A/N: I hadn't meant to continue this, but I offered to write a holiday gift for my friend SolarPoweredFlashlight and she asked for more, so I wrote more.

This chapter is dedicated to SolarPoweredFlashlight. Happy December.

The Work of Finding

Ripper (the attack cat) develops a really awful habit of sitting on Vi's chest whenever he wants her to get up and feed him.

The first time he does it, she wakes up convinced that she's having a heart attack or suffocating or ate something really not good the night before – in that order. The resulting flailing dislodges Ripper (the attack cat) and he stays huffy at her for all of the three minutes it takes her to roll out of bed and stumble over to his food dish.

When she finishes scraping the wet kitten food out of its tin and into his bowl, Vi checks her phone to get the time.

The time is too steamin' early, so Vi shuffles back into bed and passes out again.

According to her phone, Ripper the aggressive fluffball wakes her up again half an hour later, again sitting on her chest, breath smelling like kitten food.

This time he wants water.

Vi shoves her feet into her boots, picks up his water dish, and stumbles out of her apartment and down the hall to the bathroom she shares with the other residents of the tenement. She walks to the sink. Vi waits for the water to stop being brown before she puts the bowl under the faucet.

She doesn't always wait when she's filling up her own water bottle, but - only the best for Ripper. The attack cat.

Once Ripper is both fed and watered, Vi sits down on her small bed. It's still too steamin' early, but now that she's gotten up and walked down the hall and back, she's probably not going to have much success sleeping again.

Vi doesn't stay on her bed thinking for long – maybe only a minute or two.

She gets up and goes to her workbench and starts fiddling with a hextech capacitor design she's been brewing for a while, adding and subtracting parts, searching for something that works better than the last iteration.

Sitting and thinking is kind of boring. Vi thinks with her hands.

Cait though – Cait is a master of sitting and thinking. She can sit for hours, frowning, brow scrunched just a little, contemplating the state of the universe. Vi doesn't often get to watch her sit and think (Vi has steady legit work these days, thanks, like many things, to the great Sheriff of Piltover), but oh man, she'd give a lot, like, her best set of capacitors, to just hang around, chilling, and watching Cait think.

Vi doesn't think Cait notices that she scrunches up her brow a bit. Cait's not very vain, but she's just vain enough that she'd probably try to stop herself for fear of wrinkles. It wouldn't work (and Vi wouldn't want it to work, it's cute), but she'd sure have a go at it – and that might be pretty cute too. It sure has potential. But Vi wouldn't ever bring it up to Cait. She's always too frustrated with her work as it is. No reason to go making it worse.

Playing with hextech is – what's the word? Meditative. It's meditative.

Time passes somewhere else.

That kind of feeling.

When Vi's normal wake up phone alarm goes off, she's got a grin plastered on her face and her tongue is sticking slightly out from between her teeth. The capacitor is definitely coming along and that's a good feeling.

It's with some reluctance that she tears herself away from her work, packs the small pieces up in a cat-proof box (that she made herself), pulls on her uniform, and grabs her coat.

Not too much reluctance though. She's gonna go stop by the local bakery to pick up breakfast and a cupcake for Cait. The bakery folks are stellar and they always make her morning (well, up until that part of the morning when she camps out across the hall from Cait's office, just out of sight, and watches the Sheriff examine the baked good of the day.

Vi says a very quiet goodbye to Ripper. He's sleeping on his back in a corner of her apartment, paws in the air, twitching, as if he dreams of chasing mice.

Vi's a lot less quiet when she clatters down the stairs of her building, but the stairs are creaky and the pipes are loud and it's not like she's adding all that much to the general commotion of the tenement waking up.

There's a definite nip in the air when Vi hits the street and she's glad she took her coat. When fall first hit, she didn't adjust all that fast and ended up going to work a few times without her coat and really regretting it on the way home.

The bakery is about four blocks from Vi's apartment, on the nicer end of the neighborhood. She takes her time walking there. Ripper (the attack cat) woke her up early and even though she didn't leave until her alarm went off, she's super ahead of schedule for the day.

If you could call what Vi follows a "schedule."

It's nothing that Cait would recognize as a schedule, that's for sure.

Just as predicted, the bakery people are lovely. Vi sits down near the counter and spends a while chatting with the young woman with dark brown skin at the register while the elderly man who owns the shop boxes up today's cupcake for her. The woman's name is Eileia, the old man's name is Jacho. They're a grandfather-granddaughter pair and every now and then the old man will interject "when I was your age" comments into the Eileia's story about the handsome young man who's been coming around lately.

Since Vi thinks she's "ahead of schedule" and probably has extra time or something, she decides to eat her three-donuts-for-breakfast at the bakery instead of on the bus.

It's nice.

The table she's at is in a sunbeam. It's pleasantly warm and she doesn't stay long enough for the sun to get in her eyes.

The bakery has a steady stream of morning traffic and, well, no one ever said that Vi was humble. She's hella proud that the bakery she (she!) saved from a bunch of thugs a year or so ago is doing well.

When Vi's done with her donuts she brushes the crumbs off herself, takes her cupcake, waves goodbye to the Eileia and Jacho, and heads out onto the street again.

She gets to the bus stop just in time to watch the bus pull away.

It's fine. She's ahead of schedule.

Vi leans up against the sign for the bus stop and people-watches while she waits for the next bus.

An elderly couple walk hand in hand down the street – Estephan and Hilde, they live down the block from her. Both retired. Estephan used to be a teacher at a nearby grade school and Hilde was the secretary there. They're a kindly pair, though Estephan can get cranky when rain comes in and his joints act up. They love their morning walks together.

Jilliet, poor thing, is wandering about stopping everyone on the street to talk them. Her apartment was broken into a week ago and her wedding ring was stolen. She's spent a week now asking if anyone's seen it, with no luck – though Vi hadn't heard about it until a few days ago. Jilliet is almost as old as Estephan and Hilde, but her knees are only half as good and Vi doesn't like seeing her so desperate. Vi's done some work already and she thinks she's got a lead on where the ring has gone, but she won't be able to follow up on it until later in the day.

A couple teens, Ailex and Dubs, sit on the sidewalk outside a corner store, talking to one another. Dubs pulls out a set of jacks and Ailex produces a ball.

Vi grins to herself. She likes jacks. She used to play with her crew. It's been a while though.

If she brought some jacks to the station, would the other officers play during break? It's worth a shot.

The bus comes and Vi hops on. She waves at the driver instead of paying the fare. All the drivers on her routes know her these days. The one good cop, they call her. She's tried to tell them a few times that the others aren't so bad and Sheriff Cait is a real good egg, but they tend to roll their eyes and wave her on back to get a seat.

It's not a fight she's going to win by talking, so Vi leaves it alone these days. They'll see, someday.

Vi's route to work takes a while. There's no a faster way to get to the upper city from where she lives though.

While she sits on the bus, Vi plays with a few hextech bits she keeps in her pockets for when she's got nothing else going on.

She's got an Idea.

These bits are going to be a cat toy and-

Okay, maybe not a cat toy. Choking hazard. Right. Vi has learned her lesson. That's why she now has a cat-proof box for her workbench.

She keeps playing with the bits, waiting for her hands to come up with a new Idea.

They haven't gotten one together by the time she steps off the bus by the station, but that's fine. They'll figure something out eventually.

Vi saunters into the station and waves at the women who work the front desk. They smile and wave back. One of them points at the clock on the wall and raises an eyebrow.

Oh.

Shit.

Vi wasn't all that ahead of schedule after all.

She's kind of bad at schedules.

With a fire now lit beneath her hindquarters, Vi hustles onto the main floor and makes a beeline for Sheriff Caitlyn's office. The officers she passes greet her, but she doesn't respond. In her wake, most of them look at her, then the clock, then laugh.

Vi gets to Cait's office just in time to see Cait round the corner at the end of the hall on her way to the bathroom.

Ok.

Not late. Right on time. A Vi is never late. She is also never early. She always shows up exactly when she means to.

It's old hat by now to slip into Cait's office, pull the cupcake out of its box and put it on the des-

"Vi."

Vi's pretty sure she jumps a full two feet or something ridiculous like that. In the course of jumping, she manages to twist around and knock a stack of papers off Cait's desk.

Vi faces the Sheriff and gulps.

"Ah, hi Cait," she says.

Caitlyn looks down at the papers on the floor, then back up at Vi, then raises her eyebrows.

"Right, I'll just get those," Vi says. And she does. She sweeps them up into a haphazard pile and sets the pile carefully onto Cait's desk. A good job, if she does say so herself.

Caitlyn's eyebrows are still raised as she looks at the pile of papers on her desk.

Is she unhappy with Vi's work?

Caitlyn drops her eyebrows and looks at Vi instead of the papers.

Awesome. She's not unhappy with Vi's work.

"What are you doing today?" Caitlyn asks.

"Uh," Vi starts. What kind of question is that? "My job?" she asks.

"I'd like to go out with you," Caitlyn says. She pauses, goes bright red, then adds, "On your patrol. I'm doing inspections."

Vi is a strange mix of excited, disappointed, surprised, and anxious. "Yeah, okay," she says. "I was just on my way there. Let me grab my gear."

Caitlyn clears her throat and steps aside so that Vi's path out of her office is unobstructed. "Very good," she says.

Vi scurries out of Caitlyn's office and heads for the lockers.

Patrol with Cait.

Ohhhhhh.

Her, out there, patrolling, with Cait.

Deeeeeep breath Vi. You got this.

Vi fumbles with the combination lock on her gunmetal grey locker twice before managing to spin the numbers correctly on the third try. No one else is in the room to see it because she's, as usual, the last officer to make it to the station.

From her locker, she grabs the keys for her police motorbike, a pair of small hextech gauntlets (the big ones are hard to carry, not good for steering a bike, and make it difficult to walk through doors – she reserves them for days when she knows she'll need them), and her service weapon.

Her service weapon is a pistol. It has a long polished brass barrel and a smooth wood grip. Vi keeps it holstered and she's never used it. She doesn't like it very much. It makes people who aren't criminals nervous and people who are criminals – they respect it a lot less than some of her colleagues like to think.

With her things in order, Vi shuts her locker with a loud clang, puts the lock back on, and gives it a spin. It's the middle of a police station, but one can't be too careful.

Caitlyn is waiting for her in the hall outside the locker room.

Vi sees her and grins.

Impulsive is Vi's middle name (well, she's only Vi – impulsive is probably actually her last name), so she gives Caitlyn an exaggerated bow, sweeping the hand holding her bike keys out to the side. "My lady," she says.

Vi is pretty sure she can hear Caitlyn rolling her eyes.

"Come on, officer," Caitlyn says.

Vi stands back up and salutes. The keys smack her in the nose. Trying to recover – ah who is she kidding, no dignity to be recovered here – "Sure thing, boss."

Vi heads for the station garage with Caitlyn in tow.

She gets all the way to her bike (it's white and blue, the colors of the force, but she's gotten her hands on it and in it and this treasure is anything but standard issue at this point) before she realizes the problem. "Ah, Cait," Vi starts, "Do you have a bike? Car?"

"I was going to ride with you," Caitlyn says, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

Vi's glad she's looking at her bike and Cait's behind her because her eyes go big like saucers.

"Is there a problem?" Caitlyn asks.

"No ma'am," Vi manages. She gets on her bike, puts the keys in the ignition, and scoots up to make room on the seat. Mustering up all the charm at her disposal, Vi turns to look at Cait, smiles, says, "Hop on!"

Caitlyn obliges.

It takes all Vi's self-control (she has lots, thank you very much) not to startle as Caitlyn slips onto the seat behind her, wraps her arms around Vi's waist, and settles to lean into Vi's back.

Work.

Workworkworkworkwork Vi is at work and there is a gorgeous Sheriff Caitlyn on her bike – practically on her – and oh no Caitlyn can probably tell that Vi's heart is going a billion beats a minute – cool, come on Vi, play it cool.

"Ready to go?" Vi manages to ask.

"I was born ready," Caitlyn says. And then she shifts a little. She's probably just moving to get more comfortable or to get a better grip but-

Vi turns the keys in the ignition and the bike rumbles to life. The engine has power - quite a bit more than the manufacturer deemed road-safe, because that's what happens when Vi gets to tinkering.

The shaking of the bike only makes Vi even more keenly aware of the gorgeous Sheriff Caitlyn whom-she's-gotten-dinner-with-several-times behind her.

She hits the gas and they're off.

Normally Vi, breaks a few, ok, quite a few speed limits by significant amounts, because why not, but today she goes exactly five over the entire way. Even so they make good time. There's not much traffic on the roads because the morning commuters are all at work and the lunch rush hasn't started yet. Before long, they're right back to where Vi got on the bus earlier that morning. Vi parks the bike in a nearby lot.

Caitlyn slips off the bike first and Vi follows, boots crunching in the gravel. "So this is my precinct," Vi says. "Home sweet home!" She sweeps her hands out to indicate the structures around the lot. On either side of them are three story brick buildings. The brick looks like it used to be red but it's long since turned black with soot. Advertisement placards on top cast long shadows over the lot, even though it's almost noon. It's not a very wide lot. In the back is a loading area for a shut down factory.

It looks a lot shabbier today than it normally does.

Caitlyn looks around slowly.

She's got a mind for details and her memory is sharp as Ripper the Attack Cat's claws. Vi's pretty sure she does it by the looking around slowly thing.

"I don't spend much time in this area," Caitlyn says blandly.

Something about her tone makes Vi feel like she needs to explain it's nicer than it looks (or maybe it's just the words, hard to tell, feelings). She's not too sure how to explain though, so she doesn't.

She's suddenly having a hard time remembering what she normally does during a day of work, which is a problem because that's why Cait's here so it's pretty important.

"Ah, this way boss lady," Vi says. She jerks her thumb towards the street. Which is really the only place they can go to get out of the lot.

Vi feels like she's moving stiffly. Or, like, she's super aware of how she's moving and it's making her move stiffly. Or something like that. And she feels like Caitlyn is watching her move stiffly. She hazards a glance over her shoulder. Caitlyn is definitely watching.

"Hey Vi!"

Vi looks towards the voice. It's Ailex, the teen from earlier that morning. She's wearing a patched up jacket, baggy pants, fingerless gloves. The teen waving at her from across the street.

Vi waves back at her. "Hey Ailex, how's it going?"

Ailex doesn't answer the question. Teenagers. "Is that the-

Vi sees exactly where that's going and heads it off. "Ailex, this is Sheriff Caitlyn," she says. "She's my partner. For work. Today."

"Ah, yeah," Ailex says. "I gotcha." She makes a little click noise, to make extra sure Vi knows – she gets it.

Vi gives the teen a thumbs up and they both head their separate ways.

"You know her?" Caitlyn asks. It's a statement and a question all wrapped up in one – Cait likes to do things like that. She's great with words.

"Yep," Vi says. "Her and her friend Dubs like to hang out by the library. There's a whole gang of kids over there. They take odd jobs when folks come around but in between they chill with the books. Say it makes them feel mysterious."

"It's good that the youth are reading," Cait says. She says 'youth' as if she means to say she doesn't remember herself ever being a 'youth.' And that can't be true.

"What did you do when you were a youth?" Vi asks. They're walking down the block now, past small storefronts and empty lots. A while ago, the city decided to demolish every other lot in some kind of urban renewal scheme, but they never got around to building anything back up. The morning chill hasn't quite gone – probably won't, because it's that time of year now – so Vi keeps her hands stuffed in her pockets, fingers running over the hextech bits she keeps there, still searching for the Idea.

There's a while where Caitlyn doesn't say anything.

Cait's a thoughtful type. She doesn't say things without thinking about them first.

"I tracked down criminals," Caitlyn finally says.

As they walk side by side, Vi turns her head to stare. Caitlyn looks like a normal beautiful brunette with a genius mind and a wonderfully kind soul and a soft spot for attack cats. But... "You hunted crooks when you were fifteen?"

It shouldn't be that surprising. It seems like Caitlyn has been the legendary Sheriff of Piltover for as long as Vi can remember there being police on the streets. Part of her wants to ask how old Caitlyn is exactly, but just because Vi grew up on the streets doesn't mean she doesn't know better than to ask a lady her age. Caitlyn's older than her, she's pretty sure, but she's unclear on how much older.

"Fourteen," Caitlyn says. "My father was robbed. I investigated. Successfully."

"Damn Cait," Vi says. "What a bamf."

Now it's Caitlyn's turn to look at Vi. "Bamf?"

"Uh," Vi says. "Uh. Best auxiliary modulating field. It's slang. Means you're impressive."

"Intriguing," Caitlyn replies.

Vi internally sighs. Bullet dodged. Being around Cait puts her at ease and, oops, sometimes she forgets Cait's also the boss lady.

At this point, Vi has pretty much gotten over the shock of gorgeous Sheriff of Piltover coming with me to work today, or, she's gotten over it enough to function again, and she's remembered what it was she needed to get done and how she was going to do it.

They've gone a few blocks now and they're at the edge of Vi's territory. Instead of turning down the street to stay in her bounds, Vi ducks into a grimy storefront. Inside, there are all sorts of gadgets and household items strewn about, some displayed on the floor, others tucked into glass cases. Here's a toaster oven, there's a winter coat, here's an antique pistol, there's a platinum ring set with a green stone. Vi's eyes barely pause on most of the things in the shop, but they do linger on the ring. "Wilson!" she calls.

A short balding man pops up from behind one of the display cases. "Er, ahem, hello Officer Vi," he says. "And, ah, Officer Vi's Partner." His voice is deep, far deeper than most people would expect from such a small man.

"Good morning, sir," Caitlyn says with a polite nod. She's always polite, Cait. Even when she's mad at the mayor, she's still polite. It's really something.

Vi casually leans on the counter in front of Wilson. "How's business?" she asks.

"Good, good," Wilson mumbles. "Very good. The usual."

"That's a nice toaster oven you got," Vi says. "You just buy it or did someone leave it?"

"Left," Wilson says. "Time ran out just yesterday. Are you interested? Do you need a toaster oven? They make breakfast positively breezy, you know."

"Nah," Vi says. "You know me. Donuts for breakfast, every day. Gotta stay strong for work."

"Well if you change your mind – though I don't think it will stay here long. Things do move quickly," says Wilson.

"Yeah," Vi agrees. "Like that ring you've got." She taps the display case to indicate the ring that's caught her eye. It's the only one of its sort in the shop and it stands out. "How'd you come across that?"

"Oh, oh," Wilson stammers. "A young fellow brought it in the other day. Sold it to me. It's quite nice, isn't it? Are you looking for a ring?" Wilson gives Vi and then Caitlyn a very exaggerated Look.

Vi laughs and it sounds entirely too nervous. "Nah," she says. "But Jilliet is. You know her place got broken into last week? Some punk stole her wedding ring."

Wilson blinks and then decides to make entirely too much direct eye contact with Vi. "Ah, oh my. That's so unfortunate. Please, give her my condolences. And I'll keep my eye out if I see anything suspicious!"

"You think a description of the ring might help you recognize it if you see it?" Vi suggests. She keeps her tone friendly because this is about to get delicate.

"Er, I suppose it would," Wilson says.

Vi taps the glass of the case again. "Looks just like that one."

Wilson, short as he is, manages to grow half an inch as he puffs himself up. "Now Miss Vi," he says, "I do think you're accusing me of something. You know that I would never deal in stolen property."

Vi grins and she wills all her considerable charm into it. "Wilson, I know you'd never buy something you knew was stolen. But there are all sorts of shady folks out there. This guy you'd never met… He sell you the ring on the cheap?"

"I offered him a fair price for it," Wilson insists.

"How's this sound," Vi says. "You give me the ring for now, and I'll show it to Jilliet. If it's hers – well, you know, it's hers. And if it's not, I'll bring it back."

Wilson splutters.

Vi pours on more charm. "You trust me, yeah? And you know Jilliet – she's too old to know what a lie is."

Wilson looks like he's going to object, but then Caitlyn cuts in. "This is a pawnbroker, correct?" Caitlyn asks. "Might I inquire – when was the last time you updated your permit with city hall? You seem to be quite the businessman. It would be a shame if…" she trails off.

Wilson is already opening the case.

He's clearly anything but happy when he hands Vi the ring, but, well, he hands Vi the ring.

When Vi and Caitlyn are out on the streets again, Vi grins and lightly punches Cait in the shoulder. She points to herself. "Good cop." And then she points to Cait. "Bad cop."

Caitlyn hums. "Yes, we do make a good pair," she says.

Vi tucks the ring into the inside pocket of her coat and buttons the pocket closed.

"So where are we off to now?" Caitlyn asks.

That's an easy one. "Baked goods," Vi says.

The bakery Vi went to that morning is close and it takes them only a few minutes to cross the street and head down the street.

When Vi opens the front door of the shop, a bell attached to the door rings, a clear and bright sound. The whole shop smells like light sugar. The granddaughter is still at the register. "Hi Vi," Eileia says. "Oh, you've brought a friend."

"Eileia, this is Sheriff Caitlyn. Sheriff Caitlyn, this is Eileia," Vi introduces. When she says Caitlyn's name, the other patrons of the shop who are at the few small tables stare, but no one says anything or causes a fuss.

Eileia's eyes widen a little bit. "Sheriff Caitlyn!"

"Caitlyn is fine," says Caitlyn.

"We've heard so much about you," Eileia says. "Vi talks about you all the time. Do you like our cupcakes?"

Vi's face turns bright red.

If Caitlyn notices – Cait notices, Cait notices everything – she politely doesn't draw attention to it. "They're wonderful," she says. "They've become something of a mainstay in my morning routine."

Eileia beams. "That's so lovely to hear," she says. "How can I help you ladies?"

Vi shuffles up to the counter. "I need a donut," she says. "One of those one with the cream filling and the chocolate on top." She reaches for her wallet.

"No, no," Eileia says as she pulls a donut from its basket behind the counter. "For you, on the house. One condition though…"

"Yeah?" Vi asks.

Eiliea ignores Vi and goes straight for Caitlyn. "Can I get your autograph?"

When they leave the bakery, Eiliea is ecstatic, Caitlyn is pleasantly amused, and Vi is holding a paper bag with a donut and grinning.

"What's the donut for?" Caitlyn asks.

Vi keeps grinning. "You'll see. Library now."

The library is six blocks over so it takes them a while to get there. It's getting towards noon and people are beginning to mill about, shuffling towards food carts set out on the streets for lunch. There are very few hextech vehicles in this area, so it's mostly pedestrians going here and there with no regard for oncoming traffic that's not coming.

After the tenth or eleventh time they pause for Vi to say hello to someone, Caitlyn asks, "Do you know everyone in this area?"

"Nah," says Vi. "Too many people. I know a lot of them though."

"Did you know them before or after you started working for the department?" Caitlyn asks. Her tone is sharp, but not hostile. She's shifted into her interrogation mode. She's curious about something. It'll be nothing but questions for a while.

Vi scrunches up her nose, trying to think of the right answer. "Maybe half and half?" she tries. "I knew a bunch of people before, but doing the cop thing means I'm out more."

"How often do you see individuals? Do you see most of them daily? Weekly?"

Vi answers as best she can, and she keeps answering as best she can for the rest of Caitlyn's inquisition.

It's not until the library is in sight that Caitlyn relents. "I believe you are the only officer in my employ who manages your area in this manner," she says. "You also have some of the best results."

Vi feels like she smiles ear to ear or near enough when she hears that. Cait loves results and if Vi's got some of the best results – that's music to her ears.

The library is a stately building, constructed to emulate one of the grand civic buildings of the upper city. Ailex and her band are sitting on the broad white steps leading up to the colonnaded patio and main entrance of the library. Ailex is playing jacks again, with a few other kids, and some others in her group are reading picture magazines.

"Ailex!" Vi shouts when they're close enough.

Ailex catches the ball and then looks up. "Vi!" she calls back. "What's up?"

"I've got a job," Vi replies. She holds the bag with the donut aloft. "And I come bearing payment."

Ailex hands the ball off to one of her friends – Esther – and scurries down the steps towards Vi. "What do you need?"

Vi hands over the bag with the donut. "Can you find Jilliet for me? Find her and tell her to stay put and I'll go to her. I think I found something of hers. I'll be here till you come back."

Ailex is already opening the bag and reaching for the treasure inside. "Can do," she says. She starts eating the donut as she walks off towards the street below.

The group of kids on the steps are all staring at Vi and Cait now.

Vi waves at them. "Hey guys," she greets.

"Hi Officer Vi," they chorus as one.

They do this a lot.

Vi points at Caitlyn. "This is my boss, Sheriff Caitlyn."

The kids' eyes all go wide like Eiliea's did before.

Caitlyn soon finds herself giving out a whole series of autographs while Vi plays jacks.

Vi is still playing jacks when Caitlyn comes and sits down next to her. "You're very good at this," she remarks as Vi sweeps up a whole handful and then catches the ball.

"You play?" Vi asks.

"I haven't played in a very long time," Caitlyn answers. "Since I was a… younger than a youth."

Vi holds out the rubber ball for Caitlyn. "Time to fix that."

Caitlyn, as it turns out, is not very good at jacks. Vi is, though, so she normally manages to pounce on the ball before it goes too far afield, but not always. Several times she has to trip down the steps chasing it after Caitlyn missed her catch.

It's on one of these ball-retrieval missions that Vi nearly crashes headlong into Ailex, returning with Jilliet.

Once Vi has gotten her hands on the ball, she stands up. "Jilliet," she starts, "Are your knees alright?"

Jilliet peers up at her through clouded blue eyes. "You have my ring?" she asks. Up close, she seems ancient but she holds the sort of presence that only accumulates with age. Her hair is wisps of white and her skin is translucent and wrinkled. She smells faintly of lavender.

Vi's not one to keep an old woman waiting, so she pops upon her inside coat pocket and pulls out the platinum ring with its green stone. "Is this it?"

Jilliet looks at the ring as if she's seeing her own begotten child for the first time. She reaches out slowly and reverently and takes it from Vi's hand. "Oh bless you, Officer Vi," she mumbles. "Bless you."

Vi feels a presence behind her and she knows it's Caitlyn.

"That's the right ring?" Caitlyn asks.

Jilliet looks up at Caitlyn and her eyes are suddenly a lot less cloudy than they were a moment ago. "Miss Officer Vi is a keeper," she says. "And don't you forget that, young lady." With all the haste of the elderly, Jilliet slips her wedding band onto her finger and then turns, probably towards home, and totters off.

Ailex shuffles around to elbow Vi in the ribs, hard.

Vi glares.

Ailex grins, winks, then holds her hand out.

Vi hands over the rubber ball for jacks, then glares again, for good measure.

Ailex is impervious to glares, so she keeps grinning as she heads back to her gang on the steps higher up.

Caitlyn clears her throat.

Vi looks up at Caitlyn – farther up than usual because Caitlyn's standing on a higher step. The sun is at its noon-peak and it seems to be just a little bit behind and to the side of Caitlyn, making Vi squint. She's not complaining though. Cait deserves all the sun in the world and she looks radiant in it. "Yeah, Cait?" Vi prompts.

"I believe it's noon, Miss Officer Vi," Caitlyn says with a perfectly straight face. "And we both have a lunch break. And I'd like to eat lunch with you."

"What do you want for lunch?" Vi asks.

Caitlyn stops with the straight face and smiles. "This is your stomping ground," she says. "Surprise me."

"Sure thing, Cait," Vi says. She's got just the place in mind. She then adds, because impulsive is her middle name and her last name, "It's a date, cupcake."

And Caitlyn keeps smiling.