Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.

Billy greeted them at the door, looking very Sopranos in a dark suit with a black shirt and black tie. The tie was slightly askew and he'd already undone the top button, which ruined the effect a little, but then, Billy had never been exactly comfortable in a suit. Tim grinned at his brother, knowing that he'd do anything for Mindy and thinking that was kind of sweet.

"Al, wow. Just. Wow." Billy blinked, his mouth hanging open in surprise until Al slugged him in the arm.

"Shit. Timmy, your girl's got a problem with violence. You might want to get some help for that, sweetheart." He stepped aside to let them into the party, an affair that bore more than passing resemblance to the Riggins' parties of old, except that everyone was dressed really well. And the kegs were gone in favor of an elaborately stocked bar in the kitchen.

"The kids are at Angela's for the weekend," explained Billy, answering Tim's unasked question. "Beer's in the fridge and Al, I got that Scotch you like, that frog stuff."

Al smiled and thanked him, knowing that he meant Laphroig. Tim took her hand and led her to the kitchen, where he poured the Scotch for her and then got a beer for himself.

"I'm going to go find Mindy," she said.

He nodded and watched her walk away. He didn't know how he was going to be able to focus on anything or anyone else tonight. He moved to the edge of the kitchen. The quarterback from Billy's Panther days came over to talk to Tim, who nodded in the right places but kept his eyes on Al as she greeted Mindy. The quarterback drifted away eventually.

Tim watched Al move through the party, talking and laughing to just about anyone. She accidently crashed into Landry, which made Tim smile, although he stopped smiling when he realized that Landry's eyes were fixed very firmly on Al's cleavage. Tim started to head over to set him straight when he saw Al snap her fingers up by her head and say something. From the way Landry's head snapped up and face reddened, Tim could only imagine that she'd said something along the lines of "Hey, my eyes are up here."

"Your girl can take care of herself," said Tyra, sliding up next to him.

Tim grinned. "Well, she's a Collette after all. I expect nothing less. You're not going to go kick Landry's ass now, are you?"

She shook her head.

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Just going to let that one slide?"

Tyra sighed. "I don't know. It's just like this thing with Landry is starting to feel like it's run its course."

Tim laughed. "Run its course. You make it sound like a fever or an illness or something."

"When you guys got engaged, I kind of thought I'd feel jealous, you know, that he hadn't asked me yet, but then I realized that all I felt was relieved. I'm getting itchy, I guess, wondering what else is out there."

Unsure of how to respond to that, Tim took a drink from his beer.

"Well, look, it's a party, you should go mingle or whatever," said Tyra, suddenly uncomfortable that she'd talked to Tim about her relationship problems.

"Look, Tyra, I'm not Dear Abby or anything. I don't have all the answers, but I hope you figure it out."

"Thanks, Tim."

Tim moved over to where Al was still talking to Landry. He stood behind her and put one hand lightly on her hip, smiling when she leaned back against his chest and looked up at him.

"Why does no one in this town respect Batman?" she asked. The way she was leaning back gave Tim a great view down her dress. He smiled.

"I dunno. They're all a bunch of ignorant savages, 'specially Lando here. Right?"

"Yeah, absolutely right. I've got to go.....somewhere," said Landry uneasily as he backed away and headed toward Tyra.

Tim lowered his head and kissed her neck lightly. "C'mon. Let's go to my old room and mess around."

"Mmmm. Tempting. But I'm going to say no." She stepped away from him, turned around and gave him a smoldering look. "But I'll say yes later at home."

Before he could say anything, she'd slipped away back into the party. Fine, he could play that teasing Waiting Game too. And that's just what he did for the next few hours – whispering suggestive comments in her ear when he was standing near her, brushing his hands lightly against her shoulders when he walked past her, catching her eye from across the room. He even got back at her by catching her in the dark, empty hallway and kissng her hard, then leaving her standing there surprised and frustrated.

They couldn't be the first ones to leave, it would look bad. But as soon as a few people left, they said their goodbyes and went home.