James quickly took in the sight on his doorstep, giving his ex's body a once-over. She was a chameleon, visually as well as emotionally, and he could tell a lot about what was going on in her life by the way she looked. She seemed happy, confident at least, and her clothes were new. The evidence suggested that things were going well for her.

James' eyes came to rest on the duffel bag on Kate's shoulder. That was the part that troubled him, apart from the overly sheepish smile.

"I need a place to stay." she said. And damn, she was really trying to work the innocent charm on him. Aside from the deep sympathy he felt for the things she'd been through in her life, James was immune to those charms. He knew her too well.

Miles, who had retreated to the couch, too horrified by her appearance to watch them converse, groaned loudly.

"Just for the night." she added, trying her hardest not to let her annoyance with Miles show. James tuned his roommate out, stuck on the fact that Kate was there at all, let alone asking a favor.

"We haven't exchanged so much as a text in six years." James reminded her. The look of scrutiny he gave her cut deep. "Why are you in town if you have nowhere to go?"

"The friends I'm visiting are out of town 'til tomorrow morning." she said, like it was no big deal.

Miles rolled his eyes. It was typical of her, he thought, very typical, to orchestrate a situation in which someone needed to help her, she had no other options, and turning her away would make the other person look like the bad guy.

"And I'm the one you decided to pop by and visit?" James asked.

Kate shifted the strap of the duffel bag, calling attention to it like it was heavy on her shoulder. "Everyone else I knew back then is gone, they all moved." She leaned against the door frame, growing uneasy at his lack of enthusiasm. "I thought we could catch up, you know?" She shrugged, and one side of her mouth turned up in a hopeful smile. "I didn't leave on a very good note."

Miles rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head. The heel of his left foot was bouncing on the carpet. "You didn't leave at all." he muttered. "He kicked you out." Though it occurred to him Kate must have been desperate, if she was willing to face Miles' open contempt just to see James again. Desperate, or crazy. Miles would never put the latter past Kate.

If Kate or James heard Miles' angry muttering, they didn't mention it. James watched Kate's face and thought of other questions he could ask. The problem was, he already knew the answer to all of them. Whatever he asked, she'd have some excuse ready. She would have made sure to make this her only option. After six years, she'd shown up at his door. She wasn't going to suffer the humiliation of being turned away.

Kate could see it in his eyes, he wanted so badly to believe that she had no ulterior motive.

James sighed with resignation. "Come on in," he said, stepping aside. "I'll grab you a beer or something from the fridge. We'll 'catch up.'" He said the last two words with sarcasm that did not go unnoticed by smirking Kate.

She crossed the threshold and took her bag past where Miles was sitting. While James went to the kitchen, Kate took a seat in the arm chair and fixed Miles with a look that would have seemed friendly to anyone else.

"Do you think we can play nice for one night?" Kate asked him. "For James?"

Miles was slouched down, touching his tender eye socket with his fingertips as if he was experiencing the beginnings of a headache. "At a certain point in the day," he said, still avoiding looking at her. "Around nine o'clock, when I had my supervisor on the phone, telling me I didn't have clearance to kick in the door to a warehouse - after three hours of waiting at said warehouse while the wizards back at the office apparently communicated with a fucking string and paper cups - and knowing that entering this warehouse was my only chance of ever clearing this fucked-from-the-get-go case, I asked myself: could this night get any worse?"

Miles finally looked at her, and Kate was hit with a wave of contempt. His question had been answered.

While Miles ranted, James listened from the kitchen. He knew he shouldn't hide behind the refrigerator like a little bitch, but he needed a moment to process what was happening here. Miles really was having the worst night ever. It wouldn't be long before Kate said something to set him off.

James strolled in before Miles could make his point. He tossed Kate a cold can of beer and turned to Miles. "The good thing about rock bottom?" Ford said to his partner. "The only way is up."

Miles stared up at him, making it quite obvious he was offended that James didn't have a can for him. Kate picked up on it right away.

"Here, take this one." she said. She stood up and brought it to Miles. "I don't like this kind anyway," she added, and turned to James with a flirty smile. "You know that."

"Well, it's all we got." James said in a flat voice, trying not to engage.

Kate walked toward the kitchen anyway, intending to look in the fridge herself. She didn't trust them either.

Once she was out of earshot, Miles stared right at James. James stared back, silently asking his friend what he really expected him to do with the situation he'd been given.

"Do I really have to say it?" Miles said under his breath. "She can't stay here, bud. She cannot stay here."

"I know." James hissed. "But what am I supposed to tell her? You heard what she said."

"She can sleep at the fucking bus station for all I care!" Miles whisper-yelled.

"Oh, come on..." James groused. They'd been to the local bus station recently - on police business - and he knew exactly why Miles suggested it.

"I'll pay for a motel." Miles said. "Out of my own pocket, I will pay for her to be anywhere other than our apartment tonight."

"You guys still don't clean this thing, do you?" Kate, oblivious to their intense discussion, called to them from the kitchen. It was just an attempt to make pleasant conversation, but Miles did not appreciate her teasing.

"She only comes to you when she's in trouble." Miles said to James.

"It's been six years." James reminded him, implying that maybe Kate had changed her ways. Even if things hadn't changed for Kate, they'd certainly changed for James. It wasn't going to be the same old routine.

"Your girlfriend is gone a week," said Miles. "Not eight days have passed and suddenly, poof, a succubus shows up at the door."

"Coulda been worse." James said sardonically. "She could've shown up any time in the past few months when Juliet was staying over. At least this way there's no-"

One of the phones on the coffee table vibrated loudly, interrupting whatever logic James was about to use to make the situation seem less horrible than Miles thought. James quickly realized it was an incoming call on his phone. A cute picture of Juliet was on the caller ID and suddenly James realized no logic would make the situation any better.

"Shit." he muttered.

Miles shook his head. He knew it wasn't his problem to deal with, but it seemed the night was getting worse for everyone.

What was he going to tell her? He didn't want to lie, and Detective Ford knew the omission of certain facts could be just as bad as lying. But it was too soon, and Juliet was too far away to start a discussion about an ex. The only other one that mattered...

His mind was storming with bad scenarios as he high-tailed it to his room, phone in hand. He pressed a button to answer the call, thinking he'd just pretend nothing was going on. It was almost midnight anyway. Not a good time to broach this subject. He could explain it tomorrow, nothing was going to happen anyway.

"What are you doin' up so late?" he asked in a caring tone, instead of saying hello. He was walking by the kitchen when Kate shouted.

"Seriously, where's the rest of the beer?" she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, including anyone who might have been on the other end of a phone call. "I have never known the two of you to run so low, it has to be here somewhere..."

Well. thought James, his stomach pitching. Plan A is screwed.

There was silence on the line.

"...James?" Juliet said, hesitantly, as if she suddenly suspected she'd called the wrong number.

James got to his room, just a few seconds too late, and closed the door silently behind him.

"Right here, baby. What're you still doin' up?" he asked again. "Not that I mind hearing from you." he added quickly.

"I just wanted to say good night." she said. "And make sure you weren't still working."

She meant it as something sweet, but James could tell by the way she said it that something was wrong.

"Yeah, we got home a little while ago." said James. "Staying late didn't get us anywhere, but at least it's over."

There was another pause on her end. The tiny part of James that thought maybe Juliet hadn't heard anything finally believed that she had. He'd certainly given her an earful about his past experience with women. He'd told her those things to show her exactly how special she was to him, but it was their first week being separated by almost three thousand miles. Knowing his past couldn't be helping things.

In her bed, in Miami, Juliet's stomach was churning too. She didn't want to ask. She wanted to pretend she hadn't heard anything. She wished she hadn't decided to call at all, but she knew it would be worse for her if she ignored it.

"Who was that, asking for beer?" she asked, trying so hard to be casual about it.

Don't. Assume.

"Oh, Miles has a friend over." James said, wincing not only at the lie but at how quickly and convincingly it came out of his mouth.

"Oh." Juliet's tone lightened. She was so ready to believe anything other than that lurking fear that James had never really been hers. That she'd lost him by leaving.

"Amazing, right?" said James. He was almost as relieved as she was. Except, to her ears, it sounded like he was relieved that Miles finally had some female company. It made her giggle.

Back in the kitchen, Kate settled on having the same beer as Miles and James, which really was all they had in the house. Miles stared at her as she returned to her seat across from him in the living room.

"There's a liquor store down the block," he said. "If you're that desperate."

Kate smiled, refusing to let him get the best of her. She still wasn't ready to give up on the possibility of Miles warming up to her.

"I just remember you guys being fully stocked all the time." she said, reminiscing like they were friends. "Ready to party at a moment's notice."

"We grew up." Miles said without humor.

His comment wiped the look of amusement off her face. His cold stare was too much, and she looked away. We grew up, he said, implying that she had not. Kate's defeat only lasted a moment. She supposed it was fair, Miles assuming she was there to wreak the worst havoc on their lives. All she could do was prove him wrong, even if it took some time and a lot of patience.

"Who was that on the phone?" she asked casually, glancing at Miles before she took a sip of beer.

Miles almost told her it was none of her business, but then figured telling her the truth would be worse.

"His girlfriend."

Kate nodded, hiding any real reaction with a calm look.

"She's a doctor." Miles continued. "Really big deal in the medical community."

Kate raised her eyebrows, and her mouth formed some hybrid of smile and grimace. "Cool." she said, the word acid on her tongue.

For the first time since she'd arrived, Miles actually felt a little better.

Juliet tried to tell James a little bit more about her day, but she yawned again and her voice failed her. James wanted nothing more in that moment than to take her in his arms and squeeze her so tight it would make her squeal.

"You should go to sleep." he told her. What he really wanted was to keep her on the phone forever and hide from the problem in his living room, but Juliet needed rest, and Miles needed rescue.

"Okay." Juliet agreed sleepily. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"I'm free all day." James said. At least there was one reason to be happy about Miles' case getting flushed down the toilet.

"Maybe we can finally set up that video chat?" Juliet suggested.

"Miles said he doesn't want me jerkin' off all over his computer."

Juliet was so tired she almost sounded drunk when she giggled. "Tell him you'll clean up afterward."

James chuckled. "I'll get my own laptop."

Juliet sighed and checked her clock. "Alright. I'll say good night now."

"I love you, Juliet."

She curled up in her bed and smiled. That was her favorite thing to hear before bed. "Love you too." she said.

"Sweet dreams, baby."

"You too." she said, in that tired kitten voice. "Bye."

"Bye." James echoed. He waited until she ended the call...and then he waited some more. He wondered if he'd ever really be in the mood to catch Kate up on the last six years of his life. A long, hard day at work had nothing to do with it.

As if letting Miles down hadn't been bad enough, he'd felt the need to lie to the love of his life about an ex-girlfriend's random visit. He felt awful about the entire situation, but he had to remind himself that there would be a good time for full disclosure, and that would be when he could look her in the eye and reassure her that the past had nothing to do with the present, or their future together.

When James walked back to the living room, he observed Kate drinking her beer. There was something different about her now, compared to when she'd first come into the apartment. The cool, calm and collected Kate was gone, even though she was trying her hardest to keep up the facade. The way she sipped her beer, it was clear something was bothering her. There was a deep anger inside of her that sometimes she just couldn't hide. It was subtle, only observable if you'd seen both sides of her. The coldness had returned to her eyes, a hardness that blamed James for something that wasn't his fault.

She looked up at him and smiled.

"So...you have a girlfriend now?" she asked.

James immediately looked to Miles, who was wearing the same 'what did you expect me say?' expression that James had given him earlier.

Yeah, it was going to be a long night.