I wake up early the next morning with Vic sound asleep at the other end of the couch. I get up slowly and grab a blanket off of the chair and drape it over her. I walk to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, hoping that the noise doesn't wake her up. Glancing back at her, I see that she's still out, and decide to make some breakfast.

I'm almost done making eggs and bacon when I hear her voice behind me.

"Good morning," she says softly.

I turn around to see her sitting up on the couch. "Oh, uhh, sorry. Was I uhh, being too loud? Did I wake you?"

She laughs lightly. "No, you're fine, Walt. This is your cabin you can be as noisy as you want." She gets up and walks towards me.

This is awkward. Even more awkward than the night Lizzie slept here on the couch. I try to act normal. "I have a little extra scrambled eggs if you, uhh, if you're hungry."

"I'm alright, thanks. I should get going, I need to run home and shower. I will take some coffee though if I can take it in a mug with me."

"Ok, uhh sure."

She starts opening cabinets, and finds a coffee mug in the third one. I feel myself tense up when she walks over to the coffee maker that is right next to me by the stove. She fills up her mug and brings it up to her face to take in its warmth.

"Are you ok, Walt?"

No, I'm not okay; this is weird. But all I say is, "Mmhmm."

I can feel her staring up at me, even though I'm trying desperately not to notice. She's silent for another moment before she reaches up and kisses me on the cheek. "Thanks for the coffee, I'll see you at the office."

I turn and watch her leave. "Okay, uhh, see you soon."

When I get to the office I say my hellos to Ruby and Ferg before retreating to my office. I'm not even in there for five minutes yet when Ruby yells out that there's a call for me on line one.

I pick up the phone. "Longmire."

"Hi Sheriff, it's Mike from over in Cumberland County. I need you to go check out an address for me."

"Sure, what's up Mike?"

"A car registered to a Gregory Dawson was seen during a breaking and entering early this morning in Cumberland. Will you go check it out and see if you can find him?"

"Absolutely, I'll let you know what we find."

"Thanks, Walt. I faxed his picture over to you."

"Great, thanks." I hang up the phone just as Ruby comes in and brings me the mug shot Mike just sent over. Along with the picture, she's also holding a few pages with the suspect's history. Once Ruby leaves, I read over the file quickly before heading out to the main office.

I'm looking down at the papers in my hand and am thrown for a loop when I just about run into Vic at the end of the hallway.

I panic. I didn't think she would be in the office so soon after me. I got distracted by the phone call and hadn't mentally prepared myself for seeing her.

"Oh, uhh sorry Vic. I didn't see you there. I didn't uhh, hear you, uhh hear you come in."

She smirks back at me. Of course she's enjoying watching me squirm. "I just got in. What's up?" She gestures to the paper in my hand.

"This is Gregory Dawson. A car registered in his name is involved in a breaking and entering this morning. We need to go check out his last known address and see if we can find him."

She nods quickly. "Alrighty, I'm up for a chase."

I head for the door and behind me I hear her set down her coffee and grab her coat.

Once we start driving, I try to concentrate on the road, and not on the fact that I kissed my deputy yesterday. My very beautiful deputy.

"So this Gregory Dawson, it looks like he's been picked up before, several times. All petty crimes, but nothing recently. He had 7 run-ins with the law in three years and then the last two years, absolutely nothing. Don't you think that's kinda weird?"

"Yeah, uhh, a little I guess."

"Walt. Stop it."

"What?" I don't want to admit that I know exactly what she's referring to.

"You're acting weird."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. Nothing has changed at work, Walt. We're still partners with work to do. Just act normal."

I sigh. Act normal. How is it that simple for her? "I'm trying to."

"Well you might want to try harder. Ferg and Ruby are going to know something's up if you keep saying 'uhh' every other word around me."

Instead of responding, I stay quiet until we pull up to the residence. We ease our way up to the front door, and I knock twice.

No response.

I knock again. "Sheriff's Department."

Still no reply. I jiggle the doorknob and to my surprise, the door opens right up. We enter in slowly, Vic behind me, with our hands on our guns.

The house smells horrible. If someone has been living here, their sense of smell must be shot, because the stench of the entire house is horrendous. I hear Vic gag as we make our way though each room, and I'm trying not to do the same. I can't imaging someone has been living here, and it looks like someone just up and left without any warning. Most of the furniture is still here, along with a ton of garbage. No personal items, though. So there's no way to tell if Gregory Dawson ever in fact lived here.

"Guess this is a dead end. We should probably head back and see if we can find any of his family."

"Yup." I agree as I head for the door.

"Thanks for the profound addition to the conversation." Her voice is sarcastic, and I know she's right. I've mastered monosyllabic conversations, but I don't do it on purpose; it just happens.

Once we're back in the Bronco, she stares over at me for a couple minutes before speaking.

"Walt, seriously. I know things are a bit different right now but you're acting so weird."

"I don't know how else to be, Vic," I grumble back. I see her eyes narrow a little at my comment, and I immediately regret it.

"I'm sorry." This isn't easy for me, and I'm a little irritated that she can turn 'us' on and off so seamlessly. I don't say this out loud. I'm not even sure there is an 'us.' I don't know what this is.

I turn the keys in the ignition and start the drive back to the station.

Her voice is softer now. "It's okay. I understand, kind of. We used to be so comfortable around each other, can we get back to that?"

"That was before."

"Before we kissed?"

"Yes."

"Look, I know we're trying to figure things out, and believe me, I'm not backing down on you but I don't want to pressure you either. But it was just a kiss, Walt. A really great kiss, but just a kiss. You're acting like you just saw me on a sex tape and you're about to die of embarrassment anytime I'm in the same room as you."

So it wasn't just me. She thought it was a great kiss, too. I'm not sure if that was supposed to help or not, but this makes me even more nervous, and I start to fidget in my seat.

She must see me start to panic, and she feels bad now. "Seriously, Walt. I'm sorry, what can I do to help?"

"I don't know if you can do anything."

She takes a deep breath and un-buckles her seat belt before scooting over to sit in the middle seat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to help you." She grabs my hand and holds it with hers as she intertwines our fingers and rests them in her lap.

"Vic." I'm not sure how this is supposed to be helping me.

"Just shut up. We're just holding hands, Walt. That's it. It's not a big deal."

"This doesn't make any sense."

"I'm trying to make you more comfortable around me. You need to get over this new fear of touching me. It's fairly innocent, Walt. You'll get used to it." She reaches her other hand forward and flips on the radio.

I'm never going to be comfortable with this. These feelings are not normal, and I should not be having them.

She's not backing down though, so I try to relax. I haven't really held hands with anybody since Martha. Surprisingly, Vic has soft, little hands, just like Martha did.

Neither of us says another word until we pull back up to the station. She slides back over to the passenger seat, but keeps my hand in hers.

When I put the truck in park and finally look over at her, I can't help but grin a little. "You're going to be the death of me."

"That's what I'm trying to avoid. If you're constantly this nervous around me you're going to give yourself an ulcer." She squeezes my hand lightly before letting it go.

I want to tell her that I'd gladly take an ulcer if I could stare at her for the rest of my life and not feel bad about it.

I don't say this. I say nothing and follow her upstairs.