**I DO NOT OWN THIS SHOW OR THE CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW, I AM JUST BORROWING THEM**

~Catherine~

I wake up to the sun's rays again and turn over in Vincent's arms to face him. He's still sleeping and I find myself smiling at how beautiful this man looks when he's doing so. It could never get old being in his arms, you know? Arms that made me feel safe….loved….. and comfort. I wanted to stay like this forever, but I knew it would end soon. I continue to stare at him as he began to wake up. His eyes opened and at the same time he was smiling too. "Good morning." I said as I pushed his hair back out of his face.

We kissed as he grumbled and said, "Good morning indeed." And we kissed again. Before it could escalate to anything further, Vincent pulled away and asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want me to fix you something to eat?"

I gave him my famous seductive smiles as I bit my bottom lip and said, "Hungry? Yes! For food? No."

"Well, as much as I would love to take you up on that offer I'm hungry…for food, not saying that I'm not hungry for the other, cause I am…."

"Mmm-hmmm….right." I said as I laughed and sprung out of the bed to put on my clothes. He too put on a pair of black plaid pajama pants along with a black hooded, yet casual jacket and he pushed up the sleeves and left it open, exposing his abs and chest. God I love his body.

We enter the kitchen and I hop up on his counter and sit as he preps omelets.

"Catherine, I want you to meet to meet Bernice. She owns the Midnight Café and works there and she's been a part of my life for a very long time now. She's been like a mother to me and my brothers, when they were alive anyways….If you don't want to it's fine. I underst….."

"Vincent!..." I interrupted to stop his rambling and I smiled at him as I hopped off the counter and walked up to him. I cupped his face as I continued, "I would love to meet Bernice, even though I may already have as many times as I have been there…but to officially meet her would be an honor if that is what makes you happy."

"It means a lot to me Catherine. Thank you."

"You know I'm all for making my guy happy so, your welcome."

After we ate breakfast and we cleaned up and dressed to go out, we headed for the coffee shop, hand in hand.

~Vincent~

I know I may have said it a million times, but this girl is so amazing. Everything she does shows me how much she truly loves me, and reminds me why I'm so crazy about her. Every little moment counts, like now for example….were holding hands like we have many times before and it still gives me butterflies. That fact alone shows that I am truly in love and I hope that I can feel this way forever…with her by my side.

As we reach the coffee shop, I notice Catherine is nervous. "Babe, it's fine. She won't bite you."

"That's not what I'm worried about Vincent…I'm scared she won't like me."

"Are you kidding? She'll love you! I know Bernice, and she will adore you just as much as me. Plus your good to me. That's all that matters to her. Just be yourself and I promise everything will be fine."

I placed my thumb and index finger under her chin to raise her head to look at me. "You will be fine." And I kissed her. I took her hand in mine, and webbed our fingers as we walked inside the Café.

"Hey Vince! How are you?"

"Hey! Bernice! I'm good…Uhm, Bernice this is my girlfriend, Catherine….Catherine, this is Bernice."

Catherine extended her arm out to shake Bernice's hand and Bernice walked out from behind the counter over to us.

"Now, let me get a better look at you…Catherine is it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do you work?"

"Yes…at my father's Law Firm over on the 92nd. I'm a secretary."

"Ahh, so your Thomas Chandler's daughter. I never realized who you were til now."

"You know him?"

Bernice began to smile and sighed as she began speaking, "Thomas and Vanessa, your mother, use to come in here all the time. A set schedule as a matter of fact almost always at 12 noon. We all became friends and your mother and I spent a lot of girl time together. When she got sick, I knew then that things would never be the same so, I distanced myself. You were a little girl then…probably 5 or 6. The night she died, she had requested for me to be there…so your father called me, and I went over to the hospital, and you and Heather were in the waiting room with your father when I arrived. Your father was upset so I knew then that she had passed before I had got there. I haven't seen your father since….I figured he was upset with me for not showing up at the hospital sooner. Now that I think about it, you have your mothers eyes….and her smile. She adored both of you girls very much…and Thomas too."

I looked over at Catherine who was fighting tears. She blinked while rubbing her eyes as she said, "Excuse me for a minute….I need to get some fresh air." And she walked out. Bernice looked back over to me and apologized as she turned around to get back to her duties. I ordered 2 black coffee's, paid her, then left and walked out to Catherine sitting on the bench crying.

"I bought you a coffee."

"Thanks….I'll drink it later."

"Catherine, I didn't know that she knew your family. I'm sorry if she upset you."

"No, no…don't apologize. It's okay, I didn't know she was close to my mom neither. I do remember a woman vaguely hanging out with my mother, but I didn't know that it was Bernice. I'll be fine Vincent, really I will. It's just that its been so long since my mother passed away that I had forgotten that day…well, I pushed it in the back of my head to move forward so I wouldn't have to think about it anymore."

"Catherine I had no idea. You never really talk about your mom…I'm so sorry."

She leaned over on my shoulder and buried her face into my chest and began to cry. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart by every sob she made. It was killing me to see her like this and all I wanted to do was take away her pain and it killed me even more because I couldn't. I held her as close to me as I could and I placed a kiss on top of her head hoping that it would help her feel better, but of course it didn't.

"Come on Catherine, I'll walk you home."

"I'm sorry I ruined our plans Vincent. I'll be fine to walk alone…maybe try to get some things cleared off my mind. I just need to be alone right now."

"Alright. I love you Catherine. You know where to find me." I said as I placed a kiss on her cheek.

~Meanwhile~

"Listen, I need you to do this for me alright? The sooner that she is out of the picture, the sooner me and Vincent can work on being together again. I won't take no for an answer….Are you going to do this or not?...I can't do it cause it will be too obvious and besides, you have a record whereas I don't and you have nothing else to lose. I DO! I can't lose Vincent again, I WON'T!...Thanks Mikey, you know I love you to death for this…Oh, and one more thing, don't kill her just rough her up enough to scare her away from him, okay?...Oh Mikey, you're a life saver. I always knew I could count on you and when your through, come over to my place so I can reward you thoroughly. Thanks again!"

Tori hung up the phone with a huge smile on her face as she looked over at a photo of her and Vincent when they were together, "You will be mine, lover….you will be mine."

~Catherine~

Memories can be a good thing, then again they can be bad. Memories of my mother were forced back into my head after the conversation with Bernice and I wasn't mad at the little woman, she didn't realize how touchy the subject was….but I still felt depressed to think of my mom. I miss her a lot and wish she was here to meet Vincent. She would have loved him as much as I do and he is missing out on meeting the most wonderful woman in my life. Why mom? Why did you have to get sick and leave me, Heather, and dad? Why did I have to grow up without you to tuck me in at night? Why wasn't you there when I got my first heart break in high school? I needed you there for me when I went to prom and when I graduated high school. Why did you have to miss out on all of that? I kept asking to myself these questions and I still didn't have any answers.

As I made it home to my apartment, I stuck the key in the door and unlocked it. As I entered, shut the door behind me, and locked it back, I turned around to a man standing there with an evil smile on his face. He then said, "I promise I'll make this quick." And he knocked me down to the ground and beat me. I grunted with every blow and I tried to scream for help. Briefly he had stopped and raised back up into a standing position then kicked the wind out of me. I finally gasped for air and said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Take this as a warning to stay away from Vincent…I was sent here by Tori and if you tell Vincent who sent me here, I'll come back, and the next time you won't be so lucky to make it out alive, and neither will Vincent…..I'll get him too. So I'll say it again, break up with pretty boy and stay away from him. Got me?"

I am unable to move…to speak…..only tears ran down my face from the pain. Once he left, I crawled my way into the living room I propped myself up against the couch and pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialed Tess.

"Tess? I…I need you to come over….I was just assaulted, badly. I'm having a hard time breathing…..hurry!" I hung up the phone and dropped it next to me as I began to cry hysterically. I didn't want to break up with Vincent, but I didn't want Vincent to get hurt. I mean to hell with what they do to me, I don't care really as long as they leave Vincent alone and don't hurt him I'll be fine. And tori? Why the hell would she go this far only to be rejected again? What point is she proving?

Tess and JT came running through my door to my aide and I instantly shot a look at JT and said in a whisper, "Please don't tell Vincent."

"Catherine he's my best friend. I can't hide this from him. He'll hate me for life and I won't live with that. He deserves to know."

"JT…..Please. That guy….he said he would kill me and Vincent if I told….please….you can't tell Vincent! I am begging you!"

"The police can help you Cat, you can't keep this a secret. What if the guy comes back anyways? Your taking a bigger risk of your life by not telling, than you would be taking if you do tell."

"Look, I'm not reporting this and that is final. Tess, be my friend for once instead of a cop and hear me out when I say that I will NOT put Vincent's life in danger over this."

"Over what?!"

Oh no! Vincent is here. I tried to get up off the floor to run to the bathroom to hide, but I was beaten so badly that I could hardly move. Terror and anger was written all over Vincent's face as he came closer to me.

"Who did this to you?!"

"Vincent…I'm fine."

"NO! Who did this to you?!"

"I'm sorry Vincent I can't….."

Vincent knelt down to me and wiped away a tear off of my face as it fell. I looked away from him, embarrassed for him to see me like this. And now my next challenge was to get rid of him to save us both. I think I cried more for that than the whole incident itself and I didn't know how I was going to just leave him. Would he even believe me? Would he figure out that Tori had a part in this attack? I just didn't know what to do, what to say….this was the moment I had to tell the love of my life goodbye, and maybe for forever. I miss him already just thinking about it.

"Will you give us a minute?" Vincent said to Tess and JT and they walked out into the hallway.

"Catherine, let me help you. Please don't hold out on me…I should have been here with you to protect you."

"You didn't know this was going to happen….I didn't know this was going to happen."

"So it was random? Did they take anything?"

Other than my heart, no. But I couldn't admit it to Vincent.

"No…they didn't take anything."

"Come on, I'll carry you to the car and take you to the hospital."

"NO!...I don't want to go. I'm fine." I said as tears built up in my eyes. I looked away again as the cruel words had almost reached my lips.

"Catherine you can't let them get away with this. Come on I'll take you…"

"It's over….."

I finally slipped the words out of my mouth and I felt like I was going to die.

"What?"

"I wanna break up."

"Catherine if you don't want to go to the hospital I won…"

"It's not that…..I'm just not wanting to be in a relationship right now with everything going on. And I think it's best that we not see each other anymore." I said as I cried. I didn't want him to leave, but how else was I going to protect him? He meant so much to me that I was willing to break up with him just so he could continue breathing. I guess I could feel better about that.

"Catherine….please don't do this. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. Just, don't leave me, okay?"

I looked up at him with tear filled eyes as I said, "I can't do this Vincent….I'm sorry….Please know that I am doing this because I love you. I do love you Vincent with every bit of my being, but I just can't be with you anymore." The tears finally fell out of my eyes. He took a step back as tears starting filling his eyes.

"Because you love me? Never heard of that excuse, but you can save the rest of them….I don't know what I'm going to do without you, but I guess it's time that I find out…."

"Vincent…"

"I guess I had better go then….."

"Vincent, wait!"

He left without another word. My heart was breaking even though this was best for his safety.

-2 Weeks Later-

Classes were out on break for a month and I also took a break from work. I have been painting a lot lately and they all had something to do with Vincent. I couldn't get him out of my mind to concentrate on the showcase paintings, which was only 3 days away now. I constantly find myself asking JT about him, but he seems to be doing fine. I'm glad that he's okay, but I really do miss him. I missed him holding me and the way he pushed my hair back before he kissed me. I missed those long walks we went on talking about our week. I missed the way he touched me passionately when we made love. And I'll always miss waking up next to him and seeing that bright smile every morning. Everything I did during the day only reminded me of how much I missed him altogether. Then suddenly, my attackers words reminded me of why I had to leave him….why I needed to protect him.

I snapped, slinging my paint stuff to the floor. Throwing my paintings til they broke and then there was nothing left. My body slowly shut down and I leaned against the wall crying, sliding down into the floor. My everything was gone….it was no more. All because Tori couldn't accept how happy we were together and she just had to take it all away from me….from us! I wanted to die….I felt like I couldn't live on without him. I needed him in times like this to hold me and tell me everything was okay, but he wasn't here….he was gone.

~Vincent~

2 weeks have passed and all I am able to do to function is drink away my sorrows. I tell JT I'm fine because I know he's going to tell Tess or Catherine, and I don't want her to know. I'm slowly disappearing, this life has no purpose for me anymore. Withering away like a dying rose. She meant so much to me, and then when everything was great…she shot me with the break up gun. How could she leave me? Why? I'll never know. I wanted nothing more than to be in her arms and hold her in return and be there with her through whatever it is she's suffering from. JT says she's been doing better since the attack but something inside me tells me she's not. Her showcase is coming up in a couple of days and JT and Tess want me to go to talk to her, but I can't bring myself to do it. She doesn't want to be with me…she made it clear when she broke up with me.

Things at the bar have been going pretty bad. I find myself drinking more of the product myself than selling it. I can remember the first day I met Catherine…well, the first real conversation we had and I can remember her telling me that it wasn't worth singing my sorrows into a beer bottle…she made it so worth it to me, and I have done exactly that since she left me.

As I drink down another bottle of booze, the memories I shared with Catherine began to pop up once again. I missed everything about her. Her smile, her laugh…..the way she said my name…..our walks, and our talks. Everything imaginable just flashed back into my mind. The way she traced my jawline with her tiny fingers before kissing me, us holding hands and the way she played with my hair while we made love…it was almost too much to bare. I needed to talk to somebody and I could only think of one person who may could help me.

I make my way to the coffee shop and I approach the counter to find nobody there. I ring the bell and Bernice appeared.

"Hey Bernice…how are you?"

"Good….I would ask the same question but you look like you were ran over by a bulldozer and smell like a brewery…..What happened Vincent?"

"Oh it's nothing really….Catherine and I broke up, but I'll be fine."

"That's not a nothing Vincent….is it my fault? I'm so sorry sweetie."

"No…its not you Bernice. I really don't know why exactly she broke up with me….she said it was because she loved me…but I doubt that."

"Oh sweetie…..let me get you some fresh coffee made. It won't take long."

"Thanks Bernice."

"Look, I'm not really good at giving advice for this type of stuff, but if you love her and she loves you, and I mean true love darling….then your hearts will be reunited again. Just give it time sweetie. If you both are meant to be, then be patient and let fate take it's course."

"Your too kind Bernice. Thanks for everything."

~Catherine – 3 Days Later~

My stomach was in knots as the time finally arrived for me to do my showcase. Originally I had planned on coming here with Vincent, but that wasn't possible now. I do wish he would come.

"Hey peanut, you ready?"

"Yeah dad, I just have to finish my make-up and I'm ready. Thanks for getting this showcase for me….it means a lot to me."

"I know darling, which is why I got it for you. You're a very talented girl, and I couldn't be more proud of you."

"Is Heather meeting us there or do we have to pick her up from the airport on the way there?"

"She'll be meeting us there. Do you want me to help you carry out your paintings?"

"Sure. Thanks dad."

I finished putting on my make-up and I took one last look at myself. I was wearing a black opened back dress that hugged every curve in my body perfectly. It had a gold trim in the form of a design in the front and my hair was curled into wavy curls, the exact same way I did it the night I surrendered my virginity to Vincent. I pictured him snaking his arms around my waist and kissing my shoulder as I stood there lost in my reflection. A single tear ran down my cheek and I instantly blotted it away. I couldn't let my personal feelings get in the way of the showcase tonight, but it was so hard because I was truly in love with this man.

On the way to the Plaza, my dad seemed puzzled, "Kitty-Cat, what's wrong? You seem bothered by something."

"It's nothing dad. I'm just nervous, that's all."

I really was nervous but Vincent being on my mind didn't help one bit.

Once we arrive to the beautiful hotel, I exit the car and take a deep breath before entering. Dad decided to carry in my work while I got acquainted with the other artists. Again, I truly wish that Vincent was here to enjoy this with me.

~Vincent~

JT came over to my apartment to check up on me, this time he called me out on my lies.

"Dude, you are not fine. Your drinking your life away. That's not healthy man!"

"I don't have a life to drink away. My life ended when Catherine said we were through. Besides, it helps."

"Your still here Vincent, your not dead. But you will be if you continue to drink like this."

"I don't really care JT."

"You know what? I thought you was my friend… but if you don't care about me as your friend enough to stop killing yourself, then maybe I will tell Catherine and see what she can do about it. You may not care but I do!"

"Fine! Go ahead! Tell her! She doesn't love me! Nor does she even care!"

"You know that that's not true V. She loves you more than you know…your just too blind, or should I say drunk to know the difference. I'm heading over to the Plaza to be there for Catherine. I hope you sober yourself up and clean up and go too. You know how much this means to her and it would mean the world to her if you was there."

JT walked out and he made a good point. I felt bad for turning my back on him.

My phone began to ring, and at first I didn't want to answer when I saw that it was Tori. But I answered anyways….

"What?"

"Oh Vinny….I heard the news about you and Catherine. I'm so sorry."

"Your so full of it Tori. You probably partied when you heard."

"Tsk Tsk Tsk….you know you need to stop putting me down for being courteous to you. I am only trying to be a friend here."

"Whatever Tori. Why do you keep harassing me?"

"Because I love you, and I know you love me too…you just need time for it to come back to you."

"Nothing will come back to me involving you. I told you we are done Tori, and I meant it. I'm in love with Catherine."

"Well she obviously doesn't love you."

"Well I hate to burst your bubble but something tells me that she does….which is why I'm going to her showcase tonight."

"Hang on Vinny, I'm getting another call…..Mikey! You need to go to the Plaza tonight and finish her off this time. He's going to see that bitch and I can't let this ruin anything!"

I heard every word she said….who they hell is Mikey?! I hang up the phone quickly after discovering who was behind splitting me and Catherine up. I should have known! I had to get to Catherine and fast before something more drastic happened to her.

I got soaked in the pouring rain as I ran down the street to get to the Plaza. I couldn't let her leave me over Tori, and I damn sure wouldn't let Tori cause Catherine anymore pain.

...To Be Continued.

**A/N: … O.O I am sorry about the pain and suffering of this chapter but please stick with me here because I am currently writing Chapter 10 to try to speed up the process. As I said in my own review on this story, this chapter was going to be painful and sad. Now that you have this chapter, things will only go up from here. Thanks for the reviews again! Love you all! QUESTION: Will Vincent make it in time to save Catherine? When he gets there, what do you think he will say? Find out in Chapter 10. You know what to do, REVIEWS! Lol.**