Chapter 12---The latest chapter of this FF story is complete. Hope you like it and thanks for reading and the comments.

C.J. looked at her dress in the mirror and decided she liked it. She fixed her hair and thought that she just might enjoy herself at the gala after all. The relaxation of the past several days had done her a lot of good and she was beginning to feel like herself again. Well not entirely, there were some things that only time could change but a night of good food and entertainment awaited her.

Gracie walked in and whistled.

"That dress is beautiful," she said, "And it really fits you well."

C.J. smoothed it with her hands.

"I like it," she said, "I think it goes well with the shoes."

"I don't know about you but I'm planning to have a great time tonight," Gracie said, "I want to see how the other half parties."

"It's a lot of standing around and making business deals but I read about the estate in the magazines. It's supposed to be beautiful especially the gardens."

"Is it large enough for us to avoid Ginger," Gracie asked.

C.J. smiled.

"I think so," she said, "I have no intention of hanging around her tonight."

"Is Brian going to be there?"

C.J. nodded.

"It will be nice to see him again," she said, "He seems like a great guy."

"He's sure good looking," Gracie said, "I hope there's more where he came from at this thing."

"I'm sure there will be," C.J. said, "I've met a few great men at events like this."

Gracie put on some mascara.

"So will Matt be taking Elizabeth to this event?"

C.J. shrugged.

"I guess," she said, "I'm not really keeping up with his social life."

"Why should you," Gracie said, "You had your fun with him already."

C.J. looked at her pointedly.

"Gracie, why do you keep bringing that up," she said, "We've put it behind us. Houston certainly has."

Gracie looked at her eye shadow.

"You didn't even give it a chance," she said.

"And as it turns out," C.J. said, "That wasn't a bad thing. He's happy enough spending time with Elizabeth."

Gracie just looked at her friend.

"I didn't get the impression that they're still together," she said, "In fact, I thought I heard Elizabeth and Ginger talk about her getting dumped by him during that whole robbery at the spa thing."

"Maybe," C.J. said, "But I understand where Elizabeth is coming from. When I thought I was pregnant, I thought about it…"

"About what," Gracie asked.

C.J. hesitated.

"Having a child with a man whose life can be dangerous," she said, "And not knowing if he's going to be coming back at the end of the day."

Gracie shrugged.

"It's the same for cops like your friend Jason."

"Maybe," C.J. said, "I wonder how Lisa is going to handle it if they get married some day."

"If they love each other, that's what matters."

C.J. frowned.

"That's what Houston's always saying," she said.

"He's always been a smart guy even for a guy who got his head hit way too much on the football field," Gracie said.

"You have to be practical too," C.J. pointed out.

"True," Gracie said, "but still, loving someone means compromising and working things out."

"When I have children," C.J. said, "I want their father to be there for them. I don't want to be alone and during those few days when I didn't know…I don't think I ever felt so alone."

Gracie rubbed her shoulders.

"You wouldn't have been alone," she said, "You know that Matt would have been there with you. Even if he had been trying to reunite with Elizabeth."

C.J. sat down on the bed.

"It would have made things so complicated," she said,

Gracie sat down too.

"You would have worked it out," she said, "You're both intelligent, resourceful people who really care about each other."

C.J.'s brow furrowed.

"I guess we would have eventually," she said, "It's moot at this point anyway."

Gracie looked at her watch.

"We've better get a move on to make it to this party," she said, "I want to get there early so I won't miss anything."

C.J. chuckled.

"It usually takes a couple of hours for things for these events to get going," she said, getting up.

Ginger watched Elizabeth who was standing in front of a full-length mirror in her hotel room, frowning.

"What's the matter," she asked.

"Why are we even going to this party anyway," Elizabeth said, with a big sigh, "I've been dumped by the man I love. I might as wear a huge sign on my chest.

Ginger walked over and smoothed her hair away.

"Don't worry about that," she said, "Just focus on having a good time. I'm sure Matt will see the error of his ways and realize he's made a mistake."

Elizabeth turned around to face her friend.

"How," she protested, "I know that he cares about me but he's not in love with me."

"But you're still in love with him right?"

Elizabeth picked up a brush and stroked it through her hair.

"Yes…I am…but that's not enough and we both know it."

Ginger shook her head, her auburn waves bouncing.

"We don't know that," she reasoned, "Matt's under a lot of pressure right now…"

Elizabeth put up her hand.

"I know that," she said, "and maybe I didn't pick a good time to come back but I couldn't stay away any longer."

Ginger had spent the two weeks with her trying to forget her ex-fiancé in one of the top partying spots in Mexico and she had seen her friend mourning during the time she had locked her way in the hotel until she finally decided to have a good time.

"Look at me," Ginger said, "You're a beautiful, intelligent and successful woman. Any man would be happy to have you by his side."

"I don't want just any man," Elizabeth said, "My brothers tried to choose who I would marry while I was growing up like we were back in medieval days. I want to choose and I've made my choice."

"And I'm sure Matt will choose you again," Ginger said, "This little fling he had with his business partner just sidetracked him a bit. He'll get over it and see the light again, that's standing right in front of him."

Elizabeth sighed.

"I just want to forget about all this for a little while," she said, "If I go to this party, I just want to have some fun for a while."

Ginger looked at her, then nodded approvingly.

"We'll do just that," she said, "We'll forget about Matt-what's-his-name and he can sit back and watch you have a good time with other men and then he'll think about what he's given up."

Elizabeth clipped her curls back.

"I'm not going to do some silly little stunt like try to make him jealous," she said, "I'm serious about wanting to have a good time."

Ginger nodded, and then went to fetch her purse. She pulled out her flask and took off the cap, handing it to Elizabeth.

"I don't need that," Elizabeth said, "I can do just fine on my own."

Ginger shrugged and then took a long sip.

"I'll need every bit of fortification I can get and this will hold me over until the bash," she said, "I plan on being the belle of the ball."

Elizabeth felt a little queasy at her friend's words and the resolve in her voice.

"Now Ginger, you're not going to…"

"You better believe it," Ginger said, "I plan on livening this party up a little bit."

Matt showered and then changed into one of his black tie outfits. For once, he managed to handle his tie without mangling it. He asked himself more than once why he was intent on attending the charity gala. The money it raised funded a worthwhile charity but the past few days had been so turbulent both personally and professionally. He had just gotten his stitches from his latest gunshot removed before he had come back to the beach house to get ready. The doctor had warned him with a wag of his finger to not come back for a while. Matt couldn't promise him anything. His job was dangerous, his life was often at risk and he had accepted that a long time ago. After all, working military intelligence had placed him in dangerous situations, not quite as many as frontline combat soldiers faced, but enough for him to assess his life more than once from inside a foxhole. He had risked his life to rescue his cousin who had been presumed dead by the military but had been held captives for a decade by a warlord. He had been shot up, nearly blown up and on one occasion, kidnapped and brainwashed to believe he committed murder.

He poured himself some Scotch and thought about what Elizabeth had said on their wedding day about the dangers of his job and how much his identity was wrapped up in his professional life. The words had stung at the time but he had realized that much of what she had said was true. But knowing that, didn't make him feel like changing his life and what he did with it.

The doorbell rang. He opened it, expecting to see his uncle but saw Jason instead. He was still decked out in his special unit attire.

"What's up," Matt said.

Jason walked in his house.

"I just came out of a meeting with Hoyt and some of the organized crime detectives," he said.

Matt's brows rose.

"Does this have anything to do with Clyde Jenkins?"

Jason sighed.

"Actually one of the dead men he left behind," he said, "The guy he met in the alley that C.J. followed."

Matt blinked his eyes. He hated thinking about what could have happened to C.J. when she had done that. As it was, she had narrowly missed being shot when Jenkins tried to flee the scene of his latest shooting.

"What about him?"

"He had ties to the Russian mafia," Jason said, "They have an operation out here in L.A. in stolen merchandise and black market dealing."

Matt nodded.

"I had a couple cases that involved clients who were robbed by them."

"Well, this guy dealt in information technology," Jason said.

"You mean computers?"

Jason sighed, and then nodded.

"Yes," he said, "The local syndicate also had ties to that exotic animal theft ring that you and Roy got involved in several days ago."

"The snakes," Matt said, "They could have gotten a lot of money on the black market either as pets or for their venom."

"They have their tendrils all over Southern California," Jason said, "We don't even know how far yet."

Matt sipped his Scotch.

"So what's Jenkins role in all this intrigue?"

Jason shook his head.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said, "He might be a contract killer or he might be in even deeper than that. He's a bit reckless to be a hit man and very dangerous."

"He's not local is he?"

"No," Jason said, "He's from back East. Our intel unit worked with the ATF and FBI and tied him to an assassination plot back in New York."

"Who was the target," Matt asked.

"A senator," Jason said, "But the feds and police were able to stop it before it went too far."

Matt paced.

"He's probably been called out here to kill someone," he said, "But he's drawn too much attention to himself already. If I were the mafia, I'd have pulled him off and assigned someone else by now but there's no way to tell what they've done."

"That's the problem," Jason said, "We don't know who he's after or more correctly, who the Russian mafia's going to hit, let alone where or when."

"You may not have much time to figure it out," Matt said, "before he strikes."

Jason nodded, and then narrowed his eyes at Matt.

"You're all dressed up," he said, "You're going to that big party tonight."

"I'd do anything to get out of it," Matt said, "But it's a great fundraiser, draws out a lot of heavy hitters."

"Lisa teased me about not going," Jason said, "but we're spending a quiet night at home. It's been hard to get nights off since I was transferred out of general investigations."

Matt hesitated.

"How does she handle it?"

"Handle what," Jason asked.

"The dangers of your profession," Matt asked, "The reality that you might not come home one night."

Jason chuckled.

"You're thinking some pretty dark thoughts," he said, "We talk about my job a lot and just try to work through it. Just like we do with her being on call so much."

"She works trauma doesn't she?"

Jason nodded.

"Since last year," he said, "What's this all about?"

Matt put his glass down.

"Just something I've been thinking about a lot since I broke up with Elizabeth," he said, "She had problems with my job. How dangerous was and how unpredictable."

"She's got reason to worry," Jason said, "You've been shot more than I have."

"But it's who I am," Matt said, "My career is part of my life."

"Yeah," Jason agreed, "But we both know that things change when he bring other people into our lives. It's all about making compromises and deciding where the lines will be drawn."

Matt nodded.

"I know that but it's…"

"More difficult to apply a principle to your life than understanding it," Jason finished, "I understand that all too well. But I really love Lisa, and she loves me warts and all and I really want to make it work this time."

Matt heard the emotion in his friend's voice and he understood what he had said.

"I wanted it to work with Elizabeth," he said, "but I think that what I wanted most was to make it work with someone."

Jason nodded.

"Been there too," he said, "but you have to find the right woman to really make it work."

Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I thought I had."

"Life gives you more than one chance," Jason said, "Something I'm very thankful for. "

Jason left but his words remained in Matt's thoughts as he continued getting ready for the party.

C.J. and Gracie sat in her car, music playing on the radio waiting for their car to reach the front of the line where the valet helped guests out of their cars before parking them.

"How many people were on this invite list again," Gracie said, fanning herself with a brochure.

C.J. shrugged.

"They wanted to raise a lot of money so they created the list accordingly," she said, "We should get to the gate in about 20 minutes or so."

Gracie leaned back in her seat.

"Now if there were some eye candy to look at, it wouldn't seem so long."

C.J. chuckled.

"I'm sure there will be enough of that at the party to make up for the wait," she said.

"I hope so."

They had driven from C.J.'s house to the tony neighborhood where a lot of L.A.'s rich and famous people lived. C.J. had recognized one of the neighboring mansions as the site where she and Robert had attended a bash and had witnessed what had appeared to be a genuine abduction of the woman who lived there. She found out later that the whole thing had been staged by her boyfriend no less in hopes of advancing his career. Looking back, she remembered how she had shielded him from a gun toting kidnapper with her body pleading with him not to kill Robert. The man who later tried to kill Matt for getting close enough to discover the truth about him.

"What's on your mind," Gracie said, suddenly.

C.J. shook her head.

"Oh nothing," she said, "I think the line is speeding up a bit."

The car inched forward before stopping again.

Behind them, Matt sat inside another car with his uncle who sat in the rear seat with his date. Matt felt like a third wheel to his uncle's social life not that he begrudged him for having one. In the past half hour, Matt had discovered how happy his uncle was to have found female companionship and that made him feel better about coming to the party.

"So do you think you've ever seen a more impressive landscaping job," the woman, Sophia, asked.

"I've read in Home and Garden magazine that the rear gardens are among the most impressive and diversified in the city," Roy answered.

"I can't wait to see them," Sophia said, "I'm really a huge fan of the begonia family."

Roy smiled.

"So am I," he said, "though I haven't met a flower I haven't liked yet."

"Oh Roy," she said, chuckling.

Matt looked ahead at the long line of cars ahead of them including several limousines. It seemed that most of Hollywood's A list would be attending the gala along with politicians and professional athletes. He sighed, wishing he was back home at the beach house relaxing in his hot tub or sitting on the deck enjoying some barbecue. The party scene had been appealing when he was younger, but after a while, he learned to prefer the more casual things in life.

"Matlock," Roy said, "Don't look so tense. Try to have some fun tonight."

Matt bristled.

"I plan to do that," he said.

"C.J. and Gracie should be somewhere in this line," Roy said, "They're looking forward to the musical entertainment."

Matt nodded.

"Are they his girlfriends," Sophia asked.

"No, just some friends from way back," Roy said, "C.J. and Gracie were sorority sisters."

"Ooh so was I, back in the day."

"A couple of years ago, my nephew worked on a case where C.J. and her sorority sisters were targeted for murder by a pair of professional hit men who dressed up like Laurel and Hardy."

Sophia looked at him skeptically.

"Really," she said.

Matt nodded.

"It's true," he said, "And the guy who hired them was Charlie Chaplin or Grouch Marx or someone like that."

Her eyes widened.

"So what happened?"

"Matlock got on the case and solved it, bringing the killers to justice," Roy said, "But not without knocking him around a bit."

Matt thought back to how he narrowly avoided assault charges for those few extra punches he had thrown but the guy had tried to kill his best friend so he deserved that and more in his mind.

"He crossed a line when he tried to kill C.J."

"Your business partner," Sophia said.

"And my best friend," Matt said.

"Some best friend."

"Indeed," Roy said.

Matt narrowed his eyes in the mirror so his uncle could see them but if Roy did, he ignored him.

"She's gotten shot for him," Roy said, "Told him to go back inside a building to get some key evidence in a case even though she might have bled to death."

"I couldn't do that," Matt said, "She didn't forgive me right away for taking her to the hospital."

"And she's your friend," Sophia asked.

Matt didn't know why but just then, a flash from Tahiti hit him just then, of him and C.J. in a position in which even close friends didn't find themselves in. He remembered feeling better holding onto her than he'd ever felt in his life, as if things had started to make sense. He had murmured something like that before she silenced him with another kiss.

"Friends do things like that for each other," he said, simply.

Sophia nodded.

"Well, I think it's great that men and women can be such great friends," she said, "In our day, love sometimes came after marriage, not before."

Matt listened to the two of them bantering back and forth, his mind deep in thought. Of the past and the future, wondering if the two would ever meet.

Elizabeth took another glass of champagne. True to their word, she and Ginger had left the hotel early to try to be among the first to arrive at the gala. And after seeing the long line of cars behind them, she was glad she had listened to Ginger.

Ginger had taken off, leading some young gentleman who was a magazine publisher off by the arm to talk leaving Elizabeth alone with her champagne. Oh, and the servings in the crystal glasses were too small to last and she found herself replacing her empty glass with a full one several times before too long.

"Excuse me," a voice said.

Elizabeth looked up to see an older gentleman with silvery hair and a coarse mustache looking at her.

"Would you like to dance," he asked.

She nodded, figuring she had to keep busy so she wouldn't be thinking about getting dumped by Matt and her broken heart. So she drank another glass of champagne and followed him out on the dance floor.

C.J. finally surrendered her car to the valet and she and Gracie went inside where they entered into the receiving line which thanked them for coming. After that was done, Gracie reached for the nearest champagne being toted about by a waiter on a platter and got glasses for herself and C.J.

"It's warm in here," Gracie said, "Let's go see the band."

They walked over to where the musicians were and then they saw what was happening on the dance floor. Elizabeth was out dancing with some older gentleman.

"She looks like she's living it up," Ginger noted.

C.J. narrowed her eyes.

"That's…."

"Who," Gracie said, looking closer.

C.J.'s face flushed.

"He…ahem works in the field of adult entertainment," she said, "He's a producer."

Gracie raised her brow.

"And how would you know that?"

C.J. brushed her hair back.

"We had a client once who was trying to get her daughter out of that business," C.J. said, "She spent a lot of time with him."

"Wow," Gracie said, "Do you think they've gotten that far in their conversation, about what they do for a living?"

"Probably not," C.J. said, "I don't think Elizabeth would be dancing with him if she knew what he did."

"You don't think…"

"I don't know," C.J. said, "She's a little bit older than the women he usually is interested in but you never know."

"Should we warn her," Gracie asked.

C.J. looked at the door and saw Matt, Roy and a woman who looked to be Roy's date. She looked back at Elizabeth, wondering what would happen when Matt saw her with the porno producer. Suddenly, the music stopped and the couples walked off to the sidelines to grab some refreshment.

Ginger walked up to C.J. and Gracie.

"Looks like Elizabeth's having a good time," she said.

Gracie harrumphed.

"Do you know who she's with?"

Ginger checked him out.

"Looks pretty good for an older guy," she said, "He's clearly got money…"

"Do you know where he got that money," Gracie asked.

"Oil…stocks…movies," Ginger guessed.

"The last one," Gracie said, "only these movies come with a triple letter rating."

Ginger looked puzzled and then she reacted.

"You mean he works in the porn industry," she said, "Probably on the other side of the camera."

"He's a producer that Houston and I ran into on a case last year," C.J. explained, "He's not going to be very happy when he sees him together."

Ginger thought about that and then smiled.

"Maybe he should know," she said, "It might liven up this gala a bit."

C.J. and Gracie looked at Ginger.

"You want him to fight this guy over Elizabeth," Gracie said.

Ginger shrugged.

"Sounds pretty romantic to me," she said, "Maybe it's time to let him know."

Matt had left the room talking to one of the hosts of the bash, probably about how his charity was going.

C.J. saw Elizabeth and the producer head towards the refreshment table and started to walk towards them. The man looked up and his eyes widened in recognition.

"Crystal," he muttered, "Of course we know that's not your real name."

She tilted her head.

"What are you doing here," she asked.

Elizabeth looked at C.J. puzzled.

"He asked me to dance," she said, "like a gentleman."

C.J. shook her head.

"He's no gentleman."

"What do you mean," Elizabeth asked.

"He's a producer…of adult movies," C.J. said, "Somehow I don't think he shared that part of his biography with you."

Elizabeth turned to look at the producer.

"Is that true?"

He looked down.

"Yes, but it's all in good fun," he said, "Only those who are sexually…repressed get upset over what I do for a living."

"You drugged the daughter of a client of ours last year," C.J. said.

"She…over imbibed at the catering table," the producer said, "No one forced her to drink."

Elizabeth folded her arms.

"When were you going to tell me," she asked.

He shrugged.

"I didn't think what I did for a living would be an issue," he said, "I'm on my own time and you're a very attractive woman and…"

"She's not going on the dance floor with you," a male voice said.

C.J. looked up as did the others and saw that Matt had approached them. The producer approached him.

"And what business is it of yours," the producer said.

"I'll make it my business," Matt said, "if you don't stay away from these ladies and go enjoy the rest of the party elsewhere."

"You can't tell me what to do," the producer protested.

Matt grabbed him suddenly, swung him around and put his wrist in a lock. The man winced.

"You're hurting me," he said.

"Take that as your incentive for leaving," Matt said.

The producer nodded and Matt released him, leaving him to shake his head while rubbing his wrist.

Elizabeth looked at her ex-fiancé.

"Thank you so much Matt," she said, "I don't know what I would have done…"

"Elizabeth, he's not a good man," he said.

"We were just dancing," she said, "I just wanted to have some fun."

C.J. looked up and saw Bryan approach.

"So you decided to come," she said, with a smile.

He grinned.

"Would the lady like to dance," he said, extending his hand.

"The lady most definitely would," she said, taking it.

They walked towards the dance floor, and Matt watched them. They seemed happy enough together, as he had said something that made her laugh. Elizabeth looked at him.

"Would you dance with me Matt," she said, "for old times sake?"

He looked at her and nodded and they walked over there just as the band started up with a new song. Matt saw his uncle taking Sophia in his arms doing the waltz.

"Is that his girlfriend," Elizabeth asked.

He nodded. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"This is a really nice song," she said, "Remember the night of that other party?"

"Elizabeth…."

She shook her head.

"I know Matt," she said, "But can't a woman still have her memories?"

Matt agreed that she could especially since he had his and they didn't involve Elizabeth. He tried to focus on the present, not be drawn in the past that he had agreed to keep there.

C.J. frowned. Bryan noticed and he looked at her.

"Anything wrong," he asked.

"No," she said, "I just thought I saw someone…"

"Who?"

She shook her head to dismiss her suspicions. While they had been dancing, her eyes had wondered and she caught the sight of a man dressed as a security guard. Something about him…

"Never mind," she said, "I'm being silly."'

When she paused to look in the direction where she had seen the man, she saw that he was gone.