I toss and turn all night. I'm sure I slept a little bit, but it's hard to tell. I think I saw almost every hour on the clock.

I close my eyes and I see her golden browns staring back at me. I see them as she puts her hands on both sides of my face when she kissed me that first day. I see them as they look up at me with curiosity the next day when I pinned her up against the wall. I see them as she sits across from me on the couch as she challenges my excuses for why we can't be together.

There are plenty of moments. I'm convinced my mind will never truly be at rest again.

The next morning on my way into the office, I give myself a little pep talk. She's right, if I keep acting weird around her at the office, Ruby and Ferg are going to know something's going on. I'm not ready for that yet.

"You're going to see Vic today. Don't act weird. Nothing has changed."

Yeah, nothing has changed except that I've kissed my deputy, multiple times. I've kissed my deputy who is a good fifteen years younger than I am.

"No, you can do this. Okay, so things have changed. You kinda had feelings for Vic before, and you were still able to act normal around her at the office. You just need to get back to that."

I'm glad she can't see me now, talking to myself like an idiot.

When I get into the office, I walk in at the same time as Ferg. It looks like the girls beat us in.

"Good morning, Walter. Good morning, Ferg," chimes Ruby.

Vic follows suit, briefly looking up from her desk. "Mornin' boys."

"Good morning!" Ferg replies cheerfully. I wish a little of his attitude could rub off on me today.

"Morning, Ruby." I glance at Vic, and our eyes make contact for a split second and I'm done for already. "Hey, uhh, Vic. Uhh, good morning to you, too."

Damnit. My pep talk needs a little work.

I put my head down and walk straight into my office. Ruby follows me in with a handful of post-its in her hand. She closes the door behind her and sits down.

"Walter, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Ruby. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem a little off lately." She stares back at me with a slight smile on her face, like she knows exactly what's been going on.

I don't have the energy for this today. "I'm sure, Ruby." I try to give her a smile as I gesture to the post-its in her hand. "You can leave the notes, I'll go through them myself."

"Sure." She stands up and places the notes in front of me and reaches for the door.

"Give it time, Walter." She turns back to me before she leaves.

I look up. "Give what time?"

She just smiles, and walks out the door. I don't know why I'm surprised that Ruby might know what's going on, she's known me for a very long time.

Within thirty seconds after Ruby leaves, I look up to see Vic standing in the doorway shutting the door behind her. Once she see's me look up, she flips the lock on the door and walks over to sit down on the couch.

She pats the spot next to her. "Come here." Her voice is velvety.

I don't have time for this today. "Vic."

She doesn't budge. "Just get over here unless you want me to cause a scene."

This woman is too much for me. I know how relentless she is, so I obey, making sure to sigh loudly to show my irritation.

She holds both of her hands out in front of her.

Again with the hand holding. I turn my body so I'm facing her, and I grab her hands in mine. Our eyes are locked for a minute before she speaks.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sleeping? You look like shit."

I feel like shit. "Thanks."

"You're not sleeping very well are you?"

I shrug. "Not particularly."

"That was a lousy 'good morning' out there." She gestures to the main office.

"I know." She really does deserve a better greeting. "I can't help it. I told myself the entire way here to act normal when I first see you. But, …" I lose my words.

"But what? What happens?"

"Then I see you," I look up, searching for her eyes, "and I forget. Every time I see you now is like the first time and I forget what to do."

She tilts her head at me and a smile creeps on her face. She releases one of my hands and brings it up to my face, pulling it to hers before she locks her lips to mine. She pulls away a moment later.

She has got to stop doing that. I know she thinks she's doing me a favor, but this isn't helping me think any clearer. If anything, it's making it worse.

"I thought you weren't going to pressure me."

"I'm not, I'm not pressuring you for anything more than a kiss. You can't say something like that to me and expect me not to kiss you." She moves her hand down and rests it at the back of my neck, gently playing with the hair back there, sending chills down my spine. "Plus, kissing is part of my plan to get you to loosen up."

Oh boy.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"You need to calm down, Walt. You're thinking too much about all of this. Kissing relaxes you."

She has obviously never kissed someone like herself. There is nothing relaxing about it.

"I don't feel very relaxed."

"That's because I'm doing all the kissing. Your turn." She waves her hands in front of her. "Kiss me."

"Vic, come on." I feel like I'm in high school again and someone just sprung a game of spin the bottle on me.

"Step out of your comfort zone, Walt. It's the only way to get past this awkward stage we're in. Well, that you're in," she smirks back at me.

I hate that she's enjoying this. I glare back at her, but she's not budging.

I figure I might as well get it over with. I lean forward slowly and kiss her gently on the lips. When I pull away a few seconds later, I hover my face just over hers. It's her perfume that stops me. It's different than what she normally wears; I think it's lavender.

I give up and lean in again. This time, I make the mistake of parting my lips slightly, which Vic takes as an invitation for her tongue to dance with mine. I have to slow the kiss after a few moments before she gets any ideas to take this further. I pull away slightly, leaning back to see her face, but close enough that I can still smell her perfume.

Kissing Vic really is something else.

I see a smile begin to form on her face and I can't help but return with one of my own. "Good morning."

She laughs. "Much better." She leans forward quickly and kisses me one last time before standing up to leave, her task completed. She leaves the door open as she leaves, calling out over her shoulder, "Yell if you need me."

I hate to admit it, but I actually do feel a bit more relaxed now. I'm able to concentrate on getting some work done for the rest of the morning. I work until lunch time when my growling stomach makes it hard to concentrate. I walk out to the main office to see if anybody else is hungry.

"I'm headed out to the Busy Bee for lunch, do you guys want anything?"

Ferg looks up from his computer screen, "Sure, Sheriff. I'll have the usual."

"Alright, how about you, Ruby?"

"Nothing for me, Walter. Thanks."

Vic looks up at me from her desk, "Can I come with you? I could use a break."

I smile down at her. "Sure."

I turn around and go back to my office for my hat and coat, and when I walk back out she's waiting at the door holding it open. I stop and put my arm out for her to go first. She grins at me and rolls her eyes as she steps in front of me.

Once I pull out of the station I look over at her to see that she has her hand outstretched in the middle seat and is looking at me expectantly. I grunt and grab her hand. I know better than to argue with her.

"You're relentless."

She's now grinning from ear to ear. "Get used to it."

"Boy howdy."

If that's all it takes to make her smile like that, I'd gladly hold her hand every day.