Vincent was having a pleasant dream, which in itself was unusual. Ever since Afghanistan, his dreams had been dark and filled with anguish. Some might have called it PTSD, but it was so much more than that. More than the horrors of what he'd seen in combat, it was the horrific things that he'd donethat his mind kept torturing him with.

But for once, all the horrors were far away. He felt so calm… so peaceful, and in his dreams a soft breeze ruffled his hair. The wind even seemed to sigh his name, like a lover's whisper, beckoning him closer. He was helpless to resist. He saw moonlight streaming in through open French doors, white sheers fluttering in the breeze that carried her scent to fill his nostrils. He breathed deeply and felt his body tighten; it was the scent of his mate; the only one that could ever make him feel like a whole man again. In her arms he felt like anything was possible for him.

Her scent was so alive, he could almost taste it in the air, as if he were sampling the sweetness of her skin. And then she was there, standing in a white flowing gown that made her seem as if she was almost ethereal, a part of the curtains swaying provocatively to the rhythm of the gentle night wind upon which she'd arrived. She was the most incredible sensation he'd ever experienced; she made all of his senses explode like the most potent aphrodisiac, until something inside him longed to howl his desire for her to the moon.

He closed the remaining distance between them, and swept her into his arms, pulling her body close to his, feeling the softness of her curves molding to the hard contours of his own body. Her arms lifted around his neck and she rose up to meet him as his head bent to claim her lips. He moaned her name, then kissed her again; the sweetness of her lips and the enticing way she kissed him caused a growl to rumble from low in his throat. He was determined that this would be a tender coupling, no matter what it cost his sanity. He would not allow her to be frightened of their lovemaking. Ever. He would rather die first.

He was pleasantly surprised when his animalistic growl seemed to increase her ardor. The kiss deepened into something hot, something insistent, as her body pressed closer to his seeking… begging…

Vincent snapped awake with a start at the sound of voices raised outside Catherine's room. Alex. He shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs and assess his situation. It was then that he realized he was no longer sitting in the chair by Catherine's bedside. He looked down into her face, her eyes lit with pleasure and a small smile on her face. One arm was looped around his neck, the other gently ruffling his hair where her fingers were threaded through it. His eyes widened when he realized that his hips were pressing firmly into hers, and he felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. He started to pull away from her.

"Oh God, Catherine, I'm so sorry!" he groaned, mortified at what had happened.

Cat tightened her grip on him, refusing to let him go without a fight. "Don't you dare apologize to me, or I'll be hurt in ways you haven't even begun to consider." She smiled at him so sweetly that all his self-loathing melted away. "That's better," she whispered, when his features softened again. "Vincent, kiss me," she pleaded with him.

Vincent's body went rigid, but this time not from desire. The voices outside the door penetrated the haze of arousal he was steeped in, and he vaulted from her bed just before the door swung open. Thankfully he'd drawn the curtain earlier, so he had a margin of a few seconds to right himself before being confronted by the intruder.

His mouth thinned into the lines of a tortured grin as he gazed down at Catherine lying in the bed, looking for all the world like a woman who had just been ravaged by an ardent lover. Maybe if he worked hard and didn't look too guilty, whoever it was wouldn't notice –

"Hey, Cat, you're awake," Evan said, interrupting Vincent's thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her more closely, then swung to assess Vincent's appearance. A slow smile tugged at his lips. "So Vincent, lab coat needs a fresh ironing, maybe?" He chuckled when Vincent looked down and actually blushed to realize the complete state of disarray that his lab coat was in. "Can't say as I blame you," he added, "although it might be good to wait until she's out of the hospital, yeah?"

Cat was starting to get annoyed with Evan's male bantering. Her love life with Vincent was none of his business. "Evan, knock it off," she warned. "It wasn't Vincent's fault, it was mine."

Evan held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, none of my business."

"Exactly. Glad you understand that now."

Vincent intervened before it turned ugly. He didn't want to come between Catherine and her friends, even if one of them was Evan Marks. "Evan, why are you here? No one is supposed to be admitted into Catherine's room."

"Well I managed to convince Dr. Salter to let me in. Official police business and all that, you know."

Cat's eyebrows drew inward in a look of puzzlement. "Official business? What about?"

"Does this have to do with the attempt on her life?" Vincent asked.

"The what?!" she croaked out. Catherine felt like she'd been sucker punched.

Vincent walked over and gently stroked her hair. "It would seem that Muirfield in fact does know about you. They snuck in and gave you a drug overdose earlier today. We almost lost you." He unashamedly allowed a lone tear to spill over and run down his cheek.

"Hey," she said, reaching up to catch his hand and hold it. "You didn't lose me. I'm right here."

"Yes, well, this is sweet and all," Evan said, looking uncomfortable. "But I'm here for an entirely different matter. I need to reach JT and I don't have a number for him. I came to get it from Catherine so if one of you will be so kind…"

Vincent sent Catherine a look that told her this was not something she should do. "I really don't think I should give you that information," she told Evan. "But I can contact JT and tell him to call you asap."

"Why all the secrecy?" Evan demanded. "Everything has to be on your terms. He can have my number but I can't have his. I have to trust that he's not making up alibis for you-" He pointed at Vincent, "despite the fact that I have evidence connecting you to another murder, this time of a young girl in her late teens." Damn, he really hadn't meant to let that slip. He really should learn to keep his temper under control.

Vincent's eyes began to glow faintly, and his teeth ground together. Surely Evan wasn't accusing him? Cat put voice to his inner thoughts. "Evan, what are you trying to say? That you think Vincent had something to do with this girl's murder? That's ridiculous. Vincent has never harmed an innocentperson. Only those who are causing harm to others." She squeezed Vincent's hand to let him know she was in his corner. She was rewarded with a gentle smile, as she watched the amber glow of his eyes subside.

"All I know is what the DNA tells me, and DNA doesn't lie. And Vincent's was all over that crime scene and the girl's body. What do expect me to tell Joe in the morning? 'Oh, yeah we have this mutated DNA evidence all over the crime scene, but yeah, he's dead so he couldn't have done it'?" He gave Cat a meaningful look. "Just how far do you think that will go? There's going to be a full-on witch hunt the minute Joe learns about the DNA evidence matching the vigilante, I can promise you that. Meanwhile, the only evidence we have that Vincent was actually unconscious during the attack is the word of some guy I can't ever get ahold of, and who isn't even supposed to know about this creature running amok in the streets of New York." Evan rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off a headache. "All I know is, you better come up with some pretty damned good evidence that I can use to prove that your DNA-challenged ass wasn't a part of this mess, or all hell is going to break loose in the morning." The room fell silent for a few moments as they each got lost in thought.

Cat was the one to break the silence. "Evan, you said Vincent's DNA is mutating, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, if Vincent wasn't there at that crime scene, then someone had to have planted his DNA. And if that's the case-"

"Then it should show signs of being less mutated than his current DNA! Cat you're a genius!" Evan was nearly vibrating with excitement. "I'm going to sneak back into the lab after Joe goes home and run some more tests to prove your theory. And you –" He pointed at Vincent. "You better hope that she's right or you're going to be in a world of trouble."

"Hey, all I can promise you is that I wasn't anywhere near that crime scene. And any DNA evidence Muirfield had from me was from years ago, unless you left some on the bodies of those FBI agents they came to recover?"

Evan narrowed his eyes menacingly at Vincent for even suggesting that he'd not done his job properly. "This has nothing to do with those bodies. They were clean when they left here. The unfortunate part is, someone posing as an MEA inspector confiscated all of my DNA samples during his 8 hour stint in my morgue. I'm assuming it was one of your boys, yeah?"

Vincent closed his eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, sure sounds like it. They just don't leave anything to chance, do they? Dammit!"

"Well, don't worry. I have enough new samples, thanks to your vigilantism, to prove that the samples on the body aren't current - if indeed they aren't." Evan was trying to be reassuring but that little nagging feeling that he might be trusting where he ought not to be wouldn't let him surrender his doubt.

"Ok we're good then," Vincent declared. "Because I swear to you, I had nothing to do with this." Catherine squeezed his hand to let him know she supported him, and more importantly, trusted him.

Everyone tensed at the sound of Tess' voice outside the door talking with the guard. Vincent didn't need his super-soldier hearing to know that she was planning to come in to check on her partner. Moving swiftly, he disappeared into the little bathroom and shut the door, mere seconds before Tess entered. Evan and Cat looked up at her, forcing smiles they didn't feel. Tess being here only complicated matters more.

"Hey partner," she greeted cheerfully. "Good to see you conscious and alert. You gave us quite the scare." Tess leaned down to give Cat an awkward hug.

"Yeah, so I've been told. But look at me," she said with a smug grin. "Can't keep a good cop down for long, right?" Her smile was firmly in place, but Tess sensed undercurrents she couldn't put a name to. Cat looked a little… rumpled. Maybe she and Evan had -? Nah. Tess couldn't see it happening. Especially not with Cat in the shape she was in.

Tess leaned back and gave Cat the Brooklyn once-over, checking her out. "Yeah, I'd say looking pretty good," she agreed. "Guess this means you'll be back at work in a couple days, right? Before I kill Wolanski?" The three of them laughed at the private joke about Tess' abhorrence for the chauvinist detective. "So Evan, what are you doing here?"

"Hm? Oh.. I just popped in to check on Cat and see how she was doing. It was pretty horrible seeing her almost die. I guess I just wanted to see for myself that she was doing better. Probably pretty much why you're here I'd expect?"

"Actually, I got assigned to play body guard for one of Cat's doctors. The one that got kidnapped? You know - Alex Salter?" Tess watched for reaction from both of them. She wasn't disappointed.

"Ah, Dr. Salter," Evan crooned as if he was interested in the woman. "The hot redhead. Is she in trouble again?"

"No, but Joe would like to keep it that way. After the attack on Catherine this afternoon, he's worried that the two cases could be linked. So he assigned me to shadow her when she isn't at work."

"Probably a good idea," Cat concurred. There it is. She apparently knows something she isn't telling. Time to probe a little.

"So where's your other doctor?" she asked. Let's see you lie and squirm to get out of this one, Cat.

"Other doctor?" Cat appeared a little confused.

"Yeah, you know. The tall hunky one that came in here about half an hour ago and never left the room. Where is he? Hiding under the bed?"

Vincent smiled and shook his head at Tess' description of him. Too bad he was going to have to face her. She could be a real liability if she didn't get on board. Tess was not someone who could be manipulated against her will. He didn't have to be a rocket scientist to pick up on that. He flushed the toilet and turned on the water so she would think he wasn't just hiding in the bathroom, when in fact he was. He came out of the bathroom, still drying his hands on the paper towels.

"What – did we decide to have a party and someone forgot to tell me?" he asked with a grin. He rounded the end of the bed, and came to stand by Cat's side, gently laying his hand on her shoulder. He could tell she was freaking out by the way her heart was racing like a scared rabbit's.

Tess spun around to take him in as he walked, checking him out head to toe much like she had Cat a few minutes earlier. Perhaps lingering a little too long on his backside for Cat's liking. "I was about to ask the same thing, Doctor -?"

Vincent looked down at Catherine, allowing her to take the lead in the situation. After all, this was her friend and partner. He didn't want to create a situation that was any harder for her to explain her way out of. "Tess… this is Vincent Zalanski. Vincent – my nosy partner Tess."

Tess shot her a disapproving look. "How is it that I'm nosy, but Evan obviously knows about him? I think I should be offended. Wait – did you say 'Zalanski'? Is this Mr. Comp-"

"Tess! That's enough ok? Yes, this is the guy I was going to bring to the wedding." Cat sighed wearily. She knew that Tess wasn't going to let it go.

"But I thought you said you made him up…" Tess was looking confused.

"I said that because I was trying to cover my tracks so people would leave me alone about him. Our relationship is complicated, as you may have guessed. I just don't need to play 20 questions with anyone right now. Okay?"

Ignoring Cat's request she looked at Vincent. "Why do you look familiar?" She shifted her gaze to Cat. "Why does he look familiar?"

"I don't know," Cat replied, exasperated. "Maybe because he's your stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome guy?"

Tess gave an approving look. "Well yes, there certainly is that." Vincent turned six shades of red. "So you're a doctor then, right?"

"I used to be," Vincent answered. "These days I'm more in the body guard business. When I heard Catherine was in trouble, I came running, you might say."

"It was a perfect solution," Cat interjected. "He could protect me bodily and from anyone trying to tamper with my meds."

"Yes, well that certainly is quite convenient, I'll give you that. So then… you two…" She waved her hand back and forth, indicating a connection between them. "You're an item?" Vincent and Catherine looked at each other, and there was no mistaking the love and desire passing between them. Tess laughed. "Ok, I'll take that as a yes!"

Cat turned to look at her friend with serious eyes. "Tess, no one can know about this, okay? I mean, I'm just not ready for the whole world to intrude on what we have going here. Obviously I'm not ashamed of him –" She slid Vincent a hot look. "But we just want to be able to have time to ourselves before we deal with friends and family wanting to monopolize us as a couple. Can you understand?"

Tess smiled at her partner. "Yeah, I get it. If I had a hottie like that warming my bed, I'd want to keep him to myself too!" She laughed, and the rest of them gave slightly embarrassed chuckles. Tess looked at her watch. "Ah, I gotta go catch up with Dr. Salter before she tries to leave unescorted. Take care, guys." Outside the room, Tess shook her head. Now she was more determined than ever to find out what was going on. Because those 3 were probably the worst liars she'd ever dealt with.

Once the door closed behind her, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "That was a close call," Cat spoke for all of them. "I wonder if she bought it."

"She seemed to," Evan answered. "But then, I've never been very good at understanding women."

"I don't think she was convinced," Vincent reported. "Her heart rate and respiration were elevated, and her skin was getting – what's the word you women like to use for sweat?" he asked of Catherine. "Dewy"? He chuckled.

"Well, I better get back to the precinct and get busy analyzing DNA. If I don't have a report ready in the morning Joe is going to blow his lid." He said goodnight to them both and they were finally alone.