4?

7th November 1985 – Las Vegas

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

Gil was not a fan of strip clubs.

He felt that watching women take their clothes off somehow ruined the magic of being with a woman.

And many of them ended up being cases he had to investigate.

However, his immediate supervisor insisted that Gil be at his bachelor party.

So here Gil sat. The French Palace. Naked women. Beer flowing.

He wanted to go home.

The owner, a small man named Ted, made his way to the stage, as some woman with a toy snake raced offstage.

"And now, for your entertainment and pleasure, our favorite girl…Kitty Cat!"

Gil rolled his eyes. Very original.

The opening strains of Led Zeppelin's "All My Love" began, and he arched an eyebrow. After an evening of the latest pop songs, this was certainly an improvement.

And then he saw her.

Clad in a sequined gold bikini, a gold top hat perched on her strawberry blonde curls, Catherine Flynn strutted out onto the stage.

His mouth dropped and his eyes widened as she started dancing to the music. He couldn't believe that this was the girl he had known since she was six years old.

He wanted to climb onto the stage and drag her off. Just like he had when she was seventeen.

He wanted to take care of her. Just like he had when she was thirteen.

And her eyes caught his.

Her eyes widened and looked startled, but only for a moment. Then they turned defiant and she turned her head away.

Gil knew better. He'd seen the flash of sadness in her eyes before she had toughened up.

He'd seen it a few times before.

Catherine's body swiveled, gyrated and seductively moved to the music. Gil watched the light sheen of sweat that graced her body. Her breasts were now bare but he ignored the temptation to stare and looked back to her face.

It was an intense look of concentration that graced her features, and he found himself amazed at the way she could move her body around the stage.

He didn't like the fact that there were other men here, watching her, getting aroused by her.

Gil knew very well that he had no claim to her, she certainly wasn't his girlfriend, but he still felt protective of her. Somehow, she was still his.

As soon as the song had finished and she had picked up what little clothing she had, Gil got up and decided he needed a word with this woman.

Because woman was now what she was. No longer was she an obnoxious six-year old, or a clumsy twelve-year old. Nor was she a rebellious seventeen year old.

She was 22 years old now and Gil was convinced she was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen.


"You can't go back there."

Gil took a deep breath and looked up at the gigantic bouncer that stared down at him. "Excuse me?"

"You can't go back there. Don't make me throw you out."

"I have to see my wife." He paused. Where had that come from?"

The bouncer arched an eyebrow. "Who's your wife?"

"It's okay, Mike." Catherine appeared, a black robe loosely tied around her body. "He's with me."

"Didn't know you were married, Cat."

"Yeah well, I'm just a mystery." Catherine took Gil's hand. "Get back here before you cause anymore trouble."

Gil followed her backstage, averting his eyes every time he saw a bare breast or a flash of thigh.

"What are you doing here?" Catherine hissed at him.

He turned his concentration back to her. "What am I doing here? I think that's more my line, don't you?"

"I asked you first." Catherine went to her locker, pulling out some hand lotion. "Start talking."

"One of my colleagues is having a bachelor party. I got dragged along. I certainly didn't think I'd see you here taking your clothes off!"

"It's called making a living."

"It's called stripping and letting strange men see your body!"

Catherine shot him a sideways glance. "So what? You jealous?"

Gil groaned in frustration. "You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met!"

"Takes one to know one," she shot back.

"Hey Cat, I don't know. He looks all male to me!" One of the other strippers looked Gil appreciatively up and down.

"Not helping, Stephanie," Catherine told her friend.

Gil shifted uncomfortably as women, sequins and feathers fluttered around him. "Catherine, can we please go and discuss this somewhere else?"

"Discuss what? This is my job." She buttoned up her jeans. "And considering I haven't seen you for four years, I don't see how you have the right to tell me anything!"

Stephanie paused as she walked past. "Is this him? Is this reappearing cute guy?"

Catherine's eyes widened. "Stephanie!" She glanced back at Gil just in time to catch the smirk on his face. Her hard glare soon scared it away. "Fine. Let's go get some coffee."


They had ended up at the same coffee shop they drank at four years earlier. Gil tried not to be disappointed when Catherine ordered a low-fat latte instead of a hot chocolate.

"It's nice to see you again, Catherine."

She looked up at him. "Nice to see you again too, Gil."

"Why are you working there?"

Catherine sighed. "It pays the bills."

"You could have called me."

She fiddled with her wallet and pulled out a ratty piece of paper. Four years earlier, he had put his home number on it.

"You must have got a new phone number."

Gil fingered the piece of paper. "You kept it."

Catherine shifted in her seat. "Don't get all mushy on me." She sighed. "So, what? Did you move or something?"

"I bought a townhouse." He quickly got out a pen and wrote his new number down. "Catherine, I'm sorry. I should have thought…"

She shrugged. "It's no big deal. You wouldn't have known where to reach me anyway. I moved a lot."

"Where are you staying now?"

"Stephanie and I are renting an apartment together."

"She's nice."

Catherine nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"You're a smart woman, Catherine. I already know that. You can't seriously consider doing this for the rest of your life!" He paused. "And you were stripping to Led Zeppelin! You can't strip to Led Zeppelin!"

She arched an eyebrow. "Well, I would've used Pink Floyd, but they don't really have any songs you can strip to."

Gil's eyes narrowed. "Cath…"

"And for your information, I am not going to be doing this for the rest of my life. I'll be earning…well…probably about what you are."

He looked confused. "Huh?"

"I've been going to night school." She smirked. "What can I say? Your obsession with dead bodies got me all hot and bothered."

Gil opened his mouth and then shut it again. He was sure that anything he said about her reply would get him in trouble. "So…night school? I'm really impressed."

Catherine folded her arms. "Why? Because little old me got accepted?"

"Don't start twisting everything I say around! You know that's not what I meant."

Catherine snickered. "Now I'm getting you all hot and bothered."

Gil shifted in his seat. "I think your performance earlier did that already."

An arched eyebrow. "Really?"

"Well…you know…geez, Catherine, I'm not dead!"

"Pipe down and drink your coffee. Or maybe I should be getting you decaf."

Gil decided it was safer to get serious. "Cath…do you have to keep stripping while you do school?"

"I can handle it."

"That's not why I'm asking."

"Don't tell me you're jealous." She snorted with laughter. "Of course you're not. You've seen me in some interesting situations."

Gil kept his feelings in check. "It's not safe."

"Ted wouldn't let me get hurt."

"Ted? Who's Ted?"

"The owner. Besides, most of the men in there are cops and lawyers. This one guy, Jimmy Tadero, he's been helping me out a bit."

Gil narrowed his eyes. "Helping how?"

"He's married."

"And he's in a strip club. Helping how?"

"Teaching me about forensics. And he's not my type anyway."

"I could have done that."

Catherine held up the ratty piece of paper. Gil sighed.

"Right."

"Don't feel bad. I'll just come to you when I'm cramming before finals."

"Is that a promise?"

"More of a threat, but okay." She smiled and fingered her coffee cup. "You've hardly changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Still taking care of me."

"If I had been taking care of you, you wouldn't have been standing on that stage tonight. Nor would you have been in a nightclub when you were 17."

"Power down, Gil," she told him. "You're not my bodyguard, remember?"

"That doesn't mean I have to be comfortable with you being ogled by strange men."

"Strange, but well-paying," she winked.

"I don't care how much they pay. It's not worth it, Catherine."

She glared at him. "You wait until you're so far down in the gutter that you can't crawl back up. Then you can come and lecture me about what is and isn't worth it."

Gil took a deep breath, trying not to let his temper get the better of him. "You could get hurt."

"It takes a lot to hurt me. That's one thing you will have noticed by now."

"Oh, I did. As well as the fact that you are stubborn, pig-headed and have a sharp tongue!"

"Depends what I'm using it for," came the quick reply.

Gil groaned and signaled the waitress. "I think I need some more coffee."

TBC

Song used: "I Want To Know What Love Is" - Foreigner