took out a bottle of seltzer for himself.

"Hi everyone." All men, including Diane, turned towards the door and they saw Catherine smiling at them.

"Cath!" Woody exclaimed. He jumped over the bar athletically and helped her in getting out of her jacket, just a he always did almost every night for the past two weeks. And as always, he was rewarded with a sweet smile from the woman and the two of them walked over to the bar.

"Hey Cath!" Sam and Norm greeted. "Hi Sam. Mr. Peterson." Catherine said cheerfully and she and Diane exchanged smiles.

"So you're the famous Catherine Spadaro. I'm Dr. Frasier Crane." Frasier introduced himself.

Catherine looked at him with a smile and held out her hand. "Good evening Dr. Crane. Its so nice to finally meet you." They shook hands. "But what do you mean about me being famous?" She asked.

Frasier smiled. "Well… it's just that I hear that Woody here has created such a liking to you…" He stopped talking when he saw Sam's glare and Norm nudged him at the ribs.

Catherine looked at Frasier in surprise and then turned to Woody for confirmation. Her heart jumped when she saw Woody blushing a bright red.

Their eyes met meaningfully and Woody thought about all the fun times he had with Catherine the last couple of weeks. He never had so much fun with a woman before and maybe he's feeling something more than attraction towards her. Maybe he…

Woody took a step forward, deciding once and for all to tell Catherine how he really feels. Sam, Diane and the others leaned forward again as Woody opened her mouth. As he was about to talk, they heard Cliff announce his presence. "Hey everyone. This man was looking for Cheers and I told him that I'm on my way here."

"Catherine!" Catherine stiffened as she recognized that voice. She reluctantly broke away from Woody's gaze and turned around. There, just a few feet away from her is her boyfriend, all the way from New York. "Timothy." She called out, trying to muster a bit of enthusiasm. She walked past Woody and rounded the bar towards Tim.

Woody stared at Catherine as she walked towards the man who is obviously her boyfriend and cringed when this Timothy guy wrapped his arms possessively around Catherine's waist and placed a kiss on her lips.

Catherine closed her eyes and returned the kiss, all the while wishing that Tim would just go away. They parted after a few seconds, Tim's gray eyes boring into hers. "I missed you. I thought you're coming home after a three weeks." He said in an accusing tone of voice.

Catherine looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Tim. I told you I'm going to stay here for the whole summer, remember?" She asked, her eyes flitting from Tim to Woody. She saw Woody shake his head slightly and then turned away from her. She felt her heart drop to the ground at that.

"You did? I guess I forgot." Tim replied.

Catherine rolled her eyes. What else is new? She asked herself. She looked at Tim and smiled. "I'll introduce you to everyone." She then turned towards the bar. "These wonderful people are Sam Malone, he's the owner of the bar – and that's his fiancée, Ms. Diane Chambers." Sam and Diane smiled at Tim, who nodded in response.

"Tim." Carla greeted in a monotone voice. Tim turned around and gave Carla a half smile. "Carla." He said in the same tone. "What are you doing here?" She asked, leaning against the bar. "To visit my girlfriend. What else?" Tim answered. As it was said before, it's really obvious that there's no love lost between Carla and Tim. Carla thinks Tim is a self-centered rich kid, while Tim thinks she's crude and abrasive.

Catherine held up a warning hand between the two and looked at Carla pleadingly. Carla nodded and flashed an insincere smile towards Tim and then walked away. Catherine sighed and continued the introductions. "That's Mr. Norm Peterson, Mr. Cliff Claven, Dr. Frasier Crane…" She trailed off as Woody came back into the bar from the poolroom. "…And that's Woody Boyd." She finished off in a soft voice.

Woody nodded and held out his hand. "Hey Tim." He greeted politely, giving Tim's hand a firm shake. He looked at Catherine's boyfriend as if sizing the man up. Woody slowly released Tim's hand and backed away towards Sam. Catherine looked at the two men nervously. After another minute of silence, Sam cleared his throat. "Would you like something to drink, Tim?" He asked.

Catherine gave Sam a relieved look of thanks and then turned to Tim. "Yeah. What would you like to have?" She asked.

"Just a beer, Sam. Thanks." Tim replied. Sam nodded and in mere seconds, a mug of beer was placed in front of him. Catherine nodded her thanks and sat down on the bar stool beside Tim. She turned towards him, trying to ignore the fact that Woody was staring at them. "What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"I said it before, I came to visit you. I missed you." Tim replied as he then took a sip of his beer.

Catherine nodded at that and looked down on her lap. "Hey Cath?" She looked up and saw Tim looking at her curiously. "Yeah?"

"Let's have dinner." He replied.

She shook her head. "I can't. I have to work tonight."

"Come on Cath. We haven't seen each other for the last month – and now you can't even have dinner with me?" He asked in his accusatory voice.

Catherine sighed. She looked around the bar and her eyes met Woody's blue ones. She tried to understand the look that Woody is giving her, but she can't seem to comprehend it. She turned away from him and got off the stool to talk to Sam.

"Sam? Is it okay if I don't work tonight? I promise, I'll do a double shift tomorrow night." Catherine promised.

Sam grinned. "Of course you can take the night off, sweetheart. That's fine. Tim wants to go out, doesn't he?" He asked.

Catherine smiled at the term of endearment. After spending a month here in Cheers, she already started looking up to Sam as the big brother she never had. But, the moment of happiness faded quickly as she remembered her request. She nodded with a sigh. "Yeah. Is it really okay with you?"

"Of course sweetheart. You two have a great time tonight, okay?" Sam said. Tim grinned at Sam and took some bills out of his pocket. Sam held up a hand. "That's okay Tim. That beer's on the house." He told the young man.

Catherine waved at her friends and she and Tim went out of the bar.

Sam made sure that Catherine and her boyfriend are long gone before he walked over to Woody who was serving beer to a couple of customers. "Woody. What was that all about, man?" He asked softly.

Woody looked at Sam. "What do you mean?"

"You suddenly became this cold, indifferent guy. You totally ignored Catherine." Sam replied.

Woody shook his head and walked back into the bar. "I didn't ignore her. She's tending to her boyfriend, Timothy. Timothy." He scoffed, grabbing a towel from the bar and wiping his hands dry furiously with it. "What kind of a name is 'Timothy' anyway?" He muttered.

Sam looked at Woody, shook his head and smiled. "You're jealous!" He exclaimed.

Woody looked at Sam in alarm. "Jealous? Me? Let me tell you Sam, Woody Boyd never gets jealous!" He replied indignantly.

Sam shook his head again and grabbed Woody by the shoulders. "You are jealous Woody! What else can be the reason that you're acting like that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow – challenging the younger man to answer him.

Woody stared right back at Sam and opened his mouth. He closed it again and opened it again. Woody shook his head and threw the towel on the bar. "I'm telling you Sam. I am not jealous. And why should I be?"

"Because, even though you haven't told us yet, we can see the way you look at her. You're in love with her!" Sam replied as a matter-of-factly.

Woody stared at Sam and shook his head. Without another word, he went into the restroom.

Frasier shook his head. "That young man is in serious denial." He proclaimed.

"I agree with you Frasier. Woody is definitely jealous of Cath and that Timothy." Cliff remarked. Norm nodded in agreement as he nursed his beer.

Diane frowned as she leaned against Sam, who promptly wrapped an arm around her waist. "Its just so sad. Its obvious that Woody is totally smitten with Catherine." She said in a sad voice.

"Maybe, if we tell Woody to do something about it – then he'll get Catherine." Sam suggested.

"You're right Sam!" Carla exclaimed as she walked towards the bar, having heard their conversation. "I really don't like Timothy. My niece deserves someone better than that guy."

"And who better than Woody, right gang?" Sam asked. "Right!" His friends answered, right at the moment that Woody was walking towards them.

"Guys. What's going on?" He asked. The others looked at each other and then they all shrugged their shoulders. "Nothing Woody." Cliff said and the two waitresses went back to their work as Norm, Cliff and Frasier started talking about some theory that Cliff has about Man's Evolution.

Woody turned to Sam. "What is going on Sam?" He asked, knowing that no matter how the others said that nothing is going on – something always is.

Sam looked at Woody. "Look. We know that you like Catherine more than you are letting us on. And we know that if Catherine ever has a boyfriend, it should be you – nobody else. Now, we are all willing to help you get her – that is, if you tell me once and for all what you really feel for her."

Woody stared at Sam. "I don't know Sam. I like Catherine – maybe I feel more than like for her. But you saw her boyfriend! Her boyfriend is rich and smart. He's a doctor! How can I compete with someone like that? I'm just a bartender."  He said self-deprecatingly.

"Don't talk that way, Woody! Catherine will like you whether you're a bartender or not. Catherine is not a shallow woman." Sam told him in a firm voice.

"But what am I going to do? I don't think there's anything I can do." Woody replied, a look of despair on his face.

Sam thought about this and after a few moments, a big smile appeared on his face. "I got it! Wait right here Woody."

Sam clapped Woody at the back and looked around the bar for his fiancée. He saw her serving some drinks. He went over her and whispered something in her ear. Woody looked at the couple in curiosity. He watched as Diane started to smile, nodding every now and then. The two then walked over him with big smiles on their faces.

"Come to my office, Woody." Sam said and Woody nodded dubiously. He just hoped that whatever Sam's plan is, it will work.