private investigator;

“Ya know, your wife is a nice woman. She let me in when I told her I was your brother. But she also seems a bit wrecked. How is she holding up? I heard about her father. How are you holding up?” Garrett had bailed, he knew this and put all the responsibility onto Lauren and he regretted that at times.

Emilie had very much just rolled out of bed, hair a mess and in her pajamas as she began to brew herself some coffee. Her sleep schedule was all a mess, but she didn’t mind too much. At least she had some time off from her job to enjoy the holidays. She was just getting a cup from the cabinet when she heard someone knock at the door. Strange, who was coming to see her? Completely forgetting just how much of a mess she looked, she opened the door and her cheeks flushed red when she saw it was Garrett. “Hi,” she smiled softly, a little embarrassed as she realized how weird she must look. “This is a nice surprise.”

Garrett couldn't help but smile when she opened the door. Honestly he wasn't expecting her to open it like that. But he didn't mind seeing her because well he was visiting her unannounced. "Hey." She didn't look weird to him at all. He understood just getting out of bed. "That it is. Figured we can spend the day together if you would like. Not unless you have other plans then I completely get it."

Garrett had spent most of the day with his family. Even though things between Lauren and himself were still tense. Which he didn’t blame her considering that he had just left the family when they needed him the most. But he was here now even if it was just for work. It was nice though reconnecting with his family. After Trevor and his little family left, Garrett excused himself as well. Pulling up to Emilie’s place, he parked his car and got out. Heading up to the door, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. Waiting for her to answer. This was probably going to be a surprise to her. But he didn’t mind surprising her at all.

Lauren glanced back at him and then she shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Why not.. I could use a caffeine hit anyway.”

“See there we go. You can tell me everything that I have missed.” Garrett started out the door.

Lauren shrugged. “I guess so.” She didn’t really know what to say and it was frustrating but it had been so long.

“Can we get a coffee or something?” Garrett questioned, looking over at her for a moment.

Garrett was enjoying this small town so far and working of course. That was what he did while he was here. Work. But he also had his date with Emilie and he did enjoy spending time with her. He was trying to figure out how to mend things with Lauren still though. Right now though, he was enjoying this time at the carnival. That was when he seen Emilie and he couldn’t help but smile. Moving over to her now. “How about I win you a prize, beautiful?”

If she could blush anymore, she was sure she was when she heard his compliment. “You look quite daper yourself,” she said, smiling a bit as she smelled the flowers. “Yeah, I should probably do that….do you want to come in? I’m sure it would probably feel weird if you were just standing out here.”

Garret couldn’t help but smile at her words, looking her over again. “Thank you.” His smile now matched hers. Nodding his head a little bit. “Probably best to do that. Yeah, sure. And you are probably right about that and I don’t want to feel too weird.” He stated as he started to move inside after her.

Lauren looked up at the voice and she held back a little sigh. She supposed she had been ignoring his calls, but she’d also been incredibly busy… and stressed. “Well, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.” She stated, not bothering to talk about Brooke. She and her brother were estranged, she wasn’t going to open up to him out of nowhere. “What did you want?”

Garrett crossed his arms as he continued to lean in the door, while looking at her. He was still doing his best to try and read her. Of course he noticed that she didn’t remark on the Brooke comment. Maybe things weren’t going well in that department. “Can’t a brother just stop by and say hi?” He questioned, raising a brow slightly. He knew that things were rough and maybe he wanted to fix that.

“You know for being the Chief you are one hard person to get ahold of.” Garrett stated, leaning in the door way as he looked over at Lauren for a moment. “Thought maybe you were avoiding my calls or something. Or is your fiancee keeping you busy?”

Emilie stood nervously outside of her place, tapping on the strap of her purse as she waited. When she spotted the car coming down, she watched as it came to a stop and Garrett got out. She took a few steps towards him as she saw him moving towards her. Her eyes lit up a bit when she saw the flowers. “Wow, thank you,” she said, taking the flowers before blushing. 

Was Garrett nervous? Maybe a little bit. But he would make it through. He always did. Smiling the moment that he saw her. "You're welcome. You look amazing." Handing the flowers over to her now. “You want to put those in water before we go?” Garrett questioned, not taking his eyes off from her. 

“See you at six,” she replied, giving him a wave as she left the coffee house. For the remainder of the day she spent it trying to figure out just what the hell she was going to wear that night. Did she go with a dress? A skirt and cute shirt? Pants? Jesus, why was this so hard? Eventually she settled for a black dress with pink and red flowers. She had her make up done and when it was six, she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, figuring she would meet him outside.

"I'll see you then." Garrett smiled over at her for a moment. The rest of his day actually went very smoothly. He still had to go and see his sister but he would do that another time. Moving into his apartment, he decided to wear his good jeans and a button up shirt. Stopping by the flower shop before he went over to her place. Seeing her outside, he got out of his car and smiled while making his way over to her. “These are for you and you look wow.”

“It’s a date.” Wait, was it a date? Maybe? He had asked her to dinner and drinks so maybe? Reaching into her purse before she overthought it, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and jotted down her address and phone number. “Here,” she replied, handing it to him, “I’ll see you at six.”

"That it is." That smile of his still played on his lips as he looked over at her. Yes, he had asked her and wanted it to be a date. Garrett couldn't deny that. When she handed him a piece of paper, he glanced down at her address and phone number. “I will see you at six. Thank you for the coffee.”