When Sheridan opened the door for Hank, she knew by the reaction on his face that she had accomplished her desired look. She decided on a deep red fitted blouse that came off of her shoulders and dipped down her back, bringing special attention to her long neck and slender waist. Her black velvet skirt reached to her ankles, but allowed breathing room by means of a long slit along her left leg that reached mid-thigh. She wore velvet black pumps, and a small ruby necklace with matching earrings. She hoped the outfit would appeal to Luis’ Latin side.

"Wow!" was all her could manage.

"Well, lets go," Sheridan said, ready to see Luis.

‘She must be over Luis if she went to so much trouble to look this sexy for our date!’ Hank thought to himself. ‘Well, I won’t disappoint her.’ He led her to the car, and together they drove to the Lobster Shack.

Beth was sitting at a table in the Book Cafe when Luis walked in. She almost passed out when she saw him. ‘He looks like something in one of those hard body calendars!’ she thought to herself. She knew all too well that Luis would look sexy in anything he put on, but in a well-fitting white button down shirt, black slacks and a black jacket, he looked like a GQ model. He had left the first two buttons of the shirt undone, contrasting his dark skin and revealing the beginnings of his well-muscled chest. ‘He really is over Sheridan! I don’t remember him ever going to so much trouble to look good for me,’ Beth thought happily.

He walked over to the table, flashing her a friendly smile. "Ready to go?"

"You know, I don’t think Hank and Sheridan would mind if we skipped out on them," Beth said suggestively, hoping to get Luis to herself. She wasn't so naive that she didn’t realize that Sheridan would see the same thing in Luis she did. ‘But I won’t give him up without a fight, even if Sheridan does decide she wants Luis back!’

"No!" Luis said. Realizing it had come out stronger than her meant, he lightened his tone. "I don’t want them to think I backed out on them. Besides, it’s been a while since we all had a friendly dinner together," Luis stated, trying to sound convincing.

"Okay, lets go then," Beth said, satisfied with Luis’ answer. They left together and headed for the Lobster Shack.

Luis and Beth arrived right before Hank and Sheridan, so they sat down and waited. Beth watched Luis to see if he seemed different from usual. She noted a small nervous foot tapping, but she decided that was normal, considering this was their first real date since high school. What she did not know was that they had been seated at the very same table where Luis and Sheridan had had their first date.

"I’ll be right back," Beth said. "I just need to go to the ladies room. If the waiter comes, just order for me."

Luis watched her as she walked towards the front of the restaurant. ‘Okay, I've managed to pull this off so far, but what am I going to do when Sheridan gets here. Stop it, Luis! She’ll be with Hank. Just remember that, and you'll be fine. I just wish we had gotten a different table!’

Sheridan and Hank got out of the car and went into the Lobster Shack. Just as they were about to look for Beth and Luis, Hank’s cell phone began to ring.

"Who could that be?" Hank said, pulling out his phone. "Forget it. They can call back."

Sheridan looked at Hank. "Go ahead, I’m sure it won’t take long. I can wait."

‘It will give me time to figure out what I’m going to do when I see Luis.’

Rolling his eyes, Hank answered the phone, and after a second, he looked at Sheridan. "Look, this may take a few minutes. Why don’t you go ahead and sit down."

"I wonder what’s taking them so long?" Luis said to himself. He got up and began walking toward the lobby to see if Hank and Sheridan had gotten a different table when he almost ran into Sheridan. She was so surprised that she lost her balance and fell forward into his arms. Luis caught her easily, holding her around her waist. She had instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and for what seemed like an eternity, all they could do was look into each others eyes. They never noticed Hank and Beth walking up to them with the owner in tow. The owner just smiled.

"Luis? Miss Crane?" he asked, trying not to break the spell between them, but also needing to get past them.

Luis looked like he was waking up from a dream. "Oh, hey Jimmy. Sorry about that," he apologized, letting go of Sheridan and moving out of the way.

Sheridan also apologized. "It’s my fault," she said quickly. "I was caught off guard when Luis almost ran into me, and I lost my balance, but luckily he caught me, and..."

Jimmy just smiled. "No need to apologize. Besides," he said flashing Luis a knowing smile, :"I can’t blame the man for taking any opportunity to hold such a beautiful woman. You're a lucky guy, Luis. You've got what most men only dream of."

"What do you mean?" Luis asked nervously.

"Are you kidding!" Jimmy just laughed. "Man, I knew the first time you two came in together and she threw that wine in your face that you two were meant to be!" He looked at Sheridan warmly. "I always told Luis that the reason why he wasn't interested in dating wasn't because no one was interested. Hell, he’s had girls lined around the block for him as long as I've known him. His problem was that he needed a girl who wouldn’t take any of his crap!"

Beth and Hank watched the exchange, and Hank looked at Beth with a what-the-hell-is-going-on look. Beth knew what was going on. She had been wrong. Very wrong about Luis and Sheridan. ‘It’s going to take more for Luis to forget about Sheridan than I thought.’

Beth decided it was time to break it up before Luis and Sheridan were given an opportunity to change their minds.

"Well, Jimmy, since Luis is MY date tonight," Beth said so only Jimmy and Hank could hear, " I would appreciate it if we could drop this subject." Jimmy almost choked on his embarrassment.

"I’m sorry! I thought..."

"It’s okay," Hank said taking a shaky Sheridan by the arm. "Lets just sit down and eat."

Sheridan finally broke her gaze from Luis and let Hank lead her to the table. She sat down, then suddenly realized where they were seated. She knew she shouldn't but she could not help herself, and she started laughing uncontrollably.

"What?" Hank said, looking at Beth, then at Luis. He could see that Luis knew what the joke was. "You two mind letting us in on what the hell's going on?"

Luis was the first to speak. "This is our table," he said plainly looking at Sheridan. She simply nodded in agreement, and they broke into a new fit of laughter.

Beth had had it. "Sheridan," she said. "I need a little fresh air. Would you mind joining me?"

Sheridan looked at Beth, but decided to go ahead and find out what she wanted. "Sure."

Hank turned and glared at Luis. He waited a few minutes to make sure the girls were gone before speaking.

"All right," he said. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know NOW!"

Before Luis could answer, there was a loud boom followed by another. Then someone screamed outside. Luis and Hank both jumped up and raced to the front of the building. Hank stopped short. Luis raced out the front door, and almost slipped. There was a large red pool under his feet and just inches from that was Beth and Sheridan.

"Luis?" cried Beth.

The cop in him took over for a split second, and Luis noted that Beth had been shot, one round, clean in the stomach. She would live, but Sheridan...

Sheridan had not been so lucky. She had also only taken one round, but it was to her chest, and she was already beginning to cough up blood.

"Sheridan?"

She tried to talk, but ended up coughing roughly from the effort. Her eyes began to roll back.

"You listen to me!" He grabbed her and made her focus on his face. "Stay with me, Sheridan."

"I can't..."

"Sheridan, so help me God, if you die now, I will hate you for as long as I live," he said meaning every word. He saw the look on her face change from sorrow to determination.

Sheridan seemed to gain strength from his eyes. She nodded weakly and let him pick her up gently.

"I won't let you die!" he said it to convince himself more than Sheridan, fighting back his tears just as the ambulance pulled up.

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