DISCLAIMER: The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: (6-30-2016) Chapter 3 is up now. Hope everyone has been enjoying this story. Story picks right off from the night with Kat. So it will reveal what happens. I did do some editing myself but apologize if there are still any errors in advance.

Again please refer to my profile page to check for status and update for any of my stories.

Anyways here we go!

Reviews always a welcome.

Word Count (approx.) – 3,439

Chapter 3 - Gabrielle

FRIDAY

Alex slowly woke up to the sunlight basked the room greeting them to a new morning. He realized he was not in his room and felt a massive headache throbbing in his head. He moved a hand to rub his temple when he felt something stir beside him. He looked and saw Katarina snuggled up against him under the covers slowly waking up as well from the slight disturbance.

"Good morning," Alex said to her.

She groaned a bit in response pulling herself up a bit before slumping down on him.

My head. she moaned.

He chuckled and slowly pulled away from her to get up. He walked over to his room and got two bottles of water from the fridge and got some painkillers and walked back to the guest room. Katarina got up leaned against the headrest and accepted the bottle of water and the painkillers and took them which he did as well. He sat on the edge of the bed staring off into space for a bit.

"That was a disaster," she muttered.

He chuckled at that as he looked at her seeing her take another drink of water. She stared off for a bit as well until she realized he was looking at her unabashedly. Looking down, she blushed a bit and covered herself.

"Pervert," she said.

"I won't deny that," he smirked.

"Then why didn't you try anything last night?"

"Cause I won't take advantage of someone who was in a complete mess, even if she was a hot mess," he replied.

Silence followed for a few moments as the two looked at each other for a while. Katarina lowered her eyes as she visibly relaxed.

"Thank you, Alex."

He merely nodded and moved about the room, picking up their discarded clothing and tossing them on the bed.

She quickly moved out of the bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up as he went back to his room and got a bag to put her yesterday clothes in. He then gathered his stuff and went back to his room and washed up. Once he dried himself, he walked over to his closet and selected a shirt and some jeans and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

He decided to stay on the side of caution and go with an easy breakfast of some cereal and milk and ate standing while leaning against the counter. Moments later, the sound of footsteps got him to look up seeing a much more relaxed Katarina wearing a faded blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. Ever since his first party at the penthouse, Alex realized that people tend to be in need of fresh clothing for the next if they happen to spend the night over. So he brought some clothing of various sizes and put them in one of the wardrobes in each guest room. Since then, Sienna would check once in a while to make sure that the spare clothing wardrobes had something for guests to wear, even if they were not a perfect fit.

He brought out an empty bowl and spoon and pushed the box of cereal and milk to her.

"Thanks," she said as she started to pour herself some breakfast.

"Anytime," he replied.

Eventually they finished up breakfast and checked the time. It was 9:17 in the morning and having a day with nothing to do was great.

"So what are you going to do?" Alex asked Katarina.

She shrugged and replied, "Probably go back to work and later head home later tonight."

"Oh no you don't. You are going to take today off and tomorrow as we scheduled and you will enjoy the rest of the day. If you want, I will go with you." He offered.

She shook her head smiling in appreciation at his offer.

"You don't have to, but I will take the time off then. Probably go shopping or something and kill time."

"Go to a spa then," he advised. "Unwind a little."

She thought for a moment and nodded. They chatted a bit longer and she gathered her belongings and left. He picked up the empty bottles from the living room and started cleaning the mess in the kitchen and cleaned up the guest room. As he finished making the bed, his phone rang.

"Lee, speaking."

"Alex?" a familiar accented voice came from the phone.

"Yes?" he responded.

"It is Gabrielle. We met yesterday?"

"Gabrielle! It is good to hear from you. I hope your evening went well?" he asked.

"Yes, it did go well. Thank you for asking," she replied. "Would you happen to be free today?"

"I believe my schedule just cleared up," he fibbed.

"Then would you be willing to show me around London?" she asked.

"For the mysterious lady, I most humbly accept," he replied.

"Mysterious?"

"Well you know my story, from what I recall, you have yet to tell me your side of the story. I believe that such a lovely tale would last at through lunch, dinner, and possibly dessert."

"Is food the only thing that comes to your mind when showing a lady around?" she asked while laughing.

"No, but it always a great place to start," he answered. "So where should we meet?"

"Have you heard of Pétrus?"

"The one in Westminster?"

"Yes. I heard it is popular and was thinking maybe we could go there for lunch."

"Then shall we meet there within an hour?"

"Sounds good. I will see you then." With that they ended the call and Alex called Kevin.

"Alex?"

"Kevin! Hope you are doing well. I have a bit of a favor to ask."

"Sure, what do you need?" Kevin inquired.

"I am planning on meeting someone at Pétrus and was wondering if-"

"Get you in? Using me for my connections, Alex? I'm hurt," Kevin exclaimed in a mocking manner. Pétrus was owned by Gordon Ramsay and being one of his students, Alex banked on the hope that Kevin would either have connections to the restaurant directly or could have Gordon connect him… if his mentor was willing to. However, he could not resist to tease his back.

"Well I need to find a place with a chef who is willing to provide real meals and does not kill me with their insane experiments."

"Oi!"

Alex laughed which Kevin joined in.

"I'll get you in, Alex. But you owe me!"

Alex agreed. "Aye, I do."

"Oh, you will get it. Get ready for the next Mystery Dish, it is going to have anchovies!"

"Noooo!" Alex called out in a voice filled with despair. He hated anchovies and told Kevin that he did not want any dish with them. Since then Kevin always teased him about putting anchovies in his meals.

Kevin chuckled over the line.

"Thanks, mate."

"No worries, just enjoy your date," he responded.

"What date?"

"Why else would you be asking me to pull some strings at a short notice?"

"Well..." Alex began but was cut off by Kevin.

"Tell me later about it. Focus on the date. I will see you later."

With that Kevin hung up the call.

Alex got ready and drove out.

He arrived about ten minutes before the meeting time and was about to go in when he saw Gabrielle walking up the street. She smiled when she saw him and quickened her pace a bit.

"I see that you are an early person as well," she stated.

"Naturally," he smirked.

He opened the door to the restaurant and let her in to the bustling restaurant.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Alex looked around. The place was packed due to the lunch hour. There were even several people sitting in the waiting room waiting to take a seat. A host walked looked up expectantly from his station at them.

"Welcome to Pétrus, monsieur and mademoiselle. How many in your party?"

"Two," Alex replied. "We have a reservation under Alex."

The host nodded in recognition.

"Yes, we have been waiting for you. Please right this way," he stated. Taking two menus, he led the two towards the back. They went around a wine rack that stood in the middle of the room encased in a glass column to a circular table with a candle burning sitting in the middle of the table that was covered in a white table cloth.

The host helped them take their seats and offered their menus and walked off.

Gabrielle looked at Alex raising one eyebrow.

"I must admit that was fairly quick. I was expecting to wait for a few minutes before being seated. What magic did you pull?"

"The magic of friends," he responded. "I actually happened to know someone who may have connections to the restaurant and called to see if he would be able to help. He was able to and here we are. Although, it may have come at a price for me."

"Oh?"

"He enjoys trying new creations and I have the unfortunate luck to be his victim."

She giggled a bit at that and proceeded to look through the menu. A waiter came by and took their order and left. At Alex's urging, she talked a bit about herself. Her family was originally from France and were in London for their business trip and to meet her older sister Fleur and her husband Bill. Her sister and husband both worked at a bank which was where the two met and later married after being together for a while. She was a bit vague on what her parents did, but from what he gathered, they did business here and there and seemed to keep most of their time in France when they could. Gabrielle herself was actually still in school studying and turned out she skipped a grade and would be graduating the following year. She was still trying to figure out what to do after her graduation. She stated she had an interest in modeling, but at the same time thought maybe being a teacher or officer would be nice option.

She explained how when she was younger there was a young man who saved her and she developed a small crush on him. She later learned that he joined the law enforcement and was doing well, before he taught several others self-defense and toyed with the idea to follow his footsteps. Her parents were supportive of her and encouraged her to choose what she desires.

Alex listened quietly tensing a bit when she talked about the support and love that her parents provided. It was something he did not have. When he tried calling a few months after moving to London, his parents just hung up the phone right after he said "hello". He was able to hide his feelings successfully from her and continued the conversation with her.

As they finished they left the restaurant and Alex took Gabrielle around London as promised. They first stopped by Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. Alex parked the car nearby and shown the buildings around even managed to find someone to provide a brief tour. He also pointed out the London Eye across the river to Gabrielle explaining to her that it would be better seen at night. They walked over towards the National Gallery looking at various paintings and comparing their views with one another. Of the pictures, the one they agreed caught their attention the most was Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers. Van Gogh's art was different from other traditional paintings in the gallery, yet the wildness of the drawing compared to the firm traditional stroke felt refreshing to them both.

Of course, the refreshing tour was all ruined when they came across a supposedly famous rising modern artist and his abstract art works. While both agree that some abstract art are not always bad, most artists that pride themselves in such art are technically untalented artists. It was especially true when most of their work look like it had been done by a kindergarten. Looking at a description next to one of the paintings they both quietly concluded that the artist truly had no idea what he was doing. Looking around, Alex realized they were not the only ones who thought the artwork was that special. In fact, as they were leaving the area, they heard a child cry stating that she did not want to be punished by going into a room filled with those awful paintings.

Hearing that the two laughed as they exited the National Gallery. Gabrielle suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the street hailing a cab.

"I know the next two places I would like to visit," she stated. "My brother-in-law used to work in Egypt and recommended to check out the replica of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum."

"Then let's go," Alex agreed.

They took the cab to the British Museum. Upon arrival Alex was expecting to take a quick look around the museum itself, but Gabrielle kept dragging him around until they stood in front of the Rosetta Stone. They looked that the stone. It was a little anticlimactic he thought and Gabrielle mentioned it as well. They both thought it would be something exciting but it just did not catch their attention. By then, Alex checked the time and realized it was nearly evening and the museum was closing soon. He was thinking maybe to look around some more before heading out when he suddenly heard a growling stomach.

At first he thought it was his stomach and he was about to apologize to Gabrielle when he noticed that she suddenly turned all red. It was not his stomach that was growling.

"I take it that-"

"Shut it," she immediately replied.

Alex raised his hands in submission and smiled.

They left the museum agreeing to come back and actually visit the rest and were trying to decide a place to eat. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants around the area were busy. Gabrielle stated that she could not simply wait and looked around. Her eyes lit up a bit and she pointed at something across the street. Alex followed the direction she pointed and raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked.

"Might as well," she replied. "I never tried one here and it would be an experience. Not to mention I am quite famished."

They walked over to the small stand that Gabrielle pointed at and Alex ordered two hotdogs with chips and drinks. The man working the stand smiled and gave them their food which Alex paid for. The two thanked the man and walked a bit finding a place to sit and not be in the pedestrians' way and had their dinner.

Gabrielle sighed in content as she finished her food.

"Feeling alive now?" Alex asked.

She nodded and smiled at him, the rays from the sun set making it seem like she was glowing. "I probably could have had more, but I am good for now."

Alex heart melted a bit seeing her smile. Once they finished, he gathered up the trash and threw it away.

With their stomachs satisfied for now, the walked a bit, heading towards Kings Cross Station to check out the station where some of her friends and in-laws used to take to go to school. When they arrived he saw her walk ahead heading in. He followed her and later saw her standing on the platform for nine and ten, staring intently at a column before tentatively placing a hand on the column. After a few moments she turned and gave him another one of her stunning smiles. When they headed out, the street lights began to turn on reminding Alex to lead Gabrielle back to the river.

They hailed a cab again to take them back stopping just a block away from the river to get out and walk the rest of the way there. When they turned a corner and saw the London Eye come into view, she gave a small gasp. Across the river, the Eye and buildings around it were light up in various colors creating a beautiful scenery.

"It's so beautiful," she exclaimed.

Alex smiled to himself. "I thought you might have liked this."

They stared in fascination at the light effects as the two leaned against the rail that bordered the river. The two stood close to each other for a few moments of peace when they heard some footsteps walking up to them.

"Excuse me, would you like to have a picture taken?" a voice asked.

They turned around and saw a teenage boy standing behind them with a rather beaten up camera.

"How much for a picture?" Alex asked.

"Five Pounds," the teenager replied.

Alex looked at Gabrielle who nodded with excitement and looked back at the boy. He pulled out his wallet and gave a Fifty Pound note to the boy whose eyes widen in surprise.

"Alright. Keep the change but make sure to take some stunning pictures of us. We will want to have two copies."

"Yes, sir!" the boy replied.

A few minutes later, they stood next to an open booth where the boy printed out several pictures. Alex was shocked to see how great the pictures came out to be. Looking at the way how poor the camera condition was and to be able to bring out such stunning pictures blew both him and Gabrielle away.

"You, sir are truly talented," Alex praised the teenager who blushed a bit with embarrassment.

"Naw, sir," he replied. "Just mainly pointing the camera and pressing the button. All there is to it."

"So what do you do other than take pictures?" he asked.

"All I do, sir. Don't have time for school and have to find a way to make a living for me and my sis."

Alex nodded. "And your name?"

"Lewis. Lewis Warren, sir."

"And you like photography?" Alex inquired.

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir. Ever since I was able to press the shutter. Also was my dad's favorite hobby, until he passed."

He looked at the boy for a brief moment in thought and pulled out his business card and handed it to the boy who took the card and looked at it eyes widening with surprise.

"If you would be interested, Lewis, come see me tomorrow I believe someone of your talent and passion should have an opportunity to truly shine," he stated.

"T-thank you, sir!" Lewis replied.

Alex smiled at him and looked at Gabrielle.

"Shall we?"

She nodded and Alex gave a nod towards Lewis whose eyes followed them until they were out of sight.

"That was interesting," she murmured.

Alex chuckled a bit as they walked around for a bit. They stopped by a small ice cream shop and spent the rest of the evening chatting away until the owner stated in an apologetic manner that they were closing down shop for the night.

They walked around some more for a bit before ending the evening. Alex offered to take her home which she accepted. However, before they arrived to where ever she was staying at, she told him that she could get off from where they were and not to worry. It was a familiar street actually. In fact, it was the same street where he first saw her. She gave him a hug and thanked him again for the lovely date and got out of the car. She stood by clearly waiting for him to leave before heading off herself which he did. As he slowly drove away he saw her walking down the street. When he reached the intersection, he looked up once more right before turning out from the street. All he saw was an empty street with the old building that stood across from the diner.

Alex drove back to his penthouse and went up to his office. Kat was not there, which meant that she was actually taking some time off as she should. He sat on his desk and checked to see if there were any news or incidents. Seeing that there were none, Alex went upstairs and took a nice bath.

Eventually he got out drying himself before wrapping himself with a bathrobe. He went over to one of the bookshelves and gazed at the books before selecting one. It was part of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. He took the book with him and crawled to the middle of the bed and began reading. He read through the first two chapters before finding himself asleep with the book resting on his chest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Definitely shorter than chapter 2, but chapter 2 length was actually a lot longer than I would have expected. This was a more of the sort of length I was anticipating. Problem was trying to cut chapter 2 into shorter ones. But yes Alex did have a second date with Gabrielle and things went well. You also got a change to meet with Lewis Warren a bit and you will see a little more of him in the following chapter as well. After all, Alex did invite him to meet up with him.

Well thank you again for your support! Reviews always welcome and please check out my profile to see when the next update for the story will be. I will try and keep my stories updated and my profile page will have the most updated information. Thanks again!