"There's something different about Snow." Hartley Rathaway sat across from Dr. Wells over a game of chess. His voice held its usual condescension but there was a tiny hint of suspicion in it. The younger scientist was many things, arrogant, over-confident, nosey and narcissistic; he was not, however, a poker player. Wells had known there was something on his mind due to his quieter than usual contemplation of the chess board.

"Huh?" Wells looked up from the board and out of his office. Caitlin stood, speaking with a structural engineer. "What, like her hair?" he asked, focusing his attention back to the board.

"No," the younger man mused, "I mean she's acting differently."

"What do you mean?"

"She's all smiles and giggles now."

"Really?" Wells looked back at Caitlin who laughed lightly and placed her hand on the arm of the dark-haired man to whom she spoke. "Oh my God," he said quietly, "-she just laughed and willingly touched another employee." He grinned back at Hartley who looked triumphant.

"Told you so."

"Think she started drinking?" Wells asked.

"I think she's getting laid," Hartley replied, making the older man stifle a laugh. "It works for me."

"I didn't think Dr. Snow was the kind of person whose behavior would interest you." Wells glanced back at the pretty scientist. "I can't fault you for coming back towards this end of the spectrum, though." He said, whistling softly. "I'd jump her in a second if I were twenty years younger."

"And not her boss, right?"

"Twenty years ago I didn't care." He wiggled his eyebrows. He kept a knowing smirk on his face while he decided on his next move.

"Do tell," Hartley leaned forward, a greedy expression on his face.

"A gentleman never kisses and tells," Wells said, solemnly. "He certainly doesn't tell when he does a Hell of a lot more than kiss to a respected fellow scientist fifteen ago."

"You can't leave me hanging like that," Hartley's eyes were wide. "I will seriously give up my next paycheck if you tell me."

"Nope."

"I will hound you relentlessly."

"You already do and so far I'm not too bothered by it," Wells said with a shrug.

"What do you want?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you willing to give up?" Cool blue eyes regarded his opponent. "Obviously the details of my more private moments can never be revealed to another soul."

"Goes without saying."

"No, it doesn't."

"Would you accept a Gentleman's agreement?"

Wells raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. He pushed his chair back and stood up, shoulders squared, and had a stern expression on his face. Rathaway stood in the same manner and cleared his throat, theatrically.

"Your terms?" Wells asked.

"I want the name of the …lady?"

"Yes it was a woman."

"Just checking. Okay, the name of the woman and details of the affair."

"To be fair, it was only the one time," Wells said. "Or at least one night." He paused thoughtfully. "And the following morning, before breakfast."

"Okay, the name of the lady, detail of what happened, and how it ended."

"No details, you can use your imagination."

"Alright, no graphic detail, but you have to give the name, how it happened, list the different acts performed by each of you, on each other," Wells laughed and the younger man continued, "I will, in return, give you my Dickens first edition of Great Expectations."

"Wow, you really want to live vicariously?"

"I'm still not into women," Hartley said. "But you're so secretive, I want to hear proof that you're human."

"Hartley, I eat, I drink, I sleep, I shit and I fuck."

"Seriously?" the younger man said, incredulously. "You sleep?"

"Very funny."

"Okay, so those are my terms, your turn."

"In exchange for your first edition, your guaranteed silence, both verbal, and written, I will give you, Hartley Rathaway, details of a brief encounter I had with a respected fellow scientist with regard to time, place, and the names of specific acts performed and received."

"Agreed." They shook hands to seal the agreement.

"Okay, meet me back here, with the book, after four so we can avoid any eavesdroppers." Wells sat back down and regarded the board

They ended their game and went back to work. Hartley was in a remarkably good mood and even verbalized appreciation to one of his team members. He brought his progress report to Wells who stood near a computer terminal, looking at Caitlin.

"Got you thinking, huh?" he said, joining the older man.

"Now that you've said something," Wells said, shaking his head, "I'm trying to guess who it is."

"My money's on Raymond," Hartley said, nodding to the dark-haired structural engineer who was also staring in Caitlin's direction.

"Ronnie?" he gave the man a closer look. "He looks like a twelve-year-old who just saw his first dirty magazine."

Hartley busted out a laugh, causing a few stares.

"It's got to be him."

After four P.M. Hartley brought a package wrapped in brown paper to Wells' office. The older scientist stood up and beckoned him in, finishing his phone conversation.

"Close the door." Hartley complied and handed him the package.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, unwrapping the old book.

"My grandfather was a collector," he replied. "I wasn't entirely unprepared for my parents' reaction to my reasons for not getting involved with the daughter of one of their old friends."

"Did you stash some cash?"

"There were a number of items that would have been willed to me upon their deaths," he began, "-to which I had ready access in the house. I liberated a certain number of things for my own collection. I'd also thought to save my announcement until after I had been given access to my trust."

"Did they suspect?" Wells asked. He didn't usually bring up Hartley's 'Other life' as a Rathaway heir.

"No, I was good at hiding it and they were good at not paying any attention."

Wells nodded briefly and admired the old book. He gestured to the couch and Hartley sat. The small bar in the corner of the office held several libations. Pouring a scotch for both of them, he joined his friend. "Okay, time to deliver the goods."

"An agreement is an agreement."

"First the name?"

"Dr. Christina McGee."

"Bullshit!" Wells was glad he'd asked Hartley to close the door.

"I speak the truth."

"McGee is cold as ice." Hartley shook his head. "I'd have bet money that she batted for the other team."

"In my experience I've frequently found that the coldest exteriors hold hidden fires; fires that just need to be prodded to life."

"How did this happen?"

"Okay, it was shortly after I started working here, Tina was all about tachyon particles back then and I gave her a ride home one night. We'd gotten into a discussion about theoretical tachyon particle devices during the drive, she invited me in for a nightcap and a continuation of the discussion."

"She might as well have asked to show you her etchings."

"While I agree that scientists approach courtships on a completely different level than the rest of the world; I also think that we can be oblivious when we're discussing something of interest."

"So how did it happen?"

"We shared a bottle and a half of a pretty decent burgundy before I managed to get my head under her skirt."

"Did you have to spell out your intentions?"

"I kissed her first, and then I told her I thought we should relax and clear our heads with no-strings sex. She agreed."

"The first act?"

"I went down on her for almost twenty minutes."

"Did you have to blow the dust off?" Harltey asked with a laugh.

"I do think it had been a while; but once she relaxed and let go, she was pretty hot."

"I've seen old news footage, she was pretty but so buttoned up."

"I definitely unbuttoned her." Wells smiled and licked his lips.

"You like doing that?"

"Absolutely," he said, setting his glass down. "I like being in control and having that skill definitely tips the scales."

"I never cared for it much." Hartley looked down into his glass. "The couple of girls I slept with didn't seem that into it."

"You made it with girls?"

"After a few drinks, yeah." He shrugged it off. "I always knew I wasn't attracted to women, but I knew what my parents expected so I gave it a shot. I had a girlfriend long before I had a boyfriend."

"When did you start?"

"Sixteen," he answered. "Got drunk at a wedding, nailed a bridesmaid." He shook his head and leaned back on the couch. "Tina McGee, I wouldn't have guessed."

"After I got her off the first time, she was like a crazed bobcat, or something." He sipped his drink. "We didn't make it to the bedroom and had sex on the floor. Then again in the bed."

"Twice in one night, not bad."

"I was only in my thirties, I managed more than twice."

"You did?"

"I showed her a really good time until about two in the morning and then we passed out."

"What about the morning?"

"Oh, sweet Tina, she woke me up in a very, very pleasant way."

"Morning head?"

"Indeed, I was definitely not the only person with talents."

"What did she do when you went back to work?"

"She pretended it never happened and I never brought it up again." He finished his drink and returned for a refill. "She didn't ignore me or anything, she even talked tachyons with me after that but was totally professional."

"Isn't that when she left Star for mercury?"

"The next year, but I don't think it was because of that night, she really is a brilliant scientist and Mercury made her a good offer."

Wells and Hartley finished their drinks and bade each other goodnight. Wells sat back at his desk and pulled up the feed from the security camera. He saw Hartley enter the parking garage and waited while he drove away. Then he flipped through the different feeds until he found Caitlin. She was sitting at her desk, rubbing the back of her neck. He smiled and was about to get up from his seat when he saw her turn and speak to the man walking into her lab.

Ronnie Raymond greeted Caitlin with a cup of tea.

"I thought you might want something non-caffeinated before you go home." He placed the steaming cup on the desk beside her computer. "You've been here late almost every night this week."

"I guess I have," Caitlin said, pleased. She and Ronnie hadn't spoken many times about anything non work-related but she'd thought he was very smart. It was also the third time this week that he'd initiated a friendly conversation with her. She thought it might have been the new shade of lipstick she'd bought. It was a light, berry matte shade called 'Shy' by Clinique. No matter how thickly she put it on, it didn't overpower her frequently naked face.

"Next week, some people are going to an Indian restaurant for its grand opening downtown," he put his hands in his pockets. "Love you to join for some kebabs."

"Indian food?" She looked a little nervous at the thought and bit her lip. He looked at her mouth and smiled.

"You don't have to be scared of it," he said. "A billion people eat it every day."

"I don't know," she said, hesitantly.

"There's no shame in culinary cowardice." He kept smiling when he said it and pretended he didn't notice her mannerisms dropping about twenty degrees.

"Okay," she said. The affirmation was out of her mouth before she knew it. "I'll give it a try."

"There's always rice if you don't like it. And a gelato place next door if it's too hot." His smile was energetic and open, two things Caitlin knew she wasn't. But maybe the new Caitlin, the one who was sleeping with the boss, could try something new.

"Well, if a billion people eat it every day, I suppose it has to have some merits."

"After dinner I'll tell you what happened when I visited Mumbai and made the mistake of eating lunch from a street vendor." That comment got him one of her rare laughs.

"I can't wait to hear it; I did my senior thesis on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in India's water supply." She saw him blink and realized she'd started to let her geek out. Opting to tuck it back in and plunge onward, she asked him about his trip to India.

"I was there as an intern to build a hospital."

"You must have felt pretty good doing something to help." She tilted her head, looking at Ronnie with a fresh perspective.

"I wanted to do more, but you have to work within the system in order to be effective, so I opted to work on a project that has some great potential to help a lot of people in the future."

"I admire that." Caitlin glanced up as Harrison Wells entered the lab. He wasn't looking at her but at some papers in his hand.

"Dr. Snow," he said, acknowledging Ronnie with a nod. "I need your report on proton therapy."

"Oh, okay." She hid her surprise at his request and nodded. "I'm just finishing a report on tumors in the eye being treated with a particle beam."

"Just finishing?" Wells asked, consulting his watch.

"I interrupted her," Ronnie said, backing up. "See you later." He beat a hasty retreat and left Caitlin alone with her boss.

"I'm just proofing for spelling and grammar," she said, turning back to her computer. "You can have it in a minute."

"Email it to me." He was already walking out the door.

Caitlin knew they needed to be more than just careful at work. She hadn't expected him to make a comment that implied she was inefficient. In a field as competitive as theirs, any hint that someone as respected as Harrison Wells was disappointed in her work could result in the rumor mill damaging her career. Scientists gossiped as much as any other group. She carefully checked her work before emailing a copy to him. She picked up her purse and shut down her computer, slinging her coat over her arm. She chose to leave by the hallway that was in the opposite direction of Wells' office.

Wells waited for Caitlin to pass his office on her way out. He pulled up the security feed for her office and saw it was dark; checking his email he saw her report. Flipping through the different camera feeds again, he found her walking through the halls, taking the long route to the garage. She was walking slowly so he figured he could catch up. Pulling up the garage cameras, he found the section where she usually parked, manually overrode the camera and turned it, pointing it away from her car. He locked the security feed before leaving his office. He walked briskly through the halls, taking a shortcut through the pipeline in order to beat her to her car.

Caitlin put on her jacket and took her keys out of the pocket. She thought about her conversation with Ronnie; his notice of her was unexpected. They'd met months earlier but he'd never displayed more than a passing friendliness towards her. He'd gone out of his way to talk to her a few times in the past few weeks. She knew when someone was tentatively showing interest. It was one of the most pleasant times in a relationship. She shook her head, the word relationship had entered her mind prematurely. It was just a pleasant feeling. The flutter in the belly when you see the object of…pre-fatuation. She wasn't in-fatuated yet. When she drove out of the garage and onto the street, she turned the corner towards her home without noticing the SUV that followed.