Timmy let out a frustrated sigh as he heard the pounding knock at his front door. It had been nearly two weeks and he had been on a date nearly every night. Each time it was a different woman and each time they seemed to know who he was not matter what he did to set it up. What was worse was that besides Lauren, none of the others had been as relaxed. About half had been like his previous visitors, getting drunk and trying to do more. The other half were certainly more interested in the money or fame. This of course made the dates tricky. It had all come to a head last night.

"Timothy, Tiberius, I don't really care anymore. You open this door right now!" Hearing the shout, Timmy felt and old familiar shudder run down his spine. And yet this one was different. It did not carry the same fear it had previously. It was something else. He stood up and opened the door quickly.

"About time. You are su-" Vicki stopped mid-sentence when she caught sight of him. "Damn, what the hell happened?" Timmy ventured a gentle laugh. The date Vicki had set him up with last night…well, it was a mess. It was nice to see her. With so many dates recently, he hadn't had a chance to see her and the only contact had really been through text. That had been nice, a great chance to chat a bit with her, but it hadn't really given him the chance to get to know her.

"Nothing Victoria. It was a rough night. That's all. What can I do for you?" Vicki looked taken aback for a second before jumping back on her high horse.

"Oh yeah. Can you explain to me why Jennifer called me crying this morning about why her date was so terrible?" Timmy let out a real laugh her. Well, more of a guffaw, but it seemed to put Vicki on edge. He relented and motioned to the chair. After a tense second, she slid over and sat down.

"Well, Jennifer. She was a sweet girl. Once again, she somehow knew who I was. That seems to have happened with…well, each and every woman you have set me up with." Timmy could have sworn he saw Vicki blush here, but it disappeared so quick that he didn't push it.

"Anyway, I picked her up. She got in the car and tried to kiss me right off the bat. I thanked her for the kiss and asked if she would mind if we got dinner first. Her reply was along the lines of 'I know what I want for dinner.' Followed by her trying to kiss me again. It took a few minutes, but I finally got her calmed down and she agreed to dinner."

Timmy watched as Vicki opened her mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it. She shut her mouth, but her eyes said she still didn't necessarily believe Timmy. He let out another small sigh and went on with his story.

"So we made it to dinner. Not the restaurant originally planned. That wasn't good enough. She made the 'request' that we go somewhere nicer. So we did. It was a nice dinner, but there was a lot of double entendres going on. I thought perhaps I was making it up because otherwise dinner was going really well. We made it to the end and she kept hinting to coming back to my place. I agreed and back we went. I had hoped she wanted to talk. Apparently she didn't."

Vicki opened her mouth again. This time, words followed.

"Timothy, she is such a sweet young girl. I'm not sure I believe she really did all of that." Timmy held up his hand to stop her.

"I agree, but the night got worse. When I wouldn't do anything and kept stopping her, she got really upset. I think it was really out of character for her, but she started yelling and throwing things. My neighbors heard it and called the cops. They came in as she threw a guitar at me. Seeing them apparently calmed her down. I told them I didn't want to press charges and took her home. Like youi said, she is a sweet girl, but she is a bit too young I think."

Vicki sat there in shock. She could now see the bruises on Timmy's arms where it looked like someone had hit him. Then she made a decision.

"Timothy, I would like to apologize. I set you up on this date and it failed miserably. From the looks of you and hearing this, I think it may be in your best interest if we were to end our attempt. It doesn't look like I am the right person for this job. She stood up and Timmy could swear he saw her trembling. He wasn't sure if it was anger or sadness, but he decided not to let it go down. He jumped up and pulled her into a hug.

"Victoria, listen to me. You have set me up with some delightful dates. None of them have been quite right for me, but they have all been amazing." Here he pulled back to look into her eyes. There were definitely tears forming. Timmy took a breath and went on. "I have complete faith in you to pull this off." Here he paused and let a cocky grin spread across his face. "Besides, if you quit now I win the bet."

The look in Vicki's face made Timmy wonder if she thought about just giving in for a minute. It almost made him give her a real smile. Then she began to grin and get worked up in return. He was several inches taller than her, but she suddenly seemed bigger than him.

"Now you listen here Timothy. I can and will find you someone you can fall in love with. I promised you and I will do exactly that." She stopped here and Timmy wondered what she would do next. Her next actions shocked him. She grabbed him in a hug.

"And Thank you Timothy. I needed that."

"Anytime Miss Valentine. Anytime."

VXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVX

It was two days later when Timmy heard from Vicki again. She had found him another date. Timmy was concerned but excited all at once. With one week till the show, he wasn't sure Vicki could find anyone. He had told her as much.

"Well this person is a bit less conventional. I will tell you right now that she already knows who you are. While it certainly excites her, she doesn't care. She wants a date, arranged by you, where you do not spend a dime. She is bringing or buying the food depending on what you tell her."

"I see. And…?"

"And what?"

"You said she was unconventional?"

"Oh…right…that. Well, I will tell you later. For now, plan a date and let me know where to have her meet you."

"Ok, if you say so."

And they had left it like that. Timmy had planned a date, mostly involving a nice afternoon at the park where they would each try to find the most interesting thing they could to take a picture of. After that, they were going to a local zoo and ending with a nice dinner at the beach. Timmy smiled. It was nothing too fancy, but it was exactly what he wanted. It may not be the woman he wanted to be with, but he had promised Vicki and Chase to give it a real shot. So he sat in the park, waiting for his date.

AS the time drew near, Timmy saw a taller slender beauty with black hair stroll up. She looked like a model and could easily have graced the cover of just about any magazine she wanted. Her hips swayed just the right way and she walked with a grace that couldn't be taught. And as she stopped before him, Timmy looked into her eyes. And his breath caught in his throat.

His unconventional date, this beauty before him, it was Tootie.