A/N: Didn't want to forget about Tess and Gabe.

Reunion

Chapter 5

Vincent nodded, understanding Catherine's need to pickup the text message. She was a dedicated doctor and her devotion to her patients was one of the things that had attracted him to her. She'd always wanted to be a physician, he'd learned that as they'd shared their hopes and dreams during their precious private times in the storage shed.

"You still an ER doc?" Vincent asked.

Catherine finished reading the message and slipped the phone back in her coat pocket. "Yeah," she replied.

"I'd think after Afghanistan you'd want to do something else."

Catherine chuckled. "After Afghanistan the ER at Mt. Sinai is a cake-walk. I really love it in the ER. I can save lives there. I make a difference."

Vincent leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I would expect nothing less." He pulled back. "Do you have to go? We can meet up later."

"Not on your life, Vincent Keller." Catherine smiled fiercely and grabbed the front of his coat. "I am not letting you out of my sight. I only need to consult with the treating physician for a gunshot victim I patched up yesterday. Some misunderstand about his chart. It won't take long. You're coming with me."

"But-" Vincent sputtered.

Catherine cut him off. "No buts." She turned toward the driver. "Sir, change of plans. Would you drop us off at Mt. Sinai Hospital please."

"Can do, ma'am," the cabbie said and shifted course.

Twenty minutes later Catherine lead Vincent through the double doors of the ER and up to the nurses' station.

"Hey girl. What are you doing here?" said a tall, slender nurse with chocolate brown hair and eyes to match. She walked around to the front of the desk and embraced Catherine.

She was attractive with dark skin and a low, gravely voice that was very sexy. Vincent couldn't help but admire her. But his eyes kept coming back to Catherine, still wondering if this was real or only a dream.

"Lowen called. Seems he wants to consult about the kid I fixed yesterday," Catherine responded.

"The kid who got shot?"

"Yeah."

"That's a load of crap," the svelte nurse said. "He just wants to see you and he'll use anything as an excuse."

Catherine flushed red and a tinge of jealously pulsed through Vincent. Who was this Dr. Lowen and did he and Catherine have a thing?

"Knock it off, Tess," Catherine said. "Gabe just wants to clear something up. That's all."

"Dr. Dreamy is still interested," Tess chided as she pulled away from Catherine. Tess looked up and caught Vincent's eyes. "And speaking of dreamy … hello to you," she said, enthusiastically.

Catherine chuckled and then gave Tess a mock growl. "Hands off, Vargus."

"Okay, okay. Don't get your undies in a bundle," Tess said. Taking a step back she put her hands on her hips and gave Catherine a thorough once over. "What's up with you, girl?"

"Huh?" Catherine said, obviously confused.

"You're different. You're more relaxed than I've seen you in a long time and you didn't even freak-out about Lowen." Tess turned to Vincent. "Whatever you're doing for her, you keep it up, you hear me."

Vincent felt his face flush and he ducked his eyes.

"Watch him for me while I set Gabe straight," Catherine interjected. "I'll be back in five minutes. Do not get any ideas or no more chocolate peanut butter brownies for you."

Tess gave Catherine a pout. "You're no fun," she said and then let out a laugh.

Catherine turned to Vincent. "This is Tess Vargus, my best friend. And she was a Captain. So she outranks you, Corporal. That means you have to do what she says. Got that?"

Vincent snapped to attention and gave Catherine a salute. "Roger that, sir."

Catherine rolled her eyes but her smile was beaming. "I'll be right back." She set-off down the hall and disappeared through another set of double doors.

Catherine sauntered down the hallway toward Dr. Gabriel Lowen's office with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. She hadn't tried to explain the strange man to Tess. She was still stunned by his presence. Everything felt so unreal and she wasn't sure she knew how to broach the subject. She'd figure it out when she finished with Gabe. But it wasn't such a bad problem to have, introducing the love of your life who you thought was dead to your best friend - sharing the miracle of a second chance for happiness. Her grin widened at the thought.

As Catherine approached Gabe's office she refocused on the task at hand - answer Gabe's questions and get back to Vincent as quickly as possible. A dull angst had already started to fill her chest for leaving him behind. Maybe she should have brought him with her, that way if he got cold feet again she could stop him from running away. Her chest tightened and she shot a nervous glance back down the corridor even though Vincent was several hallway twists and turns behind.

Now she had to deal with Gabe. Even if Gabe was using this as a ploy to see her, she could handle it. Gabe could be a little preoccupied, even a little possessive, but he wasn't a bad guy. And she'd made it clear two months ago that she didn't want a permanent commitment. Gabe had been attentive in their short-lived relationship and the sex had been great. But she just wasn't able to go further, even though he wanted to. He'd been nice, even understanding, when she'd broke it off. But he also hadn't given up hope and was still pining away for her.

Catherine stopped outside Gabe's door. Taking a steadying breath she steeled her nerve. Okay. You can do this. Let's get it over with. Catherine knocked on the door and at Gabe's call to come in she turned the handle and entered his office.

Gabe shot up out his chair and walked quickly out from behind the desk. Before Catherine could say anything he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. "Catherine, thank you for coming on your day off." He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. "I've missed you," he said, his smile beaming.

Gabe was a beautiful man, attractive, smart and very sexy - definitely all male. He could also be aggressive. He knew what he wanted and he went after it. He had also been good to her. Showering her with attention and gifts. But whatever it is that was supposed to click when you found the person you were to spend the rest of your life with, it had never clicked with Gabe.

Catherine was startled as her body automatically melted into his, moulding to his familiarity. Cursing her body's betrayal she put her hands on Gabe's chest and pushed gently back. Gabe kept his hands on her shoulders and looked her over. His eyes narrowed and his brow scrunched, but the smile never left his lips.

"You look incredible," Gabe exclaimed, giving a nod of approval. "You're so relaxed and your skin - it's practically glowing. And you feel wonderful." He pulled her back toward him, his mouth moving toward hers. But at the last instant Catherine turned her head and Gabe's lips found only her cheek. He kissed her and pulled back again. "Sorry, he said. But you're just buzzing with this electric sensuality. It's hard to resist."

Catherine felt her face heat with a bashful blush. First Tess and now Gabe had commented on how good she looked. As far as she knew she didn't look any different. But she felt different inside. She felt excited at Vincent's appearance. She was humming with anticipation for what the evening might hold. And the prickle of the anxiety underneath everything made her body tight and overly responsive to Gabe's energy. All of that must be coming through in some way that Tess and Gabe had noticed but couldn't explain.

"Have dinner with me," Gabe said. "A good meal. A glass of wine. Candlelight. You deserve that, Catherine. You deserve to be adored."

Catherine shook her head and stepped out of Gabe's embrace. "Thank you, Gabe. But, no."

Gabe let her go, still smiling. "You know I'm not going to give up. You're special. A man would wait forever to be with you."

One already has, she thought.

"You called about the kid I patched up yesterday. Tell me what I can do to help," Catherine said.

"Actually, I think I've got it figured out. I was having trouble reading your chicken scratches on his chart. I was finally able to decipher a couple of things. It got so busy the past half hour I forgot to text you back and let you know." He flashed an apologetic smile. "I'm off in fifteen minutes. Please reconsider having dinner with me."

Rolling her eyes Catherine took another step back. Tess was right. This had all been a ploy for Gabe to spend time with her. "Gabe, it's sweet of you to offer, but I …, umm …," she stammered for a moment, then continued, "I ran into an old friend and I'm gonna hang out with him the rest of the day. He just flew in from out of town and we haven't seen each other in ages." Catherine felt only a twinge of guilt because it was all true, to an extent. "He's waiting at the nurses' station with Tess."

As the last words left her mouth Catherine cringed, knowing she'd made a mistake.

"Great!" Gabe said. "Old friends are one of life's treasures. Introduce me to him. What's his name?"

Catherine knew this was Gabe's way of sticking his nose into her business, checking out the competition and maybe even unconsciously marking his territory. Her lips twitched in hesitation. Why am I so nervous? I never told Gabe about Vincent. He won't recognize the name. Vincent's just an old friend from a long time ago.

"Vincent," she said. "Vincent Keller."

Gabe took a step back, his eyes bolting wide in astonishment. His jaw dropped and he looked like he might keel over from a heart attack. "Not the army guy," Gabe said, almost in a whisper. "He's dead."

Stunned, Catherine felt herself mimic Gabe's expression. "How do you know about Vincent?" she asked nervously.

Gabe didn't seem to hear her. "It can't be him," he said, still staring at her. "He died in Afghanistan."

Catherine felt the hair standing on the back of her neck as pin pricks of anxiety ran up her arms. How could Gabe have found out about Vincent? Not from her. That was a secret part of her life she'd never shared with any of the few lovers she'd taken over the years.

Gabe stood, dumbstruck. "It is him, isn't it? Or, at least you think it is."

"How do you know about Vincent?" Catherine demanded again.

Gabe stared at her. "Tess told me," he mumbled through his confusion.

Tess. Goddammit. What the hell was she thinking? How could she betray me like that?

"What did she tell you?" Catherine growled angrily.

Her outrage seemed to snap Gabe out of his trance. "She told me about Vincent because she didn't want me to get hurt. She didn't want either of us to get hurt." He pulled a hand through his thick black hair, his thoughts obviously turned inward as he spoke. "She's really protective of you. And she says she likes me, although sometimes I'm not so sure." His attention snapped back to Catherine, fully alert now. "Don't be mad at her. She only did it because she cares."

Catherine scowled at Gabe. She'd shared that intensely personal part of her life with Tess in confidence. It wasn't Tess' place to share it with anyone, no matter what her intentions. I'm not that much of a basket-case around men, am I? she thought.

Fuming, Catherine turned and headed out the door on a mission to give Tess a piece of her mind.

"Catherine, wait," Gabe called after her. A few seconds later her pulled up beside her and clasped her elbow as she stalked quickly down the hall. "Wait a minute. Calm down."

Catherine pulled free and walked faster. Gabe didn't try to hold her back and matched his pace to hers.

"Look," he said, "how do you even know this guy is Vincent Keller?"

She gave Gabe an impertinent glare and rolled her eyes, quickening her pace.

"Okay, okay. Dumb question. But how is it that he's alive?"

"They mixed up the identities of the soldiers after the explosion." She gulped, feeling sick to her stomach as memories came flooding back. But Gabe deserved an explanation. "He was in a coma. They didn't correctly ID him until three months later."

They turned a corner and headed down the last long corridor. Catherine's breathing was becoming labored while Gabe's longer legs allowed him to keep up with her easily.

"Fine. But where the hell has the bastard been since you left Afghanistan?" Gabe growled, anger in his voice. "That was over seven years ago and he just left you hanging on - suffering - since then."

They pushed through the last set of double doors. Catherine could see the nurses' station and it looked like Vincent and Tess were standing behind the counter near the wall. Tess was animated, her arms flailing and her voice loud. Catherine knew Tess was mad. Something wasn't right.

As they stepped up to the counter Gabe finished his tirade. "Why the hell did he wait until now to find you?"