A/N: This isn't the longest or most exciting chapter but it's all important for later down the road so bare with me...

Chapter 10: Simple Conversations

Dressed in civies, Caitlin sits in her car outside an apartment building sipping her take out coffee as she waits.

She looks over when the building door opens and Jamie and Eddie exit.

Quickly putting her coffee down, Caitlin then grabs the take out tray with two more coffees on her passenger seat before getting out of her vehicle "HEY!" She calls as she hurries to catch up to them "WAIT UP!"

Turning at the sound, Jamie and Eddie sees Caitlin coming towards them.

"Her again?" Jamie lowly states to his wife.

"Apparently." Eddie mutters back as they both plaster smiles on their faces.

"Wow, glad I caught you!" Caitlin greets as she offers the tray in her hands out to them "Here these are for you – just a little thank you for helping out Mrs. Ryerson."

"Oh." Eddie states in surprise as she takes the tray.

"I didn't know how you take your coffee…" Caitlin begins to ramble "Or even if you drink coffee so I just got it black with the sugar and milk on the side."

"Well that was thoughtful of you." Jamie slowly states "Unnecessary." He adds "As we were happy to help, but thoughtful."

Caitlin smiles at the couple.

"One quick question though…" Jamie curiously inquires "How did you know where we'd be?"

"You live here." Caitlin replies.

Jamie and Eddie both take in unimpressed deep breathes.

"And you know this how?" Eddie prompts.

"I ran your aliases through the system." Caitlin simply replies.

Unamused, Jamie squeezes his eyes shut for a brief moment then pops them back open "You really need to stop doing that."

"Oh it was for a good cause." Caitlin dismisses "Just wanted to say thank you."

"No." Jamie rejects in annoyance "It's against the rules and you could get a command discipline over this."

"Don't worry about it." Caitlin again dismisses before clearing her throat "Listen, seriously…" She continues trying to get back on track "Thank you for helping Mrs. Ryerson, I really appreciate it and so does she."

"She's a great lady." Eddie admits.

"Yes, she's the best." Caitlin agrees.

"Happy to help." Jamie a bit awkwardly adds before a silence befalls the trio but unable to just let it go, Jamie circles back "Seriously." He reiterates "You need to stop doing things that could get you a RIP."

"And I said don't worry about it." Caitlin pushes back "God what are you like the rule police?"

Unable to stop herself Eddie erupts in a slight laugh before quickly recomposing herself "Sorry." She quickly apologizes to her husband "But you have to admit that was a little funny."

Jamie shoots his wife a look before again looking at Caitlin "I'm a Sergeant." He reminds her "So yeah, I like to follow the rules – kind of my job and it should be yours too."

"But you aren't my Sergeant." Caitlin points out "So…"

"Doesn't matter." Jamie rejects "The rules are there for a reason."

A bit mockingly Caitlin immediately replies "Yes Sir!"

"God you really are annoying." Jamie mutters out unimpressed "Look thanks for the coffee but we need to be going." He adds before just turning, placing a hand on Eddie to get her to turn too and walking away with his wife.

Unphased, Caitlin watches Jamie and Eddie walks away "Wow touchie." She mutters to herself before just turning and heading back to her car and when Eddie is sure Caitlin can no longer hear them, she leans slightly towards her husband as they walk "So you really wouldn't want me to tell her all the times WE skirted around and pushed back on the rules then huh?" she needles in amusement.

"Shut up!" Jamie quickly hushes out with wide eyes as he also glances backwards to make sure Caitlin can't hear them and when he sees her getting into her car he stops walking and faces his wife "And that's different." He points out "An experienced cop knows when and where they can push back. She's still a rookie and leaning bad habits this early is only going to get her in deeper trouble later."

Eddie tosses that around in her mind "True." She concedes before getting a thought "I wish we could invite Joe and Charlotte out to dinner."

Jamie looks at his wife in a little blindsided wonder "Where did that come from?"

Eddie shrugs as she turns to keep walking "He's family."

"And we are undercover pretending NOT to be." Jamie reminds her as he moves to follow "We should be going out to dinner with The Meretti's, not the bodyguard."

"I know." Eddie agrees "That's why I said 'I wish' – pay attention…" she chides before another idea pops into her head "OH! We should invite The Meretti's out to dinner and have the credit card bounce in front of them when you go to pay!"

Jamie tosses that around in his mind "And because of it – if I play it right…" Jamie deduces "Meretti might offer me more 'lucrative' work then just being his mechanic." He notes.

Eddie nods.

"Worth a shot." Jamie agrees.

…..

"Joey I need to make some calls." Meretti states in his home office to his bodyguard "Go grab me a cold seltzer water." He instructs.

Joe plasters a smile on his face "Sure." He accepts as he heads for, and then out the door but the second he is alone in the hall the smile drops from his face. This was getting annoying. Every time Meretti wanted to make an important call he'd send Joe on some stupid errand "Get me a water. Go see what's for lunch. Make sure the car is washed." It was ridiculous. How was he supposed to get any information if he couldn't hear Meretti's conversations? So grumbling to himself Joe walks into the kitchen to again see Charlotte with her head in the fridge scanning the contents and without even realizing it, the corners of Joe's mouth start to curve up into a smile. "We have to stop meeting like this."

Recognizing Joe's voice, slowly a smile creeps up on Charlotte's face as she stands up and looks over at him "Better then meeting like this in the bathroom." She quips in return.

Joe tilts his head slightly and thinks about that "Is it?"

Charlotte rolls her eyes assuming he's now picturing her in the shower "Such a guy."

"Oh I'm glad you noticed." Joe lobs back.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Are you sure?" Joe playfully presses "I think it was."

Charlotte sucks in a breath of air - this guy seemed to have a comeback for everything "Well…" she notes "…aren't we arrogant."

Joe flashes her a bright smile "Confident." He corrects.

"About what?" Charlotte straight up challenges "What is Joe Phillips so confident about hum?"

Not expecting that question, Joe waivers a bit trying to think of the perfect comeback "Um…"

"So more like posturing then confident." Charlotte quickly deduces instead.

Joe heavily sighs "Alright fine…" he relents "…yes it was posturing okay?"

An amused, triumphant look appears on Charlotte's face "Well admitting it is half the battle."

"And what do I get if I win the full battle?" Joe queries – his mind thinking 'date' but once again Charlotte gives him a response he isn't expecting.

"More time cooped up on this lovely estate." Charlotte flatly replies causing Joe to let out a true laugh.

"See now I made you laugh." Charlotte points out before heavily sighing herself and shutting the fridge "Too bad it's not a joke."

Joe repeatedly nods his head up and down in agreement, "So very, very true." He admits "Does a world outside this compound even exist anymore?"

"What are you asking me for?" Charlotte tosses back "You're the one that at least gets out of here once a week on a Sunday…" she points out "How did you arrange that? Where do you go?" She then curiously inquires before changing her mind "You know what, never mind, I don't care, just next time, please just take me with you?" She begs.

Joe's face turns into a full on regretful cringe "I wish I could. I really, really do…" he rejects "But I can't."

"Oh so you have a girlfriend then." Charlotte deduces.

"Oh no." Joe immediately rejects.

"Great. Even worse." Charlotte decides "A wife."

"God no!" Joe immediately promises.

"With a kid." Charlotte tacks on with a dramatic sigh now just continuing on for her own amusement.

"I said no!" Joe insists.

"Okay." Charlotte relents before getting a warning look on her face "But if I find out later you were lying to me…"

"I'm not!" Joe insists "Not about that." he tacks on knowing there are other things his job requires him to lie about "Never about that." He clarifies before trying to steer the conversation in a different direction "And what's with the interrogation here anyway?"

Charlotte sighs "I'm bored and looking to entertain myself."

"Hell of a way to do that." Joe counters.

"You got a better idea?" Charlotte challenges "Because I'm open to almost anything at this point."

"Of course I do!" Joe insists as he steps forward, opens the fridge and reaches inside to grab a can "But it will have to wait because the boss sent me to 'fetch' him a seltzer water."

At hearing that, Charlotte drops her head down to her chest and for a moment just laughs in complete amusement and understanding before looking back up at Joe "Well you better get that back to him – Lacky."

"Oh!" Joe notes with a mock twinge of pain "And this coming from the woman that runs after someone else's kid all day."

Charlotte lifts a finger in the air in acknowledgement "That's me." She admits.

"CHARLOTTE!" Larissa's voice suddenly hollers from another room in the house.

Charlotte cringes then takes in a deep calming breath before calling "COMING!" in an overly sweet voice and throwing Joe a disgruntled look to which Joe offers a sympathetic cringe but the next second he and Charlotte both hear Tony call "JOEY! WHERE'S THAT WATER?" from a different direction so now Charlotte watches Joe momentarily drop his head down towards his chest and mumble "God I hate that name." before lifting his head to look straight at Charlotte "You didn't hear that." He instructs her before calling out "COMING!" to Tony.

"I know nothing." Charlotte promises in mock seriousness.

"Thank you." Joe accepts as he and Charlotte share one more look then both turn and move off in different directions.

As she goes though, Charlotte looks back at Joe over her shoulder "Hey." She calls.

As he walks, Joe looks back over his shoulder.

With an amused expression on her face, Charlotte purposefully tosses a playful jab of "Later - Joey." at him before disappearing from view.

At first a scowl begins to appear on Joe's face but a second later that scowl starts to turn into a smile as he finds himself realizing that when she says it, it doesn't sound so bad…

…..