Disclaimer—The usual, I don't own this stuff.

5—Trouble

Lilly bit her lip in anticipation as she studied the petite figure of Corrina Fay sitting across from her. The two women had been left alone at the desk after Corrina had promised not to try and slap Lilly again. The red headed lawyer had practically launched herself at Lilly, but was stopped when Vera had grabbed Corrina around the waist and pulled her away. After some negotiation with Stillman, Corrina had promised to be good if Lilly would talk to her.

"So," started Lilly ignoring the glares Corrina sent her. "What do you want to know?"

"I know Victor didn't kill his sister. He was very devoted to Laura. We visit her grave every Sunday," replied Corrina coolly.

Lilly nodded. "Right. Did he mention exactly how devoted he was to Laura before she was killed?"

"He was her older brother, blondie. What more do you expect? He protected her like a knight in shining armor!"

"Uh-huh, funny, but Victor sang a different tune to us after Megan came to talk about their childhood."

Corrina rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh please, that bitch has issues. She calls me at my office all the time insinuating that Victor will one day dump me and marry her. She's fucking crazy. You shouldn't believe anything that comes out of her mouth."

"Then explain why Victor admitted he was in love with Laura at one time?"

"Every brother falls in love with his sister once in their lives. Every little boy promises that they will one day marry their mom or sister so the family can stay together. Victor was prone to that at one point in his life, yes, but it meant nothing."

"Okay," Lilly pursed her lips debating how much to divulge. "What about the assault charges against him by a former girlfriend?"

Corrina was silent. She looked down at the floor and crossed her arms across her chest. Lilly cocked her head to one side and then sighed.

"Ms. Fay, apparently you are aware of some of the allegations against your fiancée, so I'll cut to the chase. Victor is a suspect in the murder of his sister Laura. Now, he may or may not be the actual killer, but we do need to question him some more. His past is anything but black and white, his former girlfriend told us some information that he had withheld during our interview earlier today. We weren't there to charge him, just to clarify some…misunderstandings. But, Victor turned the tables and attacked me this afternoon, and is now on the run."

Corrina looked up and pointed at Lilly's throat. "He's not a bad guy, he's just…he has a temper. But I know he wouldn't do anything unless he had been provoked. Why can't you people just leave him alone, huh? He didn't kill Laura, I'd bet my soul on it. Why don't you look at Megan? She's always threatening me; she's insane and should be locked up.

"Victor is a model citizen, Detective. Fuck off. If I hear that you're still after him for the murder of Laura, I swear to God on high that I will bring you down. Got it? Chase someone else for a change, and let the Glenroses move on from Laura's death. The past is dead." With those words Corrina stood up and stalked out of the homicide department.

"How'd it go?" asked Scotty as he, Vera, Jeffries, and Stillman rejoined Lilly by her desk.

"I think we had a real touching moment. She hates my guts and honestly believes Victor is innocent. That and I think she just threatened my future in the department," replied Lilly standing up.

"Great, everyone connected to Victor is paranoid and crazy. This is my favorite case yet. Can't wait till tomorrow," said Vera shaking his head.

Stillman frowned. "Alright gang, get outta here while you still can. We'll start from square one in the morning."

"Meet you boys at Lil's place in an hour?" suggested Vera looking down at his watch. Jeffries glanced over at Scotty and then nodded in agreement.

"We'll even spring for take-out," added Scotty.

"What for?" hedged Lilly.

"No offense, Lil, but I want a decent meal tonight—not some hairball concoction of your making," replied the Puerto Rican innocently. Lilly shot him a glare before allowing herself to be led away by Vera.

AN HOUR LATER:

Vera whistled in amusement as Jeffries entered the front door lugging a rather large suitcase behind him. "And I thought girls were the only ones who didn't know how to pack light," he grinned as Jeffries dropped the suitcase in the middle of the living room floor.

Lilly walked over to the suitcase and nudged it with her foot just as Scotty entered the apartment. "What the heck did you bring, Valens?"

"Very funny. I don't know how long I'm gonna be crashing here, so figured it's better to be safe than sorry." Scotty winced in pain as he took a seat next to Vera on the couch. Within seconds Lilly's cats were sniffing the top of his head from their vantage point directly behind him.

"Lilly," warned Scotty freezing as the cats inspected him.

"What? Don't like the welcoming committee? Get used to it," returned Lilly innocently. "I thought you said you were bringing dinner."

Jeffries grinned, "It's on the way. It should be here in about ten minutes, we passed the car on the way over."

"You ordered from that Chinese restaurant, didn't you? They're the slowest delivery on the planet." Lilly gave a frustrated sigh and slumped onto the couch on the other side of Vera.

"Well, kids, as much as I want to stay and watch you guys fight all evening," started Vera, "I have better things to do with my time. How about you, Jeffries?"

"I need to head home. Can't miss Law and Order."

Scotty glared up at his co-workers as Vera and Jeffries headed towards the door. "Thanks guys, leave me here with Lilly and her cats. You're real pals."

Vera chuckled as he followed Jeffries out the front door. As soon as the door shut behind them, silence loomed over Lilly and Scotty. Lilly was staring off into space while Scotty fidgeted as the cats tried to crawl in his lap.

"Lilly, please, get your cats off of me!" hissed Scotty as Olivia began to dig around in his coat pocket. Lilly glanced over at her partner and grinned at the sight. Without a word she gathered Olivia and Tripod in her arms and settled back into her corner of the couch. Scotty used his good arm to wipe off the cat hair when the doorbell rang. He glanced over and Lilly and frowned as she whispered conspiratorially with her cats.

"I'll get it, don't mind me," muttered Scotty standing up and heading towards the front door. He pulled it open and gave a half hearted smile towards the delivery guy holding out their Chinese food.

"Thanks, man." Scotty took out his wallet and pulled out a twenty to give to the man. The delivery guy was busy studying Scotty's beat up appearance and looked up at the officer in question.

Scotty just shrugged. "What can I say? The lady hates it when people are late. I was supposed to take her out for dinner, but she's a bit impatient. Isn't that right, Lil?" Scotty called over to his blonde partner, who pointedly ignored him as she had no idea what he was going on about with the delivery guy.

"N…no pr…prob…lem," stuttered the delivery guy, his eyes widening as he snuck a glance at Lilly playing with her cats. The guy dug in his pockets and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He quickly grabbed the twenty and tossed both the food and the ten into Scotty's hands before high-tailing it down the steps and back to his car. Scotty chuckled as he watched the vehicle speed off down the street.

Lilly watched Scotty warily as he deposited the food on the couch and returned to the door and locked it. "Were you giving the delivery guy a hard time?" she asked suspiciously.

"Let's just say you will always get your food on time if you order from them from now on," was Scotty's good natured reply. Lilly was silent as she stood up to gather utensils from the kitchen. By the time she had returned Scotty was holding his carton of Chinese food above his head as the cats meowed pitifully at him. Lilly called her cats away and handed Scotty a fork. She grabbed her own carton of food and picked out pieces of chicken for the girls to munch on, before devouring the food herself.

"So, where do I sleep?" asked Scotty after several bouts of silence.

"Here." Lilly motioned at the couch they were sitting on.

Scotty arched his eyebrows. "Does it pull out into a bed?"

"Nah, but it is pretty comfortable. The girls love it."

"Those cats are not sleeping with me," protested Scotty pausing the fork before it entered his mouth.

"They won't, they always sleep with me at night," murmured Lilly in between swallows. Scotty thought about it for a minute before returning to his food.

"Alright. You have blankets, right?"

"And here I thought you had brought your own."

"That isn't funny, Lil."

"Don't panic, Scotty, I know how to treat my guests. But don't shoot my cats if you hear something go bump in the night, okay?"

Scotty grinned. "Okay, but I don't want any cat hairs on my clothes in the morning. I don't want to look like some shaggy dog."

"You are so doing my laundry, Valens."

THE NEXT MORNING:

Lilly brushed her hair in annoyance as she heard Scotty enter the shower. Last night had been pure hell for her. First Scotty had woken her up at midnight depositing her cats on her bed and then she had heard him prowling around her room at about three in the morning. He had sworn he had heard something outside her window. Lilly explained there was a stray cat that hung around the neighborhood, caterwauling at god awful hours, but Scotty had not been convinced.

"The man is a light sleeper," she muttered to her cats as they rubbed against her legs. Lilly paused as she heard Scotty get out of the shower, before pulling her hair back. She grinned when she heard him curse loudly when he slipped on a cat toy and fell against the wall with a loud thump.

"Dammit, Lilly! Can't you keep your cats' stuff out of the bathroom?" called out Scotty darkly.

"Sorry!" replied Lilly with a grin. She continued to smile as she headed towards the sound of the doorbell. Lilly glanced down at her watch and frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone at this hour in the morning. The doorbell rang again just as Lilly pulled the door open. She gasped at the person standing outside.

"Kite!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you had some trouble yesterday with a suspect. I wanted to be sure you were all right," replied Kite smoothly. In his hands he held a small bouquet of flowers.

"Well, I'm fine, but thanks for stopping by." Lilly tried to shut the door, but Kite eased past her and into the apartment.

"Lil, this is serious, a guy tried to kill you yesterday. You need protection."

Lilly frowned. "And you stopped by just to tell me that? I'm a big girl, Kite. I also know how to use a gun."

Kite ignored her. "Maybe I should stay over for a few nights, just in case."

"Actually—" Before Lilly could continue, she was interrupted.

"Hey, Lil," called out Scotty walking down the hall. "Do you think you could help me wrap my shoulder? I can't do it on my own."

Lilly looked up at the ceiling as Scotty walked into the room without a shirt on. He and Kite locked eyes in astonishment at seeing the other. Kite looked Scotty up and down before lowering the bouquet in his hands. Scotty's jaw tightened as he eyed the flowers.

"Kite."

"Detective Valens."

"It's a nice surprise to see you here this morning," continued Scotty.

"I could say the same for you."

"I stayed the night."

"So I've gathered." Both men were silent as Lilly stood patiently by the door.

"You boys finished?" she asked finally.

"Yeah," said Kite. "I better get going, I have work to do. See you around, Lilly."

Lilly gave a tight lipped smile as she opened the door for Kite on his way out. He paused to stand before Lilly and handed her the flowers before leaving the apartment. Lilly was quiet as she shut the door behind him. She pushed the flowers into Scotty's hands before heading back down the hallway and towards her room.

"Twenty bucks says my personal life has just hit rock bottom," she tossed over her shoulder.

Scotty looked down at the flowers and then in the direction Lilly had gone. "So I take it you won't help me wrap my shoulder now?"

A/N—I think this is the longest one yet. So midterms are starting up, and I'm not sure when I'll get the next one up. Depends on what I get scheduled for at work. Enjoy!