Cooperation

by ChiefPam

Spoilers for 2nd season up to ep 2x03 "Liar, Liar" - I borrow some major A-plot points from the episode, but this is not in canon.

I hope I don't end up regretting this. In the cold light of day, this plan to work with Catherine is seeming a lot more risky. I don't really know her, not as well as I need to, and she is a cop. She keeps saying she wants to help me, and I believe her, but she and I, we have different goals. Different rules to play by. If she's going to help me - really help me - she's going to have to play by my rules, and they are not standard cop issue.

Then again, she's not a standard cop. And if I'm going to find out who killed Turner, I'm going to want her input.

Her boss, on the other hand, apparently thinks I'm some sort of contract killer. It's more complicated than that, but he's not all that far wrong. She's going to have to lie to him, to everyone, just to protect me. She says she's done it before… I just wish I could remember.

I'm in such a hurry to get back to the boat that I don't even notice Catherine until I'm inside. I stop, frowning. This was not our plan. She holds a finger to her lips briefly, and holds up a note. GABE AND TESS ARE LISTENING; I'LL EXPLAIN LATER.

Pretend theater has started early, I guess. "Hi. How did you get in here?"

"Hi. The door was unlocked. I'm here to... talk about our relationship."

So, she's pretending to work with them against me. I don't know where she's going with this, but she's obviously stressed about something. For now, I'll pretend not to notice. "What about it? Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good." She sets the note back onto the table. "Listen… what you did? That can't ever happen again."

"It won't. I swear."

"Okay, then." She's smiling but careful not to let the smile creep into her voice. "Well, I was just out walking, and I wanted to see you. It's been a couple of days." She laughs, sounding a little nervous. "I guess I missed you, and, you know, I am still your girlfriend. Right?"

As I move further into the room, I notice that my computer has been moved. I walk towards it, then shoot Catherine a questioning glance. She nods, and briefly shows me the flash drive she's holding.

So, she may be stealing information, but at least she's not pretending about it. Not with me. "Well, listen, I have to work."

"Oh yeah, of course. Me, too." She steps towards the door, her eyes holding mine uncertainly. I realize she doesn't know how I'm responding to this.

"But, maybe later…" I smile. "I think it's about time I bought you dinner, considering. Tonight?"

She smiles, relaxing. "Yeah. That sounds nice. Pick me up around seven?"

"I'll be there. And Catherine …" This part is absolutely not pretend; I hope she knows that, "Thank you… for giving me a second shot at this. I know I don't deserve it."

"Don't you think I get to decide that?" She blows me a kiss. "I'll see you tonight, okay?"

I smile. "Okay. See you."

She opens the door and lets herself out. Leaving me staring at the closed door, missing her already. Focus, Keller. First thing, investigate the file Turner sent for clues. Then maybe I need to go to the scene of the crime and see what I can reconstruct. I'll catch up with Catherine later.

I knock on Catherine's apartment door again. Just about the time I realize she's not in there, she comes around the corner, clearly not expecting me. "Vincent! Hi."

"Did I get the time wrong?" And is anyone listening in on us right now?

"Oh, no, I totally forgot."

She's obviously upset about something. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. Please don't be lying to me, Catherine. I hand her the flowers. She smiles but it's more polite than heartfelt. "Thanks."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Well, mostly. Actually, no, not really. Just had a tough conversation with Heather, I was walking around trying to think through it. Come on in."

She pulls out her key and lets us into her place. I follow her in, and once the door closes, I reach out to touch her arm. "Catherine, what is it?"

At the touch of my hand, she goes still, and then suddenly she's in my arms. "Hey, it's okay." I don't think she's crying, but she seems to need me anyway. I just hold on.

A few moments later, she stirs, and I give her some space. "Thanks, Vincent. I needed that. I am so tired of lies and pretending. I forgot how much I hated it."

"No pretending here, okay? It's just you and me." At least I think it is. "Right?"

"Yeah, just us." She sighs, and I hold her for a few more moments as the tension drains out of her posture.

I pull back far enough to see her face. "Looks like the scratches are healing well. What did Tess think?"

She laughs, but doesn't sound happy. "I"ve lied to her today, but that, I told her the truth about - they weren't from you. I don't think she wanted to believe me. I told Heather it was a work injury. Which is actually true."

"So what did Heather want to talk about? She's your sister, right?"

"That's what I always thought, yeah."

"Hey, no memories? I'm easily confused right now. What's that mean?"

She pulls out of my arms altogether but grabs one of my hands, and leads me over to sit on her sofa.

"Well, genetically speaking, I'm not related to the guy I always thought was my dad."

"Ouch."

Her voice takes on an angry edge. "And Heather's known this for three months, but she didn't tell me until today."

"You've had a busy three months." I feel irrationally guilty about that. "I'm sorry. That's got to be confusing."

"Yeah, I've been thinking for hours and not getting anywhere."

"Maybe you need a distraction."

She smiles at me. "What did you have in mind? Anything fun?" She leans towards me.

I give her a kiss. "Nothing that fun. So what was with that scene on my boat this morning?" The question amuses me, and I think it does her, too.

She smiles, and quotes me from last night. "I needed to get close enough to find a file. We got JT working on it, and it's to do with a chain of art galleries."

"That's what I thought," I comment, trying to decide how much I should say - or even how much I can say. "And what does Friday at Five mean?"

"Apparently it's a painting, and it's up for sale tonight. What does this have to do with your mission?"

I shake my head. "No direct questions, remember?"

She rolls her eyes. "Right. Sorry. I'll try to stick to the weather and current events."

"You might want to check out the gallery owner," I tell her, giving her the most detail I can manage. She's a cop, she'll pick up the clues. I hope. "So when's the sale?"

"Tonight at 9, downtown, and I'm told it will be a very nice party. I hope you have a good suit."

"I hope you have a beautiful dress. Something you can, um, work in, though."

She smiles. "Gorgeous, yet practical? I'll have to check my closet. Any other tips?"

I consider that. I find myself wanting to talk to her about this mysterious list that my name might or might not be on, but that's too closely tied to my mission. I can tell I won't be able to say anything. I give up the struggle for now. "No. That should be enough."

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't challenge me. "O-kay. Anyway, we both need to change, apparently, so…"

We both stand. "Yeah, I'll be going. Sorry that we can't do dinner."

She shrugs. "Duty calls. I'm not feeling that hungry anyway."

I pull her close, getting a little more confident about going in for kisses. She responds immediately and it's hard to back away. "Later. I promise."

She smiles. "I'll hold you to that."

It feels good to sit on her fire escape again, even if it's only to wait for her to get home from work. Her job has a lot more paperwork than mine does, so this could take awhile, but in the meantime, I don't mind the chance to think.

Earlier today, it had briefly occurred to me that I should maybe protect Catherine by keeping her away from the art gallery, away from Sebastian. Send her on a wild goose chase somewhere across the city. I just hate the idea of her getting hurt, and I was scared I wouldn't be able to protect her.

I'm really glad I didn't do that. She was more than helpful tonight - she saved the day, really. I hate to admit it, but I would have failed without her. She got the target out of the crowd, and protected him from Sebastian while I was knocked out cold on the floor.

I think it was her heartbeat that got me back up; I could hear it thumping loud and knew she needed me, that she was fighting for her life. I don't think I've ever moved that fast before, and I was only barely in time. I'm scared all over again, thinking how close she was to falling off that elevator car to her death.

She was reaching for me, trusting that I would save her. Maybe it was the close call, the terror of the moment, but that experience triggered memories. When I pulled her towards me and held her close, I never wanted to let go. But we both had jobs to do.

It feels so good to remember her. To have some context, no matter how sketchy, to what she's been telling me. Just to know for certain that she's been telling the truth. I mean, I believed her but now it's so much more real. I'm looking forward to seeing her expression when she realizes I remember some things. I just hope it's not followed by disappointment that I don't remember everything.

I hear voices inside the apartment, and listen as Catherine reconciles with her sister. She's lucky to have family, no matter how imperfect. I don't think I have anyone. At least, not anyone that I'm in contact with; JT or Catherine would probably have mentioned it.

Finally, she comes into her room, and I can tell when she spots me by the hitch in her breath and the change in her heart rate. She crosses the room, opens the window, and climbs out to sit next to me. "Nothing wrong with your short-term memory, I see," she says teasingly.

I lean in, enjoying the freedom to give her kisses. When my lips are free again, I ask "Short-term?"

"Yeah, we talked about the fire escape last night. You obviously remembered." Right, she had mentioned it.

"No, actually, I remembered it from last year, not last night."

"Really?" She looks so hopeful, but she's trying to hide it.

"When I was reaching for you, on top of the elevator - I had a couple of quick flashes."

"Like what?"

"It's not much," I caution her. "But I remember something about dragging you out of the way of a train. It was dark, and it was in a tunnel, I think?"

"It was a subway train," she confirms, her face lighting up. "You saved my life twice in ten minutes."

"You do live dangerously, don't you?" I smile.

"Long story. You ran to my rescue on the platform, but then disappeared. I chased after you." She grins and gives me a gentle shoulder-bump. "By the way? Yes, I do that a lot, get used to it."

That makes me laugh.

"Anyway," she continues, "the train was coming, I was running, and then suddenly I was against the tunnel wall, and you were between me and the train. It seemed to take forever to go past us. But then when it did, I turned around." She laughs "You were terrified. I'd met you before as a normal guy, but that was when I first realized that the guy and the beast were the same person."

I nod. "That would be terrifying, yes."

"For you it was. I was just excited to solve the mystery. What else do you remember?"

I'm enjoying her enjoyment. "Okay, there was another time. We were in the woods, you were running. You had braids, and it was so cold I could see your breath."

"That is when we first met, over ten years ago."

"I didn't talk to you, then?"

"Nope, just got rid of the guys were were going to shoot me, and then you disappeared. I didn't see you again for nine years. Although apparently, you kept checking in on me, a couple of times a year. It was weird; you knew all these things about me and I didn't know anything about you."

I arch an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I know how that feels."

She grins. "I guess you do. Anything else?"

I hesitate, not wanting to see that disappointment in her eyes, but I have to answer. "Just a flash of us sitting here, talking. Nothing else. I'm sorry it's not more."

"No, don't be sorry, this is great!" Her smile doesn't falter. "You remember me."

"I'm glad I do. And now, I know for sure I can trust you. You know, you kept saying that I could, and I thought I probably could, but I just wasn't sure."

"I guess for a top-secret lone-wolf super-soldier, paranoia is a virtue."

I smile. "Yeah, maybe. But it's better to have a trustworthy partner."

"Just remember that, next time I ask direct questions." Her tone is light, teasing, but I suspect she's dead serious about that.

"I will." I hope she's right, that it'll get easier to talk to her about my work, my boss, and especially the mysterious list… That would be very good. But that's not what I want to think about right now.

"Meanwhile," she drawls, "Is there anywhere you need to be, right now?"

"Nope."

She leans closer to me, love and desire clear in her eyes. "Want to come inside?"

"Are you sure, Catherine? I may remember some things, but I'm still not … your old boyfriend, the one that loved you."

Her gaze doesn't falter. "Do you care about me? Right now?"

"Very much, yes."

"Then that's going to be good enough. Well, on one condition."

I frown.

She smiles sweetly. "Do you think we could manage to spend a whole night together, not just a few minutes or a few hours?"

"There is *nothing* I would like better."

She brushes my lips with hers and then retreats. "Good. Told you I didn't want to be a one-night stand."

"Told you I didn't want you to be." I reach out to pull her closer.

She cups my cheek. "Then why are we still out here and not in there?"

I reach for her and kiss her hungrily. At this rate, we won't be out here for very much longer at all.

Everything else can wait.

The End

So what did you think? Review please :)

I really liked "Liar, Liar" but I also like warm and fuzzy feelings, so I thought I'd see if I could change a few things, and see what else flowed from that. These two haven't got all their issues straightened out yet, though. I'll have to see what the next episodes are like; I may continue this series, just borrowing the episode A-plots as I go, but re-working the relationship bits to make me happier.

follow me on Twitter: -at-ChiefPam