Title: What He Sees

Author: clarkoholic

Claim: Jack/Nathan

Summary: Day in and day out, as the townspeople came and went, Vincent observed and he began to really see them.

Rating: PG

Word Count: 941

Warning: None

Author's Notes: This is not beta'd. All mistakes are mine. This is my first Eureka piece and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing. Thanks!

***

Vincent liked to think of his patrons as guests rather than customers. He treated them as he would a relative staying at his home; Café Diem was his home after all. He firmly believed a good host must be aware of what his guests needed before they did. So he kept a close watch in order to know when their Vinspresso was beginning to chill or when their foie gras needed another drizzle of wasabi.

Day in and day out, as the townspeople came and went, Vincent observed and he began to really see them.

He saw when one Baker twin was about to beat the other at chess by the arching of an eyebrow. When Beverly Barlowe would sit in the corner pretending to read the paper, he knew she was really eavesdropping on conversations she wasn't meant to hear. Her eyes thinned and she leaned deeper into her paper. Henry Deacon had turned into a dark soul with something boiling beneath his skin. Pursed lips and a furrowed brow didn't convey he was merely thinking anymore. Now Vincent could see the anger just edging to break through. He saw the loving way Allison Blake watched Kevin as he drew on his placemat and the concern and fear in her eyes.

Small towns were known for gossip but Vincent, the gracious host he wanted to be, kept quiet. Most of what he saw wasn't gossip worthy anyway. Except of course for the Sheriff.

After moving to Eureka, Sheriff Carter became a regular to Café Diem as with the rest of the town. Every morning he would have a cup of black coffee, scrambled eggs and bacon. With ketch-up! In the afternoons he would stop in for a quick lunch, if he wasn't busy trying to stop a catastrophe from vaporizing the town. Some evenings he and Zoe would sit in their favorite corner booth and talk about their days. Vincent loved when they came in together. He truly enjoyed Zoe and watching her spend time with her Father gave her a glow of happiness. Zoe was like sunshine when she glowed.

He'd come to love the Carter's as much as he loved all of his regulars. After spending so many days observing the Sheriff, Vincent saw what he assumed no one knew, possibly not even the Sheriff.

Sheriff Carter had a crush.

His back would straighten ever so slightly. He would tug his shirt to adjust the collar. The glow that Zoe was famous for would shine a little in his features every time Dr. Stark came by.

Vincent remembers clearly one afternoon, the Sheriff sipped his coffee and his eyes followed Dr. Stark as he crossed the street to the Cafe. It was subtle and to anyone else it would have looked as though he was watching the people pass by outside but Vincent knew. He could see the disappointment and slump of his shoulders as Dr. Stark sat with Allison without even acknowledging Carter.

He gave the Sheriff an extra piece of pie that day.

Other days Dr. Stark would sit at the counter near the Sheriff and they'd bicker as they usually did. Dr. Stark had a way of demeaning Carter's intelligence without any real malice. It was a game he played to hide his admiration for the Sheriff.

To Vincent's surprise, one afternoon he saw what could only be described as a glint of interest in Dr. Stark's eye. Mostly he only saw what Stark wanted him to see, a collected, intelligent, and devastatingly handsome man. But the way is eyes lingered a moment too long after flickering down the Sheriff's body in one quick motion was all he needed to know Carter wasn't the only one with a crush.

As time went on they began to 'coincidentally' arrive for lunch at the same time. They sat at the counter, usually with one seat separating them. If Vincent hadn't been there everyday, watching and listening, he might have thought it was completely innocent. Just two 'friends' having lunch. But Stark and Carter didn't portray themselves as friends, or anything more for that matter. Most of the town thought they were at each other's throats in a battle for Allison's affection and only played nice for her benefit.

Vincent saw through the act. He didn't doubt they enjoyed the banter and one-upping each other but he could see the buried desire. There were barely-there touches he would catch out of his peripheral vision when they thought no one would notice.

One morning during the breakfast rush, Nathan and Jack sat in their usual spots at the counter, finishing their coffees before heading out to Global. The café was filled with chatter as Vincent rushed about tending to his guests.

"Need a refill, Sheriff?"

"Sure, thanks Vincent." He filled his mug with steaming coffee then busied cleaning the empty spots next to them.

"Oh come on, Stark. You're telling me that you never tried? Not even once?" Jack asked Nathan in disbelief.

"Don't be ridiculous, Carter. It would have been irresponsible for the director of Global to take a nuclear fission powered prototype for a joyride."

"But you thought about it?"

"Well," Nathan said, smiling into his mug.

"Oh will you two just kiss already! You could cut the sexual tension in here with a dull butter knife."

The sound of silverware clanging down against porcelain was followed by silence and stopped Vincent in his tracks. He turned to see the entire Café staring. Dr. Stark glared at him and Sheriff Carter's mouth hung open in shock.

Vincent laughed nervously, "Uh, did I say that out loud?"

The End.