Aspen That Morning…

Van didn't realize just how tired he was until he woke up the next morning to the first rays of the sun slowly peeking over the mountains. The view from the picturesque window just a meter from the bed was incredible. He smiled, looking down at the woman sleeping beside him, her hand having fallen against his hip some time during the night. His fingers traced over the lines and curves of her face, pushing back soft, silky strands of hair away from it.

It was at that moment the magnitude of Billie's beauty really hit him. Van felt a sudden urge to place a kiss on her pale pink lips, but quickly refrained, fearing her wrath if she woke up. This was the exact same thing he'd tried to save her from last night. What the hell was he doing now? Van wanted to pull away, feeling like a hypocrite, but with her head pinning his right arm, he couldn't move without waking her. So he stayed put, his gaze moving back to the window as he watched the sun rise over the mountaintops.

A soft sigh escaped Billie's lips as she readjusted her position. She quickly stopped, feeling the hard, warm muscle of an arm beneath her head. Her eyes immediately opened and her gaze fell upon her partner.

Van looked down at her confused expression and couldn't help but smile. "Good morning," he whispered.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" Billie was quick to respond, unable to figure out what possessed her to allow him to sleep beside her.

Shaking his head and still smiling, Van replied, "You don't remember what you did yesterday, do you?"

A frown appeared on her face as she tried to think back to the day before and what she could have done. The restaurant and the wine all came rushing back. "Shit," Billie muttered, her wiping across her face in frustration. Other than that, she couldn't remember anything else. "What did I do? Please, tell me. Did I make a total ass out of myself?"

"Uh, sorta," Van said. His smile grew into a full on grin. "You got trashed during our lunch with Drayden."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Billie's voice rose nearly an octave in a near yell.

"Because every time I tried to, you gave me that look, like you were gonna chop off my hand with your knife if I even touched your glass," Van shot back, still amused. "But the good news is that Drayden gave me the money. The bad news is that it's only half of what we agreed on."

"What?"

"Yeah, he said he'd give us the other half after we dropped off the shipment at the warehouse."

"That bastard! And here I was thinking we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. This is a total setback to the case. I can't believe he could do something like that," Billie ranted, the anger and frustration clear in her voice.

"Well, I can see that you're doing better. Now, if I can please have my arm back, I'd like to go to the bathroom and relieve myself," Van said as he tugged his arm away from her head.

Billie sat up and instantly regretted it. Her head began to swim. The four glasses of wine she'd drunk the day before still hadn't filtered out of her system. She lay back down, this time against the pillows instead of Van's arm. He'd already gotten up and was walking to the bathroom when she had a flashback of a few things she did remember from the previous afternoon. It involved Rousseau, Van, and a punch.

"Hey, Van," she called to her partner. "How did I get here after lunch?"

Van stopped just centimeters from the bathroom door, his mind returning to the scene between him and Rousseau in that empty hallway. He was contemplating whether or not telling Billie would be a good idea, especially since she was already angry at Abney for pulling a fast one on them with the money. "I carried you," he finally answered, sounding as if he were guilty of something. It was strange, how he could lie so well when it came to marks and perps, but when it came to Billie, he couldn't even get the smallest white lie past her.

"Then why did you punch Xavier?" Billie asked.

Van raked his fingers through his hair. She did remember something, but to what extent, he had no clue. It was better if he just tested the waters to see how much she did recall. Slowly, he turned around to face her. Billie didn't appear mad, but looks were always deceiving with her. One moment she could be the picture of innocence, while the next she could be the devil incarnate.

"He was being an ass," Van finally answered. It was the truth, just not all of it.

"You're lying," Billie was quick to call him out.

"I'm not lying! He was being an ass!" he tried to defend himself by going all pouty on her, but he knew she was too smart for that routine. It might have worked the first time, but not now. Billie merely waited, her eyes never leaving his until he finally gave in. Van sighed and said, "He-he was… touching you. I saw him take off your jacket and go for your shirt, so I punched him." His gaze dropped immediately, unable to look at the shock on her face. "I thought he was going to rape you," his voice was so low and full of emotion, he didn't know how it managed to carry across the room.

Billie's mouth had dropped open. For a second, she thought Van was lying to her again, but when his gaze fell to the floor, she knew it was the truth. It stunned her speechless for several moments before something between a gasp and a hiccup escaped her lips. Anger and hatred towards the Frenchman began to burn in her chest as her hands turned into white knuckled fists. She punched the pillow beside her and didn't stop until Van crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her.

Billie was glad for the distraction, instantly burying her face in his shirt as she clung to him for dear life. They hugged for a while, until her anger finally subsided and she felt a little better. Van kneeled down in front of her so they could look each other in the eyes. "I wish I would have been there to stop him from doing whatever else he did to you," Van said. It seemed as if he were about to cry.

The pain and regret she saw on his face was reminiscent of the look he'd had when his first partner, Andre, died over a year earlier. Billie cupped his face in her hands and smiled weakly, "You did everything you could. Thank you."

A long silence passed between them as blue eyes stared into grey green. Her hands continued to hold his face, a reassuring gesture for both of them. As long as some part of her body was touching his, Billie felt safe. She didn't want to let go of Van, not for a while, not until she knew she wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore, but he had to let go. After kneeling for at least half an hour, his knees were beginning to hurt, and what was worse, he still needed to go to the bathroom.

"Billie, I gotta pee," Van said as she finally let go and he was able to stand, well, somewhat. His legs were slightly numb, but that feeling would go away soon. Billie realized what had happened, and before she knew it, the moment was over. She let him go and lay back down on the mound of fluffy pillows.

'Men,' Billie thought, 'they know exactly when to say the wrong things.' She was about ready to close her eyes and go back to sleep when the shrill cry of Van's cell phone scared her back in to consciousness. 'DAMN IT!' She sat up and yelled, "Van, answer your phone!"

He came running out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his trousers, and grabbed the phone out of the breast pocket of his jacket. "Yeah?" Van answered, heading back into the bathroom to take the call in a little more privacy.

"Good morning, sunshine," Deaq greeted him when he finally answered.

"Good morning to you too," Van sarcastically retorted. "You're up bright and early."

"Yeah, couldn't sleep. How's Billie?"

"Better." Van tried to keep his answers short. He wasn't in the mood to deal with an overly perky partner at the moment, especially after that emotional ordeal he'd just gone through with Billie. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Deaq, he was just afraid to because he knew his partner would get pretty angry as well and would probably want to fly down just so he could take a crack at Rousseau as well.

"That whole lunch scene was a riot to watch," Deaq continued. Van could almost see the Cheshire grin on his face. If he was in LA, he'd probably be trying to beat it into oblivion right now.

"Don't bring that up. You weren't the one holding her hair as she puked in a trash can about half an hour later," Van shot back as he leaned against the sink.

"Just hearing it was bad enough," Deaq sympathized. "But that's not why I'm calling. We got problems."

Van sighed, "Oh, no."

"Yeah, oh, no is right. I didn't get the exchange between you and Drayden on tape. The feed cut out when Billie left. Did she have the transmitter on her?"

"Shit," Van muttered, realizing that the tiny device had been in her purse all along, and that when he handed her off to Rousseau, he'd also given her the purse. Again, he sighed. "That's not our only problem," he added. "Drayden only gave me half the money. He said he'd give me the rest when we made the delivery today."

"Damn," Deaq grumbled. "I knew this wasn't going to go as planned."

"No shit," Van sarcastically retorted. "Now you see why I was against this whole plan from the beginning? Something always has to go wrong when we're away from LA. Look what happened in Morocco. I've got a feeling the same thing is gonna happen here."

"I dunno what to tell you, V, other than be careful. Drayden's a very dangerous man. Who knows what he's thinking. Keep your guard up, and don't let Billie drink anymore. I don't wanna end up sending her to AA," Deaq said.

Van couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "I've already told her that. There's no way in hell she'll go unless it gets bad. But don't worry, I'll keep the alcohol away from her," Van reassured as he hung up the phone, knowing the conversation was over by that point. He left the bathroom, wondering how he'd tell Billie about their new problem. Blatantly seemed about right.

"We've got problems," Van said the moment he stepped into the bedroom. Billie looked up at him sharply. She'd been flipping through a magazine while he'd been on the phone. "Deaq didn't get the exchange. The transmission cut out just before Drayden gave me the money."

"Shit," Billie muttered, throwing the magazine to the floor beside the bed. She stood up and stretched, popping a few of her joints back into place. "Well, I guess we have to go see him today. I'm gonna start getting ready. We'll have to go pick up the truck from the impound lot and figure out where the hell this warehouse is. I wasn't able to find it while I was going through Aspen records."

"Did you ever stop and wonder if it even existed?" Van replied, devoid of any sarcasm. He wasn't trying to be an ass. It was a legitimate question. But Billie still gave him one of her sharp, angry glares. "Uh, why don't we just check out the directions he gave me yesterday. That should give us a better idea of where this place is." He searched his jacket pocket for the small slip of paper, and when he found it, he handed it to her.

"You got a map?" Billie retorted, a little angry that he was questioning her again.

"No," Van shot back. "You got a computer?"

Billie didn't really say or do anything; she just walked over to her luggage and grabbed a backpack. Upon opening it, Van realized this was where she kept her laptop. As soon as Billie booted it up, they were quickly on the Internet searching for where these directions would lead them.

"It's the middle of nowhere!" Van exclaimed after she'd pulled up a map of the area and followed the directions. They looked at each other, exchanging worried expressions.

"I guess being really careful never meant more than it does now," Billie glumly replied as she shut the laptop down and put it back into her backpack. Again, they looked at each other in concern. After a couple of seconds, they headed their separate ways and got ready for what was to come.

An ominous feeling settled over the pair. Van felt it down into the depths of his soul. Something was going to happen today, and neither one of them was going to like it. Billie also felt it, but not as strongly. She somehow had a more positive outlook on what was to come, even though she knew better. Nothing ever worked out just as planned.

After about two hours of silent preparation, Billie finally asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Van replied, grabbing his parka, phone, Blackberry, and gun before they left the room.

They were soon slowly walking out of the hotel, stopping at the front door to wait for their car.

Billie turned to her partner, her stoic face barely hinting at the turmoil she felt inside, and asked, "Will you drive the truck?" He simply nodded his head, grey green eyes averted. She knew what he was hiding. Unlike herself, Van was an open book when it came to reading the emotions on his handsome face. One glance told her he was nervous; a second showed her fear. But Billie refused to acknowledge it, knowing better. The last thing she needed was to start believing this was a setup and that Rousseau had ratted them out to Abney.

When the valet pulled up with their Jaguar, the pair got in and drove off in silence, their minds in different places. Billie was focused on the details of the case, and what she'd do if anything were to happen while Van's mind seemed to wander into the realm of all the bad things Abney could possibly be planning for them after they made the exchange. Flashes of his kidnapping came to mind, the knife slicing through the soft flesh of his thumb all the way down to the bone was the type of pain he could never forget. He visibly shuddered at the memory, forcing it back into the depths of his sub-conscious. He wished he could just forget it completely, but that would never come true. It would remain etched in his memory for all time.

After fifteen minutes of silence, they finally pulled into the impound lot and picked up the truck without any problems, and it was off to the warehouse. Billie led while Van followed, and silently, they drove out of Aspen and into the snowy countryside that surrounded the city. It took them nearly half an hour to reach their destination, putting them just under the 3:00 mark. Van parked at the loading dock just as he had been told while Billie found a spot a few meters away. As she got out of the car, she thought about bringing her purse in with her, but decided against it. The camera and receiver fit perfectly in her pocket, so she had no use for it. Besides, assuming all went well, they'd be back in a few minutes with the money and a case.

"You ready?" she asked Van as they met up at the back door. Before going inside, they did a quick sweep of the warehouse perimeter, finding this door to be the only entrance and exit on this side of the building.

As she grabbed the doorknob, Van put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Billie, wait." Billie paused for a moment, waiting for what he had to tell her. "I just want you to know…" he started before she rudely cut him off.

"If you're gonna tell me some stupid factoid about who your favorite singer was or something along those lines, I don't wanna hear it. We're here to make a case, not trade stories," she quickly dismissed him as she grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open.

"Okay, that was low," Van grumbled as he followed her inside.

The warehouse was dark with only a couple of old, dusty tungsten lamps providing some artificial light. The windows that spanned the entire perimeter of the warehouse were caked in sludge and God knew what else, being of no use. There might have been one cracked open every several meters, but no light still shone in. The pair walked through the old place, noting how bare and empty it was, their shoes echoing loudly as they approached a table where three men were sitting, waiting for them.

At the center of the table stood Rousseau, his nose covered in white gauze and dark circles under both his eyes. Van couldn't keep the bile from rising into his throat. Here was the man that had nearly assaulted Billie the night before. All he wanted to do was go up to him and break his neck. Glancing over at her, he realized she felt exactly the same. The only thing she wanted to do right now was pummel his ugly French ass. But she was somehow managing to keep her cool as her eyes narrowed at him.

"Where's Drayden?" Billie coldly asked once they were all facing each other.

"He will be here shortly," Rousseau answered, giving her a mischievous grin that Van knew meant trouble.

Van pulled out his gun and immediately replied, "You worthless bastard!"

Rousseau rolled his eyes and nonchalantly held up his hands. "You think you can shoot me, right here, right now? Go ahead and try," he mockingly retorted, grabbing his own piece.

The two men stood there, guns pointed at each other, with Billie and the others looking on in surprise, ready to pounce if worse came to worse. "Van," she said between clenched teeth. "Put your gun down!"

"Not until he gives me a good reason to shoot him," he answered, his voice full of anger and rage. The only thing that stood between him and shooting the Frenchman was the woman that now stood between them. Billie had walked in front of Van and put her hand over the barrel of his gun. Her eyes were soft, telling him to calm down, but it was hard, especially after images of yesterday afternoon kept popping into his head.

"We can deal with it later," Billie slowly said in a low voice that only he could hear. But Van refused to put down his gun. He kept it aimed at Rousseau even as the door behind them slammed shut and the sound of footsteps echoed through the room.

"Now, now, boys," Abney's cool voice resonated through the warehouse as he approached the table. Billie immediately stepped away to Van's side as he finally lowered his weapon. "You can kill each other later. We have business to finish."

There was a smile on Abney's face as he walked around to the other side of the table and set an aluminum case down on its moldy old wooden panels. He looked at the pair, almost as if he were sizing them up, then opened the case. Van could clearly see it was the rest of the money, allowing him to relax for just a moment. But that moment would be short lived as he extended his free hand and dropped the keys to the truck into Abney's palm.

"You got your guns, and we've got our money,' Van said as he and Billie began to step away from the table. "I guess that means we can go our separate ways now."

Abney merely laughed. "Not so fast," he replied, slipping the keys into his pocket and pulling out his gun. He pointed it at Van and Billie and added, "Hands up. Guns on the floor."

They looked at each other in shock, then at Rousseau, who had a wide grin plastered on his ugly face. Van turned to Billie and said, "Déjà vu," as he put his gun down on the ground at his feet.

"Oh, shut up!" she nearly yelled back at him.

"How many times have I told you not to bring someone in from the outside? Do you ever listen to me? No! And look, it just came back to bite us in the ass!" As the words left Van's mouth, a plan was immediately beginning to formulate in his mind. Now, if only Billie could see where he was going… "I hate having to say this Billie, but I told you so!"

Soon after he made that last comment, Billie caught onto his game. A quick glance at Abney and his crew confirmed her suspicion that Van was trying to confuse them, and possibly catch them off guard. "You were the one who was supposed to do the background checks and surveillance!" she threw back. With her eyes, she signaled to him that they were almost at that perfect moment where all chaos would break loose. She could only hope that no one would get hurt.

"So you're pinning this all on me?" Van's voice rose nearly an octave higher than his usual pitch. He was one hell of an actor. If he ever got fired, acting would probably be his next gig.

"Both of you shut up!" Abney ordered, becoming annoyed with their banter. He just wanted to kill them both right now so he wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. He'd already lowered his gun, which was when Billie glanced at Van and nodded.

Without warning, her right leg swung up and kicked the guns of their attackers. The four of them were surprised, to say the least. Van had dropped down to grab his gun and quickly aimed and fired, taking out one of them as he and Billie made a run for it. They managed to find a hiding place behind a steel pillar before the three remaining men opened fire on them.

"Seriously, next time when I tell you bringing in a snitch is a bad idea, will you listen to me?" Van yelled over the hail of bullets that sped their way.

"You don't make the decisions, I do," Billie was still the thickheaded woman he knew her to be. Even in a pinch, she didn't budge. After the first wave of gunfire, she'd found the perfect opening to hopefully get them both out alive. "Cover me!" she yelled…

And that's how they ended up where they were right now. Billie continued to wake up in the middle of the night, the past week's events playing over and over again in her mind. The guilt she felt for everything that had happened, all because she was too stubborn to listen to the man that was now lying cold in her arms. If only she could go back… Maybe she would have done things differently.

The background finally finished! I can get on with the rest of the story now! I hope that was interesting enough for you. Soon, well, very soon, this story should be finished. I hope you like what I've written so far, and everything makes sense. Thanks for your wonderful reviews! They've kept me going, especially after a day like yesterday. Pulling overnights at work SUCK! And all that Red Bull and Coffee really can kill you. But here's my offering to all you hungry readers. So, PLEASE REVIEW! Keep my muse from retreating into her other happy place.

Avillie: You need a life? I NEED A LIFE! Shit! I haven't gone out in weeks! It's work, homework, work, homework... 4 more weeks and it's over! I can breath a month of relief, then its back to that same routine again. I'm so glad I'll be graduating in May. But I've just gone on too long about myself! I guess this update answered your question about whether or not Billie finds out what happened. I hope you got a kick out of that "moment" she had with Van. Molecules of sweetness in a sea of chaos. That's the best description of it so far. Don't worry, I'm not done yet! There's some great stuff to come, you'll see!

prplerayne: Billie and liquor obviously don't mix well, hehe! All the more reason to give her a bottle of alcohol when she finally does have a nuclear meltdown! Oh, that's gonna be a whole lotta fun! I can't wait to post that chapter. You're gonng get a tota kick out of it! Emerald City, HAHA! Another Oz reference! Yeah, Billie definitely needs some courage and a heart. Well, she'll get both soon! You just wait and see! I know you're gonna enjoy it!

Francesca: Question answered! I hope that was interesting enough for you. Zack.. He was so hot! Still is, in my opinion. Hehehe. There's a whole lotta Van/Billie moments to come. And believe me, they will definitely be worth the wait! Especially after Billie has "an earth shattering revelation." Too bad I can't say more. You're just gonna have to stick it out for a little while longer until I finally get to the best part of my story. Soon, very soon!

fan4fastln: There is a reason for Billie's drinking. I just need to somehow work it into the part of the story that I've already written. Thank you for bringing it up! I nearly forgot I had to write it in. That's gonna be the hard part. Other than that, everything else will be a breeze. Sorry to leave Van and Billie hanging in Aspen, even tho the last sentence of this update should give you some clue as to what's going on. Coming up next: Deaq. I have a feeling that was gonna be your next question, so I might as well clear it up now. Sorry it took so long to update. The muse, and work, have been very fickle lately, so has class... It's the month before finals... Somebody please relieve me of this misery...

sinbagirl: Oh, thank God! I was really getting worried about you and wondering what was going on. Anyway, so glad to see you again! I'm glad you liked the last couple of updates. Hope they got you wonderig what the hell is going on and where the rest of this story is going. :) Hope you enjoyed this update, too. I can't wait to see what you thought. There's more to come soon!

The Unsigned: You guys are great! I can see the hits on my story and I'm so glad that you're reading even if you're not reviewing. Thank you!

More story coming soon!