Author's note: Hey people, I'm back! Sorry, I really did mean to update yesterday, but I had to do the whole "last minute shopping" thing, and then people came over. (Also, I was kind of holding out to see how many review I'd get ;) Sorry, I won't do that anymore). To my reviewers

SilverStormDragon: Kudos for being my first reviewer! Thank you so much for the compliments; I love the phrase "rocks my socks". I think I may have to start using it.
Titanium Gold: I'm ecstatic that you like my story. Also, if you want some other good fics, check out "Notice Me", "Cornelius", and "Bonnie and Clyde" for I/F stuff. "The Scales Tipped" is also awesome, although it's pretty much a friendship fic.
christmasiscoming: Here's that chapter you suggested. A million thanks for the compliments.it makes me want to write more, and soon.
CNic13: I'd love to make it more than a really long one-shot, but I can't think of where else to take it. I have good ideas about how to get Ingrid and Fillmore together, but not so many on how to make them a "couple". I think, in the end, they'd be in love with each other, but their only in Middle School. I didn't know anything about REAL love in Middle School. I'll get some new stuff out though, for all of you.
Moon Gurl: I fell honored that you were messing with your sleep cycle to read my fic. Happy to oblige you on the whole "love triangle" thing. I mean, in the episode, Fillmore doesn't do ANYTHING about Checkmatey flirting. He doesn't tease Ingrid, or get jealous, or anything. He needed to do something. I'm glad you thought the first chapter was good.
Vicky: It is so gratifying to hear that people like my work. I will get right on writing some new Fillmor fics (we don't have nearly enough of them). I'm already almost done with a Christmas one-shot. Send me ideas if there's a scenario you want to see.

Dedication: Thank you soooo much (again) to all of my reviewers (including future ones). When I saw I had reviews, I got up and jumped around like a crazy person. I probably won't respond to reviewers personally every time, but the above five people were my first reviews, so this chapter is dedicated to you guys in bold up above.

Disclaimer: I still don't own it. Although, I did ask for it for Christmas...

It had been a very long day.

Fillmore and Ingrid were back at headquarters, packing up their stuff to go home. By some miracle, they had managed to get Checkmatey to play in the tournament. Although Fillmore had been sympathetic to the scared boy on the roof, he couldn't help feeling dismayed knowing that everything he and Ingrid had gone through today was done by the "victim". Too many more cases like that and Fillmore would be developing a chronic migraine.

"So, care to tell me about your time today with our friend?" Fillmore asked jokingly as they walked away from the school.

Ingrid shot him The Look. "Fillmore, after today, I would prefer that we never bring up this day again. I try to repress bad memories."

He laughed. "Whatever you say Ingrid. What made it so bad?"

"Oh, nothing but Checkmatey being his annoying self. I almost felt relieved when I realized he had escaped through my window. I've never heard anyone complain so much in two hours."

Fillmore nodded; he had gotten his share of that behavior too.

"Not to mention his misguided attempts at flirting."

He stiffened slightly. Trying to seem nonchalant, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Just more of what you saw earlier today. He called me pretty, tried to put his arm around me, etc."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Fillmore said. He hadn't wanted to leave Ingrid alone with Checkmatey, but he had to follow that lead on the chess tournament saboteur. Plus, he didn't even want to think about what Checkmatey would have said if he had protested. Not wanting to see that knowing smirk, Fillmore left without looking at him. "Before we came to your house, I tried to get him to lay off. Guess it didn't work."

Ingrid blinked. A ghost of a smile crossed her face before it was replaced by a look of sincere puzzlement. "Well, thanks, but…why would you do that? It was just Checkmatey 'frontin', as he would put it."

Fillmore didn't say anything while they walked along the quiet street lined with homes that defined the stereotypes of suburbia. He wasn't surprised that she had asked. He would have done the same, had their roles been reversed. But they weren't, and he was still standing there with a perplexed Ingrid staring at him. "Fillmore?" she prompted.

He wasn't trying to ignore her question. He just didn't know how to explain. Some emotion, an emotion beyond the fluttery feeling, had pressed him to do it. One thing he was certain of: the first guy to tell Ingrid she was pretty should not have been some vain, chess-playing, rapper-wannabe. Whether he knew that as a friend or something…else, it didn't matter. The facts remained; Ingrid was worth more than that.

Finally, he settled for a simple, albeit incomplete, answer. "I don't know. You just seemed kind of on edge when he would hit on you. So I tried to stop him. That's what friends are for."

Ingrid stared at him with an unreadable emotion before turning away. Donning her usual expression, she said, "Well, why ever you did it, thanks. That kid was extremely annoying."

He could have let it drop. He could have let the subject go at that. But on impulse, he continued with a small laugh, "Yeah, he actually tried to get me to help him win you over."

Ingrid stopped dead in her tracks as her head snapped up. A dangerous look came onto her face. "Fillmore…please tell me you didn't. I'd hate to have to tell Vallejo that I need a new partner because mine has mysteriously vanished."

Fillmore laughed for real that time. "Chill Ingrid. I didn't."

She sighed in relief. "Good. So what did he say to that?"

"He asked why I wouldn't, of course."

"And you said…?"

"I told him you'd never be interested in someone like him."

She nodded her head slightly in agreement. "Yeah, I don't know what it is, but for some reason, rapping chess players just don't do anything for me."

Fillmore chuckled before continuing, "Exactly. Not like he believed me though."

Ingrid looked mildly surprised. "Really? Why?"

Fillmore swallowed. This is where it started to get trickier. "Well," he began, "it's because after I told him you weren't in to guys like him, he asked what kind of guys you were interested in. And I didn't know, so I couldn't answer him." There. A non-condemning answer. An answer that was also baited so Ingrid would have to continue the conversation in this direction.

However, apparently the fish weren't biting that day, because Ingrid just nodded a little and fell silent as she and Fillmore continued on their way through the early spring evening.

Fillmore managed about half a block of silence before he broke it. For some reason, he just had to know.

"So, what kind of guys are you interested in?"

Ingrid started. Fillmore couldn't blame her; even he was surprised with himself for asking point blank. "What? W-Why do you ask?" she questioned, feeling flustered hearing Fillmore ask her that. In general, she kept her actions just that: HER actions. Sure, she and Fillmore talked since they were best friends, and she was fairly close to Tehama and the other Safety Patrollers, but this…answering this was almost like having someone prying into her personal affairs. But that was silly; this was Fillmore she was talking to.

"Well, I just figured that, um…it was kind of weird that I didn't know the answer and…I mean, shouldn't friends know that stuff about each other?" Fillmore stammered. He certainly wasn't going to tell her that he had spent all the time she had been gone trying to match her up with someone in his head.

Ingrid had raised an eyebrow at his answer and some of the uneasiness left her stomach. Yeah, girl friends talked about stuff like that. Not them. Hoping to end this increasingly strange conversation, she said, "Fillmore, I really don't know what kind of guy I'd be interested in."

"Well, why not?" he asked pressingly.

"Because I haven't thought about it that much," she said, mildly irritated at his tone.

He scoffed. "Yeah right. You've had to have thought about it before."

"No," she said through her teeth, "I really haven't thought that much about it at all."

For some reason, her responses kept making Fillmore more exasperated. "What, afraid to tell me that unconventional Ingrid Third has a crush on a quarterback?"

Ingrid stopped walking and yanked Fillmore's shoulder so he was facing her. And then she let him have it. "No, I do not have a crush on a quarterback! But so what if I did?" It was the same voice she had used to tell Checkmatey off for constantly irritating her. That made this the second time in 24 hours Fillmore had seen Ingrid Third lose her temper.

Meanwhile, "There's nothing wrong with quarterbacks anyways. You've never cared about this before! Why now?"

As Ingrid stood there fuming, all Fillmore could do was stare. She truly was unique. This petite, fair-faced girl, scolding a guy two-three inches taller than she was, and glaring at him with ice in her eyes that was so cold it burned. At that moment, Fillmore thanked God for sending Ingrid to X Middle School. No matter where he went, he would never find another girl like Ingrid Third.

She harrumphed angrily and Fillmore broke his stare with a chuckle. She really was amusing when she was angry. Ingrid stood there a moment longer before her face softened and her "battle stance" relaxed. "Sorry," she murmured with a sheepish smile.

"Nah, it's my fault. I shouldn't have pressed you."

They shared a smile then resumed walking.

Until Ingrid asked, "Do you really want to know?"

Fillmore considered it. Then, "For curiosity's sake, yes."

Ingrid sighed. "Okay. But I wasn't lying when I said I didn't know what kind of guy I like. I can't picture myself with a jock, a nerd, or even a Goth. And certainly not with a rapping chess player," she added wryly.

Fillmore smiled and she continued, "But I guess there are some traits I'd want the guy to have."

"Like…?" Fillmore asked.

"Well…he would have to be nice. Obviously. And funny. But he would also need to have a sense of adventure. And a strong sense of right and wrong. Although," she added, "he would also need to be brave and wise enough to know when to cross that line for the 'greater good'. Someone I could talk to. And listen to. So we wouldn't be just boyfriend and girlfriend. We'd be like best…" her voice faded out and for some reason, neither friend could think of anything to say.

Finally, in an attempt to lighten the mood, Ingrid broke the silence. "Not to mention, he would have to have enough patience to deal with and be okay with being seen with a 'weird' girl. Who wasn't 'normal'."

He gave her a look. Now he had something to say. "Ingrid, you are not 'weird' or 'odd' or anything like that. And even if you're not 'normal', you shouldn't have to be. Or want to be. You are beyond normal Ingrid; you are exceptional. And any guy that doesn't see that is a moron," he finished.

She had stopped walking and was staring at him in shock. Becoming aware of how his "speech" must have sounded, Fillmore opened his mouth to explain, apologize anything, but then he heard Ingrid speak: "Fillmore?"

He looked up and saw a small smile on her face and a look he had never seen before in her eyes. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Fillmore was caught in her eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen them so green. 'Like emeralds,' he thought dazedly in the distance. As if on cue, the wind had begun to blow softly, pulling strands of Ingrid's hair around her face. For a moment, it seemed as though the rest of the world had vanished. As heartbeats passed and then quickened, Fillmore felt his breathing slow watching her. Almost imperceptibly, their faces were moving closer and closer. They were barely an inch apart when the pair was abruptly flooded with bright light. They both pulled back and looked up with a squint. There was a moment of silence until:

"Streetlight," Ingrid said neutrally. It was getting dark and the town had begun to turn on all their streetlights.

"We'd better get home," Fillmore said, avoiding her eyes. Ingrid nodded without looking at him and they both started off for Ingrid's house.

When they reached Ingrid's house, they stopped and stood there, trying to catch their breath.

All during that run, they had managed to avoid thinking about the 'non-occurrence' under the streetlight. But now the thoughts and questions were coming back and Fillmore was at a loss for what to do.

"Hey, Fillmore?"

He looked up at Ingrid. Same smile, but THE look was gone from her eyes. Those green orbs simply held the same look of trust and friendship that they always had. "What you said back there really meant a lot to me. I mean it. Thanks." And she wrapped him in a tight hug.

With all the weirdness that had been going on that day, Fillmore was surprised that the hug felt very…normal. Wrapping his arms around her, he convinced himself to stop thinking so much. This hug wasn't about all the weird feelings that were putting his thoughts in a spin. This was just where he was supposed to be. Ingrid needed him, and he was there for her. It was that simple.

In the back of his mind, Fillmore knew that this wasn't the end of those strange feelings. His subconscious knew that they would keep coming back to wreak havoc on his peace of mind. But at that moment, everything inside him was hit with the same knowledge: no matter what, he and Ingrid would be friends forever. Neither rain nor sleet (and the rest of the postal service motto) would change that. Whatever these feelings turned out to be, Ingrid would always have his back.

They both pulled away, feeling much more like themselves. "It's no problem Ingrid. It was the truth. Friends are supposed to tell you the truth," he stated with a genuine smile. She returned it and walked up the steps to her door.

"Hey Third!"

She turned. "Yes…Cornelius?" she asked sweetly.

He glared at her use of his first name before saying, "We've got to write up all the files for Checkmatey's case tomorrow plus anything else that pops into Vallejo's head. So get some sleep tonight partner; it's gonna be a long day."

She smiled. "You got it partner," and walked into her house.

He waited a moment then started his walk to his house. He would need to get some sleep too. After the file work on Checkmatey, he and Ingrid had Cafeteria control duty, plus that investigation for the kid who kept rigging the gumball machines to spill all their gum with one quarter.

It was going to be a long week.

No matter how many bad guys you took down, someone new would always come up. Fillmore grinned in spite of it all. That wasn't a problem. Whoever they were, they would find them and take them down. Those criminals didn't know what they were getting into.

Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third.
Partners.
Case-solving extraordinaires.

And best friends.

Really, was there anything they couldn't do?

Fianl author's note: Well, I hope you all enjoyed my first fic. Please, let me know what I did right (and wrong) and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me ideas. I need ideas for one-shots, extra scenes for episodes, cases for the Safety Patrol, etc. I've got 2 Christmas one-shots in mind, one fluffy and the other sad (although at least one of them probably won't get posted till after Christmas). I've got some ideas for a long, many chapter story, but I CAN'T THINK OF A CASE! ::sob:: Anyways, thank you so much for sticking with me and I hope to see you all again soon. In case I don't finish my one-shots, please all of you have a happy and safe holiday, no matter what you celebrate. It's snowing here in Colorado, so I hope your holiday has just as many special things happen. Love and God bless!
Until then, I remain yours,
AlwaysWrite