Okay, so here's the next chapter. I had some fun writing this one, and I got to bring in some of my Grey's Anatomy knowledge (which is very extensive). I know I promised fluff, and for the most part, it's fluffy, though perhaps not as much as I would've liked. Oh well. I hope you enjoy! Chapter title by Taylor Swift

Disclaimer: I have two different colored socks on. Still no Cold Case though...

Chapter 14: The Best Day

"Wake up Lil." Scotty said, leaning in close and watching her eyes flutter open. Sometime, in the middle of last night, they'd made it up to the bed, traumatizing Lilly's cats as they went along. He didn't know how many times they'd done it, but as he recalled images from last night, images he wanted to commit to memory forever, a satisfied grin crossed Scotty's face.

"Uh." Lilly groaned, trying to shield her eyes as Scotty tore the curtains open with cheerful vigor. In the past week, she'd learned that Scotty was a morning person, while she on the other hand could stay up until ungodly hours in the middle of the night, knowing she'd pay for it the next morning. Where he got that morning energy, she didn't know, but she hoped it would rub off on her someday.

"C'mon, get up." He said, bouncing on the bed like a little kid.

"Get up?" Lilly asked, fixing him with a stare using the eye that wasn't pressed into the pillow, looking remarkably like Olivia. "After last night, you're lucky if I can still move."

Scotty collapsed on his stomach, leveling her with a kind gaze, "Does your head hurt?" He asked, brushing hair out of her face. The stitches on her face stood in stark contrast with her pale skin, and the bruise along her jaw had also darkened. He didn't want to push her if the aftermaths of the attack in the interrogation room were still affecting her. Scotty loosely wrapped his hand around her injured wrist, and brought her hand up to kiss the back.

"No. I'm fine." She replied. And indeed, after a full day's sleep and a night with Scotty, she felt good as new.

The tenderness from a moment ago gone, and replaced by teasing joy, Scotty stood up briskly. "Then get up." He repeated with finality.

"Why?" Lilly whined.

Scotty sighed with exasperation, "Remember what we did last Sunday?"

Lilly rolled over and upon realizing she was not wearing any clothes, hugged the sheets tighter over her body, "Yeah." She said, a smile crossing her face, "We were too tired to go out so we spent the day in bed, eating that amazing pizza…" She trailed off happily.

"Yeah well, that ain't happenin' this weekend." Scotty said, as he put on the ratty grey sweatshirt he'd been wearing last night and the faded blue jeans with the hole in the knee. "We're goin' out."

"I'm comfortable here." Lilly complained again. The idea of Scotty cooking for her and perhaps bringing the food into bed was not at all adverse to her.

As a response, Scotty stepped into Lilly's walk in closet, intending to find her some clothes and make her get out of bed. Mentally taking stock of her closet, including the perfectly pressed work clothes on one side, stacks of boxes containing unknown things on the other, and casual clothing scattered on the floor, Scotty's eyes were drawn to the three beautiful dresses that contrasted everything Scotty knew about Lilly.

Scotty stood in Lilly's closet, imagining what Lilly would look like in that sexy, short, strapless black dress, with the slit that ran way too high, or the blue sequined dress that would hang loosely on her shoulders, or the elegant red one that would surely hug each of her beautiful curves. Snapping out of his reverie, and wishing fervently that one day he would get to see Lilly in any one of those beautiful dresses, Scotty bent down to pick up some random casual clothing and turned around to leave.

Reentering the bedroom, Scotty tossed the pair of sweatpants and a tie dyed t-shirt at Lilly. "Put those on." He instructed. As Lilly put on her clothes and brushed her teeth, Scotty equipped himself with only his wallet. To prevent any distractions of what should be one glorious day with Lilly, he also turned off both their cell phones and left them on her night table.

Ten minutes later, when Lilly came out of the washroom, Scotty immediately grabbed her hand and started to lead her downstairs. He could hear her protests. Something about doing her hair, or makeup, or changing out of the hideous clothes he'd picked for her.

When they got to the front door, Lilly asked, "Where the hell is the fire, Scotty?"

Scotty paused for the first time since he woke up that morning. So intent was he on getting both of them out of the house, he hadn't bothered to explain to her. Hastily, he backtracked. "I just don't want anything to get in the way of us havin' our perfect day out there." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Mmm. Well you know the kissing isn't gonna help get us out of the house." She reminded him.

Scotty smiled, opened the door and made an exaggerated sweeping gesture with his hand, his still injured knuckles protesting just a little bit. Lilly giggled and stepped out of the doorway, Scotty close behind. The cold gust of wind reminded them that outside of the cocoon that was Lilly's house, it was almost December. The sidewalks were covered with a light dusting of snow and crystal icicles hung from the houses across the street like a Christmas card.

"Jackets first?"

"Yeah."

An hour later, Scotty and Lilly were walking down the streets of Center City. It was nearing noon on Sunday, and the streets were littered with children, getting a ride on their bikes one last time before the first heavy snowfall and die hard teenage basketball fans, playing despite the cold.

Scotty and Lilly spent the morning walking around town. They'd started at her house, walking toward the precinct automatically, and then deciding it was most likely not the wisest thing to do. They bought hot chocolate from a street vendor, Scotty steering her toward another neighborhood, and when she linked her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder, Scotty silently congratulated himself for getting them out of the house. They were being a normal couple. Outwardly, he simply pressed a kiss to the top of her head as they continued walking.

Lilly smiled. Despite her initial reluctance to get out of bed, she couldn't deny the fact that she was enjoying herself. They were so often Detective Rush and Valens that being Lilly and Scotty came rarely. When that rare chance came though, or when they created one, like Scotty had this morning, it was just amazing. Sighing happily and tightening her grip on her boyfriend, Lilly was suddenly aware that she no longer recognized her surroundings, and well, being a cop, that was unacceptable.

"Where are we Scotty?" She asked. They'd been walking, well less walking and more just meandering along, for over two hours now. And Lilly had to admit that she was a bit concerned.

"You'll see in a second." Scotty replied mysteriously. "Trust me, relax."

Trust him, and relax, Rush. She repeated internally. You can do it. Growing even more uneasy, Lilly stopped walking, and fixed him with a glare. "Where are we going?" She repeated sharply. Brilliant, Lilly.

Scotty all of a sudden found himself pulled back by Lilly, who'd stopped walking. She was standing on the sidewalk, refusing to move another step, her arm having slipped out of his grasp. He turned around, facing her with both an exasperated look and a smile on his face. Scotty grabbed her hand and pulled her along a few more feet before stopping, "We're here."

"Where is this?" Lilly took in the small, urban street they were standing on. Row houses not unlike hers lined both sides, except that these houses were much older. Green vines grew up the old red brick, and the trees in the yards appeared too big for the small expanse of grass they stood on. The cobblestoned sidewalks showed the chalk creations of what appeared to be dozens of children. "It's just a bunch of houses."

Scotty pointed at a house across the street, "That one right there, that's where I grew up." He said, nostalgia suddenly permeating his voice. "Thought you might wanna see it." He added nervously, glancing down at Lilly.

Her eyes wide, Lilly looked at the small house across the road in a whole new light. This time, when she looked at the chalk drawings on the sidewalk, she saw a plump little boy, with jet black hair, his hands and face covered in chalk dust, grinning from ear to ear. When she stepped closer to Scotty and squeezed his hand, the two of them stood in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Thanks." Lilly began, "for showing me this." It thrilled her to the core to learn something new about Scotty.

Scotty grinned, "Y'know, my parents are in there. My mom's probably makin' some really damn good cookies, and there's probably lunch…" He trailed off when he saw Lilly's eyes widen. "What?" He asked, slightly confused.

Lilly looked around, her breathing quickening, trying to size up a possible escape route. Scotty's parents. Her boyfriend's parents. The thought that they could be looking out the window, wondering who the woman standing with their son was, maybe wondering why they both looked so banged up. The possibility that they could decide to walk out the door any minute and talk to them, well it made her want to get the hell out of there. Without thinking, she turned around and started to walk down the street, away from that house, shoving her suddenly cold hands deep into her pockets and trying not to hyperventilate.

Scotty didn't catch up with Lilly until they were at the end of the street. "Lil, wait." He said, grabbing her upper arm.

She spun around to face him, her eyes flashing, and then Scotty realized his mistake. Mentally smacking himself for not thinking of, and avoiding, the obvious problem, Scotty looked into her eyes, wondering what he should say. He really had no idea where to begin. Perhaps trying to explain would be the best part to start, "Lil. I didn't mean you had to… I was just…"

Scotty reached out for her. He tried to pull her into his arms, but Lilly stepped back out of his grasp. From across the street, someone slammed a car door and Lilly jumped, the deer-in-the-headlights look temporarily shocked off of her face. She hadn't done that in a while. Scotty thought, and he hated that he was the cause of her regression.

Lilly studied her boyfriend's expression and she felt her own Ice Queen glare softening. He meant well, Lilly knew that. He didn't mean to stir up over 30 years of issues and problems and fears. This time when Scotty tried to hold her, she decided to let him. Lilly murmured, "Sorry Scotty. This was great. I didn't mean to ruin it."

"Nah, you ain't ruinin' anything, Lil." Scotty replied. He wanted to ask to see where she grew up and learn about the neighborhood that shaped the woman he loved. But this was definitely not the time. He knew that much. "You wanna get some food?" He asked.

Lilly nodded. She knew Scotty was just trying to distract her, just as she'd done the night he changed her curtains. Lilly found she didn't mind.

This time Scotty hailed a cab, neither of them wanting to walk back across town to the restaurant he was thinking about. They climbed into the backseat together. Lilly laid her head of Scotty's shoulder, and his lips landed on her forehead. For the time being, Lilly pushed the thoughts of Scotty's family and her own family out of her mind. That wasn't on her agenda to deal with tonight.

"Are you crazy Scotty?" Lilly asked incredulously twenty minutes later. They were standing in front of a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, the best French restaurant in all of Philadelphia.

"What's crazy 'bout it?" He replied, shooting her a lopsided smile. "I wanna take you out somewhere nice. This is nice."

Lilly looked back through the decorative window. The restaurant was full of couples and families, all dressed to the nines. Women were wearing cocktail dresses, men were sporting tuxedoes, and even children were dolled up in their own formal clothing.

"We look like we just rolled out of bed," She explained. Lilly looked at her own disheveled hair and sweat pants. She also knew she was wearing no makeup and had on that tie dyed t-shirt Scotty dug from her closet that morning. Then, she looked pointedly at Scotty's day old stubble, ripped jeans, and gray hoodie.

Scotty cocked his head to the side, "So?" He said simply.

Lilly felt a huge grin cross her face. This could be fun. This could be just what they both needed.

Decision made, Lilly took Scotty's hand in his and they walked defiantly into the restaurant.

After a few minutes, and repeated assurances that they were not in the wrong place, Scotty and Lilly were seated at a small, cozy table in the corner of the restaurant. Between the snobby maitre d' asking whether they had a reservation, and the server who'd promptly given them the once over, Lilly and Scotty dissolved into helpless gales of laughter. Lilly wasn't even sure what they'd ordered, just that it was bound to be extraordinarily expensive.

Scotty glanced from side to side, noting the hushed conversations of confused people around them. Then he looked back at Lilly, in her loosely fitting, tie dyed t-shirt, and the sweatpants that he knew hung way too low on her hips, even though he couldn't seem them right now. She was beautiful. Maybe today was the day he would tell her he loved her.

Maybe.

Probably not.

Scotty was determined for this to go right. No jumping the gun. No alarming Lilly with his feelings that were probably premature. No scaring off the Ice Queen. Swallowing the words that threatened to pop out of his mouth, Scotty thanked the server for the wine he was offering.

Lilly watched Scotty watch her. He was definitely studying her again. The same look he had on his face last night before they… Lilly felt a blush creep up her cheeks and decided to steer her thoughts in another direction. It was like he was trying to ask her something, or tell her something, or do something, but was struggling to keep himself from doing so.

"What?" Lilly asked, just a bit of annoyance in her otherwise perfectly cheerful voice.

"Nothin'" Scotty replied mysteriously.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Lilly pressed.

"Just thinkin' how amazingly hot you look tonight," He said, wiggling at eyebrow at her.

Lilly stared back incredulously, "I haven't showered in more than two days. You picked out my clothes, and we've both seen how good you are at that. Also, I still look like I got hit by a truck." She ended her tirade with an exasperated wave of her still bandaged wrist, gesturing at the bruise on her face, obviously frustrated with the slow healing of injuries.

Immediately knowing what she was thinking, Scotty said softly, "Those'll fade, and we'll go to the hospital to get the stitches out, and the wrist… just means you can pawn off your notes to someone else." He reassured her.

Lilly couldn't help but giggle. In a second though, worry clouded her brow.

"What?" This time is was Scotty turns to ask.

"I could have a scar." She whispered.

"The doctors said you wouldn't."

"What if I do?"

Scotty leaned in to kiss her, "Scars are hot. Scars are poetic. Scars are pretty damn bad ass, Lilly Rush."

Lilly smiled against his lips, "I am bad ass, Valens."

Scotty thought of last night. The places they'd gone, the feelings they'd felt, the side of Lilly that both enthralled and amazed him all at once. "Oh, I know it, Lil."

Their food arrived then, and Scotty and Lilly were forced to sit back in their chairs. They shared a delicious hors d'oeuvre, occasionally stealing a surreptitious glance at each other, bursting into helpless laughter when they realized once again how ridiculously out of place they looked.

"Scotty, what are we doing?" Lilly asked suddenly.

"Eatin' dinner?" He replied. "Lookin' like complete idiots?"

"No, I mean, us." A small, confused look crossed her face. "I mean, you took me to see your house. And-and, you call me your girlfriend. And you're practically living at my house."

Scotty grinned, "It's called a relationship Lil."

All teasing aside, he added, "No pressure, y'know. It's been a hard year, and I know I ain't been this happy in a long time. So, we'll just… see where it goes." He finished with a smile.

Lilly grinned, "How about we make it go to your apartment tonight?"

Rest assured, Lilly will not have a scar (:

Believe it or not this is actually the first time they'll be going to Scotty's apartment. Wonder what they'll do... ;)

Please Review! I'd love to get to 100 reviews, hopefully with this chapter, so you could help out with that... :D You guys are the best.