After Renee's birthday, things slipped back into their usual routine. Now that Renee and Abby were on speaking terms again Abby came by on Sunday afternoons to hang out with her brother while Renee picked up groceries. Things were working out well and for Garret things couldn't be better. But still, sometimes when he lay awake at some ungodly hour of the morning he thought of the woman that had last lain there with him. He wondered, time and time again, if things could ever go back to the way they were between him and Renee.

For the last six months he had seen her almost everyday, and not only on personal terms. Their professional lives were again becoming intertwined. On more than one occasion she had stormed into his office and given him a verbal lashing for not being quick enough with the forensic information she needed, or for letting his staff interfere with her cases. As always, they were in constant conflict when it came to issues of a professional nature. But all that was left behind when Garret and Renee were together in a more informal setting. As Garret spent more and more time with Renee he was increasingly amazed with the changes he saw in her. She had softened incredibly in the last three years. Naturally she was still tough as nails as an attorney, but Garret could see that in becoming a mother Renee had allowed herself to be warm and compassionate. Two qualities he had rarely seen in her three years ago. And it was this change that provided Garret the motivation to slide a white envelope to her across the dinner table one night after the dishes had been cleared and Jake had gone to play.

"What's this?" Renee asked, turning it over and reading the address aloud, "Garret Macy and guest…Wedding invitation?" she guessed, sliding a card from the envelope. Garret watched her as she read the invitation. When she finished she looked up at him with wide eyes. "Woody and Jordan?" she said, "they're really gunna do it huh?"

"They already did," Garret said.

"What?"

"Last weekend in Vegas."

"No kidding," Renee laughed, "then why are you showing me this?" she asked indicating the invitation.

"Well, since they didn't have a proper wedding, Max is throwing them a party at the Pouge," Garret explained.

"Let me guess," Renee said, holding the envelope's inscription to face him, "you want me to be your guest?"

"Got it in one," Garret laughed, "it's Saturday at seven. I'll pick you up."

"Hang on, cowboy," Renee said, "why would I want to go to a party full of people who don't like me" Renee protested.

"Renee, nobody likes you," Garret joked.

"Wow," Renee laughed, "That sensitivity training really paid off."

"Well I like you, what more could you ask for?" Garret smiled as she glared across the table, "c'mon, you don't want me to be the only guy without a date do you?"

"You're going to Max Cavanaugh's bar, not your senior prom. No one's going to care if you have a date or not. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of girls that would just love to be your date."

"Oh there are," Garret joked, "but I don't want go with any of them." Garret stared hard at Renee, willing her to change her mind. She was no stranger to his stare down tactics. She looked right into his eyes and pressed her mouth into a harsh line. Garret watched as the corners of her mouth turned upwards the longer she stared. Finally her smile cracked across her entire face and she burst out laughing.

"Fine," she sighed dramatically, shaking her head and pushing her chair away from the table, "but you owe me one."

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As promised, Garret arrived at Renee's promptly at seven with his daughter in tow. Renee, unsurprisingly, wasn't ready. From her post in front the bathroom mirror she could hear Jake trying to teach Abby how to build the perfect castle out of Lego blocks and Garret flipping through the channels on the television as he waited. Just as she slid her second earring into place, she heard Garret holler her name from down the hall.

"I'm coming!" she yelled back, silently cursing him for being so impatient. Her shoes clicked hard against the floor as she hurried toward the living room. "Alright, let's get this over with," she sighed when she got there. Garret pulled himself from the sofa and Renee looked him up and down. "Did you dress yourself tonight?" she asked

"Excuse me?" Garret said with a crooked smile. Renee looked down to where Abby and Jake were playing on the floor.

"Did you tell him to wear that?" she asked the girl. Abby nodded yes. "Good choice," Renee smiled.

"Alright, alright," Garret groaned, "let's just go." He turned and went to the hall closet. Renee followed after kissing her son and instructing Abby on when Jake was to go to bed. When she got to the front door, Garret was standing with her coat held open for her. She smiled and stepped into it, all the while thinking how happy she was to be Garret Macy's date.

Later, in Garret's car on the way to the Pouge, Renee turned and looked at Garret beside her. When turned to her, she quickly focused her attention out the window, scolding her self for acting like love struck teenager. When she did it again, Garret laughed and held his hand to the side of his face.

"Did I cut myself shaving or something?" he asked

"No," Renee said, looking straight ahead.

"Then what are you looking at?" Renee laughed and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said, "it's nothing"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Renee assured him. Garret looked at her and gave her a sly smile.

"You look good, Renee," he said. Renee fixed him with playful scowl.

"Just drive Macy," she said shaking her head and turning back to the window beside her.

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Garret parked his car behind the Pouge and he and Renee walked side by side around to the front. He sensed that she was nervous about fraternizing with people she truly didn't get along with, but there was something else about her demeanour tonight. He couldn't quite name it, only wished that he could see it in her more often. When she had presented herself that evening he had been dumbfounded by how she looked. Her hair fell down around her shoulders in the way that he had always liked and her dress hugged her in all the right places. He was certain he had seen the dress before, but there something about it that had changed. As they rounded the corner of the Pouge and stood at its entrance, Renee reached for Garret's hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Don't leave me alone in there, okay?" she said, her eyes silently pleading with him. Garret's smile and assured her he wouldn't. It was in that moment he realized that the dress hadn't changed, only the woman inside it. She was letting herself be vulnerable in a way he had never seen. She was asking for his help and protection. Three years ago this type of behaviour would have been in complete contradiction of Renee's personality. Realizing this, Garret silently wondered if perhaps there was a chance for him and Renee to salvage their relationship on a romantic level. In the past they had both been too strong willed and stubborn to make a go of things, but things were different now.

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Garret did exactly what she'd asked of him. He'd stayed at her side the entire night. They'd mingled with the cops and coroners and for a moment, Renee felt as if she and Garret were a couple again. As the party wound down, Garret, with Renee in tow found Jordan and announced that they were leaving. And to Renee's surprise, Jordan, her ever challenging rival, thanked her for coming and admitted that it was good to see her. Renee smiled; glad that Garret's proclamation that everyone hated her was untrue. Garret gathered her jacket with his and placed his hand on the small of her back he ushered her out the door. Renee bit her lip as familiar butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

They arrived at her apartment after a short and uncomfortably silent car ride. Standing in the hallway, pushing down butterflies and for the second time that night, feeling like a love struck school girl, Renee turned to Garret before putting her key in the door.

"I had a really good time tonight," she said earnestly. Garret took a step closer to her, almost cornering her against the door.

"Good," Garret nodded, stepping closer to her still. Renee looked straight into his eyes and knew exactly what was coming. Ever so gently he slid his hand across her face and brought it to his. Renee's heart jumped in her chest at his touch, but she left herself be led to his mouth. The moment his lips touched hers, Renee closed her eyes and she was lost. She let him pull her tight into him, finding comfort in the familiarity of his arms, his mouth.

How long they stayed wrapped in each other, Renee had no idea, but when she finally pulled away from him, she noticed immediately that the butterflies were gone. They had been replaced by sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. A feeling Renee recognized, all too vividly, as fear. It was the same fear she felt three years ago standing in Garret's office, telling him the biggest lie of her life. She pulled free of his grasp, her fingers pressed against her lips as if they could seal his kiss there forever.

"We probably shouldn't do this," she said in a voice just short of a whisper. Garret's chocolate eyes stayed fixed on her. He nodded slowly and gave her a sad smile, as if he had known all along that this where they would end up. Renee turned from him, afraid of what he might say if she stayed with him in the hallway a moment longer. She turned her key in the lock and opened the door.

"Renee," Garret said suddenly. Startled, Renee turned back to him. He took a moment before he continued, as if he were rehearsing what he were about to say. He shuffled his feet and glanced at the floor. "Um, just, uh, just tell Abby I'm waiting for her in the car," he said finally. With that, Garret left her on the threshold, her heart beating wildly in her chest as it screamed for her to call him back. But as always, Renee let her conscience win. She sighed deeply and entered her dark apartment.