*...and we're on to Luke and Katherine, another of my long-standing couples. This seems like a good point to mention a couple of things. The first is I need to thank a number of friends in the Facebook group, Turtle Talk, for offering suggestions for potential dates at the beginning of this journey. With fourteen different pairings to focus on, I was concerned about each experience being a unique one. Got a lot of great suggestions and implemented several, starting with this chapter.

The other detail I feel pressed to share is that my OC's truly threw me for a loop on many of these chapters, behaving in ways I didn't expect. Kat is one of the cases in point. :) And for the record, the High Line is an actual park in New York City. Reading about it kinda made me want to go. Enjoy.

Luke pulled the keys out of the ignition and dropped them into his coat pocket. They'd arrived at their destination, but his wife was still pouring over the screen of her cellphone, as she had been for the last few minutes. After watching Katherine continue to gaze at the phone for another sixty seconds, he cleared his throat. "Am I supposed to take this walk by myself, or..."

The Latin woman glanced up sheepishly. "Sorry. I don't catch Reina on the Messenger very often."

"You'll see her in the flesh in another couple weeks," he reminded teasingly. "Maybe you should save some things to talk about. Or I could just leave the two of you alone." Luke raised his eyebrows with the suggestion.

Kat shook her head quickly, apparently missing the joke. "I'm finishing right now."

The man removed his seatbelt, but waited for her to put the phone away before getting out of the car. The early morning air was still, and not quite as cold as the recent stretch they'd endured in January. Days of negative wind chills made the current low-forties feel downright balmy.

The sunlight was starting to break on the eastern horizon, and it made Luke eager to get moving. He glanced over his shoulder to find Katherine already behind him, waiting expectantly.

"What's so special about this place at sunrise?" she wondered.

Luke snorted. "I did happen to mention that part earlier. On the way here."

"I was talking to my daughter, all right? I can't be blamed entirely for zoning out."

"The High Line isn't as crowded when it first opens at sunrise. I find it's a much nicer experience."

Katherine's hands went to her hips. "Who've you been bringing out here? I think I'm about to get jealous, and you don't want to see that."

Luke chuckled and tugged her arm toward the entrance of the park. "I came up here with my parents a few times, right after we moved to the city. There was an access point not far from our Brownstone in Chelsea. I can't believe you've lived in New York this long, and never been to the High Line."

The woman shrugged, then tucked an arm through Luke's. "We do live rather busy lives."

"That's why we should make time to come."

"What is it with you and this place?" she asked curiously. "Other than the memories you already have invested, I mean."

"I think it's a great thing to experience. High Line was constructed on top of a historic freight rail line, so it's elevated above Manhattan's west side. It's more beautiful in the summer months when there are things growing, but even this time of year, it has some of the best vantage points in the city of the Hudson river and New Jersey. It's like...being removed from the non-stop insanity of the busiest city on Earth. Sure, it's only thirty feet below you, but that's easy to forget when its this quiet."

"Why'd you wait so long to bring me here?"

Luke smiled guiltily. "Like you said, life gets busy. So much that we forget to slow down and only focus on one thing."

"What's your one thing this morning?"

He squeezed her hand in return. "I didn't bring you out here just so you wouldn't get to sleep in."

The bronze-haired woman snuggled closer to his side. "The view is already better than the back of my eye-lids."

The man nodded but didn't add anything, allowing a comfortable silence to fall over the concrete path they were treading. In the distance he saw another couple walking leisurely ahead of them, but there were no others in sight yet. I think people tend to forget the High Line exists in the winter, besides when special events are going on. I can't believe I let so much time pass me by. I could have brought Kat here years ago. Why didn't I?

Being back in the familiar environment was like taking a step back in time to his youth, when he'd first entered the city full of anticipation and eagerness. There was an entire world of possibilities at my feet, and I wasn't afraid in the least...because my parents were there too.

A tug on his sleeve drew him out of introspection. "You look distracted," his companion complained. "I thought you were going to focus on me."

"I tend to think too much," he admitted.

"No kidding." Her smile was incredulous.

"I'm turning it off."

"That'll be the day. Maybe I ought to hook up with one of those walking tours."

"They only do those in the warmer months."

"Then I have to discover this place on my own?"

"I'm paying attention, Kat!"

"Are you?" she challenged. "Because you're missing something important."

His brow creased as he turned toward her. "What are you ta-" Luke choked on the word when he realized she'd not only unzipped her coat, but undone the first couple buttons on her shirt to intentionally display purple satin he was only used to seeing in their bedroom. He stopped with a jolt and wrenched her jacket closed. "Kat!"

She shook her head. "Said you weren't paying attention, didn't I?" Katherine smirked as she fixed her coat. "Don't get your bowels in an uproar, old man."

"What's gotten into you?"

"I'm tired of distractions too, that's all. If you pay more attention, I won't have to resort to extreme methods."

For a moment Luke thought she was honestly upset, but Kat's persistent grin left the man convinced she was only baiting him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and started walking again.

"Am I making you nervous?"

He forced a laugh, but couldn't bring himself to deny it. "You need to behave. We're still in public."

"If that's what it takes to catch your eye, hon..."

"You've already done that."

"I had to point it out to you!"

"But now that you have my attention, you won't lose it."

Her fingers lightly tousled his hair. "Can you promise me that?"

He nodded, too flustered to reply at once. "You're in a mood this morning."

"Have to do something to keep you interested when there's so much competition involved."

Luke cocked his head. "What competition?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. You're a master of multi-tasking, Luke, but I don't always want to fall somewhere on your checklist."

His eyebrows rose at the more serious tone she'd taken. "You're not just giving me a hard time."

"Yes and no. I'll admit it's fun to see you act like an awkward high schooler who's never made out with a girl-"

"I am not that bad."

She snorted, but didn't argue. "The point is, I enjoy the chance to have you to myself, without anything else around. Does that make more sense?"

He nodded somberly. "Of course it does."

"And it's not only you," she added quickly. "I get lost in my work and forget to come up for air too. I can be as obsessive over my caseload as you are with studying the twins' DNA."

"I wouldn't call it an obsession," he protested, but faded under her quirked eyebrow.

She maintained the look for a second before easing back into a smile. "Are we going to see the rest of the park, or not?"

"Depends if you're keeping your clothes on."

Her laugh was sudden and high. "It wasn't that bad. You're just a grumpy curmudgeon."

"I'm appropriate."

The bronze-haired woman pulled on his arm. "You're no fun this morning."

The sound of traffic picking up beneath their feet was getting louder, but Luke was finding it easy to tune out. The man found himself alternating between staring at the clear sky overhead and sneaking glances of the woman to his left. His gaze repeatedly returned to her jacket, although he would always avert his eyes again.

Katherine's unexpected laugh jolted him. "If you're not the epitome of a teenage boy..."

"What?" he demanded innocently.

"It's so cute that you think I don't notice."

Luke rubbed the back of his head, battling the urge to break eye contact with her and confirm what his wife already knew. "You started this."

"And I'm loving it. You know, we could get out of here, Luke. If you feel like acting instead of looking, that is."

He scowled at her teasing grin, though he was inwardly tempted to jump on the offer. Luke was still in defensive mode, however, and quick to assert his manhood. "I can control myself. I think you're the one with the problem."

"Oh, I think we both know ho-"

A muffled shriek wiped the playful expression from Kat's face and the woman immediately seized up. Luke held his breath as they both stood motionless and silent, listening. A moment later he heard another cry, but it was cut off sooner than the first.

"...por favor, detenerio!" (please, stop it.)

Katherine broke from Luke's grasp, dashing to the nearest overlook. Luke pursued her, perfectly aware of what the woman was thinking. He fumbled for his phone and had the digits for 911 dialed by the time she was leaning over the railing.

"Kat, I'm calling for help!"

"You do that, and then find your own way down."

"Don't you dare-" The sentence died on his lips when she vaulted over the railing. His heart paused from beating while he watched her descend to a grassy landing in the middle of the road, and land with a practiced somersault. The man didn't move until she'd straightened up, and ran out of his line of vision.

Then Luke snapped into motion too, running alongside the overlook for a few more yards until he located a set of stairs that led to the street level. He ignored his phone in favor of backtracking around the corner to find Katherine.

Coming around the blind curve proved more hazardous than he expected, as he collided with and was nearly bowled over by a petite dark-haired teenager. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the girl hardly slowed down.

"Lo siento! Con permisso!" (I'm sorry! Excuse me!)

"Wait, are you...?" He didn't get to finish, because the woman was already disappearing from his sight. Then he remembered his kamikaze wife, and raced down the rest of the block at top speed.

Luke was gasping for breath by the time he spotted the Latin woman standing on the edge of an alley. Irritation and relief flooded his chest while he tried to regulate his breathing. "Are you crazy?!"

She turned toward him nonchalantly, but his sharp eye noted the way she favored her right ankle. "Did you call the cops? I told that girl not to run. Not as if he can hurt her now."

Luke eyed the crumpled figure lying on his back in the alley, and turned his annoyance back on Kat. "You realize you're not a ninja turtle, right?"

Katherine blew an escaped strand of hair out of her eyes. "Are you just figuring that out?" She sent a dirty look to the groaning stranger behind her. "The sunlight doesn't chase away all the scum."

"Kat." Luke folded his arms in exasperation. "You need to get off your feet."

The woman glanced at him, offended. "You act like I haven't done things like that for decades."

"And you act like you're not injured. When I can clearly see you are."

It was her turn to scowl, but the expression was half-hearted. "It's only my ankle."

The man looked left and right. "Guess I'll have to call someone for him." He jerked a thumb toward the prone culprit. "But we should high-tail it out of here first."

Katherine took a couple hobbling steps before Luke reached out to stop her.

"You could make it worse, Kat. You played hero, now let me do my job."

"I don't need to be babied, Luke."

"No, you need to accept help. If you broke it, you shouldn't be walking at all."

"Am I supposed to fly back to the car?"

"No, you're supposed to let me worry about it."

She eyed him suspiciously. "You're not carrying me down the street like a lost puppy."

"Then what do you suggest, Kat?"

"Turn around."

"For what?"

"Put your back toward me."

Luke was mystified by the direction. "How does that help-"

"Shut the mouth and do it."

The man rolled his eyes and spun on heel. He felt her arms around his neck an instant before he realized what she was doing.

"Onward ho!" the woman proclaimed, affixing herself firmly to his back.

"Are you serious right now? How is this better than letting me carry you?"

"Because it's more fun for me."

Luke sighed. "Can never have one normal day with you."

"Who was it that met the turtles first, Luke?"

"Who was it that just dropped off the High Line like some parkour junkie?"

"That's kind of harsh, Luke."

"You scared the crap out of me."

"As if I couldn't stick the landing?"

"Is that what you call probably breaking your ankle or foot?"

"No, that was an accident. But it was worth it for the look on that guy's face."

He shook his head disapprovingly. "All you hero types are the same. Throw caution and your bodies to the wind, and make me put you back together."

"That's what makes us a team."

Luke groaned. "It's too much to ask for a simple walk, isn't it?

The woman bent her head over his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek. "Bet that girl's pretty glad we took a walk."

"Let's see how you feel after you've had an x-ray."

"You really know how to strike a romantic mood."

He resisted the urge to argue with her and tightened his grip on her legs. Wish they didn't always have to be so brave. But why would I expect things to change now?