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Three weeks after their first date Vincent asked Gabriella to come to Vicky's race with him. They had been having dinner together every night and spending as much time together as they could when they weren't working. They hadn't slept together or talked about if they were a couple or not. They hadn't kissed or moved past hugging and holding hands. Vincent wasn't sure how to move them forward. It had been so long since he had dated anyone.

He held Vicky's lease in his left hand and Gabriella's hand in his right one as they walked over to the race area on the beach. Vicky didn't do well in the races but she wasn't the worst either. As they approached the group of men Vincent called his friends. he let go of Gabriella's hand to shake some of their hands and decided right then and there how to move them along.

He put his hand on her lower back, smiled and introduced her as his girlfriend. Gabriella didn't correct him or seem mad. She smiled and shook the hands offered to her. Vincent then led her over to the side where they would watch the race together. He left her there to take Vicky to the start line then hurried over to return to Gabriella. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him to shield her from the cold. She put her arms around his waist and let her head rest against his chest.

They watched together as the dogs run across the beach and to his surprise, Vicky crossed the finish line first. Vincent jumped up and got so excited he grabbed Gabriella and kissed her hard without thinking. His hands were on her face holding her against him. Gabriella's hands were at his sides. As soon as he realized what he doing, he pulled away quickly.

" I'm sorry." He said, staring down into her eyes.

Gabriella smiled and stepped up. She tilted her head and kissed him again. That night their relationship shot forward. They came home from the race and barely made into his apartment with their clothes on. Vincent shut Vicky out of his room then tackled Gabriella, knocking her backwards onto his bed and making her laugh. After that night they started alternating their nights, one night at his newly decorated place, the next at hers. Back and forth.

At their two month mark, Vincent let himself into her apartment after taking Vicky for a walk. He unhooked her lease and the dog took off for Gabriella. She was standing at the stove, stirring their dinner. She smiled down at Vicky when the dog nudged her leg. Vincent hung up her lease on the hook by Gabriella's keys then made his way towards his girlfriend. That was when he noticed a bruise on her neck. He swept her hair over her right shoulder. He placed his right hand on her hip.

" What happen here?" He asked softly as he touched her neck.

" It was nothing. I got in the middle of a fight." She said.

" A fight? How were you in the middle of a fight and why didn't you call me about it?" He asked. Gabriella sighed and swallowed hard.

" I think I need to tell you something." She said, taking the spoon from the saucer and setting it down. She turned slowly to face him.

" What's wrong?" Vincent asked.

" I think you should sit down." Vincent backed away from her with a frown.

" What's going on?" He said, sitting down at her table. Gabriella sat down across from him and reached down to pet Vicky.

" I got this bruise at the New York State Penitentiary." She said. Vincent's arms came to the top of the table.

" What the hell where you doing there?" He asked, clasping his hands together. Gabriella bit down into her lower lip, refusing to meet his eyes.

" I was visiting someone." She said softly.

" Who?" He asked. Gabriella closed her eyes and shook her head. Vincent took a hold of her hand. "Gabriella, you can tell me. It's okay." When she opened her eyes he could see tears in them.

" My dad." Vincent let his fingers rub against her hand. They were making small circles around the top of her hand.

" What did he do?" Vincent asked gently. He could tell how uncomfortable she was. Gabriella pulled her hand away from him and stood up. Vincent sat back and watched as she started getting their dinner ready.

" Ah...he killed some people." She said with her back to him.

" Holy shit." Ashley flashed into his mind. " How? How many?" Gabriella reached up and grabbed to plates down from the cabinet. She had taken the doors off the cabinets so they had an open plan.

" He has only admitted to five but he has hinted that there was more." She said. Vincent stood up and walked over to her.

" Babe, sit down. Let me do this." He said. " Just relax." She gave him a weak smile but moved back to the table.

" He strangled them. Three woman and two men. He has been in prison for the last two and a half years. He confessed to my mom. She convinced him to turn himself in and it went from there. He is in for life." She said.

" You visit him Mondays, don't you? Mondays you are always a little depressed, not your usual upbeat self." He said, plating the stir fry she had made them.

" Yeah. Today a fight broke out. One of the inmates started it. I got in the way of a chair being thrown." She said.

" What's his name?" Vincent asked. He turned back around and moved to the table.

" Shane Welsh." Vincent's head snapped up. He knew that name, every one did. He had made the news. Vincent had actually wondered if he had killed Ashley but had been told that Shane's MO didn't match how Ashley was killed. He strangled people, she was shot in the head.

" Your last name isn't Welsh." He said, sitting down across from her.

" It was but after his name was splatter all over the place, I legally changed my last name to my mom's maiden name. I hate him." Gabriella said. She started stirring the stir fry because she couldn't meet his eyes. She knew how people viewed her dad.

" Then why visit him?" Vincent asked.

" Because my mom's dying wish was that I start seeing him. She loved him. She felt like he was remorseful for what he did, that it wasn't his fault. He was never violent with us. He was actually a very good dad and husband. But when I found out what he had done, that he had actually killed a girl my age, I just lost everything I felt for him." Gabriella admitted. Vincent reached out for her again, making her look at him.

" I'd like to go on the visits with you. You shouldn't have to go alone." Gabriella forced a smile.

" You don't have to." She said.

" No, I don't but I want too. Maybe if you don't feel like you have to do it alone you might feel better about going." He said. " I'll take Monday off. We'll go see him then do something fun, okay?" Gabriella nodded.

" Thank you." She said. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

" So why haven't you ever told me about him?" He asked. Gabriella shook her head and shrugged.

" I guess I was scared of what you would think. I thought you might not want to be with someone whose dad killed people. That's some pretty serious baggage to deal with."

" We all have baggage." Vincent reassured her.

After they ate, they took Vicky for a walk. Gabriella told Vincent that she had been hanging out with Alice. He wasn't happy about it but Gabriella just thought the young woman needed a friend. Vincent told her a few things about Alice's past, the trouble she had been in, the drinking habit, but it just made Gabriella want to be her friend more. She felt bad for Alice.

Later that night, after they had gone to bed, Vincent was laying on his back with Gabriella against his chest. Her back was against his chest and her head was tucked up under his. They were holding hands with their hands resting against the bed on either side of his head. They were rubbing their fingers together. Gabriella's eyes were closed as he rubbed his chin against the top of her head. He was staring at the ceiling.

" I have a confession." He said.

" And what's that?" She asked.

" I was married for six years." He said. Gabriella sat up and turned to look at him.

" You never told me that." She said. Vincent nodded as he reached up and twisted some strands of hair around his fingers. " What happen? Did you guys get a divorce?" Vincent shook his head.

" She was killed. I found her in our house, shot in the head." He said

" Oh my God. I'm sorry. What was her name?"

" Ashley." Vincent said. They stared at each other for a few minutes before he pushed himself up. He put his hand on the back of her neck and brought his head to hers. He kissed her then rested his head against hers. " See, we all have baggage." He whispered. " Do you still want to be with me?"

" Yes." She whispered.

" And I still want to be with you. You're the first person since Ashley's death to make me feel something and I don't want to lose that. I kind of care about you a lot so let's not hide things from each other again. I'm not going to judge you for what he did, okay?" Gabriella nodded.

" Okay." She said. He smiled and pulled away from her to look at her face.

" Come on, I think I know something we can do that just might make us feel better." Gabriella laughed as he pushed her back. He laid over her and started kissing her neck. " I think I know where I can touch you to make you forget the pain."

" Oh yeah? Where's that?" Gabriella asked at the same time his hand slipped into her cotton shorts. Her eyes went shut as her back arched and she moaned out. His finger slipped down the center of her. He gathered up some of her wetness and started to rub slow, slow circles around the top of her.

" Right here." He whispered. " Feels good, huh?"

" Oh yeah." She whimpered. " So good." He smiled before he sucked her skin into his mouth.