Author's notes: And now for chapter two. I just felt it would be more appropriate to separate this into two chapters since the last one ended so nicely...


"You kept the cat." a skeptical Barek pointed out as she stood in her partner's living room, watching the little critter, who had grown a bit bigger in the last week, going crazy over a ball of cat nip.

"Uh...yeah." Logan answered, shrugging lightly. "Bert was cute...and I would have felt bad leaving him all alone in that park. I mean, he is just a kitten after all."

"You kept...the cat..." the younger detective shook her head slightly. "Unbelieva--wait a second. You named him Bert?"

"Yeah, I thought it suited him."

"Bert."

"Yes, Bert. I named the cat Bert. He's my cat, so I can name him whatever I want to name him."

"But Bert?"

"Yes, now get over it Barek." he stated, plopping down on the couch and scooping up the confused kitten that had been watching them, baffled at why they had been saying his name so much.

"Bert..." Carolyn echoed softly, shaking her head slightly. "Wow Mike, just wow." she stated and came to sit beside him, taking the cat from him.

"Hey there, Bert." she greeted, bringing the cat up to eye level, smiling as the little feline just purred and pawed at her nose.

"I don't think he likes your nose."

"I don't think you like my nose."

"I do too like your nose..."

"What?"

"Nothing, go back to talking to the cat." with that, Mike flipped on the TV.

"Your Daddy is a weird one, isn't he little guy." Barek whispered softly to the cat, kissing his nose.

"Okay, just kidding, I don't want you talking to the cat anymore."

"Oh Logan, shove it." his partner snapped softly, rolling her eyes as he pouted.

"Mrow!" Bert exclaimed randomly, ears twitching. He then began to wiggle around, and Barek sighed.

"Fine, fine. Go play little one." she set him back on the ground, watching him pounce on the catnip ball and begin rolling around on the floor, playing with it. "He keep the mice away?"

"I don't have mice." Logan answered evenly.

"Really? I thought everyone had mice."

"Not me..." he paused, and then came to the realization that his partner was sitting on the couch beside him, on a Saturday. "Wait a second...why are you here?" he asked, glancing at her.

"About time you asked." Barek stated, laughing softly. "I just came to see if you brought the cat home."

"What, seriously?"

"Yup. I had a feeling you'd bring the little guy home."

There was silence, before,

"Why?"

It was Barek's turn to be silent as she snuggled back into the couch, glimmering brown eyes trained upon the TV.

"Oh, come on Barek! How did you know I'd bring him home?"

"Because no matter how bad-ass you act, you are a softie at heart." came her reply as she shrugged.

"That's not the reason."

Carolyn's brows furrowed as she glanced at her partner, who had spoken in a quieter tone than usual.

"Mike?" she inquired softly.

"Hmm?" was his reply as his emerald gaze rose to meet her's.

"Why did you bring the cat, Bert, home with you?" the question caused her partner to look away as he simply shrugged to brush off the question, pretending to be focused on the TV. "Mike." she stated firmly, which brought his gaze back to her's. "What's with the weird, timidness all of a sudden?"

"I brought the cat home because I knew you liked him." came his answer as he once more offered her a shrug. "You couldn't keep him, so I figured it would make you happy if I kept him. That way you could still keep an eye on the little guy..."

"So, you going to bring home every animal I say I wish I could keep?" Carolyn asked.

"No...well...maybe?" he offered lamely, sighing. "Yes, I guess..." there was a pause, "If it makes you happy.." he mumbled. His partner watched him, obviously confused and a bit thrown off because of his statement. She froze though, thoughts ceasing to be as he once more met her gaze with his own, calm, green eyes. He shifted and leaned forward slightly so their faces were mere inches apart, and his lips curved into the slightest of smiles as he heard his partner's breath hitch.

"What do you want...Caro?" he inquired softly. Barek found her breathing picking up, just from the closeness. Her stomach tingled as she waited to see what would happen next, unable to find the words to tell him what she wanted. "Hmm..." with gleaming eyes he brought a hand to her chin, tilted his head slightly, and pressed his lips to her's. Brown eyes almost instantly slid shut as she kissed back, though the kiss didn't go far, as Logan pulled away a moment later. "You didn't answer." he pointed out softly, tapping her nose lightly.

"You." was the last thing she said as she gently grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her, kissing him, allowing herself to fall onto her back, laying on the soft couch with her partner over her.

Meanwhile, Bert watched the whole show, green eyes gleaming with uncertainty as he watched the two humans. Mewing softly, his ears fell back upon his slim cranium as he grabbed the catnip ball in his mouth and padded away, slipping into the darkness to give the two some privacy.