Hi, nothing much, just an exercise to break writer's block. It makes no sense plot-wise really but it takes place between "A Christmas Story" and the longer FF story, "Mustang Madness" where parts of this slice of life are portrayed in greater detail. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading and the feedback.

The bubbly poured freely as the four women sat in the Jacuzzi that sat in the middle of the posh and stylishly decorated penthouse suite.

"Chris is there any pizza left with pineapple and olives," Rhonda asked.

The receptionist turned corporate executive looked around the boxes until she found the last remaining piece.

"Here take it," Chris said, "Before I change my mind and take it myself."

C.J. sat in the warm water, listening to her friends but kept her eyes closed. She had been just finished her workout at the gym with her trainer, and after several hours spent punching an inert weight bag and then kicking at it when her arms wore out, she had been ready to come back to the main office at Houston Enterprises in the middle of Houston proper to spend some time unwinding with her closest friends.

Well except for the one who wasn't there, Matt.

He spent most of his time working on his investigative caseload back in L.A. and then retreating each night to his cozy beach house in Malibu. That is, when he didn't spend his evenings out on the party circuit with a woman on his arm. Crystal was it, she tried to remember, or was it Dina? Or any one of a flock of attractive women who felt comfortable in her own skin and could keep a man like him happy.

She shook that thought out of her head and concentrated on having a good time with her friends and not on her friend living his own life miles away and how they had last parted. No point in thinking about actions that couldn't be changed, and words that couldn't be taken back after being said. Not that she was sure she would even if she could do that.

Still he was there and she was here, kicking back after a hard week spent working on a case involving a political refugee escaping a notorious trafficker. The woman was in hiding and the trafficker who was still running around loose had already sent a package to the building where C.J. worked that had to be dismantled by the Houston Police Department's bomb squad. Fortunately, it had been an inert device but the message had clearly been sent…and received. She had shrugged off bodyguards, wanting to put that part of her life behind her and had gone back to work.

She had been finishing up paperwork at her desk when Chris had called suggesting that they hold a Friday bash for girls only. C.J. brightened up at the idea and she knew that Chris needed a pickup while her husband, Dan was at a conference in Europe and after her recent surgery to remove some scar tissue from her that hopefully would help resolve her fertility issues.

C.J. had been the one who had suggested the location, without telling Murray of course. But what the president didn't know…wouldn't hurt him.

The top floor suite here mirrored the one in the L.A. office where had spent several years working until her life had been turned upside down. It had been Murray's idea to build it for visiting business executives from other offices around the world. On this day, C.J. and Chris had decided to borrow it for a raging end of the work week party for themselves and their friends. They ordered pizza with all the ingredients and hit the liquor cabinet before changing into their swimsuits to hit the Jacuzzi to relax. Fran had brought some jazz CDs to fill the room with music that contributed to the festive atmosphere.

"So who's looking after the twins," Rhonda asked Fran.

"Carlos has them tonight," Fran said, "But his mom flew into town tonight just in time to rescue him."

The others chuckled.

"What about you Rhonda," Fran said, "I would have thought you'd be with Jonathan."

Rhonda frowned.

"He's on a business trip," she said, "Ever since he started this consultant position, I think he's been out of town more than he's been in it."

C.J. knew that Jonathan had left his job with the U.S. Marshal's because he had enough of working in the public sector. He had remained in Texas with his girlfriend until at least he could figure out what to do next. He had done some consulting to support himself while he searched for a more full-time position hopefully as far away from the federal government as he possibly could get. Rhonda loved living in Houston with her work at the Houston Women's Foundation, her studies to get her degree in counseling and her friends but C.J. knew that she loved Jonathan and if he left to take a job, she would likely go with him.

"He'll be back and happy to see you again," C.J. said about her ex-boyfriend who had become an even closer friend during the past year.

"Rhonda sipped her wine cooler.

"He really gets me," she said, "and no other guy ever took the time to really do that."

Fran snorted.

"Hey you picked one who's not bad to look at either," she said, "Has he popped the question yet?"

Rhonda's brows shot up.

"Why you asking," she said, "and no he hasn't, we haven't been even living together that long."

Fran looked noncommittal.

"I'm just curious," she said, "I mean you look cute together and now you're living together and I guess part of me is still old fashioned…"

Rhonda nodded at that after weighing it.

"Well then if we do decide to take that path," she said, "You'll be among the first to know."

C.J. listened to them banter as they often did, not nearly as crossly as it sometimes sounded. The two women were very close having bonded after Matt had broken up the prostitution ring in Bannon County that had snared all three of them. They had then moved to Houston to help Matt establish his foundation for women in crisis that Fran now directed. But both Fran and Rhonda had found men to share their lives from, men who had to navigate through mine fields thrown up by both women's pasts just to get there. C.J. knew all about that…having built some of her own in the past year or so and having the man she most cared about just get caught in the middle of one. She wondered if he still thought about what she had said to him that night. The following morning when she had headed back here from L.A. he hadn't said very much but then again neither had she.

It had been pretty quiet between them ever since.

"What about you C.J.?"

She looked up in surprise.

"What about me," she said, even though she knew the question.

The three women looked at her.

"Anyone in your life that you haven't told us about," Rhonda asked.

She looked at them a long moment, collecting her words as she always did when someone asked her about that part of her personal life. What could she tell them, that any relationship she had started with a man didn't last long before she pushed him away? That when she had looked in the eyes of any man even her lifelong friend she instead saw him? That every time she looked down at her hands like she did now and saw the scars, she remembered? C.J. had spent the last year rebuilding her life, her identity as a human being and a woman piece by piece but still some of the broken pieces didn't fit back where they had once lived. And one of those broken pieces involved Matt.

Sure, they were still best friends, as they had always been and in many ways even closer since they had been thrust in the nightmare that had claimed her life for over a year. One that she never would have survived without him with her but the man that she trusted with her life still scared her anyway just like everyone else who had tried to get close to her. And she could never ever tell him that because if she did, she'd just hurt him like she had that night, the last one they had spent together. When she had looked at him and saw something new in his eyes just before he had turned into the man who still haunted her, like the string of men who she had dated.

She looked back at her friends who waited expectedly but their eagerness for an answer remained tempered with patience. Then she smiled and shrugged to hide the way she felt whenever anyone had asked it in casual conversation or from deep inside their heart while standing inches away, close enough to touch.

"There's no one," she said simply.

"What about Larry," Fran asked, "He seemed nice and he's great looking."

Larry had been a college mate of Murray's who had been transferred to the accounting division in Houston from a similar division in the Tokyo office. He loved fine wines, attending the opera and he had asked her out not long after Murray introduced him. And she had gone out to dinner with him once…they had a lot in common having both gone to Ivy League Schools and they both liked good mystery films but when he had given her an innocent peck on the lips goodnight…her mind had slipped back to a much darker period and a man who looked nothing like Larry. She had caught herself as she often did before reacting violently, her therapist had helped her progress to that point but that didn't change how she felt inside. Enjoying herself in a whirlwind of sensation during the moment and then suddenly feeling as if she died again.

He had called her back but she hadn't returned his calls, except to say she was hitting a busy patch in her work and had little time to socialize with anyone. And so Larry had joined a list of men that she had pushed away but he hadn't been the last one. She kept that fact to herself, not wanting to be interrogated by her well-meaning friends who she knew just wanted her to be happy…like they were in their relationships. It just would never work for her again. After what had just happened less than a month ago in L.A.…she knew that she would never be or even feel whole again.

"I just haven't met the right guy yet," she said.

Of course that wasn't the truth at all but a lie which had come much easier to tell with repetition and allowed her to close the book on that part of her life from even herself.

Matt looked at the men standing in front of him, who had flown all the way to Houston from London to spend the next several months working with Murray on a special project associated with the conglomerate.

"So you're in town to work on the Miller project," Matt asked, taking a wild guess.

Both men nodded.

"I'm Larry Peters and this is Sebastian Meyers," the taller one said, "We're here to pick up the keys to the suite upstairs so we can unpack."

Matt's mind drew a blank.

"The suite….oh you mean the one on the top floor," he said, suddenly remembering, "Chris, one of the executives usually keeps the keys in her office down the hall."

It was early evening and Matt doubted that Chris even remained in the building but he could get the keys to her office easily enough. After securing them, the three of them walked towards her office and after unlocking it, Matt looked in a drawer and sure enough, there lie the keys to the penthouse suite. Matt had seen it after it had first been built up to the specifics of those used in the L.A. version though the décor differed. And Murray had put it to good use to house their guest workers in comfort and luxury which both believed contributed greatly to enhancing their productivity while in Houston.

"I don't think anyone else is using it or else Murray wouldn't have provided it for you," Matt said, "It's just one short elevator floor up."

The two men followed him to the elevator.

"So what brings you out here Mr. Houston," Larry asked, "Aren't you usually based these days in L.A.?"

"Yes I am," Matt said, "Actually Murray handles the day to day operations of this company. I'm here to attend a meeting tomorrow with some share holders. On a Saturday no less but the boss says it's important. "

Sebastian nodded.

"Yes, we've been informed of that meeting," he said, "It should be interesting."

Matt didn't really think most of the meetings he had attended while running his empire had been all that interesting…at least not the ones inside corporate boardrooms. But it had provided him with an excuse to fly back to make sure that C.J. was doing okay. After he had gotten wind of the bomb squad showing up at her workplace, he had to fight not to gas up the Lear Jet and fly on out there to see her. But he knew if he did that, she would keep withdrawing from him just as she had been doing, and tell him that she didn't need his protection. So this gave him a reason to visit her and blame it on Murray.

The three of them got on the elevator to travel to the top floor.

Chris cranked up the music louder and the four of them grooved to the beat while in the Jacuzzi, before sitting back down laughing.

"This is the best way to relax," Rhonda said, "Or at least the second best way."

Fran splashed some water her way.

"So when is lover boy coming back?"

Rhonda smiled.

"In a couple of days," she said, "and he'll be back here for a couple of weeks before he heads back out again."

"The travails of long distance relationships," Chris said, "Fortunately, Dan doesn't travel as much anymore."

"Speaking of long distance. When's Houston coming back in for a visit," Rhonda asked C.J.

"Houston?"

Rhonda shot her an amused look.

"You know the one who owns this building including this suite we just crashed," she said, "He's not been in town for a while."

C.J. paused. That certainly had been true. They had spent Christmas together before heading off to Colorado to spend New Years with Jonathan's mother. But then their workloads had consumed both of them relegating them to occasional phone conversations until the night of Matt's birthday party a month ago…

She felt the flush hit her cheeks but figured she could blame it on the heat of the Jacuzzi.

"He's got a lot of cases," she pointed out, "and he's done some traveling himself lately, to Europe and South America on cases."

Rhonda sighed.

"He's definitely gone global with his investigations," she said, "Is there anything the guy's not good at?"

If Matt lacked any skills, C.J. had yet to know what they were even after knowing him most of her life. What had happened between them certainly hadn't been his fault after all.

"Everyone has weaknesses," Fran reasoned, "His might be that he wears his heart on his sleeve and that makes him vulnerable."

Matt loved his family and he loved his friends, and he showed it whenever he got the chance. His enemies had used that against him in the past but they had lived to regret it, because what some might have called a weakness on Matt's part had also proved to be one of his greatest strengths. The depths of his feelings for those he cared about allowed him to tap even deeper in his considerable experience and skills to do what needed to be done, which had been to vanquish the world of some truly dangerous criminals. And she shared that in common with him, she loved those close to her with the same fierce loyalty that he did. She had the scars on her body and in her heart to prove it just like he had collected his own.

The beat of the music broke into her thoughts and the women started dancing again, splashing water at first accidently and then more purposely dissolving with laughter into a water fight.

The elevator opened and the three men including Matt stared at the sight in front of them. Four women in swimsuits engaging in a water fight in the midst of the posh suite. Matt's eyes widened as he saw a familiar figure with damp hair in ringlets around her face wearing a blue bikini with gold trim which accentuated her shape. The body that had melted against his on a warm night not long ago, as he had pulled her closer to him first as a life preserver when he had been drowning in adrenalin and fear and then replacing that with a different hunger and passion that had threatened to consume them both.

Until she remembered.

The four women hadn't heard the elevator doors open but had heard the footsteps and the sounds of surprise at the sight of them coming from it. They all turned around at once to see who had arrived.

C.J. spoke first.

"Houston…"

He heard the mixture of emotions in her voice and her eyes both shone in anticipation but wariness lived there too. He knew that combination well.

"C.J…you're here…"

She pushed the hair out of her face and grabbing a plush robe, she stepped out of the Jacuzzi putting it on.

"We're really sorry," she started, "We didn't know Murray had anyone coming to stay here."

Matt smiled at the vision in front of him.

"It's okay, it looks like you were having fun," he said, "These two guys flew in from London and are going to be working on the Miller project."

The two men nodded at the women and said hello as they all introduced themselves to each other. The men looked dazed at the site of the women in their suite but maybe that was jetlag too catching up with them.

"We'll get this all cleaned up," Chris said quickly, "and I'm sorry I forgot all about that project. Murray told me he was flying in help."

"It's okay Chris," Matt said, "We'll let these two men get settled and we'll move it to the townhouse if you'd like for some barbecue."

Chris smiled.

"I'd better head on back home," she said, "Butterfly's grandmother is sending here for a week while she goes on a cruise."

Fran spoke up.

"I've got to go check on my husband…"

Matt shot a brow up and Fran smiled.

"He's looking after the twins and his mother's in town," she explained, "I'm not sure what I'll be walking into when I get there."

"I'm game," Rhonda said, "Life's been a bit slow since Jonathan's been away."

C.J. looked at Matt.

"Listen, why don't we get changed and then they can have the suite and then we'll head over to your place," she said.

Matt watched the two women disappear on down the steps. The two men appeared to be good sports to the unexpected party in their midst and had already hit the wet bar for some early rounds of Scotch on the rocks.

"There's plenty to do in Houston," he said, "and you're free to join us for barbecue if you'd like."

Sebastian smiled.

"Thanks but my girlfriend's a flight attendant and she's actually on layover here so we might join her for some drinks and sea food."

Matt nodded, satisfied that Houston Enterprises had performed its obligations of welcoming them within its ranks during the brief time they would be here. He thought about C.J. and whether or not she had been glad to see him. Surprised for sure, but her reaction had been mixed and he knew why. He sat down on the couch to wait for her to return.

C.J. showered and then changed into some casual jeans and a short sleeved top which complimented her muscular arms nicely. All that kickboxing had paid off leaving her both strong and supple, both graceful and fast on her feet. She pulled the sleeve over her new tattoo, of a frog with a crown dangling haphazardly on his head that rested on her shoulder. One of Houston's top artists who was the sister of a friend had done the artwork, done to cover up what has once lain beneath it. The remnant of a mark that proved that she had once been someone else's property.

She fixed her hair as Rhonda joined her trying to tame her own curly auburn hair with a blow dryer. Combing her own hair back, she thought about the evening ahead. Okay, she hadn't seen Matt for a while and as long as they stuck to the parameters of their lifelong friendship, talking about safe topics then everything would be okay. Rhonda turned the blow dryer off and looked at her.

"Are you okay with this?"

C.J. looked at her, her brow furrowed.

"Okay with what?"

Rhonda struggled with her hair again.

"Okay with me joining you and Houston."

C.J. shrugged.

"Sure it's fine."

Better, in fact than facing him alone.

Rhonda didn't look too convinced.

"Really, I mean I thought since it had been so long since you two shared the same space, you'd want to be alone with him."

C.J. worried that Rhonda had plans to back out.

"No Rhonda, I want you to join us," C.J. said, "Houston and I…you know we're just great friends. Always have been."

"You're more than that you know…"

No she didn't know, C.J. thought, how did Rhonda? But Rhonda just continued talking as she fastened her hair in a loose ponytail.

"You've been to hell together and have come out to see the other side," she said, "That makes what you have really special."

C.J. nodded at that.

"We've been there for each other all our lives," she said, "Sometimes I think he's the only one I can depend on."

Rhonda paused, her eyes gazing at her reflection knowingly.

"He came here for a reason C.J…"

"He came here for that business meeting tomorrow for Murray…"

Rhonda shook her head.

"He came here for you."

And as C.J. stood there, she feared that her friend was right.

C.J. hated underground garages; in fact she struggled just to walk across one and rarely parked in them if she could avoid it. But Houston Enterprises had in Houston just like it did in L.A. an enclosed parking garage. The three of them walked out to their cars agreeing to meet each other at Matt's townhouse. Rhonda and Matt chatted easily while C.J. half listened. The rest of her felt taut, her feet ready to spring into action as if walking on hot embers and her eyes, were everywhere, seeking out every shadow and every corner, for anything that appeared threatening. Each car hid pockets of darkness where anyone could hide and wait.

She tried to keep her feet focused on each step she took towards where they parked their cars but in a split second she returned to another garage thousands of miles away when she had been walking to her car humming a tune to herself as she searched in her purse for her keys. Her mind measured distance more casually back then, thinking in approximation of yards rather than footsteps remaining. She remembered thinking that she had about five yards left to reach her car before she would unlock it, get inside and drive to her meeting.

She never made it. Because in the shadows near the car, they waited her arrival.

She heard a quick flurry of footsteps before someone grabbed her from behind and as she struggled, slapped what smelled like something both bitter and sweet in its pungency, and then suddenly nothing…but just like that, the nightmare had begun.

A wave of dizziness wafted through her like a breeze on her face and then she felt the familiar pounding in her chest start. And then she felt her mind and her body begin that separation. No, she couldn't let that happen, she had to ground herself as her therapist had taught her. She saw Matt and Rhonda still talking but didn't hear them as they sounded further and further away. Her muscles tensed, not knowing whether to fight or to run.

She did neither but she stopped walking. And soon so did they before reaching their cars. Matt turned around to look at her and she saw his expression change from his carefree attitude with Rhonda. At moments like this one, C.J. never felt so isolated.

"C.J. are you okay," he asked.

She nodded, forcing a smile on her face.

"I'm…fine…it's just not my favorite place to be."

Matt walked over to her and just took her hand, holding in his own and the warmth of his skin soothed the coolness of her own. But he understood how fear could strike without warning, when something inside of you just shifted away from the normality of the day into the past. Matt's own traumatic kidnapping as a child had installed in him a fear of being in enclosed spaces, where he had felt waves of suffocation fill him as if he were being buried alive. A fear that had remained with him nearly to adulthood.

When he had been younger, the darkness had terrified him as well but as he smiled inwardly, a certain woman had come up with a rather innovative method of curing him of that.

They reached their cars and each drove off to Matt's townhouse to enjoy some barbecue.

Matt stood on the deck of his townhouse that he reserved mostly for times when he had dropped into Houston to conduct business or to visit C.J. His family had owned ranch land outside the city limits but Matt had finally sold it several months earlier, the last vestige of his connection to his childhood. Rhonda walked out with some condiments for the burgers and C.J. had been whipping up a salad with some fixings Matt had picked up at the grocery store.

Murray had dropped by with some papers for Matt to sign before the meeting the next day. Before he had a chance to start off with one of his litanies about how much works still needed to be done, C.J. cut him off at the path by assigning him the task of slicing some tomatoes and onions for the fixings. Matt mouthed some silent thanks in her direction.

C.J. enjoyed her burger as she always did, fresh off the grill which always tasted better than at a restaurant. Murray ate two and in between them provided a history of his business deal, blow by blow that he had just pulled off in a business trip in Singapore. Rhonda interrupted him that time asking him to tell her about things were going with the Begonia Appreciation Club which included Murray as a charter member. Flowers seemed to be a much safer topic than business, Matt decided which he decided could just wait until tomorrow and that meeting with the shareholders. After they closed business, Matt planned to spend the rest of the day relaxing on his boat and fishing at the local lake.

"So C.J. are you up for some shopping tomorrow morning," Rhonda asked, "There's a great shoe sale at that great new store I told you about."

"Sure," C.J. said, "I want to check out the new shipment of heels for that party in a couple of weeks."

Matt looked at the both of them.

"Party?"

Murray answered that question.

"Oh yes," he said, "We're holding a dinner party at the new steakhouse to welcome our latest batch of temporary workers from London, Rome and Paris."

"I see," Matt said, "I think it's a wonderful idea Murray…"

"Actually it was Chris' idea," Murray said, "She's been working on it."

C.J. caught the surprise on his face. She felt the same way when she bumped into avenues of his separate life she didn't know about when she had visited him in L.A.

"You're invited Houston," she said, "If you want to come out here, you're more than welcome."

He chewed his burger thoughtfully and thought that would be an excuse to come back to his home town. These past few months, he didn't feel as if he were on as sure footing with his best friend, more like quicksand. Ever since…he had grabbed hold of her and she hadn't pushed him away. Instead she had welcomed in her own warm embrace and returned his fervent kisses with her own.

Until something shifted in her body language and in her eyes, and looking there, Matt realized that she had seen him again, the man who still kept a tight hold on her even in his absence. He knew better than most how powerful memories could prove to be, sometimes even more so than the reality they shielded. He had felt so alive with her and he had known she had too, until in a split-second…since then he had navigated very carefully to find his best friend and more behind a stranger's defenses.

"I'll have to come then," he said, "in the interest of boosting employee morale of course."

C.J. gazed back at him, almost in surprise and then she nodded.

"Of course," was all she said before they listened to Murray regal him with tales of past soirees that had been hosted by Matt's conglomerate.

Later on, after Rhonda and Murray had headed on home filled with barbecue, C.J. and Matt had poured themselves some Scotch and had headed out to the deck to look at the scenic view. He looked over at her and she seemed relaxed, resting her drink on the rail of the balcony and looking over at the oceanic view of the harbor. Even though they had spent the evening eating dinner and laughing with friends, he felt the walls come up between the two of them after their friends had left. But when he started to ask about it, C.J. had covered it up with a smile and said that she wanted to check out the view. He had of course decided to join her and she hadn't objected.

Silence had risen between them but not entirely uncomfortable as he sipped his Scotch and just stood, waiting to see what she would do. He sensed that again, she had been sizing him up.

But when they came, her words surprised him.

"Houston…I'm sorry about the parking garage."

His eyes shot over at her, wondering what she meant and then he remembered.

"C.J…you have nothing to be sorry about," he started, "You have your fears but you don't let them stop you."

She sighed.

"That's the least of them."

Matt knew that. He had felt the terror strike her while he had been holding onto her, as her body decided whether to fight or flee his embrace. And the look of shame in her eyes when her rationale caught up with her fear even when he tried to reassure her that everything was okay, trying to keep his frustration in check.

"I'm trying so hard to get past them, but…"

He nodded.

"It's a lot easier to wish it were so than to make it so," he said, "I've been there myself. I know."

And C.J. knew how very much he did, having been through his own share of traumatic experiences, most recently a kidnapping where a month of memories had been erased leaving him believing that he might have killed a woman in cold blood.

"My friends helped me…"

"We wouldn't have been anywhere else Houston," C.J. said, "I wouldn't have been anywhere else."

Matt remembered how devoutly she had fought to help prove his innocence, nearly losing her life. He had done the same for her in the past year but both of them still carried their respective scars. But he didn't want to worsen her own and he felt like that was what he had done inadvertently perhaps but just the same. The terror in her eyes, the quick heartbeat against his chest had been visceral even if not for him.

"C.J. about…"

He saw her eyes change, sharpen then and he knew that she quickly guessed what he was about to say and then she shook her head.

"No, I don't want to discuss it Houston," she said, "We need to just let it go and move on."

"Can you?"

Pain flashed through her eyes just then, her jaw tightened and she looked back at the view.

"I need to Houston," she said, "What happened…"

"There was nothing wrong with what happened," he interrupted, "Except that I think I pushed you too hard."

She shook her head even more vehemently.

"No Houston, you did nothing wrong," she said, "It's just not going to work…I was just using you anyway."

His brows shot up at that.

"What are you saying," he said.

She closed her eyes before what came next.

"I was trying to forget him," she said, "I can't live like this anymore, afraid of him, seeing him in every man who tries to get close to me... the physical side of relationships… I can't live without that. I kissed you to prove that I wasn't afraid of him any longer."

He digested what she said, knowing the cost her words exacted.

"And you reached for me Houston, because you came close to dying and you wanted to prove to yourself that you were still alive…"

"C.J…"

"No Houston, that's perfectly normal," she said, sounding almost damn clinical, "Anyone might do the same in your circumstances."

Matt tried to be patient but he felt anger creep into his own words at her detachment even though he knew she couldn't help that part of her that had been born out of violence against her.

"C.J. I did what I did because I wanted to," he said, "It had nothing to do with some instinctual response to looking death in the face and resisting it."

He didn't think his words were sinking through to the part of herself which remained closed off to him. And the rationale continued to flow out of her through her carefully chosen words.

"Houston…I care about you, really I do but all I was thinking was about him and showing that he hadn't any more control over me. I'm sorry if I led you to believe otherwise."

His eyes blinked.

"Okay…so where does this leave us then?"

She smiled at him but he saw what lay beneath that smile, knowing that a lot was not being said but knowing better than to push her buttons. At least not right now.

"We're still best friends," she said, "I'll always be your best friend."

And with that, she closed off the topic though Matt had no intention of closing it forever. He saw the glimmer of regret intermingled with the fears that still haunted her despite her almost desperate attempts to shield her feelings from her. He swallowed his irritation and reached for her hand.

Then he said some really difficult words.

"Okay, now that we've got that…settled," he said, "It's almost summer time and I might be able to free up some time in my busy caseload to come on down here…"

She looked at him apologetic.

"I'd love to Houston," she said, "But you know that case I told you about…"

Oh yes, the one involving the ranchers who owned spreads outside of Silver Lode in Colorado including Jonathan's mother, Thea. A developer had come in and had been trying to buy up their land and his methods…were more than somewhat questionable.

"I didn't know you had agreed to take that case," Matt said, "You've been working so hard C.J. and you need a break."

She smiled.

"This is almost a vacation for me Houston," she said, "and I owe these people like Thea and Jed my life. They helped me when I most needed it and I'd like to return that favor."

Matt nodded as he couldn't argue with that. But he couldn't go all that time without seeing her. He knew he had to be real patient but if she were somewhere in the Rockies…

"Okay then…You go help the ranchers and I'll deal with my business and we'll tell each other about it when we're back together…In the meantime…I have that boring conference meeting that Murray roped me into but afterward…"

His eyes lit up with mischief and C.J. felt her defenses lower just a little bit. Now wasn't the time to offer his assistance to her while she was in Colorado so he changed topics.

"I thought you were going fishing."

"That was the plan," he said, "but I also had it in my mind to ask a certain lady to come with me. Just as best friends…and in the spirit of a little competition…"

She bit back her smile.

"What competition Houston," she said, "You know I can outfish you any day of the week…"

Matt didn't agree and the two of them agreed to wager before agreeing to meet tomorrow at the corporate building after the meeting. He had put his arm loosely around her shoulder as they walked back inside the townhouse.

She thought about how she would whip him in their impromptu fishing derby. He thought about how tomorrow he would begin the most important project of his life, to win the heart of the woman he had known most of his life.