Angela sat perched on the front desk of her clinic, the soft sounds of folk music playing from her radio as she tried to cool down on such a hot day. Since she wasn't expecting anyone to come by, she tied the front of her tank top to show her toned stomach. Anything to cool off , she sighed, fanning herself with an empty folder.

She kept the phone pressed to her face, despite the sweat gathering there. On the line, Reinhardt boomed to her in German about his newest foal and the gory process of helping a horse give birth. He laughed and laughed as she paled slightly. She remembered being a teenager the first time she witnessed a horse give birth. Reinhardt never let her forget it when she fainted.

"Oh, my 12:00's here, I'll talk to you later, tschüs," she lied, hanging up with Reinhardt still cackling.

She slumped her shoulders, a little green from the memories, and turned to her kitchen to make some iced tea. She waited for the raspberry mix to cool down when the bell to her front door rang. She turned, quickly untying her shirt from its tie above her navel, and straightened her jean shorts.

When she reached the front of the clinic, a woman stood there looking around. The woman had shining brown and silvery hair tied into a braid and a smooth leather eye patch over one eye. Her face was impassive as she looked at the blank walls.

"Mrs. Amari," Angela began.

"Ana. These walls won't do."

"...I'm sorry?"

"I'll have Fareeha bring you some spare paintings my late Sam did. Allah knows we have no room left on our walls."

The doctor blushed, "Ana please, there's no need to-"

"The cats are doing well. Asim's nausea passed quickly. I cannot thank you enough for taking them in. Fareeha and Satya were wise to come to you, though they were unwise to let the situation happen in the first place. I have come to pay you."

"There is no need."

"I insist."

Angela glanced to the walls then back at Ana, "The paintings are beyond enough."

Ana raised an eyebrow, skeptical, but nodded in allowance. It seems they've struck a deal. Angela gestured towards her kitchen, "Would you like to have tea with me?"

Ana followed her, curious, before looking at the iced tea oddly, "European. And cold."

"Ah," Angela flushed, "it is a hot day outside."

"Do you have any appointments today, doctor?"

She checked her watch, "Not for three hours. It's slow with the heat."

"Indeed. Come with me," it was not a suggestion and Angela did not protest. She closed her clinic and they entered Ana's cafe, where Fareeha and Satya were playing a game of cards on the table. Or rather, they were attempting to stack the cards, but Fareeha's impatience made the feat unobtainable.

"Fareeha-" Ana snapped and her daughter stood to attention immediately, nearly knocking over the table, "fetch us the Koshary from the upper cupboard, please."

Fareeha nodded, looking at Angela briefly before going to the kitchen. She returned minutes later as Ana and Angela sat at a table. Angela peered curiously at the tea, following Ana's directions on the amount of cane sugar and mint to add. When she was done, she sipped the tea and felt the mint pleasantly go down her throat, "It is quite refreshing."

"Mmh," Ana sipped, "better than any cold nonsense."

Angela giggled, engaging in conversation with Ana while Satya helped Fareeha set up the card tower again. The cafe phone rang and Fareeha grabbed it, "Amari's Cafe, how may I help you?" after a pause, "Mother, it's for you."

Ana took the phone, "This is Ana. Oh, hello, Gabe." Angela perked slightly in interest. It had to be a coincidence. Ana's sharp eye picked up on Angela's curiosity, "Come over. That's an order. I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

She hung up before the other voice could reply. Angela blinked at her, then looked down at her tea when Ana stared at her for some time. As requested, Gabe Reyes arrived at the front of Ana's cafe, right in Angela's line of sight. She sipped her tea nervously as Ana stood to open the door.

Immediately, Ana placed her hands on Gabe's face, softly speaking to him in a greeting before pulling him into a hug. Gabe looked slightly confused, but returned it. Ana kept her hands on Gabe's arm before shooting him a wicked smile, "Come have tea with the pretty doctor and I?"

Gabe looked up, having not noticed Angela sitting there. Her eyes darted away, feeling like she was intruding on an intimate scene. She flushed, not wanting to interrupt his and Ana's...whatever that was.

Ana took him by the arm and sat in her chair as Gabe pulled out his own. He cleared his throat, looking between Angela and Ana suspiciously. Angela looked away, pointedly staring at the walls as she sipped her tea again. Fareeha came out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee, "Hey, uncle Gabe."

"Fareeha...and more importantly, coffee," he took the cup with a nod of thanks.

Fareeha stuck her tongue out at him, "I slave away making you coffee and this is how you treat me."

"You're only using me for that army recommendation."

Fareeha flushed, squeaking as Ana raised an eyebrow, "I thought you wanted to join the air force?"

Her daughter tangled her fingers nervously, "Yeah, but they're testing these new commando suits, like field armor but also like planes...I, er, what was that Satya? Coming!" She darted into the kitchen, despite no voice coming from it.

Gabe grinned at Ana, who shook her head, "You're a bad influence."

"Hey, the army's not so bad."

"You're going to turn my only child into a Transformer."

"More like a 'Jaegar'. Like from that old movie."

"Pacific Rim? That movie is fifty years old!"

"Newer than Transformers."

"I suppose," Ana sighed, finishing off her tea, "Doctor, how do you like it?"

Angela spoke for the first time since Gabe's arrival, "Please, call me Angela. And it's quite lovely, thank you."

"It's an Amari recipe. Come, come," she stood, ushering Angela and Gabe out of their chairs. Gabe clung to his coffee cup for dear life. The Egyptian woman led them upstairs, to the top floor where she kept her storage. Inside, framed paintings lined the whole place. Most depicted nature scenes, none with people in them, "My dearest Sam couldn't draw anything with a face, but he loved flowers. I think they might make beautiful additions to your office. I've been meaning to find more places to put them, but I'm afraid he's painted so much."

Gabe crossed his arms, "You should see my house. It's a goddamned tulip field in there."

Angela tried stifling her giggle, imagining such a dark intimidating man with a house that resembled a grandmother's. Ana sighed, beckoning Angela over to look through the paintings. As she did, she heard Ana whisper something to Gabe behind her. The veterinarian grimaced. Was it really necessary to be so obvious in front of her? It was strange enough she'd seen Ana's boyfriend with his shirt off, and had touched him quite a bit during that process. Now she had to listen to them while she rifled through a dead man's paintings.

This day was just becoming too strange. Angela turned to them, finding a small painting of a cottage she liked, and saw that Gabe's face was beet red. She couldn't tell if he was more embarrassed or frustrated. She blinked curiously at him, just barely missing Ana's conniving smirk in Gabe's direction.

So that's how it was. She sighed, "I found one I like. Perhaps I can stop by later to find some more?"

Ana nodded, a rare smile painting her face, "Of course, doctor, let me lead you out. I know you're quite busy with appointments."

Angela followed her out of the cafe, stepping out into the scorching sun. She groaned, covering her eyes so that she could see. Ana took the coffee cup that Gabe still had from his hands and whispered something else to him, grabbing his shoulder to pull him down to her level.

Before Angela could awkwardly turn away from the sight, Gabe interjected, "You, er, mind if I walk you home?"

Angela blinked at him, "I live next door."

"Right," he grimaced. Angela could swear she saw Ana snicker.

She relaxed her shoulders, giving in to his friendliness. He was only doing his job as a public servant, "Of course, thank you Gabe."

He stood by her side as she unlocked her door, flipping the sign to 'open', "You're just in time for my meeting with my new receptionist."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yes, I'm quite excited, but nervous. I'm sure it will be odd working with a stranger, but he's a former soldier who needs work and I thought that I might offer him a job here. With how intimidating he sounded, I'm certain I won't have any issues with criminals-" She stopped speaking, seeing a strange look of horror cross Gabe's face, "Are you alright?"

"This soldier, he from the United States military?"

"Oh no, sadly. If he were he'd be receiving more financial help."

Gabe suddenly relaxed, "Ah, right."

"Yeah," Angela said hesitantly, hearing a knock and moving to answer the door without quite looking, "he's an immigrant. Said he served in the Australian…military…"

Both Angela and Gabe silenced completely at the figure in the door. He barely fit through the frame, nodding at her, "Angela Ziegler."

"Mako Rutledge. How nice to finally meet you...in person."

Mako gazed around the room, "It is very white in here."

"Yes," Angela said a little dumbly, "I got a painting today."

"Hmm," Mako walked towards the receptionists's desk, "this will do."

Gabe blinked, stunned to silence. Angela supposed he was thinking she was going to reject Mako, but she had a better idea, "Mako, how would you like to work full-time instead?"

Mako looked at her with interest, "Yes."

"Brilliant," she went about showing him the filing system she'd installed, detailing that he would be assisting her with paperwork duties as well as untrained animal duties. If she had a large or unruly animal, she would instruct him in how to assist. Seeing he was a licenced bodyguard as well, she would pay him to keep her clinic safe and secure. "Officer Reyes can only do so much to keep our little street safe."

Mako looked towards Gabe, who leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He was wearing his uniform, "Officer Reyes."

"Mr. Rutledge."

Mako turned to Angela, "Your boyfriend does not need to worry about me."

Angela reddened, eyes darting between Mako and Gabe, "I- he's not-"

"May I bring my pigs?" for such a large specimen, he spoke rather softly.

"Oh! Of course, so long as you keep an eye on them and clean up after them."

"Of course, Dr. Ziegler," he reached out his meaty hand, engulfing hers as she shook it.

She blushed happily, "Thank you for coming by, Mako! Why don't you start Monday, to make things simple?"

Mako nodded, giving her copies of all his legal documents before heading back out into the sun. Angela waved him goodbye, turning back to Gabe. The officer looked overwhelmed, "What?"

"Not often I see people like that get hired so quickly."

"It's best not to judge. He served his country, as you served yours."

Gabe nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, "Hey, Angela…"

"Hmm?" she was busy struggling to hang up the painting properly.

"Here, let me," the taller man said, approaching her and reaching right over her head to help straighten the painting. With all four of their hands, they managed to get it done. Her hips bumped his slightly and she giggled nervously, "Sorry."

"Right, uh," he cleared his throat, "so I wanted to ask you-"

The phone rang, causing Gabe to curse under his breath. Angela answered it, eyes widening when she heard the voice on the other end. She gave the voice a few one-word replies, nodding even though they couldn't see her. Hanging up, she looked at Gabe with wide eyes, "Amelie Lacroix wants to see me. Right this moment."

"...how do you know Amelie Lacroix?"

"Fareeha's girlfriend lives in her building. She connected us through her show tarantulas."

Gabe grimaced at the mention of the tarantulas, "Do you need to go now?"

"She said it's an emergency. I suppose I'll have to cancel my afternoon appointments real quick."

"Come on, I'll drive you."

Angela looked at him in confusion, "How do you know Amelie Lacroix?"

"She's my best friend's wife and her creepy pets are the bane of my Sunday evenings."

She grinned at that, "Alright, just give me ten minutes."

-0-

When Gabe said he would drive her, he failed to mention the motorcycle. Angela clung to him desperately, the shyness of touching a man with both her arms and legs long overshadowed by her fear. Gabe had asked her a total of twelve times if she was alright and each time she nodded, but she truly thought she might have died already.

So this was her heaven. Riding on a motorcycle with her arms and legs wrapped around a man. Angela grimaced; perhaps instead she'd gone to hell.

They zoomed down the roadway, Gabe's helmet on Angela. She began to relax when she heard him laugh. Even though it was at her expense, it was a really nice sound. Absently, she pressed her fingers to him more, feeling the hard lines of his stomach. She kept that way as they approached the high rise apartment building sticking out of the Brooklyn streets, where a French couple and their army of arachnids awaited.